home
***
CD-ROM
|
disk
|
FTP
|
other
***
search
/
Ian & Stuart's Australian Mac: Not for Sale
/
Another.not.for.sale (Australia).iso
/
hold me in your arms
/
Nexus
/
nexus.business
/
1st-conf.notes
next >
Wrap
Internet Message Format
|
1994-05-17
|
6KB
From: heath michael rezabek <REZABEH1648@cobra.uni.edu>
Date: Tue, 29 Mar 1994 09:44:01 -0600
Reply-To: nexus-gaia@indial1.io.com
To: Multiple recipients of list <nexus-gaia@indial1.io.com>
Subject: 1st informal nexus-gaia session
this isn't exactly "minutes," but you can get a clear idea of some issues
talked about here..
in attendance were:
dave h
heath r
jeremiah [friend of dave's whose last name i can't remember]
sameer p
darin s
seer
roger p
brian c
kris [w/brian]
--
we discussed quite a slew of issues. perhaps dave can re-post the initial
agenda we worked from; here are some of the things i noted.
1: possibilities of NEXUS-Gaia as a non-profit organization, fully registered,
which would act as coordinator and go-between for the smaller local nexi --
they could be FOR-profit orgs. in other words, NEXUS-Gaia would be a
non-profit umbrella org; local city nexi would be for-profit orgs. this would
mean that NEXUS-Gaia [the org] would work towards grants; the local nexi would
work towards local investors.
2: "local option" and localization. in talking about our potential mission
statement, we realized that [for those there] a part of our approach was a
commitment to preserve in culture's approach to the 'net the same sort of
decentralized structures we find here now. to these ends, we found local
option and localization to be inherent steps in that direction: NEXUS_Gaia
could never, by definitions, be a BigCorps. however, it could help to
coordinate decentralized activities and resources between small local PoPs
which, while retaining a local structure [just as a node needs a sysop and tek
support], adding up to a decentralized whole system.
3: the elements of the nexus community: Access -> Community -> Education ...
these in an interlocking and supporting structure. we will be able to pull in
local funds by providing inservices as well as raw services.
4: as dave speaks of NEXUS-CHicago's plans, we find him both closer
[logistically] to setting up a fully-functioning nexus, and also with an
inherently different approach than either nex-berkeley or nex-austin. we
[n-berk & n-aust] are almost forced by circumstance to work from the household
level OUTwards; dave h plans to start from the full service provider level, as
a small business, and then recoup the startup costs with the services
immediately available. in his approach, the Access comes first; then comes a
Virtual Space on the 'net which corresponds to the Access in chicago; finally
comes the physical PoP, in his mind a sort of Electronic Cafe.
5: at this point, what struck me was the fact that we are attempting a
double-way interface between the 'net and culture. ie: loclaly, at the city
level, the PoP -- be it fringe cultural center or electronic cafe or daycare
center or co-op house or all of the above -- is directly merging and
interfacing with the local culture [the "scene" if you will] and educating &
effecting from that interface. meanwhile, the virtual space of a localized
nexus is interfacing with the entirety of the 'net at the virtual level. thus,
a poor kid who's into computers can interface at the cultural level, where-as
the interested investor in japan [or scholar in luxembourg or whoever] can
interface with the nex-community at the virtual level.
6: we discussed the role of NEXUS-Gaia as an organization. the possibility
that it be run a BIT like a service to local nexi, or rather, an org to which
small annual dues were paid [in the form of percentage of local profits] which
went directly into a "trust fund" or somesuch to be used as jump-starter for
up and coming localized nexi.
7: in terms of the fears of, say, a KKK nexus [or, the "Would It Have Been A
Waco Nexus PoP If Koresh Had Known About The Net" dilemma]... we obviously
cannot stop a group from calling itself a nexus. we do, however, have some
control over a couple of things through the role played by NEXUS-Gaia. an idea
that was greatly regarded was the incorporation of a NEXUS-Gaia non-profit org;
it would have a Charter, spelling out some of our main motivations [to be
introduced and threaded out in another post], AND it would then list the
benefits. the largest ones would be access to the nexus-gaia resources [which
actually are open to most folks, or will be, except of course funding stuff]...
the one which came to mind was simple. we trademark the term "NEXUS-Gaia" [one
phrase], we register the @gaia.net domain name under the NEXUS-Gaia org, and
we allow sign-ees to place beside their chosen local storefront: [ie, "The
Berkeley Net Cafe"] "A NEXUS-Gaia Community Organization." simply a system of
regard through association. and so, legalistically, and even pr wise, if
NEXUS-Johannesburg does some things that are shitty, we simply point and say:
"well, they're not registered with NEXUS-Gaia. they're simply using the idea
and image, without our support." in this model, NEXUS-Gaia becomes analogous
as an org to UniCef [for instance] as a coordinator between registered fellows.
8: we decided we needed some things, soon.
SHORT TERM: we need documents and FAQs and whatever online [or offline keyed
in] info we can get on such things as Int'l Copyright Law and trademark
registration, Non-Profit org registration info, ...
we are also going to assemble a general press packet for the NEXUS-Gaia org.
simultaneously, dave h will be assembling a local press packet for
NEXUS-CHicago, so we'll get to see this process from both levels
[local/cultural and virtual] at once. the FringeWare Review article will then
be assembled [in part] from the general NEXUS-Gaia press packet info.
we will need to begin working on the NEXUS-Gaia charter. [another post to come
soonish]
LONG TERM: we need to amass a huge ftp site where we can store general tek and
community info. our ftp site went down a while ago, and we currently have
none. as a sidenote, it'd be nice to set up clean WWWeb presence; any
volunteers? [marius has linked us to his home page, actually. got it.]
this is enough to mull/RESPOND TO for now, eh?
rez