Dear beefriends:
 
We would like to announce the birth of a new information service for those
involved with bees and beekeeping: the BEENET. This is a network of a number
of computerised bulletin board systems, which are totally or in part devoted
to bees and beekeeping. There are two major differences with the BEE-L
conference in BITNET:
 
1. no doubt there are many people around, who have no access to BITNET, as
they are no (longer) part of the academic community, and still can make an
interesting contribution to international discussions concerning the Varroa
problem or the role of beekeeping in developing countries, just to name a few
topics. These people can now use their computer with modem attached to the
telehone line at home to log in to the BEENET. The aim is, that eventually
there will be a BEENET member in most European countries, so that one can
always reach us, using only local telephone connections, while the system
operators of the member bulletin boards will take care, that messages are
dispersed to the other members abroad, on a regular basis. This way the
beekeepers of Europe will be able to keep up with the latest developments and
achievements of the scientific world.
 
2. While there is a great body of honeybee-information exchanged via the BEE-L
network, in BEENET there is also a possibility of exchanging 'bee-software';
already there are a few programs circulating, that vary from a computermodel
for a bee-colony BEEPOP, to a database program especially designed for the
beekeeper, BIDATA, to facilitatte such endeavours as selective breeding with
an eye on low Varroa incidence, higher honey yields, or friendly behaviour.
Also you can find in BEENET textfiles on subjects ranging from propolis usage
to honey-enzymes ( general overviews).
 
 
We would like to ask the readers of this message, if you can contribute any
bee-software that you are developing or have at your disposal.We would also be
glad to receive any articles, that have already been published; they wer
probably written on a computer in the first place- so its very little work to
put them on a floppy and into a sturdy enveloppe ore send a file by Internet.
 
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Floppies can be forwarded to:
The Bee BBS postbox 51008 1007 EA AMSTERDAM the Netherlands
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Mail  files by INTERNET to: [log in to unmask]
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Of course you can also log in to a BEENET-bbs, and upload your software:
   Holland: the B-BBS                   +31 20 6764105 (24 hrs a day)
   Danmark: APIMO-BBS                   +45 98 584061  (22.00-09.00 hrs)
   Sweden: CUCUMBER-BBS                 +46 21 333282  (24 hrs)
   Czechoslovakia: ECONNECT BBS         +42 2 802908   (24 hrs)
( these numbers are for computer and modem only) If you are able to start up a
bee bbs yourself, or know of an existing bbs with an interest towards bees and
beekeeping, do not hesitate to join the party. Just notify our headquarters at
the B-BBS( above), where you can download/request our welcome package
BEENET.ZIP, containing the nodelist , the info file, and the application form.
Also we would be more than happy to carry the newsletters of your local
bee-organisations. This would offer our users the opportunity to literally
'look over the border' of their own beekeeping community, and exchange views
with colleagues abroad.
 
 
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Staffan Strom
Address: Infanterigatan 6, S-171 59 SOLNA, SWEDEN
FAX  +46 8 6421047
INTERNET:  [log in to unmask]
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