John Baymore on mon 10 sep 01
did i really read on this list today that smartass lawyers search the
internet for our posts when they decide to sue the shit out of us for
something. if so i'm outta here. (by the way i love smartass lawyers, my
only living siblingis one so don't think i'm lawyer bashing.
becky,
Yup. Can happen....and has (not sued....but approached for information) =
to
me a couple of times.
Can you think of anyplace better to get a handle on what is being "said"
about pottery issues or where it would be more likely =
to find the "gossip" and "insider information" about clayworking than the=
Internet in general ...... and the CLAYART archives and such in specific?=
=
Or what the commonly accepted "standards of practice" in a particular
situation might be? =
The net is SO easy to search given the awesome power of search engines. =
Easy also rads here as cheap and fast...... increasing potential profit
margins. That (this) stuff is VERY public information. Lawyers aren't
dumb. People "speak" very candidly in this email medium...... much more =
so
than they would in many other situations. Certainly WAY more candidly th=
an
they probably would talk to a lawyer researching a case no matter what
"side" of it you were on. "Finding" CLAYART would not take all that much=
effort even by a person knowing nothing of ceramics. Start by searching
the words "ceramics" or "pottery" and you'll probably find it in the firs=
t
iteration search. Easy to narrow down the topic from there.
I'm sure you've seen newspaper articles that mention how all the email of=
a
particular politician or whomever was being reviewed in regard to some
(typically) scandalous case. Or a criminal's posts to a hate group BBS a=
re
used for evidence of prior intent. That kind of stuff. We're not all th=
at
different. (We're a hate group....... we hate machine made ceramics .=
=
Just kidding....just kidding!) If you want to know what becky S, or John=
Baymore, or Joe Blow has said on a subject....... or on anything in
general..... just do a search on the net. Likely you'll find lots of
stuff, if that person participates on the net much. If you're lucky....
you'll find a nice juicy comment on just the subject you are looking for
.
Try going to one of the major search engines and typing in your own name =
as
a search criteria....... you'll probably be surprised at some of the stuf=
f
that pops up there. If I do it for my name, I get searchable listings ev=
en
of some the postings I have left as entries in website "guestbooks". =
Totally unexpected. You assume that content is kinda "private". =
Apparently not always. I find links from other's websites to mine that I=
didn't know about. I find stuff "lifted" from my website and posted
elsewhere. I find myself mentioned in articles that I didn't know about.=
=
I find that I have relatives that I didn't know about . I find
relatives that I DO know about. I find the text of CLAYART messages (tha=
t
I have sent only to the listserve) copied and posted on foreign language
BBS's in places like Japan. Stuff like that.
Kinda neat........ but kinda scary at the same time .
As we talk about topics like glaze leaching, raku idiocy (I remember THAT=
heading line), kiln safety, booth lawsuits, illegal kiln installations,
do-it-yourself home electric kiln wiring, doing business from home
illegally, putting up illegal signs, and other such possibly sensitive
topics, all of our comments are likely available to help support or imped=
e
possible future legal actions. In a sense, we are setting "standards" as=
we discuss stuff. CLAYART is powerful.... more than we probably all
realize. =
If one were a longterm subscriber to CLAYART and got involved in a "legal=
tussle" over something like a leaching problem from fired glazes, it woul=
d
be hard to contend that you never knew such a thing was even a potential=
problem.......... the volume of posts to CLAYART on the subject is so
great and the headers (which you'd at least have to look at to decide to
skip the message thread) often so explicit about the subject.
So the power of the net, and CLAYART, is both a blessing and a curse in
this regard.
Ask your lawyer sibling about the net as a legal research tool. If he/sh=
e
is older........ maybe not as comfortable with technology as the younger
folks....... maybe he/she does not use it much if at all. But the newer
breed........ what a tool for research! This is just a logical compute=
r
age extension of the other research techniques lawyers use and have used =
in
any personal injury cases. A lot of what legal assistants / paralegals d=
o
is just such research.
I mentioned in a post to CLAYART not all that long ago (couple of months)=
about being contacted by email by a legal firm in CA (if I remember
correctly) trying to get me involved in a lawsuit case against a gas kiln=
manufacturer. The legal researcher was scanning the CLAYART archives and=
found some of my posts on kilns and researched a bit more and found that =
I
was a so-called "expert" on kilns. The first contacts did NOT identify t=
he
person as a paralegal....... interesting omission. I caught the tone of
the questions and the return address that SOUNDED like a legal firm diggi=
ng
for information.... questioned her...... and THEN she identified herself
and her intent. Cute. I declined and told her they would have to drag m=
e
in kicking and screaming . They'll learn the meaning of "hostile
witness" if they still try to make me say something about this .
Don't know anything about that other post that mentioned something about =
an
insurance company not paying or something. Wouldn't surprise me all that=
much.
Becky....... don't go running away........ but just keep in mind that
someone may be eavesdropping on your conversations.
Best,
..............................john
PS: Oh that the US legal system were changed to one more like that in
Europe. That would solve a LOT of problems.
PPS: For the paranoid: There was an interesting show on PBS or DIscover=
y
or one of those channels not all that long ago that talked about the NSA
(National Security Agency) and how all telecommunications (including the
internet) are monitored by vast computer systems for certain key words. =
If
you say or type in the particular set of words they use as criteria.....
your phone conversation or your email gets routed through NSA's computers=
and is "reviewed" for actual content.... to see if you are a terrorist or=
are plotting to overthrow the government by violent means. Can't say tha=
t
it is TRUE... just that it was on that type of program. Now THAT is a
scary thought . Probably the use of the initials "NSA" twice here jus=
t
got this one sent direct to them. Come bail me out.
John Baymore
River Bend Pottery
22 Riverbend Way
Wilton, NH 03086 USA
603-654-2752 (s)
800-900-1110 (s)
JohnBaymore.com
JBaymore@compuserve.com
John.Baymore@GSD-CO.com
"Earth, Water, and Fire Noborigama Woodfiring Workshop 2002 Dates TBA"=
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