[ih] Defamation lawsuit brought by self-proclaimed email "inventor" settles

[Dave Crocker]

On 5/19/2019 1:48 PM, Karl Auerbach wrote:
> We also plan our own focused/edited selections, but as in Roshomon, each 
> of us may see things differently; so we want to allow others to re-use 
> the base materials to tell other stories and provide other views.


There are a number of efforts like this.  (I've lost count.)  In general 
the source material of many such recitations and perspectives is 
essential, IMO.

However there is also considerable benefit in trying to obtain industry 
agreement about consistent, reliable and accurate facts of the basics.

There is plenty of room for nuance, for honest debate, and differences 
in perspective.  But these are quite different from plain, simple, 
falsehoods.

So we need to separate serious 'conversation' about the details and 
import of a history, from efforts to inject misinformation into that 
conversation.

For example claiming that email was invented in 1978, rather than 1965. 
Or that email didn't emulate and office memo model until 1978, rather 
than roughly 1971. These are not nuances. They really do distinguish 
between reasonable truth and unreasonable falsehood.

d/

-- 
Dave Crocker
Brandenburg InternetWorking
bbiw.net