
When Sysadmins Ruled the Earth (2007) - ux-app
http://craphound.com/overclocked/Cory_Doctorow_-_Overclocked_-_When_Sysadmins_Ruled_the_Earth.html
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peterwwillis
Well since this is a short story, we probably need reviews so people know
whether it's worth their time to read it. Here's mine:

As far as 11th-grade high school english lit writing assignments go, this one
is pretty good. I like how the author tells the reader technical things
without ever trying to explain them, assuming that his readership is
completely familiar with the subject matter. I also like how there's virtually
no character development whatsoever, the ending is forced, and there's no
conflict or strife in this idealized post-apocalyptic world. Anyone who would
normally fight or kill for resources has apparently died, leaving only calm,
rational citizens to share plentiful provisions.

My favorite part is how completely emotionally detached the protagonist is.
His wife and baby boy dies, and he's basically alright about 5 minutes later.
Each time he remembers them he seems to feel sad, then forget about them like
an alzheimer patient. No shock, no panic, no guilt, no sorrow. Just a
completely emotionally dead nerd who's more focused on his computers than his
real relationships. It puts a realistic face on what could have been just
another cypherpunk dystopian piece of drivel.

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wtbob
Yeah, my back's sore from all the geeky back-patting.

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a_bonobo
This is the reason why I stopped reading Doctorow, it's all just 'geeky back-
patting'.

His stance on copyright is very black and white, and he uses his books to
preach this black and white 'internet is best' world-view - Makers for example
has the 100% good open blogger vs. the 100% evil traditional journalist, Down
and out in the magic kingdom has post-scarcity financial system based on how
much people like you on the internet..

It's all just preaching to the choir mixed with an obsession with Disney, and
I learn nothing new from his writings.

Edit: Why the downvote?

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fabulist
I think you guys may have missed something. The protagonists feels a lot of
emotion, but they mourn in a sad and silent way. They spend the whole story
trying to get over what happened to their family. Its far from clear that the
Internet is best, or that anyone is doing the right thing.

I'll give you that Doctorow's novels celebrate technology; birds are also
going to fly, and fish are going to swim. And when a nerdy sysadmins write
about nerdy sysadmins, the story will have a certain bend to it.

Its cool that you guys didn't like it, maybe you could express that in a way
that isn't pedantic.

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blueskin_
Exactly the point. Most people there lost someone. If I was in that situation,
I'd be completely devastated inside, but I'd keep working, trying to make the
best with what I can in the hopes that it creates a better world out of what's
left. That's the point of what any of them were trying to do.

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justizin
this is the read that got me into doctorow, of course basically all of his
other writing is great. 'little brother' was the 'one city, one book'
selection by SF Library last year, and anyone concerned about the surveillance
state should definitely give it a read.

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toomuchtodo
I fell in love with Doctorow's works through Pirate Cinema and Makers. Please
grab one of his books when you have time; its worth the read.

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angersock
"Makers" is fantastic, and has a lot of fun ideas in it. Doctorow nails the
tech personalities in his works very well, arguably better than Stephenson.

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ihsw
With regards to governance of the world, why wasn't a federation considered
(eg: a United Federation of Networks)? Perhaps modeled after Canada and her
provinces (one of the most decentralized federal states), there is still a
central seat of power however there is a great deal of autonomy afforded to
members.

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RRRA
Canada is more centralized than it seems. The Prime Minister has more power
than the US president (relatively speaking, of course!)...

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herge
The Prime Minister of Canada is the head of the legislative (usually!) and
executive branches. It's the combination of the speaker of both houses and the
president, in one position.

Individual provinces have more power than US states, with clear separation of
powers.

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slashedzero
Great read!

Interdependence is something that I always think about in these situations.
Our society is so dependent on trade and working with other regions/countries
that to see those systems collapse would be utter chaos.

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webmaven
Should be labeled [2007].

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ihsw
Yes, definitely. The title was familiar to me however the age of the article
would've made me instantly recall what this is.

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snake_plissken
OK so did...anyone else realize this was not a satire and go read the CN tower
wiki to see when it fell down/caught on fire, only to become very confused?

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_asciiker_
Really enjoyed this read, and mostly accurate on the technical aspects.

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andyidsinga
this was great ...why i come to hacker news

