I am not a lawyer. Just sayin'.

I am not a lawyer. Just sayin'.

Last April I was on a panel about internet harassment at an American Bar Association conference. The panel included Mary Ann Franks of the Cyber Cilvil Rights Innitiative and other lawyers that focus on policies and legal responses. I was the only non-lawyer so it was kind of intimidating but everyone was super awesome.

I spoke mostly about real threats vs. feeling threatened and how feeling threatened matters in the context of an extended harassment campaign. I had other topics but that one seemed to resonate most with the audience. I read graphicly violent private messages that I received at reddit aloud and compared them to real threats that others had received, like Anita Sarkheesian. I was really shocked by how many people thanked me for reading the message because they just didn't know what internet harassment might really look and how disturbing it could be even if it wasn't an outright threat to safety. I hadn't thought about how abstract and detached things can be when you are studying them in acedemia rather than experiening them or even just knowing someone who is.

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I was really happy to come out of it feeling like I had at least contributed one thing that connected with them and possibly helped them understand more even if it wasn't coming from a legal standpoint. Overall it was a great experience.

Last night I received an email from the organizer of that panel asking me to participate in a webinar for the ABA going over the same material for a new audience. It's pretty exciting to be in the position to help people who are not necessarily from the internet, like some of us, but who will be assisting people with internet related legal issues.

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The whole idea of it is pretty strange and surreal, really. This is not something I ever would have expected and it feels good to not just be thought of for the panel but then to be invited back for another presentation.

In the end though, if I were going to be a lawyer, I would definitely be a pro bird's rights lawyer. These are the real issues.

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