3 ms·

> Broadly speaking, if someone is accused of a moral crime about which you have no privileged information, publicly hypothesizing about how they might be innoce

> Broadly speaking, if someone is accused of a moral crime about which you have no privileged information, publicly hypothesizing about how they might be innocent is tantamount to a defence. What ??? How ??? Are we supposed to assume that every accusation we hear about is true, and everyone is guilty until proven innocent?

asdfman123 3y ago
No, but he’s defending something that’s still pretty damn bad. The guy was clearly there and participating.
JumpCrisscross 3y ago
> Are we supposed to assume that every accusation we hear about is true, and everyone is guilty until proven innocent No. Not publicly* commenting on an accusation is very different from blindly accepting it. (Note the caveats: moral crime and your having no new information.) * I recognise he made these comments on a “private” mailing list, but I have to assume someone like RMS understands the futility of trying to keep a mailing list of all things private.
- freilanzer 3y ago
  So, you think this statement should not be made publicly but also not in private since a private statement is just a public statement yet to be leaked? Bollocks.
  - JumpCrisscross 3y ago
    > you think this statement should not be made publicly but also not in private since a private statement is just a public statement yet to be leaked I think it’s fair to discuss with people you trust. A mailing list between friends could be that. But I know of no reasonable expectation of privacy on anything referred to as a mailing list. (If you don’t know everyone on the list, it may be confidential, but it isn’t a personal conversation.)
jonathanstrange 3y ago
This is especially ridiculous in the US where nearly every rich person can be expected to get sued about anything because it's common to hand out hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars in settlements to avoid publicity before the case even reaches court.

asdfman123 3y ago

No, but he’s defending something that’s still pretty damn bad. The guy was clearly there and participating.

JumpCrisscross 3y ago

> Are we supposed to assume that every accusation we hear about is true, and everyone is guilty until proven innocent No. Not publicly* commenting on an accusation is very different from blindly accepting it. (Note the caveats: moral crime and your having no new information.) * I recognise he made these comments on a “private” mailing list, but I have to assume someone like RMS understands the futility of trying to keep a mailing list of all things private.

freilanzer 3y ago
So, you think this statement should not be made publicly but also not in private since a private statement is just a public statement yet to be leaked? Bollocks.
- JumpCrisscross 3y ago
  > you think this statement should not be made publicly but also not in private since a private statement is just a public statement yet to be leaked I think it’s fair to discuss with people you trust. A mailing list between friends could be that. But I know of no reasonable expectation of privacy on anything referred to as a mailing list. (If you don’t know everyone on the list, it may be confidential, but it isn’t a personal conversation.)

jonathanstrange 3y ago

This is especially ridiculous in the US where nearly every rich person can be expected to get sued about anything because it's common to hand out hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars in settlements to avoid publicity before the case even reaches court.