Most of the speakers were attempting to clarify the ECT Act of 2002 to ICT professionals who seemed oblivious of the basics.

Not that I exclude myself from the ignorant masses. And to those that think they have a clue, odds are that you do not.

For example, I am sure most of you have spotted the disclaimers at the bottom of e-mail sent from particular companies.

These companies have put these in to cover themselves from material in the e-mail that could land them in the realm of defamation and costly lawsuits.

But, according to Reinhardt Buys, of ICT legal specialist firm Buys Inc, these disclaimers are as useful as cementing a house with used chewing-gum.

Apparently, the fact that they are at the bottom of the e-mail is what makes them ineffective.

You only read them (if you even do that) after you have gone through the entire content of the possibly defamatory e-mail.

What is the point! So, the legally savvy place a link taking the user to the â¬Ã‹Å“terms and conditions and clarified disclaimer at the top/beginning of the e-mail.

It is not bulky, so it will not take ages of scrolling down to get to the actual mail content. But it can save you from messy legal scenarios that could occur. 

This is just one example of how the maze of regulations and legislation has defeated many in the ICT sector.

I could tell you more about what I learnt about copyright, the prohibition of monitoring and interception, etc, but I think that you get the idea.

It might seem mundane but you know what they say: better safe than sorry.

It is only logical that, should a lawsuit arise, the target will not be the lowly employee forwarding the e-mails, but the big organisation with the far deeper pockets.

I hope this does not cause hysteria *evil grin*

Pontsho Ramontsha