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Hi Charlotte and all, Thanks for inviting me to be a part of the current discussion. First, I will respond to your questions about my own history with BBS's culture. CF: What were some of the Bulletin Boards you were involved with and who did it put you in touch with? This is what the interface looked like then (http://bit.ly/18KqZ7i) - we used Wildcat BBS software, a normal phone line via modem, users would be charged the local phone rate. My first experience with a BBS was on Cybercafe (http://www.irational.org/cybercafe/bbs.html) in between 94 - 96, (it's a bit hazy here). Heath Bunting had set it up, and were both interested in art, technology and activism. We had already been collaborating with pirate radio and street art before this, and he asked me join Cybercafe as co-sysop (system operator). It was a fertile mix of artists, critical thinkers, musicians, coders, hackers, slackers or just plain geeky types. Another interest of mine at this time was finding alternative dialogues where there existed an art context beyond mainstream products and its marketed art brands. The other thing is, it was part of an emerging culture exploring ideas and cultural needs relating to peer communities with open platforms. Those and myself involved with this emerging culture where there was already an understanding about net art, networked art, activism and media art culture; were reading similar materials - zines and underground novels, which was also part of a loose network of cyberpunk culture. There was a general anti-authority attitude and a strong dedication towards a gift exchange economy, as part of grass roots D.I.Y culture. Much of the reading material at the time I was interested in then, included works by Kathy Acker, Bob Black 'Beneath the Underground' published in 92, SMILE magazine edited by Stewart Home & others late mid to late 80s, and later publications, various Neoism texts from BBS's, Situationist texts, 'The Electronic Disturbance' by Critical Art Ensemble (CAE) 94, and loads of other publications... On Cybercafe, and on other BBS's I used various identities (sometimes my own name). One of the most regularly used handles was ‘concrete myrth’. There were plenty of BBS’s around at the time and 'of course' it was nothing new. It had been around since the late 1970s and then more widely used to the mid-1990s. I visited numerous different BBS's. The main ones that I can remember using were ‘Fastbreeder’, New World Disorder, The Thing. And ‘Unauthorised Access BBS’. But, I mainly hung around on Cybercafe, meeting visitors and helping them out which was my job, as a polite host as Cybercafe co-sysop. I will send you my answers for your other questions later. Wishing you well. marc www.furtherfield.org