Wow, that was beautiful. I see your categories.
What I love about "the internet" is it's organic quality. Things are always in
motion, always changing. People use the tools in ways they were never intended.
Far from restricting how people use the net, what I want to see is people
freeing
themselves from inhibition. Stop asking yourself where a particular post should
go; if you have something interesting to say, and you say it in an
interesting way,
it will find it's way to where it needs to go.
Always remember to demand the right to experience the consequences of your
actions.
Don't let other people eat your feedback. If you post poetry on the Virus list
and get negative responses...well, perhaps you need to spin your poetry better?
I agree wholeheartedly with Brett; you have to feel each cyber-community out and
find the ones you are most comfortable in, and how to speak within them, and how
to listen. But never be afraid to experiment. Go ahead, use that tool as
you wish.
It is our tool. We breathe meaning into it. Intersubjective means you
have to listen
to all those other voices...but it means that you have a voice, too. And
it needs to
be heard.
One learns how, and where, and why to speak only by doing it.
Revel in your mistakes. With a little inspection, even the absurd has meaning.
Never let anyone tell you what something means, or is for. Negotiate.
See the world through Brett's eye and remember:
There are no:
>...an email list...
>...a chat room...
>...a news server...
>...an E list...
>...a bulletin board...
There is only communication.
And you already know how to do that.
It all follows the same rules:
Be civil
Be earnest
Listen to what other people are saying
Speak, question, posit
Learn the lingo
Translate
Remember everything is performance art:
If you make yourself a master someone, somewhere, has to play the slave
Reed
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Reed Konsler konsler@ascat.harvard.edu
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