Ronda Hauben on Tue, 4 Jun 2002 15:28:42 +0200 (CEST) |
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Re: <nettime> Re: I strongly disagree with your policy |
I thought it would be helpful to respond to the recent ISOC official explanation about why they wouldn't give a press pass to the Amateur Computerist editors for INET'2002. First it is interesting to note that the original reason given, has now changed. The original reason was the Amateur Computerist was not a media like WSJ or Newsweek or CNET which were the media that ISOC was saving it "limited" press passes for. Now there is a new explanation. The explanation is that Amateur Computerist editor(s) in the past did not behave appropriately at a previous INET meeting. Two events are cited, one speech at the end of INET '96 by the FCC lawyer who substituted for the original speaker on the program who couldn't attend, and the second event cited is the press luncheon at INET'98. I have looked back at the Amateur Computerist coverage of both those events and would like to refer anyone interested to those articles. They will help to illuminate the events of INET '96 and INET '98 and the coverage in the Amateur Computerist that is really the issue here, not the activity of any of the editor(s). The Amateur Computerist has consistently challenged the privatizing of the Internet and the Internet's infrastructure. And the Amateur Computerist has publicized this activity for a number of years. At the end of this post, I have included the url's for the articles that covered these events in the Amateur Computerist at the INET meetings in 1996 and 1998. Also Michael gave a paper at INET '96 about the potential effect that the Internet would have on the press. His talk was printed in vol 7 no 2 of the Amateur Computerist. I will also give the url for his talk as hopefully it will put the discussion we are having over these issues in a broader perspective. Following is a section from the editorial in the Amateur Computerist referring to the denial of press credentials to INET '99. >From The Amateur Computerist vol 9 no 2 Special issue 1999 "Lifting the Veil of Silence from ICANN" Editorial ISOC silencing the press This special issue of the Amateur Computerist was planned to be available in time to be distributed at the Internet Society Conference INET99 held in San Jose, California in June 1999. As we have done 2 years in the past, editors of the Amateur Computerist applied for press passes to report on the meeting in the Amateur Computerist. In applying for a press pass, we were told we had to send a print copy of our newsletter to those at the Internet Society who decide on press credentials. In the previous two years, 1996 and 1998, when we attended INET meetings and covered them, it was adequate to send an online issue and press credentials were issued. After we sent the print edition as requested, we waited quite a while. There was no response. Finally we wrote and asked what was happening. It was only then that we got e-mail saying our press credentials were refused. The supposed purpose of ISOC is to educate the public about the Internet. At the INET98 meeting, however, there was a concerted effort by some officials of the Internet Society to mislead the public, by way of misleading the press. There were important changes being planned for the Internet by the U.S. government, other governments, and the Internet Society itself. At the press luncheon held at INET98 the press was told that there was no reason to be concerned. But these changes will give control and ownership over certain essential functions of the Internet to a small number of behind the scenes players who are unknown and hidden. The public has been kept deliberately in the dark about this plan and the players who are creating the plan. And the press has been kept deliberately in the dark as well. When there is an effort by someone from the press to uncover what is happening, ISOC denies their editors press passes to attend any further functions. Denying a press pass to a publication under such conditions is a violation by ISOC of its own purpose which is to educate the public about the Internet. The Internet is a significant scientific and technical phenomenon. It is particularly important to educate the public and the press on issues involving science and technology because these are hard issues to understand. Thus there is a special need for those computer scientists and technical people who have some understanding of such issues to be open and welcoming of public interest and concern. In the development of the Internet, it was learned that users had to have an ability to participate in creating their side of the interface to the network. Similarly, in important issues concerning the development of the Internet, it is crucial that the views of users be welcomed. It is not that these issues can be left to experts, just as the development of the Internet could not be left to a dictatorial process. Instead the Internet grew up and flourished through a scientific process involving grassroots participation. This is the kind of process needed to continue its growth and development today. . . . Though this issue of the Amateur Computerist could not be circulated at INET99, we hope those in the Internet community who care about the Internet and its future will help to circulate this issue to people both online and off to inform them of the problem represented by secret government activity creating a private corporation to control essential functions of the Internet. Moreover there is the need to stop this secret activity and to open up the dialogue to be able to find an appropriate institutional form to make it possible to protect the integrity of the Internet for its millions of users around the world. Following are the url's for the coverage of the events referred to by ISOC officials as reasons for denying press passes to the editors of the Amateur Computerist. 1) article 1 about the 1996 meeting in 7-2. Report from INET'96 Part I http://www.ais.org/~jrh/acn/text/acn7-2.articles/acn7-2.03.txt 2) article 2 about the 1996 meeting in 7-2 (this is the report on the FCC talk) Report from INET'96 Part II http://www.ais.org/~jrh/acn/text/acn7-2.articles/acn7-2.08.txt 3) editorial in 9-2 about the denial of the press pass only after ISOC asked for and received written copies of issues 7-1 and 9-1 of the Amateur Computerist. The Internet Society Trying to Silence the Press http://www.ais.org/~jrh/acn/text/acn9-2.articles/acn9-2.a01.txt 4) articles about the 1998 meeting in 9-1 Report from INET 98 and IFWP http://www.ais.org/~jrh/acn/text/acn9-1.articles/acn9-1.03.txt Report from the Front http://www.ais.org/~jrh/acn/text/acn9-1.articles/acn9-1.05.txt 5) The Effect of the Net on the Professional News Media: the Usenet news collective - the man-computer news symbiosis http://www.ais.org/~jrh/acn/text/acn7-1.a02.txt Ronda http://www.columbia.edu/~rh120/ http://www.columbia.edu/~rh120/other # distributed via <nettime>: no commercial use without permission # <nettime> is a moderated mailing list for net criticism, # collaborative text filtering and cultural politics of the nets # more info: majordomo@bbs.thing.net and "info nettime-l" in the msg body # archive: http://www.nettime.org contact: nettime@bbs.thing.net