"Redundant" moderation does not always mean that this specific comment has been posted to this story previously. It could be used (IMHO) where a comment has been posted to other stories, or where a comment is something that is obvious to a large percentage (80%+?) of Slashdotters.
Although Frist Psot is ususally moderated as troll or offtopic, is is also technically redundant, since it has been posted hundreds of times before. A comment about Microsoft is evil, or Apple is dying, or about free beer is redundant, even if its the frist psot.
Reminds me of the Star Trek episode where two planets are fighting a virtual war, and the "casualties" have to report to places to be neatly killed. Would this be the same idea? Would people killed in the game have to die?
Corporations have an innocent and noble aim, to make money.
I can't believe that you type this with a straight face. There is nothing innocent and noble about pursuing profit above all else.
Corporations destroy our environment, abuse workers (what do you think minimum wage would be if there were no unions? We only need to look to where your Nikes were made for the answer)
Corporations are about expoitation. Suck as much cash out of the consumer as possible, lie to the consumer as much as you can possibly get away with, only regard the health and safety of employees and consumers when mandated by law. (How safe were cars before government regulations?)
If you want a prime example of why libertarianism is doomed to fail, you only need to look as far as the Tobacco industry, which lied to consumers for decades, before finally being forced to come clean and admit that cigarettes were both addictive and harmful. (Standard Libertarian answer would be that its a person's choice to smoke, but I would argue that most people begin smoking when they are young, before they are fully capable of understanding the consequenses of their actions, and nicotine, being a more addictive substance than heroin, is manipulated to make it very difficult for people to quit.)
The reality is that Libertarianism only works if Corporations are 100% honest with consumers, and consumers are 100% informed. Neither is ever true. It is rarely in a corporation's best interest to be honest with consumers. Whole marketing departments are devoted to getting people to turn off thier brains.
Libertarianism is flawed, because it makes some very flawed assumptions, and aim for a kind of Utopian society that we can never achieve.
(Just my opinion... flame away)
Don't mod me up, Reply with something intelligent instead
For the first hundred years of copyright, copyright terms lasted less than 20 years. In the last 40 years copyright has been extended to 70 years plus the lifetime of the author. How government granted monopolies, justified as a means for providing incentive to authors to create additional works, achieves that goal *70 years after the author's death* mystifies me.
This is the point we need to focus on, to drive home. Make this simple point to your congresscritter, senator, anyone with power who will listen. This is what its all about folks.
I don't see how anyone can justify any kind of copyright, patent, or any other IP protection after the author is dead. The only reason for this is to line the pockets of the RIAA, MPAA, and OEAAs. (Other Evil Arbitrary Acronymns). Give the rights back to the authors and artists! (Now that we have an effective means of distribution, we can cut out *all* the middlemen, and get stuff directly from the creator to the consumer.)
As corporations earn more and more rights which have traditionally been attributed to people, I submit that they should also be subject to harsher penalties.
If a person (in Texas, at least) murdered as many people as even the smallest tobacco company, there would be no hesitation in executing that person.
The same standard should apply to corporations as to people. In the case of Microsoft, that might include some harsh fines (high enough to have an impact on their bottom line).
Only thing I can't figure out, is if the Death Penalty = Shutting down a business, and fines = (really big fines), then what is the corporate equivalent to prison?
Microsoft is screwing themselves right out of business. Here's why:
Picture two little companies, competing against each other, one uses Windows, the other uses Linux. Microsoft has to do everything it can to milk as much cash as possible out of the first one, and cost of production for that company will inevitalbly be higher than for the other company. (Even accounting for the fact that the Linux-using company might need to hire a guru as its IT manager.
Its pure Darwin folks. The smarter comapnies will use the free OS, the dumber ones will stick with Bill & Co, and run themselves right out of business.
During the boom, this wasn't a problem because everyone was raking in the cash, but as soon as the coming Depression get really bad, people will be looking for ways to cut costs, and getting rid of the MS in a company is the best way to do that. Microsoft is doomed, but they are far too arrogant to realize it, and they might not until its too late.
I saw that episode (West Wing Rules) and I had this thought:
What would happen if a Senator (or CongressCritter) read DeCSS out loud on the floor of the Senate or House? Would it then be a matter of Public Record?
Please reply if you are a lawyer, and you know about this stuff.
If its true, we need to snail-mail all those CongressCritters... if even one of them reads DeCSS into the record, we've WON!
If, for some reason the RIAA was violating the DMCA, how long do you think it would be before the same lawmakers who wrote the damn thing in the first place fixed the bug in the law to make AIMster the bad guys?
And, just curious, but totally unrelated, of course, but how much has the RIAA and its members given to the Republican party in the past year?
How 'bout the Democrats?
hmmmm?
At the end of Kirk's 5 year mission, the first Starship Enterprise (NCC-1701) was about 20 years old. Assuming that Robert April (first Captain of that ship) and Christopher Pike (who was Captian immediatly before Kirk) each flew a 5 year mission, that leaves 5 years between Captain April and Captain Pike that is unaccounted for. I think that this is where the new series will be set.
As for your implication that the names are a hoax...
I also can't disprove the existance of Santa Claus. Doesn't mean I waste any time considering the possibility.
Same with God. (Any argument that can be applied to the existance of god, can also be applied to the existance of Santa Claus.)
If you're interested in this stuff, read Engines of Creation by Eric Drexler. Published in 1986, he predicted all this, and more. And he lays out where we're headed. Nanotechnology has the potential to be mankinds greatest invention... or worst nightmare.
Laptops keep getting smaller, but the traditional laptop has a limit to how small it can get. A full sized keyboard and a nice 15" screen can be paper thin, and only a few ounces, but will still be 8.5x11". The real future is in the headset/eyepeice screen, with a fold up Palm Style keyboard, and an air mouse pointing device (maybe a tiny device worn on one finger like a ring?) that all communicate wirelessly (and of course are connected to the internet with 802.11 or its descendant.
I have seen the future... and it looks kinda cool, but only if we take some drastic steps to fix this fsck'd up planet.
Anonymity allows the Microsoft employee to post unto Slash the company secrets...
There are so many instances where anonymity is essential.
Lots of shady stuff happening in government and corporations. People need to know about it, and there has to be a safe place to reveal that info.
I'll take the bait.
Its called free speech.
The best way to ensure that we hear everything that anyone might want to say that will benefit someone in some way, is to put up with a whole lot of that crap. Thats why we have moderation. If you don't like it, read at +1 or +2, whatever floats your boat. (Unless you're moderating, in which case you should be reading at -1)
If this is ever going to be done, it would have to be a unanimous vote from every country, holding majority elections in the country to decide the nation vote. Because this could easily fuck up and you don't wanna fuck up the planet unless everyone agrees it will be fun.
Not bloody likely.
I don't there there is any law, proposal or suggestion that could get unanimous consent on this planet. Even the most obvious thing has to be debated by two "sides". Even when one side of the argument is just plain silly. (Certain Republicans come to mind...)
Slashdot Mirror
Although Frist Psot is ususally moderated as troll or offtopic, is is also technically redundant, since it has been posted hundreds of times before. A comment about Microsoft is evil, or Apple is dying, or about free beer is redundant, even if its the frist psot.
Really good implimentation of SlashCode, and really good stories about the drug war at SmokeDot
Reminds me of the Star Trek episode where two planets are fighting a virtual war, and the "casualties" have to report to places to be neatly killed. Would this be the same idea? Would people killed in the game have to die?
I'm calling the Mailroom Clerk right away. He has to know about this gross miscarriage of justice!
I can't believe that you type this with a straight face. There is nothing innocent and noble about pursuing profit above all else.
Corporations destroy our environment, abuse workers (what do you think minimum wage would be if there were no unions? We only need to look to where your Nikes were made for the answer)
Corporations are about expoitation. Suck as much cash out of the consumer as possible, lie to the consumer as much as you can possibly get away with, only regard the health and safety of employees and consumers when mandated by law. (How safe were cars before government regulations?)
If you want a prime example of why libertarianism is doomed to fail, you only need to look as far as the Tobacco industry, which lied to consumers for decades, before finally being forced to come clean and admit that cigarettes were both addictive and harmful. (Standard Libertarian answer would be that its a person's choice to smoke, but I would argue that most people begin smoking when they are young, before they are fully capable of understanding the consequenses of their actions, and nicotine, being a more addictive substance than heroin, is manipulated to make it very difficult for people to quit.)
The reality is that Libertarianism only works if Corporations are 100% honest with consumers, and consumers are 100% informed. Neither is ever true. It is rarely in a corporation's best interest to be honest with consumers. Whole marketing departments are devoted to getting people to turn off thier brains.
Libertarianism is flawed, because it makes some very flawed assumptions, and aim for a kind of Utopian society that we can never achieve.
(Just my opinion... flame away)
Don't mod me up, Reply with something intelligent instead
The winner, in my book:
http://slashdot.org/articles/98/11/06/166258.shtml
The oldest story on Slashdot that can still be accessed:
http://slashdot.org/articles/older/00000004.shtml
(I find particulary amusing the comments by Rob Malda... I think that would be the first slashdot troll ever)
This is the point we need to focus on, to drive home. Make this simple point to your congresscritter, senator, anyone with power who will listen. This is what its all about folks.
I don't see how anyone can justify any kind of copyright, patent, or any other IP protection after the author is dead. The only reason for this is to line the pockets of the RIAA, MPAA, and OEAAs. (Other Evil Arbitrary Acronymns). Give the rights back to the authors and artists! (Now that we have an effective means of distribution, we can cut out *all* the middlemen, and get stuff directly from the creator to the consumer.)
As corporations earn more and more rights which have traditionally been attributed to people, I submit that they should also be subject to harsher penalties.
If a person (in Texas, at least) murdered as many people as even the smallest tobacco company, there would be no hesitation in executing that person. The same standard should apply to corporations as to people. In the case of Microsoft, that might include some harsh fines (high enough to have an impact on their bottom line).
Only thing I can't figure out, is if the Death Penalty = Shutting down a business, and fines = (really big fines), then what is the corporate equivalent to prison?
You get 3 days to moderate. If you don't see anything you like today, wait until tomorrow.
Microsoft is screwing themselves right out of business. Here's why:
Picture two little companies, competing against each other, one uses Windows, the other uses Linux. Microsoft has to do everything it can to milk as much cash as possible out of the first one, and cost of production for that company will inevitalbly be higher than for the other company. (Even accounting for the fact that the Linux-using company might need to hire a guru as its IT manager.
Its pure Darwin folks. The smarter comapnies will use the free OS, the dumber ones will stick with Bill & Co, and run themselves right out of business.
During the boom, this wasn't a problem because everyone was raking in the cash, but as soon as the coming Depression get really bad, people will be looking for ways to cut costs, and getting rid of the MS in a company is the best way to do that. Microsoft is doomed, but they are far too arrogant to realize it, and they might not until its too late.
This was also a feature in Mac OS 9, btw.
Then how can they still be trying to supress it?
I saw that episode (West Wing Rules) and I had this thought:
What would happen if a Senator (or CongressCritter) read DeCSS out loud on the floor of the Senate or House? Would it then be a matter of Public Record?
Please reply if you are a lawyer, and you know about this stuff.
If its true, we need to snail-mail all those CongressCritters... if even one of them reads DeCSS into the record, we've WON!
The scariest thing is that, even if this is a joke, that there are people who think like that.
If, for some reason the RIAA was violating the DMCA, how long do you think it would be before the same lawmakers who wrote the damn thing in the first place fixed the bug in the law to make AIMster the bad guys?
And, just curious, but totally unrelated, of course, but how much has the RIAA and its members given to the Republican party in the past year?
How 'bout the Democrats?
hmmmm?
At the end of Kirk's 5 year mission, the first Starship Enterprise (NCC-1701) was about 20 years old. Assuming that Robert April (first Captain of that ship) and Christopher Pike (who was Captian immediatly before Kirk) each flew a 5 year mission, that leaves 5 years between Captain April and Captain Pike that is unaccounted for. I think that this is where the new series will be set.
As for your implication that the names are a hoax...
Yeah, you're probably right.
Of course, being open source, this bug will be fixed quickly. (Unlike certain other things **cough**cough**outlook**cough**cough)
I also can't disprove the existance of Santa Claus. Doesn't mean I waste any time considering the possibility.
Same with God. (Any argument that can be applied to the existance of god, can also be applied to the existance of Santa Claus.)
Good Idea:
2001-03-18 07:34:21
CokeBear
(and whazzup with that lameness filter? it treats numbers as caps? now *thats* lameness.)
If you're interested in this stuff, read Engines of Creation by Eric Drexler. Published in 1986, he predicted all this, and more. And he lays out where we're headed. Nanotechnology has the potential to be mankinds greatest invention... or worst nightmare.
Laptops keep getting smaller, but the traditional laptop has a limit to how small it can get. A full sized keyboard and a nice 15" screen can be paper thin, and only a few ounces, but will still be 8.5x11". The real future is in the headset/eyepeice screen, with a fold up Palm Style keyboard, and an air mouse pointing device (maybe a tiny device worn on one finger like a ring?) that all communicate wirelessly (and of course are connected to the internet with 802.11 or its descendant.
I have seen the future... and it looks kinda cool, but only if we take some drastic steps to fix this fsck'd up planet.
Is there any reason that the First Sale Doctrine couldn't be extended to software CDs by a good lawyer? Or Music CDs, for that matter?
Anonymity allows the Microsoft employee to post unto Slash the company secrets...
There are so many instances where anonymity is essential.
Lots of shady stuff happening in government and corporations. People need to know about it, and there has to be a safe place to reveal that info.
Slashdot is that place.
I'll take the bait.
Its called free speech.
The best way to ensure that we hear everything that anyone might want to say that will benefit someone in some way, is to put up with a whole lot of that crap. Thats why we have moderation. If you don't like it, read at +1 or +2, whatever floats your boat. (Unless you're moderating, in which case you should be reading at -1)
If this is ever going to be done, it would have to be a unanimous vote from every country, holding majority elections in the country to decide the nation vote. Because this could easily fuck up and you don't wanna fuck up the planet unless everyone agrees it will be fun.
Not bloody likely.
I don't there there is any law, proposal or suggestion that could get unanimous consent on this planet. Even the most obvious thing has to be debated by two "sides". Even when one side of the argument is just plain silly. (Certain Republicans come to mind...)