And nowhere is information about government, communities and ideas more readily accessible than online. It's having options,'' says Steve Snow of Charlotte, who founded a community network called Charlotte's Web. Adam Searing helps people do that. This year, fighting a bill that would have put a surcharge on prescription drugs, he e-mailed his network of nearly 500. They in turn e-mailed friends and lawmakers.
Lawmakers welcome constituent mail.
The problem, particularly with e-mail, is knowing whose constituents it's from. The Internet makes it easy to send mail in volume. That doesn't mean it's more effective. Charlotte Lackey of Asheville was one who e-mailed Gore. When Lackey accepted a free e-mail account from Juno, she'd listed the environment high among her interests on an electronic questionnaire.