Wendy M. Grossman

Freelance writer specializing in computers, freedom, and privacy, aka "net.wars", published every Friday at netwars.pelicancrossing.net. (#NetWars). Contributing editor, Plutopia News Network podcast. Regular visitor to the Tech Grumps podcast. Founder The Skeptic (UK). Folksinger. See https://www.pelicancrossing.net for more. also Wendy M. Grossman (npub1gsa…q4wj) on Bluesky. New folk music CD 2024: The Last Trip Home, https://www.pelicancrossing.net/lasttriphome.htm. Will be live at the Old Songs Folk Festival 2025!!

Profession: freelance writer
Based: London, UK (but American)
Interests: Computers, freedom, and privacy
Website: https://www.pelicancrossing.net

Public Key

npub1gsas3ytr9jsj6mha4mwwxqx5q393qsejvvcernj8man30sj6fwaq2lq4wj

NIP-05 Address

wendyg_at_mastodon.xyz@momostr.pink

Profile Code

nprofile1qqsygwcgj93jegfddm76ah8rqr2qgjcsgvexxvv3eera7echcfdyhwsprpmhxue69uhhyetvv9ujumt0d4hhxarj9ecxjmntnsqvm3

Publishing to

relay.momostr.pink

Author Public Key

npub1gsas3ytr9jsj6mha4mwwxqx5q393qsejvvcernj8man30sj6fwaq2lq4wj

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Last Notes

2026-04-24 11:13:42 UTC

This week's net.wars, "Intimacy capitalism", goes to the We Robot 2026 workshop day, and finds new things to worry about: https://netwars.pelicancrossing.net/2026/04/24/intimacy-capitalism/ #NetWars #WeRobot

2026-04-21 16:37:53 UTC

At Gathering4Gardner's YouTube channel, @npub1s4h…qs84 and I talk about skepticism: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ktPuBFIdQDE @npub1lm3…jd4u

2026-04-17 12:14:29 UTC

This week's net.wars, "Long Island AI", calls the peak of AI mania: https://netwars.pelicancrossing.net/2026/04/17/long-island-ai/ #NetWars #AI #StupidFinanceTricks

2026-04-14 12:54:13 UTC

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Look into buses. They can be slow, but they're very cheap and surprisingly often go where you want,.

2026-04-10 11:55:29 UTC

This week's net.wars, "Waste management", sees the planned obsolescence of early Kindles, Microsoft's "just for entertainment" Copilot, and AI-driven new cybersecurity threats: https://netwars.pelicancrossing.net/2026/04/10/waste-management/ #NetWars #ai #environment

2026-04-07 16:09:59 UTC

Ego: speaking next Monday eve, April 13, at Greenwich Skeptics in the Pub on "What We Talk About When We Talk About AI": https://sitp.online/sitp/greenwich @npub1lm3…jd4u

2026-04-03 12:51:55 UTC

This week's net.wars, "The Silicon Valley chronicles", notes the likely pending deathe of Meta's Oversight Board and reviews the shift in Silicon Valley politics laid out in Jacob Silverman's book, Gilded Rage: https://netwars.pelicancrossing.net/2026/04/03/the-silicon-valley-chronicles/
#NetWars

2026-04-02 10:06:38 UTC

On the eve of #WeRobot2026, my updated list of summaries of all but one #WeRobot conferences back to its founding in 2012: https://netwars.pelicancrossing.net/2026/03/18/a-short-history-of-we-robot-2026-edition/

2026-03-27 13:08:03 UTC

This week's net.wars, "Eating the web", watches Google, a creature of the open web, try to swallow the whole thing, and considers the potential far-reaching impact of this week's social media verdicts: https://netwars.pelicancrossing.net/2026/03/27/eating-the-web/ #NetWars #SocialMedia

2026-03-25 10:48:21 UTC

#WritersCoffeeClub March 25: What do you feel when a loved one reads your work?
Surprised.

2026-03-21 19:28:43 UTC

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I hear bicycles don't do that.

2026-03-20 11:51:29 UTC

This week's net.wars, "Turn left at the robot", goes to the Human-Robot Interaction conference and finds that in robots versus kids the kids win every time: https://netwars.pelicancrossing.net/2026/03/20/turn-left-at-the-robot/, #NetWars #robots

2026-03-13 12:31:46 UTC

This week's net.wars, "Power games", finds the UK's digital ID proposals back in the news, along with alarming new amendments to the Online Safety Act: https://netwars.pelicancrossing.net/2026/03/13/power-games/

2026-03-12 15:28:05 UTC

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Depends. What kind of braed, how much salt, and where was the bagel made?

2026-03-06 10:53:14 UTC

This week's net.wars, "Bedroom eyes", finds Meta's smart glasses scooping up intimate scenes, finds a new paper says LLMs end online anonymity, and notes wartime Internet risks: https://netwars.pelicancrossing.net/2026/03/06/bedroom-eyes/ #NetWars #AI #Privacy

2026-03-01 10:52:15 UTC

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Interesting piece. btw, you have "royal asset" instead of "royal assent" in there.

2026-02-28 11:47:40 UTC

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Nor did I.

2026-02-27 19:08:51 UTC

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More ill-advised if you drop the d.

2026-02-27 11:55:44 UTC

This week's net.wars, "Saving no one", finds that 3D printing is enabling puzzle-making and ponders the mess of the Information Commissioner Office's fine against Reddit: https://netwars.pelicancrossing.net/2026/02/27/saving-no-one/ #NetWars #OnlineSafetyAct

2026-02-20 15:22:42 UTC

This week's net.wars, "Information wants to be surveiled," discovers surveillance pricing, in which the pythons of industry use everything they know about us to wring out every last drop of profit: https://netwars.pelicancrossing.net/2026/02/20/information-wants-to-be-surveiled/ #NetWars #Surveillance #Retail

2026-02-18 17:04:07 UTC

RE: https://social.secret-wg.org/@julf/116092560378745787
you have a problem with that?
#note1xnn…7ys9

2026-02-13 12:01:35 UTC

This week's net.wars, "Whooped", watches the recent Australian Open, where the powers that be disagreed about whether #tennis players could wear Whoop fitness tracker bands in competition: https://netwars.pelicancrossing.net/2026/02/13/whooped/ #NetWars #data

2026-02-08 20:07:03 UTC

RIP Dave Farber, sometimes called the "grandfather of the Internet".

2026-02-06 12:34:27 UTC

This week's net.wars, "In search of the future Internet", goes to meetings building opposition to AI-withouth-public-consent: https://netwars.pelicancrossing.net/2026/02/06/in-search-of-the-future-internet/ #NetWars #AI #polycrisis

2026-02-04 12:00:40 UTC

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what is this?

2026-02-03 19:09:48 UTC

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Ah. Fun.

2026-02-03 19:09:29 UTC

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traintimes.org.uk thinks 19:09. which is now.

2026-02-02 14:16:15 UTC

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It's an interesting point. I had not previously thought of the rise of Facebook et. al as a failure of the open web, but of course it's an *induced* failure, as companies saw a more profitable opportunity in locking people in.

2026-01-30 14:58:26 UTC

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tx. One for my collection.

2026-01-30 12:44:59 UTC

This week's net.wars, "Universal service", plays Techdirt's One Billion Users Game and contemplates the potential loss of Freeview, the UK's public service broadcast TV system: https://netwars.pelicancrossing.net/2026/01/30/universal-service/ #NetWars #TV #SocialMedia

2026-01-30 10:52:08 UTC

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You have email.

2026-01-30 09:38:56 UTC

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Where is that quote from?

2026-01-29 17:56:19 UTC

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Pay off your credit card in full every month. YOu, too, can be a "deadbeat"!

2026-01-28 10:15:15 UTC

RE: https://mastodon.social/@oneguynick/115967848158682089
Some great movies there...
#note133a…rxzw

2026-01-23 13:24:29 UTC

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It probably varies by title. The last things I looked for on Gutenberg had multiple formats available, including ebooks. It's really a wonderful resource - benefits from how long it's been operating.

2026-01-23 12:26:01 UTC

This week's net.wars, "In search of causality", finds new research looking for a connection between teens' social media use and harm: https://netwars.pelicancrossing.net/2026/01/23/in-search-of-causality/ #NetWars #SocialMedia #OnlineHarm

2026-01-23 12:04:39 UTC

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Isn't this what Project Gutenberg already does?

2026-01-16 13:40:19 UTC

This week's net.wars, "Split", notes Keir Starmer's reversal on digital ID and ponders the row over Grok's clothing-removal capabilities and its collateral damage to the Royal Society: https://netwars.pelicancrossing.net/2026/01/16/split/ #NetWars #AI #digitalID #science

2026-01-14 14:36:03 UTC

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Ouch. :)

2026-01-11 14:15:56 UTC

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Reduce inequality.

2026-01-09 13:32:14 UTC

In this week's net.wars, "Disconnexion", Grok's users bring it into disrepute, and the digital euro looms: https://netwars.pelicancrossing.net/2026/01/09/disconnexion/ #NetWars #AI #grok #UKPolitics #crypto

2026-01-08 12:52:11 UTC

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TBF, which of those technologies do you actually want in your life?

2026-01-07 10:57:26 UTC

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Which Phil Ochs song is that?

2026-01-07 10:55:42 UTC

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I am aware. I'm just saying I don't think they think it has anything to do with them.

2026-01-07 10:49:58 UTC

RE: https://mastodon.social/@bruces/115853331794220621
Open to all, not just WELL members.
#note13mh…f9rm

2026-01-07 10:49:07 UTC

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They're broadcasters, not participants.

2026-01-04 14:41:47 UTC

#writersCoffeeClub: Share a tool of your trade.
A small (3x5in) paper pad and a pen. I don't trust my memory, so I use it to write down ideas, movie/TV/book recommendations, things to look up, reminders for things I promise people I will do, things people say, and so on. Corollary: all my clothing must have pockets in which to carry them.

2026-01-02 12:59:35 UTC

This week's net.wars, "The owl who was God", contemplates the year and concludes AI may be too stupid to live much longer: https://netwars.pelicancrossing.net/2026/01/02/the-ai-who-was-god/ #NetWars

2025-12-31 16:33:59 UTC

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Sorry. I didn't see the date (I do now!).

2025-12-31 16:27:04 UTC

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Is it possible the old message just somehow got marked unread?

2025-12-31 14:04:14 UTC

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Ha! Our math teacher swore us to secrecy and, in 8th grade, read us the opening chapter of Portnoy's Complaint because she thought it was so funny.

2025-12-31 13:58:38 UTC

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My English teacher senior year in high school chided me for reading such "mickey-mouse stuff" over the summer.

2025-12-31 01:23:18 UTC

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Similar problem - and I live in UK. A friend's solution was to bring a bottle of high-quality olive oil.

2025-12-30 01:32:54 UTC

In the latest episode of the @npub1wdd…h9qu podcast, we talk to Cory Doctorow about his latest book, Enshittification: https://plutopia.io/cory-doctorow-enshittification/

2025-12-29 19:29:42 UTC

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The White Canon.

2025-12-29 01:22:21 UTC

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1) Spinal Tap II; 2) Pluribus; 3) n/a; 4) n/a; 5) John Lithgow and Aya Cash in GIANT, also 1136; 6) The White Canon; 7) n/a; 8) n/a.

2025-12-28 15:42:42 UTC

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And leave town before people have time to work out what you did.

2025-12-28 15:39:53 UTC

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I guess the idea is that your sweater's sleeves won't interfere with doing housework?

2025-12-27 17:10:10 UTC

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2025-12-27 02:23:00 UTC

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Per Lee Hays (of Weavers fame), re This too shall pass: "I've had kidney stones and I know."

2025-12-26 15:30:44 UTC

This week's net.wars, "The censorship-industrial complex", ponders the Oscars' move to YouTube; watches Waymos freeze in San Francisco's power outage; and wonders why bar *those* five individuals and NFOs from the US: https://netwars.pelicancrossing.net/2025/12/26/the-censorship-industrial-complex/. #NetWars #censorship #uspol

2025-12-26 00:59:11 UTC

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thank you!

2025-12-25 23:02:03 UTC

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On the Riseup pad I might have seen it. I don't use Discord for anything else

2025-12-25 21:24:16 UTC

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Never heard it was happening.

2025-12-25 14:19:44 UTC

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See also the traditional ballad "The Bitter Withy"

2025-12-25 00:38:08 UTC

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How was I not told about this?

2025-12-24 15:27:02 UTC

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Best wishes for a speedy recovery and an eventual desk.

2025-12-24 14:52:37 UTC

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I didn't know they had been so widely copied. I have the CD at home; I think it's unavailable now. I may have MP3s with me.

2025-12-24 14:03:20 UTC

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Ever heard the Klezmonauts album "Oy! to the World"?

2025-12-23 21:55:45 UTC

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See also The Raggged-Trousered Philanthropists

2025-12-23 14:37:51 UTC

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I feel like we saw this in that segment of Woody Allen's movie Everything You Wanted to Know About Sex

2025-12-22 21:20:53 UTC

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2025-12-22 20:59:05 UTC

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I do like Pluribus...

2025-12-22 20:57:10 UTC

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This is why I do batch cooking and freeze in portions.

2025-12-19 11:56:32 UTC

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Reminds me of a friend who shouted at her kids one day, "When are you moving *out*"
At hte time, they were aged six...and three.

2025-12-19 10:47:27 UTC

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Agreed.

2025-12-19 08:21:32 UTC

This week's net.wars, "Slop", marks iRobot's bankruptcy and sale; wonders why, if generative AI is so great it has to be forced on us; and deplores the CBP plan to demand an unrealistic amount of "high-value data" as part of the price of visiting the US: https://netwars.pelicancrossing.net/2025/12/19/slop/ #NetWars #privacy #robots

2025-12-18 20:33:07 UTC

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Safe travels.

2025-12-14 16:28:19 UTC

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It's a sign of considerable privilege: https://www.pelicancrossing.net/netwars/2017/10/the_opposite_of_privilege.html

2025-12-13 19:36:50 UTC

RE: https://infosec.exchange/@wendynather/115713883336284207
That last sentence is a good quotable.
#note1yaz…y4r4

2025-12-12 13:05:27 UTC

This week's net.wars, "ID is football", sees the arrival of Australia's social media ban for under-16s and leads a panel on digital ID at #UKIGF: https://netwars.pelicancrossing.net/2025/12/12/id-is-football/ #NetWars #privacy #digitalid #osa

2025-12-12 13:04:50 UTC

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Yes, I got them confused....

2025-12-12 09:09:04 UTC

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It may be there, but the problem with sending people to github is there's rarely any quick explanation of what the thing is...

2025-12-11 07:48:05 UTC

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I didn't know they were going to do that. Will see if they can be persuaded to monitor more than one place.

2025-12-10 11:50:04 UTC

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I did post when registration opened, and then forgot to follow up until now. It should be an interesting day.

2025-12-10 10:31:35 UTC

Rreminder for those interested in Internet and other tech issues, #ukigf is tomorrow (remote or in-person in London): https://www.ukigf.org.uk.

2025-12-06 14:22:26 UTC

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I predicted something like that years ago wrt online maps and driving directions, but can't find the citation.

2025-12-05 12:09:18 UTC

This week's net.wars, "A fork in the road" is a trip through the UK's recent history of thinking about road pricing: https://netwars.pelicancrossing.net/2025/12/05/a-road-not-taken/ #NetWars #privacy

2025-12-03 11:31:19 UTC

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Don't they already do that? We call them corporations.

2025-12-03 11:03:57 UTC

Applicationsa are open for the Tenacious Journalism awards, for those covering AI, online harms, corporate accountability: https://www.tenaciousawards.org/about-the-journalists-award

2025-12-03 09:45:35 UTC

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Not sure it's there any more or the same as it was; it chnaged at some point. But it was famous for the rudeness of the staff. But it was also a great place to go for a good, quick Chinese meal in the theater district. I liked going there,.

2025-12-02 18:14:24 UTC

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It chanaged hands a while back. It used to be notorious for its good, cheap Chinese food and the extraordinary rudeness of its waiters.

2025-12-02 15:52:17 UTC

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Like the Wong Kei on Wardour Street?

2025-12-01 22:58:05 UTC

At the @npub1wdd…h9qu #podcast we talk to Bruce Schneier about his book, Rewiring Democracy, and the good and bad AI may bring: https://plutopia.io/bruce-schneier-rewiring-democracy/

2025-11-30 10:29:21 UTC

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Thanks for the kind words.

2025-11-28 12:42:16 UTC

This week's net.wars, "Sovereign immunity", learns from X's location tracking feature and ponders the future of international squabbles over Internet censorship: The incident reminded that fraud in general seems to be endemic, especially in the online advertising ecosystem: https://netwars.pelicancrossing.net/2025/11/28/sovereign-immunity/ #OnlineSafetyAct #censorship #fraud

2025-11-27 15:47:21 UTC

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But the song lives on and so does Arlo Guthrie.

2025-11-27 15:43:42 UTC

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Follow the money.

2025-11-27 15:42:55 UTC

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Ha! Sometimes people tell me they've been to my house and I don't remember and they're probably right. Glad that's not the case this time.

2025-11-27 12:19:10 UTC

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I've figured out the angle now. I remember neither the meeting nor what ACCU is!