Peter Knight's Web Site
Things for me, friends, family... and passers by

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Why is all this stuff on the web?
Some people say: "Why do you put all this stuff on the web?"

 
1. It gives shy people and secret agents a way of starting conversations with you.
"Say, I saw your web page...  Don't you care that the whole world can see you making a fool of yourself?"
"Why no, my life is on open book, there is no secret message hidden here. There is no treasure, and the crying eagle with concrete trousers whispers only on Tuesdays"
"The emperor's wife told me you would say that."
"The emperor's wife is very wise, but her children are blind. Give me the package."
2. It's your duty to put your stuff on the web.
It is the duty of people in a civilisation that has achieved the technology of public access cyberspace to put their stuff on the web in just the same way that it is the duty of citizens in a democracy to exercise their right to vote. 
3. The best place to hide something is in plain view.
The best place to hide something is in plain view.
4. It saves postage when people want to see your stuff.
"Hey, Pete, can you send me a copy of that  awful poem you wrote about penguins?" "Yeah, sure, you can grab it off the web..."
5. When you get old and forgetful you can access you stuff to remind you who you are.
I am not yet as old as I hope to become, but already I sometimes forget who I am, what I do, and what my stuff is. With my url tatooed conveniently upon my person, the disorienting consequences of memory loss can be substantially reduced.
6. You can expose your stuff to people beyond your immediate circle of acquaintances.
Allow total strangers to stumble across your stuff.  If they benefit from the experience, that's great. If they don't, they don't have to linger.
7. Thwart hungry ants
If your stuff keeps being eaten by ants, putting it on the web can help prevent the trauma of total loss. "Hey, Pete, I hear those ants ate your drawing of Herbert Hoover!" "Yeah, but it's OK, it was backed up on the web."