When you run NCSA Telnet on the Mac it's default telnet address is "nowhere.loopback.edu" which is a dummy address. I'll frequently use this as a fake domain--using an.edu fake domain is less likely to run into an actual site. (Loopback University?) I like all these other suggestions, though!
Putting filtering on Linux doesn't make it better. Filtering still:
a) doesn't work. Kids who want pr0n will find it, or find a way to get around the filters; and
b) creates and adversarial relationship between parent and child instead of a collaborative one.
This is true if the kids are actively searching for pr0n. How about six-year-olds who are just searching the web, mis-type a website, and end up in Laura's Luscious Lesbian Love Lanai?
Whether this damages a kid or just confuses him is open for debate, but a parent can prevent this from happening without being in a confrontation with their child.
One could also keep an eye out for a kid's trying to circumvent the system; when that happens, you know it's time for "the talk".:-)
If I walk up to some woman on the street,...Then I go visit her house, quietly walk in and make more notes about her life, use her phone to call it in to my associates...
I'd be arrested for so many violations of the law it wouldn't be funny. So why the hell is this tolerated in the virtual world?
If you ask someone for permission to enter their home and make notes about their life, and they grant it, then you would not be in violation of the law. You'd be "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy." (or "What Not to Wear" or "Changing Rooms" or...)
I think a law saying that spyware must disclose all of its spying activities, in plain English, and must ask permission to do so (not necessarily every time it runs, but at install-time), would be an appropriate compromise, (and this appears to be what the Utah law says according to this analysis.). Will people still install spyware because they don't bother reading disclaimers? Yes...but so be it. That would be better fixed by a public advertising campaign than by the law. But requiring people to be up on the latest spyware programs, to know which programs are safe and which are not, just by their names--that's too much to ask the average user.
(Although: some web-based index where you could type in the name of a program and it tells you if it's spyware, ok, or unknown--that would be helpful too.)
Why isn't there (or is there?) a mechanism for people to demonstrably release patents into the public domain? One should be able to do more than to "leak" patents as the parent says. I'm thinking of all of these "defensive patents" that companies like IBM have taken out; there should be a way for people to register ideas with the patent office, just as patents are, but under the condition that they be considered public domain. (Said process should be cheaper than submitting an actual patent, too.)
Seriously, my ideal cell phone would be the handset of an old-style phone: solid plastic (sturdy), with a mouthpiece I can actually talk into. The few times I used one of these teensy cell phones I was uncomfortable about the lack of a mouthpiece; I had no idea how loud I was supposed to talk. Even cordless phones aren't as comfortable; they don't bend to fit the head. The keypad could be hidden in a panel on the back of the phone. I'd hang it from my belt by one of those spiral phone cords. Oh, and it would use an actual bell to ring, not some novelty-toy beeper.
On another note, I think an interesting comparison study would be to compare how annoying it was to have a face-to-face conversation where the actors were speaking a foreign language. Or even have one speak English and one speak Sindarin (or whatever). That might shed light on the "can only hear one side of the conversation" issue.
But, no, polling does not show it would play well in the midwest. Or with the right wing - especially the Christian Right. Even a trial balloon on this subject would result in a guaranteed loss for Bush in the next election. [snip Christian fundamentalist concerns about the "Mark of the Beast"]
I can think of another reason why the Republicans would be opposed to this: it would allow the Census Bureau to come up with a more accurate count of the populations of lower-class urban neighborhoods, which tend to vote Democratic. This may give the Democrats more seats in the House of Representatives.
The constitution originally provided that all works had to apply for copyright to be copyrighted and that these copyrights had to apply for a renewal at some point to maintain copyright. A recent law changed these requirements.
"Abandonware" would be a copyrighted work that was not renewed.
This gives me an idea for a compromise:
All created material is copyrighted from the moment of creation, no registration required, for a relatively short period of time: 10-20 years, say.
At the end of this period, the copyright can be registered for an additional period of 50 years, or 50 years after the creator's death, or whatever you want it to be. Or maybe require registration every x years, up until the limit. Material that isn't registered at the appropriate time becomes public domain.
This protects the typical author, composer, musician, corporation, or what have you who is making money on the copyright, just as it does now. It allows the typical programmer to release code under the GPL without having to register it. It allows people to prevent distribution of their creations without it becoming abandonware. On the other hand, when a creator no longer cares about a given work, or a corporation fails and no one is looking after their copyrights, the material falls into the public domain where it can be preserved.
You mean because you can't opt out of it? I don't think this is equivalent to slavery. As citizens, there are several obligations we have to the government, some of them onerous: like taxes. This is just one of them--a particularly onerous one--but since it's temporary and reasonably humane I don't think you can compare it to slavery.
Taxes are nowhere near as onerous as the military controlling every aspect of your life for several years. True, "slavery" might not be quite the word since it implies ownership, but the 13th Amendment's "involuntary servitude" certainly seems to apply:
servitude: a condition in which one lacks liberty especially to determine one's course of action or way of life (www.m-w.com)
Me, I'm with
Charles Shenck: conscription is involuntary servitude and as such violates the 13th Amendment (despite what the courts think.:))
Maybe there could be a law requiring all porn sites to have the word "porn" on them somewhere, so one can filter them out if one cares to?
I know, not terribly practical, but maybe moreso than other such laws?
First off, this is insanity at a new level. 30 seconds to start your car?!?!!
This reminds me of the old joke about what would happen if Microsoft designed cars.... With my old Vic-20, I would flip the switch, wait three seconds, and boom it was up and running.
What's next? Maybe cars should ask for your password before starting? "Press Ctrl-Alt-Del and blow in this tube to start the engine."
Slashdot Mirror
When you run NCSA Telnet on the Mac it's default telnet address is "nowhere.loopback.edu" which is a dummy address. I'll frequently use this as a fake domain--using an .edu fake domain is less likely to run into an actual site. (Loopback University?) I like all these other suggestions, though!
One could also keep an eye out for a kid's trying to circumvent the system; when that happens, you know it's time for "the talk". :-)
If you ask someone for permission to enter their home and make notes about their life, and they grant it, then you would not be in violation of the law. You'd be "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy." (or "What Not to Wear" or "Changing Rooms" or...)
I think a law saying that spyware must disclose all of its spying activities, in plain English, and must ask permission to do so (not necessarily every time it runs, but at install-time), would be an appropriate compromise, (and this appears to be what the Utah law says according to this analysis.). Will people still install spyware because they don't bother reading disclaimers? Yes...but so be it. That would be better fixed by a public advertising campaign than by the law. But requiring people to be up on the latest spyware programs, to know which programs are safe and which are not, just by their names--that's too much to ask the average user.
(Although: some web-based index where you could type in the name of a program and it tells you if it's spyware, ok, or unknown--that would be helpful too.)
Why isn't there (or is there?) a mechanism for people to demonstrably release patents into the public domain? One should be able to do more than to "leak" patents as the parent says. I'm thinking of all of these "defensive patents" that companies like IBM have taken out; there should be a way for people to register ideas with the patent office, just as patents are, but under the condition that they be considered public domain. (Said process should be cheaper than submitting an actual patent, too.)
On another note, I think an interesting comparison study would be to compare how annoying it was to have a face-to-face conversation where the actors were speaking a foreign language. Or even have one speak English and one speak Sindarin (or whatever). That might shed light on the "can only hear one side of the conversation" issue.
[snip Christian fundamentalist concerns about the "Mark of the Beast"]
I can think of another reason why the Republicans would be opposed to this: it would allow the Census Bureau to come up with a more accurate count of the populations of lower-class urban neighborhoods, which tend to vote Democratic. This may give the Democrats more seats in the House of Representatives.
"Abandonware" would be a copyrighted work that was not renewed.
This gives me an idea for a compromise:
- All created material is copyrighted from the moment of creation, no registration required, for a relatively short period of time: 10-20 years, say.
- At the end of this period, the copyright can be registered for an additional period of 50 years, or 50 years after the creator's death, or whatever you want it to be. Or maybe require registration every x years, up until the limit. Material that isn't registered at the appropriate time becomes public domain.
This protects the typical author, composer, musician, corporation, or what have you who is making money on the copyright, just as it does now. It allows the typical programmer to release code under the GPL without having to register it. It allows people to prevent distribution of their creations without it becoming abandonware. On the other hand, when a creator no longer cares about a given work, or a corporation fails and no one is looking after their copyrights, the material falls into the public domain where it can be preserved.Maybe they could stop spamming my mailbox with those free CDs, too....
servitude: a condition in which one lacks liberty especially to determine one's course of action or way of life (www.m-w.com)
Me, I'm with Charles Shenck: conscription is involuntary servitude and as such violates the 13th Amendment (despite what the courts think. :))
Maybe there could be a law requiring all porn sites to have the word "porn" on them somewhere, so one can filter them out if one cares to? I know, not terribly practical, but maybe moreso than other such laws?
According to the article, it's not Kerry but the original photographers who are going after the pranksters. Do you know something we don't?
First off, this is insanity at a new level. 30 seconds to start your car?!?!!
This reminds me of the old joke about what would happen if Microsoft designed cars.... With my old Vic-20, I would flip the switch, wait three seconds, and boom it was up and running. What's next? Maybe cars should ask for your password before starting? "Press Ctrl-Alt-Del and blow in this tube to start the engine."