This debate is going no where, and you'll never get the majority of the population on your side. Here's why:
1) Popularity - How many of you, even those who consider yourselves activists, *always* use encryption? How many of you who support encryption usually send plaintext emails? You know who you are. How can you then expect "Joe user" to do the same?
2) Content - Most communications don't require privacy, plain and simple. How many government types or hackers really care how many tequila shots you did last night?
3) Abuse - Abuse or interception of "private" emails simply isn't rampant. It would be much easier to sell this position to the public if people were actually getting screwed because of intercepted email or governmental abuse.
4) Rights - This is a fight for a vague, ephemeral concept of "rights". On the other side of the coin, there's a smoking hole in the ground where 6,000 people once stood. Most people (including myself) value the safety of thier wives and children more than your right to hide "how stoned" you got last weekend from the eyes of the feds.
I was a bit disappointed in the way this book tried to "explain" the character of Starlitz. In Sterling's previous short stories, he had always been portrayed in a mythic way. He was one of Sterling's most interesting creations: a modern day "Wandering Jew". We were better off thinking of him as both timeless and unchanging... after all, there will always be strife and chaos in the world. Also, anyone notice how surreal Sterling's works are getting? While Gibson took off in a more literary direction, Sterling's works just keep getting more mind blowing.
Any videogame considered "groundbreaking" would fall under the/. umbrella. Also something about the RPG genre (moreso than FPSs??) connects with "geeks". Perhaps the fantasy / identity assumption elements? Maybe we're just suckers for cheesey romantic subplots:)...
Slashdot Mirror
Remember Tuesday's al Qaeda article? Discuss.
This debate is going no where, and you'll never get the majority of the population on your side. Here's why:
1) Popularity - How many of you, even those who consider yourselves activists, *always* use encryption? How many of you who support encryption usually send plaintext emails? You know who you are. How can you then expect "Joe user" to do the same?
2) Content - Most communications don't require privacy, plain and simple. How many government types or hackers really care how many tequila shots you did last night?
3) Abuse - Abuse or interception of "private" emails simply isn't rampant. It would be much easier to sell this position to the public if people were actually getting screwed because of intercepted email or governmental abuse.
4) Rights - This is a fight for a vague, ephemeral concept of "rights". On the other side of the coin, there's a smoking hole in the ground where 6,000 people once stood. Most people (including myself) value the safety of thier wives and children more than your right to hide "how stoned" you got last weekend from the eyes of the feds.
Anyone who wants to protect a site in today's environment should never post a link on the /. front page!
I was a bit disappointed in the way this book tried to "explain" the character of Starlitz. In Sterling's previous short stories, he had always been portrayed in a mythic way. He was one of Sterling's most interesting creations: a modern day "Wandering Jew". We were better off thinking of him as both timeless and unchanging... after all, there will always be strife and chaos in the world. Also, anyone notice how surreal Sterling's works are getting? While Gibson took off in a more literary direction, Sterling's works just keep getting more mind blowing.
Any videogame considered "groundbreaking" would fall under the /. umbrella. Also something about the RPG genre (moreso than FPSs??) connects with "geeks". Perhaps the fantasy / identity assumption elements? Maybe we're just suckers for cheesey romantic subplots :)...