Holeton, Composing Cyberspace Discussion Threads Chapter 8

Chapter 8 index || Forward Thinking || Research Links || More Online Readings & Resources ||

1. re: Okerson and Fearer
2. re: Okerson and Brody
3. re: Okerson, Fearer, and Bank
4. re: Brody and Bank
5. re: "Burning Chrome"
6. re: Ownership and Sharing of Knowledge
New Threads for CC Online:
7. re: Okerson, Brody, Bank, and Barlow
8. re: Bank and Dyson
9. re: Fearer and Dyson

re: Okerson and Fearer
1. How do you think the interests of information providers and information users, as discussed in Ann Okerson's article about digital copyright issues, balance out in the Church of Scientology affair described by Mark Fearer? What do you think Okerson would say about the "copyright terrorists" on either side of the Scientology case?

re: Okerson and Brody
2. Herb Brody would seem to agree with Ann Okerson that "Most scientists and scholars are far more interested in the widest possible distribution of their work to their professional colleagues than in capturing every possible royalty dollar" (¶ 6). What do you think these scientists and scholars -- "merely passengers on a mass-media ocean lines" (¶ 7), according to Okerson -- have to gain and lose by new rules about intellectual property being debated in the wake of the Lehman Commission? To what extent do you think researchers' new uses of technology "promote the progress of science and the useful arts," a stated purpose of U.S. copyright law?

re: Okerson, Fearer, and Bank
3. "Some network enthusiasts assert that 'information wants to be free,'" writes Ann Okerson, "but an equally vociferous band of digital pioneers contend that the real future of the global Internet lies in metering every drop of knowledge and charging for every sip" (¶ 3). Mark Fearer portrays the Church of Scientology as being motivated by greed in wishing to retain control of its "sacred texts," and David Bank describes how corporate "knowledge officer" Gordon Petrash works to "wring additional money from [Dow Chemical's] tens of thousands of patents" (¶ 27). How would you analyze the kinds of corporate knowledge management and knowledge-sharing discussed by Fearer and Bank in terms of the public versus private interest? Is the Fair Use Doctrine a good weapon for exposing dubious religious recruitment tactics? How do you think the public benefits or suffers from what Banks calls the "powerful force" of corporate "collective IQ" (¶ 7)?

re: Brody and Bank
4. Compare how and why information and knowledge are shared among scientists and within corporations, according to Herb Brody and David Bank. What's the goal or purpose of sharing knowledge in each case? What similar and different values lie behind these goals?

re: "Burning Chrome"
5. Based on the articles in this chapter, imagine or role-play a conversation about William Gibson's story "Burning Chrome" held by Ann Okerson, Mark Fearer, Church of Scientology officials, Herb Brody, and David Bank. What aspects of the story do you think each commentator would emphasize, and how might each reply to the others?

re: Ownership and Sharing of Knowledge
6. Peer review -- a conventional and vital part of scientific research discussed by Herb Brody -- is a process you've participated in if you've ever shared your writing or other work with classmates or colleagues in order to receive feedback about it for possible revision. You may also have felt the pressure, at school or at work, to keep your ideas private, to protect them or promote them in order to advance your own interests or the interests of your institution, organization, or company. How does the tension between collaboration and competition -- or the competing interests of the public versus private individuals or businesses -- get manifested in each article or story in this chapter? What different models for owning, controlling, and sharing knowledge are suggested? What values about collaboration or competition do you detect in each case? Where do your values lie by comparison?

re: Okerson, Brody, Bank, and Barlow
7. How do you think Ann Okerson would respond to John Perry Barlow's argument that "almost everything we think we know about intellectual property is wrong"? Based on their articles about knowledge sharing in science and industry, how do you think Herb Brody or David Bank would respond to Barlow's extended definition of information as an activity, a lifeform, and a relationship?

re: Bank and Dyson
8. The "knowledge officers" in David Bank's article seem primarily concerned about how knowledge is used within a corporation, while Esther Dyson emphasizes the value of knowledge in the greater marketplace. What other differences do you find in these two approaches to the economy of ideas? To what extent do you think these two approaches are driven by a similar or different set of values?

re: Fearer and Dyson
9. If Esther Dyson were hired as a consultant by the Church of Scientology (CoS), what advice do you think she would give CoS leaders about re-thinking their business and marketing plans? How would you expect CoS leaders to react, based on Mark Fearer's article?