Good for you, Jeff. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Jeff Bayard" <[log in to unmask]> To: <[log in to unmask]> Sent: Sunday, August 03, 2003 5:11 PM Subject: Re: Re-run: Re-vised Re-post: Internet Identities - Who Are We? > Great Email, Janet. > Although I do not have Parkinsons, I do love people with > Parkinsons, amen. I can run errands, cut grass, clean house, > bring a meal. My kids love to help folks, too. > > If there is anyone in the Richmond VA area on the list, and > if you need your grass cut, errands done, or just a good visit, > meal cooked or just someone to talk to, email me directly, or > call me directly. > What is great about the internet is that it can be a great resource for > offline communications too. > > If you are a member of this list, but have trouble with computer > viruses, or have computer problems, I can help on that some, too. > > You folks are great! > > OH, want to hear a weirdo story? > I have lots of these in my archives. > This is really out of left field--and if you want more, > I have 'em. > http://www.woowoo.dwoloz.com/car.wmv > > > God Bless You All, > > Jeff Bayard > 701 Pocono Drive > Richmond, VA 23236 > Cell Phone:804-869-4485 > Help Fund the Cure! > http://dialforacure.com > > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "janet paterson" <[log in to unmask]> > To: <[log in to unmask]> > Sent: Sunday, August 03, 2003 6:41 PM > Subject: Re-run: Re-vised Re-post: Internet Identities - Who Are We? > > > > hi all > > > > an encore of > > a re-visioning of > > a re-post of > > a re-minder > > > > janet > > > > --------------------------------------------- > > Internet Identities - Who Are We? > > --------------------------------------------- > > > > The miraculous medium which is the Internet provides access to > > unprecedented communication on a global scale. On a personal scale, I > > discovered the PARKINSN listserv support group on-line in July 1995. Both > > events, going on-line and finding a Parkinson's Disease (PD) support > group, > > changed my life. > > > > The Upside: I can now lay claim to a PD cyber-family whose members are > > contributors to several PD forums on-line. > > > > The Downside: I have discovered Internet 'games' - hoaxes, viruses, > flames, > > spam, parodies, cyber-stalking, all perpetrated under the umbrella of > > Multiple Internet Identity Syndrome. This is still an uncontrolled > > frontier, after all. > > > > A brief history. The Internet was created in 1972 for some USA government > > agencies and universities; it was 'free' and limited to plain-text-based > > E-mail messaging. And then the games began: E-mail anonymisers and > > re-mailers entered the scene (begging the question: When does 'anonymising > > one's E-mail address' morph into 'protecting one's privacy' and > 'concealing > > one's identity'?) > > > > After the World Wide Web (WWW) was invented in 1991, photographic images > > became WWW-viewable and Internet-transferable. In fact, pornography, much > > of it illegal around the world, comprised the bulk of the initial traffic > > on the WWW. 'Chat rooms' and 'avatar games' where identities are > > re-invented as a given part of the 'action', and which had been popular in > > the text-based Internet world, now flourished. > > > > Enter the general public of the global village, you and I, who want to > look > > up information for homework assignments, or buy a book at amazon.com, or > > check out the hurricane warning, or locate long lost friends and > relatives, > > or share inspiration and experience via a web site, and who don't > > necessarily understand what kind of world they are surfing into. > > > > Anonymity can be used to share ideas, emotions, and information without > > racial, religious, disability, lifestyle, or economic 'factors' getting in > > the way. > > > > Anonymity can also be used to manipulate and deceive with apparent > impunity. > > > > It pays to be circumspect: I would never walk into Central Park or Queen's > > Park or any Park (say) and sit down on a bench donated no-charge by > > Columbia University or the University of Toronto or the Massachusetts > > General Hospital (say) and lay my emotional self bare to a stranger who > > simply happens to be there and sporting a nametag declaring "Hi! I'm Joe > > and I have PD!", just as I would never leave my grandson or my > > granddaughter, not to mention my cats, in the care of a stranger wearing a > > nametag claiming "Hi! I'm Joe and I am a baby- / pet- sitter!" > > > > 'Buyer Beware' or maybe 'Money Talks' pertains here. Most of the WWW > forums > > and chat rooms and website services are free; if we pay 'nothing' for a > > service (e.g. free user names and e-mail at yahoo.com or msn.com or ... > ?), > > we need to be cautious about how we use it, especially in this > > market-driven society of ours. Which brings me to the concept of a > > market-driven WWW. > > > > Meshing a non-commercial entity which has been geared to anonymity with a > > commercial community which has to guarantee transaction security above all > > or fail, has one or two inherent potential pitfalls. When telephones were > a > > relatively new technology, some were abused; I worked for the phone > company > > way back when, advising customers on handling obscene or harassing calls. > > Caller ID and other techno-advances have transformed that scourge into a > > virtual antique. Telemarketers are the new version, but technology is > > catching up with them, too (at least I hope it is - where do they get > their > > calling lists from anyway?) > > > > The difference between the telephone communications networks and the > > Internet and WWW communications networks is that the users, you and I, pay > > hard cash for every aspect of telephone service. (I pay Bell Canada $35.00 > > every month for the my own phone line and I pay Look Communications [aka > > Idirect.com] $24.56 every month for access to the internet on an unlimited > > basis.) > > > > In a sense, those payment transactions form the basis of our 'id' or > > 'password' or entitlement. I suspect that future Internet users will have > > to ante up something similar, maybe in the form of a combination > internet - > > identity - passport - cashcard. > > > > My cyber-hint for this month? If you join an on-line PD forum, I recommend > > sharing telephone numbers and telephone calls as part of getting > > acquainted. Although my telephone number and my E-mail address have been > > plastered all over the Internet for the past two years, I have NOT > received > > a single unwanted phone call; there is nothing to fear but fear itself; > > trust me! > > > > Do not necessarily suspect all, but do be circumspect with all. The > > 'medium' may not bring the 'message' we expect, but it is still a miracle, > > in my humble opinion. > > > > Marshall MacLuhan's famous quote comprised two parts: "The medium is the > > message and the content is the user". A-men to that! > > > > --------------------------------------------- > > revised and updated 2003/08/02 > > --------------------------------------------- > > original published > > in the May 2002 newsletter of: > > Parkinson Society Ottawa, > > 1053 Carling Avenue, > > Ottawa, Ontario K1Y 4E9 > > Canada > > Tel: 613 722 3241 > > --------------------------------------------- > > > > janet paterson: an akinetic rigid subtype, albeit primarily perky, parky > > pd: 56-41-37 cd: 56-44-43 tel: 613-256-8340 > > e-mail: [log in to unmask] > > w-site: www.janetpaterson.net > > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > > To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: > mailto:[log in to unmask] > > In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] > In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn