back to UkNetworkMajorReports back to UkNetwork

Post Evian Report on Dispatch, Remote Participation and Info Flows (G8 2003)

Here are some thoughts that came up during the reporting of the protests against the G8 summit in Evian (May 28 to June 4, 2003). [link to archive]

See thoughtful email 1 and 2, both covering burn-out and strategies to prevent it.

For many of us, this was the most amazing reporting experience we ever had. Information was flowing on all channels - mobile phones, landlines, txt messages, irc, dispatch website, global G8 website, radiostreams from Lausanne and Geneva, Geneva03 videostream, email lists and several sites to collect all those audio, video, pic and txt files. [links]. And, as always, the imc sites.

An extensive document about setting up an imc for big events was put together by anna from imc germany. Although not everything worked as described there, it gives a good idea about how it COULD work - and some of it was actually implemented.

A Tutorial explains how to work with the Dispatch website.

Imc Uk has developed a liking for timelines. We screen other imc- and non-imc sites for information, and the friends out there report back regularly. Because some of us have worked together for a long time, we know: if x sends a txt message saying: "there are 2 water canons at y-square, and at least two people were arrested", this is exactly what happened. Not 3 watercanons, but 2. Not in z-street, but in y-square. So this goes up on to the timeline on the frontpage.

We use our own irc channel to coordinate.

But this time, it was different. There were much more sources of information than usual, much more irc ##, much more people from Europe and beyond participating. it was also a first for the uk network. People from the new collectives in Oxford and Cambridge worked together with people from the "old" imc crew - most in London, but some in other places. irc makes it possible.

It was exciting, but at times, it was too much, even though we were more people than ever before. The fastness, the urge to do 10 things at a time, a lack of pre-structuring and priority setting pushed us to the limits - no teargas for the webheads, but exhaustion after days on end at the computer, comletely forgetting about basic physical needs. It was matrix. One person stayed online for 36 hours. Direct media. The dynamics of "being there" spread from the streets to the virtual world.

So we thought about the roles and the structure that had developed during these mad days, and came up with a list of roles. Each role can involve more or less of the listed tasks, depending on mood and skills of the person who takes it on. We never had enough people to cover all those roles, each of us did a bit of everything. This list is just a way to structure our experience. And it only refers to remote reporting - the physical imc on site is a different story.

• host of # welcomes new people, updates them in private chat (what's the channel for, urls of important documents, maybe at some point suss out if the new person wants to work on something, suggests tasks that might suit new person, puts them in touch with others if necessary, coaches). Makes sure enough people have op rights, invite pp from other channels if appropriate. Or asks somebody else to do this if it gets too much, or if the host is doing other roles as well.

• reporters inform contacts about what's going on. as specific as possible - when, what, where, seen yourself, heard about it, etc.

Finding and processing info

• picture editor screens websites for good pictures to put in timeline. resizes pics or coaches other pp to do it. provides url, maybe with html tag for feature, to the appropriate # or _cgi person. Can also collect pic urls of the day in a newswire posting which then will be linked to the timeline and can be updated continuously.

• translators screen other language websites for articles, translate them, post them on uk newswire, including url of original. Inform appropriate # about url of posting, to be included in timeline. can be addressed if someone else finds an article that should be translated.

• _cgi - timeline updating The person who updates the timeline uses the nickname person_cgi (/nick person_cgi). It is important that each feature is only edited by one person at a time, otherwise we will overwrite our work. The tasks vary, depending on how much is happening out there. If there is time, person_cgi looks for info to update timeline. When things get more hectic, the _cgi job will become more a cut and paste job. Ideally, other people provide ready-made blurbs in the right format, with html tags. (00.00 place what happened, [links]). Maybe they dump this in an extra #cgi or so.

• screening other irc channels see what's going on, feed info fwd and backwd.

• webscouts screening the relevant websites for info and links to put in timeline, inform _cgi person about URL, possibly with html tags.

• taking txt messages make note of time, post or transcribe info on imc uk nw if relevant, pass URL to _cgi person. write timeline entry for cgi person. If necessary also inform #dispatch.

• taking phonecalls make note of time, post or transcribe info on imc uk nw if relevant, pass URL to _cgi person. write timeline entry for cgi person. If necessary also inform #dispatch.

• stream scouts audio listening to the radio streams make note of time, post or transcribe info on imc uk nw if relevant, pass URL to _cgi person. write timeline entry for cgi person. If necessary also inform #dispatch.

• stream scouts video listening to the video stream, make note of time, post or transcribe info on imc uk nw if relevant, pass URL to _cgi person. write timeline entry for cgi person. If necessary also inform #dispatch.

Liaising with global imc structures

• liaising with #dispatch inform #dispatch if we have confirmed news, if our news are unclear ask what they know, etc etc.

• working on #dispatch remote people (not on site) can help a lot in # dispatch - find out for yourself

• hosting #confirmed_reports coach people as to how to use the channel, depending on what was agreed, make it known on reporting imc lists.

• editing reports or write summaries of certain actions or entire days, post on imc uk nw, pass URL to cgi person.

• working on website dispatch, outgoing info

• cleaning feature of previous day timelines often look v chaotic, when they are finished. at end of the day or the next day, they can be cleaned up, links and pics added, research accurate places and incidents on dispatch, or other imc sites.

Flow of information

pretty much as described in TheMiracleOfCampaigns2. but more chaotic, only worked well in the end.

incoming info: to the dispatch no on site, to the uk contacts on desk. incoming info goes to #dispatch or to #uk.

is discussed there, pp try to confirm.

when confirmed, info goes to #confirmed_reports, sometimes even in a clear format, like: [CONFIRMED]time.place. xx happened.

from there, it's picked up by local imcs.

In reality, this often worked the other way round. If I got a message from a friend in Geneva or Lausanne, i put it straight up on the timeline. then other websources including imcs picked it up. This makes sense in a way - trust replaces the procedure which is necessary if you need to work with people you don't know. So sometimes, it's faster. After days and days online, I figured out which nicknames on irc do what, who is approachable for which questions or information. who does what they say they do. who understands my way of saying things and who doesn't. Who I can ask for help, and for what. Who is working on what I think is important, and who has other priorities at the moment. And most importantly, how to approach complete strangers on irc.

After the end of the protests, some people collected imc links on a twiki. Some imcs including imc uk produced round-ups.

-- IonNec - 18 Jun 2003
to top