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Why would it be a shame? It's not pretty, agreed, but this might induce corporations to start behaving less "evil", otherwise there is always the threat that th

Why would it be a shame? It's not pretty, agreed, but this might induce corporations to start behaving less "evil", otherwise there is always the threat that the hordes with their (digital) pitchforks will storm the castle. It tilts the balance of power in the right way.

bradleyland 16y ago
You've misinterpreted the target of shame. It's a shame that we, the public, have no accessible, legitimate recourse against a corporation the size of Sony. It is not a shame that Sony is receiving a kidney punch.
- wladimir 16y ago
  Indeed. Hopefully this kind of struggles will eventually result in accessible, legitimate recourses. However, those hardly ever come into existence out of thin air. Given that one party overpowers another, the former will attempt to grab more and more power. With an international entity such as corporations this is even more true, as even governments are having increasing trouble controlling them. Diplomacy-based recourses are usually a result of a balance between the power of groups. For example, in the industrial revolution the workers unionized to have more marketing power against their employers. It has some interesting parallels (but also wild differences) with this.
InclinedPlane 16y ago
It's a shame because it puts power in the wrong hands. The "good intentioned" hackers of today are easily replaced by the malevolent forces of tomorrow. Look at spam, botnets, trojans, censorship, spying, etc. You can't keep dangerous powers out of the hands of the "bad guys". And then it's only a matter of time before the entrenched interests start using the same techniques. Why bother arresting somebody when you can just hack their personal and business life? When the courts and civil society break down people revert to violence and lawlessness. That's not a path you want to go down, because it typically leads to the most brutish and violent folks asuming power.

bradleyland 16y ago

You've misinterpreted the target of shame. It's a shame that we, the public, have no accessible, legitimate recourse against a corporation the size of Sony. It is not a shame that Sony is receiving a kidney punch.

wladimir 16y ago
Indeed. Hopefully this kind of struggles will eventually result in accessible, legitimate recourses. However, those hardly ever come into existence out of thin air. Given that one party overpowers another, the former will attempt to grab more and more power. With an international entity such as corporations this is even more true, as even governments are having increasing trouble controlling them. Diplomacy-based recourses are usually a result of a balance between the power of groups. For example, in the industrial revolution the workers unionized to have more marketing power against their employers. It has some interesting parallels (but also wild differences) with this.

InclinedPlane 16y ago

It's a shame because it puts power in the wrong hands. The "good intentioned" hackers of today are easily replaced by the malevolent forces of tomorrow. Look at spam, botnets, trojans, censorship, spying, etc. You can't keep dangerous powers out of the hands of the "bad guys". And then it's only a matter of time before the entrenched interests start using the same techniques. Why bother arresting somebody when you can just hack their personal and business life? When the courts and civil society break down people revert to violence and lawlessness. That's not a path you want to go down, because it typically leads to the most brutish and violent folks asuming power.