At 10:14 PM 11/18/96 -0800, you wrote:
Bah, humbug! I've seen the Internet these kind of people try to create. They call them FREE-nets and then tangle everyone up in petty politics, power struggles and mindless sniping. Instead of bringing people together, they divide people between the commercial providers (with 95% market share) and the community networks (with 5% market share) all the while claiming that they are great because they have brought the power of the Internet into the community. Internet access in North America costs less than a month's supply of cigarettes. How many poor people can't afford cigarettes? Not many.
The barrier to entry for that poor person is significantly higher, in the real world, for the poor person. Net access may be had for $20/month. But the hardware is a significant barrier for the poor person. To expand your analogy, poor people don't have to buy hardware to smoke. We all come with lips :) Eric