Archive-name: usenet/freedom-knights/alternate-view
Posting-Frequency: monthly
URL: http://www.cybernothing.org/faqs/davehayes.html


                       DAVE HAYES / FREEDOM KNIGHTS:
                            AN ALTERNATIVE VIEW

Version 1.0 (9604.28)

TABLE OF CONTENTS
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1. Is Dave Hayes for real?
2. Are the "Freedom Knights" for real?
3. Is "True Free Speech" actually possible?
4. What can I do?

1. IS DAVE HAYES FOR REAL?
--=========================-------------------------------------------------

	Yes.  As far as anybody has been able to tell over the years, he
is completely serious. 
	In general, Dave Hayes presents himself as an alternative to the
anti-net-abuse newsadmins in news.admin.net-abuse.* (please see the Net
Abuse FAQ at http://www.cybernothing.org/faqs/net-abuse-faq.html for more
information on those newsgroups and their purpose.)
	This presentation is not at all incorrect.  Dave is striving
towards a vision of Usenet wherein people can say whatever they want,
wherever they want, whenever they want, and nobody can say anything about
it.  He calls this concept "True Free Speech." 
	Most of the other news.admin.net-abuse.* regulars are working on
keeping the current Usenet from becoming more of a mess than it is now.  
It is inarguable that this would impinge on a person's right to True Free 
Speech, if that right had been guranteed to them by all the news 
administrators of Usenet, all over the world.
	If you ask most newsadmins, no such right has been guranteed, or 
even offered, except by Dave Hayes.

2. ARE THE "FREEDOM KNIGHTS" FOR REAL?
--=====================================-------------------------------------

	Dave has written that the "Freedom Knights" are a group of people
fighting for free speech in Usenet.  They're not the only such group; the
Electronic Frontier Foundataion, the Center for Democracy and Technology,
and the Voters Telecommunications Watch are only a few whose goals include
freedom of expression on the entire Internet and Usenet.
	While all of the people who call themselves "Freedom Knights" give
lip sevice to free speech, some of the most prolific of them seem to be
more interested in gaining power for themselves.  They have been known to
post things like "newsadmins are not necessary to the people's usenet," 
which is patently ludicrous because news servers do not run themselves, or
ad-hominem attacks against people who do not take them seriously, such as
accusing UUnet newsadmin David Lawrence of raping children.
	These so-called Freedom Knights have done more to hurt the
credibility of Dave Hayes and his goals than anything else ever could. 

3. IS "TRUE FREE SPEECH" ACTUALLY POSSIBLE?
--==========================================-------------------------------

	It would certainly be nice to think so.  Imagine a Usenet Utopia,
where people politely discuss things of mutual interest, without anybody
to tell them what to do or where to do it. 
	But what happens if somebody starts to be purposefully
destructive, starting long drawn-out arguments and feeding the fires
whenever they see an opprotunity?  This happens all the time on the
current Usenet -- what would cause people to act differently in a
Hayesian, True Free Speech Usenet? 
	How about inconsiderate advertisers, hawking their wares daily in
every newsgroup?  Dave suggests killfiles, which would allow your
newsreader to simply not show you specific types of messages.  But nobody,
not even Dave, has yet been able to come up with a method which will
automatically killfile new problem messages. 
	Hayesian "True Free Speech" is a noble goal.  I honestly wish it
were possible.  But, as with many Utopian dreams, the propensity for
conflict which seems built into the Human psyche would ruin such an
endeavor before it could even get started. 

4. WHAT CAN I DO?
--================---------------------------------------------------------

	Be polite to each other -- remember that there's a human being on
the other end of your conversation.  Make sure that anything you write is
appropriate for the place you're posting it; becoming familiar with
Charters, FAQs, and related documents is a good start. 
	Most of the people who post inappropriately do so because they are
new to Usenet, and don't know any better.  Be constructive in your
criticism.  Give them advice, not flames.
	Strive towards a Usenet of cooperation and understanding.  Only
then can True Free Speech be realized. 

