Computers Forge PEN Pal Link : Santa Monica: A free public computer network provides a forum for debate, a city bulletin board and an electronic mail service.

A year after going “on line” with an innovative public computer network, Santa Monica’s PEN system is functioning as a 24-hour electronic town hall meeting, as well as a sort of free party line that allows people to eavesdrop on others’ conversations.

While one group may be electronically debating the merits of a proposal to build a public shower and locker facility for the homeless, another group is chatting away about the shortage of available and compatible company of the opposite sex.

The Public Electronic Network also has created a new group of community activists who, for the most part, do not attend public meetings, but who voice their opinions and criticize city officials by computer.

Nearly 2,000 people have registered to use the system, but only a core group of about 50 people seem to be actively responding to discussion items. That means that hundreds more are “lurking,” a PEN term used to describe reading without responding to the conversations that appear on their computer screens.

“All we can do is try to reach out to those people,” said Kevin McKeown, who was one of the first to sign onto the system and who organized a group of PEN users who now meet regularly. “It’s real hard. Some people think that anything they write on-line will be used against them by the government. Of course, that’s not true.”

Despite the reluctance of some residents to participate in discussions, city officials say the public’s acceptance of PEN --which is free to residents of Santa Monica and selected non-residents who have dealings with the city--has been beyond expectations.

Ken Phillips, who as director of the city’s Information Systems Department oversees PEN, said he had expected about 500 people to sign up in the first year. That many enrolled in the first month. As of last week’s first anniversary, there were 1,963 registered users.

“The response is incredible,” Phillips said. “But we have the capacity for even more.”

But not everyone is happy with PEN. City Councilman William H. Jennings, who admitted that he only recently learned how to use the system, questions its appropriateness.

“It seems extremely chatty to me,” Jennings said. “To have to weed through thousands of responses seems incredible.”

Jennings also said that city officials who get involved in the electronic discussions could give a false impression that city approval has been given to proposals that are being discussed.

To use the system, residents must register with the city. They are assigned an identification number and then they choose a secret password that gives them access to the system. There is no fee to join, and since the access telephone number is a local call, the service is free.

The network may be accessed from any computer terminal equipped with a telephone modem.

The system costs the city little. Hewlett-Packard donated the hardware, and Metasystems Design Group in Arlington, Va., provided the software, valued at $350,000. The annual budget for the system is about $75,000, which is used to pay one full-time staff person and one part-time staff person.

“When you look at the cost of facilitating communication in traditional ways, even spending $100,000 is not the kind of money that is of much concern,” said City Manager John Jalili. “That is money well spent.”

The network offers four primary services: a bulletin board of city services and public meetings and agendas; electronic mail for users and city officials; access to the city’s computerized library catalogue, and “conferencing,” in which users can discuss such issues as religion, abortion, rent control and the homeless.

Early concerns that a system that required the use of computers would shut out lower-income residents appear unwarranted. About one-fourth of all people who signed onto the system in the last year did so on public terminals. Public terminals are located at all city library branches, senior and other community centers and at City Hall.

One of the most active users is a homeless man, Donald Paschal, who says that PEN functions as an equalizer as well.

“People see me on PEN not as a stupid, lazy bum, but someone equal to them,” said Paschal, a former radio production director who uses the public computer terminal in the main library. “I have met people that I would probably have never met even if I was sheltered.”

Jalili said communication with City Hall was expected to be the primary use of PEN, but “conferences” have become the most popular service. About 42% of the time people sign onto the system it is for the conferences, according to Sharon Mayell, PEN project manager. The remainder of the time is split nearly evenly between the bulletin board listing and electronic mail.

About 14 discussion items in the conferences have had more than 1,000 responses. Three--religion, abortion and homelessness--have had more than 2,000 responses, Mayell said.

Some City Council members say they sign on to the conferences for public feedback.

“I like to read what people are thinking about city issues,” said Councilman Ken Genser.

“On PEN, it’s like having an ongoing town hall forum,” said Councilman David Finkel. “To see what topics people are asking to discuss is very interesting.”

Genser said he also likes the electronic mail. “Getting electronic mail or questions from the public through PEN is a lot easier than by phone because I can receive them when it’s convenient for me, and I can respond when it’s convenient for me.”

Residents have found other, less serious uses for PEN. One group of users play chess, making one move per week through their computers. Some teen-agers are creating word games. Others are looking for companionship through a sort of singles line.

At least one family, the Leavitts, have made PEN an integral part of their life. Although there is only one computer at home, Michael, Joanne and their 18-year-old son, Thomas, are all active users.

“When we are all in different places, we sometimes find ourselves sending each other messages through the mail,” Joanne said. “I’ve made friends through PEN. For example, Michelle Wittig and I have both lived in Santa Monica for 20 years, and we didn’t know each other until we met through PEN.”

Thomas, a senior at Santa Monica High School, said PEN allows him to discuss issues with people who share similar concerns.

“Nobody looks at me as a high school kid when we are discussing things on PEN,” he said.

McKeown, the resident who formed the group of PEN users, said the anonymity of the users is a plus in getting people to talk on the system.

“No one knows a person’s race or age when they respond on the system,” he said. “There was one guy who had been saying some good things, and when we finally met, I was blown away that he turned out to be a 13-year-old kid.”

Many of the questions about who is actually using the system, its value and its impact on local government are expected to be answered in a two-year study being conducted by Santa Monica resident Joseph Schmitz, a doctoral candidate at USC’s Annenberg School of Communications and a visiting professor of communications at Pepperdine University in Malibu.

The study, which is being done in collaboration with USC professors Everett M. Rogers and William Dutton, also will attempt to answer the question of whether a system like PEN could function in other cities, or whether it can only work in a progressive, yet quirky, city like Santa Monica.