Just this last week, an intelligent and mature friend & I who have shared an irc channel for the last 4 years, messaged me about my past experience with Cyber Angels. She was considering joining (as I did, 3 years ago, thinking she too could 'give back to the net' by educating and informing the unaware on how to use the net safely and effectively. She asked about my experience with this organization and it's agenda.
She was not aware, as I was not, even as a member that, THE AGENDA, was censorship. When I told her that they were developers of censorware she was astonished. Like me, increasing newbie awareness of the lurking dangers associated with the net was desirable....limiting access to information IS NOT!
It is important that I had URL's, links & examples of how inappropriate and devious censorship really is to educate her on the dangers of limiting information.
22 million people on AOL think they have access to the world! 22 million people have access to AOL/Time Warner's version of the world. Most of them do NOT know 'what' they do not know. Did you ever argue with an ignorant person who stood on the value of their limited knowledge to defend their position?
/. Articles provide new and useful information, as it is discovered, as well as many otherwise unknown links to additional data from knowledgeable readers. Unlike access providers who utilize censorware,/. allows readers to really research the world for facts, statistics and data which provide the foundation for the thoughtful, responsible implementation of decisions gleaned from all available information, not just that approved by some community with an agenda I may or may not agree with.
Keep on 'keepin' on' Slashdot! I count on you to provide a large and very diversified membership with a forum where they can share their massive wealth of knowledge with me on many diversified subjects that might otherwise leave me like 'AOL'ers', Were it not for/.'rs pointing me to all the available information repositories of the net, as it really exists, I too might NOT know what I do NOT know!
Like others on/., tech stocks are only one visualization of my primary interest...Technology!
Like the article poster, my shot glass runneth over due to the last weeks ragging on our hosts!
oh well! a wise old bird once told me "the emptiest tin cans make the loudest noise". To avoid having my news for nurds drowned out, I just raised my 'noise filter' to 2.
IIRC this morning on the news, a recent study into NASA revealed that they were highly complacent regarding maintenance and were equally understaffed. The findings seemed to point, interestingly enough, to NASA being 'under funded' and the #1 announcement was the immediate hiring of more personnel and a push for additional funding. Frankly, it is about time. Give these guys something to work with again...
Great choice of wording Jon!
on
Genome
·
· Score: 1
"You could give it to your grandmother and she'd have little trouble getting through it, or grasping its monumental significance."
"Grandmothers and Uncles didn't and WON'T drive Linux?" Here we go again.... All these dollars flowing into Linux Fever are from Who? Techi, die hards? You are the innovators! We, Grandmothers and Uncles, are the recipiants of your technology. OR... was this OS developed just for the heck of developing it? Who do you think all these new distributions are going to if NOT us? What are you thinking? Don't you realize OUR desire to use this product provides growth, and your opportunity to develop more and better apps. Lastly..were you born using Unix/Linux... or at sometime in your humble existance were you new to the experience yourself? Be grateful that your predecessors were more generous about your lack of ability to comprehend all of the potential while graciously giving you the opportunity and the support needed to grow an appreciation for something new and better.
Years ago, an old & fairly large IRC channel I belonged to since it's beginning hosted maybe 40 regulars from all over the world. Every day about 3 pm, my time, I would join to exchange opinions and dissect the news. Over the years we all got to know one another's jobs, locations, intellectual positions and often... new job offers, spouses, divorces, new babies etc. There were Net Administrators, National Health Service Administrators, CIS students, Girl Scout leaders, and housewives. One regular, a musician became quite ill. While undergoing Chemo towards the end he was connected to Health experts by our National Health Admin. so that he received 'the best' and newest 'pain managment' A channel home health nurse contacted his 'local area' and arranged 'Hospice Care' to help lighten the load for his wife. The home health care hospice folks notified the channel of his inability to be comfortable in any position but sitting up and recommended a lounge chair which the families resources were not capable of providing. The channel rallied together, contributed the resources and within 1 week a new lounge chair was in his home. These people had never physically met, did not share physical space and probably would never even have spoken in a 'local city/town' because they had little in common besides their interest in #politics! ( like all good irc channels, it eventually faded away after about 3 years) BUT...Isolated, Loners? I think it more reasonable that.. the web/net provides MORE access to human intereaction for like minded people because it alows them to gather and share in ways that life today simply does not provide.
and btw/ no news agency, no horn tooting.. just people reaching out to people..Because! (I choose to believe that things go on like this every day, all over the world and aren't the fodder of interesting 'NET NEWS'
Takes a lot of moxie to risk posting on/. but what the hey ! here goes anyway... I am female...prolly four years older then God, not bad looking for an old broad and been using windoz computers for 6 years. I am sick and tired of the security problems/ the incompatability problems and frankly..the bloat! I work! I pay my own bills! I read/. and OMG! have even Moderated! I am NOT a hardware tech...I do NOT write code..I AM part of the unwashed masses that have discovered Linux,and a guru that did not believe the 'Don't give Linux to your grandma' bull. I had a machine built!!! I had the experts INSTALL for me and joined a local LUG. I WILL learn the same way I learned the REDMOND ROT....one error at a time! I am NOT unique! I am NOT skilled! I AM detirmined that there is a better way then Windows and I will become proficient! We are out here! We HEARD you say....the Revolution was Linux and we will be a part of it...NOT because of you BUT in spite of you. We will be part of the support for open source, some of us WILL write code, some of us will write CONGRESS but WE TOO, are here now! SOOOOOooo...you know what, all in all, it just ain't all that tuff anymore. It makes a whole lot more sense then windows and I only have to learn about that which effects my needs and not how to control a bunch of day old doggie do do that I could care less about like MSN chat/mp3's etc. which frankly just aren't MY thing etc. LINUX RULS even for us ole dogs! Now you youngin's can go back to your Natalie Portman and grits mode cuz...it may be months before I overload on white wine again and decide I have something worthwhile to say!
Usenet also avoids the 'instant gratification'requirements of the aol type newbies for the most part. While flamebaiting, trolling cetainly go on, regulars' radar and refused responses do not encourage more of the same. While it's true, the newly escaped will bait one another for a while, attempting to impress one another with "I'm bad!", they begin to even bore themselves and go on to bigger/badder/ more real time gratifications. My point being.. they then, do NOT go on to tout Usenet to their followers as a rewarding experience. Yes! More find it but then they too wander off without mass advertising of it's opportunities. I think it is more rewarding for many to be a big fish in a small pond (web chat/irc etc)then to deal with just being another d.h. in the ocean of usenet For me, Usenet has been a consistent source of information (sites/experts/news/books/examples and even 'people') like a previous poster, lurking can actually enhance the learning/info gathering experience) The benefits totally outweigh the noise and I have not noticed any decrease in benefits. OTOH, I have noticed my ability to filter noise was also learned via usenet. 'Long may it reign'!!
OMG! Again with the *you can't teach old dogs new tricks* idiocy!
How old are YOU? On what facts do you base your 'over 50' *not eager to adapt* theory?
Look around you! Do you actually think that all the technological sales being racked up are by youthful dollars only. Why do you think Cadilac added their GPS systems to cars not classically purchased by the under '50' crowd? Why do you suppose they have recently announced their intent to add AOL (arrgh!) to same? Who are all those grey haired guys I see in Airports with laptops plugged into public dataports? And don't we already have an ez (altho, safe is questionable) user interface that everyone and their dog can understand? AOL? DUH!
Open your eyes...a whole lot of the most respected Guru's you express admiration for are OVER '50'.
Stupid/narrowminded people resist adaptation. Mature/openminded people frequently live to be *50*+
Now there is a 'head' most WOMEN would not be opposed to seeing blown off!
perhaps a combat game for woman where all the targets are unrealistic plastic barbie types and advertising executives. We could vent all OUR hostility.
My experience in electronics & the related math classes was quite different! Community College, max. 2 females with 25 guys all between 19 - 30 years old, many ex-military. Me, female, at least twice the age of 75% of them, self conscious, insecure (often clueless). I was not only encouraged but the recipiant of voluntary tutoring from the alpha 'geeks' in their respective fields. They refused to accept 'I don't get this' 'I can't do this' They drug me kicking and screaming to succesful labs and 'A' homework assignments. NO! They did not do the work for me. Yes! They pushed me hard! BUT..I did the work, got the knowledge and learned great respect for these guys. WHY? I don't have a clue why they cared and worked so hard to see me succeed..maybe I was THEIR TOKEN GRANNY..whatever the reason I doubt the real world of employment will offer such assistance.
Let's see if I have this right... This is pretty much a Linux community....Linux is vastly superior to 'that other OS'..Linux Users & Programers want the world to know Linux is a viable alternative to 'that other OS' but resent a review that touts their favorite OS to people who are using Windows. One question here. Since most of ya'all write code , are UNIX or LINUX knowagable already, give 'support' and/or have done multiple installs.....just WHO exactly are you expecting to spread the gosple to? See, some of us have been listening to you for years and now that we believe that, indeed, there is a viable alternative to Windows, it sounds like we're 'damned if we do and we're damned if we don't.' Aren't we the EXACT prople you are trying to reach?
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! As one of the commonly refered to clueless/lamerz/lusers trapped in MS in order to have 24/7 access to an ever increasing pool of resources which hold the possibility of escape...I find the intellectual elitism of the Unix/Linux community to be overwhemingly intimidating. typical example is the old RTFM, and the obvious 'if I could, would I be asking this stupid question'? (No johhny come lately...) my 2 year plus desire to move up to Linux stood no chance until Comdex demo of Corel revealed a possible bridge ie Simple install, familiar desktop and support which hopefully will allow an escallating learning curve. HOWEVER, only references on/. to this BRIDGE for the unwashed masses who wish to join the community of smarter, more astute Users has been at best 'nil'. In my case, throw in Non affluant (expensive classes NOT an option) and OMG! female over 50 and learning unix or linux, building the appropiate machine and getting walked thru the processes require serious LEARNING LUST and TENACITY. Never-the-less.....This Wannabe shall overcome!;o)
Slashdot Mirror
Just this last week, an intelligent and mature friend & I who have shared an irc channel for the last 4 years, messaged me about my past experience with Cyber Angels. She was considering joining (as I did, 3 years ago, thinking she too could 'give back to the net' by educating and informing the unaware on how to use the net safely and effectively. She asked about my experience with this organization and it's agenda.
/. allows readers to really research the world for facts, statistics and data which provide the foundation for the thoughtful, responsible implementation of decisions gleaned from all available information, not just that approved by some community with an agenda I may or may not agree with.
/.'rs pointing me to all the available information repositories of the net, as it really exists, I too might NOT know what I do NOT know!
She was not aware, as I was not, even as a member that, THE AGENDA, was censorship. When I told her that they were developers of censorware she was astonished. Like me, increasing newbie awareness of the lurking dangers associated with the net was desirable....limiting access to information IS NOT!
It is important that I had URL's, links & examples of how inappropriate and devious censorship really is to educate her on the dangers of limiting information.
22 million people on AOL think they have access to the world! 22 million people have access to AOL/Time Warner's version of the world. Most of them do NOT know 'what' they do not know. Did you ever argue with an ignorant person who stood on the value of their limited knowledge to defend their position?
/. Articles provide new and useful information, as it is discovered, as well as many otherwise unknown links to additional data from knowledgeable readers. Unlike access providers who utilize censorware,
Keep on 'keepin' on' Slashdot! I count on you to provide a large and very diversified membership with a forum where they can share their massive wealth of knowledge with me on many diversified subjects that might otherwise leave me like 'AOL'ers', Were it not for
Like others on /., tech stocks are only one visualization of my primary interest...Technology!
Like the article poster, my shot glass runneth over due to the last weeks ragging on our hosts!
oh well! a wise old bird once told me "the emptiest tin cans make the loudest noise". To avoid having my news for nurds drowned out, I just raised my 'noise filter' to 2.
IIRC this morning on the news, a recent study into NASA revealed that they were highly complacent regarding maintenance and were equally understaffed. The findings seemed to point, interestingly enough, to NASA being 'under funded' and the #1 announcement was the immediate hiring of more personnel and a push for additional funding. Frankly, it is about time.
Give these guys something to work with again...
"You could give it to your grandmother and she'd have little trouble getting through it, or grasping its monumental significance."
Geesh Jon! Ya think?
"Grandmothers and Uncles didn't and WON'T drive Linux?" Here we go again.... All these dollars flowing into Linux Fever are from Who? Techi, die hards? You are the innovators! We, Grandmothers and Uncles, are the recipiants of your technology. OR... was this OS developed just for the heck of developing it? Who do you think all these new distributions are going to if NOT us? What are you thinking? Don't you realize OUR desire to use this product provides growth, and your opportunity to develop more and better apps. Lastly..were you born using Unix/Linux... or at sometime in your humble existance were you new to the experience yourself? Be grateful that your predecessors were more generous about your lack of ability to comprehend all of the potential while graciously giving you the opportunity and the support needed to grow an appreciation for something new and better.
Years ago, an old & fairly large IRC channel I belonged to since it's beginning hosted maybe 40 regulars from all over the world. Every day about 3 pm, my time, I would join to exchange opinions and dissect the news. Over the years we all got to know one another's jobs, locations, intellectual positions and often... new job offers, spouses, divorces, new babies etc. There were Net Administrators, National Health Service Administrators, CIS students, Girl Scout leaders, and housewives. One regular, a musician became quite ill. While undergoing Chemo towards the end he was connected to Health experts by our National Health Admin. so that he received 'the best' and newest 'pain managment' A channel home health nurse contacted his 'local area' and arranged 'Hospice Care' to help lighten the load for his wife. The home health care hospice folks notified the channel of his inability to be comfortable in any position but sitting up and recommended a lounge chair which the families resources were not capable of providing. The channel rallied together, contributed the resources and within 1 week a new lounge chair was in his home. These people had never physically met, did not share physical space and probably would never even have spoken in a 'local city/town' because they had little in common besides their interest in #politics! ( like all good irc channels, it eventually faded away after about 3 years) BUT...Isolated, Loners? I think it more reasonable that.. the web/net provides MORE access to human intereaction for like minded people because it alows them to gather and share in ways that life today simply does not provide.
and btw/ no news agency, no horn tooting.. just people reaching out to people..Because! (I choose to believe that things go on like this every day, all over the world and aren't the fodder of interesting 'NET NEWS'
Takes a lot of moxie to risk posting on /. but what the hey ! here goes anyway...
I am female...prolly four years older then God, not bad looking for an old broad and been using windoz computers for 6 years. I am sick and tired of the security problems/ the incompatability problems and frankly..the bloat! I work! I pay my own bills! I read/. and OMG! have even Moderated! I am NOT a hardware tech...I do NOT write code..I AM part of the unwashed masses that have discovered Linux,and a guru that did not believe the 'Don't give Linux to your grandma' bull. I had a machine built!!! I had the experts INSTALL for me and joined a local LUG. I WILL learn the same way I learned the REDMOND ROT....one error at a time! I am NOT unique! I am NOT skilled! I AM detirmined that there is a better way then Windows and I will become proficient! We are out here! We HEARD you say....the Revolution was Linux and we will be a part of it...NOT because of you BUT in spite of you. We will be part of the support for open source, some of us WILL write code, some of us will write CONGRESS but WE TOO, are here now! SOOOOOooo...you know what, all in all, it just ain't all that tuff anymore. It makes a whole lot more sense then windows and I only have to learn about that which effects my needs and not how to control a bunch of day old doggie do do that I could care less about like MSN chat/mp3's etc. which frankly just aren't MY thing etc. LINUX RULS even for us ole dogs! Now you youngin's can go back to your Natalie Portman and grits mode cuz...it may be months before I overload on white wine again and decide I have something worthwhile to say!
Usenet also avoids the 'instant gratification'requirements of the aol type newbies for the most part. While flamebaiting, trolling cetainly go on, regulars' radar and refused responses do not encourage more of the same. While it's true, the newly escaped will bait one another for a while, attempting to impress one another with "I'm bad!", they begin to even bore themselves and go on to bigger/badder/ more real time gratifications. My point being.. they then, do NOT go on to tout Usenet to their followers as a rewarding experience. Yes! More find it but then they too wander off without mass advertising of it's opportunities.
I think it is more rewarding for many to be a big fish in a small pond (web chat/irc etc)then to deal with just being another d.h. in the ocean of usenet
For me, Usenet has been a consistent source of information (sites/experts/news/books/examples and even 'people') like a previous poster, lurking can actually enhance the learning/info gathering experience)
The benefits totally outweigh the noise and I have not noticed any decrease in benefits. OTOH, I have noticed my ability to filter noise was also learned via usenet. 'Long may it reign'!!
OMG! Again with the *you can't teach old dogs new tricks* idiocy!
How old are YOU? On what facts do you base your 'over 50' *not eager to adapt* theory?
Look around you! Do you actually think that all the technological sales being racked up are by youthful dollars only. Why do you think Cadilac
added their GPS systems to cars not classically purchased by the under '50' crowd? Why do you suppose they have recently announced their intent to add AOL (arrgh!) to same? Who are all those grey haired guys I see in Airports with laptops plugged into public dataports? And don't we already have an ez (altho, safe is questionable) user interface that everyone and their dog can understand? AOL? DUH!
Open your eyes...a whole lot of the most respected Guru's you express admiration for are OVER '50'.
Stupid/narrowminded people resist adaptation. Mature/openminded people frequently live to be *50*+
'or somthing barbie related' pft!
Now there is a 'head' most WOMEN would not be opposed to seeing blown off!
perhaps a combat game for woman where all the targets are unrealistic plastic barbie types and advertising executives. We could vent all OUR hostility.
My experience in electronics & the related math classes was quite different! Community College, max. 2 females with 25 guys all between 19 - 30 years old, many ex-military. Me, female, at least twice the age of 75% of them, self conscious, insecure (often clueless). I was not only encouraged but the recipiant of voluntary tutoring from the alpha 'geeks' in their respective fields. They refused to accept 'I don't get this' 'I can't do this' They drug me kicking and screaming to succesful labs and 'A' homework assignments. NO! They did not do the work for me. Yes! They pushed me hard! BUT..I did the work, got the knowledge and learned great respect for these guys. WHY? I don't have a clue why they cared and worked so hard to see me succeed..maybe I was THEIR TOKEN GRANNY..whatever the reason I doubt the real world of employment will offer such assistance.
Let's see if I have this right... This is pretty much a Linux community....Linux is vastly superior to 'that other OS'..Linux Users & Programers want the world to know Linux is a viable alternative to 'that other OS' but resent a review that touts their favorite OS to people who are using Windows. One question here. Since most of ya'all write code , are UNIX or LINUX knowagable already, give 'support' and/or have done multiple installs.....just WHO exactly are you expecting to spread the gosple to? See, some of us have been listening to you for years and now that we believe that, indeed, there is a viable alternative to Windows, it sounds like we're 'damned if we do and we're damned if we don't.' Aren't we the EXACT prople you are trying to reach?
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! As one of the commonly refered to clueless/lamerz/lusers trapped in MS in order to have 24/7 access to an ever increasing pool of resources which hold the possibility of escape...I find the intellectual elitism of the Unix/Linux community to be overwhemingly intimidating. typical example is the old RTFM, and the obvious 'if I could, would I be asking this stupid question'? (No johhny come lately...) my 2 year plus desire to move up to Linux stood no chance until Comdex demo of Corel revealed a possible bridge ie Simple install, familiar desktop and support which hopefully will allow an escallating learning curve. HOWEVER, only references on /. to this BRIDGE for the unwashed masses who wish to join the community of smarter, more astute Users has been at best 'nil'. In my case, throw in Non affluant (expensive classes NOT an option) and OMG! female over 50 and learning unix or linux, building the appropiate machine and getting walked thru the processes require serious LEARNING LUST and TENACITY. Never-the-less.....This Wannabe shall overcome! ;o)