🚀 go-pugleaf

One of the perennial topics on the networks is how citizens can reach
their elected representatives by electronic mail.  Until the new
President's recent appearance on the net (75300.3115@CompuServe.COM),
the answer was almost always "no way, nohow".  Congress has been
particularly resistant to accepting e-mail input from constituents: the
widely publicized internal Congressional e-mail system does not accept
messages from the outside world.

Now that the Electronic Frontier Foundation has decided to move its
focus to Washington, EFF is in a particularly strong position to take
action on this issue.  I'd like to see EFF set up its *own* mail
gateway from constituents to Congress.

EFF should buy, borrow or lease a high-speed printer and a truckload of
recycled paper.  It should set up electronic mail aliases in some
sensible form (perhaps "Sam-Nunn@eff.org" and "tx10@eff.org") for all
the members of Congress.  On a daily basis, EFF should print out each
member's mailbox (preferably in some tree-saving reduced font) and haul
them all over to the Capitol.  EFF should then publicize the scheme
widely.

EFF might fear that the response would be overwhelming.  There are ways
EFF could limit the response (by inserting a filter somewhere to limit
messages to a certain length, or a certain number of messages per
sender per day).  On the other hand, the greater the response, the more
dramatic the demonstration of the desire of the networked public for
the electronic democracy we've all been talking about.  Eventually
Congress should get the message and set up its own, paperless gateway.

As an added bonus, this scheme would make it easier for EFF's members
and friends to communicate with Congress on EFF's *own* issues.  But
even if the bulk of the messages are about issues that have nothing to
do with EFF's mission, EFF's fundamental mission will be served.

How about it?

-- Prentiss Riddle ("aprendiz de todo, maestro de nada") riddle@tic.com
-- Moderator of austin.eff / Another happy guest at Three Initial Corp.