Remember when we thought that the internet was going to be a wonderful thing for the advancement of human knowledge instead of the Library of Babel, with Hitler as the librarian?
I do sadly. And, in quiet moments, I interrogate my part, as a Principal Consultant for a very large international IT services company in the mid nineties, cheerleading for the fabulous future we were going to have with the sum of human knowledge freely on tap. I made the gross error of assuming people were good and kind and honest, like me.
@christineburns I see it like anything a tool, which reflects those that use it. Currently we have rich fascists who control parts of it. But they don’t control it all. Basically capitalism ruined a lot of it so I avoid those bits.
I can be still that good thing. I remember at the end of my PhD when I needed more references for the stuff I had written, it enabled me to find this material from home.
But yes, that is how it should all be, not just for academics*. Of course, that doesn't serve the interest of capitalism, so would never do.
* Not being disparaging, I just mean if you need academic answers, they can be found. But they are not for eveyone.
@SteveClough I think it depends on how you use it and who you depend on for the archiving of the knowledge / footage / art.
If all The Internet someone sees is Twitter and Instagram, then yeah, I can see why you would call it the Library of Babel with Hitler as the librarian.
But for those who are publishing their own blogs and sharing files so that art made for human entertainment remains preserved it can be a slightly different experience.
Christine Burns MBE 🏳️⚧️📚⧖
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in reply to Sarah Brown • • •Schroedinger
in reply to Sarah Brown • • •I can be still that good thing. I remember at the end of my PhD when I needed more references for the stuff I had written, it enabled me to find this material from home.
But yes, that is how it should all be, not just for academics*. Of course, that doesn't serve the interest of capitalism, so would never do.
* Not being disparaging, I just mean if you need academic answers, they can be found. But they are not for eveyone.
fritzoids
in reply to Schroedinger • • •@SteveClough
I think it depends on how you use it and who you depend on for the archiving of the knowledge / footage / art.
If all The Internet someone sees is Twitter and Instagram, then yeah, I can see why you would call it the Library of Babel with Hitler as the librarian.
But for those who are publishing their own blogs and sharing files so that art made for human entertainment remains preserved it can be a slightly different experience.
Kit Rhett Aultman
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