Response to Rod Clark; Re: Free Internet Access?

[Doug Tooley]

Rod, et al:

You raise some good points here Rod - but at least on one front you are
missing something essential - the internet is about communication.  Your
continuing condescending tone, completely disrespectful of any meritful
content of the poster is contradictory to good communication, and is a
root cause of flaming, whatever its particular variety.

Now I may well not necessarily the most popular messenger around here -
but my contributions to this organization have been consistently strong
and team oriented.  Hopefully some of the membership, and board, recognize
the value of **free speech** as so cited in the organization's founding
principles.

Frankly, if those same principles can't be applied within the organization
in a responsible and adult manner, fare thee well.

My specific responses follow:

>    SCNA's members aren't organizations. The members are local
> residents who have joined SCN as individuals. That's SCN's
> consituency, not the organizations you mentioned.
> 

SCN-A is not SCN.  The ideas I posit as to priorities are a proposal, a
proposal that would, in my opinion, require further action by the
membership and board.

We do have a responsibility to individual members - but if we **can't**
provide adequate dial-up service than perhaps the best way we can insure
good service is to insure that the information available is of high
quality, like that often provided by professional and grass-roots
non-profit organizations, while continuing to insure the provision of
access through the Seattle Library.

>    SCN's basic purpose isn't to subsidise free online brochures
> for established organizations, many of whom can afford to pay
> for printing, Web space and other such costs. SCN's purpose is
> to provide access to the Internet for people who otherwise can't
> afford it and who would otherwise have no access.
> 
This is an interpretation of our policy statement, and a narrow one.  If
that is the case than we need to make it an organizational goal to raise
the necessary funds to provide adequate dial-up access for 10,000 users.

At a modem ration of 10:1 that's 1,000 phone lines, perhaps more than we
need, but lower than the ratio guaranteed by some current private
providers.  I gather that the best phone rate available now is $30/month
from ELI - let me do the math for you that's $30,000 a month.

I'm sure the board would love to hear your ideas and have your
contributions towards that little bit of reality!
 >
To give away SCNA members' and SCN users' individual
> donations to finance bigger and better "professional presences"
> for such organizations is sending the members' money in the
> wrong direction. We (including yours truly) support our Web
> space "customers" with a great deal of unpaid volunteer time.
> But given the choice, I'd far rather spend that same amount of
> time supporting Web pages on which SCN's individual users could
> express themselves.
> 
My apologies for the unspecific nature of my language  - though there is
substantial gray area my use of the term 'grass-roots' was to
differentiate 'proffessional' organizations from low budget and/or
unstaffed organizations.  To some extent your concerns will be addressed
through self selection, a big organization will choose to pay.

Social service organizations are probably the most 'professional'
organizations that will choose to use us.  I would hope that you would
view a 'donation' to both individual social service clients as well as
their agencies as more productive than merely focusing on one or the
other.

>    If anything, SCN should consider asking some of the bigger
> organizations who now use SCN as a Web space provider for
> voluntary donations, and use that money to support better dialup
> services for those who can't afford a commercial provider.
> 
10-4
>    As far as depending on the City for essential support, I
> wouldn't trust the City's politicians to consistently support
> SCN's principles. Do you?
> 

No more or no less than I trust any organization to work towards them.

-Douglas Tooley

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