Whack-A-Mole

A central component of Alexander Galloway’s chapter “Physical Media,” is the concept of decentralization. This term refers to how the internet and other networks function in a non-hierarchical fashion. The general idea is that since there is no central command center, the network will continue to function even if there is a systematic “attack” upon any part of it. The transmitted information will still be in tact to a degree. The delegation of power to individual units allows for the network’s self-regeneration rather than debilitating the entire system. The internet’s ability to continually renew itself reminds me of the arcade game “Whack-a-mole”.

those suckers just refuse to die...

This game, surely you all remember, is infuriating because you can’t succeed in taking out the entire mole population. No matter how many times a singular mole is taken out by your foam covered mallet, another mole, or several, pop(s) up in a new location, un-phased by your desperate attempts to massacre them all. The underground networks of moles function independently of each other and compensate for each mole which is taken out. The “whack-a-mole” game and the decentralized nature of the internet are always in a state of deferral, an exemplary model of Derrida’s differance since the independent units are always slightly different from each other and are thus capable of avoiding detection through a constant deferral to another entity. After all, there is no “King Mole” which takes out the entire population, and no internet central hub to destroy to take out the connections to it.

While this measure of networking is protective and effective so that the internet is immune to eradication, this also allows for users to put content on the internet which is also somewhat insusceptible to destruction and detection. Malignant content like child trafficking and other radical and criminal activities are capable of sustaining their cells online because of coding which disguises their true identity. Those who are privy to the code can withstand online crackdowns because they can appear in alternate forms. Even if one cell if taken down, others can adapt and will pop up in new locations, un-phased by their counterpart’s destruction.

There is no easy way to establish a secure network in real life and likewise, no way to do so on the internet. The same safety measures one takes are the same elements which lead to oversights and loopholes which can be manipulated for various reasons. Galloway makes a definitive statement about the way the internet is constructed: “Accept everything, no matter what source, sender or destination” (42). He focuses primarily on the fact that this is a “virtue” of the decentralized network and its protocols, but it can’t be ignored that this blind acceptance is an equally formidable vice.