I didn't take Glenn up on his original challenge. I didn't read Sam's
reply nor anyone else's.
Am I narrow minded? No. But there is one thing I stand firmly by, one
thing that I think could be the only reason the internet would die.
I do not believe that anyone, anywhere, should have the power of
censorship over the internet. Yes, some ISPs may choose not to have
certain things accessible by their servers -- but the end-user is free,
then, to go to another ISP. Yes, parents may choose to try and prevent
their children from reaching certain types of sites [no method is
infalable] because certain types of sites even turn *my* stomach; but
the parent is the ultimate end-user until the child is grown. Yes,
AltaVista can attempt to put a family filter into place; but they also
allow me to choose if I want it in place.
What, you say, does content have to do with controlling the type of
technology used? Nothing and everything. If we grant to others the
right to decide if certain things see "publication" based solely upon
the technology used, there is a foreseeable next step: The implied
consent to start deciding if things will see publication based upon how
the presentation is made, and then the next step would be the implied
consent to deny publication based upon what is said, not just technology
or presentation. And that is more than one step too far.
I will not debate my stance. I will not defend it. I live in what is
alledgedly one of the most free countries in the world, and I don't want
one millimicron more control or one millimicron less freedom of
expression. I had an ISP that attempted censorship and filtering beyond
my control. People on AOL still live with that, but it is their choice
to do so. To require an ISP to do anything to control content of that
which is not already against the law, and morally repugnant to the vast
majority of the population [kiddie porn, snuff flicks, robbing the
innocent, etc], is the antithesis of what internet is and always should
be.
l.d.
-- Arachne V1.61, NON-COMMERCIAL copy, http://arachne.cz/
