The JoAnne Effect was supposed to strike throughout the previous year. It was predicted to "create chaos" and be "the wake-up call for the CEO's who have not yet grasped what the programmers have done to them."

It turned out to be more like the snooze button...

People have been fighting over the Y2K issue since it's inception. Some of it has not been nice. There are information technology professionals about that do not believe Y2K is going to have devastating effects on your life. You will find a few here (though this is a christian religious site). They are often derided and called by a name that I personally bear with a particular pride: Polly.

You will also find people (most here, in fact) who disgaree with the Polly scenarios, and believe the events surrounding Y2K will range from serious interruptions to total catastrophy. They are called Doomers.

There is a surprising consensus occuring as the date draws nearer. It is exhibited in several ways. For instance, last year you could separate the Doomers from the Pollys by asking whether or not they believed their power utility would fail where they live. Now, a significant portion of Doomers acknowledge that power will either remain on, or fluctuate in a manageable fashion - as opposed to failing and remaining off for a period measured in days (weeks, or months). (See Your prediction please: Do you believe your local electric utility will deliver uninterrupted power through the 991231 - 000101 roll-over?)

There are some important things to consider these last few weeks of 1999:

• You will read that it is now too late to do anything to prepare at this stage. This is false for two reasons: 1) The people making these claims are expecting things to be much worse than Y2K could ever have been. 2) You can, if you believe you have a need, prepare in some way. (I am personally not doing anything different for Y2K...I had an opportunity to purchase a generator for one of my cottages that could actually utilise it, and turned it down because a) installing a generator now would send a confusing message to those I have talked about regarding Y2K; and b) I believe generators will be very inexpensive after the first of the year - I could probably get a great deal on one from a local Doomer...)
• You will read a lot of fighting. This is an unfortunate by-product of disagreement about any issue. Some of it is petty. Among the moderates in both camps, however, I sense a refreshing respect.
• You will read that the worst is yet to come. In my opinion, the worst has already occurred. Why do I believe this? Companies have been experiencing Y2K programming issues for years - and they have fixed them as the failures occurred.
• You will read scary predictions from "experts." Well, there's a link at the top of this message to an "expert"'s opinion regarding the JoAnne Effect. These effects occurred, but they had so little noticable impact that I often refer to it as the JoAnne Non-Effect. These "experts" all have something to sell you. Some of them are selling books and dried foods, while others are attempting to get you to buy into their philosophy or religion.

As is the case in much of life, calmer minds prevail. If you are in a state of panic because of what you have read or viewed on television, you should examine the other side of the issue closely. There are gaps in the logic Doomers applied to reach their conclusions. The few that have revised their position in light of the ever-changing facts have been met with derision. In the end, the machines will respond in ways dictated by the laws of physics and their programme's code - how we as individuals respond is a matter of individual choice.

Patient Regards,
Andy Ray

Andy Ray's Biggest Fan

-- Andy Ray's Biggest Fan (andyrays@biggest.fan), January 19, 2000

Answers

New motto for TB2K:

Cognito Ergo Spam

"I think, therefore I'm spam"

-- Astounded (astounded@the.intolerance), January 19, 2000.