{fb1000000territory. "That's not our job" she says, "We provide the platform and the tools. It's up to the people in the newsgroups to decide what they want, we do not interfere." Not even when things are uttered that in ordinary life would put you in court? "Well, sometimes you see things get out of hand, like with the rightist who went on for weeks ranting about foreigners. In real life, this would have resulted in fist-fights for sure. But that's not possible in a digital city. So here such a discussion will be spun out in all of its details, replete with references and argumentation." It is a totally different form of communication, admits Stikker: "We are no moralists. We want the DDS population to evolve a code of behaviour for such cases, just like it happens on the Internet. We cannot prevent some people from entering DDS. And for the rest, we simply abide by the Dutch legislation. We will not tolerate neo-fascist clubs or child pornography."
Stikker admits that the newsgroups, in which everyone can participate, are sometimes turning into a free-for-all platform. "Precisely because [DDS] is such a direct and anonymous way of communicating. Emotions therefore, can get into a high pitch. And that is not always to everybody's liking." DDS is now in the process of developing different types of newsgroups. Stikker: "We have come to realise that some groups work best under a situation of full freedom, while others are better off with the help of some kind of moderator. This is basically a question of conventions: a boardroom meeting carries a different type of conversation than the one you would have in a pub. At DDS, we would like to emphasize this kind of difference in style, so as to enable the digital citizens to choose between, say, the Hardrock Cafe and Tortoni."
And then, what about the much vaunted digital empowerment of the citizens? That was, after all, the 'raison d'etre' of the whole project. Local political issues, 'Amsterdam car-free'; Schiphol Airport's extensive extension plans; 'ROA', the new regional government set-up; law and order issues; all are thoroughly discussed in the various news groups - but mostly by the citizens themselves. "The politicos have not been overwhelm- ingly on-line" admits Stikker. "It's not lack of goodwill, but they're a bit shy about the medium." That also, according to Stikker, is due to the style of discussion prevailing in the newsgroups. "Newsgroups are perceived by politicians as too anonymous, and therefore too threatening." Other discussion formats are more successful: "In our 'Question Time' - where politicians react to items put forward by citizens - they do come forward." The social democrat city secretary Guusje Terhorst, for instance, participated in a debate about the future of a 'regional urban province', while the eco- socialist Cees Hulsman discussed with digital citizens issues pertaining to the local job situation. On the other hand, ad interim mayor Frank de Grave, who inaugurated the DDS with much fanfare one year ago has not been very active since, to say nothing of Amsterdam's new mayor, Mr Patijn. To affirm that DDS is going to close the gap between citizens and politicians is somewhat of an exaggerated claim, according to Stikker: "It's quite clear that making information and databases available to the public is only the first step in this process of democrat- isation. Real empowerment of citizens through the net - one may for instance think of electronic referendums - presupposes a level of administrative openness still very much remote from our present institutions."
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The Cable System Imbroglio
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A fine example of the tricks being played on the citizens is the issue of selling off KTA, Amsterdam's municipality- owned cable system. It is profitable and yet cheap (£14 pm) and convenient - it's in your utility bill - and even democratically organized - to some extent. It also runs two public access channels, beside 22 general/ commercial ones. The Municipality is totally mute about the whole issue, even within DDS. "Up to now, it's been a black box" says Stikker, "the council authorities are not showing any inclination to talk about it." The problem is that KTA plays a crucial role in any further development of a local interactive network - since the system's coaxial cables offer much more bandwidth than the existing telephone infrastructure. It's therefore likely that KTA, and not the telecom, is going to be the digital carrier of the future at the local level.
Stikker: "Presently, we are simply hooked up to the telephone system. But in future, it's our hope that room will be set aside on the cable system for a interactive network with public interest functions like ours, and not that it will be up to the highest bidder to decide who may come in and under what conditions." The estimated value of KTA's sell-off is around 400 million guilders (£360m). According to Stikker, some of that money should
