ponytrekker
Purple fan
Registered: 09-2003
Posts: 1303
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Should the internet have boundaries and laws?
It's wide open right now.
Which makes it cool.
And unsafe.
How to build bombs...anarchy...drugs...sex...music....
Should the internet be governed, censored?
Information is only dangerous to simple minds...which includes us all....
If theres a train wreck, you can turn away...or stare....
What do you think?
--- tastes great, less filling
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16/11/2003, 1:59
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RitchiesHair
Unconvincing Hairpiece
Registered: 09-2003
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Re: Should the internet have boundaries and laws?
It's nigh on impossible to enforce any laws so what's the point really?.
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16/11/2003, 2:01
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Nighthawk
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Registered: 09-2003
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Re: Should the internet have boundaries and laws?
Tough question Pony... and just like politics and abortion and religion, I don't think you'll ever get an answer that everyone can agree on.
The very technology that lets you and I share views, and allows people in distant continents to become friends, is the very same technology that is being used by those who wish to kill people who have different religions and different politics....
I love the freedom to surf sites I find - whether they be informative, technical, frivolous, irreverent, pornographic, humourous, entertaining, cultural, sporting, musical, news whatever ... the possibilities are endless. But then I'm lucky, I live in a democratic country and have ingrained democratic values - not all posters here can say that. Some of the sites I view I enjoy, and learn a lot from - some affont my sensibilities and I exit the page pronto.
Any society needs a set of common values, otherwise anarchy prevails, and human morality and values are obliterated. Now however, societies from everywhere on this planet can be linked, long-held cultural values can be bypassed instantly and the lines between what one 'culture' regards as right and wrong can become blurred.
With such a wealth of stuff out there on the web, I am sad that I can't let my little girls access the net without supervision - there's just too much material there that is completely unsuitable for young and impressionable minds... As a dad, I set the boundaries and laws for now.
I do know that many countries have dedicated taskforces to track down hackers, virus-creators, paedophiles, racists, and hate-mongers... I am in general a pessimist, and I think in this case they will be fighting a losing battle. Let's enjoy it while we can.
Sorry Ponytrekker, this was meant to be a short and snappy answer - but your question runs too deep for such a simple man (oops, another cultural reference there ) Let me just say one final thing - rightly or wrongly, I don't believe the internet CAN have boundaries and laws, simply because it's already here. It belongs to every state and nation in the world, and when will they ever agree on anything
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16/11/2003, 2:35
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eyeless
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Registered: 10-2003
Posts: 105
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Re: Should the internet have boundaries and laws?
quote: ponytrekker wrote:
It's wide open right now.
Which makes it cool.
And unsafe.
How to build bombs...anarchy...drugs...sex...music....
Should the internet be governed, censored?
Information is only dangerous to simple minds...which includes us all....
If theres a train wreck, you can turn away...or stare....
What do you think?
Leave it the way it is, thats what I say.
--- -|:|:|:|- Dip it, Shake it, Lick it, And suck it -|:|:|:|-
Is this really the kinda message we want to give to our children?
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16/11/2003, 20:16
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ponytrekker
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Registered: 09-2003
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Re: Should the internet have boundaries and laws?
I agree...
Good post!
--- tastes great, less filling
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16/11/2003, 22:04
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MrEd45
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Registered: 09-2003
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Re: Should the internet have boundaries and laws?
As far as unregulated pop-ups and spam, yes. Everything else is a matter of choice - good, bad or indifferent.
--- " Those who can - do. Those who can't do - teach. Those who can't do or teach - administrate."
- Anon.
" One that will not reason is a bigot. One that cannot reason is an ignoramus. One that dares not reason is a slave." - Anon
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16/11/2003, 22:12
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npj
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Registered: 09-2003
Posts: 96
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Re: Should the internet have boundaries and laws?
Even if it were inforcable (which it's not!): As the Internet is worldwide, which laws should apply? There are no global laws, and this concerns absolutely everything.
For instance:
If you want to illegalise homosexual paedophile prostitution (as used to be supplied by the Countess of Wessex and Prince Andrew's comany), you'd kick up a hell of a stink in the Arab world, whose rights would be violated, and you couldn't advertise any beef products because India would get upset.
Home made bomb making is a highly respected skill in terrorist supporting countries and critisising the USA regarding any issue at all is admitting that you are a terrorist ('you're either with us or against us', remember that?)
I suppose that in the end it would all boil down to the laws of the USA, as they rule the globe, but that would for instance mean that Darwin's theories would become immediately obsolete and obesity by US food chains leading to death by heart disease will become compulsory.
Hell, I just shot off at a tangent. What was the question again?
Last edited by npj, 17/11/2003, 6:08
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17/11/2003, 6:07
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David Meadows
The Fountain Of Useless Knowledge
Registered: 09-2003
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Re: Should the internet have boundaries and laws?
quote: ponytrekker wrote:
And unsafe.
How to build bombs...anarchy...drugs...sex...music....
Should the internet be governed, censored?
I can find all of that in my local library. What's the problem?
I think the Internet should be self-governing. It's worked so far.
I think government censorship of information is wrong. I don't want people to tell me what I am allowed to learn; I'm intelligent enough to decide for myself.
The worst thing on the net at the moment is spam. I've read dozens of proposals from different governments about how to regulate spam. Every proposal is garbage, probably because law makers don't understand what they are dealing with.
Filesharing -- Every proposal I've seen from any government to target internet filesharing has been garbage, probably because law makers don't understand what they are dealing with.
The people that actually run the internet -- the gateway admins, etc. -- have shown that they are capable of running it without any intervention at all. No government has yet shown the same level of competence.
Last edited by David Meadows, 17/11/2003, 15:37
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17/11/2003, 15:36
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B3Burner
Dominant 7th #9
Registered: 10-2003
Posts: 2200
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Re: Should the internet have boundaries and laws?
NO.
--- John O'Flaherty
-------------------
"I met a guy last week who could open a CD in less than three hours." -Ian Gillan
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18/11/2003, 5:51
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