Re: [PLUG] Help with Lawsuit

[Mental Patient <mental@neverlight.com>]

On Thu, 2003-05-01 at 09:23, Edmund Goppelt wrote:
> I'd like to ask for this list's help explaining to a Philly judge that
> the data for City's property tax web site is ultimately stored on a
> hard disk somewhere.
> 
> The City is refusing to provide two data fields on the grounds that
> these fields are not stored on computer disk and therefore cannot be
> provided as an ascii text file. The lawyer representing the City wants
> me to download the fields for the City's 480,000 residences
> individually from their web site:
> 
> http://brtweb.phila.gov
> 
> To me it seems obvious that the data from the City's web site must
> reside on a hard disk somewhere, but I'm afraid that the Judge, who
> knows little about computers, just might buy into this claim.  I'd
> like to present the Judge with a packet of letters from computer
> professionals on this question.
> 
> If you believe in open records, I'd like to ask you to write a "to
> whom it may concern" letter expressing your professional opinion about
> whether the City's web site, and the data backing it, are stored on
> hard disk.  My snail mail and contact info are here:
> 
> http://www.hallwatch.org/contact
> 
> Emails are fine, if that's easier, but I suspect a real letter on
> letterhead will carry more weight with the Judge.
> 
> The City's web site is an ASP front end to a SQL database.  I know
> this for because I have a copy of the contract to build the web site:

I believe in open records, but I dont believe that makes the city your
personal slave. If the records are available to the public, then use the
public interface. To me, the city spending money to get you the data in
the format that _you_ need/want doesn't make sense. Why not just scrape
the website? It'd take less time than going to court to try to convince
a judge that you have the right to demand special treatment. Unless what
you're asking for is reusable by more than just you, it seems selfish
for you to ask the city tax payers to foot the bill for a data
extract....

Then again, I'm probably completely missing the point. 


-- 
Mental (Mental@NeverLight.com)

"Shouting at people who, for one reason or another, cannot hear you 
is mentally-ill behavior -- or evidence of idiots in command."

--George Smith, a virus researcher and columnist for SecurityFocus. 

CARPE NOCTEM, QUAM MINIMUM CREDULA POSTERO.

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