I certainly HOPE so.

I am not normally one to say these sorts of things but I'd blow a billy goat, nevermind pay money, to see that.

Is that discussion? What we have here, now, seems to be though. ;)

CHMOD. A password. Those are examples of DRM. They aren't inherently evil. Corporations run by ignorant puss nuggets are potentially inherently evil. You could even say compiling and encrypting apps and not giving the source is a form of DRM. That's all well and good - unless one is an OSS zealot who thinks that all companies must adhere to their view. A topic for another day...

And to use your car analogy? I wouldn't buy it. I'd research it before making that choice. It isn't I who is missing that it isn't inherently bad - it is I who is saying that it is not inherently bad. Perhaps I was not clear enough? I'm not sure. It was early in the morning. The smoke might have been in my eye so to speak.

In this case I was using it as another example of a subject that people go bonkers about. A parallel with Microsoft's security, if you will. In this case we had someone making vague, unsubstantiated, claims about how this was a great thing for malware authors while not actually bringing anything to the table other than vague, unsubstantiated, claims that make no sense with even a cursory look.

That is my guess. I think it may be said in hopes that nobody calls them on it. If they throw enough proverbial poop...

Rant away... Rant away... It is unique to the group. The only other "group" I see that behave similarly are the politically active or political debaters. The thing is that there are some of us that don't want the echo chamber. Sure it feels good but, really, instead of using what is popular among peers or the vocal why not find what works for your style and needs? Why not allow other people the freedom to pick without feeling a need to opine?

I could throw comments (I see some digression coming) out like, "Linux is a failure because of a lack of an acceptable level of consistency in user experience." It may be right - it IS right to some people. As bland and inarticulate as that statement is, however, it remains meaningless no matter how true. (Please, obviously I'm a lover of Linux. I'm a geek. Heck, I even prefer the Mandriva distro.) If I throw in a TLA, a comment about elevated permissions, and generalize about bad security practices then I'm now bashing Windows but still have no point.

They seem more desperate. More full of fear. I'm not sure why? Sometimes I wish I had spent more time paying attention to the soft sciences. I have to wonder if it is because the computer has become more ubiquitous and the level of knowledge has increased in the average user that they fear their once elevated status is in danger? Are they afraid they're no longer kings of their domain as they're no longer required?

I'd love to know. I was there when AOL unleashed the unwashed onto usenet. It will be okay... They (we?) aren't going to lose our mysticism. Instead of going crazy over trivial details that are not the monsters they are creating in their heads - what is it that prevents them from learning, trying, and remaining open-minded?

"Microsoft releases a new mouse/keyboard combination."
"The AGRP interface with the GUI probably requires administration privileges. Yet another malware vector!"
*thread devolves into gibberish*

We get it, we know... We're going to wait until SP1 to deploy it. Broad generalizations concerning fictional problems aren't the solution. The solution is to buckle down, learn it, and slog on. Spreading FUD (unfounded and non-specific are seemingly worse) simply isn't helping.

Is it fear? Is the goal to keep them locked into something that breaks? Something that still means that we're needed? Something that still gives us a reminder of the days when we were gods? Is it just confirmation from like-minded people that is craved? Is it something else? I have had a seething hatred for Microsoft in the past and it was deserved. They got better, I got over it and grew up. It still can't be hip and trendy, can it?

I probably should not have dragged DRM into it. That one irks me and the zealots tend to overlap quite a bit. DRM... You know, CHMOD... You know... The chip in your car key that means only that key works. A few weasel words, some disconnect, and some intellectual dishonesty and we (I am reluctant to include myself in this group but I am a member by default) will justify those things and will find a handy way to ignore the definitions so that we can say that those are okay. We will scream about how it is bad and then yell at people for not requiring a password or some form of authentication!

I guess the point is that I am using those as examples of things that aren't horrific in and of themselves. Throwing blind hate (and unspecific hate which seems was more your angle) at them doesn't help and I don't know why people bother. I had thought you had a deeper insight or goal (perhaps) in mind when I read your questions. I see now you actually either expected an answer or you maybe expected my rant to be a known factor. The two have vast overlaps and, I suspect though I am no expert, a lot of the same reasons. I don't want to know what answer they'll give (unless it is actually an answer based on facts in evidence) so much as I've given up hope for that and simply want to know why they bother posting that screed to begin with.

Make sense? Not so much of a rant really as just a bit of mental bubble gum that I seem to have gotten stuck chewing. Perhaps there is more merit to the term "coward" in their posting than expected? A little bonus, so to speak.

Wow... How long have I been following this now? Insanity... I do get to live through your stories though, well - in some manner of speaking. I don't often envy you but I appreciate your... Hmm... Patience and willingness to stick with the people you have chosen as friends. Had there been a time and place where we could have met in person I'm sure I'd be unworthy to be your friend but I suspect I would have been influenced by it.

I have been a slashdot slacker lately. Wow. Some things never change. I guess, to fit in, I have to hate all things DRM and all things Microsoft. While both may have a history of abuse and causing hardship, neither is inherently evil or bad or even without good qualities.

I am not a fan of either but I am a fan of reality. It is along those same lines that caused me to be a slashdot slacker. Mouth-breathing parrots who cluelessly bash what they can't understand simply to fit in do not make for a good exchange of ideas.

You are more likely to get a better answser and have a higher quality debate on Yahoo! Answers than you are from those types of people. Blind hate is like being a hard assed strict partisan Republican and even this subject requires one to maintain a level of disconnect that actually astonishes me. Otherwise intelligent people devolve into gibbering morons.

I made it this far into the thread...

Use what you like. Learn what you need. If you don't know, don't pretend to. Part of being a member of society means letting people make choices you don't like. Ranting and spreading FUD hinders that and the only reason I can think of to do so would be fear. They don't have aspergers, they're not just assholes, they are just dumb. Think of them like the Tea Party, it helps.

Ah well... I tried to figure out what they meant. I even went digging to see if anyone smart had anything to say on the subject. I think that if they actually had a point then it must mean that I am not smart enough to get it. Boy that sure is some egg on my face.

I am not going to bother to post as an AC. I said it. I own it. I get the goals but, at some point, reality has to play a role. I will even check back to see if they answer you. Who knows? Perhaps a spirited and healthy/logical debate is in the cards.

Too bad. ;) Information wants to be free.

[citation needed]