dat@hpcnof.UUCP (10/08/85)
I'm starting a new mailing list for the express purpose of
discussing the ramifications of computers and information on society.
The title of the new group is "Computers and Society" and among the
areas I'd like to see discussed are:
Computers and Social Responsibility
Philosophical issues of using computers
Psychological barriers to acceptance of computers
Why computers are viewed as 'omniscient' (and are they?)
How much information is "too much"?
How can we deal with information overload?
What of non-technically oriented people? Are they getting
their fair share of the information available?
Are we move towards a classed society: Those that have the
information and those that don't?
How far is society from the Orwellian vision of 1984?
Is the media blowing computers all out of proportion? Is
there anything we can do about it?
User Interfaces (from the 'outside in', rather than the
implementation details - NO PROGRAMS PLEASE!)
< and so on >
After being on a number of different mailing lists, I've found that the
most readable and pleasant form is to 'digest' it and mail a set of messages
to the entire membership of the group in digest form. (please see Human-Nets
for an example of a "digest form" mailing list)
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To join this group, contribute to the discussion, or whatever,
please send mail to me at any of the below addresses (please include
an address for yourself based on one of the major hubs, like 'ihnp4'
or 'decvax'):
USENET: ...ihnp4!hpfcla!d_taylor
or ...hplabs!hpcnof!dat
ARPANET: hpcnou!dat@HPLABS.CSNET-RELAY
CSNET: hpcnou!dat@HPLABS
Depending on the flow of messages, a digest will be mailed out about
once a week (I'll try to keep them managable, though, so if we're on a "roll"
it'll increase...).
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The first issue of the Computers and Society Digest will be mailed
out on or about the 19th of October so keep in touch!
-- Dave Taylor