Network

The internal network during the GHP was based on a SUN machine, on which Unix was installed. This SUN machine was placed in one of the dressing rooms of Paradiso and only 'our' systems operators, who worked for the University of Amsterdam, or were connected to Hack-Tic, were allowed access to this dressing room. The Unix machine was the file server and was connected via Ethernet cables to terminal servers at various locations in the building. Via the terminal servers asynchronous serial connections were made to other terminals and modems. The Sun machine, as well as a dozen computers, were kindly lent to us by a few computer companies. I had to rent 'terminal servers' and the Ethernet had been installed in Paradiso previously.^{note 103} An adapted version of the Unix program 'conf' was used as a chat facility, which would facilitate all users in the building in communicating with users outside the building. An out dial modem was also accessible via the network, but because of financial constraints we decided to block international telephone traffic. In Hack-Tic 5/6 Rop Gonggrijp reports that even though we decided to block lines for international telephone traffic, it appeared that all kinds of people were 'modemming' with all corners of the world. Rop found that there were quite a number of illegal NUI's (Network User Identifications) circulating at the GHP, and with these (via a PTT-PAD) people could use DATANET-1 and in so doing all packet switched networks could be accessed. PAD's from companies were also used (Gonggrijp 1989). I will return to the making of this GHP/Paradiso network in the reflections about technological identities.