THE NEW YORKER on the V-Chip

[Alan Bostick]

In the Jan. 20, 1997, issue of THE NEW YORKER, the "Comment", written by
Malcolm Gladwell, makes a powerful arguement about the unintended
consequences of the V-Chip, the programmable device to be included in
next-generation television sets sold in the US that supposedly will
allow parents to control their children's access to sex and violence on
TV.

Gladwell makes an analogy between V-Chipped TV content and
air-conditioned cars in the New York City subway system in summertime:
" . . . we need air-conditioners on subway cars because air-conditioners
on subway cars have made stations so hot that subway cars need to be
air-conditioned."  Similarly, he argues, "the V-chip is likely to
increase the amount of sex and violence on television, not decrease it"
because when viewers can block offensive programming, there is far less
pressure on broadcasters and cable operators to avoid offending.

This is just the sort of thing that John Young is given to scanning and
putting up on his Web site or sending out to people who send him email
with FUN_nie subject lines.  If I were him, I'd put it up.

And, for the benefit of those people who don't think the V-Chip isn't in
itself on-topic for cypherpunks, I might point out that Gladwell's
argument applies equally well to mail filtering with procmail recipes --
or Sandy's and John's list moderation experiment.  If the noise level on
the unmoderated list jumps to even higher than we were seeing before
the moderation began, that would provide observational support to
Gladwell's argument.

-- 
Alan Bostick               | To achieve harmony in bad taste is the height
mailto:abostick at netcom.com | of elegance. 
news:alt.grelb             |      Jean Genet 
http://www.alumni.caltech.edu/~abostick