[Chapter-delegates] OneWebDay 2009 - tomorrow 22 September

[Alejandro Pisanty]

James,

thanks for moving the debate forward on this interesting and important 
issue.

Let's take your argument a step further, since you do provide a way to 
gain insights. Let's say there was indeed the claim that "technical elites 
are making decisions about the plumbing system" and you had to decide 
whether to sign a pledge premised on that assumption.

BUT you were a member of, say, the American Society for Testing Materials, 
ASTM, or of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), or 
of the many organizations outside the US that have to do with standards 
that affect plumbing.

You would have to be quite convinced that your own society is in a cabal 
with the most evil forces aiming to destroy the future of plumbing in 
order to sign, right?

Alejandro Pisanty


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      Dr. Alejandro Pisanty
UNAM, Av. Universidad 3000, 04510 Mexico DF Mexico

Tels. +52-(1)-55-5105-6044, +52-(1)-55-5418-3732

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On Tue, 22 Sep 2009, James Butler wrote:

> Date: Tue, 22 Sep 2009 18:27:17 -0700
> From: James Butler <jbutler at isoc-la.org>
> Cc: Chapter Delegates <chapter-delegates at elists.isoc.org>
> Subject: Re: [Chapter-delegates] OneWebDay 2009 - tomorrow 22 September
> 
> Let's see how that passage fares with a different subject, just to make sure 
> it's a valid complaint:
>
> "Right now, governments, corporate entities and technical elites decide the 
> fate of the most powerful, inclusive PLUMBING SYSTEM ever created. They're 
> making decisions about who will have access, at what speeds, and at what 
> price. They're deciding how to invest in training and education in 21st 
> century PLUMBING."
>
> Why, yes they are. In fact, this passage is pretty standard stuff with regard 
> to any infrastructure, when taken on its own. Roadways, television, water 
> distribution, telephones, real estate and more ... all being managed 
> end-to-end by "governments, corporate entities and technical elites", albeit 
> without the conspiratorial theme.
>
> This is not the basis for an effective argument. If that passage represents 
> any kind of key principle, perhaps the "pledge" should be reconsidered in its 
> entirety by its publishers?
>
> James Butler
>
>
> Olivier MJ Crepin-Leblond wrote:
>> 
>> "Alejandro Pisanty" <apisan at servidor.unam.mx> wrote:
>> 
>>> Can someone among the Chapter Delegates kindly explain to me why we 
>>> support OneWebDay while it circulates a "pledge against the digital 
>>> divide" that contains wording which is directly hostile to ISOC, the IETF, 
>>> and other organizations ISOC supports?
>>> 
>>> I quote: "Right now, governments, corporate entities and technical elites 
>>> decide the fate of the most powerful, inclusive communications platform 
>>> ever created. They're making decisions about who will have access, at what 
>>> speeds, and at what price. They're deciding how to invest in training and 
>>> education in 21st century communications."
>> 
>> It looks like they got a bit carried away with their language, doesn't it?
>> Several such groups have recently put out petitions about Network 
>> Neutrality & other contentious and complex issues. In most cases, the 
>> wording of their text left much to be desired due to unfortunate 
>> amalgamation of targets, probably caused by hasty wording and not enough 
>> feedback prior to putting the petition out.
>> 
>> We know the jist of what they mean. I believe that we generally support 
>> their point of view. But their inaccurate statements does weaken their 
>> stance. Yes, the statement, as displayed on the OWD site is ill-written.
>> 
>> I guess everybody can't be as perfect in their statements as ISOC. :-)
>> 
>> Kind regards,
>> 
>> Olivier
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