There is no border control on the Internet. There is no Digital Department of Immigration and Naturalization to monitor the cultural temperature of the Net and limit the influx of aliens, whom [Steve] Crocker defines as “the bad guys, the Net-fascists, the conspiracy, the reactionaries, the FBI/CIA/NSA/IRS, the politically correct liberals, the corporate culture, the yuppies, the media elite, the entertainment industry, the mindless and anyone else who we can agree by consensus ought not to be allowed to dominate our consciousness, our culture or our Net.”
Predictor: Crocker, Steve
Prediction, in context:In a 1995 article in Computerworld, writer J.C. Herz interviews Steve Crocker. The article is actually an excerpt from a book by Herz titled “Surfing on the Internet.” Herz writes: ”New users are flooding onto the Internet at the rate of a million per month. And from what I’ve seen, old-timers would just as soon they stay home. The Net is the most perfect form of anarchy to come along since the Golden Horde stomped through Central Asia, and many Net veterans would prefer it stay that way. The Net works, they argue. Don’t mess with it … There is no border control on the Internet. There is no Digital Department of Immigration and Naturalization to monitor the cultural temperature of the Net and limit the influx of aliens, whom [Steve] Crocker defines as ‘the bad guys, the Net-fascists, the conspiracy, the reactionaries, the FBI/CIA/NSA/IRS, the politically correct liberals, the corporate culture, the yuppies, the media elite, the entertainment industry, the mindless and anyone else who we can agree by consensus ought not to be allowed to dominate our consciousness, our culture or our Net.'”
Biography:Steve Crocker was probably best known in the 1990s as the founder of CyberCash Inc. a leading Internet payments company. Earlier, he was program manager on the team developing the protocols for ARPANET in 1966. In1968, he organized the Network Working Group to develop host-level protocols for ARPANET communication. He began the Request for Comment (RFC) series of notes through which Internet protocol designs are documented and shared, and he wrote RFC 1 and many others. In1970, he worked with Vinton Cerf and C.S. Carr to publish the first ARPANET host-host protocol. He later became known as an Internet and computer business and security specialist. (Pioneer/Originator.)
Date of prediction: January 1, 1995
Topic of prediction: Controversial Issues
Subtopic: Jurisdiction/Control
Name of publication: Computerworld
Title, headline, chapter name: Newbie Bashing
Quote Type: Partial quote
Page number or URL of document at time of study:
http://web.lexis-nexis.com/universe/document?_m=f329ce1feefed32b7369934ff3777189&_docnum=1&wchp=dGLbVlz-lSlAl&_md5=796a7047a90430e8bcc3fe607877ec00
This data was logged into the Elon/Pew Predictions Database by: Culp, William Jarrell