Book People Archive

time for a reminder



it's probably as good a time as any for a reminder...

the content cartels want to curtail our ability to copy.

that's just plain nonsense!

this new capability to copy at virtually zero cost is
a _blessing_ common sense _requires_us_ to use,
wisely, for the good of the species and the planet.

_that_ is our imperative, and it is a compelling one...

***

i've been looking for an article that i thought was entitled
"beyond scarcity" by john perry barlow.   couldn't find that,
but i did come up with "a declaration of the independence
of cyberspace" by him, which was refreshing to read again:

>    http://homes.eff.org/~barlow/Declaration-Final.html

these lines in particular struck me:
>    I declare the global social space we are building to be 
>    naturally independent of the tyrannies you seek to 
>    impose on us.   You have no moral right to rule us 
>    nor do you possess any methods of enforcement 
>    we have true reason to fear.

and it goes on with:
>    Governments derive their just powers 
>    from the consent of the governed. 
>    You have neither solicited nor received ours.

***

also useful to refresh our enthusiasm 
is barlow's "economy of ideas", found at:
>    http://homes.eff.org/~barlow/EconomyOfIdeas.html

-bowerbird