On Sep 14, 2009, at 15:41 , Peter Chester wrote:

QUOTE:
I think the interest in this subject speaks to the popularity of both  
our coffeehouses and free wireless connectivity. It's worth exploring  
the proposition that "the Commons" referenced in this article, rather  
than being WiFi bandwidth, availability of power outlets or seating,  
is infact the coffeehouse as a community space. Our perspective after  
doing this a quarter-century, is that we operate coffeehouses with a  
view to creating a space for community to gather. We have only  
accidentally become a "WiFi cafe", by virtue of the fact that we  
haven't done anything to dispel the notion that we are. Now that we  
are doing so, it is understandable that some of our clients are  
surprised and upset. For this, I apologize.

Internet use results in a disconnect between the user and ones'  
physical surroundings, similar to watching television. No moral  
judgement here. I do it too. In a coffeehouse however, this results in  
rooms full of solitary people with no connection to the space or the  
people around them and has the unfortunate effect of crowding out any  
other sort of activity. Which of course is how we come to the  
misconception that we are a "WiFi cafe".

While we have always endeavoured to make ourselves available to as  
wide a group of people as possible (I'll admit that the folks who  
bring up our strict policies about outside food and drink and general  
decorum are largely correct. We're sticklers for that stuff, and I'm  
always baffled when someone doesn't understand that they shouldn't  
bring food and drink to a restaurant), we have also come to the  
realization that the use of our space, "the Commons" if you will, is  
something of a zero-sum proposition. We can either have rooms full of  
laptop users or rooms half-full of folks having a cup of coffee with a  
friend. Not both.

We have chosen to return to our roots as a coffeehouse where folks can  
come to converse with friends, read books, hold meetings and religious  
studys, listen to live music and generally have an experience that  
transcends Explorer or - if you're a bit more savvy - Firefox. We  
regretfully realize that this means that people who "must" have  
Internet access will be unable to use our space, at least for now,  
unless they bring in wireless cards or tethering capability. Of  
course, on the flip side, it's been nice to see a new clientele who  
want something different from a coffeehouse.

Moving beyond the personal issues that manifest themselves in a forum  
such as this, I'd like to thank those readers who are offering  
constructive solutions to our quandry. I think we've covered most of  
that ground over the past 15 years, but we'll continue to revisit it  
to see if better solutions present themselves down the road. As things  
stand, we're going to leave the WiFi intact downtown and remove all  
the power outlets, for obvious reasons. We need to move on from this  
right now, however. I'm sure there are ways for us to solve everyone's  
connectivity issues, but this really is not our charter. There are  
many things we could do to make money. Selling umbrellas and offering/
charging for WiFi access are two of them. We're in neither business.  
We're old-style coffeehouse operators who came to this pass by  
accident. We were pioneers in offering WiFi when hardly anyone knew  
what it was, and we will be pioneers in moving beyond it. We're  
comfortable in that space. It's largely been why we operate the  
busiest cafes in town.

Regarding WiFi access, as many readers have pointed out, every other  
cafe offers it. Getting connected should be easy for anyone whose  
purchasing decision is predicated on this, and we respect that.

As for us, we'll add beer and wine, better food selections, and  
continue to improve our products and services till we get it right,  
and till we rebuild our business to suit our long-term objectives.  
That's a better future for us.

Thanks for your time.
END QUOTE.