I wrote about this a little in my book Hello World when I realised that
FTP'd material (not to mention emails and all the other stuff) does not need
to go through any kind of border controls which, when you consider it, is a
tangible demonstration of how the internet really does transcend at least
some physical constraints. Just think - by dragging a file between 2 FTP
windows I can transfer a document from my machine in England to someone
else's machine in the US, without anyone having the opportunity to
scrutinise it.
Sue
On Tue, 31 May 2005 16:16:09 -0400, Ben Spigel <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>the thought just occurred to me that there is a danger in just
>assuming that bits are in that "internet thing" when they leave our
>computers. Physical location has certian legal implications. Bits
>going on a trans-oceanic cable are in international waters. I really
>don't have the legal training to read over international
>telecommunications treaties, but it seems that there's no legal
>recourse for a nation splicing into one, or really a way to detect
>it. I believe that a new US sub under development, the USS Jimmy
>Carter, is developed with this kind of mission in mind. Data that is
>legal in one country, like political messages, might contravene the
>laws of of countries that it passes through.
>
>This strays pretty far from your original question, but I thought its
>important to remember that even though we may think about the
>internet as a cloud, it does have a location that does have real
>effects on the data that is sent.
>--------
>Ben Spigel
>Department of Geography
>University of Toronto
>
>
>On 29-May-05, at 5:52 PM, Dena Attar wrote:
>
>> We have had fun with this question here in London this evening.
>> The answer I got from software engineer friends was as follows:
>> This is not a "real" question, i.e. it can't be answered on its own
>> terms, because the data isn't in between node 1 and node 2. It doesn't
>> "leave" node 1 until after it's "arrived" at node 2 as confirmed by
>> transfer protocol so in that sense it's not travelling between them at
>> all
>>
>> Dena
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Mapping and visualising Internet infrastructure and Web space
>> [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Sue Thomas
>> Sent: 28 May 2005 20:25
>> To: [log in to unmask]
>> Subject: [MAPPING-CYBERSPACE] Cyberspatial question for the holiday
>> weekend
>>
>> I've been thinking about this a lot lately. Can anyone point me to
>> research
>> on the following question:
>>
>> If I throw a ball to you, we know that it passes through the air
>> between
>> us.
>> (unless we are in a vacuum, in which case we would both be dead etc
>> etc)
>>
>> Q: When a data packet 'travels' from one node to the next, does it
>> pass
>> through anything? What is between the nodes? I know transfer is very
>> fast
>> but nevertheless it is still transfer so there must be a point
>> where it
>> is
>> in neither place so it must be somewhere else. Shouldn't it? Or have I
>> misunderstood?
>>
>> All hypotheses welcome. Preferably those I can understand ;)
>>
>> Sue
>>
>> http://travelsinvirtuality.typepad.com
>>
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