The Wide Angle June/July 1996 Volume 1 No 7

On-Line Activism: Pt. 2

by Hans Hornstein, On-line Coordinator

Author's Note: Due to its overuse and misuse by the popular mass media, the word "cyberspace" will not appear anywhere in this article.

THE WWW (World Wide Web)

The Web is the fastest-growing portion of the Internet, due to it's point-and-click nature, and the ability to link to many places very simply. Web "pages" can contain images, information, or programs to search for information contained within databases, or elsewhere on the net. Pages are identified by a Uniform Resource Locator (URL), which tells the Web "browser" where the data is located. Words within a page that are highlighted represent links to other pages on the net, all interconnected (thus the term "web").

Search pages are very popular to find where information on a particular topic on the Web is. Yahoo (http://www.yahoo.com/) is well implemented, and even has a sub-topic devoted to size acceptance. The number of pages which shows up when a search is done on "fat" is too numerous to mention, but some highlights are listed below. From any of these pages, a user should be able to link to many other fat acceptance resources on the Web.

The SCSAC Home Page (http to be determined)- our own homepage, soon to have pictures and updates, and past copies of our newsletter on-line. Contains some links to other resources.

Largesse, the network for size esteem (http://www.fatso.com/fatgirl/largesse/) - Great resource information, with contact lists, article archives. Hosted at the Fat Girl site, which has a fantastic list of links to other fat acceptance pages.

The National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance (NAAFA) (http://naafa.org/) - A sentimental favorite (I helped create this site). Contains the text of many of NAAFA's informational pamphlets, as well as information about NAAFA itself.

Rump Parliament (http://web2.airmail.net/lmartin/) - Information about the fat activism magazine Rump Parliament, as well as information about legislative projects and International No-Diet Day.

Fat!So? Magazine (http://www.fatso.com/) -Marilyn Wann's take-no-prisoners, delightfully fresh fat-acceptance zine.

Jill Bingham's Home page (http://members.aol.com/jillbing/)  has a fairly comprehensive listing of size acceptance resources on the web, and is always looking for more!

As we get new links, they will be added to the Links page.

IRC (Internet Relay Chat) and Chat Rooms

All the methods of Internet communication covered so far have a time-delay factor. Either the user is looking at content set up by someone else already, or they are reading information that w as made available some time before. In any case, there is no "real-time" connection. That is, the methods described more closely approximate mail than, for example, a telephone conversation.

IRC is the Internet's answer to this situation. Developed less than a decade ago in Finland, the Internet Relay Chat system provides virtual rooms called "channels" where Internet users can "talk" conversationally to people who could be next door, or on the other side of the globe. Besides talking openly on the channel, users can also message each other privately (almost like telepathy), perform virtual "actions", and even send files across the wire (text or pictures, for example). Channels exist only as long as there is at least one person in them, and operat e through a complex semi-anarchy.

Some on-line services provide access to IRC through their programs, but most commercial on-line services emphasize their own set of "chat rooms" which are only accessible to customers of that particular service. The idea is basically the same, but implementation differs. AOL usually has a couple "rooms" devoted to fat acceptance issues, but these are sometimes difficult to track down, and many times have no more room for new people (AOL limits the number of people that can be in one room).

IRC consists of several networks of servers, neither of which is connected in any way to the other. The two primary networks are the EFnet, and the Undernet. While on one network, users cannot see people on the other, so channels with the same name on both networks actually have no connection between them, other than their topic. On EFnet, fat-friendly channels include #bbw, #bbw2 and #bbwoasis. On the Undernet, channels include #big-folks, #bbw, #bbwoasis, #bbwhaven, #bbwflirts, #bbw-over40, and #bbwromance. Some of these channels flit in and out of existence, since they have no "bot" to keep them open, but #bbw is always open. Each channel develops its own "culture" and atmosphere, so getting a feel for a channel can greatly enhance the experience. But be warned, IRC is very addictive, and can burn tremendous amounts of time. Still, it's a wonderful way of meeting people all over the world, from the comfort of home.

(Ed: It's a good idea for women to take non-gender specific "nicknames", like GreyCoat or SnDiegan, especially when exploring IRC for the first time.  Sad to say, there are a lot of uncouth individuals on IRC, as anywhere, and a nickname that does not specify gender can save you a lot of hassle.)

Overall, the world of size-acceptance on-line is a very rich one, and is growing every day. Join us on-line!

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