I'm nowhere near as politically savvy as you, or many of the other members of your flist. That said, I suspect one thing that is happening is that people (lawmakers) who have little to know clue about the Internet and the power of community on it are feeling pressure from the music and film industry to "shut down piracy." Now, as any person wise in the ways of the World Wide Web knows, that's completely impossible, the genie is long since out of that bottle and where there's a will someone will find a way.

In recent years it has become increasingly obvious that child predators are using chatrooms to prey on kids. Here comes pressure from the parent groups.

Politicians want to be seen as doing something, so they're trying to shut everything down. Mistake, huge mistake.

The answers are things the pressure groups don't want to hear. Music and film industry: Make a quality, affordable product and we'll buy it rather than pirate it. Don't play cutesy games and think the public will take it lying down anymore. We won't.

Parents: Pay some attention to your kids and stop expecting the government to babysit them for you. what is your kid looking up on the Internet right now? Do you know? You should.

You are absolutely right. We're a powerful lobby in our own right. we should take advantage of it.