Summary

The @Net was a computer network which began in Melbourne in 1993. It was originally based on a dial-in anarchist bulletin board system (BBS) called the Xchange, which allowed people with their own computers and modems to swap messages and read files via the telephone system. By 1994, three of the four anarchist bookshops in Australia had public access internet-linked computers.

Details

In late 1994, the Xchange connected to the nascent Internet, giving the @Net users access to international electronic mail (e-mail) communication. At this point, the number of users grew dramatically, and by late 1994, anarchist internet and bulletin board systems were established in Brisbane (Byteback, at Holus Bolus Anarchist Bookshop); and Sydney (Catalyst, which was set up by a collective called The Media Room, originally based at Jura Books, but later moving to Black Rose Bookshop). In February 1995, Barricade bookshop opened in Melbourne and installed a public access computer terminal. Within the next few months, three of the four anarchist bookshops in Australia had public access internet-linked computers, allowing users to establish and develop links with local and international anarchist groups. (Source: Will Kemp, 1995, The Anarchist, Newspaper, Vol 1: No. 4, p. 8; see link below)

Resources

Newspapers

• The Anarchist, [Volume 1: No. 4], vol. 1, no. 4, c1996, 12 pp. PDF Details