> nobody cares what a bunch of computer nerds thinks about politics.
Until nerds produce something that changes the political game.
PGP, Bit Torrent and Bitcoin are three examples.
Until nerds produce something that changes the political game.
PGP, Bit Torrent and Bitcoin are three examples.
There is nothing inherent in being a maker that gives said maker any special understanding or say over political aspects of the tools that maker creates.
And no one knows why Bitcoin was created. No one's sure who created it, and that person certainly hasn't provided any concrete motive. I don't know enough about PGP to say the same, but don't try to shoehorn a tool into your argument just because you don't think I'll notice.
If guns can have lobbies, surely PGP can as well.
A tool does not care why it was created. A hammer won't refuse to bash in a skull because "that's not what it was built for".
[1] http://www.mail-archive.com/cryptography@metzdowd.com/msg099...
As for PGP, Phil Zimmerman was even clearer in his intentions [2]:
[2] http://www.pgpi.org/doc/whypgp/en/
Technology is a response to politics as well as a catalyst for political change. To attempt to "de-politify" technology as a matter of course is like castrating a prize bull.