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1. 

   dorpus, 25 Sep 2003 @ 7:06pm

   
   

   The French Precedent

   History has repeatedly shown that whenever a given culture invents something new, then other cultures will imitate it as-is at first, then alter it to suit their own needs and values.
   
   Our internet is based on American values that say:
   
   1. Open (often rude) public debate is good
   2. New frontiers should be conquered, through investing massive resources in it.
   
   There are other cultures that view open debate as fanning the flames of hatred, so should be avoided. Still others believe that frontiers are a waste of resources, so should be ignored. There are plenty of countries with "frontiers" of vast deserts, swamps, or jungles, but people are not rushing to live there.
   
   More concretely, the internet does pose plenty of problems for non-English speakers. There is an overbearing presence of English, along with all the English spam.
   
   As far as my first-hand experience with MSN chats go, open public debate often serves to inflame relations between countries rather than improve them. When the ignorant rabble of one country talk to the ignorant rabble of another, they piss each other off and want to kill each other.
   

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2. 

   Anonymous Coward, 26 Sep 2003 @ 8:47am

   
   

   No Subject Given

   They are Frech for God's sake !
   What can you expect ?

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