Re: who is here?
From: Thomas Andrew Newman (newmantCSOS.ORST.EDU)
Date: Fri, 12 Nov 93 01:51 CST
Alan,

On Fri, 12 Nov 1993, Alan Murray wrote:

> In <199311110030.AA03278 [at] tornado.berkeley.edu> Till Houtermans <tillhout 
> [at] ocf.Berkeley.EDU> writes:
> 
> By "cohousing computer community" I supposed you meant a cohousing community
> from amongst the netters?  I've been thinking along the lines of inviting
> folks to meet electronically in the form of a mailing list for the express
> purpose of forming that safe emotional space known as community.  It would
> be an effort to reach that psychological intimacy which is constantly being
> broken into in the world at large.  What do ya think?

I think I know what you mean by safe emotional space. There are some 
newsgroups and mailing lists that somehow avoid the flaming that makes so 
many groups/lists so boring.

Community and Civic Networking is one.

Some of the groups and lists dealing with particular emotional and 
physical problems feel safe to me.

But newsgroups and lists traditionally have been segregated by topic. 
Which assumes that community is based on interests in common.

I almost forgot: the freenets/ community information services. The 
Cleveland Free-net had newsgroups for each of several (actual) 
neighborhoods. People discuss schools, parks, issues in front of their 
community at the moment.

And then there are the geographic newsgroups.

The problem is always how to keep left brain people from driving out 
right brain conversation. 

Deborah Tannen says men see others through the screen of power 
hierarchies: are you above or below me in the power structure? Women see 
others through the screen of connection: do I want to get more involved 
or less involved with you at this moment?

The problem is that the hierarchy folks tend to drive away the connection 
folks. *Unless* a few people with the desire to connect *and* the 
self-confidence to see that hierarchy-folks are not superior to 
connection folks - unless these few refuse to give up trying to 
strengthen the feeling of community. And keep looking for commonality.

Thanks for listening.
Tom
> > 
> 
> >Thank you,  Till   tillhout [at] ocf.berkeley.ed
> 

----------------------------------
Tom Newman
Internet: newmant [at] csos.orst.edu
Compuserve: 73057,475


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