[[ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3WS9DhSIWR0 ]]
Barlow passed away on February 8, 2018. He was a great inspirator for freedom of expression online and coined the name “Cyberspace” (the worldwide Civil Society community of online connected people, freely imagining & sharing & creating thoughts and ideas), for which he wrote the Declaration of Independence, which he reads on the above video.
Here is the text of that Declaration https://www.eff.org/cyberspace-independence
Essential is to understand that Cyberspace is located between the ears of you and me, where nation state governments and their institutions/law enforcers/politicians nor media & advertisers in corporate online platforms; have NO jurisdiction.
jaap van till, TheConnectivist
PS. The Golden Rule that JPB refers to is: The principle of treating others as one would wish to be treated. It is a maxim of altruism that is found in many religions and cultures. The maxim may appear as either a positive or negative injunction governing conduct: One should treat others as one would like others to treat oneself. Essentially it means that in such cases self-interest = general-interest, since being kind / helping others will turn back on you sooner or later. Good for your karma 🙂 to be appreciated.
There was a great story explaining this from the middle ages. A very holy monk was allowed by Petrus when he passed away to briefly visit Hell before he would enter Heaven. Hell was a very very long table filled with delicious food and on both side long rows and rows of angry people who stabbed and fought each other with very long knives and forks, trying to feed themselves. Heaven was exactly the same !! But in this case each person at the table asked those sitting next to them: “what delicious morsel can I cut for you and feed you?”
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(( update Oktober 8, 2021))
Based on the above Declaration, J.P. Barlow gave another must-see impressive and inspiring speech at a TEDx event, about what drives him and billions of us to use and build the fabric of thought, called Internet:
The Connectivist 