dm@BFLY-VAX.BBN.COM (10/22/87)
I like to think that computer bulletin boards and electronic mail will be the ultimate Samizdat. With computer bulletin boards and electronic mail you can self-publish on a reasonably wide scale, if you're willing to pay the price -- they can always throw you in jail. But I think people like Yuri Orlov, Anatoly Scharansky, Andrei Sakharov, etc. are ample evidence that people will be willing to pay the price. Why hasn't it happened yet? I claim that it is beginning to happen now. National Public Radio had a report recently on ``Minitel'', which is a bboard set up by the French Telco, and which also has outlets in the US (one in NYC). From the description of the way people interacted on the Minitel system, it sounds like keyboard citizens' band to me. Or USENET news, or what happens on the bboard at work. I think computer networks and bulletin boards are going to REALLY get going with all the nation's colleges being wired, and every college student having a PC wired into the college network. Let's face it: almost the only people who know about computer networks today are us computer weenies. With the wiring of colleges, the word will get spread outside our narrow confines to the population as a whole.
steve@nuchat.UUCP (Steve Nuchia) (10/27/87)
In article <8710220524.AA12093@bu-cs.BU.EDU>, dm@BFLY-VAX.BBN.COM writes: > I think computer networks and bulletin boards are going to REALLY get > going with all the nation's colleges being wired, and every college > student having a PC wired into the college network. Let's face it: > almost the only people who know about computer networks today are us > computer weenies. With the wiring of colleges, the word will get > spread outside our narrow confines to the population as a whole. I have tried to be a kind of evangelist for online conferencing. There is a widespread response to any new gizmo that can be paraphrased "I've done fine without it so far, it can't be too important". I've been amazed, sometimes _very_ amazed, at the kinds of people who know absolutely nothing about electronic communications. I'm not talking about blue collar types (nothing against them, but I don't expect them to be in the front row) but professionals in all kinds of fields. When the usenet comes up in conversation I usually have a _lot_ of explaining to do. The hardest part for them to deal with is often not the technology but _why_ one would want to exchange these notes. I guess it shouldn't surprise me but it does. Most people have a vague idea that electronic mail is possible and perhaps even desirable in someone else's situation. Some of them have heard of BBSs, and the sharper ones are capably of dredging up the fact that they have been associated with credit card and/or telephone fraud. That's about it. The minority who have used Compuserve at least have some idea what conferencing can do, but most never though about what it can do within their organization. sigh. I'm sure that wiring the colleges is helping, in much the same way that using UNIX in schools in the late 70's made it essential in 82-84 and brought about its wide commercial availablity. The problem is that the same people who pay for hardware print spoolers, TSR programs, and modems with builtin mailboxes while professing to have no use for multitasking systems don't realize that it could be working for them _now_. I'd rather not have to be patient. I will if I have to, but I'd rather not. -- Steve Nuchia | [...] but the machine would probably be allowed no mercy. uunet!nuchat!steve | In other words then, if a machine is expected to be (713) 334 6720 | infallible, it cannot be intelligent. - Alae}, and mor shr
campbell@maynard.BSW.COM (Larry Campbell) (10/28/87)
In article <425@nuchat.UUCP> steve@nuchat.UUCP (Steve Nuchia) writes:
<>I've been amazed, sometimes _very_ amazed, at the kinds of people
<>who know absolutely nothing about electronic communications. I'm
<>talking about ... professionals in all
<>kinds of fields. When the usenet comes up in conversation I usually
<>have a _lot_ of explaining to do. The hardest part for them to
<>deal with is often not the technology but _why_ one would want to
<>exchange these notes.
Well, I am both a computer professional and a system and news
administrator, and I often find myself wondering why I spend the time
and effort on Usenet. The actual value of the Usenet is, I think, highly
overrated. It's an entertaining pastime, but it's not going to change
the world.
--
Larry Campbell The Boston Software Works, Inc.
Internet: campbell@maynard.bsw.com 120 Fulton Street, Boston MA 02109
uucp: {husc6,mirror,think}!maynard!campbell +1 617 367 6846patth@dasys1.UUCP (Patt Haring) (10/30/87)
In article <1006@maynard.BSW.COM>, campbell@maynard.BSW.COM (Larry Campbell) writes: > In article <425@nuchat.UUCP> steve@nuchat.UUCP (Steve Nuchia) writes: > > <>I've been amazed, sometimes _very_ amazed, at the kinds of people > <>who know absolutely nothing about electronic communications. I'm > <>talking about ... professionals in all > <>kinds of fields. When the usenet comes up in conversation I usually > <>have a _lot_ of explaining to do. The hardest part for them to > <>deal with is often not the technology but _why_ one would want to > <>exchange these notes. > > Well, I am both a computer professional and a system and news > administrator, and I often find myself wondering why I spend the time > and effort on Usenet. The actual value of the Usenet is, I think, highly > overrated. It's an entertaining pastime, but it's not going to change > the world. I think we've come a LONG way towards changing the world already! Consider this: Paul Levinson, Ph.D. started CONNECTED EDUCATION,INC back in 1985 with 12 students taking courses for credit towards an M.A. degree (EIES network, New Jersey Institute of Technology); today he has 125+ students studying ONLINE for M.A.'s and Ph.D's; they range in location from United Arab Emirates, Japan, Australia, Canada, South America, Mexico, France, Italy to cities all over the United States. Consider this too: login to EIES around 2 A.M. or thereabouts - you'll find quite a few people online - willing to chat, help you with a paper, etc. Dr. Levinson has also developed these programs for banks here in NYC whose employees work at night, can't get to a university to attend degree granting programs, etc. Senior partners at law firms where I've worked know ZILCH about typing; they *believe* that anyone who types should be classified as *nonlegal* personnel (*arrgghhh*); fancy this: young associates coming in to a law firm from Harvard, Columbia, Stanford, Yale, etc. now make their first request "Please may I have an IBM XT/AT for my desktop?" One senior partner I spoke to couldn't understand this thinking at all. Said I, in reply "would you go to a doctor who still uses leeches and cups to suction poisons out of your body?" "Same goes for lawyers who don't use computers and bill clients for 40+ hours of legal research that can now be done in 20 hours!" We're changing the world, Larry - this is just the tip of the iceberg. -- Patt Haring UUCP: ..cmcl2!phri!dasys1!patth Big Electric Cat Compu$erve: 76566,2510 New York, NY, USA MCI Mail: 306-1255; GEnie: PHaring (212) 879-9031 FidoNet Mail: 1:107/132 or 107/222