Posted by Mary_Bowers on October 20, 2004, at 23:56:08
In reply to Re: Munchausen's Syndrome, posted by Toph on October 20, 2004, at 16:27:09
> I am more puzzled by Matt's assertion of Munchausen's, as if people fake mental illness to participate here. As far as I know, you don't have to have a psychiatric diagnosis to babble, just an interest.
>No, but careful study might find evidence that a dx has some currency toward community standing in this forum. This post ( http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/admin/20041012/msgs/403442.html ) might be cited as an example. Our analysis, which doesn't require an IRB's review because it is protected as free speech, has found some evidence that people who present complaining of symptoms are more readily accepted at forums such as this than those who present primarily as one offering support or education, or who suggest they recovered from a previously dx'ed disorder.
In response to the original query, investigation of an existing opus does not meet the same requirements for institutional review as investigations in which a researcher employed by a federally funded institution creates and controls a situation for the purpose of conducting research into human behavior. State laws, such as those of Illinois, introduce additional controls, but the first amendment right to free speech always weighs against efforts to control critical review of published works or spoken words. Literature reviews and other non-invasive surveys of public behavior do not always require approval of an IRB. If a research project is affiliated with an institution that receives federal funds, it is more likely an instrument such as a poll would be required to have IRB approval. If CNN, however, chooses to do a 30-minute special in which PBabble messages are reviewed under fair use principles of copyright law, there would be little Robert Hsiung could do to protect his clients. The same goes for any publication that might choose to prepare an in-depth report about this forum.
They can talk, write or broadcast images about the forum all they like, as long as their comments are not libelous. They can reproduce some content of this site in keeping with fair use principles, which take into account the educational nature of the intended use, the extent to which the work is excerpted and how excerpting might effect marketability of the copyrighted opus. In that regard, CNN can use material from this site more freely than can Robert Hsiung, because Hsiung is a researcher whereas CNN would be reporting about interaction among people who posted here knowing that they have no reasonable expectation of privacy beyond the anonymity afforded by technical measures. If you were sitting in your living room, or in an AA meeting, or if you posted to a closed e-mail list, it would be a different matter, because then you would have a reasonable expectation of privacy, which a publisher would violate by revealing your private correspondence (unless of course you are a public figure, whose private correspondence might be a matter of public interest).
poster:Mary_Bowers
thread:404567
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/admin/20041012/msgs/405349.html