I find it amazing how closely the online world imitates the physical world. So what's the overused and misunderstood buzzword applicable here? Virtual.
Virtual reality. That's when we try to make real things better by making them fake. Maybe in virtual reality a substance exists that sticks to the walls in Trax.
Of late, even apparel has gone virtual. Fashion-conscious pages have been adorning themselves with cute little blue ribbons. What's the reason for the sudden virtual fashion fad?
The blue ribbons are in virtual protest of the recently passed Telecommunications Bill. The telecom bill put a virtual slew of new laws on the books regarding computers and information. The politicians (yes, the same ones that we're not sure why we have in the first place) who passed it overwhelmingly in both branches touted it as the creation of lots of jobs.
What the telecom bill really does is combine the wires. Sound familiar? It allows cable and phone companies to compete with each other for information services. It's a Wirehead's virtual dream--or maybe a nightmare.
Section V (for Vague?) prohibits the electronic distribution of 'indecent' material. Indecent: n. (in de' cent): how much a judge likes you on any particular day (say_ Tuesday).
For 48 hours after President Clinton signed the bill, Wireheads went into protest. They blacked out their pages and placed ribbons on them. It's funny that they thought to use ribbons which are usually reserved for things when people die e.g. AIDS red ribbons, e.g. Gulf War yellow ribbons, etc.
Even more ridiculous are the pages that will supposedly be banned under the law (see box). Their examples prove how ridiculous the protest is, not how literally politicians have been interpreting George Orwell novels. The telecom bill was written to ban child pornography, not art.
On the other side, last week I read an opinion by a nationally syndicated newspaper columnist who called the online community a bunch of perverts. Some would say that Wireheads are protesting only because the government is depriving them of their constitutional right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of nudie pictures (but certainly not me!)
Both sides seem to lack in understanding. The EFF explicitly (excuse the pun) states that they don't support child pornography. What both sides seem to have forgotten is that our government is based on compromise, not whining and accusations.
The good news for a lot of Wireheads out there is that a federal judge blocked enforcement of the indecency section of the new law until they can determine if the law is unconstitutional.
On one of my quests for internet fashion, I found one Wirehead in Sweden who has started a Green ribbon campaign. His cause? To "protest against everything that sucks." His age? Fifteen. Fashion-conscious or not, it appears that some Wireheads have a lot of virtual growing up to do.
Next week: software you can't wear.