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INFOWAR: Infowar: War on info

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ARS ELECTRONICA FESTIVAL 98
INFOWAR. information.macht.krieg
Linz, Austria, september 07 - 12
http://www.aec.at/infowar
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Consider the scenario not so much Info War, but perhaps a War on Information.

In the late 80's a number of us concerned ourselves with networking tools
that would assist in the dissemination of information "by the people for
the people". This led us to assist in the establishment of "community" 
based networks in the Pacific Islands, Papua New Guinea, Sarawak, Bangkok. 
Some of our colleagues developed similar facilities in Africa, Latin
America, South India, Indochina, Eastern Europe. 

Largely successful, locally relevant information was collated and
published by people and organisations where it was near impossible to
source through mainstream means. Fidonet, Waffle, UUCP formed the basis of
many such services, but today many of these networks are no longer active,
over-run by the over-consuming need assumed by many of these same
organisations to persist with a presence on the Web. With that has come
the loss of secure means of networking, exposing much of their work
through local ISPs that are generally unsympathetic to what had been more
"progressive" means of information exchange. Grass roots information from
many of the regions I mentioned above is now pretty much under siege. It
has become more costly to publish indigenous content where organisations
have to rely on off-shore providers and insecure communication
facilities... 

I guess what I'm trying to say is it has become harder, not easier, for
many of the people I've worked with in so called "developing countries" to
disseminate crucial and sensitive information, particularly those in
politically volatile countries, to a broader and sympathetic international
community. It has meant that local ownership of the means for information
dissemination is quickly disappearing as more and more people in the
communication rich regions of the world opt for more sophisticated means
of retrieving it. 

Andrew


--
  Andrew Garton
  MA & PHD Research Program
  |
  Centre.for.Animation.&.Interactive Media
  Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology.
  |
  |---------> agarton@toysatellite.com.au
  |---------> http://www.toysatellite.com.au/agarton ---------|


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