by Stephen R. Lee, OooWoo Racing Kennel
This article is copyright 1996 by Stephen R. Lee. It may not be reproduced without written consent of the author.
(This article has been published in ISDRA INFO, Vol. 27, No. 2, Feburary 1996)
The World Wide Web. The Information Superhighway. The Internet. Cyberspace. The Net. Most of us have heard these terms. Some of us deal with them on a daily basis. Others hear them on their nightly news programs. All of these terms refer to the global network of computers and databases, providing the ability to retrieve information and communicate with individuals anywhere on the planet. Once the purview of the scientific community, the internet is now within the grasp of most everyone, everywhere. Anyone with even a modestly powerful computer, modem, and a phone line can, within a few minutes, download images, documentation, and information on virtually any topic imaginable. At the present time, the internet is still a growing and changing medium. Events and advances happen in this medium at a staggering pace. The vastness of the resource and the speed with which information flows is unprecedented.
The fact that the internet has touched the world of mushing is not particularly new. Mushing magazine is on-line (at http://www.polarnet.com/Users/Mushing/), and the Yukon Quest and the Iditarod both have home pages on the internet (http://www.imagi.net/quest/ and http://info.alaska.edu:70/ls/Alaska/iditarod , respectively), and so on. If the internet could be described in one word, that word would be interactive. It is now. As a result, the mushing community has a plethora of current information and interactive live communication and discussion of current issues within its grasp. For example, the sleddog-l mailing list is an electronic mailing list consisting of over 300 individuals from around the world. This list, started November 1993 by Margaret Bonham, Sky Warrior Racing Kennels in Colorado, provides an interactive forum for anyone to ask questions, receive answers, and share experiences and information world- wide. On any given day, an individual who "posts" (or sends) a question to this mailing list can expect to receive dozens of replies within a few minutes. When I started mushing several years ago, it would have been invaluable to have access to such instant and unlimited information; but it did not exist at the time. This electronic forum is but a single example of the sort of interactive information available to us today.
In addition to this live forum, there are web pages around the world devoted to mushing. Web pages are a special kind of active electronic document, containing images and words with "hot links" that, when selected, take you to different topic areas or information repositories in different locations around the world. A web search of keywords "mushing" or "sled dog" yields dozens of hits on web pages with legitimate mushing content. Many of these pages contain links to dozens of other repositories for information. A few years ago, such a search would have yielded nothing. Now, people interested in mushing literally have the entire world at their fingertips. One such noteworthy project is the Junior Mushers School and Clubhouse (JMSC). The JMSC is a world wide web page (http://www.rt66.com/~srlee/JUNIOR) devoted to children, young adults, and junior mushers. Started by Tim White and myself, the purpose of this page is to enhance the proficiency of junior mushers, expand and improve the level of participation and competition in races, events, and other activities in the sport. The JMSC is committed to helping the junior musher hone his or her mental skills, and increase their ability to communicate and work well with their dogs as a team. We strive to provide the best and latest information about equipment, nutrition, and the care and training of sled dogs. Information on this page is dynamic, and new information is being compiled from a variety of sources all the time, including feature articles from famous mushers, new blackboard teaching lessons, and so on. Young visitors will also have the opportunity to ask questions or request information. Questions will be screened and selected, and funneled to an appropriate individual for reply. Although started by Tim and myself, this page is really a world-wide collaboration, pooling information and individuals from a wide variety of mushing backgrounds. While the primary focus of this page is on the junior musher and kids world-wide interested in learning about the sport, we also welcome the beginning musher who will also benefit from the information on this page. We plan on providing information about our sport in the form of curricula that can be used formally in the classroom, as well as information that will benefit anyone looking to learn about mushing. The categories, or "virtual rooms," in the clubhouse range from race schedules and race results to feature articles on training and equipment. Work is ongoing on this page, and many enhancements are planned for the future, making the JMSC an even more interactive and useful free service to the global community.
There are also a variety of frequently asked questions (FAQ in net-speak) available on-line from a variety of web sites, including my own home page, the JMSC, and others. Lists of reference books, equipment suppliers, typical training questions, how to get started, the basics, and so on are immediately available to anyone, anytime, for free. In addition, specific information on any dog breed, including Siberian Huskies and Alaskan Malamutes, are also available on-line. There are a variety of newsgroups (such as rec.pets.dogs.activities, rec.pets.dogs.breeds) and other mailing lists (sibernet-l, malamute, and so on) available to all. Once again, providing links, pointers, and instant access to information about any dog breed or canine-related activity in the world. All of this information is extremely valuable, and available world wide on the internet. This benefits the mushing community tremendously. Many would-be rookie mistakes are eliminated simply because information is readily available, more so than when most people currently in the sport began, including myself. For me, being in New Mexico, a somewhat "mushing-poor" state, information was scarce, making my initiation into the sport a more difficult trial and error process. The internet provides a solution to this problem, connecting us all in a global digital village, so that we can easily share experiences and information.
The internet is a resource that can promote, teach, and instruct. It is an excellent way to publicize races and educate the public about our sport. However, it is more than just a promotional tool. We, in the mushing community, need to learn to be fluent in this new medium, and use it to reach out to the world, pool our collective resources, and advance our sport. This is a unique moment in history, one in which the opportunities for such communication abound. The foundations are being laid today. No one really knows that the future holds for the internet. With the advent of newer innovations on the net, like Java, web pages are becoming more interactive. I envision children and adults running a race, caring for dogs, learning about our sport, and getting a meaningful, lasting impression of mushing, all within cyberspace. This form of "virtual mushing" can instruct young and old, beginner and veteran. I encourage all to get plugged in and "surf the net." The internet will be of increasing importance to our sport, and it is up to us in the mushing community to use it wisely.