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EFF, Reddit, Mozilla, others launch Internet Defense League and Cat Signal

internetdefenseleague.org

11–20 of 146 posts

Re: EFF, Reddit, Mozilla, others launch Internet Defense League and Cat Signal

#11
post #4

Well it embodies the best and the worst of internet movements. While the foundations are good: protecting the web from bad laws, restrictions etc... the execution is really ridiculous. Imagine you're an old style Senator or representative and you see that website with a weird ass looking cat... Do you really think it's going to make them think you're anything but a joke? I find that the words used are equally ridicul…

As if an "old style Senator" would base his support for or against a bill on a website's design.

This is about engaging young nerds and non-nerds, average citizens and making an impact on main stream media. It's a marketing and PR stunt. It will trigger media coverage and thousands of phone calls... politicians fear at least one of those two things like the plague. And it's probably not the phone calls.

We already have a formal projects such as the EFF. They are the backbone of all this.

Re: EFF, Reddit, Mozilla, others launch Internet Defense League and Cat Signal

#15
post #13

"bad monopolies".. so which monopolies are good?

Monopolies are not inherently bad. A monopoly on some good or service might be that way because it provides the best product at a fair price and there's no way somebody else could beat them. It's only when a monopoly starts using its position of power to either unfairly gain advantage in a similar market, start screwing over customers that they become "bad," or some other tactic that ruins competition or hurts consumers.

Re: EFF, Reddit, Mozilla, others launch Internet Defense League and Cat Signal

#16
post #4

Well it embodies the best and the worst of internet movements. While the foundations are good: protecting the web from bad laws, restrictions etc... the execution is really ridiculous. Imagine you're an old style Senator or representative and you see that website with a weird ass looking cat... Do you really think it's going to make them think you're anything but a joke? I find that the words used are equally ridicul…

My guess is that the targeting here is aimed more at internet users than at Senators, i.e. it's an attempt to get more people who vaguely care about these issues actively involved in them and feeling that EFF et al represent their interests.

Re: EFF, Reddit, Mozilla, others launch Internet Defense League and Cat Signal

#18
It seems a little strange that they want their users to put hosted JavaScript on their sites. Just doesn't feel like "freedom" to me. Couldn't they control a lot of sites or steal information by changing that script to something malicious?

Re: EFF, Reddit, Mozilla, others launch Internet Defense League and Cat Signal

#19
post #14
post #6

I just cant take such initiatives seriously if they have Facebook-Buttons...

How else do you propose they get the word out without Facebook/Twitter etc. buttons?

I'm not against using these buttons, the harmful/annoying thing is that they're used to set tracking cookies. The most simple solution would be to put them on an extra page or only enable them when the user clicks some button. But I'm sure if smart people think about it they find much more solutions. Obviously the designers of this site didnt, and thats what I dont like- being against "bad monopolies" and giving FB more data? Seriously?

Re: EFF, Reddit, Mozilla, others launch Internet Defense League and Cat Signal

#20
post #13

"bad monopolies".. so which monopolies are good?

Insurance for one. The original idea for insurance was that it was a not for profit enterprise that gets better the more people that are participating. We've bastardized that with private insurance, but in theory, an insurance monopoly is a good thing since it creates the best allocation of resources.
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