Blaglash.com

Zed Shaw’s always on some crazy shit, but here’s some crazy shit.

Utu is a new software package that hopes to “save the internet with hate.”

Here’s the premise:

The internet is overrun by trolls and aggressors who are free to do as they please, using the internet as their spambot, and are able to continue because there is no standard of accountability.

Or, in their words,

“The Internet gives little people the power, confidence, and anonymity they need to abuse anyone they want without any fear of retribution.

In the real world you would tell them to screw off personally. You’d call the police. You’d move to the other side of the room and tell all your friends to ignore them. You’d punch them in the face for the things they said about you and your family. You’d never give anyone with that much acne control over anything in your life.”

To put it simply, IRL we have three conditions which hold us accountable for our actions: Identity, Reputation, and Retribution.

Utu is out to give internet users these three qualities.

Do you hate someone? Then officially hate them on Utu. The system will analyze, and through a series of democratically-styled checks and balances, will retaliate if they are hated enough globally.

There is no room for love in Utu, for obvious reasons.

But if people are acting irresponsibly, they will likely be “hated” by multiple people (all who must have documentation of having at least spoken to the hated), and the system will retaliate much like a computerized legal system: With HashCash.

Zed’s opened the preliminary system to anyone who wants to rip it open and try to break it.

My thoughts?

All too often I act in a way on the internet that could get me “hated,” and I thrive on the anonymity.

But in reality, at times this power is used unethically or immorally.

And I’m no worse than the average internet user.

Any thoughts?

Check out the Utu website for the full documentaion and explanation and come back here and let me know what you think of its possibilities.