According to media critic Geert Lovink, the Internet is being closed off by corporations and governments intent on creating a business and information environment free of dissent. Calling himself a radical media pragmatist, Lovink envisions an Internet culture that goes beyond the engineering culture that spawned it ...

In Dark Fiber, Lovink combines aesthetic and ethical concerns and issues of navigation and usability without ever losing sight of the cultural and economic agendas of those who control hardware, software, content, design, and delivery. He examines the unwarranted faith of the cyber-libertarians in the ability of market forces to create a decentralized, accessible communication system. He studies the inner dynamics of hackers' groups, Internet activists, and artists, seeking to understand the social laws of online life.

Topics include ... sustainable social networks, mailing list culture, and collaborative text filtering.

Howard Rheingold says, "Geert Lovink taught me how to think critically about technology, and I always turn to him for thoughtful and humane analysis."

Mark Dery says, "Geert Lovink is the Linus Torvalds of open-source theory. Where he leads, I follow."