Re: beneficia versus maleficia

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Subject: Re: beneficia versus maleficia

From: Wesley Kenzie <wkenzie@xxxxxxxxx>

Date: Sun, 3 Oct 2010 07:43:21 -0700

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On Sat, Oct 2, 2010 at 5:14 PM, Andrew Lewman <andrew@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

On Sat, 02 Oct 2010 15:58:15 -0500
David Bennett <dbennett455@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

> I am facing a moral dilemma in regards to joining the tor proxy
> network. ÂI am hoping a discussion may alleviate some of my concerns.

It seems what you are wrestling with is the dual use nature of
any technology.

<snip>

It comes down to if you believe the good uses outweigh the bad uses.
Technologies are generally introduced with a narrow use case in mind.
Seldom to these technologies stick to their original use case over time.

This is well articulated, Andrew, and a good summary of this important aspect of the issue. But I think what it primarily comes down to is something you did not mention: how a person is prepared to face possible<->likely unpleasant consequences for choosing something they believe to be morally right.

If these unpleasant consequences are too much or too difficult for the person, then they should likely choose a more passive role, if anything. In the Tor context, I believe that is what relays and bridges and limited exit node ports are for. If the person is still unable - for either personal or family or community safety concerns - to face this risk, then they could/should choose to help in other ways by volunteering to help the Tor Project in various ways. Or they could choose to opt out of any actions, and just listen in on the conversations so they can learn more about how these important issues of privacy, anonymity, security etc are evolving before us.

It takes courage and conviction, to both believe and to act according to your beliefs. Making intelligent choices fits in there somewhere too. But in the end we all define our own lives in our own ways.

Wesley Kenzie

gpg 0x4C945266