The problem, JNelson, is that the US government has agreed that it will refrain from certain activities, in return for abeyance from revolution by its citizens. One of these is that the government will not restrict what people can say. If there is a good reason to do so (e.g. "fire" in a crowded theater), then the restrictions will be as small as possible. The restrictions on crypto export are much larger than necessary. As a consequence, they violate the First Amendment. -russ
...Beowulf cluster! Yes, why waste all those cycles when you've got a lab-full of machines that could otherwise be computing PI to the Nth digit, or somesuch other useful computing task. -russ
It took me three months to get over it. From everything I've heard, I had a mild case. There was never a time I couldn't type, from spasms or whatever. I've got a (better) ergo keyboard now, and I (try to) not pound on the keys. A gentle touch seems to be best for me. YMMV, of course. -russ
He's a kept man. His wife pays the bills. He's laid aside his consulting business for the past few years. She makes enough for the two of them, and she may need a sugar daddy in the future. She may need to take a low-paying job (as a court clerk) as a stepping stone to the Supreme Court. So he's taking advantage of their being SINKs (Single Income No Kids) now, presuming that later the roles will reverse. -russ
Do you see that there is a nutrition problem when you only eat the food available from a McDonald's? So why are you defending a McEducation? If a child has their time filled up by junk education, how can a parent find the time to teach them values and morality? The typical school day lasts ten to twelve hours when you count the assigned homework and reading. And we thought we banned child labor!
You're presuming that private education is more expensive than public education. The facts belie you. Private school tuitions are lower than the per-pupil costs for public education. Not all of them, of course, but even one is an existance proof that the poor won't go without.
You're right about the poor quality of public education. I mean, you can't capitalize, you can't spell arise or dropped, and you write run-on sentences. And you forgot a comma: "The more educated everyone is the better". They did manage to teach you one thing useful to them: that government schools are a necessity. -russ
Compare the revenue brought in from the gasoline tax and compare it to the money spent to maintain public roads. You'll find that they're pretty close. And if that's not enough money, then ask to pay more for road maintenance. I mean, you'll pay the money sooner or later, either in gas taxes or in front-end alignment and new tires. -russ
If you're so sure it's going to happen, then tell us how. Just exactly *how* are you going to tax "the Internet"? -russ p.s. highways are already paid through a user fee -- gasoline taxes. Public transportation shouldn't be subsidized, and public education shouldn't exist (you can't give children a moral education when everyone has to pay for it, since people can't agree on what's moral and if you don't give children a moral education, you get what we've gotten). Property taxes aren't going to go away since you can't hide your property over the Internet.
So what if symmetric-key encryption can use 128 bits? That only helps if you have some way to exchange keys, and you can only export 512 bits of RSA. By *definition* if you can export something, the NSA can break it. The only uncertainty there is whether the NSA can break larger numbers of bits. -russ
The Net pol might favor the equitable distribution of technology, so that America won't split (as it already has) into techno-haves and have nots.
You're making an assumption that this is a bad thing, or even a long-lived thing. You need to come down off that mountain, and get to know some blue-collar people. They use the net as much as anyone else. I know some quite poor people who use the net. The techno-have / have nots are not split along class lines as so many people think. Internet access is quite affordable these days, and becoming even more so.
No, the people who don't have computers are the people who don't see the need. Why bother giving them computers? When they feel the need, they will do what countless others have done -- go buy them and start using them. -russ
This is a bogus system. It relies on people cooperating with it. Well, don't. Don't supply a rating, or if forced to, give the worse possible rating, even for innocuous content. Then, when people can't get at innocuous content, they'll turn their browser's filtering off. -russ
You're right, you're not a lawyer. You're probably not even a programmer. Have you ever heard the word "recursion"? What if I link to a site that links to a site that links to mp3 copyright violations? What if someone links to my site? What if someone links to their site?
No, you have to draw the line somewhere, and the proper place is when a copyright is infringed, not merely upon telling someone where a copyright may be infringed. -russ
If I tell you how to make a link to an illegal mp3 site, am I helping someone to do something illegal? You just expressed an opinion saying that it should be. When does it stop? If I mention Thoreau's Civil Disobedience, should that be illegal? I'm telling you the name of a document that encourages people to act according to their conscience even when it goes against the law. What about a newpaper that prints the URL of a site distributing copyright-infringing MP3's? You're proposing prior restraint, which is almost never considered acceptable in free speech cases. -russ
If you want someone to have to have loaded your html before loading your MP3 or GIF files with a Referer: pointing to that html, then program your web server that way. When something is technologically protectible, there's no need for political protection. -russ
Slashdot Mirror
The problem, JNelson, is that the US government has agreed that it will refrain from certain activities, in return for abeyance from revolution by its citizens. One of these is that the government will not restrict what people can say. If there is a good reason to do so (e.g. "fire" in a crowded theater), then the restrictions will be as small as possible. The restrictions on crypto export are much larger than necessary. As a consequence, they violate the First Amendment.
-russ
Wrong, Bruce, ESR has a board checking him. Remember?? You used to be on it, but you gave up/in.
-russ
...Beowulf cluster! Yes, why waste all those cycles when you've got a lab-full of machines that could otherwise be computing PI to the Nth digit, or somesuch other useful computing task.
-russ
It took me three months to get over it. From everything I've heard, I had a mild case. There was never a time I couldn't type, from spasms or whatever. I've got a (better) ergo keyboard now, and I (try to) not pound on the keys. A gentle touch seems to be best for me. YMMV, of course.
-russ
Gee, is that why I got put in with the dummies in sixth grade, thirty years ago?
-russ
He's a kept man. His wife pays the bills. He's laid aside his consulting business for the past few years. She makes enough for the two of them, and she may need a sugar daddy in the future. She may need to take a low-paying job (as a court clerk) as a stepping stone to the Supreme Court. So he's taking advantage of their being SINKs (Single Income No Kids) now, presuming that later the roles will reverse.
-russ
So? Mint your own money. What's stopping you? ecash protocols exist. Implement one, and put some capital into it.
-russ
Do you see that there is a nutrition problem when you only eat the food available from a McDonald's? So why are you defending a McEducation? If a child has their time filled up by junk education, how can a parent find the time to teach them values and morality? The typical school day lasts ten to twelve hours when you count the assigned homework and reading. And we thought we banned child labor!
You're presuming that private education is more expensive than public education. The facts belie you. Private school tuitions are lower than the per-pupil costs for public education. Not all of them, of course, but even one is an existance proof that the poor won't go without.
You're right about the poor quality of public education. I mean, you can't capitalize, you can't spell arise or dropped, and you write run-on sentences. And you forgot a comma: "The more educated everyone is the better". They did manage to teach you one thing useful to them: that government schools are a necessity.
-russ
Your use of public roads is highly subsidized
Compare the revenue brought in from the gasoline tax and compare it to the money spent to maintain public roads. You'll find that they're pretty close. And if that's not enough money, then ask to pay more for road maintenance. I mean, you'll pay the money sooner or later, either in gas taxes or in front-end alignment and new tires.
-russ
If you're so sure it's going to happen, then tell us how. Just exactly *how* are you going to tax "the Internet"?
-russ
p.s. highways are already paid through a user fee -- gasoline taxes. Public transportation shouldn't be subsidized, and public education shouldn't exist (you can't give children a moral education when everyone has to pay for it, since people can't agree on what's moral and if you don't give children a moral education, you get what we've gotten). Property taxes aren't going to go away since you can't hide your property over the Internet.
Dilbert_ writes "Since most dot com domains of the form www.[common english word].com are taken today, you could theoretically surf around using just a dictionary. Now you can search the web from a page that will will automatically generate a fresh load of links, based on a dictionnary. " For some reason this amuses me greatly.
is very nice
I think my balls
just turned to ice
-russ
Naughton has written pages and pages of assembly. You want to see some of it? He's no PHB, although he is quite arrogant.
-russ
Get a clue: his name is Patrick Naughton.
-russ
Are slashdot readers going to get a stock allocation?
"No comment"? How did I *know* you were going to say that??
-russ
After all, Word Perfect, the standard word processor in the legal profession, runs under Linux.
-russ
So what if symmetric-key encryption can use 128 bits? That only helps if you have some way to exchange keys, and you can only export 512 bits of RSA. By *definition* if you can export something, the NSA can break it. The only uncertainty there is whether the NSA can break larger numbers of bits.
-russ
You
are
so
right!
-russ
You're making an assumption that this is a bad thing, or even a long-lived thing. You need to come down off that mountain, and get to know some blue-collar people. They use the net as much as anyone else. I know some quite poor people who use the net. The techno-have / have nots are not split along class lines as so many people think. Internet access is quite affordable these days, and becoming even more so.
No, the people who don't have computers are the people who don't see the need. Why bother giving them computers? When they feel the need, they will do what countless others have done -- go buy them and start using them.
-russ
I want to be shot at by CmdrTaco!
This is a bogus system. It relies on people cooperating with it. Well, don't. Don't supply a rating, or if forced to, give the worse possible rating, even for innocuous content. Then, when people can't get at innocuous content, they'll turn their browser's filtering off.
-russ
What's to stop me from selling insurance internationally?
-russ
You're right, you're not a lawyer. You're probably not even a programmer. Have you ever heard the word "recursion"? What if I link to a site that links to a site that links to mp3 copyright violations? What if someone links to my site? What if someone links to their site?
No, you have to draw the line somewhere, and the proper place is when a copyright is infringed, not merely upon telling someone where a copyright may be infringed.
-russ
If I tell you how to make a link to an illegal mp3 site, am I helping someone to do something illegal? You just expressed an opinion saying that it should be. When does it stop? If I mention Thoreau's Civil Disobedience, should that be illegal? I'm telling you the name of a document that encourages people to act according to their conscience even when it goes against the law. What about a newpaper that prints the URL of a site distributing copyright-infringing MP3's? You're proposing prior restraint, which is almost never considered acceptable in free speech cases.
-russ
If you want someone to have to have loaded your html before loading your MP3 or GIF files with a Referer: pointing to that html, then program your web server that way. When something is technologically protectible, there's no need for political protection.
-russ