TribesmanJohn 🇦🇺🌏👨🏼‍💻📷

I’ve now posted on my blog about the Community Information Network from a couple of weeks ago.

https://blog.tribesmanjohn.au/2025/05/remembering-the-community-information-network/

Thank you again for everyone who reached out to me for tips, information and even just boosting the post.

I am hoping to post again soon, this time detailing my Internet journey since first going online. Might be another memory trip for some people for some of the ISPs that no longer exist :)

#blog #oldinternet #australia #tasmania #1990s #internet

Remembering The Community Information Network

I consider myself lucky to have been part of a generation of humanity that existed before the world wide web and to experience its early years and the transformative effects that it has had on gene…

TribesmanJohn.au
May 22 at 10:27amWeb
Show threadDavid CoombeMay 22
@bcshort That’s a fascinating piece of internet history. I don’t remember it myself but it’s interesting that it centred around Department of Social Security DSS and was an Australian trial.
Show threadTribesmanJohn 🇦🇺🌏👨🏼‍💻📷May 22
@david_coombe_cbr I know right? :) There were quite a few interesting things happening around that time, with Tasmanian senator Brian Harradine having a lot of influence in parliament during that time period.
Show threadDavid CoombeMay 22

@bcshort John, you may already have these but from my Trove search this morning these interesting items ...
https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/128285016?searchTerm=internet%20email%20community%20dss
https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/245805541/26991526?searchTerm=internet%20email%20community%20dss

And "Community Information Network" search results from inception in June/July 1995 to decommissioning in Feb 1997:
https://trove.nla.gov.au/search/advanced/category/newspapers?keyword=%22Community%20Information%20Network%22&date.from=1995-01-01&date.to=1997-03-31&sortBy=dateAsc

Computers & Communications - Big high-tech spender - The Canberra Times (ACT : 1926 - 1995) - 3 Jul 1995

A $4.5 BILLION investment in information technology has allowed United Parcel Service (UPS) to maintain its ...

Trove
Show threadDavid CoombeMay 22
@bcshort And more in other Trove categories - even videos on VHS (not online unfortunately), such as:
https://trove.nla.gov.au/search/advanced/category/research?keyword=%22Community%20Information%20Network%22 and
https://trove.nla.gov.au/search/advanced/category/music?keyword=%22Community%20Information%20Network%22
Trove

Australia’s free online research portal. Trove is a collaboration between the National Library of Australia and hundreds of Partner organisations around Australia.

Show threadDavid CoombeMay 22
@bcshort And archived websites:
https://trove.nla.gov.au/search/advanced/category/websites?keyword=%22Community%20Information%20Network%22%20dss
Trove

Australia’s free online research portal. Trove is a collaboration between the National Library of Australia and hundreds of Partner organisations around Australia.

Show threadDavid CoombeMay 23
@bcshort so this has further prompted my memory ... I was working in IT at DSS in February - November 1995. I also remember it was there that I realised the internet was going to be a big thing (no points there!). I would've been seeing the Community Information Network material there - including the job in the gazette.
Show threadTribesmanJohn 🇦🇺🌏👨🏼‍💻📷May 23

@david_coombe_cbr Again thank you for all this! :) I’ve updated the blog post with your information :)

Hindsight is such a curse for the Internet. So much of the early web is lost forever, or buried away in the darkest depths of old disks and cds.

Only now I think people are beginning to realise the importance of what has been lost.

Show threadDavid CoombeMay 23
@bcshort you're welcome! thanks for investigating. yes much went as we updated our websites to look better. ah, those coloured buttons :-)
Show threadTribesmanJohn 🇦🇺🌏👨🏼‍💻📷May 22
@david_coombe_cbr Awesome! Thanks for finding these David!