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North American Network Operators Group Date Prev | Date Next | Date Index | Thread Index | Author Index | Historical Re: The Uneducated Enduser (Re: Microsoft XP SP2 (was Re: Lazy network operators - NOT))
On Tue, 20 Apr 2004 09:21:02 -0500 (CDT), Adi Linden wrote: >> Since many gateway service providers will not prevent insufficiently >> skilled users from connecting to the internet and injuring others, the >> only remaining solution, as far as I can see, is cutting connectivity >> with those enablers. That is the proposal I advanced in >> <http://www.camblab.com/misc/univ_std.txt>. >And once again the you're punishing the victim. Let's not forget that the >uneducated end user is tricked into doing things that are not good for >them or the rest of the internet connected world. >Unfortunately the only feasible and readily available computer solution >for the uneducated end user is a single available operating system. >Everyone is at the mercy of this product with all its flaws and downfalls. >Instead of continually blaming the uneducated end user how about providing >tools to the uneducated end user that can be used to connect to the >internet without becoming a liability. A toaster with keyboard an monitor... I beg to clarify that I am not "blaming" anyone; I am describing a system with known input-output properties and internal structures. We know how this system behaves in terms of technology and human behavior, and we know what to do to the inputs to change the outputs. If you choose to smoke, you get cancer. Same with spam. If you don't want to have spam, you have to change some behaviors. Some people will be inconvenienced. Life is full of such choices. As for the specifics of your comments, I could not disagree more, but it is a philosophy of life that distinguishes our views, not the analysis of the problem. I believe (like a lot of other New Englanders and even some from California) that people must assume responsibility for their actions. If responsibility is not enforced, society collapses (into e.g. the kind of chaos we see on the internet.) In 2004 no one is "tricked" into using rubbish software; there are plenty of alternatives, and the rubbishy nature of the leading OS is in almost every day's newspaper. It's a choice people make, like overeating and gaining weight. No one is there with a gun forcing people to gain weight. As for "uneducated", the solution is the same as for bad drivers: training. If you are a threat to the rest of the internet because of your ignorance (or irresponsibility) then you do not qualify for connectivity, just as bad drivers don't get licenses, bad credit risks don't get credit, and drunk airline pilots stop flying. To repeat: the solution to spam is to apply rigorously the same rules to the internet as are used everywhere else in society. It is simple, it pays for itself, it works, and it works immediately. Some people will be upset, like the smokers who have to go outside for a puff or even give up their habit. However the result is better for EVERYONE including "the uneducated". Jeffrey Race
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