A Virtual Global Community
One of the many hats that I've worn for the International Association of Wildland Fire is that of moderator for the FireNet listserv. FireNet is a free e-mail — based discussion and information-distribution system specifically serving the global wildland fire community. Because it is free and open to non-IAWF members means that the international participation is large, and while the emphasis is wildland fire, we have subscribers from a wide range of fire specialties.
FireNet wasn't originally the IAWF's idea. You may recognize the name FireNet as one of the oldest and most established wildland fire networks in the world. Originally managed by Dr. Chris Trevitt at the Australian National University, FireNet had enjoyed a significant following of wildland fire professionals going back to 1996.
In April 2002, the IAWF began a wildland-fire listserv called the IAWF Network. After discussions with Trevitt that June, we agreed to transfer management of FireNet to the IAWF and the IAWF Network was discontinued; Trevitt had decided that he didn't have the time to devote to the proper running of the listserv, and ANU was having difficulty dedicating the resources necessary for maintaining the listserv.
So, are you a FireNet subscriber already? I would hope so, but I know there are many members who don't participate in this free service. I encourage you to do so. FireNet is just one of the many ways (including WILDFIRE magazine, the peer-reviewed wildland fire — research publication The International Journal of Wildland Fire, and www.iawfonline.org), in which we try to fulfill our IAWF mission statement to “facilitate communication and provide leadership for the wildland fire community.”
So what happens if you become a subscriber? First you receive a welcome message. You also will receive monthly reminders concerning your user name and password and how to modify your subscription. After subscribing you will begin to receive occasional e-mails submitted by others in the global fire community network, including comments to queries for information, ideas, opinions and announcements, as well as important IAWF news. You will have the opportunity to post your own reasonable responses to these wide-ranging fire topics. What I hope you will not receive is more unwanted e-mail or spam; it is part of my job as moderator to view and eliminate unwanted solicitations sent to you via FireNet. One of the few rules I try to enforce is no blatant advertisements for commercial products or messages with degrading language or images. All posts are maintained in a historical archive and can be viewed by subscribers based on date, topic or author. Your e-mail address is maintained in a confidential subscriber file, which can only be accessed by a few, such as myself and the server operator, and is never given out.
So you are gone on a fire and your e-mail box is full, what happens then? As you might guess this happens frequently in our business. Subscribers e-mail boxes that are either full or otherwise no longer receiving messages eventually are deleted from the distribution list after a pre-set number of bounces. You can always re-subscribe if you have been unable to tend to your inbox housecleaning. Remember, FireNet is a free service.
Give FireNet a try and actively participate in the online discussions; you can easily sign up from our Web site.
International Assn. of Wildland Fire
P.O. Box 261
Hot Springs, S.D.
57747-0261
ph: 605-890-2348
fax: 206-600-5113
iawf@iawfonline.org
To join the IAWF, visit
www.iawfonline.org
Send them to:
Wildfire Magazine
330 N. Wabash Ave.
Suite 2300
Chicago, Ill. 60611
Attn: Lisa Allegretti
lisa.allegretti@penton.com
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