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1. Dr. Quadragon ❌ (drq@mastodon.ml)'s status on Wednesday, 09-Aug-2023 23:31:27 JST Dr. Quadragon ❌

   Seems like both the governments AND the corporations don't want the Internet to be a thing anymore. It turned out to be altogether too liberating and uncontrollable for their liking.

   I dread the day they figure out how to put this genie back in the bottle.

   • silverpill (silverpill@mitra.social)'s status on Wednesday, 09-Aug-2023 23:31:22 JST silverpill

     in reply to

     @drq As the cost of routing around gets higher, the free internet will become smaller and smaller. But I don't think it will ever disappear.

   • Dr. Quadragon ❌ (drq@mastodon.ml)'s status on Wednesday, 09-Aug-2023 23:31:24 JST Dr. Quadragon ❌

     in reply to

     I know that old adage that the Internet interprets censorship as damage and routes around it. For now, it still holds true.

     But how much more damage can we sustain before we can't route around it any more?

   • Dr. Quadragon ❌ (drq@mastodon.ml)'s status on Wednesday, 09-Aug-2023 23:31:25 JST Dr. Quadragon ❌

     in reply to

     So we, theoretically, can tell them to fuck right off and claim actual ownership of our communication systems.

     But it will require getting pissed off. And potentially getting shot at. A lot.

     Because one side has people with guns. And the other side has money. Which means also people with guns. And pretty much all we have is numbers and the know-how.

     I'm not sure if we got spirit for that. :(

   • Dr. Quadragon ❌ (drq@mastodon.ml)'s status on Wednesday, 09-Aug-2023 23:31:26 JST Dr. Quadragon ❌

     in reply to

     I mean, the Internet has always been a product of some kind of Nash equilibrium. It has been since its inception as a part of the nuclear project - when maintaining atomic warfare parity between states was crucial.

     Since the Internet opened up, it has been revolving around parity between the states, corporations and general public.

     We don't necessarily *like* each other, in fact, all three sides hate each others' guts. But, without clear path to victory over another, for each of our own sakes, the Internet must exist, neutrally and equitably.

     I think, that equilibrium is slowly eroding, and us comon folk are basically stuck between a hammer and a hard place here.

     The only hope I see here, is that it's ultimately us who build this network. All the other parties just claim ownership of what we've built. Talk about labour alienation. It's all they can.

   • That Would Be Telling (thatwouldbetelling@shitposter.club)'s status on Sunday, 13-Aug-2023 03:55:25 JST That Would Be Telling

     in reply to

     • cjd
     • silverpill

     @drq @silverpill @cjd “[The Internet] has been since its inception as a part of the nuclear project - when maintaining atomic warfare parity between states was crucial.”

     Not sure if you’re correct there; packet switching was (drilling down now to Wikipedia, but credibly) envisioned to make SAGE communications more robust in the middle of a nuclear war.

     The ARPANET though, the very direct precursor to the Internet was developed to allow scientists etc. to share then very scarce computer resources. Arguably part of “the nuclear project” but much much removed from it.

     Ultimately I think we have to win in the greater world, which I see possible after a preference cascade, or fall back to old concepts like USENET and create our own, almost certainly text with a few pictures only parallel network.

     Although that’s getting more interesting as more and more things citizens and subjects of country need to use the net for basic things. In the meanwhile? The only paperless billing you should sign up for is your Internet providers. Not yet to the Father Coughlin stage of denying us access to the snail mail postal system.

     cool_boy_mew likes this.