I think the fascination with death, violence and blood in these killers is more important than all of the other attributes. Sure we all felt unpopular, picked on and ostracized for being smarter than normal and introspective, but did most of you fantasize about guns and death? I can tell you that I only did once, and somewhat scared myself doing it. Young people who continually obsess about these themes probably should be noted and helped, because they've got issues.
I'd love to hear from all of you about whether you agree. Is it a normal geek thing to be fascinated/obsessed with guns, death and violence? Or is that the line that needs to be drawn in the sand for these Mosaic people so they don't target just plain geeks in their profile?
p.s. I don't know how much you've read of the Kip Kinkel case, but being from Portland I've read a fair bit. From what I remember, Kip Kinkel wasn't a great student, and in fact that accounted for a lot of his rage. From his parents (both schoolteachers) he felt pressure to do well in school, but likely due to some learning disabilities, couldn't live up to their expectations. Recently in his sentencing trial he talked about the voices in his head, indicating possible mental illness as the cause for his shooting spree.
I know that O'Reilly used to sell t-shirts, and I also know that they're almost impossible to find nowadays. I wasn't cool enough back then to get my own so I would love O'Reilly to offer them again! The _sed & awk_ guys are sooo cute. Does anyone have a used O'Reilly t-shirt to sell me?:)
Where did this close mindedness come from? What are we, a private country club? How do you define "one of us"?
I say that Katz most definitely is one of us based on his interest in free software and its implications on society. That he is spending the time to try to learn to use Linux first hand is an even bigger indication that he's one of us.
I find Katz's articles some of the most interesting at slashdot because I've also considered the role of free software in remaking our society. It definitely can be argued that a large portion of geek community is concerned with things like freedom and privacy, two topics which he's written about in the past.
I like that he's a real person and not just a one-dimensional geek. As another slashdot community member, I don't want you to speak as a "proud member of the community". I'm embarrased by your exclusive ideas about who belongs.
Where did this close mindedness come from? What are we, a private country club? How do you define "one of us"? I say that Katz most definitely is one of us based on his interest in free software and its implications on society. That he is spending the time to try to learn to use Linux first hand is an even bigger indication that he's one of us.
I find Katz's articles some of the most interesting at slashdot because I've also considered the role of free software in remaking our society. It definitely can be argued that a large portion of geek community is concerned with things like freedom and privacy, two topics which he's written about in the past.
I like that he's a "real person" and not just a one-dimensional geek. As another slashdot community member, I don't want you to speak as a "proud member of the community". I'm embarrased by your exclusive ideas about who "belongs".
Slashdot Mirror
I think the fascination with death, violence and blood in these killers is more important than all of the other attributes. Sure we all felt unpopular, picked on and ostracized for being smarter than normal and introspective, but did most of you fantasize about guns and death? I can tell you that I only did once, and somewhat scared myself doing it. Young people who continually obsess about these themes probably should be noted and helped, because they've got issues.
I'd love to hear from all of you about whether you agree. Is it a normal geek thing to be fascinated/obsessed with guns, death and violence? Or is that the line that needs to be drawn in the sand for these Mosaic people so they don't target just plain geeks in their profile?
p.s.
I don't know how much you've read of the Kip Kinkel case, but being from Portland I've read a fair bit. From what I remember, Kip Kinkel wasn't a great student, and in fact that accounted for a lot of his rage. From his parents (both schoolteachers) he felt pressure to do well in school, but likely due to some learning disabilities, couldn't live up to their expectations. Recently in his sentencing trial he talked about the voices in his head, indicating possible mental illness as the cause for his shooting spree.
ftp://ftp.dartmouth.edu/pub/software/mac/BlitzMail /Export/src/
Have fun.
I know that O'Reilly used to sell t-shirts, and I also know that they're almost impossible to find nowadays. I wasn't cool enough back then to get my own so I would love O'Reilly to offer them again! The _sed & awk_ guys are sooo cute. Does anyone have a used O'Reilly t-shirt to sell me? :)
Where did this close mindedness come from? What are we, a private country club? How do you define "one of us"?
I say that Katz most definitely is one of us based on his interest in free software and its implications on society. That he is spending the time to try to learn to use Linux first hand is an even bigger indication that he's one of us.
I find Katz's articles some of the most interesting at slashdot because I've also considered the role of free software in remaking our society. It definitely can be argued that a large portion of geek community is concerned with things like freedom and privacy, two topics which he's written about in the past.
I like that he's a real person and not just a one-dimensional geek. As another slashdot community member, I don't want you to speak as a "proud member of the community". I'm embarrased by your exclusive ideas about who belongs.
Where did this close mindedness come from? What are we, a private country club? How do you define "one of us"?
I say that Katz most definitely is one of us based on his interest in free software and its implications on society. That he is spending the time to try to learn to use Linux first hand is an even bigger indication that he's one of us.
I find Katz's articles some of the most interesting at slashdot because I've also considered the role of free software in remaking our society. It definitely can be argued that a large portion of geek community is concerned with things like freedom and privacy, two topics which he's written about in the past.
I like that he's a "real person" and not just a one-dimensional geek. As another slashdot community member, I don't want you to speak as a "proud member of the community". I'm embarrased by your exclusive ideas about who "belongs".