[9623] in Commercialization & Privatization of the Internet
Re: Is advertising relevant
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Russell Nelson)
Fri Jan 14 12:04:58 1994
Date: Fri, 14 Jan 1994 11:11:42 EST
From: "Russell Nelson" <nelson@crynwr.com>
To: "Barney Wolff" <barney@databus.com>
Cc: com-priv@psi.com
On Fri, 14 Jan 94 03:02:57 -0500, "Barney Wolff" <barney@databus.com> wrote:
>
> Folks not in .com would say that [unwanted advertisements] is a
> case for government. Much as I instinctively shrink from it, I
> haven't yet heard a better solution.
There's a three-volume book by Gene Sharp, _The Politics of
Nonviolent Action_, Porter Sargent, Boston. In it, he discusses the
source of power (the ability to influence people's actions).
Ultimately, people choose to obey. You cannot force anyone to do
anything. If you want a ditch dug, and you have a gun, the worst you
can do is kill the uncooperative ditch digger. If you don't want to
dig the ditch yourself, you must first persuade the ditch digger.
[and yes, a gun *can* be persuasive, but the ability to bring
superior violence to bear does not guarantee victory].
So, to the point, where does government get its power? From its
citizens cooperation. So, really, a government only does things that
its citizens want. If people have an effective mechanism for doing
things on their own, government intervention is not needed.
The same Internet that enables advertisers to annoy hundreds of
people for every person it makes happy, also enables the unhappy
people to apply pressure in various ways on the advertisers. As Gene
Sharp shows, power derives from engaging people's cooperation, not
from the barrel of a gun.
--
-russ <nelson@crynwr.com> ftp.msen.com:pub/vendor/crynwr/crynwr.wav
Crynwr Software | Crynwr Software sells packet driver support.
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