[open-science] open access perils? (#RIP @aaronscwarz)

Sun Jan 13 15:23:46 UTC 2013

Matthew and Thomas

Matthew wrote:
> The substantial part and relevant part of the discussion is whether it
> is possible for someone to be harmed as a direct result of advocacy
> for open data generally and open science in particular.
>
> If so, that's an important fact worthy of recording, and that's the
> point that I think Paola was making.

Interesting point, but a more central point worth making for me, perhaps is:

do we do enough to prepare, support and protect the people who take
risks to challenge the establishment  (and the hypocrisy upon which
the establishment supports its public face) knowing full well the
system will be closing in on them and will squash them through
arbitrary, unjust use of the justice system?

Thomas wrote
>Of course, that shouldn't prevent you discussing such matters. But the primary focus of this list is >open science, and we shouldn't try to handwave Wikileaks into that heading.

There more than on obvious correlation between aaron, assange and
bradley (all of them retrieved and /or published information and the
law was used arbitrarily and without adequate intelligent
interpreation to punish them , but also avaaz etc).  Therefore their
inclusion in the context of such a discussion is pertinent enough,
unless you have other reasons for wanting to censor discourse from
some of its vital components.

P