, David Sunfellow...
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Hello Everyone,
I just sent the following special report out to the NHNE Mailing List and
wanted to be sure all of you had a chance to see it, and participate in the
new Y2K-related website and mailing list we've created.
--- David Sunfellow
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Y2K AFTERTHOUGHTS
By David Sunfellow
THE BOMB THAT DIDN'T BLOW UP (SO FAR ANYWAY)
While it is still too early to know how much trouble the Y2K bug will
ultimately cause, it is clear now that it won't live up to it's notorious
reputation. Indeed, many of those who warned the world was headed for
serious trouble (including yours truly), have now publicly admitted they
were wrong: Y2K not only caused fewer problems than expected, but it seems
unlikely that our global infrastructure will suffer any major outages in the
near or distant future because of it.
Does this mean there weren't any problems?
If you've been gathering your information from the mass media, which has
done a suspiciously poor job of reporting on Y2K failures, you would
probably think NOTHING happened. That, of course, is not the case. For while
nuclear missiles and power plants didn't blow up, there have, and continue
to be, plenty of Y2K fireworks. I encourage you to visit the following links
to find out what has been happening behind the scenes:
Grassroots Information Coordination Center (GICC):
http://greenspun.com/bboard/q-and-a.tcl?topic=Grassroots%20Information%20Coo
rdination%20Center%20(GICC)
Y2K Glitch Central:
http://www.ciaosystems.com/glitchcentral.htm
wild2k:
http://www.wild2k.com
Center for Y2K & Society: Y2K Problem Reports:
http://www.y2kcenter.org/resources/glitches/index.html
Michael Hyatt's Glitch List:
http://www.michaelhyatt.com/glitchlist.htm
International Disaster Information Network:
http://www.humanitarian.net/challenges.html
Y2K International Watch:
http://www.iol15.com/coggeshall/Y2K-International-Watch/Update.htm
Bug Bite 2000:
http://stuarthrodman.com/Bugbite.htm
MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING?
We published our first story on Y2K in June of 1996 (NHNE News Brief 18,
June 28, 1996). A year later, we published our second story (NHNE News Brief
64, June 6, 1997). And, finally, in the summer of 1998, after repeatedly
dismissing the problem for over two years, we stopped everything else we
were doing and dove headlong into all aspects of Y2K: we published lengthy
special reports, created a popular Y2K website, launched a weekly Y2K
Report, began organizing our local community (and encouraging others to do
the same), and helped produce the nation's one and only national grassroots
community preparedness survey. I even managed to get invited to participate
(via written testimony) in the U.S. Senate's Community Preparedness Hearings
on Y2K.
All these efforts (and others like them) have been faithfully recorded on
our Y2K-related websites:
The NHNE Y2K Report:
http://www.nhne.com/y2kreport/index.html
The Sedona Y2K Task Force:
http://www.wild2k.com/sedona/index.html
The Nation's First Y2K Grassroots Community Preparedness Survey:
http://www.nhne.com/y2kgrassrootssurvey/index.html
wild2k:
http://www.wild2k.com
The NHNE Y2K Mailing List:
http://www.onelist.com/community/nhney2k
But so what? Wasn't Y2K much ado about nothing?
Now that numerous trigger dates have come and gone without causing any
serious national or global damage; and now that we are two weeks into the
new millennium with only minor glitches continuing to be reported, many
people are wondering what happened?
Personally, I don't know.
What I do know is that my personal expectations were wrong (Y2K has not
turned out to be as bad as I expected) and I need to take another look at
how, and why, I misjudged the situation. (See "NHNE Y2K VisionQuest: Part
One", , for more
discussion on how my/our biases distort our perceptions.)
On the other hand, I can't shake the feeling that my time has been well
spent. For while Y2K didn't cause humanity, as a whole, to reevaluate the
faulty ideas and practices that are endangering our species and terrorizing
our planet, it did provide the vehicle by which many of us who are concerned
about such things to gather together.
I have often thought about how South Africa rounded up the opponents of
apartheid and threw them in prison together. The South African government
did this, of course, expecting to silence the voices that challenged the
oppression in their society. What happened instead was that all these folks
had a chance to compare notes, build friendships, and remerge a more potent
force than ever. In the end, apartheid was abandoned and the nation of South
Africa is now ruled by the people were once locked away. Perhaps Y2K has
provided many of us, who are normally constrained to the outer edges of
society, a chance to create a more potent force for change than would have
otherwise been possible.
Y2K also unleashed another chain of unexpected events: countries,
corporations, small businesses, and individuals, all over the world, pooled
their knowledge and resources to cope with what was perceived to be a common
threat. In many cases this meant that people who are normally competitors,
enemies, or rivals, set aside their differences and focused on the common
good. Indeed, while the mainstream media has been trumpeting Y2K as the
greatest hoax of the century, history will probably remember it as the first
time in human history where the entire planet joined together, in a spirit
of true cooperation, to deal with a common concern.
Not bad for a bug that didn't do what it was expected to do. And not bad for
us either, to have played a significant part in helping humankind build
stronger, deeper connections.
WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?
At this point in the Y2K game, there are a lot of loose ends to tie up. We
still don't know, for instance, if the Y2K bugs that remain will cause
widespread, serious disruptions. We're still not sure why things went so
smoothly. We also don't know how many failures have been kept a secret.
Twenty years from now, will you and I be reading stories about how close our
world actually came to a meltdown?
More important than wrestling with computer bugs though, it seems important
to spend some time reflecting on what Y2K has meant to us while things are
still fresh in our lives and memory:
What did we learn, as individuals and as a group?
What mistakes did we make?
What would we do differently if confronted with another problem like Y2K?
How have our core beliefs been affected by Y2K? Do we still trust ourselves?
Our guidance? The guidance of others?
How can we use the relationships and networks we've built through Y2K to
create a better world?
How does Y2K, and the other grave problems our planet presently faces, fit
into the grand scheme of things? Where are we headed, in other words, and
what are the roads we need to walk to get there in one piece?
To help us explore these issues, I've created a website to serve as a
database for some of the best, most thought-provoking and inspiring
commentaries on Y2K. I have included excerpts from some of the material on
this new website with this report (see below). I think you will be impressed
with the depth, breadth, and heartfelt soul-searching that is reflected in
many of these excerpts.
And now I want to hear from you.
I'm expecting some of you will have things to share that you would like to
have posted on the new website, while others of you will want to keep your
sharing private. Just let me know which camp you fall into when you write
and it will be my pleasure to honor it.
Those of you who have something to share with the world, will need to
include your name and where you live on planet Earth (city, state, province,
country). I would also like to include your email address (and website if
you have one), so those who are interested can write you, but a contact
address is not required.
In either case (whether you've got something to share with the world, or
simply share with me), please send your letters to:
y2kafterthoughts@nhne.com
Because NHNE has spent so much time on Y2K, I am also very interested in
knowing how you felt I/we handled this situation. Were we fair, even-handed,
balanced? Or did we go overboard? Were you inspired, informed, and
empowered? Or did you feel like we took you on a wild goose chase? Let us
know. Your feedback, as always, is very important.
Finally, if you are interested in discussing the issues raised by the many
thoughtful comments on the Y2K AfterThoughts website, you are invited to
join The Y2K AfterThoughts Mailing List. This list is composed of people who
wish to build stronger bonds with one another while, at the same time,
deepening their understanding of the true nature of Y2K.
To subscribe to The Y2K AfterThoughts Mailing List,
send a blank mesage to:
y2kafterthoughts-subscribe@onelist.com
And that's it for now.
This has been quite a ride for me and, I know, for many of you. It will be
good to compare notes and then move on, with greater knowledge, wisdom and
experience, to the next adventure...
With Love & Best Wishes,
David Sunfellow
-- Sheri Nakken (wncy2k@nccn.net), January 14, 2000