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Great ideas that fail in reality: free public wifi booths

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  Great ideas that fail in reality: free public wifi booths RS Wood <rsw@therandymon.com> - 2016-09-14 22:02 +0000
    Re: Great ideas that fail in reality: free public wifi booths Marko Rauhamaa <marko@pacujo.net> - 2016-09-15 07:37 +0300
      Re: Great ideas that fail in reality: free public wifi booths Zed <zed@blah.invalid> - 2016-09-15 14:15 +0000
      Re: Great ideas that fail in reality: free public wifi booths maus <mausg@mail.com> - 2016-09-16 12:25 +0000
        Re: Great ideas that fail in reality: free public wifi booths Marko Rauhamaa <marko@pacujo.net> - 2016-09-16 16:32 +0300

#12008 — Great ideas that fail in reality: free public wifi booths

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/15/nyregion/internet-browsers-to-be-disabled-on-new-yorks-free-wi-fi-kiosks.html

Free wifis kiosks sound great in theory, but their abuse is leading to
them being retired.  Instead of people quickly acquiring information,
it turned into a spot for a bunch of bums to watch pornography and
listen to streaming music.

A fitting metaphor for the Internet as a whole?  :)

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#12009

RS Wood <rsw@therandymon.com>:
> Free wifis kiosks sound great in theory, but their abuse is leading to
> them being retired. Instead of people quickly acquiring information,
> it turned into a spot for a bunch of bums to watch pornography and
> listen to streaming music.
>
> A fitting metaphor for the Internet as a whole?  :)

Porn and music are beside the point. The problem is this:

   “These kiosks are often monopolized by individuals creating personal
   spaces for themselves [...]"

Any limited resource offered freely will have the same issue. The
solution is to start charging or start rationing.


Marko

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#12015

On 2016-09-15, Marko Rauhamaa <marko@pacujo.net> wrote:
> RS Wood <rsw@therandymon.com>:
>> Free wifis kiosks sound great in theory, but their abuse is leading to
>> them being retired. Instead of people quickly acquiring information,
>> it turned into a spot for a bunch of bums to watch pornography and
>> listen to streaming music.
>>
>> A fitting metaphor for the Internet as a whole?  :)
>
> Porn and music are beside the point. The problem is this:
>
>    “These kiosks are often monopolized by individuals creating personal
>    spaces for themselves [...]"
>
> Any limited resource offered freely will have the same issue. The
> solution is to start charging or start rationing.

As they say, ration by time or ration by price; when the price is free
there is only one option.

Z

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#12027

On 2016-09-15, Marko Rauhamaa <marko@pacujo.net> wrote:
>
> RS Wood <rsw@therandymon.com>:
>> Free wifis kiosks sound great in theory, but their abuse is leading to
>> them being retired. Instead of people quickly acquiring information,
>> it turned into a spot for a bunch of bums to watch pornography and
>> listen to streaming music.
>>
>> A fitting metaphor for the Internet as a whole?  :)
>
> Porn and music are beside the point. The problem is this:
>
>    “These kiosks are often monopolized by individuals creating personal
>    spaces for themselves [...]"
>
> Any limited resource offered freely will have the same issue. The
> solution is to start charging or start rationing.
>


One of the first failures with Socialism was Free Travel, in Petrograd,
about 1918, it wa warmer than home, so people would get on, and stay on all
day.

-- 
greymaus.ireland.ie
Just_Another_Grumpy_Old_Man

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#12028

maus <mausg@mail.com>:

> On 2016-09-15, Marko Rauhamaa <marko@pacujo.net> wrote:
>> Any limited resource offered freely will have the same issue. The
>> solution is to start charging or start rationing.
>
> One of the first failures with Socialism was Free Travel, in
> Petrograd, about 1918, it wa warmer than home, so people would get on,
> and stay on all day.

A functioning socialism was never implemented in the Soviet Union, but
it is alive and well in the Nordic Countries. In Finland,

 - Schools are free. Entry to higher education is rationed with
   matriculation and entrance exams.

 - Health care is free. Care is prioritized based on medical needs and
   (maybe) a cost/benefit analysis.


Marko

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