Fwd: [governance] Re: "gentle" governance of internet tech?

[Dan Krimm]

At 2:43 PM -0400 9/18/07, l.d.misek-falkoff wrote:
>Large type, for distribution in context;  shared on a community-wide
>interests (or construable neighboring interest) basis:
>
>Dear Colleagues:
>
>The following appreciable post may be of special interest to persons with
>disabilities because many of our issues are reflected here. 
>
>Reactions and Responses to the post itself may vary, but our own concern
>with "portal to portal" access and accessibility does seem strongly
>reflected in the below discussion of "end to end."  Of course, "beginning
>to beginning" would be even more joyful!  Thanks Dan et al.
>
>With affection, welcoming feedback,
>and *Respectfully Interfacing," LDMF.


Just a note of clarification on terminology.

End-to-end (or also "open end-to-end") refers to the "dumb pipes/smart
edges" architecture of TCP/IP etc.  Generally as a term of art (i.e.,
jargon), it refers narrowly to the network protocol, rather than to the
broader questions of meaningful access.  Perhaps "edge-to-edge" would be
more appropriate than referring to ends or beginnings, because all edges
(user nodes on the Internet) ideally encompass both ends and beginnings in
the constant conversation of humanity.

Other related concepts are net neutrality, common carriage, user/data
nondiscrimination, etc.  Basically, it's about not filtering data or
charging differently for data transport on the basis of origin,
destination, or content.  (However, this may still allow for some degree of
optimization generically according to data type or application type,
although one must be careful not to disadvantage new applications that may
warrant high priority for throughput but have not been explicitly
prioritized in an existing optimization context.)


When it comes to "access" in general, I think the discussion should be
*much* broader, *starting* with open data protocols, but *continuing* with
hardware/software access, user training, and local/community-driven
information services and community fora that make network access useful and
important.

That is, Internet access in meaningful terms does not end with the Internet
infrastructure itself.  It also involves all of the surrounding criteria
that enable productive use of the network (and whose absence continues to
obstruct productive use of the network).

Best,
Dan
____________________________________________________________
You received this message as a subscriber on the list:
     governance at lists.cpsr.org
To be removed from the list, send any message to:
     governance-unsubscribe at lists.cpsr.org

For all list information and functions, see:
     http://lists.cpsr.org/lists/info/governance