Volume 2, Number 4 ---CONTENTS--- April 1, 1986

1 Masthead and Index

2 ENA UPDATE
by Lisa Carlson

3 GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES Conference Summary
by Kate Wholey

4 CARINET: TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER FOR THE THIRD WORLD VIA CC
by Linda Maldonado

5 NETREACH
by Peter Wingfield-Stratford

6 PEACE GAMES WITH GLOBALLY INTERCONNECTED COMPUTERS, Part 1
by Parker Rossman and Takeshi Utsumi

7 PEACE GAMES WITH GLOBALLY INTERCONNECTED COMPUTERS, Part 2
by Parker Rossman and Takeshi Utsumi

8 NETWORKING AT THE SPACE STATION
by George Por

9 INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS
by Bob Sprigge

10 ALTERNET:Computer Communications for Positive Social Change
by Margaret Gouin

11 INTERNATIONAL NETWORKING AND GREENNET
by Mitra

12 NON-PROFIT NETWORKS Cluster Summary
by Stan Pokras

13 MESSAGES FROM KENYA
by Gary Ginter

14 SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT: The Shrunken Globe

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT: The Shrunken Globe


A CompuServe real-time Conference about International Telecommunications:

1. Why international telecommunications is relatively scattered and difficult now;

2. The future of international telecomm technology; The effects of this future on individual people and on nations.


SATURDAY, APRIL 5, 1986

1 PM - 5 PM (Pacific Standard Time)

4 PM - 8 PM (Eastern Standard Time)

Agenda:

1:15 PM PST Alan Clapp, organizer of a World Teleport in Vancouver, on Teleports.

1:30 PM PST Joel Schatz, who linked Russian and American scientists via computer network, on Teleports and on Computer Networking and the Cold War.

2:30 PM PST Takeshi Utsumi, on global simulations of peace and war through international computer conferencing.

3:15 PM PST Michael Kleeman on ISDN--the new scheme to link telephone company systems around the world, for running video, voice, and data through the phone lines worldwide.

4:00 PM PST Izumi Aizu, on using international computer conferencing to save the Ikego Forest in Japan.

Your hosts: Art Kleiner, Whole Earth Forum, and Gerri Sinclair, international telecomm bricoleur (based in Vancouver)

Conference sponsor: Alan Clapp, director, the Space Station Project (World Teleport and exhibit hall), Douglass College, Vancouver.

MESSAGES FROM KENYA
by Gary Ginter


First of all, Kenya has no major packet switched value-added carrier; NO downlink from GTE Telenet, GE Information Services, etc.

That seemed strange to we Digital Africa staffers until we discovered that the local PTT (telephone authority) would not allow transmission of computer data or messages over the public telephone system. Thus, any downlink would be limited to the building on which the teleport was located.

Clearly, insufficient economies of scale could be realized within one building. Therefore, no adequate market could be developed in Kenya to justify the cost of a downlink. This was true even though Nairobi has become the major African banking center since the Fall of Beirut. (Before the war, Beirut was the leading banking center on the African continent. Today, the former banking offices which were located in Beirut are mostly in Cairo and Nairobi). Nairobi is also a major international non-governmental headquarter site, and a world-class convention site.

In short, there are plenty of well-heeled organizations with a need for international linkages to home offices in Europe and North America. Yet, until recently, because of one little local law, the only allowed access was either via international Direct Distance Dial (DDD), or private, high-speed satellite data channels. These private data links were time-shared, with a minimum monthly charge of around $15,000 for something like 15- 20 minutes of unrestricted access per night. You had to do all your data transmission during the same time slot each day. Only the big boys could make such a high speed channel pay off. The rest of us were condemned to trying to get through over international DDD--a process which often required an hour of effort to make one good connection. And, if it were raining, it often took several days to get through once with a clean enough line to support data transmission, regardless of baud rate! We used telex as an emergency backup when the computers couldn't connect. But, telex is 40 times as expensive. It took 8 months to get a telex installed in our Nakuru office in Kenya. Pretty typical for Kenyan PTT.

Recently, the PTT lifted the ban on local data transmission via phone lines. I'd predict that Telenet or some IPSN will have a downlink into Nairobi within the year. Digital Africa is seeking to develop some hardware/software turnkey systems by which to offer one-stop telecommunications linkages to overseas locations. We'll link local organizations to our office in Nairobi, from where we'll mix everything into a high-speed uplink to a world gateway to VAC'ers elsewhere. When the laws allow, the entrepreneurs get busy trying to meet perceived market needs.

-----

Author's note: Gary wrote the preceding description of the
frustrations of international networking in an electronic course
he's taking from Tom Hargadon via Connected Ed on EIES. It
seemed particularly apt for this Special Issue so we got
permission to reprint it here.

NON-PROFIT NETWORKS
Cluster Summary
by Stan Pokras


Quoting our cluster's founder David Lochhead: "This cluster exists for the purpose of discussing the use of electronic networking in non-profit organizations: Voluntary Agencies, Social Action Coalitions, Churches--organizations that do not quite fit the standard needs of Educational, Business or Governmental institutions."


The three main questions which have been given thought during the last few months are:

* Does the the cost of electronic communication
constitute the primary block to it's use by non-
profits?

* What routes have groups taken to get into CC?

* Who gets "left out" when some organizations begin to
use computerized communications?


Addressing the first question, Tom Sherman, who provides technical assistance in fund raising for non-profit organizations, mentioned that he found some foundations to be more aware of the potential of computer communications than many of the ORGANIZATIONS he has worked with.

David Lochhead, who is a leader among his associates in the United Church of Canada's use of conferencing, stated that

"...organizations which are frustrated with the need
to communicate by long distance telephone may be MORE
open to the promise of electronic networks than are
groups who can do most of their business by local
phone calls."

Early on in the discussion David summed up an important set of attitudes that organizations have towards the costs of electronic networking:

"...even the small non-profits, unless they are an
emerging ad hoc group, have [some] budget. Their
problem lies in perceiving their communications needs
in the light of available technology.

"Perhaps we need to distinguish small, medium and
large as far as relevant sizes go. For the small, the
problem is likely to be that, although they can see
possible advantages from conferencing, the price tag
is likely to be higher than they think they should
spend on communications. The large organization is
likely to use electronic mail while conferencing is
seen as a plaything, a way for enthusiasts to waste
their time. It is the mid-sized organization--large
enough to have a bit of budget for "experimenting" and
small enough to see the benefit of an ongoing exchange
of ideas--that I hunch is the best candidate for
computer conferencing."


It is clear that funding is a complex problem, in fact it was interlinked in our messages with the second issue: "What routes have non-profits taken to get into conferencing?" This topic has produced at least one interesting point of view. Tom and David both agreed that many non-profit organizations have not found their way into a useful relationship with the computer. David however, offered an example which shows that for some groups, the need for advanced communications might move them into conferencing BEFORE they begin buying equipment for other purposes.

"I know of some organizations that are MORE open to
electronic networking in particular than they are to
computers in general. I am thinking of one national
social action coalition I know who may be quite slow
in seeing the computer as an office machine but who
can see definite promise in computer communications.
The solution for this group, it seems to me, will be
the purchase of Model 100s for their regional officers
before they get around to the computerization of their
office systems.

"That, in fact, is what has happened in the national
office of our church. The internal politics of our
"vatican" has led to paralysis in the acquisition of
new computer hardware. Along with that, the telephone
system in the building will not support communicating
computers adequately. The result: the only national
officers who are communicating online are those with
access to the few Model 100s that are in the
building."

The third issue of who gets "left out" when non-profits begin to connect electronically was raised by an outsider to the conversation. I ported in a remark from one of the Apple Network Grant recipients who mentioned the fact that only five of thirteen organizations that had been closely working together were funded with computer equipment by Apple. The possibility that those left out of this grant would be left behind, seemed real enough. The author of this comment, Chris White from the Oregon Child and Youth Network, left the discussion wide open. Several of us have jumped into the gap beginning with George Por, who suggests that conferencing combined with printed materials can overcome potential feelings of exclusion by other members of a natural group.

In support for George's theme, I brought up the Action Linkage correspondence groups (which communicate via distribution of hard copy messages among members) that I've been working with for several years. These have effectively served as slow but sure conferencing systems... but the discussion is far from complete.

Computers seem so slick and all-powerful that it may take non-profit groups a while longer to discover appropriate uses for them. (And to discover our amazing and all-powerful medium... Oh, did I say that?)

Our cluster extends an open invitation to people with examples or ideas for creative uses of conferencing by non-profits. There is a lot yet to be discovered!

INTERNATIONAL NETWORKING AND GREENNET
A Personal View
by Mitra


GreenNet Background
===================

My involvement with the international aspect of GreenNet can be dated from December 1985 when a group of us met up in Hamburg. I'm not sure any of us knew why we were there but the common thing was knowing that we needed to use the power of global communication to serve global causes such as the protection of our environment, reducing the threat of nuclear suicide, eliminating oppression of minorities, etc.

Each of the participants came from a different personal bias; for instance, the US Greens came mainly from a political viewpoint having organized anti-apartheid demonstrations on Delphi the previous summer. The Germans were biased towards the German Green Party. I was mainly concerned with global environmental issues. What developed over the three days, however, was a desire to cooperate-operate
internationally, thereby helping each other to achieve the aims of the projects we were involved with.


Consultancy role
================

We all agreed that in many ways the groups we desire to serve are technologically disenfranchised: they don't have the expertise, resources or money to use all the benefits of modern technology available to commercial concerns. A large company would have its own staff to keep in touch with modern technology and small companies hire in consultants. The environmental or peace group has neither its own technological staff nor the money to hire consultants. It was clear that those of us with both the technical expertise and desire to help, must provide access to the services that these groups need in order to be effective in the information age.


Problems of working internationally
===================================

A common concern was how to work internationally; for instance, I can arrange for access to communications services in England, navigate around the maze of telecom regulations, software and modems and basically put someone online. However, for me to try and achieve that for a group working here, in Germany and the U.S. would be difficult.

Those of you in the relatively liberal US probably don't realize the restrictions on what modems you can use where, etc., that prevail all over Europe! To achieve a higher level of connectivity, we need committed people all over the world who can make the local connections for us. This then becomes a good case for "Thinking Globally, Acting Locally." We have already made a few links in this way and I see this role expanding. I also see this as a valid model for commercial communications consultancy.

A few examples of the differences that exist across Europe may help to explain what I mean.


Modems
======

In England we can use any approved modem. These are either acoustic or direct connect at CCITT frequencies (different from Bell standards except at 1200 baud) and come at 300 1200/75 or 1200 baud (also known as V23, V21, and V22). A V22 modem costs about 350 pounds here in England compared to say 180 dollars in
the US.

In most of the rest of Europe you are supposed to use an acoustic coupler or rent from the PTT (for a fortune!) BUT if you fill in the form and say you have an acoustic coupler then you can get away with anything.


NUI
===

What's an NUI I hear from the yanks! Well an NUI is a Numeric Identifier which identifies you to the packet network (similar I believe to an ITT Worldcom number). This means everyone has to have an account with the carrier--no reverse charging over here. This drastically reduces the number of people who use a packet-only host, but also drastically reduces the number of hackers.

Of course, as you travel around Europe or even around England you need different NUI's so you either dial internationally into your own carrier node or subscribe in a dozen or so countries. Each account has an initial set up cost and an associated monthly fee as well as a fee for usage based on online time or the number of characters sent or received. In most countries you have to provide a local address in order to subscribe, or you can only get a guest account which can take up to a month to set up, by which time you've already left!


Character sets
==============

Apart from the language barriers--often dealt with by using English--in Europe we can't agree on either character sets or keyboards. Across Europe we have various accents on different letters and different symbols for money. So, if I use the character "#" it comes out as a pound sign on my screen, and this "$" is dollars, but I can only guess how it shows on your screens.


Currency
========

Having different currencies makes paying for services difficult. If I see a price on a system in Deutsche marks it is relatively difficult for me to convince the host that I will pay them. Each time I pay, I have to go and buy an international money order in their currency at the current rate of exchange and then post it to them. Very few hosts take credit card numbers; we are a long way behind the US in the adoption of plastic money.


Green Conferences
=================

Given the difficulty of communicating internationally, most people like to subscribe to a host in their own country. So in GreenNet we have bulletin boards (not conferences yet unfortunately) on GEO1 in Germany, GEO2 in England, and now on UNISON in the U.S. (which does provide excellent conferencing facilities). All of these arrangements are autonomous of course, and I have started (in the last month) porting the *relevant* information from system to system.


Reaching the right people
=========================

Of course, all these problems just make the uptake by the people who we feel should be using CC that much slower. Confusion around the above problems is added to all the things mentioned in the "Resistance to CC" article in last month's Netweaver (Volume 2, Number 3) and compounded by the lack of a good CC host in all European countries but Sweden. This means that the number of CC users can almost be counted on one hand.

Part of my work has been trying to guide people working within environmental groups through this maze. It is as much a lesson in human communication as a lesson in computer communication. I wish anyone else trying the same thing good luck.

-----

Author's note: I am a freelance communications consultant working out of London, England. I split my time about equally between paying and non-paying (non-profit) clients. I work with the use of communications technology (CC, e-mail, and database) in a variety of situations. At present I am among other things working with the marketing of GeoNet and the integration of non-profit groups into this service. I have my own company: Planet-Tree Communications Ltd. and can be contacted on GEO1, GEO2, UNISON or DELPHI in all cases as "MITRA" or by phone at 1-267-0188.

ALTERNET
Using Computer Communications for Positive Social Change
by Margaret Gouin


The AlterNET project has been started by a group in Ottawa, Canada, who seek to establish an international computer network to promote communication among people and organizations working for peace, social and economic development, a healthy global environment, and other goals compatible with these.

Access to and use of information is central to the task of social change. AlterNET would assist users, from across Canada and internationally, to communicate with one another quickly, easily and inexpensively. It would facilitate the sharing of ideas and information to an extent that has until now been impossible.

As currently imagined, AlterNET would be a network (association) of non-profit computer messaging systems located across Canada and in other countries. Each local system would be locally owned and operated, and would have its own computer capable of receiving and filing messages sent by local users. It is expected that most of the messaging would take place at the local level, but it would also be possible for users to send messages, via their local system, to individuals or organizations in other places. A variety of communications patterns would be possible.

AlterNET proposes an approach which is intended to help overcome the barriers to easy, effective and low-cost use of this technology for positive social change:

* immediate creation of a demonstration system that
could be used to show the potential use of computer-
assisted communication for social action.

* initiation of contacts with organizations and
individuals that share AlterNET's goals, to explore
with potential users how the proposed system could
help them in their work and to identify their needs
and capabilities. We will also be seeking
organizational and financial support.

* identification of others, in Canada and
internationally, who share similar interests regarding
the promotion of appropriate computer-assisted
communication for goals compatible with AlterNET's.
This would include those who have already established
networks, databases, electronic resource systems,
etc., for the attainment of these goals.

* work with such groups and individuals to help set up
and link appropriate computer-assisted communication
systems.

A non-profit organization is being incorporated to set up and operate an Ottawa communication center. The objectives and functions of this proposed center are based on the above strategy, and also include:

* proceeding with the development of the international
network, and of procedures that would simplify usage
and keep costs to a minimum (with special attention to
promoting the use of public-domain software);

* training and otherwise assisting users, with
particular attention being given to encourage access
by groups and individuals who, due to past and present
functioning of society, might otherwise have limited
access to the use of such technology (e.g. low-income
individuals, women, certain racial groups, the
disabled, etc.);

* working on the creation and sharing of online
databases tailored to the needs of users;

* helping suitable organizations in Canada and the Third
World to identify needs which could be most
effectively met through the use of computer technology
and to select systems appropriate to their needs and
budgets, and assisting with training in the use of
such systems.

The system would have to be large, robust, efficient, replicable, affordable and secure. Although it will have advanced capabilities, it must be easy to use. It should include capability for messaging, bulletin-board posting, conferencing, shared projects (e.g. joint authoring of publications), information/data bases, educational projects (distance learning), archiving and system back-up, forwarding/receiving messages and data, polling and referenda, and the dissemination of public-domain software. The technical problem of designing such a system is a matter of priority.

Although the AlterNET project is barely two months old, it has already attracted a great deal of interest and enthusiasm, locally and internationally. We are very positive about the future of this project and look forward to collaborating with others on an international scale for its realization.

-----

Author's note: This article has been prepared by Margaret Gouin
using material supplied by Richard Kerr and discussions within
the Ottawa planning group. Comments, questions, information on
possible contacts, and offers of assistance would be most
welcome, and may be addressed to Margaret at 181-B Britannia
Road, Ottawa, Canada K2B 5X1 (tel. 613-829-1382) or on The
Source (id: BDA570; Parti name "Rune", Parti conference
"Alternet"); or to Richard on CoSy (id: rmkerr) or Envoy (id:
ccic.ott.kerr).

INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS
Four Groups of Standards
Which Will Help Computer Conferencing
by Bob Sprigge


To communicate around the world successfully we need international standards. To contact a conferencing computer in another country you can either make an international phone call or, less expensively, use a Packet Data Network (PDN). Most countries now have at least one PDN connected to the international network. If you have an account (NUI) with one and the computer you wish to contact has an address on one (NUA) then after accessing your local PDN you can be connected to the computer in a couple of seconds.

The data is error-corrected while on the PDN by formatting it into packets. Such services are frequently referred to by the name of the International Standard X.25. Most users access their PDN by dialing in on the ordinary phone lines. Noise is inevitable, but it seems ironic that many calls are error corrected for 99% of their journey, i.e. that part on the PDN, but ruined by the connection between home/office and the PDN. British Telecom has recently started using an error correcting protocol (E-PAD) for this part, but it would seem better to use X.25 for this as well. If most modems included a PAD (Packet Assembler/Disassembler) the price should come down.

North America is finally joining the world with modem standards--the 2400 bits per second standard is designated as "V.22 bis". The Bell standard for 300 bits per second was not only not used by most countries but the phone company or post office could disconnect the user entirely if found using non-approved equipment.

Most conferencing is done in a restricted character set known as ASCII, but for many applications Graphics is essential. Color graphics communication currently has lots of standards, each incompatible with the others. Britain has been using a 40-character wide 8-color system for many years both on television and computer services. The quality of graphics is very poor unless a skilled or very patient operator is doing the designing. It was devised for one way transmission. It is called CEPT level 1 or more usually Prestel or CEEFAX graphics. Germany and Luxembourg are using CEPT level 3, which is to a much higher standard and Prestel is now working on CEPT level 5, which is picture quality. It will be difficult to use until the 64k bits per second channels in ISDN become commonplace. Canada has the Telidon graphics standard and Japan has Captain. Computer conferencing requires certain shapes, such as lines, boxes and circles, to be created easily by most users. The system known as NAPLPS may be the most suitable for this usage. Unfortunately it appears that very little editing software exists for NAPLPS compared to the Prestel editing software, which is available for a large range of computers. Prestel-compatible inkjet printers are also available.

ISDN is the international standard for a digital phone and data network which will replace the current phone service, but retain the pair of wires between home/office and Exchange (known as Central or Central Office in most countries).

Electronic Mail systems are now being linked together thanks to the use of the X.400 standards. These are now being extended to cover conferencing systems. Document standards are being formulated so that a word-processed document can be sent to a mail or conferencing system and be received complete with underlining, etc. in a way that can be modified with all the attributes retained.

With these standards, conferencing will be even more interesting, useful and *fun* in the future.

An interesting example of lack of standards was given to me yesterday. The People Link computer refused to act on a set of users instructions saying "This is NOT CompuServe", when the user had accidentally put in CompuServe commands, forgetting where he was for a moment.

But what of language? As well as Japanese, French, German, and many others, we also have the difference between English as used in Europe and American English. After reading American computer magazines with their strange expressions I am pleasantly surprised that this problem very rarely causes problems in conferencing. I did note that Lisa used the verb "to bomb" in the last Netweaver. The meaning in England is the opposite to that in America.

"To table" is another example. Should the international phone companies persuade us all to use Esperanto?

-----

Author's Note: Bob Sprigge has been networking from England for
some time and is part of NETREACH there. He is currently logging
on from Luxembourg where he is an Informaticien for the European
Economic Commission.

NETWORKING AT THE SPACE STATION
by George Por


Picture this:

You just got off the SkyTrain and you see a transport module from the Space Station coming down to pick you up. You enter the module, it takes you to the passenger docking area. You walk through the decompression and decontamination chambers, and, within minutes, you're in the Space Station.

You are not hurrying to visit the welcome and orientation booth, because the view that unfolds through one of the large oval windows grabs your attention. This is the first time you have seen the Blue Planet from this perspective!


I hear some Netweaver readers asking: "So, when will all this happen, and when do we go?" Get prepared, because it's much sooner than you think. The official launch date is July 1, 1986!

To get on the SkyTrain that brings you to the Space Station, first you have to fly to Vancouver, British Columbia. The Station is an international exhibition environment and conference center linked by SkyTrain, a state-of-the-art rapid transit system, to Vancouver's World Expo 86 site.

The Space Station will host Ideafest 86, a festival of Space Age ideas, technology, art, in-person and electronic networking. There will be a variety of seminars, shows, symposia and special events dealing with the intriguing questions of living and working in space.

The brochure also says: "Let us consider our planet as a very real station in space, and our management practices and threatened tenancy as topics worth considering in our debates for a better future on Space Station Earth."

At this point the program is still open to innovative project proposals, so if you think that you can contribute to the success of Ideafest, write a letter of intent explaining what are you offering, and send it to Ideafest 86, 1290 Cartwright St., Granville Island, Vancouver, B.C., Canada, V6H 3M5, or call (604) 681-3020 for further information.


Peace Awards, PeacePals, PeaceNet, and PeaceGames
=================================================

As a feature of the Space Station, which will run throughout July and August, the World Youth Peace Initiative will use computer conferencing and slow scan television "to link young people in a global web of friendship," says Dr. Gerri Sinclair; and, "We are particularly interested in using technology to establish personal links across hostile boundaries." Dr. Sinclair is an adjunct professor of Simon Fraser University and director of the Initiative.

The four main components of the project are:

* the 1986 International Children's Peace Award ceremonies, sponsored by the San Francisco-based Children as the Peacemakers Foundation, and carried live by satellite linkups to countries throughout the world

* PeacePals, an electronic penpal service that will enable young people to interact on a personal level with others from different cultures and geographic locations

* PeaceNet, a network of media networks that will initiate and promote discussions of peace, the future, and conflict resolution strategies

* PeaceGames, interactive computer simulations and games that teach strategies for international cooperation.


From a purely technical point of view, the World Youth Peace Initiative might well become the largest ever inter-media event, since Simon Fraser University has already donated 2,000 accounts on its mainframe computer, accessible via Telenet and via all the electronic mail services that connect universities and institutions across the world.

This worldwide tele-jamboree promises to be truly challenging for the support team of electronic networkers on many levels. One of them is the first-time combination of a number of technologies supporting individual and group communications.

As Dr. Sinclair explains: "A team of moderators will monitor the online discussions, then summarize and port them over to a host network at the Space Station where the proceedings of the PeaceNet discussions will be projected continuously on video monitors and large projection screens at the site, with the highlights being published in a weekly newsletter distributed to Space Station visitors. Any visitor who wishes to comment upon issues raised in the online discussions will be able to sit down at a computer terminal and type a response, which will then be uploaded to the host computer and ported to all participating networks. A team of site reporters will also be responsible for providing summaries of the site discussions for the online networks. In this way the communication and information flow will be directed from the world at large to the Space Station and back out to the world. Online participants will be able to voice their individual concerns about world peace at an international conference without leaving their own home towns. The participants will be able to communicate with those who have gathered at the Space Station and with those who are linked electronically through this extended network of global
discussion."

In addition to computer teleconferencing, large public display screens, and print newsletters, there are plans to use audio conferencing and slow scan television to allow tele-game players to both hear and see their partners on the "other side."


NETWEAVER READER RESPONSES INVITED
==================================

I've asked Dr. Sinclair about what kind of support she expects from the readers of this article. Here are her answers:

* Ideas and practical advice about connecting young
people among remote areas of the world for
correspondence and peacegaming.

* Addresses and contact persons of computer and
broadcast networks where kids have the opportunity to
discuss issues of conflict and peace.

* Statements of support that can be used in the
fundraising efforts.


You can reach the World Youth Peace Initiative at the following addresses: CompuServe: 70007,1374; EIES: 603; The Source:
BCE122; TeleMail: G.Sinclair; or by landmail: World Youth Peace
Initiative, 1290 Cartwright St., Granville Island, Vancouver,
B.C., Canada, V6H 3M5; voice: (604) 681-3020.

PEACE GAMES WITH GLOBALLY INTERCONNECTED COMPUTERS
Part 1
by Parker Rossman and Takeshi Utsumi


The technology now exists to interconnect hundreds or thousands of personal computers, in different countries, through distributed networks and information processing, into modeling and simulation instruments for playing "peace games" on the scale of Pentagon war games.

To some people, "peace games" evokes an image of a little game played on a computer screen. Here we define peace games as research and planning to manage complex problems and to test alternatives on a global scale. (The term "peace games" was coined by T. Utsumi in 1971. See Simulation, November 1977, p. 135. For more background, see "GLOSAS Project" and "Peace Games with Open Modeling Network" in Computer Networks and Simulation II and III, respectively, edited by S. Schoemaker, North Holland Publishing Co., Amsterdam, 1982 and 1986.)

It is now possible to combine existing technologies and more holistic explorations of various scenarios in solving global social problems. All kinds of possibilities for waging peace can be explored through computer simulations to see what might work and to project results before risks are actually taken.

Developing expertise in modeling and gaming can be combined in global systems, with a cascading effect, to empower explorations of new international institutions, or to remodel existing ones. New precision can come into the diagnosis of problems and the definition of issues and alternatives.

Society has vast amounts of data that are not adequately brought to bear in solving many kinds of problems because the information is scattered, uncoordinated, and not available when needed. We need tools to put this data together. When the meaningful data is pulled together, computer modeling can be used to help in making important decisions, models which incorporate more and more knowledge about people and institutions.

Computer models can serve as increasingly complex models of governments and of how leaders think. They can be helpful for testing ideas and possible actions. Some preliminary thought about waging peace through simulations was offered by A. D. Carroll, who said we must use these powerful new tools to understand how the human mind functions in peace and war. (See Carroll's "Can Computers Be Used for Peace," Media Development, U.K., 2, 1983.)


THE GLOSAS PROJECT
==================

The GLOSAS (GLObal Systems Analysis and Simulation) Project was conceived by Tak Utsumi in 1972. It proposes gaming solutions on a very large scale to help decision-makers deal with interwoven problems. (See T. Utsumi, Proceedings of the 1980 Winter Simulation Conference, No. 2, Simulation with Discrete Models: A State of the Art View, Orlando, FL, Dec. 3-5, 1980, pp. 165- 217.)

The GLOSAS Project seeks to construct a "Globally Distributed Decision Support System" for a plus-sum peace game. This involves combining the power of global multimedia communication networks, teleconferencing and computer conferencing, simulation and gaming methodologies, electronic data banks and indexing, expert systems, computer bulletin boards, and "situation rooms." It is not computers doing people's thinking; rather it is mind-empowerment tools to help people do better thinking.

The GLOSAS project has paved the way by working for deregulations of communication policies in Japan and elsewhere to facilitate the extension of Value Added Networks (VANs) to other countries and the uses of electronic mail and computer conferences via the extension lines. It has also led to experiments to extend U.S. educational courses via computer conferencing to Japan and other countries. (A spin-off benefit of the project is to make possible international activities, such as the Ikego Forest Project reported by Izumi Aizu in NETWEAVER, Volume 1, Number 5.)

Solving global problems, providing justice and welfare, and warning of dangers and threats requires more and more sophisticated models of an emerging global system. The value of such tools will be determined by their success in helping people solve the most desperate social problems.

A great deal of modeling experience is available in political science, economic models, and strategic decision modeling. The Club of Rome is an international group of world modelers that seeks to call major world problems to the attention of society as a whole through building large-scale simulations. The work of the Club of Rome begins to show how collective work can be undertaken by a "community of minds," by collective intelligence.


WORLD FUTURE SOCIETY DEMONSTRATION
==================================

How are these games, or simulations, undertaken? At the World Future Society Conference to be held in New York City in July 1986, United Nations and American Arbitration Association personnel plan to demonstrate "computer-assisted negotiations" related to a specific scenario. This will be done via computer conferencing and slow-scan TV in New York, using A. Onishi's FUGI model in Japan.

FUGI is a computer-aided global macroeconomic model on the interdependent world economy. It aims to forecast for 62 countries/regions economic factors, such as economic growth rate, employment, wages, prices, money supply, interest rates, public finance, trade, private capital movement, international balance of payment, and foreign exchange rates. (See Onishi's "A Macroeconomic Study on the Future of Global Interdependence," Proceedings of the 1985 SEDC Conference on Economic Dynamics and Control, Washington, DC, June 1983. Other papers include his "A New Approach to Global Modeling," UN Inter-Agency Working Group, 12th session, Geneva, Switzerland, June 1984).

Other possible uses of simulation modeling for international issues include the creation of scenarios about alternative structures for the United Nations, global police forces, strategies for monitoring potential crises in advance, modeling cases that are not allowed to come before the World Court to see what the outcome might be, and so forth.


EXPANDING EXISTING MODELS
=========================

As any given game enlarges and becomes complex, dimensions of it can be divided among groups in different places. As data banks are developed, more and more groups can involve themselves in continuing computer conferences, allowing more and more people to put their heads together. Amateurs, therefore, in a spirit of play, can explore possibilities that are not yet possible for official agencies. By simulating disarmament alternatives, for example, there is no risk of destroying anything in our real world, but the way can be paved to encourage optimism instead of pessimism.

A next step in preparing for large-scale peace gaming is expected to be experimentation with using and expanding the Onishi FUGI model, which already has data bases from many countries. The FUGI model has already been used by the United Nations and various governments for economic and other simulations.

In enlarging the FUGI model, the submodels of individual countries will be distributed to computers located in varying countries. Each data base will be autonomously maintained and improved by experts of the individual countries. The submodels will be interconnected via global VANs in such a way that the integration of them all will act as a single global model. Software can then be developed to make available scenarios and to share experience with, and lessons from, interactive games among experts of various countries.

War games must be secret, but peace strategizing can involve many qualified persons. In time there can be global game plans which groups, large and small, global and local, can plug into and use. An important use will be for educating and training negotiators, political scientists, and students of international affairs. Education, through computer networks and conferencing of this type, can be an important forerunner for world peace and progress. (For a more journalistic introduction to some of these ideas see, P. Rossman, COMPUTERS: BRIDGES TO THE FUTURE," Judson Press, Valley Forge, PA, 1985).

-----

Authors' note: Parker Rossman, Ph.D. if former Dean of
Ecumenical Continuing Education Center of Yale University. He is
author of COMPUTERS: BRIDGES TO THE FUTURE, about the potential
impact of forthcoming fifth-generation computer tools on
research, religion, the shape of thought, and action in quest
for peace. He is writing a book for lay readers on peace games.
He can be reached at P. O. Box 382, Niantic, CT 06357-0382;
(203) 739-5195.

Takeshi Utsumi, Ph.D., P.E., is President of Global Information
Services and Technical Director of the Japan GLOSAS Association,
responsible for using advanced computers, telecommunications,
systems analysis, and simulation technology to seek solutions to
world wide problems. He is completing a technical book on what
is proposed in this document. He can be reached at 43-23 Colden
Street, Flushing, NY 11355-3998; (718) 939-0928; EIES 492.

NETREACH
by Peter Wingfield-Stratford


NetReach is the main organization for British microcomputer users who are interested in networking. NetReach was founded within the Association of London Computer Clubs in 1984 by Len Stuart and Sabine Kurjo following a meeting organized by Jennifer Weller at the Information center at Sutton Public Library. We are a part of the National Association of Computer Clubs, which now includes over 800 user groups nationwide.

NetReach isn't a conference on a computer system although we are busy on many conference systems. People on the networks we use may know us by various names because we are a collection of individuals sharing and making use of pooled resources. So we are all about networking, as much between people as between computers. Perhaps we are the human interface!


NetReach Activities
===================

Visitors are welcome to our regular evening meetings which take place in London on the second Thursday and fourth Friday of the month. NetReachers get involved in anything helping to promote the public awareness of using microcomputers by networking. We hold meetings that are a mixture of practical workshop and opportunity for debates or talks by specialists in different topics. Members can try out a variety of microcomputers, communications software, and modems; make use of large and small online computer databases, electronic mail, and electronic publishing. We have collective facilities on network systems worldwide. This group includes some of the most experienced people in this technology, with collectively more experience on more networks and database systems than any other group in Western Europe.

NetReachers also go out to demonstrate networking on the club stands at public exhibitions, in private meetings, to businesses, to schools, and to groups among all parts of society. We foster the new association of operators of (British) bulletin board systems and ourselves operate three microcomputer conferencing, or bulletin-board database services. The group recently got a minicomputer which we plan to use as a large-capacity, multiuser database conferencing system open to the voluntary sector and the public.

Members seek to interest and influence the authorities and information providers in ways that will open up networks and data services to the public simply and at the lowest possible user cost.


NetReach and International Networking
=====================================

We have an active interest group that is exploring ways to use the networks worldwide for promoting peace, education, and topics dealing with international development. This began with Sabine Kurjo working on an EIES account and has spread there via the World Peace Network, Computers for (International) Development, CARINET (see article in this issue of NETWEAVER), Computers in Education, and EIES for the Handicapped. Various NetReachers follow their personal stars roving worldwide this way.


Distant Learning Exchange Experiment
====================================

Using the EIES system, NetReach has provided communications links for an experiment in "Distant Learning". This was an educational exchange from an elementary school in Kensington, London, to other schools in Hawaii and the Pacific Islands. In the summer of 1985 there were interactions between teachers and pupils of many cultures with the U.S. "Network Nation School". A feature of interest was the computerized "Doomsday Project" involving 13,000 schools in Britain. NetReach keeps close contacts with the Information Technology development group of the Inner London Education Authority (for Schools) and with the Times Network for Schools. Schoolwork exchanges are also taking place, reaching even to Australia.


NetReach and the United Nations
===============================

NetReachers have also been involved providing technical and organizational support for a para-official project of the United Nations to provide training in computer literacy, the International Youth Year Pilot Training Program, PTP 2001. This will bring trainees from developing countries to Vienna in 1986 where they will participate in a training workshop with microcomputers and learn use of satellite telecommunications. The trainees will return to their countries with equipment and access to the World Satellite Network. They will then be enabled to train others and build people-links to a worldwide network of help.

This incredible project has been almost entirely organized by networking on EIES. The PTP Team and NetReach have demonstrated some of the power available to voluntary effort, helping coordinate international aid projects working together with networks and a conferencing system. We have also found out some of the drawbacks! They turn out to be just the same as in everyday living.

NetReach has helped publicize PTP 2001 and find participants by sending invitations to many contacts in countries and regions including Kenya, Zimbabwe, Ghana, Algeria, the Middle East, and various parts of the Caribbean. A few minor problems of financing capital equipment and of organization remain to be solved. Public support from individuals and corporations in the U.S.A. and elsewhere is very welcome.

-----

Author's note: P.M.D. Wingfield-Stratford is a member of
NetReach and can be reached at Wingfield Research, 28 Lansdowne
Road, Holland Park, LONDON W11 3LL United Kingdom, (Tel. (01)
229-9544) as well as via NetReach's EIES account 620.

CARINET: TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER FOR THE THIRD WORLD
VIA COMPUTER CONFERENCING
by Linda Maldonado


CARINET has been developed under the aegis of Partnership for Productivity, International (PFP) to serve the economic development interests of the Third World. The story that follows shows the impact of CARINET in successful enterprise development.

A potter in Malawi, Africa, had the idea that he could
make electric insulators to go on the top of telephone
poles. At that time, insulators were being imported,
and costing the telephone company the additional
freight and costing the country the exodus of scarce
capital.

While the potter thought he could make them, he was
unsure of the proper mix and proportion of materials.
The material has to have a low electrical conductivity
to isolate and support a charged conductor--like glass
or porcelain.

Through a PFP project in Malawi, he was able to access
CARINET, ask for help, and quickly receive the correct
technical information on how to make the insulators.

Today, he makes and sells the insulators to the Malawi
telephone system. In addition, Malawi will soon be
benefiting by exporting the insulators to
neighboring countries in Africa.


GENESIS
=======

As Jerry tells it, he was leaving the Caribbean island of Dominica at the end of his PFP field assignment, when he was asked what it would take to get him to *stay* on. He replied, "Give me a good computer conferencing system and I can be anywhere." He later created the first Third World computer conferencing network to make that statement a reality.

CARINET was designed to introduce the communications age to the Third World, creating inexpensive, fast, and reliable data communications for technology transfer among Third World countries and the rest of the world.

Nearly three years old, CARINET has never been subsidized--it is completely sustained by user fees.


MEMBERSHIP
==========

PFP introduces new EIES accounts to CARINET members, providing the value-added service of PFP staff support, network development and management. New users receive support and training in the use of computer conferencing from traveling PFP field staff and from experienced CARINET users. This user support effort is an expansion of PFP's already significant field presence in the Third World.

CARINET is serving the communications needs of over 100 international and indigenous development organizations, making it the largest computer conference of Third World development groups. Its members represent a range of government and quasi-government agencies, as well as private corporations who are in the business of technology transfer for entrepreneurial applications.


FEATURES
========

CARINET members utilize the network for a variety of program coordination and management purposes, saving costs normally expended for telex, phone and travel. Members have access to a number of conferences and databases, as well as a system-wide bulletin board and electronic mail. In addition to technology transfer, typical member applications include:

* headquarters-to-field-office communications

* coordination among affiliated organizations

* writing development project proposals with input and
comment from people at widely dispersed locations

* negotiating and modifying contracts


For more information on CARINET and Partnership for Productivity, International, call 202-483-0067, in Washington DC.

-----

Author's note: Linda Maldonado is Director of New Technologies
Institute, a division of Metasystems Design Group in Washington,
D.C. She is currently conducting research to develop case
examples of successful applications of PC and communications
technology to the solution of business problems; she expects to
publish the results later this year.

GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES
Report from the ENA Conference Session
November 9, 1985
by Kate Wholey


The following panelists participated in the session on Global Perspectives:

* Izumi Aizu, Institute for Networking Design, Japan

* John Coll, England

* Ingemar Falkehag, Society for General Systems Research, Sweden

* Joichi Ito, Foundation for Global Education, USA

* Ron Klein, Planetary Congress, USA

* Terence Wright, independent consultant, England

* Dorothy Nicklus, United Nations Representative of the International Federation of Business and Professional Women

* Marshall Whithead, United Nations Project Director for the International Youth Year

Ed Yarrish, a founding member of the ENA, served as moderator.

The issues that were explored included access, cost, language and cultural barriers, and institutional/political fears raised by computer conferencing. This article summarizes some of the major points addressed by the panelists.


ACCESS
======

The issue of access was readily dismissed--to the surprise, I believe, of many. Difficultie{s seem to be virtually nonexistent. Academic computer networks are proliferating, and they allow easy access to each other. Ingemar Falkehag, in fact, mentioned that groups from The Philippines and Thailand have gone through The USSR to access other "free world" systems. John Coll suggested that access problems are actually political; only three places won't let him into his London box (home system): Bahrain, The USSR, and a private exchange in England (of which he is a member).

And Marshall Whithead agreed: "What we've got to work on is assuring the politicians we're responsible. We need to build institutional frameworks for collaboration." The technical aspects of conferencing are embedded in political and institutional structures; many of the problems are due to the national and bureaucratic environments through which conferencing must progress.


COST
====

Cost, in contrast to access, was a major concern to all the panelists. First of all, to reach another country requires an ID on the international packet-switching network, not an insignificant investment. John and Joichi exchange ID's when they visit each other's countries; even so, their phone bills skyrocket. From Japan, packet-switching costs are two or three times higher than the Telenet rates--each packet sent or received incurs a charge. Joichi felt that one possible role the ENA might assume could be to lobby the governments for lower rates. NTT, the Japanese government corporation charged with the communications infrastructure, operates a packet-switching network at a minimum of 4800 baud--terrific for data transfers, but lousy for conferencing purposes.


LANGUAGE AND CULTURAL BARRIERS
==============================

Izumi Aizu shared with us an example of how languages interfere with understanding: Yesterday, he said, I got a message from a friend in Los Angeles. I'd been looking for a free market in Pasadena. I knew there had to be one. "Oh," he replied, "you mean a FLEA market!"

Even translating between English and "American"--though ostensibly the same language--can be difficult, Hiro Nakamura told us. And even bilingualism isn't enough: We need to develop bicultural skills, which requires face-to-face contact...a leap from the relative ease with which we're now able to communicate.

Marshall gave us a terrific example of how conferencing can actually aid cultural understanding. An EIES conference recently was opened for communications between six- to ten-year-olds from Hawaii and the Marshall Islands. By the time social mores might have taught them which culture was "good" (ours) and which was "bad" (theirs), they already had experienced a first-hand taste of the other's beliefs.


ROLE OF THE USA
===============

Throughout our discussion, many panelists voiced the fear that the arrogance of the United States impedes progress, due to a self-centered approach in sharing and teaching technology.

Joi, who recently had attended the Aspen Institute Conference on
Communications Technology, cautioned us that first things must indeed come first. In the midst of US "biggies" like Henry Kissinger and (AT&T executive) Charles Brown, the Ugandan ambassador implored attendees, "But first, I must teach my people to read."

Marshall agreed. Whenever possible, he and his crew try to work with representatives of the developing countries. Izumi chimed in readily: The goal-orientation of Americans is not shared world-wide. "Hey, you guys, this is fun! We needn't be in such a hurry to solve all the world's problems in a single day. Maybe a new UN (for United Networking) might succeed where the old UN failed?" We applauded his enthusiasm heartily, sharing his love for personal contacts such as those provided by this gathering.

Vernon Robinson, of George Washington University, suggested that we might perhaps begin closer to home, by bridging the gap between the District of Columbia and Anacostia (a DC suburb). "If you can pull THAT off, you might learn a few lessons applicable to the larger environment we're speaking of here."

Coming full circle, then, I think Ron Klein summed it up most succinctly: Social architecture needs more time to work than technology. We must be prepared to build paths, slowly and courageously, between cultures.


INSTITUTIONAL/POLITICAL FEARS
=============================

Concerning international institutional problems, Izumi shared a story he'd heard at dinner the night before. The CCITT (the international body that sets standards for telecommunications) had removed an employee from a position of responsibility for suggesting that they actually use telecommunications for their own work. (Current procedures require a document to circulate and be studied for a year before any decision is called for; the employee had hoped to expedite this process for the current deliberation on Standards of Protocol.) The employee, of course, was hesitant to share her plight with us, for fear of reprisals. Nevertheless, Izumi felt that such cowardice should be made public, and that we should realize the stupidity we're up against--even within our own industry--when we talk of eradicating barriers among the world's people.

Chrys Goyens of Canada posed this question: What might have been the repercussions if the Walker family (on trial for spying and distributing classified security materials to foreign nationals) had used conferencing? He said that he suspects that we're being watched by our governments, because we represent a threat to their sovereignty. Dana Blankenhorn agreed that we subvert their authority: We no longer need permission to cross national boundaries and communicate with foreign nationals.


ROLE OF THE ENA
===============

A chorus of suggestions for proving the worthiness of conferencing as a means of communications was heard. Harry Stevens suggested that we concentrate on some immediate, practical applications of conferencing, such as project management. And George Por suggested a Japanese-American collaboration--a book, created online--about how we can each benefit from cross-cultural contacts. He quoted an old Indian proverb: Don't fight the darkness--better to light a candle.

-----

Author's note: Many thanks to Dana Blankenhorn for his notes on
this session, which were very helpful in creating this report.

ENA UPDATE
by Lisa Kimball


Welcome to NETWEAVER's first "Special Issue" on International Networking. Several of our ENA Clusters (small groups focused on key interest areas) suggested that it would be helpful to have an ENA publication targeted to a specific topic. We decided to experiment by publishing this issue which covers a range of things of interest to our Global Cluster. Next month we will publish an issue on Business Applications with the help of our Business Cluster. This is a good example of how we develop creative ideas through our distributed working group process. We'd really like some feedback from readers about how you like this Special Issue approach and about what topics *you* might like to see in a future issue!

There's no doubt that international networking is both exciting and problematic. Part of ENA's mission is to "build global networks" yet many of our international members have difficulty signing on because of the high cost of connecting from abroad, problems with phone connections, or incompatible standards. At the same time, there are many exciting examples of how global networks have benefited their members. You can read about both the problems and the opportunities in this issue.

We have included a summary of the ideas generated at the Global Perspectives session of ENA's fall conference. You will also find articles on some established global networks and some future international networking projects. There is an article on the issue of international standards and an announcement of a synchronous conference on international networking coming up in April.

The Global Cluster of ENA is discussing the possibility of holding an international conference on electronic networking outside the U.S. in the next year. We have also discussed gathering the material to produce a global networking guide. Other ENA work includes developing a membership recruiting plan and exploring applications of the medium to particular audiences such as educational and business institutions.

We held the first Electronic Networking Symposium April 11-14, 1985. A lot has happened since we gathered a year ago in a loft in New York City and decided to join together to form ENA. We're still learning about this medium, still getting frustrated with obstacles to organizational progress, and still struggling to find the best ways to accomplish our mission. But we have also strengthened our network of networkers, published this monthly electronic newsletter which goes all over the world, held a highly successful f-t-f conference, and identified many potential areas where we can make a contribution.

If you're interested in this medium and its development, we need you to JOIN us and add your energy to the process of exploring the leading edge of the technology of communications.