New Year's Message: Optimism On The Cusp Of Big Changes
from the make-it-so dept
While Techdirt started back in 1997 (yikes), since 2008 I've had an end of the year tradition in which I use the final post of the year to reflect a bit more generally on the topic of optimism. It kicked off after I received some comments from people questioning how I didn't go crazy after writing about all of these negative things -- and I noted that I'm actually quite optimistic and happy. The frustration comes from all of the efforts to hold back the pace of progress, but I'm quite excited about all the progress that is happening. In 2009, I focused more on the power of creativity and innovation, and followed that up in 2010 by noting that innovation can help turn pessimism to optimism. In 2011, I pointed out that we could then take that innovation and optimism and finally start to make a real difference, because the power was now in our hands. That turned out to be prescient, because 2012 was a year where we started to see real change, as people spoke up and actually made a huge difference around things like SOPA and ACTA.For this year, that trend continues in a big way. The accomplishments of the past have only resulted in continued pressure to change things for the better in the future. The story of the year, without question, is the revelations about the surveillance state (thank you Ed Snowden), a story that is still just beginning, but has already had tremendous impact around the globe and will continue to drive efforts towards real, lasting and important changes. It's interesting to see that the infrastructure that came together around SOPA starting in 2011 is continuing to operate today on issues related to privacy and surveillance. Yes, there's a big fight ahead, and it may not go perfectly (nothing ever does), but to suggest that change is not coming is naive in the extreme.
This kind of change is not just possible, it's becoming probable. In the past, it was nearly impossible for the public and a loose coalition of folks nowhere near the centers of power to effect change. But that's been altered in a big, big way over the past few years, and it's only going to continue. It's easy to be cynical about all of this, but we're already seeing the beginnings of change and it will continue so long as people continue to speak out, speak up and push for basic freedoms and rights.
And, of course, we're seeing similar things happen beyond the issue of surveillance, in other areas that we normally talk about. After years of pushing copyright law to be ever expanded, Congress has now started a (long) process towards comprehensive copyright reform, in which it's clear they're paying attention to what the wider public thinks, rather than just focusing on what one legacy industry thinks. Again, this is the earliest stage of this process, but just the fact that Congress is open to comprehensive reform -- something most thought to be impossible just a few months ago -- is a sign of how far we've come.
Similarly, on the issue of patent reform, Congress is poised to pass significant legislation to try to limit patent trolling. The legislation doesn't go nearly far enough, but a year ago it was laughable to think that Congress would even take up the issue, since it had passed (basically useless) patent reform in 2011 and pretended that it had solved all of the problems. The fact that Congress was willing to go back and revisit the issue so quickly -- and this time to actually look at the problems -- is a sign that when people really speak out about these problems, it is possible to create change. There's still more to be done, but things are moving forward.
Yes, there's much to be cynical about. And there is tremendous frustration in bad laws, bad rulings, clueless policy, dumb decisions and lawsuits. But if you go back just a few years and look at where we are today, you're being willfully blind if you haven't seen the somewhat astounding progress. Two years ago, you'd be laughed at if you said that at the close of 2013 we'd be talking about significant reforms to surveillance, copyright and patents. Yet we're right on the cusp of all of those things.
That's an amazing statement of the power to create change in important ways.
We can and should be frustrated that this change happens as slowly as it does, and at the efforts to dilute or limit the change. We should be furious at the steps backwards that inevitably happen in this process. But we should be energized by the power to create change that we've seen over the past few years, much of it driven by large groups of people gathering together and speaking out. The amazing ability of the internet to bring together and amplify those voices and to drive home the message that these changes aren't just desired, but necessary, should not be discounted.
2014 is going to be quite an interesting year in so many ways, and each and every one of you should pat yourselves on the back for helping to get us this far... while gearing up to continue the fight.
We're looking forward to 2014 and additional efforts we're making to do even more for the community here.
I've been writing here for over 16 years and it remains an absolute joy and pleasure every day to share this space with all of you, to learn from you and to discuss and debate with you. You continue to inspire me, each and every day, to see what we can do not just to make this a better place for the community, but to look at ways that we might, in whatever little ways we can, make this a better world for everyone. Thank you again, for being a part of this effort.
Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.
While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.
–The Techdirt Team
Filed Under: change, copyright, new year's message, optimism, patents, progress, surveillance, thank you
Reader Comments
Subscribe: RSS
View by: Time | Thread
So I'm going back to my self-ban on the many bs choices of congress and obummer, hopefully when I check this (and eff and torrentfreak) site 6+ months later it will be more positive, less negative news.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Ed Snowden is the Story of the Year. May his sacrifice better us all.
Happy New Year!
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Never trust a person who is always dead serious.
Champagne and cheers!
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re:
But steering away from false dichotomies, here is a popular Russian saying: "it is better to be wealthy and healthy than poor and sick."
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
I've been coming here now for years. I have never registered, nor do I intend to. I appreciate just being a nameless internet space in this day and age of trying to count every keystroke and the attempt of following every page visit, just to be able to comment anonymously.
I've dropped commenting at several sites that have decided that Dicqus or registering must be part of the commenting. I refuse to join that internet dataminer and the spamming problem isn't something I invented nor play a part of. To be held incommunicado because I refuse to not to fold, spindle, or mutilate, just to say my mind is what it comes down to.
Even so, there seems to be an echoing sentiment from time to time in my comments from the community. Enough so that I do know that my occasional comment hits home and those sites that bar my presence by putting barriers in place will not gain from those comments, ever how humble or off base they are.
Here's to hoping this year is a better year than last, not just for the technical and political sides but for each person that visits your pages, including ootb for what it's worth.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
You think that's bad, look at how all the major mail providers -- and YouTube -- are trying to force people to give them their phone numbers and real names now. And two weeks or so ago the War on Anonymity escalated yet again as a very large and rather diverse assortment of web sites all simultaneously started blocking browsing from Tor (not just commenting, but even just reading their web pages), all with suspiciously similar looking CAPTCHA pages none of which work.
I think we need to push hard for a standard to be established (perhaps by ICANN or the W3C?) that web site content that is visible to most of the public somewhere (not members-only requiring signup) be made visible to everyone, without access barriers, in a nondiscriminatory manner, and that the static content of all pages must render reasonably for viewers who have Javascript disabled, and without spurious some-of-the-time redirects of any kind (e.g. ads, popups -- you can advertise alongside the content but the content must appear in any non-http-error response to the URI get request). So, a kind of net neutrality rule for sites rather than for ISPs.
Merely viewing a (public) page should never require a CAPTCHA, spoofing HTTP Referer or geographical location, giving up Tor or another anonymity tool (such as a proxy or VPN), enabling Javascript, using specific devices (or avoiding specific devices), clicking past ads that completely obscure or replace the intended page, or any other such hoop-jumping. CAPTCHA-type barriers are only reasonable for those posting content, as a way of limiting spam and other abusive posting, and none of the others are justifiable even then; and there is no excuse whatsoever for subjecting people to such obstacles just to read a page without writing or changing anything on it.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re:
I from time to time find drop downs that bar your viewing the page until you activate javascript. Most of the time I will leave the site rather than do so. But occasionally I want to read the text and will use the Inspect Element to just remove it from the page and then read on ignoring their demands. When I arrive at news sites that are blank until you allow javascript I move on and close the page. If I want to know badly enough with in a few hours, it'll turn up on a search engine other than Google.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re:
Let me guess... Cloudflare? It shows that stupid CAPTCHA page if it thinks the IP address you are coming from is attacking the sites, even if the webmaster dialed down the sensitivity to the minimum. A webmaster I know gave up on Cloudflare because of that; he does not want that interstitial, but found no way to completely prevent it, and his analytics showed it was having a real impact on his traffic.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re:
I think it would be better to let site owners do what they want, and if lots of people don't like it, they'll let them know by not visiting that site. If site operators want to give up the traffic from you and other like-minded people, that should be their choice.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Re:
True, and if the proposal is just to create a standard and encourage everyone to conform to it, I'm all in favor of that. I just don't think anyone should be forced into it.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Commenting anonymously
It is just getting the right combination to get the site set up that is the problem. Hotmail is useless though for this kind of activity.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
so -RELUCTANTLY- updated win8 to win8.1 and -besides not fixing network problems which i later resolved in a different manner- it also changed -WITHOUT A CHOICE- my login so it used my idiotic 'microsoft' account (which i was basically TRICKED into establishing when i downloaded some MS programming s/w), instead of my original non-microsoft login...
fuckers
a quick search has not given me the info to 'downgrade' my login to just be a 'plain' login, and not have microsoft looking over my shoulder through 'their' account...
fuckers, i hate them all...
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Missing posts
Anyone have a clue what the problem might be? I'm blocking many of the 3rd party scripts at this site (but not techdirt.com-hosted scripts) and using ABP on latest Firefox. That configuration hasn't changed in weeks, and I saw "Daily Dirt" posts normally right up until around Christmas, which suggests that a change at techdirt's end either right before or right after the holiday is responsible for these symptoms.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Missing posts
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Missing posts
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Missing posts
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
If it did not require registering I'd go to the site look and comment.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Happy new year
So, happy new year, Techdirt. Here's hoping that there are many more.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Happy new year
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
pledge not to censor comments ?? this year ?
Or is that something you simply cannot bring yourself to give up, after all.. POWER !!!!!!
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
2) If you don't want to be sent to time out so often, stop acting like a child.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: no its censoring
but lets call a spade a spade please.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: no its censoring
Having your posts hidden(hidden, not removed) once enough of the community have clicked 'Report' on it due to believing it to be 'Abusive, spam, trollish or otherwise inappropriate', to the point where it takes a single click to reveal and read it, is not even close to having your post removed, with no ability for people to read it once it's gone.
The first takes all of one click to undo, people can still read the comment just fine, as demonstrated by the sometimes long strings of replies to hidden/reported comments, whereas the second is permanent, once the comment is gone it's gone for good, and no one can read it at all.
So by all means, 'call a spade a spade', just don't call having comments reported and hidden 'censorship', as it's not.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: no its censoring
Call a spade a spade, Mike can't deal with the opposing view when it's well stated, so he censors the posts by delaying them until they are not longer relevant or part of the discussion.
He's a big man talking against censorship, but more than willing to use it in his own petty, dictatorial way.
yeah, Happy New Year Mike, hope you decide to change your stand on censorship one day - changing the world starts at home.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
it's like allowing free speech, but only when nearly everyone has already left the room.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: no its censoring
Personally, it may be useful to reconsider the "report" function to determine if its current scope unduly, unjustly limits expression that some here may find uncomfortable.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Re: no its censoring
That said, as someone who compulsively clicks to view the hidden comments, the *vast* majority of the hidden comments are off-topic, incoherent, purely ad hominem, or all three at once. Further, the not-so-bad comments that get hidden are usually from a few, well-known trolls that spew so much wackiness that many people report them no matter what they write. It's kind of hard to be too sympathetic in that case...
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: no its censoring
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: no its censoring
that's is what free speech is all about. (except here).
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Re: no its censoring
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: no its censoring
I've said this before, but I'll say it again. What's stated above is simply untrue. While some legitimate comments are caught in the spam filter (which uses a variety of different algorithms and heuristics and services to sniff out spam -- catching nearly all of the 1000+ spams we get per day), we release *EVERY* legitimate non-spam comment, even those that disagree with what we have to say. The only ones that we may not release are when someone whose comment accidentally gets caught in the spam filter then reposts that same comment another dozen times (in those cases, we'll just post it that once...) or when they then throw a misguided tirade claiming that we're picking on them personally. We're not. In fact, we have one of the most open commenting policies anywhere on the web these days.
If you've had legitimate comments caught in the spam filter, we apologize, but we try to be as efficient as possible about getting them on the site.
And, of course, I certainly disagree with the idea that this is censorship in any way -- unless you believe that blocking spam is "censorship." I think most rational people would disagree.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: no its censoring
I have two other comments in this post, both have been held now for more than 24 hours without reason - except that you have decided you don't like my comments and as a result you censor them by delaying them until they are no longer relevant because the discussion has moved on or slid off the front page of your site.
It's censorship, just a soft version so you have plausible deniability. I don't spam, I don't have links in my posts, nothing... just you blocking a dissenting voice.
Why do you do it? Can you explain? I don't spam. I don't use a VPN. I don't post links, I don't do anything like that. Yet, there you go, delaying comments by holding them for moderation for as long as it takes to make them irrelevant.
Censorship by blocking... it's something you rally against, and then use to shut down people you don't like. It's a two faced way to do things, and seems to be showing someone who is incredibly petty.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
Someone's being dishonest, and it's not Masnick, you lying scumbag.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
Basically, he's blocking my comments until few (like yourself) read them.
Don't let the date / time stamp fool you, that is when I wrote the post, not when it was added on the site. The actual add time for my comment above was about 14 hours after I wrote it.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: no its censoring
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: no its censoring
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Re: no its censoring
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Re: no its censoring
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: no its censoring
For those, like myself, that read with javascript disabled (for security reasons), a single click does NOT reveal the post. It is, instead, effectively REMOVED.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Re: no its censoring
I am talking about Mr Masnick 'HELD FOR MODERATION (and disposal' based on MAC address, IP address and other meta-data, this is CENSORSHIP..
So, you cannot just 'click on it' because YOU NEVER SEE IT, Mr Masnick likes to use his own form of censorship to stop people posting at all, its kind of sad to see Mr Masnick resort to this, considering he is all out "I hate censorship" in his outward stance.
I am sure even you can see these things are not the same.
and the 'hidden' posts are also censorship, it seems simply easier than having your beliefs questioned..
and again, its sad that TD and Masnick allow this on this web site.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Re: no its censoring
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: no its censoring
That's censorship, it's done based on META-DATA gathered by masnick on posters to TD and is used for censorship.
you can have a completely valid comment, that is not spam, but related to the issue.
But because it does not support Masnick's opinion it never gets to be shown on the site.
By any definition that is CENSORSHIP..
This is not about 'hidden' posts, although that too is censorship, its about posts being blocked before they are read or posted, that never get posted.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: no its censoring
Its not the same thing, but it is censorship..
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Re: no its censoring
With that said: neither report-hiding posts and Techdirt's spam filters catching posts count as censorship in any reasonable person's mind. You can go to any open-content site and complain all the live-long day if Techdirt blocks/hides your comments. Comment hiding/blocking doesn't stop you from speaking your mind elsewhere, Techdirt has no legal (or moral) obligation to give you a platform, and the law does not allow you to force Techdirt into giving you a platform.
I cherish the idea of dissenting views and opposing ideas. Our differences can help us understand each other better and improve our lives, even if we end up disagreeing after a healthy discussion. But we don't get that discussion if you (and other commenters who cry "censorship") keep attacking people, claiming yourself as a victim of censorship, and using "I'm just trying to present a dissenting view" to excuse away your own bullshit.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: pledge not to censor comments ?? this year ?
1. You are confusing "censorship" with "equal promotion". This is typical of today's "it's all about me" attitudes. In other words, if whatever expression you spew is not give equal value, prominence, and/or promotion with all others, you have somehow had your "rights" violated. Assuming you are an adult, it is sad to see such a childish attitude.
2. The only "POWER" you are contending with is the power given to a community to have some say-so in the dialog in which it prefers to engage. Frankly, I'd probably lean toward a more permanent solution of automatically deleting not only comments voted "off the island", but responses to those comments as well. It would clear up a lot of clutter. Don't like it? Find another island, build your own, or choose to engage in civil discourse. How's that for freedom?
I must confess that Mike is actually more tolerant than I am in this area and I've learned some lessons on patience from observing how he manages this site and responds to some of the vitriol and ignorance posted, sometimes even responding reasonably to people who can barely form a coherent sentence. Regardless of any agendas, Mike (and many on this site) often set a standard for excellence in civil discourse.
3. You are quick to argue for unlimited free expression in any venue, yet some commenters seem to get upset when others exercise their rights to free expression in voting down their opinion, making it less visible. No doubt the irony that I and many others are responding to your "censored" comment will be completely lost on you.
Slight change of topic, but you know what would be really fun? Have each "report" vote move a comment a preset value toward the background color of the site and each "insightful" vote move the comment back toward full visibility. If/when the comment reaches background color, only the "comment flagged" and unhide option would appear unless a preset number of "insightful" votes were received subsequently. It would be cool to see some comments gradually fade away or even reappear. It would also help illustrate that this is not one person exercising their right to manage their web site, but a community exercising its freedom to lower the visibility of truly obnoxious content or participants.
Finally, shout out to Mike. Great job with this site. You have influenced my own views and my ability to engage in more informed dialog about things like IP rights, erosion of the Constitution, and some alternative takes on "everybody knows that" types of issues. If that is part of your agenda, add a +1 to the success column.
Happy New Year everyone
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: pledge not to censor comments ?? this year ?
Actually, I personally think I fail at this way too often. It's one area where I hope to continue to improve.
Finally, shout out to Mike. Great job with this site. You have influenced my own views and my ability to engage in more informed dialog about things like IP rights, erosion of the Constitution, and some alternative takes on "everybody knows that" types of issues. If that is part of your agenda, add a +1 to the success column.
Thanks.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: pledge not to censor comments ?? this year ?
I love that idea. More importantly though (to me) would be to hide all replies to a reported comment, at least in threaded mode.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
HAPPY!! NEW YEAR!!
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
AMEN
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Happy New Year
"We are doing what humans have always done, sharing ideas."
Happy New Year to you and yours.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Happy New Year
And the same to you LAB.
Although we've disagreed on a few occasions, your willingness to at least hear the other side of an argument and remain adult and civil about it is most definitely appreciated.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
noob here
Happy new year!
Doug
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
If i remember correctly this marks my 8th(or 9th?) Year of reading, thanks everyone for the great articles and comments. Always interesting comments here. :)
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
I guess you missed the whole civil rights movement things that occurred in the 60's !
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Happy New Year all
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Thank you Mike
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
darryl and John Smith just hate it when due process is enforced.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]