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I spent many years at MIT and continue to support the Institute today, financially and with my time. What makes MIT special - for me - is the way that the admi
by nugget 14y ago
I spent many years at MIT and continue to support the Institute today, financially and with my time. What makes MIT special - for me - is the way that the administration (at least while I was there) embraces the hacker culture and understands that the type of brilliant, creative young people they recruit will break a lot of rules to test the system before they find their place in it. They continually shielded us from the outside world and maintained a bubble in which we could experiment and push the boundaries. If it went too far, you were suspended for awhile, but I can't remember anyone referred to criminal prosecution.
If that type of community spirit is lost, it's a loss for everyone because somewhere special like that deserves to exist.
- rhizome 14y agoThis case tells us that that spirit has in fact been lost to some degree. Any defense is an attempt at protecting what remains, but students and concerned members of the public now know that they have to second-guess their instincts contrary to the spirit you describe. The prosecution already occurred, there's no changing that.
- rm999 14y agoIt's worth pointing out that he wasn't a student or employee of MIT. Yes, he was a member of the hacker elite, but I would imagine any institution would be less likely to protect someone it can't internally discipline.
- danielweber 14y agoI don't want to discourage you from supporting MIT, but look up http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_v._LaMacchia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_v._LaMacchia