Internetworkers: http://www.ibiblio.org/internetworkers/

["Michael D. Thomas" <mdthomas AT mindspring.com>]

Mr. and Ms. Geek Go To Washington

http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,51927,00.html

<snip/>
Among the first AOTC members was Paul Jones, the University of North Carolina
professor best known for UNC's pioneering Sunsite information server project
(later renamed Ibiblio).
<snip/>
Those issues revolve around a common theme: the fear that federal laws
regarding digital rights management and telecommunications will stop Internet
developers from experimenting with new means of conveying and interacting with
information, in order to protect the bottom lines of a few major companies.
<snip/>
Searls said he thinks legislators simply don't understand enough about
technology to realize the full impact of legislation proposed by lobbyists for
entertainment, telecom and other industries. "I just want to bring sense to
it -- that's what lobbyists do," he said. "They corner these people (in
Congress) and get some time with them and say, 'You see this here? This is
dumb. This is smart.'"
<snip/>
But, he said, aspiring geek lobbyists will need to take as much instruction as
they give. "Have an open mind, respect the process, try to get rid of your
preconceived notions," he advised. "There's a lot of things in politics to be
cynical about, but you have to avoid the temptation to get too cynical too
soon."