<nettime> Hacking In Progress/FAQ

[Geert Lovink <geert@xs4all.nl>]

Hacking In Progress Frequently Asked Questions
----------------------------------------------

Maintained by: Maurice Wessling, info@hip97.nl

What is Hacking In Progress?
----------------------------

Hacking In Progress is an open-air hacker convention on a 
campsite near Almere in the Netherlands. Visitors will bring 
their own computer equipment and tents to build the largest 
non-military open-air Ethernet ever. People from all over 
the Netherlands and other countries will come together to 
learn and discuss the benefits and the risks of new 
technologies. They'll listen to lectures, participate in 
workshops, enjoy special presentations and - last but not 
least - party. All of this in the friendly open-air 
environment of a very wired campsite far away from the 
civilized world.

HIP will be a place for hackers, artists, activists and 
many, many others to network themselves, both in the social 
and electronic sense of the word. HIP will deal with the 
social and political aspects of information technology, 
security, Internet, access to technology, cryptography, and 
concerns about spamming and other 'hacker-related' topics.

Who is organizing HIP?
----------------------

Once there was a little magazine in The Netherlands called 
`Hack-Tic', and it published wild ways to play tricks on the 
information infrastructure of the world. The magazine 
doesn't exist anymore, but most of the people that wrote 
articles for the magazine or helped organize Hacking at the 
End of the Universe (1993) and even some of the people that 
helped put up the Galactic Hacker Party (1989) are still in 
touch with each other. The every-four-year-itch has gotten 
to us again...

Open-air?
---------

There'll be no hotel rooms or anything like that so you'll 
want to bring at least a tent and a sleeping bag to HIP, 
even if this means you can't bring the paper-tape unit that 
came with your VAX 11/780. We'll supply a campground, 
toilets, showers, good food and electrical power (as close 
to 220V/50Hz as possible) and we'll do our best to supply 
everyone who wants it with an Ethernet connection. You will 
probably be able to trade wiring, extra outlets, Ethernet 
cards, and the use of modular crimping tools for almost 
anything.

What will be the issues at HIP?
-------------------------------

A lot can and will happen in the coming months, and we'll 
keep adding new topics even during the event itself. But 
we're definitely going to discuss the legal situation 
regarding encryption, as well as the latest technical 
developments in this field. The current decay of the Usenet, 
copyright issues, censorship as well as many other 
legislative, social political and technical issues 
surrounding Internet will be discussed. Computer security, 
or the lack thereof will also be a hot topic. We'll have 
research workshops (i.e. GSM and chipcard security) and you 
can also join many `how-to' workshops and lectures where you 
can pick up on Linux (Unix you can run at home, not built by 
Microsoft), perl (a very powerful computer language) and 
many, many other topics.

At this moment we are working on discussions and workshops 
about smartcard security, Tempest attacks, the SPAM threat, 
virtual communities, cryptography and the law (Trusted Third 
Parties and Key Recovery), a tele-presence experiment, 
activism on the Net, and much more.

How can I help?
---------------

We need lots of people that have ideas for organizing their 
own small part of HIP and the organizational talent to do 
this without too much help from us.

One of the proven recipes for fun:

* GET a group of friends together in an early stage; arrange 
how you're going to get there if you're far away.

* THINK: Is there something you and your friends would like 
to show others, discuss or do there?

* If so: TELL us about it, so we can coordinate, help or 
announce things.

* BRING lots of computers and other electronics, maybe your 
own army surplus tent.

* HOOK it all up once you get there.

*Check out what others have been doing and MEET nice people, 
hang out, have fun!

HIPcamp will open on August 5th, three days before HIP 
starts. If you decide to join in that early expect pretty 
primitive circumstances. If you don't care about that, or 
think that's the best part, you can help build HIPnet and 
all other facilities.

What will be the entrance fee for HIP?
--------------------------------------

We don't know yet. There will be two different tickets, for 
only one day and an all-in ticket. The all-in ticket will be 
somewhere between 100 and 150 guilders ($50 / $75). For 
snacks and meals you'll have to pay separate. Information 
about the price and how to send your reservation will be on 
the website as soon as we have figured out the details.

How do I get to the campsite?
-----------------------------

If you come to HIP from abroad, whether it is by plane, 
train or car, you'll start off in Amsterdam. Campsite 
Kotterbos near Almere is about a 30-minute drive from 
Amsterdam. We'll put a detailed description of the route on 
the website later.

Are there any hotels or restaurants nearby?
-------------------------------------------

Bring your own tent to HIP, that is the whole point of this 
festival. We will provide snacks, meals and drinks at a 
reasonable price. There is nothing besides trees and empty 
fields around HIP. The city of Almere is about five 
kilometers away, but it has few facilities, it is a commuter 
town. If you really want to sleep in a hotel (and have only 
half the fun) you'll be better off in Amsterdam. But you'll 
have quite some trouble getting from Amsterdam to HIP every 
day if you have no car. We'll provide a small bus to ride 
between HIP and Almere train station (more details as the 
festival draws closer) but there will not be a continuous 
service.

What if it rains?
-----------------

The weather in the Netherlands is not very good but August 
is the hottest month of the year. And your hardware will not 
be standing outside. There will be a few very big tents, 
with wooden floors, tables and chairs where you can set up 
your computer. You won't be sitting in the grass all the 
time (unless you want to).

Isn't there another hacker convention in the same month?
--------------------------------------------------------

HIP will happen on the same days as Beyond Hope, a hacker 
convention in New York, organized by the people of 2600 
Magazine. There will be audio and video links between both 
events, and we're working on cool gadgets to further enhance 
your sense of `grassroots telepresence'. This will be a 
twin-event in the true sense of the word.

More info on Beyond Hope can be found at:

http://www.2600.com/beyondhope/


Is it worth coming to HIP when I don't know anything about 
----------------------------------------------------------
computers?
----------

HIP will be about information technology and the Internet, 
both in technical as in social and political sense.

HIP is not the event to buy a computer or get advice on 
buying one, and there're not going to be any beginner 
courses on using the Internet. If you're not into networking 
of some sort, you'll think it's boring.

But if you're very technically inclined, part of some remote 
community on the edge of the net, or if the politics 
surrounding information technology are just your thing, HIP 
is definitely made for you (and by you, we hope).


What about some music and bands?
--------------------------------

We'll throw a party on the last evening of HIP, but HIP 
won't be a music festival or a rave.


How can I get the latest news on HIP?
-------------------------------------

Just visit our web site at http://www.hip97.nl/ and use the 
form to subscribe to the announcement mailing list. It's 
spam-free and will only carry HIP announcements written by 
us. You can also participate in the ongoing, yet slightly 
messy debate in the newsgroup alt.hacking.in.progress

If you don't have access to the web you can subscribe to the 
announcement mailing list by sending an email message to

    majordomo@hip97.nl

with the line

    subscribe hip-announce

in the body of the message.

Announcements will also be posted in alt.hacking.in.progress

What is this newsgroup about?
-----------------------------

Alt.hacking.in.progress is about Hacking In Progress (HIP), 
a hacker convention and festival in the Netherlands on the 
8th, 9th and 10th of August 1997. This newsgroup is meant as 
a meeting place for hackers and others who are interested in 
the convention or even plan to visit it.

What is discussed in the newsgroup?
-----------------------------------

Everything on the crossroad of camping, information 
technology, politics, hacking and Dutch weather forecasting.

How can I contact the people behind HIP?
----------------------------------------

Check out our website at http://www.hip97.nl/

Mail us at info@hip97.nl

Snailmail us at: 

HIP
Postbus 1035
1000 BA  Amsterdam
Netherlands

Tel. +31 20 5352081
Fax. +31 20 5352082

--
Hacking In Progress 1997
http://www.hip97.nl/
info@hip97.nl

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