SCHINDLER: Do you find that preaching responsibility is popular?
DYSON: I don't know yet. I'm waiting to find out. But it's the right thing to do.

Schindler: Do you find that preaching responsibility is popular? Dyson: I don't know yet. I'm waiting to find out. But it's the right thing to do.

SCHINDLER: If you were to pick two or three of the points you made in the book that you thought were the most critical to get people to pay attention to, which would you choose?
DYSON: One important thing is simply that the book is optimistic. It's because, fundamentally, I think people are trying to do good. Its optimism will come true if only people do in fact get on the Net and use it well. If they are scared of it and they leave it to the "bad guys," then the reverse will come true. The message is, "Don't be scared of it. It's a tool. It's not something to have, it's something to use. It gives you more power over your own life, without necessarily giving you power over other people." That's what I like about it. It takes power away from the central authorities and gives it to individuals.

"People have to take the responsibility for educating their children just as they do in normal life. You lock your door, you don't let your kid go wandering around downtown. You need to be aware of the dangers, but you also need to not be paralyzed by them."

SCHINDLER: You mentioned the "bad guys." A lot of people are scared of the Internet. They're scared of Internet commerce, they're scared of child pornography on the Internet on behalf of their children. Has that been blown out of proportion?
DYSON: It has been blown out of proportion, but it is real. There are bad people in the world or people who have become bad -- I don't want to get into a philosophical discussion. But it's a powerful tool for them, too. People have to take the responsibility for educating your children just as they do in normal life. You lock your door, you don't let your kid go wandering around downtown. You need to be aware of the dangers, but you also need to not be paralyzed by them, and go out and make it a better place for yourself and whoever you are dealing with.

SCHINDLER: And you remain optimistic that this will happen?
DYSON: I am optimistic that it will happen overall. I certainly don't think we're going to eliminate evil by all going on the Net. I'm optimistic, but I'm also trying to make it happen. It's very similar to what's happening in Russia. It's not clear Russia is going to turn out for the better, but I hope it is, and they are trying to make it happen in the same way that I am on the Net.

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"I don't think it's a moral requirement to be one the Net. I don't have a home phone, that's my personal choice … and if someone chooses to not be on the Net, that is their choice."

SCHINDLER: There are a lot of people who aren't on the Net. Some are vigorously and aggressively not on the Net, and some are just not on the Net because of age or lack of technical education. Do you think the Net is now or will be a place for everyone?
DYSON: I don't think it's a moral requirement to be one the Net. I don't have a home phone, that's my personal choice, and I think that's great. And if someone chooses to not be on the Net, that is their choice. If you want to work in business, let's face it, you probably are going to have to be on the Net, just as you have to use the telephone at work. I do use it at work, just not at home. And kids will be exposed to it in school.

SCHINDLER: You've proposed an interesting idea in the book for getting rid of spam, and I wondered if you could tell us about it and also assign a likelihood of it coming to pass.
DYSON: I think it is likely to pass. But the idea is simply that I can charge people to send me e-mail. It's not the post office collecting it, it's me, and probably an ISP will handle the logistics and get a commission for it. You can't get rid of spam because there's no independent determination of what spam is. spam is e-mail I don't like to receive. So I've got to determine what spam is and then set up a system for myself to keep it away. Again it's something where I think decentralized control and individual choice is a much better system than having the government trying to find out what spam is and then making it illegal.

"But the idea is simply that I can charge people to send me e-mail. ... If it's worth it to you to have them read your mail, you will pay their price."

SCHINDLER: When I read your idea for stopping spam I said to myself, "There's a lot of people who are going to make me pay to send mail to them." Wouldn't the system of charging people to send you mail eventually reduce the utility of mail on the Internet?
DYSON: No, I think it will reduce the prevalence of unwanted mail. If it's worth it to you to have them read your mail, you will pay their price. If they like it, they will probably refund the fee. Let's face it. If people don't want your mail, Paul, you have a problem.

SCHINDLER: Can you select a recent personal or professional accomplishment that you're particularly proud of?
DYSON: Well, a really neat thing that happened that is both personal and professional is last Friday. My brother and I did a joint book-signing up in Seattle, and that was a lot of fun. He has a book called "Darwin Among The Machines." That was a unique experience for all of us.

SCHINDLER: Have you ever done a signing with your father?
DYSON: No, but I'd love too. The time may come.

SCHINDLER: What is the most optimistic statement you can make about the future of the Internet?
DYSON: One that is true? It is a tool for people to use to control their own lives. The Net reduces the power of central authorities and gives it to individuals not to control others, but to control themselves and define their interests. That is pretty optimistic, but it is true, and it is a challenge for people to take advantage of it.

SCHINDLER: What is the most pessimistic thing you can say about the future of the Internet?
DYSON: There's a lot of people who won't take advantage of it. It's just more television. People won't rise to the challenge. They will be passive, and that is certainly true of a number of people, but I'm trying to reduce the number.