Theos-Talk Archives (September 1996 Message tl00348)

Recently, the Boston Computer Society, the largest computer user group in
the US with about 18,000 members shut itself down because it suddenly
found that members are using the Internet for meeting the needs that the
Society used to.

A former board member said that people used to be drawn to the society as
a place to share ideas, information, and comaraderie. One of the major
things that fulfilled these is the Internet. The President of
Philadelphia Association of Computer Users feels that Computer Neophytes
were drawn to these groups as a way to get information quickly.

This changing landscape raises a very important question. Can this
phenomenon not spread to other organizations including Theosophical ones,
thus eliminating the need for an organization with a formal structure --
and of course all the political wranglings and intrigues and
exploitation (in the areas of physical and "spiritual".) I will not be
surprised if the  Internet Juggernaught spells a deathblow to
organizations as we know it. As one interested in the rise and fall of
organizational structures, the whole question is fascinating.

Just thought I should share the above thoughts.

MK Ramadoss