[Vision2020] LMT Feb 19 -- Cyber soapbox stirs debate

[AreaMan]

Part 3 -- The Big One:
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Cyber soapbox stirs debate; Is unique forum a wild ride on free-speech
express or a vicious circle for Moscow mud-slingers to spew their brand
of venom? That depends on who you ask 

By DAVID JOHNSON of the Tribune

MOSCOW -- The original soapbox in Hyde Park was made of wood and became
a universal symbol of free speech. 

Orators from the dimwitted to the rhetorically superior still gather at
the corner of London's Park Lane and Cumberland Gate to publicly spout
their opinions. 

A contemporary Hyde Park variant can be found in this Latah County
college town. But instead of wood, the soapbox is made of cyberspace
technology. And after 12 years, say those who speak through their
computer keyboards, the Vision 2020 e-mail list has become both a
vehicle for, and a target of fiery debate. 

Some call the Vision 2020 experience a quintessential online exercise in
First Amendment rights, brimming with smart talk and generating valuable
public discourse. 

Others brand it "Venom 2020" and mock the local Internet medium as a
bane to civil dialogue, laced with pettiness and dominated by
self-important windbags. 

One thing for sure -- Vision 2020, in all its unfettered unruliness, has
defined itself as the kind of soapbox that continues to push the
boundaries of free speech, perhaps, some fear, to the point of eventual
self-inflicted silence. 

***** 

The disclaimer that appears on the Vision 2020 Web site is laced with
lawyer talk such as, "This list is only the vehicle that facilitates
this public discourse, and no person or hosting ISP is responsible for
the content." 

The site is offered and maintained by First Step Internet, a
Moscow-based Internet service provider. 
Bill Moore, director of technology for First Step Internet, calls the
company's sponsorship of Vision 2020 a "scary," money-losing proposition
rooted in public service and vulnerable to the kind of verbal wars that
would render most television censors, newspaper editors and libel
attorneys speechless. 

"It really gets to be a free-for-all," Moore says. "We refuse to enforce
any rules." 

In fact, virtually everything that's been written on Vision 2020 since
1994 -- every vitriolic attack, all words of wisdom, every cuss word,
all political insights, every partisan cheap shot, all public service
announcements, every unfounded allegation, all the eloquent rhetorical
essays, and every dumb sentence -- has been preserved. It exists in the
Vision 2020 archives and is available to anyone who logs on to the Web
site. 

What's more, subscribers can pound out any message they want, or they
don't have to write a lick. They can simply lurk behind the scenes. 

"Most of our subscribers are lurkers," confirms Moore. Of the nearly 500
people currently subscribing to Vision 2020, he estimates only about 10
percent are active contributors. 
"The heart and soul of this thing is only a dozen, maybe up to 50, who
keep it going." 

The existence of a so-called "Dirty Dozen," says Moore, is bantered
about. And indeed, there is a handful of people who post just about
every day. Subject matter ranges these days from the war in Iraq and
Wal-Mart super centers to local politics and religion. 

Of the public officials who subscribe, most use the site to make public
service announcements. Some admit to lurking. A few match wits with
other posters. 

"I utilize it to post my legislative letter each week along with special
legislative news," says State Rep. Tom Trail, R-Moscow. "I do not engage
in the day-to-day Vision 2020 exchanges." 

Keely Emerine Mix, a member of the Moscow School Board, opts to mix it
up. "I post," she says, "because there's a point of view that I hold
that isn't well represented, and that's of a biblically conservative,
albeit politically somewhat liberal, evangelical." 

Moscow Mayor Nancy Chaney champions Vision 2020 as a vehicle for
legitimate public debate and sometimes a means to set the record
straight. During November's election, for example, a Vision 2020 post
from an anonymous "Jane Doe" resurrected old, unsubstantiated rumors
about Chaney's opponent, Peg Hamlett. 

"This is at least the third time people supporting Nancy Chaney for
Mayor have resorted to this garbage and distortion of facts," retorted
regular Vision 2020 poster Donovan Arnold of Moscow. 

Chaney promptly mounted her keyboard with a response: "You know that I
am an honest, fair, civil, intelligent person," Chaney wrote.
"Presumably, you will also surmise that I would have none of the tactics
posted by the likes of Jane Doe. Please do not confuse my opinions,
practices, or personal integrity with the likes of those who get their
satisfaction from slinging mud." 

Other posters pounced on Jane Doe and the anonymous person went away.
But some say the damage was complete. Hamlett lost the election. 

Moore winces when he ponders such exchanges. He concedes part of him
wants to muzzle much of what shows up on Vision 2020, if not for the
distortions and factual failings, then for the meanness and potentially
libelous attacks. 

"Sometimes I think, 'you know what, this is getting out of control. We
need someone to moderate it.' " But tampering with the posted messages,
says Moore, could put the legal onus on First Step Internet. So he
maintains the e-mail list, but keeps his hands off the content. 

"You can't hold the soapbox responsible," he reasons. 

**** 

Bill London, a local writer and civic activist, is one of the founders
of Vision 2020. He's quick to point out that Vision 2020 started as a
"face-to-face" group of people concerned about growth in Moscow. 

Kenton Bird, now director of the University of Idaho School of
Journalism and Mass Media, is also credited with starting Vision 2020,
as is Susan Palmer, now a sociology professor at Walla Walla Community
College. 

London remains linked to Vision 2020, in that he works with Moore to
ensure the future of the electronic soapbox. And like Moore, London says
Vision 2020 morphed from being a group of concerned citizens to a
vehicle for discourse between concerned citizens. 

Greg Brown, who worked in computer services at UI, is credited with
building the original vehicle. "I have taken the liberty of setting up a
Vision 2020 listserv group," reads an e-mail he wrote in late 1994 and
remains in the Vision 2020 archives. "This service will allow you to
conveniently mail to everyone in the Vision 2020 list without
maintaining a list of your own." 

Bird, according to the archives, was first to post. 

"Greetings," wrote Bird. "I'm so excited about our listserver I couldn't
wait to try it out!" 

Bird, Palmer and Brown were the only ones to post messages during the
first month Vision 2020 was up and running. The number of posts jumped
to around 10 the next month, followed by more than 80 the month after
and today the posts number between 30 and 60 per day, depending on how
heated the issues might be. 

Once the electronic soapbox became an entity unto itself, say London,
Bird and Palmer, it continued to morph into what has become a raspy
exercise of First Amendment rights and unencumbered free speech. 

"I think it really exists on its own. It's like an amoebae scrounging
around out there," says London, adding that a scrounging amoebae isn't
always a pretty sight. 

"We were hoping that it would become a way for the public to educate
themselves, and strengthen civic dialogue," London says of how he and
others viewed Vision 2020 once it took on a life of its own. "Of course,
to a great degree, it's a great failure because of the pettiness and
name-calling." 

Bird and Palmer agree. Both say they rarely, if ever, post. 

"I haven't looked at Vision 2020 probably since the fall of 2004, the
presidential election," Bird says. "It wasn't so much the tone of the
discourse as much as the shear volume that drove me off." Bird says his
e-mail account is flooded enough without having it overflow with Vision
2020 posts. His colleagues, however, continue to lurk and keep him
posted about the dialogue. 

Palmer says she doesn't even lurk. "I'm a little disillusioned," she
says. "For awhile it had a great public service aspect. For example, my
cat got lost." 

Palmer says she posted news of the lost cat and it was found a few hours
later. 

That sort of thing continues to happen on Vision 2020. Lost dogs and
cats are found. People exchange recipes. Agendas for public meetings are
posted. And even the debates, more often than not, end with good things
happening, London says. 

The failures, contends London, pale in comparison to the unique service
Vision 2020 continues to provide and the potential for its participants
to police themselves and actually raise the level of discourse. 

All that comes against assessments offered by the likes of Doug Wilson,
pastor of Moscow's Christ Church and a perpetual target (some say by his
own making) on Vision 2020. Credited and blamed for coining the idiom
"Venom 2020," Wilson sums up the e-mail list by saying, "I think it's an
embarrassment to the community." 

**** 

At the request of the Lewiston Tribune, London came up with 12 of the
more active posters on Vision 2020 and posted a request for them to
contact the newspaper if they wanted to offer their assessment of the
e-mail list. 

"My experience with things like this is that no good can possibly come
of it," groused one person. "I would be happy to defer my position to
someone else." 

Several people, however, jumped at the opportunity and offered their
views via e-mail. 

"I believe that the most beneficial attribute of Moscow Vision 2020 is
its openness," writes Tom Hansen, one of the more prolific contributors.
"It is like a community social club with the proverbial soap box and an
open mic 24/7. The biggest complaint that I have is when a topic
degenerates to name calling. I have been guilty of it myself on
occasion, although with less and less frequency." 

Writes Phil Nisbet, a relatively recent arrival to the list who posts
regularly, "What's good about V 2020? It's a good early warning system
for plans germinated by the left in Moscow. What's bad about it? Knowing
what they plan requires you to respond, which in turn makes you a
target." 

Joan Opyr, known locally as Auntie Establishment, sums up her regular
participation as a means "to entertain, to inform, and to be part of the
larger community conversation. I'm naturally gregarious. I'm also an
incorrigible smart-ass. Vision 2020 helps me get in touch with my inner
Groucho Marx." 

"Another bad thing about V 2020 is that some people think it adequately
reflects the Moscow community at large," writes Dan Carscallen, another
regular on the list. "Hogwash. While it is somewhat pervasive, there are
still people in Moscow who don't even know what Vision 2020 is." 

**** 

After all is never said and never done, because that is the nature of an
unmoderated listserv, Vision 2020's future is as tenuous as its history
is rancorous. London and Moore concede they don't like to even broach
the idea Vision 2020 disappearing, but it's pretty obvious to anyone who
really contemplates how and why Vision 2020 works. 

It works because it exists on its own -- unmoderated and unencumbered by
the legal constraints of other media like television, radio and
newspapers. Even the blogs on the Internet are usually sponsored,
written or edited by a person who controls the site and therefore
assumes some legal responsibility. 

Vision 2020 works differently because of First Step Internet's hands-off
support. As Moore explains, his company is willing to maintain the
soapbox, but has nothing to do with what those who climb aboard say
about anything. 

"The idea is we do it for a public service," Moore says. So when people
on both sides of issues and the political spectrum get upset with Vision
2020, they howl to Moore. 

"We are walking that tightrope. Sometimes the right-wingers hate our
guts, same with the left-wingers. We take this responsibility
seriously." 

And therein lies the threat to Vision 2020's future. 

Because no one moderates the site, no one edits what's written. And when
all that is written becomes part of the public discourse, Vision 2020
becomes vulnerable to sabotage. 

Despite all the self-policing the participants attempt, the risk is
always present that someone will push the free-speech envelop too far
and First Step Internet might opt to dismantle the soapbox. 

"It's a little scary, so we're always watching and monitoring," Moore
says. 

The Internet address for Vision 2020 is www.vision2020.moscow.com.
Subscriptions are free. 
-----------------------
It ain't easy bein' free,

DC