It was the second day of the Persian Gulf War, and the TV networks were reporting that Iraq had just launched a series of scud missiles at Israel. While viewers around the world watched their televisions for updates, Nati joined a few hundred people who were discussing the launch on Internet Relay Chat.
Room is sealed.
As TV anchors reported explosions in Tel Aviv and the NBC correspondent in Jerusalem donned a gas mask, Nati answered questions and offered his own updates before logging off to spend time with his family. The concern didn't stop there. And so, presumably, was everyone who logged in that evening. Instead of merely watching the news, they had jacked into the Net and become part of it. Rather than waiting for the morning paper to bring them stories of people affected by the war, they went out and found them online.