Anytime there is a relatively new mode of communication, its blamed for all things conceivable. A NY Times article takes aim at IRC as a breeding ground for file sharing, child porn and, god forbid, hackers. It specifically takes aim at its direct file transfer capabilities.
"I.R.C. is where you are going to find your 'elite' level pirates,'' said John R. Wolfe, director for enforcement at the Business Software Alliance, a trade group that fights software piracy. "If they were only associating with each other and inbreeding, maybe we could coexist alongside them. But it doesn't work that way. What they're doing on I.R.C. has a way of permeating into mainstream piracy.''...
"Basically the F.B.I. is interested in the best way to monitor the traffic,'' William A. Bierman said..."Look, if we find one channel and close it, they move to another, it's been like this for years. You can't really stop it.''
Hear that? Joi Ito self-replicates. There is no hope, Mr. John C. Dvorak -- it will not die.
