Volume 2, Number 1 ---CONTENTS--- January 1, 1986

1 Masthead and Index

2 ENA UPDATE
by Lisa Kimball

3 UCHUG: THE ELECTRONIC NETWORK OF THE UNITED CHURCH OF CANADA
by David Lochhead

4 MANAGING COMPUTER CONFERENCING
by Roger Bunting

5 PRODUCTIVITY AND THE PERSONAL COMPUTER
by Andy Abramson

6 ONLINE EDUCATIONAL TECHNIQUES
by Stuart Umpleby

7 COMPUTERS AND YOUR HEALTH
by Clyde Ford

8 SUPPORT GROUPS
by Dawn Debbe

9 DESIRABLE FEATURES FOR CC SYSTEMS
by Stuart Umpleby

10 THE LONGEST WEEKEND, Part I
by Lisa Kimball

11 THE LONGEST WEEKEND, Part II
by Lisa Kimball

ENA UPDATE
by Lisa Kimball

We usually review ENA's activities for the past month in this column. But this month it seems fitting to review ENA's accomplishments of 1985 as well. It's been quite a year!


PORTING
=======

"Porting"--the process of downloading material from one conferencing system and uploading it to another--really took off when we began discussing issues related to moderating online discussions and managing computer networks in a set of conferences on multiple networks which began last January. Large amounts of material became part of our common knowledge base, and we got excited about the experience we could share and the possibility of influencing the development of this medium through collective action. Porting has now become a familiar feature of the electronic universe and ENA has taken the lead to develop ethical norms and technical strategies for this process.

SYMPOSIUM
=========

Fifty networkers from many different systems met in April in New York City for the First Intersystem Electronic Networking Symposium. We developed the mission statement for a new organization--ENA. Mike Greenly's online coverage of this event was ported to many systems and helped develop a broader base of interest in ENA and its goals. Many who attended the Symposium agreed to take on leadership roles to get the organization started. The concept that there is a lot more to computer conferencing than hardware and software was firmly established, and we recognized many management and social concerns held in common by vendors, researchers, users, and designers on all the different systems.

ELECTRONIC OFFICE
=================

At the April Symposium, Fred Dudden and Harry Stevens contributed the use of the Participate system on the UNISON network as a meeting place for ENA to use during its early development. The use of this resource--and the wonderful support from Fred and his staff during 1985--has made it possible for ENA to use the medium to build an organization. This has enabled us to experiment and learn from our own experience about how to conduct business online. We are currently working on a strategy to fund this resource for ENA in 1986, and we send heartfelt thanks to Fred and UNISON for making it possible for us to exist in 1985!

NETWEAVER
=========

In August, we published the first issue of NETWEAVER--our intersystem newsletter. NETWEAVER is now published simultaneously every month on many conferencing systems and bulletin boards around the world thanks to our ENA Porters, who have mastered the process of downloading and uploading into and out of all kinds of systems. It contains a wide range of articles about computer conferencing which are written by authors from our intersystem network. NETWEAVER's editors meet in an electronic newsroom on UNISON and have made significant advances in the application of this medium to electronic publication.

CONFERENCE
==========

ENA's conference, USING THE MEDIUM, drew almost 200 networkers to George Washington University in Washington, D.C. in November. In addition to providing a forum for the discussion of key topics and issues related to computer conferencing, the conference gave us an opportunity to get to know each other in a new way. It was particularly exciting to have many of ENA's international members at the conference, and we really began to take on a more global perspective as a result. We also began to show how powerful me might become as a group when participants in the session on Telelaw convinced a key legislative aide to rethink some aspects of a proposed law. The conference was planned and managed by a team of more than 25 people who never met in person prior to the conference and, since several key people weren't able to attend, have never been all in the same place at the same time! This was truly an example of the ability to get significant things done via a network. We are now developing plans for conferences in the future, and we are starting by exploring the possibilities of Springtime in Denver '86 and a European conference in 1987.

BECOMING KNOWN
==============

Many members of ENA have been concerned about communicating the benefits
of the medium beyond the online community. Articles about the Symposium, the organization, and the conference have appeared in a number of publications in the computer industry. Several of our members have published articles which feature a wider range of applications of the medium than previously reported in the computer press. In November, we made the breakthrough to the general interest news media when ENA's mission statement appeared in a TIME magazine article called "Here Come the Networkers" (November 25, 1985, p100). We are currently discussing a number of projects related to providing information and ideas about computer conferencing to people who have not yet discovered the medium.

ORGANIZATION
============

Probably our most significant accomplishment in 1985 was the development of a plan for the organization and governance of ENA which we worked on for several months online and adopted at the conference in November. We are currently in the process of setting up an innovative organizational structure to take advantage of the unique qualities the online environment can provide, e.g. a network rather than hierarchical form of organization, a meeting place which allows participation by people who are distributed geographically, and asynchronous communication, which allows us to work together on focused activities outside of the usual constraint of having to find a time convenient to everyone. We have struggled with issues of decision making and leadership online. One of ENA's major contributions may be the extent to which we can serve as a model of the electronic organization.

This issue of NETWEAVER reflects many of the concerns ENA addressed in 1985. We have focused on *using* the medium, and you will find articles on the use of conferencing by a large church organization and for a series of personal support groups. There are also articles related to the management of networks, including a report from the management session at ENA's conference, a discussion about personal productivity, and ideas about teaching online. Characteristics of the medium itself are addressed in articles on desirable features for future CC systems and the potential health hazards of CRTs.

1985 ended on a sad note when ENA founding member David Rodale died on December 23rd. David was an early and enthusiastic supporter of ENA and a pioneer in the medium. He was also a very dear friend--online and off--to many of us, and he will be sorely missed. This issue contains a tribute to David by providing a reprise of "Weekend", one of the touchstone conferences in the history of the medium, created by David in March, 1984.

We're looking forward to an exciting and productive year in ENA and we hope you'll JOIN us in shaping the future of electronic networking!

UCHUG: THE ELECTRONIC NETWORK OF
THE UNITED CHURCH OF CANADA
by David M. Lochhead

Why has a Canadian church become involved with electronic networking? There are two major reasons.


1) Geography: The Canadian population is distributed in a
thin strip stretching for 4000 miles across the
northern border of the United States. Communication
across the length of the church is difficult and
expensive.


2) Text: The business of any church is related to textual
information. For centuries, the church was the major
provider of information in western society. The
transmission and creation of text have always been the
primary ways in which a church conducts its day-to-day
business.


When the United Church of Canada began to consider the potential of computer communication, we faced a classic "Catch-22" situation. Because there were few electronic services designed to be used by churches, there were few modems in church use; conversely, because there were so few modems in church use, there were few electronic services available that were of interest to churches. In late 1984, the Church's Division of Communication devised a plan to grasp the horns of the dilemma.

For a period of four months beginning in October 1984, the few of us in the denomination who owned modems were given free accounts on ENVOY 100, a Canadian electronic mail service. Out of that experiment, UCHUG, the United Church Users Group, was born. An electronic community stretching from coast to coast, UCHUG has grown from a dozen members in November 1984 to nearly 40 today.

We quickly discovered that computer communication served two different functions for church users. The national and regional offices of our denomination were interested exclusively in electronic mail: they wanted to use the system for little more than office-to-office messages. On the other hand, the members of UCHUG--most of whom were pastors in widely scattered communities--were more interested in discussion, in the sharing of ideas. While ENVOY 100 was suited to electronic mail, it did not lend itself to computer conferencing. Consequently, in May 1985 we transferred the conferencing aspects of UCHUG to UNISON.

UCHUG IN ACTION
===============

Discussions in UCHUG reflect many of the concerns of the wider electronic community: questions of computer hardware and software, the nature and ethics of electronic communities, the social impact of technology, etc. More significant to us, however, is the fact that computer conferencing allows our members to deal with specifically church-related issues in new ways.

Pastors from the Atlantic to the Pacific can discuss, on a weekly basis, the common texts that will be used as scripture readings on the following Sunday. We are also using UCHUG for a denomination-wide discussion of one of the most divisive issues currently facing the United Church: the ordination of homosexuals. The use of UNISON, a public system, has also fostered the development of interfaith discussions; for example, a conference called "DHARMA AND GOSPEL" was initiated by UCHUG as an online dialogue between Christians and Buddhists.

In a denomination such as the United Church of Canada, computer conferencing can radically change established patterns of communication. Traditionally, the flow of information has been from the local churches to the central office, and then from the central office back out to the local churches. With computer conferencing, the central office tends to be bypassed as an information clearinghouse; information flows across the organization.

Theoretically, the United Church is not a hierarchical organization; however, Canadian geography has tended to create hierarchy by forcing us to rely on a central office as an information clearinghouse. In fact, one of our concerns is the reluctance of national staff officers to involve themselves in the online community; for many of them, the growth of computer networks in the church holds the threat of the marginalization of hierarchy. By allowing the development of close personal relationships among people in widely separated locations, computer conferencing is enabling the growth of a community of people who do not rely on the traditional patterns of church communication.

ONLINE RELIGION
===============

The use of computer communication within a religious organization was probably pioneered by DHARMANET, a network that was designed to allow Vajradhattu, a Buddhist group, to communicate among its branches scattered throughout North America. More recently, the United Methodist Church has established a network residing on a computer at the University of Washington. PRESBYNET, an unofficial network of the Presbyterian Church (USA), uses UNISON as a host system.

Computer conferencing in churches is still in a very experimental stage; most denominations have not yet seriously considered its potential. The experience of UCHUG indicates that, as they discover the medium, churches should expect radical changes in the way in which they conduct their business.

-----

Author's note: David Lochhead is convener of the Small Computer Committee
of the United Church of Canada, the sponsor of UCHUG, the denomination's
online network. In his spare time, Dr. Lochhead is a Professor of
Systematic Theology at the Vancouver School of Theology. He lives in
Maple Ridge, B.C., with a wife, 8 children, five cats, two dogs and three
computers.

MANAGING COMPUTER CONFERENCING
A Report from the ENA Fall Conference
by Roger Bunting

The focus of the Managing CC session was understanding the issues of design, structure, and behaviors which can contribute to success of computer conferences (CC). We also looked at the problems to be solved and the dilemmas usually confronted in the management and conduct of CC.

The session design was based on the experiential learning model. The attendees were first asked to work in small groups on one of six different scenarios dealing with the establishment of different applications for CC. In each case, the questions addressed by the groups were:

1. What do you see as the "social glue" that will hold
this conference together?


2. What are the desirable characteristics of a CC
system that will help this particular CC accomplish
its purpose?


3. What are the interpersonal and group dynamics that
are most likely to impact the success of this CC?


4. What norms need to be established in order to make
this conference work well?


5. If you agreed to be the "leader" of this CC, what
else would you need to know before accepting the
responsibility?


Following the small group work, each group presented the results of its deliberations, essentially in the form of its answers to the preceding questions. Those results and the ensuing discussions constitute a rich description of the factors and considerations which can contribute to the success of CC. They are synthesized here in the hope that they can assist CC designers and organizers in enhancing the quality and productivity of their CC.

THE "SOCIAL GLUE"
=================

Regarding the "social glue" which can hold conferences together, it appears the following factors can be significant:

Excitement; a willingness to share; a need to complete the project; shared professional or otherwise common interests, purposes, or goals; a need to keep in touch with what's going on; to speed up the learning process; a "draw" to get started, like an initial question that appeals to all; a crisis situation; periodic face-to-face meetings; a desire to demonstrate the gains of CC at both the individual and group levels; a shared commitment to participate; a "walk-around manager" who performs the role of matchmaker, facilitator, and leader.

Especially for global or intercultural CC: exposure to alternate cultures; participation in economic development efforts, and in the creation of a multinational corps.

DESIRABLE CHARACTERISTICS OF CC SYSTEMS
=======================================

The following "desirable characteristics" of CC were highlighted for their potential contribution to the success of CC:

Ease of access and use; "idiot-proof" logon; a communications protocol that is competent at introducing the CC system to the users *and* users to users, and which provides near-instant feedback; at least some users that are already using and familiar with the system; an outreach system for nurturing new users; low cost for communications linkages and connect charges; flexibility; a balance of concentration and dispersion (in the structure of the CC program); sub-conferences available; the presence of a real-time chronicler or digester to provide periodic progress summaries; convenient and fast, especially for getting answers and results; a simple search and retrieval system; voting capabilities; individual messaging; integrated with existing technology.

Especially for global or intercultural CC: multilingual translation services; politically acceptable systems.

INTERPERSONAL AND GROUP DYNAMICS
================================

The following interpersonal and group dynamics were considered to be most likely to impact the success of a CC:

Existing relationships (horizontal, vertical, and cross- functional); use of other modes of communications, e.g., telephone and face-to-face; the need to see progress and the desire for quick results or action; elitism; classism; distrust; verbal, active people vs. shy users; people who are used to working face-to-face, real-time, and with paper; turf issues; one agency or element trying to lead the show; cooperation; handling of feelings, especially anger; the actions of the moderators; transactional velocity; group norms for the free flow of information; relevance to the network; norms for conflict resolution, both rules and processes; complimentary channels with other mediums and processes, like face-to-face, workshops, and face-to-face combined with online activities.

Especially for global or intercultural CC: the need for a facilitator skilled in cross-cultural communications.

NORMS FOR CC
============

The following norms need to be established for a CC to work well:

Everybody has something important to contribute; we all have something to learn; we must pay attention to sharing; mutual respect; rules should be established by the group; it's OK to have diversity... we don't have to agree; acknowledge that the net may "fail"; constructively divert, rather than suppress, dysfunctional discussion; use etiquette when expressing anger via the language; the value of dealing with issues eclipses turf wars temporarily; normally should use public rather than private messages; message lengths should be kept short; discussion content should remain appropriate to the purpose of the conference; norms for participation need to be explicit and achieve balance; input should be required regularly; there should reentry strategies for the infrequent user; leadership should be shared or rotated; provisions should be made for closure.

INFORMATION NEEDS OF CC LEADERS
===============================

Before accepting responsibility for leadership of a net, one should want to know:

Clear goals and what reaching them would look like; legal obligations; time commitments; who the lead or sponsoring agency is; senior management support; knowledge of the decision makers and the accepted decision-making processes; relationships; personalities involved; how to recognize danger signs and to sustain interest; hardware and funds availability; a thorough understanding of the issues and the environment; availability of the right people for the net; the commitment of others to facilitate and to agree to ground rules; the structure for leadership transition; own commitments and constraints; ways to publicize the successes that occur.

Especially in global or intercultural CC: cross-cultural experience; languages; availability of support team and home base.

-----

Author's Note: Roger Bunting co-facilitated the "Managing Computer
Conferences" session with Joseph Potts at ENA's conference in D.C. in
November. Roger and Joe are both leaders in the field of group
facilitation who are now applying their knowledge to facilitating
interaction online.

PRODUCTIVITY AND THE PERSONAL COMPUTER
by Andy Abramson

Productivity... the concept intrigues me more and more in relation to how we work with computers. Word processing made it possible to write, rewrite and rewrite again, all without having to key the same words over again.

Now a revolution is upon us; word processing is being carried to major extremes. Not only can we modify our text, but now, the computer will check our spelling, provide the correct spelling should a mistake be made, and also provide us with synonyms if we find ourselves using the same word too often.

But productivity is available to us in more than just the context of word processing. The whole issue is being raised by the development of memory-resident software, like HOMEBASE and SIDEKICK. Machines that were designed to handle a single task are now functioning with other tasks in the background, ready to come alive at the touch of a few keystrokes.

In the MS-DOS, IBM-ruled world, this is all possible because the operating system allows programs to load and remain resident in memory until called. They also get put back into memory and allow us to resume whatever foreground application we are working with.

In the electronic-communications world, the concept of E-MAIL is important, and its need ever-growing. Software that drops into the background and serves as a mailbox, ready to receive electronic letters is now available, in the IBM PC world, with memory resident software like HOMEBASE from AMBER SYSTEMS and MIRROR from SOFTKLONE.

This "CALL WAITING"-like feature allows you to continue your work on a spreadsheet, data base, or any other foreground application. You are never out of touch and always available to receive an ASCII file, right at your computer, unless of course you happen to be communicating with another system at the time.

In the realm of Computer Conferences, the memory-based software allows you to read online and reply to the memory of your machine, while you download the messages. You can "cut and paste" a segment of something you read to a file and save it for later reference. You can even save it to a file, make your comments and send it back, all without logging off and on. This helps cut down on valuable online time. It also gives you the opportunity to make notes to the computer's memory, not just your own.

Most of all, memory resident software makes you more productive and gives your computer more to do, all the time saving you time and... keystrokes.

-----

Author's Note: I am a time management junkie, online so much that I have
to find ways to make it up. The rapidly growing world of RAM-based
software helps me make up for the online time I spend, since I don't have
to swap programs to accomplish simple tasks like writing short text,
updating an appointment schedule, using a calculator or looking up phone
numbers. This whole article was written using SIDEKICK and TURBO
LIGHTNING, two BORLAND INTERNATIONAL products that are always there when I
need them.

Andy Abramson is President of Hockey Central, a non-profit organization
established by the Philadelphia Flyers Hockey Club. He is also Chairman
of the Spectacor PC Users Group and reviews software as often as he can to
make others more productive, so he can do his own work.

ONLINE EDUCATIONAL TECHNIQUES
by Stuart Umpleby

Below are some ideas about how to teach university level courses via a computer conferencing system. My experience with teaching via CC is as follows: I taught a course on "The Fundamentals of Cybernetics" on EIES during the fall of 1983. At the same time I audited or observed the course "Human Communication via Computers" taught by Murray Turoff and Roxanne Hiltz. During the spring of 1985 I operated a computer conferencing system called Conexus on my IBM XT. It was used as a supplement to two graduate courses in information technology at George Washington University. In April 1985, I observed the course on "Space" on The Source, which was taught by Paul Levinson and facilitated by Lisa Kimball.

INSTRUCTIONAL TECHNIQUES
========================

In their course on "Human Communication via Computers" on EIES Turoff and Hiltz used the following techniques:


1. Conversations between two instructors who hold
slightly different positions or who approach the
subject from different disciplinary backgrounds.


2. Students introduce themselves as a first exercise
in using the equipment.


3. Students are encouraged to recount personal
experiences relevant to part of the course.


4. Students choose books or articles to review online.


5. A role-playing exercise requiring the use of
private or small-group messages.


6. Individual explorations of various facilities on
EIES with reports back to the group.


Paul Levinson in the "Space" course on The Source used these techniques:


1. "Lectures" of three to four pages to define an
issue.


2. "Guest lectures" consisting of comments by other
authors, sometimes downloaded from other courses on
other systems.

3. Setting forth a wide range of views on some subject
in order to provoke comments.

4. Connecting the topic of the course to a current
political controversy in order to stimulate
discussion.


PROBLEMS ENCOUNTERED AND ATTEMPTED SOLUTIONS
============================================

The most commonly discussed problem in online courses is how to keep students current with the discussion and active online. For the Levinson-Kimball course on Space on The Source, Lisa sent out offline or parallel reminders.

A problem I faced on EIES was whether to wait for student replies or to go on with the next week's lecture. Proceeding at my own pace made for a chaotic transcript when students finally replied. This problem is neatly solved in Participate by starting a new branch for each major topic. Levinson used this structure for the Space course.

QUESTIONS REGARDING THE FUTURE
==============================

I have two questions about the future of computer conferencing in education--a narrow question and a broader question.

The narrow question concerns the relationship of computer conferencing to other media of instruction. CC can be regarded either as a supplementary medium of instruction or as the principal medium of instruction. I think there is a large potential for CC as a supplement to existing classroom courses. Preliminary experiments at GWU indicate that CC can be both appropriate and valuable when used in conjunction with normal classroom courses. If conferencing is used as the primary medium for off-campus education or continuing adult education, it can be supplemented with computer-aided instruction and with mailed videotapes or programs on public television. And, of course, books are used to supplement both online and classroom instruction.

The broader question is what the effect of CC will be on higher education and education in general. Although there was considerable enthusiasm about computer-aided instruction (CAI) in the 1960's, CAI does not yet play a major role on university campuses. But CC is intended to facilitate, rather than replace, communication between human beings. Is it therefore possible that CC will have a much greater effect on universities in the next twenty years than CAI has had? If so, what might those effects be?

COMPUTERS AND YOUR HEALTH
Combating the Effects of Low-Level Radiation
by Clyde Ford

This article (possibly the first in a series) explores what you can do to prevent your computer from becoming a hazard to your health and a major source of stress in your life. You may well be familiar with some of the facts and recommendations contained herein; but, hopefully, one or two items may pique your interest, and help make this wonderful electronic world a little less detrimental to your well-being.

The major hazards of a computer environment can be divided into three categories: low-level radiation, ergonomics, and personal work habits and
style. The focus of this article is the effect of low-level radiation; it includes recommendations on how to alleviate and prevent some of the potential health consequences that attend these hazards.

LOW-LEVEL RADIATION
===================

The computer environment is a wonderful source of low-level ionizing radiation, which consists of electrons that are relatively slow moving (in comparison to the speed of light). Unlike their faster counterparts (such as x-rays), these slow- moving particles enter your body but do not penetrate it completely; instead, they are trapped inside. X-rays and other fast particles do not pose nearly as many health problems as the slow-moving particles that are produced with x-ray beams.

In your body, the slow-moving particles collide with atoms, often changing
their atomic structure by knocking an electron loose. The altered substances produced as a result of these collisions are often called "free radicals" (not to be confused with those produced by the collisions of the 1960's).

These free radicals roam your body, combining and re-combining with normal molecules, and forming strange and unnatural products in the process. Free radicals, which have been implicated in the formation of cancer and in the aging process, certainly place an increased stress on your body's immune system, which is often mobilized to try to neutralize and dispose of them.

When you sit at a CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) computer screen, you are continuously bombarded with a low-level radiation field. This is one of the reasons why there has been so much concern about the use of CRT's by pregnant women: free radical formation in your body could jeopardize the health of the fetus.

There are many other considerations about low-level ionizing radiation and health. For more information, Robert O. Becker's "The Body Electric" is a good reference.

You should be aware that LCD's (Liquid Crystal Displays) emit considerably less low-level radiation than CRT's, so the Model 100's that we all love so dearly are actually a little safer for us than our IBM PC's. Remember, however, that any source of rapidly moving electrons produces a radiation field that interacts with you while in your body.

COMBATING LOW-LEVEL RADIATION
=============================

It is very easy to prevent low-level radiation from causing a problem. For the last five years I have used "I-Protect," a lead-impregnated, acrylic screen that covers the front of my computer screen. It is constructed so that it is completely transparent--and yet the lead absorbs nearly 95% of all radiation coming from the CRT. The glass also magnifies the screen slightly, making it easier to read. I-Protect, which costs about $100, is available from the Langley-St. Clair Company (800/221-7070).

NUTRITION AND LOW-LEVEL RADIATION
=================================

One interesting area that is seldom discussed is the importance of good nutrition to us computer folks, and how it can help combat some of the harmful effects of our machines.

Any substance that binds free radicals prevents them from posing a health threat. The binding process, a form of oxidation, can be assisted nutritionally. If you use computers frequently, I suggest that you consider the following nutritional supplementation (over and above the good diet which I'm sure all of you have).

(1) Vitamin A (25,000-40,000 I.U. daily): Vitamin A is a
good supplement for combating free radicals. It is
normally available in high doses--the Recommended
Daily Allowance (RDA) is 10,000 I.U. (International
Units). It can be toxic when taken in extremely high
doses (over 100,000 I.U.) for more than a few
consecutive days. I generally advise people to begin
with 10,000-20,000 I.U. for two days or more,
gradually increase to 40,000 I.U. for several days,
then gradually decrease to 10,000 I.U. and even stop
taking it for several days. This will ensure that no
toxic levels are built up.


Furthermore, I recommend a water-soluble or pre-
emulsified form of vitamin A rather than one that is
oil based (from fish oil, lemon grass oil, etc.). The
former is harder to find in local health-food stores,
but is much easier for your body to assimilate and
use.

At the risk of sounding like your mother, let me
remind you of the dietary sources of vitamin A:
carrots (surprisingly, cooked carrots provide more
usable vitamin A than raw carrots) and dark green
leafy veggies are the chief sources.

Vitamin A also benefits your eyes (the subject of a
subsequent installment in this series), which are
placed under a considerable strain by constantly
staring at a computer screen.

(2) Vitamin E (800-1200 I.U. daily): Essentially for the
same reasons as vitamin A, vitamin E is a good
substance for binding free radicals. I like vitamin E
capsules that list "mixed tocopherols" on the label
and also include selenium.

Dietary sources of vitamin E include whole grains;
fresh, non-roasted nuts and seeds; and cold-processed
oils.

(3) Superoxide Dismutase (SOD): Several years ago, SOD was
all the rage in health-food circles. Known as a
binder of free radicals, SOD was touted as the anti-
aging, anti-nuke supplement. Hype aside, it is an
excellent substance for preventing the formation and
proliferation of free radicals. It is available in
many forms; simply read and follow the label
instructions.

(4) Miso: You non-macrobiotic folks may not know that miso
is a food made from fermented soybeans, rice, or other
grains. It is a rather salty but hearty food which is
used to make, among many other things, a bouillon-like
soup. There have been reports that a group of
macrobiotic Japanese whose diet included brown rice
and miso (macrobiotic staples) survived the bombing of
Hiroshima.


I should remind you to consult with someone before you embark on any extensive nutritional regime; use my remarks simply as guidelines about where to start. I'll be glad to answer any questions you may have; you can send them to me through your porter. If there is enough interest, I will continue this series with articles about the other major computer-related health hazards: ergonomics and personal work habits.

-----


Author's Note: Clyde Ford is the organizer of Meta:Health on The Meta
Network. A chiropractor from Richmond, Virginia, he is interested in
applying leading-edge insights from areas such as brain research and new
physics to health and healing.

SUPPORT GROUPS
by Dawn Debbe


For many, the green screen creates a world: new perceptions, perspectives, and concepts roll across the screen as fast-- sometimes faster--than we can absorb their content. The screen also reflects our everyday *personal* realities and concerns: the five pounds we never seem to lose; the cigarettes we struggle to snuff out--permanently; the sorrows and frustrations, as well as the pleasures of personal relationships.

"SUPPORT GROUPS", a conference structure available on PARTICIPATE (R) on the Source, is designed to provide an atmosphere of support for people having difficulties in various areas of their personal lives. Discussion about issues and concerns is encouraged in a less personal manner than sometimes occurs when people meet their fears and questions face-to-face, and some of the conferences in the structure are private in order to provide a more secure atmosphere to discuss painful and personal issues.

"SUPPORT GROUPS" has grown quite a bit since its inception. Current offerings include "WEIGHT WATCH" (a particular favorite during the holiday season), "SPLITTING UP" (dealing with divorce), and "STOP SMOKING". "WOMEN ONLY" and "MEN ONLY" are private conferences where each sex can meet with his or her "own kind" to discuss sex, love, marriage, and other intimate issues that affect and shape the lives of both men and women. An unsegregated public conference called "MEETING PEOPLE" discusses all aspects of meeting people, dating, and relationships in general. "SEXUALITY" has just opened as a private conference for both men and women.

As the organizer for the overall structure of "SUPPORT GROUPS", I've tried to branch out a little. I started a conference called "PERSONAL GROWTH" to discuss concepts not commonly accepted, and explore new ideas together with the other members. It's not always a fast-paced conference, but what we get there is quality work. We also have a new conference called "BROWN THUMB". This is meant to be a tongue-in-cheek look at life's little mishaps. The notes aren't exactly rolling into the conference right now, but I have high hopes for it, too!

Whether the pace in each individual conference is fast or slow isn't nearly as important as whether the conference *works*. For many, the conferences do! Right now "SUPPORT GROUPS" frequently accounts for 35% of the activity on Participate on the Source, and that says that "SUPPORT GROUPS" is providing something a lot of people find useful and valuable.

For example, a private topic called "LIVING FOR YOU" has become an intense support group for women who find themselves in damaging relationships. The group supports, as well as tries to change habits and lifestyles. The "PARENTING" conference is a place where people can talk about their problems with being a parent. One of our participants, Bond, is just newly a parent and says he finds the information and sharing there very useful.

-------->*<--------

At first I tried to moderate all the topics myself. As the "SUPPORT GROUPS" structure grew, I found that conferences were going untended. So I began asking other people to help with moderating the conferences. Right now I've got a fantastic bunch of people helping me out. I'm always looking for people who want to help--people who have new ideas for the "SUPPORT GROUPS" structure, too.

Finally, I'm always looking for ways to let more people discover "SUPPORT GROUPS" in the first place! Here, my main challenge is advertising. I want to be certain I'm reaching everyone who may be interested. I want to interest people who really don't care one way or the other, too! I advertise approximately once a week in POST and hope word of mouth does the rest. Chimo's "SUPPORT GROUPS" Editor helps out quite a bit and always has something interesting to say about the structure, in the online newspaper published weekly on Participate on the Source.

I have big plans for "SUPPORT GROUPS", feel strongly about the structure, and hope to watch it continue to grow. I hope to have other systems ask me if I'd like to manage similar structures on their systems. I have three conferences in the works right now. Soon after the turn of the New Year we'll be unveiling "MARRIAGE". The other two conferences are still in the planning stages, but you can count on them being implemented early in 1986. Hope you'll join us in "SUPPORT GROUPS" in '86, too!

-----

Author's note: Dawn Debbe is PSI, Manager Customer Services, Participate
on the Source "SUPPORT GROUPS" Coordinator.

DESIRABLE FEATURES FOR COMPUTER CONFERENCING SYSTEMS
by Stuart Umpleby


The following list of planned or hoped-for features of computer conferencing systems was developed at the ENA meeting in April 1985, in New York:

1. Gateways between different conferencing systems permitting, for
example, the easy transfer of messages and conference comments between Unison and EIES.

2. Graphics, particularly a graphics capability that will operate on all types of equipment.

3. Notification, that is, a message left on one's machine (possibly even a light), indicating that messages or conference comments are waiting on the various systems on which one has accounts. This capability would require the conferencing host machine to dial up remote terminals, leave the needed notification and then hang up. It might be necessary for a telephone signal to be able to turn on the PC so that it could receive the notification.

4. Automatic message sending means that messages could be composed at any time of the day, addressed to particular persons or conferences on various CC systems, stored on a PC disk, and then automatically sent by the PC later in the evening when rates are low. A clock within the PC would turn it on. The PC would then dial up each system in turn, transmitting messages stored on disk and receiving messages waiting for the owner of the PC. When all systems have been checked, the PC would turn itself off.

5. Statistics on the use of the system should be readily available, certainly for the operator of the system, but also to the users of the system. For example, the system could produce a bar chart showing the weekly activity in a conference since it was started. Such a chart would allow the moderator to see at a glance whether activity is rising or falling. Furthermore, the activity in one conference could be compared with the activity in another conference. The machine could also reveal which conferences have the largest number of active participants, the fewest inactive participants, etc.

6. It should be possible to search for people with similar interests by searching a list of key words. In the future, perhaps the host machine will suggest new groups of people by periodically sending a message to groups of people identified by key words in their self-descriptions.

7. Language translation is a natural supplement to CC, particularly as networks are extended overseas. Although most people have given up on perfect machine translation, at least in the near future, there are programs now available which improve the productivity of human translators by a factor of 3 or 4. For example, text of Spanish is submitted to the machine translator, which produces a rough draft in English. This rough draft is then edited by a human translator. For purposes of CC, these rough drafts may be sufficient. Messages could be displayed both in the original language and in rough translation. If the receiver has doubts about the meaning or intent of the message, he or she could reply, "What I believe you are saying is...." Such a procedure would take advantage of the interactive nature of CC to make up for the deficiencies in the machine translations.

8. Some people are working on digital radio as an alternative to value-added networks such as Telenet and Uninet. This might be one way of reducing international communications charges. Alohanet is said to be a prototype.

9. A parallel audio channel would be expensive but would appeal to certain users. First, it would make CC more usable for non- typists. Second, it would be an important addition for educational or highly technical applications. For example, audio explanations could be given for complicated diagrams appearing on the screen.

10. Related to gateways is the issue of file sharing. Suppose a conference is taking place with several participants on each of several campuses. One way of keeping communication costs down would be to have each person interact with the computer on his or her campus with the machines updating their files at night, when the rates are low. But this solution means having duplicate files on several campuses. Hence the cost of memory could rise dramatically. Obviously, what we want is to minimize the sum of communication and memory costs. Can this be done automatically by the machines or will users continue to have to know which machine they are accessing for each conference?

11. For educational purposes, facilities such as +question on EIES would be useful on other systems as well.

12. Documentation should be written by non-technical users, NOT by the system development programmers. Documentation should also be available online.

13. I believe it was Murray Turoff who suggested the concept of a "user agent"--a program that performs a specific task for you on another system.

14. An "edit check" facility would show what editing has been done. This would be particularly helpful when co-authoring and editing manuscripts.

15. EIES 2 is likely to include facilities to make it easier for a user to assemble material from a variety of places on a system and arrange it into new forms.

THE LONGEST WEEKEND
A Tribute to David Rodale

by Lisa Kimball


"Come along with me to Cape Cod!!"


With those words, David Rodale began a conference on Parti on The Source which I think will be remembered as one of the turning points of this medium. It was February 29th, 1984 and David was setting off to visit his friends, Frank and Jean (known as FRANKENJEAN), for a long weekend on the Cape. There had been some previous efforts to cover computer shows and special events online with some degree of reader interaction, but David's "Weekend" conference took the medium to a new level as an art form. It was participatory theater... an interactive short story... a "happening" online.

David died December 23rd. Although he was only thirty years old, he had already made a mark as a producer, a writer, an artist, and a pioneer in the medium of computer conferencing. He was a founding member of ENA and had recently taken on the role of Director of Computer Networking for Rodale Press.

When I set out to write this tribute to him, I thought about so many examples to cite--his unique, graphic style which jazzed up Parti on STC's weekly newsletter, "Chimo", while he was an editor; his talent at contrapuntal dialogue, which we saw when he inspired a participant scientist to take us on a tour of space and time in "Universe" and when his wonderful JOE FIXIT character performed for us with MAMA; his contributions to making the online environment seem more like a cozy neighborhood, like when he became PORTER every year to deliver valentines from secret admirers. But as I looked over the hundreds of conferences and notes, none seemed to exemplify his contribution better than "Weekend", so I'm going to give you a small taste of the quality which made David's online presence so special.

First of all, he gets so excited about the weekend that he leaves a day early. We ride with him up the Connecticut turnpike into the night:


The last 5 miles of road were under construction.
From a distance, the barrels lining the road sporting
blinking caution lights looked like an airstrip. I
was landing. It was as though FRANKENJEAN anticipated
my arrival and arranged to have the roadway lined with
candles. I turned off my headlights and let the
blinkers guide me in.


A number of participants have wondered whether arriving a day early is going to be a *pleasant* surprise for FRANKENJEAN.


MY heart is pounding. Here's the plan:


Hide the car, climb over the stone wall, then
terrorize the house-- Ring the doorbell and run--and
other immature stuff like that...


A year ago I took off my shirt and shoes, put on my
sunglasses and trudged barefoot through the snow with
a frozen turkey and presented myself under the
floodlights in their back yard.


So I pull my car into the bushes and get out. Just
then another car approaches.--I'd better look like I
belong here with my car in the bushes--I thought.
It's a residential neighborhood and someone might
suspect foul play seeing a man--a car in the bushes--
and a furtive look about him. My fears are mounting,
the car slows down--the headlights are right on me--I
am pinned to the darkness like a bug on black velvet.
The car stops!


"What are you doing here?" says a voice.


My surprise--It's Frank!!


Participants in "Weekend" go on to meet FRANKENJEAN and share the delicious "dinner off the cuff" prepared for David that night. Later, many express their wonder at how much it *feels* like they really are right there with David. Some were on the edge of their seats waiting for the next day's report. Others, like me, didn't come along til after the weekend was over in "real" time--but we enjoyed it all over again just as much.


First thoughts: Eyes open--Oh yes I'm not at home
anymore--Good way to start a vacation--March first--
First day of the month!!! Aha!


I throw back the sheets, jump out of bed over the
footboard and shout "Rabbit Rabbit!!" It's an old
ritual supposed to give you good luck. It's really
only good on April 1st but my family has taken the
liberty of stretching it to the first of *every*
month. What the heck it couldn't hurt, right?


You have to either go out of bed over the footboard or
out the wrong side. You must do it before you talk to
anyone. The real trick is remembering to do it.


This morning--I remembered.


By now, "Weekend" is drawing a lot of attention and attracting more and more joiners. All during Thursday and Friday, David describes the action in detail--like an online version of cinema verite'--including conversations with FRANKENJEAN, mouth- watering descriptions of gourmet meals, and trips into town. One of these conversations includes an offhand joke about a nun. This sets off one of the most emotional battles ever on Parti when, sometime after the weekend, it's discovered that the "nun joke" has been censored by STC and deleted from the conference. The online community rises up to defend the freedom of the artist. In the end, the issue is resolved positively and the precedent of monitoring by the *community* rather than the system is set. David's passionate statements on the subject did much to influence the outcome, which is just one MORE way he influenced the future of the medium.

But all that is in the future--now, it's Friday afternoon of the "Weekend" and David and Frank are engaging in what he calls "Hot Tub Philosophy."

"It's the Big Dipper!" says Frank, pointing.


"Oh stop, how can you see in the dark?" I asked.


"No, no I mean in the sky," he said.


And there it was. The cup and the handle, the
connect-the-dots version of a Ladle. Does anyone
*really* call it a 'Dipper'?


Orion was barely visible but *I* knew it was there.
And Frank told glorious stories of satellites passing
over. That they are bright, they move slower than
planes and... "Have you seen a shooting star?"


My first shooting star was during the August Star
storm in '72. Newport, Rhode Island. I was going to
Summer school down the street from "The Breakers" in
the house they used on the opener for Dark Shadows.
Remember that?


The last night of school, some of the guys snuck out
and went down to the Cliff Walk. We climbed down on
the rocks where the ocean sprayed over us and sat. We
watched the stars streak across the sky, counting
them... a hundred three... a hundred four. The moon
was out, the sound of the surf was deafening and stars
were falling out of the sky.


And you ask me if I've ever seen a shooting star???


Overall, we talked about honesty, boundaries, Love-
life-and the pursuit of happiness, how things are
right-wrong and indifferent, how "I know you better
than you know yourself" and vice versa, how dinner
will taste tomorrow night, how we could drink
Rumpleminz by the gallon, and how we're sooo
incredibulously happy that you're all along with us
for the weekend.


Mike Greenly speaks for many participants by describing himself as "riveted by the sharing... How can i leave now?!!!!!!!! (won't)"


FRANKENJEAN are giving a party Saturday night with an Indian theme. We go along on the shopping, taste the food as it's cooking, decorate the house, and meet some of FRANKENJEAN's other friends. The morning after, David steps back a bit from the fray to comment on the experience of writing this conference.


I'm flying through my "WEEKEND" with my eyes more open
than usual. Not more open really, just open in a
different way.


Experience burns itself in. Each moment is a single
and self-contained gem. Even if, at times, I have
been incapable of getting them to you through my M100,


they enter my head with the best of intentions of
running out my fingertips and across the wire. It's a
rush.


I never thought things could seem *more* real than
they always have, but they do. All because of
"WEEKEND."


Luckily for us, David did get a lot to us through his fingers. On Sunday, he and Frank make a "pilgrimage" to Provincetown where David had spent some wonderful time a couple of years ago.


Today, there were no clouds in the sky, just the
grandest sweep of uninterrupted blue. The first sight
of the dunes, their sheer size, the stark horizon
where sand meets sky, all have amazing effects. It
felt physiological, like I was being changed somehow.
All the molecules in my body were shifting,
reordering, adjusting.


Jesse and I call this phenomenon "Retinal Candy."
Sights which release hormones, enzymes, protase
inhibitors and adrenalin.


David's descriptions take us out to the end of the dunes facing an uninterrupted view of the sea.


As I walked, I lost myself in the stones. When I
moved away I took some with me. Now I sort them by
size and color to call up images of the beach. I bent
down and picked up certain ones that caught my eye.
The pocket of my jacket got heavier and heavier.


The stones that you take home are special. But the
best ones are those that you leave behind.


There was lots more in "Weekend". Final comments from Frank and Jean and participants. There's a tongue-in-cheek interchange about whether David might have made the whole thing up, to which he replies, "We are all figments of each others' imaginations." After a week, David writes that he's downloaded the whole thing and given it to family and friends who aren't online to read.


"Who are these people?" They asked of your responses.
"What do they look like?" "Have you ever met any of
them?"


"What do *you* think they look like?" I asked back.
Who do *you* think they are?" The thought bowled them
over. Each one went wandering off, each with their
own images, each with their own conjured up reality.


It was a year after "Weekend" before I finally met David in person. But I felt like our *first* meeting was really on a weekend trip to Cape Cod--a trip I took several weeks after he did in that amazing time warp provided by this medium. Many who mourn David now never met him outside the online world. But his special quality was an ability to convey *himself*--a many dimensional, thoughtful, playful, creative self--to us via electronic networks. There are those who doubt the extent to which it's possible to really "know" someone through a relationship online. David's "Weekend" introduced many to the power of interactive communication to convey personality as well as ideas. David's use of the medium was artful as well as skillful. Fitting--since David was, above all, an artist.

"Weekend" is no longer online. When we noticed that it had disappeared as part of the natural purging process, there were twinges of regret. Yet, the changing landscape of this medium is part of its charm, and, luckily, there are still some limited-edition hard copies of "Weekend" around as souvenirs. People still refer to it as an example of electronic interactive art, and so it lives on as part of the history and myth which makes up our online culture.


Now David is gone too. Yet he is *everywhere* online--not only in the conferences in which he participated but in the styles and projects of the many people he influenced. I think the medium is different because he was here. I know I am. I wish *so* much that he could have stayed longer. But I can join David's friends and family in celebrating the life he lived-- particularly on one very special weekend.


-----


Author's Note: All quoted material from "Weekend" was originally published on Parti on The Source and later in a limited printed edition by David Rodale, and reprinted here with the permission of his family. Contributions in his memory may be made to the Wildlands Trust, Lehigh Valley Conservancy, Orchid Place, Emmaus, PA, 18049. Some of David's friends are collecting material for a book on his life online. Ideas and comments may be made in "Farewell Dear Friend" in PARTI on UNISON or on The Source, item #465 on The Meta Network, C555 on EIES, or sent through your porter.