Turn off the Internet?

[colincurry]

On Saturday evening, I watch part of 'News Knight' with Sir Trevor McDonald et al. One of his team brought up the proposal by Elton John that the Internet should be switched off for five years. Nobody seemed in favour of the idea and considered it impractical anyway.

I am what they call a 'silver surfer' - in my village 'old geezer'. I use the net for information gathering, research and communication - just like most people. I should hate to be without it.

Another thought occurs. Without the net, I should not be able to contact fellow WABers; and I should not like this at all.

In the short time that I have belonged, I have been most impressed by the general friendliness of everyone, the willingness to help on a wide range of subjects, and the high level of expertise that is freely offered even to someone as ignorant as me and without condescension.

Colin

[FourwingsJNR]

If they did turn off the internet for 5 years then many companies and sites would go out off buisness.

And i also would be stuck without it as I am on the internet about 5 hours a day and probly my main way of communicatioin!!!

Matt H

[demicav]

I believe, if I'm correct, the argument put forward by Elton John was that the internet is damaging the music industry and should be scrapped for 5 years to see if things are better without it. The internet is far too big to be scrapped, although I sometimes wonder if it will one day collapse under the weight ( so to speak ) . I would find life difficult without it now, I'm so used to using it every day for so many things. It's a shame it gets abused by some but overall I think it's a good thing, a real wealth of information and without it there would be no WAB . How bad is that

[galanthus]

Hmmmm, the internet is indeed a fab form of communication and can be of great use, how about then..... we switch off Elton John for 5 years

[Purplepixii]

Originally Posted by galanthus

Hmmmm, the internet is indeed a fab form of communication and can be of great use, how about then..... we switch off Elton John for 5 years

rofl that's got my vote!

[Ukwildlifeo]

Originally Posted by demicav

I believe, if I'm correct, the argument put forward by Elton John was that the internet is damaging the music industry and should be scrapped for 5 years to see if things are better without it. (

IE to see if he (and the record companies) made more or less money to line there already well lined pockets

[Little Firewall]

Originally Posted by galanthus

Hmmmm, the internet is indeed a fab form of communication and can be of great use, how about then..... we switch off Elton John for 5 years

Great idea - but why stop at 5?

[clover green]

Originally Posted by galanthus

Hmmmm, the internet is indeed a fab form of communication and can be of great use, how about then..... we switch off Elton John for 5 years

A great idea! ( you certainly made me chuckle! )

[Tursiops2]

The internet was designed to survive total nuclear war. Elton John doesn't stand a chance .

[FourwingsJNR]

I can see what elton john is saying now because everyone is buying the music off itunes or downloading the music illeagerly.

Matt H

[demicav]

Originally Posted by FourwingsJNR

I can see what elton john is saying now because everyone is buying the music off itunes or downloading the music illeagerly.

Matt H

True, we download all our music but it's still paid for. To me it's the way forward, progress. At one time who would have believed that records would no longer be made ?

[almostnormal]

i get what EJ is saying, the whole illegal download of music is a bit rubbish, but i'm sure they must be able to prevent that by copyrighting cd's so you can't copy them, or upload them onto you're computer to burn them. i know i can't burn copies of my aerosmith greatest hits album to listen i the car because it's copyrighted.

iTunes is a legal site, and the artists don't have to give them permission to 'iTune' their songs, they can say no. personally i like having the cd's, and buy them in support of my fav bands (i don't, as it happens, have any of his).

the internet is good for communication and things like info gathering, but there is a lot rubbish and factually dubious stuff on it as well. Since the internet's been around for something like, what, 20years? in some form or another i don't think they'll turn it off! i hope not anyway, i keep in touch with most of my friends via cyberspace - save a tree and all that!

[Amiguru]

Anyone saying that the internet should be closed down for 5 years because of the illegal activities of the few, (or not so few), is either joking or is a cuckoo.
Its like saying that because some people shop-lift cd's, all shops should be closed for 5 years.

If a legal issue is a problem then sort out the illegal activities, not the activities of the majority of mankind.

[zharca]

Hi, it's not just for fun, shopping and p*rn - it's become an essential tool.

I work in publishing and just about all our text, ads and pictures for old-style printed magazines arrive over the internet and it all gets delivered to the presses the same way. In a company of nearly 400 people, there isn't a single one who doesn't spend most of their day at a computer - even the post room.

The revolution's happened pretty fast, too. When I joined the company ten years ago they didn't even have email now it's hard to remember a world without it.

[jennyb]

I can't imagine life without the Internet. I would be out of a job for a start

Jenny

[wetlands_wedge]

Originally Posted by Little Firewall

Great idea - but why stop at 5?

Why stop at Elton John?

[Digiscoper62]

Its just great when these celebs tell us all what to do :-)
Elton probably has not got a clue about "normal" life now so will not know how important the Internet is now. I turned Elton off a long time ago, after Crocodile rock I think he lost the plot

And another thing
You should not be knighted for singing !

--
Robert
digiscoper.org_main

[Ambriel]

Originally Posted by FourwingsJNR

If they did turn off the internet for 5 years then many companies and sites would go out off buisness.

Absolutely. I run my business from home and *all* my orders come in over the internet and *all* my products go out the same way.

I'm afraid this is a stupid suggestion from an artist whom I previously thought of as being one of the smarter cookies in the tin.

[Dive Bomber]

I presume Elton be happy to see normal everyday people lose their online business in order that he and a few other "artists" can maybe make some extra money.
Maybe it hasn't occurred to him that these very same people would not be in a position to purchase any of his material if they no longer have a business.

[almostnormal]

presume away i reckon, he's clearly not above destroying the planet (see the flow country's afforestation affliction), so what are a few mere mortals to a mega diva such as he?

[smartie]

The daft thing about suggestions like EJ's is that he supposes there is somewhere a "they" who could turn "it" off. Where does he think the big red switch is?

[Digiscoper62]

Originally Posted by smartie

The daft thing about suggestions like EJ's is that he supposes there is somewhere a "they" who could turn "it" off. Where does he think the big red switch is?

I am sure the voices in his head would tell him where it is

[Interpreter]

Confiscate his piece. That will keep him quiet!

[Digiscoper62]

Originally Posted by Interpreter

Confiscate his piece. That will keep him quiet!

LOL. yes, hide the syrup

[newfie2007]

i would be lost with out my internet i bes on here 24/7 from 12m to 1:00AM in the nigght