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  • Moderator

    @Coby

     

    There are several groups of people here who have formed or are part of UAV education and advocacy organizations. I think it is why I spend so much time helping people with their homework projects in the forum ;)

  • guns? leaving conversation

  • @Mike.  Already on it, as I have linked to earlier with Metanomy's efforts in Kenya (and the US for that matter).  And thanks for the link.  I have not read that page in some time.  Yes, para #7 does seem to address the larger issue.  What I am proposing would be a bit more active outreach.  If adoption of the Three Laws or an equivalent is not in the cards I am OK with that, as it may require a bit of a leap to think we are on the verge of creating tech that requires said Laws.  The wording in #7 works for me.  I will work harder on trying to walk the talk via Metanomy et al.  Meantime, an idea for those of you who are doing this as a hobby that could help promote the value of our hobby...

     

    We have a Science Technology Engineering and Math (STEM) education problem in the US.

    http://www.stemedcoalition.org/

     

    Here's how the AMA helps...

    http://www.modelaircraft.org/education/aerolabs.aspx

     

    I am an AMA member, but also realize this community may not be fully supported by them.  I am not in a position on either side to influence cooperation.  So this is just a suggestion:  Perhaps we can form a Group that is a place for people to coordinate education and outreach?

    http://www.stemedcoalition.org/
  • We don't have to "do" anything with our UAV's ..... this is a hobby mostly.  Technology has allowed us to do extra-ordinary things with small aircraft ... to program them to fly themselves, to give us beautiful pictures of earth that we cannot take ourselves.  I am enthralled with the possibilities that this technology allows us to do and the possibilities that are still to come ......"if" we can be left alone to do this.  Who knows what some of the brilliant people I have seen here will invent or discover to "help" others ... perhaps to help protect others.  Leave us alone and we will share .... there will always be evil people out there.

  • Moderator

    @coby: then do something beneficial with your UAVs. We have "ethical statements" already. See http://diydrones.com/profiles/blogs/diy-drones-site-guidelines

    http://diydrones.com/profiles/blog/show?id=705844:BlogPost:17789

  • I understood your point, and yes ... we have every right to express ourselves.  Over-reaching government attempting to control every facet of our lives is never a good thing.  I too worry that because of a terrorist attempting to fly a remote plane somewhere to do harm to others that government may try to restrict our ability to have fun with our hobby.  They will do so as I warned before in this thread.  To give into them and say, "yes you can make it more difficult to do this or that or pass a law restricting access.  These do gooders who are bound to "protect us from ourselves", are never satisfied and interpret compromise as weakness and an excuse for more compromise ..... by us of course.

    I probably over-reacted, I will try to be more tactful in the future.  

  • Craig, I'm just expressing my opinions here, and discussing ideas.  One does not need to be a constitutional scholar to voice one's opinion.  Last I looked, I think I'm allowed to voice my opinion, as part of free speech, but I'm no authority.

    Anyways, you seemed to have missed my point, which is that governments interfere by over-regulating everything.  Regarding gun control, I was using it as an example, and stating what I feel are the prevailing opinions.  I have nothing against the ownership of guns and rifles, as long as they are being used lawfully, and do not impinge on my rights.(imho)  The term "assault rifle" is defined in the laws, and used by gun manufacturers, as a marketing point, I didn't make it up.  Again, I am no authority, but being Canadian, I can see both sides.  We have stricter gun control laws in Canada, and yet in Montreal, there have been at least at least one mass shooting incident every decade for the last 30 years.  So that's not the answer either, which brings home the point I was trying to make, that it's not the tool that does the harm, it's who and how the tool is being used. (imho)

  • If I am to understand Ellison correctly, on his comment, "This is why most people feel that things like assault rifles and high powered hand guns are more regulated than hunting rifles and why toothpicks are not a licensed weapon." that so called "assault rifles" which are semi auto .... (which they are not assault rifles) and those terrible high powered handguns, which will actually bring home the venison or protect a family of thugs should be more regulated than BB guns and 22 pistols?

     

    First of all you need to stick to things that you know .... which is probably RC aircraft and the many facets of that.  I do not write about government control of things, even simple things like R C aircraft because I am not an authority.  I do however know how government operates when they see another way of limiting or protecting ourselves from ourselves with laws that do nothing but make law abiding citizens restricted.  Having fought for my 2nd Amendment rights for the last 25 years or so and the huge leviathan of special interests who have been trying to take those rights .... I resent your premise and the lack of facts to back up your assertions.  There is no place in the Constitution or Bill of Rights that promises your right to fly airplanes sir .... it does guarantee my rights however .... not to hunt ducks, but to be a force for the preservation of the precious freedoms we enjoy and of whom many have died in that preservation .... including many of my relatives.

     

    I would suggest that you stick to things that you do in fact know and understand in the future

    Regards

  • @Ellison.  Good points.  Hopefully more people will weigh in on this.

  • @Scott.  Sorry did not really answer your questions.  I am not sure really.  Perhaps we come up with something along the lines of the GNU license that rides with the firmware and hardware?  Some kind of perpetual license clause that included the Three Laws?  Or is it good enough to include an acceptance of the Three Laws in the Terms of Service for the site or something similar?

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