Week 1
As someone who came into this class with a very limited understanding of the intricacies of the legal system, I was both excited and nervous about the content and issues I'd be studying. Happily, I have found that, on the one hand, I knew more than I thought in general terms and on the other hand I have a whole new appreciation of how layered and detailed our legal system is.
"Introduction to Law" was a great primer as it provided me with a refresher of the legal system in general and a host of new topics that I did not know much about.
What I knew coming in: The relationships between the US and State Supreme courts and the various Courts of Appeal. The separate and overlapping areas of State and Federal law.
What I learned: I did not appreciate (or even know fully) the particulars of Personal, Subject Matter and In Rem Jurisdiction and how they may or may not apply to Cyberspace issues. Also the relationship and potential complications of Jurisdiction and Venue are far more complicated than I had first thought.
Week 2
This weeks chapter readings were very very useful. The information in "Copyright Basics" regarding copyright usage and display was immediately useful as I had naively assumed that the (c) was just as valid as the © symbol. I put this to use right away and went back to amend my clients' websites with the correct syntax.
The various forms of infringement and dilution discussed and illustrated in "Copyright Infringement" and "Trademark Basics" have given me a whole new category of knowledge to use in discussing potential projects with new and existing clients. I mentioned in the assignment discussion area that I recently had a new client ask me about installing a forum on his site and I mentioned to him that he would want to monitor it or hire someone to monitor if for him as the content that individuals post may open him up to a contributory infringement lawsuit. It's very satisfying when you can put something you have learned into use and really feel comfortable about your ability to express the concept effectively.
As a web designer and developer, the section on domain names was my favorite part of "Trademark and Domain Names" and my textbook is now liberally marked up with my trusty highlighter as I strive to note things of interest that I can refer to later on. I am also finding the inclusion and description of the various laws (i.e. The Truth in Domain Names Act, The Anti-Cybersquatting Consumer Protection Act) very informative. I am actually making myself a reference list with short summaries so that I can remember the names if I should need to reference a particular piece of legislation in my conversations with clients.
Week 3
This was hands down my favorite week so far. What a wealth of information! I have, as part of my offerings become involved with Constant Contact and have attended workshops and classes on email marketing and their service. "Spam" was a perfect complimentary chapter to what I've learned so far. The definition of the CAN-SPAM Act was an added bonus and while the tips for avoiding spam where more of a refresher, the section on State spam laws was very informative as I did not know that they varied so much.
"Cyber Crimes" was just plane fascinating. I like to think that I'm pretty savvy when it comes to internet and web slang but I think that almost 50% of the names for cyber crimes that were listed were new to me! As a close to this week's summary and to give myself a reference, I'm going to list the terms I learned from chapter 8 here:
- Spoofing: forgery of an email header so that it appears as though it came from someone other than the true sender.
- Phishing: an email that looks like it comes from a legitimate (and sometimes well known) business, institution or organization. The sender hopes to trick the recipient into giving out personal account information.
- Personalized Phishing: a variation of phishing where the email contains personalized, accurate account information.
- Spear-Phishing: the sender poses as a high-level executive in a target organization and sends the email to an employee demanding confidential information.
- Phishing: an email that looks like it comes from a legitimate (and sometimes well known) business, institution or organization.
- Spim: spamming with the use of instant messages rather than email.
- Pharming: a web surfer, looking for a particular site is redirected to a fake version in the hopes of getting the target to divulge private information.
- Keystroke Phishing: occurs when the target is sent an email with a Trojan program attached which, when installed will record the keystrokes of the target and send them back to the sender.
- Cookie Poisoning: intentional manipulation of a person information stored on a computer by visiting a particular website.
- Adware: software that displays ads as a particular program runs (not in and of itself illegal).
- Spyware: software that uses a targets internet connection without the target's knowledge to track personal information and send it to third parties.
- Drive-By Download: a program that installs itself without the prompting or knowledge of the target.
- Malware: any program developed for the purpose of doing harm.
- Wardriving: driving with a Wi-Fi enabled laptop to map the accessible wireless networks of a particular area.
- Piggy-Backing: utilizing someones wireless internet connection without permission.
- Pod Slurping: using a portable device (often media players) to upload malicious programs or steal information from another computer.
Week 4
The readings, assignments and quizzes for each week have provided me with a mix of material; some if it I am familiar with already, many details and the depth of the issues I have NOT been exposed to yet, and there are always bits of information that I can immediately use regarding my clients projects. This week was no exception.
Many of the issues that were brought up in "Privacy At Work" I am familiar with. Even so, I can not imagine anyone who works in an office thinking they have any reasonable expectation of privacy when it comes to the use of company email addresses and the internet. "Privacy Basics" was an interesting chapter as all of the readings that provide specific information regarding law and it's applications. The sections on Non-U.S. privacy laws was really interesting as I did not realize that there were such differences in basic privacy issues between the U.S., Canada and Europe. Also I did not know that ISP records of individual's personal emails, internet usage etc. were archived and could be accessed by law enforcement when needed for a case.
"Website Privacy Policies" was "that" chapter that I began using right away. I have had a privacy statement here on my site since the beginning but I have not begun to suggest privacy statements for clients who have even just a short online contact form, especially if it has required fields including email addresses.
As the father, "Privacy and Children" really kept my attention. I hope that, being in the business I am in, I may be better suited to help protect my kids from online problems as they get older.
Week 5
Wow... "Free Speech" and "Free Speech: The Dark Side of the Web" made my head spin. I'm just glad I'm JUST a web designer and not a judge who has to make decisions on free speech issues! The intricacy, detail, depth and complexity of the entire free speech issue is stunning and reading through these two sections reinforced my opinion of two things; the brilliance of our founding fathers in drafting our Constitution and the incalculable worth of our right to speak our minds. This weeks readings were outstanding from the standpoint of personal enrichment and knowledge. The quote "but I know it when I see it" from Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart really summed up my overall experience regarding the readings. As I mentioned earlier, I'm just glad I can get away with saying that and not having to decide National policy!
Week 6
Once again, this class has provided me with some solid information that I can begin to use right away. As a business owner, I utilize contracts in most of my projects and I often receive feedback from my clients regarding them. I always take in this feedback and look for ways that I can streamline my contracts while still retaining the essential information needed to protect my clients and myself. The "Contacts" section gave me some excellent information on the general sections which should be included in a design contract as well as some nice definitions on the various and differences between Shrink-Wrap, Click-Wrap and Browse-Wrap Agreements.
"Issues On The Horizon" was a great close to the text. I have always included basic ADA requirements such as Alt-Text in my site designs but I would find it an interesting project to design a fully ADA compliant website. Also, I have a couple of long-term projects that I am working on that include Podcasts and am finding that medium to be very satisfying. I have always enjoyed Podcasts as they bring a heightened sense of familiarity between the caster and listener and I am just beginning my work with RSS feeds and installing them on sites to bring feeds to my clients.
Overall this has been a great class; plenty of solid useful details, a wealth of specific definitions and quite a lot to think about.
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