Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!wuarchive!brutus.cs.uiuc.edu!jarthur!aqdata!sullivan
From: sullivan@aqdata.uucp (Michael T. Sullivan)
Newsgroups: comp.society.futures
Subject: Re: Looking faxwards
Message-ID: <1990Jan11.011847.9092@aqdata.uucp>
Date: 11 Jan 90 01:18:47 GMT
References: <9001102206.AA04989@gslisf.lis.uiuc.edu>
Organization: aQdata, Inc.  Western Region -- San Dimas, CA
Lines: 26

From article <9001102206.AA04989@gslisf.lis.uiuc.edu>, by hoetker@GSLISF.LIS.UIUC.EDU (Glenn Hoetker):
> 
>      Fax has been an incredible step backwards.  People sit at their word-
> processors and create computer-readable materials, then print it out in order
> to turn it into a non-computer readable fax message! This will eventually either
> change or be superceeded.

Okay, here I go:  fax IS electronic mail.  What do you want electronic
mail to do?  Send whatever you want to send "instantaneously" to wherever
you want to send it, yes?  Just because it usually comes out hardcopy
doesn't mean it's not electronic mail; it doesn't have to come out hardcopy.
This email stuff we are using now can come out hardcopy but it doesn't
because it is set up that way.  There are many different types of electonic
mail and fax must be considered one of them.

And about generating stuff electronically then faxing it:  the idea that
all fax messages come from word processors, or even computers, is ludicrous.
Can you "email" handwritten notes?  No.  Can you "email" articles out of the
newspaper without re-typing them by hand?  No.  Fax is in no way an
"incredible step backwards".  Actually, if people used to using faxes were
told they could only use "email", they would most likely feel that "email"
was an incredible step backwards.
-- 
Michael Sullivan          uunet!jarthur!aqdata!sullivan
aQdata, Inc.              sullivan@aqdata.uucp
San Dimas, CA