This is well worth a read, I think.

[bunn]

http://mwf2014.museumsandtheweb.com/paper/glam-and-the-free-world/ - Cory Doctorow.

"There are people who caricature this whole position
Who say that this a mere naive belief that “information wants to be free”
But I’ve had a long talk with information about this
We went away for a weekend in the country, drank white wine, cried and hugged
And when it was over, information whispered in my ear that it doesn’t want to be free
The only thing it wants is for us to stop anthropomorphizing it
Because information doesn’t WANT anything
It’s a mere abstraction
However, PEOPLE want to be free
And when the world is made up of networked information-processing devices, that human freedom can only be attained through a free, open, and fair informational infrastructure
Help us create it."

Comments

[huinare.livejournal.com]

I like that; true, and also cleverly stated.

[thecatsamuel.livejournal.com]

Hmmm. I think issues of control and censorship are very complex. And that control is NOT censorship. Am not convinced that total freedom = total good. Is unrestricted access to violent porn acceptable, for example, in the light of increasingly strong evidence that it acts as a trigger for rape.

[bunn.livejournal.com]

I don't think there is a lot of violent porn being distributed *for free*? I'm sure there is some, but on the whole, the porn industry is pretty market-focussed.

This article is about digitised museum objects being hidden behind paywalls, and about how digital rights management systems designed for governments and rights owners could be abused by criminals. It's worth reading the whole thing.

[bunn.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure I 100% agree with all of it but there's a lot to think about there. I thought it might interest you - I'm not sure how the ethics of curation have moved since I did my long ago museums degree, but this seemed like the kind of thing we'd have discussed at length!

[thecatsamuel.livejournal.com]

Ah. I didn't spot the link (skimming!)and read it out of context as freedom = all lack of controls. My thesis was largely about that so I have Views.

I will go back and read the article properly later.

[huinare.livejournal.com]

My assessment was, TBH, based on the blurb you pasted; the rest of the article I've only had time to skim cursorily thus far. I'll read it with the proper attention at...some point. =D

The course I'm currently taking is more about methodology than theory and ethics, but I'm definitely interested in the ethics part.