I often wonder about that. In the real world, we have a set of laws to protect us, but what protects people from abuse online? There's no internet constitution - certainly we have some laws, but those laws always stop before the point of telling moderators how they can treat users.
Certainly, it's possible to say "well, it's not your server, if you don't like it go somewhere else - it's only the internet", but surely any place where you can meet people and form relationships is a real place, not some figment of the imagination that you can dispel on a whim. I'd feel uncomfortable being forced to leave an internet community just as I would a real-world one.
On the other hand, though, losing my real-world identity would be much more devastating to me than losing my internet equivalent, but why is that so? Just because it's more closely tied to my physical form, or because I'm more used to it? I wonder if my answer would be the same if most of my friends were in WoW.
It's something to think about, anyway. I stumbled across a couple of excellent pieces of writing about this a while back as part of a Guardian article called "Ten unmissable examples of New Games Journalism". The latter, in particular, made me think for a long time.
For the love of jesus, I hate any slashdot article relating to viruses. I have to read through comment after comment using the accursed "virii".
"Virii" is, and let me put this gently, not a goddamn word. I say this not just for your sake, but in the hope that at least a hundredth of the people operating under this painful warping of the english language. Read this, I beg you, and stop making me - and anyone who knows the word - cringe.
So, if I am at a conference and I talk to someone doing interesting stuff, we can just have the business cards touch and exchange all necessary contact information.
Yeah, or, and follow me on this one 'cause it's a little crazy and out-there, you could write all the contact information on the business card, and then you could give them the card, and they instantly have all the information.
Actually, that's not technically true. If you've read the EULA, you might have noticed the bit that says "some of these restrictions may not apply to you". Many countries and US states don't allow a company to disclaim liability for a product they're charging for. You might want to ensure you're not talking about a state that has such protection before you fire up the MS = legally invincible rant.
No, slashdot is sponsored by nerds who play DDR and/or nerds who want to lose weight. See the "news for nerds" bit in the logo. Granted, the "stuff that matters" is a little irrelevent, but I always thought that was meant to be ironic anyway.
But since helix is 100% open source, how can it have spyware??
LATEST NEWS: The spyware's coming soon, we promise. We just got a new developer on board and activity should start picking up real soon. - Jan 2002
Everyone involved with the N64 left the company, and what MS bought was an empty shell.
What MS bought was a mint in trademark, licensing and game titles. They bought the memories of gamers like the original poster, who will go out and buy their games, even with the knowledge it's not the same Rare that it used to be. Give Microsoft some credit, they may be a huge, evil corporation, but they're not stupid.
Microsoft Conspiracy Update? You mean it sucks up all my bandwidth downloading various patches for my conspiracies and then when it finally installs them my conspiracies don't work anymore because they were removed from the HCL?
Slashdot Mirror
I often wonder about that. In the real world, we have a set of laws to protect us, but what protects people from abuse online? There's no internet constitution - certainly we have some laws, but those laws always stop before the point of telling moderators how they can treat users.
Certainly, it's possible to say "well, it's not your server, if you don't like it go somewhere else - it's only the internet", but surely any place where you can meet people and form relationships is a real place, not some figment of the imagination that you can dispel on a whim. I'd feel uncomfortable being forced to leave an internet community just as I would a real-world one.
On the other hand, though, losing my real-world identity would be much more devastating to me than losing my internet equivalent, but why is that so? Just because it's more closely tied to my physical form, or because I'm more used to it? I wonder if my answer would be the same if most of my friends were in WoW.
It's something to think about, anyway. I stumbled across a couple of excellent pieces of writing about this a while back as part of a Guardian article called "Ten unmissable examples of New Games Journalism". The latter, in particular, made me think for a long time.
A Rape in Cyberspace
Posessing Barbie
Paris, are you posting on slashdot again?
CmdrTaco: Take off every 'In Soviet Russia' joke!!
CmdrTaco: You know what you doing.
What you doing know you!
For the love of jesus, I hate any slashdot article relating to viruses. I have to read through comment after comment using the accursed "virii".
"Virii" is, and let me put this gently, not a goddamn word. I say this not just for your sake, but in the hope that at least a hundredth of the people operating under this painful warping of the english language. Read this, I beg you, and stop making me - and anyone who knows the word - cringe.
Except oil...
the only ones in our time advanced enough to communicate in their language are Apple
Wow, so that's how the world ends. Oh well, at least armageddon will have a slick interface.
you'd have to have sex in space. Any takers?
Sure, but we've only just met...
My 10 month old baby boy is weighing in right about XXX pounds right now.
Have you been en|arging your baby na7ura11y?
qwerty brillig trombone tmesis gerbil
So, if I am at a conference and I talk to someone doing interesting stuff, we can just have the business cards touch and exchange all necessary contact information.
Yeah, or, and follow me on this one 'cause it's a little crazy and out-there, you could write all the contact information on the business card, and then you could give them the card, and they instantly have all the information.
What an idea... *rushes off to the patent office*
Actually, that's not technically true. If you've read the EULA, you might have noticed the bit that says "some of these restrictions may not apply to you". Many countries and US states don't allow a company to disclaim liability for a product they're charging for. You might want to ensure you're not talking about a state that has such protection before you fire up the MS = legally invincible rant.
Why can't we break the laws of physics?
Because the laws of physics tell us we can't, that's why!
Is slashdot sponsored by DDR?
No, slashdot is sponsored by nerds who play DDR and/or nerds who want to lose weight. See the "news for nerds" bit in the logo. Granted, the "stuff that matters" is a little irrelevent, but I always thought that was meant to be ironic anyway.
But since helix is 100% open source, how can it have spyware??
LATEST NEWS: The spyware's coming soon, we promise. We just got a new developer on board and activity should start picking up real soon. - Jan 2002
Long fingernails could do more damage than the clipper.
Provisions are already underway to add fingers to the banned carry-on luggage list.
And to top it all off, BSD is dying!
Not to mention Al Gore. He invented computers, right?
Everyone involved with the N64 left the company, and what MS bought was an empty shell.
What MS bought was a mint in trademark, licensing and game titles. They bought the memories of gamers like the original poster, who will go out and buy their games, even with the knowledge it's not the same Rare that it used to be. Give Microsoft some credit, they may be a huge, evil corporation, but they're not stupid.
Hell, imagine what you could do with an army of golfers!
I read it for the articles! :(
How do make money distributing something that's useless? You distribute a lot!
You've used Windows before, haven't you?
I th$ink yo$ur key$board i$ $broke$n$.
I bet Debian can band together and face the challenge better than Gentoo can!
No need, they already prescribe public education to counteract knowledge.
"...the Trade Related International Property treaty..."
Heh, how ironic. I guess it certainly has turned out to be a bad TRIP for the chinese and russian publishers.
Microsoft Conspiracy Update? You mean it sucks up all my bandwidth downloading various patches for my conspiracies and then when it finally installs them my conspiracies don't work anymore because they were removed from the HCL?