Digital Underground - uXu - Underground eXperts United #uxu-238

### ### ### ### ### #### ### ### ### #### ### ### ##### ### ### ### ### ### ### ### ### ### ##### ### ### ########## ### ### ########## ### ### ### ### Underground eXperts United Presents... ####### ## ## ####### # # ####### ####### ####### ## ## ## ## ##### ## # ## ## ## #### ## ## #### # # ####### #### ####### ## ## ## ## ##### ## # ## ## ## ## ## ####### ####### # # ####### ####### ####### [ The Internet Hysteria ] [ By The GNN ] ____________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________ THE INTERNET HYSTERIA by THE GNN/DualCrew-Shining/uXu (Note: This text is about a phenomena that is mainly concentrated to Sweden. However, non-swedes might find it interesting as a bizarre anthropological study.) Internet is not a new invention, as we all know. It was not constructed yesterday. But during nineteen ninety-four, more people connected themselves to the net than ever before. Prima facie, this is certainly a pretty nice development in the digital culture. I say 'prima facie', because when one looks a bit further into the phenomena one discovers several tragic details. Some new members of the net have not connected themselves for the purpose of using it as it should be used. Some besserwisser people need only around three seconds online (some people does not even need that), before they immediately start to make up new rules about how the net ought to work (socially, not technically of course). Then there are the other newbies, those who listen to the above people. Suddenly, a huge amount of people scream for censorship and state intervention. Internet cannot be stopped, they say, but it must be controlled. And these people have not been online for more than a few moments - but still they burst out in such radical claims. Why is it so? Let me offer you a few suggestions. I recently laid my hands on a monthly swedish magazine called "Z.mag@zine", and there was no question about the fact that the magazine was yet another desperate, and embarrassing, attempt to imitate Wired. However, the magazine failed on several accounts with its little charade. Who wants to read ten pages about some trendy celebrity that uses the internet for sending email to his hip dudes in some other part of the world? Such news might well work out in a magazine about gossip, but not in one that indirectly claims to own the truth of the complete internet. A magazine that openly has dedicated its contents to information about the internet ought at least to have a staff that know what they are talking about. Z Magazine does not fulfil that important criterion. Sometimes, one wonders if they even have access to the net. Internet is a massive construction, and it is easy to become overwhelmed when you encounter it for the first time. Unfortunately, some overwhelmed individuals (like the editor of Z Magazine) believe that they immediately understand the importance of the net. In their eyes, the main part of the internet is some World Wide Web site where you are able to throw snow balls, or chat with a sleeping cat. It is a shame that the newbies, when it comes to internet, should regard these low-class magazines as the bible and the truth of the nets. They are no sources of information, they are sources of misinformation. Why? Is it something wrong with that? Could not people begin with studying Z Magazine, and then move on to the real problems? They could. But will they ever get so far if they are constantly fed with worthless information about the net? One does not have to spend several years on the net to realize that internet is more than snowballs. It is a net of positive anarchy and freedom. A freedom that must be protected. If it is not protected, Newspeech and Big Brother will gain control. Z is not a healthy magazine for the internet. It takes the net down to a low level; a level where the net is just a fun hobby for people with a modem - nothing more. The whole society suffers from a disease that could be called 'the internet hysteria'. Some people wants to know everything about something, but fails since they know nothing about it - but they try to give everyone else the expression that they know everything. The ones who suffers from this hysteria can only describe the net in certain words, like 'cyberspace for cyberpunks'. It is only words, with no connection to what it is really about. The whole net-culture is declined to a cool movement for cool people, and that is for sure a sad sight. But on the other hand there are also a few journalists and writers that try to analyze and debate the internet in a more 'serious' fashion. Tragically, even these people fail completely due to the fact that they are more interested in exposing their pseudo-intellectual mind than trying to understand what they have actually gone into. To this date, there must have been over a dozen of articles in the daily press about the internet culture from various writers, and not one of them have succeeded. Instead, the articles have only made some people cry over the stupid contents and puzzled others. And in television talk-shows one can enjoy the latest misinformation about the internet, presented by poets/police men/singers/stand-up comedians and other celebrities with three-second experiences of the net. Their 'debates' and 'views' on the subject are, to say the least, horrifying. But even if they are only able to produce bullshit, they are invited to speak; they are 'trendy enough' to talk about this 'new trendy movement' called 'cyberpunk on the trendy infobahn' or equal. The circus reminds one of the golden days of '83, when the government decided that the whole swedish population should be educated in computer technology. Then, however, the magic word was 'Vic-20', now it is 'Information Technology' and 'cyberspace'. The mutual thing with these movements is the tragic fact that the ones in charge for this 'global education' have no clue about what they are really talking about. Back in 1983, the government decided that everyone should know how to code Basic. Now, they want the population to know how to throw snow balls on WWW. Is that really 'good' education? Of course not. It is just a show made by, and presented to, amateurs. Everything becomes even more embarrassing when some low-level politicians connect themselves to the net. Used to their Big Brother position in the non-electronic society, they immediately think that they got the same power on the internet. 'Too much garbage','We need censorship' and 'Someone ought to CONTROL the net' are unfortunately very usual comments from these quasi-surfers on the net. However, one may laugh at these clowns, but they may very well turn out to become a threat against the net. Ordinary people whom yet have no connection to the internet will listen to these misinformed individuals and trust their opinions as the holy truth. With the mob on their side, the electronic politicians may do whatever they feel to. They cannot control the internet, but they can call for 'moral cleaning' (i.e 'spread certain information that appeals to the party') - and that is for sure censorship, but in a more delicate way. "How many fingers am I showing, Winston?" "Four." "And if the party says that it is not four fingers, but five - how many are there then?" (Nineteen Eighty-Four) /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// I know you really loved me, but my hands were tied. I have nothing to do. ETEXT.ARCHIVE.UMICH.EDU /pub/Zines/UXU \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ Personality goes a long way. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- uXu #238 Underground eXperts United 1995 uXu #238 Call CLU 'PUTERNET -> +1-515-232-7631 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------

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