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Free Speech and SETI@home
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Author | Message |
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Eric Korpela Send message Joined: 3 Apr 99 Posts: 1382 Credit: 54,506,847 RAC: 60 |
Once again I need to explain our policies on free speech, as I've been getting lots of nastygrams both here and on twitter and facebook. First, let me explain our relationship to the UC Berkeley administration. Despite the fact that I met with the Chancellor once for about 15 seconds, the UC administration neither knows nor cares that SETI@home exists. Threats of quitting SETI@home or withholding donations will be about as effective as kicking a stray dog because you don't like something the dog catcher did. They won't notice. They don't care. They get no direct benefit from SETI@home, so here will be no effect on them, or the on University. We could shut off our servers tomorrow, and nobody in Sproul Hall would notice a thing. So here are our project commandments on free speech. 0. Thine speech is free as in freedom, not free as in beer. 1. Thou mayst speak thine mind. 2. Thou shalt do so in the appropriate forum. 3. Thou shalt recognize that speech has consequences to thine self and to others, some legal, some financial, some painful. 4. Thou shalt not force others to pay for the delivery of or the consequences of speech they may not agree with. 5. On public SETI@home forums, thou shalt use language a parent would not mind their 12 year old hearing. 6. Failure to obey the forum rules will result in moderator action. If thou dost not understand, see thou commandment 4. In other words, if you want to be heard on the current controversy, try the Politics forum. Then use twitter, facebook, instagram and whatever social media you want. SETI@home in general and me in particular have no power to effect change of any sort. It sounds like there's still going to be a riot in Berkeley tomorrow because a group of white supremacists and a group of left wing anarchists are ignoring commandments 2, 3, and 4. The people of Berkeley and the people of California will be picking up the tab for their "freedom of speech" whether they want to or not. And personally, I think that's what's been missing from the whole discussion. @SETIEric@qoto.org (Mastodon) |
Ozmoses Send message Joined: 9 Jun 03 Posts: 20 Credit: 31,926,513 RAC: 4 |
Eric, I love your passion for SETI. I also love the way you manage these threads. Sometimes, you can be subtle and use obscure language. Sometimes you have to spell it out unequivocally. Well said!! I could add to your comments, the bad-mouthers comments really only affect those directly affected (Ie USA and North America). So all those SETI Denizens in the rest of the world see their comments generally as pointless and ineffectual. Keep up the good work, Chris |
JTS999 Send message Joined: 27 Aug 15 Posts: 2 Credit: 3,783,929 RAC: 4 |
+1 Chris - is everybody getting enough sleep over there...? :| ps. "... or on the University..." |
Mithotar Send message Joined: 11 Apr 01 Posts: 88 Credit: 66,037,385 RAC: 50 |
Thanks for posting this Eric. It really needed to be said. I look from afar at Berkeley and wonder what planet some of the folks there are from - being from almost as far away physically as possible and still be in the US (about 22 miles from the Atlantic Ocean) and most likely an equal distance politically as well. In my view - Seti is far more important than any political position - political party or politician. I shake my head at both sides of the brouhaha and wonder where simple civility (and common sense) has wandered off to.....but I'm still all in for Seti. So thank you for saying what needed to be said.............from those of us who crunch for the simple goal of answering the 1 question we all want to know - "Are we all alone in the Universe?" |
molestedbyasus Send message Joined: 3 Jun 00 Posts: 2 Credit: 13,383,882 RAC: 132 |
Perhaps part of why we are all searching for the Electronic Thumb! Be upset but don't let it get you down, as those before me stated; it is not the entire world that are misbehaving in that particular way. Jeremy |
DEEJAY2000 Send message Joined: 9 Nov 00 Posts: 4 Credit: 2,851,355 RAC: 0 |
很多人并ä¸è§‰å¾—è‡ªå·±é‚£äº›æ— æ„义的è¯è¯ä¼šäº§ç”Ÿâ€œè´è¶æ•ˆåº”â€ã€‚ 好的科å¦æŠ€æœ¯ä¸åº”该被政治和自ç§æ‰€å½±å“ï¼ |
tullio Send message Joined: 9 Apr 04 Posts: 8797 Credit: 2,930,782 RAC: 1 |
As an Italian I am keeping away from discussing American politics. I receive regularly the Berkeley online newsletter and I am amazed that it never mentions SETI@home. When I was working for Honeywell-Bull I had used the UNIX Berkeley Software Distribution, so Berkeley was a familiar name to me. Tullio |
Raistmer Send message Joined: 16 Jun 01 Posts: 6325 Credit: 106,370,077 RAC: 121 |
There are different traditions in "free speech" define. Currently too many understand "free speech" as "I can say whatever I want and there should be no consequencies for that". That's ultimately ill approach to free speech that makes any communication non-valuable. Cause in the world where anyone says anything truth and lies indistinguable. Real free speech always means responsibility for what was said. Of course it requires some self-esteem also. SETI apps news We're not gonna fight them. We're gonna transcend them. |
JTS999 Send message Joined: 27 Aug 15 Posts: 2 Credit: 3,783,929 RAC: 4 |
sry - had to google what you said: 很多人并ä¸è§‰å¾—è‡ªå·±é‚£äº›æ— æ„义的è¯è¯ä¼šäº§ç”Ÿâ€œè´è¶æ•ˆåº”â€ã€‚ 好的科å¦æŠ€æœ¯ä¸åº”该被政治和自ç§æ‰€å½±å“ï¼ = "Many people do not feel that their meaningless words will produce "butterfly effect". Good science and technology should not be influenced by politics and selfishness!" |
tazzduke Send message Joined: 15 Sep 07 Posts: 190 Credit: 28,269,068 RAC: 5 |
+1 on this post Eric. Regards Mark |
Bernard Send message Joined: 11 Apr 12 Posts: 20 Credit: 1,801,975 RAC: 0 |
What's going on? I can't understand from France. |
Grant (SSSF) Send message Joined: 19 Aug 99 Posts: 13841 Credit: 208,696,464 RAC: 304 |
What's going on? I can't understand from France. Nutters from the Left and nutters from the Right are using Berkeley for their protests/riots. Apparently other nutters feel that the University should do something about it or they will stop crunching Seti work. All too silly for words really. Grant Darwin NT |
Stuart Send message Joined: 8 Feb 04 Posts: 13 Credit: 42,350,948 RAC: 6 |
My my, this kinda stuff is everywhere, no escaping it, not even here, who woulda thought. Keep crunchin' S. |
rswallow Send message Joined: 15 Jan 00 Posts: 2 Credit: 941,065 RAC: 1 |
The issue of free speech is an important one. Berkeley needs to deal with it in a proper manner, not try to sweep it under the rug. SETI should not be involved. The moderator's views about paying for free speech are out of line. |
Sir Thomas W. Kilburn Send message Joined: 5 Apr 15 Posts: 4 Credit: 650,146 RAC: 0 |
i do not know why people want to riot. if certain groups are ignored then they will stop having their little tantrums. i would like to be able to donate funds to seti but my 500 dollar social security check does not go very far. all i can do is to process data. burkley is not one of my favorite memories. all the people protesting us coming back from vietnam alive. many things about this country can be made better but the want of one can rule the lives of many. what would be done back in the days of "the little house on the prairie". |
John Robert Mallernee, KB3KWS Send message Joined: 4 Jul 06 Posts: 38 Credit: 2,097,633 RAC: 2 |
I frequently send e-mails and/or post in various Internet forums, including my own personal blog, bragging about the numerous scientific research projects, including the Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence, that my computer is being used for by the Berkeley Open Infrastructure for Network Computing, and urging them to also participate. As an elderly disabled veteran of the war in the old Republic of Viet Nam, I already have encountered occasional reluctance from some of my fellow veterans, who, like myself, also have bad memories of the violent war protesters at the University of California at Berkeley. And now, we have this! This is very embarrassing for everybody connected with S.E.T.I. and B.O.I.N.C. Anyway, in spite of it all, I'll continue my own participation in these invaluable scientific research projects, and try to encourage others to also do so. Oh, and by the way, I also frequently use my e-mail and the assorted Internet forums to express my own personal unpopular and controversial opinions on a variety of subjects, but that is always separate from any of my communications regarding S.E.T.I. or B.O.I.N.C. John Robert Mallernee Ashley Valley Shadows Vernal, Utah 84078 |
Joshua Nicoll Send message Joined: 23 Apr 16 Posts: 15 Credit: 5,257,578 RAC: 0 |
I'm seriously disappointed to see people taking it out on what is a very loosely related project, I'd say Berkeley is just the HQ for SETI@home, it's more of a NASA/ESA thing since that is what SETI is. Politics doesn't belong in science. Even my personal views of these lunatics doesn't matter (although I try to be centre, I'm starting to move a little more right to remain impartial) It is completely unacceptable to personally attack someone for something they aren't even involved in. |
Ken Send message Joined: 17 Feb 17 Posts: 1 Credit: 1,515,270 RAC: 0 |
Personally I don't give a monkeys about the politics surrounding Berkely or anywhere else for that matter. I joined Seti@home to try and help you hear that message from ET just in case he, she or even it, is trying to get in touch. I only joined in February of this year after watching UFO programs on the TV which mentioned the Seti@home project and I thought I would like to try and help. I haven't even set up a full profile yet or joined any groups and this is my very first forum post. I don't do social media not Twitter not Instagram or even Facebook. I'm here purely and simply to try and help the Seti@home project in my own small little way. |
Phil Send message Joined: 9 Mar 10 Posts: 1 Credit: 641,950 RAC: 0 |
Dear Eric, I hope this finds you well. Having been a member of the SETI community for the last 7 years I must admit this is a sad day. My friend, you lost me the moment you had to say " It is the fault of White supremacists! " Well, as a University at Buffalo science grad and an RN here in NYS all I can say is " Good Bye SETI !" I am not a "White Supremacist," that said, Berkley can kiss my ass. When you and your ilk move to a good "Community College" and stop supporting the lunatic fringe perhaps I will return. Until then, have a ball having your Black Mask freaks whom you support do all your data crunching. Phil. |
Gary Charpentier Send message Joined: 25 Dec 00 Posts: 30967 Credit: 53,134,872 RAC: 32 |
So sad that these idiot white supremacists, who aren't associated with Berkeley and the anarchists, who aren't associated with Berkeley, have picked the university grounds to incite their riot. Then all the others who are so far removed who think that both of these nutcase groups are somehow associated with Berkeley and all the damn fallout it forces upon the institution. I'd hate to see it, but the regents may have to close the UC system to outsiders because they refuse to respect common decency. |
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