On Wed, 21 Feb 1996, Mitch Ratcliffe wrote:

> Jeff, would you care to explain where you got the idea that libertarians
> consider money a form of oppression?

I don't have that idea at all. Maybe "libertarian" was the wrong word; 
the point I want to get across is that the Net's original dwellers were 
researchers, scientists, self-proclaimed dweebs, etc. To them, the Net 
was for sharing, for creativity. It wasn't for establishing a "market 
presence" in order to sell this or that. Many of the new residents think 
it can and should be used for selling. I'm not opposing that at all, just 
saying that there certainly has been backlash to the market mentality.

What is "the Net *itself*?"

In other words, I can indirectly sell my product using the Internet as, 
say, ESPN does. It's name recognition. Want sports and you're near a TV? 
Turn on the channel. Want updated sports and you're near a computer? 
Point your browser to SportsZone. They happen to provide a lot of 
information on their site, but every time you go there you're getting 
lots of images pointing you back to their real revenue-generator, the 
cable network.

Now, ESPNET charges a few bucks  a month if you want more in-depth 
coverage. This is making money directly, off the Net itself. They are 
selling a service or info. you can only get online. But do you really 
think this is the main way the site is helping their company? I haven't 
seen the figures, but I don't believe it.

> How are independence and profit-motive mutually exclusive? Most 
> anarchists, to carry libertarianism to its most extreme example, are 
> whole-heartedly supporters of the concept of markets.

Again, I wasn't refering to markets. I'm sure lots of the original Net 
dwellers also had libertarian, laissez-faire beliefs. Simply, I'm not 
sold on the idea that if people start charging for information, the 
market will begin buying it. Ex. - My favorite web sites are not those 
produced by companies with teams of designers and great perl scripts. 
They have this "official" feel that to me runs counter to the 
individuality of the Net. My favorite pages are home pages of 
individuals, often college students or 20-somethings, who display their 
own voices, not those of an institution. In fact, my favorite home pages 
belong to my friends who are on the Net.
- -J
 

 

> At 12:54 AM 2/20/96, Daniel P Dern wrote:
> >Jeff Greene  wrote:
> >> What I've been wondering all along is, Can you *really* make money off
> >> the Net itself? Or will its original construction and cultural legacy of
> >> independence and libertarianism throw off those chains?
> 


Jeff Greene - Asbury Park Press - The Home News & Tribune
jgreene@injersey.com - www.injersey.com/media/pressnet & .../hnt


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