Well put, Carl. Indeed, the economic principles of a public good are involved here. Further, to believe that information is free is not only naive but it has never been generally correct. The existence of some free information does not imply that all information is or should be free.
Jim On Saturday 2003 December 06 16:33, Carl Orvil Sorenson wrote: > I was just trying to catch up on the emails from the USMA list, and I saw > the discussion between Marcus and Jim and others about the USMA membership > and providing information. I want to give my two cents worth. > > Marcus, why on Earth should someone be obligated to give you information if > you are not willing to help pay for the cost of gathering and distributing > the information? Your insistence on having things your way seemed very > childish and whiney to me and probably a number of others. > > I consider my membership in the USMA to be a statement of my views on > metrication. As Jim said, I'm putting my money where my mouth is. > Besides, it is a great trade-off. USMA gives a way to promote metrication > to the public, to industry, to schools and teachers, and to government. I > get a publication with information about what is going on, and the whole > deal costs less per year than does cable per month. Not only do I gladly > pay the dues, but I want to donate my services (which I hope to do more of > when I graduate in a few weeks). > > I am proud to be a USMA member, and I am looking forward to the next MT. > > Marcus, if you still think that free information is a right, I suggest you > read about the economic concept of a "public good." > > Carl -- James R. Frysinger Lifetime Certified Advanced Metrication Specialist Senior Member, IEEE http://www.cofc.edu/~frysingj [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Office: Physics Lab Manager, Lecturer Dept. of Physics and Astronomy University/College of Charleston 66 George Street Charleston, SC 29424 843.953.7644 (phone) 843.953.4824 (FAX) Home: 10 Captiva Row Charleston, SC 29407 843.225.0805
