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Report
Networks and Community Compiled 001
NETWORKS AND COMMUNITY
Date : December 6, 1993
compiler : Sam Sternberg samsam@vm1.yorku.ca
The first report of this weekly survey will be longer than
most future issues. Contact information for most of the
material or sites for archival review are attached at the end.
Coverage includes:
LEGISLATION
FUNDING
DISCUSSIONS
NEW SERVICES
TRENDS
LEGISLATION
A flurry of legislative activity is under way In the U.S.
which will effect the public's electronic access to government
information. Copyright Law has already been impacted. Many
pieces of proposed legislation require implementation of these
new access tools and procedures by year end.
The Canadian government still has it head in the sand on these
issues.
The trends are toward unrestricted electronic access to all
federal documents. Included are efforts to require major
improvement in the document location process.
One unfortunate part of this trend is that the major
distributors of information, like the National Technical
Information Service, which were mandated to charge for their
services in the era of expensive paper document delivery; are
still subject to those requirements for electronic documents.
While all Federal materials may be accessible, substantial
portions may end up costing money to acquire. Especially if
they are not covered by the Depository library act or if
potential users go directly to the Federal Government instead
of to a depository institution for copies.
Special initiatives covering the process of doing business
with the Federal Government already include calls for
guarantees of access by small business and minority owned
firms.
Proposed legislation should help libraries control costs by
allowing them to use electronic forms of documents.
A Federal initiative to tie together all state Health
Departments Nationwide has been announced by the Center for
Disease Control.
FUNDING
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting is seeking proposal
from community groups who affiliate with local public
broadcasters to offer new network based education services.
Substantial funding -[in the context of the very limited
amounts often available for network projects] is being
offered.
For further information, contact Michael J. Strait
(202-879-9649) or
Kim Smith (202-879-9657). Fax: 202-783-1036 Electronic mail:
cweis@cap.gwu.edu
Please address written correspondence to: CWEIS Initiative,
c/o
Michael J. Strait, The Annenberg/CPB Projects Corporation for
Public Broadcasting, 901 E Street, NW, Washington, DC
20004-2037
This effort is part of a growing trend by institutions to
stake out "ownership" of a segment of net based activities.
"Ownership" will hopefully result in future government
funding.
CPB assumes that the future of the net includes DELIVERY of
video etc. and it needs to get its foot in the door early.
At a recent Public Broadcasting Service-sponsored
telecommunications conference reps repeated oft heard
complaints about lack of access for rural and minority groups
and then got to the crux of the matter - The lack of federal
government action to establish educational 'set asides.'
DISCUSSIONS
Two major new discussions of public access and networking
issues heated up this week.
FIRST - COMMERCIAL USE OF FREE SYSTEMS
Free-Net administrators began an intense and interesting
discussion on the relations between their sites and those of
commercial providers. These discussions focused on the
classical "free rider" problem. Should free internet sites be
accessed directly from the menus of "pay per use" systems like
Delphi.
Free-nets are being squeezed by the rising cost of serving
incoming traffic from the nets and their own lack of success
in fundraising to support expanded services. The demand for
freenet services is exploding.
Among the consequences are the recent decision by Youngstown
Free-Net to terminate new accounts on their system. This makes
them " the first Free-Net to consider shutting down due to
success. " Their problem? " Without another machine, we can
no longer provide "free" services."
They are attempting a gopher version of the system so that
unregistered users can see most of it the lower resource
impacting gopher process, but they don't expect that will
solve the problem. Money clearly is needed.
On the other hand the success of the Ottawa system in building
user traffic - 11,000 new users in 11 months! - has lead two
new commercial providers to set up in Ottawa. There strategy
is parasitic on the Ottawa success. They plan to use the
demand generated by the free-net to offer better internet
access to those willing to pay. At the same the free-net
itself is having little success raising funds and it too may
be driven to cutting off its own growth.
SECOND - ELECTRONIC DEMOCRACY
A new list with the unappealing name of CYPHERWONKS, has been
home to an excellent discussion of both philosophical and
technical issues that will affect future efforts at broadening
democratic institutions through the use of public networks.
The new listserv has also inadvertently demonstrated a major
weakness of current system as carriers of democratic dialogue.
A vicious flame war against on of the discussants has been
transferred to this list from it prior locals on several other
lists.
NEW SERVICES
Peter Scot OF HYTELNET reports the new Assistive Technology
Database -
TELNET BONGO.CC.UTEXAS.EDU or 128.83.186.13
login: tatp
ATP maintains ATDI as a public database which aids consumers
in locating disability assistive equipment and services. ATDI
is meant to help create a list of vendors in a certain region
who provide certain services.
-----------------------------
The Office of Technology Assessment (OTA)
released the report, "Making Government Work: Electronic
Delivery of Federal Services" [OTA-TCT-578, Sept. 1993]. It
urged the Clinton Administration to adopt an overall strategy
or vision for the electronic delivery of government services.
The report is available in its entirety from the gopher site
at CYPHER.ESUSDA.GOV
-> Americans Communicating Electronicly ->OTA
The first chapter is excellent as a summary and a guide to
prior publications in the area of electronic government.
This is well worth getting.
TRENDS
In Canada, Stentor - the alliance of old line phone
companies - released a "vision" document saying almost all the
right things; but it pointed neglected any mention of public
access systems. Their only indirect reference was a request
that there be no subsidizing of networks. The lack of phone
company enthusiasm for competition from real public access
systems is palpable. They are hoping to be permitted to enter
the service business and they don't want anyone giving away
bandwidth to potential customers.
------------------------------------------------------------
In the U.S., a group in New York is trying to encourage non
profit organizations to sponsor a "pay per use" service to
provide them with access to State of New York information.
At a proposed price of $27.00 per hour of access time, I
suspect that this effort to commercialize access to publicly
funded public information will die a quick death at the hands
of its own greed.
-----------------------------------------------------------
"Internet in a Box," software and telephone carrier service
has been announced. It will come from a small company
cooperating with Sprint. It promises to let users connect
directly to the Internet, and it should have a major impact on
Internet access and traffic across north america. Sprint has
already committed to providing high speed internet service to
all comers starting in March. The new connects are direct. You
don't need an "access provider."
The impact of this on the network's free services are
worrisome according to some commentators. One person suggested
that the result would be overburdening free services and a
consequent demise of those services- see above about the
freenet which is dying from its own success . Without better
funding for public access systems, that just might be the
case.
---------------------------------------------------------
An " Electronic Bill of Rights" called the Bill of Rights and
Responsibilities for Electronic Learners, an initiative of the
American Association of Higher Education (AAHE) has been
proposed.
This rehash of the american founding document would be of
little interest if it wasn't yet another example of folks try
to own the network and simultaneously guarantee themselves a
piece of all future funding.
After a brief delineation of the rights of you and I, it
quickly proceeds to try and establish similar rights for our
benefactors in the educational institutions. It virtually
mandates that their right to network access be funded too!
Everyone needs funding to create their vision of the future
net but this really needs to be dealt with in less self
interested ways. A great deal of additional legislative
attention has to be given to these issues.
.
