*************************************************************************** ==Phrack Magazine== Volume Four, Issue Forty-Four, File 2a of 27 Editorial **************************************************************************** This is going to piss people off, but hell, that's the point of having an editorial, eh? This issue I'd like to address something running rampant in our community: HYPOCRACY. I never really paid much attention to it, until the "Hacking At The End Of The Universe" conference in Amsterdam. The phrase "Information Wants to be Free," almost cliche by now, was heard screaming from nearly every speaker's mouth. It underlie in the tone of the whole proceedings. Everyone was either bitching about how this should be free, or that should be available, or it shouldn't be illegal to do some particular act, or they were fervently offering their support of these ideals. Granted, Holland has a notoriously permissive and open society; and indeed, Europe in general is far more laid back than the States, but even many in the US hold these ideals close to heart. One of the first things that pissed me off was the hundred guilder entrance fee. That's fifty dollars! Just to get in. On top of that one had to pay for a tent, sleeping bag, mattress and food. I have no problems with paying a fee, but this was Hack-Tic charging. One of the biggest proponents of "Information Wants to be Free!" Obviously YOUR information wants to be free, but theirs costs a hundred guilders. Even more shocking was the fact that nearly every session involving some kind of "technology" was geared around a Hack-Tic product: the Demon Dialer (tm), their POCSAG demodulator, their forthcoming spread spectrum lan adapter, or the magazine itself. Were these free? Were the information behind their design provided so would-be technoweenies could run right home and break out the soldering iron? Fuck no. Again, Hack-Tic's information is valuable, and YOU must PAY for the luxury of viewing it. Unlike XYZ Corporation's information, whose R & D or Financials (which might bring someone a hefty "finder's fee") so desperately wants to be free of its magnetic bonds and spread all the way to YOUR hard drive. I don't want to rag on Hack-Tic too much. I mean, throwing a conference costs a shitload of money, and I have a GREAT deal of respect for them for actually pulling off something so monumental. I just want to put things in perspective. The major cons in America (HoHo, Scon) really don't charge. They "ask" for donations. Sure, you might get a nasty look if you don't cough up five or ten bucks, but hell, everyone does. They WANT to. A good time is worth a handfull of change. And there isn't some awesome requirement just to get in the damn door. Besides, losses can always be made up by selling a plethora of crap such as t-shirts and videos, which everyone always wants to buy. (Hardware costs. :) ) Shifting back to America: 2600. Again, "Information Wants to be Free!" E. Goldstein, huge proponent of the slogan. Uh, do you pay five bucks an issue? I do. So, 2600's information isn't quite so eager to be free either, I guess. But, again, it does cost money to print a magazine like that, like it does to throw a conference, so certainly everyone can understand people trying to recap one's losses in a worthwhile project, right? Enter LOD Communications BBS Archive Project. The community went apeshit when thirty nine dollars was asked for the entire results of the project. LOD? Asking for MONEY? FOR INFORMATION??? INFORMATION WANTS TO BE FREE!!!#!@$ That's disgusting! But wait, I thought charging a little bit to try to recap losses (equipment, phone calls, disks, postage, TIME) was ok? "Oh sure it is dude, just not for you." Oh how silly of me. Of course! Thanks for setting me straight on that issue. Then there was Phrack. Always free to the community. Always available for everyone's enjoyment. Asking only that Corporate types pay a registration fee of a hundred dollars just to keep them honest. (They aren't.) Knowing full well that they are stealing it, sometimes quite brazenly. Resting quietly, knowing that they are just as unethical as they ever claimed us to be. We make no bones about money here. Our information is just as valuable as anyone's (probably more so) and is vastly more voluminous. Hell, Issue 43 was probably bigger than every Hack-Tic and almost every 2600 combined. And, wait a minute, could it be? Free? Oh my god! So it is. Free in both cost and access. Let me tell you something. Information does not want to be free, my friends. Free neither from its restraints nor in terms of dollar value. Information is a commodity like anything else. More valuable than the rarest element, it BEGS to be hoarded and priced. Anyone who gives something away for nothing is a moron. (I am indeed stupid.) I can't fault anyone for charging as long as they don't try to rationalize their reasoning behind a facade of excuses, all the while shouting "Information Wants to be Free!" Trade secrets don't want to be free, marketing projections don't want to be free, formulas don't want to be free, troop placements don't want to be free, CAD designs do not want to be free, corporate financial information doesn't want to be free, my credit report sure as hell doesn't want to be free! Let's take a step back: how to use a system IS information that should be proliferated, how computers network IS information that should be spread, new technologies WANT to be explained, holes ought to be pointed out, bug patches NEED to be free...note the difference? I'll end my rant with another piece of flawed logic. At HEU a debate raged on about why phone calls should be free. Hey, I love a toll-fraud device as much as the next guy (blue box tones still make me cry), and I've used more codes in my life than a million warez couriers and I make no bones about it...I fucking stole service! Yippee! Arrest me! The argument stated "The lines are already there, so why should I have to pay to use an unused line?" Ok, fine, you don't...but you DO have to pay for laying fiber, designing switch generic upgrades, ATM research, compression and filtering algorithm design, video dial tone, daily maintenance, directory assistance, operator service or any of the hundreds of other things your old fee would go towards. Don't like that argument? Fine, the tents at HEU were already there and the seats had been layed out and were unused...get me my hundred guilders refunded. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Once upon a time a Pig, a Cat, a Dog, and a Little Red Hen lived together in a little house. The Pig, the Cat, and the Dog were all very lazy. The Little Red Hen had to do everything around the house by herself. All the Pig, the Cat, and the Dog wanted to do was play. One day, as the Little Red Hen was raking in the yard, she found some seeds. "Who will help me plant these grains of wheat?" she asked. "Not I," said the Pig. "Not I," said the Cat. "Not I," said the Dog. "Then I will do it myself," said the Little Red Hen. And she did. Soon the wheat grew tall and golden. "Who will help me cut the wheat?" asked the Little Red Hen. "Not I," said the Pig. "Not I," said the Cat. "Not I," said the Dog. "Then I will do it myself," said the Little Red Hen. And she did. When the grain was cut and ready to be ground into flour, the Little Red Hen asked, "Who will help me take the grain to the mill?" "Not I," said the Pig. "Not I," said the Cat. "Not I," said the Dog. "Then I will do it myself," said the Little Red Hen. And she did. When the flour came back from the mill, the Little Red Hen asked, "Who will help me bake the bread?" "Not I," said the Pig. "Not I," said the Cat. "Not I," said the Dog. "Then I will do it myself," said the Little Red Hen. And she did. She made the flour into dough, and rolled the dough, and put it in the oven. When the bread was baked, she took it out of the oven. Mmmmmmmmmm! Didn't it smell good! "Who will help me eat this bread?" asked the Little Red Hen. "I will," said the Pig. "I will," said the Cat. "I will," said the Dog. "Oh, no, you won't!" said the Little Red Hen. "I found the seeds. I planted them. I harvested the grain and took it to the mill. I made the flour into bread. I did the work by myself, and now I am going to eat the bread--all by myself." And she did. Think back to your childhood...didn't we learn ANYTHING?