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Scouting the Net
In case you missed it, practical access to the Net came to Clarion last spring, first from Penncom and then, just weeks later, from Clarion Net. For years I had paid exorbitant phone bills to be part of CompuServe, but it just cost too much and was too clunky to be a practical means of accessing the web of computers known as the Internet. Within hours of Penncom’s coming on-line, I had signed up and was taking my first steps toward fluency with this new mode of communication. Now, from my computer, I dial a local phone number that connects me to a modem located at Computer Products Company, behind the Post Office. From there, my computer signals travel over a big fat communications cable to Warren, where the actual Penncom computers are located. These computers are, in turn, connected to a vast communications network that links tens of thousands of other, similar, computers all over the world. During the past six months, I have learned how to get around the Net; how to find pages of information on nearly any topic, how to join groups of people who have interests similar to mine, and how to create my own web pages. Somewhere, at the other end of the wire, are my friends and customers, people at Penncom who help me when I get confused, and software pros who answer my questions and provide me with this week’s version of their products. There are also lots and lots of Scouts and Scouters. Early on, I found that there are over 150 Scout troops with web sites, places where you can see what troops in California, London or Sydney are up to. There are also vast repositories of Scouting information. One site has 200 Scout Songs, among which I found Ghost Chickens in the Sky, a song that our troop now sings at nearly every campfire. Other pages taught me how to run a successful campfire, how to conduct group singing, and how to tell a shaggy dog story --- all useful Scoutmaster skills. If I have a question or problem relating to Scouting, there are news groups and on-line wise men who are more than willing to advise me. All of this for the price of a local phone call! The other side of the net experience is the dissemination of information and ideas. After a month or so of reading other people’s home pages, I decided to make one of my own. The process took about a week to master, and I now have not one, but about 35 pages that tell of my software, and relate small adventures that I have had over the years. Penncom was good enough to donate the account and computer space needed to set up a web site for Troop 51. My son, Pete, and I have worked on this together. If you have access to the net, search for Hufnagel Troop 51 to find the troop’s web site. There you will find all of the articles that I have written for the Clarion News these past months. You will also find a list of Scouts who have contacted us from all over the world. These boys are looking for pen pals on the net, and we provide a sort of clearing house that they can use in making first contact with one another. Here too, you will find links that will lead you to other Scouting sites and to my own home page. Perhaps the most novel thing that you can find on the troop’s home page is the SLAW Game. This is a little program that Pete and I wrote. In it, the words of the Scout Law (trustworthy, loyal, helpful, etc.) fly around on your computer screen, and you steer a little bee (Bee Prepared) to collect them in the correct order. We put SLAW on the troop’s website a few months ago, thus making it freely available to anyone who wants to try it for themselves. Since then, hardly a week goes by without the arrival of an emailed “Thank You” from someone it has helped. The last bit of email I got today was from just such a person, a Cub Scout Den Leader in Boston. He had copied the SLAW game and distributed it to all his Cubs. He wrote that the boys had enjoyed playing the game, and that, at a full pack meeting, a visiting Boy Scout had asked if any of the Cubs knew the Scout Law. Immediately, one of his boys had shot to his feet and rattled it off like a pro!
So, something that Pete and I did for fun ended up helping a Cub
Scout in Boston show off his stuff and make his friends and
leaders proud. Who wouldn’t be happy at that, and pleased with
the wonderful new way of touching people’s lives that made it
possible. |
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Today,
I logged onto the Net and grabbed my email as usual. There were
messages from customers with problems, notes requesting
information on the programs I write and sell, and an
advertisement for a homemade flying saucer
--- complete plans just
$50! There was also another message, one that made me happy and
especially pleased with the World Wide Web.