<table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0" ><tr><td valign="top" style="font: inherit;">hey, i always heard the phrase everyone is just a number, however I've never thought it would mean everyone is just an 'ip address' :-(<div><br></div><div><br>--- On <b>Tue, 2/3/10, Rick Moynihan <i><rick.moynihan@gmail.com></i></b> wrote:<br><blockquote style="border-left: 2px solid rgb(16, 16, 255); margin-left: 5px; padding-left: 5px;"><br>From: Rick Moynihan <rick.moynihan@gmail.com><br>Subject: Re: [dundee] Open Wi-Fi 'outlawed' in Digital Economy Bill<br>To: "Tayside Linux User Group" <dundee@lists.lug.org.uk><br>Date: Tuesday, 2 March, 2010, 1:22<br><br><div class="plainMail">On 1 March 2010 13:40, Iain Barnett <<a ymailto="mailto:iainspeed@gmail.com" href="/mc/compose?to=iainspeed@gmail.com">iainspeed@gmail.com</a>> wrote:<br>><br>> On 28 Feb 2010, at 12:58, Arron M Finnon wrote:<br>><br>>> <a
href="http://news.zdnet.co.uk/communications/0,1000000085,40057470,00.htm" target="_blank">http://news.zdnet.co.uk/communications/0,1000000085,40057470,00.htm</a><br>>><br>>> The government will not exempt universities, libraries and small<br>>> businesses providing open Wi-Fi services from its Digital Economy Bill<br>>> copyright crackdown, according to official advice released earlier this<br>>> week.<br>><br>> Is it too hard for a business to ask for a valid email address before allowing access? The library requires my library card before I can use one of their pc's, why not for wifi access?<br>><br>> As far as I can see, this bill, whether right or wrong, is going to sort out a lot of crap network security.<br><br>Sorry, but this bill (like the majority of legislation in this area)<br>is completely destructive to the fabric and culture of the internet.<br>And I find it offensive that the government
feel they have a right to<br>mediate free access to the internet like this.<br><br>Seriously, if I so choose why can't I decide to run an unencrypted<br>open wifi hotspot?!?!! Should giving people free access to the<br>internet really be illegal? Laws like these prohibit future<br>innovation (the internet is not just the web) and set future<br>legislative precedents. Besides, whatever happened to people being<br>kind, and helping their neighbours?<br><br><a href="http://www.wired.com/politics/security/commentary/securitymatters/2008/01/securitymatters_0110" target="_blank">http://www.wired.com/politics/security/commentary/securitymatters/2008/01/securitymatters_0110</a><br><br>Equating "crap network security" with open hotspots is a sweeping<br>generalisation, and I find it hard to believe that legislation is<br>going to improve the security of the average household.<br><br>Networking is not a crime any more than building roads is, and
we all<br>know bank robbers use Roads for their get-aways! The world needs more<br>free, open registration-less WiFi, not less.<br><br><br>R.<br><br>_______________________________________________<br>dundee GNU/Linux Users Group mailing list<br><a ymailto="mailto:dundee@lists.lug.org.uk" href="/mc/compose?to=dundee@lists.lug.org.uk">dundee@lists.lug.org.uk</a> <a href="http://dundeelug.org.uk" target="_blank">http://dundeelug.org.uk</a><br><a href="https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/dundee" target="_blank">https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/dundee</a><br>Chat on IRC, #tlug on irc.lug.org.uk<br></div></blockquote></div></td></tr></table><br>