************************************************************************** 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 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 John December ************************************************************************* ************************************************************************* 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 . 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 Subject: FEDGOVT> Postal Service and Information Superhighway Sender: owner-net-happenings@is.internic.net ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Will Stuivenga 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 .) ########################################################################## On-line Death and Grief Resource ########################################################################## From: Gleason Sackman Sender: owner-net-happenings@is.internic.net ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Cendra Lynn ----------------------------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" From: Bernardo Parrella 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 < - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - > 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 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 ", 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 .