BigNuts wrote:
On Tue, 1 Jul 1997, Tim May wrote:
Technology liberates the bits.
Tim gave excellent information on how one can go about using technology to enjoy the fruits of other people's labour without contributing toward the survival of those producing the things he enjoys.
Anything that isn't nailed down, is mine. Anything that I can pry loose, isn't nailed down.
When I originally came up with the concept of BlackNet and anonymous remailers, I foresaw that my invention of Public Key Cryptography might help make it possible for ordinary people to reap the benefits of other peoples' ideas and hard work, without doing anything to contribute toward the survival of creative, productive people.
Big deal. I was the first one to write about fire and the wheel but you don't see me constantly reminding people about it.
I can understand that Tim May wants to hang on to the mountain of cash that was made possible by his company's software copyrights, but I am surprised that he seems so boastful about denying others any compensation for their ideas, talent, and labour.
Hey! I got mine and I'm keeping it! Just because a bunch of gullible people believed my company's claim that we owned the results of our creative ideas doesn't mean that I have to be a sucker, too. People have no more right to deny others the free use of their creative ideas than they do to deny others the free use of their identities. Technology allows me to use other people's idea capital and their reputation capital without compensating them and any attempt to deny me my right to do so is an infringement on my freedom. Everything in the world is up for grabs and those who have the most firepower get to take the goodies home. I have the latest in guns and digital technology, so I can get and keep a lot of goodies. {BTW, if you grab all of the candy bags from all of the children out Halloweening it doesn't matter if they don't come back next year because there will always be new suckers to take their place.} Theres something wrong when I'm a forger under an increasing number of laws. ---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---- Timothy C. May | identity anarchy: encryption, digital money, tcmay@got.net 408-728-0152 | anonymous identity, digital identities, zero W.A.S.T.E.: Corralitos, CA | identity, reputations, identity markets, Higher Power: 2^1398269 | black eyes, collapse of identity. "Personal Identity isn't even a speed bump on the reputation capital highway."