Jahanshah Javid

Life Sucks, so we Shouldn't

Hey JJ the guy is asking nicely, why not do it? In my life I've seen more than my share and been around the block couple of times and then some. I've learnt two things,  and those are "what goes around, comes around" and "Karma is a bitch".

Ta tavani Deli be dast avar ke....

Take Responsibility

Derakhshandeh, you are so right. There are many articles I have written that I wish I hadn't. I wish they would disappear forever. They were written when I was young and immature. They are embarrassing. But there they are, in books, in newspaper archives in Iran and elsewhere. I wrote them, therefore I own them, and now I want them thrown away, deleted, burned.

Wrong!

Once you are published, you are published forever, for good. No newspaper, magazine, TV or radio station is going to even consider your request to delete an old article or interview or photo.

Imagine, writing to TIME magazine: "Dear Publisher, in your April 12, 1987 issue, I wrote a really dumb article supporting Ronald Reagan. I have long changed my mind about President Reagan and I no longer wish to have that article in your archives. Please delete permanently, or I'll sue you!"

Or, "Dear NY Times Publisher, I hate that photograph you published of me while I was walking in Central Park. Remove at once!"

Or, "Dear Art World Publisher, in March 2001, you published several paintings of mine which I submitted when I was an art student. I am currently a professional painter and my old work is a source of embarrassment. Please remove them from your archives."

Or, "Dear Library of Congress, I am the author of JESUS IS THE BEST. I am now a Muslim. I do not want to be associated with that book. Please destroy ASAP. Thank you!"

Or, "Dear JJ! I am going to Iran to sell land inherited from my father. If the authorities find my articles in iranian.com, I will be in major trouble. Please delete them. I love you!"

I love you too, but it's just NOT going to happen. I don't care who you are: a friend, relative, lover, ayatollah, god ... I am not going to remove or alter anything published in iranian.com.

These are basic rules in publishing and journalism. Once you submit something for publication and it gets published, it's going to remain published forever. Take responsibility for YOUR decision to write and get published.

As for videos on YouTube: Anything that is there (or anywhere) for public viewing is fair game. EVERYTHING, unless you keep it private. It is not the fault of the viewer that the video was not supposed to be on YouTube.

If you have doubts, go to court and tell a judge that a video of yours was wrongly posted on YouTube without your knowledge and subsequently it was linked on iranian.com and other sites. Ask to be compensated for "damages". You won't get anywhere. When something becomes public and someone publishes it, the law protects the publisher.

TheMRs, The mere fact that

TheMRs,

The mere fact that somone would post his clip onto youtube, necessarily means that this person is so more than willing to share it with the rest of the world , otherwise Why not just keeping it on their personal files? People have different motives for wanting to do so, but that is the bottomline.
Usually people do this to get noticed and they want to be discussed and talked about, It satisfies their need to get attention. Heck, sometimes they even sign big record contracts and deals for spreading Some BS viral music videos. That was in today's headlines.
One has to ponder on the issue of privacy and whether it would be violated or not, before making such a decison. You can't blame people later on. After all there is always the option of sharing it withe people you know and trust.
Your analogy at the end just does not make sense to me. Youtube has been created on the premise of public sharing their mishaps and memorable events in their lives with each other.

What does JJ have to do with this?

If a company videotaped you and posted it to youtube without consent, then you’re screwed, get a lawyer. Unfortunately, we can’t even fart anymore; some jerk with a cell phone might post it to youtube for your dad to watch.  

Media people are worse than lawyers. Their business needs motivates them to use “journalism” as an excuse for everything. Present company excluded! JJ broadcasts to a general Iranian public and he’s presumably secure in his professional beliefs. He has to discuss issues we may not feel comfortable talking about. It’s a balancing act between deciding what the public needs to know and individual rights to privacy and safety.

 If the link isn’t harmful, the subject is bothered by mean comments or doesn’t like Iranian.com, that’s not a good enough excuse for censoring it. Life sucks. Get in line pal.  

If the video will potentially harm someone (e.g. does it out someone in the closet? is it an abusive situation? could it turn someone into a political prisoner?)  I would remove it from my site. I don’t believe anything available on youtube is fair game. JJ, what kind of an immature thing is that to say? It's like saying, if it grows on a tree, I'll eat it!!

It seems to me, and I'm rarely wrong, this dude's problem is with the company who posted it. After all, what is he going to do go after everyone who saw the link and emailed it to a friend???

No, this is less about journalism

and more about responsibility.  And opinions come in all shapes and sizes... everyone is entitled to theirs.  It's also a matter of opinion as to how much knowledge one should have about the subject before they blast off as well.  It's been proven that many people speak out about things they are uninformed about.  Onlooker is just as entitled to speak out as anyone else.

This is a subject that will never be resolved to everyone's satisfaction.  Nor should it be.  That in itself is the nature of iranian.com.  It's a forum, nothing more, nothing less.  JJ IS the lord and master and that's the way it should be.  His convictions, whether you agree or disagree, are absolute.  In the larger scheme of things, would you have it any other way?  With the exception of a few incidents, what complaints does anyone really have? 

Talk about stepping out of the box...lol.  Look around you, in your work place, your social circle and your home.  Where else can you go and get instant gratification?  No, I think we all (and I definitely include myself) expect JJ to be perfect because we value IC so much. 

He's right... and sometimes we all need a little reminder of exactly what this is... an opportunity to share with each other and BE exposed to other opinions.  We're not SUPPOSED to always agree.

Onlooker...

This, is a matter of "Journalism". You, either don't know nothing about journalism, or have a very naive idea about it. Weather you want to withdraw with this site or not, it's your own choice, but first, try to understand the notion of a subject before launching your opinion in this way.

One day it will be JJ's turn.

One day it will be JJ's turn. One day he will either be sued he will want someone to do something similar for him. It is always like this. As we say in Farsi and have seen it over and over again; mountains do not reach other but people do!

He doesn't listen to any of us, he needs the force of law to make him listen. If you have 3 people to a claim you can have a "class action law suit" and I'm sure more than 3 people have grievances here!

This is quite

This is quite amusing....watching a small handful of cold human beings banter back and forth about such a small issue compared what's happening in the world.
Read the email the person sent. They did not post that video online to 'show off to the world.' It was posted by a third party without their knowledge and then brought to this site.
The publisher of this site is not a real human being...someone asked for something so simple...and you chose to inflict pain.
Shame on you! You know life doesn't work like this. What goes around comes around. When you do good, good comes to you. When you do bad to people, well, time will show you.
To the person who wrote the letter-- I am sorry you have to deal with people like this. I used to frequent this website quite a bit but now that I see how desperate and stupid they are I am signing off for good.

nothing is sacred but iranian.com?

I believe that it is just arrogant to be so adamant and unbending about rules. I would take it off if the guy wanted it. Even if it was just becuase he didn't want his mom to see it.  I myslef have on one occasion wanted an article removed and was told that Iranian.com is like 'the bible.' remember Jahanshah?  So in the end iranian.com IS sacred which defies your very slogan!

jj joon, I love you, but here I think you are being sophomoric and a tad unkind. Not the real you. Chill out, come off you high horse and make the dude happy.

Not a black & white concept

JJ jan, life is not all black and white. There are nuances too. Some friends rightfully said already, even though that video shouldn't be in youtube in the first place, you could have empathy for the guy and his request and remove it from the site.

It all depends on what was its content. We don't know the subject and its degree of importance. But true, sometimes things are posted here that they better not !

Remember that video with the title "K$$s khol" ? showing a simple Iranian guide in Isphahan ? It was posted first by those Ukrainian couple who hired him as a guide. They had posted his video on youtube to make a joke of him, because they didn't care about hime. The didn't feel any sympathy for the guy nor respect for him (or maybe for Iranian in general)......

But it seemed to me very offensive, to post the same video here. The fact that someone did a bad thing in the first place, does not imply that we have to/can repeat their action. 

In this particular case, I think, you are not to blame for posting that video, but you might remove it from the site, after that person request is verified to be valid......and this is a personal option, regarding your own sense of responsibility and integrity both in the professional and human frame.

Friendsly,

No wonder people hate lawyers

JJ, I'm with you all the way on these issues, the only thing I don't like is that we don't know who the blogger is, what video clip we are taking about, and why can't you (iranian.com) come up with a set of rules, so there won't be any misunderstandings. Is it because you (iranian.com) don't want to hang yourself with your own words? These issues, like this blog, TheMrs's blog called "JJ", and your own blog called "Leaving comments for yourself are you?" are popping up on weekly basis now, so why not have a rule book?

Reply to question about Derakhshan

Darius, I have heard from a number of sources that he was indeed arrested and that he confessed to being a spy for Israel within a few hours of his arrest. As we all know, espionage for Israel is a capital offense in Iran. From what I understand he was not a spy for Israel and had no significant connections within the government of that country but under torture people will often confess to anything. In fact, other than a few articles about him that appeared in the Jeruslaem Post most people I know in Israel have never heard of him. If it is a hoax it is in an elaborate one and in poor taste in my opinion. My better judgement tells me that unfortunately it is not a hoax.

JJ jan,

I would leave the benefit of doubt to the guy. His story has some chances to be true and he can effectively be hacked. As your arguments are right, I also agree that why should you remove a link visible to the whole planet even Mahmood in Iran?

So, what would happen if he makes his stuff private, would the link be still visible on iranian.com? In this case, I join my voice to compatritos who also asked the removel of the video.

Disclosure

Global Voyeurism, if your assessment of the veracity of a claim is contingent upon disclosure of the identity of parties to a lawsuit, then it would obviously be a pointless endeavor to explain to you the significance of a confidentiality clause that appears in nearly every settlement agreement involving a public figure. But don't take my word for it. You can find plenty of cases where parties have been sued successfully for misappropriation of a person's identity as well as copyright infringement. Moreover, there is no requirement under federal law that the person even file a registration with the Library of Congress for copyright protections to exist. Incidentally, are you an attorney or just someone who thinks he is? :)

JJ. "Just words"?

you are being very naughty highlighting this thing.

Admit it. You just don't like the guy.;)

Any One Heard of Derakhshan The "GodBlogger" Lately ?

Would be interesting to hear what he thinks ?

Has Human Rights Watch confirmed news regarding his eventual Arrest ?

Red Alert!

Iran4Ever, call the FBI immediately! Tell them terrorists are roaming free on iranian.com. Tell them they are going to assassinate you and your entire family with WORDS!

جهانشاه

من فكر ميكنم كه ميدانم كه اين شخضي كه شما راجع بشان صحبت ميكنيد كيست٠ اگر اشتباه نكنم، چند هفته قبل، مقاله اي بود در مورد يك ايراني كه مبلغي هنگفت براي يك كاري خرج كرده بود٠ من اسم اين شخص را بيان نمي كنم براي حفاظت ايشان٠ ولي يادم هست كه خيلي ها از ايشان انتقاد كرده بودند، و ميكفتند كه اين پول بايد در موارد دِگر، مثل خيرِيه، خرج شود كه به خيليها مستضعف كمك مي كند، و نه فقط در مورد حول و حوس ايشان٠ در هر صورت، در آخر و نهايه، تصميم بايد كه تصميم شما باشد، ولي با نظر كمك و رحمت به ايشان نگاه كنيد٠

Moosh mooshi bloggers

American Wife, don't get me started about whining bloggers. First of all, who has ever been in any anyway "endangered" because they blogged? How do you define danger or a threat?

Someone beats you up or pulls a gun on you. That's not cool. You're going to jail for that. But receiving rude emails or comments? It comes with the territory.

A blogger doesn't like the reaction she got for a blog she wrote? DON'T BLOG! You are receiving threatening emails? Call the police! Block their email.

If you put your views out there, especially views that assault and belittle and accuse others of being mercenaries, fascists, Jihadists, zionists, neo-cons and the like, what do you expect? Of course you're going to get a reaction that is just as loud and aggressive.

When you make a public stand, there will be a public reaction. Be ready for it and stand up to your beliefs. Or be quite and stop making your views public.

We do everything we can to stop comments that are over the top and aggressive and to promote an atmosphere that is generally civil. But to expect people to react to your views only in a favorable way is beyond reason.

"Why are people calling me names? All I did was call them dirt bags! Boo hoo hoo!"

Come on... quit being a baby. Democracy and free expression is not just for you and your gang. It's for everybody ESPECIALLY your opponents.

Mr JJ you still haven't removed my blog

I had asked in a very professional manner to either remove the blog or allow me to delete the blog.

You did not respond.

So you are lying:

"Should I also be nice and remove an article someone wrote because it can be searched on Google and his next potential employer may find it and not hire him? Yeah. Ok. I'll be nice. I don't want people to be out of work!

Should I remove a photograph of a wedding sent by the groom who is now divorced and wants to forget all about it? OK. I don't want to add to his sadness. I'll be nice. I'll remove it.

Should I remove a political commentary because the author has decided to go to Iran and feels that the article could get him into trouble? Ok. I shouldn't make life difficult for people, especially good friends. I'll remove it."

So once again I am asking to remove that blog or allow me to delete that blog.

By the way I am not going to Iran and is not because of employment.

It is because of your website that attracts IRI supporters and they like to make threats and call people names; therefore; I don't want to be part of your web site that attracts terrorists.

If all of this is about a video that was on Youtube,

then I'm back in line with JJ.  There would be no expectation of privacy.  Perhaps they just don't want it online anymore.  So what, that's their problem.  In trying to reply to both issues, I guess it's just gotten all confused... at least to me it has.  So ix nay on the video deal.  But what about the blogger?  Isn't there some responsibility to respond to HIS issue.  What a muddle...:-)

Public

DW Duke and Dr Abbassi, the video in question is posted on YouTube. It is public. Everyone can see it. What you see in iranian.com is what exists on YouTube.

Select videos that are on YouTube are linked on iranian.com every day. No one's privacy has been invaded. It's already out there and there's nothing private about it.

Again, the video in question does not endanger anyone's life or property and the content is not shameful or ugly in any way. No one's copyright has been infringed -- not by iranian.com at least.

If it's not supposed to be on YouTube, remove it, or make it private. Close your window, draw the curtains. Stop parading in front of the world and blaming others for watching.

JJ Jaan;

I would remove the post and leave the person off the hook, however you are right in your argument that it should not be there in the first place.

Mr JJ

That is what he wrote you: ""It seems like someone posted [my] clips ... on your website."" It is self explanatory.
Without his consent, somebody posted his clips in You tube and someone else posted it in your site, just remove it and let the poor guy breath.

Is that allowed?

Look at the latest picture of DanielleLeigh in Iranian Personals. Next time I want to post a video clip of my two balls partially exposed. Is that allowed?

Public Domain

JJ, you might be completely justified in your decision not to remove the video. I can't really tell because I don't have enough information about the video such as how it got onto the internet, who owns it, whether the person is a public figure etc. If the video was willingly placed on the internet by the person who now wants it removed the question is why does the person now want it removed.

From what I have seen you have done a very good job in monitoring this forum and I have no reason to question your judgement now though it might not be a bad idea to consult an attorney or two if there is any doubt. You started this thread apparently because there is some issue you would like to address or perhaps you would like the opinion of forum members on this issue. If there is no danger to the person who wants it removed and it was intentionally placed in the public domain by this person, there would probably not be a need to remove it. On the other hand, if keeping it up would cause unnecessary embarrassment to someone who made a bad judgement, and there is nothing to be gained by keeping it up, I would probably remove it. We have all done or said something we later regret. It isn't a bad idea to give someone a break now and then but that is a judgement call for you. :)

To Dw Duke, and JJ

DW Duke, please give reference for this case you speak of that you represented several years ago, otherwise what you’re saying is bogus.

JJ, I am with you, if you ever start deleting contents from archives I want everything in my archive deleted, I'll contact you later with my registered usernames. I know you are mockingly saying it, but I'm saying if it's decided that's the way to go I want everything deleted that I ever posted, articles, blogs, pictures... I know you have made exceptions and have allowed people to delete against your will, so if you're ever going to do it per policy, I want everything gone as I never existed. I want to vanish in thin air, so does Hajiagha.

It's right in front of your eyes

It all comes down to this: If something is public, if it's there for the whole world to see, people will watch. Websites will link to it.

Now if it's a matter of life or death, if there's a threat to a child, if the video seriously compromises a random individual's privacy, there would be reason to not link it. But in this case we are dealing with none of these circumstances.

Listen, I know I'm a prick. But that's beside the point. Have I done something wrong? Have I invaded someone's privacy? I'm just watching alongside the rest of the world.

Should I have been nice and just accepted her request and removed the video out of kindness. Yes, that would have been the decent thing to do.

Should I also be nice and remove an article someone wrote because it can be searched on google and his next potential employer may find it and not hire him? Yeah. Ok. I'll be nice. I don't want people to be out of work!

Should I remove a photograph of a wedding sent by the groom who is now divorced and wants to forget all about it? Ok. I don't want to add to his sadness. I'll be nice. I'll remove it.

Should I remove a political commentary because the author has decided to go to Iran and feels that the article could get him into trouble? Ok. I shouldn't make life difficult for people, especially good friends. I'll remove it.

There are so many other examples like this.

iranian.com is a magazine, newspaper, blog, community archive, forum, and other stuff all wrapped together. Like any medium, like any library, it has a responsibility to permanently preserve what has been published -- material that has either been submitted by the person who wrote or created it, or is already in the public domain.

Imagine a library where certain books are removed, pages missing, names crossed out, parts of images cut out, music deleted, films chopped up, forever ... I'm not going there.

I personally don't think that anything

Party Girl has posted has been terribly offensive. Some DO invite critical comments that are hurtful.  But again, those are videos that have been posted by the participant.  I think they are pretty much fair game.  I'm disturbed by this particular incident where a very specific blogger requested his video (or blog) be deleted.  At some point it becomes a matter of common decency and concern for an active blogger.  This IS a community, of and for Iranians for the most part.  If you don't feel some sense of safety, doesn't it cheapen the site somewhat?  Who's next?  Or what's next?  And who gets to decide?  I don't believe in alot of regulations per se but this thing... this one just bothers me.

Copyright Infringement

I don't know what video you are talking about JJ but suffice it to say there are circumstances where a video, or other publication, can wind up on the internet and there is copyright infringement. In some cases there can also be libel and defamation of character. Additionally, if a video was recorded without a person's permission there can be privacy violations. Under certain circumstances there can be patent and trademark infringenment as well. Several years ago I represented a victim of an unauthorized use of her image on the internet. In the settlement on the eve of trial we were paid seven million dollars. The person who posted her information on the intenet was convinced that he was fully entitled to do so because the video had appeared in a public forum on the internet on other sites. He was wrong. :)