Net.wars
ISBN 0-8147-3103-1 | | |
Followed by | From Anarchy to Power The Net Comes of Age |
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Net.wars is a
The book received a positive reception, and was described by
Publication history
Prior to the book's publication, the author was recognized in 1996 with an award from the
Contents
The book discusses the changes online citizens saw take place on the Internet during the period in the intervening years between 1993 and 1997.[1][5] Grossman labels the conflict which took place during this time as "boundary disputes".[1] These "boundary disputes" included issues involving privacy, encryption, copyright, censorship, sex, and pornography.[1][11][12] She describes these conflicts as taking place, "along the border between cyberspace and real life".[11] Grossman attributes this conflict to "the Net's convulsions over the years 1993 to 1996, as it tried to assimilate huge numbers of new users who didn't share the culture that had been developing over the previous decade".[5] The author acknowledges that she is a "Netizen", and questions her own objective stance due to this involvement.[1]
Grossman informs the reader that she appreciates "the fact that in this age of polite political correctness there is a place in the world where people feel free to speak their minds, even offensively".[1] She gives an analogy for the reader regarding those who would discuss and comment on the phenomenon of the Internet-based community without prior experience: "Journalists who don't use the Net themselves routinely make such egregious technological and cultural errors that you can only compare the results to what would happen if they were assigned to write about the interstate highway system based on their experiences at sea.... [I]f the police told you that prostitutes routinely and openly solicited truckers and other visitors to roadside rest areas and that therefore they were risky places for families to visit, you would probably believe them and write the story.... At the same time, after a while it's easy to lose perspective and forget that behavior which is common and tolerated on the Net seems shocking to newcomers."[5]
The author states her desire for the Internet to remain an open community, "I would like to see the freedom of the old net.culture survive in the face of the many competing commercial and regulatory interests that might prefer to limit its reach and openness."
Reception
Writing for the
Donna Seaman of
Publishers Weekly reviewed the book and recommended it for multiple types of readers, "Both newbies (newcomers to the Internet) and Netizens (old-timers) will find challenges and rewards in this witty, knowledgeable and timely report from the electronic front."[2] Publishers Weekly wrote positively of the amount of detail included in the book's discussion, "Journalist Grossman covers in considerable depth the battles now raging over the First Amendment rights, security, privacy and general standards of conduct in cyberspace."[2] Library Journal wrote of the success of the author's argumentation, "Grossman sets out to answer questions about the future of the Internet and how it will be regulated. She does a fine job of explaining the issues and the background behind online controversies".[3] Library Journal commented on Grossman's viewpoint, "Her approach is one of informed skepticism".[3]
"Here at last is a sensible, thought-provoking and informative book about the complexity and challenges of the Net. "
Harold Thimbleby of New Scientist gave the book a positive review, writing, "Here at last is a sensible, thought-provoking and informative book about the complexity and challenges of the Net."[4] He compared Grossman's writing to other works on the subject matter, "Most books are too enthusiastic about the technology, too American, too Utopian, too get-rich-quick—or just out of date. In Net.wars we have a good, profoundly challenging book, which rises above parochialism. It is full of insights—as much into bulletin boards as sexual stereotyping, rights to free speech and establishing global copyright."[4] Thimbleby concluded, "Everyone, particularly police, lawyers, teachers, parents and scientists, can usefully read this book and consider what the Net really means for us all."[4]
In a review for Reason, Nick Gillespie described the book as, "a nuanced map to the latest 'place' to inspire grand utopian thinking: the Internet, that ethereal and increasingly important worldwide network of computer networks."[5] Gillespie wrote positively of the author's breadth of knowledge and experience about the subject matter, "An American journalist living in London, Grossman brings a wealth of professional and personal experience to the material—and a clarity of style and analysis that is a welcome relief from both the hyperbolic prose of many Net boosters and the overwrought jeremiads of cyberphobes."[5] His review concluded, "the great virtue of net.wars is its recognition that cyberspace's utopian potential—its ability to enrich existing real communities while creating new, virtual ones—is directly tied to its ability to change, grow, and make itself useful to its inhabitants. In showing how that process works in both historical and cultural terms, Grossman has written an intriguing account of the Internet's partial fulfillment of its seemingly limitless promise."[5]
See also
- Censorship
- Censorship in the United States
- Free content
- Freedom of speech by country
- Freedom of speech in the United States
- Freedom of the press
- International Freedom of Expression Exchange
- WikiLeaks
References
- ^ ISSN 1096-3715.
- ^ a b c d "Net.wars". Publishers Weekly. December 1997. Retrieved 2011-01-26.
- ^ ISSN 0363-0277. Retrieved 2011-01-26.
- ^ ISSN 0262-4079.
- ^ ISSN 0048-6906.
- OCLC 476663198
- OCLC 37451759
- LCCN 97-21214
- OCLC 80536390
- NYU Press. Archived from the originalon 2006-06-15. Retrieved 2011-01-26.
- ^ ISSN 0006-7385. Retrieved 2011-01-26.
- ^ ISSN 0009-4978.
- ^ a b c d "Net.wars". Kirkus Reviews. November 1997. Retrieved 2011-01-26.
- ^ a b "Free for All". The Village Voice. Village Voice Media. January 20, 1998. Retrieved 2011-01-26.
Further reading
Book reviews
- Leonard, Andrew (December 29, 1997). "Net.wars". ISSN 0027-8378.
Related
- Cram, Ian (2006). Contested Words: Legal Restrictions on Freedom of Speech in Liberal Democracies. Ashgate Publishing. ISBN 0-7546-2365-3.
- Curtis, Michael Kent (2000). ISBN 0-8223-2529-2.
- ISBN 0-262-57168-4.
- Krotoszynski, Ronald J. (2009). The First Amendment in Cross-Cultural Perspective: A Comparative Legal Analysis of the Freedom of Speech. NYU Press. ISBN 978-0-8147-4825-1.
- ISBN 978-0-8166-5031-6.
- Nelson, Samuel P. (2005). ISBN 0-8018-8173-0.
External links
- Net.wars, full text of book, at NYU Press
- PelicanCrossing.net, website of author