Interesting editorial on thedogmatism of the geek community. The author, Tom Steinberg, rightly points out that there is a depressing unanimity of expressed views about Internet issues among Internet old-timers. He worries that if “we” lose on one of those issues (like digital rights management) then “we” may find it difficult to re-group and keep fighting on other issues.
I worry that the community may be viewed as self-interested and naive because, for example, it preaches that you should be allowed to copy as much music or movies as you want because “hey, those industries are owned by The Man who is exploiting the artists anyway”. This may mean that when we want to be heard about what are IMHO more important issues like privacy rights and anti-spam legislation our credibility will be tarnished.
