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< Becoming Part Of A Secret Society

~tetris

In a way, that's what the internet used to be (80s-90s). It was a bunch of rich geeks communicating with each other and sharing troves of knowledge with one another, forming self-interest whose actions would spawn satellite hacker communities which are still alive to this day[0], and whose activities have been used to shame politicians and shape (some) policy.

What do I think of these societies:

• A younger me would be repulsed by them. An exclusionary group that pulls strings in the background without asking anyone who would be affected. It's arrogant, nepotistic, archetypal cronyism.

• An older me is more intrigued. I've seen what democracy, weilded by the ignorant, can lead to and believe that real progress comes in the power of small groups. Not necessarily self-interested groups (which still repulse me), but groups that uphold ideals, almost to religious zeal and are uncompromising in the pursuit of them.

GNU comes to mind, the EFF too, and though I am not part of the internal circles of these groups (though I do financially contribute to both), I like the world that they are trying to build, not just for them, but for everybody.

In summary: what would you do if I shook your hand *LIKE THIS*?

0: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chaos_Computer_Club

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