What we did during JOTNet and JOTA:CIS

Christchurch (Hitchin) Scouts and Guides

What we did during JOTNet and JOTA:CIS 1996

Emma's report on JOTNet and JOTA:CIS 1996

Jamboree on the Net (JOTNet) and its CompuServe Information Services (CIS) equivalent, JOTA:CIS, are recent developments from the longstanding Jamboree on the Air (JOTA) event, which started in the late 1950s. For JOTA, Scouts and Guides kidnap the local radio amateur and lock him or her in a hut all weekend to run a radio station and let them talk to other participants worldwide. Many Units now set up computers alongside the radios, and in 1997, JOTNet became an officially recognised international event alongside JOTA. To find out more, try these places:

Jamboree on the Internet at the World Organization of the Scouting Movement (WOSM)
Tony Mochan's Jamboree on the Net page
JOTA:CIS is only available to CompuServe members, of course, but if you do have an account then there is information in the Scouting Forum: GO SCOUTING for details

Impressions of some first-timers

JOTNet and JOTA:CIS run all weekend, but for our first try we set up in the Church hall for two hours during Saturday morning coffee. As well as surfing the Web, we spent quite some time in Internet Relay Chat (IRC) sessions. These can be electronic bedlam, with dozens of people "talking" at once, but once you have found someone to talk to, you can always go off into a private room. Then, on Sunday afternoon, we had a smaller session, mainly on CompuServe chat; two of our Guides had a great time with some Guides from Quedgeley, Gloucestershire (hi Quedgeley), and Matthew enjoyed talking to Cubs in New York (hi, "Charles & Cubs").

As well as these, we "met" Scouts and Guides from Kangaroo Island in Australia, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, South Africa and the United Kingdom.

Since the event, we've received a modest but steady stream of greetings, requests for pen-pals and promises to try the activities we have mentioned. Now we know that we are part of international organisations; thanks to everyone who has contacted us.

We hope you'll be joining us in JOTA 1997!

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