[9493] in Commercialization & Privatization of the Internet
RE: Advisory Committee on the NII
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (The future Ross Stapleton-Gray)
Thu Jan 6 22:34:03 1994
Date: Thu, 6 Jan 1994 20:33:29 -0700 (MST)
From: The future Ross Stapleton-Gray <STAPLETON@bpa.arizona.edu>
To: com-priv@psi.com
Bill Updegraff <UpdegraffW@mac.ripon.edu> says:
> I get a bit paranoid when I see the Advisory Committee apppointed without any
> reference to Internet addresses or even snail-mail addresses.
> -Bill Updegraff
> Ripon College
Well, among other things, the IITF Gopher text was essentially that of the
press release. Press releases are short & to the point, and the existence
of E-mail addresses (Internet or otherwise) was not relevant to the
release. For that matter, the release didn't add that, in addition to
being president of CNRI, Bob Kahn is vice president of the Internet
Society.
But... your question is really, "and, so how am I going to get my views
across to these people, huh?" And there's the rub.
I'm a member of the IITF itself, and have and use E-mail (and do take phone
calls and faxes too!). My using E-mail on a daily basis puts me into the
minority of IITF members. Some are lower-level types like me at places
that don't yet understand E-mail, or, if they do, don't understand how or
desire to connect what they have into the frontier that is the Internet.
Others are senior aministration officials who are insulated, either by
other commitments or hierarchical position or aculturization from using
this new medium for that. As dismaying as it may be, electronic
communication is not yet the medium for the work of the IITF. (And yes,
that's pretty damned ironic. :-)
But... that need not be the modus operandi of the Advisory Committee. I
know several of the selectess personally, and they're all happy E-mailers.
Even those who are may vastly prefer the insulation of not being
E-mail-accessible to the world, though, and I couldn't blame them. Can
you imagine what would happen if all of the K-12 students and teachers in
the country decided to sieze the terminal and dash off a note to lobby the
*one* K-12 educator on the Council?
I'll be recommending to the ones I know that they try to get all 27 of
themselves in touch with _each other_ via E-mail, and, if possible, to use
some sort of computer-mediated conferencing tool to hash out their
thoughts. I'd hope that each will bring to the discussion messages from
their various constituencies. There may be (almost certainly are) things
they'll be required to make public as a consequence of their meetings as a
federally-mandated advisory council, and it would be fantastic if those
things could be rapidly and widely shared.
Keep in mind that they are advisors on the one hand, but an audience as
well...I'm sure they'll have as much interest in hearing from you as you
have an interest in being heard; some will better represent you than
others, but there's very nearly someone for all of the various segments
which will build, market, use, regulate or benefit from the NII.
Ross
stapleton@bpa.arizona.edu
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| These views, however much I'd like them to be universal, are mine and |
| mine alone, and do not purport to represent the IITF, the federal |
| government, or the University of Arizona, alas. :-) |
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