Difficult childhood.

[David Hakala]

-- [ From: David Hakala * EMC.Ver #2.5.02 ] --

> No, I think they {Assn. of Online Professionals - www.aop.org} are doing a
disservice to their members by not stepping beyond
> being a bunch of BBS sysops and learning how the Internet infrastructure
> operates.

Michael, I'm not sure if the above comes from your or your correspondent. In
any case, "you" erroneously place "Internet people" above BBS operators.
Actually, both classes are pitifully maladapted to today's online economy.

I am not a member of AOP, not an ISP and it's been 9 years since I ran a BBS
. But I've chronicled online activities - BBS, Internet and "commercial
online services" for international magazines and newspapers since 1988. I'm
a bit familiar with the cultures and their clashes.

BBS operators tend to be hard-scrabbling entrepreneurs, while old-school
Internet folks tend to be "What? Me Worry?" government tit-suckers.

The Internet gang is currently full of itself, inflated over its lionization
in the press and the halls of Congress. They are complacent, technocratic
and utterly out of touch with economic reality. They are completely
unprepared to survive in the business world, which begins the moment one
mentions charging money for that which was previously "free."

BBS operators - most of whom have now become - in effect if not in
affections - Internet Service Providers, are paranoid of government and big-
business "crackdowns," and intensely concerned with every item on their
balance sheets. They often miss the forest for the trees.

My point is that the "Internet Communuty" is no wiser than AOP on these or
any other economic issues. AOP brings to the table its legacy of paranoia,
while government-supported Internet academics bring their PollyAnna notions
that all will work out if we just tweak the code of economics a bit.

There are very few people - perhaps 20 among the millions who could
participate in this list - who could make any intelligent, profound and
actionable comments. They are notably absent. I suspect they are off getting
things done while we sit here endlessly bickering. This list is a red
herring.

> There is no point in outrageous outcries against a non-existent
> Internet emperor.

One need look no further than the InterNIC to find an existant "Internet
Emperor," and a damned inadequate one. Competent in its individual talent,
but inadequate.

> But there is plenty of room for any organization or
> individual who wants to educate themselves about how things operate

We are trying to solve a problem that is apparently caused by "how things
operate." I would prefer to hear how things *should* operate, from people
unpolluted by doctrine.


--
David Hakala
Editor In Chief
Cyber Week
dhakala at ossinc.net
303-755-6985