🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <ssatchell.823184372@BIX.com> ssatchell@BIX.com (ssatchell on BIX) writes:

   Steve,
	I see a lot of ranting and raving about how the EFF isn't for consumer
   advocay, but what I don't see from you and others is any indication that you
   know the history of the creation of the EFF or it's original charter.
   You have conveniently forgotten who started the thing, too.
	The EFF had as its founding job to support Steve Jackson and his company,
   Steve Jackson Games, from the jack-booted thugs of the Secret Service in the
   wake of the SS seizure of computers and the loss of a copyrighted publication,
   the game _Cyberpunks_.  The contention was that the Secret Service engaged in
   harrassment by shutting down a legal operation -- a contention that won the
   day in court.
	One of the founders was Mitch Kapor, still Mr. Lotus Development Corp.
   in those days.

No, he had helped created Lotus, and was a gazillionairre (still is,
far as I can tell). You also forgot John Gilmore. While Mitch was
running it, in Cambridge, they were much more active in civil
rights. When they shut down Cambridge and used the new DC office, run
by that weasel Jerry Berman, they got much more interested in
sponsoring law, which I think was a mistake (they wound up supporting
some repugnant compromise measures, in my opinion).

Berman's gone: we'll see what their big pushes are now.

	You complain that the EFF represents the interest of business owners
   first over consumers of such.  To the extent that consumers can be hounded
   by the Feds, that's inaccurate.  To the extent that the usual target of Fed
   activity is to the guy who owns the hardware, you're right.

Business owners can contribute to operating expenses, and represent a
big chunk of the population (ISP providers, for example). It's not
unreasonable to protect or represent their interests *as well*.

	Of course, the fact that EFF was also looking out for the rights of the
   BBS operator has passed you, as well.  Again, EFF is more interested in the
   targets of oppressive Federal government law enforcement action -- and the
   consumers just aren't being arrested and their equipment seized for no good
   reason.

Dennis Erlich. Arnie Lerma. FACTNet. Amateur Action BBS. The 2600 raid.
Where have you been living, son? I would like to see EFF take *much* more
active roles in these cases, those which are still in litigation, anyway.

				Nico Garcia
				raoul@mit.edu
My opinions are my own, not MIT's or my employer's or my cat's
(Well, maybe my cat's....)