CanPol: May(?) 2011 Election. Vote today!

[Asher]

Yes. Twitter user @canpolfun posted results. Fine them!

[notyoueither]

They may make an attempt to hold the carrier responsible, ie Twitter. That could get interesting.

[notyoueither]

The CBC is reporting rumours of a CROP poll showing the NDP ahead of the Bloq in Quebec. The poll is due to be released tomorrow.

@Wezil. Are you prepared to vote for PM Jack Layton?

[Asher]

They may make an attempt to hold the carrier responsible, ie Twitter. That could get interesting.

Interesting in that it'd illustrate how retarded the government is only.

[notyoueither]

I'm not sure. EC is asking for a short delay in reporting results between East and West coasts. It isn't the Great Wall, and it is not outrageous to ask for or require the cooperation of large organizations with the ability to cooperate.

BTW, EC is pretty much independent of the government.

[Asher]

I'm referring to the concept of holding Twitter liable for the comments of others. Or even the concept of regulating what people say on the internet.

Both are immensely retarded concepts.

[Asher]

Edit: Wrong thread

[notyoueither]

I'm referring to the concept of holding Twitter liable for the comments of others. Or even the concept of regulating what people say on the internet.

Both are immensely retarded concepts.

So am I, and no it's not, within reason.

[Asher]

It doesn't matter what the reason is if it's impossible.

[notyoueither]

It's not impossible.

[Asher]

It is quite impossible, both technically and legally for many reasons.

Twitter does not operate in Canada and explicitly does not censor its streams. Canadians connect to the Twitter servers in America to download their streams. There's no legal mechanism for Canada to force foreign companies to censor their content in Canada.

There's no technical ability for Twitter to actively censor reports coming from the elections.

It's impossible to guarantee and identify who posted what on the internet, as the RIAA has found out. For how hard it is in the US, it's 100x harder in Canada.

[notyoueither]

Twitter could shut down its servers for a half hour.

It would be ridiculous, but not impossible.

[Asher]

Twitter could shut down its servers for a half hour.

It would be ridiculous, but not impossible.

Twitter could not shut down its server for half an hour. It is not a Canadian service.

The government would have to go the route of Egypt and try to block Twitter from being accessible in Canada. But that would be impossible to do in Canada, given how integrated our networks are with the US.

[notyoueither]

They could still do it. Twitter, that is. The fact is they will not, but they could.

Would someone prosecute them for removing service for 30 minutes?

At any rate, ISPs could filter Twitter and Facebook for a limited period in regions with later closing times, could they not?

At another any rate, the reasonable solution to the problem would be to shut the polls at the same moment from coast to coast. People in the East would need some allowance for earlier closing. Something like a national stat holiday. Or elections on Sundays.

[Asher]

They could still do it. Twitter, that is. The fact is they will not, but they could.

Oh, for christ sake. Why do I bother?