----- Original Message -----
From: "Nick Arnett" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: "BRIN-L@cornell. edu" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sent: Monday, September 17, 2001 10:03 AM
Subject: Some reflection on Brin-L now
> 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?
>
I think that one of the most interesting things I've learned is that JDG and
JVB are pretty much interchangeable.
In any given conversation, I'm going to agree with one and the other is
going to piss me off.
Which makes me wonder about 2 things:
Am I the last one to realise this?
Does Mrs. VB know about this?
;)
xponent
rob
