From clariun at yahoo.com Fri Feb 1 23:06:48 2002 From: clariun at yahoo.com (patrick) Date: Fri, 1 Feb 2002 23:06:48 -0800 (PST) Subject: SCN: SCN featured sites of the month Message-ID: <20020202070648.89810.qmail@web13207.mail.yahoo.com> The SCN home page has been updated with new sites featured for the month of February 2002. There is also some other tweaks that, of course, may be of interest to some. Patrick Fisher Seattle Community Network __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Great stuff seeking new owners in Yahoo! Auctions! http://auctions.yahoo.com * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 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 ==== Messages posted on this list are also available on the web at: ==== * * * * * * * http://www.scn.org/volunteers/scn-l/ * * * * * * * From amowre at hotmail.com Sat Feb 2 12:22:21 2002 From: amowre at hotmail.com (alex mowre) Date: Sat, 02 Feb 2002 12:22:21 -0800 Subject: SCN: question Message-ID: i was looking around the website and i noticed that there is not a message board anywhere on the entire website. i was wondering why there wasn't one? i think it would be an extremely useful addition to the community website. especially for the activism section. it would allow activists to keep in contact with one another easier and would also allow everyone to get messages out easier. i really think one should be added. ::alex _________________________________________________________________ MSN Photos is the easiest way to share and print your photos: http://photos.msn.com/support/worldwide.aspx * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 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 ==== Messages posted on this list are also available on the web at: ==== * * * * * * * http://www.scn.org/volunteers/scn-l/ * * * * * * * From jj at scn.org Sat Feb 2 15:52:46 2002 From: jj at scn.org (J. Johnson) Date: Sat, 2 Feb 2002 15:52:46 -0800 (PST) Subject: SCN: question In-Reply-To: Message-ID: Because of accumulated problems with the underlying structure of the system, and because we have not been able to muster enough _technically competent_ and _reliable_ volunteer effort to make the necessary changes. Because of services and software having been added haphazardly, without documentation nor regard for other aspects of system operation, making it become increasingly difficult to add (or change) any services at all. Because any attempt to change or otherwise address the underlying problems is strongly resisted by a few who view the imposition of any kind of requirements or discipline as an infringement of their self-granted rights. And because we do have higher priorities. For instance, my current priortized list of unfinished SCN tasks runs to over a hundred. And "message board" doesn't even make it on the list! === JJ ============================================================= On Sat, 2 Feb 2002, alex mowre wrote: > i was looking around the website and i noticed that there is not a message > board anywhere on the entire website. > > i was wondering why there wasn't one? > > i think it would be an extremely useful addition to the community website. > especially for the activism section. it would allow activists to keep in > contact with one another easier and would also allow everyone to get > messages out easier. > > i really think one should be added. > > ::alex > > _________________________________________________________________ > MSN Photos is the easiest way to share and print your photos: > http://photos.msn.com/support/worldwide.aspx > > * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 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 > ==== Messages posted on this list are also available on the web at: ==== > * * * * * * * http://www.scn.org/volunteers/scn-l/ * * * * * * * > * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 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 ==== Messages posted on this list are also available on the web at: ==== * * * * * * * http://www.scn.org/volunteers/scn-l/ * * * * * * * From clariun at yahoo.com Sat Feb 2 21:44:43 2002 From: clariun at yahoo.com (patrick) Date: Sat, 2 Feb 2002 21:44:43 -0800 (PST) Subject: SCN: question In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <20020203054443.69883.qmail@web13207.mail.yahoo.com> Interesting rsponse. Sounds like filibuster. Generalizations to accentuate the bad or the bad of the past. I realize there is a lot that needs to be done, to be fixed. But this reply seems to imply that all is wrong, one big heaping broken pile that can't be touched. As if another straw... Patrick Seattle Community Network --- "J. Johnson" wrote: > Because of accumulated problems with the underlying structure of > the > system, and because we have not been able to muster enough > _technically > competent_ and _reliable_ volunteer effort to make the necessary > changes. > > Because of services and software having been added haphazardly, > without > documentation nor regard for other aspects of system operation, > making it > become increasingly difficult to add (or change) any services at > all. > > Because any attempt to change or otherwise address the underlying > problems > is strongly resisted by a few who view the imposition of any kind > of > requirements or discipline as an infringement of their self-granted > rights. > > And because we do have higher priorities. For instance, my current > priortized list of unfinished SCN tasks runs to over a hundred. > And > "message board" doesn't even make it on the list! > > === JJ > ============================================================= > > On Sat, 2 Feb 2002, alex mowre wrote: > > > i was looking around the website and i noticed that there is not > a message > > board anywhere on the entire website. > > > > i was wondering why there wasn't one? > > > > i think it would be an extremely useful addition to the community > website. > > especially for the activism section. it would allow activists to > keep in > > contact with one another easier and would also allow everyone to > get > > messages out easier. > > > > i really think one should be added. > > > > ::alex > > > > _________________________________________________________________ > > MSN Photos is the easiest way to share and print your photos: > > http://photos.msn.com/support/worldwide.aspx > > > > * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 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 > > ==== Messages posted on this list are also available on the web > at: ==== > > * * * * * * * http://www.scn.org/volunteers/scn-l/ * * * > * * * * > > > > * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 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 > ==== Messages posted on this list are also available on the web at: > ==== > * * * * * * * http://www.scn.org/volunteers/scn-l/ * * * * > * * * __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Great stuff seeking new owners in Yahoo! Auctions! http://auctions.yahoo.com * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 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 ==== Messages posted on this list are also available on the web at: ==== * * * * * * * http://www.scn.org/volunteers/scn-l/ * * * * * * * From supportteam at speedbit.com Mon Feb 4 14:01:41 2002 From: supportteam at speedbit.com (SpeedBit Support Team) Date: Mon, 04 Feb 2002 17:01:41 -0500 Subject: SCN: An Update - Download Accelerator 5.0 New Version !!! Message-ID: An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From P.Suba at gmcc.ab.ca Tue Feb 5 09:15:21 2002 From: P.Suba at gmcc.ab.ca (P.Suba at gmcc.ab.ca) Date: Wed, 6 Feb 2002 01:15:21 +0800 Subject: SCN: Quality conferencing at a low cost Message-ID: <1012950808.0611823871@gateway2.gmcc.ab.ca> An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From steve at advocate.net Thu Feb 7 16:41:13 2002 From: steve at advocate.net (Steve) Date: Thu, 7 Feb 2002 16:41:13 -0800 Subject: SCN: Presence awareness Message-ID: <3C62AE29.15815.1B4A316@localhost> x-no-archive: yes ================= (Lisa Guernsey, NY Times)---Making a phone call has always been a game of chance. You never know whether the person you are calling is available. You just punch in the numbers and hope to get lucky. Imagine being able to learn without dialing a single digit whether another person's phone is in use, or in the case of a cellphone, whether it is even turned on. Now imagine being able to do the same thing with any wired or wireless device of the future - whether it is in the car, in an airplane or at the gym. Not only could you learn whether a person is available for a chat, but you could also deduce what that person might be doing at that exact moment, all without exchanging a word. That is the idea behind a programming concept called presence awareness, which is based on the realization that appliances on a network can automatically be detected by other devices. "The days of phone tag are on the way out," said Sonu Aggarwal, chief executive of Cordant, a company that develops instant- messaging technology. "This is a very powerful concept with long- term implications." Many software developers predict that presence technology will become almost as ubiquitous as communication devices themselves. In six months, Motorola officials say, the company will roll out a system that will allow a caller to tell whether another person's mobile phone is on and whether it is in use. Nokia and Ericsson, among several other telecommunications companies, are also developing the technology, for use in either land-line or wireless phones. Presence technology is also being considered for hand-held computers, wireless Web pads, communications systems in cars, and even exercise machines that provide Internet access at the gym. Some systems, the officials say, will go as far as using tracking systems like the Global Positioning System, or G.P.S., to detect the location of a person who is logged in. The prospect of information that can reveal a person's availability at a given moment, anywhere in the world strikes many people as both creepy and intriguing. Katelyn Y. A. McKenna, an assistant professor at New York University who conducts research on Internet relationships, has found that people are comforted when they can see the distant movements of people from their inner circles, like family and friends. Devices that use presence technology could provide such reassurance. "You could see that you could instantaneously reach these people if you need them," Dr. McKenna said. "I know my mother would be extremely reassured if she could see, 'Oh, she's off the plane; her cellphone came on; she's landed.'" But along with comfort comes the unnerving feeling of being watched, a lesson that has been experienced by millions of instant messaging users. By keeping track of the activity on their Buddy Lists, people with I.M. can use log-in information to get a sense of their buddies' routines - when they arrive at work, when they are online at home on a weekend, or in some cases how long they have been away from their computers. Information that was private (or at least not easy to acquire) can become known - with little effort - by employers, co-workers, friends, family members and, sometimes, by strangers. "When you have these technologies you really expose yourself and your day to a lot of people," said Bonnie A. Nardi, an anthropologist at Agilent Technologies, a company that makes high-tech monitoring devices. After spending a few years studying instant messaging, Dr. Nardi said she became aware of the subtle impact of presence technology on people's lives. It is time, she said, to think about "what we want people to know about what we are doing at a given moment." Software programmers and executives have begun talking about how to capitalize on presence technology's potential. For example, at Dynamicsoft, officials have discussed how presence software, wireless hand-held computers and G.P.S. tracking could alert a person when a friend happened to be a few blocks away. A phone- based system could also automatically plug in teleconference participants the instant everyone in the group was available. In the future, Mr. Aggarwal of Cordant said, technology might be so integrated that a traveler could wear a wireless badge that interacts with a computer on the back of an airplane seat. When the computer sensed that the traveler was seated, it could automatically redirect messages to the computer's screen or send word to the traveler's contacts that he was on board. The only widely available version of the technology currently in use is instant messaging. If I.M.'s popularity is any indication, people may be ready to embrace the possibilities of presence detection. More than 50 million people in the United States use instant- messaging products today, according to industry estimates, and many of those people say that their favorite aspect of the technology is the ability to see whether a buddy is online. Still, even some of the technology's adherents acknowledge how strange it is to remotely broadcast their whereabouts. Mr. Aggarwal uses MSN Messenger, which displays a clock icon in the contact list to indicate when a person has not touched the keyboard or mouse for, say, five minutes. As soon as he resumes use of his keyboard or mouse, the clock goes away. Often, he said, he gets a phone calls the minute he hits the keys, and the caller is invariably someone who had been waiting for that icon to disappear. "Without my being aware, people are watching me," Mr. Aggarwal said. Hints of a coming struggle between privacy and openness turned up in a recent project at Bell Labs, the research and development arm of Lucent Technologies. In the project, which was called Rear View Mirror, a scientist, Dr. James Herbsleb, and several colleagues studied a group of Lucent employees in American and European offices who used a Bell Labs instant messaging system for more than a year. Privacy issues arose from the start. "Some people in Germany said, 'This looks like a surveillance tool for us,'" Dr. Herbsleb said. He added that they did not like the idea that supervisors could detect - and therefore monitor - exactly how long they had been online and how much time they had spent typing on their keyboards. As a result, Bell Labs researchers altered the software to give users complete control. The program's default options were set to make users appear to be offline. If people wanted co-workers to know they had logged in, they had to turn on the feature that displayed their availability. That solution did not work very well, Dr. Herbsleb said. The software, which was intended to avoid problems like phone tag, was useless if people had to badger colleagues to announce their availability. Besides, he said, it missed the point of presence technology, which is useful precisely because it senses what is going on without any action by a user. Ultimately, the researchers and employees compromised. The presence system was automatically turned on for people within small work groups. People outside those groups had to get colleagues' permission to watch their movements. "Don't allow people to just lurk and spy," Dr. Herbsleb said. But as staying in touch electronically becomes the mark of modern movers and shakers, many people say they will gladly allow their presence to be known in exchange for the convenience of constant contact. "It's sort of like leaving the front door open, and saying, 'Come on in; don't even knock,' " said David Wertheimer, who writes a daily Web log called Netwert and is an avid user of instant messaging software. Software developers say they can design presence awareness systems to accommodate both those who seek privacy and those who want constant contact. Yahoo and Microsoft, for example, include privacy features in their instant messaging products. Users must grant permission before their names can be added to someone's contact list. Instant Messenger, both the stand-alone version and the one embedded in AOL's Internet service, does not allow that level of control. Users have no way of knowing whether someone has added their screen names to a buddy list. Michele Magazine, a publishing consultant in Manhattan who briefly used the Instant Messenger program from America Online, said she was troubled by the lack of privacy. "I don't want people to know when I'm at home," she said. "There was no way to hide." Whether people will use permission features or other blocking tools is another question. Social pressure can be a powerful disincentive. Some teenagers who use instant messaging programs, for example, said they would not block their peers because they would not want to seem rude. Consider something like the following alert showing up on your screen: "Bill wants to put you on his buddy list. Do you accept?" If Bill is merely a distant acquaintance, and you decline, will it look like a snub? Suppose your girlfriend can tell that you are in your office, using your computer but not your phone. If she decides to call and you don't answer, she may think: "Why not? Clearly you are available. Are you ignoring me?" The Internet Engineering Task Force, the group that develops standards for Internet communication, has been thinking about several such implications, according to the engineers involved. One of them is Jonathan Rosenberg, chief scientist for Dynamicsoft and a co-author of the task force's standards for presence and instant messaging technology. Dr. Rosenberg has come up with an answer for the social dilemma of managing privacy without appearing rude. His idea is appropriately called polite blocking, and it works something like a little white lie. Users could appear to be busy with phone calls when, in fact, they might be blissfully enjoying a few minutes of solitude. There is another alternative, of course: People could extricate themselves from the technology often enough to keep their contacts guessing. A contact may determine that someone's mobile phone is on - and it very well may be, but it may also be sitting at home. "Until we get to the bioimplant," said Craig Peddie, who works on presence technology at Motorola, "we won't be able to know that you really have it with you." Copyright 2002 The New York Times Company * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 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 ==== Messages posted on this list are also available on the web at: ==== * * * * * * * http://www.scn.org/volunteers/scn-l/ * * * * * * * From steve at advocate.net Fri Feb 8 09:14:57 2002 From: steve at advocate.net (Steve) Date: Fri, 8 Feb 2002 09:14:57 -0800 Subject: SCN: Anonymous posting Message-ID: <3C639711.5335.5429126@localhost> x-no-archive: yes ================= by Rebecca Fairley Raney, Online Journalism Review, excerpts Posting online is not a carte blanche to promulgate lies about people. Last summer, four local officials...did what many individuals and corporations are doing in these cases: They sued for defamation and issued subpoenas to find out who their anonymous critics were. They initially lost their bid in court, but the officials recently asked the judge to review the decision. Regardless of the outcome, Stephen Moldow, the Webmaster, has ended up with thousands of dollars in legal fees as a result. In the last three years, hundreds, perhaps thousands, of these cases have emerged. In fact, the practice of serving subpoenas to identify online critics has become so common, it could happen to any person who sponsors forums on Web sites, bulletin boards or listserves. Though federal laws protect online publishers from being held responsible for comments posted by third parties, legal actions against participants in forums can decimate discussions and endanger a publication's ability to attract an audience. Lawyers on both sides of the issue point to court rulings that help cases for plaintiffs and defendants, but the question of whether to unmask anonymous persons who express opinions online is largely being decided by courts on a case-by-case basis. The two camps take clear positions. Most of these cases come from corporations, which search out their critics in order to protect their stock prices, reputations and ability to recruit employees. On the other side, civil libertarians defend anonymous critics because they believe the subpoenas chill free speech. Several groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union, the Electronic Frontier Foundation and Public Citizen have consistently represented defendants in recent years to preserve their rights to post anonymous opinions. The conflict that has materialized between the need to protect free speech and to stop the defamation in online forums is perhaps unavoidable. Before the Internet, companies held tight control over information about how they operated. Information came largely from securities filings, quarterly reports, press releases and the occasional lawsuit. But once message boards became available through sites and services such as America Online, Yahoo! and Raging Bull, companies lost control over information. Employees, shareholders, and competitors granted the power to reach a large audience without being named, took the opportunity to discuss companies in ways the business world had never seen. Much of the discussion subject to subpoenas centers on "economic issues -- whether a company's stock is properly valued, whether a product is faulty," said Megan Gray, a lawyer who has represented more than 20 defendants in these cases. She and others who have taken these cases argued that companies file them simply to stop criticism. "In the cases we've handled, the courts have said, 'Yeah, this is really about silencing people,' " said Cindy Cohn, legal director for the Electronic Frontier Foundation. Once subpoenas are issued, she said, "all discussion on the listservs or in the chat rooms just stops." On the other hand, the relentless churn of information, much of it wrong, can damage the reputations and market values of companies. "Postings that are inappropriate can rock the world of a company or a corporate executive," said Bruce D. Fischman, a lawyer in Miami who represents companies who seek to learn the identities of critics. "There is a lack of accountability at this juncture." Many publishers, he said, "use the lack of accountability to promote readership. They're a little like Jerry Springer in that respect." In an article on his law firm's Web site, Fischman offered tips to companies that want to protect their reputations online. He recommended that companies designate a company officer to review all postings that may affect perceptions of the company's brand or reputation. A team of employees should be available to research the accuracy of statements posted online within two hours. "If the posting is inaccurate and may affect the value of the company's stock or brand," Fischman's article said, "a news release should be prepared immediately setting the record straight, with a copy placed on the company's website." He recommended placing a link to the press release from the forum where the inaccurate comment was posted. Then he recommended that "appropriate legal counsel should then be notified to unmask the anonymous poster." That is the point at which Fischman departs from the civil libertarians, who generally encourage fighting speech with more speech. But Fischman said that approach isn't enough. "On the Internet, it doesn't quite work that way," he said. "Unless you know who's doing it," he argued, "you don't know if you've controlled it," because an individual can easily take his comments elsewhere on the Internet. Lawyers who have been involved in these cases recommend that online publishers take several measures: adopt policies that allow removal of comments, notify persons who use the forum if they are the subjects of subpoenas and get legal counsel quickly if subjected to a subpoena. Also, they emphasized that publishers who express their own opinions in online forums can be held liable and lose their protection against lawsuits over content. America Online, which has been subjected to hundreds of subpoenas in recent years that attempt to find the identities of people who post comments on its boards, has adopted a stringent policy in dealing with subpoenas. When the company receives a civil subpoena, it immediately notifies the person involved and gives him two weeks to respond. In many cases, the company contests the subpoenas. "We do reserve the right to review the subpoena for legal merit," said Nicholas Graham, a spokesman for AOL. "Many times, civil subpoenas get contested by AOL because they are improperly prepared." The motivation for the company to review subpoenas is clear; to do otherwise could cause the company to lose customers. "We treat our member privacy with a sacrosanct touch," Graham said. "It's really important that people understand that their member information is not shared willy-nilly with anyone who rings the doorbell and asks for it." Though they disagree on many issues surrounding anonymous speech, one matter brings the lawyers involved in these cases to agreement: that those who post comments online need to be responsible. "Posters need to think about problems," said Cohn of the Electronic Frontier Foundation. "Defamation is defamation. Posting trade secret information is likely to cause some trouble. Posting online is not a carte blanche to promulgate lies about people." "There is no clarity to this area in the law," said Fischman, the lawyer in Miami who represents companies in these cases. He said the issue is more likely to be shaped by new laws than by guidance from the courts. In fact, he said, he has received inquiries from members of Congress about how the law should change. "Online publishers better beware," he said. "They either self- regulate and self-police, or they will be policed." Copyright 2002 Online Journalism Review * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 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 ==== Messages posted on this list are also available on the web at: ==== * * * * * * * http://www.scn.org/volunteers/scn-l/ * * * * * * * From clariun at yahoo.com Fri Feb 8 19:33:26 2002 From: clariun at yahoo.com (SCN Webmaster) Date: Fri, 8 Feb 2002 19:33:26 -0800 (PST) Subject: SCN: SCN update Message-ID: <20020209033326.73124.qmail@web13202.mail.yahoo.com> SCN will have a general meeting on Wednesday, February 27th. The meeting is open to everyone. Details of the meeting are available via a link on the SCN home page at http://www.scn.org. Also, I'd like to add (again) that SCN has a couple of new volunteers, Lee and Jim, who are helping out with the community pages. There are some additional topic editor positions still open. If you are interested in being a topic editor, please let me know. Patrick Seattle Community Network ===== Seattle Community Network http://www.scn.org "Powering our communities with technology" __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Send FREE Valentine eCards with Yahoo! Greetings! http://greetings.yahoo.com * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 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 ==== Messages posted on this list are also available on the web at: ==== * * * * * * * http://www.scn.org/volunteers/scn-l/ * * * * * * * From clariun at yahoo.com Fri Feb 8 19:43:06 2002 From: clariun at yahoo.com (SCN Webmaster) Date: Fri, 8 Feb 2002 19:43:06 -0800 (PST) Subject: SCN: SCN Update 2 - The more things change... Message-ID: <20020209034306.93401.qmail@web13203.mail.yahoo.com> I wanted to mention that there will be changes to the SCN web site. Nips and tucks. If you have concerns or questions as this happens, please let me know. Thanks, Patrick Fisher Seattle Community Network "Powering our communities with technology" ===== Seattle Community Network http://www.scn.org "Powering our communities with technology" __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Send FREE Valentine eCards with Yahoo! Greetings! http://greetings.yahoo.com * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 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 ==== Messages posted on this list are also available on the web at: ==== * * * * * * * http://www.scn.org/volunteers/scn-l/ * * * * * * * From clariun at yahoo.com Sat Feb 9 22:41:05 2002 From: clariun at yahoo.com (patrick fisher) Date: Sat, 9 Feb 2002 22:41:05 -0800 (PST) Subject: SCN: How to fight spam Message-ID: <20020210064105.78130.qmail@web13205.mail.yahoo.com> I updated the no-spam page on SCN on how to "fight" spam: http://www.scn.org/help/email/spam.html SCN is on track for having better spam filtering later this spring. That is the tentative, general timeline. I apologize to anyone whose SCN account is getting hammered with spam. No one likes it, and we'd love to get to it right away, but we have a list of things to attend to and everything will be taken care of in due time (and by then other stuff will be on the plate). Thanks, Patrick ===== Webmaster Seattle Community Network http://www.scn.org "Powering our communities with technology" __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Send FREE Valentine eCards with Yahoo! Greetings! http://greetings.yahoo.com * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 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 ==== Messages posted on this list are also available on the web at: ==== * * * * * * * http://www.scn.org/volunteers/scn-l/ * * * * * * * From steve at advocate.net Sun Feb 10 23:59:41 2002 From: steve at advocate.net (Steve) Date: Sun, 10 Feb 2002 23:59:41 -0800 Subject: SCN: Speech Message-ID: <3C67096D.7222.D1CBDE@localhost> x-no-archive: yes =================== (Carl S. Kaplan, NY Times)---Since Sept. 11, nations that have strong laws and traditions against hate speech are apparently growing even more alarmed about inflammatory expression that they fear could lead to racial or religious violence. That worries some civil libertarians in the United States, who point to a French court decision that they believe handed governments and groups a blueprint for how to censor online hate speech that may be illegal within one country's borders but perfectly lawful elsewhere. A little more than a year ago, the judge in the French case, Licra v. Yahoo, shook the mahogany desks of lawyers around the world when he reaffirmed an earlier ruling that Yahoo, based in Santa Clara, Calif., had violated French law by allowing French citizens to view auction sites displaying Nazi memorabilia. The case has jumped the Atlantic and is making its way through the courts in the United States, where a federal judge has ruled that French sanctions against Yahoo - including $13,000 a day in fines - cannot be enforced in the United States. The two groups that sued the company in France, the International League Against Racism and Anti-Semitism (known as Licra) and the Union of French Jewish Students, are appealing the federal judge's decision in the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, in San Francisco. Regardless of the appeal's outcome, nations seeking to control +potentially harmful speech that arrives from offshore are seen as almost certain to use the French precedent to bolster their efforts. "They will not be tempted to do it - they will do it," said Jack Goldsmith, a professor at the University of Chicago Law School who frequently writes about Internet legal matters and is the author of a coming book, "Reining in the Net," about how countries are putting borders in cyberspace. That is what frightens Alan Davidson, a lawyer with the Center for Democracy and Technology, an Internet civil liberties group in Washington. The French Yahoo ruling "really puts free expression and communication in jeopardy on the Net," Mr. Davidson said, warning that online speech could sink to a single country's lowest- common- denominator standard. Other legal thinkers, too, are beginning to consider the global implications of the Yahoo case with respect to hate and terrorist speech on the Internet. Several professors and lawyers - including the author of this article - will be discussing the topic today in Manhattan at a conference at Cardozo School of Law at Yeshiva University. The case came to public attention in May 2000, when Judge Jean- Jacques Gomez of the County Court of Paris ordered in a preliminary decision that Yahoo take action to "render impossible" the ability of French Internet users to gain access to the Nazi- related auctions found on Yahoo's English-language auction pages. In reaching his decision, the judge asserted that he had jurisdiction over Yahoo, even though it is based in the United States, because the content on Yahoo's computers in the United States was available to French users. The court also said Yahoo's display of the material in France had violated a section of France's criminal code, which reflects still raw memories of World War II. In a later ruling, in November 2000, Judge Gomez concluded that available technology would allow Yahoo to take reasonable steps to identify and block the disputed material from French eyes - thus allowing American users, for example, to continue to view the content. Unconvinced by Yahoo's arguments that such technology was deeply flawed, the judge said the company would be subject to a fine of about $13,000 for each day it did not comply with his earlier order. Yahoo announced later that it would more aggressively enforce its ban on hateful and racist material from its auction sites, but it said the move was not in response to the French legal proceedings. American civil libertarians applauded when Judge Jeremy Fogel of Federal District Court in San Jose, Calif., ruled that the French court's order and fine would not be enforced against Yahoo in the United States. The judge said it would be repugnant to the First Amendment for an American court to carry out the French order. The United States Constitution, he said, protects the display of artifacts or expression of viewpoints associated with extreme political views, including Nazism and anti-Semitism. But some legal observers question whether Judge Fogel's ruling, if upheld on appeal, is the shield that some large American Internet service providers say it is. After all, they argue, even if an American court will not enforce a foreign judgment that runs afoul of the Constitution's free-speech guarantees, the foreign court has other leverage. If a case involves a multinational company with assets abroad, the foreign court could lay claim to the company's funds, receivables or property within its jurisdiction. In addition, if the company's executives traveled to the foreign locale, the local judge could perhaps have them arrested. On the other hand, private individuals and companies with no foreign assets would presumably have less to worry about from a foreign court's order. Indeed, Yahoo has said it has no seizable assets in France - although some legal experts have suggested that money owed Yahoo by its French-language affiliate, Yahoo France, could be at risk. Given the potential leverage of a Yahoo- style case on multinational Internet companies, experts say that Judge Gomez has created a powerful tool for the suppression of online speech that a recipient nation finds offensive or dangerous. And some Western democracies are showing a heightened sensitivity to hate speech lately. Last month, a tribunal in Ottawa declared that a Holocaust-denial Web site based in California and controlled by a one-time Canadian resident ran afoul of the Canadian Human Rights Act. "The tribunal acknowledged the ability to enforce its judgment was severely limited," said Michael Geist, a professor at the University of Ottawa's Faculty of Law who is an expert in Internet law. "But it wanted to make clear that this form of hate speech was illegal in Canada and not to be tolerated." More significant, perhaps, the 43-nation Council of Europe plans later this year to propose a side agreement to a pending international cybercrime treaty. The side agreement would make computer distribution of racist and xenophobic propaganda a crime. The United States, which has signed though not yet ratified the general cybercrime treaty, blocked attempts to include the category of Internet hate speech in the treaty itself. But the fact that nations are still discussing a ban on online hate speech suggests that other cases against inflammatory terrorist or hate speech on the Internet could land on court dockets soon, warned Barry Steinhardt, associate director of the American Civil Liberties Union. "I think it can and will happen, especially against multinational corporations," he said. But not all legal experts in this country agree that a slew of Yahoo- type cases would be bad thing. Some argue that countries can choose for themselves what is lawful within their own cyberborders - that just because the world is becoming networked, all nations need not adhere to American free-speech traditions. "That," said Mr. Goldsmith at the University of Chicago, "is the essence of territorial sovereignty." Copyright 2002 The New York Times Company * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 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 ==== Messages posted on this list are also available on the web at: ==== * * * * * * * http://www.scn.org/volunteers/scn-l/ * * * * * * * From clariun at yahoo.com Mon Feb 11 19:27:10 2002 From: clariun at yahoo.com (clariun at yahoo.com) Date: Mon, 11 Feb 2002 19:27:10 PST Subject: SCN: Yahoo! Invite: SCN Potluck Message-ID: <200202120319.TAA16835@scn.org> You are invited to "SCN Potluck". For more information and to respond, go to http://invites.yahoo.com/d3a3c68893fcx6fw-hufopa1/ Hope to see you there, - Patrick Fisher To keep track of your invites, check http://invites.yahoo.com For invites help, go to http://help.yahoo.com/help/us/invites/ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From jmabel at speakeasy.org Tue Feb 12 09:21:00 2002 From: jmabel at speakeasy.org (Joe Mabel) Date: Tue, 12 Feb 2002 09:21:00 -0800 (PST) Subject: BD: Re: SCN: "Free-Nets" in Los Angeles Times In-Reply-To: Message-ID: http://www.scn.org/help/where is getting painfully out of date. It still lists the Speakeasy Cafe, which burned down last summer. Any chance we have a stray volunteer for a one-time fact-checking job? If not, let me know and I might be able to lend SCN one of the fact checkers from the Peace Heathens' Crisis Resource Directory (http://www.scn/org/crisis) to do this, but obviously we'd rather keep our volunteers for our own (inevitably backlogged) fact-checking. -------------------- Joe Mabel On Thu, 17 Jan 2002, Rod Clark wrote: > Patrick, > > A good project would be to update SCN's list of local public > Internet access locations. It's getting pretty out of date. > Would anyone like to volunteer to update it? It's at > > http://www.scn.org/help/where > > There's a somewhat broader menu that includes this, at > > http://www.scn.org/help/access > > And we have a list of local ISPs, also a bit out of date but > not as much as the public access locations menus, at > > http://www.scn.org/help/isp > > Rod Clark > webeditors at scn.org > > Patrick Fisher wrote: > > Marilyn, > > > > That is a great idea. I had thought of putting together resources for > > people on SCN, but where do you start? This task was on the burner > > before Christmas, but went to the backburner. > > * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 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 > ==== Messages posted on this list are also available on the web at: ==== > * * * * * * * http://www.scn.org/volunteers/scn-l/ * * * * * * * > * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 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 ==== Messages posted on this list are also available on the web at: ==== * * * * * * * http://www.scn.org/volunteers/scn-l/ * * * * * * * From bb615 at scn.org Tue Feb 12 11:52:13 2002 From: bb615 at scn.org (Rod Clark) Date: Tue, 12 Feb 2002 11:52:13 -0800 (PST) Subject: SCN: Yahoo! Invite: SCN Potluck In-Reply-To: <200202120319.TAA16835@scn.org> Message-ID: On Mon, 11 Feb 2002 clariun at yahoo.com wrote: > http://invites.yahoo.com/d3a3c68893fcx6fw-hufopa1/ > > Hope to see you there, > > - Patrick Fisher > > To keep track of your invites, check http://invites.yahoo.com > For invites help, go to http://help.yahoo.com/help/us/invites/ Patrick, This is what Yahoo! said when I tried to access it: Sorry! You do not have access to this invite. Please check your URL and try again. Any chance you could laboriously convert this complex task, that only the great power and multi-tentacled synergy of Yahoo!(tm)'s consumer-driven advertising services can accomplish, into one or two lines of plain text and post it here on SCN? 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 ==== Messages posted on this list are also available on the web at: ==== * * * * * * * http://www.scn.org/volunteers/scn-l/ * * * * * * * From clariun at yahoo.com Tue Feb 12 12:15:25 2002 From: clariun at yahoo.com (patrick fisher) Date: Tue, 12 Feb 2002 12:15:25 -0800 (PST) Subject: SCN: Yahoo! Invite: SCN Potluck In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <20020212201525.78817.qmail@web13205.mail.yahoo.com> Yes, I could have posted an email, then I could have kept track of each and every email of who is coming, who is bringing what. Then I could take each and every one of those and put them into html format and put them on the home page. Then I could update it as teh emails come in adn keep everything in tune. Or, I could use Yahoo. But, it was not until after the fact that you can't send a group list and have it work. I found another service that can do this. I'm sorry, but my crystal ball is broken and I was unable to know that Yahoo would not work. If it did work, it would be wonderful. Patrick --- Rod Clark wrote: > On Mon, 11 Feb 2002 clariun at yahoo.com wrote: > > > http://invites.yahoo.com/d3a3c68893fcx6fw-hufopa1/ > > > > Hope to see you there, > > > > - Patrick Fisher > > > > To keep track of your invites, check http://invites.yahoo.com > > For invites help, go to http://help.yahoo.com/help/us/invites/ > > > Patrick, > > This is what Yahoo! said when I tried to access it: > > Sorry! You do not have access to this invite. Please > check your URL and try again. > > Any chance you could laboriously convert this complex task, > that only the great power and multi-tentacled synergy of > Yahoo!(tm)'s consumer-driven advertising services can > accomplish, into one or two lines of plain text and post it here > on SCN? > > 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 > ==== Messages posted on this list are also available on the web at: > ==== > * * * * * * * http://www.scn.org/volunteers/scn-l/ * * * * > * * * ===== Webmaster Seattle Community Network http://www.scn.org "Powering our communities with technology" __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Send FREE Valentine eCards with Yahoo! Greetings! http://greetings.yahoo.com * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 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 ==== Messages posted on this list are also available on the web at: ==== * * * * * * * http://www.scn.org/volunteers/scn-l/ * * * * * * * From clariun at yahoo.com Tue Feb 12 12:27:18 2002 From: clariun at yahoo.com (patrick fisher) Date: Tue, 12 Feb 2002 12:27:18 -0800 (PST) Subject: SCN: Working invitation to follow Message-ID: <20020212202718.69510.qmail@web13208.mail.yahoo.com> Evites.com promises me that I can send to a list and people can individually acn respond to that message. Invitation to follow very shortly. Patrick ===== Webmaster Seattle Community Network http://www.scn.org "Powering our communities with technology" __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Send FREE Valentine eCards with Yahoo! Greetings! http://greetings.yahoo.com * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 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 ==== Messages posted on this list are also available on the web at: ==== * * * * * * * http://www.scn.org/volunteers/scn-l/ * * * * * * * From clairiun at yahoo.com Tue Feb 12 20:40:32 2002 From: clairiun at yahoo.com (Patrick Fisher) Date: Tue, 12 Feb 2002 20:40:32 Subject: SCN: SCN Potluck Message-ID: <200202122032.MAA00964@scn.org> Patrick Fisher has invited you to "SCN Potluck". Click below to visit Evite for more information about the event and also to RSVP. http://www.evite.com/r?iid=RSWIBGJCQFYNZLAYEJSM This invitation was sent to you by Patrick Fisher using Evite. To remove yourself from this guest list please click on the link above. This Evite Invite is covered by Evite's privacy policy*. To view this privacy policy, click here: http://www.evite.com/privacy ********************************* ********************************* HAVING TROUBLE? Perhaps your email program doesn't recognize the Web address as an active link. To view your invitation, copy the entire URL and paste it into your browser. If you would like further assistance, please send email to support at www.evite.com * Updated 03/15/01. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From steve at advocate.net Wed Feb 13 16:25:34 2002 From: steve at advocate.net (Steve) Date: Wed, 13 Feb 2002 16:25:34 -0800 Subject: SCN: Seattle online Message-ID: <3C6A937E.10607.3790C16@localhost> x-no-archive: yes ================ (Matt Rosenberg, Seattle Times)---Seattle City Hall insiders use a cute little acronym for the Department of Information Technology: DoIT. But when it comes to improving the city's Web presence, DoIT can't do it alone. In my previous column ("Seattle crosses its wires"), I critiqued aspects of the Seattle Commission on Electronic Communications' "New Elements of Democracy" report, which urges varied upgrades at municipal cable Channel 28, and the station's Web site. I highlighted some more-pressing considerations for the city's lackluster main Web site - and its many other departmental sites. One issue raised was the poor performance of the city Web's internal search engine. Last week, DoIt contracted with San Francisco-based atomz.com to power the search mechanism for cityofseattle.net. Before, a search for New Elements of Democracy returned a long list of misses, topped by "How Safe is your Chimney," or 5-year-old "Team Wallingford" neighborhood planning documents. Now, you get a different set of misses. Other searches turn out far better than before, though. Atomz is an improvement, but more city- posted Web documents still need better search "meta-tags." DoIT's Director of Internet and Cable Television, Rona Zevin, says the public must keep providing good input about what works and what doesn't. She adds, city departments must continue finding more resources for improving their Web sites; and new Mayor Greg Nickels will have to provide strong leadership to bring Seattle down the road to robust e-government. Nickels and his aides are interested: They tell me citizens should be better enabled to get the right information, offer ideas, and conduct business on the city's Web sites. Standing on the lawn of Pathfinder School in West Seattle at a recent City Light "Green Power" demonstration, Nickels also mentioned that Baltimore's site is worth exploring. Quite true. Notable is the section on Mayor Martin O'Malley's pet project, "Citistat". Drawing on New York City's landmark crime-fighting program called Compstat, Citistat uses mapping technology as one tool to mercilessly crunch numbers on departmental management, and goals versus performance. Department heads are literally called on the carpet every two weeks to answer for the latest data. By posting dozens of Citistat reports online, Baltimore gives a depth charge to e-government accountability. Seattle's certainly well past Point Zero in using mapping and statistics online. But the bar still needs raising. Consider this. A Seattle Public Utilities online portal to selected Geographical Information System (GIS) maps included a promising link to a police department page. There, crime maps were proffered on the relative frequency of rape, aggravated assault, robbery, auto theft, residential burglary, and more in Seattle's various census tracts. Handy for a night on the town, or home purchase. One problem: the maps "were supposed to be built in and they never were. That link was put up in 1999. I meant to tell GIS to take that down," a police department employee told me. The bogus links are now gone. A police department Web upgrade will be done by September. There are other challenges. Included in the city's link-list to online services are too many forms you have to print out and snail-mail in. Online form returns and online payment of a full range of city fees and fines are the next step. Yes, that costs money to set up. Meanwhile, the City Council should implement online voting records of each member. And commission an online primer titled, "The ABCs of Public Disclosure." The topic covers far more than campaign contributions. Acknowledge disclosure requests are made and occasionally met online. Give examples, and include relevant departmental e-mail contacts. How about a 24/7 chat room where people post suggestions for the city's main and departmental Web sites? Additional Web objectives and strategies are outlined in reports from DoIT, the city's Business Management Council and the recently formed Web Governance Group. Let's see some highlighted on the city's home page. At first blush, better enabling and ennobling e-government doesn't quite rank up there with transportation improvements, race relations, fixing public schools or getting a handle on electricity prices. Although it helps facilitate all this and more. Moving ahead now without any public comment is the glitzy, Web- related upgrade for the city's cable TV channel recommended in the "New Elements of Democracy" report. The city is advertising to fill a position called "TV Channel/Democracy Portal Manager," with duties including implementation of the report's recommendations. One envisioned payoff down the line is instant polling, to tap into more-conservative Seattle voters who understandably shy away from circus-like public hearings dominated by mouthy, accusatory liberals. With instant polling, the council may well get political cover for daringly moderate stances members should have the guts to take already. Fairly clever. But let's not call this e-government, please. Citing a tight budget, our municipal corporation's CEO and board members might decline just now to insist all departments get sufficient resources and clear parameters for a real, cross- enterprise Web upgrade. That would be a big mistake. Copyright 2002 The Seattle Times Company * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 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 ==== Messages posted on this list are also available on the web at: ==== * * * * * * * http://www.scn.org/volunteers/scn-l/ * * * * * * * From jw4 at scn.org Fri Feb 15 09:45:06 2002 From: jw4 at scn.org (Joel Ware IV) Date: Fri, 15 Feb 2002 09:45:06 -0800 (PST) Subject: SCN: URGENT -- FCC Set to Kill DSL on ISPs (fwd) Message-ID: FYI -- Joel Ware, IV jw4 at scn.org Volunteer Coordinator Emeritus, Member of Governance, HR, Ops, Board ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Fri, 15 Feb 2002 09:28:01 -0800 From: Gary Gardner To: announcements at waisp.org Subject: URGENT -- FCC Set to Kill DSL on ISPs Happy Valentines Day from the FCC -- they must really LOVE ISPs... The Federal Communications Commission has instituted a rule making procedure that would reexamine the terms and conditions under which telephone companies may provide broadband Internet access. The FCC stated that it views this proceeding along with other recently initiated proceedings as the vehicle for promoting investment in telecommunications infrastructure and provision of broadband services to all Americans. Under present rules, the telephone companies may provide Internet access and other information services over their own facilities provided that they make those same facilities available to independent ISPs on a non-discriminatory basis (and well all know how well they obey this now!). The FCC announcement is that they have "tentatively concluded" that ILECs use of their own facilities to provide broadband information services would be subject to Title 1 of the Telecom act rather than Title 2. Under this approach the ILECs may not be required to make avialable to independent ISPs the underlying transmission services such as DSL. In addition, the FCC also announced that as part of this proceeding it will consider imposing universal service obligations on ISPs and will examine issues concerning migration of voice services to IP based services. The net effect of this proposal would be two fold: ILECs would no longer be required to sell DSL to independent ISPs using the data-sub loop (you'd still be able to buy a WHOLE loop if you area CLEC). The FCC would charge a fee for each incoming dial up call on an independent ISP to pay into the Universal Service account, just like the telco's pay now (and pass on to you on their bill). These two extremely dangerous proposals by the FCC would likely be the death knell for the ISP industry as we know it. Details are a bit sketchy as of Friday 2/15 -- the FCC has only announced the barest outline of their idea, with the formal publication and full text of the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM), will be released soon. Rich Busch and I are discussing options on how to respond at the FCC. Keep in mind that playing on the FCC's grounds is VERY EXPENSIVE. We'll hope to have some options for discussion next week. Below is an article from this morning's Seattle PI with a little more detail -- including a quote from Qwest who can't wait for this to go into effect. That alone should scare the dickens out of you. http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/58450_dsl15.shtml Meanwhile -- if you have recovered from this big news, and are sitting up in your chair -- hold on. Tauzin Dingell has been scheduled for a vote at the end of this month! However, the FCC proposal is essentially Tauzin Dingell -- only we have much less of a chance to fix it or to change the outcome. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 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 ==== Messages posted on this list are also available on the web at: ==== * * * * * * * http://www.scn.org/volunteers/scn-l/ * * * * * * * From douglas Fri Feb 15 10:25:14 2002 From: douglas (Doug Schuler) Date: Fri, 15 Feb 2002 10:25:14 -0800 (PST) Subject: SCN: Welcome to Seattle! Shaping the Network Society -- May 16-19 Message-ID: <200202151825.KAA23882@scn.org> Hello, This note is going out to people mostly in the Seattle area. It's for the "Shaping the Network Society" symposium that CPSR and the National Communication Association are sponsoring this May at the University of Washington. I'm hoping that you all will attend! I'm also hoping that many of you will volunteer -- we have LOTS of interesting tasks for YOU! (http://www.cpsr.org/conferences/diac02/contact_form.html) Feel free to pass the note on the interested colleagues here or anywhere. Note that people can particiapte in our "pattern" project without necessarily coming for the symposium. (But we'd love to see them here!) Thanks! -- Doug /// Please forward to appropriate people and lists. Thank you! ///// Tomorrow's information and communication infrastructure is being shaped today -- But by whom and to what ends? IF you believe that our current communication systems aren't meeting community and civic needs you're not alone! Millions of people from around the world are asking these questions -- Will communication systems meet the needs of ALL people? Will they help people address current and future issues? Will they promote democracy, social justice, a healthy environment? Will appropriate research be conducted? Will equitable policies be enacted? Millions of people throughout the world are working to create systems which meet humankind's crucial needs. We are extending TWO invitations to those who are interested in this work. 1111111111111111111111 111 Invitation ONE 111 1111111111111111111111 Join 500 researchers, practitioners, activists, jounalists, educators, artists, policy-makers and citizens from around the world in Seattle May 16-19, 2002 at CPSR's eighth biannual "Directions and Implications of Advanced Computing" (DIAC) symposium to address these critical questions and develop action plans. A variety of events are planned ranging from invited speakers, panel discussions, and pattern presentations to informal working sessions -- both planned and spontaneous. Symposium topics include the digital divide, human rights and privacy, cyberspace and economic development, open content research, pattern language development, community networks, wireless community networking, developing a civil society charter for the UN Summit on the Network Society, virtual communities and online activism, cross-border collaborations, and MORE! And, as with previous DIAC symposia, we'll do our best to bring in some surprises as well... Please join us in Seattle (and beyond) for this exciting and important event! Don't miss it! Shaping the Network Society: Patterns for Participation, Action, and Change DIAC-02 in Seattle, May 16-19, 2002. http://www.cpsr.org/conferences/diac02 Sponsored by: Public Sphere Project of Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility (CPSR) National Communication Association Task Force on the Digital Divide 2222222222222222222222 222 Invitation TWO 222 2222222222222222222222 Browse the "patterns" we've received so far and submit your own! Based on the insights of architect Christopher Alexander, we are soliciting "patterns" that people use to create communication and information technology that affirms human values. We will use these patterns to craft a "pattern language" - a useful and compelling "knowledge structure" based on the collective wisdom of our community. Ideally our pattern language will help articulate -- and promote interest in -- engaged and effective research and activism. Our pattern system (http://diac.cpsr.org/cgi-bin/diac02/pattern.cgi) includes the 150+ patterns that we've collected. It also includes facilities for entering and editing additional patterns. All of the patterns entered so far and those entered before the May 1st deadline will be reviewed at the symposium for possible inclusion in the final pattern language. We encourage you to submit a pattern -- or, better, several patterns! This pattern language will only be as good as the patterns that you submit! We are "casting a wide net" for patterns from all relevant domains and situations. health activism libraries open source We human rights are especially collaborations encouraging additional civil liberties patterns in these roll your own media areas... developing countries alternative technologies environmental informatics gender, ethnicity, age cultural expression --- thanks --- war and militarism culture jamming media critique cross-border organizing education language policy labor Please contact symposium and pattern language coordinator, Doug Schuler, douglas at scn.org, if you have any questions on either of these invitations. Don't hate the media. Become the media. - Jello Biafra * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 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 ==== Messages posted on this list are also available on the web at: ==== * * * * * * * http://www.scn.org/volunteers/scn-l/ * * * * * * * From alkesten at yahoo.com Sun Feb 17 10:30:19 2002 From: alkesten at yahoo.com (alkesten at yahoo.com) Date: Sun, 17 Feb 2002 13:30:19 -0500 Subject: SCN: Alan Kesten, PhD offers Psychological Career Counseling/Online Assessment Services--Apollo Consulting Message-ID: <200202171824.KAA00375@scn.org> Invest in Yourself! Find your Calling with Apollo Consulting Please visit: http://www.apolloconsulting.org We provide comprehensive psychological career counseling & sophisticated online personality/aptitude assessment services for individuals, college counseling centers, and distance-learning institutions. All consultations w/ PhD in counseling psychology. Check us out! We will help you find YOUR way. Are you feeling unfulfilled or dissatisfied in your work life? Are you just working for a paycheck, though not utilizing your true talents? Have you been downsized, laid off, and are looking for a more fulfilling career? Are you missing a sense of joy or passion in your work? Do you want to be proactive in doing something about the problem? Have you realized how the guidance of an objective, well-trained, experienced professional can help you in your future happiness? We provide a range of assessment services, counseling, and transition services for individuals who are seeking to: Make a career change Define a career goal Manage a voluntary or involuntary career transition Consider undertaking a management or leadership role More effectively manage a career crisis Reengage themselves as they approach retirement age Take a long-term view in your career planning and management Begin career path upon graduation from college Choose an educational direction or choose a college major Imagine what it will be like working in a career that is right for you: when you live the work you do, you do it well. you’re more motivated you have more energy success comes naturally you’re confident of your direction in life you enjoy life more you don’t live for the weekends or vacations opportunities come your way those around you see the difference work is fun once again http://www.apolloconsulting.org ===== H. Alan Kesten, Ph.D. President Apollo Consulting http://www.apolloconsulting.org P.O. Box 37201 Tallahassee, FL 32315-7201 (917) 558-8127 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 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 ==== Messages posted on this list are also available on the web at: ==== * * * * * * * http://www.scn.org/volunteers/scn-l/ * * * * * * * From emailer1 at netzero.net Tue Feb 19 11:09:14 2002 From: emailer1 at netzero.net (emailer1) Date: Tue, 19 Feb 2002 11:09:14 -0800 Subject: SCN: Fw: IDIOTS AT WORK Message-ID: <000a01c1b9a4$a5602040$7152fea9@desktop> ----- Original Message ----- Subject: IDIOTS AT WORK IDIOTS IN SERVICE This week, all our office phones went dead and I had to contact the telephone repair people. They promised to be out between 800 a.m. and 700p.m. When I asked if they could give me a smaller time window the pleasant gentleman asked, "Would you like us to call you before we come?" I replied that I didn't see how he would be able to do that, since our phones weren't working. He also requested that we report future outages by email. (Does YOUR email work without a telephone line?). IDIOTS AT WORK I was signing the receipt for my credit card purchase when the clerk noticed I had never signed my name on the back of the credit card. She informed me that she could not complete the transaction unless the card was signed. When I asked why, she explained that it was necessary to compare the signature I had just signed on the receipt. So I signed the credit card in front of her. She carefully compared the signature to the one I had just signed on the receipt. As luck would have it, they matched. IDIOTS IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD I live in a semi-rural area. We recently had a new neighbor call the local township administrative office to request the removal of the Deer Crossing sign on our road. The reason too many deer were being hit by cars and she didn't want them to cross there anymore. IDIOTS IN FOOD SERVICE My daughter went to a local Taco Bell and ordered a taco. She asked the person behind the counter for "minimal lettuce." He said he was sorry, but they only had iceberg. IDIOT SIGHTING #1 I was at the airport, checking in at the gate when an airport employee asked, "Has anyone put anything in your baggage without your knowledge?" To which I replied, "If it was without my knowledge, how would I know? She smiled knowingly and nodded "That's why we ask." IDIOT SIGHTING #2 The stoplight on the corner buzzes when it's safe to cross the street. I was crossing with an intellectually-challenged of mine when she asked if I knew what the buzzer was for. I explained that it signals blind people when the light is red. Appalled, she responded, "What on earth are blind people doing driving?!" IDIOT SIGHTING #3 At a good-bye luncheon for an old and dear co-worker who is leaving the company due to "downsizing," our manager commented cheerfully, "This is fun. We should do this more often." Not a word was spoken. We all just looked at each other with that deer-in-the-headlights stare. IDIOT SIGHTING #4 I work with an individual who plugged her power strip back into itself and for the life of her couldn't understand why her system would not turn on. IDIOT SIGHTING #5 When my husband and I arrived at an automobile dealership to pick up our car, we were told the keys had been locked in it. We went to the service department and found a mechanic working feverishly to unlock the driver's side door. As I watched from the passenger side, I instinctively tried the door handle and discovered that it was unlocked. "Hey," I announced to the technician, "It's open!" To which he replied, "I know - I already got that side." NOW DON'T YOU FEEL BETTER? -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From emailer1 at netzero.net Tue Feb 19 11:30:37 2002 From: emailer1 at netzero.net (emailer1) Date: Tue, 19 Feb 2002 11:30:37 -0800 Subject: SCN: Fw: [GushShalom] Something is moving (protest briefing & articles) Message-ID: <001201c1b9a4$d0eaabe0$7152fea9@desktop> Good update on the Palestinian - Israeli situation. Send any messages of support for the war resistors to peacenow at actcom.co.il ----- Original Message ----- From: Gush Shalom Sent: Monday, February 18, 2002 11:36 AM > GUSH SHALOM - pob 3322, Tel-Aviv 61033 - http://www.gush-shalom.org/ > > [X] Introduction > [1] Something is Moving, Uri Avnery - Ma'ariv Feb. 17 > [2] Update on support for refusal, Dorothy Naor - New Profile. > [3] Briefing on the rally sent by Peace Now > [4] Old-New Israeli Voice of Conscience, Lev Grinberg - Ma'ariv Feb 18 > > [X] Introduction > Ongoing escalation, and wartime-style media reports are losing their laming grip > on the Israeli public. One and half year after the start of the latest Palestinian > uprising a growing number of Israelis start expressing their anger and disgust > at of the way of the Sharon government - the way of brute force. And the > number is growing, the more that this way is seen to be unworkable. > That's why thousands of people spent two consecutive Saturday nights to > demonstrating in Tel-Aviv against continuing occupation and for withdrawal to > the '67 borders. Many of the 10,000 who came to the earlier, Jewish-Arab rally, > attended also the one held a week later at the inititaive of Peace Now - in the > same square, but more densily-packed (there were some 15,000 - i.e. probably > half of them people who had not joined the week before). > Peace Now's idea was to bring in the more moderate people, those who (so they > argued) don't identify with the refusers and are not willing to hear about Israeli > war crimes. The surprise of the Peace Now rally (probably for the organizers as > well) was that one of their scheduled speakers - KM Roman Bronfman of the > dovish Russian immigrant party "Democratic Choice", which is Peace Now's > partner in the "Peace Coalition" - did appeal to the public to support the refusers > whom he called "the moving force of the growing anti-occupation movement". > The overwhelming ovation which he got for it showed that also many of the > "more moderate tribe" are impressed and moved by the wave of - as of now - > 255 first time refusers of military occupation duty. > [The number is constantly updated on the www.seruv.org.il site and the link > with the number appears also on the Gush Shalom site.] > > For more details and background, we advice reading the following: > > [1] Something is Moving, by Uri Avnery > > [Written16.2.02, published in Ma'ariv (Hebrew version) 17.2.02] > > Something is Moving > > I once saw in a Western a Red Indian (or should I say a Native American?) > putting his ear to the ground and hearing a train tens of miles away. > In the course of the years I have tried to imitate that Indian. I try to hear changes > in the public mood long before they appear on the surface. Not to prophesy, not > to guess, just to hear. > Now I perceive the approach of a great wave of opposition to the bloody war > against the Palestinians (nicknamed "Peace of the Settlements, following the > name given to the 1982 invasion of Lebanon, "Peace of Galilee"). The revolt of > the soldiers who refuse to serve in the occupied Palestinian territories is an > important symptom, one of many. > We have seen in the past several such public upheavals, that start with opaque > noises and grow quickly into a public uproar. Such a wave rose during the > Lavon affair in the fifties and led to the dismissal of Ben-Gurion. Such a wave > carried Moshe Dayan into the Defense Ministry on the eve of the 1967 Six-Day > War (led by the women nicknamed "the Merry Women of Windsor"), and the > next one, which swept him and Golda Meir away after the Yom Kippur war. Such > a wave got the IDF out of Beirut, and later out of South Lebanon (led by the > "Four Mothers" movement.) > The mechanism can be compared to a transmission of spiked wheels. A small > wheel with a strong, independent drive turns a bigger wheel, which in turn > moves an even bigger wheel, and so on, until all the establishment changes > course. This is how it happens in Israel, this is how it happens in all democracies > (see: Vietnam). > It always starts with a small group of committed people. They raise their feeble > voice. The media ignore them, the politicians laugh at them ("a tiny, marginal and > vociferous group"), the respectable parties and the established old > organizations crinkle their noses and distance themselves from their "radical > slogans". > But slowly they start to have an impact. People leave the respectable (meaning > linked to the establishment) organizations and join the militant groups. This > compels the leaders of the mainstream organizations to radicalize their slogans > and to join the wave. The message spreads throughout the parties. Politicians > who want to be reelected adopt the new slogans. "Important" journalists, > serving as weathercocks, smell the change and adapt themselves in time to the > new winds. > The famous anthropologist Margaret Mead said about this: "Never doubt that a > small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it's > the only thing that ever has." And the German philosopher, Arthur > Schopenhauer, said: "All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. > Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as self-evident." > Now it happens again. It is difficult to fix the exact moment when it started. > Perhaps after the demolition of some 50 homes in the Rafah refugee camp. Or at > the mass-meeting called by Gush Shalom in Tel-Aviv, when Colonel Yig'al > Shochat, who had lost a leg in the Yom Kippur war, called upon his comrades, > the airforce pilots, to refuse to carry out orders that are manifestly illegal, such > as bombing Palestinian towns, and when the philosopher Adi Ophir proposed to > open files on IDF officers who commit war crimes. Suddenly the public woke up > to the possibility that war crimes are being committed in its name. The mental > block was broken, a public debate about war crimes, and consequently about the > occupation itself, began. > The announcement by 50 reserve officers and soldiers that they refuse to serve > in the occupied territories broke a dam. The number of refuseniks grew quickly, > the phenomenon shook the military-political establishment. For the first time, the > leaders of the establishment saw in their nightmares the possibility of a big > uprising of soldiers who say: This is where we get off, we will not go on. When > public opinion polls showed that nearly a third of the Israeli Jewish public > supports the refuseniks, the panic grew. At the same time, hundreds of Israelis > visited the besieged Yasser Arafat in Ramallah. > Then came the big, joint demonstration of the militant peace movements ("The > Occupation Kills All Of Us!") in Tel-Aviv's Museum Square. Organizations that > had got used during the last 16 months to demonstrations of a hundred, two > hundred people saw before them ten thousand enthusiastic demonstrators, who > have left despair behind them and were demanding action. > This demonstration had, of course, an impact on the "established left", which is > now compelled to confront the new mood of their own public. > This is the beginning of a process. Nobody can know yet how powerful it will > become and how far it will go. But one thing is certain: something is happening. > > [2] Update on support for refusal, Dorothy Naor - New Profile. > > ----------forwarded message follows----------- > From: Dorothy Naor > > Update on Support for Refusing > The past several days have seen influential sources expressing support for the > refusal to serve in the territories. On Saturday evening, February 16, at the > demonstration organized by the Coalition for Peace, Knesseth member Roman > Bronfman spoke before the crowd of about 15,000 in the Tel Aviv Museum > Square. > He declared his unmitigated support for the reservists' letter stating their > refusal to serve in the territories. > > On Sunday, February 17 support came from two additional influential sources. > > Gideon Levy in Ha'aretz castigated those who acknowledge "that Israel is doing > terrible things but fiercely oppose the refusal to serve in the territories for > various reasons and call on soldiers not to carry out illegal orders," referring > to "Members of the moderate Zionist left, from Ami Ayalon to MK Ran Cohen > (Meretz), from the left of the Labor Party to Meretz." These, Levy says, belong > neither to the Israeli majority who reject non-compliance with the draft, nor to > the minority who support it. Rather, they belong to a third group, one that is > "attempting to have its cake and eat it too." > > "Those who support the third position have taken the easy way out - they tell > the soldiers don't kill small children, don't prevent women in labor from going > through checkpoints, don't beat up civilians for no reason, don't torment the > innocent. But at the same time, don't refuse to serve in the territories, God > forbid. Stand at the checkpoints and smile at the inhabitants whose lives you > are embittering. That way, you will be both obedient and moral soldiers. Hand > out candies to children after an operation, as battalion commander Lieutenant > Colonel Tal Hermoni told his soldiers after they arrested, killed, destroyed and > wreaked terror on Beit Hanun. Inadvertently, the battalion commander fully > actualized this position of the left: Shoot and sweeten." > > Also on the 17th, Michael Ben Yair, legal advisor to Prime Ministers Rabin and > Peres, signed a petition supporting the Letter of the Reservists declaring their > refusal to serve in the territories. With him, seven additional faculty members > of the law school at Tel Aviv University likewise signed. Ben Yair justified > his stand yesterday (Feb. 17) on the radio and in the Ma'ariv newspaper. > > Today's Ma'ariv interviews him at greater length. He stresses the legitimacy of > conscientious objection in democratic societies, noting that today's refusees > might be tomorrow's majority, and reminding readers that Bill Clinton had > refused to participate in the Vietnam war. "Our refusees," he states, "are > restoring the moral back bone to the State of Israel." > > One additional encouraging sign is the popularity of our New Profile booth at > Saturday's demonstration. Most people that we spoke to either at the booth or > when wandering among the crowd distributing our fliers responded very > favorably to our announcement that we support those who refuse to serve in the > military. > The position we back has not yet gained major proportions, but is apparently > gaining in popularity. > > At this writing, an additional 200 reservists have added their names to the > original letter, bringing the number to 253. May their numbers continue to > grow, and thus help hasten the end of the occupation. > > All the best, Dorothy > > PS [by Gush Shalom]: This evening, more than three hundred allend a solidarity > with the conscientious refusers taking place at Beit Ha'am Gallery in south Tel- > Aviv, with speakers, artistic performances and and an exhibition of specially- > donated paintings and sculptures by 52 artists. The Refusers' Solidarity Forum > which organized this event also printed a solidarity poster which is a work of art > in itself. For further info - or call Nir Nader 050- > 7369867. > > [3] Briefing on the rally sent by Peace Now > ------- Forwarded message follows ------- > From: "Peace Now" > > February 16, 2002 > > Over 15,000 activists participated in the march and rally organized by Peace Now > and the Peace Coalition in Tel-Aviv this evening, under the slogan "Get Out of > the Territories - Get Back to Ourselves." (see Reuters photo: > www.peace-now.org/ReutersPhotoFeb16-2002.jpg). > > One of the highlights of the rally was the speech, in Hebrew, given by Dr. > Sari Nusseibeh. "The path to peace is through the return of the refugees to the > State of Palestine and the return of the settlers to the State of Israel," > Nusseibeh said. > > As the march commenced, news arrived of the atrocious suicide bombing in the > West Bank. The aim of our protest movement is to struggle for a political > solution that will break this terrible cycle of violence.While this weekend's > violent events will undoubtedly push the rally into the margins of the media > agenda, it is only the first in a long series of major street activities. > Judging by the energy and atmosphere we felt on streets of Tel-Aviv this > evening, it is just a matter of time before hundreds of thousands fill Rabin > square again. > > Peace Now and the Peace Coalition would like to thank the Coalition of Women > for Just Peace, Taayush and Gush Shalom for their outstanding support and > cooperation. > > Further information: > Press: Didi Remez will be out of the country over the next few days, please > contact Moria Shlomot at 972-54-322834. Activists: There is a lot of work that > needs to be done (office, weekend intersections, weeknight sign hanging, > permanent vigils and organizing the next rally), get involved by contacting Ori > Ginat, 054-405157 or ori at peacenow.org.il > > [4] Old-New Israeli Voice of Conscience, Lev Grinberg Ma'ariv Feb 18 > > An Old-New Israeli Voice: The Voice of Conscience > > By Lev Grinberg - Jerusalem* > > In recent weeks a new voice is rising, loud and clear. A voice previously > marginal and repressed, a voice that now threatens to inundate the entire > country with the hope of breaking out of the crisis. It is the voice of conscience, > which sees all human beings as equal, having the right to shelter, health, > freedom and dignity, and above all, the right to life. The most salient expression > of the new voice are the soldiers that declared their objection to serve the > occupation, and the intensity of the reactions, be they negative or positive, that > they provoked. But this is only one expression of the new voice's power. The > new voice permeates reports from the Occupied Territories, and it has begun to > mobilize masses for action, in previously inconceivable scales, such as the last > two Saturdays' rallies. > The voice of conscience is both personal and collective, hence its strength. It is > personal because each individual must be accountable for his actions. It is > collective because it manifests social responsibility and creates a common > language through which we are able to communicate, talk about the reality and > connect with each other. > The voice's intensity and growth potential stem from its clarity and > unambiguousness. You cannot tell the voice of conscience that "we" want > peace but "they" don't, because the daily abuse of the Palestinians and the > provocative exterminations are clear for all to see. You cannot distract the voice > of conscience by claiming that "Barak offered everything", because in terms of > conscience, this does not justify the war crimes committed by the Israeli > occupation forces. And of course you cannot recruit soldiers with the militaristic > argument that "we must win this war", because the occupation is not a war > forced upon us, and woe to us if we ever do win, and thus succeed to maintain > the occupation. > The new voice's greatest power is its ancientness. There is no need to invent it; > it already exists in the individual consciousness, in the Jewish and humanistic > tradition. This is the voice of "Thou shall love thy neighbor as thyself" and > "What is hateful to you do not do unto your fellow man". These are the values > on which most Israelis were brought up, and this is the dormant voice now > awakening. It is inside us, only until now it has been silenced by other voices, > which mobilize a nation to war and raise primal fears that mute the voice of > conscience. This old-new voice is powerful enough to tear down the protective > wall of blind militarism, of racism - that make distinctions between types of blood > according to their origin, and of fascism - that demands national unity. > The voice of conscience and the Jewish moral code are capable of establishing > in Israel a different culture, a culture of tolerance and coexistence. The voice of > conscience can link Jews, Christians and Muslims brought up on the sacred > principle that all human beings are created in God's image. The voice of > conscience can provide an agreed-upon moral basis between Jews and Arabs > according to the biblical, pre-democratic rule that "One law shall be for you, and > for the stranger that sojourns among you". If this voice grows stronger, it can > also provide the ethical basis required for rapprochement and resolution of the > conflict with the Palestinians, which is now conceived as intractable, breeding a > sense of despair and thoughts about leaving. The ancient Jewish voice of > conscience is the voice of the new hope. > Lev Grinberg is a peace activist and political sociologist, Director of the > Humphrey Institute for Social Research > > ---- > Did you know that every Friday afternoon at 2.30 Gush Shalom maintains a vigil > opposite Peres' home in Ramat Aviv calling upon him to stop being an > accomplice? Photo's and details on the website > > NB: Full transcript of the war crimes panel available on the Gush site > For Hebrew http://www.gush-shalom.org/archives/forum.html > For English http://www.gush-shalom.org/archives/forum_eng.html > > Also on the site: > the weekly Gush Shalom ad - in Hebrew and English > the columns of Uri Avnery - in Hebrew, Arab and English > (and a lot more) > http://www.gush-shalom.org > > If you got this forwarded, and would like to receive our emails directly you > can subscribe by sending a blank message (from the address where you > want to receive them) to: > Gush-Shalom-subscribe at topica.com > In order to receive Hebrew [not always same as English] mail to: > test_gush-shalom.org-subscribe at topica.com > > If you want to support Gush Shalom's activities you can send a cheque or > cash, wrapped well in an extra piece of paper, to: > Gush Shalom pob 3322, Tel-Aviv 61033. > > For more about Gush Shalom you are invited to visit our renewed website: > http://www.gush-shalom.org/ > > SUBSCRIBE YOURSELF: > mail (don't use reply) to Gush-Shalom-subscribe at topica.com > > ==^================================================================ > This email was sent to: emailer1 at netzero.net > > EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84AlJ.a95cMQ > Or send an email to: Gush-Shalom-unsubscribe at topica.com > > T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! > http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register > ==^================================================================ > > ---------------------------------------------------- Sign Up for NetZero Platinum Today Only $9.95 per month! http://my.netzero.net/s/signup?r=platinum&refcd=PT97 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 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 ==== Messages posted on this list are also available on the web at: ==== * * * * * * * http://www.scn.org/volunteers/scn-l/ * * * * * * * From Radim7 at atlas.cz Wed Feb 13 10:37:29 2002 From: Radim7 at atlas.cz (Radim7 at atlas.cz) Date: Wed, 13 Feb 2002 10:37:29 Subject: SCN: Summer Job Message-ID: <200202212242.OAA16333@scn.org> Dear Sir, I'm a University student from Europe and I'm trying to find myself a summer job (4 months) in the United States and consequently a job I would start with after I finish my studies. I would like to kindly ask whether there might be an opportunity working for you. I do not need any sponsorship. I will be fully eligible to work in the United States. You are welcome to review my resume that is attached as a Word document. Thank you very much for your time. Best Regards Radim Kupka -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: RadimKResume.Doc Type: application/octet-stream Size: 21835 bytes Desc: not available URL: From douglas at scn.org Thu Feb 21 16:21:16 2002 From: douglas at scn.org (Doug Schuler) Date: Thu, 21 Feb 2002 16:21:16 -0800 (PST) Subject: SCN: Re: various (+ open access initiative) (fwd) Message-ID: FYI... (We're hoping to have Darius and company at DIAC-02 this May...) -- Doug ****************************************************************** * SHAPING THE NETWORK SOCIETY * * Patterns for Participation, Action, and Change * * http://www.cpsr.org/conferences/diac02 * * Tomorrow's information and communication infrastructure * * is being shaped today. * * But by whom and to what ends? * * Questions: diac02-info at cpsr.org * ****************************************************************** ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Fri, 15 Feb 2002 18:34:24 +0100 From: Darius Cuplinskas United Press International February 14, 2002, Thursday 07:49 AM Eastern Time HEADLINE: Soros backs academic rebels An international group of scientists and academics, supported by Hungarian-American billionaire George Soros, is calling on scholars around the world to free their research from the control of for-profit, printed journals. The so-called "Budapest Open Access Initiative" calls on scholars to post their work on the Internet and to create alternative, Web-based journals available for free to all researchers. Backing from Soros's Open Society Institute will amount to $1 million a year for three years, Darius Cuplinskas, society spokesman, said. The money will be used to find new ways of publishing scholarly literature while maintaining its quality and making it freely available to all, he added. "Having something like the Soros Foundation backing us says to the world this is real, this is not just a bunch of idealistic, naive scientists running around," said University of California genomics professor Michael Eisen. Eisen is one of the founders of the Public Library of Science, a group trying to start Web-based, free journals dealing with the life sciences. Under their plan, the costs of reviewing, formatting and posting a paper would be borne by the author, as one of the costs of doing research. The cost per published paper would probably be roughly $300, Eisen said. Currently, most research appears in printed journals, many privately owned and available only by subscription. The cost of such journals, Eisen said, creates "an impediment to the free and open exchange of ideas." Universities and other research institutions currently can afford only a fraction of the roughly 20,000 scholarly journals published around the world every year, said philosopher Peter Suber, one of the architects of the Budapest plan and a professor at Earlham College in Richmond, Ind. Unlike most writers, researchers are not paid for published work, Suber said, and neither are the academic reviewers -- dubbed "peer reviewers" -- who must approve manuscripts for publication. "A lot of people are donating their labor and their intellectual property," he said, "but the readers aren't getting it for free." Aside from creating Web-based journals, the Budapest plan calls for academics to "self-archive" their work, according to cognitive scientist Stevan Harnad of the University of Quebec in Montreal, who is the main proponent of the idea. Under that system, researchers would submit their work to journals as usual, but as well they would post the peer-reviewed final version on special university-run Websites. "That would give open access right away," Harnad said. While some journals are relatively inexpensive, the cost and number have steadily been rising, according to Graham Bradshaw of the University of Toronto library. One of the most expensive, he said, is Brain Research, from the Dutch publishing house of Elsevier Science -- a 2002 subscription costs libraries $18,578. Despite spending nearly $5 million a year on journals, "we haven't been able to acquire all of the things we should have," Bradshaw said. It's possible for journals to keep costs down, said Jeffrey Drazen, editor of the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine, which costs $140 a year but is free to physicians and researchers in the Third World. Drazen said his journal offers a valuable service to readers, sorting through thousands of research submissions, professional editors work with academic reviewers to make sure the published papers are accurate and valuable. "We don't just take what the author sends us," he said. Subscribers "pay us to filter out what is important," Drazen said. > * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 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 ==== Messages posted on this list are also available on the web at: ==== * * * * * * * http://www.scn.org/volunteers/scn-l/ * * * * * * * From steve at advocate.net Fri Feb 22 09:10:52 2002 From: steve at advocate.net (Steve) Date: Fri, 22 Feb 2002 09:10:52 -0800 Subject: SCN: Semantic web Message-ID: <3C760B1C.27463.1EFF7D0@localhost> x-no-archive: yes =================== (Otis Port, BusinessWeek, excerpts)---Tim Berners-Lee...wanted to make the world a richer place, not amass personal wealth. So he gave his brainchild to us all. Now, the idealistic father of the Web plans an even grander gift: a next- generation Web that almost certainly will rank as the most important software of this decade. Berners-Lee regards today's Web as a rebellious adolescent that can never fulfill his original expectations. By 2005, he hopes to begin replacing it with the Semantic Web--a smart network that will finally understand human languages and make computers virtually as easy to work with as other humans. This new project is a collaborative effort of hundreds of minds, with Berners-Lee as maestro. The ultimate goal: to turn the Web into a gigantic brain. Every computer connected to the Internet would have access to all the knowledge that humankind has accumulated in science, business, and the arts since we began painting the walls of caves 30,000 years ago. This racial memory would be a constant source of inspiration for dreaming sublime dreams, boosting human creativity, and solving previously intractable problems. Online commerce chores and Web services would be handled by software modules that snap together like toy Lego blocks. "We expect the Semantic Web to be as big a revolution as the original Web itself," says Richard Hayes-Roth, Hewlett-Packard's chief technology officer for software. To get there, though, Berners-Lee must navigate some very muddy waters. Development of the Semantic Web is being funded mainly by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), which he heads. Founded in 1994 and based at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the W3C is the guardian of Web technology and standards. Its budget relies heavily on membership dues from more than 400 companies. And while making money may not be a primary motivator for Berners-Lee, it's what business is all about. Conflicts, in short, were inevitable--and not just centering around Berners-Lee. Indeed, mediating the inevitable clashes among W3C's hundreds of companies, each with its own agenda, will be the acid test of Berners-Lee's leadership. A particularly thorny issue cropped up last August. A W3C committee of 13 members, including IBM and Microsoft, proposed installing tollbooths on the Information Highway by allowing patented software to be included in W3C-approved standards. The committee reasoned that as online offerings grow more sophisticated, the developers of software for handling advanced Web services, such as supply-chain management and collaborative engineering, should be permitted to collect royalties on their investments. But Berners-Lee is philosophically opposed to standards that would impose fees, and many other W3C members, such as the Free Software Foundation and the Open Source Initiative, also denounced the notion. "Things have calmed down a bit," says Robert S. Sutor, IBM's director of e- business standards, and the committee is now rethinking its stance. Berners-Lee says the mood has now shifted "strongly toward a royalty- free position." Meanwhile, the W3C is taking heat on other fronts. Critics say the organization is moving too slowly on developing standards to ensure that different Web-service offerings can work together. Business sees major revenue growth from better tools that can deal with complicated travel arrangements, say, or deliver new entertainment options. But companies are reluctant to invest in developing such software until big corporations are on the same page. What good would it do, for example, to create a program under Microsoft's Web-services initiative, dubbed .Net, if it couldn't link up with a related program written in Java for Sun Microsystems' counterpart? Or if a computer-aided design program at Boeing Corp. were unable to talk to the company's engineering or manufacturing software? A W3C draft specification aimed at harmonizing Web services was published in January, 2001, "but the W3C then sat on its hands for a whole year" complains Uttam M. Narsu, an analyst at Giga Information Group. Not until late January did the W3C organize several working groups to tackle standards for Web services. "My sense is that W3C staffers are too visionary," Narsu says. "They're devoting too much effort to the Semantic Web, believing it will change the world yet again, and not enough effort to less sexy things that are important to business in the near term." The Semantic Web is certainly sexy. As envisioned by Berners- Lee, it would understand not only the meaning of words and concepts but also the logical relationships among them. That has awesome potential. Most knowledge is built on two pillars: semantics and mathematics. In number-crunching, computers already outclass people. Machines that are equally adroit at dealing with language and reason won't just help people uncover new insights; they could blaze new trails on their own. Even with a fairly crude version of this future Web, mining online repositories for nuggets of knowledge would no longer force people to wade through screen after screen of extraneous data. Instead, computers would dispatch intelligent agents, or software messengers, to explore Web sites by the thousands and logically sift out just what's relevant. That alone would provide a major boost in productivity at work and at home. But there's far more. Software agents could also take on many routine business chores, such as helping manufacturers find and negotiate with lowest-cost parts suppliers and handling help-desk questions. The Semantic Web would also be a bottomless trove of eureka insights. Most inventions and scientific breakthroughs, including today's Web, spring from novel combinations of existing knowledge. The Semantic Web would make it possible to evaluate more combinations overnight than a person could juggle in a lifetime. "A lot of scientific research is now interdisciplinary, like global climate change, and the scientists need to talk to each other," says Chaitanya Baru, a data-mining expert at the San Diego Supercomputer Center. "But they use different jargon." Sure, scientists and other people can post ideas on the Web today for others to read. But with machines doing the reading and translating jargon terms, related ideas from millions of Web pages could be distilled and summarized. That will lift the ability to assess and integrate information to new heights. As a result, Berners-Lee envisions a new age of enlightenment. The Semantic Web, he predicts, "will help more people become more intuitive as well as more analytical. It will foster global collaborations among people with diverse cultural perspectives, so we have a better chance of finding the right solutions to the really big issues--like the environment and climate warming." In short, it will change the world even more than his original creation. The capital-Q question is: Can he pull it off? There's no shortage of doubters. Still, most people who know the reclusive Berners-Lee are optimistic. "Tim has a gift for seeing the future and making it happen," says John R. Patrick, a retired IBM senior exec who helped found the W3C. Eric E. Schmidt, formerly of Sun and now chairman of search- engine innovator Google Inc., says Berners-Lee would be a shoo- in for a Nobel prize--if Nobels were given in computer science. And Larry L. Smarr, director of the California Institute of Telecommunications & Information Technology at the University of California at San Diego, predicts the Semantic Web will cast Berners-Lee as "an historic-level figure." What impresses those elder statesmen of computing is Berners- Lee's leadership track record. For a somewhat shy software nerd, he has demonstrated a surprising flair for diplomacy, combined with bulldog tenacity. In the midst of the dot-com bust two years ago, Berners-Lee persuaded the W3C's hard-nosed denizens of commerce to begin developing the Semantic Web. And before that, in 1998, he persuaded them to approve extensible markup language (XML), an important new Web lingo. "Tim did a great job shepherding XML through the W3C," notes Smarr. Indeed, the evolution of XML may be a useful foretaste of what's in store for the Berners-Lee's new vision. In the late 1990s, this language was constructed to help computers identify different types of data on the Web. "When we started work on XML, it was considered pretty esoteric," recalls Sutor of IBM. "But now it's the underpinnings of everything we're doing in e-business." Ditto for hundreds of others, including the 300 companies already using XML software from Open Applications Group Inc. OAGI predicts that number will double this year. Berners-Lee worked tirelessly to win support for XML because it's a quantum leap beyond today's witless hypertext markup language (HTML)--and it's the cornerstone of the Semantic Web. HTML is the language that Berners-Lee concocted while on a fellowship as a database engineer at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) in Geneva. But the language merely specifies the appearance of a Web page: what colors go where, which type sizes to use, and where to put graphic elements. To a Web browser, or most other computer programs, these words and numbers are just squiggles of gibberish. Without some kind of clue, computers parsing a Web page can't determine if "buy" is a noun or a verb, or whether "20031" is a Zip Code, a price, or the number of orders placed last month. In contrast, XML tags imbue the Web with meaning. Examples might be labels for medical records. The "name" tag would have links to relevant sections of online literature, also coded with XML, and "interaction" would point to other drugs that interfere with the medication. Then, when a doctor bats out a prescription on a computer, a software agent could verify that the drug is appropriate for the diagnosis, check the patient's records to see what other medicines the person is taking, and determine whether any of them is likely to interfere with the new prescription. A group of university and industrial researchers is already working on such a scheme with the Veterans Administration and the National Library of Medicine. Today, Berners-Lee presides over a research octopus whose tentacles extend to all five continents. The 60 staffers at W3C headquarters coordinate the efforts of hundreds of researchers at 50 university and government laboratories that are W3C members, plus two-score additional universities around the world. For now, most of the actual work on the Semantic Web is being done by academics because, Berners-Lee quips, "only a few industry people have been given a little leeway to go off and explore my crazy ideas." XML is a start--but only the tip of the iceberg. XML tags are essentially just labels that point to a definition in a combination dictionary and thesaurus. That's how a software agent can determine that two different tags actually mean the same thing. When an agent needs further details, there's an online encyclopedia, called an ontology. It lays out the logical rules and relationships among XML terms. Merging these elements is where semantics gets sticky. Because we humans assimilate language gradually, we end up unaware of how complicated things are--until we try to construct a new digital grammar from scratch, with numerous dialects for various industries. Devising software that can comprehend words, concepts, and relationships has long been a major hangup in artificial intelligence (AI) research. Adding a pervasive layer of standardization will test the limits of human ingenuity--and patience. In the fast-paced Internet Age, the time needed to build consensus on the smallest of these details could be the Semantic Web's chief obstacle, says MCI's Cerf. He worries that standards could "fall victim to business maneuvering" by the W3C's corporate members. The result might end up similar to today's systems for electronic data interchange (EDI)--with a lot of proprietary systems, each with its own lingo. On the other hand, partly because the industry is acutely aware of EDI's problems and limitations, executives are optimistic. "It'll be a chicken-or-egg situation until a killer app comes along--but I'm very confident that that will happen," says W. Daniel Hillis, a supercomputer pioneer who now heads startup Applied Minds Inc. Some academics are enthusiastic about the corporate involvement that Berners-Lee has attracted. James A. Hendler, a computer scientist at the University of Maryland, says he has worked on AI for 20 years and "it has been almost impossible to get the attention of business." But now, he says, "the advances we made in the 1990s are being readied for actual use with the Semantic Web, out there in the real world." One other factor could give Berners-Lee's vision an enormous boost: The Pentagon's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is pushing it. This is the outfit that created the guts of the Internet three decades ago. In 1998, it launched the DARPA Agent MarkUp Language (DAML) program--initially managed by Hendler, who took a leave of absence from Maryland. DARPA is now a W3C member, and DAML is being developed in concert with XML. DARPA wants to develop agent-based systems for command-and- control jobs in joint military operations, whether they be multiservice or multinational. For example, an international team of 16 organizations--led by a spin-off of Britain's Defense Ministry called QinetiQ Ltd.--is working on a "coalition of agents" project. With DAML tags pointing to online databases, plus access to satellite reconnaissance images, the agents would be aware of the capabilities and locations of the many different weapons and logistics systems deployed to such spots as Afghanistan. So they could provide commanders with instant advice for coping with shifting conditions. DARPA is also funding research at MIT, headed by Berners-Lee but separate from the W3C, aimed at creating new AI tools for tomorrow's Web. One result would be Semantic Web logic language (Swell). Another goal is to marry the Semantic Web with MIT's Oxygen project, which aims to make various digital systems as easy to use as breathing, thanks to advanced machine-learning tricks and new AI software. Cailliau, Berners-Lee's former boss at CERN, figures the Web's inventor relishes this research. "I think Tim does not really like the role" of leading a big outfit like the W3C, says Cailliau. "He is more comfortable with a small team and joining in the fun of writing actual code." Berners-Lee admits that building consensus among the W3C's members can be trying at times. But someone needs to keep development of the Semantic Web on course toward enriching the world--and nobody is better qualified than Tim. Copyright 2002 The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 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 ==== Messages posted on this list are also available on the web at: ==== * * * * * * * http://www.scn.org/volunteers/scn-l/ * * * * * * * From douglas at scn.org Fri Feb 22 09:22:37 2002 From: douglas at scn.org (Doug Schuler) Date: Fri, 22 Feb 2002 09:22:37 -0800 (PST) Subject: SCN: Semantic web In-Reply-To: <3C760B1C.27463.1EFF7D0@localhost> Message-ID: I met one of the main people behind this effort last November in Kyoto. My question to him: People have been working with semantic nets for 20 years without gaining any particular value out of that approach -- why did he think that moving it to the web would do it? He thought that making the conceptual underpinnings available to all might make the payoff *emerge* -- and he might be right. The effort was quite heavily funded by military R&D and corporations. I'm not sure what their vision is vs., say, what an SCN type vision is. (PS. for my more *political* view of a "world brain" see http://www.infosoc.co.uk/current/Featurearticle4.2.pdf.) -- Doug ****************************************************************** * SHAPING THE NETWORK SOCIETY * * Patterns for Participation, Action, and Change * * http://www.cpsr.org/conferences/diac02 * * Tomorrow's information and communication infrastructure * * is being shaped today. * * But by whom and to what ends? * * Questions: diac02-info at cpsr.org * ****************************************************************** On Fri, 22 Feb 2002, Steve wrote: > x-no-archive: yes > > =================== > > > (Otis Port, BusinessWeek, excerpts)---Tim Berners-Lee...wanted to make > the world a richer place, not amass personal wealth. So he gave his > brainchild to us all. > > Now, the idealistic father of the Web plans an even grander gift: a next- > generation Web that almost certainly will rank as the most important > software of this decade. Berners-Lee regards today's Web as a rebellious > adolescent that can never fulfill his original expectations. By 2005, he > hopes to begin replacing it with the Semantic Web--a smart network that > will finally understand human languages and make computers virtually as > easy to work with as other humans. > > This new project is a collaborative effort of hundreds of minds, with > Berners-Lee as maestro. The ultimate goal: to turn the Web into a gigantic > brain. > > Every computer connected to the Internet would have access to all the > knowledge that humankind has accumulated in science, business, and the > arts since we began painting the walls of caves 30,000 years ago. This > racial memory would be a constant source of inspiration for dreaming > sublime dreams, boosting human creativity, and solving previously > intractable problems. > > Online commerce chores and Web services would be handled by software > modules that snap together like toy Lego blocks. "We expect the Semantic > Web to be as big a revolution as the original Web itself," says Richard > Hayes-Roth, Hewlett-Packard's chief technology officer for software. > > To get there, though, Berners-Lee must navigate some very muddy > waters. Development of the Semantic Web is being funded mainly by the > World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), which he heads. Founded in 1994 > and based at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the W3C is the > guardian of Web technology and standards. Its budget relies heavily on > membership dues from more than 400 companies. > > And while making money may not be a primary motivator for Berners-Lee, > it's what business is all about. Conflicts, in short, were inevitable--and not > just centering around Berners-Lee. Indeed, mediating the inevitable > clashes among W3C's hundreds of companies, each with its own agenda, > will be the acid test of Berners-Lee's leadership. > > A particularly thorny issue cropped up last August. A W3C committee of 13 > members, including IBM and Microsoft, proposed installing tollbooths on > the Information Highway by allowing patented software to be included in > W3C-approved standards. The committee reasoned that as online > offerings grow more sophisticated, the developers of software for handling > advanced Web services, such as supply-chain management and > collaborative engineering, should be permitted to collect royalties on their > investments. > > But Berners-Lee is philosophically opposed to standards that would > impose fees, and many other W3C members, such as the Free Software > Foundation and the Open Source Initiative, also denounced the notion. > "Things have calmed down a bit," says Robert S. Sutor, IBM's director of e- > business standards, and the committee is now rethinking its stance. > Berners-Lee says the mood has now shifted "strongly toward a royalty- > free position." > > Meanwhile, the W3C is taking heat on other fronts. Critics say the > organization is moving too slowly on developing standards to ensure that > different Web-service offerings can work together. > > Business sees major revenue growth from better tools that can deal with > complicated travel arrangements, say, or deliver new entertainment > options. But companies are reluctant to invest in developing such software > until big corporations are on the same page. > > What good would it do, for example, to create a program under Microsoft's > Web-services initiative, dubbed .Net, if it couldn't link up with a related > program written in Java for Sun Microsystems' counterpart? Or if a > computer-aided design program at Boeing > Corp. were unable to talk to the company's engineering or > manufacturing software? > > A W3C draft specification aimed at harmonizing Web services was > published in January, 2001, "but the W3C then sat on its hands for > a whole year" complains Uttam M. Narsu, an analyst at Giga > Information Group. Not until late January did the W3C organize > several working groups to tackle standards for Web services. > > "My sense is that W3C staffers are too visionary," Narsu says. > "They're devoting too much effort to the Semantic Web, believing it > will change the world yet again, and not enough effort to less sexy > things that are important to business in the near term." > > The Semantic Web is certainly sexy. As envisioned by Berners- > Lee, it would understand not only the meaning of words and > concepts but also the logical relationships among them. That has > awesome potential. > > Most knowledge is built on two pillars: semantics and mathematics. > In number-crunching, computers already outclass people. > Machines that are equally adroit at dealing with language and > reason won't just help people uncover new insights; they could > blaze new trails on their own. > > Even with a fairly crude version of this future Web, mining online > repositories for nuggets of knowledge would no longer force > people to wade through screen after screen of extraneous data. > Instead, computers would dispatch intelligent agents, or software > messengers, to explore Web sites by the thousands and logically > sift out just what's relevant. > > That alone would provide a major boost in productivity at work and > at home. But there's far more. > > Software agents could also take on many routine business chores, > such as helping manufacturers find and negotiate with lowest-cost > parts suppliers and handling help-desk questions. The Semantic > Web would also be a bottomless trove of eureka insights. > > Most inventions and scientific breakthroughs, including today's > Web, spring from novel combinations of existing knowledge. The > Semantic Web would make it possible to evaluate more > combinations overnight than a person could juggle in a lifetime. > > "A lot of scientific research is now interdisciplinary, like global > climate change, and the scientists need to talk to each other," says > Chaitanya Baru, a data-mining expert at the San Diego > Supercomputer Center. "But they use different jargon." > > Sure, scientists and other people can post ideas on the Web today > for others to read. But with machines doing the reading and > translating jargon terms, related ideas from millions of Web pages > could be distilled and summarized. That will lift the ability to assess > and integrate information to new heights. > > As a result, Berners-Lee envisions a new age of enlightenment. > The Semantic Web, he predicts, "will help more people become > more intuitive as well as more analytical. It will foster global > collaborations among people with diverse cultural perspectives, so > we have a better chance of finding the right solutions to the really > big issues--like the environment and climate warming." In short, it > will change the world even more than his original creation. > > The capital-Q question is: Can he pull it off? There's no shortage > of doubters. Still, most people who know the reclusive Berners-Lee > are optimistic. "Tim has a gift for seeing the future and making it > happen," says John R. Patrick, a retired IBM senior exec who > helped found the W3C. > > Eric E. Schmidt, formerly of Sun and now chairman of search- > engine innovator Google Inc., says Berners-Lee would be a shoo- > in for a Nobel prize--if Nobels were given in computer science. And > Larry L. Smarr, director of the California Institute of > Telecommunications & Information Technology at the University of > California at San Diego, predicts the Semantic Web will cast > Berners-Lee as "an historic-level figure." > > What impresses those elder statesmen of computing is Berners- > Lee's leadership track record. For a somewhat shy software nerd, > he has demonstrated a surprising flair for diplomacy, combined > with bulldog tenacity. > > In the midst of the dot-com bust two years ago, Berners-Lee > persuaded the W3C's hard-nosed denizens of commerce to begin > developing the Semantic Web. And before that, in 1998, he > persuaded them to approve extensible markup language (XML), an > important new Web lingo. "Tim did a great job shepherding XML > through the W3C," notes Smarr. > > Indeed, the evolution of XML may be a useful foretaste of what's in > store for the Berners-Lee's new vision. In the late 1990s, this > language was constructed to help computers identify different > types of data on the Web. "When we started work on XML, it was > considered pretty esoteric," recalls Sutor of IBM. "But now it's the > underpinnings of everything we're doing in e-business." > > Ditto for hundreds of others, including the 300 companies already > using XML software from Open Applications Group Inc. OAGI > predicts that number will double this year. > > Berners-Lee worked tirelessly to win support for XML because it's > a quantum leap beyond today's witless hypertext markup language > (HTML)--and it's the cornerstone of the Semantic Web. > > HTML is the language that Berners-Lee concocted while on a > fellowship as a database engineer at the European Organization > for Nuclear Research (CERN) in Geneva. But the language merely > specifies the appearance of a Web page: what colors go where, > which type sizes to use, and where to put graphic elements. > > To a Web browser, or most other computer programs, these words > and numbers are just squiggles of gibberish. Without some kind of > clue, computers parsing a Web page can't determine if "buy" is a > noun or a verb, or whether "20031" is a Zip Code, a price, or the > number of orders placed last month. > > In contrast, XML tags imbue the Web with meaning. Examples > might be labels for medical records. The "name" tag would have > links to relevant sections of online literature, also coded with XML, > and "interaction" would point to other drugs that interfere with the > medication. Then, when a doctor bats out a prescription on a > computer, a software agent could verify that the drug is > appropriate for the diagnosis, check the patient's records to see > what other medicines the person is taking, and determine whether > any of them is likely to interfere with the new prescription. A group > of university and industrial researchers is already working on such > a scheme with the Veterans Administration and the National > Library of Medicine. > > Today, Berners-Lee presides over a research octopus whose > tentacles extend to all five continents. The 60 staffers at W3C > headquarters coordinate the efforts of hundreds of researchers at > 50 university and government laboratories that are W3C members, > plus two-score additional universities around the world. > > For now, most of the actual work on the Semantic Web is being > done by academics because, Berners-Lee quips, "only a few > industry people have been given a little leeway to go off and > explore my crazy ideas." > > XML is a start--but only the tip of the iceberg. XML tags are > essentially just labels that point to a definition in a combination > dictionary and thesaurus. That's how a software agent can > determine that two different tags actually mean the same thing. > When an agent needs further details, there's an online > encyclopedia, called an ontology. It lays out the logical rules and > relationships among XML terms. > > Merging these elements is where semantics gets sticky. Because > we humans assimilate language gradually, we end up unaware of > how complicated things are--until we try to construct a new digital > grammar from scratch, with numerous dialects for various > industries. > > Devising software that can comprehend words, concepts, and > relationships has long been a major hangup in artificial intelligence > (AI) research. Adding a pervasive layer of standardization will test > the limits of human ingenuity--and patience. > > In the fast-paced Internet Age, the time needed to build consensus > on the smallest of these details could be the Semantic Web's chief > obstacle, says MCI's Cerf. He worries that standards could "fall > victim to business maneuvering" by the W3C's corporate members. > The result might end up similar to today's systems for electronic > data interchange (EDI)--with a lot of proprietary systems, each with > its own lingo. > > On the other hand, partly because the industry is acutely aware of > EDI's problems and limitations, executives are optimistic. "It'll be a > chicken-or-egg situation until a killer app comes along--but I'm very > confident that that will happen," says W. Daniel Hillis, a > supercomputer pioneer who now heads startup Applied Minds Inc. > > Some academics are enthusiastic about the corporate involvement > that Berners-Lee has attracted. James A. Hendler, a computer > scientist at the University of Maryland, says he has worked on AI > for 20 years and "it has been almost impossible to get the attention > of business." But now, he says, "the advances we made in the > 1990s are being readied for actual use with the Semantic Web, out > there in the real world." > > One other factor could give Berners-Lee's vision an enormous > boost: The Pentagon's Defense Advanced Research Projects > Agency (DARPA) is pushing it. This is the outfit that created the > guts of the Internet three decades ago. In 1998, it launched the > DARPA Agent MarkUp Language (DAML) program--initially > managed by Hendler, who took a leave of absence from Maryland. > DARPA is now a W3C member, and DAML is being developed in > concert with XML. > > DARPA wants to develop agent-based systems for command-and- > control jobs in joint military operations, whether they be > multiservice or multinational. For example, an international team of > 16 organizations--led by a spin-off of Britain's Defense Ministry > called QinetiQ Ltd.--is working on a "coalition of agents" project. > With DAML tags pointing to online databases, plus access to > satellite reconnaissance images, the agents would be aware of the > capabilities and locations of the many different weapons and > logistics systems deployed to such spots as Afghanistan. So they > could provide commanders with instant advice for coping with > shifting conditions. > > DARPA is also funding research at MIT, headed by Berners-Lee > but separate from the W3C, aimed at creating new AI tools for > tomorrow's Web. One result would be Semantic Web logic > language (Swell). Another goal is to marry the Semantic Web with > MIT's Oxygen project, which aims to make various digital systems > as easy to use as breathing, thanks to advanced machine-learning > tricks and new AI software. > > Cailliau, Berners-Lee's former boss at CERN, figures the Web's inventor > relishes this research. "I think Tim does not really like the role" of leading a > big outfit like the W3C, says Cailliau. "He is more comfortable with a small > team and joining in the fun of writing actual code." > > Berners-Lee admits that building consensus among the W3C's members > can be trying at times. But someone needs to keep development of the > Semantic Web on course toward enriching the world--and nobody is better > qualified than Tim. > > > Copyright 2002 The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. > > > > > > > * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 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 > ==== Messages posted on this list are also available on the web at: ==== > * * * * * * * http://www.scn.org/volunteers/scn-l/ * * * * * * * > * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 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 ==== Messages posted on this list are also available on the web at: ==== * * * * * * * http://www.scn.org/volunteers/scn-l/ * * * * * * * From heather at pti-inc.com Fri Feb 22 13:09:52 2002 From: heather at pti-inc.com (Heather Wilson) Date: 22 Feb 02 15:09:52 -0600 Subject: SCN: BASIC ELECTRONICS COURSE Message-ID: <200202222159.QAA11131@demetrius.hosting.swbell.net> PTI Seminars is presenting the following courses: For more details call 636-343-1333 and ask for Heather Wilson. http://www.ptiseminars.com ABCs of BASIC ELECTRONICS & DEVICES March 18, 2002 San Jose, CA Course Covers: Voltage Current Resistors Capacitors Inductors Diodes Transistors DC Circuits AC Circuits Semiconductor Materials Digital Circuits Analog Circuits Integrated Circuits CMOS, NMOS, PMOS, Bipolar Transitors Forward Bias Reverse Bias Logic Gates Memory Devices Microprocessors I/O Ports How to read a Data Sheet How Should Attend: Non Electrical Engineers Purchasing Sales & Marketing Manufacturing Customer Service Finance Repair & Maintenance Human Resources Training Production Legal Personnel Anyone desiring an overview on electronics ABCs of IC DESIGN & FABRICATION March 11, 2002 Portland, OR March 18, 2002 Singapore April 9, 2002 Boston, MA April 19, 2002 Munich, Germany April 30, 2002 Phoenix, AZ May 17, 2002 Austin, TX July 25, 2002 San Francisco, CA (SEMI Show) This course describes in simple terms a sequential format of information that constitutes the major fabrication processes and design for integrated devices. This one (1) day seminar gives you a comprehensive overview of the semiconductor industry & technology. The course will give you the background you need to understand the basics of semiconductor devices, how they work, the processing technologies & equipment to produce them, and circuit design techniques. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ CHECK OUR WEB SITE FOR ADDITIONAL COURSES !! http://www.ptiseminars.com For a FULL TRAINING SCHEDULE of "open" course dates visit http://www.pti-inc.com/schedule.htm TO REGISTER Go To https://secure.hosting.swbell.net/www.pti-inc.com/registration.html TO SPEAK: * to an account manager about ATTENDING these courses or having them ONSITE contact us at (636) 343-1333 in the USA. Ask for HEATHER WILSON. * Fax (636) 343-8642 * Email: heather at pti-inc.com PTI SEMINARS, INC. "We Exceed Your Expectations!" * To unsubscribe please reply to heather at pti-inc.com and in the subject "Unsubscribe". We apologize for any inconvenience. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 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 ==== Messages posted on this list are also available on the web at: ==== * * * * * * * http://www.scn.org/volunteers/scn-l/ * * * * * * * From gene at callgene.com Fri Feb 22 16:46:14 2002 From: gene at callgene.com (Gene Northup) Date: Fri, 22 Feb 2002 16:46:14 -0800 Subject: SCN: Time Message-ID: Hello, It was very nice talking with you both today, I am looking forward to meeting you in the morning about 10am. Sincerely, Gene Northup Gene Northup Century 21 Aadvantage Gold (702) 497-0300 or Toll Free: (866) 497-0300 Serving Southern Nevada www.CallGene.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From clairiun at yahoo.com Sun Feb 24 21:26:18 2002 From: clairiun at yahoo.com (patrick fisher) Date: Sun, 24 Feb 2002 21:26:18 Subject: SCN: SCN Potluck Reminder Message-ID: <200202242118.NAA27660@scn.org> Hi, This is a reminder for the SCN potluck to be held in mid-March. If you are coming, please RSVP. Thanks! Patrick Fisher ----------------------------------------------- For reference, your link to this Invite is: http://www.evite.com/r?iid=RSWIBGJCQFYNZLAYEJSM ------> Use Evite to host your next get-together! It's easy, fun, and 100% free. Click here: http://www.evite.com/csplash?li=egi6 48484848 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 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 ==== Messages posted on this list are also available on the web at: ==== * * * * * * * http://www.scn.org/volunteers/scn-l/ * * * * * * * From clariun at yahoo.com Sun Feb 24 15:06:21 2002 From: clariun at yahoo.com (patrick fisher) Date: Sun, 24 Feb 2002 15:06:21 -0800 (PST) Subject: SCN: SCN General Meeting - Wednesday, February 27th Message-ID: <20020224230621.28037.qmail@web13208.mail.yahoo.com> This is a reminder for the SCN general meeting this Wednesday at the University Branch of the Seattle Public Library. The library space will be open from 6:00 pm, but the meeting will probably start at 6:15. I'll be there at 6:00 to set things up. Topics for discussion will be open and the meeting will be informal. The Discusware.com Discus discussion software will be discussed, along the the new site redesign. There is an alternative site redesign other than that mentioned on the meeting page (see link near top of SCN home page) and I will hopefully be able to provide a link tonight. The meeting is open to anyone interested in SCN. I will be posting some developments and things in the works with SCN, and those items can be discussed at the meeting as well. On a side note, the "web team", the people responsible for updating the web site, had a rather productive meeting this morning. The general topic of discussion was making SCN easier to navigate and use. I will discuss the developments and ideas at the meeting, as well, if anyone is interested. And that information will be posted on SCN's web site. As for SCN in general, there is a lot of work going on to make it better than ever. Thanks! Patrick ===== Webmaster Seattle Community Network http://www.scn.org "Powering our communities with technology" __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Sports - Coverage of the 2002 Olympic Games http://sports.yahoo.com * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 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 ==== Messages posted on this list are also available on the web at: ==== * * * * * * * http://www.scn.org/volunteers/scn-l/ * * * * * * * From clariun at yahoo.com Sun Feb 24 16:39:43 2002 From: clariun at yahoo.com (patrick fisher) Date: Sun, 24 Feb 2002 16:39:43 -0800 (PST) Subject: SCN: Update: SCN site redesign link Message-ID: <20020225003943.60099.qmail@web13204.mail.yahoo.com> Folks, This past fall and winter, I worked with a web designer to come up with a new look for SCN. I provided an idea for a style that was simple and we used a couple of other sites as examples for what we were looking for in a look for SCN. I'll reserve judgement on the site which is located at: http://www.studio30.com/scn/scn_faq.html In that time, an SCN volunteer came up with a site design based on the same parameters as those given to the web designer. This design is right on the mark with what we were looking for. It is not necessarily in its final form, but represents, as close as possible, a direction we aimed for. This site is located at: http://www.scn.org/~lee/scntesta.html If you have comments, please direct them to webeditors at scn.org. We will be discussing the site redesign at the general meeting on Wednesday as well. I will have printouts available of both sites up for consideration. Also, logos have not be finalized in any way. Your comments on the logo ideas are welcome. The logo on the second site were designed by a graphics designer I found, enlisted, and worked with to come up with logo ideas. Thanks much, Patrick ===== Webmaster Seattle Community Network http://www.scn.org "Powering our communities with technology" __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Sports - Coverage of the 2002 Olympic Games http://sports.yahoo.com * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 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 ==== Messages posted on this list are also available on the web at: ==== * * * * * * * http://www.scn.org/volunteers/scn-l/ * * * * * * * From randy at scn.org Sun Feb 24 17:41:09 2002 From: randy at scn.org (Randy Groves) Date: Sun, 24 Feb 2002 17:41:09 -0800 (PST) Subject: SCN: Nicely done! Message-ID: Very nice job on the http://www.scn.org/~lee/scntesta.html web site design! Very 2002-style design. Works well with lynx. I like the variation on th e logo too! Bravo!! -randy * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 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 ==== Messages posted on this list are also available on the web at: ==== * * * * * * * http://www.scn.org/volunteers/scn-l/ * * * * * * * From clariun at yahoo.com Sun Feb 24 18:45:50 2002 From: clariun at yahoo.com (patrick fisher) Date: Sun, 24 Feb 2002 18:45:50 -0800 (PST) Subject: SCN: SCN Potluck: Please spread the word Message-ID: <20020225024550.62895.qmail@web13203.mail.yahoo.com> I realize that this may appear as spam, and I apologize in advance for that, but it is known that not everyone is on every list and some volunteers may not be on the scn at scn.org list. So please spread the word out about the SCN potluck on March 16th, if you think someone would be interested. Soon, I hope we have all volunteers on one list for announcements and are put on that list once they become volunteers. The potluck is open to anyone who has an active interest in SCN. Thanks, Patrick ===== Webmaster Seattle Community Network http://www.scn.org "Powering our communities with technology" __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Sports - Coverage of the 2002 Olympic Games http://sports.yahoo.com * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 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 ==== Messages posted on this list are also available on the web at: ==== * * * * * * * http://www.scn.org/volunteers/scn-l/ * * * * * * * From steve at advocate.net Sun Feb 24 23:30:48 2002 From: steve at advocate.net (Steve) Date: Sun, 24 Feb 2002 23:30:48 -0800 Subject: SCN: Recycling Message-ID: <3C7977A8.1229.29D4D95@localhost> x-no-archive: yes ================= (John Markoff, NY Times)---The global export of electronics waste, including consumer devices, computer monitors and circuit boards, is creating environmental and health problems in the third world, a report to be issued on Monday by five environmental organizations says. The report says that 50 to 80 percent of electronics waste collected for recycling in the United States is placed on container ships and sent to China, India, Pakistan or other developing countries, where it is reused or recycled under largely unregulated conditions, often with toxic results. The groups said there were no precise estimates of the amount of such waste currently created by the disposal of obsolete consumer electronic and computing gear. The Environmental Protection Agency estimated last year, however, that in 1997 as many as 3.2 million tons of "e- waste" ended up in United States landfills and that the amount might increase fourfold in several years. The groups also cited National Safety Council estimates that as many as 315 million computers have or will become obsolete from 1997 to 2004, generating a wide range of potentially toxic wastes. For example, each color computer monitor or television display contains an average of four to eight pounds of lead, which can enter the environment when the monitors are illegally disposed of in landfills. "We've created a problem that has to be dealt with," said Ted Smith, executive director of the Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition, one of the groups that participated in the report. The others are the Basel Action Network, Toxics Link India, Pakistan's Society for the Conservation and Protection of the Environment and Greenpeace China. An E.P.A. scientist, Robert Tonetti, acknowledged that a significant portion of the nation's obsolete consumer electronics gear was exported. He said, however, that there was no systematic reporting of the shipments, so there was no way to gauge the extent of the problem accurately. "No one has a good grasp of the numbers," said Mr. Tonetti, a senior environmental scientist in the E.P.A.'s office of solid waste. Mr. Tonetti said that figures in a 1999 National Safety Council report showed that about 723,000 computer monitors had been recycled in the United States and 100,000 had been exported. The report noted that more than a million monitors were unaccounted for and that many of them may have gone to parts brokers who subsequently exported the gear. There is an international debate over how to deal with the problem, Mr. Tonetti said, adding that the European Union was moving toward requiring manufacturers to take cradle-to-grave responsibility for their products, particularly when they contain potentially hazardous materials. In contrast, the United States industry has resisted this approach, he said. While there is no consensus on a solution, he said the environmental groups had focused on important issues that should have more attention. Mr. Tonetti added, however, that the cradle- to-grave approach was not endorsed by the United States government. Environmental groups, he said, have overlooked that much electronics manufacturing is now outside of the United States and Europe, complicating the issue of manufacturer responsibility. He also said that a significant factor in the increased export of obsolete electronics from the United States was the closing of smelters here in recent years, frequently because of environmental regulations. The report, "Exporting Harm: The Techno-Trashing of Asia," focuses on electronics recycling around the region of Guiyu in Guangdong province in China. The area, which is northeast of Hong Kong, includes a cluster of small villages that since 1995 have become a booming recycling center for electronic gear arriving from all over the globe through the port of Nanhai. The region has a work force of approximately 100,000 people focused on recycling, the report stated, with the process broken into small, specialized cottage work groups. In one neighborhood, plastics may be salvaged, while in another, circuit boards may be smelted to extract trace amounts of gold and other valuable materials, according to the investigators, who visited the region in December last year. One casualty of the recycling boom in the region has been drinking water, the report says. Since 1995, as a result of groundwater pollution, water has been trucked in from 20 miles away. The investigators said the recycling operations often involved young children, many of whom were unaware of the hazards. The hazardous operations included open burning of plastics and wires, riverbank acid works to extract gold, the melting and burning of soldered circuit boards and the cracking and dumping of cathode ray tubes laden with lead. The report described certain areas of Guiyu that were dedicated to dismantling printers. In those areas, toner cartridges were recycled manually, according to Jim Puckett, an author of the report. "Workers without any protective respiratory equipment or special clothing of any kind opened cartridges with screwdrivers and then used paint brushes and their hands to wipe the toner into a bucket," the report said. It added that the process created constant clouds of toner, which were routinely inhaled. Mr. Puckett, coordinator of the Basel Action Network, said, "They call this recycling, but it's really dumping by another name." The network is an international watchdog group that is trying to enforce the Basel Convention, a 1989 United Nations treaty intended to limit the export of hazardous waste. The United States is the only developed nation that has not signed it. The convention calls on countries to reduce exports of hazardous wastes to a minimum and deal with their waste problems within their own borders where possible. The authors of the report argue that stricter environmental regulations in the developed world have caused a trend toward exporting hazardous materials to the poorest countries, where occupational and environmental protections are inadequate. The environmental groups took water and soil samples along the Lianjiang River and had them tested by a private center in Hong Kong. The results, the groups said, revealed alarming levels of heavy metals that corresponded directly with metals most commonly found in computers. The water sample, taken near a site where circuit boards were processed and burned, showed levels of toxic materials 190 times the levels for drinking water recommended by the World Health Organization. The report also notes evidence of similar unregulated recycling operations in both Pakistan and India. The researchers said that Karachi, Pakistan, was one of the country's principal markets for second-hand and scrap materials. Copyright 2002 The New York Times Company * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 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 ==== Messages posted on this list are also available on the web at: ==== * * * * * * * http://www.scn.org/volunteers/scn-l/ * * * * * * * From jmabel at speakeasy.org Mon Feb 25 00:55:57 2002 From: jmabel at speakeasy.org (Joe Mabel) Date: Mon, 25 Feb 2002 00:55:57 -0800 (PST) Subject: SCN: Semantic web In-Reply-To: Message-ID: Does anyone other than me find it perversely fascinating that on the ooe hand this talks somewhat idealistically about a "world brain" and on the other hand when in comes down to actual applications, the discussion is of more efficiently devastating a third world country by better coordination of military force? I remain generally on the side of the "people should think, computers should compute" school. So many AI fantasies come down to avoiding moral responsibility for the concrete consequences of abstract decisions. As for the specifically military side of the fantasy, part of the perverse fascination is the recerring belief that somehow such technologies can be developed and then remain uniquely at the beck and call of the American Empire. Are we building a future in which every common person may ask, like Henry II, "Who will rid me of this meddlesome priest?" and leave it to someone (or, more precisely, something) else to draw the consequences? (http://www.digiserve.com/peter/becket.htm for those of you who don't know the reference.) -------------------- Joe Mabel, in his ironic capacity as cyberLuddite. On Fri, 22 Feb 2002, Doug Schuler wrote: > > I met one of the main people behind this effort last November in Kyoto. > My question to him: People have been working with semantic nets for 20 > years without gaining any particular value out of that approach -- why did > he think that moving it to the web would do it? He thought that making > the conceptual underpinnings available to all might make the payoff > *emerge* -- and he might be right. The effort was quite heavily funded by > military R&D and corporations. I'm not sure what their vision is vs., > say, what an SCN type vision is. (PS. for my more *political* view of a > "world brain" see http://www.infosoc.co.uk/current/Featurearticle4.2.pdf.) > > -- Doug > > ****************************************************************** > * SHAPING THE NETWORK SOCIETY * > * Patterns for Participation, Action, and Change * > * http://www.cpsr.org/conferences/diac02 * > * Tomorrow's information and communication infrastructure * > * is being shaped today. * > * But by whom and to what ends? * > * Questions: diac02-info at cpsr.org * > ****************************************************************** > > > On Fri, 22 Feb 2002, Steve wrote: > > > x-no-archive: yes > > > > =================== > > > > > > (Otis Port, BusinessWeek, excerpts)---Tim Berners-Lee...wanted to make > > the world a richer place, not amass personal wealth. So he gave his > > brainchild to us all. > > > > Now, the idealistic father of the Web plans an even grander gift: a next- > > generation Web that almost certainly will rank as the most important > > software of this decade. Berners-Lee regards today's Web as a rebellious > > adolescent that can never fulfill his original expectations. By 2005, he > > hopes to begin replacing it with the Semantic Web--a smart network that > > will finally understand human languages and make computers virtually as > > easy to work with as other humans. > > > > This new project is a collaborative effort of hundreds of minds, with > > Berners-Lee as maestro. The ultimate goal: to turn the Web into a gigantic > > brain. > > > > Every computer connected to the Internet would have access to all the > > knowledge that humankind has accumulated in science, business, and the > > arts since we began painting the walls of caves 30,000 years ago. This > > racial memory would be a constant source of inspiration for dreaming > > sublime dreams, boosting human creativity, and solving previously > > intractable problems. > > > > Online commerce chores and Web services would be handled by software > > modules that snap together like toy Lego blocks. "We expect the Semantic > > Web to be as big a revolution as the original Web itself," says Richard > > Hayes-Roth, Hewlett-Packard's chief technology officer for software. > > > > To get there, though, Berners-Lee must navigate some very muddy > > waters. Development of the Semantic Web is being funded mainly by the > > World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), which he heads. Founded in 1994 > > and based at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the W3C is the > > guardian of Web technology and standards. Its budget relies heavily on > > membership dues from more than 400 companies. > > > > And while making money may not be a primary motivator for Berners-Lee, > > it's what business is all about. Conflicts, in short, were inevitable--and not > > just centering around Berners-Lee. Indeed, mediating the inevitable > > clashes among W3C's hundreds of companies, each with its own agenda, > > will be the acid test of Berners-Lee's leadership. > > > > A particularly thorny issue cropped up last August. A W3C committee of 13 > > members, including IBM and Microsoft, proposed installing tollbooths on > > the Information Highway by allowing patented software to be included in > > W3C-approved standards. The committee reasoned that as online > > offerings grow more sophisticated, the developers of software for handling > > advanced Web services, such as supply-chain management and > > collaborative engineering, should be permitted to collect royalties on their > > investments. > > > > But Berners-Lee is philosophically opposed to standards that would > > impose fees, and many other W3C members, such as the Free Software > > Foundation and the Open Source Initiative, also denounced the notion. > > "Things have calmed down a bit," says Robert S. Sutor, IBM's director of e- > > business standards, and the committee is now rethinking its stance. > > Berners-Lee says the mood has now shifted "strongly toward a royalty- > > free position." > > > > Meanwhile, the W3C is taking heat on other fronts. Critics say the > > organization is moving too slowly on developing standards to ensure that > > different Web-service offerings can work together. > > > > Business sees major revenue growth from better tools that can deal with > > complicated travel arrangements, say, or deliver new entertainment > > options. But companies are reluctant to invest in developing such software > > until big corporations are on the same page. > > > > What good would it do, for example, to create a program under Microsoft's > > Web-services initiative, dubbed .Net, if it couldn't link up with a related > > program written in Java for Sun Microsystems' counterpart? Or if a > > computer-aided design program at Boeing > > Corp. were unable to talk to the company's engineering or > > manufacturing software? > > > > A W3C draft specification aimed at harmonizing Web services was > > published in January, 2001, "but the W3C then sat on its hands for > > a whole year" complains Uttam M. Narsu, an analyst at Giga > > Information Group. Not until late January did the W3C organize > > several working groups to tackle standards for Web services. > > > > "My sense is that W3C staffers are too visionary," Narsu says. > > "They're devoting too much effort to the Semantic Web, believing it > > will change the world yet again, and not enough effort to less sexy > > things that are important to business in the near term." > > > > The Semantic Web is certainly sexy. As envisioned by Berners- > > Lee, it would understand not only the meaning of words and > > concepts but also the logical relationships among them. That has > > awesome potential. > > > > Most knowledge is built on two pillars: semantics and mathematics. > > In number-crunching, computers already outclass people. > > Machines that are equally adroit at dealing with language and > > reason won't just help people uncover new insights; they could > > blaze new trails on their own. > > > > Even with a fairly crude version of this future Web, mining online > > repositories for nuggets of knowledge would no longer force > > people to wade through screen after screen of extraneous data. > > Instead, computers would dispatch intelligent agents, or software > > messengers, to explore Web sites by the thousands and logically > > sift out just what's relevant. > > > > That alone would provide a major boost in productivity at work and > > at home. But there's far more. > > > > Software agents could also take on many routine business chores, > > such as helping manufacturers find and negotiate with lowest-cost > > parts suppliers and handling help-desk questions. The Semantic > > Web would also be a bottomless trove of eureka insights. > > > > Most inventions and scientific breakthroughs, including today's > > Web, spring from novel combinations of existing knowledge. The > > Semantic Web would make it possible to evaluate more > > combinations overnight than a person could juggle in a lifetime. > > > > "A lot of scientific research is now interdisciplinary, like global > > climate change, and the scientists need to talk to each other," says > > Chaitanya Baru, a data-mining expert at the San Diego > > Supercomputer Center. "But they use different jargon." > > > > Sure, scientists and other people can post ideas on the Web today > > for others to read. But with machines doing the reading and > > translating jargon terms, related ideas from millions of Web pages > > could be distilled and summarized. That will lift the ability to assess > > and integrate information to new heights. > > > > As a result, Berners-Lee envisions a new age of enlightenment. > > The Semantic Web, he predicts, "will help more people become > > more intuitive as well as more analytical. It will foster global > > collaborations among people with diverse cultural perspectives, so > > we have a better chance of finding the right solutions to the really > > big issues--like the environment and climate warming." In short, it > > will change the world even more than his original creation. > > > > The capital-Q question is: Can he pull it off? There's no shortage > > of doubters. Still, most people who know the reclusive Berners-Lee > > are optimistic. "Tim has a gift for seeing the future and making it > > happen," says John R. Patrick, a retired IBM senior exec who > > helped found the W3C. > > > > Eric E. Schmidt, formerly of Sun and now chairman of search- > > engine innovator Google Inc., says Berners-Lee would be a shoo- > > in for a Nobel prize--if Nobels were given in computer science. And > > Larry L. Smarr, director of the California Institute of > > Telecommunications & Information Technology at the University of > > California at San Diego, predicts the Semantic Web will cast > > Berners-Lee as "an historic-level figure." > > > > What impresses those elder statesmen of computing is Berners- > > Lee's leadership track record. For a somewhat shy software nerd, > > he has demonstrated a surprising flair for diplomacy, combined > > with bulldog tenacity. > > > > In the midst of the dot-com bust two years ago, Berners-Lee > > persuaded the W3C's hard-nosed denizens of commerce to begin > > developing the Semantic Web. And before that, in 1998, he > > persuaded them to approve extensible markup language (XML), an > > important new Web lingo. "Tim did a great job shepherding XML > > through the W3C," notes Smarr. > > > > Indeed, the evolution of XML may be a useful foretaste of what's in > > store for the Berners-Lee's new vision. In the late 1990s, this > > language was constructed to help computers identify different > > types of data on the Web. "When we started work on XML, it was > > considered pretty esoteric," recalls Sutor of IBM. "But now it's the > > underpinnings of everything we're doing in e-business." > > > > Ditto for hundreds of others, including the 300 companies already > > using XML software from Open Applications Group Inc. OAGI > > predicts that number will double this year. > > > > Berners-Lee worked tirelessly to win support for XML because it's > > a quantum leap beyond today's witless hypertext markup language > > (HTML)--and it's the cornerstone of the Semantic Web. > > > > HTML is the language that Berners-Lee concocted while on a > > fellowship as a database engineer at the European Organization > > for Nuclear Research (CERN) in Geneva. But the language merely > > specifies the appearance of a Web page: what colors go where, > > which type sizes to use, and where to put graphic elements. > > > > To a Web browser, or most other computer programs, these words > > and numbers are just squiggles of gibberish. Without some kind of > > clue, computers parsing a Web page can't determine if "buy" is a > > noun or a verb, or whether "20031" is a Zip Code, a price, or the > > number of orders placed last month. > > > > In contrast, XML tags imbue the Web with meaning. Examples > > might be labels for medical records. The "name" tag would have > > links to relevant sections of online literature, also coded with XML, > > and "interaction" would point to other drugs that interfere with the > > medication. Then, when a doctor bats out a prescription on a > > computer, a software agent could verify that the drug is > > appropriate for the diagnosis, check the patient's records to see > > what other medicines the person is taking, and determine whether > > any of them is likely to interfere with the new prescription. A group > > of university and industrial researchers is already working on such > > a scheme with the Veterans Administration and the National > > Library of Medicine. > > > > Today, Berners-Lee presides over a research octopus whose > > tentacles extend to all five continents. The 60 staffers at W3C > > headquarters coordinate the efforts of hundreds of researchers at > > 50 university and government laboratories that are W3C members, > > plus two-score additional universities around the world. > > > > For now, most of the actual work on the Semantic Web is being > > done by academics because, Berners-Lee quips, "only a few > > industry people have been given a little leeway to go off and > > explore my crazy ideas." > > > > XML is a start--but only the tip of the iceberg. XML tags are > > essentially just labels that point to a definition in a combination > > dictionary and thesaurus. That's how a software agent can > > determine that two different tags actually mean the same thing. > > When an agent needs further details, there's an online > > encyclopedia, called an ontology. It lays out the logical rules and > > relationships among XML terms. > > > > Merging these elements is where semantics gets sticky. Because > > we humans assimilate language gradually, we end up unaware of > > how complicated things are--until we try to construct a new digital > > grammar from scratch, with numerous dialects for various > > industries. > > > > Devising software that can comprehend words, concepts, and > > relationships has long been a major hangup in artificial intelligence > > (AI) research. Adding a pervasive layer of standardization will test > > the limits of human ingenuity--and patience. > > > > In the fast-paced Internet Age, the time needed to build consensus > > on the smallest of these details could be the Semantic Web's chief > > obstacle, says MCI's Cerf. He worries that standards could "fall > > victim to business maneuvering" by the W3C's corporate members. > > The result might end up similar to today's systems for electronic > > data interchange (EDI)--with a lot of proprietary systems, each with > > its own lingo. > > > > On the other hand, partly because the industry is acutely aware of > > EDI's problems and limitations, executives are optimistic. "It'll be a > > chicken-or-egg situation until a killer app comes along--but I'm very > > confident that that will happen," says W. Daniel Hillis, a > > supercomputer pioneer who now heads startup Applied Minds Inc. > > > > Some academics are enthusiastic about the corporate involvement > > that Berners-Lee has attracted. James A. Hendler, a computer > > scientist at the University of Maryland, says he has worked on AI > > for 20 years and "it has been almost impossible to get the attention > > of business." But now, he says, "the advances we made in the > > 1990s are being readied for actual use with the Semantic Web, out > > there in the real world." > > > > One other factor could give Berners-Lee's vision an enormous > > boost: The Pentagon's Defense Advanced Research Projects > > Agency (DARPA) is pushing it. This is the outfit that created the > > guts of the Internet three decades ago. In 1998, it launched the > > DARPA Agent MarkUp Language (DAML) program--initially > > managed by Hendler, who took a leave of absence from Maryland. > > DARPA is now a W3C member, and DAML is being developed in > > concert with XML. > > > > DARPA wants to develop agent-based systems for command-and- > > control jobs in joint military operations, whether they be > > multiservice or multinational. For example, an international team of > > 16 organizations--led by a spin-off of Britain's Defense Ministry > > called QinetiQ Ltd.--is working on a "coalition of agents" project. > > With DAML tags pointing to online databases, plus access to > > satellite reconnaissance images, the agents would be aware of the > > capabilities and locations of the many different weapons and > > logistics systems deployed to such spots as Afghanistan. So they > > could provide commanders with instant advice for coping with > > shifting conditions. > > > > DARPA is also funding research at MIT, headed by Berners-Lee > > but separate from the W3C, aimed at creating new AI tools for > > tomorrow's Web. One result would be Semantic Web logic > > language (Swell). Another goal is to marry the Semantic Web with > > MIT's Oxygen project, which aims to make various digital systems > > as easy to use as breathing, thanks to advanced machine-learning > > tricks and new AI software. > > > > Cailliau, Berners-Lee's former boss at CERN, figures the Web's inventor > > relishes this research. "I think Tim does not really like the role" of leading a > > big outfit like the W3C, says Cailliau. "He is more comfortable with a small > > team and joining in the fun of writing actual code." > > > > Berners-Lee admits that building consensus among the W3C's members > > can be trying at times. But someone needs to keep development of the > > Semantic Web on course toward enriching the world--and nobody is better > > qualified than Tim. > > > > > > Copyright 2002 The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. > > > > > > > > > > > > > > * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 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 > > ==== Messages posted on this list are also available on the web at: ==== > > * * * * * * * http://www.scn.org/volunteers/scn-l/ * * * * * * * > > > > * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 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 > ==== Messages posted on this list are also available on the web at: ==== > * * * * * * * http://www.scn.org/volunteers/scn-l/ * * * * * * * > * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 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 ==== Messages posted on this list are also available on the web at: ==== * * * * * * * http://www.scn.org/volunteers/scn-l/ * * * * * * * From design at eskimo.com Mon Feb 25 02:52:46 2002 From: design at eskimo.com (Jim Loring) Date: Mon, 25 Feb 2002 02:52:46 -0800 Subject: SCN: Semantic web In-Reply-To: Message-ID: Ah... this whole Internet thing is just a glorified telephone system. Cheers! - Jim -----Original Message----- From: owner-scn at scn.org [mailto:owner-scn at scn.org]On Behalf Of Joe Mabel Sent: Monday, February 25, 2002 12:56 AM To: Doug Schuler Cc: Steve; scn at scn.org Subject: Re: SCN: Semantic web Does anyone other than me find it perversely fascinating that on the ooe hand this talks somewhat idealistically about a "world brain" and on the other hand when in comes down to actual applications, the discussion is of more efficiently devastating a third world country by better coordination of military force? I remain generally on the side of the "people should think, computers should compute" school. So many AI fantasies come down to avoiding moral responsibility for the concrete consequences of abstract decisions. As for the specifically military side of the fantasy, part of the perverse fascination is the recerring belief that somehow such technologies can be developed and then remain uniquely at the beck and call of the American Empire. Are we building a future in which every common person may ask, like Henry II, "Who will rid me of this meddlesome priest?" and leave it to someone (or, more precisely, something) else to draw the consequences? (http://www.digiserve.com/peter/becket.htm for those of you who don't know the reference.) -------------------- Joe Mabel, in his ironic capacity as cyberLuddite. On Fri, 22 Feb 2002, Doug Schuler wrote: > > I met one of the main people behind this effort last November in Kyoto. > My question to him: People have been working with semantic nets for 20 > years without gaining any particular value out of that approach -- why did > he think that moving it to the web would do it? He thought that making > the conceptual underpinnings available to all might make the payoff > *emerge* -- and he might be right. The effort was quite heavily funded by > military R&D and corporations. I'm not sure what their vision is vs., > say, what an SCN type vision is. (PS. for my more *political* view of a > "world brain" see http://www.infosoc.co.uk/current/Featurearticle4.2.pdf.) > > -- Doug > > ****************************************************************** > * SHAPING THE NETWORK SOCIETY * > * Patterns for Participation, Action, and Change * > * http://www.cpsr.org/conferences/diac02 * > * Tomorrow's information and communication infrastructure * > * is being shaped today. * > * But by whom and to what ends? * > * Questions: diac02-info at cpsr.org * > ****************************************************************** > > > On Fri, 22 Feb 2002, Steve wrote: > > > x-no-archive: yes > > > > =================== > > > > > > (Otis Port, BusinessWeek, excerpts)---Tim Berners-Lee...wanted to make > > the world a richer place, not amass personal wealth. So he gave his > > brainchild to us all. > > > > Now, the idealistic father of the Web plans an even grander gift: a next- > > generation Web that almost certainly will rank as the most important > > software of this decade. Berners-Lee regards today's Web as a rebellious > > adolescent that can never fulfill his original expectations. By 2005, he > > hopes to begin replacing it with the Semantic Web--a smart network that > > will finally understand human languages and make computers virtually as > > easy to work with as other humans. > > > > This new project is a collaborative effort of hundreds of minds, with > > Berners-Lee as maestro. The ultimate goal: to turn the Web into a gigantic > > brain. > > > > Every computer connected to the Internet would have access to all the > > knowledge that humankind has accumulated in science, business, and the > > arts since we began painting the walls of caves 30,000 years ago. This > > racial memory would be a constant source of inspiration for dreaming > > sublime dreams, boosting human creativity, and solving previously > > intractable problems. > > > > Online commerce chores and Web services would be handled by software > > modules that snap together like toy Lego blocks. "We expect the Semantic > > Web to be as big a revolution as the original Web itself," says Richard > > Hayes-Roth, Hewlett-Packard's chief technology officer for software. > > > > To get there, though, Berners-Lee must navigate some very muddy > > waters. Development of the Semantic Web is being funded mainly by the > > World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), which he heads. Founded in 1994 > > and based at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the W3C is the > > guardian of Web technology and standards. Its budget relies heavily on > > membership dues from more than 400 companies. > > > > And while making money may not be a primary motivator for Berners-Lee, > > it's what business is all about. Conflicts, in short, were inevitable--and not > > just centering around Berners-Lee. Indeed, mediating the inevitable > > clashes among W3C's hundreds of companies, each with its own agenda, > > will be the acid test of Berners-Lee's leadership. > > > > A particularly thorny issue cropped up last August. A W3C committee of 13 > > members, including IBM and Microsoft, proposed installing tollbooths on > > the Information Highway by allowing patented software to be included in > > W3C-approved standards. The committee reasoned that as online > > offerings grow more sophisticated, the developers of software for handling > > advanced Web services, such as supply-chain management and > > collaborative engineering, should be permitted to collect royalties on their > > investments. > > > > But Berners-Lee is philosophically opposed to standards that would > > impose fees, and many other W3C members, such as the Free Software > > Foundation and the Open Source Initiative, also denounced the notion. > > "Things have calmed down a bit," says Robert S. Sutor, IBM's director of e- > > business standards, and the committee is now rethinking its stance. > > Berners-Lee says the mood has now shifted "strongly toward a royalty- > > free position." > > > > Meanwhile, the W3C is taking heat on other fronts. Critics say the > > organization is moving too slowly on developing standards to ensure that > > different Web-service offerings can work together. > > > > Business sees major revenue growth from better tools that can deal with > > complicated travel arrangements, say, or deliver new entertainment > > options. But companies are reluctant to invest in developing such software > > until big corporations are on the same page. > > > > What good would it do, for example, to create a program under Microsoft's > > Web-services initiative, dubbed .Net, if it couldn't link up with a related > > program written in Java for Sun Microsystems' counterpart? Or if a > > computer-aided design program at Boeing > > Corp. were unable to talk to the company's engineering or > > manufacturing software? > > > > A W3C draft specification aimed at harmonizing Web services was > > published in January, 2001, "but the W3C then sat on its hands for > > a whole year" complains Uttam M. Narsu, an analyst at Giga > > Information Group. Not until late January did the W3C organize > > several working groups to tackle standards for Web services. > > > > "My sense is that W3C staffers are too visionary," Narsu says. > > "They're devoting too much effort to the Semantic Web, believing it > > will change the world yet again, and not enough effort to less sexy > > things that are important to business in the near term." > > > > The Semantic Web is certainly sexy. As envisioned by Berners- > > Lee, it would understand not only the meaning of words and > > concepts but also the logical relationships among them. That has > > awesome potential. > > > > Most knowledge is built on two pillars: semantics and mathematics. > > In number-crunching, computers already outclass people. > > Machines that are equally adroit at dealing with language and > > reason won't just help people uncover new insights; they could > > blaze new trails on their own. > > > > Even with a fairly crude version of this future Web, mining online > > repositories for nuggets of knowledge would no longer force > > people to wade through screen after screen of extraneous data. > > Instead, computers would dispatch intelligent agents, or software > > messengers, to explore Web sites by the thousands and logically > > sift out just what's relevant. > > > > That alone would provide a major boost in productivity at work and > > at home. But there's far more. > > > > Software agents could also take on many routine business chores, > > such as helping manufacturers find and negotiate with lowest-cost > > parts suppliers and handling help-desk questions. The Semantic > > Web would also be a bottomless trove of eureka insights. > > > > Most inventions and scientific breakthroughs, including today's > > Web, spring from novel combinations of existing knowledge. The > > Semantic Web would make it possible to evaluate more > > combinations overnight than a person could juggle in a lifetime. > > > > "A lot of scientific research is now interdisciplinary, like global > > climate change, and the scientists need to talk to each other," says > > Chaitanya Baru, a data-mining expert at the San Diego > > Supercomputer Center. "But they use different jargon." > > > > Sure, scientists and other people can post ideas on the Web today > > for others to read. But with machines doing the reading and > > translating jargon terms, related ideas from millions of Web pages > > could be distilled and summarized. That will lift the ability to assess > > and integrate information to new heights. > > > > As a result, Berners-Lee envisions a new age of enlightenment. > > The Semantic Web, he predicts, "will help more people become > > more intuitive as well as more analytical. It will foster global > > collaborations among people with diverse cultural perspectives, so > > we have a better chance of finding the right solutions to the really > > big issues--like the environment and climate warming." In short, it > > will change the world even more than his original creation. > > > > The capital-Q question is: Can he pull it off? There's no shortage > > of doubters. Still, most people who know the reclusive Berners-Lee > > are optimistic. "Tim has a gift for seeing the future and making it > > happen," says John R. Patrick, a retired IBM senior exec who > > helped found the W3C. > > > > Eric E. Schmidt, formerly of Sun and now chairman of search- > > engine innovator Google Inc., says Berners-Lee would be a shoo- > > in for a Nobel prize--if Nobels were given in computer science. And > > Larry L. Smarr, director of the California Institute of > > Telecommunications & Information Technology at the University of > > California at San Diego, predicts the Semantic Web will cast > > Berners-Lee as "an historic-level figure." > > > > What impresses those elder statesmen of computing is Berners- > > Lee's leadership track record. For a somewhat shy software nerd, > > he has demonstrated a surprising flair for diplomacy, combined > > with bulldog tenacity. > > > > In the midst of the dot-com bust two years ago, Berners-Lee > > persuaded the W3C's hard-nosed denizens of commerce to begin > > developing the Semantic Web. And before that, in 1998, he > > persuaded them to approve extensible markup language (XML), an > > important new Web lingo. "Tim did a great job shepherding XML > > through the W3C," notes Smarr. > > > > Indeed, the evolution of XML may be a useful foretaste of what's in > > store for the Berners-Lee's new vision. In the late 1990s, this > > language was constructed to help computers identify different > > types of data on the Web. "When we started work on XML, it was > > considered pretty esoteric," recalls Sutor of IBM. "But now it's the > > underpinnings of everything we're doing in e-business." > > > > Ditto for hundreds of others, including the 300 companies already > > using XML software from Open Applications Group Inc. OAGI > > predicts that number will double this year. > > > > Berners-Lee worked tirelessly to win support for XML because it's > > a quantum leap beyond today's witless hypertext markup language > > (HTML)--and it's the cornerstone of the Semantic Web. > > > > HTML is the language that Berners-Lee concocted while on a > > fellowship as a database engineer at the European Organization > > for Nuclear Research (CERN) in Geneva. But the language merely > > specifies the appearance of a Web page: what colors go where, > > which type sizes to use, and where to put graphic elements. > > > > To a Web browser, or most other computer programs, these words > > and numbers are just squiggles of gibberish. Without some kind of > > clue, computers parsing a Web page can't determine if "buy" is a > > noun or a verb, or whether "20031" is a Zip Code, a price, or the > > number of orders placed last month. > > > > In contrast, XML tags imbue the Web with meaning. Examples > > might be labels for medical records. The "name" tag would have > > links to relevant sections of online literature, also coded with XML, > > and "interaction" would point to other drugs that interfere with the > > medication. Then, when a doctor bats out a prescription on a > > computer, a software agent could verify that the drug is > > appropriate for the diagnosis, check the patient's records to see > > what other medicines the person is taking, and determine whether > > any of them is likely to interfere with the new prescription. A group > > of university and industrial researchers is already working on such > > a scheme with the Veterans Administration and the National > > Library of Medicine. > > > > Today, Berners-Lee presides over a research octopus whose > > tentacles extend to all five continents. The 60 staffers at W3C > > headquarters coordinate the efforts of hundreds of researchers at > > 50 university and government laboratories that are W3C members, > > plus two-score additional universities around the world. > > > > For now, most of the actual work on the Semantic Web is being > > done by academics because, Berners-Lee quips, "only a few > > industry people have been given a little leeway to go off and > > explore my crazy ideas." > > > > XML is a start--but only the tip of the iceberg. XML tags are > > essentially just labels that point to a definition in a combination > > dictionary and thesaurus. That's how a software agent can > > determine that two different tags actually mean the same thing. > > When an agent needs further details, there's an online > > encyclopedia, called an ontology. It lays out the logical rules and > > relationships among XML terms. > > > > Merging these elements is where semantics gets sticky. Because > > we humans assimilate language gradually, we end up unaware of > > how complicated things are--until we try to construct a new digital > > grammar from scratch, with numerous dialects for various > > industries. > > > > Devising software that can comprehend words, concepts, and > > relationships has long been a major hangup in artificial intelligence > > (AI) research. Adding a pervasive layer of standardization will test > > the limits of human ingenuity--and patience. > > > > In the fast-paced Internet Age, the time needed to build consensus > > on the smallest of these details could be the Semantic Web's chief > > obstacle, says MCI's Cerf. He worries that standards could "fall > > victim to business maneuvering" by the W3C's corporate members. > > The result might end up similar to today's systems for electronic > > data interchange (EDI)--with a lot of proprietary systems, each with > > its own lingo. > > > > On the other hand, partly because the industry is acutely aware of > > EDI's problems and limitations, executives are optimistic. "It'll be a > > chicken-or-egg situation until a killer app comes along--but I'm very > > confident that that will happen," says W. Daniel Hillis, a > > supercomputer pioneer who now heads startup Applied Minds Inc. > > > > Some academics are enthusiastic about the corporate involvement > > that Berners-Lee has attracted. James A. Hendler, a computer > > scientist at the University of Maryland, says he has worked on AI > > for 20 years and "it has been almost impossible to get the attention > > of business." But now, he says, "the advances we made in the > > 1990s are being readied for actual use with the Semantic Web, out > > there in the real world." > > > > One other factor could give Berners-Lee's vision an enormous > > boost: The Pentagon's Defense Advanced Research Projects > > Agency (DARPA) is pushing it. This is the outfit that created the > > guts of the Internet three decades ago. In 1998, it launched the > > DARPA Agent MarkUp Language (DAML) program--initially > > managed by Hendler, who took a leave of absence from Maryland. > > DARPA is now a W3C member, and DAML is being developed in > > concert with XML. > > > > DARPA wants to develop agent-based systems for command-and- > > control jobs in joint military operations, whether they be > > multiservice or multinational. For example, an international team of > > 16 organizations--led by a spin-off of Britain's Defense Ministry > > called QinetiQ Ltd.--is working on a "coalition of agents" project. > > With DAML tags pointing to online databases, plus access to > > satellite reconnaissance images, the agents would be aware of the > > capabilities and locations of the many different weapons and > > logistics systems deployed to such spots as Afghanistan. So they > > could provide commanders with instant advice for coping with > > shifting conditions. > > > > DARPA is also funding research at MIT, headed by Berners-Lee > > but separate from the W3C, aimed at creating new AI tools for > > tomorrow's Web. One result would be Semantic Web logic > > language (Swell). Another goal is to marry the Semantic Web with > > MIT's Oxygen project, which aims to make various digital systems > > as easy to use as breathing, thanks to advanced machine-learning > > tricks and new AI software. > > > > Cailliau, Berners-Lee's former boss at CERN, figures the Web's inventor > > relishes this research. "I think Tim does not really like the role" of leading a > > big outfit like the W3C, says Cailliau. "He is more comfortable with a small > > team and joining in the fun of writing actual code." > > > > Berners-Lee admits that building consensus among the W3C's members > > can be trying at times. But someone needs to keep development of the > > Semantic Web on course toward enriching the world--and nobody is better > > qualified than Tim. > > > > > > Copyright 2002 The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. > > > > > > > > > > > > > > * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 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 > > ==== Messages posted on this list are also available on the web at: ==== > > * * * * * * * http://www.scn.org/volunteers/scn-l/ * * * * * * * > > > > * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 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 > ==== Messages posted on this list are also available on the web at: ==== > * * * * * * * http://www.scn.org/volunteers/scn-l/ * * * * * * * > * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 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 ==== Messages posted on this list are also available on the web at: ==== * * * * * * * http://www.scn.org/volunteers/scn-l/ * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 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 ==== Messages posted on this list are also available on the web at: ==== * * * * * * * http://www.scn.org/volunteers/scn-l/ * * * * * * * From amurph at ns1.ehost2102.com Mon Feb 25 09:40:41 2002 From: amurph at ns1.ehost2102.com (amurph at ns1.ehost2102.com) Date: Mon, 25 Feb 2002 12:40:41 -0500 Subject: SCN: Thanks For Lunch Mike sdbbow Message-ID: <200202251740.g1PHeaO14383@smtp4.westnet24.com> Mike, Thanks again for lunch it was great! Best regards, Steve * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 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 ==== Messages posted on this list are also available on the web at: ==== * * * * * * * http://www.scn.org/volunteers/scn-l/ * * * * * * * From emailer1 at netzero.net Tue Feb 26 00:24:43 2002 From: emailer1 at netzero.net (emailer1) Date: Tue, 26 Feb 2002 00:24:43 -0800 Subject: SCN: Fw: Urban Politics #125 The War on Drugs Message-ID: <005801c1bea5$3520ae20$7152fea9@desktop> ----- Original Message ----- From: To: Sent: Wednesday, February 20, 2002 8:59 PM Subject: Urban Politics #125 The War on Drugs > The War on Drugs > > Urban Politics #125 with Nick Licata, 2/20/02 > With assistance from my L.A. Lisa Herbold > > Urban Politics (UP) blends my insights and information on current public > policy developments and personal experiences with the intent of helping > citizens shape Seattle's future. > > Instructions on subscribing or unsubscribing to the Urban Politics mailing > list are at the bottom of the UP. > > THE DRUG POLICY PROJECT > DRUG POLICY BROWN BAG NEXT THURSDAY > HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE KING COUNTY BAR REPORT: > *** > COUNCIL MEMBER & MAYOR E MAILS > SUBSCRIPTION INSTRUCTIONS > > > THE DRUG POLICY PROJECT > > The Drug Policy Project was established by the King County Bar Association in > the fall of 2000. Its purpose was to analyze the effectiveness of existing > drug policies and to explore alternatives. The Drug Policy Project was made > up of three policy-oriented task forces. They focused on prevention > strategies, treatment strategies, and the current use of criminal sanctions. > The King County Medical Association, the Washington State Bar Association, > the Washington State Medical Association and the Washington State Pharmacy > Association all participated in this effort. > > The work of the Drug Policy Project comes at a critical time. In King County > Prosecutor Norm Maleng's Policy Paper, Beyond the "War": Using the Criminal > Justice System to Bring Addicts Into Treatment, he recognizes that "the only > way to fulfill the promise of integrating treatment options into the Criminal > Justice system is to reduce prison sentences and re-invest the savings > realized by the Department of Corrections into building a treatment > infrastructure at the local level." > > The City of Seattle has a probable General Fund shortfall of $30 million in > 2003. King County government is in the same boat. We are collectively, > policy makers and activists alike, beginning to understand that given our > current budget realities we can't afford effective drug prevention and > treatment without also exploring ways to gain jail savings. We are also > beginning to question the long term impact of drug enforcement strategies > that, in many cases, do more damage than good to our communities. > > DRUG POLICY BROWN BAG NEXT THURSDAY > > On Thursday, February 28, from Noon-1:30 PM, I will be hosting a Brown Bag > Discussion on The King County Bar Association December 2001 Report: "Is It > Time to End The War on Drugs?" This forum is in open session in the City > Council Chambers 11th Floor Municipal Building, 600 4th Avenue. > > Joining me at the table will be: Seattle City Councilmember Jim Compton, > Seattle City Attorney Tom Carr, Seattle Police Chief Gil Kerlikowske, > Edsonya Charles, (from the Mayor's Office), and Dan Satterberg (from King > County Prosecutor Norm Maleng's Office), Lisa Daugaard (of the Seattle/King > County Public Defender Association), Kay Godefroy (of the Seattle > Neighborhood Group), Roger Goodman (of the King County Bar Association), > Patti Hartley (private citizen), Jane Kennedy (Treatment Alternatives for > Safe Communities), Andy Ko, (ACLU), Karen W. Murray (President, Loren Miller > Bar Association), and Kris Nyrop (Executive Director of Street Outreach > Services). > > If this is not enough to pique your interest, here are some highlights from > the report. http://www.kcba.org/drug_law/druglaw_index.htm is the link to > the site and all the KCBA's posted documents > > HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE KING COUNTY BAR REPORT: > > For every dollar spent on prevention, we can save 4-5 dollars in costs for > drug treatment and counseling. > > Blacks are 36.8% of those arrested and 58% of those in prisons for drug > felonies. Yet in 1998 whites were 72% of all users, blacks 15%, and > Hispanics 10%. > > In 1996, drug abuse cost the Washington state budget $1.51 billion, more than > 10% of the state budget. > > 1/2 King County's criminal caseload is drug-related. > > Students convicted of robbery or murder are eligible for federal financial > aid. A student convicted of drug possession is not. In 2001, 35,000 > students in the US have lost financial aid due to drug convictions. > > The median sentence for murder/manslaughter is 40.1 months, for drug offenses > 40.0 months. > > In 1999, marijuana offenses were 31% of all federal drug cases, cocaine 28%, > crack 15%, methamphetamine 15%, and opiates (including heroin), 7%. > > In 1994, 18% of AIDS cases in WA were traceable to exposure from injection > drug users. In 1999 it was 28%. > > Since 1989, WA's prison population increased by 125%, exceeding the 22% > increase in the population. > > Today, a non-violent drug crime is the most serious charge for 24% of inmates > compared with 17% in 1990. > > Each high school dropout entering a life of drug abuse and crime costs > society $1.7 to $2.3 million. > > Sobering isn't it? > > COUNCIL MEMBER & MAYOR E-MAILS > > Heidi.Wills at ci.seattle.wa.us > Richard.McIver at ci.seattle.wa.us > Jan.Drago at ci.seattle.wa.us > Judy.Nicastro at ci.seattle.wa.us > Margaret.Pageler at ci.seattle.wa.us > Jim.Compton at ci.seattle.wa.us > Peter.Steinbrueck at ci.seattle.wa.us > Richard.Conlin at ci.seattle.wa.us > Nick.Licata at ci.seattle.wa.us > > Mayors.office at ci.seattle.wa.us > > SUBSCRIPTION INSTRUCTIONS ---- > > --Send all messages to Majordomo at lists.speakeasy.org > --Type these requests in the body of the message. > --To Unsubscribe: type unsubscribe urbanpolitics > --To Subscribe: type subscribe urbanpolitics > --To Change email addresses use the two lines above in the same > message but on separate lines. > > > > > > > > > > > > > ---------------------------------------------------- Sign Up for NetZero Platinum Today Only $9.95 per month! http://my.netzero.net/s/signup?r=platinum&refcd=PT97 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 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 ==== Messages posted on this list are also available on the web at: ==== * * * * * * * http://www.scn.org/volunteers/scn-l/ * * * * * * * From emailer1 at netzero.net Tue Feb 26 01:15:13 2002 From: emailer1 at netzero.net (emailer1) Date: Tue, 26 Feb 2002 01:15:13 -0800 Subject: SCN: Support for Israeli Resistors Message-ID: <006e01c1bea6$1a17cae0$7152fea9@desktop> Rabbi Lerner is collecting signatures and support for an ad in the New York Times for support of the reservists who refuse to serve in the occupied territories. More on the internet http://www.tikkun.org/index.cfm/action/current/article/86.html -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From emailer1 at netzero.net Tue Feb 26 01:34:14 2002 From: emailer1 at netzero.net (emailer1) Date: Tue, 26 Feb 2002 01:34:14 -0800 Subject: SCN: Fw: "Patriot Act" Message-ID: <008801c1bea8$c38a79e0$7152fea9@desktop> > -----Original Message----- > From: GEORGE6210 at aol.com > Date: Sunday, February 24, 2002 7:43 PM > Subject: "Patriot Act"> > > >A Creeping Coup D’état > >------------------------------------------------------------------------ > > > >The New USA PATRIOT Act > >Are You A Patriot? > > > >Police State > >by Kelly Patricia O'Meara > > > >If the United States is at war against terrorism to preserve freedom, a new > >coalition of conservatives and liberals is asking, why is it doing so by > >wholesale abrogation of civil liberties? They cite the Halloween-week > passage > >of the antiterrorism bill - a new law that carries the almost > preposterously > >gimmicky title: "Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate > >Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act" (USA PATRIOT Act). > >Critics both left and right are saying it not only strips Americans of > >fundamental rights but does little or nothing to secure the nation from > >terrorist attacks. > > > >Rep. Ron Paul of Texas, one of only three Republican lawmakers to buck the > >House leadership and the Bush administration to vote against this > >legislation, is outraged not only by what is contained in the antiterrorism > >bill but also by the effort to stigmatize opponents. Paul tells Insight, > "The > >insult is to call this a 'patriot bill' and suggest I'm not patriotic > because > >I insisted upon finding out what is in it and voting no. I thought it was > >undermining the Constitution, so I didn't vote for it - and therefore I'm > >somehow not a patriot. That's insulting." > >What is so bad about the new law? "Generally," says Paul, "the worst part > of > >this so-called antiterrorism bill is the increased ability of the federal > >government to commit surveillance on all of us without proper search > >warrants." He is referring to Section 213 (Authority for Delaying Notice of > >the Execution of a Warrant), also known as the "sneak-and-peak" provision, > >which effectively allows police to avoid giving prior warning when searches > >of personal property are conducted. Before the USA PATRIOT Act, the > >government had to obtain a warrant and give notice to the person whose > >property was to be searched. With one vote by Congress and the sweep of the > >president's pen, say critics, the right of every American fully to be > >protected under the Fourth Amendment against unreasonable searches and > >seizures was abrogated. > > > >The Fourth Amendment states: "The right of the people to be secure in their > >persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and > >seizures, shall not be violated; and no warrants shall issue, but upon > >probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly > describing > >the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized." > > > >According to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which is joining > with > >conservatives as critics of the legislation, the rationale for the Fourth > >Amendment protection always has been to provide the person targeted for > >search with the opportunity to "point out irregularities in the warrant, > such > >as the fact that the police may be at the wrong address or that the warrant > >is limited to a search of a stolen car, so the police have no authority to > be > >looking into dresser drawers." Likely bad scenarios involving the midnight > >knock at the door are not hard to imagine. > > > >The only independent in the House, Rep. Bernie Sanders from Vermont, > couldn't > >support the bill for similar reasons: "I took an oath to support and defend > >the Constitution of the United States, and I'm concerned that voting for > this > >legislation fundamentally violates that oath. And the contents of the > >legislation have not been subjected to serious hearings or searching > >examination." > > > >Nadine Strossen, president of the ACLU and professor of law at New York > >University, tells Insight, "The sneak-and-peak provision is just one that > >will be challenged in the courts. We're not only talking about the sanctity > >of the home, but this includes searches of offices and other places. It is > a > >violation of the Fourth Amendment and poses tremendous problems with due > >process. By not notifying someone about a search, they don't have the > >opportunity to raise a constitutional challenge to the search." > > > >Even before the ink on the president's signature had dried, the FBI began > to > >take advantage of the new search-and-seizure provisions. A handful of > >companies have reported visits from federal agents demanding private > business > >records. C.L. "Butch" Otter (R-Idaho), another of the three GOP lawmakers > who > >found the legislation unconstitutional, says he knew this provision would > be > >a problem. "Section 215 authorizes the FBI to acquire any business records > >whatsoever by order of a secret U.S. court. The recipient of such a search > >order is forbidden from telling any person that he has received such a > >request. This is a violation of the First Amendment right to free speech > and > >the Fourth Amendment protection of private property." > > > >Rep. Otter says the PATRIOT law gives federal agents unconstitutional > police > >powers. Otter added that "some of these provisions place more power in the > >hands of law enforcement than our Founding Fathers could have dreamt and > >severely compromises the civil liberties of law-abiding Americans. This > bill, > >while crafted with good intentions, is rife with constitutional > infringements > >I could not support." > >Like most who actually have read and analyzed the new law, Strossen > disagrees > >with several provisions not only because they appear to her to be > >unconstitutional but also because the sweeping changes it codifies have > >little or nothing to do with fighting terrorism. "There is no connection," > >insists Strossen, "between the Sept. 11 attacks and what is in this > >legislation. Most of the provisions relate not just to terrorist crimes but > >to criminal activity generally. This happened, too, with the 1996 > >antiterrorism legislation where most of the surveillance laws have been > used > >for drug enforcement, gambling and prostitution." > > > >The ACLU has posted on its Website, www.aclu.org, a comprehensive list of > the > >provisions and summarizes the increased powers for federal spying. The > >following are a sample of some of the changes as a result of the so-called > >USA PATRIOT Act. The legislation: > > > >a.. minimizes judicial supervision of federal telephone and Internet > >surveillance by law-enforcement authorities. > >b.. expands the ability of the government to conduct secret searches. > >c.. gives the attorney general and the secretary of state the power to > >designate domestic groups as terrorist organizations and deport any > >noncitizen who belongs to them. > >d.. grants the FBI broad access to sensitive business records about > >individuals without having to show evidence of a crime. > >e.. leads to large-scale investigations of American citizens for > >"intelligence" purposes. > >More specifically, Section 203 (Authority to Share Criminal Investigative > >Information) allows information gathered in criminal proceedings to be > shared > >with intelligence agencies, including but not limited to the CIA - in > effect, > >say critics, creating a political secret police. No court order is > necessary > >for law enforcement to provide untested information gleaned from otherwise > >secret grand-jury proceedings, and the information is not limited to the > >person being investigated. > >Furthermore, this section allows law enforcement to share intercepted > >telephone and Internet conversations with intelligence agencies. No court > >order is necessary to authorize the sharing of this information, and the > CIA > >is not prohibited from giving this information to foreign-intelligence > >operations - in effect, say critics, creating an international political > >secret police. > >"Our forefathers would think it's time for a revolution. This is why they > >revolted in the first place." Says Paul with a laugh, "They revolted > against > >much more mild oppression." > >Kelly Patricia O'Meara is an investigative reporter for Insight. > >Source: http://www.insightmag.com/main.cfm?include= > >detail&storyid=143236 ---------------------------------------------------- Sign Up for NetZero Platinum Today Only $9.95 per month! http://my.netzero.net/s/signup?r=platinum&refcd=PT97 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 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 ==== Messages posted on this list are also available on the web at: ==== * * * * * * * http://www.scn.org/volunteers/scn-l/ * * * * * * * From douglas at scn.org Tue Feb 26 14:52:40 2002 From: douglas at scn.org (Doug Schuler) Date: Tue, 26 Feb 2002 14:52:40 -0800 (PST) Subject: SCN: Update: SCN site redesign link In-Reply-To: <20020225003943.60099.qmail@web13204.mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: Hi, Patrick and everybody else... You won't be surprised (I guess) to learn that I don't like the new logos. I vote for a cleaned up version of the logo we've always had. I don't see any need for a new one and I'm not clear as to who authorized this in the first place. I don't like to criticize this generous pro bono work but I suppose it's necessary. The first one -- computers -- is generic and I don't like the color scheme. On my computer the computers and the label aren't centered (but that is minor). The second one looks like a warmed-over version of the city of Seattle's logo. The third I like because there is some funk in it and it hearkens to what I thought was our logo. I'd like to include the categories that we use instead of what was used in this version. I wouldn't want to use this *instead* of our current one; but as a supplement. I don't like the block letter version, simple or not. WHY change to *that*??? What's wrong with the original logo? Yes, it's fuzzy, etc. so let's clean it up. Is that so difficult?? The statement on the studio30 web page is curious: "Native American leaning on a sand dune, holding a palm tree is the consensus." Consensus?? Among whom? (consensus means that *everybody* agreed so I was wondering a bit where this info came from) And -- IO hate to be so critical but I find it hard to read the new "basic buttons." I question why this was even undertaken at all when there are so many other crucial issues with SCN. -- Doug ****************************************************************** * SHAPING THE NETWORK SOCIETY * * Patterns for Participation, Action, and Change * * http://www.cpsr.org/conferences/diac02 * * Tomorrow's information and communication infrastructure * * is being shaped today. * * But by whom and to what ends? * * Questions: diac02-info at cpsr.org * ****************************************************************** On Sun, 24 Feb 2002, patrick fisher wrote: > Folks, > > This past fall and winter, I worked with a web designer to come up > with a new look for SCN. I provided an idea for a style that was > simple and we used a couple of other sites as examples for what we > were looking for in a look for SCN. I'll reserve judgement on the > site which is located at: > > http://www.studio30.com/scn/scn_faq.html > > In that time, an SCN volunteer came up with a site design based on > the same parameters as those given to the web designer. This design > is right on the mark with what we were looking for. It is not > necessarily in its final form, but represents, as close as possible, > a direction we aimed for. This site is located at: > > http://www.scn.org/~lee/scntesta.html > > If you have comments, please direct them to webeditors at scn.org. We > will be discussing the site redesign at the general meeting on > Wednesday as well. I will have printouts available of both sites up > for consideration. > > Also, logos have not be finalized in any way. Your comments on the > logo ideas are welcome. The logo on the second site were designed by > a graphics designer I found, enlisted, and worked with to come up > with logo ideas. > > Thanks much, > Patrick > > ===== > Webmaster > Seattle Community Network > http://www.scn.org > "Powering our communities with technology" > > __________________________________________________ > Do You Yahoo!? > Yahoo! Sports - Coverage of the 2002 Olympic Games > http://sports.yahoo.com > * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 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 > ==== Messages posted on this list are also available on the web at: ==== > * * * * * * * http://www.scn.org/volunteers/scn-l/ * * * * * * * > * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 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 ==== Messages posted on this list are also available on the web at: ==== * * * * * * * http://www.scn.org/volunteers/scn-l/ * * * * * * * From bn890 at scn.org Tue Feb 26 18:16:35 2002 From: bn890 at scn.org (Irene Mogol) Date: Tue, 26 Feb 2002 18:16:35 -0800 (PST) Subject: SCN: Yahoo! Invite: SCN Potluck In-Reply-To: <200202120319.TAA16835@scn.org> Message-ID: Hi Patrick, Is the - em-trng.scn - list still in existance? That list was used for all of us who were doing the e-mail training classes at the various libraries and wherever... I jsut looked at the RSVP's on the invite and haven't seen any new names... See ya, Irene Mogol * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 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 ==== Messages posted on this list are also available on the web at: ==== * * * * * * * http://www.scn.org/volunteers/scn-l/ * * * * * * * From clariun at yahoo.com Tue Feb 26 19:28:26 2002 From: clariun at yahoo.com (patrick fisher) Date: Tue, 26 Feb 2002 19:28:26 -0800 (PST) Subject: SCN: Update: SCN site redesign link In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <20020227032826.42717.qmail@web13208.mail.yahoo.com> Doug, Thanks for your input. Did you check the other contender for design considerations (http://www.scn.org/~lee/scntesta.html )? Yes, there are many things to be done at SCN, however the web team can work on the front end. There is not much we can do on the technical side. We have volunteers in different abilities and capacities and the web team will work on the site update. Thanks, Patrick --- Doug Schuler wrote: > > Hi, Patrick and everybody else... > > You won't be surprised (I guess) to learn that I don't like > the new logos. I vote for a cleaned up version of the > logo we've always had. I don't see any need for a new one and > I'm not clear as to who authorized this in the first place. > > I don't like to criticize this generous > pro bono work but I suppose it's necessary. The first one > -- computers -- is generic and I don't like the color > scheme. On my computer the computers and the label > aren't centered (but that is minor). The second one looks > like a warmed-over version of the city of Seattle's logo. > The third I like because there is some funk in it and > it hearkens to what I thought was our logo. I'd like to > include the categories that we use instead of what > was used in this version. I wouldn't want to use this > *instead* of our current one; but as a supplement. > > I don't like the block letter version, simple or not. WHY > change to *that*??? > > What's wrong with the original logo? Yes, it's fuzzy, etc. so > let's clean it up. Is that so difficult?? > > The statement on the studio30 web page is curious: "Native American > leaning on a sand dune, holding a palm tree is the consensus." > Consensus?? Among whom? (consensus means that *everybody* agreed > so I > was wondering a bit where this info came from) > > And -- IO hate to be so critical but I find it hard to read the > new "basic buttons." > > I question why this was even undertaken at all when there are so > many > other crucial issues with SCN. > > -- Doug > > > ****************************************************************** > * SHAPING THE NETWORK SOCIETY > * > * Patterns for Participation, Action, and Change > * > * http://www.cpsr.org/conferences/diac02 > * > * Tomorrow's information and communication infrastructure > * > * is being shaped today. > * > * But by whom and to what ends? > * > * Questions: diac02-info at cpsr.org > * > > ****************************************************************** > > > On Sun, 24 Feb 2002, patrick fisher wrote: > > > Folks, > > > > This past fall and winter, I worked with a web designer to come > up > > with a new look for SCN. I provided an idea for a style that was > > simple and we used a couple of other sites as examples for what > we > > were looking for in a look for SCN. I'll reserve judgement on the > > site which is located at: > > > > http://www.studio30.com/scn/scn_faq.html > > > > In that time, an SCN volunteer came up with a site design based > on > > the same parameters as those given to the web designer. This > design > > is right on the mark with what we were looking for. It is not > > necessarily in its final form, but represents, as close as > possible, > > a direction we aimed for. This site is located at: > > > > http://www.scn.org/~lee/scntesta.html > > > > If you have comments, please direct them to webeditors at scn.org. > We > > will be discussing the site redesign at the general meeting on > > Wednesday as well. I will have printouts available of both sites > up > > for consideration. > > > > Also, logos have not be finalized in any way. Your comments on > the > > logo ideas are welcome. The logo on the second site were designed > by > > a graphics designer I found, enlisted, and worked with to come up > > with logo ideas. > > > > Thanks much, > > Patrick > > > > ===== > > Webmaster > > Seattle Community Network > > http://www.scn.org > > "Powering our communities with technology" > > > > __________________________________________________ > > Do You Yahoo!? > > Yahoo! Sports - Coverage of the 2002 Olympic Games > > http://sports.yahoo.com > > * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 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 > > ==== Messages posted on this list are also available on the web > at: ==== > > * * * * * * * http://www.scn.org/volunteers/scn-l/ * * * > * * * * > > > ===== Webmaster Seattle Community Network http://www.scn.org "Powering our communities with technology" __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Greetings - Send FREE e-cards for every occasion! http://greetings.yahoo.com * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 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 ==== Messages posted on this list are also available on the web at: ==== * * * * * * * http://www.scn.org/volunteers/scn-l/ * * * * * * * From clariun at yahoo.com Tue Feb 26 19:30:45 2002 From: clariun at yahoo.com (patrick fisher) Date: Tue, 26 Feb 2002 19:30:45 -0800 (PST) Subject: SCN: Yahoo! Invite: SCN Potluck In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <20020227033045.5714.qmail@web13207.mail.yahoo.com> Irene, Thanks for the info. It will be nice to find out who is where and who is active on what lists. When I get to updating the mailing lists section of SCN, I will do a "who" of who is on what lists. Patrick --- Irene Mogol wrote: > Hi Patrick, > > Is the - em-trng.scn - list still in existance? That list was used > for > all of us who were doing the e-mail training classes at the various > libraries and wherever... > > I jsut looked at the RSVP's on the invite and haven't seen any new > names... > > See ya, > Irene Mogol > > ===== Webmaster Seattle Community Network http://www.scn.org "Powering our communities with technology" __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Greetings - Send FREE e-cards for every occasion! http://greetings.yahoo.com * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 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 ==== Messages posted on this list are also available on the web at: ==== * * * * * * * http://www.scn.org/volunteers/scn-l/ * * * * * * * From femme2 at scn.org Tue Feb 26 22:07:13 2002 From: femme2 at scn.org (Lorraine Pozzi) Date: Tue, 26 Feb 2002 22:07:13 -0800 (PST) Subject: SCN: Update: SCN site redesign link In-Reply-To: Message-ID: On Tue, 26 Feb 2002, Doug Schuler wrote: > > Hi, Patrick and everybody else... > > You won't be surprised (I guess) to learn that I don't like > the new logos. I vote for a cleaned up version of the > logo we've always had. I don't see any need for a new one and > I'm not clear as to who authorized this in the first place. Doug will be surprised to find that I agree with him. I didn't like the logo at first. As a logo, it still lacks "finish" - but is that what SCN is about? Slick marketing? I think we are better served by something that looks a little handmade. And now that it's been around for years and years, it has taken on an identity that the suggested versions certainly lack. Largely thanks to Doug, it has traveled around the world and appears on t-shirts, publicatoins, and of course has been an identifier for our very own Web presence. I understand that some funders find it too quaint - but I think that the major objections that funders have is not with a logo but with more substantive matters - such as, how does the organization serve the community? What data can you provide that shows some significant benefit to your users? And finally - I don't see anything in the suggested "improvements" that is so eye-catching and significant that an "upgrade" is desirable. My $.01 worth. Lorraine Pozzi femme2 at scn.org =============================== > > I don't like to criticize this generous > pro bono work but I suppose it's necessary. The first one > -- computers -- is generic and I don't like the color > scheme. On my computer the computers and the label > aren't centered (but that is minor). The second one looks > like a warmed-over version of the city of Seattle's logo. > The third I like because there is some funk in it and > it hearkens to what I thought was our logo. I'd like to > include the categories that we use instead of what > was used in this version. I wouldn't want to use this > *instead* of our current one; but as a supplement. > > I don't like the block letter version, simple or not. WHY > change to *that*??? > > What's wrong with the original logo? Yes, it's fuzzy, etc. so > let's clean it up. Is that so difficult?? > > The statement on the studio30 web page is curious: "Native American > leaning on a sand dune, holding a palm tree is the consensus." > Consensus?? Among whom? (consensus means that *everybody* agreed so I > was wondering a bit where this info came from) > > And -- IO hate to be so critical but I find it hard to read the > new "basic buttons." > > I question why this was even undertaken at all when there are so many > other crucial issues with SCN. > > -- Doug > > ****************************************************************** > * SHAPING THE NETWORK SOCIETY * > * Patterns for Participation, Action, and Change * > * http://www.cpsr.org/conferences/diac02 * > * Tomorrow's information and communication infrastructure * > * is being shaped today. * > * But by whom and to what ends? * > * Questions: diac02-info at cpsr.org * > ****************************************************************** > > > On Sun, 24 Feb 2002, patrick fisher wrote: > > > Folks, > > > > This past fall and winter, I worked with a web designer to come up > > with a new look for SCN. I provided an idea for a style that was > > simple and we used a couple of other sites as examples for what we > > were looking for in a look for SCN. I'll reserve judgement on the > > site which is located at: > > > > http://www.studio30.com/scn/scn_faq.html > > > > In that time, an SCN volunteer came up with a site design based on > > the same parameters as those given to the web designer. This design > > is right on the mark with what we were looking for. It is not > > necessarily in its final form, but represents, as close as possible, > > a direction we aimed for. This site is located at: > > > > http://www.scn.org/~lee/scntesta.html > > > > If you have comments, please direct them to webeditors at scn.org. We > > will be discussing the site redesign at the general meeting on > > Wednesday as well. I will have printouts available of both sites up > > for consideration. > > > > Also, logos have not be finalized in any way. Your comments on the > > logo ideas are welcome. The logo on the second site were designed by > > a graphics designer I found, enlisted, and worked with to come up > > with logo ideas. > > > > Thanks much, > > Patrick > > > > ===== > > Webmaster > > Seattle Community Network > > http://www.scn.org > > "Powering our communities with technology" > > > > __________________________________________________ > > Do You Yahoo!? > > Yahoo! Sports - Coverage of the 2002 Olympic Games > > http://sports.yahoo.com > > * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 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 > > ==== Messages posted on this list are also available on the web at: ==== > > * * * * * * * http://www.scn.org/volunteers/scn-l/ * * * * * * * > > > > * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 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 > ==== Messages posted on this list are also available on the web at: ==== > * * * * * * * http://www.scn.org/volunteers/scn-l/ * * * * * * * > * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 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 ==== Messages posted on this list are also available on the web at: ==== * * * * * * * http://www.scn.org/volunteers/scn-l/ * * * * * * * From jmabel at speakeasy.org Tue Feb 26 23:05:44 2002 From: jmabel at speakeasy.org (Joe Mabel) Date: Tue, 26 Feb 2002 23:05:44 -0800 (PST) Subject: SCN: Update: SCN site redesign link In-Reply-To: Message-ID: I just want to address a very minor point here (but, I think, an important misunderstanding: the meaning of "consensus". Consensus does not mean unanimity. It means a preveailing opinion from which there is no strong dissent. Like many words in the English language, its meaning is a bit fuzzy: certainly a unaimous opinion is a consensus, but a consensus is not necessarily a unanimous opinion. I bring this up because it often leads to a misunderstanding of what it means for an organizion to function "by consensus". For example, the Peace Heathens (a group of which I am proud to be a member) function by consensus. T)is does not mean that we only act when we have true unanimity. It means we need a solid supermajority and no strong, principled disagreement. Any individual active member may "throw a block", but we would never be able to function if someone threw a block every time they thought the course of action was imperfect. -------------------- Joe Mabel On Tue, 26 Feb 2002, Doug Schuler wrote: > > Hi, Patrick and everybody else... > > You won't be surprised (I guess) to learn that I don't like > the new logos. I vote for a cleaned up version of the > logo we've always had. I don't see any need for a new one and > I'm not clear as to who authorized this in the first place. > > I don't like to criticize this generous > pro bono work but I suppose it's necessary. The first one > -- computers -- is generic and I don't like the color > scheme. On my computer the computers and the label > aren't centered (but that is minor). The second one looks > like a warmed-over version of the city of Seattle's logo. > The third I like because there is some funk in it and > it hearkens to what I thought was our logo. I'd like to > include the categories that we use instead of what > was used in this version. I wouldn't want to use this > *instead* of our current one; but as a supplement. > > I don't like the block letter version, simple or not. WHY > change to *that*??? > > What's wrong with the original logo? Yes, it's fuzzy, etc. so > let's clean it up. Is that so difficult?? > > The statement on the studio30 web page is curious: "Native American > leaning on a sand dune, holding a palm tree is the consensus." > Consensus?? Among whom? (consensus means that *everybody* agreed so I > was wondering a bit where this info came from) > > And -- IO hate to be so critical but I find it hard to read the > new "basic buttons." > > I question why this was even undertaken at all when there are so many > other crucial issues with SCN. > > -- Doug > > ****************************************************************** > * SHAPING THE NETWORK SOCIETY * > * Patterns for Participation, Action, and Change * > * http://www.cpsr.org/conferences/diac02 * > * Tomorrow's information and communication infrastructure * > * is being shaped today. * > * But by whom and to what ends? * > * Questions: diac02-info at cpsr.org * > ****************************************************************** > > > On Sun, 24 Feb 2002, patrick fisher wrote: > > > Folks, > > > > This past fall and winter, I worked with a web designer to come up > > with a new look for SCN. I provided an idea for a style that was > > simple and we used a couple of other sites as examples for what we > > were looking for in a look for SCN. I'll reserve judgement on the > > site which is located at: > > > > http://www.studio30.com/scn/scn_faq.html > > > > In that time, an SCN volunteer came up with a site design based on > > the same parameters as those given to the web designer. This design > > is right on the mark with what we were looking for. It is not > > necessarily in its final form, but represents, as close as possible, > > a direction we aimed for. This site is located at: > > > > http://www.scn.org/~lee/scntesta.html > > > > If you have comments, please direct them to webeditors at scn.org. We > > will be discussing the site redesign at the general meeting on > > Wednesday as well. I will have printouts available of both sites up > > for consideration. > > > > Also, logos have not be finalized in any way. Your comments on the > > logo ideas are welcome. The logo on the second site were designed by > > a graphics designer I found, enlisted, and worked with to come up > > with logo ideas. > > > > Thanks much, > > Patrick > > > > ===== > > Webmaster > > Seattle Community Network > > http://www.scn.org > > "Powering our communities with technology" > > > > __________________________________________________ > > Do You Yahoo!? > > Yahoo! Sports - Coverage of the 2002 Olympic Games > > http://sports.yahoo.com > > * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 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 > > ==== Messages posted on this list are also available on the web at: ==== > > * * * * * * * http://www.scn.org/volunteers/scn-l/ * * * * * * * > > > > * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 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 > ==== Messages posted on this list are also available on the web at: ==== > * * * * * * * http://www.scn.org/volunteers/scn-l/ * * * * * * * > * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 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 ==== Messages posted on this list are also available on the web at: ==== * * * * * * * http://www.scn.org/volunteers/scn-l/ * * * * * * * From steve at advocate.net Tue Feb 26 23:12:07 2002 From: steve at advocate.net (Steve) Date: Tue, 26 Feb 2002 23:12:07 -0800 Subject: SCN: Digital divide Message-ID: <3C7C1647.24971.4CC9F82@localhost> x-no-archive: yes ==================== (Yochi J. Dreazen, Wall Street Journal)---Only those with "an unreal understanding" of U.S. capitalism would expect the poor, minorities and rural residents to immediately have the same access to the Internet as other Americans, the nation's top telecommunications regulator has said. Government efforts to bridge the divide, he added, veer toward "socialization." The skepticism expressed last year by Michael Powell, the Bush appointee who is chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, plainly seems to be shared by the rest of the administration. Breaking with Clinton administration policy, the Bush team has set about quietly dismantling many programs devoted to ending the so-called digital divide. The latest casualty: the Technology Opportunities Program -- or TOP -- one of Mr. Clinton's favorites. Bush officials, including chief economic adviser Lawrence Lindsey, also oppose Democratic proposals for tax incentives for companies that bring broadband Internet access to poor and rural areas. And the administration may take aim again at the FCC's popular "e- rate" program, widely credited with helping to wire thousands of inner-city schools and libraries. Democrats, in turn, are firing back. They blast the White House for trying to overhaul or drop the programs amid a recession that leaves the least-educated Americans most vulnerable. Critics note that half the new jobs for workers without college degrees require daily use of computers, often including use of the Internet, and the income gap between those who use computers on the job and those who don't continues to widen. "You don't even hear the Bush people pay lip service to the digital divide," says Greg Simon, who was a longtime top adviser to Vice President Al Gore and a Clinton administration adviser on telecommunications issues. "Why are they so quick to get rid of these little programs that help the poor? It's not like the digital divide has suddenly gone away." Maybe not suddenly, but it is going away, Bush officials maintain. Looking at the same data as their critics, administration officials see a digital divide closing -- if slowly -- where their foes see a growing chasm. Meanwhile, they reject any suggestion the administration is ignoring the gap. Officials say they simply are trying to streamline government efforts, to be more efficient and up- to-date, while encouraging the private sector to take more responsibility for spreading digital skills. "We haven't declared victory on the digital divide, but there's been tremendous growth across the board, and we are clearly moving in the right direction," says Nancy Victory, who runs the Commerce Department's National Telecommunications and Information Agency, the government's technology-policy arm. "The changes we want to make don't show a lack of commitment -- they show that we're trying to move ahead in different and more targeted ways." Earlier this month, an NTIA report showed the growth in Internet usage among poor and minority Americans far exceeded that for wealthy, white or Asian Americans. Web use among blacks and Hispanics, for instance, grew by 33% and 30%, respectively, between August 2000 and September 2001, while the growth rate for whites and Asians was 20%. To the administration, this is evidence of a narrowing digital divide, undercutting the argument for more federal help. Some Democrats drew a different conclusion. While growth rates for Web use are indeed higher for those on the wrong side of the divide, those groups started from so far down that the gap is wider than ever. For instance, the report found that in 1997, 10% of Americans earning less than $25,000 a year used the Web, compared with 45% of those earning more than $75,000 -- a gap of 35 percentage points. By 2001, despite the progress in both groups, the gap was 50 percentage points. "The same people who said during the 1990s that there was no digital divide are now saying there was one, but it's been cured," says Larry Irving, who ran the NTIA during the Clinton administration. "But how can we declare victory when 75% of our poorest people and 60% of our blacks and Hispanics have no Internet access of any kind?" For the administration, Ms. Victory says the growth rates offer a better picture of the status of the digital divide. "They're the best indicator of future trends and where things are heading," she says. The two sides are just as far apart on policies, a difference that dates to the Bush-Gore presidential contest. Shortly after taking office, Bush officials said they would fulfill a campaign promise effectively eliminating the FCC's popular e-rate program, which Mr. Gore had promoted and which reimbursed schools and libraries for as much as 90% of the cost of Internet access. Instead, the administration proposed block grants for the states from the Education Department, combining funds that otherwise would have gone for the e-rate program with those for other education- technology programs. The proposal alarmed many educators, who feared that some state governments would use the money for other purposes. Opponents, including several Republicans such as Maine Sen. Olympia Snowe, also worried about putting the program under the control of a cabinet department, where it would be subject to normal budget politics, instead of the independent FCC. The administration dropped the proposal in 2001, but now White House officials privately have told some Republican lawmakers they may revive it this year. The administration's most controversial move is its proposal to eliminate the small TOP program of grants to state and local- government agencies and nonprofit groups. Last year, the Bush administration had proposed slashing its funding, once as much as $45 million, to $15 million. The TOP program was designed to provide matching grant money for technology projects at schools, libraries, health agencies, police departments and nonprofits. The Maya Angelou Public Charter School, in the capital's poor inner city, used its money to buy laptops so students can learn e-mail and other computer skills, and in turn teach senior citizens in the area. Another project linked doctors at the University of Kansas Medical Center with nurses in nearby schools. "TOP was at bottom a laboratory for good ideas about how to use computers and the Internet to benefit communities," Ms. Victory says. "But," she adds, "now it's time to build on some of those lessons." Ms. Victory cites other proposals in the Bush budget for fiscal 2003 -- among them, technology grants of as much as $1 billion for the Education Department, $1 billion for the Justice Department and $100 million for rural telecommunications through the Agriculture Department. She concedes most programs that have received TOP funds could be bypassed by the new block grants, since local and state officials would be largely free to use the money as they like. For administration critics, the acknowledgment of TOP's success makes its proposed demise even more baffling. "If it's not broken and the need is still there," says Greg Rohde, a former Clinton telecom official, "why get rid of it?" Copyright 2002 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * From the Listowner * * * * * * * * * * * * . To unsubscribe from this list, send a message to: majordomo at scn.org In the body of the message, type: unsubscribe scn ==== Messages posted on this list are also available on the web at: ==== * * * * * * * http://www.scn.org/volunteers/scn-l/ * * * * * * * From emailer1 at netzero.net Wed Feb 27 00:29:01 2002 From: emailer1 at netzero.net (emailer1) Date: Wed, 27 Feb 2002 00:29:01 -0800 Subject: SCN: Update: SCN site redesign link References: Message-ID: <001601c1bf68$d060e6c0$7152fea9@desktop> Actually, Joe is partly correct. However, from my experience with the Quakers (Friends), strong opposition does amount to a veto, in a consensus environment. ----- Original Message ----- From: Joe Mabel To: Doug Schuler Cc: patrick fisher ; ; Sent: Tuesday, February 26, 2002 11:05 PM Subject: Re: SCN: Update: SCN site redesign link > I just want to address a very minor point here (but, I think, an important > misunderstanding: the meaning of "consensus". Consensus does not mean unanimity. > It means a preveailing opinion from which there is no strong dissent. Like many > words in the English language, its meaning is a bit fuzzy: certainly a unaimous > opinion is a consensus, but a consensus is not necessarily a unanimous opinion. > > I bring this up because it often leads to a misunderstanding of what it means > for an organizion to function "by consensus". For example, the Peace Heathens (a > group of which I am proud to be a member) function by consensus. T)is does not > mean that we only act when we have true unanimity. It means we need a solid > supermajority and no strong, principled disagreement. Any individual active > member may "throw a block", but we would never be able to function if someone > threw a block every time they thought the course of action was imperfect. > > -------------------- > Joe Mabel > > On Tue, 26 Feb 2002, Doug Schuler wrote: > > > > > Hi, Patrick and everybody else... > > > > You won't be surprised (I guess) to learn that I don't like > > the new logos. I vote for a cleaned up version of the > > logo we've always had. I don't see any need for a new one and > > I'm not clear as to who authorized this in the first place. > > > > I don't like to criticize this generous > > pro bono work but I suppose it's necessary. The first one > > -- computers -- is generic and I don't like the color > > scheme. On my computer the computers and the label > > aren't centered (but that is minor). The second one looks > > like a warmed-over version of the city of Seattle's logo. > > The third I like because there is some funk in it and > > it hearkens to what I thought was our logo. I'd like to > > include the categories that we use instead of what > > was used in this version. I wouldn't want to use this > > *instead* of our current one; but as a supplement. > > > > I don't like the block letter version, simple or not. WHY > > change to *that*??? > > > > What's wrong with the original logo? Yes, it's fuzzy, etc. so > > let's clean it up. Is that so difficult?? > > > > The statement on the studio30 web page is curious: "Native American > > leaning on a sand dune, holding a palm tree is the consensus." > > Consensus?? Among whom? (consensus means that *everybody* agreed so I > > was wondering a bit where this info came from) > > > > And -- IO hate to be so critical but I find it hard to read the > > new "basic buttons." > > > > I question why this was even undertaken at all when there are so many > > other crucial issues with SCN. > > > > -- Doug > > > > ****************************************************************** > > * SHAPING THE NETWORK SOCIETY * > > * Patterns for Participation, Action, and Change * > > * http://www.cpsr.org/conferences/diac02 * > > * Tomorrow's information and communication infrastructure * > > * is being shaped today. * > > * But by whom and to what ends? * > > * Questions: diac02-info at cpsr.org * > > ****************************************************************** > > > > > > On Sun, 24 Feb 2002, patrick fisher wrote: > > > > > Folks, > > > > > > This past fall and winter, I worked with a web designer to come up > > > with a new look for SCN. I provided an idea for a style that was > > > simple and we used a couple of other sites as examples for what we > > > were looking for in a look for SCN. I'll reserve judgement on the > > > site which is located at: > > > > > > http://www.studio30.com/scn/scn_faq.html > > > > > > In that time, an SCN volunteer came up with a site design based on > > > the same parameters as those given to the web designer. This design > > > is right on the mark with what we were looking for. It is not > > > necessarily in its final form, but represents, as close as possible, > > > a direction we aimed for. This site is located at: > > > > > > http://www.scn.org/~lee/scntesta.html > > > > > > If you have comments, please direct them to webeditors at scn.org. We > > > will be discussing the site redesign at the general meeting on > > > Wednesday as well. I will have printouts available of both sites up > > > for consideration. > > > > > > Also, logos have not be finalized in any way. Your comments on the > > > logo ideas are welcome. The logo on the second site were designed by > > > a graphics designer I found, enlisted, and worked with to come up > > > with logo ideas. > > > > > > Thanks much, > > > Patrick > > > > > > ===== > > > Webmaster > > > Seattle Community Network > > > http://www.scn.org > > > "Powering our communities with technology" > > > > > > __________________________________________________ > > > Do You Yahoo!? > > > Yahoo! Sports - Coverage of the 2002 Olympic Games > > > http://sports.yahoo.com > > > * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 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 > > > ==== Messages posted on this list are also available on the web at: ==== > > > * * * * * * * http://www.scn.org/volunteers/scn-l/ * * * * * * * > > > > > > > * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 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 > > ==== Messages posted on this list are also available on the web at: ==== > > * * * * * * * http://www.scn.org/volunteers/scn-l/ * * * * * * * > > > > * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 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 > ==== Messages posted on this list are also available on the web at: ==== > * * * * * * * http://www.scn.org/volunteers/scn-l/ * * * * * * * > ---------------------------------------------------- Sign Up for NetZero Platinum Today Only $9.95 per month! http://my.netzero.net/s/signup?r=platinum&refcd=PT97 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 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 ==== Messages posted on this list are also available on the web at: ==== * * * * * * * http://www.scn.org/volunteers/scn-l/ * * * * * * * From emailer1 at netzero.net Wed Feb 27 00:31:13 2002 From: emailer1 at netzero.net (emailer1) Date: Wed, 27 Feb 2002 00:31:13 -0800 Subject: SCN: Update: SCN site redesign link References: <20020227032826.42717.qmail@web13208.mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <001f01c1bf69$1f795080$7152fea9@desktop> The one at http://www.scn.org/~lee/scntesta.html does look nice. ----- Original Message ----- From: patrick fisher To: Doug Schuler Cc: ; Sent: Tuesday, February 26, 2002 7:28 PM Subject: Re: SCN: Update: SCN site redesign link > Doug, > > Thanks for your input. Did you check the other contender for design > considerations (http://www.scn.org/~lee/scntesta.html > )? > > Yes, there are many things to be done at SCN, however the web team > can work on the front end. There is not much we can do on the > technical side. > > We have volunteers in different abilities and capacities and the web > team will work on the site update. > > Thanks, > Patrick > > > > --- Doug Schuler wrote: > > > > Hi, Patrick and everybody else... > > > > You won't be surprised (I guess) to learn that I don't like > > the new logos. I vote for a cleaned up version of the > > logo we've always had. I don't see any need for a new one and > > I'm not clear as to who authorized this in the first place. > > > > I don't like to criticize this generous > > pro bono work but I suppose it's necessary. The first one > > -- computers -- is generic and I don't like the color > > scheme. On my computer the computers and the label > > aren't centered (but that is minor). The second one looks > > like a warmed-over version of the city of Seattle's logo. > > The third I like because there is some funk in it and > > it hearkens to what I thought was our logo. I'd like to > > include the categories that we use instead of what > > was used in this version. I wouldn't want to use this > > *instead* of our current one; but as a supplement. > > > > I don't like the block letter version, simple or not. WHY > > change to *that*??? > > > > What's wrong with the original logo? Yes, it's fuzzy, etc. so > > let's clean it up. Is that so difficult?? > > > > The statement on the studio30 web page is curious: "Native American > > leaning on a sand dune, holding a palm tree is the consensus." > > Consensus?? Among whom? (consensus means that *everybody* agreed > > so I > > was wondering a bit where this info came from) > > > > And -- IO hate to be so critical but I find it hard to read the > > new "basic buttons." > > > > I question why this was even undertaken at all when there are so > > many > > other crucial issues with SCN. > > > > -- Doug > > > > > > ****************************************************************** > > * SHAPING THE NETWORK SOCIETY > > * > > * Patterns for Participation, Action, and Change > > * > > * http://www.cpsr.org/conferences/diac02 > > * > > * Tomorrow's information and communication infrastructure > > * > > * is being shaped today. > > * > > * But by whom and to what ends? > > * > > * Questions: diac02-info at cpsr.org > > * > > > > ****************************************************************** > > > > > > On Sun, 24 Feb 2002, patrick fisher wrote: > > > > > Folks, > > > > > > This past fall and winter, I worked with a web designer to come > > up > > > with a new look for SCN. I provided an idea for a style that was > > > simple and we used a couple of other sites as examples for what > > we > > > were looking for in a look for SCN. I'll reserve judgement on the > > > site which is located at: > > > > > > http://www.studio30.com/scn/scn_faq.html > > > > > > In that time, an SCN volunteer came up with a site design based > > on > > > the same parameters as those given to the web designer. This > > design > > > is right on the mark with what we were looking for. It is not > > > necessarily in its final form, but represents, as close as > > possible, > > > a direction we aimed for. This site is located at: > > > > > > http://www.scn.org/~lee/scntesta.html > > > > > > If you have comments, please direct them to webeditors at scn.org. > > We > > > will be discussing the site redesign at the general meeting on > > > Wednesday as well. I will have printouts available of both sites > > up > > > for consideration. > > > > > > Also, logos have not be finalized in any way. Your comments on > > the > > > logo ideas are welcome. The logo on the second site were designed > > by > > > a graphics designer I found, enlisted, and worked with to come up > > > with logo ideas. > > > > > > Thanks much, > > > Patrick > > > > > > ===== > > > Webmaster > > > Seattle Community Network > > > http://www.scn.org > > > "Powering our communities with technology" > > > > > > __________________________________________________ > > > Do You Yahoo!? > > > Yahoo! Sports - Coverage of the 2002 Olympic Games > > > http://sports.yahoo.com > > > * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 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 > > > ==== Messages posted on this list are also available on the web > > at: ==== > > > * * * * * * * http://www.scn.org/volunteers/scn-l/ * * * > > * * * * > > > > > > > > ===== > Webmaster > Seattle Community Network > http://www.scn.org > "Powering our communities with technology" > > __________________________________________________ > Do You Yahoo!? > Yahoo! Greetings - Send FREE e-cards for every occasion! > http://greetings.yahoo.com > * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 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 > ==== Messages posted on this list are also available on the web at: ==== > * * * * * * * http://www.scn.org/volunteers/scn-l/ * * * * * * * > ---------------------------------------------------- Sign Up for NetZero Platinum Today Only $9.95 per month! http://my.netzero.net/s/signup?r=platinum&refcd=PT97 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * From the Listowner * * * * * * * * * * * * . To unsubscribe from this list, send a message to: majordomo at scn.org In the body of the message, type: unsubscribe scn ==== Messages posted on this list are also available on the web at: ==== * * * * * * * http://www.scn.org/volunteers/scn-l/ * * * * * * * From jmabel at speakeasy.org Wed Feb 27 01:18:53 2002 From: jmabel at speakeasy.org (Joe Mabel) Date: Wed, 27 Feb 2002 01:18:53 -0800 (PST) Subject: SCN: Update: SCN site redesign link In-Reply-To: <001601c1bf68$d060e6c0$7152fea9@desktop> Message-ID: Precisely. STRONG opposition. But, for example, if 3/4 of the people want to spend some money on office supplies and 1/4 would rather hold on do the cash for a while,the office supplies will probably be bought. Maybe slightly less money will belspent than if everyone fully agreed on the same course of action (compromise producing a stronger consensus), but the group won't be paralysed, unless one or more members in good standing consider this a serious error: e.g. they believe that the expenditure at this time will interfere wiwpaying rent at the end of the month. Similarly (although this doesn't apply to the Quakers), a consensus group can appoint one or more spokespeople who are authorized to speak on behalf of the group and who are trusted to accurately represent the consensus opinion of the group rather than to substitute their own personal opinion and represent it as the group's view. For example, I have authority to speak for the Peace Heathens with reference to the Crisis Resource Directory (http://www.scn.org/crisis) and Vivian McPeak and Dominic Holden each have authority to make statements in the group's name about Drug Policy. These positions as spokespeople are based on years of experience and mutual trust and on a belief that these individuals have a strong understanding of the group's consensus views in these areas. (Also that whenhin doubt, we won't a't unilaterally). Nonetheless, the group could revoke this delegation at any time. (However, I'll add that we have never clarified what would happen if one or two individuals wanted to revoke someone's spokespersonship: the issue has never arisen, and we might well have a "constitutional crisis" if it did. The only times anyone's spokespersonship was ever revoked, there was clear agreement by a supermajority). -------------------- Joe Mabel On Wed, 27 Feb 2002, emailer1 wrote: > Actually, Joe is partly correct. However, from my experience with the > Quakers (Friends), strong opposition does amount to a veto, in a consensus > environment. > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: Joe Mabel > To: Doug Schuler > Cc: patrick fisher ; ; > Sent: Tuesday, February 26, 2002 11:05 PM > Subject: Re: SCN: Update: SCN site redesign link > > > > I just want to address a very minor point here (but, I think, an important > > misunderstanding: the meaning of "consensus". Consensus does not mean > unanimity. > > It means a preveailing opinion from which there is no strong dissent. Like > many > > words in the English language, its meaning is a bit fuzzy: certainly a > unaimous > > opinion is a consensus, but a consensus is not necessarily a unanimous > opinion. > > > > I bring this up because it often leads to a misunderstanding of what it > means > > for an organizion to function "by consensus". For example, the Peace > Heathens (a > > group of which I am proud to be a member) function by consensus. T)is does > not > > mean that we only act when we have true unanimity. It means we need a > solid > > supermajority and no strong, principled disagreement. Any individual > active > > member may "throw a block", but we would never be able to function if > someone > > threw a block every time they thought the course of action was imperfect. > > > > -------------------- > > Joe Mabel > > > > On Tue, 26 Feb 2002, Doug Schuler wrote: > > > > > > > > Hi, Patrick and everybody else... > > > > > > You won't be surprised (I guess) to learn that I don't like > > > the new logos. I vote for a cleaned up version of the > > > logo we've always had. I don't see any need for a new one and > > > I'm not clear as to who authorized this in the first place. > > > > > > I don't like to criticize this generous > > > pro bono work but I suppose it's necessary. The first one > > > -- computers -- is generic and I don't like the color > > > scheme. On my computer the computers and the label > > > aren't centered (but that is minor). The second one looks > > > like a warmed-over version of the city of Seattle's logo. > > > The third I like because there is some funk in it and > > > it hearkens to what I thought was our logo. I'd like to > > > include the categories that we use instead of what > > > was used in this version. I wouldn't want to use this > > > *instead* of our current one; but as a supplement. > > > > > > I don't like the block letter version, simple or not. WHY > > > change to *that*??? > > > > > > What's wrong with the original logo? Yes, it's fuzzy, etc. so > > > let's clean it up. Is that so difficult?? > > > > > > The statement on the studio30 web page is curious: "Native American > > > leaning on a sand dune, holding a palm tree is the consensus." > > > Consensus?? Among whom? (consensus means that *everybody* agreed so I > > > was wondering a bit where this info came from) > > > > > > And -- IO hate to be so critical but I find it hard to read the > > > new "basic buttons." > > > > > > I question why this was even undertaken at all when there are so many > > > other crucial issues with SCN. > > > > > > -- Doug > > > > > > ****************************************************************** > > > * SHAPING THE NETWORK SOCIETY * > > > * Patterns for Participation, Action, and Change * > > > * http://www.cpsr.org/conferences/diac02 * > > > * Tomorrow's information and communication infrastructure * > > > * is being shaped today. * > > > * But by whom and to what ends? * > > > * Questions: diac02-info at cpsr.org * > > > ****************************************************************** > > > > > > > > > On Sun, 24 Feb 2002, patrick fisher wrote: > > > > > > > Folks, > > > > > > > > This past fall and winter, I worked with a web designer to come up > > > > with a new look for SCN. I provided an idea for a style that was > > > > simple and we used a couple of other sites as examples for what we > > > > were looking for in a look for SCN. I'll reserve judgement on the > > > > site which is located at: > > > > > > > > http://www.studio30.com/scn/scn_faq.html > > > > > > > > In that time, an SCN volunteer came up with a site design based on > > > > the same parameters as those given to the web designer. This design > > > > is right on the mark with what we were looking for. It is not > > > > necessarily in its final form, but represents, as close as possible, > > > > a direction we aimed for. This site is located at: > > > > > > > > http://www.scn.org/~lee/scntesta.html > > > > > > > > If you have comments, please direct them to webeditors at scn.org. We > > > > will be discussing the site redesign at the general meeting on > > > > Wednesday as well. I will have printouts available of both sites up > > > > for consideration. > > > > > > > > Also, logos have not be finalized in any way. Your comments on the > > > > logo ideas are welcome. The logo on the second site were designed by > > > > a graphics designer I found, enlisted, and worked with to come up > > > > with logo ideas. > > > > > > > > Thanks much, > > > > Patrick > > > > > > > > ===== > > > > Webmaster > > > > Seattle Community Network > > > > http://www.scn.org > > > > "Powering our communities with technology" > > > > > > > > __________________________________________________ > > > > Do You Yahoo!? > > > > Yahoo! Sports - Coverage of the 2002 Olympic Games > > > > http://sports.yahoo.com > > > > * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 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 > > > > ==== Messages posted on this list are also available on the web at: > ==== > > > > * * * * * * * http://www.scn.org/volunteers/scn-l/ * * * * * * > * > > > > > > > > > > * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 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 > > > ==== Messages posted on this list are also available on the web at: ==== > > > * * * * * * * http://www.scn.org/volunteers/scn-l/ * * * * * * * > > > > > > > * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 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 > > ==== Messages posted on this list are also available on the web at: ==== > > * * * * * * * http://www.scn.org/volunteers/scn-l/ * * * * * * * > > > > ---------------------------------------------------- > Sign Up for NetZero Platinum Today > Only $9.95 per month! > http://my.netzero.net/s/signup?r=platinum&refcd=PT97 > * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 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 > ==== Messages posted on this list are also available on the web at: ==== > * * * * * * * http://www.scn.org/volunteers/scn-l/ * * * * * * * > * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 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 ==== Messages posted on this list are also available on the web at: ==== * * * * * * * http://www.scn.org/volunteers/scn-l/ * * * * * * * From a2d3rtyisit7737 at eudoramail.com Wed Feb 27 08:42:49 2002 From: a2d3rtyisit7737 at eudoramail.com (a2d3rtyisit7737 at eudoramail.com) Date: Wed, 27 Feb 2002 11:42:49 -0500 Subject: SCN: Double Your Life Insurance at NO EXTRA COST! 9496 Message-ID: An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From clariun at yahoo.com Wed Feb 27 11:11:05 2002 From: clariun at yahoo.com (patrick fisher) Date: Wed, 27 Feb 2002 11:11:05 -0800 (PST) Subject: SCN: logo ideas Message-ID: <20020227191105.36792.qmail@web13208.mail.yahoo.com> Here are some logo ideas in PDF format. Please make specific, exact comments on what you like or do not like about the logos. Everyone's comments will be taken into consideration. If PDF does not work for you, please let me know and I will work something out. Thank you, Patrick ===== Webmaster Seattle Community Network http://www.scn.org "Powering our communities with technology" __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Greetings - Send FREE e-cards for every occasion! http://greetings.yahoo.com -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: SCN-logo.pdf Type: application/pdf Size: 26329 bytes Desc: SCN-logo.pdf URL: From clariun at yahoo.com Wed Feb 27 12:06:53 2002 From: clariun at yahoo.com (patrick fisher) Date: Wed, 27 Feb 2002 12:06:53 -0800 (PST) Subject: SCN: Update: SCN site redesign link In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <20020227200653.77656.qmail@web13204.mail.yahoo.com> Joe, I agree completely. And I am glad you pointed that out. If an organization waited until everyone was happy, well, then nothing would ever happen. Patrick --- Joe Mabel wrote: > I just want to address a very minor point here (but, I think, an > important > misunderstanding: the meaning of "consensus". Consensus does not > mean unanimity. > It means a preveailing opinion from which there is no strong > dissent. Like many > words in the English language, its meaning is a bit fuzzy: > certainly a unaimous > opinion is a consensus, but a consensus is not necessarily a > unanimous opinion. > > I bring this up because it often leads to a misunderstanding of > what it means > for an organizion to function "by consensus". For example, the > Peace Heathens (a > group of which I am proud to be a member) function by consensus. > T)is does not > mean that we only act when we have true unanimity. It means we > need a solid > supermajority and no strong, principled disagreement. Any > individual active > member may "throw a block", but we would never be able to function > if someone > threw a block every time they thought the course of action was > imperfect. > > -------------------- > Joe Mabel > > On Tue, 26 Feb 2002, Doug Schuler wrote: > > > > > Hi, Patrick and everybody else... > > > > You won't be surprised (I guess) to learn that I don't like > > the new logos. I vote for a cleaned up version of the > > logo we've always had. I don't see any need for a new one and > > I'm not clear as to who authorized this in the first place. > > > > I don't like to criticize this generous > > pro bono work but I suppose it's necessary. The first one > > -- computers -- is generic and I don't like the color > > scheme. On my computer the computers and the label > > aren't centered (but that is minor). The second one looks > > like a warmed-over version of the city of Seattle's logo. > > The third I like because there is some funk in it and > > it hearkens to what I thought was our logo. I'd like to > > include the categories that we use instead of what > > was used in this version. I wouldn't want to use this > > *instead* of our current one; but as a supplement. > > > > I don't like the block letter version, simple or not. WHY > > change to *that*??? > > > > What's wrong with the original logo? Yes, it's fuzzy, etc. so > > let's clean it up. Is that so difficult?? > > > > The statement on the studio30 web page is curious: "Native > American > > leaning on a sand dune, holding a palm tree is the consensus." > > Consensus?? Among whom? (consensus means that *everybody* > agreed so I > > was wondering a bit where this info came from) > > > > And -- IO hate to be so critical but I find it hard to read the > > new "basic buttons." > > > > I question why this was even undertaken at all when there are so > many > > other crucial issues with SCN. > > > > -- Doug > > > > > ****************************************************************** > > * SHAPING THE NETWORK SOCIETY > * > > * Patterns for Participation, Action, and Change > * > > * http://www.cpsr.org/conferences/diac02 > * > > * Tomorrow's information and communication infrastructure > * > > * is being shaped today. > * > > * But by whom and to what ends? > * > > * Questions: diac02-info at cpsr.org > * > > > ****************************************************************** > > > > > > On Sun, 24 Feb 2002, patrick fisher wrote: > > > > > Folks, > > > > > > This past fall and winter, I worked with a web designer to come > up > > > with a new look for SCN. I provided an idea for a style that > was > > > simple and we used a couple of other sites as examples for what > we > > > were looking for in a look for SCN. I'll reserve judgement on > the > > > site which is located at: > > > > > > http://www.studio30.com/scn/scn_faq.html > > > > > > In that time, an SCN volunteer came up with a site design based > on > > > the same parameters as those given to the web designer. This > design > > > is right on the mark with what we were looking for. It is not > > > necessarily in its final form, but represents, as close as > possible, > > > a direction we aimed for. This site is located at: > > > > > > http://www.scn.org/~lee/scntesta.html > > > > > > If you have comments, please direct them to webeditors at scn.org. > We > > > will be discussing the site redesign at the general meeting on > > > Wednesday as well. I will have printouts available of both > sites up > > > for consideration. > > > > > > Also, logos have not be finalized in any way. Your comments on > the > > > logo ideas are welcome. The logo on the second site were > designed by > > > a graphics designer I found, enlisted, and worked with to come > up > > > with logo ideas. > > > > > > Thanks much, > > > Patrick > > > > > > ===== > > > Webmaster > > > Seattle Community Network > > > http://www.scn.org > > > "Powering our communities with technology" > > > > > > __________________________________________________ > > > Do You Yahoo!? > > > Yahoo! Sports - Coverage of the 2002 Olympic Games > > > http://sports.yahoo.com > > > * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 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 > > > ==== Messages posted on this list are also available on the web > at: ==== > > > * * * * * * * http://www.scn.org/volunteers/scn-l/ * * > * * * * * > > > > > > > * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 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 > > ==== Messages posted on this list are also available on the web > at: ==== > > * * * * * * * http://www.scn.org/volunteers/scn-l/ * * * > * * * * > > > > * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 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 > ==== Messages posted on this list are also available on the web at: > ==== > * * * * * * * http://www.scn.org/volunteers/scn-l/ * * * * > * * * ===== Webmaster Seattle Community Network http://www.scn.org "Powering our communities with technology" __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Greetings - Send FREE e-cards for every occasion! http://greetings.yahoo.com * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 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 ==== Messages posted on this list are also available on the web at: ==== * * * * * * * http://www.scn.org/volunteers/scn-l/ * * * * * * * From clariun at yahoo.com Wed Feb 27 12:13:46 2002 From: clariun at yahoo.com (patrick fisher) Date: Wed, 27 Feb 2002 12:13:46 -0800 (PST) Subject: SCN: SCN general meeting tonight Message-ID: <20020227201346.20688.qmail@web13202.mail.yahoo.com> Hi, A reminder that the SCN general meeting is tonight at the University Library at 50th and University from 6:15 to 8:45. More details available a link on the home page. Thanks, Patrick ===== Webmaster Seattle Community Network http://www.scn.org "Powering our communities with technology" __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Greetings - Send FREE e-cards for every occasion! http://greetings.yahoo.com * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 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 ==== Messages posted on this list are also available on the web at: ==== * * * * * * * http://www.scn.org/volunteers/scn-l/ * * * * * * * From steve at advocate.net Wed Feb 27 12:22:22 2002 From: steve at advocate.net (Steve) Date: Wed, 27 Feb 2002 12:22:22 -0800 Subject: SCN: Cease and desist Message-ID: <3C7CCF7E.30427.919343@localhost> x-no-archive: yes ================ (Gwendolyn Mariano, ZDNet News)---A technology civil liberties group and a set of law school clinics on Monday launched a Web site aimed at telling people how their online rights stack up against corporations intent on protecting trademarks. ChillingEffects.org serves as an educational hub where Internet surfers can learn about their legal rights related to cease-and- desist letters. Such a notice, for example, could ask the recipient to remove information from a Web site or refrain from engaging in an online activity that allegedly violates any copyright or trademark. The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and law school clinics at Stanford University, Harvard University, the University of California at Berkeley and the University of San Francisco said they created the Web site as part of a project called Chilling Effects, referring to the way legal threats can freeze out free expression. The coalition said the project aims to provide basic legal information about ongoing issues related to copyright, trademark and domain names, defamation, anonymous speech, and the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). The DMCA has been a key target for the EFF. The group has faced a string of setbacks in its challenges to the federal law, which among other things makes it a criminal offense to crack anti- copying technology. Opponents of the law have argued unsuccessfully that the DMCA limits free speech by preventing legitimate discussions about technologies such as encryption. Many threats of legal action under the DMCA begin with cease- and-desist letters. Robert Talbot, professor of law and director of Internet and Intellectual Property Justice Project at the University of San Francisco School of Law, said there are "hundreds and hundreds" of such letters, including some that are "baseless threats" or tend to overstate cases. "I have a number of people who have been clients, and they're just scared to death when these big companies come after them," Talbot said. "They think that there's absolutely nothing that they could do. "This Web site balances the scales a little bit. At least they can get information and find out what is going on and maybe some steps they can take." The organizers of ChillingEffects.org said they are placing cease- and-desist notices in a database for the site. For instance, if someone is told to remove a synopsis of a "Star Trek" episode from a Web site, the letter could be posted on ChillingEffects.org with links to information about basic copyright protections, the rules governing synopses and the fair use doctrine. The site also will offer periodic "weather reports" assessing the types of Internet activity that are most vulnerable to legal threats, according to the coalition. Copyright 2002 CNET Networks Inc. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 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 ==== Messages posted on this list are also available on the web at: ==== * * * * * * * http://www.scn.org/volunteers/scn-l/ * * * * * * * From clariun at yahoo.com Wed Feb 27 16:51:43 2002 From: clariun at yahoo.com (patrick fisher) Date: Wed, 27 Feb 2002 16:51:43 -0800 (PST) Subject: SCN: Update: SCN site redesign link In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <20020228005143.11332.qmail@web13204.mail.yahoo.com> I still agree with cleaning up the current logo and remaining fairly close to the current one. But I am not a graphics designer and have no gift for this kind of art. If you know of someone who can do the work, please let me know. Patrick --- Lorraine Pozzi wrote: > On Tue, 26 Feb 2002, Doug Schuler wrote: > > > > Hi, Patrick and everybody else... > > > > You won't be surprised (I guess) to learn that I don't like > > the new logos. I vote for a cleaned up version of the > > logo we've always had. I don't see any need for a new one and > > I'm not clear as to who authorized this in the first place. > > Doug will be surprised to find that I agree with him. > > I didn't like the logo at first. As a logo, it still lacks > "finish" - but is that what SCN is about? Slick marketing? > I think we are better served by something that looks a little > handmade. And now that it's been around for years and years, > it has taken on an identity that the suggested versions > certainly lack. Largely thanks to Doug, it has traveled > around the world and appears on t-shirts, publicatoins, and > of course has been an identifier for our very own Web > presence. > > I understand that some funders find it too quaint - but I think > that the major objections that funders have is not with a > logo but with more substantive matters - such as, how does > the organization serve the community? What data can you provide > that shows some significant benefit to your users? > > And finally - I don't see anything in the suggested "improvements" > that is so eye-catching and significant that an "upgrade" is > desirable. > > My $.01 worth. > > Lorraine Pozzi > femme2 at scn.org > =============================== > > > > > > I don't like to criticize this generous > > pro bono work but I suppose it's necessary. The first one > > -- computers -- is generic and I don't like the color > > scheme. On my computer the computers and the label > > aren't centered (but that is minor). The second one looks > > like a warmed-over version of the city of Seattle's logo. > > The third I like because there is some funk in it and > > it hearkens to what I thought was our logo. I'd like to > > include the categories that we use instead of what > > was used in this version. I wouldn't want to use this > > *instead* of our current one; but as a supplement. > > > > I don't like the block letter version, simple or not. WHY > > change to *that*??? > > > > What's wrong with the original logo? Yes, it's fuzzy, etc. so > > let's clean it up. Is that so difficult?? > > > > The statement on the studio30 web page is curious: "Native > American > > leaning on a sand dune, holding a palm tree is the consensus." > > Consensus?? Among whom? (consensus means that *everybody* > agreed so I > > was wondering a bit where this info came from) > > > > And -- IO hate to be so critical but I find it hard to read the > > new "basic buttons." > > > > I question why this was even undertaken at all when there are so > many > > other crucial issues with SCN. > > > > -- Doug > > > > > ****************************************************************** > > * SHAPING THE NETWORK SOCIETY > * > > * Patterns for Participation, Action, and Change > * > > * http://www.cpsr.org/conferences/diac02 > * > > * Tomorrow's information and communication infrastructure > * > > * is being shaped today. > * > > * But by whom and to what ends? > * > > * Questions: diac02-info at cpsr.org > * > > > ****************************************************************** > > > > > > On Sun, 24 Feb 2002, patrick fisher wrote: > > > > > Folks, > > > > > > This past fall and winter, I worked with a web designer to come > up > > > with a new look for SCN. I provided an idea for a style that > was > > > simple and we used a couple of other sites as examples for what > we > > > were looking for in a look for SCN. I'll reserve judgement on > the > > > site which is located at: > > > > > > http://www.studio30.com/scn/scn_faq.html > > > > > > In that time, an SCN volunteer came up with a site design based > on > > > the same parameters as those given to the web designer. This > design > > > is right on the mark with what we were looking for. It is not > > > necessarily in its final form, but represents, as close as > possible, > > > a direction we aimed for. This site is located at: > > > > > > http://www.scn.org/~lee/scntesta.html > > > > > > If you have comments, please direct them to webeditors at scn.org. > We > > > will be discussing the site redesign at the general meeting on > > > Wednesday as well. I will have printouts available of both > sites up > > > for consideration. > > > > > > Also, logos have not be finalized in any way. Your comments on > the > > > logo ideas are welcome. The logo on the second site were > designed by > > > a graphics designer I found, enlisted, and worked with to come > up > > > with logo ideas. > > > > > > Thanks much, > > > Patrick > > > > > > ===== > > > Webmaster > > > Seattle Community Network > > > http://www.scn.org > > > "Powering our communities with technology" > > > > > > __________________________________________________ > > > Do You Yahoo!? > > > Yahoo! Sports - Coverage of the 2002 Olympic Games > > > http://sports.yahoo.com > > > * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 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 > > > ==== Messages posted on this list are also available on the web > at: ==== > > > * * * * * * * http://www.scn.org/volunteers/scn-l/ * * > * * * * * > > > > > > > * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 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 > > ==== Messages posted on this list are also available on the web > at: ==== > > * * * * * * * http://www.scn.org/volunteers/scn-l/ * * * > * * * * > > > > * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 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 > ==== Messages posted on this list are also available on the web at: > ==== > * * * * * * * http://www.scn.org/volunteers/scn-l/ * * * * > * * * ===== Webmaster Seattle Community Network http://www.scn.org "Powering our communities with technology" __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Greetings - Send FREE e-cards for every occasion! http://greetings.yahoo.com * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 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 ==== Messages posted on this list are also available on the web at: ==== * * * * * * * http://www.scn.org/volunteers/scn-l/ * * * * * * * From femme2 at speakeasy.org Wed Feb 27 17:06:51 2002 From: femme2 at speakeasy.org (Lorraine Pozzi) Date: Wed, 27 Feb 2002 17:06:51 -0800 (PST) Subject: SCN: Update: SCN site redesign link In-Reply-To: <20020228005143.11332.qmail@web13204.mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: Your gifts are probably better than mine! I am not as concerned with the logo design as I am with some of the underlying principles. I think there is a tendency in SCNA - and in many non-profit organizations - to fiddle with details when there are significant problems to be addressed. So - they change the name - to something nobody remembers, such as the recent change (again) of what was Peace Action and was once a very active organization. The logo has been seen by people all over the world. They may sneer at its artistry, but it has become a recognizable element in the increasingly marginalized freenet community. Certainly SCNA will not survive or fail on the basis of the logo - but "if it ain't broke, don't fix it." If it can be cleaned up a bit, wonderful! But I do not believe we should toss an identifying symbol into the trash without better reasons than have been put forth so far. Could we not live with the present version until a cleaner version is produced? Is there some great rush to change? Lorraine =============================== On Wed, 27 Feb 2002, patrick fisher wrote: > I still agree with cleaning up the current logo and remaining fairly > close to the current one. > > But I am not a graphics designer and have no gift for this kind of > art. > > If you know of someone who can do the work, please let me know. > > Patrick > > > --- Lorraine Pozzi wrote: > > On Tue, 26 Feb 2002, Doug Schuler wrote: > > > > > > Hi, Patrick and everybody else... > > > > > > You won't be surprised (I guess) to learn that I don't like > > > the new logos. I vote for a cleaned up version of the > > > logo we've always had. I don't see any need for a new one and > > > I'm not clear as to who authorized this in the first place. > > > > Doug will be surprised to find that I agree with him. > > > > I didn't like the logo at first. As a logo, it still lacks > > "finish" - but is that what SCN is about? Slick marketing? > > I think we are better served by something that looks a little > > handmade. And now that it's been around for years and years, > > it has taken on an identity that the suggested versions > > certainly lack. Largely thanks to Doug, it has traveled > > around the world and appears on t-shirts, publicatoins, and > > of course has been an identifier for our very own Web > > presence. > > > > I understand that some funders find it too quaint - but I think > > that the major objections that funders have is not with a > > logo but with more substantive matters - such as, how does > > the organization serve the community? What data can you provide > > that shows some significant benefit to your users? > > > > And finally - I don't see anything in the suggested "improvements" > > that is so eye-catching and significant that an "upgrade" is > > desirable. > > > > My $.01 worth. > > > > Lorraine Pozzi > > femme2 at scn.org > > =============================== > > > > > > > > > > I don't like to criticize this generous > > > pro bono work but I suppose it's necessary. The first one > > > -- computers -- is generic and I don't like the color > > > scheme. On my computer the computers and the label > > > aren't centered (but that is minor). The second one looks > > > like a warmed-over version of the city of Seattle's logo. > > > The third I like because there is some funk in it and > > > it hearkens to what I thought was our logo. I'd like to > > > include the categories that we use instead of what > > > was used in this version. I wouldn't want to use this > > > *instead* of our current one; but as a supplement. > > > > > > I don't like the block letter version, simple or not. WHY > > > change to *that*??? > > > > > > What's wrong with the original logo? Yes, it's fuzzy, etc. so > > > let's clean it up. Is that so difficult?? > > > > > > The statement on the studio30 web page is curious: "Native > > American > > > leaning on a sand dune, holding a palm tree is the consensus." > > > Consensus?? Among whom? (consensus means that *everybody* > > agreed so I > > > was wondering a bit where this info came from) > > > > > > And -- IO hate to be so critical but I find it hard to read the > > > new "basic buttons." > > > > > > I question why this was even undertaken at all when there are so > > many > > > other crucial issues with SCN. > > > > > > -- Doug > > > > > > > > ****************************************************************** > > > * SHAPING THE NETWORK SOCIETY > > * > > > * Patterns for Participation, Action, and Change > > * > > > * http://www.cpsr.org/conferences/diac02 > > * > > > * Tomorrow's information and communication infrastructure > > * > > > * is being shaped today. > > * > > > * But by whom and to what ends? > > * > > > * Questions: diac02-info at cpsr.org > > * > > > > > ****************************************************************** > > > > > > > > > On Sun, 24 Feb 2002, patrick fisher wrote: > > > > > > > Folks, > > > > > > > > This past fall and winter, I worked with a web designer to come > > up > > > > with a new look for SCN. I provided an idea for a style that > > was > > > > simple and we used a couple of other sites as examples for what > > we > > > > were looking for in a look for SCN. I'll reserve judgement on > > the > > > > site which is located at: > > > > > > > > http://www.studio30.com/scn/scn_faq.html > > > > > > > > In that time, an SCN volunteer came up with a site design based > > on > > > > the same parameters as those given to the web designer. This > > design > > > > is right on the mark with what we were looking for. It is not > > > > necessarily in its final form, but represents, as close as > > possible, > > > > a direction we aimed for. This site is located at: > > > > > > > > http://www.scn.org/~lee/scntesta.html > > > > > > > > If you have comments, please direct them to webeditors at scn.org. > > We > > > > will be discussing the site redesign at the general meeting on > > > > Wednesday as well. I will have printouts available of both > > sites up > > > > for consideration. > > > > > > > > Also, logos have not be finalized in any way. Your comments on > > the > > > > logo ideas are welcome. The logo on the second site were > > designed by > > > > a graphics designer I found, enlisted, and worked with to come > > up > > > > with logo ideas. > > > > > > > > Thanks much, > > > > Patrick > > > > > > > > ===== > > > > Webmaster > > > > Seattle Community Network > > > > http://www.scn.org > > > > "Powering our communities with technology" > > > > > > > > __________________________________________________ > > > > Do You Yahoo!? > > > > Yahoo! Sports - Coverage of the 2002 Olympic Games > > > > http://sports.yahoo.com > > > > * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 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 > > > > ==== Messages posted on this list are also available on the web > > at: ==== > > > > * * * * * * * http://www.scn.org/volunteers/scn-l/ * * > > * * * * * > > > > > > > > > > * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 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 > > > ==== Messages posted on this list are also available on the web > > at: ==== > > > * * * * * * * http://www.scn.org/volunteers/scn-l/ * * * > > * * * * > > > > > > > * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 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 > > ==== Messages posted on this list are also available on the web at: > > ==== > > * * * * * * * http://www.scn.org/volunteers/scn-l/ * * * * > > * * * > > > ===== > Webmaster > Seattle Community Network > http://www.scn.org > "Powering our communities with technology" > > __________________________________________________ > Do You Yahoo!? > Yahoo! Greetings - Send FREE e-cards for every occasion! > http://greetings.yahoo.com > * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 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 > ==== Messages posted on this list are also available on the web at: ==== > * * * * * * * http://www.scn.org/volunteers/scn-l/ * * * * * * * > * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 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 ==== Messages posted on this list are also available on the web at: ==== * * * * * * * http://www.scn.org/volunteers/scn-l/ * * * * * * * From ttrim at scn.org Wed Feb 27 17:37:08 2002 From: ttrim at scn.org (Terry Trimingham) Date: Wed, 27 Feb 2002 17:37:08 -0800 (PST) Subject: SCN: Update: SCN site redesign link In-Reply-To: Message-ID: I agree 100% with Lorraine, couldn't have said it better! Terry On Wed, 27 Feb 2002, Lorraine Pozzi wrote: > > Your gifts are probably better than mine! > > I am not as concerned with the logo design as I am with some > of the underlying principles. I think there is a tendency in > SCNA - and in many non-profit organizations - to fiddle with > details when there are significant problems to be addressed. > So - they change the name - to something nobody remembers, such > as the recent change (again) of what was Peace Action and was > once a very active organization. > > The logo has been seen by people all over the world. They may > sneer at its artistry, but it has become a recognizable > element in the increasingly marginalized freenet community. > Certainly SCNA will not survive or fail on the basis of the > logo - but "if it ain't broke, don't fix it." > > If it can be cleaned up a bit, wonderful! But I do not believe > we should toss an identifying symbol into the trash without > better reasons than have been put forth so far. > > Could we not live with the present version until a cleaner > version is produced? Is there some great rush to change? > > Lorraine * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 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 ==== Messages posted on this list are also available on the web at: ==== * * * * * * * http://www.scn.org/volunteers/scn-l/ * * * * * * * From sisulunomvete at techemail.com Thu Feb 28 06:52:06 2002 From: sisulunomvete at techemail.com (DR SISULU NOMVETE) Date: Thu, 28 Feb 2002 06:52:06 Subject: SCN: STRICTLY CONFIDENTIAL Message-ID: <200202280543.VAA23290@scn.org> Dr. Sisulu Nomvete. Pretoria, South Africa Email: sisulunomvete at techemail.com Sir, It is my great pleasure to write you this letter on behalf of my colleagues. Your information were given to me by a member of the South African Export Promotion Council (SAEPC) who was with the Black Economic Empowerment Commission (Government) delegation on a trip to the United States during a bilateral conference talk to encourage foreign investors. I have decided to seek a confidential co-operation with you in execution of a deal hereunder for the benefit of all parties, and hope you will keep it confidential because of the nature of this business. Within the Department of Mining Resources where I work as the Director of Project Implementation, with co-operation of four other top officials, we have in our possession, an overdue payment in US funds. The said funds represent certain percentage of the contract value executed on behalf of my Ministry by a foreign contracting firm, which we the officials over-invoiced to the amount of US$29,600,000.00 (Twenty Nine Million Six Hundred Thousand United States Dollars). Though the actual contract cost has been paid to the original contractor, leaving the excess balance unclaimed. The Government of the Republic of South Africa believe that private investment in general, and foreign direct investment in particular, are the real engines for sustainable economic development, for which reason it has continued to encouraged investment in the key growth -oriented sector of Mining with sincere determined to pay foreign contractors all debts owed to them, so as to continue to enjoy close relationship, and a mutually beneficial co-operation with foreign governments and non-governmental financial agencies. As a result we included ours bills for approvals with the co-operation of some officials at the Department of Finance and the Reserve Bank of South Africa (RBSA). We are seeking your assistance as the beneficiary of the unclaimed funds, since we are not allowed to operate a foreign account. Details and changing of beneficiary information and other forms of documentation upon application for claim to reflect the payment and approvals will be secured on behalf of your company or your good self. I have the authority of my colleagues involved to propose that, should you be willing to assist us in this transaction your share as compensation will be 25% while my colleagues and I shall receive 70%, and the balance of 5% shall be use to reimburse or expenditures, taxes and miscellaneous expenses so incurred. It does not matter whether or not your company does contract projects of the nature described here. The assumption is that your company won the major contract and subcontracted it to other companies. More often than not, big trading companies and firms of unrelated fields wins major contracts and subcontract same to more specialized firms for execution. This business itself is 100% safe, provided you treat it with utmost confidentiality. Also your specialization is not a hindrance to the successful execution of this mutual beneficiary transaction. I have reposed my confidence in you and hope that you will not disappoint us. Kindly notify me by email for further details, upon your acceptance of this proposal. Regards, Dr. Sisilu Nomvete. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 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 ==== Messages posted on this list are also available on the web at: ==== * * * * * * * http://www.scn.org/volunteers/scn-l/ * * * * * * * From clariun at yahoo.com Wed Feb 27 21:54:16 2002 From: clariun at yahoo.com (patrick fisher) Date: Wed, 27 Feb 2002 21:54:16 -0800 (PST) Subject: SCN: SCN general meeting - thanks Message-ID: <20020228055416.6883.qmail@web13208.mail.yahoo.com> I'd like to thank everyone who came to the SCN general meeting for February. I really appreciate it. It was a good turnout of people who showed up and gave their input on: 1. The new web design done by Lee (lee at scn.org) 2. The new logo(s) 3. Discus discussion software The new design by Lee was well received for its simplicity and that it looked nice. I wish I could say more, but that said it all. The new logo (which is on Lee's home page design at http://www.scn.org/~lee/scntesta.html) was also well received. Discusware sofware was demonstrated by a new volunteer, Benjamen, brought up some good discussion about how to administer the site and people were introduced to it as it was implemented on his laptop running with a Linux "skin". See http://www.discusware.com for examples of Discus in action. If anyone has more input, please respond to scn at scn.org, this mailing list, so that I can get a general idea of how others feel about these three items. I apologize for not having more on the agenda at the meeting, but things went pretty quick and everyone broke down into mini-groups to discuss html, Unix, and all other things SCN-related. I look forward to the next general meeting next month at the same location on the last Wednesday in March. There will be reminders sent out a week before and a day before the meeting. Again, thank you for coming. And if you couldn't come, hopefully you can come to the next meeting. Patrick ===== Webmaster Seattle Community Network http://www.scn.org "Powering our communities with technology" __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Greetings - Send FREE e-cards for every occasion! http://greetings.yahoo.com * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 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 ==== Messages posted on this list are also available on the web at: ==== * * * * * * * http://www.scn.org/volunteers/scn-l/ * * * * * * * From clariun at yahoo.com Wed Feb 27 21:56:44 2002 From: clariun at yahoo.com (patrick fisher) Date: Wed, 27 Feb 2002 21:56:44 -0800 (PST) Subject: SCN: Update: SCN site redesign link In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <20020228055644.91659.qmail@web13202.mail.yahoo.com> Terry, Thank you very much for your input. I will make a note of it. Patrick --- Terry Trimingham wrote: > > > I agree 100% with Lorraine, couldn't have said it better! > > Terry > > > > On Wed, 27 Feb 2002, Lorraine Pozzi wrote: > > > > > Your gifts are probably better than mine! > > > > I am not as concerned with the logo design as I am with some > > of the underlying principles. I think there is a tendency in > > SCNA - and in many non-profit organizations - to fiddle with > > details when there are significant problems to be addressed. > > So - they change the name - to something nobody remembers, such > > as the recent change (again) of what was Peace Action and was > > once a very active organization. > > > > The logo has been seen by people all over the world. They may > > sneer at its artistry, but it has become a recognizable > > element in the increasingly marginalized freenet community. > > Certainly SCNA will not survive or fail on the basis of the > > logo - but "if it ain't broke, don't fix it." > > > > If it can be cleaned up a bit, wonderful! But I do not believe > > we should toss an identifying symbol into the trash without > > better reasons than have been put forth so far. > > > > Could we not live with the present version until a cleaner > > version is produced? Is there some great rush to change? > > > > Lorraine > ===== Webmaster Seattle Community Network http://www.scn.org "Powering our communities with technology" __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Greetings - Send FREE e-cards for every occasion! http://greetings.yahoo.com * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 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 ==== Messages posted on this list are also available on the web at: ==== * * * * * * * http://www.scn.org/volunteers/scn-l/ * * * * * * * From ya_han21 at hotmail.com Wed Feb 27 23:18:30 2002 From: ya_han21 at hotmail.com (Nancy chen) Date: Wed, 27 Feb 2002 23:18:30 -0800 Subject: SCN: Re: SCN general meeting - thanks Message-ID: Hi, The new SCN homepage looks great. Lee did a very good job. For the Discus discussion software, I don't have so many opinions. However, I wonder if it is necessary. Although the two way communitions on our SCN website would be great, it comes with some legal risk as well as requiring people resources to moderate the submitions. I am not clear about the benefits ,so I can't tell if the resources will be well spent. No matter what we use, the Discus discussion software or e-mail to the webeditor (what we using right now), we still need a person to check what the user submits. maybe I don't have so much knowledge about this Discus discussion software yet. so if I said something wrong on this e-mail, please correct me. nancy >From: patrick fisher >To: scn at scn.org >CC: lee at scn.org, design at eskimo.com, Nancy chen >Subject: SCN general meeting - thanks >Date: Wed, 27 Feb 2002 21:54:16 -0800 (PST) > >I'd like to thank everyone who came to the SCN general meeting for >February. I really appreciate it. It was a good turnout of people who >showed up and gave their input on: > >1. The new web design done by Lee (lee at scn.org) >2. The new logo(s) >3. Discus discussion software > >The new design by Lee was well received for its simplicity and that >it looked nice. I wish I could say more, but that said it all. > >The new logo (which is on Lee's home page design at >http://www.scn.org/~lee/scntesta.html) was also well received. > >Discusware sofware was demonstrated by a new volunteer, Benjamen, >brought up some good discussion about how to administer the site and >people were introduced to it as it was implemented on his laptop >running with a Linux "skin". See http://www.discusware.com for >examples of Discus in action. > >If anyone has more input, please respond to scn at scn.org, this mailing >list, so that I can get a general idea of how others feel about these >three items. > >I apologize for not having more on the agenda at the meeting, but >things went pretty quick and everyone broke down into mini-groups to >discuss html, Unix, and all other things SCN-related. > >I look forward to the next general meeting next month at the same >location on the last Wednesday in March. There will be reminders sent >out a week before and a day before the meeting. > >Again, thank you for coming. And if you couldn't come, hopefully you >can come to the next meeting. > >Patrick > >===== >Webmaster >Seattle Community Network >http://www.scn.org >"Powering our communities with technology" > >__________________________________________________ >Do You Yahoo!? >Yahoo! Greetings - Send FREE e-cards for every occasion! >http://greetings.yahoo.com _________________________________________________________________ Join the world�s largest e-mail service with MSN Hotmail. http://www.hotmail.com * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 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 ==== Messages posted on this list are also available on the web at: ==== * * * * * * * http://www.scn.org/volunteers/scn-l/ * * * * * * * From emailer1 at netzero.net Thu Feb 28 02:32:22 2002 From: emailer1 at netzero.net (emailer1) Date: Thu, 28 Feb 2002 02:32:22 -0800 Subject: SCN: Opposition from Within Israel Message-ID: <001101c1c043$35fe88e0$7152fea9@desktop> This is a good newsletter that gives inside info on the peace groups in Israel. ----- Original Message ----- From: Gush Shalom To: List Sent: Wednesday, February 27, 2002 5:19 PM Subject: [Billboard] No more Peres / Rebuilding / Saturday, marching in J'lem / etc. > file://=//=//=//=//=//=//=//=// > // Gush Shalom Billboard // > file://=//=//=//=//=//=//=//=// > > [This 'Billboard' is a mix of our own announcements & those from > other organizations. Specific contact addresses appear per item.] > > [1] Gush Shalom: No more Peres (vigil discontinued) > [2] Friday, Jahalin solidarity visit > [3] Saturday morning: reconstruction and solidarity at South Hebron area > [4] Saturday night Peace Now Jerusalem Get Out Of the Territories march > [5] Yesh Gvul: two new refuseniks jailed > [6] Emergency mobilization Jerusalem house demolitions > [7] Hunger Strike planned > > [1] Gush Shalom: No more Peres (vigil discontinued) > > After an updated reassesment of the situation, Gush Shalom has come to > the conclusion, that Peres's position is no longer relevant. > For this reason, we see no more point in maintaining the vigil in front of his > home. > This action will be replaced by a new one. Details will follow shortly. > > [2] Friday, Jahalin solidarity visit > > ------- Forwarded message follows ------- > From: "Devorah Brous" > > On Friday, March 1, there will be a solidarity visit to the Jahalin Bedouin. A > prefab caravan, to serve as a clinic, will be placed near the the Jahalin's > village school (also a prefab caravan). Musicians, jugglers, clowns, and > artists are invited to entertain the Jahalin children. > The Jahalin, particularly their children, are suffering severe health problems > from living in corrugated tin shacks on an exposed hilltop, less than 500 > meters from the Jerusalem municipal garbage dump. (These are the location and > living conditions which the state of Israel designated for them and to which > its soldiers and police forcibly removed them several years ago, when their > previous plot of land was taken from them for expansion of the Ma'aleh Adumim > settlement). > This action is part of a public campaign towards the Jahalin's Supreme Court > appeal, due to be heard on March 12. > > Transportation from Gan HaPa'amon (Liberty Park), Jerusalem at 8:30AM. > To ensure sufficiant transportation call in advance: > Devorah Brous deb2000 at zahav.net.il or 053-711800, Yasser Akawi 052-868398, > Rabbi Arik Ascherman 050-607034. > > [3] Saturday morning reconstruction and solidarity at South Hebron area > ------- Forwarded message follows ------- > From: "amos gvirtz" > > On Saturday, March 2, Israeli activists will help Issa Abu El Kabash and his > family, in the Yatta Area on the southeren edge of the West Bank, who are > reconstructing the home, sheep pen and water hole destroyed by the army last > September, as part of the widespread wave of expulsion and destruction which was > perpetrated at the time against the pastoral Palestinian population of the area. This > weeks' day of volunteer work is organized in order to provide both concrete material help > and an act of solidarity with people who were the > victims of attempted ethnic cleansing and who are still very much under > threat. (Those who can't come in person can still help by giving donations to > help the family buy building materials.) > > Afterwards, participants wil travel southwards into the Negev, for a solidarity > visit to Siah Al Tori - one of the Beduin peasants whose grain filelds were > recently sprayed with poison by government planes. > > Transportation on Saturday morning: > > Tel-Aviv: 8.30 AM, Arlozorov St.Railway Station (near the El Al Terminal) > Jerusalem: 8.30 AM Parking lot, Gan Hapa'amon (Liberty Bell Park) > Shoket Junction: 10.00 AM > > [4] Saturday night Peace Now Jerusalem Get Out Of the Territories march > > This Saturday, the 3/2/2002 at 19:30, we are going on a big "get out of the territories" march, > starting from Kikar Zion to the Prime Minister's House. Details regarding schedule and buses will > be on the website http://www.peacenow.org.il which will be updated throughout the week. > Also, you're welcome to follow the ads in "Haaretz". > Michal Padeh at 054-556052, office in Jerusalem 02-5660648 or Noam 054-218518. > Many Thanks to You All, and may this march be a crowded one! > > [5] Yesh Gvul: two new refuseniks jailed > > ------- Forwarded message follows ------- > From: "peretz kidron" > Date sent: Tue, 26 Feb 2002 23:26:54 +0200 > > First Serg. (res.) Amit Gal (31) of an IDF parachute unit has received a prison > sentence of 28 days, and another 7 days suspended, for refusing to serve in the > occupied territories. Gal is a signatory on the recent declaration of refusal > published by officers and soldiers from frontline combat units. > > The father of a 4 yearold, Gal works at a public relations agency. He comes > from a family that has suffered the ravages of war, two of his uncles having > been killed in action. Gal's partner Kinneret can be reached at: 972.3.5235410. > > Also sentenced to a similar term was another signatory, O.M. (he has asked to > have his name withheld). > > The two men are the first of the signatories to be disciplined since publication > of the declaration. We have reliable information that the army has abandoned its > "soft" policy on refuseniks: a new directive instructs commanders to jail > soldiers refusing to serve in the territories, and we expect a sharp increase in > the weeks to come. > > In reply to numerous messages from groups eager to adopt refuseniks: Haggai > Regev, Amit Gal and O.M. are "up for adoption" ! Please keep us updated on > your actions. > > Messages of support to: > Hagai Regev P.No. 5218163 > Military Post No. 02229 IDF, Israel > > Amit Gal, > Military prison 4, > Military POB 02507, IDF, Israel > > Protests on behalf of the imprisoned refuseniks to your local Israeli legation, > and/or: Binyamin Ben-Eliezer, Ministry of Defence, 37 Kaplan st., Tel-Aviv > 61909, Israel. e-mail: mailto:sar at mod.gov.il > > Last Saturday Yesh Gvul held a sympathy vigil at the airforce installation north > of Haifa where Haggai Regev is being detained for refusal to serve in the > territories. The success of the action has inspired Regev's friends to plan a > similar vigil next Saturday. > > Stand by for the new Yesh Gvul publication: a survival kit for the novice > refusenik ! > > Ram Rahat - Peretz Kidron > > NB: Just reported on the Voice of Israel radio: an IDF captain > commanding a company at the southern Gaza Strip resigned and > left his unit, in protest at what he called criminal negligence > by the battalion commander and higher officers which endangered > the soldiers' life. [Gush Shalom] > > [6] Emergency mobilization Jerusalem house demolitions > > ------- Forwarded message follows ------- > From: Noa Nativ > > Following Ta'ayush's decision to actively join the activities regarding house demolitions > in Eastern Jerusalem we are now putting together a list of people for hakpazot, which > we'll call when there are house demolitions. >  > There are two lists: > (1) people who can come to the place where the demolitions are happening > (2) people who can help with the office work and phone calls concerning the demolition >  > Please reply as soon as possible to Noa if you want to join either list, and > please specify the neighborhood where you live and whether you have a car: > 056-890727 or nnoa at pob.huji.ac.il, info at icahd.org > > [7] Hunger Strike planned > --------------Forwarded message follows -------------- > > From: RTIC at ALT-INFO.ORG > > A new group, basing itself upon Mahatma Gandhi's school of non-violent > resistance, is planning a hunger strike with the demand upon the government to resume > peace negotiations with the Palestinian Authority without attaching any preconditions for > such talks. > > The hunger strike will only take place if enough people are found able and > willing to take part in a prolonged hunger strike with all that is involved. > > If you are such' please contact the organisers to phone 02-6241159, fax 02- > 6221530, RTIC at ALT-INFO.ORG > > ---- > NB: Full transcript of the war crimes panel available on the Gush site > For Hebrew http://www.gush-shalom.org/archives/forum.html > For English http://www.gush-shalom.org/archives/forum_eng.html > French available at request > > Also on the site: > the weekly Gush Shalom ad - in Hebrew and English > the columns of Uri Avnery - in Hebrew, Arab and English > (and a lot more) > http://www.gush-shalom.org > > If you got this forwarded, and would like to receive our English language emails directly > you can subscribe by sending a blank message (from the address where you want to > receive them) to: > > Gush-Shalom-subscribe at topica.com > > In order to receive our Hebrew statements [WORD documents - not always same as > English] mail to: test_gush-shalom.org-subscribe at topica.com > > If you want to support Gush Shalom's activities you can send a cheque or > cash, wrapped well in an extra piece of paper, to: > > Gush Shalom pob 3322, Tel-Aviv 61033 > > (Please, add your email address where to send our confirmation of receipt. > More official receipts at request only.) > > For more about Gush Shalom you are invited to visit our renewed website: > http://www.gush-shalom.org/ > -\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/- > > SUBSCRIBE YOURSELF: > mail (don't use reply) to Gush-Shalom.il-subscribe at topica.com > > >  >  > > > > > > ==^================================================================ > This email was sent to: emailer1 at netzero.net > > EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84AlJ.a95cMQ > Or send an email to: Gush-Shalom-unsubscribe at topica.com > > T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! > http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register > ==^================================================================ > > ---------------------------------------------------- Sign Up for NetZero Platinum Today Only $9.95 per month! http://my.netzero.net/s/signup?r=platinum&refcd=PT97 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 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 ==== Messages posted on this list are also available on the web at: ==== * * * * * * * http://www.scn.org/volunteers/scn-l/ * * * * * * * From douglas Thu Feb 28 09:06:47 2002 From: douglas (Doug Schuler) Date: Thu, 28 Feb 2002 09:06:47 -0800 (PST) Subject: SCN: broadband lobbying Message-ID: <200202281706.JAA21091@scn.org> >From Andrew Cohill... The New York Times (registration required) has a bone-chilling piece on the money spent by the telcos and cable companies, who are trying to influence Federal broadband legislation. http://www.nytimes.com/2002/02/27/technology/27BROA.html -- Doug ****************************************************************** * SHAPING THE NETWORK SOCIETY * * Patterns for Participation, Action, and Change * * http://www.cpsr.org/conferences/diac02 * * Tomorrow's information and communication infrastructure * * is being shaped today. * * But by whom and to what ends? * * Questions: diac02-info at cpsr.org * ****************************************************************** * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 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 ==== Messages posted on this list are also available on the web at: ==== * * * * * * * http://www.scn.org/volunteers/scn-l/ * * * * * * * From clariun at yahoo.com Thu Feb 28 12:02:10 2002 From: clariun at yahoo.com (patrick fisher) Date: Thu, 28 Feb 2002 12:02:10 -0800 (PST) Subject: SCN: Re: SCN general meeting - thanks In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <20020228200210.40817.qmail@web13205.mail.yahoo.com> Nancy, I would suggest going to http://www.discusware.com and checking out many of the examples on their web site. That may indirectly give you ideas on how that feature/technology would fit into SCN. I see a great use for it in the community pages, for people to sound off, especially on contentious issues like transportation. SCN could really drive traffic and make itself one of many destinations for local issues. Patrick --- Nancy chen wrote: > Hi, > The new SCN homepage looks great. Lee did a very good job. > > > For the Discus discussion software, I don't have so many opinions. > However, > I wonder if it is necessary. Although the two way communitions on > our SCN > website would be great, it comes with some legal risk as well as > requiring > people resources to moderate the submitions. I am not clear about > the > benefits ,so I can't tell if the resources will be well spent. No > matter > what we use, the Discus discussion software or e-mail to the > webeditor (what > we using right now), we still need a person to check what the user > submits. > > maybe I don't have so much knowledge about this Discus discussion > software > yet. so if I said something wrong on this e-mail, please correct > me. > > nancy > > > >From: patrick fisher > >To: scn at scn.org > >CC: lee at scn.org, design at eskimo.com, Nancy chen > > >Subject: SCN general meeting - thanks > >Date: Wed, 27 Feb 2002 21:54:16 -0800 (PST) > > > >I'd like to thank everyone who came to the SCN general meeting for > >February. I really appreciate it. It was a good turnout of people > who > >showed up and gave their input on: > > > >1. The new web design done by Lee (lee at scn.org) > >2. The new logo(s) > >3. Discus discussion software > > > >The new design by Lee was well received for its simplicity and > that > >it looked nice. I wish I could say more, but that said it all. > > > >The new logo (which is on Lee's home page design at > >http://www.scn.org/~lee/scntesta.html) was also well received. > > > >Discusware sofware was demonstrated by a new volunteer, Benjamen, > >brought up some good discussion about how to administer the site > and > >people were introduced to it as it was implemented on his laptop > >running with a Linux "skin". See http://www.discusware.com for > >examples of Discus in action. > > > >If anyone has more input, please respond to scn at scn.org, this > mailing > >list, so that I can get a general idea of how others feel about > these > >three items. > > > >I apologize for not having more on the agenda at the meeting, but > >things went pretty quick and everyone broke down into mini-groups > to > >discuss html, Unix, and all other things SCN-related. > > > >I look forward to the next general meeting next month at the same > >location on the last Wednesday in March. There will be reminders > sent > >out a week before and a day before the meeting. > > > >Again, thank you for coming. And if you couldn't come, hopefully > you > >can come to the next meeting. > > > >Patrick > > > >===== > >Webmaster > >Seattle Community Network > >http://www.scn.org > >"Powering our communities with technology" > > > >__________________________________________________ > >Do You Yahoo!? > >Yahoo! Greetings - Send FREE e-cards for every occasion! > >http://greetings.yahoo.com > > > _________________________________________________________________ > Join the world�s largest e-mail service with MSN Hotmail. > http://www.hotmail.com > > * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 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 > ==== Messages posted on this list are also available on the web at: > ==== > * * * * * * * http://www.scn.org/volunteers/scn-l/ * * * * > * * * ===== Webmaster Seattle Community Network http://www.scn.org "Powering our communities with technology" __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Greetings - Send FREE e-cards for every occasion! http://greetings.yahoo.com * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 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 ==== Messages posted on this list are also available on the web at: ==== * * * * * * * http://www.scn.org/volunteers/scn-l/ * * * * * * *