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Xugumad · 10-03-2001, 10:50 AM

I am baffled. Utterly and completely baffled.

A few weeks ago, the most vicious and brutal assault on American civilians was committed by terrorists who had only other people's deaths on their minds, simply in order to show the world that their cause was important, and that they would not be ignored.

A barbaric act, despicable and abhorrent in its entirety, from inception to execution.

And now somebody's comparing the writer of an Internet worm with those people. Using the term 'terrorist' to express his hatred for that person, simply because the person's actions inconvenience him greatly.

Make no mistake: I don't think that significant loss of productivity and people's work is just a minor offense. The worm writer was a class A idiot who had no concerns for the work and effort of others, even if he just wanted to expose the weakness and imbecilic design flaws of Microsoft software. But to equate his acts with those of the murderous terrorists is ridiculous - and worse.

By setting a comparatively minor crime on the same level as those of the terrorists, you are attempting to trivialize terrorism. You are equating the deaths of thousands with the death of thousands of MS Word documents and crashed IIS servers. Personally, I find that disgusting.

The fact that the US state department is currently trying to strong-arm laws through Congress that will make many other things 'acts of terrorisms', specifically hacking/cracking attempts that worm writing would apply to as well, is mind-boggling.

Keep things in perspective. The anger at the attacks was justified. The boiling hatred for all things that might appear threatening to the 'Christian' American Way of Life(tm) is not. (Yes, I know this isn't what the initial posting was about) At the same time, keep actual acts of terrorism sharply differentiated from everything that isn't actually a true terrorist act. To bunch lots of criminal acts into one big terrorist definition is foolish at best and lethal to everybody's personal freedoms at worst.

Or, to phrase it much more concisely: It's just a worm, alright?

And finally, I also find it distasteful to shout loudly about wanting to kill people, and being prepared to pull the switch yourself, etc. Possibly because I have religious qualms about killing other people, possibly because my humanist education made me squeamish about wanting to murder others, who knows? It's somewhat understandable in light of the Sep11 events, as this is just human nature - wanting revenge.

However, applying it to the writer of a computer virus? Jesus Christ. If you consider yourself a Christian, think REALLY FUCKING HARD about what you're saying there, friend. And if you're not - it's just a computer virus. Yes, it's REALLY, REALLY annoying. Human life has no price. Your productivity does.

X.

10-03-2001, 10:50 AM	#10
Xugumad Punisher of Good Deeds Join Date: Apr 2001 Posts: 183	Equating a worm writer with 'terrorists' I am baffled. Utterly and completely baffled. A few weeks ago, the most vicious and brutal assault on American civilians was committed by terrorists who had only other people's deaths on their minds, simply in order to show the world that their cause was important, and that they would not be ignored. A barbaric act, despicable and abhorrent in its entirety, from inception to execution. And now somebody's comparing the writer of an Internet worm with those people. Using the term 'terrorist' to express his hatred for that person, simply because the person's actions inconvenience him greatly. Make no mistake: I don't think that significant loss of productivity and people's work is just a minor offense. The worm writer was a class A idiot who had no concerns for the work and effort of others, even if he just wanted to expose the weakness and imbecilic design flaws of Microsoft software. But to equate his acts with those of the murderous terrorists is ridiculous - and worse. By setting a comparatively minor crime on the same level as those of the terrorists, you are attempting to trivialize terrorism. You are equating the deaths of thousands with the death of thousands of MS Word documents and crashed IIS servers. Personally, I find that disgusting. The fact that the US state department is currently trying to strong-arm laws through Congress that will make many other things 'acts of terrorisms', specifically hacking/cracking attempts that worm writing would apply to as well, is mind-boggling. Keep things in perspective. The anger at the attacks was justified. The boiling hatred for all things that might appear threatening to the 'Christian' American Way of Life(tm) is not. (Yes, I know this isn't what the initial posting was about) At the same time, keep actual acts of terrorism sharply differentiated from everything that isn't actually a true terrorist act. To bunch lots of criminal acts into one big terrorist definition is foolish at best and lethal to everybody's personal freedoms at worst. Or, to phrase it much more concisely: It's just a worm, alright? And finally, I also find it distasteful to shout loudly about wanting to kill people, and being prepared to pull the switch yourself, etc. Possibly because I have religious qualms about killing other people, possibly because my humanist education made me squeamish about wanting to murder others, who knows? It's somewhat understandable in light of the Sep11 events, as this is just human nature - wanting revenge. However, applying it to the writer of a computer virus? Jesus Christ. If you consider yourself a Christian, think REALLY FUCKING HARD about what you're saying there, friend. And if you're not - it's just a computer virus. Yes, it's REALLY, REALLY annoying. Human life has no price. Your productivity does. X.