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AlisonW

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2013-08-01 19:03:47 - by alisonw Tech Politics

I do wish politicians would stop trying to 'talk tech'. What I want from my electricity, gas, water, phone, and internet suppliers is to just give me those things as I request them; unadulterated.

No possible technical 'solution' can actually work. The VPN suppliers, for a start, will be rejoicing at their government-sponsored boost in income. And anyway, I do not have children so why would I ever want to restrict my own access*?

If I did have children then it would be up to me to decide whether I felt the need to impose restrictions on access, I wouldn't expect the government to demand the privilege of teaching them to talk, to ride a bicycle, or to wash their clothes, so why should I here? There is also the not inconsiderable matter of definition. Who is to decide what is 'unacceptable'? How, as a user of the internet, am I to know what else might have been filtered away from me without my knowledge? China, North Korea, and other countries have all prevented their citizens from full access to information of all kinds; how would I know whether my government is doing likewise? Answer, by not messing around with the supply of my services.

And anyway, I'm an adult. If I want to look at p0rn then I am free to do so - it is, after all, _legal_ in this country. If it is poor quality or not to my taste I can close the tab, if it is good I might bookmark it for later enjoyment. But that should always be my decision, not some junior censor in an bunker somewhere.

* For explicitness, I do not want ANY filtering on my connectivity whatsoever. Ever. Never.

(the above sent as a comment to my ISP's blog)

The SOPA/PIPA Result

2012-01-20 12:00:00 - by alisonw Tech Politics Senate

The people spoke on Wednesday and, it seems, they were heard by some of the Senators and members of Congress debating these proposals.

And they didn't like what the people were telling them (and, no doubt, worried about whether they would be re-elected again) and so they have – for the moment at least – stopped further activity on these two bills.

But it isn't over. The powerful media forces will try to get new versions back to the House and Senate in the future. We must remain vigilant and prepared.

Once, the internet was the plaything of the USA Department of Defense. Then it moved into academe and commerce. Now, the internet is the tool of people all around the world; every minute of each day and from every country around the globe people use it to freely communicate with each other. To share news, photographs, information, their life.

The internet is no longer the private property of one country, or a single guiding mind. It was created by many many people and is for the benefit of all human kind.

And any time it may be threatened again it will be all human kind who will respond: "KEEP YOUR HANDS OF OUR INTERNET!"

SOPA/PIPA blackout effect

2012-01-18 09:30:00 - by alisonw Tech Politics

One thing I've noticed a lot of since late last night about the whole "ohnoestheinterwebismissing!111!!" thing has been how much some people are complaining about things they GET FOR FREE are being 'unfair' to them because they've turned themselves off for 12 or 24 hours today.

I think there is a specific word about what are, to me, completely unreasonable expectations by these idiots.

When I was doing a (practical backstage) theatre course in the 90s I used to take in my toolbox most days, primarily in order to make my life easier. As with most places the course's equipment had to be shared, so me having my stuff there meant that I didn't have to wait, plus I'd let others borrow my stuff too. Naturally no money changed hands, I did it for general benefit.

One day though - because I was going on elsewhere after college and didn't want to carry stuff around with me - I didn't take my stuff in. And one of the *tutors* shouted at me along the lines of "How dare you not bring your tool box in!".

I walked out.

The boss of the course contacted me and, eventually, persuaded me to return, and at which point the tutor concerned apologised.

As I said, unreasonable expectations.

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