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Download - Future of the Internet – And how to stop it.

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168<br />

Solutions<br />

scribed earlier, <strong>the</strong> amb<strong>it</strong>ion is for third parties <strong>to</strong> contribute <strong>the</strong>ir own dashboard<br />

gauges—allowing users <strong>of</strong> Herdict <strong>to</strong> draw from a market <strong>of</strong> advisers,<br />

each <strong>of</strong> whom can draw from some combination <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> herd’s data and <strong>the</strong>ir<br />

own expertise <strong>to</strong> give users advice. The idea is that by reformulating our vision<br />

<strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> network <strong>to</strong> extend beyond mere “endpoints” and “middles,” we can keep<br />

our eyes on <strong>the</strong> real value at stake: individual freedom <strong>to</strong> experiment w<strong>it</strong>h new<br />

code and anything made possible by <strong>it</strong>, <strong>the</strong> <strong>to</strong>uchs<strong>to</strong>ne <strong>of</strong> a generative system.<br />

EXTRA-LEGAL INCENTIVES TO SOLVE THE GENERATIVE PROBLEM:<br />

FROM WIKIPEDIA TO MAPS AND STOPBADWARE<br />

Some <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> suggested solutions here include legal intervention, such as liabil<strong>it</strong>y<br />

for technology producers in certain circumstances. Legal interventions face<br />

certain hurdles in <strong>the</strong> <strong>Internet</strong> space. One sovereign cannot reach every potentially<br />

responsible ent<strong>it</strong>y on a global network, and while commercial forces can<br />

respond well <strong>to</strong> legal incentives, 30 <strong>the</strong> amateur technology producers that are so<br />

important <strong>to</strong> a generative system are less likely <strong>to</strong> shape <strong>the</strong>ir behavior <strong>to</strong> conform<br />

<strong>to</strong> subtle legal standards.<br />

The ongoing success <strong>of</strong> enterprises like Wikipedia suggests that social problems<br />

can be met first w<strong>it</strong>h social solutions—aided by powerful technical<br />

<strong>to</strong>ols—ra<strong>the</strong>r than by resorting <strong>to</strong> law. As we have seen, vandalism, copyright<br />

infringement, and lies on Wikipedia are typically solved not by declaring that<br />

vandals are breaking laws against “exceeding authorized access” <strong>to</strong> Wikipedia or<br />

by su<strong>it</strong>s for infringement or defamation, but ra<strong>the</strong>r through a commun<strong>it</strong>y<br />

process that, as<strong>to</strong>undingly, has impact.<br />

In <strong>the</strong> absence <strong>of</strong> consistent interventions by law, we also have seen some<br />

peer-produced-and-implemented responses <strong>to</strong> perceived secur<strong>it</strong>y problems at<br />

<strong>the</strong> <strong>Internet</strong>’s technical layer, and <strong>the</strong>y demonstrate both <strong>the</strong> value and drawbacks<br />

<strong>of</strong> a grassroots system designed <strong>to</strong> facil<strong>it</strong>ate choice by endpoints about<br />

w<strong>it</strong>h whom <strong>to</strong> communicate or what s<strong>of</strong>tware <strong>to</strong> run.<br />

One example is <strong>the</strong> early implementation <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Mail Abuse Prevention System<br />

(MAPS) as a way <strong>of</strong> dealing w<strong>it</strong>h spam. In <strong>the</strong> summer <strong>of</strong> 1997, <strong>Internet</strong><br />

pioneer Paul Vixie decided he had had enough <strong>of</strong> spam. He started keeping a<br />

list <strong>of</strong> those IP addresses that he believed were involved in originating spam,<br />

discovered through ei<strong>the</strong>r his own sleuthing or that <strong>of</strong> o<strong>the</strong>rs whom he trusted.<br />

The first thing he did w<strong>it</strong>h <strong>the</strong> list was make sure <strong>the</strong> ent<strong>it</strong>ies on <strong>it</strong> could not<br />

send him e-mail. Next he made his list instantly available over <strong>the</strong> network so

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