Slashdot Mirror
Ask Slashdot: The Hazards of Developing the Internet
mog asks:
"I am currently starting a large research paper
for my senior High School English class, and
have chosen the topic "The Hazards of the Internet."
Obviously this is intended to mean the dangers of the
internet, but I have chosen to interpret it differently.
My interpretation is that of the dangers encountered upon
the development of the internet.
I am looking for any information anyone can supply me about
the Intellectual Property issues, Monopolies / OSS movement
issues, and the general issue of standardizing internet
protocols."
This question is interesting for the fact that you're writing a "Hazards of the Internet" paper at all. What kind of in-class material was taught before you were given the assignment (if any)? I can just *hear* what 99% of the teachers and administrators at my catholic high school would have had to say about the internet...
Also interesting, I suppose, will be all the otehr student's answers to this -- it'd be neat to see how many of them buy into the mass media's "internet is evil" stereotype and talk exclusively about Columbine/Duke Nukem/Porn/Nazi Web Sites/etc. After all, this is the generation who should know better, having had the net around during their formative years.
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Every year during my review, I just pray the words "slashdot.org" aren't mentioned.
Posted by d106ene5:
I would focus on the pseudo-monopoly held by NSI and its ramifications for internet development. This story certainly has the juicy details to make for an interesting paper.
While open-source software has played a role in developing the net (TCP/IP, BIND, Sendmail, etc), I don't think the connection is particularly interesting in itself. In the early days of the internet, the open/closed source debate wasn't as apparent as it is now.
That's an easy one. /. about theos.com. The OpenBSD developer was sued by Theos Software for having theos.com domain even though he registered it before the company even existed. Of course there are also people who register a domain with the only purpose to sell it to someone else.
;-)
A few month ago news.com had a nice story called "Microsoft's Holy War on Java" summarizing what happened. That alone should be enough for a sizable paper.
Then there's also DHTML and the much-hyped XML. Both of them allow a certain company to proprierarize standards.
As for intellectual property and stuff, you can write about the domain name rules. About a month ago there was a story on
You could also write about spam...
hope that helps
___
If you think big enough, you'll never have to do it.
Actually I already graduated. I mailed my Ask Slashdot about 2.5 or 3 months ago, and it just got posted.
A Harvard Law student presented it under his own name in 1968. Resounding applause from faculty after the speech. Then a big sucking sound when he told them who the original author was.
See how that goes.
The ship sank. Get over it. (This sig was cut out from another's shirt and painstakingly hand-posted)
Go to your primary sources. I was looking through my Penguin Portable Thomas Jefferson the other day and found this which you might find useful. If you do use it and want the correct citation, email me. DoktorMel Rogue English-teacher geek
-- The Sage does nothing, and nothing is left undone. --Lao Tzu
First off, I'll "third" the recommendation.
Beyond that, something else good to look at might be the old
And as for my own thoughts/personal experiences on Net-as-social-circle (warning, this could get LONG):
I made many LOCAL friends on the 'net my first two semesters at SUNY Geneseo. One of my floormates and his old friends had put together a MUD, and soon I was "living on" it, and so were a lot of other people at my school. It also gave me a way to keep in touch with a friend from my previous school who was in Michigan.
I later branched out, started hanging out on BBSes, and I have literally talked to someone on every continent including Antarctica (OK, so that was my uncle, who was doing Navy research there). I have at least six net-friends in Australia who swear that the first thing they'll do if they win the lottery is send me a plane ticket. I've been sent TimTams, and I have sent Reeses' Peanut Butter Cups. I was one of two American sysops on an Australian BBS (and the other also went to my school).
I've found Web pages that have made me smile and say, "So I'm not the only one who thinks this! Maybe I'm not crazy after all
Now all this is lovely, but the Net has had a down-side. I was online when I should have been in class or doing work. My grades suffered, etc. However, in my particular case, all the Net was doing was giving me extra delivered-to-the-door opportunities to "hang out" with my friends and read interesting information, two things I did too much of WITHOUT the Net. (I also had problems doing library research because I would invariably get distracted by something else.)
In my experience, there seem to be three kinds of (for lack of a better term) "net addicts":
1. The ones who (for instance) had a tight circle of friends in high school or through something like CTY that then scatters everywhere, and who use the Net to try to hold on to those friends, sometimes at the expense of making friends or finding things to do in their real, physical location.
2. Info-junkies. (I admit, I fall into this category.) Generally, people who have a fairly obscure or specialized interest or set of interests. They'll search the net for every scrap of info on their chosen categories, spend tons of time on Usenet debating the finer points of their interets, etc. They generally get "hooked" because there aren't enough local people who share their obsession, or else all the "locals" are online as well. (This has been me with various topics: Amber, the band Rush, and Norse pagan/Viking history, to name three recent ones.) The net.goths might be a good example of this as well.
3. (IMHO, the most dangerous.) The folks who are genuinely using the Net as a way to avoid dealing with people face-to-face. Can be an outgrowth of either of the above. I've also seen this with some of the les/bi/gay teenagers I've talked to online, especially if they come from conservative households and are scared to come out. The Net becomes the only place that knows their "secret," and basically becomes a security blanket. Alternatively, I've seen this with people who just don't like themselves and are putting forth a new "persona" online.
Now with all three types, there can be problems as far as avoidance of reality. But the first two are easy to at least cut down on -- find compatible local people (over the net if you must!) and make an effort to spend time with them.
The last one is the one that scares me. A.J. Chodan (my real name) isn't THAT different of a person from fable2112. Or at the very least, there is nothing within fable2112 that *isn't* also part of A.J. I'm long-winded and opinionated IRL, too. (And that said, I'll shut up now!)
"Somebody exploded a letter-bomb today