Why ISOC-AU should NOT be a chapter (long!)

[Damien Miller]

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On Sat, 21 Sep 1996, Rachel Polanskis wrote:

> Hi,
> this is a rather long post, but I think there is a point in here,
> somewhere, that cuts to the chase...

[snip]

> Q: "What do we need to do to sustain long-term growth?  Is price enough?"
>
> A: "My simplistic model is that we are going to go through these
> collapses, and discredit the bio-anarchic intelligentsia community
> running the Internet, and then having discredited them, we will dump them
> and move on.  It's already happening to a degree.
> We will end up with the next-generation-industrial-strength Internet,
> and then the sky's the limit.  It really is the information age in front
> of us.
> Although I've been portrayed as Chicken Little, I'm really a big fan."

[snip]

> If I read the interview correctly, ISOC is just another voice in the
> "bio-anarchic intelligentsia community" and will become irrelevant
> in the near future, as it cannot compete with the structure of the
> monster that is already out there.

This is not a given, this is a man's _opinion_.

> Do we really want to start ISOC-AU up, as a chapter of something
> that seems to not really address what is happening out there?
>
> Let's not fall into the same mistake the US has.
>
> We should be listening more to the people who *designed* the net and
> those who use it for it's original intent.  we should be ignoring those
> who think they know how to manage it - because they are bound to be wrong!
>
> I think ISOC-AU should have as its prime philosophy a tenet to support
> the researcher - the persons who use the Internet for its correct purpose,
> not necessarily academic - but those who are in harmony with its
> original goals.

I disagree with you equation of original=correct purpose. Research had
have been the driving force for the internet for many years, but it is
obvious that this is no longer the case. Nor will it be in the future, as
more and more entertainment and business services migrate to the online
environment.

To artificially elevate the researcher's status in the ISOC-AU's eyes is
prejudicial and ignores the vast majority of Australian internet users.

> I think an australian chapter of ISOC will actually weaken the
> opportunity we have to carry out this goal for the Internet community.

I believe that as long as the (propsed) ISOC-AU keeps in its collective
mind a clear picture of the changing social and technical environment
of the internet, and of the needs that are unique to Australia, then it
makes little difference if we are seperate or a chapter of the ISOC.

> if people want to have an Internet they can use to "MAKE_MONEY_FAST"
> they should setup their own networks (a` la compuserver etc...)...

Given the anarchic nature of the internet, there is nothing to stop the
people from connecting their networks to the internet (a la compuserve,
etc).

Regards,
Damien Miller

| Damien Miller -
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