_______5000 "Something wonderful is going to happen..." | | - Dave in Arthur C. Clarke's "2010" __| |__4500 | | __| |__4000 ___ oOo .-=-. | | - - - (>|++\\ _+|+_ / \ / \ __| |__3500 - - -(>|[] >>============================(--(@)--) | | - - - (>|++// +|+ \ / \ / __| |__3000 O ^-=-^ | | * __| |__2500 * | | * __| |__2000 * | | * __| |__1500 eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee | | * eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee * __| |__1000 eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee | | OPN Population: eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee __| |__500 1,044 eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee | | eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee __| |__0 eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee /$$$\ eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee \OPN/ INTERCEPTED IN DEEP CYBER-SPACE: +---------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | >Newsgroups: efn.communet | | >From: Marilyn Davis | | >Subject: Re: Info on Community Net | | >Date: Tue, 19 Jul 1994 16:13:37 GMT | | > | | > On Sat, 16 Jul 1994 Phil Girton, Seventh Generation wrote: | | > > I am interested in the purpose of Community Net | | > | | > The purpose is to usher in the *real* new world order in time for the | | > millenium. :-) | | > | | > Tom Bayston Jr. | | | | YES! Exactly! | | | | To elaborate, the purpose is to save the world, make politicians | | obsolete, give control of the earth to the meek, flatten hierarchies, | | dissolve bureaucracy, eliminate oppression and wars, get us out of | | boring meetings, etc. | | | | We want to do this as quickly as possible because there is so much | | human suffering that this new world order will cure, and because we | | are needlessly wasting our earth with our old systems. | | | | You get no smiley from me. This is no joke. We're living in hell. | | | | Marilyn | | | | Frontier Systems --------------------- eVote - online voting software | | 3790 El Camino Real, #147 | | Palo Alto, CA 94306 USA Marilyn Davis, Ph.D. | | (415) 493-3631 --- eVote@netcom.com --- Principal Software Engineer | +---------------------------------------------------------------------------+ So, like, is this person on drugs or what? Does oxygen deprivation in deep cyberspace lead to a euphoric high that causes people to confuse reality and fantasy? What's going on here? Actually, there may be a grain of truth to Marilyn's assertions (I mean, she *is* a real doctor, she *has* a Ph.D. in SCIENCE!) What special insight does she have that allows her to behold all of humanity in a single chip of silicon? Her .sig tells us that she is working on online voting software. So,... what if we do get every U.S. voter on-line and the cost of doing public opinion polls drops to almost zero? Suppose hypertext ballots that link you to factual data provided by diverse organizations all over the world become available so that you can vote intelligently by clicking your way through up-to-the-minute information you select from numerous sources on the World-Wide-Web? What if it becomes the work of a minute to determine if a politician is really representing his or her constituency or is voting on some personal conviction or some incentive dangled by a corporate lobbyist? Suppose PGP keys are determined to provide sufficient security so that an on-line vote-counter could confirm the valid origins of all tallied votes and preserve privacy as well or better than the current paper system of balloting? Would politicians then be obsolete? Hmmm... maybe. Probably they'd change and be more akin to news analysts, reporters or diplomats. Would the meek then control the earth? Possibly they'd achieve parity with bolder types of people. Would hierarchies be flattened (middle levels removed)? Perhaps. Might bureaucracies dissolve? Of course not-- they'll always be around death and taxes :-) Boring meetings? I think I've already avoided or shortened many by using e-mail. If going into a war abroad required voter approval, would that bring an end to most interventionism? Maybe, maybe. It really is difficult to say with any certainty where this technology is leading us, but I, for one, tend to think that with enough organizations like OPN supporting the ideal of universal access to this medium... something wonderful is indeed going to happen. ... But not without your support! :-) OPN membership has been growing exponentially and our member funding took a sudden drop last month from almost $4000 in June to barely $2500 in July. Ouch! If you haven't contributed in the past, please consider the benefits of signing up for priority access. If you're already a priority access member, please consider making an extra tax-deductible donation this month, or pay a few months ahead to save paperwork and avoid lapses of priority access caused when checks don't get processed before the first of the month. Please take a moment and mail a check today (payable "Oregon Public Networking" or "OPN") to: OPN, Attn: Fundraising PO Box 1914 Eugene OR 97440-1914 Remember to write your user-id (login name) on the check in the "memo" or "for" space in the lower left. Thanks for your support. P.S. For details about priority access and donations, please read the Priority Access FAQ which can be accessed from the New or (A)lternate menu, (D)ocumentation and Help Menu, (P)riority Access FAQ selection. +--------------------------------------------------------------------------+ Oregon Public Networking -- "Connect Globally; Dial Locally" +--------------------------------------------------------------------------+