[9947] in Commercialization & Privatization of the Internet
Re: NSF AUP restrictions
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Clay Shirky)
Sat Jan 29 12:09:36 1994
From: Clay Shirky <clays@panix.com>
To: perry@stars.reston.paramax.com
Date: Sat, 29 Jan 1994 12:08:47 -0500 (EST)
Cc: com-priv@psi.com
In-Reply-To: <9401291411.AA00460@aviary.Stars.Reston.Paramax.COM> from "perry@stars.reston.paramax.com" at Jan 29, 94 09:07:58 am
> It appears that some people think
> that if you don't provide the roads, the cars won't come. This may be true
> if there are no road at all, but if there is already a road, but it is just
> too small, then the road just gets more crowded until it is solid traffic all
> the time.
They have stopped building extensions on the Long Island Expressway
because the last time they did a traffic volume analysis, they found
that any increase in available roadway was accompanied by an even
larger increase in the number of drivers attempting to use it, actually
worsening the problems the additional black top was meant to ameliorate.
They also did something similar in lower Manhattan where they found
that their attempts to alleviate gridlock instead made driving in the
city more attractive and increased congestion, so they have recently
shortened the yellow light cycle again to increase girdlock in some
places in an effort to redirect traffic.
Given that adding space to the infomation highway doesn't take it out
of circulation for other uses, as it does with roads in the physical
world, I don't know how applicable the highway model is to the net,
but in downstate New York highway design an increase in available
resources brings an even greater number of users and a net loss in
system fluidity.
--
Clay Shirky
