Science Addiction

163 Responses to “95 Theses of Geek Activism”

1. Alice R Says:
   July 23rd, 2006 at 3:49 am

   Hi!

   I only disagree with point 86, because nummber only has one m.

   There’s nothing else I could find fault with! This is awesome – you’re gonna be famous!

   Al

2. Piove Says:
   July 23rd, 2006 at 4:10 am

   Excellent!
   I am not a geek, or a hacker. I use things the way they were intended.
   However, this may not always be the case, and I have just joined EFF (after reading this) and wholeheartedly agree with you.

3. .:dydimustk:. » Blog Archive » theogeek Says:
   July 23rd, 2006 at 4:56 am

   [...] This morning I’m reading through 95 Theses of Geek Activism and Eric Raymond’s The Cathedral and the Bazaar. Every word I read makes me think about opensource church. I will have to put all those thoughts into writing soon. Should I do it as one big piece or let it run for a while and then pull all the pieces back together? These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages. [...]

4. børge Says:
   July 23rd, 2006 at 4:59 am

   This is great!
   But there’s something wrong in the sentence in thesis number 83:
   “Linux is no longer a philosophy- it is a good piece of software. Use it because it if it fits your needs.”
   Should it be “because OF it”?

5. Das Beste aus der Blogosphäre und Web 2.0 » Blog Archive » Bist Du Geek? Says:
   July 23rd, 2006 at 5:00 am

   [...] http://www.scienceaddiction.com/2006/07/23/95-theses-of-geek-activism/ [...]

6. nex Says:
   July 23rd, 2006 at 6:12 am

   Devanshu: Learn the difference between a hyphen and a dash. Learn the difference between an apostrophe and glyphs that look similar, but are something else, such as a prime symbol. Justified paragraphs without proper line breaking are bad for legibility. Learn the difference between “its” and “it’s”. Keep up the good work.

7. Personality in Multiple Disorders » Blog Archive » Says:
   July 23rd, 2006 at 6:12 am

   [...] And going by this list, we’re all just a buch of hackers, reclaiming the term. [...]

8. BrynM Says:
   July 23rd, 2006 at 6:48 am

   Next time someone asks you “If you haven’t done anything wrong, what do you fear?” ask them why they are wearing clothes. Have they done something wrong to their body? (Confused the hell out of a cop once)

9. Matt Says:
   July 23rd, 2006 at 7:06 am

   Excellent and thought-provoking. Not necessarily complete, but a significant – and important – amount to chew on.

   Oh, and it’s ‘awful’, not ‘aweful’ (point 77).

10. TimTheFoolMan Says:
    July 23rd, 2006 at 7:53 am

    If the actions that qualify as “violating the license agreement” also result in loss of revenue, then it may be equivalent to theft. Granted, most shrink-wrap license agreements are unenforceable, but duplicating content outside of “fair use” without paying for additional licenses (or consent of the creator) IS almost certainly theft. It’s more accurate to say “Violating a license agreement is not ALWAYS theft.”

    Sound bites are just as dangerous when they come from geeks as when they come from politicians or theologians. They SOMETIMES distill valid points down to ambiguity (or worse, nonesense), particularly when they’re read in isolation. Sadly, the whole point of the sound bite is just that… to be read in isolation and summarize the thruth. -Tim

11. Have Coffee Will Write » 95 THESES FOR A THIRD MILLENIUM… Says:
    July 23rd, 2006 at 8:03 am

    [...] If the 16th century belonged to the protestant and the 20th century to the industrialist, then the 21st century belongs to the geek. But if geeks will claim their rightful post, they must learn to speak and be heard; to recognize those things that bind them together. In that vein, Devanshu has published 95 Theses Of Geek Activism. [...]

12. James Says:
    July 23rd, 2006 at 8:17 am

    should’t “understanding a hacker” as published at http://web.demigod.org/~zak/geek/hack.shtml

    be on the list somewhere?

13. Rik Panganiban Says:
    July 23rd, 2006 at 8:20 am

    Thanks so much for sharing this, Devanshu! So true and so inspiring!

    Be proud of your geekness.

14. x_l_p Says:
    July 23rd, 2006 at 8:26 am

    http://www.theregister.co.uk/2002/10/04/o_geeks_what_has_become/

    “The truth is that over the last decade geekdom has gained a baggage of beliefs about the world which are much narrower than that which used to unify us.”

    A pre-augmentation of your article. Nice piece though.

15. meneame.net Says:
    July 23rd, 2006 at 8:32 am

    95 ideas para un activismo geek…

    "Los ‘geeks’ son conocidos por no tener repercusión política fuera de sus círculos. Esta es mi lista de cosas que todas las personas que toman parte en el debate deberían saber, si quieren que ese debate mejore. Algunas son obvias, otras qui…

16. Brian Larter » Blog Archive » 95 Theses of Geek Activism Says:
    July 23rd, 2006 at 8:32 am

    [...] 95 Theses of Geek Activism http://www.scienceaddiction.com/2006/07/23/95-theses-of-geek-activism/ [...]

17. Alex Says:
    July 23rd, 2006 at 8:35 am

    Nice theses, though many of them apply to the US only.

    Their cause could fail because of the same reasons governments fail to control the free market: corporations got bigger than countries. That being said, RIAA and MPAA are cooperating with similar institutions in other countries, e.g. the reformation of the copyright in germany contained 3 clauses almost literally translated from the DMCA and the new french copyright will be even worse.

    I would like to see the line “geeks of all nations, unite!” somewhere in there.

    Greetings, Alex

18. Daniel Says:
    July 23rd, 2006 at 9:28 am

    Sorry i fail to see the point of #1? i’m a hacker, and i agree with everything (and do everything) else you wrote? and just because i tinker with the big corperations servers and disclose information they wish to hide i’m evil? i dont think so. You seem to be mixing me up with something you heard in the media. hacker do not write viruses, send spam, attack personal computers…. the only people doing that these days are fraudsters…. why because these fraudsters are using a computer does it automaticly become hacking? Both the Hacker community and the community which you describe here are on the same side… don’t let the media fool you into think otherwise.

19. Nerdeaktivistenes 95 teser hos børge forteller om livet Says:
    July 23rd, 2006 at 9:38 am

    [...] Science Addiction har skrevet ned nerdeaktivistenes 95 teser. De har ikke blitt spikret opp på noen regjerings dør ennå, og det er fullt mulig å komme med kritikk og forslag, men jeg føler at det er veldig mange gode og viktige poenger her. Her er et lite utdrag: [...]

20. Whiskey Tango Foxtrot?!? » 95 theses of geek activism… Says:
    July 23rd, 2006 at 10:02 am

    [...] … [...]

21. dig Says:
    July 23rd, 2006 at 11:08 am

    [...] 95 theses of Geek Activisism. (via) [...]

22. J Gruszynski Says:
    July 23rd, 2006 at 11:09 am

    One to add:

    “Not technology nor corporations nor law can define ethics or decide ethical actions; only people can. To do otherwise cedes one’s human obligations and humanity to the inaniminate.” – Jeff Gruszynski

    If you are unsure of how to make ethical decisions go to the Markkula Center for Applid Ethics web site (http://www.scu.edu/ethics/) for their Ethical Decisions brochure.

23. Anders Says:
    July 23rd, 2006 at 11:10 am

    How about

    “DRM keeps an honest user honest, in the same way that DRM keeps a tall user tall.” for 92. Then it would resemble a quote from
    http://www.dashes.com/anil/stuff/doctorow-drm-ms.html

24. SeanSmith.org » 95 Theses of Geek Activism Says:
    July 23rd, 2006 at 11:30 am

    [...] Being a geek and a flaming liberal myself (not really, but I do lean a tad to the Left), I’m extremely interested in fighting abuses of our Fair Use rights. I was very happy to find this: The 95 Theses of Geek Activism. I’ve perused the list and it’s a pretty good list of social, corporate, and political abuses of Fair Use, as well as just things that every person (not just geeks) should know about their electronic rights. People who aren’t following the different fights might find the list confusing, but feel free to post a comment here or on the site. Someone will help explain them. [...]

25. the jackol’s den » 95 Theses of Geek Activism - Mikhail Esteves Says:
    July 23rd, 2006 at 11:43 am

    [...] Link [...]

26. Pope Guilty Says:
    July 23rd, 2006 at 12:07 pm

    Daniel, you’re a hacker, yes, but the better word would be “cracker”.

27. TJ Says:
    July 23rd, 2006 at 12:15 pm

    1. Who cares? There are far more important battles than quibbling about this terminology.

    2. If it results in loss of revenue, yes, it is theft.

    3. Sound advice, though a bit obvious.

    4. True for anybody.

    5. Also, true for anybody, geek or not.

    6. Maybe, although the Copyright Term Extension Act of 1998 extended copyrights 20 years, and there’s no reason to believe that they will not be extended again in another 20 years.

    7. There are many examples of people expressing their beliefs clearly and effectively, from the Declaration of Independence to the Communist Manifesto to the Seneca Falls Declaration to thousands of other documents. I’m not sure why you’d focus on Martin Luther.

    8. Not a bad idea, and while you’re at it, think about contributing to its development and to the work of the Electronic Frontier Foundation.

    9. True—and geeks are in the best position to challenge trusted computing.

    10. Yes, but this is true of all parties and of poltics and politicians in general. Never trust the government; always be willing to challenge it when necessary. However, it is also true that the nature of politics is compromise, and dogmatic adherence to principle can sometimes cause more harm than good.

    11. True, a government should always be accountable to the people it governs. That is why a strong, independent media is so important.

    12. True, if you’re interested in the Linux movement—however, it would also be worthwhile to read the responses to the work, such as those by Nikolai Bezroukov. It’s also worthwhile to note the flaws (and there are some) of the Linux development model.

    13. This is due to the strong potential for copyright infringement. Until another model for compensating artists for the creation of their work has been developed, the hoops will continue to exist.

    14. Again, until another method of compensating artists for their work has been developed, the old copyright model will have to be enforced.

    15. True, and very important in this time of wire-tapping and internet monitoring.

    16. True, alhough any format, proprietary or not, must also be easily and securely played by anyone, geek or not.

    17. No, they are not. Corporations by their nature are on the side of making money. As with governments, never trust a corporation, whether Apple, Microsoft, General Motors, or Sanrio.

    18. Yes, but you also always had to pay for your records. Here is the problem.

    19. True, it is impossible

    20. True, although given #4 it may be unnecessary to repeat.

    21. True—if they have anywhere else to go.

    22. Maybe—but if a customer does not trust a company that customer cannot expect trust from the corporation in return, and one should never trust a corporation.

    23. Again, true—never trust a corporation.

    24. True—assuming the use is fair, and not simply an attempt to circumvent copyright.

    25. Good idea, although some operating systems are better for some purposes than for others.

    26. True for anybody—the media can shape public debate.

    27. Good idea, and consider supporting it financially as well.

    28. Another good choice of literature.

    29. True—but it could help. Blanket statements of this sort are not a good form of argument, when they are potentially proven incorrect, or at least flawed. A better argument is that while giving up our rights may prevent some terror attacks our rights are worth some loss of life, as our founding fathers understood.

    30. True for anybody.

    31. See previous.

    32. Under some circumstances, yes. Others, no. As with other models, it has flaws.

    33. True, but see 25.

    34. Again, true for anybody—these could really be combined in one.

    35. Very true.

    36. True, within reason.

    37. True for anybody.

    38. True—but it could help. However, see 29.

    39. True—but covered by the argument concerning privacy in general.

    40. True, but could be combined with 37. Also, flame wars can be fun.

    41. Possibly true, depending on the media. Unproven, however.

    42. Again, see 29.

    43. True, demonizing a specific corporation under all cirumstances is counterproductive.

    44. True, although Google is hardly the only company that must be held to that principle.

    45. Another good choice of literature.

    46. True, and a good way of working within the copyright system. It is voluntary, however, and some means of rewarding artists and engineers must exist.

    47. There isn’t necessarily a difference—but breaking the law can sometimes be for the good, if the law being broken is bad.

    48. True—or simply not watch TV. . .

    49. Very true—ivory tower elitism rarely works when shaping public policy.

    50. True—although it doesn’t necessarily matter whether the rope moves in your direction slowly in a tug-of-war, or quickly.

    51. True—as long as those rights do not include redistribution. Some means of rewarding artists for the production of their work must still exist. Not all, in fact not most, owners of copyrights are millionaires like Britney Spears.

    52. Good idea.

    53. Also, good idea—and support Amnesty International’s efforts in this area as well.

    54. Good idea, although perhaps it should not be confined to just video games.

    55. Maybe, although again unproven. I’m not sure that endless repetition of this point proves it.

    56. Interesting, although possibly contradictory with 47.

    57. They might—but see 29.

    58. True—but just a combination of the “voice your views in public” and “elitism is bad” points.

    59. True, but not exactly a statement of belief.

    60. True—but true for all forms of media and public expression.

    61. Falls under the issue of public accountability—although manual machines and results can be manipulated as well.

    62. True, although spimes are not necessarily all good—see the privacy implications of related technologies such as RFID tags.

    63. True for any issue.

    64. True—and politics is compromise.

    65. True, and see 29.

    66. True, depending on the technologist. It’s rarely good to be entirely a one-note candidate.

    67. Should be combined with 26.

    68. True—nor should what they said over 200 years ago always be considered gospel.

    69. True for anybody.

    70. Depends.

    71. True for anybody.

    72. True.

    73. True, but covered previously.

    74. Not always practical.

    75. Interesting fact, but not a statement of belief.

    76. It is always good to understand all sided of an issue.

    77. Bad and impractical, yes.

    78. True for anybody.

    79. True.

    80. Not necessarily true—many free software programs choose not to reveal their source.

    81. True, although a rating system like that can frequently be arbitrary, and many parents may not agree with the classifications.

    82. True, although previously covered.

    83. True, if it does actually meet your needs.

    84. Maybe true, but a better argument is #29.

    85. True—but nag screens are a minor inconvenience.

    86. True, within reason.

    87. A statement of fact, not of belief.

    88. True for anybody.

    89. True, although the implcations for software are less clear.

    90. True.

    91. True.

    92. True, although most users of media are not geeks, and may not be able to easily circumvent DRM.

    93. True, within reason.

    94. No, do fear litigation and government harassment—but proceed anyway.

    95. Not necessarily “most of all”; fighting for what you believe in is frequently not “fun.” It must be done, however.

28. Devanshu Says:
    July 23rd, 2006 at 12:18 pm

    Thanks, Pope Guilty. By “reclaiming the term hacker”, I meant that the term has an original, positive connotation that should be regained. Yes, by using it in that way it may still include malicious ‘crackers’, but they are not the issue at hand.

    Also, for those pointing out my sp. mistakes- thanks. For those pointing out major grammatical errors- thanks. For those pointing out punctuation issues- differences between hyphens and semi-colons- are missing the point.

29. Wha..? Says:
    July 23rd, 2006 at 12:22 pm

    What possible good can it do to “reclaim the term hacker”? I fail to see any, if all it means is that pseudo-geek tinkerers can get off on saying “i’m a hacker y’know” to anyone stupid enough to listen.

30. haoran » Blog Archive » freedom of information Says:
    July 23rd, 2006 at 12:39 pm

    [...] just read 95 theses of geek activism. it is a refreshing reminder of the issues i thought a lot about while at berkeley. however, now that i am in china, many of these concepts seem rarified, almost irrelevant. because the problems in china are at such a basic level – people do not have access to information and the education system and culture do not nurture creative thinking and problem solving, much less critical thinking. a censored country creates people who are limited in their ability to imagine an alternative. the most striking thing to me about the 95 theses of geek activism is that it is the product of a free country. [...]

31. TJ Says:
    July 23rd, 2006 at 1:01 pm

    Sorry, #19: True, it is impossible to plug the “analog hole”; however, this does not mean that unauthorized duplication is necessarily morally justified, nor does it mean that companies cannot make exploitation of this hole difficult for non-geeks.

32. Florian Says:
    July 23rd, 2006 at 1:01 pm

    I think Paul Graham deserves to be in 91. too (http://www.paulgraham.com).

33. TJ Says:
    July 23rd, 2006 at 1:14 pm

    Oh, and a continuation of 19: just saying “the world is analog” does not deal with the underlying problems that the analog hole represents. Until a better system of rewarding artists is developed, copyrights are necessary, and some means of protecting those copyrights must exist. The current efforts to “plug the hole” may be misguided, but the problem still exists.

34. Anon. Says:
    July 23rd, 2006 at 1:15 pm

    Prof. Lessig isn’t in #91?

35. jailbee Says:
    July 23rd, 2006 at 2:05 pm

    96) Take the Scientific Method and apply it to areas outside of science, like society. i.e. find a problem with society (local or at large), gather data on it, and draw a logical conclusion. Then go one step further and do something to fix the problem.

36. LuckyRoach Says:
    July 23rd, 2006 at 2:09 pm

    in re #6: Copyright only lasts for so long (currently life of author + 70 years or 95 years from publication), but Trademarks can last forever. So while the old Mickey Mouse cartoons will fall into the public domain, Mickey Mouse as a trademarked character will not unless Disney allows its TM protection to lapse. E.g. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle didn’t get TM protection for Sherlock Holmes, so anyone can use that character, but Tarzan is protected. Maybe you should say “even Mickey Mouse cartoons.”

37. jere7my Says:
    July 23rd, 2006 at 2:13 pm

    Devanshu wrote:

    For those pointing out punctuation issues- differences between hyphens and semi-colons- are missing the point.

    Not at all. Reread #7—”stating your beliefs clearly, effectively and publicly” requires that you pay attention to details of punctuation and grammar. People will take your ideas less seriously if you don’t demonstrate that you know the difference between “it’s” and “its”; there is no need to slavishly adhere to the rules, but learning them and using them is going to make more people listen.

38. Sunborn Says:
    July 23rd, 2006 at 2:35 pm

    Most of your ideas are good however.

    17. Some corporations are on your side—find them and reward them

    This may be true for any given moment but corporations are legally obliged to make money for their shareholders. According to American law, corporations are required to do only one thing, make money in the short (or long) term. The law requires corporations to suffer a form of psychopathy.

    Watch the documentary “The Corporation”, http://www.thecorporation.com

    86. More information available to the most number of people is a good thing.

    This is probably not a good thing for most “normal” people. Most people don’t have the depth of knowledge to make sense of the incoming data, the time to injest it, or the processing power to use it. People are not all born with IQ’s of 135 with memories like a one-way valve. What we all need, genii and all, is more RELEVANT information.

39. TimJ Says:
    July 23rd, 2006 at 2:38 pm

    I wish someone would take the time to do something similar for ignorance, especially related to race, gender, sexual preference, and true religious freedom (the ability to practice no religion at all). This ignorance is the realest evil of our world.

    So if we [the geeks and hackers] are really to change the world with our minds and our technology, we should focus on big issues like these.

40. Williblog » Blog Archive » Activismo y software Says:
    July 23rd, 2006 at 2:48 pm

    [...] Actualización (20:44, 23 Julio 2006): Acabo de encontrar en Microsiervos una lista de 95 tesis de activismo geek/hacker, aunque buena parte de ellas no son solo aplicables a geeks/hackers, pero son el punto de partida. Con muchas coincido plenamente, algunas no las habia pensado y en unas pocas o no coincido o lo matizaría. La pena es que hay unas cuantas repeticiones y varias tonterias que hace que sean muchas menos. [...]

41. Jon Stahl’s Journal » Blog Archive » 95 Theses of Geek Activism Says:
    July 23rd, 2006 at 2:58 pm

    [...] 95 Theses of Geek Activism. Good stuff. [...]

42. The Inferno » The 95 theses of geek activism Says:
    July 23rd, 2006 at 3:30 pm

    [...] I stumbled upon this article and thought I should repost it. The original is at http://www.scienceaddiction.com/2006/07/23/95-theses-of-geek-activism/ [...]

43. kuehleborn.org Says:
    July 23rd, 2006 at 3:55 pm

    [...] 95 Theses of Geek Activism. [...]

44. Life or Something Close… :: links for 2006-07-23 Says:
    July 23rd, 2006 at 4:18 pm

    [...] 95 Theses of Geek Activism This is a great list. Making activists out of us instead of passive users of the net. (tags: geek activism blog scienceaddiction theses) [...]

45. gsn Says:
    July 23rd, 2006 at 4:57 pm

    56 is not true. the modern labor movement exists because workers illegally went on strike. it requires discretion to ethically break a law, but sometimes it is the only way to resist in a meaningful way. in a democratic society, disciplined law-breaking can create illustrative enforcement situations that make the electorate more sympathetic to a cause.

46. anarcho-geek Says:
    July 23rd, 2006 at 5:09 pm

    I generally applaud the sentiment and many of the specifics that you advocate, but I take issue with number 56, ”# Breaking the law because you disagree with the current law is not the way to solve the problem in a democratic society.”

    While you advocate civil disobedience, which actually usually amounts to law breaking, it seems as though you believe that the solutions are available to the citizens of the US through electoral politics. While there is a chance that this is true (although I doubt it), I don’t believe we should write off law-breaking. When laws contradict our own ethics and sense of freedom, it is important to break these laws. First of all, this can be true in a legal sense – only through breaking laws and challenging them in the judicial system can unjust laws be declared unconsitutional. Secondly, unjust laws need to be broken so as to mantain individual liberty.

    This is not to say that people shouldn’t try to work within the system to bring about the changes they feel necessary. Simply that, when the problems are overpowering, a variety of tactics need to be considered, and different people will have different ideas of how to undermine, subvert or destroy an oppressive system.

47. Brian Says:
    July 23rd, 2006 at 6:11 pm

    Interesting. And a number of these can be applied to (how about that) daily life and business.

48. Nerdcore - A Blog about very cool Stuff. Und so. Says:
    July 23rd, 2006 at 7:18 pm

    [...] Science Addiction » 95 Theses of Geek Activism Everything will enter the public domain some day- even Mickey Mouse. (tags: nerdism) [...]

49. Tracy Eckels Says:
    July 23rd, 2006 at 8:49 pm

    #35 Those in favor of suspending some liberties for security, answer this: “Who watches the watchers?”

    For this I’d like to also raise the point that when we are in favor of suspending our own liberties for the sake of security, we are undoubetdly forfieting those liberties for generations until society has forgotten them. One step in the wrong direction and we inevetably wind up with Alice in Wonderland, wondering how we got there with the cheshire cat staring us right in the face.

50. Jon Lebkowsky Says:
    July 23rd, 2006 at 8:51 pm

    Your initial premise (“Geek activism has not taken off yet”) is incorrect, I think. There was plenty of geek.activism in the 90s: EFF, of course, but also EPIC and CDT, CPSR and NetAction, GILC, the Conference on Computers, Freedom, and Privacy, 2600, Wired Mag’s activist days, netizen, Jon Katz’ Geek Force, my own Electronic Frontiers Forum at HotWired, etc. That said, there’s good stuff in your theses… I might disagree with a few. For instance, there’s no guarantee that we’ll still have a public domain in the future… legislators have talked seriously about permanent copyright. Proprietary data formats can store public information as long as the information remains public and is stored in other formats that aren’t proprietary (but I know what you meant). I’m not sure that spimes are a sign that things are going well… spimes have a sinister side (read Everyware).

    A couple of suggestions. One is to read Extreme Democracy (http://extremedemocracy.com), a book that Mitch Ratcliffe and I edited. This may be seen as a shameless plug, but it’s a pretty good anthology of geek activist writings.

    The other suggestion is to consider going to the League of Technical Voters programmer lock-in October 13-15 (http://www.leagueoftechvoters.org/drupal/). That’s a good way to be both geek and activist.

51. 5k1ttl3 Says:
    July 23rd, 2006 at 9:31 pm

    Overall Id say I like this, although there were a few parts that seemed to make little sense. Those points just sort of turned me off to the whole thing.

    “Breaking the law because you disagree with the current law is not the way to solve the problem in a democratic society.”

    ...Perhaps not, but then again the US isnt a democracy, no matter how many time they tell us it is. We’re a democratic republic. Middle and lower class citizens have very little political power. Disobeying the law is certainly a way to solve problems in our society. I’ll be damned if i obey a law that i disagree with on moral grounds. (war on drugs, intellectual property law)

    “Some corporations are on your side- find them and reward them.”

    I strongly disagree. No corporation is on your side, ever. THey are on the side of money. Or more precisely, corporations are on the side of shareholders, and shareholders are on the side of money (they have to be, why else would they hold shares?). Sure, some corporations may make more money by pretending to back up the ‘little guy’ and ‘fight for your rights’ (its all PR) but if there was no money in it, it wouldnt happen. plain and simple.

52. Jordan Says:
    July 23rd, 2006 at 10:11 pm

    The article that #84 links to is wrong. A surveillance system that pulls up as many false positives as it does positives would be extremely effective, and not at all as useless as “flipping a coin”. The cost of performing two police investigations (or three or ten) to find one plot is something a police force would gladly bear. It is only when the number of investigations that would be required becomes larger that the system becomes useless.

    It’s unclear what the intentions of the author were, but the publisher (lewrockwell.com) was only interested in it as an anti-state propaganda piece. The author seems not to be familiar with detection problems, making no mention of the tradeoff between probablity of detection and probability of false alarm. One good way to define the problem is to suggest an amount of police effort to be used in tracking down leads. This will set the probability of false alarm. If, for this probablity of false alarm, the probability of detecting a terrorist and thus foiling a plot is large enough to justify the police effort, then the system may have merit as a detection method.

    Likely, mass surveillance as a means to create leads would be close to useless, but the article fails to prove this point. Certainly such surveillance is odious.

53. me Says:
    July 23rd, 2006 at 10:15 pm

    “inspite” is not a word, it’s “in spite”

54. Velcro City Tourist Board » Blog Archive » Links for 24-07-2006 Says:
    July 23rd, 2006 at 10:17 pm

    [...] 1 – 95 Theses of Geek Activism Geeks, nerds and hacktivists, unite! Your manifesto has arrived…and it is already being hacked. Link via BoingBoing. (tags: manifesto freedom censorship hacking security copyright privacy technology activism politics geek) [...]

55. Life or Something Close… :: links for 2006-07-24 Says:
    July 23rd, 2006 at 11:19 pm

    [...] 95 Theses of Geek Activism This is a great list. Making activists out of us instead of passive users of the net. (tags: geek activism blog scienceaddiction theses) [...]

56. Sierra Planet News » 95 Theses of Geek Activism Says:
    July 24th, 2006 at 12:10 am

    [...] Go read them – really, it doesn’t take as long as you think.  There is a bit of video-game-related material there. 95 Theses of Geek Activism [...]

57. Capuccino Productions Inc. Says:
    July 24th, 2006 at 2:18 am

    [...] V�a Microsiervos, encuentro un post en el blog Science Addiction titulado 95 Theses of Geek Activism, en el cual se exponen, al estilo de las "95 tesis sobre la Iglesia Cat�lica" de Mart�n Lutero (se aceptan correcciones si me equivoqu� en el nombre exacto), una serie de pensamientos que las personas "de todas las formas, tama�os y lados del debate necesitan saber", la mayor�a de los cuales hablan sobre la libertad y el derecho a la privacidad. Me ha parecido una lectura altamente interesante (y recomendable). Ahora que, como se comenta en el mismo post, por un lado los geeks y hackers van ganando popularidad (‘se ponen de moda’, por as� decirlo) y que, por otra parte, se oyen muy a menudo noticias sobre invasi�n a la privacidad y problemas con la propiedad intelectual, es sobremanera �til contar con una gu�a para no solo quedarse en la opini�n sino pasar a la acci�n. Y creo que estas 95 tesis hacen una buena gu�a. No necesariamente tiene uno que estar de totalmente de acuerdo con ella, pero a�n as� sirve de mucha inspiraci�n. Repito, altamente recomendable, denle una le�da de todos modos. [...]

58. Confused Of Calcutta » Blog Archive » Another 95 theses Says:
    July 24th, 2006 at 3:05 am

    [...] This came to me via Cory. It’s worth a read. Gives you a flavour of some of the current emotion, particularly in the context of DRM. Some very interesting links, and some worthwhile assertions. [...]

59. Shane Says:
    July 24th, 2006 at 4:13 am
    1. 5k1ttl3 Says:

    ‘“Breaking the law because you disagree with the current law is not the way to solve the problem in a democratic society.”

    ’...Perhaps not, but then again the US isnt a democracy, no matter how many time they tell us it is.’

    Perhaps not, but then he didn’t say it was. He used the adjective form, just as you did. Meanwhile, freedoms are better championed by people who regard The Law, as a concept, with a little more respect, even if a specific law is incorrect; and opposition of DRM does not include a moral obligation to download your favorite pop tune.

    ‘“Some corporations are on your side- find them and reward them.”

    ‘I strongly disagree. No corporation is on your side, ever.’

    I strongly disagree. You’re confusing motivation with decision. Unless every idea you’ve ever had is a money-losing one, occasionally you might make the same decision a corporation does, even if money is their reason and isn’t yours. If we vote with our dollars to support the corporations whose decisions align with ours, smart corporations will decide that it’s in their fiscal interest to figure out how to maintain our loyalty: i.e., how to keep themselves and us on the same side.

60. Peter Suber Says:
    July 24th, 2006 at 9:12 am

    FOSS is only part of a widening digital freedom movement. Another key part is open access to research in every field. Good geeks will support OA and ask their universities, libraries, professional societies, and governments to do so as well. To track new OA developments, see my blog, Open Access News.

    Peter Suber

61. netzpolitik.org: » 95 Theses of Geek Activism Aktuelle Berichterstattung rund um die politischen Themen der Informationsgesellschaft. Says:
    July 24th, 2006 at 9:41 am

    [...] “95 Theses of Geek Activism” ist eine ganz nette US-zentrierte Thesensammlung, die noch etwas ausbaufähig ist. von markus um 15:40 | abgelegt in General, Digital Rights, USA Trackback URL | Comment RSS Feed Tag at del.icio.us | Incoming links [...]

62. John Says:
    July 24th, 2006 at 9:55 am

    The DMCA is not pure evil. Some of it is quite good. It’s far too broad to say it’s the enemy.

63. cyen Says:
    July 24th, 2006 at 9:55 am

    Great LIST! The beginning of the e-revolution. I blogged about this, (click on my name above) in the hopes of spreading this list. There are also some good comments listed here.

64. NonlinearMatters Blog » 95 Theses of Geek Activism Says:
    July 24th, 2006 at 11:02 am

    [...] 95 Theses of Geek Activism, a must read. [...]

65. IsaacB2 Says:
    July 24th, 2006 at 11:56 am

    I like the list; one change: #3, which currently reads “All corporations are not on your side,” should more properly be expressed as “Not all corporations are on your side.” Otherwise, the implication is that every single corporation is not on your side, and I’m sure you mean rather that we shouldn’t assume that every single corporation is on our side.

66. lunchbox Says:
    July 24th, 2006 at 1:15 pm

    Doesn’t #53 (“Undermine censorship by publishing information censored in oppressive countries”) contradict #56 (“Breaking the law because you disagree with the current law is not the way to solve the problem in a democratic society”)?

    Just because it’s not a law in your country doesn’t mean it’s not a law.

67. Chuck.NYC Says:
    July 24th, 2006 at 2:15 pm

    thank you

68. Mike Says:
    July 24th, 2006 at 2:24 pm

    The term geek has lost all meaning. And it certainly doesn’t imply any kind of political likemindedness.

69. Devanshu Says:
    July 24th, 2006 at 2:26 pm

    @lunchbox, I didn’t say I was going to be consistent- did I? I advocate civil disobedience and ‘Satyagraha’, which, if taken to their logical conclusion, may involve breaking the law. And yet I saw that breaking the law may not be the best solution. These “95 theses” are intended to provoke thought, discourse and action.

70. Nico Says:
    July 24th, 2006 at 2:33 pm

    @ TJ
    Re: #2. If it results in loss of revenue, yes, it is theft.

    Then it’s good that it doesn’t result in loss of revenue. If and when software is pirated/infringed the company owning the copyright doesn’t lose any money, they are prevented from getting more money. In cannot be proven that it would have definitively been purchased either, so you can’t even argue that it is loss of POTENTIAL revenue, or loss of the chance to make money.

    If the loss of the chance to make money is theft to you, then you are in serious need of a beating. That would mean that everytime a company puts in a bid for a contract, and loses to another company, it’s theft. Everytime you see someone pick up found money on the street that could’ve been yours, they stole it form you.

    It can’t be taken away if you’re never in possesion of it first. It is infringement not theft.

    And I’m not making the case that it’s legal. Many countries have different definitions of what constitutes copyright infringment. Of course, citizens should abide by them.

71. Jason Says:
    July 24th, 2006 at 2:42 pm

    Thanks for sharing this. So many points ring true. This list forces me to take a second look at the power of speech.

72. Devanshu Says:
    July 24th, 2006 at 2:43 pm

    @Mike- none of these are necessarily political views. They are things that affects people who spend a lot of time with and thinking about technology- long hand for Geek. I’m sure you disagree with some, or many, of my points- but it is hard to imagine that you disagree with all of them. I don’t expect anyone to agree with all of them- it would imply that geek society had evolved in to a very boring, likeminded suburbia.

73. Bruce Says:
    July 24th, 2006 at 2:48 pm

    N° 28 is a little bit commie/anarchic

74. RCK2 » Blog Archive » Science Addiction » 95 Theses of Geek Activism Says:
    July 24th, 2006 at 2:52 pm

    [...] Science Addiction » 95 Theses of Geek Activism [...]

75. Dana Cline Says:
    July 24th, 2006 at 3:24 pm

    To monitor the continued erosion of our fair use rights, visit http://www.FairUseLaw.com.

76. Tuesday Begins Says:
    July 24th, 2006 at 3:43 pm

    95 Theses of Geek Activism…

    While I do not agree with all 95 of these points; I do believe that they must be heard….

77. Pu EkorB Says:
    July 24th, 2006 at 3:44 pm

    “No one has ever told me where I could play my 45 RPMs. Why are my MP3s any different?” I have no idea what 14 means.

    I strongly disagree with 33; I chose not to support the mp3 format because it isn’t a free standard. And there are too many evil software idea patents hooked into it. I chose to use ogg for my format of choice for audio.

    As for 90 that’s debateable. The databases already exist. And you aren’t going to stop the wealthy persons; or the PI’s or the government from buying data and profiling someone/investigating someone. The only person you can stop is the average person. Which is sad because that’s who it could help most. ie; I hire a nanny…I want to know if she has molested children in her past. Privacy is dead and it’s not going to change, people are making too much money.

78. mat Says:
    July 24th, 2006 at 3:52 pm

    I disagree with #88

    Do not vote for the sake of voting. Vote intelligently. Vote for only the things which you are informed.

79. Terrorpilots » Archivio Blog » Surfing [11] Says:
    July 24th, 2006 at 4:03 pm

    [...] 95 Theses of Geek Activism – Le 95 tesi dell’attivismo geek. Ovvero: come la tecnologia può dare una mano alla libertà. [...]

80. I’m an Evil Genius » Blog Archive » 95 Theses of Geek Activism Says:
    July 24th, 2006 at 4:10 pm

    [...] read more | digg story [...]

81. Reality Distortion ver. 5.1 » Blog Archive » 95 Theses of Geek Activism Says:
    July 24th, 2006 at 4:58 pm

    [...] LINK [...]

82. Anon Says:
    July 24th, 2006 at 5:59 pm

    Point 31 is wrong. Blogging is idiotic and does nothing to help anybody.

83. Devanshu Says:
    July 24th, 2006 at 6:21 pm

    Yes, blogging is so idiotic that you read through 31 points (at least) on a blog post before finding something worth spending the time to make a comment on.

84. Nate Says:
    July 24th, 2006 at 6:30 pm

    TimTheFoolMan Says: If the actions that qualify as “violating the license agreement” also result in loss of revenue, then it may be equivalent to theft.

    Keep in mind that someone had to come up with the concept that copying a file is equivalent to theft. However, this is an unfair comparison. You can’t lose something you never had, and this also applies to “loss of revenue” due to copying. It’s an unmeasurable “what-if” that is constantly misconstrued as being a hard number by many corporations. This deceives many people into believing that corporations are being literally ripped off.

    In fact, what often happens is that companies become more popular due to their software being (illegally but widely) available, and they gain market domination as a side effect. The actual financial impact of piracy is poorly understood, especially over the long term, and especially by companies who have their own agendas.

    Unless you are depriving someone of the same property that you are taking, there should be a better, less ambiguous term for copyright infringement, for example, because the losses of theft and the losses due to copying files cannot be physically compared.

    I do not use copyrighted content for which I do not have a license; however, I completely disagree in principle with the severity of punishment and over the top restrictions with which the law currently deals with copyrights. We can change this for the better, and it is right for us to try.

    I also recommend that anyone who can find an open source alternative to a commercial product should use it. That keeps them within the law and helps to support a good cause instead of supporting proprietary formats and strangling license restrictions.

85. Akkam’s Razor Says:
    July 24th, 2006 at 8:56 pm

    [...] Science Addiction » 95 Theses of Geek Activism (tags: geek activism politics technology privacy security copyright) [...]

86. » Blog Archive » 95 Theses of Geek ActivismLibrarianActivist.org Says:
    July 24th, 2006 at 9:25 pm

    [...] This is all over the web today – I saw it on Boing Boing this morning and Metafilter tonight. That link was cited as being via Digg. [...]

87. A chicken passeth by Says:
    July 24th, 2006 at 9:29 pm

    I hack according to this page’s recommendation, but I can’t call myself a hacker since I use methods that others came up with.

    Up with the geek revolution. >.>

88. Gan’s Weblog » 95 Theses of Geek Activism Says:
    July 24th, 2006 at 11:47 pm

    [...] Link to: Science Addiction » 95 Theses of Geek Activism (via Digg) [...]

89. Fuber.org » Quis custodiet ipsos custodes Says:
    July 25th, 2006 at 2:00 am

    [...] http://www.scienceaddiction.com/2006/07/23/95-theses-of-geek-activism/ [...]

90. Jim C. Says:
    July 25th, 2006 at 2:53 am

    68a. Make sure the quotes are authentic. A posting on a random web page is not reliable. The Franklin quote is uncertain. http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Benjamin_Franklin

    And Jefferson did NOT say “Dissent is the highest form of patriotism”. http://volokh.com/posts/1146554363.shtml
    Note the quote from the Jefferson Library.

91. Sunshocked : Stanifesto » 285 of my favorite Theses Says:
    July 25th, 2006 at 3:30 am

    [...] Finally, I recently discovered the 95 Theses of Geek Activism, posted just a few days ago. It’s slightly different from these other two in that it’s, pardon the clergy-related pun, preaching to the choir. Still, whereas the others are meant to stir up conflict in hopes that a good resolution will come of it, these Theses actually provide some good advice on how to make change. The most confrontational: 73. We do not lock the door to our bedrooms or bathrooms because we have something to hide. We do not secure our networks, conversations, emails and files because we have something to hide. [...]

92. Kapinallisen politiikka » Blog Archive » Uudet 95 teesiä Says:
    July 25th, 2006 at 4:42 am

    [...] Science Addiction -blogin 23.7. kirjoitetussa postauksessa analysoidaan “nörttiaktivismin teesejä” (Yäk, karsastan tuota nörtti-sanaa, ‘aktivismillakin’ on outo kaiku. Miten olisi teknologiaentusiasti ): Geek activism has not taken off yet, but it should. With the gamers recognizing the need for a louder voice, EFF gaining momentum and Linux taking on the mainstream on the one hand and recent severe losses in privacy, freedom of speech and intellectual property rights on the other, now seems to be the best time to rally around the cause. [...]

93. Las 95 Tesis del Activismo Geek » megustaserfriki.es Says:
    July 25th, 2006 at 5:26 am

    [...] A través de la página web de Microsiervos, he encontrado un intenersante recopilatorio de acciones que se pueden llevar a cabo para volver a recuperar nuestra libertad (casi perdida) en la era tecnológica. Technorati Tags: microsiervos [...]

94. Starked SF » Blog Archive » Talk of the Town: Tuesday Says:
    July 25th, 2006 at 6:27 am

    [...] The 95 Theses of Geek Activism, courtesy of Science Addiction. [...]

95. mike Says:
    July 25th, 2006 at 8:46 am

    while i disagree with a few of the points mentioned (GLP, blogging) i do agree with the majority of them

96. mike Says:
    July 25th, 2006 at 8:47 am

    whoops, meant GPL of course

97. maelcum's Cyberpunk Blog Says:
    July 25th, 2006 at 9:17 am

    Who said Cyberpunk is dead?

98. Mek Wito - Was für ein Zirkus… » Blog Archive » Mixed tapes are legal Says:
    July 25th, 2006 at 9:34 am

    [...] We do not lock the door to our bedrooms or bathrooms because we have something to hide. We do not secure our networks, conversations, emails and files because we have something to hide. [...]

99. Starkiller Says:
    July 25th, 2006 at 9:58 am

    Thank a lot for this list, it’s truly inspiring!
    Keep up the good work!

    If there would be a political party that would stand only for, let’s say, 30 of this theses, i would totally vote them!

100. DIO Says:
     July 25th, 2006 at 10:09 am

     Whew, that was quite a read. Took me a while to get to the end, but I suppose it was worth it.

101. bloggen ist krieg ! » Blog Archive » Und wir schlagen Thesen an die Tür Says:
     July 25th, 2006 at 10:19 am

     [...] Auf das es ein Jeder wisse, auf das sie ein Jeder lese, auf das ein Jeder den richtigen Pfad einschlagen werde…oder zumindest so ähnlich: 95 Theses of Geek Activism [...]

102. Vitautas Maleavicius Says:
     July 25th, 2006 at 11:54 am

     These 95 theses are almost anecdotal – many of them are. Say, so. is actually going to study the points you have put out here, what would this education be good for?

     A geek is a geek is a geek, but does this still apply to a set of geeks? You know, Luther was disruptive in what he proposed. OTOH, he was deeply involved in a social structure of his times, uniting some disparate views and actions. But these worthwhile theses of yours are a call to books, to ideas, and to study - not a call to unity. This disturbs me a little.

     Repeatedly, you resort to voting, political voting for power and law. Them to are not sufficient for a topology of a society. Sane voting can bring us somewhere-no doubt—but it is the fabric that counts; stitches give it a form (parliaments do this to nations) and nothing else. And remember: what’s been stitched together, can come apart. No amount of study will prevent this.

     Interesting and mostly inspiring, your individualistic theses cannot render a viable programme behind the first step, which is to get informed. If to participate, and how to participate, is left to the reader. This is a significant omission. Do you plan on issuing your thoughts on the community of geeks, or on the society of ours generally? It might be an interesting and moving experience. I am looking forward to it.

     Yours,
     V.M.

103. Dave M. Says:
     July 25th, 2006 at 12:09 pm

     Excellent stuff. As a liberal and a progressive, I’ve been thinking about this kind of stuff for a long time. Getting internet users thinking about what politics means to them and their geekiness is crucial to maintaining the freedom of the internet and all things digital.

     And I agree that the biggest enemy is the line “If you’re not doing anything wrong, you have nothing to worry about.” This can be used to justify anything that has to do with individuals against authoritarian interests. It is so tempting for good people to give in to it because they aren’t doing anything wrong, but these individuals lack a larger understanding of what it means when you internalize this concept. If you ever, for one second think “I shouldn’t do or say that because someone may be watching or listening”, congratulations, you live under fascism.

104. ChrisR Says:
     July 25th, 2006 at 12:12 pm

     eh, as someone who’s been doing this shit for 20 years and ebing that 95% of my work is necessarily in the public domain I’d have to say this is mostly squishy feels good to say bullshit.

     1) Someone who fucks with shit is not a hacker. They are someone who fucks with shit. Someone who fucks with shit and does it well and really understands the nature of what they are fucking with – thats a hacker. Not all work is equal.

     2) Violating a license agreement can be theft depending on what the license agreement covers. Something to keep in mind is that no one is making the person agree to the terms of the license.

     3) Duh.

     4) Agree completely. However, its important to keep in mind that elected officials are not there to rubber stamp your desires. They are there to actually lead people and as such they will, at times, be obliged to do things the public doesn’t want but is in their best long term interest. The problem we have now is that very few elected officials actually do this.

     5) Agreed.

     6) And someday the earth will just be a burned out cinder orbiting a snowball of a sun.

     7) The 95 theses didn’t change the world. The world had already changed the 95 theses really just highlighted what was happening. Protestantism was, by that point, already underway and had been a growing force for the previous 200+ years.

     TOR is great, unless you care about performance.

     9) There are no perfectly secure computers. However, there are also very very few security protocols that cannot be circumvented by a sufficiently scary person with a pair of garden shears threatening to cut off your toes.

     So forth and such not. Mostly the points are often naive and little more than philsophical sound bites that seem to convey meaning but are actually content free. If you took the time to actually explore the implications behind them, create the framework that supports them, and then determine how to apply them to the really real world then you might have something.

105. Jack Says:
     July 25th, 2006 at 12:21 pm

     This has got to be the most paranoid thing I’ve ever read.

     You guys have way too much time on your hands, and a complete lack of perspective on what really matters in this world.

     No wonder “geeks” come across as condescending. They ARE condescending.

106. Static Interference » Blog Archive » Links From Class Says:
     July 25th, 2006 at 1:02 pm

     [...] http://www.scienceaddiction.com/2006/07/23/95-theses-of-geek-activism/ [...]

107. oswald.us » Blog Archive » Geek Activism - Required Reading Says:
     July 25th, 2006 at 1:07 pm

     [...] You might hate RIAA?  Think the iPod is evil?  Is Open Source the answer to all that’s wrong with the world?  Do you look at how TOR works and think, “Hey wait, terrorists could use this!”?  Do you feel defensive when you explain to co-workers that you encrypt your IM sessions? If you have ever contemplated these kinds of issues, then you really need to get your arms around these: http://www.scienceaddiction.com/2006/07/23/95-theses-of-geek-activism/ [...]

108. Nate Says:
     July 25th, 2006 at 1:16 pm

     I believe someday that there will be a war waged between artists and geeks. The artists will claim they are creating things, making things and the owners of those intellectual properties. The geeks will say that everything should be public domain and open source.

     People will either stop creating things if they’re just to be appropriated by someone else without reimbursement.

109. Ben Says:
     July 25th, 2006 at 1:43 pm

     Number 68 should be amended—Franklin didn’t say that.

     http://www.futureofthebook.com/stories/storyReader605

110. Devanshu Says:
     July 25th, 2006 at 2:00 pm

     @Nate- artists and geeks are on the same side. I am strongly for intellectual property rights and am not for an exclusive adherence to open sourcedness. Walt Disney surely deserved to be reimbursed many times over for his adorable creation, Mickey Mouse. But should the Disney corporation profit from it 80 years later? At what point should it enter the public domain?

     There are many other issues- is it illegal for me to use your artwork in a class report on art? How about your song in a mixed tape for my wife? No one wants to stop an artist from being fairly compensated for their art- but are we letting corporations decide what constitutes fair use? Your point is extremely valid and a fair balance must be achieved- I will probably do an article on where I stand on these issues soon.

111. dave gershner Says:
     July 25th, 2006 at 2:04 pm

     I am a geek and proud of it, in that I publish a site dedicated to helping people relieve back, neck and shoulder pain, as well as arthritis and sciatica discomfort through articles and advice, including information on exercise, yoga and ergonomic products that can make a difference in the life of someone with chronic pain.
     http://backbebetter.blogspot.com

112. 3j Says:
     July 25th, 2006 at 3:04 pm

     In reference to #81, There is no “more important stuff” than being a parent. I suggest “the government can get on with other important stuff”.

113. Devanshu Says:
     July 25th, 2006 at 3:34 pm

     @3j- read #81 again. It says so that parents can be parents and the government can get on with more important stuff.

114. gegenglueck » Blog Archive » Vielleicht mal ein paar gute Nachrichten Says:
     July 25th, 2006 at 5:33 pm

     [...] Auch wenn ich der zehntausendste bin, der diesen Artikel verlinkt, er hat es verdient: 95 Theses of Geek Aktivism geben sich mit nicht weniger als mit dem Anspruch zufrieden, als in ihrer Bedeutung dem Kram vom ollen Luther nachzufolgen. Sicher kann, nein muss und soll man über die ein oder These streiten. Schon weil einiges ziemlich banal ist (oder nur für die USA zutrifft). Aber genau darum geht es, in den Kommentaren es auch schon einges Anmerkungen. Ach ja: Ist in Englisch. [...]

115. Nostalgic Rumblings » 95 Theses of Geek Activism Says:
     July 25th, 2006 at 6:20 pm

     [...] From Science Addiction: 95 Theses of Geek Activism [...]

116. b1ll30 Says:
     July 25th, 2006 at 10:05 pm

     I see that a few have taken issue with #17 “Some corporations are on your side- find them and reward them.” I believe it is true that some are. If we are going to enact change, we are first going to have to change the way we think about things.

     The main crux of the issue is the idea that many people believe if someone is profiting from a transaction, then it is a bad thing. Someone is getting screwed. It does not necessarily need to be so. There are some corporations out there (more accurately, certain visionary leaders in corporations) that are finding ways to create more profitable, environmentally/socially responsible products/services while still turning a profit.

     There are some people out there who really believe in making money while doing something for the betterment of fellow human beings. I’ve met some, and happen to be one.

     Don’t believe me? One area that is a boom for these ideas at the moment is Green Architecture. There are a lot of companies out there who are finding that you can turn a profit and develop new ideas for the future.

     Our future depends on business concepts like these. There are some of these companies out there. They may be hard to see, but they are there. If we bring our 19th century view of capitalism into the new millenium, then I am afraid our environmentally irresponsible policies will be our undoing. If we, however, focus on creating new ideas and business concepts to create a happier, healthier world (which IS possible, given the technology of today) then the human race may just be around to see the next millenium.

117. Steve Taylor Says:
     July 25th, 2006 at 11:38 pm

     Now why would I want to ‘reclaim’ the word hacker? I’ve always been aware of the obsolete positive connotation of the term, but even back in the mid 80s regarded it as a dead usage.

118. + Digitalna oznanila » Blog Archive » digitalna reformacija Says:
     July 26th, 2006 at 12:56 am

     [...] Pol tisočletja po Luthru smo dobili novih petindevetdeset tez, le da so tokrat pribita na internet. [...]

119. Buckley Collum Says:
     July 26th, 2006 at 4:20 am

     5k1ttl3 Says (July 23rd, 2006 at 9:31 pm):

     “Breaking the law because you disagree with the current law is not the way to solve the problem in a democratic society.”
     ...Perhaps not, but then again the US isnt a democracy, no matter how many time they tell us it is. We’re a democratic republic.

     Actually, the US is a Constitution-based federal republic with a strong democratic tradition; this according to CIA Worldbook.
     https://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/us.html

     The difference (from the CIA Worldbook) :
     Democratic republic – a state in which the supreme power rests in the body of citizens entitled to vote for officers and representatives responsible to them.
     Federal republic – a state in which the powers of the central government are restricted and in which the component parts (states, colonies, or provinces) retain a degree of self-government; ultimate sovereign power rests with the voters who chose their governmental representatives.

120. Blog » Blog Archive » links for 2006-07-26 Says:
     July 26th, 2006 at 5:17 am

     [...] Science Addiction » 95 Theses of Geek Activism (tags: toread) [...]

121. Thursday BF Says:
     July 26th, 2006 at 6:08 am

     #2 – does this include violations of the GPL ?

122. Turn on, tune in, drop out » Blog Archive » Die 95 Thesen des Geek Aktivismus Says:
     July 26th, 2006 at 6:43 am

     [...] Link [...]

123. Sandra Pinto Says:
     July 26th, 2006 at 9:57 am

     Now this is simply a fantastic statement. I am from Portugal and we (me and a bunch of friends) are creating an association to adress many of these problems. We are still in the debate stage but this article will surely help us in the process. Good work.

124. Devanshu Says:
     July 26th, 2006 at 11:26 am

     @Sandra, let me know how the process goes and do send a link when you are ready.

125. Landrau Says:
     July 26th, 2006 at 12:15 pm

     I know.. I’ll respond to each one of the 95 points individually

     1) Uh-huh

     2) Mmm, Uh-huh

     3) Yeh, Uh-huh

     4) Mmm mmm

     5) Yeah, Uh-hmm

     6) Mmm ah, uh-huh

     Oh no, wait there… That’s inane

126. Dungeon of the Damned » Geek Activism Says:
     July 26th, 2006 at 5:11 pm

     [...] “The 95 Theses of Geek Activism” and for the most part they’re sound advice. permalink | trackback uri| [...]

127. .~. Says:
     July 26th, 2006 at 6:17 pm

     well done, thanks for putting many of these issues into a handy format. Nice to read for anybody, well put.
     —dot tilde dot

128. Drew Crawford Says:
     July 26th, 2006 at 6:39 pm

     Just wanted to let you know, I wrote up a long rant and criticism / support for your theses. Anyone who wants to hop on and debate me, feel free.

129. July 26th Net Neutrality update and more. - Head-On Headlines Says:
     July 27th, 2006 at 8:48 pm

     [...] So in addition to calling your Congressmen and Senators in Washington D.C. (Toll Free: 888-355-3588, or if you have the dime: 202-224-5852.) You might want to ask your state reps if they have an opinion on Net Neutrality? if they don’t have an opinion, take the oppurtunity to educate them. But before you educate them, educate yourself. [...]

130. The Inside Of My Head » The geek shall inherit Says:
     July 28th, 2006 at 9:54 am

     [...] 95 Theses of Geek Activism. [...]

131. Anagram Says:
     July 28th, 2006 at 10:22 am

     i’ve read some comment as well and i can just repeat what they wrote first.
     just keep the good work, this post can make difference, for instance i’ll look closer at #12, #28.

132. Kyle Farris Says:
     July 28th, 2006 at 3:09 pm

     I now officially feel like a hacker, thank you. Check out my site – it is all about open-ness and helping others out while contributing to the ghettorigging world. I make things out of unusual things.

133. Pour un souffle de liberté Says:
     July 29th, 2006 at 9:19 pm

     Traduction française approximative de « 95 Theses of Geek Activism ». Suggestions, améliorations et corrections bienvenues.

134. Cash Says:
     July 30th, 2006 at 2:59 pm

     And #96, try to have a sense of humor. 2% of scientists have become so shrill about either global warming or creationism that they’re making us all sound like crazy harpies.

135. writingUp Says:
     July 31st, 2006 at 12:28 pm

     Read “95 Theses of Geek Activism” – Politics…

     Today I found what I consider to be an important blog entry for everybody to read.  It deals with all sorts of different freedom expanding ideas to counteract the encroachment on our civil liberties by Big Business and Big Government.
     ...

136. Hello, I Must Be Going » Blog Archives » The 95 Theses of Geek Activism Says:
     July 31st, 2006 at 11:37 pm

     [...] I don’t usually repost things that I find elsewhere on the web in my blog here, but in this case I’m making an exception. I am happily, and in the spirit of the theses themselves, reprinting this from the Science Addiction blog.  I don’t agree with all of them, but they’re all important points. The 95 Theses of Geek Activism: [...]

137. April Says:
     August 1st, 2006 at 2:47 pm

     I love this! The only thing I don’t like the sound of is “spimes” ugh. I think there is a better solution for over industialization and that is not it.

138. bart Says:
     August 3rd, 2006 at 1:41 pm

     Sorry ‘bout the Link to your article. I’ve somehow missed that, fixed

139. newsBreaks.net » 95 Theses of Geek Activism: how to defend freedom with tech Says:
     August 4th, 2006 at 2:01 am

     [...] Link [...]

140. t o b i x . o r g » Archivio » 95 Geek Thesen Says:
     August 6th, 2006 at 4:46 am

     [...] Quelle Geschrieben in bla fasel | nach oben | [...]

141. opolitics » Blog Archive » 95 Theses of Geek Activism Says:
     August 15th, 2006 at 9:27 pm

     [...] A must read: Geek activism has not taken off yet, but it should. With the gamers recognizing the need for a louder voice, EFF gaining momentum and Linux taking on the mainstream on the one hand and recent severe losses in privacy, freedom of speech and intellectual property rights on the other, now seems to be the best time to rally around the cause. [...]

142. efany! » Geek Activism gaining momentum… how can we extend this Says:
     August 20th, 2006 at 4:11 am

     [...] Interesting right? Continue to the full article…   [...]

143. Тут Хумора.NET » Выпуск #257 Says:
     August 21st, 2006 at 5:42 pm

     [...] Выпуск #257 Memory Card Roundup. Относительно свежий отчет о сравнительном тестировании карточек флеш-памяти. В “конкурсе” участвуют 4 карты Compact Flash емкостью 4 гигабайта и 6 SD-карт по 2 гигабайта.Memory cards come in all sorts of formats and capacities but arguably, the most popular types are Secure Digital (SD) and Type I CompactFlash (CF). If you’ve recently bought a digital camera, one of these was probably bundled with your new toy. However, more often than not the capacity of that card is pretty low – 32MB for example – rendering it useless when it comes to storing a decent number of shots and/or movies.95 Theses of Geek Activism. 95 пять заветов для помешанных на компьютерах (да, я все еще испытываю проблемы с переводом термина “geek”). По-моему, автор слишком оптимистично смотрит в будущее, особенно когда говорит об анонимности в сети и прочих правах и свободах.Geek activism has not taken off yet, but it should. With the gamers recognizing the need for a louder voice, EFF gaining momentum and Linux taking on the mainstream on the one hand and recent severe losses in privacy, freedom of speech and intellectual property rights on the other, now seems to be the best time to rally around the cause.The Basics of Photography Photo Gallery by Bill Huber at pbase.com. Оригинальная попытка объяснить основы фотографии с помощью диаграмм, которые лично мне жутко напоминают иллюстрации на уроках физики в школе.What in the world could a teeter-totter have to do with a camera? This will give you a little understanding of the relationship of the Shutter Speed to the Aperture.Ten Cool Summer Cocktails. Рецепты самых популярных коктейлей этого лета по версии журнала Forbes. Лично я спиртные коктейли не очень люблю, но мне очень нравятся их названия: “The Bikini Martini” (джин с персиковым шнапсом и соком лайма), “La Chic Martinique” (водка, ром, сок лайма и сахарный сироп), “Cucumber Mojito Crush” (ром, огурец, лайм, листья мяты, замороженный имбирный эль).Siegal’s take on a cocktail he calls “old and esoteric.” It sounds to me as if it originated in the ’30s or ’40s, when the term “air mail” had an sense of glamour to it. The first sip tastes simple. But hold it in your mouth for a few seconds and a whole host of intense, complex flavors reveal themselves.Working Smarter with Photoshop’s Adjustment Layers. Несколько хитростей по работе с Корректирующими слоями в Adobe Photoshop. Специалисты навряд-ли найдут там что-нибудь новое — речь, как обычно, идет о масках слоев, управлении прозрачностью слоя и о видах Корректирующих слоев. Эх, хоть бы пару слов о режимах смешения — так нет.By now you’re probably wondering how you can create and work with an adjustment layer. And are simple photo fixes all you can do with them? This article will explain how to create adjustment layers and how to use them to edit your images.Ontext. Русскоязычный онлайн-сервис, дающий возможность для быстрой публикации и обмена текстовой информацией. Если честно, я не совсем понимаю, зачем это нужно, когда есть тот-же LiveJournal и иже с ним. Идейно и “интерфейсно” Ontext очень похож на shorttext.com.Сервис ontext.info предлагает удобный механизм публикации в Сети текстовых материалов. Сайт будет удобным в таких случаях:- Создание простейшего блога с rss-каналом- Сохранение больших текстов для последующего просмотра из любого места Сети- Виртуальный “буфер обмена” для текстовых материаловRubber band adapter for Casio QV-Z120. Большим недостатком большинства фотоаппаратов типа “мыльница” является невозможность установки светофильтров на объектив. Но нет ничего невозможного для человека, у которого руки приделаны к нужному месту: изготавливаем переходник для фильтров из пластиковой муфты (если я не ошибаюсь, эта штука изначально используется при соединении труб для полива садовых участков).This 49mm adapter is made from 1.5″ schedule 40 PVC coupling, it is made for a Casio EX-Z120 but should fit similar Casio cameras. [...]

144. blog.teranetworks.de » Geekness++ Says:
     September 11th, 2006 at 9:02 pm

     [...] 95 Theses of Geek Activism “Geeks are not known to be political or highly vocal (outside of our own circles)- this must change if we want things to improve. So here is my list of things people of all shapes, sizes and sides of the debate need to know.” [...]

145. Tech Industry » 95 Theses of Geek Activism Says:
     Se