10-06-2002, 12:58 PM | #21 | |
Zartan
Join Date: March 11, 2001
Location: North Carolina USA
Age: 57
Posts: 5,177
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Quote:
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10-06-2002, 02:02 PM | #22 |
Drizzt Do'Urden
Join Date: August 16, 2002
Location: Newcastle, England
Age: 45
Posts: 699
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Hmm ...I think the problem with this is not that people thin what is proposed is a bad idea, but rather - can you trust the USA government (or indeed, any other) to keep their hands clean? The US government has a bit of a history with computer privacy issues, including federal demands that they have the means to decrypt any message sent in the USA, or somehitng like that.
Another issue is policeware, as seen here - http://www.stoppoliceware.org/ - sometimes it seems like if you give one government power over the internet, nmo matter how noble their intenetions, they will eventually use their power in a purely selfish way to infringe on civil liberties such as your right to privacy and so on. It's the start of a slippery slope, IMHO. A decentralised internet (in terms of having no real government sponsored police force) may have alot of bad stuff floating around, but then - so do books. Are we going to police libraries and bookshops now, if one of their books happens to describe bomb-making (they may actually do this in the uS, come to think of it ). People interested in the sick stuff will find it. It's been that way since the printing press, and it's not going to change now. Anyone claiming that they are going to stop it at the source (rather than just arresting the sickos) is playing a dangerous game when it comes to censorship. In the beginning, it may be nobly done, but how long before the government starts messing with things it shouldn't, and abusing it's power? And don't say it won't happen - it happens all the time, in every country. Hell, the one thing *all* governments are good at is abusing their power. That is why jorunalism is such a booming industry nowadays I'm reminded of a line from Dirty Harry II, where he is talking about vigilante action - "Sure, it's fine in the start when you blow away murderers and pimps, but before you know it, you're shooting someone because their dog p***ed on your lawn." Like I said, I think what people fear isn't the initial use of the power, but the inevitable eventual misuse of it.
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10-06-2002, 02:03 PM | #23 |
Gold Dragon
Join Date: June 18, 2002
Location: Wolfville, NS / Calgary, AB
Age: 36
Posts: 2,563
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Well said Bardan [img]graemlins/thumbsup.gif[/img]
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10-06-2002, 02:15 PM | #24 | |
Drow Priestess
Join Date: March 13, 2001
Location: a hidden sanctorum high above the metroplex
Age: 54
Posts: 4,037
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Quote:
Let's drive up to the Pacific Northwest, find some militia groups, and see if they want "one big happy world". [img]graemlins/beigesmilewinkgrin.gif[/img] They would shoot us faster than we could say "new world order". In this era of Homeland Security, we are all only one step away from becoming a "person of interest" like Dr. Steven Hatfill. This would allow authorities to burst into our homes and take away property, albeit with a search warrant.
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