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I think this is only an issue because there is no public digital infrastructure. We need an "internet post office" whose only rules are the law, operates at-cos

I think this is only an issue because there is no public digital infrastructure. We need an "internet post office" whose only rules are the law, operates at-cost for users, and is completely free of liability. For example, you can't sue the post office if someone mails a pirated DVD. Would it be used almost exclusively by extremists and lunatics? Probably, but I still think it's worth having if only in light of all the HN stories about how some account slip-up at Google utterly ruined someone's life. Everyone deserves an email address they can never lose access to.

uniqueuid 5y ago
Whether this is a good idea is seen differently in different countries. Countries with strong public service broadcasters (e.g. the BBC in the UK) tend to consider state-run information infrastructure a good idea, at least in a dual system including private corporations. Countries without public service media see private marked actors as perfectly sufficient. Needless to say, the US is squarely the second type.
dageshi 5y ago
Isn't that sort of basically email now? If you sub to the mailing list of "extremists and lunatics" then you'll probably get your email on extreme and lunatic issues. The issue is, the extremists and lunatics don't just want email, they want twitter, facebook and all the inherent amplification capabilities of both. Not just a 1 to 1 message, not even a 1 to many messages but full on advertising to potentially interested users the same as the cat pics/videos get.
satyrnein 5y ago
Do extremists and lunatics want their email handled by the government?
cvwright 5y ago
Interestingly, there are hints that some countries are looking into providing Matrix accounts for all of their citizens. I don't think there's been a formal announcement yet, but it was mentioned in one of their Matrix Live videos a couple of weeks ago. Personally, I see pluses and minuses. Yay, free Matrix for everyone. Boo, your government can monitor everything you do on that server.

uniqueuid 5y ago

Whether this is a good idea is seen differently in different countries. Countries with strong public service broadcasters (e.g. the BBC in the UK) tend to consider state-run information infrastructure a good idea, at least in a dual system including private corporations. Countries without public service media see private marked actors as perfectly sufficient. Needless to say, the US is squarely the second type.

dageshi 5y ago

Isn't that sort of basically email now? If you sub to the mailing list of "extremists and lunatics" then you'll probably get your email on extreme and lunatic issues. The issue is, the extremists and lunatics don't just want email, they want twitter, facebook and all the inherent amplification capabilities of both. Not just a 1 to 1 message, not even a 1 to many messages but full on advertising to potentially interested users the same as the cat pics/videos get.

satyrnein 5y ago

Do extremists and lunatics want their email handled by the government?

cvwright 5y ago

Interestingly, there are hints that some countries are looking into providing Matrix accounts for all of their citizens. I don't think there's been a formal announcement yet, but it was mentioned in one of their Matrix Live videos a couple of weeks ago. Personally, I see pluses and minuses. Yay, free Matrix for everyone. Boo, your government can monitor everything you do on that server.