city of the sun community internet
    original proposal - cos inet news - network manual - antenna reflector


discussion & vote at 2006 may 21 membership meeting
  listen or download mp3's - [part 1, 19min 13mb] [part 2, 20min 13.8mb]

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Date: Sun, 14 May 2006 22:43:24 -0600 (MDT)
From: chris vansprouts <vansprouts at mac dot com>
Reply-to: cos mbr secy fran gordon <electricpine at yahoo dot com>,
  chris vansprouts <vansprouts at mac dot com>
To: bcc to cos membership <vansprouts at mac dot com>
Subject: cos community internet - absentee ballot

dear cos members,

    the following motion will be presented at the next membership meeting,
may 21 sunday.  if you will not be present to vote, would you please send
an absentee ballot.   by email, you can reply to this message (please
indicate your vote below).  also, printed copies of this email will
be placed in all mailboxes at the community center.  if you submit a
printout as a ballot, please sign your name with your vote.  thank you.


---------------------  Absentee Ballot  ---------------------

I Vote:

    For    Against    Abstain     (circle/delete to indicate your vote)

Motion:

    For all community members of the City of the Sun to have inexpensive
access to the global internet by sharing one high-speed DSL connection.
There will be free computer(s) in the community building, and wireless
(wifi) access available for all homes throughout the community.

    This will cost the community about $30 per month (less than $1 per month
per member), and a one-time purchase of $50-150 for community wifi routers.
(If your computer at home doesn't have wifi, you can upgrade for about $50.)
Chris Vansprouts (and others?) will contribute free setup, technical assist-
ance, training, and some equipment (computers, cables, etc) to the community.

------------- (end of motion & absentee ballot) -------------



background information & commentary

inexpensive 24-hour high-speed internet for everyone at city of the sun
  - wifi wireless network to all homes in city of the sun
  - free internet computer(s) in the community building
  - websites for city of the sun foundation & members

how does a cos community/wifi network compare to...
  - dsl at home?  community network is 30x cheaper than a personal dsl
  - dialup?      20x cheaper, 5-10x faster, always online (no connection delay)
  - cell phone?   unlimited time & cheaper, 25x faster, always online
  - internet cafe?  24-hour access, quiet, private, secure, saves gas
  - public library?  24-hour access, quiet, private, secure, uncensored, saves gas

how does a cos community/wifi network compare to...
  - nothing?    by contributing your share (less than $1 per month), you will
         be supporting others in the community who can make positive, creative,
         and valuable use of this resource, which will result in a happier,
         wealthier, and more sustainable community for everyone.

possible uses of community-wide internet access:
  - the usual emailing & web browsing for research & shopping
  - email & webspace for the cos foundation office & each cos member
  - announcements of workshops, events, business, etc
  - cos foundation website
       new member info, policies & bylaws, agendas & voting, history of cos, etc
  - direct publishing of cos member projects on personal websites
       photos, drawings, writings, music, film, architecture, ecotech, etc


more commentary

    the world has been changing (surprise!).  the use of computers & the
global internet is gradually replacing printed newspapers, magazines, books,
postal mail, broadcast television & radio, and the physical transportation
of people, printed media, sound & visual recordings.  no need to panic -
let's get with it!  this saves lots of trees and petroleum, and facilitates
affordable decentralized communication & trade among -all- people around
the planet.

    yes, there are regions of the internet that contain horrible spam, scams,
pornography, & tasteless shopping sites.  this is a reflection of the current
condition of the whole world.  the internet is not the cause of these things,
it's just another place with equal potential for ugliness or beauty.  the
whole internet is not a slum...  there's lots of good & valuable stuff on
the internet, and plenty of room for our positive contribution as well.

electronically yours,
chris vansprouts


_______________________________________________________________
"The most expensive and fantastic of physical manifestations is
 trivial compared with the simplest of transcendent imaginings."
   - S Smithson Wildman (Primitive Religions, 1894)
http://homepage.mac.com/vansprouts/meta/sofa.html