🚀 go-pugleaf

This article is from seismo!isis!aburt@hplabs.HP.COM (Andrew Burt)
 and was received on  Thu Nov 20 08:32:19 1986
 
>It has been widely noted that our society seems to be moving away from
>literacy, to a more voice and picture oriented way of doing things.
>
>Computer networks provide one small area where the trend is currently in the
>other direction.
>Will nets as we know them ever reach a substantial fraction of
>the population?

Allow me to relate the preliminary results of an `experiment' currently
underway here at the University of Denver.

First, some background.

In our department, which is a combined math and CS dept., we have about
25 people, most of whom can use a computer of some sort.  Now, our
structure is fairly loose, and often times the department doesn't react
to problems until the situation reaches the crisis stage; at which time we
hold numerous faculty meetings to discuss solutions.  Nearly always these
meetings follow this pattern:  The chairman states what the problems are
and what we need solutions for, then opens the floor to discussion.  First
person addresses one of the issues for a while.  Second person addresses
some side issues to what person 1 said (issues which are in themselves
meaningful, of course, and need to be discussed, but which are not the
main purpose of this meeting).  Person 3 addresses tangential issues to
person 2's points.  Eventually we circle back to where we started, with
little having been resolved but everybody feeling better because they aired
their pet grievances.  At that point we adjourn the meeting due to the
lateness of the hour.

Analysis.

The problems with the meetings are that there are too many issues
that need discussing but because of the scarcity of regular times to
discuss things before the entire faculty, they don't get discussed.
We certainly need stronger leadership during these meetings, but that is
not, unfortunately, something that will change.

The experiment.

It struck me that a USENET newsgroup format would be the perfect vehicle
for all these discussions that many people want to discuss, all of which
can thus exist simultaneously.  Messages with followups, etc.  It would
reach the entire faculty, without the pressure of running out of time.

So I created a local newsgroup for us, made the directory permissions
such that only faculty could read the messages, gave accounts on the system
to the 15 or so people who didn't have them, distributed handouts on
how to use the system effectively and what it was for, and posted some
juicy articles to get their blood flowing.  In short, it was a recreation
of the meeting atmostphere on-line.

I monitored .newsrcs.  5-10 people read it regularly.  Three or so
others have looked in occasionally.  Nobody except me ever posted anything.

I prodded the chairman to post a short note, hoping the "authority figure"
would cause others to get involved.  No go.

Ten or so never even bothered to log in.  Aha, I figured, they don't know
if there's anything there for them to bother checking.  So I rigged up a
printer so that infrequent users received paper notices they had either
mail or pending faculty news articles.  That is, giving them a definite
reason to log in and know it would not be for nothing.

One more person got on.

A discussion began among students that was germain to the faculty newsgroup,
so I had them cross post their messages.  40 messages have to date been posted
to the group.  I remain the only faculty member to actually post anything.
Some people came to me in person to discuss my positions, which are the
same ones I espoused during faculty meetings, and their discussions were no
riskier than what they would have said during such a meeting.  Yet they
would not post.

I am considering closing this experiment, which has been going on now for
three months.

Thoughts on the matter.

I talked with a few people about their inhibitions.  The strongest case
people made was that they didn't like typing in what they had to say.  It
was far easier to utter it aloud than it was to write it down.  Admittedly,
writing has a more permanent quality to it than speaking, yet these are
all well-trained thinkers who should at least have the open-mindedness to
try the system.  After all it's the CS department!

Relating this to the article saying that computer networks are the only
sign of reversing the trend of more graphical and vocal communication, I
maintain this is not so.  Even in a CS department (and we're a decent
department, content-wise) half the faculty are loath to write down their
thoughts (let alone try a system different than the one they're most
familiar with).

This is basically a sad story for all of us.  We the netusers realize the
great power of the net, but until we change the mindset of the rest of
world networks will never reach their true potential.
-- 

Andrew Burt 				   isis!aburt / aburt@isis.cs.du.edu