Kristopher Nelson's Comments

in propria persona : Is it OK to Share my WiFi? (Comcast)

Wed, 2 Nov 2011 20:19:33 +0000

Brian,Well, I can't offer you legal advice, but the current Comcast AUP (as of Nov 2, 2011), reads like this:You agree that the Services and the Comcast Equipment will be used only for personal, residential, non-commercial purposes, unless otherwise specifically authorized by us in writing. You will not use the Comcast Equipment at any time at an address other than the Premises without our prior written authorization. You agree and represent that you will not resell or permit another to resell the Services in whole or in part.There is no mention of whether the person you are sharing with can or cannot get Comcast service.And then says this:c. Suspension and Termination by Comcast. Under the conditions listed below, Comcast reserves the right, subject to applicable law, to act immediately and without notice to terminate or suspend the Services and/or to remove from the Services any information transmitted by or to any authorized users (e.g., email or voicemail). Comcast may take these actions if it: (1) determines that your use of the Service does not conform with the requirements set forth in this Agreement ...So, in my (not offering legal advice, no serving as your attorney) reading of the current AUP, Comcast could suspend or terminate your service if you share it with others. They make an especially strong point about reserving the right to "terminate or suspend the Services" if you are "reselling" (which is what you propose to do as part of offsetting your costs). I would make your decision in that light.

in propria persona : You do not get an âA for effortâ with copyright

Sun, 13 Mar 2011 22:58:21 +0000

Inasmuch as any property right derives from the effort of creation, then yes, effort is necessary. But "progress" (interpreted by the courts as "creativity") is what the Constitution and American IP law focuses on, not effort. It simply doesn't matter how hard you work, it only matters how creative you are. Thus, putting huge energies into compiling phone book entries does not make that work copyrightable, because it isn't creative. On the flip side, two minutes of typing on a blog could easily generate copyrightable content, even though the amount of effort was negligible. Effort does not distinguish the copyrightable from the non-copyrightable, but creativity does. Minimal effort is indeed a requirement (it takes effort even to breathe, after all), but it is a minimal requirement as compared to the creativity necessarily required for copyright.

in propria persona : The archive and the state

Mon, 25 Oct 2010 21:40:10 +0000

Yeah, true. I've never really bought into the objectivity argument anyway--sure, we're not 100% objective, but that doesn't really mean we can't say anything. Same with this--it does add to the complexity of being sure about the truth, but that doesn't mean we as historians (or people) shouldn't talk about what we've learned and think despite this. But certainly thinking of the archive--not just the historian, and not just the sources--as adding complexities of subjectivity as well does make things more complicated! But also more interesting, I think.

in propria persona : Measuring the impact of technology on the law

Thu, 19 Aug 2010 00:18:32 +0000

Oops, typo! That should be 1895, not 1875. Fixed above. Thanks!

in propria persona : Modern Islam and science: an article by Seyyed Hossein Nasr

Wed, 26 May 2010 23:39:37 +0000

You're right: there is a distinct lack of concreteness. I believe he thinks that infusing Islamic ethics and values into the scientific process will inevitably lead to differences--even if he's not entirely sure what those differences will be. Respect for the environment? No nuclear bombs? He mentions these things--but is that really different science, or just a different way to apply knowledge?

AnAtheist.Net : The Straw Man that Endures

Thu, 15 Apr 2010 00:29:23 +0000

It endures because it's effective, I suppose. It also does a nice job of turning liberal democratic ideals ("How do you bring together people from all backgrounds around equal dignity and mutual loyalty?") into tools for conservative, fundamentalist religion. What monster wouldn't want to "bring together people from all backgrounds," after all? It invokes a feelings-based reaction, while any response involves reasoning and logic, which are much more complex to use and understand. It's an approach that's been used very effectively by Republicans and the "Right" for years. It's often worked for them against pretty much everyone they oppose, so I guess it makes sense to deploy it against atheists, too.

in propria persona : Court Says You Can Copyright A Cease-And-Desist Letter

Thu, 4 Feb 2010 03:23:38 +0000

Good points, Bill. I think I can say that I agree with your logic on this one!

in propria persona : Historians need to stop obsessing over writing books

Fri, 29 Jan 2010 01:50:08 +0000

Ah, great question. The lawyer in me (of course) says he's both a model and a warning. Certainly he was engaged in social issues, and certainly he made history matter to people outside the academy. I would encourage all humanities scholars to look to him for a model in this sense. On the other hand, his engagement was normative in a way that I think historians especially ought to be careful of. It became easy for some to simply dismiss him and his work as biased, and therefore untrustworthy, due to his explicit "left-wing" views. While I have issues with the potential existence of a true neutrality or objective perspective, and prefer people explain up front where they are coming from, I do think that explicitly advancing an agenda through one's work as an historian is potentially problematic, although making judgments about history based on historical evidence is indeed what historians ought to do. When I speak of "engagement" with contemporary society, I don't particularly mean in a normative or prescriptive fashion. Rather, I was thinking of connecting history and historical events with modern issues, to help illuminate how we got where we are, how others have dealt with similar situations in the past, and so on, with the goal of giving people more tools to make better decisions about contemporary problems.

in propria persona : Professionalization and the self-replication of university professors

Mon, 25 Jan 2010 06:36:15 +0000

Good points, Peter.

In law school, perhaps in contrast to other professional schools, there was a strong resistance to "too much" theory, and a bias for instructors who had practiced professionally for at least some amount of time. Strangely, though, this did not translate into a focus on practical and professional training -- teaching still stayed in the "theoretical" realm (i.e., mostly discussions of appellate court decisions, which is not where most lawyers are going to be spending their practical time) and very little on client issues, for example, or preparing motions, or drafting contracts, or similar pursuits.

In the humanities, in contrast, there is no pretense of connection to "practical" concerns. Or, rather, practical concerns are theoretical concerns, since being good at academic issues is what gets you hired! I'd love to see more connection between humanities education and business or other professional pursuits, but there isn't so much of that as yet, as far as I can tell.

in propria persona : Truth vs. relativism in science

Fri, 22 Jan 2010 22:52:11 +0000

Good point. The dispute is hardly new (either to me or the world), but it certainly generates a good deal of controversy nonetheless. So I appreciate it when participants in the debate take a different approach and get outside of the old debate a bit!

in propria persona : Professionalization and the self-replication of university professors

Tue, 19 Jan 2010 00:01:32 +0000

All Things Considered on NPR just ran a story on Louis Menand and his book. Hear it at: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?stor...

in propria persona : Finding the diamonds in the rough in the "blogosphere"

Tue, 22 Dec 2009 01:43:47 +0000

Good ideas from both of you. Certainly people I know--online or otherwise--are excellent sources, especially in areas I regularly pay attention too (Twitter excels at this, of course). But that tends to be fairly random, too, so it isn't always as useful when looking into specific topics, or topics I don't follow as regularly. As to the source issue--I normally look to blogs more for opinion and analysis anyway. They are good for sparking ideas and new directions, Thanks for your thoughts!

in propria persona : Google Books adds open-standard downloads

Thu, 27 Aug 2009 16:13:11 +0000

Agreed. I was always a little frustrated by PDF, though, because it never quite fit my netbook's screen correctly -- so I'm pretty thrilled by this new download format. Google Books has made working with older books a fundamentally different -- and more flexible -- experience.

in propria persona : The case of the disappearing case law

Fri, 21 Aug 2009 19:01:55 +0000

cloud supporter, There are indeed potential technical solutions. Many libraries try to capture journal publications by their institutions in repositories to keep an archive outside of the journal alone. The U.S. government has even gotten into this by requiring NIH-funded research to be stored on their system (PubMed) as well as on the systems of private publishers. The Wayback Machine at archive.org is also a good resource. Still, paper had the benefit of built in massive mirroring: once published, it was difficult to impossible to obliterate a publication (whether that was case law or not). Electronic publication does not have that same in-built defense (although data still tends to stick around electronically anyway). I'm not sure a gov't solution is best, or even if we need a solution at all -- but it is unsettling to see the biggest repositories of case law quietly remove a case with no trace remaining on their systems at all.

in propria persona : Applying DRM to the news

Sun, 26 Jul 2009 03:21:23 +0000

Love the graphic! Here's a free (via FindLaw) link to the (classic!) case you mentioned, for anyone interested: http://laws.findlaw.com/us/248/215.html

in propria persona : Does selling access to court-filed attorney briefs violate copyright law?

Fri, 24 Jul 2009 20:35:12 +0000

Perhaps the courts could explicitly require signing over certain rights when filing briefs? That might get around the need to actually change copyright law at the macro level. I might well be in favor of such changes, but it's harder - I think - than having filers agree to allow public access when filing their briefs. I am in complete agreement that asserting rights in briefs, etc. seems generally pointless. But, like you, it does bother me to see companies profiting from the work of others without reimbursement. (It doesn't bother me much to give away access to such work without charge, though). Many interesting possible implications!

AnAtheist.Net : Website Update: Books & Buzz

Thu, 23 Jul 2009 05:05:26 +0000

I love these. Pretty neat work. Turns the site into much more of a collaborative endeavor. Nifty stuff!

AnAtheist.Net : Why Donât Smart People Get Jesus?

Wed, 8 Jul 2009 01:46:59 +0000

Whatever my beliefs may or may not be at a particular moment in time, this kind of approach tends to simply boggle my mind, not help me find a faith. It's like watching a movie that gets its science (or police procedure or theology or whatever) all wrong: it throws me completely out of even pretending to follow along. Perhaps I'm not the target audience? Perhaps this is just to make believers feel comforted somehow? What am I missing?

AnAtheist.Net : More Mormon Missionary Fun

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 22:26:11 +0000

Thanks for the write up on this - I've wondered what the more theological appeal is before, too. Part of the appeal that I did get previously what that all of the Mormons I've known have always been really *nice* (a theme explored in one of my favorite South Park episodes ever). The beliefs themselves have always seemed to require stretching belief even more than many other faiths - but the "nice people" idea kept reappearing to me. At least, it did until Prop. 8, which severely tested my "faith" (if one can call it that...) in the "Mormons are nice people" concept.

AnAtheist.Net : Salvation After Death

Sat, 6 Jun 2009 00:50:42 +0000

On a pro-belief-whatever-the-justification-may-be note, implementation of this particular belief has benefited many non-Mormons interested in genealogical research. :)

Kristopher Nelson's Comments

in propria persona : Is it OK to Share my WiFi? (Comcast)

in propria persona : You do not get an âA for effortâ with copyright

in propria persona : The archive and the state

in propria persona : Measuring the impact of technology on the law

in propria persona : Modern Islam and science: an article by Seyyed Hossein Nasr

AnAtheist.Net : The Straw Man that Endures

in propria persona : Court Says You Can Copyright A Cease-And-Desist Letter

in propria persona : Historians need to stop obsessing over writing books

in propria persona : Professionalization and the self-replication of university professors

in propria persona : Truth vs. relativism in science

in propria persona : Professionalization and the self-replication of university professors

in propria persona : Finding the diamonds in the rough in the "blogosphere"

in propria persona : Google Books adds open-standard downloads

in propria persona : The case of the disappearing case law

in propria persona : Applying DRM to the news

in propria persona : Does selling access to court-filed attorney briefs violate copyright law?

AnAtheist.Net : Website Update: Books & Buzz

AnAtheist.Net : Why Donât Smart People Get Jesus?

AnAtheist.Net : More Mormon Missionary Fun

AnAtheist.Net : Salvation After Death

in propria persona : You do not get an âA for effortâ with copyright

AnAtheist.Net : Why Donât Smart People Get Jesus?