Introduction ============ This document is intended to give you a simple explaination to what The Gathering (TG) is. You will get a brief overview to how TG has been previously, to what it has become now. In other words, a "Hitchhikers Guide to The Gathering". After having read this document, you will probably not be afraid to take the journey to The Gathering yourself, or to send your siblings there. If you are a potential attendant whose parents does not authorize your trip to TG, try to give them this document. Contents at a glance ==================== History: What is The Gathering? who is behind The Gathering? Previous Gatherings, and changes until today Who is the organizers of The Gathering, and what is KANDU? This year's TG: TG-tips: Packing list To the parent History ======= What is The Gathering? ---------------------- TG, short for "The Gathering", is a yearly event to get young people with an interest for computers and computer technology together, to share theories, meanings and be social face to face, in contrast to communicate via electronic media. TG was arranged for the first time in 1992. Back then, private internetting was not a common thing. Most of the communication between young people with an interest in the subject, took place in the local neighbourhood, or via bulletin board systems (BBS). The computer group Crusaders realised that there was a need for young computer freaks to communicate, so they decided to hold the first Gathering, TG92. This was helt in Skedsmohallen in Lillestroem, just outside of Oslo. It went off in the easter holidays, and it was a big hit, over 1000 people came to the hall that easter, and some time later that year, a mini party was arranged, TG92 light on Lillestroem High School, where over 500 people attended. It was then decided that The Gathering had a right of life, and even though the TG92 result was negative numbers, Crusaders decided to try again with TG93, same time next year, same place. TG92 did probably make an impact, because TG93 turned out to be quite bigger. Over 1500 people from all over the country attended. What is "Crusaders"? ----------------- Crusaders was (and is) a computer group established in 1988. All the members are polish strawberrypickers, who have picked strawberries on Norwegian soil many years before. They drove up here every single summer in their wrecked cars, and slept on the first and best camping that didn't refuse to let them stay. The days did of course go by, picking all the strawberries - and in the evenings they had some fun by raping Norwegian widows, preferably from Stroemmen outside Oslo. The summer of 1988 was a bit different for these guys, when one of them got a terrible disease, passing under the name "computer hooked". In addition, they were quite bored with all these stupid women, so in a deep alcoholic influenced state of mind, they determined that "Hey, let's start a computer group!". And that's exactly what they did. They didn't forget their bastards in Stroemmen either, so there they all moved together in a house. And since the deadline has passed for changing this guide has passed, and noone has objected to the above, then that's how it really happened. Previous TG, and changes ------------------------ On the first TG's, the demos was the cool stuff. A demo is, easily explained, a demonstration to what a computer group can come up with of programming, graphic design/effects and music, all with the help of a personal computer. The different groups were competing against eachother in different categories, also judged by file size. (How complicated could they make the demo without the size of the demo exceeding predetermined sizes of code.) There were also competitions in graphics and music seperately, and also something you wouldn't expect to see at a computer party; a football tournament !! There was also very much scouting for possible members for the different groups, where people were selected on the grounds of what they were able to come up with at the party. If someone had a question about anything, then it was possible to go around the tables and ask someone who was busy doing something interesting, and ask how on earth he could do that stuff. The first parties didn't have any internet access, and there wasn't even any organizer network between the computers, so all the swapping of demos and data happened with diskettes. This also gave the oppertunity for another competition, Throw-That-Floppy competition, where one had to throw floppy disks as far as possible. The lack of networking also made the party very social minded, since everyone took the time to go around and talk with other people, perhaps learning some new stuff. But one thing have we had all the way from the beginning - our very own movie theatre, showing laserdisc-movies in a little movie theatre. When the internet turned out to become something, and when the people not so involved in the computer scene got to know about it, The Gathering changed a bit. Games with network support and affordable network cards gave The Gathering a bit more commercial aspect, where less and less attention was given to the competitions, and more and more attention to copying demos and meeting those one had met online, face to face. The Gathering grew larger and larger for every year that passed, and was also held in different parts of the country, (TG94 in Rykkinnhallen in Baerum outside of Oslo, TG95 in Stavanger in the western part of the country) until TG96 was established in Vikingskipet (The Viking Ship Olympic Hall) in Hamar, witch in fact was the only hall large for us then. TG96 had over 3000 attendants, and was a major success. In addition did the hall in fact have a satisfactory growth potential in it, so The Gathering has been organized there every easter after that, and this year with over 4000 attendants. Who is the organizers of The Gathering, and what is KANDU? ---------------------------------------------------------- The Gathering experienced a huge growth, and after a few years one realized that a computer group couldn't keep up with it all alone. KANDU was established by members from Crusaders and other groups in the scene. Some of the point of KANDU was to show people outside the scene, and businesses and potential sponsors, what The Gathering is all about, and what impact this party has on people and society. KANDU is an acronym for Creative, Active Norwegian Computer Youth, and this group/society has a pont of contributing to expanded interest and stimulation of computer interested youth, using smaller arranged computer parties and The Gathering as a meeting point. They have also succeded in this, since TG now has grown adult, and has a recognition in society - there are plenty of talent scouts on every TG, looking around for new talents to give a good high-paid computer job in some computer business. Thanks to The Gathering. With an attendance of over 4000 persons, on a party going non-stop for 5 days, there is no need to say that there is a need for a crew to take care of all this. KANDU is a non-profit organization, and involves over 150 volunteers to organize The Gathering each year, all of them with different background and special areas of expertice. Every crewmember is as important as any other, and we have social events before and after the party. Crew is divided into special teams, that seperately have a juridstiction and an internal structure. On the top, the board of KANDU runs it all (admin), and under there they have different teams, each with a teamleader who has the responsability for his/her team, with from 6 to 56 people. The crew covers a broad spectrum of duties, from arranging a demo- competition to security in and around the hall. With close cooperation with the fire department, ambulance services and the police department, we do our best to make TG run so smoothly as possible. Our long experience in arranging the party makes us confident that any situation that would arise will be dealt with by experienced crewmembers. This year's TG ============== This year, like in 1996, The Gathering will be held in Vikingskipet in Hamar. We have settled in quite nicely there, and we have a good and stable cooperation with the hall owners and the local authorities. It all happens Wednesday, April 19th 9am, and shuts down Sunday, April 23rd at 4pm. Attendants must buy tickets in advance for NOK 475. Like last year, no discounts will be given to females anymore. Although there will be a discount for people travelling in from outside Scandinavia. Included in the ticket fee is tablespace, 80cm wide and 120cm deep, a chair to sit on and a connection to the network (10mbit TP). The attendants have to provide computer, monitor, network cable and every other thing they would need themselves during the party. Take a look at the checklist further down in this document. When you arrive at the hall, you are allowed access into a temporary expanded area sealed from the remains of the partyarea, where you'll have to stand in line (indoors) to get a access tag (bracelet) by providing your ticket. After you have this access tag, you are allowed access into the party area, and you can then carry in your equipment and all the other stuff you took along. All attendants will also get a goodie bag with a free t-shirt, CD-ROM with demos/ information and some other neat stuff. We will have a large number of crewmembers on duty, ready to answer any questions you might have regarding the party. After the worst pressure, our professional tech-team will be happy to help you with problems you might have connecting your computer, or connecting yourself to the network. After the first day, the temporary expanded area will be demounted, and the access checkpoint will be moved to the reception area, and there we will sell daytickets that your friends or family can buy to visit you and take pictures to send to your grandmother. And this is a splendid chance for you to show them what TG is really all about. Believe us, if you've never seen several thousand monitors glow in the dark at once, then you have something to look forward to. It is something really extraordinary. The Viking Ship is equipped with a large number of wardrobes and showers, and the seatings around the hall are perfect areas for sleeping. Please note that sleeping under/over the tables is strictly prohibited due to fire safety regulations, all sleeping of any kind must be done in the seating areas around the hall. If you would like a snack or a good meal, the cafeteria is open day and night during the party, selling food at a reasonable price. We also have several stands where you can buy special priced computer equipment, books, or even try the famous Megazone laser-tag game. We have our own ATM- machine where you can withdraw money, and the cafeteria and most of the stands are able to accept Bank-Axept cards (some even VISA/MC). The hall is not so far away from downtown Hamar (5-10 minutes), where you can find shopping malls with groceries, clothes and everything else that you'd need. Please note that shopping trollies are not allowed inside the hall. During the party, the Security team will guard the outside and inside of the hall, and they will deal with any irregularities that might come up. We also have our own Medic-team available that can deal with small injuries, mishaps, dehydration and other medical issues. They are in direct contact with the ambulance service in case serious medical emergencies should occour. TG-Tips ------- The Gathering is an incredibly large event, with lots of people with different backgrounds, every one with special needs and expectations. It is obvoius that one can be disoriented if one have never been to something like this, but it is pretty easy to prepare for it. The tips that follow are based on years of experience from both crewmembers and attendants, and we reccomend that you read them closely before you celebrate your easter with us! - Bring a sleeping bag, portable matress, towel and clean clothes. Sleeping is VERY IMPORTANT! Don't be foolish, a few hours sleep doesn't make you a coward. We can't stress this enough, so please pay attention when we say: *SLEEP*! It's also quite important that you take a shower and change clothes, nothing is worse than bad body hygiene. - Buy a little lockable box where you can put your valuables. Even though we try to avoid thefts, and realizing that most of us are honest, nice people, some people might fall for the temptation. - Don't travel by yourself! Go with someone, and sit with them. You can help each other out by looking out for the other guys' computers, and the whole thing is suddenly so much more social if you know someone there from before. - Bring a cellphone, and remember the charger. Then people can get ahold of you, like your friends at the party or even your parents. It also makes it much easier if you are getting visitors, ordering pizza or chinese from outside the hall and so on. - Buy Coca-Cola at a grocery store, you'll save money. Perhaps you also would like some bread/loaf and something to put on it? And of course some goodies, it is a holiday - remember? :-) - Always have some cash, even if you bring your credit/debit card. You are then able to function normally, in case you lose your card or something else goes wrong. - And again, REMEMBER TO GET SOME SLEEP! Packing list ------------ [ ] the ticket [ ] the computer [ ] power cords, sound cables, monitor cable, power pad [ ] a mouse and, for those who can't live without it, a mouse pad [ ] ear phones [ ] network card (NIC) that supports TP (Twister Pair) [ ] tooth brush, shaving tools, soap, deodorant [ ] the ticket [ ] towel (one or two) [ ] clean clothes, two or three shifts [ ] socks, and probably a couple of warm socks to have on top [ ] a bag or two to have the dirty laundry in [ ] food. We reccommend that you buy a sliced bread + things to have on it. Food will be sold at the party, but who can say no to some bread? [ ] Coca-Cola. You'll drink a lot of it. [ ] the ticket [ ] goodies. It's a holiday, and you'd like to have a good time [ ] money! This is very important! How much depends on yourself, but you'll always need more than you have. [ ] cellular phone, so mommy can talk to you. [ ] the ticket [ ] sleeping bag, matress, pillow [ ] floppy disks. yes, they are old, but you might need them [ ] pen and paper [ ] a camara, because noone will believe you when you say that you've been to the largest computer party in the world [ ] magazines/books. nice to have on the journey to and from... [ ] an easter egg [ ] the ticket [ ] picture ID, drivers licence, ATM-card [ ] sanitary pads and tampons (especially if you are female) [ ] condoms/birth control ;-) [ ] CD/casette with some groovy tunes, probably accompanied with a walkman/discman if you want to listen to it [ ] bus ticket/train ticket/airline ticket [ ] any medicines you need during the party [ ] THE TICKET!!! And you DO NOT need to bring these things: [ ] refrigirator [ ] microwave oven [ ] tent [ ] speakers the size of Trump Plaza [ ] 33" widescreen TV [ ] mommy To you who are sending your sibling to TG ----------------------------------------- Dear parent, Even though we cannot personally guarantee for your son or daughter's safety and wellbeing on The Gathering, we can guarantee to you that we'll do the best that we can so that he/she will have a great easter holiday and come home in one piece. We have 8 years of experience with parties like this, and our crew of over 150 professionals in all ages will do their best to make the party go like we want it to do. We have done this since 1992, and many of us started back then as attendants before we joined the crew to be a part of the organizers of the year's Biggest happening (with big 'B') We want, with this document, to provide people with information that they need to know for realizing what The Gathering is all about. We also want to stress that we during the pary will have information as one of our primary goals for providing for our attendants, visitors and parents, in any way possible. Before and during The Gathering, you are welcome to contact us if you have any questions about the party. We have a reception manned 24 hours a day, and a 24 hour hotline for those who want to call us. Due to practical reasons we would like all communication before the party to happen in email, but we will have a limited oppertunity to accept questions on phone number +47 22 20 59 53 Even though we have no age limit, we strongly reccomend that young people under the age of 16 doesn't attend alone. Although you know your children best, and are able to decide if your sibling should attend. In any cases you should provide him/her with a cellphone, so that you can get in direct contact in case that is desireable. As an extra precaution, please write down the ticketnumber that is printed on the ticket (or take a xerox copy of it) so that we can locate your siblings in those cases where we need to get in touch with them on behalf of you. WELCOME TO THE GATHERING 1900 with kind regards, KANDU, the organizers Written XX-MAR-2000 by FaceMan Translated 02-APR-2000 by Bosse