Blogs
The war on Christmas
Submitted by Aldon Hynes on Thu, 12/22/2005 - 10:44For a very interesting perspective on the War on Christmas, please read this post.
It makes me wonder if Santa is ordering secret wiretaps on elves.
Pseudonymity and Anonymity online
Submitted by Aldon Hynes on Mon, 12/19/2005 - 11:43My online persona grew up in the world of MOOs, and I think that world can provide us some helpful insights in how pseudonymity and anonymity can work online.
Why is this important? Recently, there have been lots of discussions about anonymity and pseudonymity online. How can Craig’s List deal better with trolls and scamsters? How can Wikipedia better deal with people deliberately posting false information? How can we have better discussions in the comment sections of active blog sites? Would requiring some sort of consistent online identity help address these problems? What sort of level of verification should be used?
Fiona in her first recital
Submitted by Aldon Hynes on Sun, 12/18/2005 - 14:05
Rousseau and Rasslin’ hogs
Submitted by Aldon Hynes on Sat, 12/17/2005 - 22:10(Originally posted at Greater Democracy)
It has been many years since I read Rousseau’s Social Contract. It was back in college and I didn’t read it as closely as I should have. Yet it often comes to mind as I read discussions about the role government in the age of Internet technology, and how to handle trolls, spam and scamsters.
Recently, Craig Newmark wrote a message to a mailing list that I am on talking about issues that craigslist has had. “Starting in early October 2004, in our discussion boards, we saw a very large surge of disinformation. Specifically, we saw a lot of new people who were posting information that had already been discredited ..., and who also posted highly abusive personal attacks”
He goes on to say, “These folks seem to be organized as a decentralized network and are very persistent, a problem to this very day.
On our site, they're an annoyance; on Wikipedia, they're a societal problem, given the importance of Wikipedia.”
Supporting our troops means more than putting a bumper sticker on the back of your car
Submitted by Aldon Hynes on Thu, 12/15/2005 - 11:04Yesterday, I had the honor of being on a conference call with Suzi Hackett. Suzi is a fascinating woman whose voice I hope we hear a lot more of over the coming months.
A year ago, her husband was serving in Iraq. He did not get to see his children dressed up for a Christmas pageant or see his youngest son’s first Christmas. He had been honorably discharged from the marines in 1999, but he could not sit by as his brothers in arms served in Iraq, so he volunteered and returned to duty.
Unlike families of service men and women in active duty, Suzi wasn’t living amidst other military families. She was isolated and didn’t have the sort of support that other military families have. Unfortunately, there are many people in Suzi’s situation. Spouses of reservists and those serving in the National Guard too often do not have the same sort of support structures that other military families have.
