[Vision2020] AP Story Question of Moscow Web forum's success up for debate

[Dick Schmidt]

I noticed several mentioning something about this article a couple days ago. I had copied it and emailed it to my wife at work. Here it is in case some of you didn't see it.

Dick Schmidt


Question of Moscow Web forum's success up for debate
Associated Press
February 21, 2006

MOSCOW, Idaho (AP) - Anything is open to debate in this northern Idaho town on an Internet e-mail list called Moscow Vision 2020 - including the existence of Vision 2020 itself.

"I believe that the most beneficial attribute of Moscow Vision 2020 is its openness," Tom Hansen, one of the more prolific contributors, wrote in an e-mail to the Lewiston Tribune. "It is like a community social club with the proverbial soap box and an open mic 24/7."

On the other end of the spectrum is Doug Wilson, pastor of Moscow's Christ Church, who is sometimes a target of e-mail posts on Vision 2020.

"I think it's an embarrassment to the community," he said.

Vision 2020 began in 1993, according to its Web site, "to encourage more public information and debate about the future of Moscow and Latah County."

"For a while it had a great public service aspect," said Kenton Bird, director of the University of Idaho School of Journalism and Mass Media, who helped start the program. "For example, my cat got lost."

But it has turned into something else, according to some in the community.

"Of course, to a great degree, it's a great failure because of the pettiness and name-calling," said Bill London, a local writer and one of the founders of Vision 2020. "I think it really exists on its own. It's like an amoebae scrounging around out there."

It is an unmoderated site, meaning posts that might be offensive to some are sent, and unsubstantiated information is also put out. Topics have included the war in Iraq, Wal-Mart super centers, local politics and religion.

What kind of influence Vision 2020 has is hard to determine. About 500 people sign up to receive e-mail postings, but only about 10 percent of those are active contributors.

"The heart and soul of this thing is only a dozen, maybe up to 50, who keep it going," said Bill Moore, director of technology for First Step Internet, which sponsors Vision 2020. "It really gets to be a free-for-all. We refuse to enforce any rules."

Moore calls the company's sponsorship of Vision 2020 a "scary," money-losing proposition rooted in public service.

The rest of the people who sign up for Vision 2020 - called "Venom 2020" by some - who read the e-mails but don't participate are called lurkers. How many subscribers also lurk is another difficult number to nail down.

"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."
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://mailman.fsr.com/pipermail/vision2020/attachments/20060224/d4878038/attachment.htm