What makes you happy ?

Weblogs ‘need content warnings’
The code of conduct was drawn up by Tim O’Reilly
Readers should be warned when they are reading blogs that may contain “crude language”, a draft blogging code of conduct has suggested.

The code was drawn up by web pioneer Tim O’Reilly following published threats and perceived harassment to US developer Kathy Sierra on blogs.

The code begins: “We celebrate the blogosphere because it embraces frank and open conversation.”

The draft says people should not be allowed to leave anonymous comments.

Blogs which are open and uncensored should post an “anything goes” logo to the site to warn readers, the code suggests. BBC

Oh for fucks sake.

Okay, I’ll play – anything fucking goes and anonymous comments are perfectly fucking fine.

(Steve Martin is a great guy and I fucking love his attitude in Planes and Trains…)

The draft will now be assessed and amended by bloggers around the world.

WTF?

6,891 CAUGHT USING PHONE AT WHEEL (the Daily Express do like their CAPITALS) (are they the british aol of the print world?) and the idiot drivers get a £60 fine and 3 penalty points. Well whoop-de-bloody-do. Don’t fine them. That’s pointless. Just take their license off them and tell them they can’t have it back until they have re-taken and passed the full driving test – that’s theory as well.
I don’t expect a single driver to agree but then every driver is safe – it’s the other clowns who are the unsafe ones isn’t it? Points and fines don’t matter. They might accrue but for plain idiocy they don’t work. Pull the driver over, tell them to get out and tell them to phone a friend to come get them because you just revoked their license with immediate effect. Do that to a few people and then things might be listened to. All or Nothing. There is no middle ground – not when people are killing others because they were on the damn phone.

They use smear terms such as “piracy” and “theft” that imply sharing is wrong. Don’t believe it. Sharing is friendship; to attack sharing is to attack the basis of society. Richard Stallman as quoted here

So… at what point is sharing not friendship? His wife? His house? His bank account? His wifi? Surely we share laws and therefore we agree to them because laws help us to stay within boundaries that help promote friendship which promotes society. I hope he has never reported a theft – it’s just sharing by a different name… and that the RIAA go visit him and his machines.

Some stupid car with some stupid voice repeating the same stupid words:

Where Why When Where Why How When Why Where Why When Where Why How When Why Where Why When Where Why How When Why Where Why When Where Why How When Why Where
That is REALLY F*CKING ANNOYING.

Viral? It’s more like phlegm that you just can’t get rid of.

I grabbed two feeds from The Times Online last night and today I find they can’t be clicked through to. I can see a headline, one line of text and nothing. No way to get to the story. So either News International haven’t a clue or NetNewsWire can’t handle their feed. The latter I will ask….

And how is this for stupidity:

They want the post Dugg when all I can see is the summary?? Why all that crap in a feed when all they’ll let me see is 2 measly lines? How stupid is that person? If it wasn’t in the British Blogs Aggregator that junk would have been the quickest way to Delete.

Anyway….. work tonight will be accompanied by (a) Dave or (b) Planes, Trains… and maybe followed by The Departed. Or (a)+(b) if it takes a while…

“The internet is democratic and has to be defended, but this struggle is to have some level of control to avoid the violations of people’s fundamental rights, like privacy and intimacy,” Mr Tilkian told AP.

That’s a bit like “I believe in Free Speech but that is taking it too far”.

but. 3 letters that would ruin all before it.

The ex-wife of Brazilian football star Ronaldo was secretly filmed cavorting with Brazilian banker Renato Malzoni.

Privacy…. well if they hadn’t started yelling then the other 99% of the damn planet wouldn’t know. Would we?

This internet business isn’t going away so people – especially so-called famous people who want to have affairs – really should get used to it.

Does privacy exist any more? No.

Earlier this year I linked to and commented on the ridiculous linking policy of Evrsoft. I think I just found it’s equal.
I happened across Gizmodo. It’s a blog/site/whatever that I do not read and from there I found myself on vnunet.com. Now I would link to that but I absolutely do not agree with their pathetic and frankly stupid linking policy. Selected highlights:

(a) You must act in accordance with the terms and conditions of use of VNU’s Website (“Terms and conditions of use”) which will continue to apply to You.

So by linking I have to still agree to their T&C’s for their site? So it’s a very large link policy then isn’t it?

(b) If You do not accept these Linking Terms and Conditions You must not Link to VNU’s Website.

So if I do link and I disagree, you do what exactly?

(c) You may only use the names VNU or VNUNet and any VNU logo on Your Website in conjunction with the Link to VNU’s Website.

So saying VNUNET is wrong, as is vnunet…..

(g) You must include an acknowledgement on Your Website that the Link is to VNU’s Website.

So I make a link and then I say “This is a link to….”? How many times do you want your name on someone’s site?

(l) VNU reserves the right to review Your use of the names VNU or VNUNet, the Link or any VNU logo on Your Site and You agree to provide VNU with access to Your Site to enable VNU to review Your use of such names, the Link or any VNU logo.

Well I’m using it, so what other access do you want? ftp? ssh? cpanel? login here?

(m) VNU may, at any time, at its sole discretion, require You to discontinue Your use of the names VNU or VNUNet, the Link or any VNU logo on Your Site.

So I say no and you do what? How much grief is a href worth to you?

(n) You agree that Your Website shall not be operated in violation of any applicable law, rule or regulation.

Good grief…..

(q) VNU reserves the right in its sole discretion to amend these Linking Terms and Conditions by providing you with prior written notice thereof.

You need my address then?

(u) These Linking Terms and Conditions shall be governed by the laws of England and the parties hereby submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the English courts.

Hey, I live in England too. But what if I didn’t. These would be even more useless wouldn’t they?

Imagine every blogger said this. Imagine every blogger and website saying that they too had and operated a restrictive link policy. Where did vnunet lose sight of the inter part of the WWW ? Why have they decided to be so damn precious and yet lost their grip on web reality? Since when do they think anyone would allow ANY access to a site for them to check? If I had a password protected site I wouldn’t let you in – what would you get? A warrant?
Why do these people insist on link policies in the first place? These vnunet people cannot be alone….

BBC.
“A teenager has been crowned king of the pie eaters after polishing off two pies in an annual contest in Wigan.”

“I didn’t really have an eating strategy when I started but I worked out a system about half way through.

“I just chewed and swallowed as much as I could, as fast as I could.”

Social networking website MySpace says it will release tools to identify and ban US sex offenders from its service. BBC

“We are committed to keeping sex offenders off MySpace,” the site’s chief security officer, Hemanshu Nigam

1. MySpace must be desperate beyond measure to state such garbage. Maybe they believe it??
2. Some complete idiot will believe it. “Of course you can go on MySpace Johnny, Rupert makes it safe, just for you”
3. Maybe they really do think that sex offenders will not change their names … ooooohh….. rocket science….

So the head of the Press Complaints Commission wants blogs to have a voluntary code of conduct. So if I do not “volunteer” I do not have to abide?
And let’s say I do volunteer. Let’s say I agree to whatever such nonsense would say.
And let’s say the Dr Rowan Williams has an issue with me calling him a blackmailer.
I will respond in the same way the Press does.

With a tiny little entry buried somewhere completely unnoticeable on this domain. After all, if it’s good enough for the mainstream press why should I act any different?

Oh yes – it’s a pathetic idea too. Sheer bloody nonsense.
Selected quotes from that link:

“We’re not in favour of regulating the internet. The flow of information should not by regulated by any government.”

No, but you want to do it instead.

Former Downing Street spin doctor Alastair Campbell …….added that “some of the most offensive stuff” comes from them [blogs].

Hey – you hand out the lead, so why are you surprised when people make bullets?

Mr Toulmin described the phrases “free speech” and “free press” as relative terms because views expressed on the internet are still governed by laws such as libel and data protection.

So my understanding of that is this: “There is no free speech on the internet because of existing laws” and the addition to that is “and now we want a code too“. So that makes free speech even less relative doesn’t it? Less free. More regulated. Censored.

And he thinks people will welcome this? Idiot.