@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ Date: Thu, 25 Jan 1996 Sender: "Steve Eppley" <•••@••.•••> Subject: Re: cr> re: QUESTION of open net survival Jason Wehling wrote: >Richard Moore wrote: >> I'm convinced survival is unlikely, not because the two _couldn't_ >> co-exist, but because of strategic political considerations -- the >> potential threat is too great that Internet could enable large-scale, >> grass-roots, political organizing. The "establishment" doesn't want a >> technology-enabled New Left (or whatever) on its hands, and the tools are >> being put in place to clamp down. > [snip] >As for the government, it tends to want control, especially over content. [snip] I'd express this differently: the government wants to prevent the demand for government info from growing. They don't want the easy public oversight which the net will enable, nor do they want to be drawn by popular demand into open discussion groups where they can't control the microphones. They're at the top of a hierarchy which the net can flatten, irrespective of left or right. The net could enable a number of political applications which the corporatists would fear. Cheap organizing, as Richard mentioned above. Online databases for boycotts & goodguy alternatives. Electronic townhalls where the issues which don't get aired in the corporate media would get addressed. These apps don't need the bandwidth of video-on-demand; they need new software (mobware). These next few years are critical since only a minority of the people have net access. Stall the deforms until there are more people interested in the net's well-being. ---Steve (Steve Eppley •••@••.•••) @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ ~=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=~=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=~--~=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=~=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=~ Posted by Richard K. Moore (•••@••.•••) Wexford, Ireland Cyber-Rights: http://www.cpsr.org/cpsr/nii/cyber-rights/ CyberLib: http://www.internet-eireann.ie/cyberlib Materials may be reposted in their entirety for non-commercial use. ~=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=~=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=~--~=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=~=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=~
