Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!accuvax.nwu.edu!nucsrl!telecom-request From: peter da silva Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom Subject: Re: MCI, VISAPhone, and Call Canada/Europe/Pacific Message-ID: <10662@accuvax.nwu.edu> Date: 8 Aug 90 21:41:04 GMT Sender: news@accuvax.nwu.edu Reply-To: peter@ficc.ferranti.com (Peter da Silva) Organization: Xenix Support, FICC Lines: 53 Approved: Telecom@eecs.nwu.edu X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 10, Issue 555, Message 6 of 9 I apologise for confusing Donald E. Kimberlin with an MCI Mail employee. I do think that a "democratic" debate that involves one-way messages via an expensive piece of equipment (a FAX) fails a little in the "democracy" department. Since it's one-way, it fails in the "debate" department as well. As a Usenet user, I'm part of a far more democratic (much smaller capital investment required), far more widespread (what, a million users?), and for more responsive forum (two-way beats one-way any day) than any FAX poll. > 1.) Mr. da Silva asks: > >So who do you call to express support for Roseanne Barr? > Response: I don't know who takes telephone calls, but you are free to > fax Mr. McGrover your opinion, pro or con. Not without paying MCI for the privilege. I don't own a FAX... in fact I don't even like the *idea* of FAX. It's an expensive, inefficient, and clumsy *technological* solution to the *political* problems of electronic mail. > He thinks the majority is > con, but does accept opposing viewpoints ... even at his own expense. Your message gave no indication that Mr. McGrover was at all interested in anything but flames. > Are you that open-minded? Having had opposing viewpoints shoved down my throat by the media for the past umpteen days, if I was any more open minded I'd be mainlining Cloraseptic by now. > I want to make it crystal clear that MCI in no way has any > interest nor even the means to make a penny from what is being done. You know any other Email-FAX gateways I might use? They get enough of my money on letters to Australia. > And to those on this forum who HAVE responded and reacted in > the sense of opening electronic democracy... *Opening* electronic democracy? Maybe to the folks with expensive toys or the ability to mooch off the office FAX machine. 900-number polls seem more democratic to me. Peter da Silva. `-_-' +1 713 274 5180. 'U`