ADV: Spam Spam & E-Mail5/2/2000; 11:16:30 PM Feb 23, 2000: I can't believe it; I just recieved my first spam marked ADV:, in accordence with the new Colorado law. Wow.Of course, it was addressed "Dear Golf Club Express Member" or some such... and I don't do golf, and I've never told anything that I do. *sigh*

Microsoft's ActiveX Too Active? Misc.5/2/2000; 11:14:29 PM Feb 23, 2000: Microsoft says it will fix its ActiveX installation program after a Spanish Web developer discovered that it modifies users' computers without asking for their permission."Why do so many companies think that as soon as you run their installation program, they can do anything they want to your computer? Why does Real Player install 7 icons and take over the treatment of 10-15 file types, without ever asking?

Michigan town votes down library Net filtering Censorship 5/2/2000; 11:13:20 PM Feb 23, 2000: "Unofficial results showed that residents here voted 4,379 to 3,626 against the proposal, which would have cut off funding to the library unless the filters were installed." Wow, cool! I have to admit I fully expected it to pass with flying colors. The town in question is probably the most conservative city in Michigan, providing balance to our Ann Arbor, home of the University of Michigan and everything liberal.

News, Views and a Silicon Valley Diary Privacy from Companies 5/2/2000; 11:10:06 PM Feb 23, 2000: "I've been making it a point lately to test the privacy features of Web sites and other kinds of interactions I have with businesses. I do this both because I want to guard my own privacy, and to collect data for this journal. "The latest news is, I'm not surprised to say, the usual dismal stuff.

Grim Reaper's Age Guesser Humor/Amusing5/2/2000; 11:08:51 PM Feb 23, 2000: via array, via pith and vinegar, via Bradlands.Actually, I'm not terribly impressed. If you examine the weights it gives, then it draws the vast majority of the information from the two tell-tale questions. If I had been less honest about my facial complexion, it would have been horribly, horribly wrong. Derive what you can from that statement. OK, OK, I admit it, I just wanted a "

More Thoughts on ETP as Community Internet/Weblog Culture5/2/2000; 11:07:05 PM Feb 22, 2000: On Deciding... Better: "And there's respect and politeness here. I don't know how we get along without alcohol as social lubricant."I'll take a shot at that. Weblog community-links along which negative energy flows tend to break themselves. Rather then leaving two antagonists in a more conventional community, neither of whom will leave and neither of whom will back down, the link between the two will simply sever.

EditThisPage.com: We ARE a Community Internet/Weblog Culture 5/2/2000; 11:03:17 PM Feb 22, 2000: "Is Edit.This.Page.com a community? Or are we just a collection of individuals--men and women isolated on lonely islands (or weblogs)?" A good wrap up to today's "conversation".

Carpe Diem Commentary Internet/Weblog Culture5/2/2000; 11:01:40 PM Feb 22, 2000: "Jeremy compares the Reality Check experiment with the EditThisPage.com community. That's interesting, but I'm not sure the comparison is valid." I agree... the comparision isn't valid, esp. in the technical sense of the term. Some of the ideas can be applied, though."As a community of webloggers, are we participating in a great dialogue or are we each just engaging in self-gratification with our monologues?

Resurrecting a Dying Art Internet/Weblog Culture5/2/2000; 10:57:47 PM Feb 22, 2000: "In fact, the chaos of the bulletin board and the chat room can have a profoundly negative effect upon the overall quality of conversation, a new study concludes. But when the talk moves into a less freewheeling environment, the level of the debate seems to improve. . . Unlike the dissonant interaction of public bulletin boards and chats, Reality Check tried to create online spaces where the participants have a sense of ownership and belonging.

Dueling Over Digital Music Rights Music & MP3 5/2/2000; 10:56:43 PM Feb. 22, 2000: "With so many applicable laws -- and ambiguities in those laws -- music fans are in a precarious position when they venture into the Net's music scene." Ambiguities always work in favor of those with the $$$.