From: James Higgins (jameshiggins@earthlink.net)
Date: Sat Aug 04 2001 - 17:40:32 MDT
I've got a question for you all about the Sysop scenario. Can individuals
opt out? And if not, why not?
The sysop is supposed to do what you want. So lets say I want out. I want
total freedom (ok, more freedom). Why couldn't the Sysop simply remove you
from its sphere of influence and let you be? At this point the individual
would no longer have any protections from the Sysop, of course. But that
would be by their request. Those that left the Sysop's sphere of influence
would be free to do whatever they choose, as long as they did not try and
disrupt the Sysop's territory.
If there was a guaranteed ability to exit the Sysop's domain at will, I
would be comfortable with this scenario. Without such a mechanism, I think
that this is a horrible idea. It's like putting everyone's eggs into one
huge basket and not giving them any choice about it. What happens if the
basket were to break? Don't tell me that this is not possible, because
anything is possible. This is unnecessarily risking the entire race with a
single point of failure. The amount of work the Sysop needs to do could
consume so much resources that its citizens barely get to crawl mentally
without running out of resources. The sysop could be destroyed by outside
influence (cosmic event, alien SI, etc). The sysop could go horribly wrong
(you never know for certain). At least with an escape mechanism a failure
wouldn't result in the extermination of humanity!
Further, why couldn't individuals come and go from the Sysop's
sphere? Let's say I want to go check out Alpha Centauri. The sysop denies
me this ability because that is outside her control. I leave the Sysop's
domain, travel to Alpha Centarui, do my stuff and then return, reentering
the Sysop's domain.
So, what are your thoughts?
James Higgins
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