IP: Yep, It's all the Internet's fault!

[David Farber <farber () cis upenn edu>]

Date: Fri, 04 Apr 97 10:00:57 est
From: "Jonathan I. Ezor" <jezor () newmedialaw com>
To: farber () cis upenn edu




        I've got to admit it: the critics are right.  Just look at all the 
horrific things that the Internet has done!  It caused the Black Plague in 
the Middle Ages.  It committed The Great Train Robbery.  It steals socks 
from laundry rooms worldwide!  Why, before the Internet, there were no such 
things as consumer fraud, gambling, chain letters, urban legends, or kids 
looking at dirty pictures.  But that's not all--just listen to more recent 
crimes committed by the Internet:


--It's made public information about companies available to the whole 
world, at little or no cost (http://www.sec.gov/edgarhp.htm)!  Those poor 
officers and directors, being subject to public scrutiny by shareholders!


--Consumers can now get direct, unfiltered information about products and 
find answers to technical problems, without being allowed to listen to 
soothing hold music for hours on end (as in http://info.apple.com).  Those 
poor hold music deejays will be out of a job someday!


--Laws, regulations and court decisions are available to anyone (see 
http://thomas.loc.gov), and almost every legislator has an e-mail address.  
Oh no, more informed citizens and participatory government!  What is this 
world coming to?


--An entire new group of people has gone into entrepreneurship, creating 
jobs, enhancing productivity and establishing whole business districts in 
previously-underused areas of New York City, San Francisco, Los Angeles and 
other cities!  Oh no, higher wages and lower unemployment--that could mean 
a rise in inflation!  See how insidious this Internet thing is?


--Forget about building bombs; the Internet is teaching people how to buy 
(http://www.autobytel.com) and fix (http://www.cartalk.com) cars, raise 
children (http://www.parentsplace.com and many others), write television 
screenplays (http://home.earthlink.net/~lbrody/), and even sell Girl Scout 
cookies to a worldwide audience (http://www.ptgirlscouts.org/).  Oh, the 
humanities!


        The humanities indeed.  Blaming the Internet for its content is 
like blaming the air for allowing a bullet fired by a gun to fly at 
dangerous speeds.


        If anyone wants to know about what makes the Internet special and 
wonderful as a delivery and creative medium, drop me an e-mail message.  
I'll be in my basement, building a Web site using instructions I 
downloaded.  {Jonathan}


Jonathan I. Ezor (jezor () newmedialaw com)--Attorney, New Media Group 
Davis & Gilbert 1740 Broadway, NY, NY 10019 212-468-4989(v) 212-468-4888(f) 
Co-author, "Producing Web Hits" (IDG Books 1997)
For free "Net Gains" e-newsletter, e-mail netgains () newmedialaw com