[150] in Commercialization & Privatization of the Internet
Re: NSF censoring sites around the Internet
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Dan Schlitt)
Tue Nov 13 10:59:06 1990
Date: Tue, 13 Nov 90 10:46:27 -0500
From: Dan Schlitt <dan@sci.ccny.cuny.edu>
To: steve@cise.nsf.gov
Cc: com-priv@psi.com
steve@cise.nsf.gov writes:
Ah, but suppose the Materials Science Directorate of the Funding Agency were
the retailer of, say, "Networking Yellow Stamps" which it received from a
benefactor in the Network Infrastructure stall of the same stable? Only
convertible into Real Money when used for buying network access from the
recipient's vendor of choice. Can't pay grad students with them, nor buy
more lab equipment. -s
-------
I see. Food stamps for the scientist. :-)
The thing about "Real Money" is that it is fungable. My experience
with such phony script as you propose doesn't make me believe it will
be much better than other suggestions. I will long remember "computer
dollars".
What if there aren't enough stamps at an institution to buy a
connection and the administration chooses not to provide the extra
money -- real money. Can I trade my stamps to another grantee who
wants networking for bits of equipment? The vendor will exchange the
stamps for real money at a rate set by the government. Who will
determine that the grantee is getting full value?
The best, though not vey good, suggestion is institutional grants.
The institution can choose the vendor. But I still have serious
doubts that such a program of institutional grants can be sustained
over the long haul.
/dan
