> To me, it's basic politeness. Providing internet access to

> guests is kind of like providing heat and electricity, or a

> hot cup of tea.

OK, but that doesn't imply that it has to be open. If I have guests I provide them all those things, and free WiFi. But my WiFi is protected... my guests just get told the WPA2 password and they are in.

I also let guests use my Mac using the Guest account. I don't leave my Mac outside my front door for just anyone to use.

> I can count five open wireless networks in coffee shops

> within a mile of my house, and any potential spammer is

> far more likely to sit in a warm room with a cup of coffee

> and a scone than in a cold car outside my house.

That seems like a stupid argument. The coffee shop is more likely to notice that their bandwidth is being consumed and track down their customer than J Random Homeowner.

How many people here run open wi-fi networks? I live in a semi-urban environment and wouldn't mind sharing my bandwidth, but I then I have to put passwords on my shared printers/network shares/etc.

I've been meaning to set up an additional, open wireless network....but I've just been too lazy to open up my router and install another wireless card.

I think the bandwidth problem can be addressed by learning about your router and blocking (or go meet and make friends with) the neighbour stealing it. But not blocking out casual users - ubiquitous bandwidth is the goal. I love the sentiment -- both subversive and welcoming -- like the best of the hippies. All you need is love!

Though somewhere down the road, when the hippie experience turns into Altamont, is every person with a home network going to have a privacy policy? Will we all have to buy the same software the hotels and airports use just to avoid liability?

For example, what happens if two people connect to your home network both without your knowledge, one does something bad involving your network and the other person's computer? Serial killer bad?

Giant liability bills ensue.

If a community garden supplies free water, are they liable when someone uses the water to drown someone else?

I don't know. Are they?

I'm thinking no.

I would run an open wifi network but South Africa's bandwidth is very expensive and rather slow. The biggest offering is 4mbit. A 1mbit line and an uncapped-shaped account is more than $200 a month.

Most people have 512mbit, our "broadband," on a 3GB account and that'll set you back just less that $100 per month.

OK, how many of you run web sites with SSL?

From the article: "my computers are much more at risk when I use them on wireless networks in airports, coffee shops and other public places. If I configure my computer to be secure regardless of the network it's on, then it simply doesn't matter."

As someone whose remote sessions always suffer whenever too many people in our family start to watch YouTube videos, I wouldn't open up a wireless hub unless I could configure it to throttle back the bandwidth offered to public connections.

You should use Pete Stevens' technique (http://www.ex-parrot.com/~pete/upside-down-ternet.html) to rickroll them.