Volume 3, Number 12 ---CONTENTS--- December 1987


1 Masthead and Index


2 ENA UPDATE ................................ by Lisa Kimball
(3051 char)

Call for proposals for ENA's next face-to-face
conference: Beyond E-Mail - People and Organizations
at work in a Global Economy to be held May 12-15,
1988, in Philadelphia, PA.


3 BRIDGING THE DEAF AND HEARING WORLDS ......... Trent Batson
(6650 char)

Computer networks are being applied to the teaching
of language for deaf students at Gallaudet University.
The ENFI Project will be expanded thanks to an ADAPSO
grant.


4 SHARE-RIGHT ............................... by Kevin Kelly
(3493 char)


A new way of thinking about copyrights online for
ported materials is discovered. Readers are asked
for feedback about this approach.


5 DEAR FCC ................................ by Susanna Opper
(8850 char)

Susanna Opper's letter to the FCC on the access
charge issue.


6 ONLINE NETWORKING BY PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES .............
by Frank Burns
(4518 char)

Description of the application of electronic
networks to presidentail campaigns including
networking staff, electronic town meetings, and
electrinc think tanks.


7 THE EVENING BEFORE CHRISTMAS ........... by Philip Siddons
(7978 char)

A seasonal bedtime story.

The Evening Before Christmas
by Philip Siddons


It was the evening before Christmas. The TV and the kid's radios were blaring, reminding us that despite the noise level in our home, the outside world was doing its best to make something of the holidays. The crocheted stockings with each of our names on them hung from a string over our new antique wood burning stove, which we dared not use because they want sixty dollars for ten feet of wood.

The children were squabbling from being over tired from staying out till three at parties, and this evening we couldn't tell whether they were fighting or trying to be heard above their music. So after consuming a number of pills proportionate with our ages, we settled in under our electric blanket, which I swear will someday electrocute us because our bed has been a wrestling mat for the kids.

I woke up around four, wondering if our neighbors were cutting down a tree in the front of their house with a chain saw. I went downstairs to the front hall to the window, and to my amazement I saw a figure getting off his Ski-doo, which he had managed to park right on the rose bed which I had painstakingly covered with plastic after considerable hounding from the "job jar."

The man, who was dressed in a Santa Claus coat and pants, had also managed to knock down a section of our front yard fence in his arrival.

"Must be some disoriented party-goer." I mumbled to myself. Next the door bell rang.

As I opened the door, in past me swished a man in his 60's, about 5'8", wiry, and in need of a shave. He was carrying two blue Sears bags.

"Where do you want these?" he said over his shoulder as if he was a long expected relative, several minutes late for a party already underway.

"Am I on Candid Camera?" I asked.

"Sure, if you want to believe it that way," he answered with a smile. "How about over there?" he asked as he stooped to put the bags in a corner by the Christmas tree, without waiting for an answer.

Wondering what would happen next, I asked him:

"Where's the little round belly that shakes like Jello or something? And what about the beard, the sleigh, and the trip down the chimney?" I asked, also wondering if this was an elaborate 20th century distraction scheme of two burglars.

He walked over to the coffee table and picked up the white candy dish, saying:

"I've been in weight watchers for two years, and now I'm on maintenance. Whatever you do, don't even tell me if you have chocolate chip cookies. I have no resistance.

As for the beard, the state unemployment office threatened to cut off my food stamps if I didn't make more of a clean cut effort to get a job. Oh yes, the sleigh." he paused. "That was abandoned since the S.P.C.A. got on my back about giving Rudolph martinis to make his nose red.

You know, I even had a stereo in it. Now its just collecting dust in my garage. Maybe it'll be worth something someday as an antique. And with most people not having fire places these days, I've gotten out of the practice of that trick.

Besides, when I come through the front door, I run less of a risk of getting arrested for breaking and entering. You know, I spent thirty days in the can in New jersey last year because I was a little too creative, and came through a bay window, sled and all.

Nice candy dish, Lenox I believe."

"That's right," I said, "it was a gift."

Plopping down on the couch he continued:

"Sure it was. Everything is a gift these days, isn't it? You go out and charge anything you want all year, and then in December you blatantly hint with specific sizes and colors, and pretend for one day a year that someone else really got it for you."

Somewhat taken back, I flopped down on an opposite chair, and asked:

"Well, how do you celebrate Christmas at your house?"

A look of surprise spread on the old man's face. "You're the first person who ever asked me that" he said slowly. "But to tell you the truth, we celebrate it in January, after all the nonsense is over with. We get out the book and read the story, drink a few eggnogs, and sing happy birthday. Simple, but nice."

"You look a little tired, Santa." I said with some concern. "I bet going to all those homes really wears you out. How do you do it?" I asked.

"Well, fortunately your house is the last one on my route," he said with a twinkle in his eye.

Pausing to look down at the coffee table, he said: "Are you sure I didn't bring that Lenox candy dish two years ago?" he asked as he held the dish.

"Nope!" I said. "I remember my dentist gave me that because I've given the office so much business."

"Oh well, I must be thinking of someone else. I get things confused, you know. I keep saying that someday I'm going to learn how to work one of these computers I keep delivering to keep my inventory straight, but I just don't discipline myself. Oh by the way, you got one this year."

"How many deliveries do you make?" I asked to keep the conversation going.

He strolled over to the front door and for the first time I saw his brown loafers sticking out from under the white puff, that was haphazardly sewn around the bottom of his worn red trousers.

"It used to be millions," he replied, "but now, with so few believing anymore, its down to around 378. I suspect you'll drop off one of these days too."

Somewhat embarrassed, I defended:

"Well what would you expect? With all those guys dressed up like you, in fact, better than you, working for the Salvation Army and on TV, anyone is bound to figure it out."

"Figure what out?" he said with a laughing smile.

"Figure out that you can't be everywhere, in all those places at the same time" I replied more confidently.

"Can't seem to fool anyone these days," he said. "Why just three hours ago, I almost got killed by a little impy genius who sent a 220 volt robot after me."

As he put on his rather worn brown gloves, he went on.

"With inflation and all that, I'd be lucky if there is even a handful of deliveries next year."

"Did you ever think of going into a different line of work?" I inquired.

"Always wanted to be a preacher" he said.

"A preacher?" I responded in utter amazement.

"Yes," he replied with a renewed grin. "But people don't believe them either. They talk about what Christmas is really about, but everyone is too busy to listen."

After a pause he continued, as if lost in his own thoughts:

"Maybe I'll try being a quarterback next year. Now there's someone people take seriously."

"Now wait a minute" I said. "You said you and your wife celebrate Christmas in January, singing happy birth, and all that?"

"That's right," he said with interest in his face.

"Well, how about me and the rest of the family coming over in January and celebrating it with you folks. We could bring some diet candy and our vintage eggnog that is always a success."

"Sure," he said. "That would be swell" he continued as he scribbled his address on the back of a Christmas card. But before I could get a chance to say anything else, he said: "See ya than," and was through the door.

I bounded up the stairway and down the hall into our bedroom, and with one leap, I landed on our bed in a cross-legged position, shaking my still sleeping wife. She turned over slowly, like a large bin full of raffle tickets settling for the last time. As she painfully raised her eyelids to see what the new day demanded of her, I said enthusiastically:

"Guess where we're going to celebrate Christmas next January?"
~~~

-------
Author's note: Philip Siddons is an editor of NETWEAVER who
proves repeatedly that some people who write about technology
are poets too.

ONLINE NETWORKING BY PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES:
A TECHNOLOGY FOR LEADERSHIP AT THE NATIONAL LEVEL
by Frank Burns and Lisa Kimball

Recent articles in NETWEAVER have focused on applications of computer conferencing which support "Electronic Democracy" at local levels and on the potential of the technology for supporting participatory politics. In this election year, we have an opportunity to look at how electronic networking can contribute to national-level campaigns.

The proper functions of a campaign are to REFLECT public opinion AND TO LEAD IT -- by creating WITH the voters (1) new visions that attract public attention to the collective opportunities, (2) new channels for citizen excitement that involve them directly with democratic processes that achieve observable new outcomes, and (3) new stories containing self-fulfilling examples of how SOMETHING NEW AND EXCITING IS ALREADY HAPPENING. Each of these functions can be enhanced dramatically by taking advantage of the latest in electronic mail and computer conferencing technology. Candidates for President can use this technology now as a new tool for national leadership -- and in the process, lead the country into a new era of "electronic democracy."

The implementation framework we recommend contains three different levels. These three levels are both additive and complementary, as outlined below:

LEVEL ONE -- NETWORKING THE CAMPAIGN ORGANIZATION
-------------------------------------------------
The most immediately useful application of online networking is to improve -- significantly -- internal communication in the campaign organization itself. With its own online computer conferencing system, a campaign organization can link its national headquarters staff with: (1) the traveling candidate, (2) the campaign staffs at field offices in key states and cities, and (3) key campaign strategists and speechwriters. Getting started at this level is as simple as opening three computer conferences. One can be for everyone involved in the campaign organization and can serve as a central clearing-house for disseminating campaign information -- newsletters, position statements, policy announcements, events, and travel schedules. A second computer conference can be dedicated to the "real" management processes of running any organization -- staying clear about who, what, when and why. A third conference can serve the key "issue-oriented" people in the campaign -- the candidate, the campaign manager, the strategists, and the speechwriters.


LEVEL TWO -- ELECTRONIC TOWN MEETINGS
-------------------------------------
Candidates with the "clearest channel" to local voters and party organizations will win in the primaries -- and the party with the clearest channel to the most voters will win in the national election.

Town meetings -- interactive by their nature and therefore a very clear channel of communication -- provide a powerful link between voters, political leaders, and the media. Using computer conferencing technology at this level involves the sponsorship of issue-oriented public networks ("computer bulletin boards") at local, state and national levels. In ways not possible through ordinary polling methods, these "electronic town meetings" can provide candidates with a clearer understanding of popular opinion AND improve citizen and media understanding of the candidate and her or his positions.


LEVEL THREE -- ELECTRONIC THINK TANKS
-------------------------------------
In their dual role of both reflecting AND LEADING public opinion, candidates for public office must formulate positions and agendas for their leadership that are based on an understanding of WHAT'S REAL AND WHAT'S POSSIBLE over a wide range of complex issues. The technology of computer conferencing permits the creation of "electronic think tanks" -- computer-linked networks of "citizen-experts" who work interactively with campaign managers and candidates in scanning issue-related information, analyzing alternatives, and developing positions and strategies for action. With the right composition, these electronic think tanks can also play a central role in planning and implementing post-election transitions.

---------
Author's note: Frank Burns is President, Metasystems Design Group, Inc.
in Arlington, VA. MDG is currently working with two
presidential candidates who have set up networks to support
their campaigns.

Dear FCC
by Susanna Opper

[editor's note: Susanna Opper was among the many networkers who sent letters to the FCC last October to protest the proposed change in rate structers for packet networks. The outcome of the proposal is still in doubt. We asked Susanna for permission to reprint her letter as an excellent example of how networkers articulated the issue.]

October 16, 1987

The Honorable Dennis R. Patrick
Federal Communications Commission
1919 M Street,
N.W. Washington, DC 20554

Re: CC Docket 87-215
Amendments of Part 69 of the
Commission's Rules Relating to
Enhanced Service Providers

Dear Chairman Patrick:

I am writing to urge you NOT to adopt this rate increase. It's
apparent to me that you and your commission have no direct
experience of the valuable activities that will be
jeopardized--and may even be terminated--by your actions should
you adopt this ruling.

My expertise is introducing business people to online
communications. So I will attempt in this letter to give you
some sense of the online world-- where I have "lived" and made
my living for more than four years. I hope to create a picture
for you of a group of pioneers as American as the Colonists or
Homesteaders who settled this country's physical space. My
colleagues and I are opening up America's electronic space.

My plea will be impassioned because your actions potentially
can destroy my business, the activities of many of my clients
and fellow pioneers and ultimately, I believe, America's place
of leadership in the next era of mankind's history--the
Information Age.

Who am I?

My background is as a writer and corporate communicator. In
1981 I was working for Exxon when I discovered the existence of
electronic mail and -- more significantly -- computer
conferencing. Both at Exxon and in previous internal
communications positions with major companies, I had endeavored
to help people get the information they need to do their jobs
and that they want as members of the corporate community. The
first time I saw the technology of electronic communications, I
saw the possibilities. Imagine workgroups at multinational
companies being in constant communication. Imagine a plant
manager in remote Wyoming being able to confer with other
colleagues about how to prevent a major plant disaster,
or how to handle a personnel issue, or how to implement a new
corporate policy. I was inspired--here at last was a
technology that could help me do my lifeswork.

So I began to spend time online. It's actually like being in a
place--only you're not really there and neither is anyone
else. I got to "meet" my fellow pioneers while sitting at my
computer. Many of my online acquaintances have, over the
years, become colleagues and friends.

In 1983 the Exxon Minerals Company moved to Houston, TX. and I
left to become an independent consultant in computer
conferencing and computer communications.

With hindsight it was a bold move. The industry was barely
embryonic; the demand for my services was nil. But I was
lucky--I found an enlightened Exxon manager who shared my
dream. We launched the first Exxon network in January 1984.

After that successful experiment, I set up several other
networks designed to link geographically dispersed workgroups
in industries as diverse as public accounting, consulting, and
manufacturing.

I continue to use public online systems for my clients, and
it's still an uphill battle. I can't make a living solely from
consulting in this field. My business is improving and I
continue to write and speak on the subject and am well-known in
the industry, but I've still had to expand my services to other
computer-related activities just to make a living.

But electronic networking is my passion. In April 1985 I
co-sponsored the first Electronic Networking meeting. From it
was forged the Electronic Networking Association (ENA)--of
which I am the first President. If you pass this ruling, ENA
and most of its members will be forced offline. Currently they
struggle to pay their $6 or $7 per hour nighttime line fees.
Nearly double those rates in one move and they will go
offline. Many of the companies that service them will go out
of business--those that remain (if any do) will have to
increase their rates to cover costs with a reduced user base.
Others will leave--it will mean a downward spiral to extinction.

The arguments

* Rate Shock

This argument has been made over and over again, I know. Let
me give you a different slant on the issue.

Many of my clients and other corporate department mangers are
under pressure from MIS departments to bring services in
house. In most instances, the in-house systems will be
inferior. If this rate increase goes into effect, my clients
will lose their battle--users will get dimin ished service,
in-house developers and other providers will have reduced
competition, and system development will suffer.

* Striking the meek

Actually, my large corporate clients will survive this increase
if it is, indeed, imposed. They will simply bring their
electronic services inhouse, thus ducking the increased costs.

The losers will be those LEAST able to pay--individual users,
small and medium-sized corporations, nonprofits, educational
institutions, and research facilities.

* Keep America First

This is the most powerful argument of all, I believe. Here is
an industry America leads in, just because the US government
has stayed out when other governments have meddled and taken
their tithe. Impose this rate increase and Japan and France,
already strong, will forge ahead.

* Stifle Democracy

Online communications are potentially the best possible forum
EVER for true democracy and free speech. For example, my
fellow pioneer Mike Greenly has created the field of online
journalism, where online readers can direct questions to
candidates and others at political conventions. Debates too
numerous to mention have already taken place online. In time,
political candidates and special interest groups will use this
medium to do what America is all about--express themselves and
fight for their causes.

In a way, this rate increase is actually a violation of the
First Amend ment--a sort of economic violation. Suppose, for
example, the government were to impose a fee that made daily
newspapers sell for $10 a copy. There would still be free
speech--but who could afford it? This ruling would do that to
the online world. Please don't.

In closing

I want to reiterate that I don't think you really understand
the impact of this increase. For example, paragraph 8 of your
proposal says the ESPs have had time to plan for this. But the
users have not. And ESPs must pass this cost to their users.
No business could absorb such an increase-- certainly not one
that is marginal to begin with.

I think there may well be some inequities in the existing
system. However, I urge you to defer this decision until you
have gained a greater understand ing of the industry and the
issues. I hope you will postpone action for at least two
years--by which time the industry will have had some time to
mature and to recover from the threat of this increase. In the
next two years, major technical advances--in hardware and
software--will be im plemented that will allow users to spend
much less time online while doing the same amount of work.
These advances will mitigate the impact of future rate
increases.

I struggled to be brief in this document because I know you
have much to read. But I have more to say than I can write
here. I shall seek to meet with you and members of your
committee and of Congress in person. As an independent
consultant who is barely making ends meet, I will not be paid
for these efforts. But this issue is so critical to the
survival of a whole industry and to my personal future than I
cannot but make this effort. I hope you will be able to meet
with me.

Sincerely,



Susanna Opper
encl.
cc: The Honorable James H. Quello
The Honorable Mimi Weyworth Dawson
The Honorable Patricia Diaz Dennis
Gerald Brock, Chief, Common Carrier Bureau
Thomas Sugrue, Chief, Policy Division, Common Carrier Bureau
William H. Tricarico, Secretary, Federal Communications Commission

(S) SHARE-RIGHT
by Kevin Kelly

You may reproduce this material if your recipients may also reproduce it.

Sometime in the last year or so, announcements like the one above were being attached to computer network messages. Unlike communication in the public domain, which anyone can use for whatever commercial purpose, share-right limits its benefits to those willing to share the bounty in the same way they received it. Users can take it only if they pass it on with the same promise. As Jack Powers, one of the network riders, says, "I like this idea of rights which travel together with the merchandise." Although share-right was born on the networks, I envision it taking root in other decentralized, highly replicating communications, like xerox publishing, or tape duplicating. Howard Rheingold, a host on The Well, calls it, "a self-reproducing word virus that eats intellectual property."

As far as I know, the share-right concept first appeared at the junction of USENET and Stargate, two network systems of different politics. USENET, one of the most libertarian networks running, distributes and redistributes messages in an ad hoc style of complete non-ownership. You don't post something in USENET without expecting it to be copied all over the country, or the world. Stargate is a privately run network which beams netnews into space by hitching the messages to an unused area of information transmission in the "blink" between screens on cable TV broadcasts. It would bounce news off a satellite, down to distant pickup sites, and into local computers again. I'll let Erik Fair, a USENET engineer, tell the rest of the story:

"Stargate as originally envisioned was a cheap way to send
USENET news everywhere by true broadcast. Unfortunately, the
communication legalities were such that they could not claim to
be a common carrier (like telephone companies), and this led
directly into Stargate becoming a subscriber service instead
(like a publisher). Stargate has an agreement that prohibits
their subscribers from redistributing the articles they get
from Stargate because, of course, it would erode Stargate's
subscriber base if they did.

"Naturally, this caused a bit of a stink on the net, and the
result was the copyright notices which you see on some people's
articles. ("You can redistribute only if your recipients can"),
preventing Stargate from transmitting those articles unless
their subscribers can."

You, reader, are encouraged to duplicate this message, but only if your readers may also duplicate it.

(S) Share-right 1987

--------
Editor's note: The idea of Share-right is interesting in view
of the philosophy behind the porting of NETWEAVER and other ENA
material around the world. NETWEAVER was the first regular
publication to be distributed systematically through porting.
The Share-right idea is among a number of new ways of thinking
about publication, copyright, and distribution evoked by this
new technology. Readers are encouraged to comment on the
implications and extensions of Share-right. Kevin Kelly is
Editor of the _Whole Earth Review_. I picked up this message in
the Winter '87 issue. The theme of the issue is SIGNALS and it
is full of material which will be of interest to NETWEAVER
readers. Subscriptions are $20 from Whole Earth Review, P.O.
Box 15187, Santa Ana, CA 92705-9913. - Lisa Kimball

Bridging the Deaf and Hearing Worlds
by Trent Batson

The Melting Pot
===============

I think that probably the greatest achievement of American society is not taming the wilderness but taming our diversity. No other country has had to assimilate the wild array of peoples as we have. We called ourselves "the melting pot" in the nineteenth century and Heinz food products fit right in by stressing its 57 varieties, a kind of analogy to American society.

The sine qua non of assimilation was to learn to speak English. And, the sine qua non of success in America today is to be able to write and read English skillfully and fluently. A recent study at the National Technical Institute for the Deaf in Rochester, New York showed that career advancement for deaf graduates correlated directly with skill in English regardless of the career field and regardless of how skilled the person might be in a technical field.

The "English Problem"
=====================

Yet, as we all know who have spent some time in deaf education, deaf people generally have difficulty in developing skill and fluency in English. English is first and foremost a spoken language, the written form trailing along like a caboose. People learn English by first learning to speak it because that's how you can engage in a lively exchange with a native user of the language. You can get constant feedback and therefore gradually be brought into the linguistic community.

If you can't hear the spoken form, however, you have a much harder row to hoe. Feedback in writing has always been so slow that learning, far from lively, is laborious and, worst of all, boring.

Americans with normal hearing grow up literally bathed in conversation. They are inundated in spoken English almost from the moment of conception, so that they come to believe English language is inherent, something they come bundled with.

A deaf child misses out almost entirely on the spoken language "bath," so she may never achieve this inner sense of English. Her parents would almost certainly have normal hearing so they would most likely be caught off-guard, as are most hearing parents, when they begin to suspect their child has a hearing problem.

Behind the English Eight-Ball
=============================

Few parents deal with the fact of deafness very well or quickly enough. Often, deaf children miss months or even years of any meaningful linguistic interaction either in speech or in sign. They are behind the English eight ball right from the start of life.

They then spend the rest of their lives playing catchup; but, of course, they can't catch up because all the time they are laboriously studying English in the classroom, their hearing peers not only benefit form the classroom study of English but also from their continuing total immersion in a broadband English culture -- participatory conversation, overheard conversation, radio, television, musical lyrics and so on. The world of the hearing child is a world of all the varieties of English; deaf children are mere tourists in that world.

Computer Networks: The Equalizer
================================

How do we overcome this problem and provide the same equal access to success that we try to offer all people in America? Well, as you might guess, I think computer networks can help.

The computer is nothing if not an infinitely malleable medium. It has been called "the ultimate medium" because it can accept input in almost any form and present it in almost any form. In other words, it is the king of media because it can control and manipulate other media.

For a deaf person, then, computers offer relief from a culture dominated by the spoken word. The power of radio, the telephone, and even television to keep us in the sway of sound may be offset by computer networks, which tend to work visually. The spread of computers in society, therefore, is the best news deaf people have had since silent movies premiered at the beginning of the century (only to turn traitor in 1929 when they joined the enemy camp by becoming "talkies.").

Gallaudet's ENFI Project
========================

Gallaudet University, which is the world center of education and research into deafness, and the chief reason why deaf people in the United States can aspire to be first-class citizens while those in many other countries can't, has taken the lead in using computer networks to directly confront the "English problem." The ENFI Project (English Natural Form Instruction) has caught the attention of the nation because it turns a technology that already permeates our culture to an extraordinarily inventive and hopeful new use: it allows deaf people, for the first time ever in history, to actively and freely engage in group conversation in a spoken language -- in our case, English.

That's a stunning breakthrough. And it wasn't possible until computer networks were widely available to support such a group written conversation.

For hackers, a "deluxe chat" program supporting conversation is fun; for deaf people, it's the royal road to linguistic equality. This kind of application offers hope that all deaf people may be able to overcome their own particular barrier -- limited access to interactive English -- and function easily and freely in our society.

The Universal Hearing Aid
=========================

I described ENFI to a colleague of mine at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. After hearing how deaf people and hearing people can now communicate using computers, he said, "ah ha, finally a universal hearing aid."

ADAPSO, the computer software and services industry association, has given the ENFI project a grant of both money and expertise. Gallaudet has pioneered ENFI, has alerted the world to its existence, and is overseeing its introduction into the larger academic world. ADAPSO has graciously come forward to serve as our partner to further develop the potential of ENFI within the deaf world - to make the communication links in our society more broadly accessible, or, in other words, to create the universal hearing aid.

In effect, we're making our society barrier-free for deaf people, so deaf people can "hear" us and so we can "hear" them. Only in a free exchange can something as complex as a language be transmitted and only computer networks work quickly enough to support such a free linguistic exchange.

--------
Author's note: Dr. Trent Batson, Director of the ENFI Project,
can be reached at Gallaudet University, Washington, DC 20002.
(202) 651-5494.

ENA Update
by Lisa Kimball

BEYOND E-MAIL
People and Organizations at Work in a Global Economy

May 12-15, 1988
Philadelphia, PA, USA


ENA's next f-t-f conference is going to be very exciting! It
will cover the full range of issue and opportunities related to
electronic networking. Topics featured at this conference will
include:

* computer-supported coorperative work

* international access issues

* economics of interactive communications

* applications for productivity improvement, planning, and
management

* electronic journalism

* distance education

* integration of electronic networking with related technolgies
e.g. interactive video, graphics, hypertext, desktop
publishing, and CD-ROM

* technological literacy

* electronic democracy

* managing and facilitating electronic networks

* alternative systems for information delivery and access

* networking for special populations

* network products and markets

* social, political and ethical implications of new technology

* the current and future state-of-the art of the technology

* and more!

This will be an *interactive* as well as informative
conference. In addition to panels and featured speakers, we
will have working sessions, rountables, hands-on
demonstrations, and workshops.

We will also USE THE TECHNOLOGY ourselves before, during, and
after the f-t-f conference to extend its value to participants.

Call for Proposals
==================

You are invited to submit proposals for sessions (250 words maximum) by January 15, 1988. Your proposal should include a description of your topic, the format (workshop, panel, ongoing demonstration, ...), resources required (e.g. equipment) and how you plan to access them (bring them, get them donated, borrow them, or whatever), and something about yourself and any co-presenters.

We have a good conference planning team and you are welcome to join us. I will be serving as the "program chair" for the conference.

You can submit your proposal to me electronically as follows:

NWI (lisa Kimball)
TWICS (lisa Kimball)
The Well (lKimball)
EIES (555)
The Source (lisa Kimball in Parti or BBV260 in SourceMail)
Unison (lisa)
CompuServe (73156,2340)
dcmeta
Eden
The Capitol Connection
DASNET

You can also have your proposal "relayed" through the porter who brings you NETWEAVER every month.

Since we will be reviewing all proposals online, we need to be able to upload your material. If you would like to submit your proposal by mail, please send a disk with text file readable by either IBM-compatible or Macintosh to:

Lisa Kimball
ENA Conference Program Chair
Metasystems Design Group, Suite 103
2000 North 15th Street
Arlington, VA, USA
(703) 243-6622