Commentary on Echo

I'd like to join the people saying that I find Echo uncompelling. I had a post ready but I wanted to check something first, so I sent an email to Dave Winer that is probably at least partially responsible for the could somebody else write a spec for RSS 2.0 question on Dave's FAQ. That post covered almost point for point the rest of that FAQ ;-), with a heavy emphasis on the point that Dave is demonstrably not in control of RSS, proven by the very incident that started this whole thing.

Next chapter delayed

The next chapter of the Communication Ethics essay will be delayed; it was a little unfinished and is subsequently getting somewhat re-written, plus I want to sit on it for at least a day and look at it with fresh eyes.

As an example of the types of serendipity I'm experiencing even as I write this, I found a new connection today between this chapter and the eighth chapter, which I think really helps clarify the eighth chapter and make it easier to understand. This, as you might expect, may also delay the eighth chapter as it may need to be somewhat re-written to accomodate this.

Free Tip for Telemarketers

A free tip for all you telemarketers who may be reading this: You do not call the house of privacy advocate and go on about how "you are now in our database" and I can call them anytime about reducing my (non-existant) credit card interest. "You are now in our database" does not sound like a friendly thing to most people; such a phrase affords the question "So how do I get out?" or the question "So how did I get in it?". Even to a non-privacy nut that's gotta sound pretty ominous.