Re: Imminent Death of Usenet Predicted

[Jordan Hayes <jordan@Thinkbank.COM>]

	From tcmay@got.net Fri Feb  2 19:10:21 1996

	I'm not despairing ...

It seems to me that all the things you pointed out are just symptoms
of the Internet growing up.  You mentioned on the one hand that
you don't like the trend that you see culminating in having all
USENET posts be signed, but on the other hand that you'd like to
see a 'sealed package' approach to your packets.

The problem is clear: USENET *isn't* 'sealed packages' -- it's
practically an outdoor billboard.  And I think it's logical to
expect some concensus-based rules for behavior there.  This whole
uproar about 'porno on the net' has to do with how children can
'stumble' upon it, as opposed to, say, renting it from Blockbuster[*].

I'm a little more upbeat than Tim, I guess.  I see the trend toward
'socialization' on the 'public' part of the Internet as ultimately
just fine, and the trend toward finding private means ('sealed
packages') to transmit 'private' goods continuing.  Soon I hope
that there will be as much chance of children 'stumbling upon'
X-rated JPEGs as they can today image satellite-delivered porno in
their heads without a dish.

I think the trend will continue so that people will eventually feel
that their e-mail is about as safe from 'the public' as a phone
call is.  Absolute privacy will be resisted from the top because
being 'in power' means always having a final veto; but what is the
real risk of this?

And don't forget: if you have privacy, you don't need anonymity.
Swiss banks provide the ultimate example.

/jordan

[*] I think community standards are important.  Whether it's speed
bumps on side streets or calls for silence in a jazz club, the
participants in a group should get to decide what is acceptable
behavior within their group.  That being said, I also believe it
is one of the few roles that a national government to provide is
guidance about a small number of issues (so before you hit that
'R' key, I don't believe that small towns can assert racism in
their town charter ...).