Letter to a novice
Peter Durrant recalls his struggles to learn computer and the Internet
- and offers advice to a colleague.
Dear Colleague.
With luck you will find the following experiences helpful as you tread what
can sometimes be a lonely road. But it can be extremely enjoyable as you
meet people from across the globe, or even a neighbourhood close by, whom
you might never have contacted before. Anyway, if divide the 'road-to-becoming-familiar-with
-the-Internet' into three parts it might make more sense for us both.
Perhaps the INTRODUCTORY PART of becoming an (inter)-net enthusiast is to;
(a) get yourself a computer. I started with an Apple-Mac and much of what
follows is based on their user-friendly approach. But this has also created
problems which I will explore later. I've since learned there's some-one
in the next village who reconstructs computers and sells them cheaply so
perhaps it's worth looking around for a reliable second hand source. Once
you have the computer in the house the next problem is to learn how to connect
the various parts. I'm a non-technocrat and it took me a long time to realise
that the connections at the back of the set have signs on them which match
the cords. I also had to hunt around for a modem but, these days, they are
advertised every-where. The On-Line section in the Guardian on a thursday
always has a number of offers but many other adverts sometimes throw in
the modem for good measure. It seems common sense that the higher the V
numbers are (does this mean volt's) the quicker the whole thing will connect.
Mine's 14.400 which seems o.k. for me at my particular stage of development.
(b) I've just realised I'm making the same mistakes that proved so difficult
for me when I started, a year and a half ago, from a corner of my back room
at home in Cambridge. PC means personal computer and it took me a long time
to even begin to get used to the language. But some early clues are that
'down-loading' means printing-out from the screen and the 'menu' is the
various lists of selective options at the top of the screen which alter
according to the various setting.at the top of each page. Whilst 'hard-ware'
means what is in the machine and 'soft-ware' is those almost oblong plastic
discs you stick in the front. Although I've never managed to understand,
let along make it work, the gibberish call 'file attachments.' Can anybody
help me?
(c) I found myself spending weeks trying to 'print-out' and if it hadn't
been for my teenage kids I would never have succeeded. You'll need some-time
to talk about starting in general so don't be afraid to confess your ignorance
and ask around.Even phone some-one up. And, gradually, as you get started
there's plenty of people around to answer specific points as and when they
arise. Although it's probably best to look for another beginner since, once
you've made a little progress, you tend to forget how difficult it was when
you started. Rather like our driving tests.
(d) on the print-out procedures try experimenting on menus with 'copy' but
don't forget to black-out the type-face you want to save first. Then look
for a 'save as' sign on one of the menus, fill in what seem to be the most
appropriate boxes and switch to quit. Then return to your e-mail system
, nudge the top left hand box and hey presto, the original message will
appear and clatter away. After you have remembered to switch on the printer
and told it to print. Anyway, it's about learning on the job although I'm
biased since I went to evening classes and never learned a thing.
(e) I suppose this first part is about trying things out for yourself and
it's quite difficult to damage the equipment through simply playing around
with the keys. At this point you will have probably contacted a host such
as Compuserve who, in fact, make it really easy for you. Especially with
their free telephone line to Bristol. I eventually changed on cost and other
grounds to Cityscape where the getting on-line instructions were'nt nearly
as good, although they are much cheaper, and I'm beginning to think that
an empathic host might be worth paying for. The 'host' is simply the agency
you pay monthly, or yearly if you want to save money. BT, for example, have
recently entered the market at £15 per month inclusive of VAT and there's
dozens of others around. What you also need to ensure, and it is getting
better all of the time, is that your host is using a local telephone number.
Otherwise you will be paying for costs via one of the major cities. Oh,
and 'on-line' means simply that. That the system is working.
(f) once you are on-line, and have accepted your e-mail address which is
usually your choice of words, and been given a pass-word which only you
know, then you're in business. You then use the mouse, and you get much
better at it as you gain confidence, to click, and usually double-click
on the boxes which seem relevant. After a while you get really expert at
'drawing' boxes from one space to another. Especially the waste-bin although
don't forget you can also retrieve from here. Up until the time you trash
the lot, of course.
(g) on an Apple-Mac the e-mail system is called Eudora, World Wide Web is
MacWeb and group discussions are through Nuntius. But most people seem to
agree that the e-mail system is the one which enables us all best to relate
to one another. With the Web as a back-up reference point providing a number
of useful and changing overviews of where that particular debate is at.
It's also worth remembering here that in order for the Web Pages to be in
existence there's any number of volunteers around actually constructing
them in the first place. As well as keeping them up-to-date. Often for little
or no income and may be we should all, eventually, once we have learned
the rules of the trade, join them.
(h) you will quickly learn that the e-mail system will allow you to contact
anyone, anywhere and, at any time. Since the beauty is that it will be waiting
for you to access yourself to messages only when you are ready. But you
do need to know people's e-mail addresses and it is very easy, particularly
in the early days, for messages to be bounced back to you because you have
placed the dot, or an oblique, or something else, in the wrong place. This
is where, once you've made some contacts, that the reply button really comes
into its own.
(i) whilst with the Web you also need to have an address which is usually
prefixed with http://www followed by their personal details. A good one,
if you are interested in community development issues is Communities Online
http://www.btwebworld.com/communities/ but don't put a full-stop at the
end even although it seems appropriate. There are also hundreds of Nuntius
groups, or the equivalent, around where you can zip in and out of but, and
this is a personal view, you have to search hard for not much useful information
and contacts.
(j) so before we move on to phase two I'd just like to say it's all about
networking and community development work if that's familiar to you. Community
work depends essentially on following through leads, reading between the
lines, being informed about a range of materials and issues and knowing
how to make useful connections with like-minded individuals and groups.
From the grass-roots upwards and the nice thing about 'the net' is that
it is esssentially an eqalitarian approach. No hierarchies around and plenty
of cooperation no matter what people's non-net status.
The MIDDLE PHASE is about consolidating your first, often quite difficult,
and isolated, attempts to become part of the gang. I've had lots of ups
and downs and often felt like packing it all in. But do stay around and
it does get better. So this section might be a little more tutorial-like;
(a) how do you get into a forum, special interest group and link in with
like-minded people? Well there is a search mechanism around at the start
of my WWW system which is quite helpful. You simply try a range of words
which reflect your interests and this remarkable memory system will then
come up with some possibilities. You can also speak to other people in the
neighbourhood, or at work, who are beginning to explore the system and pick
up addresses and contacts from newspapers and the mass of magazine in Smith's.
Or, and this is when it began to get really rewarding for me, you hunt around
for some specialist information that will provide you with some start-up
help. I'm interested in community development leads and I found some early
addresses in community work magazines and journals. And when you've found
some-where you would like to join, simply leave the subject matter blank
and type in the main text SUBSCRIBE, followed by your name. Or something
like that, and UNSUBSCRIBE when you want to leave. It does differ from place
to place but usually some-one will come in and help you out and there's
often instructions in those confusing lines of type at the top of the message.
(b) be helpful, and consciously learn how to relate to and with others.
Once you have a bit of confidence it all becomes worth while. A lot of people
will not join in initially and this is called 'lurking. But, gradually,
others get to know your address and after a while you don't have to keep
on writing theirs down. Try Sellotaping the ones you use the most to the
side of the desk and you can always alter them as time goes by. You will
also pick up a lot of useful web-addresses from being part of a forum which,
again, will provide you with lots of individual and group contacts. The
subject line on your e-mail can often be of considerable use here since,
together with a quick glance at the sender, it gives you some clues about
the nature and usefulness of the communication.
(c) one important point here is that there's some basic written rules about
how we all behave towards each other. Obviously politeness, concern and
keeping things brief are important but so is, when you reply to others on
issues which do not involve everyone, replying to the individual's private
address. As opposed to the general forum who may not be interested in individual
exchanges. In other words it's about us all developing a sense of consideration
in a system which can become very demanding and complex.
(d) at this stage it's as well to remember that when your Apple Mac and/or
PC needs some repairs you need to find somewhere in one of the files to
tuck away the external connections which you use most often. My local firm
wiped off, 'reformated' in their terms, my word processing and internet
connections. Which are the only two I use and it took me a frustrating month
to get them back. With no apologies.
(e) as time goes by you will have the opportunity to become members of,
no joining fees here, of a wide number of groups and many people have written
about the good feeling of anticipation that you get when you 'check-in'
and wait for responses to your earlier conversations. You'll also soon recognise
other peoples styles of working, and I'm an early morning person by the
way which guarantees cheap phone rates. But you quickly learn how to scan,
subscribe, unsubscribe and to be selective. Although if you can keep up
to date on a daily basis it does help you avoid being snowed under.
(f) the only other thing I'd like to say on this part of what I hope are
some useful ideas is about costs. If you're paying for it youself it makes
sense never to compose e-mails when you are live on-line. There's always
a way of doing this when the modem is off and you then just switch on and
press 'send.' It also seems sensible, once you've checked your messages,
to play around, or look at them any time, for nothing, by keeping the modem
switched off. This is where the word-processing part of your machine really
comes into its own and it's always a sobering thought that very few of us
use more than ten per cent of its incredible technology.
(g) it is also worth printing-out when you have something really important
to transmit. I did it with this e-mail and one is always amazed how many
mistakes are missed from looking at the screen itself. As opposed to the
printed word where punctuation and grammar, I hope, can be easily corrected.
(h) so, thanks for staying around. By this time you've become familiar with
the machinery and its various parts and have probably switched hosts. I
changed from Compuserve, not only on grounds of expense, but also because
it.was also dominated by American interests. Nothing wrong with that, and
it has probably got better by now, but it's helpful to have national and
european connections. I then switched to Cityscape and I've had too many
rows with them as they changed direction to meet increased demand and I
couldn't get back for weeks. So I'm looking around for a user-friendly,
informative and supportive host. Any ideas?
Finally PRESENT, AND FUTURE, DEVELOPMENTS will be concerned with continuing
to build on, and consolidate, an increasing range of electronic resources,
new friends and contacts as yet often unknown and untried. But there's large
numbers of acqaintances around already and together we can traverse the
world. Literally and cheaply. Once you realise from your phone bill that
it isn't costing you very much more than you normally spend then perhaps
that's the acid test that you have become fairly competent.
(a) as you become part of these networks you will find that relationships
become warmer and friendlier. This week I wasn't able to go to a meeting
because of poor health in the family and, quickly, some sympathetic e-mails
appeared. Along with details of the agenda. We also had an American party
over last week to look at local services and soon established e-mail links
for a collective newsletter which appeared on their desks in seconds on
their return. Boston here we all come next year. Whilst the International
Association of Community Networkers, with Madeline from Boulder County at
the helm, joined by Heikki from Finland, and David from Brighton,is really
beginning to make internationalism work.
(b) at this point the skills and art of networking as an art-form becomes
something to really work at. You worry far less about becoming a member
of a group, taking a few risks and getting anxious when some-one disagrees,
usually in a civilised way, with one of your on-line comments. You'll also
find, as your confidence continues to increase, that you can often just
re-route information to a friend whom you know is interested in a particular
subject by changing the address and re-sending it. Or you will become part
of an NGO (Non-Governmental Organsiation) that reinforces your interests
by meetings, letters (it's rudely called snail mail) and telephone calls.
Nothing like an all-round approach for moving on. Local media contacts seem
also to be taking off all over the place, with newsletters and magazines
beginning to appear to complement it all.
(c) it also seems to me that we can then test out, and explore, some really
good community options. Communities Online, try, (with a little help from
our friends at BT), http://www.btwebworld.com/communities/ are well into
community regeneration, our Cybercafe here in Cambridge has recently started
its own Online local information service and the local councils are really
well established if you look at the cc entry in the address. This means
that correspondence with MPs and others, who might normally be difficult
to contact, becomes routine. I was speaking, and complaining, the other
day to our district council about rubbish which hadn't been cleared down
our street. Last week I found myself listening to Richard Luka, (more on
loka@amerst,edu) talking about his latest book on technology and democracy.
An e-mail on his return to the States quickly led to a warm and helpful
reply. And I've just heard from Anne Campbell, the parliamentary IT innovator
and supporter, letting me know of local developments going on beneath my
very nose. Which I hadn't noticed until she told me about them.
(d) the emerging lesson here is that social action can be linked with an
achievable directness. As opposed to having to circumvent endless bureaucracies.
But you're probably into other areas of interest and there are specialist
forums and groups around to meet every-one's needs.
(e) I also need to say something about Apple-macs and PCs. It's increasingly
proving quite difficult to get software, together with its entrance to the
Internet, for the first so perhaps we will all end up with dull old Windows.
Bill Gates rules O.K. but the system itself is still cheap, and flexible
and it's up to us how we use it. In spite of the fact that it all began
from military bases wanting to inter-communicate it's now, uniquely, become
an open systems strategy. One thing you will also have noticed here is that
some people operate from an office base and others from home. That's why,
at week-ends and holidays, the debate often declines and even disappears.
(f) the other mistake we've made in community and social work, and maybe
your field too, is to have become too insular. But the web helps us all
to cooperate and willingly share information, identify our shared values
and debate the issues of the day. In a creative and helpful fashion. I'll
look forward to your e-mails and your latest ideas for a web page sounds
really good. Are you into Bulletin Boards yet? Remember our exciting, but
short-lived adventure with First Class?
regards to everyone.
Peter Durrant.
Coordinator.
Humberstone NetworkingGroup.
5 Kentings.
Comberton.
Cambridge.
CB3 7DT.
Tel: 01223 262759.
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