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Yeah I agree libraries are actually the perfect solution for this, not a tragedy. I'm impressed recently with the relevance of libraries doing things exactly li

by kfarr 6y ago

Yeah I agree libraries are actually the perfect solution for this, not a tragedy. I'm impressed recently with the relevance of libraries doing things exactly like this -- helping the masses access knowledge -- despite the shift away from print.

jfk13 6y ago
Does every remote rural hamlet have a library? How far is it reasonable to expect someone to travel in order to access this solution?
- fastball 6y ago
  If you're so rural you can't access a library, how were you using a pre-internet service in the first place? Internet services becomes more of a win if you're remote, not less so, espescially with things like Starlink coming online.
  - kevingadd 6y ago
    Mail service and telephone service are effectively universal, so a job application via the mail or the phone is within reach of basically everyone. Having a handset and a phone line is also much cheaper than owning even a second-hand smartphone (at least a decent cellular plan with data isn't very expensive anymore). A deaf person could handle applying by phone via a relay service (though these days they probably can't because relay services are abused by malicious parties and everyone hangs up on them). Paper applications were probably very tough for blind people though, I'm not sure what the solution was... the internet is likely better there, if you're lucky and the job application website is actually accessible. I lived in a very rural area for about 50% of my childhood - we had no fire department, we relied on a well for water, our town's official population was in the hundreds, etc. If we wanted to get on the internet we had to do it at around 38400 and random packets would get corrupted because the lines were old and low-quality (I wrote my own parity tool in VB6 so that I could download a file 3-4 times and produce a not-corrupted version). Despite that, if I wanted to call someone up on the phone to speak with them or send a letter, that was just as easy and effective as it was when I lived in the suburbs. When we eventually managed to get slow DSL years later it was INCREDIBLY expensive because in rural areas if you're lucky enough to have service at all the monopolist who offers it knows they can charge as much as they want.
  - jfk13 6y ago
    Where I live, at least, mailboxes are a lot more widespread than libraries. To send a form by mail, I just have to walk a couple hundred yards.
- darkerside 6y ago
  A library is not a building. What if it's cheaper to make it so people can call and make an appointment with a librarian, who will come to your house and assist you with your government service needs?

by kfarr 6y ago

jfk13 6y ago

Does every remote rural hamlet have a library? How far is it reasonable to expect someone to travel in order to access this solution?

fastball 6y ago
If you're so rural you can't access a library, how were you using a pre-internet service in the first place? Internet services becomes more of a win if you're remote, not less so, espescially with things like Starlink coming online.
- kevingadd 6y ago
  Mail service and telephone service are effectively universal, so a job application via the mail or the phone is within reach of basically everyone. Having a handset and a phone line is also much cheaper than owning even a second-hand smartphone (at least a decent cellular plan with data isn't very expensive anymore). A deaf person could handle applying by phone via a relay service (though these days they probably can't because relay services are abused by malicious parties and everyone hangs up on them). Paper applications were probably very tough for blind people though, I'm not sure what the solution was... the internet is likely better there, if you're lucky and the job application website is actually accessible. I lived in a very rural area for about 50% of my childhood - we had no fire department, we relied on a well for water, our town's official population was in the hundreds, etc. If we wanted to get on the internet we had to do it at around 38400 and random packets would get corrupted because the lines were old and low-quality (I wrote my own parity tool in VB6 so that I could download a file 3-4 times and produce a not-corrupted version). Despite that, if I wanted to call someone up on the phone to speak with them or send a letter, that was just as easy and effective as it was when I lived in the suburbs. When we eventually managed to get slow DSL years later it was INCREDIBLY expensive because in rural areas if you're lucky enough to have service at all the monopolist who offers it knows they can charge as much as they want.
- jfk13 6y ago
  Where I live, at least, mailboxes are a lot more widespread than libraries. To send a form by mail, I just have to walk a couple hundred yards.
darkerside 6y ago
A library is not a building. What if it's cheaper to make it so people can call and make an appointment with a librarian, who will come to your house and assist you with your government service needs?