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USENET PROPOSAL FOR SF MIL ETC 20120520:
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Using the Usenet, As Amended, To Teach the World? A Suggestion for the
Mechanics' Institute Library of San Francisco & Similar Institutions

Let us begin by reviewing the present & traditional format for a
national lecture tour: Our Star --let's use the male form & call him
"Ozzie"-- goes from venue to venue giving his canned talk and
(presumably) responding to questions from his various audiences. Each
appearance ITF or In The Flesh constitutes a separate event, like so
many different automobiles on a Leibnizean freeway. Although the
speaker may well develop facility in dealing with predictable
questions, each audience begins with a clean slate, as it were, in
ignorance of previous similar discussions.

Furthermore, even given a fair-minded chairman who wishes to encourage
live discussion to the maximum degree practical (indeed a favorable
assumption), the scene is heavily weighted in favor of the speaker or
of the affirmative, so to say. Although Ozzie may have spoken for an
hour or two, any given member of the audience who during Q & A tries
to take as much as, say, three minutes to rebut him
is quite likely to find herself (or himself, of course) the object of
envy of other questioners impatiently awaiting their own turns at the
mike as well as the hostility of those others present who may
fervently support the speaker's position. Absent unusual
circumstances, critics are crowded and very much on the short end of
the scale.

Then the chairman concludes the meeting, the speaker receives whatever
degree of applause may issue, bows and is off to his next appearance,
as to the next pearl on the necklace of his circuit.

But the development of the Internet in the last two decades has made
this old & constricted format as obsolete as the bow and arrow as a
weapon on the modern battlefield. We now have the means to promote a
full discussion of the issues, in which each member of the audience
may state her position to her heart's content.

Let us take up the present case of the historic Mechanics' Institute
Library* or "MIL" of San Francisco, which has the influential author
Jonathan Haidt scheduled to appear in less than four days from the
moment of this writing namely on the evening of Thursday, May 24th:

WRT timing, we note that the Pentagon claims the technical power to
annihilate all human life on Earth within a matter of hours and, in
fact, to do so a couple of dozen times over. We trust that this option
will be deferred at least until after Professor Haidt's talk. We would
also be very surprised if the executive and IT of MIL should act so
fast as to institute the proposed reform in time to serve the present
occasion, although a motivated high school student with a common skill
set could probably do so in that same "matter of hours". (I have made
a similar proposal to MIL staff about two years ago.)

So, what's the optimum technical set-up for which we can hope in the
future?

I answer:

Let MIL or any similar membership organization, such as a university,
create two "newsgroups" on the "Usenet": "alt.sfmil.members" &
"alt.sfmil.issues". Posting on the first named to be restricted as
indicated, although all may read, whereas the second is open for
posting to the public, as is by far the most usual rule on Usenet
newsgroups or "ng"s.

Once MIL creates this binary ng, then the staff will create a Web page
with simple instructions for the members on how to access the new on-
line venues and to participate therein.

Therefore, by the time hypothetical Ozzie gets here on his tour and
during his Q & A, a given member will be able to rise and say,
"Mr.Speaker, I deeply disagree with your position on points a, b, and
c. In fact, I believe that you belong in prison for war crimes. I have
presented material to substantiate my accusation on
"alt.sfmil.members".

Once this technical reform is in place, then the MIL hostess will
presumably confer beforehand with the future guest speakers about the
new situation. Then the MIL MC will be able in her introduction to
announce that the speaker in hand has agreed to review
"alt.sfmil.members" on a date, say, seven days forward from the ITF
gathering. Should speaker X find there any worthwhile question or
comment, then she (let's say this time) promises to reply thereto. As
the reader can see, we will thereby have created the conditions
necessary for genuine discussion. Honest scholars will rejoice in such
an advance whereas charlatans will be quite alarmed, eh what?

The 'members only' aspect of the ng will prevent the dumping and
sabotage which has damaged so much of the existing Usenet, whereas the
'open issues' half will preserve absolute freedom of public
discussion. Members will be able to coopt any worthy posts from the
open area.

Furthermore, all such ITF talks should be live streamed for the
potential global on-line audience. Do other sites join in this
practice, then each successive audience will have the opportunity of
developing the discussion, rather than having merely to repeat it.
Virtually every sale of a six-pack of beer in the State of California
is carried via CCTV. How much longer will we let lectures on our
planetary affairs languish in perishing obscurity?

Although such a proposed revival of the Usenet has numerous other
points which may be brought out in due time, perhaps this short
statement will serve as an introduction. Is this notion already in
place somewhere? Otherwise, who will be the first to implement it?

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* http://www.milibrary.org/events/righteous-mind-why-good-people-are-divided-politics-and-religion-jonathan-haidt

OR                http://tinyurl.com/6ox75rh