The Internet - drowning in its own waste?

[kandrathe]

Yes, it is a cesspool and it's getting worse. That doesn't mean it can't get better. I am pessimistic that it will as well.

Some ideas for correction;

1] Enforceable rules and a worldwide network of Internet enforcement agencies. A new packet protocol that requires encryption, and tightly embeds the packet senders credentials. While I'm an advocate of anonymous speech, I'm a bigger proponent of free speech. Free speech adds the responsibility of the content to the speaker. What the Internet needs now is accountability of content back to the originator. I want to be able to track spammers and virus authors directly and in order to do that I need to give up being anonymous.

2] We need a clear physical divide between information and trash. If it is done by IP address, then I would suggest that as a first step the internic adopt a 5th octet IP address standard with the current Internet being zero. Then, I would start to assign the fifth address by information provider category. Or, it could be done by domain name, but in either case someone needs to enforce that there is a difference between the information offerings of a library, or wikipedia and a porn site. If we can constrain all the adult content a particular physical address, government information to another, commerce organized by industries, university research to others, etc. Then at least each community can be policed using its own community standards or watchdogs

3] Another obstacle to the Internet being an "Information Superhighway" is copyright. Because there is little control or accountability anyone who publishes anything on the web in effect offers their work to the public domain. The fan fiction, or unique photograph you publish on your web site today my be in print and earning someone fat royalties in Thailand tomorrow. Without worldwide agreements on copyright protection, there will be less of the quality content by professionals and more of the musings of amateurs. So, this goes back to point 1]. With worldwide rules and enforcement, and accountability on individuals who violate the rules, then content providers may be willing to publish more on the Internet.

4] Better portals. What you experienced in your dead links is a malaise of the Internet. It is partly a symptom of a down economy where web site owners, or ISP's are unable to continue due to financial problems. Google, Yahoo, etc need to shed their dead links. There has always been a certain degree of transience of content due to some people publishing vast and useful stuff on their university or personal accounts. It would be nice if the portals offered a forwarding service like the NCOA. Then there is the burden of all the pages that are just out dated. Another portal problem is that it has become a standard practice for content providers to store information in databases that are inaccessible to web crawlers looking for linkable content.

"Will technology control the Frankenstein's monster that technology spawned? Or will the Net join broadcast TV as a form without function, a signaless source of noise?"

I'm an advocate for it becoming what it was intended, but pessimistic. If I had $100 on the line I'd have to say "broadcast TV as a form without function -- and lacking the FCC".

:) Good topic.