This isn't exactly news. Do a quick search on "experimental economics" and you'll discover that not only have these types of experiments been going on for over 40 years, the Swiss aren't exactly at the forefront of the effort either. There are research depts. and labs devoted to solving these types of problems and developing institutions and rules which generate the best outcomes (I'm partial to the ESL lab at George Mason myself). If you're looking for solutions for p2p problems and other issues of property/sharing issues, this is a good place to start.
...our business connection is still up and running (Internetconnect=ISP via Northpoint), but I can feel the clock ticking.... in any case, FYI - service in Westchester county, just north of NYC (at least this part) is still functional...
The nonprofit I work for subcontracts thru internetconnect with Northpoint. Were it not for the fact that I read slashdot, I think we'd be screwed. We've not heard from either internetconnect nor Northpoint about any problems, much less a shutdown. While we've had pretty great service up til now (Northpoint was the ONLY sdsl provider willing to service our location at the time of install.), this is very disappointing. I guess I'll be on the phone on Monday to get our service switched ASAP -- whatever happened to caring about the customer enough not to see them left high and dry???
From the other side of the equation....
on
Geek Charities?
·
· Score: 1
I work for a nonprofit, charity dependent group, so I know a bit about what it takes to get money to the people who can best use it. My recommendation is to look for smaller organizations (not the bloated bureaucratic machines that dominate the infomertial world) and those which are known for having strict accountability. Even though I'm not religious, I would recomend giving to church-based charities simply because they are less likely to fall prey to moral impropriety and squander the funds. Also, organizations which do not have endowments also tend to be more responsible and responsive to donor preferences -- they live very hand-to-mouth and thus tend to work a lot more efficiently. And lastly, any organization that has been privately organized by an individual or set of individuals with their own funds tends to be a good investment. When someone decides to put their money into starting up a non-profit (assuming its not just some lame tax-shelter) and perhaps even dropping their career in order to devote their attention to it full-time, there's a good chance that they're serious about helping people.
Anyhow, I'm happy to offer specific suggestions if anyone's interested. And if your giving interests are in the realm of education, I can definitely point you to some people who are doing good work and can always use some help (and, no, I'm not just plugging my own group -- I don't work in dev. so I can be a bit more honest about it). Email me.
ahh the smell of pork at every.gov site.... the smell of money at every.com site.... fish in every.net.... and the smell of doritos, old laundry and stale beer at every.org site
I couldn't agree more with your post. As another female gamer, I'm more than a tad annoyed at some of the male comments in the response threads to this article. The sexist ads aren't the problem for most female gamers. (I for one could really care less about how much clothing Lara Croft is or is not wearing.) The problem is not with what's there, but with what's missing. Female gamers aren't targeted and there's definitely room for improvement. While many female gamers may not be into playing first person shooters and strategy games, many do like action/adventure games and RPGS (amongst other things) --- but the advertising for those types of games is just as atrocious. The advertising assumes that the demographics are the same for every type of game. (And for those of you that think Barbie and other similar crap-consumer products are a viable substitute are welcome to more than a few choice remarks.) What's needed is a more accurate marketing approach that targets the right audiences for the right games, not just a bunch of ads made by guys for the sake of their libidos. And this does not mean trimming the ads with lace and fuscia, it means finding out what female gamers really want - and its definitely not what stereotypes assume, b/c being a female gamer means being well outside of the traditional (uptight/Puritan) gender role of being a female (i.e. being interested in technology and high-end entertainment).
Given what we know about politics and what it takes to get ahead in our 'glorious' democratic system, why on earth would anyone in their right mind support a politician from the last century as the greatest anything? Quite seriously, I'd throw my support behind Bill Gates, Rupert Murdoch, or Michael Milken long before I'd support any one of the gaggle of power-mongering idiots that have littered the oval office and congress for the last 100 years. My next door neighbor probably deserves more laurels.
Just an interesting "what if".... What if Cato were to support state taxation as opposed to federal taxation of ecommerce (given that the 'no taxation' option isn't available) in the hopes of having it struck down under the Interstate Commerce Clause. It would create a rather nifty constitutional precedent and perhaps put some restraints back on the proper scope of the commerce clause...(Another case for the Institute for Justice perhaps....)
Thanks for explaining the role of Cato for/. Most people have never heard of Cato or the myriad of other great think tanks out there which are doing similar work. Cato is definitely at the forefront of the free-market policy movement and its nice to know that their work isn't being passed by or unnoticed. Their work on policy is based on economic theory, in-depth empirical studies, and plain old common sense. They don't pretend to be experts on tech issues, nor do they need to be. One of the major reasons why libertarians support limited government is precisely because its impossible for the government (or any other body of officials) to be so well-informed about the information necessary to any particular market that they couldn't possibly run-it much less regulate it well if they tried. (see F.H. Hayek, L. von Mises "Economic Calculation in the Socialist Commonwealth", Thomas Sowell, etc..) Sufficed to say, Cato has great ideas and sound arguments - even if most of the people who work have little contact with tech issues. I work for a similar organization that does not cover the breadth of research that Cato does, but nonetheless, we try to stay informed. I'm living proof that there are policy people out there who are actually trying to understand the issues not only from a theoretical perspective, but also by being a part of the everyday nuts-and-bolts side of technology issues. And, from what I've found, the arguments don't lose strength when the details of technical specs are thrown in, they are, if anything, made all the stronger.
I'd be very interested in knowing where you've gotten your stats. There are certainly a number of studies that would say just the opposite, i.e. there has been an enormous increase in wealth and a corresponding increase in leisure time. Simply looking at the CPI changes (check out any Federal Reserve site) would seem to indicate that living standards have changed dramatically, particularly when adjusted for inflation. I would also recommend taking a look at the Index of Economic Freedom for a more global perspective on economic prosperity. Also, I suggest Robert Higgs' _Crisis in Leviathan_ and other economic historical studies for information about the economic problems occurring prior to and during the Great Depression. It was by no means the free-market ideal and many of the crises' that occurred were due to poor fiscal and monetary policies (the Austrian theory of the trade cycle provides a very good analysis of these problems).
As a libertarian, I find nothing inconsistent with caring about the poor, promoting social welfare, being generous in spirit as well as materially and in supporting libertarian policies. Most libertarians believe what they do on the basis of sound economic theories supported by empirical studies, sound logic, and critical examination. More importantly, most libertarians support those ideas based upon responsible moral convictions. If I didn't firmly believe that the best way to support the poor was to eliminate welfare, I would never in good conscience advocate such a policy. If you want to know why libertarians support the ideas that they do - look at the arguments, don't just presume that we're all just a bunch of selfish, greedy, heartless (insert your favorite insult here). If you insist on pronouncing judgements, at least do it in an intellectually responsible manner and not simply dismiss the ideas without at least hearing them out. www.cato.org www.fee.org www.perc.org www.cei.org www.lp.org www.free-market.net www.reason.org
Slashdot Mirror
This isn't exactly news. Do a quick search on "experimental economics" and you'll discover that not only have these types of experiments been going on for over 40 years, the Swiss aren't exactly at the forefront of the effort either. There are research depts. and labs devoted to solving these types of problems and developing institutions and rules which generate the best outcomes (I'm partial to the ESL lab at George Mason myself). If you're looking for solutions for p2p problems and other issues of property/sharing issues, this is a good place to start.
...our business connection is still up and running (Internetconnect=ISP via Northpoint), but I can feel the clock ticking.... in any case, FYI - service in Westchester county, just north of NYC (at least this part) is still functional...
The nonprofit I work for subcontracts thru internetconnect with Northpoint. Were it not for the fact that I read slashdot, I think we'd be screwed. We've not heard from either internetconnect nor Northpoint about any problems, much less a shutdown. While we've had pretty great service up til now (Northpoint was the ONLY sdsl provider willing to service our location at the time of install.), this is very disappointing. I guess I'll be on the phone on Monday to get our service switched ASAP -- whatever happened to caring about the customer enough not to see them left high and dry???
I work for a nonprofit, charity dependent group, so I know a bit about what it takes to get money to the people who can best use it. My recommendation is to look for smaller organizations (not the bloated bureaucratic machines that dominate the infomertial world) and those which are known for having strict accountability. Even though I'm not religious, I would recomend giving to church-based charities simply because they are less likely to fall prey to moral impropriety and squander the funds. Also, organizations which do not have endowments also tend to be more responsible and responsive to donor preferences -- they live very hand-to-mouth and thus tend to work a lot more efficiently. And lastly, any organization that has been privately organized by an individual or set of individuals with their own funds tends to be a good investment. When someone decides to put their money into starting up a non-profit (assuming its not just some lame tax-shelter) and perhaps even dropping their career in order to devote their attention to it full-time, there's a good chance that they're serious about helping people.
Anyhow, I'm happy to offer specific suggestions if anyone's interested. And if your giving interests are in the realm of education, I can definitely point you to some people who are doing good work and can always use some help (and, no, I'm not just plugging my own group -- I don't work in dev. so I can be a bit more honest about it). Email me.
ahh the smell of pork at every .gov site.... the smell of money at every .com site.... fish in every .net.... and the smell of doritos, old laundry and stale beer at every .org site
I couldn't agree more with your post. As another female gamer, I'm more than a tad annoyed at some of the male comments in the response threads to this article. The sexist ads aren't the problem for most female gamers. (I for one could really care less about how much clothing Lara Croft is or is not wearing.) The problem is not with what's there, but with what's missing. Female gamers aren't targeted and there's definitely room for improvement. While many female gamers may not be into playing first person shooters and strategy games, many do like action/adventure games and RPGS (amongst other things) --- but the advertising for those types of games is just as atrocious. The advertising assumes that the demographics are the same for every type of game. (And for those of you that think Barbie and other similar crap-consumer products are a viable substitute are welcome to more than a few choice remarks.) What's needed is a more accurate marketing approach that targets the right audiences for the right games, not just a bunch of ads made by guys for the sake of their libidos. And this does not mean trimming the ads with lace and fuscia, it means finding out what female gamers really want - and its definitely not what stereotypes assume, b/c being a female gamer means being well outside of the traditional (uptight/Puritan) gender role of being a female (i.e. being interested in technology and high-end entertainment).
"Linux is free only if your time is worthless."
Given what we know about politics and what it takes to get ahead in our 'glorious' democratic system, why on earth would anyone in their right mind support a politician from the last century as the greatest anything? Quite seriously, I'd throw my support behind Bill Gates, Rupert Murdoch, or Michael Milken long before I'd support any one of the gaggle of power-mongering idiots that have littered the oval office and congress for the last 100 years. My next door neighbor probably deserves more laurels.
Just an interesting "what if"....
What if Cato were to support state taxation as opposed to federal taxation of ecommerce (given that the 'no taxation' option isn't available) in the hopes of having it struck down under the Interstate Commerce Clause. It would create a rather nifty constitutional precedent and perhaps put some restraints back on the proper scope of the commerce clause...(Another case for the Institute for Justice perhaps....)
Thanks for explaining the role of Cato for /. Most people have never heard of Cato or the myriad of other great think tanks out there which are doing similar work. Cato is definitely at the forefront of the free-market policy movement and its nice to know that their work isn't being passed by or unnoticed. Their work on policy is based on economic theory, in-depth empirical studies, and plain old common sense. They don't pretend to be experts on tech issues, nor do they need to be. One of the major reasons why libertarians support limited government is precisely because its impossible for the government (or any other body of officials) to be so well-informed about the information necessary to any particular market that they couldn't possibly run-it much less regulate it well if they tried. (see F.H. Hayek, L. von Mises "Economic Calculation in the Socialist Commonwealth", Thomas Sowell, etc..) Sufficed to say, Cato has great ideas and sound arguments - even if most of the people who work have little contact with tech issues.
I work for a similar organization that does not cover the breadth of research that Cato does, but nonetheless, we try to stay informed. I'm living proof that there are policy people out there who are actually trying to understand the issues not only from a theoretical perspective, but also by being a part of the everyday nuts-and-bolts side of technology issues. And, from what I've found, the arguments don't lose strength when the details of technical specs are thrown in, they are, if anything, made all the stronger.
I'd be very interested in knowing where you've gotten your stats. There are certainly a number of studies that would say just the opposite, i.e. there has been an enormous increase in wealth and a corresponding increase in leisure time. Simply looking at the CPI changes (check out any Federal Reserve site) would seem to indicate that living standards have changed dramatically, particularly when adjusted for inflation.
I would also recommend taking a look at the Index of Economic Freedom for a more global perspective on economic prosperity. Also, I suggest Robert Higgs' _Crisis in Leviathan_ and other economic historical studies for information about the economic problems occurring prior to and during the Great Depression. It was by no means the free-market ideal and many of the crises' that occurred were due to poor fiscal and monetary policies (the Austrian theory of the trade cycle provides a very good analysis of these problems).
As a libertarian, I find nothing inconsistent with caring about the poor, promoting social welfare, being generous in spirit as well as materially and in supporting libertarian policies. Most libertarians believe what they do on the basis of sound economic theories supported by empirical studies, sound logic, and critical examination. More importantly, most libertarians support those ideas based upon responsible moral convictions. If I didn't firmly believe that the best way to support the poor was to eliminate welfare, I would never in good conscience advocate such a policy. If you want to know why libertarians support the ideas that they do - look at the arguments, don't just presume that we're all just a bunch of selfish, greedy, heartless (insert your favorite insult here). If you insist on pronouncing judgements, at least do it in an intellectually responsible manner and not simply dismiss the ideas without at least hearing them out.
www.cato.org
www.fee.org
www.perc.org
www.cei.org
www.lp.org
www.free-market.net
www.reason.org