[governance] Interent community, internet users, and the people

[Parminder]

Avri

 

> i think there are many communities of interest and trying to abstract

> them all into one Internet Community is not necessarily helpful.

> there are several levels of affinity:

> 

> - those professionals and amateurs who are involved in the

> development, care and feeding of the Internet - this is, I believe,

> the original referent of Internet Community

> 

> - those who currently use the Internet - i think of these as the

> Internet User Community

> 

> - those whom the Internet does not serve yet.  i am not sure what the

> right name for these people is, but they are perhaps the Future

> Internet Users community or as you say the non, or indirect, user

> community.

 

Though I have some problems with this division of internet policy
stakeholdership, even if we provosionally go by it, I have atleast two
questions. 

 

(1)In public policy determination does Internet community get any special
rights over and above those of internet users. 

(2) where and how are non-users represented, for instance in ICANN. 

 

Both these questions have great relevance on the issue of whether ICANN
should or should not be discussed at IGF.

 

Parminder 

 

 

Parminder Jeet Singh

IT for Change, Bangalore

Bridging Development Realities and Technological Possibilities 

Tel: (+91-80) 2665 4134, 2653 6890

Fax: (+91-80) 4146 1055

www.ITforChange.net 

 

> -----Original Message-----

> From: Avri Doria [mailto:avri at psg.com]

> Sent: Monday, April 23, 2007 8:32 PM

> To: Governance Caucus

> Subject: Re: [governance] Interent community, internet users, and the

> people

> 

> Hi,

> 

> On 23 apr 2007, at 04.50, Parminder wrote:

> 

> >

> >> My understanding of the

> >> Internet community is simply the community of Internet users.

> >

> > Good we got into this discussion, because too often you and I agree

> > on many

> > things on the IGC list :) but this shows how we disagree at more basic

> > levels. To illustrate by personal example, I myself have great

> > interest in

> > IG as you can see. I almost entirely speak for the interests for

> > the present

> > non-users (and some indirect users). So, if non-users aren't an

> > equally

> > legitimate constituency in IG, by your reckoning I just shouldn't

> > be here.

> > At the very least, this proves we have strong difference about what

> > we all

> > are doing in IG fora.

> 

> 

> i don't understand this.  and disagree with both of you, i think.

> 

> i think there are many communities of interest and trying to abstract

> them all into one Internet Community is not necessarily helpful.

> there are several levels of affinity:

> 

> - those professionals and amateurs who are involved in the

> development, care and feeding of the Internet - this is, I believe,

> the original referent of Internet Community

> 

> - those who currently use the Internet - i think of these as the

> Internet User Community

> 

> - those whom the Internet does not serve yet.  i am not sure what the

> right name for these people is, but they are perhaps the Future

> Internet Users community or as you say the non, or indirect, user

> community.

> 

> Depending on the subject at hand, for example internet resources, we

> may have other groupings, e.g. the registrants who have name and

> address assignments.

> 

> Each of these grouping has a different perspective on the network.  I

> do not mnimize the view of one versus the other and believe they are

> all stakeholders in the IG process, each from their own perspective

> and in their own role - one cannot expect someone who uses the

> Internet daily to have the same perspective as someone who has never

> even heard of the Internet.

> 

> I think everyone on this list belongs, at least to the Internet User

> Community and some belong to the Internet Community.  I don't think

> any of us qualify for the third group, and while we may try to

> represent their interests from our privileged position (personally, i

> certainly try to for nomadic peoples who live in remote

> communications challenged areas) but we do not have their perspective

> and can not be said to be in the same affinity group except at such a

> level of abstraction - i.e. we are all people talking about the

> Internet - that it provides little information.

> 

> a.

> 

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