We know that almost all users are too stupid to know what they really need or how to get it, and that they need to be protected from their own stupidity -- as well as protecting the rest of the world from their stupidity.

Not only do I not know this, I find it to be patently false. Yes, I think a high percentage of users is too ignorant to know what they need or how to get it. However, protecting them from that ignorance only propogates and perpetuates it. Pain is one of natures most effective educators. Allowing people to experience the full (as long as it's non-fatal) effect of their ignorance often creates a strong desire for education. This incredible expansion of "We must protect people from themselves" philosophy is wasteful, expensive, and, worst of all, highly destructive to society in the long run. Government or any other regulatory body should protect people from each other, not from themselves. Similarly, while knowingly producing a dangerous product should carry some civil and criminal liabilty, the fact that we have effectively made companies and professionals liable for any act of stupidity comitted by their consumers unless they specifically disclaimed or warned (and sometimes even if they did) the consumer is about 2/3rds of the cost of medicine today. It's about 1/2 of the cost of an airline ticket. It's about 3/4 of the cost of aircraft parts. The list goes on. Owen -- If it wasn't crypto-signed, it probably didn't come from me.