For several months now, I have been giving a lot of thought and prayer to
the question of how Internet technology can be used for good purposes. I'll
preface this by saying that I think it is still in its infancy; those who
say that the Internet has failed to live up to the potential that we saw
only four or five years ago are impatient. Technology takes a long time to
have widespread effects. Thirty years from prototype to real impact, says
Paul Saffo (Institute for the Future), IIRC.
So, in that context, although perhaps it is too soon to make much sense of
the last week, I'd like to hear thoughts on what the discussions on Brin-L
have meant to us. And not just those of us who posted a lot, but the
quieter folks, too.
Here is my initial two cents. I learned a few things here in the last week.
Dan Minette especially taught me a bit about how and when to talk about
reconciliation, mostly on the list, a little bit off-list. I more deeply
recognized how my avoidance of strong emotions (which served me well as a
paramedic and disaster worker) gave me the appearance of being unsympathetic
to others' anger. Still, I have been frustrated at the divisions that
rapidly appeared, in a time when unity clearly is so important. Perhaps I'm
taking divisions in this community a bit too seriously.
The list has been a way for me to think things through in a community, which
I believe is a good thing -- or at least can be, if we figure out how to
make it so. A lot of what I talk about in person, with friends, at church,
with my wife, are ideas and feelings that I worked on in messages here,
stimulated by your discussions and your suggestions of Web pages to view,
articles to read, etc.
So what do the rest of you think? Has the list been a good thing for you
this week? What might make it better? How important is it?
Nick Arnett
Direct phone: 408-733-7613 Fax: 408-904-7198
