Re: sprank

[Michael Poole]

Ulrich Staudinger writes:

> Hi,
>
> I think the footer has a lot place in an open world. Just compare it with the
> GPL, which explicitly forbids distribution open source software without
> including THE open source disclaimer: the GPL !

I will contrast the two.  The original post was a question about the
implementation status of a mathematical function.  That kind of question
does not need any protection against distribution or copying.  On the
other hand, the GPL gives permission to perform distribution or copying
that is otherwise forbidden under copyright law.

> The displaimer states:
> " You are hereby notified that any disclosure, copying, dissemination,
> distribution or forwarding of this message, or the taking of any action based
> on it, is strictly prohibited."
>
> Ok, so he has sent it to a mailing list where he knew that his email is going
> to reach several hundred people. This particular aspect is not forbidden by 
> the
> disclaimer, as the email has reached the intended participiants: the
> public.

The disclaimer says it is "intended for a specific individual and
purpose".  Who is that specific individual?  None of the mailing list,
its members, or the public are "a specific individual".

The notice forbids "any disclosure, copying, dissemination, distribution
or forwarding" of the message.  The mailing list software doesn't know
better, but the notice claims to forbid it from doing its job.

If members of this list have duties to report contact with agents of
foreign governments or corporations -- and Rafael would probably count
under the United States rules for such things -- then handling this
notice puts a burden on them.

If I were a customer of a company that did this, I would wonder why they
are so cavalier in using that kind of confidentiality notice.  The
notice is so vague that the intended recipient cannot know the basis for
confidentiality.  Including it on messages to public mailing lists would
make me think that the company doesn't train its people to know how to
distinguish or handle different types of protected information.

Michael Poole