On Jan 13, 10:23pm, Raph Levien wrote:
Negative response was immediate. The perpetrators were asked to stop, but they refused to. One Norwegian hacker took it upon himself to track down and "cancel" the offending messages. Most people on the Net considered this to be entirely appropriate.
It would probably be more accurate to say that there was little condemnation of this action, and quite a groundswell of support for the move.
A number of other self-promoting hucksters have sensed an opportunity, and have performed similar spams. In response, the Net evolved a defense mechanism to counter these spams and minimize the damage. The person currently serving this role is known by the pseudonym "CancelMoose." Almost everyone on the Net supports this effort, and agrees that it improves the overall value of Usenet.
Ditto.
In many countries (and even China is on the Net these days), writings critical of the government, such as exposure of human rights abuses, are illegal. The authors face imprisonment, torture and death. By posting anonymously to the Net, the information can be brought safely to the attention of the world.
Perhaps mention the Russian coup, where the net became a conduite for information leaving Moscow. I remember a colleague of mine announcing incidents which had occured within Moscow hours before the news services broadcast them, simply by getting emails from a colleague nearby, Ian.