Re: Renesys on 'Internet Vigilantism'

[Nick FitzGerald <nick () virus-l demon co uk>]

Rich Kulawiec to me:

> > I'm not so sure why (some) folks are upset by the idea of "regulating" 
> > the Internet via "vigilantism".
>
> Because either (a) they don't their history or (b) they're concerned
> that they're going to be next.
<<snip much good stuff I entirely agree with>>

Ahhh, yes -- it was rather rhetorical, I thought...

> Now, in re the term "vigilante": I'll assert that it's impossible for
> any defensive measure to be any kind of "vigilantism".  If I refuse
> email, or packets, that's not vigilantism -- it's merely self-defense,
> or to put it another way, the end of active cooperation with abuse and
> the beginning of passive resistance.
>
> We need to smack down -- hard -- anyone using this term in re actions
> like the recent cutoff of Atrivo.  Nobody did anything *to* them, it's
> just that folks stopped doing things *for* them. 

Again, I agree with you entirely and would note that I scare-quoted 
"vigilante" in its various forms in every usage in my message.  That was 
because I agree that what we just saw was _not_ vigilantism as it is 
classically defined.

You, however, did a much better job of explaining why.  It was not a 
posse of self-appointed judge, jury and executioner-types riding out into 
the wilderness to hunt down and string up an alleged scum bag, but rather 
a well-publicized case of more or less coordinated withdrawal of 
cooperation.

By definition a vigilante is someone who "takes the law into their own 
hands", usually with a strong connotation of "with the intention of 
seeing ('real') justice done".  I seriously doubt that any of those 
involved in the recent Intercage/Atrivo machinations believe that Emil 
and his cronies have even begun to experience a just result for the ills 
they have either directly wrought or knowingly enabled over the years...


Regards,

Nick FitzGerald


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