🚀 go-pugleaf

maddison@connexus.apana.org.au (David S. Maddison) wrote:

>It would also be nice if Senator Altson or his representative would join
>us in these fora for some on-line debate (prior to his censorship
>legislation that is, it might not even be possible after that).

 From memory the first politicians or elected representative of a
government to talk to the people via IRC on the Internet was the
South African minister for communications.
 
 Given that South Africa has had a terrible reputation for
intolerance with regard to democracy I found this rather
refreshing.
 
 I'm not sure if Senator Alston has ever used IRC or is familar
with what this acronym means, let alone how to log onto an IRC
server;  the wide variety of on-line talk and discussion that
takes place in such forums, the vast bulk of which cannot be
tagged with a "R" or "M" classification prior to being uttered,
or spoken.  Hopefully he understands the acronym DCC and that
material can simply be shifted between computers during IRC
sessions without any form of classification taking place either
before, during or after the transfer, or that the computers
taking part in such transfers can not only traverse state
boundries but international boudries as well.  Hopefully in the
years of investigation into the nature of the Internet somebody
has explained this to him that the the terms "Internet" and
"World Wide Web" are not synonymous.
 
 There is no 'pics' rating built into IRC software, nor to my
knowledge any attempt to build it into IRC software, and it
should be noted that NOT all Web Browsing software includes code
for dealing with pics ratings.  I belive one can pick up a
Russain web browser at http://www.amsd.com/Ariadna/ariadna.htm
(which is I believe in Moscow )  My spelling may be wrong and if
so I apolgise, but the address can be found in the book "Protect
your Privacy on the Internet" by Bryan Pfaffenberger published by
Wiley Computer Publishing.
 
 Some of the sites mentioned in the book are no longer operative,
but it offers useful advice with regards to protecting adults
rights in cyberspace, despite the fact that governments seem to
regard it as a haven for all kinds of evil.
 
                                          Bob

--
Bob Bain, Sydney, Australia   
bobb@acslink.aone.net.au