Masthead CMC Magazine / April 1, 1996
 Building Democracy Online, by Scott Aikens and Erna Koch

Debate Sponsors

The E-Debates were co-sponsored by the League of Women Voters, the Minnesota Regional Network, and the Twin Cities Freenet as a kind of clearinghouse in which computer users could examine candidates' position papers and engage simultaneously in discussions of their own in a cyberspace town square. The Twin Cities Freenet was the electronic "home" of the E-Democracy Project, which culminated in two E-Debates. There were two fora--one for candidates to respond to questions posed, and later for rebuttals, and the second for citizen discussion. People logging in could view both areas, but only candidates could "post" to the candidate debate area.

Because of the unique nature of this form of debate, it --attracted local, national, and international attention.

Section excerpted, with permission, from the prerelease draft of "State and Local Strategies for Connecting Communities" by the Benton Foundation and the Center for Policy Alternatives.


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