Voting Station

John Perry Barlow

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Advocate

The Resume

    (October 3, 1947-February 6, 2018)
    Born in Sublette County, Wyoming
    Cattle rancher, lyricist and cyber rights activist
    Collaborated on Grateful Dead songs with Bob Weir and Brent Mydland
    Co-founder of the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF, 1990) and the Freedom of the Press Foundation (2012)
    Wrote ‘The Declaration of Independence of Cyberspace’ (1996)

Why he might be annoying:

    He met Bob Weir when they were ‘easily the most unpopular kids’ in a military academy for ‘difficult’ students.
    He took part in LSD experiments with Timothy Leary and introduced Leary to the Grateful Dead.
    He said all his votes in presidential elections were for protest candidates, ranging from George Wallace to Dick Gregory.
    Some of his ‘civilization of the mind’ comments about the internet come off as rather naïve.
    After flatlining for eight minutes after a heart attack and not experiencing a tunnel of light with loved ones at the end, he declared that death was ‘really a bummer.’

Why he might not be annoying:

    His devout Mormon parents forbade him from watching television until sixth grade, when they allowed him to watch televangelists.
    He and his fiancé, Dr. Cynthia Horner, double dated with John F. Kennedy, Jr. and Daryl Hannah.
    He was described by ‘Wired’ as ‘the first person to talk about [the internet] in a way that a cowhand can understand.’
    He founded the EFF to protest government regulation of the internet, such as the Communications Decency Act.
    He said, ‘Relying on the government to protect your privacy is like asking a peeping tom to install your window blinds.’

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 7 Votes: 28.57% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 9 Votes: 55.56% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 39 Votes: 25.64% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 1 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 100 Votes: 59.00% Annoying