ISPs, Newsgroups, etc. ...OH MY!!!

[Jeffrey Watts]

On Mon, Jun 30, 2008 at 1:36 AM, Leo Mauler <webgiant at yahoo.com> wrote:
>
> Ummm, Usenet is still around and has been for the "8 years" Jeffrey claims its been "irrelevant".  If it had been "retired" then we wouldn't have started this discussion in the first place.

Well, if you recall the original post, it was about the fact that some
major ISPs are dropping News.  Some (like you) are railing against The
Man That's Keeping Blind People Down, while others (like myself) are
pointing out that this is the beginning of the end, and that the real
reason is that it's bad tech (because it's too expensive).

> I'm almost surprised you didn't go the logical extension of all that and suggest that once a person turns blind they should simply be taken out back and SHOT.

It's not a logical extension.  In fact, what you just said is
extremely illogical and hyperbolic, and has no place in a reasoned
debate.  Reductio ad absurdum.

> The entire world isn't obligated to stop in its tracks to help the blind use technology, but it is certainly enlightened self-interest as blindness is something you can "catch" or "receive" as life goes on.  I find it humorous that you are betting that you will NEVER be blind.

Please get off your high horse.  You're lowering the quality of this
discussion.  Your entire argument is a red herring.  You've made the
point that News is blind-friendly, and that retiring it may have
impact to the blind.  Others have pointed out that there are
alternatives on the web.  Claiming that these alternatives aren't
_good enough_ for you is a red herring, and is not germane to the
discussion.  Please move on.

> And if the message board is WRITTEN in Flash, or as is more common uses scripting to perform basic functions?  Shutting off Flash or scripting often shuts off the message board.

So, let me get this straight.  You're saying that blind communities
will write message boards for the blind in Flash?  Somehow I think
that the blind community is smart enough to figure out how to NOT use
a technology that doesn't work for them.

Anyhow,

> Again with the flawed comparisons.  If all you're doing is E-mail and text-based stuff, broadband is a WASTE.  Its like buying in bulk: buying 12 pounds of of strawberries and then eating four while the rest rot is wasting money, no matter how much cheaper the price per pound is at bulk rates.

Don't buy it then.  Don't install Flash in your browser.  Use a
message board that has RSS feeds (or other such method to make it more
friendly for the blind).  Tell your blind friends to go there.
Problem solved.

Anyhow, as I've stated many times before, USENET News is no longer a
good technology.  I've given some broad reasons why.  Please feel free
to debate those with me or ask for clarification, but please stop with
the hyperbole.  This issue really doesn't have much to do with the
blind.  There are much larger forces at play.

Jeffrey.

-- 

"He that would make his own liberty secure must guard even his enemy
from oppression; for if he violates this duty he establishes a
precedent that will reach to himself." -- Thomas Paine