Geert Lovink on Wed, 7 Apr 1999 10:31:03 +0200 (CEST)


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Re: <nettime> Digital Resistance: WWW War...


> Yes, but in my opinion it's much better to keep the internet alive. This is
> my answer to all the people, who ask me how to hack NATO or Yugoslav sites
> as a war volunteer and hacker. We should work for peace and freedom. This
> means, we should work for uncensored communication beyond the military
> disinformation and propaganda of both sides on the net.

true, but internet is now slowly becoming part of people's life, their
institutions and all the dirty realities attached to it. it is worth
defending the net, and its principles of decentralization and distribution
of power, but the AOLs, WebTVs, telcos and other business people are not
interested in this 'idealism'. they are turning the net now into an
interactive mass medium meant for only one purpose: electronic commerce.
all the rest is becoming marginal. governments are encouraging this trend.
the logical next step is that activists (from all sides) can no longer see
the net as something 'neutral'. it is not, and perhaps never has been.
what I find a bit silly is to think that bringing down PR servers of, for
example, NATO has any 'real' effect. these hacks are symbolic; actions
aimed to get publicity. they are by no means affecting the military
infrastructure. geert

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