about eight dialogues

As a participant but also as a networking artist I can totally concur with your observations and recommendations about the PORT experience… Of course, the issue of exclusivity I have already pointed out a number of times on the listserv — something that should always be kept in mind — how accessible the works are to different users (given that only 10% of the world’s population has telephones… uh…).

I find the preparation and planning issue critical — all too many online projects that I have been invited to participate in or at least check out end up as confused and/or non-operational non-events hobbled by poor preparation, untested technical parameters, and related problems. PORT, thanks to good support seemed less prone than many projects to this kind of failure…

My invited participants in eight dialogues can attest that I was bugging them for weeks about testing out IRC connections prior to each dialogue, but I think it paid off in seven out of the eight events going smoothly and only one failure/permutation as a result of a major backbone failure on the national grid…

In retrospect, I thought I should have prepared weekly statements and reminders like Rick did to prime the listserv and others for the event…

I would like to have seen more of the events myself, but my working hours cut into most of them (although at work I had set up an WinNT machine with most of the gadgets needed to view), it is a pity that some of them couldn’t have been “recorded” in their entirety and replayed, impossible with the combination of mediums…

But, there is no doubt that this has been a fruitful exhibition, and I am especially appreciative of the technical support, the facilitative prowess of Remo and Robbin, and, of course, interacting with some/all of you on the listserv (I, for one, would definitely like to be on all of your announcement lists for future projects!). Thanks to all!