Fry on Teh Interwebz

[DanaC]

Amongst other things, Stephen Fry is a self-confessed geek and lover of teh interwebz. In a BBC interview he talked about various aspects of internet culture, including Twittering (his is the second most popular Twitter feed i the world, after Obama).

I picked this bit out though as particularly interesting, given recent discussions about net security (net nannying laws) and net freedom; Stephen on the dark side of teh inyterwebz:

This is an early thing I said about the internet at the time things like AOL were still huge. I said it's Milton Keynes, that's the problem with it. It's got all these nice, safe cycle paths and child-friendly parks and all the rest of it.

But the internet is a city and, like any great city, it has monumental libraries and theatres and museums and places in which you can learn and pick up information and there are facilities for you that are astounding - specialised museums, not just general ones.

But there are also slums and there are red light districts and there are really sleazy areas where you wouldn't want your children wandering alone.

And you say, "But how do I know which shops are selling good gear in the city and how do I know which are bad? How do I know which streets are safe and how do I know which aren't?" Well you find out.

What you don't need is a huge authority or a series of identity cards and police escorts to take you round the city because you can't be trusted to do it yourself or for your children to do it.

And I think people must understand that about the internet - it is a new city, it's a virtual city and there will be parts of it of course that they dislike, but you don't pull down London because it's got a red light district.

from: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7926509.stm