[arin-discuss] Justifiable Censorship?

[michael.dillon at bt.com]

> do you or we have the right to restrict his First 
> Amendment rights? 

Irrelevant. Neither we nor ARIN hold any powers that are
ultimately delegated by the Federal government.

>Is there really proof that he has violated 
> the ARIN AUP or is "someone" just tired of reading his emails?

The ARIN president stated the proof in his email.
Check the archives and read more carefully.

> We live in a country where people can burn flags,

Not inside a Walmart store!

> where 
> protesters can waste considerable time and money,

Not in the City Council chambers!

> where we 
> have the right to voice our opinion.

Not inside a synagogue!

> Like it or not, these 
> are things that are part of our American foundation.

Our? Since when is ARIN American!?
In any case, *YOUR* American foundation, which you seem
to be quite ignorant of, has a whole series of limits on
your rights, including that so-called free-speech right that
you Americans are so fond of. My advice to you is that before
you start telling people what rights you Americans have, you
should do a little reading and educate yourself about how
and why there are *LIMITS* to those rights.

>  I am 
> not a supporter of Dean's tirades but I AM a supporter of our 
> U.S. Constitution and the right to voice an opinion.

You don't have the rights that you think you have. Even before
9-11 you did not have those kind of rights.

> I realize that the list is 
> not a public forum for "soap-boxing" and that you have the 
> right to censor certain discussion... 

Oh! The penny is beginning to drop...

> If he chooses to risk a 
> lawsuit for defamation and/or character damage, isn't that 
> his risk and not ARIN's?

Again, an amateur lawyer. Look, if you don't know how the U.S. 
legal system works, then don't make baseless assertions about
it. At minimum, you need to have a first year university course
in commercial law or the equivalent, before you can understand
these things.

>  Unless you have proof that the 
> information he has posted is untrue, isn't he innocent until 
> proven guilty? 

So police officers in the USA don't issue tickets for speeding 
until AFTER they have a court decision that you were actually
guilty?

> I'd be interested to 
> hear what the other members think on this topic.

See above.

--Michael Dillon