Some years ago, James Boyle made a compelling case in favour of evidence-based policymaking in an article attacking the European database right. Since then, I have become a strong believer in injecting some empirical evidence into copyright debates that are often filled with anecdotes of starving artists, scaremongering tales of Read more
The nature of good and evil is not the usual TechnoLlama topic, but I have been thinking a lot about what makes people evil after reading the article in the New York Times entitled “The Trolls Among Us“. This is a disturbing and compelling look at certain online communities that Read more
Electronic evidence and data gathering are becoming an important part of modern litigation. When Viacom requested data from Google pertaining their massive litigation, they did not just ask for all the usage information related to their own content, they requested everything. All information about every single video uploaded to YouTube Read more
After yesterday’s rant against European democracy, I’ve had some of my confidence revived by a reply sent by Alyn Smith MEP (SNP), who has taken the time to answer to many of us who sent messages expressing our concern about the commission. Kudos to Mr Smith (is there an honorary Read more
Given the fact that the amendments to Telecoms regulation have passed, I have been thinking about Europe. I am not a European citizen, I cannot even vote, but this year it will be 10 years since I have been living this side of the Atlantic, and paying taxes that go Read more
A bit early on Sunday morning to try to organise an uprising, but this is what Lilian Edwards is doing this weekend. On Friday she wrote a long and detailed post about the way in which the 3-strike rule is going to be introduced by stealth this Monday July 7 Read more
There has been considerable excitement in those interested in virtual world research about the results of the election of EVE Online’s Council of Stellar Management, which is as far as I know the first ever democratic experiment involving users of a virtual world. EVE Online is one of the most Read more
(The next victim stands on top of a pile of dead spammers) A curious scene has been taking place in the streets of Stormwind. The square between the Auction House and the Bank is by far the busiest place in the game, with dozens of players moving to and from Read more
The British press is going through a feeding frenzy, as tabloids and mainstream media outlets try to outdo each other in reporting the threats posed to children online. The Daily Mail warns us that “Millions of girls using Facebook, Bebo and Myspace ‘at risk’ from paedophiles and bullies“. Even by Read more
The Internet is broken. You may have noticed some of the signs: slow connections, sluggish downloads, constant disconnections, lost emails, tons of spam. Who broke it, and how can we fix it? This was part of a very interesting talk by Chris Marsden at BILETA 2008, an earlier version of Read more