I usually don't post simply for “Mindless Link Propagation” - as Dare calls it - but this post is of particular importance.

Josh Ledgard, Chief Community Evangelist at Microsoft, talks about the legal implications and challenges (via Scoble) that arise when early community involvement is solicited in the product lifecycle. It sucks big time when such legal barriers have the potential to force one to sidestep in the wrong direction... but consider the consequences. Yikes.

(BTW, I find Scoble's response pretty ignorant and childish, and akin to a teenage fit of rebellion. Dude, there's a reason legal departments restrict certain things... because there are implications should these safeguards not be put into place. Microsoft owns its IP, and as such can tell anybody - yes, even Scoble - what they are or are not able to do with it. Regardless of on whose time it occurs.)