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10 years since the last Groklaw post

10 years ago yesterday, Pamela Jones ("PJ") posted her last entry on #Groklaw:

groklawstatic.ibiblio.org/arti…

(the website hasn't been updated in 10 years either, so it seems not to have a 'https' address)

#PJ's contribution to the development of the internet and how it should work is immeasurable, and she is sorely missed.

I hope she is well.

Groklaw - Forced Exposure ~pj

groklawstatic.ibiblio.org
#Groklaw #PJ
in reply to Éibhear 🔭

hugo roy
hugo roy
• •
@slothrop honestly that was one of the weirdest connection. To this day I still do not understand.
@Tyrone Slothrop
in reply to hugo roy

Éibhear 🔭
Éibhear 🔭
•
Are you referring to the connection between lavabit's shuttering and PJ's decision to stop groklaw?
in reply to hugo roy

Éibhear 🔭
Éibhear 🔭
•
Here's my understanding, FWIW: There were multiple concerted attempts to affirmatively identify (and "expose") PJ by SCO and many who sided with it. Many who supported groklaw pseudonymously were also being "investigated" in the same way. Having seen how easy the US government abused its power to demand something that would identify *all* users of an internet service like lavabit, PJ felt that the risk of the same thing happening to her and her community was too great, so she pulled the plug.
in reply to Éibhear 🔭

hugo roy
hugo roy
• •
@slothrop Yes and equating SCO with the US governemnt to adjust your threat model sounds weird to me.
@Tyrone Slothrop
in reply to hugo roy

Éibhear 🔭
Éibhear 🔭
 — (Dublin, probably.) •

That's not an unreasonable analysis.

However, I'm remembering the context that in 2013 we were only then coming it the end of a number of years of the US government being told by business leaders that FOSS was unamerican, and that the GPL, in particular, was unconstitutional.

Given how...
- the US government prosecutes leakers and whistelblowers in a manner that denies them a defence of serving the public interest; and how
- some in the US government equate the use of protection technologies like encryption with heinous activities like child sexual abuse and terrorism; and how
- Aaron Swartz was treated by those prosecuting an alleged copyright infringement ...
... I don't think *her* analysis was unreasonable. All it needed was just one ambitious fed to take it upon themselves to investigate unamerican and unconstitutional activities such as promoting FOSS and the GPL; there would have been many in the Groklaw community who would have been put at risk if it suffered the same abuse as lavabit did. Perhaps a low risk, but definitely a high impact for those involved.

in reply to Éibhear 🔭

hugo roy
hugo roy
• •
@slothrop I respect their decision and it's up to them of course. I miss Groklaw 'is all.
@Tyrone Slothrop
in reply to Éibhear 🔭

Éibhear 🔭
Éibhear 🔭
•

The following is the original text of the post. #Friendica posts seem to get elided in #Mastodon when the title is used:

10 years ago yesterday, Pamela Jones ("PJ") posted her last entry on #Groklaw:

groklawstatic.ibiblio.org/arti…

(the website hasn't been updated in 10 years either, so it seems not to have a 'https' address)

#PJ's contribution to the development of the internet and how it should work is immeasurable, and she is sorely missed.

I hope she is well.

#Friendica #mastodon #Groklaw #PJ

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