17.59, Tuesday 18 Apr 2000

Okay, UK censorship pisses me off. But what pisses me off more are people who think that this problem has come about because we're stupid (cf todays Scripting News).
 
The UK is new to this whole internet game. In the US these battles have already been fought - and they weren't pretty. Don't be condescending just because we've yet to figure some things out.
 
If you look at the reports of the Godfrey case on the BBC or at the Independent, or at Demon's press release then what you'll find is that there are people who know that the settlement (because it didn't go to court, which was a shame) was not a good reflection of justice.
 
UK law is made up of precedent. There isn't yet good precedent for saying that Demon would have been liable for what was on their servers; all we can say is that they lacked the cash to take it to conclusion. There is a whole generation of internet native speakers to whom the correct thing is not something to argue about, but common sense, and they'll be making the laws soon.
 
This is why I'm not too worried about this so-called censorship, because I believe it'll be sorted out soon enough (except RIP which really should be stopped). And this is also why I get annoyed with people who legitimise the don't-get-its like Godfrey by moving their servers instead of forcing the matter.