I want the world to be a nicer place. Most of us do.
Of course, you can't make an omelette without breaking some eggs, and sometimes, I have to make some people desperately unhappy in my drive toward a happier world.
LIke antivaxers and their supporters.
They get rather annoyed with me and, of course, with all the other part-time internet superheroes that oppose their nonsense. They act as though we're making their lives unpleasant.
Yep, we are.
Frankly, if I can help in some small way to prevent more deaths, more illnesses, more economic impact and more general misery from vaccine-preventable diseases, then a little misery for an antivaxer is a small price to pay. It would in fact be unethical not to play the card.
Now, it may seem, from this, that I'm some kind of strict utilitiarian, willing to do anything if it means the sum total of happiness rises. That, of course, would be a caricature and a strawman. There are lengths to which I would definitely not go.
I would not commit an illegal act in order to stop an antivaxer. I would not assault, injure, kill, rob, defraud or otherwise place myself into an ethically undesirable situation. Neither will I lie.
Many antivaxers, however, don't feel the ethical pull. They are willing to lie, cheat, defraud and more, in pursuit of their agenda, or in pursuit of financial gain in connection with their agenda.
For instance, Meryl Dorey, whose illegal pursuit of copyright claims on material whose copyright does not subsist in her or her organisation is now legendary. Not content with being villified for selling other people's material, Dorey has pursued an aggressive agenda of frivolous copyright claims against #StopAVN, including claiming copyright over Commonwealth government documents, news reports and photographs from the ABC, nonse of which she has rights to.
A number of content providers have caved, notably Facebook, whose lack of spine is startling.
However.
Stand up, Scribd. Scribd, uniquely so far among service providers, has had the balls to follow through on copyright obligations, and has reinstated content removed as a result of frivolous copyright claims by one Meryl Dorey of Bangalow, NSW. Good for them.
And so the scales tip back toward the light side, and away from Dorey's cesspool of lies and deceit. Scribd, you deserve a standing round of applause.
Of course, this does not mean anyone can relax. Until Dorey is powerless to inflict harm, none of us can sit back. But it's nice to know that there are content hosts out there who meet their responsiblities.
Thank you.