About

in propria persona is a blog dedicated to the history of law and technology. It is written by me, Kristopher Nelson, a former software developer and systems administrator. I am now a JD/PhD student at UCSD focusing on the history of law and technology. I also consult with clients to assist with their technology, research, and training needs. (If you need advice or assistance on such matters, contact me today for a free initial consultation.)

The point of in propria persona is, above all, to capture thoughts, ideas, and events that may form the basis of my future academic or professional scholarship or research. My main current focus is on privacy in the nineteenth century — especially as related to the telegraph (the Internet of its day). Of course, since intellectual property is a core area where the law and technology overlap, it is also a key area of interest for me. Additional topics include medicine and public health (e.g., vaccination), constitutional issues, search and seizure (wiretaps, for example), international and transborder law, legal research and writing, education, and government. On the technology front, the rise of social media (blogs, Twitter, etc.) is another core topic.

Please note that my posts are not legal advice. I am not your attorney. I am not licensed to practice in your jurisdiction. I am not soliciting your business as an attorney. Also note that I may provide affiliate links (especially to Amazon) when discussing some products, but that I do not accept payments for specific posts. There may also be advertising of various kinds, which appears both to offset my hosting costs as well as for me to explore and understand various advertising platforms. I do not intentionally collect personally identifying information, but do collect aggregate statistics — and yes, I use many, ever-changing platforms to do this — how else can I learn what’s possible? But I don’t use this to target you personally — mostly I just look at the pretty tables and think about the implications. (For more on this, see my privacy policy. You may also want to check out Ghostery, Do Not Track, and the Electronic Frontier Foundation.)

Content on inpropriapersona.com is copyright 2005 – 2012 by Kristopher Nelson. All rights are reserved, so if you want to republish a full article, please get my permission first. But if you just want to quote me, link to me, or otherwise make limited use of my work, remember you can do so under the fair use doctrine.

Thanks,

Kristopher (Kris) Nelson