Chapter "0" - explanation of chapter resources for the Cyberlaw bookResources and Links for the book Cyberlaw: Law for Digital Spaces and Information Systems, by John Bandler

By John Bandler

This page explains the chapter resources pages I created.

Looking to navigate to another place?

Chapter 0: An explanation of chapter resource webpages

Each chapter resource pages have three main areas:

  • Links to navigate to other resource pages (see above)
  • Chapter references
  • Chapter questions
  • Occasionally, study review points.

I created these pages so that readers can find a compilation of resources on a single webpage, for each chapter. They can bookmark the main resources page, and I was also able to put a QR code at the end of each chapter to make navigation easier.

Chapter references, resources, and additional reading

This section contains references that are cited to in the chapter, plus references at the end of the chapter, plus additional references that would have made the book too unwieldy and long.

After all the research I had done, it was impossible to include it all within the book so these webpages allow me to provide some of that extra research.

References have important purposes:

  • For the book, certain things need to be cited as a rule of writing
  • For the reader of the book, it points to important references for additional reading and research
  • For readers and learners, it allows exploring a topic in greater depth.

The book is designed as a starting point for the reader and researcher, and is designed to be read, and cited.

The book is not the end point, and that is why it provides references, often to primary legal sources, such as statutes and cases, and also to reliable other sources.

Readers are at different levels, and with different goals. Throughout, I encourage readers to spend a “reasonable amount of time” reading other sources, especially primary sources.

For certain levels of instruction or reading, navigating through the book itself is enough reading.

For higher levels, readers will want to dive into the statutes and cases themselves.

What is "reasonable" depends upon you, the instructor, and the course.

For example, suppose the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) is important for the course, or suppose the reader is in law school with a higher learning expectation. The reader would start by reading how the text summarizes and quotes small portions of the CFAA. Then the reader would spend a “reasonable" amount of time reading the actual statute. Zero minutes would not be enough nor be "reasonable", because this type of learner needs to experience the statute, however painful that might be. Five minutes might be enough in some circumstances, but an hour or more might be warranted for others to properly learn it.

Review study points

For some chapters, I have a list of review study points - short bullets stating a fact or "thing to know". Often, these attempt to clear fog from common misconceptions to pave the way for deeper learning.

Chapter questions

For most chapters, I have a list of questions.

Sometimes these are simple facts (Scaffold Level 1), sometimes they encourage deeper thinking or knowledge. Because of this progression, sometimes a later question is a more complex variation of a previous question.

The questions on this website mirror what is in the book, and may contain more, and other updates.

  • Chapter questions eat up word count and page count, so I needed to keep it succinct in the book
  • Moving some chapter questions to the website helped reduce the book page count
  • The website can be updated continually.

Why a resource page, and why one for each chapter?

Some chapters had so much material, I could not include it all in the book. By putting it on my website, it is available for you as a research aid, and for me when I teach or update the book. The only way to properly display them is on a single webpage for each chapter, because some chapters have a voluminous amount of references.

In prior books, I did research that could not be included in the book so I saved it for a future work. There it has sat, unused by anyone.

There is always at least one reader who says, "I wanted to see more on X." This is a way to provide that.

I want to make it easy for students and learners to find the law and accurate reliable resources, and this helps do that (even if you never buy the book).

I want to encourage students to start their research by reading the book, then by seeing and reading my additional resources. I am trying to make it easier for them to complete the first few levels of research (and make Google and Chat GPT less attractive alternatives).

No promises, no warranties

This website is a free supplemental resource for my book and online course, and I decided to make it free for everyone.

I cannot guarantee it will stay operational or be updated, I cannot guarantee accuracy.

If you find this gift of free information valuable, please consider returning the favor by buying the book or other activity.

Links and information

This page is hosted at https://johnbandler.com/cyberlawbook-resources-ch00, copyright John Bandler, all rights reserved.

Originally posted 10/27/2024.  Updated 11/28/2024.