**************************************************************** NETWORKS AND COMMUNITY : May 14, 1994 **************************************************************** Networks and Community is devoted to encouraging LOCAL resource creation & GLOBAL resource sharing. The 18th report of 1994 is the 24th weekly survey. **************************************************************** **************************************************************** Coverage in this issue includes: Global Community News From The World Timely Thoughts: A Call to Community, by Kevin Thomas Sullivan Profile: Media Planet (a professional film industry destination) Services: ThisIsCrazy List from Sylvia Caras Help!!! Classes & Meetings ################################################################ Global Community ################################################################ Slowly making headway through the huge pile of handouts from the "Ties That Bind" Conference in Cupertino! As I read through the well presented, thought provoking, informative brochures, two things are happening to me. First, I am brought back to the most energetic gathering of diverse folks that I personally have attended (sheltered life, huh!) and second, I am motivated by the energy of the participants (both at the conference & online) to become more active in what I see as the most important tool for effecting and affecting community available. We are preaching to the already converted here on the net. We need to bring in the melting pot to these discussions. Each question that we ask begets more questions. We must start to organize these thoughts and take action. Only then will we have an effective tool to use to change the world. If you think about it, we have at our potential disposal, in our homes and businesses, the text capabilities to reach as many folks as CNN does with television. One that, if used properly and distributed widely, truly globalize our local communities. *WE* must take the initiative to link our diverse systems together, and righteously fight any loss of bandwidth taken from us by commercial providers, the government and others that would choke off this resource before it reaches its potential. We must make access to the Internet by all a priority, equal in importance to free speech! If we cede the ownership of the Internet to private enterprise, they will control it, just as was done with that OTHER medium, television. We let others dictate content that appeals to the lowest common denominator. We must bring our communities online, all of them. We must form state and national organizations to assist in funding and information gathering. If we fight to maintain ownership of this medium, we will finally have the power to *REALLY* effect change. To accomplish this, we must share our knowledge of and excitement with the rest of our communities. Offer to teach a class at your house or community center on how to use this tool. Preach the gospel, follow it up with your actions, and show others that the "INFORMATION SUPERHIGHWAY" can be just as simple to use as the "INTERSTATE HIGHWAY". -steve covington ################################################################ NEWS of the WIRED & WEIRD **** Received from various sources ################################################################ Forwarded by Gleason Sackman - InterNIC net-happenings moderator **************************************************************** Subject: E-d-u-p-a-g-e 05/10/94 & 05/12/94 EDITED BY MYSELF ************************************************************************ SAN DIEGO TAKES THE INITIATIVE IN TELECOM San Diego wants a broadband fiber network and it isn't waiting for state and federal governments or "convergence" to make it happen. The city is soliciting bids from telephone and cable companies, the local electrical utility, universities and even the U.S. Navy. "We want to conjure up ways in which we can use this technology in a way that makes sense in a business context," says a city management assistant. (Multichannel News 5/9/94) LAWYERS CAPITALIZE ON INTERNET FLAMING Canter & Siegel, a husband-and-wife law firm that found itself scorched by flame mail last month for advertising on the Internet, has decided to launch a new service, Cybersell, to help other businesses do the same thing. Cybersell will charge $500 for access to 6,000 news groups. "People like Canter & Siegel are taking grotesque advantage of liberating technology that supports the free and open exchange of ideas," says the president of the Internet Company. Retorts Siegel, "Our fate has been that we're making a lot of money. If a bunch of hysterics want to scream and yell and make fools of themselves, then I don't feel they warrant respect." (Wall Street Journal 5/9/94 B2) THE SENSE OF A WOMAN Women love the geometric video game Tetris, and game-makers are dying to find out why. While 99% of the buyers for most other games are male, 40% of Tetris buyers are female. One theory is the appeal of the game's goal, which is to bring order to chaos, resulting in neat little rows of geometric shapes. Women crave order, hypothesizes a sociologist hired by Nintendo to unravel the riddle, and by beating the clock on the game, a woman experiences a rush of endorphins -- "feel good" chemicals produced by the body under stress. (Wall Street Journal 5/10/94 B1) COMPUTER TV SHOWS Ziff-Davis Publishing plans a series of four 30-minute television programs about computers, to be aired in conjunction with 30-minute high-tech shopping shows. The Personal Computing Show and Tech TV's Computer Outlet will be produced by the Technology Information Network, a joint venture of Ziff-Davis and Missing Link Communications. (Wall Street Journal 5/10/94 B9) WOMEN FAVOR E-MAIL OVER E-MALL A survey conducted by an online publication reveals that more than 66% of the women surveyed log on to an electronic service at least once a day and the same number spends at least $20 a month on online fees. Top on their list is interacting with editors, writers and other readers, with Internet access ranking second. Only 6% considered shopping, banking or travel services a priority. (Tampa Tribune 5/9/94 B&F3) INFO HIGHWAYS FOR THE FUTURE, POLICY FOR NOW "Ten years from now you're still going to be looking at Dan Rather and his successors," predicts Andrew Schwartzman of the Media Access Project, who insists that policy makers should concentrate on traditional reforms (e.g., the Fairness Doctrine and rules barring phone companies from controlling information content on its wires), rather than be distracted by future hype that will allow the information highway to be controlled by three or four companies. (Common Cause Magazine Spring 94 p.17) BATTLE WAGED OVER NSFNET CONTRACT The National Science Foundation will spend $50 million on an upgraded NSFNet backbone, and has selected MCI for the vBNS (very high-speed backbone network services) portion of the project. Sprint is raising objections, and the lawyers are preparing to do battle. Sprint claims that NSFNet management had a too-cozy relationship with MCI during the evaluation process, and that a National Science Board member also has a possible conflict of interest with MCI. (Telecommunications 5/94 p.15) POSSIBLE SHARED JURISDICTION OVER TELECOMMUNICATION The Canadian federal government may delegate some of its power over communications to the provinces following protests by Quebec over a recent Supreme Court ruling that confirmed exclusive federal jurisdiction in this area. (Toronto Star 5/12/94 A15) ISDN COMING INTO ITS OWN After many years of false starts, Integrated Services Digital Network is developing into a viable choice for communications users. There were more than 125,000 ISDN lines in service at the end of 1993, and the number's expected to grow to 1 million by the end of 1997. "Pricing is breeding ISDN," says the president of a telecommunications firm. (Telecommunications 5/94 p.18) FULL-MOTION VIDEO CHIPS Texas-based Linden Technology has a new take on running full-motion video over your PC. It's combined the memory and logic circuits on one chip, enabling PCs to be built with the graphics capability of a fancy workstation at one-third the cost, according to the company's president. "The big chipmakers think we're crazy, but we see a $30 chip that can push 1,000 MIPS (millions of instructions per second)." (Business Week 5/16/94 p.91) MASCULINE/FEMININE Men typically imagine computer devices that can help them "conquer the universe," says Jan Hawkins, director of the Center for Children & Technology, whereas women want machines that meet people's needs, "the perfect mother." The center's associate director, Cornelia Bruner, says if everyone approached technology the way women do, "we wouldn't be pushing envelopes... Most women, even those who are technologically sophisticated, think of machines as a means to an end." (Newsweek 5/16/94 p.48) ****** From Niiregional Mailing list ****** Thought Internet readers would be interested in this News Release. A full copy of Cullen's testimony from today's (May 12th) hearing is available by Gopher and anonymous ftp at ba.com. Eric Rabe Bell Atlantic | Internet: rabe@ba.com For Immediate Release May 12, 1994 Contacts: Eric Rabe 703-974-3036, Shannon Fioravanti 703-974-5455 BELL ATLANTIC TELLS CONGRESS: IGNORE THE LONG DISTANCE MYTHS, LET ALL TELECOMMUNICATIONS PROVIDERS COMPETE Washington, D.C. , May, 12 -- Bell Atlantic President James G. Cullen today called on the United States Senate to look beyond the myths perpetuated by the long distance telephone industry and craft telecommunications reform legislation that "allows consumers to reap the full benefits of competition." Cullen, testifying on behalf of the seven Regional Bell Operating Companies, pledged to the Senate Commerce Committee his willingness to work out a compromise on S. 1822, The Communications Act of 1994. Cullen asserted that simultaneously opening long distance markets as local markets are opened to additional competition will lower telephone rates and could create as many as 3.6 million new jobs over the next 10 years. "To do anything less than opening both markets at the same time will virtually preordain the winners and losers in this competitive industry," Cullen said. "To do anything less will limit choices for consumers." Cullen added that if the local telephone companies like Bell Atlantic were able to provide long distance service, consumers would have as many as seven new choices for these long distance services. "The long distance cartel remains closed," he said, "closed as the companies spread myths and misinformation to keep competitors out of their markets." Cullen suggested that telecommunications providers begin to talk seriously about how they can work together in the best interest of the consumer. He urged policy makers to focus on the realities of the marketplace and create a compromise which opens all markets to competition. ################################################################## Profile ################################################################## This is a FirstClass system aimed at the professional film & video industry. Feel free to contact me directly at wes_dorman@mediaplanet.com Welcome to Media Planet* Providing a place to discuss and share information about creating and producing films, video and computer media. Covering but not limited to features, commercials, broadcast TV, corporate video, CD-ROMs, interactive programs and multimedia. Meet new friends and keep in touch with professionals like yourself who are responsible for creating, producing and publishing information and entertainment. Questions, answers, demo software, utilities and information fo r people in the business of communicating. Membership information RNon-memberS access -- 30 minutes daily access -- Limited browse mode in Forums -- Limited File Access RDirectorsS access $75 year -- 180 minutes daily access -- Full access to all Forums -- Full access to all Files and Demo software -- Internet mail account allowing global e-mail sending and receiving ################################################################## Services: ThisIsCrazy-List ################################################################## ThisIsCrazy-l@netcom.com This is the information page for ThisIsCrazy. It is automatically sent to all new subscribers, and to anyone who asks for details. ThisIsCrazy is an electronic action and information letter for people who experience moods swings, fright, voices, and visions (People Who). ThisIsCrazy creates an electronic forum and distribution device for exchanging ways to change political systems that touch People Who, and for distributing any information and resources that might be useful. A basic premise of science and research is also a value of ThisIsCrazy: to share your findings with others. To communicate with other People Who, mail messages to ThisIsCrazy-l@netcom.com. (Netcom will translate the name ThisIsCrazy-l, know from -l that the message goes to a list, majordomo will receive the message, understand the name of the list, and automatically send a copy of your message to each subscriber.) There are several other electronic information resources and other more support oriented resources for People Who. An updated resource list is posted regularly to ThisIsCrazy. If you'd like to have the other subscribers meet you, you may send a message to the list, Subject: Introduction. ThisIsCrazy is managed by a computer program named majordomo. To command the program, send an email message to majordomo@netcom.com with a command in the body of the message: help gets a list of majordomo commands info ThisIsCrazy-l gets this page who gets a list of subscribers subscribe ThisIsCrazy-l unsubscribe ThisIsCrazy-l Majordomo is configured so that anyone may subscribe just by requesting, and any subscriber, but only subscribers, may get the list of all subscriber electronic addresses. If you have any questions or problems, please contact sylviac@netcom.com about ThisIsCrazy or netmail@netcom.com about majordomo. key words: mind mad crazy moods voices visions fear consumer survivor ex-patient rights advocacy Copyright 1994 by Sylvia Caras last revised 18 April 1994 ThisIsCrazy-l@netcom.com An electronic mail address list for people who experience moods swings, fright, voices, and visions sylviac@netcom.com I have created an Internet electronic mail address list for people who experience moods swings, fright, voices, and visions ("people who"). The list is used to further low cost exchange of information to serve cohesion and mutuality, and support increased power for "people who." Almost all current activity and advocacy of "people who" is supported by local and national mental health systems and associations, and by grants. Some "people who" believe that this kind of funding dulls the philosophic edge of the grass roots user movement and uses up too much administrative energy. Current newsletters and mailings are distributed by post and the copying, collating, and mail costs have become prohibitive. This leads to restricted information distribution just when the global trends are for wider information exchange, even information overload. Electronic mail (e-mail) is created once and sent to one or many with a few computer commands. There is no postage, no envelopes, no address labels, no folding. The receiver can read the mail on the computer screen or print out a paper version. E-mail saves money, saves time, and gets distributed faster. A low (or no) cost Internet system will enable any user who can access a computer network system for a few minutes to be informed and to contribute. Dial-up Internet access is readily available with a free local telephone call. Internet can connect different brands of hardware and different operating systems, and can interconnect with Compuserve, America On Line, and other commercial systems. There is an intention to involve users of mental health services in their services and to have users directing their own care. Access to the computer tools of mental health systems is part of this involvement. Almost all local mental health systems and mental health associations now have computers. Connecting to the Internet and sharing equipment usage for the few minutes that e-mail requires is a way for local services to act on the theme of inclusion. Internet would cost nothing beyond the already existing fixed costs. A service of local mental health centers is electronic access to information and to each other. If this low level of cooperation is not achievable, other sources of Internet access might be local junior colleges, universities, libraries (via Freenet), independent living centers and disability rights groups, human service organizations, computer clubs, technology manufacturers, local businesses, friends, neighbors. Internet access is easily achievable. Even unsophisticated, low end, grandfather generation technology will work - a modem, some memory, and maybe a printer are all that are needed. For those who would like to learn to use computers, e-mail is a good entry level project. There is a difference between using electronic mail and using computer bulletin boards. E-mail requires less knowledge of computer workings and less computer time. Specific training could be available from local rehabilitation services, mental health departments, schools, computer clubs. For those who do not use radio and television because the technology is invasive, because it sends targeted messages, because it speaks directly to them, computers are interactive and once learned, at the control of the operator. This medium may be acceptable. The e-mail address list gathered will be kept private for use by other "people who" but is not confidential. To subscribe, send an email message to majordomo@netcom.com with this command in the body of the message: subscribe ThisIsCrazy-l If you have questions, write me at sylviac@netcom.com ################################################################## Timely Thoughts ################################################################## I met with Kevin at the "Ties That Bind" conference in Cupertino. He is an Internet consultant and another great example of the type of person that is selflessly working to "humanize" the Internet. -steve covington A CALL TO COMMUNITY A Paper presented at the "Ties That Bind" Conference by Kevin Thomas Sullivan Are community networks going to become the "information utilities" of our age? Maybe, though they will have to overcome great hurdles to achieve that status. I see community networkers not as aspiring utility operators, but as visionaries who can provide leadership in helping us to rediscover intimate community, which I believe to be a healthy condition. I see then, community networks transending the utility paradigm, leaving it to other organizations to provide "utility level" service to the community. What is intimate community and why is it important? Intimate community is about the process of building close, deep and lasting relationships with other men and women. This is something that we don't do very well in our fast paced, high achieving culture. In fact, the way we use things like computers, televisions, cars, even phones, isolates us from one another. Should we just chuck technology and go back to an old nostalgic way of being? I believe not. Forces often act in two balancing directions even though we can see only one side at any given time. Technology is certainly a power and we certainly have seen one of its sides in a big way. Perhaps technology can be used to help facilitate the building of intimate community. How can community networks help in this process? I believe that intimate community is best facilitated through personal contact with other individuals who have a shared passion for something, be it baseball, stamp collecting or even community building. I want to see how community networks can be used to help facilitate the process of bringing people together in ways that enrich our relationships. This way of thinking results in a subtle shift in point-of -view. Community networks become community communications tools instead of information providers. Access to personal information becomes more important than access to impersonal information. Access to personal information of those within our geographic community becomes more important than access to personal information of those outside our geographic community. The concept of Personal Information Empowerment (PIE) becomes important. That you control what, when, where and with whom you share your personal information. Providing simple, low cost access to local, personal information becomes more important than providing complex and expensive access to global impersonal information. (This will be the job of the commercial information providers.) Finding ways to maximize access to local personal information while minimizing the amount of time and effort that people spend on the system, becomes important. How do we put these ideas into practice? We have already begun. We need to continue to accept the premise that we do not have the answers, that we are unlikely to think of the answers in the abstract, that the answers will come only through thought combined with simple trial and error. We need to stay open and flexible, encouraging multiple approaches, and avoiding approaches that will require us think and act alike. We need to make our platforms less stable, more flexible and smaller, so that many different people in different communities can begin to experiment with their own models. Taking more risks, but each risk smaller and more manageable, and above all, listening to the results of our experiments, honestly evaluating them and making changes. As the community networking movement shifts to this ground, we will find that many of our current obstacles will begin to disappear. We will begin to appear less threatening to the commercial information providers because we will be taking a different, though hopefully complimentary, path. The vital energy that we spend on our current technical and political struggles will become less, because the scale of our projects, and their information requirements, will remain small. We will be able to focus our energies on the creative part of this process, generating a series of experiments that begin to enrich our everyday life. This is not an easy road. We will need support. We need to continue making the community building community stronger, so that these experiments can be shared and supported in gentle and accepting ways. We must pay attention to the community that we are creating today, and nourish its growth to sustain us in our efforts. I am convinced that out of these experiments will come a powerful community building force that will have the potential to transform community in our age. ** Copyright * May 3, 1994 * Kevin Thomas Sullivan #################################################################### HELP!!! #################################################################### I am interested in communities that have been involved in the Healthy Community Movement and how telecommunications has played a role in the development of those communities and whether it has been used to exchange information between communities. John Godfreyson jgodfreyson@sd68.nanaimo.bc.ca **************************** Dear Net Citizen: How do you put a price on free and open dialogue on the Net? How much are you willing to spend to preserve the concept of roboust and open debate that have become a part of the Internet's culture? $100? $50? $20? What if the cost of helping to preserve an open and robust Net was no more than $1.29? That's right, less than the cost of a fast food hamburger. Freedom on the Internet for only $1.29... cheap at twice the price. A joke? Hardly. The free and open speech, indeed the First Amendment rights of the Internet -- rights we've all enjoyed for decades -- are now being challenged in court. CyberWire Dispatch, the well-respected online newswire written and developed for the Internet community by journalist Brock Meeks, is the subject of a libel suit. CyberWire Dispatch has been at the forefront of bringing the Net community timely and insightful articles. This suit was highlighted in a _Wall St. Journal_ article (April 22, page B1). The subject of a Dispatch investigation is suing Meeks for simply doing what journalists in the traditional print medium have done since the founding of newspapers: Print the facts and let the public decide the outcome. Brock and the Cyperwire Dispatch are examples of the "bottom up" journalism that charachterizes the Net, where anyone with a modem can compete with the traditional press. Of course, most of us don't come to the Net with a lawyer in tow, or the resources to defend a legal action taken against us in courts located hundreds of miles from our homes. This libel action is one of the earliest cases of libel involving alleged defamatory statements published over a computer network. It raises the extremely important legal and policy issues. It's impact may well determine how and to what extent anyone feels free to express strong opinions on the Net, wihtout being put at risk of legal action. It is crucial that Brock have a strong defense and that the principles that come out of this case provide the maximum protection to the exercise of free and open speech as possible. CyberWire Dispatch is unique because it's distributed solely in electronic form. A service for the Net community at large. And all CyberWire Dispatch articles are free. Meeks neither charges anyone for receiving them; he gets paid nothing to write them. For all these efforts, he's being sued. And being sued by a company with a large financial backing. Meeks, on the other hand, has no such resources. His attorney, Bruce Sanford of Baker & Hostetler is arguably the finest First Amendment lawyer in the U.S. And although he has agreed to represent Meeks at a reduced rate, the cost of defending against this unmerited suit will not be cheap. We have formed this committee to lend our support in helping him raise money for his legal defense. And all we're asking you to send is $1.29. That's it. Why that price? The math is easy: $1 in an envelope with a 29 cent stamp applied. Who can't afford $1.29 to help save the great freedoms we all enjoy here today? Can you send more? Of course. Any contributions will be welcomed and accepted. Tax deductible donations also are possible by following the instructions below. All money sent for Meeks' legal defense fund will be go to that purpose. All the administrative services for administering the fund are being donated; 100% of your money goes to defer the legal costs of this case. You are encouraged to repost this message. But please, we urge you to keep proper Net protocol in mind when reposting or cross posting this message. Thanks for your time. On behalf of Brock and for future generations of electronic journalists, we appreciate your contributions and support. For Tax Deductible Donations: Make Checks out to "Point Foundation" and clearly annotate on the check: "For Legal Defense Fund." Send those checks to: Meeks Defense Fund c/o Point Foundation 27 Gate Five Road Sausalito, CA 94965 For those who don't care about the tax deductible status, send contributions to: Meeks Defense Fund c/o IDI 901 15th St. NW Suite 230 Washington, DC 20005 ################################################################ CLASSES & MEETINGS OF INTEREST ################################################################ Sender: Ed Bidinotto Subject: CONFNA>New User Internet Seminar, 6/11/94, Denver On Saturday June 11th, Internet Strategies will host a seminar in Denver called The Internet Getting Started Seminar. This seminar is targeted to the beginner who would like to get up to speed on using the Internet. This seminar will cover the following topics: - What the Internet is and how you can connect. - Why you need access to this powerful global network. - What tools are available to get worldwide information from the Net. - How your business can benefit from this technology. - What type of Internet connection is best for you. - Where to get help with training and where to find additional resources. Various Internet Experts: Live Internet Demonstrations Saturday June 11th, Denver Marriott SE (I-25/Hampden), 9 am. - 4 pm. Register by May 27. For information/registration, call (303) 863-9561 Cost: $89 includes lunch. Register by May 27th. ********** Sender: OGUJGRA@DPC01.DPC.UMASSP.EDU Subject: Doing business on the Net conference How to do business on the Internet and other interactive media Six practitioners tell how it really works, what it really costs Montague, MA. This June, speakers from MONSANTO, SCHLUMBERGER, The HARTFORD COURANT, and The MONTAGUE INSTITUTE will tell how they use the Internet and other interactive information technologies in R&D, marketing, and customer service. In addition, representatives from NEW MEXICO TECHNET and the VERMONT HEALTH INFORMATION CONSORTIUM will provide insights on how regional information networks are formed, funded, and used by both private and public sector organizations. Designed to address the practical issues of using the "information superhighway" as it exists today, the program will appeal to business executives and professionals, administrators of nonprofit agencies, entrepreneurs, and economic development staff. Topics covered will include interactive advertising, workgroup computing, use of information networks to achieve competitive advantage, Internet resources for business intelligence, and strategies for promoting Internet usage within an organization. The conference, "Gateways to Productivity," will held on the Amherst campus of the University of Massachusetts from 9:00 am to 4:30 pm on June 23, 1994. The event is a collaborative effort with support from Western Massachusetts Electric Company, University Information Systems (The President's Office, University of Massachusetts) and Continental Cablevision. Cost is $65 person. Meals and lodging are available at reasonable rates at the university Conference Center. For more information, call Jean Graef at The Montague Institute (413-367-0245) or send E-mail to OGUJGRA@dpc01.dpc.umassp.edu. ################################################################## ################################################################## NETWORKS and COMMUNITY is a result of the work of people located throughout the global Internet community. Net facilities for the preparation of this newsletter are provided by NETCOM On-line Communications Service, Inc. Editing is done by myself. Back issues are archived through the kindness of the staff at the WELL : gopher ---->gopher.well.sf.ca.us ->community --> civic nets... ---> networks & community; & the NATIONAL LIBRARY OF CANADA : gopher ----> gopher.nlc-bnc.ca "subscriptions" are available through the generosity of the Listowner for the RRE NEWS SERVICE: subscribe by sending e-mail to rre-request@weber.ucsd.edu) with a SUBJECT LINE reading "subscribe ", OR by e-mail to myself, cvington@netcom.com requesting to be put on my mailing list for the newsletter. Additional distribution is assisted by the managers and owners of NET-HAPPENINGS, COMMUNET, & the CANADIAN FREENET listservs. This newsletter is in the PUBLIC DOMAIN, except where noted, and may be used as you see fit. To contribute items or enquire about this newsletter Contact Stephen Covington .