Hybrid Assignment 11
I think that a self-government system operates on the notion that they (community on the WELL) rule their own virtuality affairs and are free from control outside of the community. The people who are connected to the Whole Earth Lectronic Link are free to discuss various topics without the threat of being governed by political forces that will tell them that things are supposed to be done a certain way.
I get the sense that people go to the community to be informed, and check for updates and new information just by dialing into to this system to share, comment and distribute the information. I believe that Turner gives you an idea about how Brand created a forum for which a governing system was not allowed because of the restriction of new ideas, innovative ideologies and the austere forms of governing procedures. Therefore, a self-governing system operates in the way of being free to distribute guidelines, course of action, and the information needed by the community.
When I think of self-governing, I think of how we govern ourselves as a community according to our own data, as well as responsibilities. Self-governing is not relying or depending on government to fix our problems, but instead, is a sense of freedom and responsibility to solve one’s own problem. The WELL presents a new version of the modern ideal citizen who looks to self-govern in a virtuality world. For so long, we’ve been taught to listen to government and that we cannot govern ourselves, so this system acts as a mechanism to have the community do it themselves.
