... buttons, Charlie. Neither Learned Hand nor anyone else has ever said that:

>> you can't yell fire in a crowded theater and claim free speech.

The true quote is that you can't falsely yell "fire" in a crowded theater and then claim that your speech is protected by the first amendment. This is probably the single most frequently misquoted first amendment statement ever made.

Another minor point: Freedom of speech is something different than freedom of the press and the two are not necessarily the same. With respect to eBay, there is no freedom of the press issue because it is not a news media provider.

One significant point: Both freedom of speech and freedom of the press prohibit the government from enacting laws which will proscribe those freedoms. Neither constitutional protection immunizes anyone from liability for actual harm which results from abuse of those freedoms in the form of defamatory statements. Nor do they protect anyone from the consequences of other false statements (i.e., the commission of fraud).

I have some other things to say about eBay's feedback system, but don't have time at the moment. Maybe tomorrow.

----- jim o\-S