[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
>
> There was an interview with someone from Sun Microsystems on the syndicated radio
>program, "Newsweek on Air," Sunday morning. Although I was taking a shower at the
>time and not listening with full attention, the comments this person made frightened
>me deeply. The interview concerned the recent "Denial of Service" Internet attack.
>The person from Sun Microsystems commented that one of the reasons such an attack was
>possible was the low cost or no-cost of e-mail communication. The Sun Microsystems
>person suggested that if the e-mail cost were increased, by charging customers in a
>way similar to how cell phone calls are billed, with people paying for both receiving
>and sending messages, then the conditions that permit a "denial of service" attack
>would be eliminated.
>
> At the moment this comment was made, I was paralyzed with fear. There is no doubt
>that those who control the economic and political levers of power have noticed the
>success NGOs and other protest groups are having using e-mail to mobilize their
>adherents, and the healthy global civic culture that has been developing. These
>elites are also aware of how destabilizing a healthy civic culture can be for a
>plutocratic, patronizing, narrow-based, corporate power structure. I began to wonder
>how long it will be before communication such as through listserv lists is restricted
>by increasing its economic cost. Right now we can send and receive an unlimited
>number of messages of any length at either a low fixed monthly cost or no cost. That
>is what permits the NGOs and listserv lists to proliferate and expand. If the
>Internet is envisioned by the political and economic elites as solely a commercial
>medium, like television, then there is little reason for them to allow us to continue
>e!
ng!
[snip]
I am a bit baffled. There is no such thing as "free email" -- at least
for the majority of the people who use what is called that (Netscape mail,
Juno, etc.). [University students have different
problems in this regard....] These services are being supplied by capitalists,
and (1) there must be something in it for them, and (2) a person
is foolish to think the capitalists will continue to provide
this service if the day comes when they decide the costs outweigh
the returns.
Anybody who has serious intent in using the internet is in
my opinion foolish to rely on "free" services from profit
making enterprises (unless they view themselves as
guerrilla surfers, with no enduring return
address). This should be kind of obvious. Surely
one takes risks in using fee based internet accounts, since
the provider may decide the service is not worth continuing to
provide, or the provider may simply go out of business
altogether. But I think the risks here should in general be less
than in the first case. Even in the best of "free" cases, e.g., Geocities,
look how much more intrusive their banner ads are now than
were the little logos they asked users to place on each
web page 3 years ago.
Persons who are really serious about populist /
alternative internet access need to band together and
buy themselves a server and do all the stuff necessary to
"wipe their own -sses". Alternatively, they should work toward
enacting legislation that would help secure reliable
and affordable internet access for all citizens (illegal aliens, too?) --
but that's not anybody's solution for today or tomorrow.
Perhaps there is another alternative (which I more generally sometimes
fantasy about): Perhaps all the "nonworking" housewives could
scour their local law libraries and find angles to
entangle the corporations in enough litigation to
make it less costly for them to guarantee continuance
of "free email" (etc.) than to even think of withdrawing the
hand which offered the dog such a juicy piece of meat. "Let
a thousand law suits blossom!" Now *that's* the American way,
it seems to me!
That, of course, is just one inconsequential person's opinion.
+\brad mccormick
--
Let your light so shine before men,
that they may see your good works.... (Matt 5:16)
Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. (1 Thes 5:21)
Brad McCormick, Ed.D. / [EMAIL PROTECTED]
914.238.0788 / 27 Poillon Rd, Chappaqua NY 10514-3403 USA
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