The court therefore finds relevant, if not controlling, the authority regarding private
electronic bulletin board services ('BBS').").
Blakey's attorney, Linda Kenney, may now take depositions, but before a trial can take place, a state trial judge in Essex County must determine whether the remarks on the
electronic bulletin board were severe enough to be considered harassment.
Impeachment with a prior inconsistent statement is normally performed with a deposition or other written statement; however, nothing in the Florida Evidence Code requires "the witness's prior inconsistent statement to be reduced to writing in order to impeach the witness ...."(16) That is, the "prior inconsistent statement may be oral and unsworn ...."(17) Thus, it is possible arguably to impeach a witness with a statement taken from an
electronic bulletin board. No law was found that addresses the question of whether a statement made on an
electronic bulletin board could be used for impeachment; however, in the absence of such law, the economist should probably take the position that such a statement may be so used.
In addition to on-line commercial databases, there are also
electronic bulletin boards. The main difference between a commercial database and an
electronic bulletin board is that users can interact with
electronic bulletin boards; they can ask questions and get answers, leave messages, have conversations with other users.
Earlier this year, a group of people at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) established an
electronic bulletin board, 'H-Urban', to provide, as they say, "a forum for scholars of urban history".
TRAVELERS' ALERT...An
electronic bulletin board run by the U.S.
But PMS goes a step further by linking all its divisions via modem and
electronic bulletin board, enabling each to dip easily into a vast, standardized database of colorant information.
Subscriptions include unlimited access to the special State Link section of VMP Forms Link, an
electronic bulletin board service provided by VMP Mortgage Forms.
Earlier this year, the association also received a $5,500 state grant from the Alaska Department of Commerce and Economic Development to purchase equipment for the
electronic bulletin board.
Help is also available nationwide through CompuServe, GEnie, Prodigy and ChipSoft's own
electronic bulletin board. The software is designed for use on IBM PCs and compatibles, requires 512K RAM and DOS 2.0 or higher.
"The number one issue today," says Jim Fitzgerald, manager of technical support for Borland's language products, "is getting information into the hands of users." And one of the best ways to provide such information, he argues, is through an
electronic bulletin board system.