regulation equals censorship
At the risk of unleashing unlimited cyber criticism it’s high time the web was regulated. And yes, that undoubtedly means a level of censorship from those whose opinions we respect and who we deem responsible to do so. Those who believe in a self-regulating Wikipedia-style of operation are sadly misguided. Where money, corruption and deviancy are concerned the thieves, hackers, blaggers, pornographers, cheats and Nigerian conmen will continue to outpace any attempt at self regulation and control.
Professor Leonard Kleinrock, Ivan Sutherland, Lawrence Roberts and the other geniuses who created the modern web did not do so in order that children could be bombarded with inappropriate content, or that the internet could be used for anonymous slander or malicious hacking. It’s now just too important to allow it to operate in some untouchable dome of secrecy clothed as ‘open’. All revolutions and initiatives end up generating unintended and unforeseen consequences and the internet is no different in this regard, it’s now time to put some of them right.
The other thing that gets me are the exaggerated, overly bombastic claims made by the evangelists of the so-called digital revolution. Sitting here blogging away and sending my inner thoughts off into the cyber ether, I am obviously a convert of sorts but I’d like to think a realistic one. Sure, there’s no denying either the ease of potential communication and its convenience but where’s the quality? Of tweeting I’ve often expressed my view that if it can be said in 140 characters then it’s probably not worth saying. The claim of iEverything apostles that the digital world will have as profound effect in enriching our intellectual culture as the invention of the printing press is pure tosh. Simple as.
