9/17/04

what was Berners-Lee's goal?

not to make money but because he believed something like "information wants to be free"

wanted the web to be out of control--not possible to regulate it
wanted information to be unlimited, everyone to be able to contribute

to share information
make information available to everyone--so you don't just have a select few who have the information
information gives people ability to affect the things around them--makes it possible for people to take a more active role (for good or for evil)
people living in repressive countries can learn about alternatives
people can try out being someone else, people are more equal

reasons to restrict information:
security may be compromised
false information spreads more easily
everyone shouldn't be able to know everything--privacy and security
military should be able to keep secrets
restrict what children can see
anonymity protects dangerous activity, you don't know if people are telling the truth
people don't learn real world social skills
if there's too much information it is hard to find what you need

example: medical information
people may go look for diseases to be scared they have
people try to tell their doctors what to do
people get the information to try to treat themselves, not well enough
people who have more information can make better choices
more information available on rare disorders
doctors can share information and discuss problems with other doctors
remote controlled surgery
order medication from other countries--save money, people get medication illegally...
there is a lot of wrong and dangerous information

"information just wants to be free"
no censorship--we will trust people reading to evaluate information for themselves (buyer beware)
most information gets out eventually, it is hard to keep secrets
problem of too much information
leave it to human ingenuity to solve the problem

is free information simply a good thing
would the web have come out differently if it hadn't been shaped by Berners-Lee?