Re: Killing Napster and beyond...

[Joseph S D Yao <jsdy () cospo osis gov>]

On Thu, Oct 19, 2000 at 07:29:46AM -0400, Brad Van Orden wrote:
...
> Technology should not be used to manage people's behavior.
...

There are those who believe that this principle takes precedence over,
e.g., air bags that inflate to keep people from going through
windshields, or seat belts that close themselves, or injection needles
that retract themselves to prevent accidental sticks, or automobile
starters that will not function unless the opener gives some proof of
being sober, or ...

In fact, the safety engineering industry use workspace controls as one
of the number one way of keeping people from injuring themselves.  And
I am all for that.  But these also cost money, so a lot of these clever
little ways to protect people are not universally available.  [This is
also because of a lot of people's ingrained attitudes about allowing
themselves to get injured however they want - no seat belts, no motor-
cycle helmets, etc.]

I would set a lot higher priority on not allowing technology to control
people's behaviour.  What is the difference?  The stop sign is a good
example.  If I have a good reason to run a stop sign, I can.  I am not
controlled.  But the stop sign manages traffic.  Granted, there are
also people who run them without good reason, but that is their
decision - an incorrect one - and it will be managed in other ways.

All of civilisation is a means of finding the proper ways of managing
the balance between people's wants and society's needs.

-- 
Joe Yao                         jsdy () cospo osis gov - Joseph S. D. Yao
COSPO/OSIS Computer Support                                     EMT-B
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