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Old 10-23-2008, 12:50 PM   #82
Steven Lyle Jordan
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Quote:
Originally Posted by LazyScot View Post
I do hope that's not a call for a Big Brother (in the Orwellian sense) world. I've read too many SciFi Novels (most recently Ken Macleod's Execution Channel) to be happy with that idea.
This is exactly what I was referring to: Without even a vague description of what or how much security, you're assuming Doom and Gloom right out of the box. That, I reiterate, is an over-reaction to security and DRM.

The American west was once essentially lawless and chaotic. Now that there are laws, those who insisted on the ability to let their cattle graze on other people's land have had to learn to deal with the law of property, and the security measure of fences, but the American west is hardly an Orwellian nightmare, right?

Without law and security, you end up with "vigilante" organizations like the RIAA, trying to establish order, doing a bad job of it, undermining the trust between businesses and consumers, and ultimately hurting commerce. Properly organized and publicly-accepted law and security could accomplish anti-piracy results (not 100%, or course, but measurable improvements), but in a more fair and acceptable manner.

So there's no reason to assume that beefing up law and security on the web will automatically result in the End of the World As We Know It. That fear is only holding back the development of the web and web businesses.
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