Copyright Laws vs. The First Amendment

Can copyright laws take precedence over the first amendment? In various different situations people have been protected by their right of freedom of speech. However, have the laws of copyright become an exception? Where is the line drawn between protecting ones creativity and work and expressing one freedom to speak their mind? In 1996 a federal court in Virginia ruled in favor of the Church of Scientology for the future protection of copyright laws. A Virginia resident Arnaldo Lerma was said to have made wholesale postings of scientology’s material on the internet. All materials were then seized from his house, and he was charged with violations against copyright laws. At his defense he stated that he was only exercising his rights to freedom of speech clearly stated in the first amendment. The Church of Scientology has always been a strong advocate of freedom of speech and the free flow of information, however in this particular situation they seem to be contradicting themselves in hoping to protect information from reaching those outside of their organization.

Noble Motives in Africa

It is true that the fact that Africa has very limited access to the internet is very worrisome. There are various perks that a businessman, a farmer, or a store owner has with internet accessibility. Africa could flourish and expand tremendously as more of a “wired” continent. As what was mentioned in one of our readings, these third world countries could make great progress in agriculture through being able to obtain things like climate data or new farming techniques. Doctors would also be able to reach rural areas for health care much easily and efficiently. The United States has been trying to help out this continent and develop ways to implement technology to connect it more to the internet. Despite this noble attempt, the hidden motives behind connecting Africa must be explored. As was stated in the article Africa: The Unwired Continent, “ The United States sees Africa as a potential market for U.S. made telecommunication gear-and as a future market for other U.S. goods and services once the continent’s economy is bootstrapped by the technology.” This is not an acceptable motive. Helping to fix Africa’s problem should be based solely on fixing their internal problems and not on attempts to boost the economy of a first world country.

Religion Online

In Chapter three we read an article entitled “CyberFaith”. I found it to be extremely interesting in regards to the anonymity of the internet and how one pursues religion online. Face to face interactions can sometimes be very daunting for a person especially if they feel they might be scrutinized for speaking their mind. The ability to ask questions freely allows people to really express their thoughts and explore their religion further. A Jewish version known as Askmoses.com is somewhat similar to Cyberfaith in that it allows a person to remain anonymous and ask whatever they want to a Rabbi in an online chat. The invention of these types of websites has provided an important alternative to those seeking religion in a safe environment far from rebuke or public humiliation.

Gender differences online

Previously studies have shown men to pursue the internet and try new technologies much more than women. However, in one of the latest studies women seem to be catching up to men in regards to the internet and online activities. Despite this there are still major differences that persist between men and women online. Men are first of all slightly more intense internet users. They tend to log on more often and spend more time online. Men are also more likely to be broadband users. On the other side, women are more enthusiastic online communicators. They use email more often than men to stay in contact with friends and family. Men and women are equally likely to use the internet to buy online products, but men more frequently use it to pay bills or participate in auctions.

What can explain these apparent differences in internet usage? Could it be gender roles implanted in childhood? Why do women see it as more of a communication tool and less of a way to explore technology?

Online Social Lending

As I was browsing through some articles, I found one that struck me about social lending. Zopa is an online market place where people lend and borrow money. It has 105,000 members currently in the United Kingdom. When people need money others will gather together their funds and lend that person at a certain interest rate. Ones credit score is incorporated in to determine ones risk rate, and based on that risk rate the person bids for the loan on their terms. What makes Zopa and other websites similar to it interesting, is that you are able to post your story about why you need the money. The article described one woman who wrote about how she needed a boob job. She was able to receive funds even when every other bank turned her down. Many who use this resource agreed that big banks aim to put customers in debt. Sixty one percent said that the main aim of banks was to make money for themselves.
How ethical is this type of online lending and borrowing? People are allowed to post their stories about why they need the money, but who is to say that they always express the whole truth to the online community. Personally to me this seems to cause more of a dangerous situation. Anything on the internet in this aspect involves a higher amount of risk. Corrupt individuals would not succeed in fooling a bank, but the internet can provide somewhat of a cover for fraud.

The Psychology of Computer Usage

The psychology of computer usage is not a simple and straightforward subject. It contains various different aspects one being the idea that cyber crimes might be as serious as the real life incidents. “A Rape in cyber space” presents to us the notion that maybe a rape on the internet should be considered as serious as one committed in the real world. To have a quick recap of the story a cyber rape was said to have been committed in a virtual community known as LambdaMoo. A user known as Mr. Bungle used a subprogram to falsely identify other users as committing horrendous sexual acts. Several of his victims then came forward as being emotionally traumatized by the occurrences and expected some sort of punishment.

The major question regarding this story is whether this sort of incident should be taken as seriously as real life physical rape. To many this statement might sound preposterous considering that being raped in reality involves both physical and emotional trauma. Through multi-user domains a person is physically untouched and in no situation involving extreme danger. However, the power of the mind should not be taken for granted. When one creates an identity in these online communities parts of their actual selves become incorporated in their character. In the context of LambdaMoo they are their character. No wonder a person might feel highly violated when a cyber crime like rape has been committed against them. We have all felt so absorbed within a computer game whether it be the SIMS or World of War Craft that the outside reality becomes inconsequential. The only thing that we concentrate on at the time is what we see before us. Also, the fact that people invest so much time and energy into their characters makes sense that anything committed against them online will hurt and inflict pain on them emotionally.

There have been various opinions on how one committing these cyber crimes should be dealt with. However, I’m sure most will come to the consensus that no law in real life should take effect in punishing the offender. Every day in reality women and even men have to deal with being emotionally violated. There is minimal and in many states no penalty or punishment for things like obscene phone calls, leering, or even inappropriate touching. So why then should an emotional crime such as cyber rape be dealt with by law? The internet community should take a stand and bear it upon themselves to delete and prevent those sorts of perpetrators from going forth with their acts.

Going back to the idea that people become their characters and are therefore affected by the offenders, one should also take into consideration that this also occurs because of ones inherent vulnerability to addiction. I therefore felt it important to speak somewhat of addiction to MUD’s, the internet, and computers in general to fully cover this topic.
Whether you believe in this dilemma or not, nowadays many have come to call the problem impulse control disorder. Various lists have been put together to help determine if one suffers from the addiction. Of course it cannot be considered nearly as serious as addictions to alcohol and drugs, but there are still many damaging consequences connected with acquiring it.

If you are still hesitant to believe that, take a look at this YouTube video that depicts how the Chinese government has chosen to deal with internet and computer addicts.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DYp2lw3d-p8

An outlook on Science Fiction

I have to say I have never been a big fan of science fiction stories. However, I have to admit I am still intrigued about how these writers choose to portray the world in the future. Some might say that science fiction is just creative work encompassing much imagination. Others see it as more of a realistic presumption on how the future might turn out. In my opinion both these views have some truth to them. I have no doubt that eventually machines and computers will play a role in society that will rival and take over humans capabilities. However, I still have difficulty seeing realistic portrayals in for example the second science fiction story we read. Human interaction and contact is a vital aspect of life I don’t believe even machines or technology can eliminate it. It is imbedded within our nature and cannot be removed. Also the way a machine and its manual can replace religion altogether seems very bleak to me. The old woman chooses to worship her manual like a bible. They appear to no longer worship a higher being, but rather themselves since they are the ones that created the machine and it’s so called “wonders”. No matter what ones take is on science fiction, I believe it remains an important part of literature. It could possibly give us clues into the future or just provide an entertaining read.