[LINK] Australian online news history

[stephen at melbpc.org.au]

Fiona writes,

> Dear Linkers,
> 
> For the forthcoming Companion to Australian Media ..
> http://www.scholarly.info/media/ Bridget Griffin Foley's asked me to
> write an entry about online news media, covering key historical events
>
> My question is - apart from Chips n' Bits magazine and this list, did
> anyone host or use any significant pre-1994 Australian based BBS news
> services, news groups, listservs or email newsletters? I'm looking for
> titles/services that were groundbreaking ..


Good on you Fiona for undertaking such a challenging task. And Link does
appear a fine place / resource for some initial research into this topic. 

Briefly, I'd want to draw your attention to FidoNet. Eg, Wikipedia notes:

"The rapid improvement in modem speeds during the early 1990s, combined 
with the rapid decrease in price of computer systems and storage, made 
BBSes increasingly popular, and FidoNet along with it. By the mid-1990s it 
was possible to communicate with millions of users on tens of thousands of 
FidoNet systems around the world. Only UUCP came close in terms of breadth 
or numbers, FidoNet's user base far surpassed other networks like BITNET."

Ref: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FidoNet

In Australia through the 1990's decade in the FidoNet Channel 'K-12' was
quite widely disseminated/utilized in secondary schools. There was/is 12
or so K-12 discussion areas. I believe this comms system is still widely
used in Africa, due to its simple (modem) technical requirements for use.

I was (and still are) the World Moderator for the "Teacher Chat" channel.

Please get in touch if you want names and dates regarding Australian use.

Cheers,
Stephen


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