From lbs at aa.net Sun Apr 6 14:20:46 1997 From: lbs at aa.net (Lucys) Date: Sun, 6 Apr 1997 14:20:46 -0700 (PDT) Subject: TOURBUS - 03 April 1997 - Dealing With Junk Mail (fwd) Message-ID: FYI: in prior emails, people have been discussing how to deal with junk mail. Below are some thoughts on this subject. -- Lucy S. lbs at aa.net Seattle, Washington USA ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Fri, 4 Apr 1997 17:41:24 -0800 (PST) From: Phil Agre Reply-To: rre-maintainers at weber.ucsd.edu To: rre at weber.ucsd.edu Subject: TOURBUS - 03 April 1997 - Dealing With Junk Mail Resent-Date: Fri, 4 Apr 1997 17:44:48 -0800 (PST) Resent-From: rre at weber.ucsd.edu [Forwarded with permission. I've observed that many people feel powerless about spam these days. Powerlessness is just about the worst feeling there is; here's what to do about it. I think everybody should respond in some way to every item of junk e-mail (aka spam) that they receive. Pick your own favorite mode of response and do it every time. You might specialize in many different activites: calling the spammers on the phone and politely chastising them whenever they provide a phone number that you can call for free or cheaply, tracking down their machine and making their identity known to people who don't like spammers, analyzing a little more of the legal issues around spam each time a spammer inconveniences you, sending large messages to the offenders, gathering sources of information on the subject and making them known, writing clear-English explanations of the technical and legal issues, publicizing the online discussion lists and newsgroups that are devoted to the subject, whatever. Just pick your own mode of response, in accord with your own values and skills and time constraints, and keep doing it, and keep reminding yourself that lots and lots of other people are pushing their own response to the problem as well. Then consciously decide let go of your anger and frustration, as well as any belief that the spammers are giant monsters, or that spamming is inevitable. What's important is not feeling isolated. The fact is, you're *not* isolated. It's the whole community that's responding to this obnoxious assault on its values, not just isolated individuals. You can avoid feeling powerless by just doing your own chosen part and vividly imagining all of the thousands of other people who are also doing their part. The offenders win when people are consumed by powerless feelings of anger and frustration; they lose when people experience the power that they truly have, and express that power in the pleasures of solidarity.] =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= This message was forwarded through the Red Rock Eater News Service (RRE). Send any replies to the original author, listed in the From: field below. You are welcome to send the message along to others but please do not use the "redirect" command. For information on RRE, including instructions for (un)subscribing, send an empty message to rre-help at weber.ucsd.edu =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Date: Fri, 4 Apr 1997 00:23:42 -0500 From: Bob Rankin Subject: TOURBUS - 03 April 1997 - Dealing With Junk Mail /~~~~~~~~~|~~~~~~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~~|~~~~~~~~~~|~~~~~~~~~~~~~/~~~|~\ | People of All Ages Wanted for Worldwide Advisory Panel / | \ |__________|__________/__________|__________|___________/ | \ / /______|----\ | We need your advice on a variety of subjects. Weekly |//////| | | $$ drawings. For more information, send e-mail to: |//////| | | info at AdvisoryPanel.com or http://www.AdvisoryPanel.com |//////| | | |//////| | ~~~/~~~\~~/~~~\~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~/~~~\~~~~ \___/ \___/ T h e I n t e r n e t T o u r B u s \___/ TODAY'S TOURBUS TOPIC: Dealing With Junk E-Mail Adam Boettiger, moderator for the I-Advertising Digest, a moderated discussion on Internet Advertising, Marketing and Online Commerce (http://www.exposure-usa.com/i-advertising) has an excellent report for us today on the topic of "How to Combat Bulk Unsolicited E-mail". As for TOURBUS, we never sign up people unless they explicitly request and confirm their subscription. In order to provide this free resource we do accept advertising from responsible online business people. We hope you'll reward them for advertising in a net-friendly way! *---------------------------------------------------------------------* Jump start your Web pages with a copy of the best-selling book "Creating Cool HTML 3.2 Web Pages" by guru Dave Taylor. For info and FREE online HTML lessons, visit *------------( http://www.intuitive.com/taylor/cool-web )-------------* What follows is an edited version of Adam's original work. If you'd like to read the full text, you can find it online at the address: http://www.exposure-usa.com/i-advertising/sr.html This message is a bit longer than most TOURBUS postings, but I think you'll agree it's worthwhile reading - especially the anti-spam links at the end! "How to Combat Bulk Unsolicited E-mail" _______________________________________ The purpose of this report is to present ways that you can effectively reduce the number of unsolicited email messages you receive each day. I am writing this article because so many people have asked what they can do to combat this problem. I have outlined some ideas below that can help you reduce the amount of junk email you receive on a daily basis. I hope you find this useful and if so, that you share it with your friends. I don't think I have met a person yet who has NOT received unsolicited email in one form or another. In fact, I can remember that within 5 minutes of activating a Compuserve account, bulk emailers already had my address -- go figure! First, let's examine how they get your email address in the first place: 1. Email stripper programs 2. Newsgroup/Discussion Group "trolling" 3. Email capture devices 4. Surfing the web 5. Commercial Bulk email services Email stripper programs ---------------------- There are many popular software programs on the net, ranging in price from $100 to as much as $450 ("Floodgate"), that are easily used to "strip" email addresses from classified ad sites, bulletin boards, online discussion groups or web sites. They compile the addresses into a list, weed out the duplicates and then -Wham!- you have an inexpensive way to send out an ad to thousands of people (or so it would seem). Newsgroup/Discussion group "Trolling" ------------------------------------- In addition to stripping addresses from these areas on the net, another method used to obtain your email address or mail you an advertisement is simply to respond to your ad or message in that newsgroup: "Hi, I saw your ad on the Internet..." I'm sure that sounds familiar to a lot of you. While it may be a valid inquiry to your ad, it may just be a clever scheme to get you to read the mail. Email Capture Devices --------------------- An email capture device is a button that can be inserted in any web site. Clicking on this button will send that person's email address directly to the web site owner. Most of the time, if you have your browser set properly, you will get warned before your address is sent by email to the site owner. Surfing the web --------------- Many advertisers simply search the engines for sites similar to their target market and send press releases to the webmasters of sites they visit. Commercial Bulk email services ------------------------------ Often the easiest way to obtain an email list is to buy one that someone else has compiled. Many companies on the net will sell lists targeted to a specific group, or even easier still -- they'll do the mailing for you. They'll offer to filter out the ~flames~ (angry email messages by people who you sent the junk email to) by providing you with a "Flame-Proof" email address on their server. Bulk emailings and bulk email companies are increasing at an alarmingly fast rate. This is mainly due to the fact that thousands of new users join the cyberspace world each week, unaware of Internet Ettiquette or "Nettiquette". Doesn't the fact that they offer to "filter out" angry responses kind of raise a red flag in your mind that should make you ask yourself: "Why would I want to advertise in a way that is likely to make people angry or hold a negative image of my business?" So what can you do about it, if you don't like receiving ten to forty "Get Rich Quick" offers in your email box each morning? I consulted with several "Anti-Spam" experts who were kind enough to provide me with the information I am about to share with you. If you really do ENJOY getting tons of unnecessary email, please feel free to delete this right now. If you want to DO something about it, read on... ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Mark West writes: Get lots of e-mail offering you get-rich-quick schemes? Want to hit back? Spam Hater is =free= Windows software that helps you respond effectively and makes it hot for these people. -Analyses the Spam -Extracts a list of addresses of relevant Postmasters, etc. -Generates a "WHOIS" query to help track the perpetrator. -Prepares a reply. -Choice of legal threats, insults or your own message. -Appends a copy of the Spam if required. -Puts it in a mail window ready for sending. Spam Hater works with lots of popular e-mail programs directly - there's no tedious cutting and pasting. Downloads: http://www.compulink.co.uk/~net-services/spam/ ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ John Levine, Trumansburg NY, writes: One anti-spam technique that's almost completely ineffective is to ask the spammer to stop. Every spam I get now says "reply REMOVE to get off this list", yet nearly all of them have an obviously forged or non-existent return address. For spam sent from on-line services and ISPs, it's often effective to send a copy of the spam, with full headers, to the abuse contact for the provider with a polite request to make them cut it out. Abuse contact addresses vary, so I offer a free abuse address forwarding service: Send a complaint to (domain name)@abuse.networks.net and it'll get sent to the abuse contact for that domain, e.g., gnn.com at abuse.networks.net is sent to gnnadvisor at gnn.com and abuse at aol.net, GNN's abuse contacts. The sad truth is that most spammers are either ignorant, crooked, or both, and you'll be doing your readers a favor to remind them of this so they know what brush they'll be tarring themselves with should they decide to start spamming themselves. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Ira M. Pasternack writes: Here is a message I send to the address an unsolicited bulk e-mail was sent from. I also send it to the postmaster@ the domain the message was sent from, and often I look up provider of the domain, and send it to their postmaster: "I received the following unsolicited bulk email ("spam"), which apparently originated from your site. Please take appropriate action to ensure this doesn't happen again." It is important to realize how easy a spammer can forge an e-mail address; therefore, I feel that sending anything but a polite note similar to the one I do is unethical. Some people will suggest tactics such as sending huge files to the spammer, but imagine how you would feel if the address you use was some innocent person's. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Frederick Pearce adds: Flaming seemed to serve no purpose, and certainly didn't reduce the volume. Spammers expect flames, presumably, and it is just like water off a duck's back. I did find some degree of success copying my flames to postmaster at senders.address, and admin at senders.address, and abuse at senders.address. But it wasn't until I toned down the rhetoric - sysops don't like to be shouted at, either, I suppose!! - that things seemed to change. Now I very calmly, and at some length, explain to the sender that they have inconvenienced me, that there is a better and more effective way of soliciting business, and directing them to my page BUSINESS NETIQUETTE INTERNATIONAL http://www.wp.com/fredfish/Netiq.html where they can learn how to send unsolicited business mail with far less offence. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ I'd like to tell you what has worked best for me in weeding out unsolicited email junk - and believe me, I get a lot of it since I have a lot of exposure on the Net. I use Eudora Pro 3.0 available at: http://www.eudora.com/ for my email program. It has the ability to filter all incoming mail, looking at the headers, subject line, or any text in the body. For example. Say I get email from CyberPromotions, and they use the domain "spam.com" in their email address. All I do is create a filter that looks for @spam.com anywhere in the headers of any incoming email message I receive, and transfers it to a special "Spam" folder that I have created just for this type of message. I do not have it transferred to the trash, because occassionally a legitimate message slips through. I check my spam folder once every few days to see if any legitimate messages slipped through. If you'd like to learn how to filter your incoming email, I have put up instructions and a list of the domains that I filter for Spam at: http://www.exposure-usa.com/email/spam.html ++++++++++++++++++++++++++ I'd like to close this report by providing you with some other places that you can go to if you'd like to learn more. Below you will find a list of sites/links that I have found that should provide you with more than enough information. Junk Busters http://www.junkbusters.com/ - A site that provides an outline of how to handle junk email. They also provide a fine notice "to senders of uninvited email solicitations" which can be published at one's Web site and/or used as a response to junk email. Spam Hater - http://www.compulink.co.uk/~net-services/spam/ Free software for Windows 3.x & Win 95. Analyze junk email to find appropriate addresses to send a prepared response to. Win95 Mail Utilities and Addons http://www.windows95.com/apps/mailutils.html Filtering mail FAQ for Pine, Elm and Unix accounts: http://www.cis.ohio-state.edu/hypertext/faq/usenet/mail/filtering-faq/faq.html Mail Filtering Resources http://www.glue.umd.edu/enee/medlab/filter/filter.html E-Filter Software http://catalog.com/tsw/efilter/ Get that Spammer Software http://kryten.eng.monash.edu.au/gspam.html Junk Email remover http://www.fishnet.net/~seddigh/ List of sites where you can (supposedly) register to stop receiving junk email: http://kenjen.com/nospam/ http://www.islandnet.com/~cvcprod/abcmall/email.html http://www.directnet.com/~spiegel/ http://pages.ripco.com:8080/~glr/nojunk.html http://drsvcs.com/nospam/ Anti-Spamming Fax Law http://www.ca-probate.com/faxlaw.htm Netizens against gratuitous spamming http://axxis.com/~ian/nags/index.html Death to Spam http://www.mindworkshop.com/alchemy/nospam.html Outlaw Junk Mail now (links) http://www.public.asu.edu/~dtopping/ojen.html Usenet sources to fight spamming http://www.mindspring.com/~mdpas/research/intro.html NetAbuse FAQ (Usenet links) http://www.cybernothing.org/faqs/net-abuse-faq.html Anti-Umail FAQ http://www.accessnt.com.au/faqs/spam.htm Blacklist of Internet Advertisers http://www.cco.caltech.edu/~cbrown/BL/ Internet Scambusters http://www2.scambusters.com/scambusters/ Russ-Smith's Telemarketing and E-Mail Marketing Consumer Information Source http://www.russ-smith.com/ Spam-Ad Anti-Spamming Mailing List To subscribe, send mail to to: LISTSERV at INTERNET.COM In msg body: SUBSCRIBE SPAMAD YOUR_REAL_NAME, YOUR_AFFILIATION_IF_ANY SPAM-L ANTI-SPAMMING MAILING LIST To subscribe, send mail to: LISTSERV at PEACH.EASE.LSOFT.COM In msg body: SUBSCRIBE SPAM-L YOUR_REAL_NAME ANTI-SPAMMING NEWSGROUP: news.admin.net-abuse.misc AOL ADMINISTRATION: EMAIL COMPLAINTS WRITE Tosemail1 at aol.com OR abuse at aol.com ---End of Adam Boettiger Article--- See you next time! --Bob ======================================================================== Join : Send SUBSCRIBE TOURBUS Your Name to LISTSERV at LISTSERV.AOL.COM Leave : Send SIGNOFF TOURBUS to LISTSERV at LISTSERV.AOL.COM Archives: On the Web at http://www.TOURBUS.com Advertising: Contact BobRankin at MHV.net for details. =----------------------------------------------------------------------= I Feel Your Pain -- Fortunately There's A Cure --> "Doctor Bob's Painless Guide To The Internet <-- --> And Amazing Things You Can Do With E-Mail!" <-- Send e-mail to BobRankin at MHV.net w/ Subject: SEND BOOKINFO or browse reviews & sample chapters at http://biz.mhv.net/drbob ======================================================================== TOURBUS - (c) Copyright 1995-97, Patrick Crispen and Bob Rankin All rights reserved. Redistribution is allowed only with permission. Send this copy to 3 friends and tell them to get on the Bus! * * * * * * * * * * * * * * From the Listowner * * * * * * * * * * * * . To unsubscribe from this list, send a message to: majordomo at scn.org In the body of the message, type: unsubscribe scn END From kwhite at uwkc.wa.org Wed Apr 9 15:17:00 1997 From: kwhite at uwkc.wa.org (Karen White - CFC) Date: Wed, 09 Apr 97 15:17:00 PDT Subject: site Message-ID: <334C0666@ms-smtp.wa.com> Hi. Looking for a host for new website for King County Combined Federal Campaign. Am new to all of this. Please give me a call? Karen White 461-7910 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * From the Listowner * * * * * * * * * * * * . To unsubscribe from this list, send a message to: majordomo at scn.org In the body of the message, type: unsubscribe scn END From kwhite at uwkc.wa.org Wed Apr 9 17:35:00 1997 From: kwhite at uwkc.wa.org (Karen White - CFC) Date: Wed, 09 Apr 97 17:35:00 PDT Subject: thanks Message-ID: <334C262A@ms-smtp.wa.com> My questions have been answered. Thank you for such quick response. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * From the Listowner * * * * * * * * * * * * . To unsubscribe from this list, send a message to: majordomo at scn.org In the body of the message, type: unsubscribe scn END From dltooley at speakeasy.org Fri Apr 11 12:16:39 1997 From: dltooley at speakeasy.org (Doug Tooley) Date: Fri, 11 Apr 1997 12:16:39 -0700 (PDT) Subject: Homeless in Seattle (fwd) In-Reply-To: Message-ID: Al, et al: This note serves as a compliment on the quality of a post, by Al, to the list king-socserv at scn.org, and some thoughts as to the relevance of that post to SCN in particular, and the ways we use the internet in general. (The post concerned an effective summary of the problem of homelessness, both nationally and locally) This type of quality background is what we should be using for SCN's decision making process. Rather than being a deliberative, inclusive body we now run on the basis of trying to get individual proposals through without much in the way of overall thought as to where we are trying to go and what our mission is. SCN can help with the problems of homelessness, though not solve them. What SCN can do, very much in line with its mission of universal access, is work to insure that the homeless remain **connected** to the world via the net. It is also possible that we could provide significant job networking and training opportunities. However the type of conversation and discussion that goes on around SCN now is not supportive of that sort of development - in fact the types of attitudes we see around SCN may very well be adding to the problem, in a general fashion. For a number of reasons we need a constructive, deliberative, inclusive decision making process around SCN. Of course communicating on broader subjects in order to lead to effective decisions on the part of SCN is a very big question, one that is not only limited to SCN, but also to those that we work with. This ability, to work efficiently in a group generated context (not necessarily consensus!) is in my opinion, the only relevant measure of our success. The type of post Al Boss made to the king-socserv list is a great example of exactly that sort of communication. I sincerely hope he continues to follow-up on your superb contributions to SCN and that efforts such as yours become the rule rather than the exception. -Douglas Tooley * * * * * * * * * * * * * * From the Listowner * * * * * * * * * * * * . To unsubscribe from this list, send a message to: majordomo at scn.org In the body of the message, type: unsubscribe scn END From alboss at wolfenet.com Fri Apr 11 14:25:16 1997 From: alboss at wolfenet.com (Albert W. Boss) Date: Fri, 11 Apr 1997 14:25:16 -0700 (PDT) Subject: individual credit where it's due--or not In-Reply-To: Message-ID: Re: Doug Tooley's kind words with regard to a post I made elsewhere on the subject, "Homeless in Seattle": Not that I'm one to turn down a compliment--I'm not--but Doug might be giving me so much undue credit here that it'll drive a wedge between me and mere mortals. Doug correctly identifies the fact that there's room for improvement in our operations and communications within SCN, but I personally think a lot of the problems come from our near-constant emphasis on individuals rather than processes and structures. So, I have to turn down this compliment. The quality didn't come from me because I'm Al Boss. The added value that Doug so kindly attributes to me comes from the act of posting a story that touched some of us and didn't make anyone feel attacked. It's the act that's important, not the actor. We all add value to SCN, on a regular basis. I think until now, we've relied on the sheer force of our personalities to carry the bulk of our contributions to the effort. That worked well, because of the high quality of people working on SCN. However, I'm getting worn out; our baby has grown too big for one person, or even a group of individuals, to carry. I for one look forward to the day when there's more focus on what I did and how I did it, and less focus on who did it. Then, perhaps, I can rest. Doug, you made my day with your kind words; as an individual with a reasonable amount of vanity I thank you very much. As a member of the SCN collective, though, I don't want to be split from the rest of the group. We all care passionately about what we're doing, we all contribute to the greater good of the organization, and we all have room to improve. I think you've pointed out vital thing; your message underlines the importance of the process and content over that of the individual. Thank you most of all for reinforcing how much better we can become by following those simple steps. Since most folks on this list didn't see the original post, which I forwarded from my colleague Ed Schwartz in Philadelphia, I include it below. Best to all, Al Boss ----------------------- From alboss at wolfenet.com Wed Apr 9 16:20:29 1997 From: alboss at wolfenet.com (Albert W. Boss) Date: Wed, 9 Apr 1997 16:20:29 -0700 (PDT) Subject: Homeless in Seattle (fwd) Message-ID: This came across the urban community development list, cd4urban. If anyone wants to write to the author, Ed Schwartz, his e-mail address is included. ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Wed, 09 Apr 1997 17:38:17 -0700 From: Ed Schwartz Reply-To: cd4urban at u.washington.edu To: cd4urban at u.washington.edu, urban-leaders at nul.org Cc: VISTANET at SJUVM.STJOHNS.EDU Subject: Homeless in Seattle A week ago Monday--April 1st--the Mayor of Philadelphia, Ed Rendell shared the platform with Mayor Norman Rice of Seattle on a panel in New York City related to welfare reform. As reported in the Philadelphia Inquirer, Rendell expressed the sort of urgency that I've conveyed here about the need for a federal jobs program to help employ recipients who will not be absorbed in the private economy. Rice was more upbeat, however, arguing that projected job growth in Seattle over the next few years could handle the problem. So I looked up data on Seattle from various resources online (which I'm soon going to consolidate on one menu in Neighborhoods Online to facilitate your own research on these matters). Sure enough, the economic profile was quite positive. In the 1980's, Seattle gained 100,000 jobs, at a time when Philadelphia was losing more than twice that number. Seattle is expected to gain another 70,000 jobs by the year 2000. But then I read the Executive Summary of Seattle's Community Development program, as submitted to HUD in 1995. There I learn that given rents and housing costs, thousands of low-income renters are struggling to find a place to place. In fact, an AFDC recipient has to spend 100% of her income on housing (hmm..and what happens if that income disappears?). Later, we learn that there are between 3,900 and 4,300 homeless people on any given night in Seattle--over 17,000 a year. Seattle has less than half the population of Philadelphia, but the homeless population in both cities is the same. Seattle also spends about as much money on the homeless as Philadelphia--$17 million--to support more than 43 shelter providers. This is hardly the "upscale" image that City projects to itself or to the country. Now I know that the immediate response that many people online want to make to such observations revolves around what government should or should not do. We all want to debate solutions--which is fine. But I have an even more basic question: at this point, do most people even consider homelessness a problem--or have they just come to accept it? There *were* no large numbers of homeless people in 1980. But by the mid- 80's, this was a major national phenomenon, and cities all over the country were in turmoil over how to respond. Then a period of "compassion fatigue" set in, and those who wanted to "clear the homeless from the streets" and to block "aggressive panhandling" became the loudest voices. So now many cities have "cleared" them. There are shelters. There are "transitional housing units." But the homeless are still with us-- unlamented and unnoticed..... And is this also what will happen as so-called welfare "reform" unfolds? Over the next five years, cities and many smaller communities will be in turmoil, as recipients who fail to find jobs either lose their benefits or end up in workfare programs that threaten to reduce wages of existing workers in the public and private sector. At first, It will be seen as a catastrophe, perhaps....with lots of turmoil and public debate. Then what? Will we reach a point where this, too, won't matter--where people will simply grow used to women and children by the thousands lying in the streets or makeshift shelters set up for them? Impossible? Isn't that what America has already done in relation to the existing homeless population? So I'm curious....how is homelessness is now viewed where you live. Do citizens now take this for granted? Is there *any* public debate over what to do about it? Is there any sign that your community or city is *ashamed* at the number of homeless that remain in America? Or is this ok now...as it seems to be in Seattle? After all, if a social condition ceases to be seen as a problem, then we no longer have to worry about solutions. Do we. The relevant passages from the Seattle Community Development Plan Executive Summary passages follow: COMMUNITY PROFILE In 1990 Seattle had a population of 516,259. About 15 percent of the city's residents are over 65 years old, while people over 75 are the fastest growing segment. Most of the residents (75 percent) are white; minority groups grew at a rate four times faster than the white population. During the 1980s the number of Asian Americans increased by 63 percent; Hispanics increased by 44 percent; African Americans increased by 42 percent; and Native-Americans increased by 15 percent. Non-family households are more likely to have lower incomes than family households. In 1990 Seattle's overall median family income (MFI) was $38,895. The MFI for family households was almost double that of non-family households -- $49,572 for family households, versus $28,005 for non-family households. Among the 236,908 households in Seattle, 65,427 (28 percent) are low-income, earning 0-51 percent of MFI. Another 44,471 households (19 percent) are moderate-income, earning 51-80 percent of MFI. Only 21,818 households (9 percent) are middle-income, earning 81-95 percent of MFI. Affordable Housing Needs During the past 20 years, the cost of housing has become increasingly burdensome for many renter and homeowner households. Generally, housing costs have increased at a faster rate than incomes. The cost of rental housing in Seattle continues to be a major problem for low-income households. Although construction of new multifamily rental units has been at an all-time high, low-income renter households still do not have greater housing choices because they cannot afford these new units without subsidies.... A family of four receiving assistance from the Aid to Families With Dependent Children program would need to spend 100 percent of their monthly income on housing. In 1990 families living at the poverty level needed an annual rent supplement of $4,300 to afford current average market rate rents for a two-bedroom apartment. Furthermore, the gap between public assistance income and housing costs is increasing. Rental housing costs increased by 82 percent between 1980 and 1990. The Seattle Housing Authority (SHA) and other nonprofit housing providers cannot meet the demand for affordable housing. More than 13,800 households are on SHA's waiting list for subsidized housing, and few households can access existing SHA housing in less than 3 months. Large families of five or more often wait several years for housing. Homeless Needs Homelessness continues to be one of the most persistent problems facing Seattle. Conservative estimates project that there are between 14,000 and 17,000 homeless persons annually. On any given night, between 3,900 and 4,300 individuals are without a home, and this number is growing. Furthermore, emergency service providers report that more people are being turned away from shelters. Members of ethnic minority groups are disproportionately represented in shelters and transitional housing programs. Almost 25 percent of shelter clients are children, and at least 50 percent of these children are under 6 years old. To meet the needs of the homeless, Seattle has 43 shelter providers, offering more than 2,300 emergency shelter beds. Of these shelter providers, more than half are city funded. In 1993 the city allocated more than $17 million in Federal, State, county, and city funds to more than 74 programs that provide emergency shelter, meals, and support services. Nevertheless, shelters and transitional housing providers report that finding affordable housing for their clients is becoming more difficult. Barriers to securing permanent housing include insufficient income, availability of low-cost or subsidized housing, and inadequate access to needed support systems. Ed Schwartz, Institute for the Study of Civic Values, 1218 Chestnut St., Rm. 702, Philadelphia, Pa. 19107 215-238-1434 edcivic at libertynet.org The ISCV home page can be reached at http://libertynet.org/~edcivic/iscvhome.html Also check out "Neighborhoods Online" at http://libertynet.org/community/phila/natl.html. "Citizenship is the American ideal. There may be an army of actualities opposed to that ideal, but there is no ideal opposed to that ideal." --G.K. Chesterton * * * * * * * * * * * * * * From the Listowner * * * * * * * * * * * * . To unsubscribe from this list, send a message to: majordomo at scn.org In the body of the message, type: unsubscribe scn END From marcia at scn.org Tue Apr 22 21:41:32 1997 From: marcia at scn.org (Marcia Bender) Date: Tue, 22 Apr 1997 21:41:32 -0700 (PDT) Subject: SCNA "newsletter" or ... (fwd) Message-ID: ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Tue, 22 Apr 1997 21:33:47 -0700 (PDT) From: Marcia Bender To: Doug Schuler Cc: fundraising at scn.org, outreach at scn.org, scna at scn.org Subject: Re: SCNA "newsletter" or ... Hi all, Some comments and answers below. On Tue, 22 Apr 1997, Doug Schuler wrote: > > I recently received a note from Marcia stating that the fundraising > subcommittee decided not to include a "newsletter" in the fundraising > appeal. Although I have much respect for the fundraising > subcommittee's efforts I feel obligated to point out that they are not > independent (nor is any committee) of the rest of the organization. In > other words, I trust that fundraising will consult with the board on > their plans for a funding appeal and coordinate activities and actions > as necessary. Very true! I hope that the board will develop some guidelines for the various committee to get the work done. In the mean time, regarding this specific task, our plan is to get board's approval before the mailing of the 1997-98 annual appeal. Here is the timeline: Rough Draft will be completed by April 30. The mailing happens on June 1 (as directed by the board). In between these dates are the Planning Committee for public comments and the board meeting for approval. Please send mail to me (marcia at scn.org) if you would like to have the other milestones of this process which are not mentioned here or if you are interested in more details in general. > > Unfortunately we on the SCNA have not devoted the necessary attention > to what I consider one of the most critical duties of running a membership > organization: > regular communication with the membership. I have looked at several > books on running a membership organization and this also meshes with my > experience and thoughts: a newsletter (hopefully periodic) is an > absolute requirement. A newsletter is the primary means to communicate > with ALL members. It is seen as an indispensible tool for > communication and also for fundraising and outreach. > > So, what are we to do in this regard? I see several choices. > > ___ Send out a short "status report", "update", or what-have-you in > advance of the fundraising report. This would not be a "newsletter" > per se but would fulfill the same functions. > > ___ Include the above-mentioned report or update *with* the fundraising > appeal. (This may run contrary to the decision of the fundraising > group.) > > ___ Initiate a "real" newsletter which goes out to the membership on a > regular basis. > > ____ Send out an electronic newsletter to SCNA members. This option was the one embraced by the Fundraising Committee Annual Appeal Working Group. Also, I believe that the topic editors are working out some ways to do newsletter articles. It seems like we just need a newsletter editor to bring it all together and some leadership from the board to make this happen. > > > ____ Other. Explain ___________________________________ > > > ___ No newsletter. > > > > I did not include a web page or opening screen message because these > methods are, in my opinion, unlikely to reach all or, even, a majority > of our members. > > > Please let me know what you think. I'm willing to play a role in > whatever we do but IF this is to be coordinated at all with the > fundraising appeal (which I think it should) then we need to decide on > this soon. The working group of the fund. cmtee felt that nothing less than a true electronic newsletter would do for our organization. We also decided that to keep the annual appeal as simple and straigtforward as possible would be best. We have designed a very nice brochure. --Marcia * * * * * * * * * * * * * * From the Listowner * * * * * * * * * * * * . To unsubscribe from this list, send a message to: majordomo at scn.org In the body of the message, type: unsubscribe scn END From rclark at aa.net Wed Apr 23 05:47:15 1997 From: rclark at aa.net (Rod Clark) Date: Wed, 23 Apr 1997 05:47:15 -0700 (PDT) Subject: SCNA "newsletter" or ... (fwd) In-Reply-To: Message-ID: > > Unfortunately we on the SCNA have not devoted the necessary attention > > to what I consider one of the most critical duties of running a membership > > organization: > > regular communication with the membership. Doug and Marcia, That "regular communication" should also be something that encourages public discussion, as well as letting people know what's going on. A newsletter, by itself, is a one-way communication. E-mail is fine, but it's limited to enlightening one person at a time, or very small numbers at a time. Too often, people decide all kinds of things about SCN in e-mail conversations, leaving everyone else in the dark. There's no good substitute for ongoing two-way discussions among lots of people, either in forums or on mailing lists (which to be more effective would have to be massively subscribed, compared to the SCN lists at present). > > ___ Initiate a "real" newsletter which goes out to the membership on a > > regular basis. > > > > ____ Send out an electronic newsletter to SCNA members. The Web site's "test" home page is designed around presenting changing content. The last time I checked, the home page was about 25% of the total pages served on SCN. It's a shame not to use it to actively communicate with people, instead of leaving it as a "dead storage" area for unchanging content that's of basically no interest to current subscribers. Rod Clark * * * * * * * * * * * * * * From the Listowner * * * * * * * * * * * * . To unsubscribe from this list, send a message to: majordomo at scn.org In the body of the message, type: unsubscribe scn END From douglas Wed Apr 30 09:46:11 1997 From: douglas (Doug Schuler) Date: Wed, 30 Apr 1997 09:46:11 -0700 (PDT) Subject: Looking for someone from CFN, SCN and Santa Monica PEN Message-ID: <199704301646.JAA24959@scn.org> A German student is looking for somebody to participate in a study for his master's thesis. I think it's great that people all over the world are interested in what we're doing. It would be great to have somebody NOT on the board participate in this. -- Doug > Date: Mon, 28 Apr 1997 11:29:32 +0200 > From: CWesterh at bwlnotes.bwl.uni-hohenheim.de > To: communet at list.uvm.edu > Subject: Looking for someone from CFN, SCN and Santa Monica PEN > > > Christian Westerhof > 28.04.97 10:29 > > Hello, > > sorry that this goes to the whole list, but I at this moment I don't know > how to help myself: I need some help. > > I'm a german student of information management and I write my master's > thesis on "Community Networking and the Internet in the US". I'm most > interested in the experiences with democratic participation on the nets for > in Germany this is in its invancy and I want to give some recommendations > for further german networks. > > For this I thought of doing some case studies on several government > sponsored networks and some free-nets. Beside a pure description of the > networks I wanted to add some actual information, experiences and thoughts > of those people who work on the networks. I tried to e-mail several > networks but still haven't got many answers. > > My question: If there is anybody from Cleveland Free-Net, Seattle Free-Net > or the Santa Monica PEN project I would be thankfull if he/she could answer > me. I would like her/him to participate in an interview which will take > place through e-mail. There'll be a few questions at a time (which may take > only a couple of minutes to answer), and may take only a few days, > depending upon the frequency of our correspondence. > > So if you work on one of these networks or know of somebody who does please > let me know. You would do me a very big favor! > > Thanks for listening and have a nice day, > > Chris Westerhof > University of Hohenheim/Germany > http://www.uni-hohenheim.de/english/index.html > * * * * * * * * * * * * * * From the Listowner * * * * * * * * * * * * . To unsubscribe from this list, send a message to: majordomo at scn.org In the body of the message, type: unsubscribe scn END