Re: [DDN] I make no profit, therefore I suck
> i agree that nfp's should try to make themselves obsolete but > I don't know of one that does that intentionally. Not all NFP's work with aspects of society where underlying needs are such the NFP can simply 'solve the problems', and when finished, seek obsolescence. Some of our largest NFP's provide disaster services - volunteer fire, rescue and ambulatory organizations (St John's Ambulance, the Salvation Army, Red Cross etc). The mission of these NFP's is not such that obsolescence is possible. Disasters will always occur. Yet other NFP's are born in response to community needs not addressed by Govt or other interests; by community's having no desire for Govt or commercial intervention. These are self-help organizations formed in the spirit of a 'cooperative' where obsolescence may be the least desirable outcome. Don ___ DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list DIGITALDIVIDE@digitaldivide.net http://digitaldivide.net/mailman/listinfo/digitaldivide To unsubscribe, send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the body of the message.
Re: [DDN] Do Internet Filters Undermine the Teaching of21st Century Citizenship?
> In my case, Internet filters are undermining my abilities to access > information I need to do my job most effectively... Yet it may be this filter is enabling your ability to access information if by it's existence you have access at all. Comments deriding Internet filters sometimes fail to consider why filters are installed. If for censorship, then I agree; the use of censorship filters may well restrict and undermine legitimate attempts to access information. However if a filter is installed for bandwidth management; to allow the highest number of users the most benefit from a physically finite resource then the filter becomes an enabler to the greatest number (albeit some high-bandwidth technologies like streaming video may be restricted). Many Internet 'filters' are in fact caching proxy servers designed to provide connectivity to more people than is otherwise possible on a given level of bandwidth. These filters are designed to share a limited resource in an equitable manner. DC ___ DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list DIGITALDIVIDE@digitaldivide.net http://digitaldivide.net/mailman/listinfo/digitaldivide To unsubscribe, send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the body of the message.
Re: [DDN] Do Internet Filters Undermine the Teaching of21st CenturyCitizenship?
Hi Dave, Thanks and yes... In the example that commenced this thread the 'filter' was in fact described as a firewall, and explained as follows: "I understand why they did it -- because of bandwidth". Hence observation on the rationale often behind such deployments designed to provide equitable access to a finite resource. It's not always about censorship (however I do completely agree with your comments on censorship). Cheers, Don -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Dave Chakrabarti Sent: Friday, 27 July 2007 8:01 AM To: The Digital Divide Network discussion group Subject: Re: [DDN] Do Internet Filters Undermine the Teaching of21st CenturyCitizenship? Don, You make a great point; if filters are implemented to share bandwidth more equitably (it might be more important for 100 people to have email than for 3 to have video), they are certainly an effective tool, especially in broadband backwaters such as the United States. However, I think people are generally annoyed by content-based filtering. Filters aren't very *good* at this yet; filters that cannot identify risque YouTube videos will err on the side of caution and block YouTube. Similarly, filters (and adults) that can't easily guarantee digital safety for teens on MySpace find it easier to just block MySpace. It's always easier to censor than to educate; filters are a reflection of this. Whether this is effective or not is another matter. Sadly, content-based filtering may become required to "have access at all" in some environments; in the US, for example, there is still a strong movement to mandate that schools and other educational institutions block access to any website that is "interactive" in the name of online safety. This could block access to MySpace not because of the bandwidth loss, but because they've failed to teach children how to use online social networking safely and effectively. A filter is a poor substitute for education. For employment settings, I think filtering would be a viable option if there were filters that were *good* at filtering. For example, could a nonprofit employee do research on breast cancer or on child trafficking without tripping a filter? Google sometimes has trouble with this, even with all the R&D put into their algorithm; I doubt small commercial attempts to create better algorithms will succeed. Dave. Dave Chakrabarti Director of Programs Grassroots.org On Jul 26, 2007, at 10:59 AM, Don Cameron wrote: >> In my case, Internet filters are undermining my abilities to access >> information I need to do my job most effectively... > > Yet it may be this filter is enabling your ability to access > information if by it's existence you have access at all. Comments > deriding Internet filters sometimes fail to consider why filters are > installed. If for censorship, then I agree; the use of censorship > filters may well restrict and undermine legitimate attempts to access > information. However if a filter is installed for bandwidth > management; to allow the highest number of users the most benefit from > a physically finite resource then the filter becomes an enabler to the > greatest number (albeit some high-bandwidth technologies like > streaming video may be restricted). Many Internet 'filters' are in > fact caching proxy servers designed to provide connectivity to more > people than is otherwise possible on a given level of bandwidth. These > filters are designed to share a limited resource in an equitable > manner. > > DC > > > ___ > DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list > DIGITALDIVIDE@digitaldivide.net > http://digitaldivide.net/mailman/listinfo/digitaldivide > To unsubscribe, send a message to digitaldivide- > [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the body of the > message. ___ DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list DIGITALDIVIDE@digitaldivide.net http://digitaldivide.net/mailman/listinfo/digitaldivide To unsubscribe, send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the body of the message. -- No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.5.476 / Virus Database: 269.11.2/931 - Release Date: 1/08/2007 4:53 PM ___ DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list DIGITALDIVIDE@digitaldivide.net http://digitaldivide.net/mailman/listinfo/digitaldivide To unsubscribe, send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the body of the message.
Re: [DDN] Do Internet Filters Undermine the Teaching of21st Century Citizenship?
> Forgive me, but in the original context of the message, the context was > censorship of video, etc Hi Taran, The context of the message I replied to suggested 'filtering' was an outcome of technologies deployed to assist bandwidth management, which may or may not have been the case. I agree terminologies have been somewhat confused in recent discussion. > If a caching proxy server cannot sustain the amount of content required, > then either you increase the capability of the server or you get more > bandwidth. Anything which restricts access in this way is de facto > censorship, be it implicitly democratic or not. Unfortunately, "just getting more bandwidth" tends not to be a viable option in these situations, hence the reason bandwidth management technologies are deployed in the first place. I also think trying to redefine 'censorship' as a defacto outcome of anything rather undermines the meaning of the word. Censorship requires deliberation by a controlling group or body; censorship suggests we are not allowed to view something because someone else deems the content inappropriate; yet that potential exists for such decisions to be reversed by lobby or political process (the key word being 'content'; not the technology carrying the content. I.e. a message can be sent as text, or by a talking head on video. The message remains the same even if the technology carrying the message varies). Bandwidth management has nothing to do with censorship; is not censorship; although I agree the tools deployed can be used for this purpose. As always, it is all about motive and intent. DC ___ DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list DIGITALDIVIDE@digitaldivide.net http://digitaldivide.net/mailman/listinfo/digitaldivide To unsubscribe, send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the body of the message.
Re: [DDN] PhD research on OLPC
> Reinvent the word, not the concept, because the word "telecenter" does not convey meaning > to anyone who doesn't already know what it means. Whereas "community computing center" > does convey meaning even if you never heard the phrase before. IMO a Telecentre is best defined by the societal context in which it exists - Telecentre's in affluent society's tend to the model of an Internet Café - in less affluent places, as centres of civic interest and engagement, a communications centre, somewhere to meet, to train, to plan for business opportunity. A library and perhaps even a medical centre. In the later context computers may be less important than other of the services provided by a Telecentre. Don ___ DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list DIGITALDIVIDE@digitaldivide.net http://digitaldivide.net/mailman/listinfo/digitaldivide To unsubscribe, send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the body of the message.
Re: [DDN] why not googlegroups - Re: The future of DDN
Claude Almansi wrote: > Yes, the e-mail list is stifled. But isn't it because people > hesitate to post to it because they don't know when the post > will get through? Yes - and another silent witness here :-) I tend not to contribute to DDN for the above reason, however still follow discussions with interest - Seems to me this current thread on moderation might be overly comparing list moderation to the role of policeman or headmaster scolding noisy children. As a moderator with TechSoup, my experience lends to a suggestion that spam/ inappropriate post management is really a minor task (and as others have noted; easer to manage nowadays with the technical tools available); of more importance to moderation are tasks of maintaining list culture, supporting (and sometimes generating) discussions, ensuring the timeliness of posts and working to promote the lists and forums. Don ___ DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list DIGITALDIVIDE@digitaldivide.net http://digitaldivide.net/mailman/listinfo/digitaldivide To unsubscribe, send a message to digitaldivide-requ...@digitaldivide.net with the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the body of the message.
Re: [DDN] The future of DDN
The DDN email list still seems fairly active so is there any reason the community itself cannot take responsibility for administration of the DDN web? By way of comparison - TechSoup forums and community's are managed by a small team of geographically dispersed volunteers. TS staff oversee the process however most day-2-day admin and moderation tasks (generating discussions, answering queries, removing spam and spammers etc.) are completed by volunteers. It's not a criticism of DDN to suggest that Techsoup is a lot more active (and receives a lot more spam albeit hidden to the userbase!) than DDN, mostly due to the efforts of our volunteers. Administering the DDN web really should not be an onerous task providing suitable volunteers can be found. Plus... as I sit in a tiny village in rural Australia administering a forum run by an organisation based in California providing support to NPO's in such diverse locations as Ottawa, Cape Town, New York City and elsewhere... I'm left thinking... Isn't this exactly what DDN aspires to promote? What a world is opened when we challenge and break this digital divide! Don -Original Message- From: digitaldivide-boun...@digitaldivide.net [mailto:digitaldivide-boun...@digitaldivide.net] On Behalf Of Cindy Lemcke-Hoong Sent: Friday, 20 March 2009 1:34 PM To: The Digital Divide Network discussion group Subject: Re: [DDN] The future of DDN Hi Claude, Yes. I think it is sad that the once very active, educative DDN has now reduced to nothing but a site filled with Arabic and Chinese advertisements. I have always disliked the idea when an online community is left without a 'manager'. Looking at the DDN site, I feel let down, sadness but most of all I feel violated. Cindy ___ DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list DIGITALDIVIDE@digitaldivide.net http://digitaldivide.net/mailman/listinfo/digitaldivide To unsubscribe, send a message to digitaldivide-requ...@digitaldivide.net with the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the body of the message.
Re: [DDN] Verizon Wireless announcement re. shutting down SMTP service
> Verizon Wireless has announced that it intends to cease providing SMTP service to its broadband customers snip) Are you sure this is correct? I understand Verizon intends to stop SMTP relay services (mostly not needed by today's ISP's who allow outbound mail from non local IP's) however I do not believe they intend to stop providing SMTP services to broadband customers. This would only impact people who try and send mail hosted by a different ISP, and the ISP does not allow mail delivery through a non local IP. Don On Tue 28/07/09 11:00 PM , "christian stalberg" cstal...@stalberg.net sent: Verizon Wireless has announced that it intends to cease providing SMTP service to its broadband customers ffective August 29, 2009. For those of us who live in rural areas, Verizon Wireless broadband service is the only ISP service available. To lose SMTP service - which is primary to all ISPs - will cause me and others in rural areas irrepairable harm. The Verizon announcement can be vised at http://support.vzw.com/information/smtp_shutdown.html [1] This is an extreme hardship for me as I use email clients on my personal computer to manage my email. Web mail SMTP service is not an option. I have several domain names that I use for my email addresses to conduct various business and webmail is known to not easily support use of multiple domain names in its addressing. Please contact your state telecommunications authority and Verizon Wireless regarding this matter. Thank you. ___ DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list DIGITALDIVIDE@digitaldivide.net http://digitaldivide.net/mailman/listinfo/digitaldivide [2] To unsubscribe, send a message to digitaldivide-requ...@digitaldivide.net with the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the body of the message. Links: -- [1] http://webmail.internode.on.net/parse.php?redirect=http%3A%2F%2Fsupport.vzw.com%2Finformation%2Fsmtp_shutdown.html [2] http://webmail.internode.on.net/parse.php?redirect=http%3A%2F%2Fdigitaldivide.net%2Fmailman%2Flistinfo%2Fdigitaldivide ___ DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list DIGITALDIVIDE@digitaldivide.net http://digitaldivide.net/mailman/listinfo/digitaldivide To unsubscribe, send a message to digitaldivide-requ...@digitaldivide.net with the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the body of the message.
