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NETWORKS AND COMMUNITY : June 5, 1994
**************************************************************************
Networks and Community is devoted to encouraging LOCAL resource creation &
GLOBAL resource sharing.
**************************************************************************
The 21st Report of 1994 is the 27th Weekly Survey.
**************************************************************************
**************************************************************************
Coverage in this issue includes:
Global Community
News From The World
On-Line Grief Resource
Italy FidoNet Raid Update
E-Cafe
Meeting - Go-pher It Workshop
##########################################################################
Global Community
##########################################################################
Went to Internet World at the San Jose Convention Center this
week. First one that I've gone to. Looks like a lot of new toys on the
horizon. Netcom was showing a beta version of their soon-to-be-released
NetCruiser Windows dial-up access software, and O'Reilly had thier beta of
Internet-in-a-Box. CommerceNet, Meckler, and the Internet Shopping
Network were there. Lots of commercial booths. Almost everything
"Internet" that you could think of! Big business deals in the corridors,
"net" t-shirts, wow, it was almost like an Internet theme park.
I arrived at the Convention center about 2 hours after the exhibit
hall opened. There were about 200 people in line. This is 2 hours AFTER
the hall was opened! It was that way ALL afternoon! Folks that have
seen, heard, or read about the Internet, prospective newbies if you will,
were attending this show to see what the Net is all about. They got to
play with the new software, try AOL, buy books, and listen to all sorts of
COMMERCIAL presentations
You know what was missing? COMMUNITY NETWORKING! I saw no booth
set up by any of the community networking organizations. It struck me that
the community networking movement that we spend hours writing about, days
working on, and years setting up, should have had some sort of
representation at this show. These shows are not just attended by engineers
and business folks anymore, Joe and Joanne from the 'burbs are coming in
droves to see what this "Information SuperHighway" stuff is about. I think
that we may be missing the boat by not having a presence at these shows.
The people that we have been attempting to reach are there.
Do we want them to think that the most interesting thing
happening on the highway is shopping???
-steve covington
##########################################################################
NEWS of the WIRED & WEIRD **** Received from various sources
##########################################################################
Forwarded by Gleason Sackman - InterNIC net-happenings moderator
Sender: owner-net-happenings@is.internic.net
---------- Forwarded message----------
From: bk@Hopper.itc.Virginia.EDU (Brian Knatz)
Subject: New web-based features magazine seeks contributors.
Webster's Weekly, a new, free, web-based features magazine, is
looking for contributors. If you are interested in distributing your
columns, photos, poems, cartoons, graphic art, recipes, song lyrics,
small music samples, small animation samples, jokes, brain-teasers,
serialized manifestos, periodic rantings, or any other web-based weekly
features, send inquiries to: w2info@casagato.org.
_OR_ point your web browser at "http://www.awa.com/w2/".
**************************************************************************
Sender: owner-net-happenings@is.internic.net
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: John December <decemj@RPI.EDU>
Subject: June issue of Computer-Mediated Communication Magazine
The June issue of _Computer-Mediated Communication Magazine_
has hit the Web:
http://www.rpi.edu/~decemj/cmc/mag/current/toc.html
This issue includes articles by Brock N. Meeks, Bruce Hahne, John
December, Rob Kling, and Gary Ritzenthaler.
_Computer-Mediated Communication Magazine_ (ISSN 1076-027X):
* Covers: people, events, applications, and research related to
computer-mediated communication (CMC).
* Status: 1st issue May 1994; non-profit, privately published,
no advertisements, does not pay writers or editors
* Distribution: via WWW server:
http://www.rpi.edu/~decemj/cmc/mag/current/toc.html
as part of CMC Studies Center:
http://www.rpi.edu/~decemj/cmc/center.html
* Index: lists other information and pointer to archive (back issues)
http://www.rpi.edu/~decemj/cmc/mag/index.html
Submissions are now being accepted for the July issue (deadline
is June 25th).
John December/decemj@rpi.edu/Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute/Troy NY
PhD Candidate/Department of Language, Literature, and Communication
<a href="http://www.rpi.edu/~decemj/index.html">John December</a>
*************************************************************************
*************************************************************************
Subject: E-d-u-p-a-g-e 05/29/94 through 06/05/94 EDITED BY MYSELF
*************************************************************************
Sender: owner-net-happenings@is.internic.net
---------- Forwarded message ----------
************************************************************************
Edupage, a summary of news items on information technology, is provided
three times each week as a service by Educom -- a consortium of leading
colleges and universities seeking to transform education through the use of
information technology.
************************************************************************
BIG SAVINGS ON TELECOMMUTERS
The director of marketing for AT&T Virtual Office Solutions says,
"For every dollar spent, we saved $2," on their telecommuting project. With
approximately 8.000 employees functioning in the virtual world, managers
report productivity up 45% and office space savings up 50%. (San Francisco
Examiner 5/29/94 C5)
JUSTICE EXPECTED TO OKAY BT/MCI DEAL
The Justice Department is in the final stages of negotiation with
British Telecom over its planned acquisition of a 20% stake in MCI
Communications, and could give the union its official blessing as early as
this week, according to people familiar with the deal. (Wall Street Journal
5/31/94 B6)
HOW TO MAKE VIRTUAL COMMUNITIES WORK
Mike Godwin of the Electronic Frontier Foundation offers nine
principles for making virtual communities work. Use software that
promotes good discussions; don't impose a length limitations on postings;
front-load your systems with talkative, diverse people; let the users
resolve their own disputes; provide institutional memory; promote
continuity; be host to a particular interest group; provide places for
children; most important: confront the users with a crisis (events like the
Oakland fire or LambdaMOO's cyberspace rape crystallize users' sense of
belonging to a place they care about). (Wired June 94 p.92)
ONLINE OVERLOAD
Online services are adding high-speed lines as fast as they can to
accommodate the growing number of subscribers with 9600-baud-and-up modems.
"Considering most local bulletin boards are (running) at 14,400 or higher
it's almost like the (national services) are in the Stone Age when it comes
to connect speeds," notes one frustrated customer. (San Francisco Examiner
5/29/94 C5)
GNN'S "BEST OF THE NET" AWARDS
Edupage was among the recipients of the Global Network Navigator's
"Best Of The Net" awards recognizing some of "the best destinations on the
Internet." For URL's of the other award winners: ron@nrh.com. (San Jose
Mercury News 6/1/94 10D)
ELECTRONIC GOVERNMENT BENEFITS
The federal government will start delivering public assistance
benefits electronically over the next five years, and a nationwide system
will replace welfare checks and food stamps by 1999. Following a pilot
program in Maryland that reduced welfare fraud by 47% in the first year,
it's expected that the new system will net $195 million a year in savings.
(Wall Street Journal 6/1/94 A8)
FIBER NETWORK IN JAPAN
An advisory board to the Japanese government has recommended
building a multibillion dollar fiber optic network, connecting every home
and business in Japan by the year 2010. Total cost of the network will run
$700 to $900 billion. The Telecommunications Council's recommendation comes
in response to fears that Japan is falling behind the U.S. in advanced
telecommunications and multimedia. (New York Times 6/1/94 C1)
CRIME-FIGHTING ON THE NET
Alert subscribers to online services geared toward collectibles --
rare books, baseball cards, stamps and coins -- have foiled a number of
attempts to sell stolen items, and services specifically designed for
fighting crime are forming. The Jewelers' Security Alliance will begin
transmitting digital "wanted" posters of known jewel thieves through a
privately run computer network. (Wall Street Journal 6/2/94 B2)
WIRING AFRICA
The head of a UNESCO effort to revive the Pan African News Agency
says, "For years, the main obstacle to real development has been the
statement, `We have to feed the people first.' After all, who can withhold
food? But if you want the people to feed themselves, you have to have a
different view. Say you go to a small village. People are hungry. Is the
priority an electronic mailbox...or 1000 kilograms of corn? What we've
learned, over the past 20 years, is that the mailbox may well be the
priority." (Wired June 94 p.60)
***********************************************************************
Edupage. To add your name to the Edupage distribution list, send e-mail to:
listproc@educom.edu. In the body of the message type: sub edupage <your
name>. To unsubscribe send the message: unsub edupage. Edupage is also
available in Portuguese and Spanish: edunews@nc-rj.rnp.br.
************************************************************************
Educom -- Transforming Education Through Information Technology
************************************************************************
From: Gleason Sackman <sackman@plains.nodak.edu> Subject: FEDGOVT> Postal
Service and Information Superhighway Sender:
owner-net-happenings@is.internic.net
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Will Stuivenga <wstuiven@sun.cis.smu.edu>
Usenet Philatelic New Service Release 94-44
Runyon Sees Role for the USPS on Information Highway
Once a national electronic communications infrastructure is fully defined,
Postmaster General and CEO Marvin Runyon sees an opportunity for the Postal
Service to help the American public gain access.
"The Postal Service is America's first 'information superhighway' with 123
million information channels as close as the mailbox," Runyon said in his
annual report to the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee. "None of us
should lose sight of the fact that the residents and businesses of our
nation depend on us to communicate and do business."
Change is having a dramatic effect on the Postal Service and on the
communications industry as a whole. The PMG said the USPS needs to remain
competitive in a communications market that continues to evolve. "The mail
remains the most pervasive means of communication and commerce available to
our nation, but technology and other companies continue to challenge us
with new alternatives," he noted. "As far as I am concern, the competition
is good. It is pushing us to improve, and to look ahead to the next
century and the next generation of communications products our customers
will need."
As technology evolves and an electronic infrastructure provides greater
access for interaction among individuals, business, and government the
Postal Service is particularly well placed to participate, he noted.
"We can and should make a contribution to this effort," Runyon said.
"After more than two centuries of service to the American people, we are a
trusted third party for millions of businesses and residents. We have a
strong technological base, with expertise in high-speed electronic
recognition, message interchange, material handling, and infrastructure
maintenance."
The National Performance Review team established by President Clinton and
overseen by Vice President Al Gore has asked the Postal Service to deliver
electronic information available from the federal agencies to the public
using interactive kiosks in post office lobbies.
"There may be other ways we can contribute," Runyon said. "Perhaps post
office lobbies could serve as on-ramps providing access to anyone who wants
to be on the electronic highway.
"Or, maybe we can help certify electronic messages and safeguard their
privacy, securing one company's market-sensitive information from the
intruding eyes of its competitors," he said.
Runyon told the senators he looks forward to returning to the committee
with ideas approved by its Board of Governors.
"In the meantime, we will be working to improve the information
superhighway that we have, by focusing on listening to and satisfying the
needs of our customers, improving our finances, and demonstrating our
commitment to employees," he said. "We see a continuing need for a
nationwide hard-copy mail system well into the future. The better the job
we do, the more value the mail will represent, and the more likely people
will continue to use the trusted, reliable, and economical mail."
(This article appeared in the may 1994 issue of "memo to mailers," a
non-copyrighted monthly publication of the U.S. Postal Service distributed
to mail center managers. For more information on UPNS, contact Ed Jackson
at <jackson@igs.cviog.uga.edu>.)
##########################################################################
On-line Death and Grief Resource
##########################################################################
From: Gleason Sackman <sackman@plains.NoDak.edu>
Sender: owner-net-happenings@is.internic.net
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Cendra Lynn <cendra@rivendell.org>
----------------------------Original message----------------------------
There is now an on-line information and communications system that
deals with death and dying, bereavement, and major losses: both
physical and emotional. In response to overwhelming need, this
system was built to give physicians, hospitals, hospices, mental
health professionals, funeral homes, churches, educators, and the
bereaved access to this critical information.
This system is designed to have informational directories and user-
driven communications facilities. Rivendell Resources gathers and
disseminates information about resources about death, dying, grief,
bereavement, and major loss, both emotional and physical. This
includes information useful to persons dealing with such loss, and
to family, friends, and professionals helping them.
Right now our services include:
(1) an on-line resource directory of support groups, agencies,
organizations, and educational activities in the U.S. and
Canada
(2) a general interest discussion group
(3) information on the Association for Death Education &
Counseling
Soon to appear are:
(4) an annotated bibliography of media materials,
(5) special-interest highly-focused mailing lists,
(6) a directory of professionals working in these fields.
In the future we expect to add professional articles, research
findings, and specialized discussion groups.
This system is at gopher.msen.com --> Good Works --> Rivendell
Resources. The gopher server contains information on how to sub-
scribe to this service.
We mail update information about this system regularly as new fea-
tures appear. This is a low-volume mailing list--less than once
per week, probably once per month.
TO SUBSCRIBE, send an email message to
rivendell@rivendell.org
with the first line reading:
subscribe rivendell your.email.address
TO UNSUBSCRIBE, send an email message to
rivendell@rivendell.org
with the first line reading:
UNSUBSCRIBE rivendell your.email.address
##########################################################################
HungerNet
##########################################################################
Sender: owner-net-happenings@is.internic.net
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From:david.riggins@tpoint.com
I found this pointer on the Univ of Montana Gopher.
HungerNet
--> 1. Finding Hunger Resources -- People and Information/
2. Hunger Organizations and Information About Them/
3. Hunger articles and speeches/
4. Information about Hunger/
5. What you can do about hunger.
Type=1
Name=HungerNet
Path=1/brown/departs/worldhun/hungerne
Host=gopher.brown.edu
Port=70
URL: gopher://gopher.brown.edu:70/11/brown/departs/worldhun/hungerne
##########################################################################
Italy FidoNet Raid Update
##########################################################################
Sender: "Communet: Community and Civic Network Discussion List" <C
OMMUNET@uvmvm.uvm.edu>
From: Bernardo Parrella <berny@WELL.SF.CA.US>
Subject: Crackdown on Italian BBSes Continues
Date: June 4, 1994
Twenty-four days after the first major crackdown on Fidonet Italia BBSes, on
Friday June 3, the Taranto Finance Police visited Taras Communications BBS,
the main National Peacelink node and data-bank. Acting after a warrant
issued by the Prosecutor of the same city, Giovanni Pugliese and his wife
were charged for the possession of "illegally copied software and electronic
equipment suitable to falsification." After searching their apartment for
more than 5 hours (from 5 pm to 10.30 pm), Finance officials sealed off the
PC on which the BBS run and seized 174 floppy disks - leaving behind the
monitor and the only available modem. Because the Taranto node hosts most of
the network archives and all the email traffic, at the moment the entire
national Peacelink net is down. Giovanni Pugliese is currently working to
start again his system as soon as possible - probably in the next 48 hours.
"Taras Communications BBS has never had anything to do with software piracy
and is well know for its activities related to humanitarian, peace, social
and community issues," Giovanni Pugliese said. "Peacelink and its sister
Fidonet Italia network had always pursued a very restrictive policy against
any illegally copied software on their systems. Because Taras Communications
BBS is the main National node of Peacelink network, its forced closure,
hopefully very short, will result in a great damage for those hundreds of
people - including journalists, activists, volunteers - that were widely
relying upon its everyday services."
With more than 30 nodes throughout the country, several Fidonet gateways,
and a project currently underway to connect directly to Comlink and the
other APC Networks, Peacelink is completely dedicated to peace, human
rights and ecology issues. Founded in1992 as a specialized conference of
Fidonet Italia network, Peacelink became quickly independent and well known
even outside Italy. Recently the network hosted a national conference on
peace-related matters, becoming also the only communication link for people
in the former-Yugoslavia and the outside world.
The first phase of the crackdown (May 11-13) targeted Fidonet Italia network
in several cities in the northern and cental regions of the country. While a
still inaccurate number of BBSes (probably from 30 to 60) were searched and
dozens were closed down, on May 25 an official press-release of the Finance
Police in Torino claimed a seizure "for a value of more than 4 billion of
Italian lire (about US $2,5 million), including 17 personal computers;
13,690 floppy disks of illegally copied software," dozens of modems and
electronic devices. Fourteen people were charged with "conspiracy with
unknown for the crime of software piracy" - but no arrests were made.
The new raid hit the online community at the exact moment when sysops,
users, media and citizens were waiting for a relaxing and clarifier signal
from investigators, including the first decisions about the seized hardware
scheduled in these days.
Right now, activists are coordinating a series of quick answers, including
the probable foundation of a National association dedicated to the
protection of civil rights for Electronic Citizens.
- Bernardo Parrella
<berny@well.sf.ca.us>
<b.parrella@agora.stm.it>
< - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - >
electronic distribution of this posting is greatly encouraged,
preserving its original version, including the header and this notice
< - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - >
##########################################################################
The E-Cafe -
##########################################################################
Sender: owner-net-happenings@is.internic.net
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: mac18@cus.cam.ac.uk (Sparky)
Subject: Announcing: The Electronic Cafe
Announcing: The Electronic Cafe
Imagine a place where access to the Internet is as easy as buying
a paper; where you can exchange knowledge and ideas with millions of
people worldwide. Imagine a focus for the interface between your local
community and the global community of the Internet.
You are thinking about the Ecafe - a community comining music,
art and imagination with the resources of a global network, a centre of
activity where ordinary people can use the facilities of the Internet
within their everyday lives.
Bringing together a music venue, a cafe and a connection to the
Internet, the Ecafe will give people access in a social setting. It will
provide local community information, educational resources, electronic
publishing, graphic design and an audience which spans the globe.
It will be a place for people to gather, a place of education and
creativity, a place where everyone is equal, providing a link to 15
million minds at the speed of light. The Ecafe will be this and more,
evolving via the imagination of its users into a local meeting place
in the global community.
The Electronic Cafe is simple in its goal; to provide Internet
access to the general public, but the Ecafe will be more than just another
connection onto the Internet. It will provide access for the public to the
vast array of information sources available and help people to add to that
resource, giving them the equipment to explore the creativity waiting to
be discovered within this new medium.
If you would like to find out more about the Ecafe then point
your web browser to:
http://www.cyberspace.org/u/ecafe/www/index.html
or Email ecafe@cyberspace.org
The Ecafe is scheduled to open by the end of this year in London.
We are currently looking for backers and sponsors to support the project,
if you would like to discuss the Ecafe in more detail, or perhaps even write
an article, I would be only to happy to meet you. I am available in the UK
over the next month and in America during July.
Mark Cheverton (ecafe@cyberspace.org)
363 King's College, Cambridge, England. CB2 1ST.
##########################################################################
Classes - Go-pher-It
##########################################################################
Sender: Public-Access Computer Systems Forum
From: Zach Copley <gorgon@crl.com>
Subject: Summer Go-pher-it Workshops
----------------------------Original message----------------------------
GO-PHER-IT: YOUR PASSPORT TO THE INTERNET
Due to popular demand, the Go-pher-it Workshop is back with a special
summer schedule ideal for educators, librarians, and others who work
with information.
Go-pher-it: Your Passport to the Internet is a three week
distance-learning workshop conducted entirely through e-mail. It is
designed to introduce the beginner to the worldwide gopher
information distribution system, as well as to enhance the skills of
the somewhat more experienced user.
WORKSHOP INFORMATION
During the workshop, you will learn:
* How to make the basic connection to gopher.
* How to use gopher to connect with some representative gopher sites.
* How to query gopherspace with the powerful Veronica program.
* How to setup gopher "bookmarks" and make changes in them in order
to personalize your gopher sessions.
* How to use gopher's bookmark facility to create your own customized
online service.
* The intimate relationship between gopher and other key Internet
retrieval tools, such as FTP, WAIS, and WWW while learning something
about them in the process.
Dates: In order to accomodate summer vacation schedules, three
workshops are planned:
Session I.........June 13 - July 3
Session II........July 11 - July 31
Session III.......August 8 - August 28
Cost: $20 per participant, per Workshop.
Sign up for ONE session only unless you plan to take the Workshop more
than once. To sign up for one of the Go-pher-it Workshop sessions,
please send an e-mail message to the listserv:
listserv@netcom.com
and in the body of the message, include:
subscribe go_pher_it
to subscibe to Session I, or
subscribe go_pher_it2
to subscibe to Session II, or
subscribe go_pher_it3
to subscribe to Session III.
This will automatically put you on the mailing list for more
information about the workshop, and you will receive an
acknowledgment with the particulars about signing up.
In order to get the most from this workshop it is helpful to have
access to a gopher client program, either by remote access, or by
actually running one on your own computer directly connected to the
Internet. To participate in the workshop you only need access to
e-mail; however, it is very desirable to be able to actually use a
gopher client while you are doing so.
The workshop leader, Thomas P. Copley, Ph.D., is one of the founders
of The Electronic University in San Francisco, and is an experienced
instructor of distance-learning courses via networks. In addition to
consulting for Apple Computer, Inc. on hyper-textual
distance-learning software, Dr. Copley has served on the faculties of
Washington State University, Antioch College, and Armstrong
University. He is also the Editor of the electronic newsletter the
TELELEARNING NETWORK SYNTHESIZER.
##########################################################################
##########################################################################
NETWORKS and COMMUNITY is a result of the work of people located
throughout the global Internet community. Net facilities for the
preparation of this newsletter are provided by NETCOM On-line
Communications Service, Inc. Editing is done by myself.
Back issues are archived through the kindness of the staff at the WELL :
gopher ---->gopher.well.sf.ca.us ->community --> civic nets... --->
networks & community; & the NATIONAL LIBRARY OF CANADA : gopher ---->
gopher.nlc-bnc.ca
"Subscriptions" are available through the generosity of the Listowner for
the RRE NEWS SERVICE: subscribe by sending e-mail to:
rre-request@weber.ucsd.edu) with a SUBJECT LINE reading "subscribe
<firstname> <lastname>", OR by e-mail to myself, cvington@netcom.com
requesting to be put on my mailing list for the newsletter.
Additional distribution is assisted by the managers and owners of
NET-HAPPENINGS, COMMUNET, & the CANADIAN FREENET listservs.
This newsletter is in the PUBLIC DOMAIN, with the exception of
Global Community or where noted, and may be used as you see fit.
To contribute items or enquire about this newsletter, contact
Stephen Covington <cvington@netcom.com>
.
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