The Net Power 1996 March/Net Power 03 (March 1996).iso/marchweb/mirrored/bob/mostclue.txt

Text File | 1995-12-20 | 9.7 KB | 180 lines

Newsgroups: alt.cyberspace,alt.wired,alt.culture.internet,alt.politics.correct
Path: taco.cc.ncsu.edu!news-server.ncren.net!news.duke.edu!news.mathworks.com!gatech!howland.reston.ans.net!agate!news.ucdavis.edu!csus.edu!netcom.com!wwilton
From: [e-mail] (Wendy Wilton)
Subject: How to Improve the Information Superhighway
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Organization: Netcom Online Communications Services (408-241-9760 login: guest)
Date: Sun, 30 Apr 1995 23:20:16 GMT
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Sender: [e-mail]
Xref: taco.cc.ncsu.edu alt.cyberspace:13532 alt.wired:19254 alt.culture.internet:11231 alt.politics.correct:57568

Folks, I've been surfing the net for about two weeks now. I've
really gotten to enjoy it. And I thought you might enjoy my
ideas on how to make a great concept even better.

1. At present, we don't really know who we're talking to on the
   Internet. I could be exchanging email with some guy who sounds like
   a real hunk, and he might be some middle-aged nerd with no hair
   on the top of his head. Or he might not even be a guy at all.

   Even worse, people are presenting themselves as authorities
   for all sorts of things they have no credentials about. On
   the information superhighway, there are self-appointed "net gods"
   who like to talk about history and politics. What they say may
   even sound plausible. But then you discover they're high school
   dropouts.

   Well, my idea is that to avoid these problems, people who post
   to all these wonderful bulletin boards should carry proper
   identification. They should be required to post their real
   name, real home town, and real educational credentials. Furthermore,
   they should be required to display a recent photograph (that
   is, it should be changed every five years). Actually, I've thought
   about just having people post their driver's licenses. But these
   things carry your home address -- and, after all, I wouldn't want
   to invade anyone's privacy.

2. One of the things that bothers me is that little children are
   reading all these great newsgroups just like me. I, myself,
   am mature enough to handle all the adult situations discussed
   on these groups, and I even like to hear risque stories now
   and then. But some of the great folks that post here are under
   eighteen, and I'm really not happy about them hearing about
   sexual situations except from their parents.

   Even worse, there are people on the net like on alt.tasteless,
   who talk about the "Jewish conspiracy" or use other expressions
   of ethnic bigotry. They even use words like "kike" and "nigger."
   I don't think they should be allowed to do this; I mean, what
   other reason could they have for using words like that, except
   that they're prejudiced?

   One thing we can do about problems like this is to make every
   newsgroup "moderated." That means each group should have
   an organizer who eliminates traumatic and emotionally immature
   posts. The other thing we should do is have newsreaders with
   text editors that don't allow offensive words to be typed in.

   Now, people have told me that the "tasteless" folks would just
   get around this by changing one letter in the word. That is,
   they'd say "sh*t" instead of the actual word. Well, there's
   an easy way to outwit them. That is, forbid all words which
   only differ from the "no-no" words by one letter. That'd shut
   them up, all right!

3. There is a related problem with "unmoderated" newsgroups. They
   are used by unethical people to print lies about companies
   they have a beef with. For example, there are people spreading
   the misinformation that Southwest Airlines has been rude to their
   customers. This is completely irresponsible, and these negative,
   neurotic individuals shouldn't be allowed to get away with this.

   Another problem is with software vendors. Now, the Infobahn
   is a ideal forum for getting the word out about innovative
   and creative educational computer programs. (For that reason,
   I think the government should subsidize new and exciting sound
   and visual connections, so we can use the Information Spaceport
   of the future to launch America into the twenty-first century.)

   However, unfortunately there are other corporations which indulge
   in unbusinesslike practices. They pretend that they are more
   "politically correct" than their competitors. But they pay their
   employees and others to pose as ordinary users, and then they
   express unfair opinions about the first company's products. They
   say the software has been inadequately tested and will not perform
   accurately under many circumstances. They even say it's as buggy
   as a Roach Motel.

   The problem is that people cannot make judgments for themselves
   and they believe these lies, just because they sound so politically
   correct. What we need, therefore, is to require that consumer
   information be verified. When you make a complaint about a
   product, it will go to the appropriate Review Board of industry
   representatives. They will investigate your complaint, and if it
   is valid, they will allow you to post it for the public. (Don't
   worry, there will be a fee so the taxpayers will not have to
   pay for this.)

4. The Internet is a very good idea, but unfortunately it's used
   only by a small minority of the people in this country. I would
   like to make it more democratic and accessible to those of us
   who are not 15-year-old computer geeks.

   For one thing, the current ways of doing things are too difficult
   for us ordinary folks who can't even program our VCR's. The
   command lines of UNIX are particularly distressing because there
   are no pictures and they use two letter words. And the problems
   of using a news reader are even worse.

   My feelings are that with a modern, ergonomic user interface the
   potential for including Americans of all communities is extremely
   high. All point-and-click like that progressive company of the
   New Age, the Macintosh would work. But there should also be
   auditory instruction for whenever individuals make a mistake.
   Instead of demoralizing error messages, they should be able
   to hear about them in a voice which is friendly and soothing.

   Another way to give the Internet more warmth and humanity is to
   involve celebrities like Madonna. They can be featured in guest
   forums where people can chat with them about their upcoming
   movies, records, and TV shows. Finally, of course, there are the
   "moderators." As long as we're going to have them anyway, why
   not make them celebrities? I look forward to Howard Stern's
   "alt.tasteless" (you see, I am broad-minded) or Andy Rooney's
   "alt.peeves."

   Implement creative concepts like this, and just about every adult
   and school-age child in the country will soon be riding the
   "Infobahn." Maybe even with the proper software, we can make these
   great discussions accessible to people with Down's Syndrome and
   other developmentally disabled. And who knows? In the future,
   perhaps the higher primates who speak the language of the hearing
   impaired can be included, too. I mean, just because they're not
   like us, doesn't mean they're stupid.

5. There is one thing about this "Internet" that is really beginning
   to get on my nerves, and that is the overrepresentation of men on
   most of the newsgroups I read. I understand that the Net is not
   really the favorable environment for women I might hope it would
   be. I can see where women would be intimidated from speaking up
   because of the masculine atmosphere, which is competitive and
   aggressive and not nurturing and sensitive like those of us of
   the female gender prefer. I feel sorry for the men who have this
   compulsion to "flame" others because of their psychological
   problems.

   There are two solutions which would really make the net a user-
   friendly environment for women. One is to establish all-women's
   newsgroups where we can be ourselves in a supportive atmosphere,
   without harsh, masculine demands on the way we think. The personal
   identity information which would be required of all users would be
   implemented to keep out impostors. (And yes, I think women who were
   trapped in a man's body but who have had a gender reassignment opera-
   tion should be allowed to post. I'm not narrow-minded or anything.)

   The other solution, of course, is to increase the numbers of women
   posting to each group until it has a fair resemblance to the general
   population. That is, the newsreading software shall be programmed
   not to let male readers post until each group is at least fifty
   percent female. I realize this may make it tough on groups like
   rec.motorcycles.harley but maybe that kind of masculine, competitive
   atmosphere just isn't that advanced anyway.

In summary, I would say that the net is like a recipe. It is a tasty
recipe, but it is full of mental poisons which aren't really that
healthy. But just as in my kitchen I use the Pritikin guidelines to
adjust the foods I eat so they are nutritious and just as yummy
if you have an open mind about them, the information superhighway
can be modified so it is not so negative and contributes in a more
constructive manner to the global village of the future. I look
forward to its exerting the influence it deserves.

Wendy Wilton

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[e-mail]              "Life's a bitch, and then you diet..."
                                       -Deborah Miller
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