LinuxSA Mailing list archives

  From: Robert Wuttke <robert.wuttke@disc.com.au>
  To  : C4IS" <C4IS@EISA.NET.AU>, "Linux SA <C4IS@EISA.NET.AU>
  Date: Fri, 28 May 1999 11:30:13 +0930

Re: I'net Bill - What to do? What to do? - Confucius

This sounds like a very interesting idea, and I do think some of the people
on this list would make excellent vocal advocates.

A thought, why not create a political party ourselves, something like

The SA Internet Users Party - Protecting Your Right To Freely Use The
Internet.

As part of the mandate of such party, it could hold public information
seminars giving information to empower the average person regardless of
internet knowledge. The seminars could be used instead of maybe club
meetings.

Any ideas, criticism or downright telling me to shutup will be appreciated.

Rob.

-----Original Message-----
From: C4IS <C4IS@EISA.NET.AU>
To: Linux SA <LinuxSA@linuxsa.org.au>
Date: Friday, 28 May 1999 10:22 AM
Subject: I'net Bill - What to do? What to do? - Confucius


>I wonder if anybody else has thought
>about educating the general public
>about the Internet (not for the purpose
>of selling them an ISP access package,
>but in the way that 4WD clubs help
>their members get the best out of their
>4-wheel-drive vehicles...):
>
>Something of a social context in which
>people would intentionally endeavour
>to create an Internet culture and pass
>it to the "next generation" of Internet
>newbies...
>
>Guiding them to useful material... if
>only so that the wildly negative PR
>that seems - now and again - to fill
>media about the 'net doesn't (in the
>absence of such social/cultural con-
>texts) become a self-fulfilling prophesy
>that makes it easier for people to
>accept silly laws like the one we've
>been discussing lately...
>
>I, for one, think that doing the above
>would be giving people a new choice:
>
>While they'd still be able to do it alone,
>or with cyber-associates, now they
>would be able to meet and socialise
>with people whose values might be
>vastly different from the minority who
>seem to get the air-time (e.g. pedo-
>philes, purpetrators of 'net frauds,
>online gambling, etc.)
>
>Of course, there would be various
>clubs and not all of them would share
>the same values (some might find
>online gambling OK, while I would
>not in mine...).
>
>But getting the more conservative
>and/or lesser experienced computer
>users (including some that have had
>no contact with the computer and/or
>Internet) into contact with the 'net via
>one of these clubs (either on a period-
>ic basis or even during a one-night or
>afternoon intro "show & tell" presen-
>tation) would ease their minds about
>what the Internet's all about...
>
>Less fear... less jumping on Harradine's
>censorship bandwagon.
>
>And - who knows? - it might even help
>the economy, e.g. if some new Internet
>User (who's been shown how to find
>info on a new service, technique or
>product happens to work it up into a
>business success for him-/her-self,
>right here in SA...).  It would surely
>help convince the pollies, no?
>
>Of course, it would!
>
>So, as I've asked (rhetorically?) before:
>
>Do you want to quash this bill...?
>
>Or do you want to sit around sputtering
>about how awful it is...? how unrespons-
>ive the gov't is...? etc.
>
>The choice is yours...  ;)
>
>Let's hope you make the right choice!
>
>--
>Check out the LinuxSA web pages at http://www.linuxsa.org.au/
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>
>

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