November 1996
In my fairly long life I've managed to get along with Reading the Instructions, from installing a 10-speed gear on the bicycle to - well, last weekend putting a 'phone extension in the upstairs bedroom. But the Internet doesn't seem to be like that. You have to have your hand held, like it or not. Intuition is a no-no.
So I had some - no, lots - of personal tuition from friends, plus 20 typewritten pages of elementary instructions from Dave Langford, SF fan, author and Computer Guru. Over a period of about 4 months they wrestled with installing the second-hand modem into the second-hand computer, had mysterious conversations on the 'phone in fluent Technic, asked me questions I couldn't answer, and at last logged me on one night about half past eleven. I was suddenly asked to think of a name to use for myself - shades of Dungeons & Dragons - and a six-letter password. When I typed this it came up as six asterisks on the screen. They don't take chances. I made a frantic effort to impress The Word on my memory.
To cut a complicated story short, my computer now had an extra entity, in my case called Ameol (I visualise it as issuing, fork-bearded and Middle Eastern, out of some magic lamp). Through Ameol you can then get into contact with CIX. CIX produces on the screen a list of Things To Tap Into - personal messages for you, general information, and Conferences. The latter can be either a small Conference - a sort of Temperance Hotel Conference where you're in touch with a few friends - or a more general one where the recipients are numbered in thousands.
The personal message is just like sending postcards at the speed of light. You tap in your addressee's identification, tap in a message, and that's it. Only he or she gets the message and only he or she can answer it. One of my first messages was to a friend in Minnesota. It's also handy for telling folk that something (e.g. a book) is on the way by "snail mail", or for acknowledging receipt.
The small conference is a handy way of spreading personal news or asking for help amongst your friends. Quicker and cheaper than sending out half-a-dozen or more identical letters. A BIG conference, such as rec.arts.sf.fandom covering SF fans worldwide, is mostly American stuff. There can be 150 messages to be read every 24 hours. There's a little wheat but an enormous amount of chaff. A lot of arguing and discussing, mostly on trivialities - significance of the Hugo awards in SF, or comparing the American and British terms for underwear. News of forthcoming events. Much, in fact, like fanzines, except that some messages are just single sentences. Regretfully, reading the stuff on screen doesn't seem nearly as significant as having it in hard copy, good solid paper, in front of you. There are lots of other sources of information on the Net. One of these days I'll get around to using 'em.
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