Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!husc6!mit-eddie!ll-xn!ames!ucbcad!ucbvax!BU-CS.BU.EDU!bzs
From: bzs@BU-CS.BU.EDU (Barry Shein)
Newsgroups: comp.society.futures
Subject: Ho-hum
Message-ID: <8710220138.AA09366@bu-cs.BU.EDU>
Date: Wed, 21-Oct-87 21:38:05 EDT
Article-I.D.: bu-cs.8710220138.AA09366
Posted: Wed Oct 21 21:38:05 1987
Date-Received: Sat, 24-Oct-87 13:36:53 EDT
Sender: daemon@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU
Organization: The ARPA Internet
Lines: 63


Well, obviously the whole USA/USSR thing is a rather touchy issue and
tends to bring out a lot of low-grade barroom political debate in
people, not their best side.

Unfortunately it also brings out the competitiveness in people as each
fears that the other might get the last word or score some points or,
well, who knows what. Emotions tend to run that course.

I don't think trying to appeal to people's common sense that we've
heard it all before will help a lot.

At best we can either wait for it to calm down (which it invariably
will after a few dozen messages) or, better, try to perhaps channel
the energy towards something more constructive.

For example, forgetting the specific countries (let's face it folks,
neither the US nor the USSR have a monopoly on dangerous foolishness)
it is interesting to ask questions like:

1. Are (free and open) computer networks a threat to totalitarianism
in general? Is technology a potential savior in this regard? It
certainly is a very hard to censor media once it's allowed at all (as
this list amply demonstrates.)

2. Does anyone envision computer networks, bulletin boards etc
becoming a common resource for information (even bad information) for
large segments of the population? There are experiments in France
trying to establish this sort of thing. We (yes, I mean you and I)
could do a lot to further such efforts in this country by simply
familiarizing ourselves with the technology (eg. installing and
administering FIDOnet and UUCP) so we can show our neighbors how,
calling our neighbors in to see what it is and getting them all to buy
systems (granted they have to be mildly affluent, but not much, you
can get a terminal emulator on an ATARI-800 these days for less than
$100, didn't say they needed cray's to get access.)

3. What do you think their reaction would be to some of these newsgroups?
(I'll tell you one, "you mean even *I* could put a message on there?!?!")

4. Why hasn't it happened already? I think it's more than not being
able to get your hands on the technology, where there's a will there's
a way (go down to Eli's in Cambridge and you can pick up a VT52 for
$75, etc.) I suppose one could argue that it *is* happening, it is to
some extent.

5. Does anyone know of any apartment buildings, communities,
neighborhoods, suburban blocks which have gotten themselves networked?
I know a friend of mine was trying to talk a few of his neighbors in
Brookline, MA into running an ethernet through their backyards, he
figured it would cost a few $K (maybe $500 per household) and he would
run the time-sharing system. Not sure what happened.

6. Anyone think that perhaps a way to combat totalitarianism in other
countries is to stand at the border handing out equipment to set up
community computer networks? (I know, they'll find out, they'll stop
it, maybe, maybe not, other than that...)

7. Anyone think any of this will ever play a significant role in
popular politics in the future? What is needed (technologically) to
make it happen?

	-B