63 lines
3.1 KiB
Plaintext
63 lines
3.1 KiB
Plaintext
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\section{European Autonomy and Domestic Meddlers}
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\dropcap{S}\kern3pt ince\plainmargintext{by Tom Jennings,<2C>
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1:125/111, June 89. An article I wrote for FidoNews, the<68>
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electronic newsletter of the FidoNet communications<6E>
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network.} I see my name is getting dragged into this, I thought<68>
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I'd respond on the subject of Zone 2's autonomy, which is really<6C>
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an issue of control.
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First of all, no one need worry about trademark abuse; I am in<69>
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contact with all parties involved, and there is nothing to worry<72>
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about. Things will be settled to everyone's benefit and<6E>
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satisfaction. No further discussion is needed on this matter.
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It is none of our business\margintext{What's going on is,<2C>
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provincial law'n'order control freaks in the U.S. were (and still<6C>
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are) trying to make (in this case) European FidoNet members<72>
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behave `like us', the `correct' way. Same old story. It's<>
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especially embarrassing in an international environment. The good<6F>
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part is that it really {\rm is} an inter-national environment,<2C>
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and people {\rm are} learning. It's not a pretty process to watch<63>
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though, and real damage does get done along the way. Oh well.}<7D>
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how Zone 2 (or any other zone) runs their network(s), other than<61>
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how they interface to us, just as it is no business to net 125<32>
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how net XYZ runs theirs, unless it somehow physically affects our<75>
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operation. If they have different criteria for joining a network,<2C>
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what business is it of ours? To meddle ahead of time ``in case<73>
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they do something awful'', is silly; they are no more (or less)<29>
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likely to do something stupid than we in Zone 1 are. Europe is<69>
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not just the U.S.-only-different; it is a totally different<6E>
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environment, socially, technically, legally and politically.<2E>
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Europe is none of our damn business.
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Zone 1 is not the police force of the world. Have we not learned <20>
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our lessons from other arenas? We do not ``have'' a unified
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world-wide network, nor is such a thing even desirable. What we<77>
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do have is a number of cooperative networks, that can cooperate<74>
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in a world-wide networking effort. This is a critical difference.
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Unfortunately, meddlers and control freaks will not give up until<69>
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everything not exactly like themselves is squashed or<6F>
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controlled\margintext{It's funny for me to read two years later<65>
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and see how fast and how far the law'n'order mentality has gone<6E>
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in this country. Ha ha.}. Or they are in turn removed. We have a<>
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growing bureaucracy in our Zone 1 that wants to reorganize us<75>
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from being a bottom-up network, where sysops choose their net<65>
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hosts and other /0's, and determine how to run their own BBS,<2C>
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nets and lives, to one (according to POLICY4) where the existing<6E>
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bureaucracy picks their own region and net hosts. Bureaucrats<74>
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always tell us, if they can control this one more thing, then all<6C>
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the problems will be solved.
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Our network has never run smoothly, and I propose that it will<6C>
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{\it never} run smoothly; this is good, not bad. It means we're<72>
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alive, only dead rigid bureaucracies are pure order. (Or pretend<6E>
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they are.) Excessive order is not good for any organism. It<49>
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stifles creativity and free expression. Let's take a hint from<6F>
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history, OK?
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