Newsgroups: comp.org.eff.talk
Path: utzoo!utgpu!watserv1!watmath!looking!brad
From: brad@looking.on.ca (Brad Templeton)
Subject: Re: The Moderator Who Doesn't Give A Shit
Organization: Looking Glass Software Ltd.
Date: Fri, 15 Feb 91 06:21:23 GMT
Message-ID: <1991Feb15.062123.15669@looking.on.ca>
References: <1991Feb11.185846.20778@lavaca.uh.edu> <1991Feb11.212313.8461@uncecs.edu> <1991Feb13.031035.27179@looking.on.ca> <1991Feb13.153741.8347@eff.org>

In article <1991Feb13.153741.8347@eff.org> mnemonic@eff.org (Mike Godwin) writes:
>I agree with this, but I hasten to add that "press" is only one
>of the metaphors we are trying to bring to the frontier. "Forum" is
>another.
>
>Publications are necessarily very top-down in their organization and
>content, but it kills a forum when a forum is conducted that way.

I also agree with this -- the "forum" is a new concept and one which
we truly need to watch the reaction of lawmakers to.

But in spite of what some users thought, Prodigy never meant to offer
open forums, and *I* thought they were clear on this, if others didn't.

Prodigy's existence does not endanger the more open systems.  In fact, right
now, it's exactly the reverse.  Prodigy is bringing whole new crops of users
into the online communication world because of the megabucks (literally
30 million per year) they are spending on marketing.   Their promotion
budget is bigger than the total online revenues of the *entire online industry*,
excepting CompuServe.   (And not counting Mead, Dialog and database providers)

Many of those Prodigy users, unsatisfied with what Prodigy is offering, are
now switching to services like GEnie (the #3 online provider).   To be honest,
we on GEnie are a bit frustrated by these new users, because they are less
experienced and have different expectations.  But there can be no doubt that
Prodigy is promoting the growth of *all* online interaction.

Things like USENET with no control, and GEnie, CIS and BBoards with more
limited control, will continue to exist unless the lawmakers come after them.
Prodigy does not detract from them at all.

It is in our interest to ensure that Prodigy is not considered a formum
because we don't want lawmakers to consider it as a model of a forum
system.   Do we?
-- 
Brad Templeton, ClariNet Communications Corp. -- Waterloo, Ontario 519/884-7473
