Against W3C Patent Policy (RAND)

Others have already given many great points and issues against this new 
proposed patent policy. I do not have anything to add to them other than a 
simple reminder of the philosophical and ethical driving forces behind the 
World Wide Web and the Internet thus far.

The WWW had its beginnings in openness and unencumbered standards. Originally 
used by scientists and engineers as a way to disseminate knowledge and foster 
education. Later, it became an excellent forum for personal communication and 
social exploration, as persons took to the web and "homesteaded" web-sites 
and domains. Soon, businesses began to see the web as a possible market, and 
companies, corporations, store-fronts, even small business owners set up shop 
on the web.

Now the web is a monsterous and glorious melting pot of ideas, commerce, 
personality, politics, and entertainment. It is at once a lesson in history & 
society, as well as an exploration of the absurd and useless. It can be a 
place to exchange goods, ideologies, and concepts.

It is what it is today because of a /lack/ of patent-encumbered standards. If 
it had been hindered by such fee-based devices, there is no doubt in my mind 
that it would have grown to the proportions that it has.

Some may argue that the web as it is today is in need of patent and standards 
regulation, but I would beg to differ. Doing so would kill the heart and soul 
of this new medium we have created. And no single entity has "created" the 
web. It has been "created" by every person who's placed content anywhere on 
the web. Thus, no one can ethically claim ownership to it or its standards.

-- 
Sam "Criswell" Hart <criswell@geekcomix.com> AIM, Yahoo!: <criswell4069>
Homepage: < http://www.geekcomix.com/snh/ >
PGP Info: < http://www.geekcomix.com/snh/contact/ >
Tux4Kids: < http://www.geekcomix.com/tux4kids/ >

Received on Saturday, 29 September 2001 21:27:22 UTC