Internet: Good or Bad?

There are 200 or so nations on this planet. Take a look at the nations whose governments don't want the internet, or heavily restrict it. If dictators hate the internet, I love it!

 

I became involved in the internet in the early '80s before it was the Internet. We logged onto local Electronic Bulletin Board Systems at about 3.something baud with no graphics. But, we talked to the world!!!

I could not write or sell what I do without the Internet. The amount of available information is astonishing. Pose any question in any search engine and literally millions of replies show up.

Of course there's a lot of evil and criminal activity on the Net. But, it's NOT the place of governments to limit or censor it. People who want nothing to do with it will simply avoid it. Those with sick, twisted minds will - whether or not it's legal or otherwise controlled. Exactly like drugs.

If tens of millions of computer users stay alert and rise up at government attempts to censor or control the Internet, we'll be just fine.

Otherwise - shades of George Orwell!

 

Okay, but the big internet corporations often cooperate with these dictators.

Yahoo forced to apologise to Chinese dissidents over crackdown on journalists

 

Internet=free porn so perhaps your thread title should be "free porn: good or bad?"

 

I'd say all four. Here's a bit on my personal experience.

I first discovered the internet about 1990 or so.

The things I love about it are things like you tube, hulu, and other information sites out there.

What I don't love is the constant fighting and insulting people on forums when they have different opinions and beliefs from other people.

You before I had the internet I had no one to talk to about my beliefs. I literally was the only one in my small town with the beliefs I have, and I was constantly given a hard time about them.

For example, I like Bluegrass music while everybody else liked either speed or heavy metal or country music.So they often teased me mercilessly for liking what I like.

When I found the internet I found that there were people who shared my interests.

There is a lot of crap on the internet too. Basically it's taught me that there's way too much hatred and intolerance out there and it's never going to go away like the Dodo bird.

Ah well, such is life.

 

I first discovered Bluegrass while stationed in D.C. lots of clubs with live performances. Surprised to discover several members of national symphonies who played on their evenings off.

 

That's funny!

Without government involvement, there would be no Internet.

 

Hilarious. Especially since the government monopolized and did nothing with the Internet for the thirty years that it had it from the mid '60s to the mid '90s. When it was privatized, the free market did more with the Internet in half the period of time that the government had it than the government has ever done for education in its entire timeframe of existence in which it has been trying to pursue exactly that.

 

Oh come on, willya .The first calculator was made in 1972, had 4 functions and sold for $400. There was a book called The Compulator published in 1977 and the first Apple was made that same year. There were about 30 computers in the WORLD that could actually communicate with each other in the 60's.

The Internet and the computer revolution is just about the consummate example of BOTH sectors, private and public, functioning perfectly together. The thing you don't want involved in that process is ideology, and, until 1990, it pretty much wasn't, as the main players were hardheaded scientists, military and engineers, not politicians. The right wing is the one who wants to use it for control and regulate it out of existence to "protect our morals".

 

No. The Internet makes no moral judgments and commits no actions, either benevolent or malevolent. The Internet is merely a network of computers. What humans do with the Internet could be construed as "good or bad".

 

The Interweb is evil, EVIL I tell you. This is why a spend all my time on the Interweb telling everyone so!

 

Neither, the internet gives people the tools to do both good and terrible things. It has made the world seem less foreign but also made identity theft ridiculously easy. It has vast amounts of information, but there is also a dark net and plenty of vice sites.

 

Nope... it shows how well the private sector works. The Internet was only successful when the government got out of it, and all those other amazing technological advances were the products of private innovators. Politicians aren't magical men who come up with stuff out of the "greater good." Innovations come from creative minds who go out and make their products a reality in order to earn profit.

 

Down with Google!

Is Google Corrupt?

Google: The Halliburton of the Obama Administration

Some problems with giant internet corporations:

1) Monopoly power

2) Privacy violations

3) Cooperation with repressive governments

4) Corporate welfare from politicians

 

The Internet has already and will change human society in ways we cannot now imagine. It is a great 'melting pot' of human interaction. We should all be pro-active in keeping government/political forces from seizing it and 'regulating' it. Otherwise, enjoy it while you can.

 

I have no clue why so many seem to want no regulation of the internet. Would you watch a baseball game with no rules or umpires? We had no rules up until Verizon wanted to have the power to treat content differently to make themselves more money. Once they won that case, it opened the door for providers to do what they want with your service. Rules deny them that power. Do you want Verizon to decide what content you can watch at what speed?

 

It's just not internet service providers but what Google, Microdoft, Face Book, etc. are all up to.

You use Google or Google Crome or FirFox, they probably know more about you than the person you sleep with at night. Every key stroke you make, every website you visit, every thing you say on this forum is archived and is for sell.

With Google have you noticed lately when you google something what use to come up no longer comes up but is buried deeply mabe on page 50. Google may have been in involved with getting Obama elected. I think that's from WikiLeaks (???)

A few years ago I was interviewed by a private contract organization for the federal government that does security clearances for the military. It was a security clearance for someone I personally know. He interviewed me and I turned it around and pumped him for information. It seems they purchase a lot of information about those who need a security clearance from Google, Face Book, Yahoo, etc.

Last year there was a Marine Corporal who wanted to go Force Recon which required a top security clearance. He got shot down because something stupid he put on his Face Book page as a teenager a few years before. He knew it was stupid and deleted it less than 30 minutes later. But as they say, once it's on the internet, it's there for life. Face Book sold the info to the government.

If you have ever used your personal computer to pay a utility bill, a credit card or to check your banking account, from your computer IP they can figure out who you are and from there they learn everything about you and it's for sell.