A Better View: Deus Ex Machina
from the oh-really? dept
Kelly McNeill writes "The Dues Ex Machina (sic), our grand vision. A 24/7 pipeline to the world around us, to be used for the export and import, control and freedom, of massive information. The Internet was our door to the outside world, and, at the same time, the guide to our inner hideaways. And then, the suits got involved." I find it highly amusing that this was submitted here, considering that Techdirt really is fairly "suit" heavy. The ratio of MBA to CS degrees is on the high side. I also think that whining about it doesn't do much good. It's very similar to the RIAA whining about Napster. The fact is that you need to learn to live with the world around you - not everything is going to go your way, but learn to deal. And, one last thing, if you're going to base an entire article on one concept "Deus ex Machina" at least make sure you spell it right (and that you understand the concept - because I'm not sure you do).
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Come on...
> The fact is that you need to learn to live with the world around you - not everything is going to go your way, but learn to deal.
This is a rather defeatist attitude, don't you think? The author's point is worth considering. Remember the immediate loss of quality of Usenet newsgroups when the were opened to AOL's millions? At the time, many decried the onslought of corporatism that would inevitably destroy the free and individualistic Internet.
Isn't that exactly what has happened?
You may wish to simply sit back and tut-tut the spelling of commentators, but I think we must be vigilent and vocal about protecting our freedoms from the corporations who would homogenize us and sterilize speech into consumer jingles. Indeed, your previous story is exactly about corporate privacy invasions!
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Re: Come on...
As for the concept being defeatist, I disagree. I don't mean to say "sit back and do nothing", but by "dealing with it" I mean the exact opposite. I mean do something. Don't just complain about it on a website. I really do think that complaining about these vague "corporate interests" is just as bad as the RIAA complaining about Napster. It's definitely important to keep a careful watch for companies that do things incorrectly, but to just blame "profits" and "corporate interests" is naive and silly - just as the RIAA is automatically blaming Napster for the death of the music industry.
My statement wasn't one of "sit back and let the corporations take over", but it was saying don't just say that corporations and profits are evil. That's a huge generalization. If you don't like a particular corporation, or what they're doing, then do something about it. You have to understand that these things happen. Companies see an opportunity to make money they're going to take it. Yes, it's important for people to make sure they're playing fair, but don't blame the corporate structure - blame the particular companies that are doing something bad - or figure out a way to stop them or get around them.
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Re: Come on...
I think you can analyze a little more deeply and see that there are often structural reasons why have the systems we have. To ignore these structures can then lead to worthless solutions that attack symptoms, not causes. I don't imagine you'd suggest combating racism or sexism one incident at a time, ignoring the educational, poverty, historical, and institutional reasons for our current inequities.
Corporations may rightly pursue only the profit motive--but if we allow profits at the expense of our rights, then it is not the problem of an individual company. It is the problem of the structure in which we as a society allow profits to be made. Thus, sometimes the playing field must be adjusted.
We mercifully do not have a totally free market in which the profit motive would chew up children, labor, and the environment. We carefully regulate and balance the market with our social values. We should continue to do so with respect to the Internet, as suggested by the original article. We must work to ensure that the Internet remains a mechanism for individual expression, not only the corporate messages that often oppose it.
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