Ok, this? This worries me

[sparkindarkness]

This little news piece here causes me no small amount of concern

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7328170.stm

It caused me lashings of amusement this morning that has now faded into a vague concern. Basically, Mr. Brown and his government have decided to protect the lickle kiddies from the evils of internet predators (because woe betide parents actually monitoring their dear little Mckynzie/Summer/Heaven/Teardrop/Origanalnamie (and If I ever had the evil chance to name a small child I would so call them Originalnamie) when they're on the internet).

How will they protect the kiddies? Why they will make sure that all internet predators will have to register their email addresses with the police and websites like facebook, myspace et al would be expected to block these email addresses.

Now, since everyone reading this is (presumably) capable of creating a livejournal account, I imagine you've all already spotted the problem with this useless law. But just in case it's first thing in the morning, you haven't had your morning coffee yet or Orlando Bloom is dancing naked by the computer and distracting your higher brain functions (and if he IS dancing naked by the computer what are you doing reading LJ? Grab the whipped cream and set to!) I'll spell it out.

I would wager that there's not a person on my friend's list who couldn't create at least 2 false email addresses in the time it takes me to type this (allowing for obligatory Orlando Bloom reverie). Creating multiple multiple multiple email addresses is impossibly evil. I have 6. Actually I have over a dozen I've just forgotten the passwords to some of the older ones. ANYONE capable of creating a Myspace, etc account is quite capable of opening up Yahoo or Hotmail and registering a dozen accounts to allow them to try and sell Cialis to a discering internet audience.

So, why am i concerned? I am concerned about the government. I am mildly concerned that they have wasted time and money (to say nothing of increasing the burden of police paperwork) on a law that is even less useful than LJ's adult content policies. The best case scenario is that this is an empty, vote winning gestures to placate all the Helen Lovejoy's out there. Despute the cynical and dishonest nature of such a gesture, which most certainly enrages me all on its own, I hope that is true.

The alternative is that they actually believe that this will make a difference - because that means the government and its advisors are UTTERLY clueless when it comes to computers and the internet. It would mean their ignorance is so deep and so vast that they cannot even begin to understand the first thing about internet usage. This is the 21st century. Being this ignorant about computers is not even remotely acceptable for just about any office employee in the country. For the government to display this level of ignorance is shocking and, frankly, frightening. How cna they possibly lead a country in the 21st century when they know so little about one of the integral parts of it?

Comments

[bladespark.livejournal.com]

O.o I knew about the ease of getting oodles of e-mail within a month of first getting on line, back in freaking 1996! Sheesh. I suppose in a way it's nice to know that the US government isn't the only one filled with complete idiots, but it's also kind of scary.

[sparkindarkness.livejournal.com]

It frightens me, really. It's like learning the government thinks cars are run by pixies or diseases are caused by goblins. This level of ignorance is just inexcusable

[logophilos.livejournal.com]

Agreed. However the arrogance of some people is pretty amazing and if this catches even a handful of offenders, then it's worth doing.

I wonder if it will though.

I think the time has come to acknowledge ordinary rules don't work with sophisticated, mentally disturbed individuals. The problem is, we haven't invented rules that do - or methods that aren't totally barbaric. Short of sending them all to a modern version of Alcatraz, I really don't know how we deal with sex offenders of this kind. They don't believe they're doing anything wrong, so they won't change, they come from all spectra of society, so you can't flag them in advance, and no treatment seems to work for all of them. Faced with the impossibility of the task, is it surprising governments flail about and make useless laws, just because the public demand *something* has to be done?

[sparkindarkness.livejournal.com]

This is true, but I really doubt it's effectiveness.

I think the same applies to a lot of criminals who just work on a different level of reality entirely from the rest of us. It's near impossible to figure out what to do so we get this rather ineffectual posturing. It's just sad that this posturing wastes time and money and does so very very little

[jrho.livejournal.com]

The article did note that a sex offender found using an unregistered email address could face up to 5 years in prison, but who's going to be checking on that? And how?

I really disagree with the proposed feature to make it difficult for over-18s to interact with under-18s. In high school I had a number of friends in different grades. It would have sucked to not be able to chat with them online. Also, what's to stop someone for registering as over/under 18 when they are the opposite? Not a damn thing.

[sparkindarkness.livejournal.com]

A law that is unenforceable may as well not be there,s adly.

In would probably make it more over-20s not interracting with under-18s. Give a lee way gap

[amynnah.livejournal.com]

/facepalm

Why....why the stupid? Why!?

Anyway... Orlando Bloom? Pssh... Ben Jelen.

....and I dance dance dance and I dance dance dance...

[sparkindarkness.livejournal.com]

Yummy, now he's cute...

Of course Elijah Wood would distract me more but you're all not allowed to have mah Elijah.

[makarov.livejournal.com]

Orlando Bloom ? forget that, i wanna see Keira Knightley dancing naked by my computer

[kirylyn.livejournal.com]

I'd agree with this one!!

Keira any day!!!

[sparkindarkness.livejournal.com]

with extra bacon sandwiches. And a chocolate cake. A whole one

[sparkindarkness.livejournal.com]

Doesn't she need a bacon sandwich or two though?

[makarov.livejournal.com]

either that or Lut'eran church fellowship hall hotdish

[ephemera.livejournal.com]

I think the only useful application of this law (and you have to squint) is if they catch someone 'grooming' with an unregistered address, are able to prove it's someone on the register, but not prove the grooming well enough to prosecute for that. this gives them another crime to hook onto. Is that worth the massive cultural cost of the law? No comment.

[sparkindarkness.livejournal.com]

Aye, soe they've got something to prosecute them on when they can't make the main charge stick

[gnarlycranium.livejournal.com]

Yeah that is pretty... special. If they were registering IPs that might ALMOST sortof be useful, kindof, maybe, for 5 minutes, but... bleh.

For some reason now this is making me think of Mark Thomas and his balloon tour of Menwith Hill: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wwHRrb5G-QI

[sparkindarkness.livejournal.com]

Yes, you need a special kind of understanding of the net to believe this could work



LOL, that is classic

[gnarlycranium.livejournal.com]

There's 3 parts-- I also LOVE when they're snooping around the US Embassy there at the end, with that giant ear and spy outfits.

That guy is amazing, he's like a Jon Stewart gone nuts and on the warpath.

[polarbee.livejournal.com]

Given the current US president, that almost doesn't register on my stupid scale anymore. This deeply saddens me.

Of course I do live in the state that brought you "It's a series of tubes!"

[sparkindarkness.livejournal.com]

The stupid just never ever ever ceases to amaze me any more.

Yes. That is just worrying

[being-here.livejournal.com]

Mmmm. Serious points. I agree. Also am now picturing Orlando Bloom. Nom. He'd be in the blonde wig with elf ears, yes?

[logophilos.livejournal.com]

He'd be in the blonde wig with elf ears, yes?

Yes, because without them, he just looks like a weasel :)

[sparkindarkness.livejournal.com]

I only throw Orlando Bloom to the masses so they leave my Elijah Wood alone

[sparkindarkness.livejournal.com]

Yes. Of coruse he would have the wig :)

[seryan.livejournal.com]

They're thinking of an e-mail address as analogous with a physical or mailing address, not something that can be created and discarded at will. No, they do not understand how the Internet works. Hell, I've had a new e-mail address every 1.5 years on average since I began using the Internet, and could have had more if I wanted them. Five of those are concurrent.

[sparkindarkness.livejournal.com]

Aye, which shows how utterly utterly clueless they are!

[thisdaydreamer.livejournal.com]

They've been playing with the same nonsense here. They just don't get it.

Or maybe it is simply something they can nail the bastards with if they are caught. That I can understand. But I have a feeling it's based on a lack of understanding of the intertubes.

It was, after all, an American Congressman who called the internet a series of tubes.

[sparkindarkness.livejournal.com]

But how can they not get it? HOW? My GRANDMOTHER knows better

Any law they can make stick - it does make sense. The tubes *worries*

[elrohana.livejournal.com]

My other half, who is an IT person and spent 7 years working in a central government agency, is firmly of the opinion that neither senior civil servants not the majority of government (any one ever in history) have a clue about IT matters, and don't want to. The people who do understand are so far down the food chain that no-one ever listens to them. This is why ALL Government IT projects come in so massively over budget and turn out to be completely out of date and don't work as soon as they come online - because they are sold crap by unscrupulous companies that know damn well they can get away with it. *sigh*

[sparkindarkness.livejournal.com]

That would explain a lot - look at all the damn failutres we've had. CSA, court, hospital, all these networks - all so very very very pointless and utter expensive failures

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