[Freedombox-discuss] legal problem w/ Twitter (et al.)

[Jonas Smedegaard]

On Sat, Mar 19, 2011 at 03:57:13PM -0700, Thomas Lord wrote:
>This is a condensed reply to both Jonas and Lee.
>
>I agree with Jonas that there is pretty much no stopping simply 
>forwarding updates from FB to Twit or FacB.  That is not the problem.
>
>If I publish on FacB or Twit -- or if I haven't yet converted all my 
>friends away from it -- I want to read what other people post there, 
>including what they say in response to me.
>
>One way to give users reasonable control over their logs on those 
>services (which only solves one part of the privacy problem, sure) is 
>if we can just download everything the user can see (just keep syncing 
>my "Wall" or my Twit stream onto my FB, and I'll read it there and 
>often reply via other channels).
>
>It is *that* functionality that already leads to legal problems in both 
>services.
>
>"Push and forget" - just forward items to FacB or Twit and *never 
>reading those services* is easy for free software to do without legal 
>problems.  Giving users alternative ways to read those services, 
>though, requires using the API -- and that's where you get into legal 
>problems.

In the Real World, I grew some relationships while hanging out at a 
certain bar or disco - at some "hood".  I now, after having moved to 
another hood, want to keep those relationships alive.

I can try send my brother, who still live near my old hood.  Ask him to 
hand out business cards to my friends with my new address (sure, I did 
so myself just before I left, but they might have lost them), drink with 
them, and be sure to mention some of the exciting new things I am doing 
these days - and report back to me what my old friends are doing these 
days. All of it to help encourage my old friends to stay two-way in 
touch with me.

Or I can a) be as loud as possible in my current hood with the 
activities I do no, to hopefully create have rumors of it reach my old 
hood, and b) visit my old hood _myself_ once in a while, and tell a bit 
of my exciting new stuff but tone down on the details, encouraging my 
old friends to join me in my Brave New World.


This last approach is what I find sensible to do: Not use FreedomBox to 
reach the old hood, but use it as personal platform in the new hood - 
and then _without_ FreedomBox_ visit my old hood occasionally and remind 
friends there that the real live active me has moved along.  That they 
should comment at my blog rather than at Facebook if they are interested 
in telling _me_ (not only the hood) that they "like" it.

Sure, I will loose some of the strength of that old hood when no longer 
hanging out there.  But that is inevitable - won't be covered by sending 
a drone.

Think about it for a moment from the perspective of Facebook: Quite 
likely it is against the interests of Facebook that its users do not 
participate themselves but send drones instead - no matter if currently 
written into their policies or legally safe - so such behavioral 
patterns will be obstructed if becomming a significant pattern (read: 
when FreedomBox gains momentum).


  - Jonas

-- 
  * Jonas Smedegaard - idealist & Internet-arkitekt
  * Tlf.: +45 40843136  Website: http://dr.jones.dk/

  [x] quote me freely  [ ] ask before reusing  [ ] keep private
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