About Gates
Gates are quite literally just a portal from one thing to another. This can refer to an electronic portal or a physical portal. Read on for a little more information about gates and gateways.
History
Gates have had a variety of purposes throughout time. The initial purpose of gates was to protect livestock and offer a controlled access point to bounded areas. Later the purpose was to lock up or protect one's belongings or home. Additionally, gates and gateways have been used as symbols of triumph or wealth (the Roman army erected arches at every great victory; the Arc d'Triomph in Paris) and often are a symbol of division or class structure.
Types
There are kissing gates, which, despite the name, are used for livestock because they let people through but not animals (generally by having a space wide enough for a person but not an animal). The name comes from a game commonly played at the gates; when one person enters the gate no one else can pass through, it is tradition to stand and demand a kiss before allowing entry to the other side. There are airport gates, turnstiles at the entrances to subways and public buildings, wrought iron property gates and computer gateways, in which a primary computer serves as an access point to subsequent computers. Additionally, there are fairly common societal references to the "pearly gates" or "gates of heaven."
Effects
Throughout history, gates have become a metaphor for access, information, knowledge, privilege and wealth. To pass through a physical or metaphorical gate means you have gained access to whatever is behind that, and that the access to that commodity is protected and regulated. For example, in Frances Hodgen's novel "The Secret Garden," the owner of the garden hides the door to prevent anyone from opening the physical gateway and to additionally prevent anyone from opening the emotional gateway to his subverted feelings for his dead wife. We still see this notion of exclusivity in daily life at places like nightclubs, bars and invite-only parties where there is a bouncer manning a doorway, deciding who will be granted passage and why. In wealthy communities, the entire enclosure is gated off, garnering the name "gated communities."
Considerations
When considering installing a gate inside your home or on your property, do so with a keen eye for the aesthetic of establishing a tangible boundary. Be it a puppy gate or a picket fence, you must realize that it will always establish prohibitions (insomuch that the puppy will be dying to get beyond that gateway out of sheer curiosity) and establish an "us versus them" mentality (for example, erecting a fence and gate between your yard and your neighbor's). Even if it is for such a benign reason as you enjoy the way it looks, consider how gates and fences have been perceived throughout time because it is subconsciously written into our understanding.
Benefits
Of course, if you are planning to establish a boundary, there can be no better way than with a solid fence and a gate. Creating a specific boundary between the information on your computer and those on your linked network is a crucial security measure. Gates are simple in nature and yet very effective in regulating access from everything from the tangible, physical possessions, to the emotional and technological.
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