Nitpicking; legalities

From: David Dunham <dunham_at_pensee.com>
Date: Tue, 10 Dec 1996 17:11:44 -0800


Peter Metcalfe wrote

> A list of available material that has been
> published since then can be found at:

The correct URL is <http://www.pensee.com/dunham/glorantha/products.html>

> For the future, there is Bob's statement

Rob Heinsoo.

Simon Phipp wondered

> Is there any screening applied to material sent to the Digest? If so,
> how did this get through? If not, then why not?

Screening is a lot of work, and I wouldn't wish that on anyone. The Digest has been remarkably spam-free, so I wouldn't worry about it.

David Cheng wrote

> never before has the statement
> "innocent until proven guilty" resonated so forcefully in my thoughts.

Hear hear! An amazingly important part of American law, oft ignored of late (but that's a rant not relevant to the Digest).

And probably not a part of Gloranthan law. The Chinese (at least in Judge Dee stories) used torture on suspects, to extract confessions; Kralorelans undoubtedly do the same. I suspect in Dara Happa (if not the Lunar Empire at large), if the authorities accuse someone, they're assumed to have a very good reason, and the burden of proof is on the defendant. The Orlanthi system seems not to favor either side.

In many cultures law is of the "self-help" variety -- you take action to remedy a wrong against yourself or your kin. I suspect only the "Civilized" (in RQ3 terms) governments try to reserve this right. Such a system is little concerned with standards of proof -- if a Praxian is wronged, his kin will go thrash the accused.

I know various Gloranthan legal systems have been discussed privately, but I don't think ever posted to the Digest. Hopefully someone who knows more can enlighten me.

David Dunham <mailto:dunham_at_pensee.com> Glorantha/RQ page: <http://www.pensee.com/dunham/glorantha.html> Imagination is more important than knowledge. -- Albert Einstein


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