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[[Category:ParaNet]]

{{Infobox BBS
| image = Archived-En.png
| file = future.txt
| author = Unknown
| date = Unknown
| subject =
| orig_bbs = Unknown
| bbs_main_page = [[ParaNet Main Page]]
| key_words = ParaNet, UFO, Ufology
}}

<pre>

PARANET: The Next Generation
By Michael Corbin, Director of ParaNet
In his article "ParaNet: Five Years and Counting" in this issue
of <B>CONTINUUM<D>, the first Director of ParaNet, Jim Speiser, tells
why ParaNet was started and how it came to be what it is. Now, as
the current Director of ParaNet, I'd like to map out where we're
trying to go, as well as some of the opportunities and dangers I
see lurking along the way.
In recent years the public has become increasingly aware of the
UFO phenomenon. UFO vocabulary, images, and concepts are
appearing with increasing frequency not only in the weekly
tabloids (where they have been for a long time) but also in the
advertising, entertainment, and even news programming of the
mainstream media. Unfortunately, there is precious little real
information content in all of this--and what little information
there is comes laced both with misinformation generated by the
careless, and with poisonous disinformation generated by those
who do not want the truth to be known.
In some quarters of the UFO community this has resulted in a
pervasive atmosphere of mistrust and paranoia, which is both
unproductive and unnecessary. Certainly the UFO phenomenon has
some very bizarre elements to it, and taken in isolation this can
lead to unreasoning fear. But I am convinced that a positive
public education campaign, if based on hard data instead of wild
speculation, will yield a society better equipped to deal with
whatever the phenomenon finally turns out to be. The mainstream
media, unfortunately, have treated the subject in a very sterile
way, and failed to appeal to the intellect of the people despite
solid evidence that the phenomenon is in fact "real" (whatever
that means). In the meantime, people are still being subjected to
encounters which leave them frightened and confused, thereby
fomenting a deep a lack of confidence in both the scientific
community and the government. Many people want to know more about
what is happening, but they have nowhere to go for a rational
perspective on the deepening mystery. Where to turn? Clearly what
is needed is a public resource to spur both discussion and
education on the basis of reliable data.
Jim Speiser founded ParaNet for just such purposes: to provide
the public with a forum where a wide range of ideas can be
discussed without fear of reprisal; where high-quality, reliable
information about the paranormal can be made available; where
research and education can take place side by side. When I
reflect back to February of 1988, when Jim turned over the
directorship of ParaNet to me, I realize that we have already
come a very long way; but there is still a long, arduous journey
ahead to realize the full potential of our network and its
benefits to the public. As Jim mentioned in his article, we have
built ParaNet into an international affiliation of scientists,
journalists, top UFO researchers, and a host of other curious and
concerned people, all focusing their attention on this global
enigma. In the last three years, fueled in part by my own brief
exposure to the UFO phenomenon and my disgust with the charlatans
rampant in the field, we have moved ahead with a continuing
program of network expansion, public education, and scientific
research and investigation which is, I believe, unequaled in the
field of Ufology.
In the future, our focus will be be directed toward bringing the
existing credible UFO organizations together on common ground.
This will be accomplished in part through a new organization
known as MICAP (Multi-national Investigations Cooperative on
Aerial Phenomena), a non-profit research and educational vehicle
with investigative capabilities. In addition, ParaNet itself will
also turn more of its attention to investigative reporting; and
we intend to make sure that the information published by both
organizations will be highly reliable as well as interesting. As
evidenced by the birth of <B>CONTINUUM<D>, ParaNet is expanding its
operations to include regular publications to get the news out to
those who do not use a computer and a modem; and we intend to
continue our expansion into the global Internet for those who do.
These are just a few of the many things we have on the drawing
board. Our problem is not going to be finding things to keep
ourselves busy, but finding the time and the people to accomplish
everything we already know has to be done. It's a challenge we
welcome--and we hope you will, too.
Finally, I wish to thank all those who have already contributed
so much to ParaNet's continuing success. Some of them are:
*Jim Speiser, Don Ecker, and Clark Matthews, for their never-ending devotion to the survival of ParaNet as a viable
network;
*Vicki Cooper and Shari Stark, publishers of UFO Magazine, for their commitment to information exchange and reaching a wider
audience;
*Paul Faeder and Doug Rogers, two of my close cohorts, for their patience during my brief tour of the western United States,
which led me to Las Vegas and Los Angeles and ultimately back to
Denver--where I find that home is the Mile High City with its
majestic mountains and clean air;
*Cyro Lord and Roger Black for their hard and often thankless
work in implementing our connection to the Internet;
*and finally all the ParaNet sysops who have struggled through
the thick and thin of this with us, and without whom the
integrity and quality of this network would not be what it is
today.
<B>Onward and upward ...<D>

</pre>

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