[Chyld]

French teachers get tough with bloggers
March 25, 2005

FRENCH schoolchildren are being expelled, suspended and threatened with prosecution for insulting teachers and classmates on their internet blogs.

Head teachers at secondary schools are concerned at the spread of personal web logs and say that action is necessary to stop an insidious attack on their institutions.

An estimated three million French children write online diaries and 6,000 new ones are created every day. The language, much of it similar to text messages, is barely comprehensible to adults. The themes, however, are familiar: heartache, pop idols, bad jokes, swear words and insults. Where once these messages were scribbled in schoolbooks or spoken in the playground, they are now available for public consumption on the web. Teachers say that many of them fall foul of libel laws, which carry a maximum penalty of one year in jail and a €45,000 (£31,000) fine.

No children have been brought to trial yet, but four face legal action for defamation or for infringing the right to privacy by publishing unauthorised photographs on the web. Dozens have been disciplined by their colleges and lycées. At least eight pupils have been expelled this year after staff discovered what had been written about them.

http://www.timesonli...1540621,00.html

I've said all I want to say about this on my website's update for the day. Suffice to say, its nice to see the French are stamping down on the really importnet problems with society, as opposed to stupid things like just about anything else in the Universe.

[Emu]

People often forget that blogs that are on the internet are in the public domain, and that anyone that can find them can read them. If the students didn't want there to be a possibility of their teachers reading their blogs, they should have kept them anonymous, or made them only accessible to their friends or something.

But on the other hand, if the teachers don't like what their adolescent students' blogs have to say, then they don't have to read it. There are plenty of other things to read on the internet. It is saddening to imagine teachers who have nothing better to do than seek out and read their students' blogs and get upset about it. A lawsuit is quite a bit drastic.

[barend]

if you insult your teacher publicly... you should get screwed for it... that's fair enough...

prosectution is a bit far...

testing nukes in the pacific is right out!

oops... am i still angry about that..? appears so!

[SimeSublime]

Meyh, that was all the way over the other side of the country

[J m HofMarN]

That's fucked up. I would hope the French had more respect for free speech. If the teachers are assholes they need insulting. And it is the student's diary, a record of their day for their friends. It's not quite the same thing as climbing the school dressed as Captain America and holding a banner saying "Mr. D'arnet Sucks".

[Dr Lecter]

Well, I think its abit immature to start a blog and start slagging people off. Especially people that are just doing their job, and going to school. If they are really that bad I don't think the internet is the right place to post it.

[J m HofMarN]

So you were homeschooled eh?

[SimeSublime]

I once wrote various obscenities on the primary school fort about my year 3 teacher. I don't know how they found out who did it, but we spent the rest of semester sandpapering it off. That sucked.

[Dr Lecter]

I just have respect for teachers.

[J m HofMarN]

Sime- I once organized a quasi revolutionary organization to vandalise the school, overthrow the student government, oust the principal, publish an underground newspaper and fuck with teachers who pissed us off.

[Slade]

Fun stuff.

When I blogged, it was to revoke God's deity liscence due to impersonating Jerry Garcia, or review video games, or make either cliche or uber original web comics. I did write about a few of my teachers, but I kept it obscure enough that you'd only know who I was talking about if you went to my school and read my site (which was one of my friends, and that's it).

Edit: That's a gross violation of freedom of speech and an absurd reaction to children. "Let's stick them in jail and sue them for thousands of dollars! " Get real, Frenchies. The Teddiz should have killed them when they had the chance. Name that reference and get a prize (my respect!)

This post has been edited by Slade: 27 March 2005 - 06:30 AM

[jariten]

so blogging is an easy, cheap and enjoyable way of taking a bit of the power back from whoevers in charge. I loved that part about the adults being unable to understand the slang used in the blogs. They're in the frustrating position of not only being unable to control the flow of information, they're also unable to even understand it. Keep it up, I say.

[SimeSublime]

Fun stuff.


Edit: That's a gross violation of freedom of speech and an absurd reaction to children. "Let's stick them in jail and sue them for thousands of dollars! " Get real, Frenchies. The Teddiz should have killed them when they had the chance. Name that reference and get a prize (my respect!)

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

That would be Conker's Bad Fur Day. With the Teddies representing the Nazi's on D-Day, and then the Teddies vs Frenchies multiplayer game. That game is awesome.

[Slade]

Sime, you are my hero, this is just the icing on the cake. May I swear allegience to thee, oh green knight?

[SimeSublime]

Just continue what you're doing, and all will be well.