Elon University
The prediction, in brief:

We should … see more public spaces reappearing within private service areas, such as community-based bulletin boards, in order to keep the noise down in public meetings and discussions. The public will be private in order to function at all. Act up in such a place and you’ll be tossed out on your virtual ear.

Predictor: Rose, Lance

Prediction, in context:

In a 1995 essay for ISPworld, Internet law expert Lance Rose comments about the expected crush of newbies on the Net and how they will influence Internet activity. Calling the crush “noise,” Rose writes: ”We should … see more public spaces reappearing within private service areas, such as community-based bulletin boards, in order to keep the noise down in public meetings and discussions. The public will be private in order to function at all. Act up in such a place and you’ll be tossed out on your virtual ear. These spaces will be able to support themselves by charging fees to users under the same rationale that supports charging public parking fees and usage fees for public beaches in the physical world. In these new public/private spaces, we will see land-based, local, regional and national civic groups going online, as well as brand new civic and government groups entirely indigenous to the Net.”

Biography:

Lance Rose, a lawyer, earned a high profile for his expertise in Internet issues in the 1990s. He wrote “Netlaw: Your Rights in the Online World” (1995). (Legislator/Politician/Lawyer.)

Date of prediction: January 1, 1995

Topic of prediction: Community/Culture

Subtopic: Virtual Communities

Name of publication: ISPworld

Title, headline, chapter name: Legally Online: Noise and the Public Net

Quote Type: Direct quote

Page number or URL of document at time of study:
http://www.boardwatch.com/boardwatchOnline/1995/jan95/bwm44.htm

This data was logged into the Elon/Pew Predictions Database by: Anderson, Janna Quitney