I posted this on a few forums, because i think its important enough to spread around, but thats just me. I actually spent some time on this. lol
Just some realizations. Ok, now the internet is getting veerrry scary. I've now seen the full sheer power of this thing we've created called the world wide web, when it can not only answer ridiculously stupid questions, but it will ALSO give you links to historical facts! I saw Dane Cook do one of his comedy routines, and he asked a question that had me transfixed for a few. So i im'd a few friends as a rhetorical funny moment the question, "Ya know? Interesting question. Who invented the finger? Who was the very first person to use that gesture?? Research now. lol." I got 5 answers back. With histories going back to Roman times!! The best site i saw, made me think "Ok, now the circle is complete. Before i just sent emails, now I am the master", was www.archives.stupidquestions.net Its gigantic. Obviously we ask a LOT, and i mean a LOT! A LOT, more than u think... a LOT of stupid questions, and this site actually answers them seriously. WITH complete historys and reference links! I'm impressed. Now the WWW has EVERYTHING! And i mean EVERYTHING. Thats it. This is the pinnacle of human achievement. We actually created a full repository of ALL knowledge, easily upgradedable to new knowledge, for now and the future of the human race. If we want something, or need to know something, a couple clicks and its ours. The implications are stunning! But theres a danger. A big one. Sure, we'll be the smartest fuckers on the planet, but also the laziest no life fuckers on the planet. Let me give you an example. I actually heard someone say in a voice chat room, "Oh my god whats wrong with you? You should quit your job and just join us in world of warcraft!" Need i say more? So NOW, we have in our possession something that ANYONE can use, that can do EVERYTHING we need, or want, or fantasize about, all in the comfort of wherever we want to be, and the government wants to restrict its use. Dont let them. The governement is VERY ignorant as to what the internet really is. Fight to keep this. Seriously. It was handed to us in the beginning, dont let them take it away from us. They're already doing it. Best example, the new "law" put into effect requiring ALL internet radio broadcasters to pay those "royalties" (which are ridiculously high and unaffordable to the average person!) to the RIAA, because they say they're losing big money. I call BULLSHIT! They're ONLY looking for political power. They could care less about all this money they're lying about losing. And it IS a lie! Look at www.shoutcast.com Its a very popular venue for internet radio. You'll see only a handfull of "commercial" stations, who just decided to go internet to maybe draw an international audience. They're ALREADY PAYING the fee's. The rest are normal people like you and me, who just happen to have a microphone, and places like Shoutcast who say "Come fulfill those dreams you had of being a radio DJ". Its easy". The new law will give you a break, if you draw less than $6,000,000 in revenue. Uhh...right! $6,000,000 in revenue?? Are they KIDDING?? Dear God people! If anything, it would cost you an average of up to $700 a year if you got a server to do it right, and complimentary website so people would know you even existed, and you normally get NO revenue. None. If anything, if you scroll down the list (of Shoutcast) a bit, like the night i did, you'll see that by the time you get to station number 275, (out of about 17,100), the listenership drops off to only about 100 people. After the first thousand, it drops off dramatically again to only 20. Theres literally thousands of "stations" where theres only 1 or 2 people, and thats just either the person broadcasting, or a couple of friends. Many thousands have zero. So where is this big money the RIAA is losing? Where is this revenue they're talking about they think we're making? People are broadcasting only because its a fun thing to do. Its just a hobby! The very LAST stand of TRUE free speech from normal average AMERICAN CITIZENS! (And others from around the world, but i'm talkin OUR rights at the moment. grin). This is our culture we're trying to spread to the rest of the world! The best greeting i ever got while doing this was from someone in Qatar. "Ah, my favorite infidel. How are you doing?" That actually meant something special to me. This means we're actually being diplomats and smoothing out the wrongs our government is doing to various people around the world, by showing the world the average American is ok! And the music industry wants to KILL that culture and hand it over to a few executives in suits, so THEY can tell you what you WILL listen to or watch that THEY make! I dont know about you, but this sounds like imo, treason to me, AND illegal. Remember this thing we had about monopolies? Ask Bill Gates. And we're handing one to the RIAA AND the MPAA on a silver platter, so they can play Nazi SS and drag little 7 year old kids out into the streets and sue them rediculous amounts of money! 7 Year old kids!! And even elderly couples who dont even own a computer! Think i'm exxagerating? Look it up. Google is everyones friend. Dont let them do this. Lets get off our technologically comfortable asses and SAY something to these boneheads! Tell them to leave our stuff alone, or this big expensive thing you bought called a computer will be practically useless if they keep coming up with ways to restrict its use! (Like Windows Vista. But thats another rant. And i can give you tons more examples, but you'd be reading this for days). Dont let them do this. Keep the internet as the domain of the PEOPLE like it was SUPPOSED to be, or the only thing you'll be able to do is buy stupid stuff and send emails. And they're trying to make you to pay for that too. And hell, a PDA can do all that. Save our internet, thereby our furthering technologies and culture! DO SOMETHING! We have the power. Want to see that power? Washington is now Democrat. You DO have a say, so SAY SOMETHING! Thx for "listening" to this rant. --------------------------------- We won't tell. Get more on shows you hate to love (and love to hate): Yahoo! TV's Guilty Pleasures list.
