Gold mining in this region was illegal but taking place with the permission of local government. When the situation was publicized over the Internet, environmentalists around the earth flooded the fax machine of the local legislature with protests until it agreed to discontinue the mining operation. This global action was initiated by two to ten tiny local groups. According to Cutting, often environmental groups must share their computer access with the public to help fund it. She said that SEN sometimes suggests locating a computer in the library so that the community can use it.
Difficult issues are cost, phone line quality, and lack of materials in local languages.
But, Ms. Cutting argued, it pays not to focus on technological problems but on people. Also, seeking technical fixes can miss the heart of the problem. He and his newly found Internet friend Ms. Bulashova both suggested the organization simultaneously. When they floated the idea to others on Usenet discussion lists, they received 360 emails in 2 days offering to help. As a result of some of the problems with infrastructure in Russia, Cole and his colleagues received funding from NATO and foreign donors to develop MirNet, a large-scale project used to connect people electronically.