I support the Electronic Freedom Foundation and others in their opposition to the Communications Decency Act.
Although the first round has been won, we must be vigilant against further attempts to curb our rights. The NSA is trying to squash public access to strong cryptography, the Scientologists and others are continually threatening free discussion, and software patents hamstring the advancement of science. Please link over the the EEF to see more about these and other important topics affecting Netizens today. It all starts with YOU.
In general, I am concerned with the trends and legal standpoint of the Internet, both in US and International arenas. The Net is a totally unique environment that has considerable potential to share knowledge among a widely dispersed group of individuals. As the MCI commercial says, "Communicate Mind to Mind". There are certain inherent pitfalls and dangers inherent in this kind of communication, which many of the Internet zealots seem to overlook in their rush to promote the Net. However, I think the benefits of free communication are far greater than any harm it might cause to anyone.
One of the biggest features (and some say problems) of the Internet is its inherent insecurity. The current systems were built with no mind towards authentication, secure communication, or protection. I'm interested in the possibilities to provide full authentication on a wide-scale basis, though I am less supportive of large scale anonymous systems.
I've been playing and writing for the Advanced Dungeons and Dragons game for over a decade now. I maintain several Net.Books and also have a variety of items of interest to the AD&D crowd. There are several collections of other people's work I maintain and edit, but a great deal of this work is original, so, Check them out!
While I'm generally interested in writing and extending various Role-Playing Games, I'm particularly good at Wargaming, having spent far too much time in Defense Studies. Speaking of which, had I not fallen into computers I most likely would have ended up in the Political Science arena. There are alot of scary subjects in Defense Studies, and some things that not everyone is aware of, though they should be...
Particularly, I'm really interested in international politics and how various governments attempt to export their ideas, cultures, and products in an attempt to dominate others. I'm a particularly interested in the military/political interplay on a global schedule, and (as a general gadget man) find military systems and organizations fascinating.
In general, I love to debate. There's nothing I like better then sitting around with a group of people and talking about some controversy. That's one of the reasons I really like working at the Media Lab - there's a huge number of really bright people from a tremendously varied number of places and backgrounds. The debates around the coffe table here are never dull!
I'm always up for a good debate, but so far haven't found a really good way to do it on-line. All the various forms I normally use for conversation just don't do the old rockin' debate format really well. Oh well; maybe I can write something to fix that...
And of course, here are my bookmarks. They contain alot of random stuff I find interesting and/or useful, especially computer-related resellers, manufacturers, and support. Have a gander!