WiFi wars: How one Seattle cafe struggles to give it away.

Glenn Fleishman says,

A coffeeshop in Seattle is trying free Wi-Fi-free weekends: that is, turning off their free Wi-Fi for Saturday and Sunday to try to restore their culture of lively interaction. The owners were torn about the decision and regular staff meetings always produced discussion. Instead of trying to post and enforce rules or beef up the technical side (suggestions that many commenters on my story about Victrola Cafe and Art noted), they pull the plug for the weekend. Part of the motivation is that some people, unbelievably, spend 6 to 8 hours at a table for 2 or 4 using the free Wi-Fi without making a purchase of any kind. Then they get defensive if the staff approaches them. Victrola wants to engage in anarchy: very few rules to result in a milieu that they want to foster. I'm curious if, over the long term, this experiment works for them.

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