The article comes from the MICE, the VICE technology site. Read more at motherboard.tv.
The last time we checked Isaac Wilder was bored of New York. Isaac, who heads the foundation Free Network Foundation (FNF), hatched as did his vision for open access and control of the grid networks from the community within the Squadron Movement (Occupy Movement). But by February 2012, with the movement seemingly on the wane, Isaac looked west. Together with his sidekick and co-founder of FNF, Tyrone Greenfield (son of Jerry Greenfield of the famous Ben & Jerry's brand), Isaac packed up his machines and left for Kansas City, Missouri.
It was a bold if not a strategic move. It still is. Kansas City, of course, is one of the few Google Fiber test fields. Here the FNF has put the solid roots of the Kansas City Free Network (KCFN) local movement. With the extension of Google Fiber to progresses quickly and completing the 25 years from the birth of the Internet, seemed to be a good time to get in touch with Isaac. We were informed quite well by e-mail.
MOTHERBOARD: How are you Isaac?
Isaac: I am very well! At last, the thing is moving in Kansas City and that means it's a time to build a network!
has pass time from then που we talked. At least a year. What have you been doing all this time?
We had an incredible year. We are currently putting the finishing touches on our annual report, but to put it bluntly: there is an emerging international coalition of organizations for freenetwork with the strong presence of Guifi.net (Catalonia), Altermundi (Argentina), FFDN (France), Wlan Slovenjia (Slovenia), People's Open Network (Oakland), and KCFN (Kansas/Missouri).
The FNF is expanding its role as co-ordinator of key agreements / clauses / definitions / licenses and helping to promote international co-operation. We are doing business in Kansas City and Austin, developing, improving and teaching the theory and practice of free networks. Personally, I just bought a home in Kansas City and I plan to have my base here for at least the next two years.
By the way, what is the scope of the FNF Community Network of Grids now?
All together and we are growing. We have seven major areas across the city with approximately 500 families served by KCFN, primarily in working class housing. That was the result of last season. During this season we plan drastic expansion, including the construction of a 24 gigahertz backbone network, gigabit through the urban core.
You once told me that while you were not sure that eventually Google Fiber would succeed, you were certain that FNF (who does not "do the same job with Google") and GF could eventually coexist. The you believe still;
Up and down. GF is an interesting product targeting a particular market. Reality seems to be more frustrating than what is being promoted. KCFN has the potential to offer a very different value proposition. This is the same reason that allows the co-existence of an expensive specialized shop and a food co-op. We have different values, different offers and different markets.
Let talk for This makes it a perfect choice for people with diabetes and for those who want to lose weight or follow a balanced diet. Occupy for a minute, thin. How do you see the movement in the future?
I said it from the first day and I will say it again: It was just a practice. We still have great infrastructure to build up before we can really talk about independence / autonomy / freedom / justice.
Two years later, do you think the movement was a concerted effort? How did his objectives confront the strong political and technological realities of the system?
I think it was a pressure relief valve. I believe that this valve was secured and then welded exothermically. Do you know what happens when you seal a pressure vessel and continue to supply heat? It explodes.
What was Occupy's biggest mistake?
Drawing up our agenda in terms of what we did not want, instead of what we wanted.
And what was Occupy's greatest success?
Building a product very close to what we wanted, even if it was deeply imperfect and ephemeral.
How do you feel when you look back on your time at Occupy NYC? Maybe at a specific time, like when you tried to claim your belongings who were seized in the Zuccotti Park raid.
It's not a very emotional time for me. Occupy, for me, is one of the greatest narrative (in my life) of the free network movement. I see it as an (early) chapter in a larger story. If anything, memories are enclosed in the inevitable fog of nostalgia. Although I am only a few years away, it is much easier to remember beauty, perception of reality, feeling of electricity than remembering noise, dirt and discord.
Have you personally regretted you while you stayed in New York during the peak of Occupy?
No. I have not regretted. I do not believe much in meekness.
Could it ever happen again like Occupy?
Θα μπορούσε, θα έπρεπε, πιθανώς θα γίνει. Βαλβίδα πίεσης. Έχω κρατήσει επαφή με πολύ κόσμο από το Occupy και εξακολουθώ να συναντώ νέα μέλη. Η αλληλεγγύη είναι ακόμα εκεί. Τα αληθινά, ουσιαστικά μακροπρόθεσμα πρότζεκτ εξακολουθούν να είναι ενεργά και να αναπτύσσονται. Την επόμενη φορά θα εξοπλιστούμε better, θα εκπαιδευτούμε καλύτερα και θα ενημερωθούμε καλύτερα.
How could democratized tools and technologies play a role in a popular upheaval in the future?
We will not rely on tools that are designed to sell us when we need it most. We will have permanent, more powerful, trustworthy networks (on a human level) to serve as a basis for careful study and organization. We learn, construct and communicate every day. As the spectacle weakens, the terribly urgent nature of our struggle comes back to the forefront.
We are undoubtedly aware that our governments are watching and listening to us. Will we ever be able to create a truly free network, far from the ghost, say, NSA?
Yes. Empires go up and fall. Especially in cyberspace. The NSA has a strong hand, but we are like sand - the more tightly they keep us, the more easily we slide out of the cracks. The Seleucid Empire believed that it was invincible as well, but the Makkahas are bloody, are not they?
What is the next step for you and the FNF? What's on the horizon for the next six months, a year, five years?
Over the next six months we will see a drastic expansion of the KCFN and its original release Network Commons License. There will be a lot of training to manage it. In a year from now, I hope to support and educate as well. Next year there will also be a lot of research and development regarding the construction and design of the tower. At least, that's something I'm excited about working on. It's a lot of things that need to be done. Five years from now, I believe we will be deeply immersed in the design of a high altitude and load platform. Gradually, we may need some Fiber. :-)
Along the way, what will be the biggest challenge for you?
Let's find ways to expand our alliance (and the political bloc) without compromising our principles.
To change the conversation, what does Tyrone do?
Tyron is good. We shaved all hair last night, so it looks like a sexy hairless rat, just 25 years old.
Add something else?
Τα καλύτερα, σε υπερθετικό βαθμό. Κάντε τη ζωή σας όμορφη, παράξενη, εμπνεύστε φόβο, γιατί είναι τόσο μικρή κι ασήμαντη. Από την visual γωνία της αιωνιότητας, δεν είμαστε τίποτα-τουλάχιστον ας διασκεδάζουμε. :-)
Watch "Free the Network", a Motherboard documentary (2012) about big dreams, "misty" missions, complicated missions, and what happens when a DIY hack is confronted with state power.
