Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!wuarchive!usc!apple!cambridge.apple.com!alms From: alms@cambridge.apple.com (Andrew L. M. Shalit) Newsgroups: comp.org.eff.talk Subject: Re: Missing mission Message-ID: Date: 24 Aug 90 19:48:23 GMT References: <11446@medusa.cs.purdue.edu> Sender: news@cambridge.apple.com Organization: Apple Computer Inc, Cambridge, MA Lines: 53 In-reply-to: spaf@cs.purdue.EDU's message of 24 Aug 90 09:06:22 GMT In article <11446@medusa.cs.purdue.edu> spaf@cs.purdue.EDU (Gene Spafford) writes: I just finished reading through mailing #3, and I am disappointed. Why? Because there is a very important mission statement missing from the list given: helping to establish a sense of responsibility in users of networks and computers. In response, I'll post an extract from the original posting to this group, which describes the EFF: >> What can you do? >> ... >> You can turn some of the immense processing horsepower of your >> distributed Mind to the task of finding useful new metaphors for >> community, expression, property, privacy and other realities of >> the physical world which seem up for grabs in these less tangible >> regions. The people involved in the EFF realize that the advent of widespread computer networks creates a new "reality". This reality includes individuals, communities, shared resources, private resources, etc. It's a whole new world out there. They are saying, "Let's build this world in a way that makes sense". Obviously, building a world requires the definition of a social contract. I think EFF wants to work on that social contract, among other things. The situation in the comuter world is currently similar to the Old West. First you have outlaws: these are people who see the whole frontier as their own. Might makes right. Obviously, such behavior is unnacceptable. Unfortunately, the analogy doesn't stop there. In the old west, a sheriff (or other local law enforcement) wasn't very accountable to the US constitution. Because the land was wild and the people were wild, outside the reach of the normal courts, the legal system had carte blanche. A local sheriff (like the modern day FBI) didn't have to answer to anyone. I think we should all be worried that the US legal beauracracy (sp?) feels it has carte blanche in controlling the electronic world. This is especially true in light of their ignorance about the electronic world. Moreover, they will get a lot of their information from large corporations who may be acting in self-interest, rather in the interest of the general public. -andrew --