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

internetdefenseleague.org

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

#41

Post by jmduke »

smokeyj wrote: post #9
victork2 wrote: 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…

> It really feels like a little club of geeks trying to have an impact in the world and it leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Yeah, there's nothing worse than geeks trying to have an impact. What a bunch of ass holes! I'm curious, what impact do you have on "old style Senators"?

You're missing the point. I'd argue initiatives like these should have the aim of educating as many people as possible: things like a 'cat signal' may undermine that effort.

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

#42

Post by mindcrime »

victork2 wrote: 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…

For old style senators I am talking about basically any person over 35 that has no idea what reddit/ twitter/ cat facts are and who will find that ridiculous. Yes Senators and representatives are supposed to work for you, but it's like for everything they have to take you seriously. We belong to the Z generation but in order to talk to other generations we have to use common references and avoid cats or internet memes or super hero folklore for what it matters. Serious business in two words.

OK, I don't disagree with the general sentiment of what you're saying... but I think you overstate the extent to which you can generalize the youthfulness of the audience here, and/or the extent to which the Internet is only know nto the young. As a 39 year old "Gen X"er, I'm aware of plenty of people my age who know and use Reddit, Twitter, etc. Plenty of people roughly my age were in college in the 90's when the Internet was first becoming widely available, and are 'net savvy.

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

#43

Post by pnathan »

victork2 wrote: 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…

victork2 has a very good point. There is a massive disconnect between the online nerd world and the offline non-nerd world.

As a marketing strategy - and let me be clear, this is a marketing & people problem, not a technical one - you need to be able to reach the "Joe the Plumber" types. Someone who checks his facebook & email on the weekends, possibly forwarding glurge. Someone who does not own a smartphone, because they are confusing. Someone who will not get troll culture, memes and lulz, seeing them as juvenile foolery.

Put another way: a campaign like this needs to drive on many fronts, including the internet culture drive, the corporate drive, and the blue-collar drive.

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

#44

Post by __alexs »

RobAtticus wrote: post #15
dotborg wrote: 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 consum…

> Monopolies are not inherently bad.

Yes they are. They are bad because they are a massive risk center to their customers. For a small industry this is just kind of annoying, but for a massive one it can have a detrimental effect on the entire economy and not having massive single points of failure in your economy should be (and sometimes is) considered a matter of national security.

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

#46

Post by guelo »

victork2 wrote: 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…

This cat league stuff is marketing for the network itself, the actual message that will be sent over the network will depend on the specific issue being addressed and will probably be tailored for a more mainstream audience.

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

#47

Post by sageikosa »

pnathan wrote: post #43
victork2 wrote: 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…

victork2 has a very good point. There is a massive disconnect between the online nerd world and the offline non-nerd world. As a marketing strategy - and let me be clear, this is a marketing & people problem, not a technical one - you need to be able to reach the "Joe the Plumber" types. Someone who checks his facebook & email on the weekends, possibly forwarding glurge. Someone who does not own a smartphone, because…

Well, from my quick glance at the site, the league isn't aimed at "Joe User", but internet savvy "Lance Site-Owner" so they can show solidarity with the fight against evils to be yet illuminated by "Fight for the Future".

Basically they are trying to institutionalize a network of "like-minded" internet activists; which will at least be interesting as a sociology experiment to see how it evolves and what kinds of reaction it gets.

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

#48

Post by radagaisus »

nikcub wrote: post #23
zwdr wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 m…

use a browser that blocks third party cookies by default. safari does, opera does and google has an option buried somewhere 9 clicks away in the settings.

Not really. If Facebook already established a cookie in your browser they will still receive it in all browsers but FF.

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

#50

Post by wickedchicken »

ralfn wrote: post #10
whichdan wrote: post #2

Really? A giant cat?

It is not supposed to be a lobbyist. It is supposed to be a poltical movement. Its political marketing aimed at voters. It should target the type of teens on facebook, that you and i may look down upon. As far as im concerned, they dont even go far enough. We need a comic. We need memes. RESCUE MONORAIL CAT FROM THE CLUTCHES OF THE EVIL INTERNET HATE LEAGUE. FIRE UP YOUR MEMES AND BLAST THESE CORRUPT SENIORS OUT OF C…

> It should target the type of teens on facebook

The type of teen who legally can't vote? Sounds effective.

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