Stories were used at the public forum as examples of what citizens' concerns are with technology and the Internet. These stories were used to start discussion.

Buying a book:
I want to buy a book. I have two options; one is to buy the book on the Internet, the other is to buy it at a local bookseller. If I buy it on the Internet, the book may cost slightly less, but there is a shipping charge, reducing the savings but still saving some money over the book seller. Buying the book at the book seller supports a local store that I like to visit. The book costs more and it may cost me to make the trip unless it is on the way to work. Buying the book locally also supports jobs in the store, local jobs, whereas buying it off the Internet may or may not be local transaction.

Chain Mail:
E-mail can be an important connection tool. It allows for staying in touch with friends and family quickly, conveniently, and at a low cost. E-mail in the workplace has replaced paper memos and voice mail. Legitimate groups have used e-mail to circulate political petitions, or to increase awareness of environmental, political or social issues. However, with the convenience of e-mail comes a host of problems. Computers are opened up to viruses, and users are inundated with chain messages that perpetuate urban myths, contain hoaxes, or threaten a life of unhappiness to those unfortunate recipients who chose not to forward the messages on to their whole address book. Messages travel so quickly that many users find that they receive the same petition, hoax, or announcement from multiple different contacts within a short period of time, causing users to become frustrated with the invasion of "junk" mail into what was once a productive and time saving tool.

Enough Access
A woman at a local social service agency told me she can't keep their computer lab open very many hours without more staff, but they don't have the funds for it. A librarian from the library down the street has to to limit users to half-hour sessions. It would be great is there was enough support for these places.

This project is part of the City of Seattle Citizens Technology Literacy and Access initiative in cooperation with the volunteer Citizens Telecommunications and Technology Advisory Board (CTTAB) and Sustainable Seattle. Additional assistance for the forum is being provided by Progress Project of the Evans School of Public Affairs and the Glaser Progress Foundation and Seattle Community Network.

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