Elizabeth, That is some opening shot! I want to get something clear: You mention this discussion lasting "throughout 2005" and during "the coming months" but this discussion -- on IAOCblog -- is just for this week, right? Like many dot.bomb survivors, I get an alergic reaction to talk of a "new communications model" every time Google learns a new trick. To me, it's the same old communications -- people talking to people -- with incrementally changing technology. And I think most of the talk about "democratic media" is hoo-haw and here's why. When you can hear every voice, you want a filter. Many of the voices I hear coming through Internet I don't want to hear. Whenever you put in a filter, it ceases to be democratic medium. Most blogs that are truly open don't work, because most people don't want to participate in a discussion -- they want to push an agenda or advertise. Most blogs I've seen are *not* open forums -- they're more geared to pushing a message than hearing one. Usenet, to me, is more democratic and transparent than most blogs. Why is it so surprising that transparent communications reveal that, for the most part, we don't want to communicate with most people. Monday Morning Grump, STEVE O'KEEFE V.P. -- IAOC