NII, Competing Visions
Viewpoint:
Issue: Content
According to the EFF, any and all sorts of media should be carried on the NII. Complete flexibility technically goes hand-in-glove with complete flexibility of content. Whether it is text, graphics, full motion video or completely interactive forms of media yet to be developed, the NII ought to be able to accommodate the necessary bit rates and throughput. Further, they believe that there ought to be little or no constraints about the type, kind or frequency. There is enormous dialog about this going on all around the country, especially at nationally known universities.
Who are the providers?
For the EFF the essential paradigm shifting concept of the net is the change in the relationship between the creators and the consumers of information. Unlike today, where forms, length and types of information are created by a comparatively few sources, the NII needs to accommodate a scenario in which anyone has the ability to create and distribute information.
Types of certification for accuracy
Perhaps this is the most important area in the educational arena. What sorts of media should be accommodated by the NII? Does this include full-motion video and film? How are these packages of information to be moved around? Who are the providers of this information? Can anyone be a provider?
Copyright
Members of the EFF have stated that everything that we now understand about copyright is wrong. There has been a major paradigm shift and the ownership of electronic property, whether it be intellectual, written word, visual, still, or graphic, is now an antiquated notion. The movement of content from one media to another will accelerate, especially in the educational mode. Does this mean there are rights fees that need to be paid? On the other hand, will there be no compensation for intellectual creators in the future, whether they be visual artists or researchers on intellectual concerns? The notion that now exists in visual media, where there is one cost for a product for home video use and significantly higher costs for educational exhibitions, is a modality that will be difficult to enforce in the future, as it is now. Repurposing of partial elements of content is something that is quite common in education yet has no economic rationale for cost reimbursement. See more from Curtis Benton on this subject.
Note: the views expressed in this document are an interpretation and unless explicitly noted do not represent the actual viewpoints of the named organizations.
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