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The internet was conceptually created back in the
1970s 1950's (corrected by Avatar) in a university as a fast way of sharing resources. It wasn't long before other companies started building intranets, and slowly, those got integrated on massive scales which practically gave birth to the internet. It was meant to be able to provide anything one might want, faster and easier than before. Censorship was never even part of the equation. But recently, and ironically in
modern times when people are supposed to be
broad minded, the internet is being driven back because of rampant censorship all over the place.
Google Vs. China
The whole thing hit mainstream public with the whole 'Google getting censored in China' issue, which came to light not so far in the past. The fight which brought out the ugly side of Money Vs. Morals showed Google in a completely different light to the people who had given it an almost messiac image. But bigger than that, it showed us that even today, the so-called right to information, is only hypocrisy.
Google's chinese domain filters sites which the chinese government deems inappropriate for its citizens. And although that stays in place, there are reports such as these, that Google's main domain (.com) has been blocked in the country to prevent people from viewing the sites which they would otherwise have access to. Is this really what we are walking towards? Tyranny and Oppression? I'm sure the chinese aren't naive enough not to see this ... so then why don't they do something about it? There are arguments like these which are also there!
Temporary Solution
Keeping particular domains for particular kinds of sites seems like a very plausible. People will know exactly what they want/don't want to see. The perfect solution being trusting people with the information. We have brains! We can think! Censoring only makes people more curious to hunt down stuff which is being censored. By keeping sections, you're clearly defining the territories. If someone wants to veer in somewhere, no-one has a right to stop them.
No matter what anyone does, people will always find a way. They are not as dumb as the governments think they are. Maybe its time we really handed the web to the people! :)
12 Comments
Err, aditya, you didn´t dedicated research to the history side do you?
ok, let me correct you:
you are talking about two different things at first that got to be one later,what i am talking about?
well, you are talking about the world wide web as for whatit stands for and not really the principles of the Internet.
The internet was created in a university and the concept goes back as far as 1952 and the tested succesfully in 1956, then the DARPA got created in 1958, the first operative intranet got out in 1963, the first long range internet from the u..s.a goverment got out in 1968, then the first public internet got out in 1976 as something worth of being called that, then the first u.s.a goverment version of the world wide web got out in 1980 and two years later the first open world wide web got out in 1982, and then finally the shift to the mordern internet started in 1993 and finished in 1996, and we have been living in the same "style" of internet since then, for me the next shift is not far, i predict it will came in 2010 when we get to see the first vr-browsing and a 24/ 7 anywhere no less than 1mb of wireless broadband completely interactive and multithreaded internet goes global.
phew... =P
i got into the internet in 1992, i got to experience the first worldwideweb, it was great and i got to see the shift of the times and experiencing the pass from a unfiltered, uncensored, unmonitored internet to a completely controled worldwideweb is vastly different.
ok, i will stop ranting in your comments.
Ah Blimey! My history was never good anyways! :-P
The history part was just to show, as you said, an unfiltered, uncensored, unmonitored internet. Unfortunately, that has ceased today. Just as the west is waking up to a internet revolution where people are becoming the biggest part of it, the east (yet again) is falling short. Although this time, they can blame no-one but themselves.
Corporates like Google whose opinions do count, aren't doing anything about it because they see a money making opportunity, and they don't want to lose out on whatever they can make! And that is something that kills their image (messiac, which i mentioned up there!).
The main argument is not about the history of the web, but what it has become now! :)
well, i know what you mean, but that kind of internet ceased it existence 10 years ago... the mere visage of it is long gone since the start of this millenium.
The good thing is that new fronteir the internet will get to once is free of the wire and offers a free version of itselt for anyone to use.
"The good thing is that new fronteir the internet will get to once is free of the wire and offers a free version of itselt for anyone to use."
What do you mean by free? Isn't the current internet free as well... well, free as in 'free beer'?
A word in google's defense:
China's policies are a pain in the butt. And we may not agree with them. Google does not have the luxury of doing what they want. As a multinational corporation they have to bend to the will of the governments they are under.
With China they had two options (1) create a censored Google China (2) have no Google service in China at all.
Now which benefits an open internet more? A censored search engine or no search engine? Google, in my opinion, chose the lesser of two evils.
yeah, i also agree with singpolyma, i mean i live in a very political country, just the hassles we have to live with u.s.a politic sorting are a pin, now with a prior communist state like china?
there is actually no option but to comply or leave.
Google being in an influential position could have chosen not to enter the chinese market, and hence could have tried to intice the people into realising what a blumber of a pothole they are in. Instead they chose to make whatever money they could make.
Yes, I can understand that at the end of the day they need to feed themselves. But then why did they have to bring forth such a freedom-fighter image with itself when it can't keep it up?
Speaking with no authority on the technical side of things whatsoever, I think it is extremely important that countries like China be somehow forced into complying with global views. It is never a good thing for world peace for one country to go and do its own thing while going against the rest. I realize world peace may not be at stake here, but 'intellectual freedom', a common term when discussing censorsihip, is at stake and must be protected. Even though the world is divided into countries, there are bodies such as the UN which should be taking care of such restrictions put in place by federal governments (and we cannot forget the previously communist status of China). The people of China may as well be in a jail if things go on like this. I'd have to agree that people who have the influence and can afford to do so, such as Google, should take stands in such matters so that such restrictions are not smoothed over with compromises...all for the sake of raking in even more money.
heh, just the thing of triying to force china to do something that way can cause a international conflict.
crazy as it may sound but that is the reality.
I must point out that as part of the world China has a say in 'global views'. Not everyone thinks democratic non-censorship is the best way to go ;)
Yes, Google could have chosen not to enter the Chinese market at all. What would that have got them? A bad name in china and not as many negative reports from the democrats. So what? China doesn't care what the democrats think, why should Google have to?
Google isn't perfect -- but if I was in their position on this issue I'd have done the same thing.
i concur with singpolyma.
I guess at the end of the day, its all about getting the most out of a situation. Yes, we all have to survive on earth.
Although Stephen, I dont' know how much Google's presence has helped the chinese. I don't know if it has helped at all, but yes, something is better than nothing today. If I can guess it correctly, it doesn't even make a difference to them, so this debate is probably useless when it comes to them.
Also, I don't know how much of an international conflict China can cause, seeing as the world can hardly understand their language! XD
[vow] I solemnly swear not to make fun of chinese people again [/vow]
Alright, 'nuff said! :)
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