At 11:40 PM 5/9/96, E. ALLEN SMITH wrote:
From: IN%"tcmay@got.net" 8-MAY-1996 16:30:16.71
Then we'll see what happens. (This is an old debate, here and on the Cyberia-l list, to wit, what happens when people/perverts/libertarians choose to subvert the voluntary ratings by deliberately mis-rating their stuff? Or what if they genuinely believe, a la NAMBLA, that youngsters should be exposed to certain things?)
I don't agree with NAMBLA, BTW, in case anyone is wondering.
No need for people to point this out, as my point was an hypothetical, to show that there simply _is no objective standard_ in such matters. For every proposed "ratings" system that involves value judgments about who should see something, I can think of examples where a quite opposite view is held. I still think we are being led down a dangerous path in trying to architect ratings systems. As I said, we don't rate written words (at least I don't), we don't rate newspapers, etc. If a system gets built into the WWW, as with proposals for PICS, it _will_ be used by those who want to control content. We should think twice before helping in any way. (No, I'm not _against_ private ratings services...but this has little to do with _me_, and I won't participate. More importantly, I won't have my content have any kind of tag attached! Thus, the PICS thing looks intrusive to me, and not at all what I think of as a "private ratings service." I'll elaborate if my point is unclear.) --Tim May Boycott "Big Brother Inside" software! We got computers, we're tapping phone lines, we know that that ain't allowed. ---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---- Timothy C. May | Crypto Anarchy: encryption, digital money, tcmay@got.net 408-728-0152 | anonymous networks, digital pseudonyms, zero W.A.S.T.E.: Corralitos, CA | knowledge, reputations, information markets, Licensed Ontologist | black markets, collapse of governments. "National borders aren't even speed bumps on the information superhighway."