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New Kids on the Net 137

crisis and continued to provide a learning environment for many of
its participants. When, for example, teachers and students at the
University of Vienna went on strike against severe budget cuts pro-
posed by the Austrian government in spring 1997, give-l featured
some excellent conceptual and economic background information as
well as extensive discussion of the options facing the academic com-
munity. 10 Yet, after having run for over three semesters, the list
showed distinct signs of wear.

real

At the establishment of give-l, all its members had shared a certain
amount of curiosity and a fair measure of ignorance regarding the
whole enterprise. As the list developed, this background obviously
changed. At the beginning the very fact of “being connected” was felt
to be of overwhelming importance and mutual encouragement was
as welcome as carefully prepared arguments. But the pursuit of aca-
demic learning and indulgence in the unconstrained voicing of opin-
ions do not easily fit together. There were some attempts to impose a
more conventional structure upon the discussion, all of which failed.
Mailing lists—rather like lively meetings of friends—do not easily
allow for this kind of administrative regulation. As a consequence,
contributors who had spent considerable energy in setting up a
philosophical discourse gradually grew disenchanted, unwilling to
deal with the concurrent “gossip” on a daily basis. With the original
excitement subsiding, a different arrangement was decided between
the Viennese proponents of give-l.
The list was to be split in two, one part retaining the “brand
name” and offering a club-like atmosphere for students at the de-
partment, whereas the other part was meant to supplement my Vi-
ennese teaching, carrying theoretical discussions exclusively. The
new list give, I am sorry to report, proved an instant failure. The spe-
cial mix of personalities and mechanical gadgets that had produced
and supported give-l could not be duplicated in the quickly changing
area of digital technologies. The second list, real, proved more en-
during. It took its name from the lecture course it was to support—
“Wirklich, möglich, virtuell” [“Really, possibly, virtually”]—but there
was also a hint at the list being more realistic regarding the possible
functions of electronic discourse. Still, with a lot of interest in
teleteaching and experimental use of the new media, expectations
were high.