[brlug-general] Blocking port 25 does not cure spam problems.

[Fernando Vilas]

On Sunday 23 September 2007 20:03:55 willhill wrote:
> We should not aspire to be like China.  As long as networks use public
> servitude, they are yours.  Cox, ATT and friends are supposed to be your
> servants rather than your masters.  We should not have to bow and beg for
> things that harm no one.  If you ignore freedom in your persuit
> of "neutrality" or "choice" you won't get either.
>
I may have misspoke, I never meant to imply that we should aspire to be like 
China.  My point was that even with The Great Firewall, those interested can 
still get the info they need, even if they have to jump through some hoops to 
get it.

Regarding corporate interference, the same technology used in Africa to 
provide last mile access through a wireless mesh has found uses in the States 
to avoid whatever people dislike about their providers.  It takes a community 
of dedicated volunteers to make the mesh work, especially when doing it to 
route around corporate issues, instead of simply not having access.  This 
type of community sounds remarkably like the FLOSS community, though in some 
places the local group has hardware that anyone can get and configure, with 
no more trouble than configuring a home router from Best Buy.

http://wirelessanarchy.com/ and http://www.dfwfreenet.org/ are some great 
starting points for this type of info.  I don't see any listings for LA, but 
neither do I know of anything that would preclude one from being created.  A 
few people who desire a free (or free-er) internet as you do could make quite 
a difference.

-- 
Thanks,
Fernando Vilas
fvilas at iname.com
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