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        REA-15          Communications.                January 8th,  1986





                            Communications.


        If you have a good idea, and you can afford to pass it on, why 
        ever not ?

        The usual reason for with-holding information derives either from 
        a necessity to recover research and development costs or from a 
        desire to make profit.

        These reasons are clearly appropriate to certain forms of product 
        and information.

        In other cases they are merely an impediment to getting the job 
        done.



        Sharing information in the world over the last few centuries, or 
        indeed, since the word go, has been expensive.

        The printing press democratised information exchange, but only up 
        to a point.

        To justify a print run, with the costs, time and energy entailed, 
        the printer must either have expectation of some revenue from 
        distribution, or sufficient funds to give the stuff away.

        This leads to considerable bias in both content and distribution.



        The availability of cheap computers allows for entirely 
        different economic considerations to take effect.

        Through electronic networking, it will soon be both simple and 
        inexpensive to locate and review information on almost anything.

        At present this facility is available principally to those who 
        can afford it, and while that now extends down the economic scale 
        to the individual with access to a microcomputer, there are few 
        community facilities serving people in general.

        Any LETSystem of significant size will be able to afford the 
        costs of membership in at least one major information exchange, 
        and will be able to provide research facilities for the community 
        at large.

        The appropriate provision of these services, perhaps through 
        store front walk-in operations, can do much to offset the 
        dangerous differentiation of society into those with, and those 
        without, access to information.

        Landsman will publish principally through such channels, which 
        clearly provide means to effective and immediate communication.


        Landsman Community Services Ltd.              REA-15    Page    1