On 28 October 2011 16:41, <Valdis.Kletnieks@vt.edu> wrote:
You *do* realize that for all your nice "Thei Internet Is Not A Commons" ranting, the basic problem is that some people (we'll call them spammers) *do* think that (a) it's a commons (or at least the exact ownership of a given chunk is irrelevant), and (b) they're allowed to graze their sheep upon it.
If someone keeps putting their animals in my garden then some countries would permit me to shoot them and sue the owner for the cost of the bullets. Even those with more restrictive property rights laws would still permit me to throw them off of my land and sue the owner for any damage they caused me. On the Internet when people start shooting their sheep they think they are the victims and go to the dutch police, sorry i mean the police of whichever jurisdiction the hypothetical entity is from, complaining that they are being deprived of their right to abuse peoples gardens. - Mike