From: coyo@darkdna.net   
      
   On 1/8/2015 8:31 AM, §ñühwö£f wrote:   
   > Facebook and twitter killed usenet.   
      
   I refuse to let this be.   
      
   Facebook and Twitter are, like, the complete opposite of Usenet in terms   
   of freedom and liberty.   
      
   Facebook and Twitter both are notorious and proven beyond a reasonable   
   doubt to abuse their users, censor vitally important information,   
   manipulate their userbase, and violate privacy.   
      
   With a few enhancements, Usenet could be one of the most vitally   
   important fora to discuss matters of great import, such as policy, civil   
   matters, diplomacy, things citizens are supposed to discuss.   
      
   In a (true) republic or (true, direct) democracy, people are supposed to   
   engage in discourse as citizens, and collectively decide policy.   
      
   Granted, most people are very uneducated, but that can change if people   
   give them a bloody chance.   
      
   Public discourse on policy, proposals, and current events is vitally   
   critically important for a healthy modern society.   
      
   The who reason for things like freedom of speech and freedom of the   
   press to exist is to involve the citizenry in policymaking.   
      
   Does any of this make sense?   
      
   At least in my opinion, Usenet (derived from "User's Network") is the   
   ideal system and network for public discourse.   
      
   Some enhancements I'd personally suggest would be a switch from NNTP to   
   a binary protocol that permitted inband binary file transmission, a more   
   database-friendly serialization format, blockchain-based decentralized   
   moderation, layers of NaCl, OTR, GPG and NNS cryptography in binary form   
   (no ASCII armour or binary-to-text conversion) so that discourse can be   
   conducted only with groups of individuals in which you share common   
   interests or trust.   
      
   Granulated trust is important. Some things are questionable either   
   legally or socially, but MUST be openly discussed with others of your   
   kind, to determine the best course of action, given the circumstances. A   
   decentralized and/or distributed system of discourse can give a viable   
   alternative to a highly bloody and violent revolution.   
      
   Reforming and changing the system from the inside SHOULD be an option.   
   Without a nuanced and capable censorship-resistant and   
   privacy-protecting platform of discourse, such reform will not be possible.   
      
   Facebook and Twitter are NOT that platform. Usenet is our best bet.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)