Congress and state and local governments [could] establish forums in cyberspace dedicated explicitly to public discourse … These public forums must be visible, accessible and at least occasionally unavoidable – they must be street corners in cyberspace.
Predictor: Shapiro, Andrew L.
Prediction, in context:In a 1995 article for The Nation, contributing editor Andrew Shapiro writes: ”A more appropriate solution [to settling the issue of what cyberspace should be] might be for Congress and state and local governments to establish forums in cyberspace dedicated explicitly to public discourse … These public forums must be visible, accessible and at least occasionally unavoidable – they must be street corners in cyberspace … Though Net users might initially see the public gateway as an imposition, it really isn’t different from the burden of exposure that they accept in their everyday lives. To get to a store or private club one must, at least momentarily, traverse the square or travel the street. As on a real public sidewalk, a virtual pedestrian can try to ignore what’s there and pass right by. Most probably will. But some will be enticed to listen and even to argue. More important, all will have at least the opportunity to hear truly free speech outside the control of private interests – and, like expression in any public forum, free from government censorship.”
Date of prediction: January 1, 1995
Topic of prediction: Community/Culture
Subtopic: Virtual Communities
Name of publication: The Nation
Title, headline, chapter name: Street Corners in Cyberspace
Quote Type: Direct quote
Page number or URL of document at time of study:
Page 10
This data was logged into the Elon/Pew Predictions Database by: Strickland, Amanda M.