&simon; 1995 Simon Rogerson IMIS Journal Originally published as ETHIcol in the IMIS Journal Volume 5 No 4 1995 Even the most casual observer of social trends and workplace trends will have heard of the amazing information revolution that is likely to affect, directly or indirectly, every citizen in the world. The revolution is referred to as the information superhighway, or the internet, or the world-wide web, or cyberspace. This is a global network of seemingly boundless information presented as text, pictures, graphical images, sound and video that can be accessed easily and cheaply by any individual. It is a network of millions of connections that is expanding at 20% per month! Virtually every day, the media carries news about the superhighway. It may be concerning a technological advancement but more likely it is a story about the superhighway's effect on the life of an ordinary individual. Those who are not conversant with the superhighway will become more and more disadvantaged. Those who believe it is a passing fad are sadly out of touch. Virtually all large organisations now have a presence in cyberspace. This is a revolution probably more significant than the printing press and the internal combustion engine. Why? - because of its meteoric pace, its breadth of impact and its removal of temporal and geographical barriers. Without doubt, the ability to disseminate information quickly and effectively to many people and the ability to work with appropriate individuals regardless of their physical location has many benefits. For example, a leading surgeon performing life-saving operations on patients thousands of miles away is now reality. There are, however, problematical issues that everybody, and computer professionals in particular, need to be aware of. E-mail is an established form of communication that has delivered real benefits particularly when linking to external mailboxes via the internet. Subscribing to specialist interest groups can provide a rich seam of information and idea generation but there are pitfalls. There are increasing incidents of antisocial behaviour called spamming where an unsolicited message, often detailing a product or service, is sent to several thousands of lists and thus many thousands of individuals. Such activity clogs up communication resources to the point where legitimate messages may fail to be delivered. A recent example involved an offer of a one year free subscription to a magazine with the hidden agenda of enticement to purchase other goods and the purloining of personal data. There was an outrage and a hunt was instigated to find the sender. At the time of writing, the culprit is close to being caught. The progress of the hunt invoked as much mail as the offending message, a knock-on effect that seemed to go unnoticed. Redress to the law in these cases is very difficult due to the global nature of the problem. In this lawless society individuals seem to be driven to applauding the cyberspace bounty hunters whose motives seem to be an unholy alliance between a craving for notoriety and a desire to do good. The Archbishop of York recently expressed concern over the effects of becoming obsessed with violent and obscene material available on the internet. Indeed this is a fast growing area of activity with pornographic material being easily accessible to anyone, including the young, who has the ability to log onto the internet. A particularly worrying trend is the exploitation of vulnerable groups. For example, an e-mail list for disabled students was recently subjected to offers of erotic material for individuals and partners. Violent groups, such as neo-Natzis, have used the internet to promote their particular brand of rhetoric and violence. Turning to the issue of social groupings, the superhighways are having some potentially damaging effects. Teleworking is reliant on the superhighways. Whilst teleworking can be very effective for organisations, it can isolate individuals. A recent television documentary depicted a marketing executive of an intentional firm as quite a pathetic figure, teleworking across the globe but looking forward to the social interaction with the postman to break the monotony and chill of cyberspace. Commercial opportunists have moved cyberspace into the high street with cyber pubs and cafes where the fixed menu includes food, drink and net surfing. Just as video arcade games can become obsessional so can surfing the net. Conversation is replaced with the tapping of keyboards and the glazed stare of the surfing addict. It might appear to be an overstated bleak picture but these problems are occurring and are increasing. It is the responsibility of every professional to help ensure that this powerful enabling technology does not turn into an enslaving one. &footer;