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Barlow and I worked together in 1991 at NeXTWORLD magazine as contributing editors. One day I set up USENET on his NeXT computer at his home on Potrero Hill (on
by DanielKehoe 9y ago
Barlow and I worked together in 1991 at NeXTWORLD magazine as contributing editors. One day I set up USENET on his NeXT computer at his home on Potrero Hill (on a day when Spalding Gray dropped by for lunch) and later I tipped him off about the new WorldWideWeb a few days after TimBL first posted about the project on comp.sys.next.announce. He said (to Mitch Kapor), it "sounds rather like Project Xanadu emerging from the Matrix almost without design. This could be cool..." [1]
Many people naively tell me that Steve Jobs is their hero. I wish I would meet more who aspire to live like John Perry Barlow. He was good-natured, kind, and lifted everyone up around him (we posted his "Adult Principles" [2] on all the cubicles at NeXTWORLD). He had a noble heart; he made choices in his life that were not comfortable or safe but lived a principled life and found his own way. Above all, he had a sense of the tenuous dignity of man (humankind, if you prefer) and the need to defend ourselves with every means at our disposal, including poetry and theatre. I think the battle may be lost and he may be the last of his kind that I meet.
[1] http://www.fortuityconsulting.com/images/barlow.gif http://www.fortuityconsulting.com/images/barlow.gif
[2] https://www.mail-archive.com/silklist@lists.hserus.net/msg08034.html https://www.mail-archive.com/silklist@lists.hserus.net/msg08...
- js2 9y agoThank you for sharing. The “Adult Principles” is worth its own submission here.
- grzm 9y agoIndeed. Less than 2 weeks ago, over 50 comments: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16328995 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16328995
- ataturk 9y agoCan you speak to his connections to the CIA and NSA at all? For instance, how deeply involved was he with the IC? There are rumors. Like I said previously, I want so badly to believe JPB was one of the good guys trying to open up their processes and help us be more free. The world needs the truth now more than ever. The battle is not lost! Some of us still understand. We know the Internet has become the ultimate surveillance and propaganda tools and a Stasi wet-dream. We need to keep fighting that even though the skies have darkened around us. We have to demand that our rights not be violated.