"Should I have a more positive outlook?" Yes, I believe you should and I apologise if I came off a bit snippy. The campaign I was involved with (the PCG, oppos

"Should I have a more positive outlook?" Yes, I believe you should and I apologise if I came off a bit snippy. The campaign I was involved with (the PCG, opposing IR35) was ultimately unsuccessful in parliament but won some victories on a case-by-case basis and ultimately made a significant difference to people's lives. In my own case, the Inland Revenue tried to over-tax me but were forced to drop the case because of what the PCG did. Did I feel pleased about that? I think so, yes. I also wrote letters about the RIP Act when that was going through parliament. I wrote to (and met with) my MP, Mark Oaten, who seemed like a thoroughly decent and intelligent man who grokked the issues immediately. I also wrote to Jack Straw, Tony Blair and (because she was saying the right things) Anne Widdecombe, even though I suspect she is in all other respects quite barmy. Of course, they ignored me, afaik. What I think did make a difference was a casual conversation with an acquaintance who turned out to be the Conservative front-bench spokesman in the Lords for Trade and Industry (Francis Lord Northbrook if you're interested). He asked me to write a briefing paper, which I did -- a couple of sides of A4 saying what was wrong with the legislation. He used it as a basis for his response to the RIP Bill, as it was at that time. OK, it shouldn't come down to personal acquaintance but it sometimes does, and if I hadn't written all those futile letters we would never have had the conversation which prompted his request to me. Now to my point: if the situation is really that desperate why even post the article? Just STFU and continue to let them rip you, me and everyone else off. Or you could, you know, engage with the flawed people in this flawed situation and possibly, I don't know, do something to make a difference. Win or lose, I'd rather participate than sit and whine about things. "What did you do during the Internet Wars daddy?"