Neil Brown
From "your OS must enable you to declare your age" to "developers must attempt to verify your age" to "you must declare your age" to "you must prove your age" to "you must verify your identity to go online" in how long?
Mar 6 at 7:33pmWeb
Show threadNeil BrownMar 6

I can very much imagine giving a lecture, in a few years time, and students will ask, disbelievingly,

"What do you mean that you could just run a website from a computer in your home? For anyone in the world to access?"

or

"No, I don't believe it - you could run a server to exchange messages with other people, without a licence, and without verifying who they are?!"

or

"What do you mean that you fell in love with your wife without knowing her real name, because you chatted to her so much on the web before you ever met?! Surely you scanned her ID when you first started talking to her."

Show threadThe Tattooed Nonna πŸ§™β€β™€οΈMar 6
@neil I feel like we will go back to secret paper notes hidden in trees.
Show threadHeddersMar 6
@Tattooed_Mummy @neil how long do you think before hedge porn makes a comeback?
Show threadSteven HeywoodMar 7
@hedders @Tattooed_Mummy @neil
Even as we type techbros are buying hedgerows left, right and centre in preparation for the monetization of muddy smut.
Show threadHeddersMar 7
@Stevenheywood Heh! Made me laugh.
Show threadRa (Freyja) (it/its)π’€­π’ˆΉπ’ π’Š©Mar 6
@Tattooed_Mummy @neil maybe we will, and this will be accessible for disabled folks how, exactly?
Show threadEm Mar 6
@neil Indeed sigh πŸ˜”
Show threadJoost van Baal-IlićMar 6
@neil fwiw, today i changed the MX pointing to my personal mailserver: from the old one to the new one. no signing of any papers involved! it's still possible in 2026!
Show threadGerardMar 6
@joostvb @neil 🀫 shhhhh!
Show thread64 Islands Aroha CooperativeMar 6
@neil @Tattooed_Mummy "you were able to just... meet? without a sanctioned match?"
Show threadGuillotine Jones, FlΓ’neurMar 6
@neil
Sad, and I hope this prediction does NOT become true, Neil.
Show threadmatthewcroughanMar 6
Utter ragebait.
Show threadLuna chanMar 6
@neil I'd rather see the internet destroyed by a CME than becone that.
Show threadder.hansMar 9

@neil ha, met spouse in analog space in a group that had essentially used IRC nicks long before IRC was created

Names that might appear on a government document were irrelevant and confusing if someone accidentally used one

Show threadHugo MillsMar 6
@neil Don't blink or you'll miss it.
Show threadΧ€ΦΌΦ°Χ¨Φ΄Χ™Mar 6
@neil
Show threadrelease_candidateMar 6
@neil The slope is very slippery.
Show threadMatt HallMar 6

@neil

I'm willing to bet we're already there.

Show threadGerardMar 6

@neil so, how is "online" defined? Could this be the big moment for BBSs to make a return? Or perhaps adhoc mesh networks?

I personally would be willing to make a commitment to relinquish all digital technology if there is ever a requirement to prove identity. Perhaps we could make it a movement? Anyone else want to join?

Show threadPhilip Mallegol-HansenMar 6

@neil In their dreams? It’s one fell swoop.

In reality? I suspect that’s at least somewhat up to us depending on how readily we enable them…

Show threadDog Noise GeneratorMar 6
@neil Windows Hello requires a biopsy each time you want to log on
Show threadCat 🐈πŸ₯— (D.Burch) β Mar 6
@neil Next up, TCP/IP with built-in age verification field
Show threadMartin HamiltonMar 6
@catsalad @neil At long last, we have created the Evil Bit from the classic Request For Comments 3514
Show threadPersephoneMar 6
@m @catsalad @neil You've heard of the evil bit, now we bring you the adult bit
Show threadMartin HamiltonMar 6
@mindpersephone @neil @catsalad Naughty Bit
Show threadviqMar 6
@catsalad
It already has reverse if that, Time To Live
@neil
Show threadBrian JohnsonMar 6
@catsalad @neil Computer shops with blacked out windows and "OVER 18s ONLY" signage.
Show threadBrian JohnsonMar 6
@catsalad @neil Computer shops with blacked out windows and "OVER 18s ONLY" signage.
Show threadRachel LawsonMar 6
@catsalad @neil how long have we been transitioning to ipv6?? πŸ˜‚
Show threadSimon RolfmoreMar 6
@catsalad @neil IPv18+
Show threadArttu IivariMar 6
@cloudthethings @catsalad @neil "I'm a 10-month-old light bulb."
Show threadJesper LundMar 6
@catsalad This could undoubtedly be added to the Chinese 'New IP' proposal https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_IP (not to give Ofcom any new ideas..) @neil
New IP - Wikipedia

Show threadScriptFanixπŸ’Mar 6
@catsalad Gives the TTL field a whole new meaning...
@neil
Show threadJames SewardMar 6
@catsalad @neil you set the TTL field to your time of death minus your current age
Show threadDaniel DurransMar 6

@jamesoff @catsalad @neil the maximum TTL is 255.

I wanted to see the end of this fil^NO CARRIER

Show threadChris KletschMar 6
@catsalad @neil
SYN
SYN-AGE
AGE-ACK
ACK
Show threadCat 🐈πŸ₯— (D.Burch) β Mar 6
@CKL @neil Cursed 😹
Show threadLisPiMar 6
@catsalad @neil Like the evil bit?
Show threadkasperdMar 7

I sincerely believe doing that would be better than all the other approaches to age verification that people have suggested.

But crucially it must be implemented in such a way that sending packets without that field is interpreted as no blocking needed because it’s either adults communicating or has already been vetted by an adult as being safe for children.

It could be done by defining a new destination option to indicate that the sender of that packet is a minor. Sites with content that’s not safe for children can refuse to service requests with that option. And parents can configure their CPE device to not let their children communicate without the option being present.

Doing it this way would avoid the privacy invasion from collecting identification of every user regardless of their age.

One important thing to look for in a proposal to β€œprotect the children” is what impact it has on scenarios where no children are involved. If a proposal to β€œprotect the children” requires changes in how adults are allowed to communicate, then it was never about protecting the children in the first place.

Show threadChris πŸŒ³πŸ›ΈMar 7
@catsalad @neil
Κ•ΰ² _ΰ² Κ”
ᕦʕ β€’α΄₯β€’ Κ”α•€
Κ•γƒŽΰ² α΄₯ΰ² Κ”γƒŽοΈ΅ ┻━┻
Κ• – α΄₯ – Κ”
Show threadCat 🐈πŸ₯— (D.Burch) β Mar 7

@chriscz @neil

#ΰ² _ΰ² 

Show threadStuMar 6
@neil A hop, skip and a jump. It's so achingly obvious that I cannot believe, yet again, otherwise sensible people are going to bat for the first stage of this process.
Show threadgroff πŸ‡ΊπŸ‡¦Mar 6
@neil The internet is a cesspit of the worst of human nature and corporate greed. If it dies so be it, I won't miss it.
Show threadBussphometMar 6

Won't happen

Because somewhere in the middle or even before I am willing to bet enough people will crash out and turn to urban terrorism well before bowing down to a north korean like internet

Show thread𝕕𝔼cβ’Άπ•ͺMar 6
@neil -10 years.
Show threadSydney / Prophet πŸ³οΈβ€βš§οΈπŸ΄σ §σ ’σ ³σ £σ ΄σ ΏMar 6

@neil

I'm starting to think of just binning all of my electronics and just worrying about my carbs on my bike instead of this shit.

Show threadTobias, or?Mar 6
@neil great, now I'm depressed.
Show threadhairylarryMar 6

@neil

Seems like 10 seconds.

Show threadReally Lazy Bear Mar 6

@neil It gets to that point faster the less people in real life care and just tolerate that shit.

I don't like it, good to see people here on Mastodon and those who care about their privacy don't like it, but what we should worry about is the people out there in real life trying to live normal lives.

Maybe they're aware, know the implication, the consequence, or maybe they aren't, but do they really care is I think the real question...

Idk, I'm just spitballing here haha, but it sucks..

Show threadLuna chanMar 6
@reallylazybear @neil They overthrew their government in Nepal over this.
Show threadRootWyrm πŸ‡ΊπŸ‡¦Mar 6
@neil that would be "about 6 MONTHS back."
Show threadDavida TaylorMar 6
@neil
"Older than the internet" should be sufficient.
Show threadDavida TaylorMar 6
@neil
O
-Or- Trained and well versed on those thousand little drawers for the card catalogs in the Uni Library. ( the real searches )
Show threadkianryan β˜‘οΈπŸ™πŸ³οΈβ€πŸŒˆMar 6
@neil Would you like to borrow my screaming bag? It's only moderately used so far today.
Show thread1337 $#!+ I did thatMar 6
@neil at least it is all so stupid that any attempt to enforce it will leave society in chaos
Show threadSteve Hill 🏴󠁧󠁒󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿πŸ‡ͺπŸ‡ΊMar 6
@stalbaum @neil isn't society already in chaos? Would we notice a difference?
Show thread1337 $#!+ I did thatMar 6
@steve @neil fair enough
Show threadLuna chanMar 6
@stalbaum @neil Yah it'll fail in the end.
Show threadThree plus or minus fiveMar 6
@neil
It occurs to me that maybe some people could be caused to think about their positions if we simply made a website with a maximum age. Something they might want to look at. But aren’t allowed to.