X-From_: nettime@basis.Desk.nl Mon Jun 8 19:33:40 1998 Date: Mon, 8 Jun 1998 16:08:38 -0100 (EDT) To: nettime-l@Desk.nl From: nettime's.digestive.system@basis.Desk.nl (nettime@desk.nl) Subject: <nettime> HackIt 98 Sender: owner-nettime-l@basis.Desk.nl from: Patrice Riemens <patrice@xs4all.nl> subject: IEDEREEN: HI 98 Firenze Day 1 date: Sat, 6 Jun 1998 10:27:06 +0200 (MET DST) You all know the dynamics of events: organisers are stressing weeks or month on end, towards the last day of preparation things move towards a climax, promptly followed by an ant-climax when day one has come. And you know the dynamics of tyrain time-tables: once one train is late, the whole schedule goes haywire. And you know the dynamics of networks: aka a chain is as strong as its weakest segment. Hack it 98 got to do with all these problems, and connectivity is truly abysmally low. But then, you dont need networks and computers for a hacker meeting. You do need however, a modicum of organisation. Well, it was thre and not. You cant blame them really, there were also some personal, sad circumstances involved. Suffice to say that the Amsterdam contingent (aka "HippiesfromHell", HFH) was bigger than the organising group. Well, it made its presence felt. There was a kind of general meeting in the late evening where initiatives about "antagionist/contrarian networks in Italy & Europe were presented. First there was a lengthy exposition of what happens in Italy. A lot, but a lo-tech level (in our eyes). Internet is simply not a geneally available tool, especially in 'progressive' circles. So still a lot of books, magazines, CDs. And a lot of political talk, of solidarity, but also fear of 'selling out'. Come in the Hippies (there was no moderation, so we simply seized the floor) and started shocking this whole edifice. Patrice gave an outline of the evolution of xs4all, dds, society from relatively small scale initiatives to full fledged institutions. The numbers (40.000+ subscribers at xs4all, 70.000 users on DDS) gave the audience the jitters. You're talking 100s, a few 1000s at most here. The level of the budgets involved was also a bit too much. Then Marcel explained how hackers in Holland became professionals, yield influence if not power, mahke money, and still keep up the spirit and remain independent (fiercely so). Time for some contrarian talk by the folks from nodo50 (www.nodo50.org) in Madrid. They choose on purpose for small-scale, self-governemnt by the members, and a consistent progressive political line...and just 300 members. Lots of applause from the audience for those "pur et dur" people. One can understand. After them and as last contrib, Barbara Strebel (The Swiss Thing, www.thing.ch)) after commenting that Dutch keep their pirate and traders on the wild fringe tradition very much alive (and operate with aremarkable solidarity and one-mindedness when abroad..."Dutch Imperialism anyone...?) presented the Thing project as a thinking (and organising) international, operating local art(ist)s space, and kicked a few discussion topics on the issue of how to act and present yourself in these tough times. And sorry, before that, Billsf had explained the ins and outs of his 'cuba' machine (www.cuba.xs4all.nl), unfortunately out of commisiion due to the most byzare input coming in from the Hack It network... And after that everybody got plastered, unless one was already... party on (orso) cheers, patrice PS The most interesting thing at HI 98 might well be the pirate Radio and Television station (www.kyuzz.org/radiocybernet). They are very active and ...errr...experimental. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - from: Patrice Riemens <patrice@xs4all.nl> subject: IEDEREEN: Hack It 98 Days 2-3, and the WASHOUT! to: discussion@hippiesfromhell.org, iedereen@waag.org date: Mon, 8 Jun 1998 16:02:40 +0200 (MET DST) For Hippies Only: The BarryMobile with Moped-indent has left at 11.53 local time containing Marcel, Lenneke, Tamara, Nils & Bill. (and 16 liters of bottled water....) Hanno & Ellen left yesterday late afternoon by train. Tim left this morning by train to Rome, and will fly to-morrow to BXL, then train to A'dam Charlotte & Barry are terrorizing the Air France reps here to fly them out to-morrow, despite total strike at that company. They might have to fly Brutopian Airlines via Ulan Brutop.... ................................ Voor "Waagers" only Congratulations on your heavy technical announcement traffic & the anti-timesheet actions. Thje former, unfortunately have been 'DBR-ed' (Delete Before Reading) ............................... Hack It 98 Report Days 2 and 3 After the usual slo start, HI98 got really on during its second day. However, it is unlikely that the expectyed 400 visitors have materialized, let alone the 1000 that were rumoured at some stage. Or that had to be at the nite parties, with experimental music from Japan, Cyber-theater and the habitual techno... The seminars looked like going fine. But they were (of course) all in Italian, and it was also very hot outside, and even more inside those great dark rooms (!) which were to large for the beams... Anyway the whole venue (an huge, abandonned and only very partially used industrial plant) would have made a perfect set for some kind of post-nuclear film production... Seminars were given on: -cryptography and anonymousness. -privacy and the future of money -providers responsibility, networks and censorship There were also basic courses in Internet related techniques, basic telematics,cryptography - there was a PGP signing session - and Linux for beginners , which were in great demand (and free). But possibly one of the most popular courses was a kind of on-going 'master' class (true beginners really) in lockpicking by Tim of the HippiesfromHell group, who had calmly installed himself next to the secretariat and had a c onstant following of a few folks happily picking various hangslots and assorted cylinders open). One had of course to explain to the local media that this was not a thieves' academy - and they got the message! Alas, there were also sniffers at work in an other room, so the hippies immediately started a SSH offensive and we all had to pledge to change our passwords and kiss telnet goodbye! (sad news for the two 'Naughty Nephews of Telnet" in Amsterdam, but hey, hackers parties are there for learning!) (end of part one) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - from: Patrice Riemens <patrice@xs4all.nl> subject: IEDEREEN: Hack It 98: Days 2-3 and the WASHOUT (part 2) to: discussion@hippiesfromhell.org, iedereen@waag.org date: Mon, 8 Jun 1998 16:28:45 +0200 (MET DST) The Great XS4COPS debate If you thought the Dutch 'invasion' of Hack It 98 was without merit or purpose, watch this: Somewhere during the night of saturday to sunday, some folks (may be those pesky sniffers ;-) ) put up a 'hackable' webpage purporting to represent XS4ALL in its 'true' guise of 'collaborators' with the police. Rumour had spread that xs4all had gone out of its way to help the police in the kid pornography scare (Itself a contentious subject in Italy, vide the Luther Blisset pieces). Upon which Hanno, one of the few 'real' xs4all people (though we are all at heart!) talked all nite to a smaal but very intent group of people explaining the general purposes and policies of xs4all, and managed to set the record straight. The discussion reemerged on Sunday morning and afternoon, again with Hanno and Patrice in debate, especially with Alberto and Roxu from Nodo50 about the ins and outs of being a big, corporate provider, but with a social brief and quite precise political ideas (and principles) vs being a small political organisation totally given to being antagonist to the status quo (not to speak of the huge difference in political culture between Holland, and resp, Italy and Spain). Here too potential conflict was stemmed, and as Tommaso Tozzi put it, the large basis we have in common was not overshadowed by differences which are as so many opportunities of serving the same purpose in an optimum way. PS Of course Bill or Marcel can explain you far better the technical aspects of the 'hack' which, I understand, involved jamaica.xs4all.nl being now in need of serious reinstallation.... Anyway, the whole fracas brought into focus in a very effective way all the ins and outs of hackers moving out of social movements into the corporate mainstream. Without loosing their soul, or so maintained our group. But we probably did not convince everyone... (end of part 2) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - from: Patrice Riemens <patrice@xs4all.nl> subject: IEDEREEN: Hack It 98: Days 2-3 and the WASHOUT (part 3) to: discussion@hippiesfromhell.org, iedereen@waag.org date: Mon, 8 Jun 1998 16:51:52 +0200 (MET DST) (part 3) Another initiative by the 'foreign guests' was subtly overturned by the audience: an english-speaking workshop/seminar or your have it to discuss all these pending issues of differences between the various local situations. This insufferable language imperialism was quickly overturned in a well-attended session under spirited but temporary chairpesonship of barbara strebel. the proposed topics of discussion were cyberfeminism, anonymity, group processes, ways of organizing, how (if?) to resist the onslaught of commercialisation etc etc. It turned into a very realistic demo of most of these concepts at work IRL. Including 'the Italians' first demanding (and getting) continuous translations, then engaging in fierce (and untranslatable) debate amongst themselves, before finally leaving without waiting for an answer after having made their point. But Barbara still managed to express her views about the exemplary traject of the "Cyberfeminists" evolving in little time from a cosy group of women on the Net into a hierarchised "Spice Girls" outfit producing itself at various arty-netty conference venues... May be the slightly foul atmosphre was directly related to the cataclismic depression taking shape in the higher layers of the air outside. Once the sky'd gone pitchdark, a most wonderous thunderstorm erupted, followed by a break of the monsoon like downpour which drenched the terrain (and quite a lot of the buildings). Within minutes the server was seen (or perceived) drifting away while the electrical sockets came knee-deep under water. Nobody was 'jolted', but then the little connectivity we had at the best of time went away for good... Whereupon people put chairs on their heads and went out to walk to the theatre and assemble for the final session. There was again a good display of rhetorics, and a platform of principlies and action was adopted, quite reminiscent of the 'ICATA Manifesto' and other habitual pronouncements at this sort of meets. The whole event was declared - rightly so - a s a big success, and it was decided to just do it again, next year in Milano, care of Decoder/Shake, and in the Holy Year 2000 in ...Rome. Forte Prenestino's going to take any anti-pilgrim willing to show up then. (END) cheers from Badia Fiesolana (connectivity @ IUE at last!) patrice --- # distributed via nettime-l : no commercial use without permission # <nettime> is a closed moderated mailinglist for net criticism, # collaborative text filtering and cultural politics of the nets # more info: majordomo@desk.nl and "info nettime-l" in the msg body # URL: http://www.desk.nl/~nettime/ contact: nettime-owner@desk.nl