At 09:09 AM 3/13/01 -0800, Ray Dillinger wrote:
I had hoped that the internet would change the dynamics of the vox populi, by allowing people unintermediated discussion with one another, the space to develop ideas fully and learn that they were not alone in holding particular ideas.
people who think differently are being
drowned out almost as effectively there as they are on television. Censorship is running rampant, and tolerance is at about the lowest ebb it's been in my lifetime. The "mosaic culture" that the internet was supposed to enable keeps having bits of it cut off
Bear, the net is letting people see who / what their neighbors really are, and really are interested in. Whenever you mix cultures you find xenophobia and suppression of the minor cultures. The internet is merely stirring things up a little more. That's my long-term optimistic take on what you write, which I agree with.