HERE COMES THE COMMON GROUND
by Andy Abramson


A new networking system is about to be unleashed on the world, and like both UNISON and THE WELL, local flavor with global access will be the underlying theme of the new system. Although not publicly announced, details of the system's existence and concept have been revealed through an electronic interview with one of the system's founders, Jessica Lipnack.

The New England Commons ("The Commons") will be a computer conferencing system with a primary focus on the New England area. Present plans are for The Commons to be operational, with packet-switching access, on January 1, 1986.

"The Commons will be different from other systems in the same way that Boston is different from San Francisco. There is a unique flavor to business, education, and culture in Boston, and The Commons will reflect that which is New England," said Jessica Lipnack, one of the system's three co-founders.

The system will operate on a DEC VAX 11/780, with a mix of software,
including NETI's eForum and eMemo (NETI's e-mail system), both to be announced shortly. Prices and services are also to be announced soon.

"The New England Commons is an extension of the work Jeffrey Stamps and I have been doing at The Networking Institute, and the work Robert McAndrews has been doing with online management education," said Lipnack.

Jeff Stamps and Jessica Lipnack first came onto EIES in 1980. They then co-authored "The NETWORKING Book" and had been thinking about an electronic-networking application for quite some time.

Lipnack continued, "In the spring of 1985, Bob McAndrews, formerly Vice President of Education for the Western Behavioral Sciences Institute, School of Management and Strategic Studies in La Jolla, CA, decided to move to Boston, which is when we realized the compatibility of our electronic interests. With Bob's expertise and interest in online education, and Jeff's and my love of electronic and people networking, we were able to quickly develop a plan for bringing up a reliable, globally accessible system."

The name for the system came from the desire of Lipnack, Stamps, and McAndrew to create an electronic community. The words "New England Commons" were voiced on a boat of all places, and they realized *that* had to be its name.

Reportedly, the New England Commons will be part of a Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) pilot program for the development of regional computer conferencing and networking systems. The project is designed to be a proving ground for the use of this rapidly growing medium and its potential applications in the future.

"We're deep into the hard work that precedes The Commons coming online...and we're looking forward to all manner of interesting activities for our participants, including, of course, being able to read NETWEAVER," added Jessica Lipnack.

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Talk about using the medium. This whole story came about through the use of the medium. First, Lisa Kimball suggested a story on the New England Commons system to me via PARTI on Unison. Then I asked Stan Pokras to port questions to the operators of the Commons, which he did via EIES, and then sent the replies back to me by pulling the replies from EIES and porting them back to UNISON.

That is USING THE MEDIUM! -----

Author's note: Andy Abramson is President of Hockey Central, an organization established in 1976 by the Philadelphia Flyers to promote, stimulate and develop interest in amateur hockey. During his ten year association with the Flyers he has held positions in the Marketing, Public Realtions, and Administration departments. He is also the Chairman of the Spectacor PC Users Group.