Openmind 121, May/June 2003
For reasons that aren't immediately clear, mad people seem to be everywhere on the net. Why? It may be that the nature of the internet means your online persona is not so easily identified as 'odd' or 'other'. People will concentrate on what you say rather than how you look or seem. I use Usenet to get around my difficulties in going to (physical, as opposed to virtual) public places. In some news groups I am upfront about being mad; in others I'm much more careful.
If you find the headlines in the tabloids bad, hold your nose: the stench of scapegoats, bigotry and pure ignorance is everywhere on Usenet. The anonymity of the internet means that the fascists and bigots have a free field of fire. For instance, a news story about the proposed changes in mental health legislationhttp://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/health/newsid_2065000/2065248.stmprovoked a storm of anti-nutter remarks. This, from a Usenet discussion on uk.local.glasgow, is one of the less rabid: 'However, anyone with a grain of intelligence would see that as the mentally ill, on the whole, are of no value to society whatsoever, it makes no sense in keeping ... alive against their wishes just to satisfy a bunch of elitist sociopaths.' (I think he means us; people working to stop the erosion of the rights of users of services.) He rants on: 'In addition, it would save money to execute or euthanise those who are deemed worthless rather than locking ppl [a Usenet contraction of 'people'] up willy-nilly.' So much for the government's television anti-discrimination advertising campaign, the gist of which seemed to be: 'Nutters can be cuddly'.
It's a good job we don't rely on the government to provide information about the nature of distress. The internet allows you, with a web-page builder and web access, to put over your view in your way, with no editorial interference or re-interpretation. I've stopped doing press interviews. Despite any promises they make, journalists keep using quotes from the 5 per cent of our conversations about our experiences of services and ignoring the 95 per cent of analysis and positive proposals for change. With a web page you can say what you want in the way that you want (within the usual laws of libel).
A bigger difficulty is letting people know your pages exist. There are literally billions of pages out there, and governments and large corporations will always buy their way to the top of search-engine lists. So your pages are harder to find. One way is a dual site. Your interests will be as wide as anyone else's. So while someone is finding the best way to mend an obsolete car engine they might look at your pages on loony rights.
For me, the most important use of the net is for personal communication. I'm not good at telephones; I have enough voices to deal with. So staying in contact with people is hard. Email has been my preferred method of communication. However, instant messaging (IM) - MSN, AIM or the like - provides an instant communications medium. When my partner Eleanor is at her home, we use IM constantly. When we listen to the same radio programme we share comments as if in the same room. IM has the advantage that you can get your message just right before sending. Clarity is vital when giving support. In this way, I think IM has advantages over the telephone.
Imagine doing the following by email, telephone or post? I don't get the usual prompts to eat and drink. I'm also not terribly safe with sharps and flames. However, if I don't eat regularly I go bonkers. With IM, Eleanor can help me decide what to cook and virtually look over my shoulder while I cook it. This keeps the chances of me cutting and burning myself, or not eating, very low.
We are starting to experiment with IM on the move. I hide some of my confusion when out by the use of a personal global positioning system (GPS). I mark all the places I visit regularly. However, with a palm-top computer and an appropriately equipped phone I can exchange IM with Eleanor. Thus, she can provide reassurance to me whilst I'm out and about. The next step will be to link the GPS to the palm so Eleanor will be able to see where I am on the PC and help me avoid getting lost. If this seems to have implications for personal liberty, you are right. But I'd rather use it to extend my own personal liberty and prevent surveillance being imposed by others.
The internet will be all-pervasive within years. Start preparing: use the technology!