@NET UPDATE ----------- 31st July, 1995. Hi! It's been a good few months since i've done an @net Update. I did a couple towards the end of last year, but there hasn't been anything since then. I think it's about time to circulate a bit of information around about what's going on at the moment as there doesn't seem to be any effective way for it to happen of its own accord. I'm circulating this initially to individuals and groups around the world who i've had personal contact with, who are working together or independently on building a network of public access anarchist BBSs and who have internet email addresses. I see a distinction between working on the "virtual" network, which exists within the internet and includes things like Spunk press, the Anarchy-list etc and working on a publicly accessible network, which may or may not use Internet for its internal communication. By "publicly accessible", i mean accessible to people who don't already have internet access and maybe don't even have computers of their own. I thought about emailing everyone involved and asking for reports, but that would take a while and while i'm at it i might as well spread a bit of information. If anyone wants to mail me a report of what's happening in their part of the world for consumption by other people working on the same thing, please do and i'll circulate it. At the moment, i'm working on organizing an internet mailing list which will make this exchange of information easier and get me out of the situation of being in the middle. Then everyone involved and interested can keep each other up to date with what they're doing and we can work together towards a larger anarchist computer network. However, as that's not happening right now, here's what i know of what's going on so far. * * * The @net started in Melbourne, Australia, with an anarchist BBS called "The Xchange". This began as a dial-in bbs with no network links, in early 1993. It eventually developed rather dodgy networking with a fido protocol feed from a neighbouring BBS. Late last year, it became an internet email and usenet node, xchange.apana.org.au, with a UUCP feed from APANA, the Australian Public Access Network Association, using Waffle bbs software. At the moment, it has no Fido networking happening and may never have again. Contact: compcoll@xchange.apana.org.au A couple of months before the Xchange got internet linked, in about September 1994, Byteback BBS began in Brisbane, Australia, operating from Holus Bolus Anarchist Bookshop. It had a dial-in line and could be also be used by people coming into the shop. It also used Waffle and had a UUCP feed from APANA. Its address is byteback.apana.org.au . Sadly, Holus Bolus closed down at the end of July, leaving Byteback homeless and without its dial-in line. However, it's still running and is available to the anarchist movement in Brisbane. It's also being upgraded to run Linux software, which should make it much better. contact: sysop@byteback.apana.org.au Sometime in 1995, The Media Room started up in Sydney, Australia. This is an anarchist collective, working on various aspects of media and originally based at the back of Jura Anarchist Bookshop. They eventually developed internet links and are now running their own node, lyst.apana.org.au , using Waffle for their UUCP feed from Apana. They have moved from Jura and are now based at Black Rose anarchist bookshop. contact: cat@lyst.apana.org.au Jura books have started up their own project called Jura Media and have their own node: chaos.apana.org.au . * * * In Italy, ECN (European Counter Network) are developing internet links with their fido-protocol bbs network. Here's the text of their World-Wide Web homepage. http://www.xs4all.nl/~tank/ecn _________________________________________________________________ EUROPEAN COUNTER NETWORK _________________________________________________________________ [IMAGE] _________________________________________________________________ The European Counter Network has nine nodes in Italy, based in the following cities: Asti, Bologna, Brescia, Florence, Milan, Monselice, Padova, and Rome. A non-profit network dedicated first and foremost to broadening political debate and providing counter-information, the E.C.N. has file and conference areas devoted to a number of important social themes, including gender politics, AIDS, drugs, current struggles, the centri sociali and workplace politics. The network's most important facet is its NEWS file area, which in recent years has become a central source for information about the activities and debates amongst the various strands of Italy's 'self-organized' left. The E.C.N. was born in 1989 as a Europe-wide project involving Italian, British, German and Dutch comrades. Since that time, financial difficulties have had the unfortunate effect of loosening these international links, leaving the network to develop primarily within each of the countries concerned. Today, with the Internet becoming easily accessible to more and more people, less haphazard links between the various European components of the ECN (e.g. the ECN-UK) are once again on the agenda. In the meantime, the Italian ECN has established close links with the xchange BBS in Melbourne, Australia. Part of that country's small but growing anarchist computer network (@net), xchange mirrors most of the public messages broadcast on the Padova node. The two BBS also jointly produce a regular English-language electronic newsletter which summarises these postings, along with a full translation of one or two longer documents from Italy's 'self-organised' left. The latest edition of Italian COUNTERINFO can be found at the Mid-Atlantic Infoshop Home Page (for a free subscription to this e-zine, contact: pmargin@xchange.apana.org.au). The E.C.N.'s Internet connection is currently in an experimental phase, testing out basic services such as the distribution of documents through a listserver, and a number of simple WWW info-pages like this one. Any comments or suggestions can be forwarded to hobo@freenet.hut.fi. * * * and here's a bit of information. >------------------------------------------------------------------------- >ECN Bologna (European Counter Network) >modem 051-520986 - Controinformazione >da centri sociali - bbs e reti telematiche antagoniste >- radio libere - riviste - giornali - centri di documentazione >- cani sciolti - in linea 24/h/giorno >e-mail fam0393@iperbole.bologna.it >http://www.xs4all.nl/~tank/ecn/ecnbo.htm >------------------------------------------------------------------------- * * * In Catalunya, El Lokal in Barcelona have started up a bbs called LLIURE, i'm afraid i've mislaid (in other words, accidentally deleted!) the information i had about this. Lliure is a fido-protocol bbs, with a lot of text files and some communications software available. They don't as yet have internet links, but can be contacted at ellokal@pangea.upc.es . * * * ECN London, who produce the paper Contraflow, are currently working on setting up an internet link of some sort. Hopefully this will be working within a few weeks. contact: for the time being, i can pass on msgs. Fast Breeder anarchist bbs, which used to operate in London has unfortunately folded due mainly to only having one person running it. * * * In Sweden there's an anarchist bbs with a UUCP connection to internet called IBKOM (Information Bureau BBS). As far as i know, so far there hasn't been any formal connections with the other bbss i'm in touch with. * * * Well, that's about it for now. I hope i haven't left anything important out. Sorry this is in english only. seeyas will