LOL! This paper SUCKS when it comes to Y2K coverage.

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Is cyberspace fueling Y2K angst?
By FOON RHEE
The Year2000 computer bug could be apocalyptic.

Or it could be ho-hum.

The story you get all depends where you click your computer mouse.

Because the hullabaloo is caused by computers, it's not surprising that Web surfers get washed over by waves and waves of Y2K information - everything from straightforward fact to sheer speculation, some of it the best advice available and some the worst.

"Anyone can open up their own Web site and say anything they want," says Jack Gribben, spokesman for the President's Council on Year2000 Conversion. "On Y2K, like other issues, the Web is not necessarily the best source of information."

"People are inclined to believe whatever they see on the Web, and not always look behind it to see if it's someone trying to sell a product or to put their own slant on the issue," Gribben says.

He says misinformation generally makes the council's job more difficult. But rumors on the Web raise issues more rapidly. And that lets the council try to quickly correct or clarify bad data before it spins out of control.

"In that way, it's a positive - if there is a positive," Gribben says.

The council recommends several Web sites: the American Red Cross Web site for how to prepare (www.redcross.org/disaster/safety/y2k.html) and the Federal Trade Commission for consumer information (www.consumer.gov/y2k).

But some busy Web sites paint a darker picture of what might happen Jan.1 because unfixed computers, which read only the last two digits of dates, mistake the Year2000 for 1900.

For instance, the Year Zero Web site (www.zonapair.com/zero.html) asks: "Where will you be when the lights go out? When the dial tone fades away. And when this thing called civilization no longer exists? Where will you be?"

The Web site warns about martial law and offers links to other Y2K Web sites, but doesn't try to directly sell anything.

Such pessimistic, even alarmist, Web sites tend to be heavy on fear and light on technical details. Some point to biblical and ancient prophecies and predict panic and mass unrest.

Type "millennium bug and Armageddon" into a search engine like Yahoo! and more than 1,600Web pages pop up.

"A lot of the information is suspect," says Peter de Jager, a Canadian expert on technological change who, in 1993, emerged as one of the first to raise warning flags about Y2K.

"If you look into some of the backgrounds of the people putting out these predictions that the world's going to end, it turns out they have no technical expertise."

Instead, many are longtime conspiracy theorists or Armageddon believers, he says.

Most mainstream Web sites, on the other hand, now say that governments and businesses in the United States and Canada, which have spent billions on the problem, have fixed most potential glitches. There's more uncertainty about Y2K readiness in other parts of the world.

De Jager also predicts a smoother transition than he once expected. While there will likely be lots of problems, most will be minor.

"We've put the worst behind us," he said. "The end-of-the-world scenario is utter nonsense."

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On the internet
A sampling of recommended and official sources of information on the Internet:

Preparedness

American Red Cross: www.redcross.org/disaster/safety/y2k.html (includes answers to frequent questions and guides in English, Spanish, Chinese, Creole and Tagalog).
The Cassandra Project: http://cassandraproject.org (focuses on personal and community preparation and action plans).
Y2K Women: www.y2kwomen.com (caters to women and what they can do to keep their family safe).

Consumer issues

Federal Trade Commission: www.consumer.gov/y2k (lots of consumer information and links to other government Web sites).
Consumer Electronics Manufacturers Association: www.cemacity.org/govt/cema2000.htm (answers common questions and links to manufacturers' Web sites).
Will It Work: www.willitwork.com (search engine finds Y2K compliance statements for products ranging from industrial equipment to medical devices).

Government

President's Council on Year2000 Conversion: www.y2k.gov (gives the official word on what government is doing and provides consumer information).
Charlotte-Mecklenburg governments: www.charmeck.nc.us/y2k.htm (provides information on local readiness and community meetings).
N.C. state government: http://year2000.state.nc.us (gives information on what state agencies are doing, plus regional links to Y2K Web sites of utilities, hospitals and others).
S.C. state government: www.state.sc.us/y2000 (shows what state agencies are doing, plus information on contingency plans and links to other sites).

Computers

Computer Network Power: www.cnp.net/y2k
Microsoft Corp.: www.microsoft.com/year2000
Gartner Group: http://gartner6.gartnerweb.com/public/static/y2k/y2k.html
Information Technology Association of America: www.itaa.org Corporations
Bank of America: www.bankofamerica.com/y2k
BellSouth Corp.: http://cluser1.bellsouthonline.com/year2000
Duke Energy Corp.: www.duke-energy.com/year2000
First Union Corp.: www.firstunion.com/library/y2k
Piedmont Natural Gas Co.: www.piedmontng.com/Y2k.htm
Public Service Co. of N.C.: www.psnc.com/2000.html
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"Where will you be when the lights go out? When the dial tone fades away. And when this thing called civilization no longer exists? Where will you be?"
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Year Zero Web site query www.zonapair.com/zero.html

-- Roland (nottelling@nowhere.com), November 08, 1999

Answers

It may not be the BEST source, but it sure is the ONLY source.

-- Dennis (djolson@cherco.net), November 08, 1999.

We get the same crap in our local rag.

They particularly don't want you to visit Gary North.... or his 6,000 or so documents, all written by OTHER PEOPLE, that discuss various aspects of the issue.

Gary's site includes opinions that conflict strongly with his own. That alone gives him more credibility than the jerks in the mainstream press.

But all of this is irrelevant. There's really only one y2k message anymore, & we all know what it is: "Do whatever else you want but DON'T take your money out of the bank."

-- read our lips (watch@us.lie), November 08, 1999.

...Jack Gribben, spokesman for the President's Council on Year2000 Conversion. "On Y2K, like other issues, the Web is not necessarily the best source of information."

"People are inclined to believe whatever they see on the Web, and not always look behind it to see if it's someone trying to sell a product or to put their own slant on the issue," Gribben says.

He says misinformation generally makes the council's job more difficult. ...

Humm...

Ditto that.

And what slant does our illustrious Y2K Czar John Koskinen keep in place on... GAO reports, Senate Testimony, the Naval War College, et. al., and etc., etc.? Or is Koskinen... the best source of dot gov information?

Plenty of internet available, eye-popping Y2K information put-out by our own government. Enough that we can all say... Huston... theres a problem.

Bet that DOES make... the council's job more difficult.

Sheesh!

Diane

As someone posting here once said...

POT

KETTLE

BLACK

-- Diane J. Squire (sacredspaces@yahoo.com), November 08, 1999.

"MOVE ALONG!!!NOTHING TO SEE HERE!!!ALL IS WELL!!!BELIEVE US!!!NOT THE WEB!!!REMAIN CALM!!!DO NOT REMOVE FUNDS FROM THE BANK!!!ALL IS WELL!!!

-- Frank Drebbin (Police@Squad.com), November 08, 1999.

In addition to official sources, we also get good information from a variety of dependable sources, and from high-ranking sources. Sometimes authoritative sources also chip in, in addition to help from the mysterious non-disclosed source.

dave

-- dave (wootendave@hotmail.com), November 08, 1999.

My local paper, the Austin American Statesman, quit running its every-Sunday pollyanna Y2K article about a month ago, and there's been no Y2K mention since.

It's a Cox outfit.

-- lisa (lisa@work.now), November 08, 1999.

"If you look into some of the backgrounds of the people putting out these predictions that the world's going to end, it turns out they have no technical expertise."

As a general statement, this is probably true. Of course, it is also generally true of all of the people who say that there will be no problems. As far as I can tell, it is generally descriptive of all of the government and industry spokesmen/women. It is clearly a description of the press. You can take it from here.

Best wishes,,

-- Z1X4Y7 (Z1X4Y7@aol.com), November 08, 1999.

Please note that my statement refers to the quote:

it turns out they have no technical expertise. Font problems again.

-- Z1X4Y7 (Z1X4Y7@aol.com), November 08, 1999.

They want us remain good little mushrooms - in the dark, feeding on their BS. No thanks. The net may include inaccurate information, but at least it's not filtered and managed for us.

-- 5R (fiver2000@yahoo.com), November 08, 1999.

Thanks to whoever fixed the formatting at the bottom! (Diane, is that you?) :-)

R.

-- Roland (nottelling@nowhere.com), November 08, 1999.

;-D

-- Diane J. Squire (sacredspaces@yahoo.com), November 08, 1999.

During a December closed-door meeting held by the council at Federal Reserve Board headquarters, attendees bemoaned negative media coverage and suggested staging "community cooperation" events to calm jitters and spur positive press coverage, a participant said.

Jack Gribben, a spokesman for the council, stressed that no decisions have been made. "Both communications and the issue of communicating with customers and constituents were discussed."

He said that "we have had discussions" with at least one public- relations company, but "there's nothing firm at this point."

Feds Plan Y2K Spin Control

-- (pots@nd.kettles), November 08, 1999.

KJ introduces Greg Rosen (GR) from the Rendon Group (www.Rendon.com) and his representation of the President's Council on Year 2000 Conversion (www.y2k.gov) and the "Y2K Community Conversation" National Campaign.

San Luis Obispo County Y2K Action Alliance

-- (pots@nd.kettles), November 08, 1999.

What this article is REALLY saying -

Don't cancel your newspaper subscriptions just because there is no way in hell we can get our systems to function next year here at the paper.

Keep those $$$ coming in because Y2k is a BIG hoax. You will get your morning paper just like you always did. Really, honest. We're the press. Would we lie to you?

-- Dolma Lhamo (I'm@nonymous.now), November 08, 1999.

"it turns out they have no technical expertise." Yeah, like maybe Ed Yourdon? (or even me with a third century...(humbly))

-- Mad Monk (madmonk@hawaiian.net), November 08, 1999.

The common thread in all this press drivel, y2k and otherwise, is the assumption that we the people are too dumb or naive to sort through all that information and make up our own minds. Like the Bible before the Reformation, we need a technical and bureaucratic priesthood to translate it down to us.

We don't have long to wait.

-- Forrest Covington (theforrest@mindspring.com), November 09, 1999.

And don't forget that the Internet is taking advertising revenues away from the news papers. All the more reason to discredit anything and everything that appears on the net.

-- Midas (midas_mulligan_2000@yahoo.com), November 09, 1999.

My local newspaper spouts the three day winter storm scenario for Y2K.

Whenever I engage a person's interest (rare now) regarding Y2K and reveal that I discovered the information from the Internet, the data is immediately dismissed as rubbish BECAUSE it is from the Internet. But if it's in the newspaper or television, they buy it hook, line and sinker.

-- Randolph (dinosaur@williams-net.com), November 09, 1999.

From: Y2K, ` la Carte by Dancr (pic), near Monterey, California

Jack Gribben, spokesman for the President's Council on Year2000 Conversion, says "On Y2K, like other issues, the Web is not necessarily the best source of information."

It's obviously true that the Web is not necessarily the best source, but the fact is that it is the best source.

I attented that July San Luis Obispo meeting and the report presented at the link a few posts up is a highly edited version of what actually happened. For example, in response to my question about is being done to handle possible social unrest, the complete answer was, "Nothing, we simply cannot imagine that being a problem, here." [!]

I also asked a couple of other questions that were real stumpers that didn't appear at all in this report. The one that I vaguely remember is "The standard 72-hour emergency advice is based upon the idea that help will be forthcoming from nearby regions. But if every region is affected, where is the help going to come from?" The response was, "Good question. Next?"

-- Dancr (addy.available@my.webpage), November 10, 1999.