The right to read = $b Le droit de lire — John Shaqi
The right to read = $b Le droit de lireStallman, Richard
Science
The right to read = $b Le droit de lire
Stallman, Richard
Intellectual property -- Fiction; Science fiction; Short stories
Later, Dan would learn that this kind of university policy started only
in the 1980s, when university students in large numbers began using
computers. Previously, universities maintained a different approach to
student discipline; they punished activities that were harmful, not
those that merely raised suspicion.
Lissa did not report Dan to the SPA. His decision to help her led to
their marriage, and also led them to question what they had been taught
about piracy as children. The couple began reading about the history of
copyright, about the Soviet Union and its restrictions on copying, and
even the original United States Constitution. They moved to Luna, where
they found others who had likewise gravitated away from the long arm of
the SPA. When the Tycho Uprising began in 2062, the universal right to
read soon became one of its central aims.
Author's Note
The right to read is a battle being fought today. Although it may take
50 years for our present way of life to fade into obscurity, most of
the specific laws and practices described above have already been
proposed--either by the Clinton Administration or by publishers.
There is one exception: the idea that the FBI and Microsoft will keep
the root passwords for personal computers. This is an extrapolation
from the Clipper chip and similar Clinton Administration key-escrow
proposals, together with a long-term trend: computer systems are
increasingly set up to give absentee operators control over the people
actually using the computer system.
The SPA, which actually stands for Software Publisher's Association, is
not today an official police force. Unofficially, it acts like one. It
invites people to inform on their coworkers and friends; like the
Clinton Administration, it advocates a policy of collective
responsibility whereby computer owners must actively enforce copyright
or be punished.
The SPA is currently threatening small Internet service providers,
demanding they permit the SPA to monitor all users. Most ISPs surrender
when threatened, because they cannot afford to fight back in court.
(Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 1 Oct 96, D3.) At least one ISP,
Community ConneXion in Oakland CA, refused the demand and was actually
sued. The SPA is said to have dropped this suit recently, but they are
sure to continue the campaign in various other ways.
The university security policies described above are not imaginary. For
example, a computer at one Chicago-area university prints this message
when you log in (quotation marks are in the original):
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account