Commentary on the Political Aspects of the Internet

by SiLeRePrAeSes

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The 'Net's purpose, the reason it was designed, was for communication. Of ideas, raw data and a channel for human thought. As we place limits on things such as Napster, we begin to destroy what we have created. The 'Net has changed a great many things.

The quote on HNN's page [http://www.hackernews.com/] states: "Freedom of the press is limited to those who own one. - A.J. Liebling" This is one of my more favorite quotes because it is so true. As a free-thinker I can write a document, as I am doing now, and have a potential audience in the millions. As little as 10 years ago the only way to reach that many people was through the mass-media.

I'm not sure how many people really understand what that has done or the capabilities it gives individuals. Another headline in the 11-Aug-2000 issue of HNN reads:

China Races To Combat Net Access
contributed by a whiner

In the wake of the shut-down of China's first domestic dissident
web site, the Chinese government has announced its intentions
to crack down on non-party internet influences. While it might be
relatively easy for the Chinese to suppress sites hosted
domestically, they will find it difficult to control an inherently
international medium for communication.

Think of the problems that a Communist government, such as China, has with this kind of information exchange medium. At one point in time the US was broadcasting propaganda into Cuba. The Cuban government simply jammed the signal. Although you can do the same thing with the Internet (don't route any packets to/from this IP address / domain) the size and flexibility of the 'Net makes it impractical and very difficult.

The purpose of this rant was to communicate what we have. The Internet is Freedom and because of that there has to be a constant battle to maintain that freedom. If we do not get involved in the legislative process we will lose this freedom. We are in the Information Age, however information is not confined to those countries that have weapons of mass destruction. As a country we have to understand Information and how to cope with it. The people in leadership positions have to learn how to deal with the idea of mass information exchange and the lack of control over that information.

This can only be done if we stay informed and get involved. A great many people died to give us that privilege, let's take advantage of it while it is still here.

- SiLeRePrAeSes

1.) Are you a hacker? - JesterS

2.)X-Mail - JesterS

3.)Getting Under the GUI - Liquid Sphear

4.)Opening Simple Ports on Win X - madirish

5.)Commentary on Napster and the Digital Age -
SiLeRePrAeSes

6.)Commentary on the Political Aspects of the Internet
-
SiLeRePrAeSes

7.)How to (re)build your kernel
- L33tdawg

8.)A 101 Bytez team article for Hackinthebox mag

- OZONE

9.)Examining PE Files - abrams!metaray