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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

#81

Post by sageikosa »

pnathan wrote: post #61
sageikosa wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 reac…

Yes, but in order to move outside of the Lances, a different approach has to be developed. It needs not to be a geek-only campaign and instead needs to be a campaign that includes non-geeks. Remember, most of the world are not geeks, and in a representative democracy, that means very few people in power are geeks. Geeks need to be able to communicate these socio-technical issues to non-geeks. I really hope that the I…

I believe the idea is that when the Committee for Public Safety decides something so heinous is about to be passed in (some?) legislature somewhere in the world (a little hazy on what will be actionable), they will fire up the cat-signal and provide updated campaign code to League members to demonstrate solidarity via a "hunger-strike" of sorts "going-dark" protest.

Not sure if the cat signal will be involved in this "final-mile" of the distributed protest action or not.

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

#82

Post by Spearchucker »

rapind wrote: post #51
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…

35? Really? I'm over 35 as are most of my friends, and I seriously doubt any of them are going to be scratching their head at the cat reference. Suggesting we would is a little insulting to be honest. Not to mention the Justice League play is more my generation than yours. I think you need to up your age boundary a bit. Maybe 45, and even then... Anyways, all of you youngsters who get the cat signal are certainly cap…

Kids today. People over 45 invented the Internet.

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

#83

Post by maxerickson »

wmeredith wrote: post #54
dotborg wrote: post #13

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

Major League Baseball and the NFL are government sanctioned and enforced monopolies because breaking up the talent into competing leagues would be be ad for the sport.

Over the years, MLB has been exempted from antitrust enforcement.

The government does nothing to enforce monopolies in the sports world (remember the XFL? It failed because not enough people watched. Also, there are pro/semipro baseball teams not affiliated with MLB. A somewhat local to me example: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traverse_City_Beach_Bums).

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

#84

Post by dholowiski »

eshvk wrote: post #8
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. It kind of is though. Also some of these "little club of geeks" have extraordinarily deep pockets and any Senator/representative worth their salt knows how much that matters. I don't want to make demean important movements in the sixties by making comparisons of their oddities but money/power wor…

Deep pockets, and web sites with millions of visitors.

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

#85

Post by TylerE »

__alexs wrote: post #44
RobAtticus wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Try convincing someone to build out basic utilities without giving them one. I like to be able to flush my toilet, personally.

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

#87

Post by wmeredith »

maxerickson wrote: post #83
wmeredith wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Major League Baseball and the NFL are government sanctioned and enforced monopolies because breaking up the talent into competing leagues would be be ad for the sport.

Over the years, MLB has been exempted from antitrust enforcement. The government does nothing to enforce monopolies in the sports world (remember the XFL? It failed because not enough people watched. Also, there are pro/semipro baseball teams not affiliated with MLB. A somewhat local to me example: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traverse_City_Beach_Bums ).

I was misinformed, apparently. Thanks for clearing that up.

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

#88

Post by MSM »

chez17 wrote: post #80
MSM wrote: post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Whoa whoa whoa... Don't act like signing up on a website is equivalent to doing something. It's literally the absolute least you could do.

No, the least you could do is make snarky comments about the people who are actually trying to do something. This isn't about 'signing up' for a website. This is about trying to mobilize a group of people that often times is not that involved with politics. The idea is that when you sign up, you'll take action on the items that the site informs you about. There is literally nothing like this on the internet for this…

> We stopped SOPA

This is what I'm worried about. Who really stopped SOPA? You can bet that anyone who signs up for this will go around touting how they stopped SOPA, just like the guy next to me pretty much single handedly saved Haiti in 2010 with his $5 donation to the Red Cross.

There is a disparity between giving money so that others can continue to do work and being the one doing the work. I want that distinction clear, and to remain clear. The doctor who flew down to Haiti to personally help is infinitely more valuable than someone who donated.

EDIT: I'm not saying that this is useless or dumb. It's a step in the right direction, albeit (IMO) a small one. I just don't want to see "I signed up- I'm going to save the internet!" I think the people who really devote themselves to these causes should be respected on a different level than those that, for instance, sign up for this.

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