[CWN-Summit] Trust is good - control is better

[Paul Fuxjäger]

hi all,

recently came across this blogpost and thought it might make sense to point
to it on the list: 

http://interfax.werebuild.eu/2011/02/02/low-tech-and-the-revolution-or-how-a
-video-of-an-egyptian-girl-forced-us-into-technology-of-the-90s/

"If they strike, we don¹t know where they will. In Egypt they killed the
internet somewhere on Layer 2 or 3. This was a low blow actually. Anything
above that would have made way less problems. It was bad. But there are
worse things politics can do to the internets. Tanks can actually kill a
wire. Like physically kill. And no routing wizardry will help you there.
Data will not flow any more. It is like nuking the entire site from orbit.

We need a backup Layer 1. A backup Layer 1 which can not be destroyed,
censored, overtaken or indeed controlled at all by those who do not want
data to be free. Most approachs till now do not really work. We have to be
creative and find new ways beside the old and known patterns.

We need people to operate such a network. We need to have delicious cake in
it, otherwise most people can¹t be bothered to operate it. Or we need long
distance techs. Better however to get many people on it, otherwise it¹s too
easy to kill and not enough people get the data from it."



The relevance of community networks in this context is not a new thought,
one commenter even points directly to guifi etc. But the text summarizes it
well, doesn't it? Let's add a refined scope of "where innovation is needed":

- layer 1 & 2 = freeing it spectrum-wise and make it efficient
cooperative-communication-wise on the medium-access so that we are not as
dependent on point-to-point links and installation of directive antennas on
roofs etc 
- parts of application-layer (distribute the DNS and the OSN platforms
themselves).
- layer 8: come up with "the delicious cake" so that it flourishes and grows
fast 

The remaining parts of the stack are more or less fine as they are, aren't
they? 


paul