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1
The Polling Pit / Compulsory clothing
« on: March 03, 2011, 02:23:58 AM »
In situations where air temperature, precipitation, and lack of dangerous potentially airborne particles (sparks, shards, bullets, splashes of boiling hot liquids, etc) are permitting, I would prefer not to wear clothes. However, I find that society at large seems to prefer that I do and doesn't mind preventing me from doing so under penalty of force.
I'm trying to make this poll as uncharged as possible but I'm sure my bias probably shows through anyways. What do you think?
I'm trying to make this poll as uncharged as possible but I'm sure my bias probably shows through anyways. What do you think?
2
General / Uncommissionable Intellectual Property
« on: February 20, 2011, 02:30:38 AM »
I've been working on explicitly developing my property theories and am currently looking at intellectual property.
The short version is "It's not a good, it's a service." This idea seems to combine all the best parts of anti-IP and pro-IP positions.
Satisfies pro-IP arguments:
-The creator gets paid for their work
-The commissioner can decide to keep whatever is developed a secret for their own use if they prefer.
-The commissioner can attempt to charge others for it, though I don't think that would work very well long term, it may be possible in order to attempt to recover some of the costs of commissioning by passing those down to others.
-It would still be fraud to claim that you created something that you did not. If asked, credit would probably still be given to the actual creator in almost all cases.
Satisfies anti-IP arguments:
-Free for anyone that can get their hands on the IP
-No patents
-No copyrights
-No prohibitions of derivative works
-Your mind, you do whatever the hell you want with it.
This would mean radical changes to the way intellectual property is developed, which I'd say are due anyways because of how shitty the intellectual property landscape is at the moment.
I'm looking for any kind of intellectual property that would not be commissionable. So far the nearest I can come up with is invention, but even that is mostly commissionable.
The forms of IP generally seem to be useful tools (software, inventions), self-expression (music, visual and performing art, books), and mass entertainment (movies, videogames, some music). Self-expression will continue with or without pay, but is ironically the most commissionable among these. Mass entertainment I generally consider to be no-big-loss, it may turn out to be an artificial market created by intellectual property law itself, readily consumed, but not particularly economically useful and never used as a factor of production to make something else. We probably wouldn't miss it if it wasn't there anymore, except for couch potatoes, which even couch potatoes don't think is actually healthy for them or in their best long-term interest.
-Music is commissionable. I suspect we would have fewer big names and more variety in style as the commission model will favor smaller composers and performers with smaller markets more tailored to their target audiences, and lower the barrier to entry of making any money as a musical artist, if at the expense of the biggest musical artists.
-Movies probably aren't. I do not consider this a big loss.
-Videogames probably aren't. It would be interesting to see what a collaborative development along open-sourcish lines could create if all attention to videogames was not diverted to major commercial games. Maybe they'd commission some usability experts and make stuff that doesn't suck!
-Software development is commissionable. There is also "Software-as-a-Service" (SaaS) as a strategy for earning income off software development. There are also major movements to keep software free and open by people who believe (and with reason) in open development processes
-Inventions may be commissionable. As an analogy to SaaS above, opening an R&D lab for commissions may be feasible in many situations. I have heard arguments that without intellectual property inventions would take a more open development process where anybody with expertise could collaborate to create something newer and better in many fields, and that designs themselves would become more modular and lower the barrier to entry for designing modular components.
-Nonfiction books can certainly be commissioned.
-Fiction books are generally a form of self-expression. However, they can be commissioned. Even if the commissioned books never got paid for, and the professional authors gulched, there is plenty of good fiction from small authors just looking to express themselves that never gets discovered because big authors take all the attention.
Additionally if anyone has ideas for forms of IP that may be new or unique, I'm certainly open to the idea that my theory is not universally applicable, and to any other suggestions. I mean, somebody else has to have thought of this before and found some reason why it wouldn't work.
The short version is "It's not a good, it's a service." This idea seems to combine all the best parts of anti-IP and pro-IP positions.
Satisfies pro-IP arguments:
-The creator gets paid for their work
-The commissioner can decide to keep whatever is developed a secret for their own use if they prefer.
-The commissioner can attempt to charge others for it, though I don't think that would work very well long term, it may be possible in order to attempt to recover some of the costs of commissioning by passing those down to others.
-It would still be fraud to claim that you created something that you did not. If asked, credit would probably still be given to the actual creator in almost all cases.
Satisfies anti-IP arguments:
-Free for anyone that can get their hands on the IP
-No patents
-No copyrights
-No prohibitions of derivative works
-Your mind, you do whatever the hell you want with it.
This would mean radical changes to the way intellectual property is developed, which I'd say are due anyways because of how shitty the intellectual property landscape is at the moment.
I'm looking for any kind of intellectual property that would not be commissionable. So far the nearest I can come up with is invention, but even that is mostly commissionable.
The forms of IP generally seem to be useful tools (software, inventions), self-expression (music, visual and performing art, books), and mass entertainment (movies, videogames, some music). Self-expression will continue with or without pay, but is ironically the most commissionable among these. Mass entertainment I generally consider to be no-big-loss, it may turn out to be an artificial market created by intellectual property law itself, readily consumed, but not particularly economically useful and never used as a factor of production to make something else. We probably wouldn't miss it if it wasn't there anymore, except for couch potatoes, which even couch potatoes don't think is actually healthy for them or in their best long-term interest.
-Music is commissionable. I suspect we would have fewer big names and more variety in style as the commission model will favor smaller composers and performers with smaller markets more tailored to their target audiences, and lower the barrier to entry of making any money as a musical artist, if at the expense of the biggest musical artists.
-Movies probably aren't. I do not consider this a big loss.
-Videogames probably aren't. It would be interesting to see what a collaborative development along open-sourcish lines could create if all attention to videogames was not diverted to major commercial games. Maybe they'd commission some usability experts and make stuff that doesn't suck!
-Software development is commissionable. There is also "Software-as-a-Service" (SaaS) as a strategy for earning income off software development. There are also major movements to keep software free and open by people who believe (and with reason) in open development processes
-Inventions may be commissionable. As an analogy to SaaS above, opening an R&D lab for commissions may be feasible in many situations. I have heard arguments that without intellectual property inventions would take a more open development process where anybody with expertise could collaborate to create something newer and better in many fields, and that designs themselves would become more modular and lower the barrier to entry for designing modular components.
-Nonfiction books can certainly be commissioned.
-Fiction books are generally a form of self-expression. However, they can be commissioned. Even if the commissioned books never got paid for, and the professional authors gulched, there is plenty of good fiction from small authors just looking to express themselves that never gets discovered because big authors take all the attention.
Additionally if anyone has ideas for forms of IP that may be new or unique, I'm certainly open to the idea that my theory is not universally applicable, and to any other suggestions. I mean, somebody else has to have thought of this before and found some reason why it wouldn't work.
3
General / Request for Comments
« on: February 09, 2011, 03:40:44 AM »
http://ana.rchist.net
I own rchist.net (and arbitrary subdomains like ana.rchist.net, pana.rchist.net, auta.rchist.net, etc) and I made this thing. It's not going to be the front page of the website for forever, I just haven't put things to full use yet.
I was going for something that:
1. is agreeable, inoffensive, and easy to digest
2. uses very simple and clearly-stated ideas
3. is mostly self-evident once stated
4. leaves as much of the thinking for the reader as possible
5. mentions points that I believe are important but which people rarely if ever discuss
I would like comments, suggestions, opinions, and other things of similar general nature. Thank you.
Also if you have the same about ways to use the domain name or if you want a name like pana.rchist.net let me know how you plan to use it and I'll probably let you have it, no charge but I want it to be put to use in support of anarchism by whatever name you want to call it (unless you call it voluntary government).
Thank you.
I own rchist.net (and arbitrary subdomains like ana.rchist.net, pana.rchist.net, auta.rchist.net, etc) and I made this thing. It's not going to be the front page of the website for forever, I just haven't put things to full use yet.
I was going for something that:
1. is agreeable, inoffensive, and easy to digest
2. uses very simple and clearly-stated ideas
3. is mostly self-evident once stated
4. leaves as much of the thinking for the reader as possible
5. mentions points that I believe are important but which people rarely if ever discuss
I would like comments, suggestions, opinions, and other things of similar general nature. Thank you.
Also if you have the same about ways to use the domain name or if you want a name like pana.rchist.net let me know how you plan to use it and I'll probably let you have it, no charge but I want it to be put to use in support of anarchism by whatever name you want to call it (unless you call it voluntary government).
Thank you.
5
The Polling Pit / The Opposite of Freedom
« on: July 31, 2008, 11:42:16 PM »
I'll add options upon request.
Figured I'd ask a question that might get people thinking a little. Actually consider every option and vote for the one that you think is best.
You can change your vote if you want.
Figured I'd ask a question that might get people thinking a little. Actually consider every option and vote for the one that you think is best.
You can change your vote if you want.
6
The Polling Pit / Do you take the national Libertarian Party seriously?
« on: May 02, 2008, 03:15:42 PM »
The LP is a bad, useless joke. Yes? No? Pineapple?
7
The Polling Pit / What's the best way to deal with trolls?
« on: April 24, 2008, 05:20:35 PM »
I personally like trolling trolls. Some of them can be fun to troll, especially the ones that aren't trolling for trolling's sake, which may be unaware of their trolling and thus easily trolled. But I recurse.
What's your preferred solution?
What's your preferred solution?
8
The Polling Pit / Politics vs Antipolitics
« on: February 13, 2008, 07:36:17 PM »
Ron Paul's Revolution is dead. We all know it. To most people, it's the most painfully obvious sign possible that libertarianism has no hope in politics. The best that Libertarian politics had to offer wasn't even a serious contender. To others, it's merely a sign that we should work at a more local level.
IMO we should start at the most local level: The individual. Free yourself. Get those around you to free themselves. I think working at more and more local levels of government will result in failure in the significant races and no results in the winnable races, ultimately a long, time-consuming process that'll eventually lead right back to freeing yourself and helping those around you to do the same. Collectivism is no means to individualism. This is the fatal flaw of Libertarian politics.
But that's just my analysis. Share yours if you like.
(In before MobileDigit tells me I'm wrong.)
IMO we should start at the most local level: The individual. Free yourself. Get those around you to free themselves. I think working at more and more local levels of government will result in failure in the significant races and no results in the winnable races, ultimately a long, time-consuming process that'll eventually lead right back to freeing yourself and helping those around you to do the same. Collectivism is no means to individualism. This is the fatal flaw of Libertarian politics.
But that's just my analysis. Share yours if you like.
(In before MobileDigit tells me I'm wrong.)
9
The Polling Pit / Troll vs Douche
« on: November 24, 2007, 04:05:32 PM »
Rules of the poll: One vote. You can change your vote. You can see the results before voting.
I personally would rather get rid of the douche. Nathyn at least makes intelligent posts once in a while. If it wasn't for his hit-and-run tactic and his overt trollingness, I wouldn't even consider him a troll.
Eric's just a douche. I've found nothing of value whatsoever in anything he's ever typed. I can't say that about Nathyn.
IMO the douche trolls worse than the troll. Your thoughts?
I personally would rather get rid of the douche. Nathyn at least makes intelligent posts once in a while. If it wasn't for his hit-and-run tactic and his overt trollingness, I wouldn't even consider him a troll.
Eric's just a douche. I've found nothing of value whatsoever in anything he's ever typed. I can't say that about Nathyn.
IMO the douche trolls worse than the troll. Your thoughts?
10
The Polling Pit / Atheism: On The Rise?
« on: October 02, 2007, 05:00:10 PM »
In communities centered around atheism, people seem to hold these two contradictory positions at the same time:
1. That atheism is becoming more acceptable as more people turn to freethought over the narrow-mindedness and hostility of the religious
2. That atheism is becoming less acceptable as the church grows louder and louder in it's condemnations of atheism and atheists, and rallies it's troops
Atheist David Mills has said we're on the verge of an atheist revolution, whereas a poster on his forum once tried to convince me that the apparent surge of atheism is "a last gasp, not a new wave". I personally think what we're witnessing is a kind of last gasp of religion, that will eventually subside. As Ghandi says, "First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win." I think religion has started fighting atheism now, and what we're seeing is the product of it's struggles.
To be clear, I don't expect belief in god to go away anytime soon, I mean more a general abandonment of "Big Religion".
Your thoughts?
1. That atheism is becoming more acceptable as more people turn to freethought over the narrow-mindedness and hostility of the religious
2. That atheism is becoming less acceptable as the church grows louder and louder in it's condemnations of atheism and atheists, and rallies it's troops
Atheist David Mills has said we're on the verge of an atheist revolution, whereas a poster on his forum once tried to convince me that the apparent surge of atheism is "a last gasp, not a new wave". I personally think what we're witnessing is a kind of last gasp of religion, that will eventually subside. As Ghandi says, "First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win." I think religion has started fighting atheism now, and what we're seeing is the product of it's struggles.
To be clear, I don't expect belief in god to go away anytime soon, I mean more a general abandonment of "Big Religion".
Your thoughts?
11
The Polling Pit / Which of these do you think looks better? See first post.
« on: September 21, 2007, 11:36:16 PM »
These are two signatures that two of my friends made. They're both kinda into graphics, but they're arguing about whose is better, both going to the graphics forums they frequent to get their friends' opinions and argue with each other over their friends opinions.
This seems like a pretty neutral forum though, with no specific style prefences and no dog in the fight, so I ask your unbiased opinion.
The forum these were posted on has a dark background, so consider viewing these against a dark background (helios theme).
If you like the first image better, vote for "Zevered", if you like the second image better, vote for "Buck".
This seems like a pretty neutral forum though, with no specific style prefences and no dog in the fight, so I ask your unbiased opinion.
The forum these were posted on has a dark background, so consider viewing these against a dark background (helios theme).
If you like the first image better, vote for "Zevered", if you like the second image better, vote for "Buck".
12
The Polling Pit / Worst Government Programs
« on: August 12, 2007, 11:29:00 PM »
Taxation isn't an option because I think everyone would vote for that if they could, and it's not what I want to know.
I've been reading and listening to stuff by John Taylor Gatto, a multi-teacher-of-the-year award winner for NYC, and teacher-of-the-year for NY State. He wrote "The Six Lesson Schoolteacher", and I recently found more of his stuff on this page. I am now thoroughly convinced that the public schools are the most destructive government program ever. Worse than a standing military and interventionism and purpetual war. Worse than the Federal Reserve.
What do you think? Poll is set so you can change your vote.
I've been reading and listening to stuff by John Taylor Gatto, a multi-teacher-of-the-year award winner for NYC, and teacher-of-the-year for NY State. He wrote "The Six Lesson Schoolteacher", and I recently found more of his stuff on this page. I am now thoroughly convinced that the public schools are the most destructive government program ever. Worse than a standing military and interventionism and purpetual war. Worse than the Federal Reserve.
What do you think? Poll is set so you can change your vote.
14
The Polling Pit / Libertarian Socialism vs State Capitalism
« on: June 21, 2007, 05:12:17 PM »
Assume that both of them are possible and will work. You can flip a switch and the whole world will instantly begin operating under one system or the other. This is not a poll asking what you advocate, but what you think is less bad between these two options only. Anyone saying "give me a third option" will be ignored. Anyone saying that "State Capitalism" or "Libertarian Socialism" are contradictions will be ignored. Do not say "Libertarian Capitalism". That is not an option.
Libertarian Socialism: 100% voluntary, but full of evils like people sharing and forming cooperatives and communes rather than being selfish and forming corporations and businesses. Nobody will ever rob you at gunpoint or take something that they see you using, but if you are too selfish you'll be ostracized like a pedo.
State Capitalism: 50% voluntary, more or less what we have now in the US. Heavy taxation, heavy regulation, corporate-favoritist welfare-warfare state. You'll pay taxes, have property confiscated for stupid reasons, get kicked off your land, and told at gunpoint to throw down anything dangerous you may be carrying.
Which is better in your eyes? Or maybe, which is the "lesser of two evils"?
Libertarian Socialism: 100% voluntary, but full of evils like people sharing and forming cooperatives and communes rather than being selfish and forming corporations and businesses. Nobody will ever rob you at gunpoint or take something that they see you using, but if you are too selfish you'll be ostracized like a pedo.
State Capitalism: 50% voluntary, more or less what we have now in the US. Heavy taxation, heavy regulation, corporate-favoritist welfare-warfare state. You'll pay taxes, have property confiscated for stupid reasons, get kicked off your land, and told at gunpoint to throw down anything dangerous you may be carrying.
Which is better in your eyes? Or maybe, which is the "lesser of two evils"?
15
The Polling Pit / Name this idea: No state, free market
« on: May 07, 2007, 12:13:37 PM »
If you want another result, don't vote, ask for it, and I'll add it.
This deserves a fresh start.
My personal input on the topic:
Market anarchism is the best term because it includes all potential systems that could result.
Anarchy, while it doesn't mean chaos, certainly doesn't explicitly exclude it, and is too closely attatched to TV-friendly anarchists.
Anarchocapitalism implies a certain vision of the post-state world that are not necessarily results of a stateless free market.
Free-marketeerism isn't very well used, and as far as I know Ian invented it, and nobody outside FTL really uses it much.
Acracy and Panarchy are not self-explanatory like many of the other potential words are.
FOCJ (Functional Overlapping Competing Jurisdictions) also implies a certain post-state vision that might not appear.
Mutualism's "anti-capitalism" rhetoric earns it a bad name. Avoid this term unless you want to be specific.
Market anarchism is self explanatory, implies no predictions of the structure of post-state society, so this is my pick even though I'm an agorist.
Self-government is also self-explanatory, implies no predictions of the structure of post-state society, another one I really like.
Agorism is too specific, once again, implies yet another vision of post-state society.
Ancom and ansyn included just because I've found ancoms and ansyms that advocate market anarchism in practice, if not in theory.
This deserves a fresh start.
My personal input on the topic:
Market anarchism is the best term because it includes all potential systems that could result.
Anarchy, while it doesn't mean chaos, certainly doesn't explicitly exclude it, and is too closely attatched to TV-friendly anarchists.
Anarchocapitalism implies a certain vision of the post-state world that are not necessarily results of a stateless free market.
Free-marketeerism isn't very well used, and as far as I know Ian invented it, and nobody outside FTL really uses it much.
Acracy and Panarchy are not self-explanatory like many of the other potential words are.
FOCJ (Functional Overlapping Competing Jurisdictions) also implies a certain post-state vision that might not appear.
Mutualism's "anti-capitalism" rhetoric earns it a bad name. Avoid this term unless you want to be specific.
Market anarchism is self explanatory, implies no predictions of the structure of post-state society, so this is my pick even though I'm an agorist.
Self-government is also self-explanatory, implies no predictions of the structure of post-state society, another one I really like.
Agorism is too specific, once again, implies yet another vision of post-state society.
Ancom and ansyn included just because I've found ancoms and ansyms that advocate market anarchism in practice, if not in theory.
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