license to use the Internet

should be required to drive the info highway

[LifeinAsia]

In many rants, I have said (somewhat jokingly) that some people should be required to get an Information Superhighway Driving License before they are allowed to surf. I'm aure you've all dealt with people like this.

Today I was joking around with a co-worked suggesting that customer service should start asking people for their Internet license number when they call in. When they say they don't have one, suggest they search the Net for information on how to get it. So on a lark I Googled "Internet license" just to see what comes up.

Amazingly, the #1 slot (your mileage may vary) was a site where kids can get their very own Internet license after taking a 10-question quiz. I think this should be the gold standard- anyone who can't answer those 10 questions should NOT be allowed on the Internet without supervision!

[jchampliaud]

"I think this should be the gold standard- anyone who can't answer those 10 questions should NOT be allowed on the Internet without supervision!"

Better yet let's make are own test. And the first question is ...

[MatthewHSE]

First question:

What is the Internet?
- The blue "E" on your desktop
- A program you install
- The brainchild of Al Gore
- A publicly-available network of computers that uses the TCP/IP protocol to transmit data

[Sweezely]

That's a trick question. The answer is "A series of tubes."

[jsinger]

Radio was totally unregulated until about 1912. Anyone could fire up a kilowatt spark transmitter in his garage. One difference between radio and the web is that the usable radio spectrum is limited.

Gov't eventually kept radio in check by issuing very limited numbers of broadcast licenses, and requiring difficult exams for amateur licenses. A one time the FCC spent a fair about of time policing amateur frequencies to prevent obscenity and other trivial infractions.

Analogies can be drawn between modern email spam and the CB -- unlicensed radio-- craze of the late '70s.