Idealists The Internet of his dreams still exists. But it's tiny, with not many users. What people now call the Internet is a horrorshow of predators and prey. Edit: I could have mentioned that Wilders is part of that dreamed-of Internet
Agree with guest and mirimir: what the Web, and the democratic societies in general, need are not types of naive idealists, but rational people that see the reality and invent appropriate solutions ( may be for the Web the solutions don't exist ! ).
I don't think he's a naive idealist at all, and it does help when someone who's respected speaks out. Making changes in the right direction can still happen, I'm thinking of various open source trustworthy computing initiatives, and secure messaging. That will take years to happen, but there can be sea-changes in what people use. What Tim did not say, and should have, is that the browser-server model is now corrupt and dangerous. IMO, it needs to be replaced with an EDI-like message-passing exchange that does not rely on eyeballs and a glitzy dumb terminal on a mainframe that modern browsers now represent. Taking candy from strangers. The issue here is about power and who is represented in what happens. It is no surprise that the "consumer" is not the one with power, and free is way too expensive.
I think idealists are being given a hard time. There's nothing wrong with idealists, and as long as they keep taking their medication and are supervised by responsible trained staff, they can live fruitful, fulfilling and productive lives.
There's nothing wrong with the internet, no need for change. The problem is the political landscape and the financial system that allow monstrosities like the military-industrial complex/NATO or Google/Facebook to exist. Welfare States and Fiat money (a.k.a. Socialism) are the root of all present evils; so few people understand this.
Maybe so. But politics is off-topic. However, how do you protect personal freedom and restrict corporate power without powerful governments? The cypherpunk equivalent of Robin Hood and his merry band?
Please unpack that Me, I go for unlimited personal power. But the problem is all the jerks who have unlimited personal power. Especially the ones who collaborate in gangs of various sorts. Such as Google. So if you have a solution, please do share
@mirimir I highly respect your tech knowledge and have learned a lot from you but on other fields you have a path to walk. If I was to say that Montague Norman was XXth Century's most important person you (and almost any others) wouldn't understand , and yet it is a very arguable proposition. Let's leave it here lest this thread be closed.
