Mark,
> Last I checked, USPS wanted money to send mail to everyone. One of the
> super coolio things about the web is that its "free" to distribute
> information. How long do we need to not take advantage of that to help a
> (shrinking) bunch of technological illiterates? I know _I_ wonder how
> much of my dues are being spent to send me results that I've already
> pulled off the web...
>
> Mark
>
First, a somewhat silly response:
How much money do we all have invested in our "free" method of information
distribution? How many maps could we have mailed with that money? How many
poor, starving, would-be autocrossers could we have bought cars for? (like
me!!) Or better still, how much money could we have saved by just not
sending out the maps at all? Just because we have this nifty technology
thingy, doesn't mean that we are required by law to _use_it_for_everything_.
Or are we? I'll have to talk to the local authorities...
Now, a more serious one:
How long do we need to help the "technological illiterates?" Easy. Until
they all have the same access that we do. Can you tell me what's wrong with
_equal_ access to _arguably_ valuable information?
Quite honestly, I hadn't given this any thought until I was asked to pull
the maps off of my page. I immediately did so, and also deleted all copies
of the maps from my system. I saw there could be a "perception of
impropriety," and did what I thought was the right thing. I'm sorry you
disagree.
One final note. Seeing a map beforehand, or even being the course designer,
in no way guarantees that you will "read" the course any better than anyone
else. Maps ahead of time are of dubious value, at best. IMHO, YMMV, and all
that jazz.
Everybody have fun and go fast this weekend!
Regards,
William Loring
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