From hungary-online-owner Mon Apr 10 03:56:20 1995 Received: from localhost (daemon@localhost) (fnord) by nando.yak.net (8.6.5/8.6.5) id DAA18711 for hungary-online-out31415; Mon, 10 Apr 1995 03:56:20 -0700 Received: from localhost (daemon@localhost) (fnord) by nando.yak.net (8.6.5/8.6.5) id DAA18701; Mon, 10 Apr 1995 03:56:07 -0700 Received: from carlson@odin.net () via =-=-=-=-=-= for hungary-online@hungary.yak.net (18696) Received: from odin.net (root@omega.odin.net [193.130.116.3]) (fnord) by nando (8.6.5/8.6.5) with ESMTP id DAA18688 for ; Mon, 10 Apr 1995 03:54:45 -0700 Received: from [193.130.116.13] by odin.net with SMTP (8.6.10/1.2-btv) id MAA16194; Mon, 10 Apr 1995 12:06:18 GMT Message-Id: Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Date: Mon, 10 Apr 1995 12:49:20 +0100 To: hungary-online@hungary.yak.net From: carlson@odin.net (Steven Carlson) Subject: (HOL) Bp Post article about HIX Sender: owner-Hungary-Online@hungary.yak.net Precedence: bulk Reply-To: Hungary-Online@hungary.yak.net Seres Sandor recently showed me this article, published in the now-defunct Budapest Post. Fekete Zoli tipped me off to look through the HIX SENDDOC archives. Indeed it was there, and it saved me the time of having to type it in. If anyone's interested I recommend exploring the HIX system by sending a message to . That sends an automatic message telling you more about HIX. Warning: the message is in Hungarian, but then so is most of HIX ;) =steve= ========================================================== Bekuldo: msagi@phoenix.princeton.edu Idopont: Fri Dec 4 10:57:00 EST 1992 Cim____: budapest.post.hix ---------------------------------------------------------- THE BUDAPEST POST Vol.1, Nr. 11 ; December 3-9, 1992 Computer Network Provides Forum For Hungarians Around the World By David Fink (Staff writer) When he was a researcher working in England, Endre Re'v was desperate for contact with fellow Hungarians. Re'v discovered he was able to do just that by tapping into a rich network of countrymen by computer modem. "I heard about it from friend," he said. "It was wonderful. I was homesick. It allowed me to get involved in discussions in Hungarian." Re'v, along with several hundred others, is a participant in the Hollosi Information Exchange (HIX), which provides Hungarians in 22 countries with news from the homeland, a forum for political discussion and a bulletin board with practical advice. HIX is transmitted through an international electronic mail service for universities and research institutions. HIX started in 1989 when Ivan Weisz,a mathematician at Ohio State University, began transmitting by computer the news he received from Hungary on his short -wave radio. Later, Jozsef Hollosi, an astrophysicist in New Jersey, became the coordinator and the system became known as HIX. The network became a critical link to the homeland in October 1989, when the country was undergoing crucial changes. The computer provided crucial informat- ion about Hungary's firs free referendum, which would determine the nation's form of government and other critical issues regarding Hungary's future. The expatriate Hungarians initially could not participate in the referendum and so formed the discussion group within the network to decide how to become involved. Eventually, this informal discussion group evolved into a bulletin board for the regular exchange of political ideas, said A'kos Ro'na-Tas, assistant professor of sociology at the University of California at San Diego. The computer network mirrored the changes that were taking place in Hungarian society. Unable to agree on anything, the conservatives and liberals split into two bulletin boards: FORUM for conservatives and SZALON for liberals. "People got fed up with the extremist writers," Ro'na-Tas said. "Not their ideas or positions, but their personal attacks." In addition, a third political bulletin board, AGORA, was formed. This board allows people to exchange information only with individuals they request. "In a way you act as your own censor," Ro'na-Tas said. Still another bulletin board, TIPP, is a nonpolitical service that provides readers with practical advice,particularly on how to adjust to life in America, Hollosi said. "It allows some one to say, "I'm here and I have this problem," Hollosi said. "Others can offer solutions." The network has grown more comprehensive since its beginning three years ago. News is now provided by two different services. HIRMONDO, a news digest of Hungarian press reports, is sent out three times per week by a volunteer staff at the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. Also, network users can receive KEPUJSAG, a daily news service, Hollosi said. The network is also comforting for expatriates who miss speaking in their own language. "People are often forced to use the native language in the areas where they are living," he said. That's what drew Re'v into the network when he was working at the University of Manchester in England. Since returning to Hungary, Re'v is still enthusiastic about the exchange. "I have to find a balance between my job and this joy," said Re'v, a chemical engineering researcher. "When I was in Manchester, I used it every day, but here I have a family so I don't use it on the weekends." Ro'na-Tas said that when he returns to Hungary he has a party and he invites his friends as well as people he knows only through corresponding with them in the network. "Its a strange community," he said. "I've had lengthy discussions with people I've never met." There is another advantage, Re'v said. "I used to participate in these types of discussions at home," he said. "This is better because it can always be turned off." Researchers Bea Borda's and Erika Hazslinszky assisted in the preparation of this article. /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// Begepelte Edo, dec. 4.-en (pentek) delutan, a kinyomott es terjesztett lapbol. Igyekeztem jelhuen (character mirror) bepotyogni. Ekezet helyett aposztrofot hasznaltam, esetleges typing mistake-eket stb. nem javitottam. Udv, Edo ----- YOUR ORIGINAL MESSAGE ----- --- Steven Carlson moderator/publisher - hungary-online Critical Mass Media Inc internet trainer, consultant [+361] 133-4647 in Budapest, Hungary carlson@odin.net ############# # This message to Hungary-Online@hungary.yak.net # was from carlson@odin.net (Steven Carlson) # # To unsubscribe, # send "unsubscribe" to # An announcement-only subscription (less volume) is available # at # Send mail to for more information, # or to if you need human assistance. #############