The ASCII is a project for a people's communication lab in squatted buildings in Amsterdam.

ASCII is set up using recycled old computers and using free software to bring broader access to technology for everybody. ASCII is a collective of free and autonomous thinkers, technically and politically aware hackers and free software developers.

ASCII in Javastraat is no more

The  ASCII  location in Javastraat 38HS, Amsterdam Oost has been closed and    given    over    to    the   citywide-active   group   Assadaaka who  is reopening  the venue and fill it with their own program and activities.

ASCII  is  not  dead  and  activities will still continue online and in other  hacktive  spaces.  It is felt by the people involved that offering a free interenet workspace in Amsterdam is not a priority anymore, because of the near ubiquitous and cheap access in the city nowadays.

Projects and workshops can be done more efficiently by using existing spaces  without  the  overhead  of  maintaining a workspace, especially since  the  ASCII hackers are active in various places of the squatter's community, and elsewhere in the world.

In  case you have a space to host our workshops please communicate your availability  to  ascii  \@/  squat.net.  We are keen to share technical knowledge  and skills with hacktivists and squatter collectives, in the Netherlands  and  around  the world. For those who are out of reach, we will  do  our  best  to  produce documentation and share our skills and ideas online.

Alternative computer  workplaces  and  free  internet access based on free software remain available in the Amsterdam area and beyond:

• Bollox
  
• Chequepoint
  
• Joe's Garage
  
• Multipleks (Leiden)
  
• PUSCII (Utrecht)
• Vrankrijk
  

Where,  when,  and  whether ASCII will reopen as a public space will be determined  in  the future, based on need and participation of new people, if you want to be one of them don't miss our next gathering.

Thanks  to  all those who supported us, gave us new input, lent purpose to  our activities or came to learn and to exchange knowledge.

We'll be seeing you again some day - ASCII

Why ASCII?

ASCI is about helping and sharing. Software, the neighbourhood, the city: many things get better if we all chip in. Knowledge is there to share, and only together can you change the world.

Here we help people that try to make the city more interesting. We help them use the Internet, for example by helping them put their own information online. ASCII is also home to the people building wireless networks connecting computers all over Amsterdam. No expensive corporate megaprojects, but no-budget Do-It-Yourself. Have a look inside: it all works like a charm. Fast internet using nothing but a small antenna on the roof.

We also help everyone that wants it build, repair and understand their own computer. There's plenty of people in this town for whom a new computer is too expensive, yet prefectly useable computers are trashed every day. All computers here are former 'trash'. We've put Linux on them, which is just like Windows, except much better, free and made by people like you and me. We believe that if everyone is forced to use Windows, then computers and the Internet will eventually only be used in the way Microsoft wants them to be used. Besides: Linux is usually much faster than Windows, and thus runs fine on PCs which are too old to run Windows.

Why squat?

First of all: We'd love to have our own place, and we can even pay a moderate rent for it.

Cities are just like the Internet sometimes: it's the small non-commercial initiatives that make it interesting. If every space that has people walking in front of it is only rented at inflated 'commercial' rates, then the people in the city will only see overpriced commercial things. It may sound radical and old-fashioned, but a right-wing national government and a weak city government are wrecking this city, and they have been for years. All non-commercial initiatives in this town are being kicked out using high rents, an abundance of rules & regulations and evictions that do not serve the interests of the neighbourhoods.

As far as this place is concerned: It was empty for seven years before we squatted it. Shady owner, even more shady renter. Would have become a restaurant or something, but they couldn't get the paperwork organized, or so they say. So they left it empty all that time. We've only seen the renter in the beginning, when he came with some friends, threatened us and threw a bicycle through the window. Probably nice people once you get to know them though ...

Have a good look at this initiative. This is where young people work hard to make this city more fun and interesting, and to keep both the city and the Internet accessible for small initiatives of their inhabitants. We ourselves are a diverse mixture of old and new Amsterdammers from all over Europe and beyond. We'll do everything we can to prevent it from happening, but if this city does turn into the commercial hell they want it to become, we're almost sure _we_ have some place else to go. So even if they do succeed in bullying ASCII out of town, who will have lost?

Come on in ...

... if you are working to improve the neighbourhood. We might be able to help: after all we do know a few things about computers, the Internet, wireless networking and such.

... if you do not have money for a new computer and are wondering whether that old PC in the corner is still good for something.

... if you're up for playing with the Internet but have no ADSL or phone.

... if you want to discover you can do all that stuff yourself.

... if you want to show us your web site.

... if you want to help us out.

... if you dare.

... if ...