************************************************************************** NETWORKS AND COMMUNITY : May 21, 1994 ************************************************************************** Networks and Community is devoted to encouraging LOCAL resource creation & GLOBAL resource sharing. ************************************************************************** The 19th report of 1994 is the 25th weekly survey. ************************************************************************** ************************************************************************** Coverage in this issue includes: Global Community News From The World Internet Tools: Internet Computer Index (ICI) Services: Governing in the Information Age Timely Thoughts: Essay from a com-priv list discussion Help!!! ########################################################################## Global Community ########################################################################## This past week, a few of us became embroiled in a discussion of "politics" in the Communet discussion list. The topic was brought up as a result of a post by Ed Schwartz, commented on by Mr.Todd, and "critiqued" by yours truly! It was then shot down by others on the list pointing out correctly that the list topic is "Community Networking". The thread then metamorphosed to "can we get back to..." and may still be there wandering in cyberspace. Well, little did I realize how quickly that discussion would impact me in my own life. I am in the planning stages of setting up a community network in Gilroy California. Gilroy is a small city about 25 miles south of San Jose, Ca. Our population is 34000, with an ethnic blend of about 50/50 "hispanic" to "anglo". Gilroy is most known for our annual "Garlic Festival" held the last full weekend in July. Up until about two years ago, ours was the prototypical "quiet, little town". The peaceful nature of Gilroy changed when for the first time, our police department was involved in a deadly shoot-out with a despondent local citizen. Two officers were seriously wounded and the young man that began the shoot out was killed. Since that time, we have had other purported "gang" related activities and another police shoot out. As in other towns, this has caused tensions to increase between ethnic groups. Also, as with everywhere else, the gap between haves and have nots has widened considerably. Graffiti abounds and the kids complain of nothing to do and nowhere to go. All of the involved blame this on the others, so that nothing gets done and no-one is responsible. Fairly typical worldwide, I'd say. Getting back to the topic of Community computing, I have been approaching local businesses, community groups, school groups, library groups and the like to gather input on what they would like to see if a system was set up. As you that have gone before me have found out, very few folks even know what the heck you're talking about. They think that it's a great idea though, and "come back when you have the cost breakdowns, we'll help you then" is a common reply. Not a problem... I was a firefighters union president for many years and I'm used to that. Problems are like ice cream cones, they're there to be licked! When I spoke with the CEO of our local Chamber of Commerce, the discussion of "community" quickly enlarged from computing to using the system for bringing people together. At Cupertino, we discussed adding value to our systems after they come online so that initial logons grow from the curious to include others in the community that have never used the modems in their computers. Obviously, to draw in those that don't even HAVE computers, many choices must be made, funding arranged, and a REASON for joining the digital generation made irresistable. We are bringing together a diverse, activist, group of folks that are motivated to develop a model program to use computers to access each other, city government, labor groups, church groups, etc. We feel that the initial step of bringing these folks together to discuss community, then community networks, will give us a solid basis to begin this endeavor. The fact that the Chamber wants to assist in the organization for reasons other than the benefits possibly available to business, surprised me and hopefully bodes well for this project. If this does not become a "political" community network, I will be quite amazed. -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 05/15/94 through 05/21/94 EDITED BY MYSELF ************************************************************************* THE AVERAGE HOUSEHOLD TO HAVE 2.5 COMPUTERS Dallas market research firm Channel Marketing projects that 109.1 million computers will be sold in the U.S. in 1999, and that by that time American houeholds will on average have 2.5 PCs. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution 5/15/94) HIGH-TECH COURT In a move to save lawyers time and money, the Quebec Court of Appeal announced it will become the first judicial body in Canada to allow lawyers to argue motions and plead cases using video-conferencing technology. (Toronto Globe & Mail 5/14/94 A5) SMALL BUSINESS COMPUTER EXPORT HOTLINE The Canadian government will set up a nationwide computer hotline to provide small businesses with a "how to" for cashing in on export opportunities. (Ottawa Citizen 5/13/94 F3) BARBARIANS AT THE CYBERGATE The New York Times reports hostility and aggression are spreading in cyberspace, and network experts are worried about the future of the electronic community. A rash of newcomers in the last year or two has undermined the tradition of rational self-government and the democratic exchange of ideas. Commenting on the recent incident where two lawyers advertised their services to Usenet groups and were subsequently vilified, a University of California at San Diego professor observes, "If such events become routine -- and there's very little technical or legal reason why they won't -- then the whole net will basically collapse through flame-wars, the closing of e-mail discussion groups to outsiders and whatever." (Tampa Tribune 5/15/94 B2) A CORPORATION FOR PUBLIC TELECOMMUNICATIONS? A Corporation for Public Telecommunications, patterned on the CPB model, could do the same thing for the information superhighway that public broadcasting did for television many years ago, by sponsoring high-quality educational and cultural digital information services for computer,telephone and cable television networks. (The American School Board Journal 5/94 p.40) 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) 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) 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) NETWORKING CHIP STATS The market for transmission and networking chips is expected to reach $1 billion by 1997, up from $346 million in 1992. These chips are integral to many leading edge communications applications. (Investor's Business Daily 5/10/94 A6) 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) GETTING RUSSIA ON THE TELEPHONE Modernizing the telecommunications system is a high priority within Russia, a country that spans 11 time zones, and which has only 11 to 15 lines for every 100 people, compared to 70 lines for 100 people in the U.S. American and other telecom companies see Russia as a potential $120 billion market. (New York Times 5/10/94 C2) NO SUCH THING AS PERFECT SECURITY "No security measure is 100% effective," says Ed Krol, author of The Whole Internet User's Guide. "Any precaution that allows some people access and excludes others can be attacked. The goal is not guaranteed security, because guaranteed security leads to a system that is unusable by its legitimate users. The goal is to make things so difficult as to discourage hackers and send them looking for easier pickings." (The Sciences May/June 94 p.44) SURGE OF ELECTRONIC NEWSPAPERS More than 2,700 newspapers are now experimenting with one or another kind of electronic venture, says The Kelsey Group, compared to only 42 in 1989; part of the urgency for the experiment is that almost half of young people 18 to 24 years old don't read newspapers at all. The Palo Alto Weekly (http://www.service.com/PAW/home.html) is the only general-circulation newspaper now on the Internet. (U.S.News & World Report 5/16/94 p.60) INTERNET TOP TEN BEST-SELLING BOOKS CPU Publishing Update says the top ten best-selling books on the Internet are: 1. Whole Internet User's Guide (Krol); 2. The Internet Complete Reference (Hahn & Stout); 3. Internet for Dummies (Levine); 4. Mac Internet Tour Guide (Ventana); 5. Complete Internet Directory (Braun); 6. The Internet Companion Plus (LaQuey); 7. Internet Starter Kit for the Mac (Hayden); 8. The Internet Navigator (Glister); 9. Connecting to the Internet (Estrada); 10 Zen and the Art of the Internet (Kehoe). (Internet Business Report May 94 p.5) 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) THE INFORMATION ECONOMY New York Times writer John Markoff says in a recent Educom Review that "traditional market behavior may not be suited for an information economy in which things of great value can be endlessly replicated." (Washington Technology 5/5/94) DEVELOPING NATIONS LEAPFROG WITH CELLULAR Cellular networks in Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines are expanding so rapidly that they may leapfrog traditional networks to become the most common form of telephone service. In South America, so many Venezuelans are carrying C-phones that some restaurants require customers to check them at the door to control the noise level. (St. Petersburg Times 5/16/94 Business p.2) CANADIANS TO DRIVE CYBER-NETWORK, MINISTER PLEDGES Handing out $12.5-million in grants to builders of the info highway, the Canadian government wants to put private companies in the driver's seat of the coming cyber-network of interactive education, medicine and entertainment. (Ottawa Citizen 5/17/94 D8) CABLE BLASTS TELCO TACTICS Canadian cable company Rogers Communications says telephone companies will use "bookkeeping misappropriations" to juggle numbers in their drive to destroy the cable industry if federal regulators allow them to deliver video services. (Toronto Financial Post 5/17/94 p. 9) POLL SAYS INFO HIGHWAY'S GREAT, BUT WHAT IS IT? Thirty-four percent of adults polled by Louis Harris and Associates have seen, heard or read something about the information superhighway. Sixty percent of those think it sounds like an excellent or pretty good idea -- but admit that they have little understanding of what it actually is. (St. Petersburg Times 5/16/94 Business p.10) CABLE JOINS TELCO IN VENTURE Two fierce rivals -- Rogers Communications and BCE Inc. (Bell Canada Enterprises) -- are planning to work together to build at least one portion of the info-highway roadbed just a week after each announced competing plans to offer the same service. The cable company is joining the telco in a consortium that will deliver hundreds of TV channels directly to consumers' homes via pizza-sized satellite dishes. (Toronto Star 5/17/94 C1) ************************************************************************* Edupage. To add your name to the Edupage distribution list, send e-mail to: listproc@educom.edu. In the body of the message type: sub edupage . To unsubscribe send the message: unsub edupage. Edupage is also available in Portuguese and Spanish: edunews@nc-rj.rnp.br. ************************************************************************* Sender: "Communet: Community and Civic Network Discussion List" From: "Arthur R. McGee" Subject: Highway Robbery ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Mon, 16 May 1994 11:12:19 -0400 From: William Graves Subject: Highway Robbery Just forwarded to me... > Subject: Highway Robbery: The Selling of the Internet > SUPERHIGHWAY REPORT HPCwire > ============================================================================= > > San Francisco, Calif. -- A special report in the May issue of "PC World" > says that lavish spending and carefully targeted lobbying of key members of > Congress by corporate special interest groups threatens to stifle competition > in the restructuring of the nation's communications infrastructure. > > According to the report, tens of millions of dollars are being funnelled by > political action committees (PACs) and lobbyists of the communications > industry to congressmen and congressional committees who are helping to speed > the passage of legislation through Congress. The report, "Highway Robbery; > Selling the Net" is the result of an in-depth investigation by "PC World" > Senior News Editor Joe Abernathy. > > Highlights of the report include: > > Encouraged by Vice President Gore's vision of ubiquitous network of > computer and communications networks, Washington lawmakers are engaging in > the most comprehensive revision of American communications policy since the > Communications Act of 1934. More than 30 bills affecting various parts of the > emerging information infrastructure are currently under consideration in > Washington. > > Local telephone companies, cable television providers, long distance > telephone companies, entertainment companies and communications equipment > manufacturers, each of whom wants to enter the other's markets are leading th e > lobbying and special-interest spending. Communications sector PACs spent > roughly $9.6 million on direct campaign contributions alone during the 1992 > election cycle. Of this, telephone company contributions exceeded $5.1 > million and cable company contributions exceeded $2.1 million. > > Lobbying and campaign contributions are carefully targeted at certain > congressional committees and committee members. According to "PC World": > > Members of the Senate Commerce Committee which has jurisdiction over > Ernest Hollings bill to rewrite the Communications Act of 1934, accepted > $2,046,886 from the communications industry during the last election cycle. > > In the 1992 election cycle, members of the House Energy and Commerce > Committees, which have jurisdiction over one of two House bills affecting > deregulation, accepted $1,298,000 from the communications industry. > > Members of the Senate Judiciary Committee which recently conducted > anti-trust hearings on the proposed TCI-Bell Atlantic merger, received > $943,000 from the communications industry during the 1992 election cycle and > all told, received a whopping $14,148,700 from the industries they are > supposed to oversee. > > Even with a much shorter election cycle, members of the House Judiciary > Committee accepted $718,000 from the communications industry in 1992 and > $6,680,00 from the industries it is charged with regulating. > > Members of the important House Science, Space and Technology Committee > accepted $679,000 from communications industry PACs during 1992. > > In total, "PC World" found that members of the above-named five committees > received a breathtaking $69,538,609 during 1992 from industries that had > business before them. > > AT&T supports the nation's largest corporate-sponsored PAC, with 1992 > election year spending of $1,297,525. Of the communications industry PACs, > Bell South is second in spending with over $835,000, followed by National > Cable TV Association with $631,000. > > The special report contrasts the current investment by large industrial > concerns with Vice President Gore's 1992 campaign promise to act as a > catalyst for developing a widely accessible network capable of supporting > both community and commercial activities. The report contains extensive > commentary from the leaders of several public interest groups and prominent > private-sector business leaders who have a vested interest in the emerging > information superhighway. > **************************************************************************** * > H P C W I R E S P O N S O R S > Product specifications and company information in this section > are available to both subscribers and non-subscribers. > > 901) ANS 902) IBM Corp. 904) Intel SSD > 905) Maximum Strategy 906) nCUBE 907) Digital Equipment > 909) Fujitsu America 912) Avalon Computer 914) Applied Parallel Res. > 915) Genias Software 916) MasPar Computer 919) Transtech Parallel > 921) Cray Research Inc. 927) ISR Corp. > ***************************************************************************** > Copyright 1994 HPCwire. > To receive the weekly HPCwire at no charge, send e-mail without text to > "trial@hpcwire.ans.net". > ----- End Included Message ----- ****** From: Sally Hambridge Subject: Gov't Info online To: Multiple recipients of list PACS-L Hello all. The question about the SBA leads me to remind you all of the very fine resources available on government information through is.internic.net. (They have a gopher, but I never use it - being old guard and prefering native ftp.) URL: ftp://is.internic.net/infoguide/resources/government/govinfo URL: ftp://is.internic.net/infoguide/resources/government/us-fedgov-info URL: ftp://is.internic.net/infoguide/resources/overviews/government- business-sources Each of these are excellent sources for government information available online, and is.internic.net has many other fine resources in the infoguide. Sally ########################################################################## Internet Tools ########################################################################## Sender: owner-net-happenings@is.internic.net ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Tue, 17 May 94 13:30:29 CDT From: ICI info Subject:Internet Computer Index The Internet Computer Index (ICI) is an easy-to-use, free service that leads Internet users to all of the information available on the Internet relating to PCs, Macintoshes, and Unix computers. ICI is the Internet's only one-stop, resource-locating service, helping users locate any information related to computers that is available on the Internet more easily and efficiently that ever before possible. ICI users can find out answers to their hardware and software questions, solve networking problems, research buying decisions, and keep up-to-date with their systems. Using Gopher or World Wide Web client software, any user on the Internet, anywhere in the world, can get the most up-to-date information including pointers to all Usenet news groups, mailing lists, Gopher and World Wide Web servers, anonymous FTP sites, and other Internet-specific resources. Users can search through Internet resources including: - Usenet news groups - mailing lists - Gopher servers - World Wide Web servers - anonymous FTP sites - frequently asked question files (FAQs) - online publications - commonly-downloaded files In addition, ICI freely provides information that is not available anywhere else on the Internet. For example, the Macintosh and PC sections allow users to search through indexes of reviews from popular magazines since January 1993. Further, ICI also lets users search through the messages from relevant Usenet news groups for topics of interest. In the future, Proper Publishing will add more original content to ICI as a service to the Internet community. To reach ICI using a Gopher program, enter "ici.proper.com" as the host name. Type=1 Name=Internet Computer Index by Proper Publishing Path= Host=proper.com Port=70 URL: gopher://proper.com:70/ To reach ICI using a World Wide Web program such as Mosaic, enter "http://ici.proper.com" as the Universal Resource Locator (URL). Followups by email to info@proper.com please. Proper Publishing Santa Cruz, CA 95060 ########################################################################## Services: Net Results * Governing In the Information Age ########################################################################## Forwarded by Gleason Sackman - InterNIC net-happenings moderator ************************************************************************** Date: Thu, 19 May 94 From:reed.overfelt@npr.gsa.gov Subject: NetResults Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) Author: Netresults Staff Date: June 1994 ************************************************************************** NETRESULTS VICE PRESIDENT AL GORE NATIONAL PERFORMANCE REVIEW GOVERNING IN THE INFORMATION AGE ************************************************************************** WHAT IS IT ? NetResults is your opportunity to participate directly in reinventing government. And we invite you to join us -- to create a government that "Works Better and Costs Less!" NetResults is a growing network of people and teams working together to reinvent government. It was created in the fall of 1993 to explore a team-based, open-network approach to implementing the recommendations of the National Performance Review. As an umbrella network of networks, NetResults fosters the development of teams which span agencies and departments, cross public-private sector boundaries, and link federal, state, and local governments. Because change leaders and teams require good information to make good decisions, NetResults is committed to providing useful information to anyone, anywhere, who wants to help reinvent government. So we have established an information system on the Internet to bring you news about what is happening elsewhere--innovations, reinvention labs, NPR reports on specific areas, executive orders, and other items of interest. We created this pamphlet as our way of introducing ourselves and the people networks to you. We also created this document to serve as your "Road Map" to using the NetResults information system. We hope that you will find it helpful and, more importantly, that you will join us. *************** People NetWorks *************** Network Network Coordinator............. Contact # BudgetNet Budget Reform Brad Leonard (NPR)................. 202/632-0150 Comnet Communications and Outreach Roddy Moscoso (NPR).................202/632-0150 FEBNet Network for the Federal Executive Boards Paula Bridgham (OPM)................202/606-1000 Lisa Randall (NPR)..................202/632-0150 FinanceNet Financial Management Innovations Linda Hoogeveen (OMB)...............202/395-3812 The Grants Network Grants Management Don Bard (NEA)......................202/682-5469 GrantsNet Reenginering the Grants Process Bob Maslyn (HHS)....................202/690-5931 IGNet Linking IG's for Innovation Jerry Bullock (Justice).............202/616-4774 Intergovernmental Community and Family Services Network Web of Existing Social Services Delivery/Integration Networks Bev Godwin (NPR)....................202/632-0150 Kristen Kracke (NPR)................202/632-0150 MeasureNet Measurement of Employee Performance Marilyn Gowing (OPM)................202/606-0820 Craig Pettibone (OPM)...............202/606-0860 Customer Service Stds& Benchmarking Stuart Haggard (VA).................202/273-5053 Joel Parfitt (IRS)..................202/622-5710 PeopleNet Human Resources Reform Judith Anderson (NPR)...............202-632-0150 RegNet Linking Technology to Regulatory Reform Initiatives Neil Thompson (NRC).................301/492-4773 ********************************************* Interested in forming other networks? Contact NetResults @ 202-632-0150 ********************************************* ******************* Information System ******************* ELECTRONIC MAIL If you have an Internet accessible e-mail address - - X.400, Delphi, CapAccess, CompuServe, Prodigy, America Online, etc.- - obtaining NPR/NetResults materials is as simple as sending an e-mail message. What Is Available? To obtain a list of materials available via Internet e-mail, send a one line mail message to almanac@ace.esusda.gov with the following text: send netresults catalog You will automatically receive a return message containing a catalog of reinvention documents and instructions for obtaining any of the documents via electronic mail. INTERNET "GOPHER" If you currently have access to the Internet, NPR and NetResults materials can be found at many "gopher" locations. One of the best is at: Americans Communicating Electronically (ACE) To get this gopher, type: gopher ace.esusda.gov >From the Americans Communicating Electronically (ACE) Main Menu, choose: Americans Communicating Electronically/ National Performance Review Information/ Or look for the information in: "Other Gopher Information Servers/ North America/ USA/ washington DC/ Americans Communicating Electronically/ National Performance Review Information/ ************************************************************************* For Additional Information Contact: NetResults National Performance Review Office of the Vice President 750 17th Street N.W. Washington, DC 20006 Phone: 202-632-0150 Fax: 202-632-0390 e-mail: netresults@npr.gsa.gov ########################################################################## Timely Thoughts ########################################################################## I thought that this post to com-priv was an interesting point for discussion! -steve Date: Fri, 20 May 1994 From: Gary A Bolles Subject: Ruining the Internet To: com-priv@psi.com No wide spread access to the nuts of the world is not a good idea. We need more lawyers sending ads like we need a larger backbone. What I am saying is that the network as it was has changed. CB radio changed as well. When cheap acces to CB was avail. alot of low life get on an trashed the band. The internet has enough low life now. Mass access will cause mass problems. I for one don't care because, I can always go back to a bbs system. Or a second network for those that are not satisfied with the way the Internet is going. Just thoughts... Joseph Stroup //Sure, it's everyone's prerogative to go somewhere else. That's the nice thing about cyberspace, it's a quasi-infinite resource, unlike national parks and coral reefs. Create a new world, then crawl inside and close the door behind. However. I'm not trying to single out M. Stroup. But my concern is that there's an undercurrent in some of the perspectives I hear, a deep belief that the great unwashed will ruin this really neat playground we're all running around in. That's the kind of dangerous elitism I've mentioned before, that somehow others aren't worthy. Anyone venturing outside of alt.scum should be metashot on sight. And how exactly are we going to identify them? "Unsubscribe" messages sent to the main listserv? Reverse-order smilies? Poor spelling? Anyone who logged onto the Internet after its first mention in the Wall Street Journal? It seems that the definition of "community" has limits after all. Sure, some people are going to tromp all over the virgin cyberscape - a honking big lot of them. They're going to broadcast junk email and ask stupid questions and not learn the rules and scour the net for Playboy scans. They're going to flood news groups with perspectives that will make Roseanne Barr look like Bill Buckley. They're going to do business over the 'net, gawd forbid. These things are absolutely inevitable. But c'mon, these are also people with ideas and perspectives that are in short supply on the 'net, people not so steeped in the computer culture that they can bring views from the real world to a world that's not completely real. These are people we trust enough to vote, for chrissake. How is their interaction in cyberspace *not* worthwhile? To me, wanting to shut out the impending waves of the common horde is the worst of a creeping academic mindset; slap enough ivy on the walls, maybe the outside world won't intrude. Or of the mainframe environment; all those messy users think they know what they want, but we control the technology so we'll give them what we know they need. I think of the time spent so far in crafting the 'net as a time of preparation, of exploring in fits and starts the ways that electronic interaction affects the building of information resources and metaculture. The masses are now at the door; if we've laid the groundwork right, and we patiently educate (and get educated), lots of exciting things can happen. And they can happen for lots of people, maybe enough to have some echo effects back into the real world. Or we can each retreat. But we can't stop it.// Gary A. Bolles ########################################################################## HELP!!! ########################################################################## From: Clark Rogers Subject: More Details on 1994 Communty Information Networks Conference.... To All: The planning and brainstorming goes on for the proposed Fall/Winter 1994 "Community Information Networks Conference: Ties That Bind II". (With your blessings on the name, Steve Cisler.!!) Before I go on with that, though, let me make a brief clarification. The infoWorks Partnership (the folks I'm presently working with, and the folks who are going to run the conference) is a consulting firm based here in Pittsburgh; infoWorks has been in business for 2 1/2 years now, and they do nothing but Community Information Networks--planning, design, development, implementation and maintenance.....that's all. This proposed conference isn't any kind of "trade show" for iW to show off its wares. The infoWorks Partnership ismade up of people who come from the nonprofit community and have each been involved in community information networks for some years. They want to see what happened in Cupertino to be the keystone for the advancement of this field and its professionals--to galvanize us all while we still are all hungry for more information, more contacts and more ideas. No...back to the Conference. One of the most inspiring thoughts from the iW Staff was to have all of you folks out here on COMMUNET sound off and give your ideas on what YOU'D like to see. That is..... * How can we follow on the path that Cupertino has made? * What can we improve on from Cupertino? * How can we make this a conference important to us as well as mainstream media? * What are the best ways to illustrate the regional differences/ problems/benefits, etc. to operating and maintaining CINs? * Who would YOU most like to see as a principal speaker at the conference that would be of interest to all? * How can this "galvanization" of the CIN community make us all more attractive to potential funders and...*gulp*, yes, I'll say it, politically "meaningful" (sorry Dan T.) to the policy- makers in Wash., DC? * Other ideas........ We think that if we were to design a conference and get a fair representation on what we'd all like to see, it will make for a more enjoyable, interesting, informative, and beneficial conference--similar to Cupertino. We also want to attract the wide range of audiences that were attracted to Cupertino. A couple of other notes: > We're thinking of limiting the size to between 400-700. We don't want to get too big, but we also don't weant to exclude anyone. Can we get some feedbackon how we might find a middle road here? > We're thinking of a date no earlier than October 5, 1994. > The fees for the conference will likely be between $80-$100, with a student fee of possibly between $40-$55. I hope all we've presented here makes sense. And I hope you all take the time to sound off. The response to the first post was fantastic. Now we need to ge t a true idea on how you'd like to see this conference designed. We all have a hand in our collective futures...let's make it the brightest and most successfu l we can! Kindest Regards, Clark D. Rogers Information Consultant to The infoWorks Partnership Professor, Urban and Regional Planning Program University of Pittsburgh's Graduate School of Public and International Affairs ########################################################################## ########################################################################## 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, with the exception of Global Community or where noted, and may be used as you see fit. To contribute items or enquire about this newsletter, contact Stephen Covington .