Wild Utopia

Kevin Marks writes, in reference to my “Web as Utopia” piece:

Dave, being a nice bloke, sees the
web as utopia. A transcendent Platonic ideal of
Socratic discourse, where those of good faith
commune on the nature of the world. Then there are
those who see in the seedier side of the web the
darkness of their own souls, for we are all fallen
creatures, and the line between good and evil runs
through all our hearts.

Hell no! I don’t see the Web as socratic. I see
it as connective, and socratic dialogue is only one
form of connecting, and a pretty paltry one at that.
Yelling, joking, teasing, provoking, criticizing,
grieving, and flirting are all forms of connecting.
So is simultaneous masturbation (no, I don’t mean
blogging). What makes the Web utopian (in some
sense) is that it’s connective, not that it’s
polite, rational or even intelligent. At least that’s what I meant to say. If I threw off the estimable Kevin Marks, I must have put it badly.

Categories: Uncategorized dw