I must tell you this. Hope you don't mind. I just start to feel that is
really perhaps one of the true reasons why I've been working so hard on
this project.
We need help for real.
Just like the rest of the world needs our help for the virtual.
I had a rare joy to meet a real net person live last weekend. He's still
in town, visiting from Finland. We experienced most of the important parts
of this work. The discussions we had explained everything better than
ever before even in my own thougts (which I often can't express).
It was intensive sharing of everything in real. Being together we didn't
touch any electronics. That is how Net People spend best time with each
other.
Moments, however, last only for a while. We lost our connection being in
this group of almost four thousand partying in this huge gas container at
the factory. So we formed new networks there as Saturday was becoming
Sunday to enjoy the rest of the day afterwards. We were also trying to
find each other to rejoin but couldn't in such a big group .. but it
didn't really matter since meeting new people is one important reason to
go to parties anyway.
We, I mean the people I'd met there, went to the boat where I wrote the
message below to Joel who's somewhere else in town. I haven't seen him for
almost a month now but we've been writing a lot. From the boat I could
also call the friend (being a Finn he has a mobile and most people don't
have the time to wait the mobiles to learn tcp/ip like i do) later in the
afternoon - he was sitting somewhere in town seeing watching the sunset.
He came to the boat too but as we others fell asleep again he went back to
town somewhere and rest at the hotel. Unfortunately he didn't join us for
the Sauna (the English/Dutch suggested it!) we went to in the evening.
I called him again after the Sauna and we joined in the center for the
last time so far. Drank some hot chocklad in a cafe and updated&shared the
experiences again. Today I'm busy with this and he's also doing some
business in town.
Last week I wrote about Being&Becoming real in Helsinki. About the
Cable-Book and House-(of)-Knowledge relations where I (physically!)
worked and the meatingplace and real life community among netty people in
L16.
I'm still not real.
I'm afraid all of us have trouble facing reality.
Perhaps our basic concepts, like time, place, money etc. are so different
that there are starting to be conflicts as we grow bigger and become more.
Don's book came in paper mail this morning, I must read it and write an
answer.
This friend of mine had been arrested and in three days in jail in Finland
already. It was quite shocking news for me. He hasn't really done anything
extraordinary. If things were otherwise it could've been me or almost any
of my friends.
Suddenly I must think of a strange thought: Is the Finnish Police a threat
to the stability of our society?
I'm afraid it is. I've been afraid of the police in Finland as long as I
can remember, already when I was 13-14 or so. There seems to be reasons
for it. I can't believe this!
Luckily I have quite different experiences in the Netherlands. Although
the Rotterdam police hasn't been too efficient in solving the robbery, I
mean finding those guys who mugged me on the street, but still I feel
quite good about it. They are the most efficient security team I've ever
met and I believe that, if anyone, they're able to solve the case.
Furthermore the police here go to parties, like the one I mention here, in
quite a different way than in Finland. The purpose is, in both countries I
hope, to take care of everyone's security and organize everything well. In
Finland it's often quite impossible to co-operate with them so too often
the arrival of the police force means the end of the party. I've
experienced that dozens of times during the years in both Oulu and
Helsinki.
I think the presentation wouldn't be the same if I had staid in Finland
and the "case: Rotterdam" would be replaced by a "three days in jail"
experience.
You, and especially anyone else, reading this might wonder what this has
to do with the Internet. This is nothing but net for me. Real networks:
Consisting of people, things and whatever, following some basic principles
(studied in physics, biology, economy, sociology etc). Constrained by, for
example, absolut limits in resources (physio-economical reasons) and
relative limits set by social instututions through socially innovated
technologies like law and marriage.
We don't know real networks too well. The real world even less. We know a
lot *of* it, living in a media like some people often say. We enjoy our
explorations out there a lot but often cross the limits without even
really noticing what the consequences might be.
(of note comments, happening as I write:
At the moment, besides my friends being arrested, there's a big hassle
going on around one, nowadays major, ISP-startup called DLC in Finland.
Business magazines are writing and people gossip like crazy. I'm really
lucky to be here in peace.
These times (friends arrestested, ISP business boiling hot) remind me of
the Helsingius-case couple of years ago. Do you remember it? Was about the
most (in)famous anonymous re-mailer at anon.penet.fi and the
scientologists were on the other (for us: evil) side. I don't know Johan,
or Julf, very well personally but we have met a couple of times in some
meetings. He lives/used to live in the same neighbourhood where I was
working and hanging around in the center of Helsinki. He's also been based
in Amsterdam.)
There are not many laws or economy there we come from - why do the
other's need all of them anyway? I don't mean only the information
networks but also the real (physical-human-material-bodily-love-food etc)
ones we have learned living with friends and going out to parties and
other gatherings.
I'm not a liberal or libertanian or a part of any of those policital
entities but do agree that there's a lot overhead in the system. I don't
really know what to think of it. Perhaps it is useful but I'd just need to
learn it better.
Might be that even going to jail wouldn't be that bad idea - there would
be lots of time to read and think social sciences facing (and banging the
head against?) the concrete red brick wall the society sets to limit our
access to the WorldNetwork to do our surf.
I will conclude the work now and e-mail where advised but am still a bit
unsure how to publish it because of these new hot and potentially
dangerous political issues.
Looking forward to your comments, as always,
hope you're all well.
an-Toni
antont@
---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Sun, 22 Feb 1998 14:13:01 +0200 (EET)
From: Toni Alatalo <[email protected]>
To: joel ryan <[email protected]>
Subject: weekend
i'm here on a boat on singel.
just came from westergasfabric for an afterparty.
was nice,
being inside of a screen of music
must tell you later.
a friend of mine is visiting from finland
he's a hacker and we shared the weekend
he was arrested and three days in prison
in finland
as many other familiar people too.
we had great fun, he's been using the
the net since 80's and knows it deeply
in such a different (admirable) level
compared to me
and is great company!
he's here till monday, you might meet?
+ an + ~ Toni ~ : (t . !