Looking through other users' (unprotected) files

[David M. Brown]

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>       It is only prudent to use whatever techniques are
>  available to you to secure your files from unauthorized
>  access.  However, your failure to do so does not imply
>  that you are granting permission to others to use them.
>  Common courtesy requires that you do not use other
>  people's property without their express permission,
>  that you do not read their mail even if it is not
>  locked up, and that you do not poke around in their
>  files unless they explicitly tell you it is all right
>  to do so.

This whole debate is caused by the clash between two different value
systems.  One system is described above (keywords: "common
courtesy").  The other has been espoused by others on the net (as
well as myself), and goes sort of like this:  "If you set your
permissions, you are permitting."

At the risk of repeating myself, the use of shared resources implies a
political situation.  Politics may be resolved with *force*, *law*,
or *convention*.  Force usually works, but is undesirable and socially
unacceptable.  Law seldom achieves it ends in the face of determined
opposition, especially when the opposition sees the law as a
challenge.  Therefore, convention (read: "value system") is the usual choice.

Every site is free to choose its own conventions.  You pick yours and
we'll pick ours.  On our site, it is acceptable to access anything
which you can access.  Of course, if we get some real losers, that may
have to change.


dmb at morgoth

Dave Brown
GZA
320 Needham St.
Newton Upper Falls, MA  02164
(617) 969-0050

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