Freenet author Ian Clarke to quit the U.S. cos he's freaked

by Seáinín Mon Aug 18, 2003 02:47

Piracy is kiling music, they say.

by eoin Mon Aug 18, 2003 10:13

before anyone sheds too many tears for mr. clarke
i suggest that you all fire up a freenet node and have a look at the 'freedom' that he's helping to promote, sure it may well be used to spread info in the west bank... but really... the stuff is disturbing. also one would think that clarke is far more likely to end up in trouble in the EU than in the US where he would have the vague protection of the 1st ammendment

by Gaillimhed Mon Aug 18, 2003 10:40

I dont mean to be confrontational, i just dont get ya.
Is your objection that the internet can be used for nefarious purposes if not tightly controlled by the powers that be (who themselves cannot be trusted) ?
would you ban free access to the printing press or paper and ink for fear that someone might write something 'disturbing'?


[Freenet is free software which lets you publish and obtain information on the Internet without fear of censorship. To achieve this freedom, the network is entirely decentralized and publishers and consumers of information are anonymous. Without anonymity there can never be true freedom of speech, and without decentralization the network will be vulnerable to attack.

Users contribute to the network by giving bandwidth and a portion of their hard drive (called the "data store") for storing files. Unlike other peer-to-peer file sharing networks, Freenet does not let the user control what is stored in the data store. Instead, files are kept or deleted depending on how popular they are, with the least popular being discarded to make way for newer or more popular content. Files in the data store are encrypted to reduce the likelihood of prosecution by persons wishing to censor Freenet content]

by eoin Mon Aug 18, 2003 11:15

what i'm on about is the fact that as of now freenet is basically a medium for the transmission of child pornography, whatever about the idealism of clarke and indeed the lofty aims of the project, it cannot distract from what it is being used for now.

technically it is a superb and very clever project, but as i suggested a quick browse on a freenet node will sour one to the project very quickly.

by Markos Mon Aug 18, 2003 16:45

Thanks for posting this story. Here are some links if you want to look into it further. Wishing Ian Luck back in Edinburgh.

Ian's Post & Comments on Slashdot
http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=73841&cid=6632511

The Piece in the Irish Times:
http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/finance/2003/0815/3925651971BW15CLARKE.html

From Boing Boing Blog:
http://boingboing.net/2003_08_01_archive.html#200443928

Story and Discussion from InfoAnarchy:
http://www.infoanarchy.org/story/2003/8/7/65427/13095

by aunty censorship Tue Aug 19, 2003 16:28

Of course their censoring solutions dont work as the excellent freenet shows.

by hj - ex-tp Tue Aug 19, 2003 21:20

I kinna presumed he was heading back to Ireland,not Scotland.

Nice one for the links.I aint got an ireland.com account.

Now,I'm off to download child porn and the like...

by joe Wed Aug 20, 2003 05:41

The fact that some people might abuse Freenet just means that it is working exactly as it should be - any freedom can be abused. If you are dismayed that people use Freenet for kiddie porn then you should be dismayed at humanity, not Freenet.

by simon Fri Aug 22, 2003 14:06

are you willing to use a facility that you know to be used by and protect child pornographers. I use similar systems such as freenet but cant help feel there should be some element of control by those that create it.

its simply naieve to not fully understand the implications of the technology. and dont be so paranoid about what you percievce to be censorship.

by joe Fri Aug 22, 2003 19:38

"are you willing to use a facility that you know to be used by and protect child pornographers. I use similar systems such as freenet but cant help feel there should be some element of control by those that create it"

Well, the postal service is used by child pornographers too - should people avoid using that? The whole point of Freenet is that its creators *can't* have any control over it - because if they could then it would make them targets for bribery or blackmail for anyone that wanted to censor Freenet.

by simon Fri Aug 22, 2003 20:06

I pointed that out for you to think about the application of the technology and its merits. not for you to denounce it outright. Paedophiles use telephones, buses, use vcr's so it obviously stupid to claim they should be band as a way to hinder their ability to abuse children.

but if you dont understand the technology and its possible application, as many people dont, you can sing its praises without realising what your letting yourself in for.

In the same way I dont think its enough for gun makers to say 'oh we only make the guns, we dont fire them', I think its highly irresponsible and short-sighted to release this technology without functional constraints or controllable limitations.