Re: <nettime> e-LITISM (UK and beyond)

[Jeff Gandy <jeff@mindspear.com>]

> but we seem to be getting into a dangerous division between
> those who have access to the internet and use it heavily for e-mail and
> discussion groups and those who don't have access, or can only get on with
> great expense, difficulty and time limitations.

Take the argument and replace internet with telephone, turn it back 50
years and it's the same. 

Or television

Or radio

I doubt that the guy in the slums in India has gotten a TV yet today, so
should we not use it and wait for him to catch up? 

Over the weekend I picked up a computer for a friend of mine, she is a
bartender at a local club.  A nice used machine for $450.  But you don't
need to spend that much here (US), You can get something that would get
you email for $50.  In fact, people are giving computers away, I threw an
old 486 in the dumpster a few months back. 

She also has free Internet service.  It's one of those deals where you
dial in and then they force you to look at advertising banners... of
course I hacked that and got rid of it (the banner) ;-)  It's a bit slow,
but serves the purpose. 

Change is driven by need.  Or a more apt description might be survival. 
It's tough to live without a telephone.  Hard to get a job, hard to
communicate, generally makes life a pain.  So people have telephones. 
Soon it will be the same for the net.  Or more likely, the net will
encompass several, if not all of the mediums I previously mentioned. 

Here at least, while the economy is good, people are purchasing newer
faster comps almost quicker than they can make them.  And their old ones? 
Sold to people who cannot afford new.  It just works it's way down the
line. 

Net access?  Some pay some don't, but soon it will be free for the same
reason broadcast TV is free. 

Advertising. 

> Fax polling is a good way of
> getting something round a list of people instantly,

Bad idea, you have any idea what it would cost to send 1,000 faxes?  Or
10,000?  I guarantee you we would use up that one week of wonga real
quick...  ;-) 

> And if we're talking about communicating round Europe, the post is
> - in practice if not in theory - a much more secure way to communicate.

What is the place called, Menwith Hill? Or there is also Echelon....
security on any communication medium is questionable. 

> I know one town where the library still exists, but it only opens for 2
> hours on a Wednesday and one hour on a Saturday morning.

This was perhaps the most shocking thing I read.  I am used to libraries
everywhere.  My family lives in a rural area about 70 miles from a really
big city, but still libraries are available in small towns within several
miles.  6 days a week. 


> AND WHAT HAPPENED TO DIVERSITY?
>
> WE'RE LOSING THAT, AREN'T WE?

No... but you can't see that because you are a newcomer.  I have been here
since before there were browsers.  In 1988 I would not have found it so
easy to argue with someone from Yugoslavia... nor would it have been so
easy for me to have my own ideas and conceptions reputed by someone from
there or anywhere else....  the community was not so large.  It resembles
nothing of what there is today...  almost. 

Including you......  you, yourself, are an excellent example of the
growing diversity. 

> The volume of
> material circulating is impossible for anyone to cope with or sensibly
> absorb. And what does it consist of? Often lengthy, quite abstract pieces
> which have obviously taken considerable time to write.

And I just wanted to thank you for your efforts in writing the lengthy
piece you submitted.  I did read it, twice in fact. ;-) 

> They apparently labour
> under the illusion that, having clicked on "send", their thoughts have
> been widely disseminated to activists interested in the topic(s) under
> discussion.

Certainly some of the enjoyment I get out of participating is making my
opinion known.  But far greater is the way other peoples ideas and
opinions change my concept of what is going on in the world.  And some of
these other opinions do change me as a person, and inevitably my actions
as well. 

> HARDWARE EXPERTISE. There are a few people around who can sort old
> computers, but they're as rare as gold dust. You can sometimes buy old
> computers for £50-£100, but you usually still need the expertise to get
> them running the way we need and compatible with everyone else. WE NEED A
> SKILLS EXCHANGE FOR THIS.

Ok, my last comment.  And I hope you don't take it the wrong way.  PC
hardware is so simple one can almost, almost, teach a monkey to do it. 
Anybody who can take the time to write the post you sent has more than
enough brains to handle it.  If that skill set is really that rare where
you are... then I would say you might consider it... cause it will sure
cure that problem of riding a bus to get Internet access. 

Respectfully,

Jeff A. Gandy


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