Internet Society Goes Begging for Members in L.A.

It surely took more than 25 people to create the infant Internet in Los Angeles nearly 30 years ago. But it is proving quite a challenge to get 25 people in L.A. to form a chapter of the Internet Society.

Other cities, including New York and Washington--even low-tech places like Egypt and Peru--have already started chapters of the Internet Society, a worldwide organization whose 6,000 members are dedicated to maintaining the global computer network.

But just why computer-science-friendly Los Angeles has not managed to organize its own chapter is something of a mystery.

“I guess people were too busy building the Internet to worry about putting a chapter together,” ventured Mary Burack, the Internet Society’s executive director in Reston, Va.

But that may change. A handful of Southern California Internet users have labored for the last few months to galvanize 25 people to become founding members of a Los Angeles chapter.

It shouldn’t be too difficult, considering that about 400 Southlanders are already members of the national Internet Society, also known as ISOC.

Wendy Chou, a computer science graduate of UCLA who now runs a Los Angeles-based Internet solutions firm with her husband, has spent a year laying the groundwork for a chapter. A few months ago, she was joined in her organizing efforts by Mike Todd, a computer consultant in Huntington Beach. Todd founded a PC users group in Washington in the 1980s that grew to thousands of members and is still going strong.

“If there are any chapters in the U.S., you’d think Los Angeles would have one,” Chou said.

After all, UCLA installed the first node of the Arpanet--the predecessor of the Internet--and sent a message to the Stanford Research Institute in Menlo Park. (Northern California, which also claims about 400 Internet Society members, doesn’t have an ISOC chapter, either.)

Unfortunately, if present trends continue, it may take Chou and Todd another 30 years to get their chapter off the ground.

Their fledgling group, which gathers on the second Tuesday of each month, has met twice so far at Mort’s Deli in Pacific Palisades. About a dozen people showed up for the first meeting in June. The second meeting this month drew only six.

Participants had several theories about the poor showing. Maybe the turnout would be greater if the meetings were held in a more central location that could draw people from throughout Los Angeles and Orange counties. Better publicity and an interesting keynote speaker could boost attendance, they said.

“It’s nothing but a marketing challenge,” said attendee Steve Clements, a systems administrator for Imperial Bank who uses the Internet mostly for fun. “All of us know way too many people who spend too much time on the Net.”

Todd kicked off Tuesday night’s meeting by sharing a “Dear Angeleno Internauts” e-mail message from Vint Cerf, who’s known as “the Father of the Internet” because he helped develop the protocols that govern how computers communicate with each other over the network.

“Los Angeles is home to many businesses that now have a direct influence on the Internet’s evolution, not the least of which is the burgeoning Internet-based entertainment industry,” wrote Cerf, who spent seven years at UCLA working on the Arpanet. He also pointed out that a major Internet notable, Jon Postel, runs the critical Internet Assigned Numbers Authority in nearby Marina del Rey.

Todd went on to the current debate over how the Internet should best wean itself of U.S. government funding and become a fully self-governing entity.

He also suggested activities the chapter could sponsor. For example, he said, ISOC members could volunteer once a month to teach kids how to use the global computer network. They could also rate Internet service providers that serve Southern California and post the results on their Web site (https://www.isoc-losangeles.org).

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But for now, the focus is on drawing at least 25 people to the next meeting. Todd, for one, is optimistic.

“We just have to find the right chemistry to get the organization going,” he said.

Also hopeful is Don Hedgepeth, a real estate agent who put his listings online last year and is now eager to launch an ISOC chapter.

“We’ll come early next time so we can get a parking space,” Hedgepeth told Todd as he left.

“Did you have trouble parking tonight?” Todd asked.

“No,” Hedgepeth replied. “But I expect to have trouble next time.”

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Times staff writer Karen Kaplan can be reached via e-mail at karen.kaplan@latimes.com.