Categories

Happy international smile day! To mark this day, we would like to share with you a snippet from one of our newsletters in ’97 about the use of emoticons.

April 1997
EMOTICONS

———

These are “emotion icons” and are used to convey feelings in such things as email and postings to newsgroups, just to name a few. The standard smiley : ) usually conveys happy bright feelings with
whatever was said. For instance, Australians seem to use insults to convey how much they like someone, but when used in email, especially if being read by someone who is feeling a bit niggley, “you old so and so” can be taken as a real insult. The addition of a smiley, “you old so and so. : – )” lets the reader know how the other person intended the email to read.

Then there are these <G> or *G* for a “grin” or sometimes even <grynne> and yet again, these <BG> <EG> <VEG> <VBG> representing big grin, evil grin, very evil grin, and a very big grin. I even know of someone who might qualify for <VBEG> – a very big evil grin.

Other emoticons are: : – D laughing, : – 7 wry, : – > sarcastic, : – P cheeky, ; – ) winking, : – o shocked. There are many variations, and experimentation can produce some pretty clever comments in themselves.

Annette

:) :-D :P

As an organisation with a proud heritage deep-seated in advocacy, we are pleased to share our most recent submissions:

If you have any comments or would like to find additional information about the above, please email us at policy@internet.asn.au

 

There are clearly a lot of people stuck at home on the internet right now and this is being reflected across our traffic statistics, with us hitting all time highs. We are hitting higher rates across NSW-IX to the point we will be looking to do a nice big upgrade as soon as we can, as well as finally upgrade our core switch in Melbourne. Recent firmware upgrades in other states mean that 100Gbps ports are available everywhere and these are being consumed with gusto! It’s also interesting to see the blips due to our various leaders and their daily covid updates, with New Zealand’s Prime Minister shifting the dial more than our state Premiers or Prime Minister. It’s fair to say that the Kiwi migration of broadcast television onto their fixed broadband network probably plays a significant part, but it sure is interesting to see these social factors being played out on our networks.

I must admit that looking at our traffic graphs is far more interesting than economic models of NBN Co’s business, but this area is a key part of our advocacy right now. The ACCC is reviewing the standard access undertaking leading to a potentially all new pricing regime for the NBN. As we delve further into the detail on this, we will hopefully draw comparisons with other industries to see how regulation has affected the various wholesale markets. Again, if any IAA members have a view on this process, please let me know.

Last month also had me doing a couple of deep dive presentations – one for staff in the Department of Communications (How the Internet Works) and the other jointly with the ACS (The Internet 2021 and Beyond). I realised just how much I’ve been missing those regular industry catch ups at conferences and the like where everything internet is debated, as it seemed a lot harder this time round to pull together observations on where we’re at with internet technology and regulation. If anyone has any new networks they want to show off or neat software solutions to networking problems perhaps it is time for you to propose a topic for our next event!

This year’s Annual General Meeting is yet to be announced as we navigate through the rapidly changing Covid-19 situation. Traditionally our AGMs have been held in line with the AusNOG conference however, due to its postponement, our AGM will be held separately this year.

As you may be aware, we are in the process of transitioning to a company limited by guarantee which will also see changes to future AGMs. Please be assured that any changes will be communicated via email in due course.

If you have any queries, please do not hesitate to contact us at secretary@internet.asn.au

This year we launched our IAASysters@AusNOG program. This program is based on the international systers.org and systers@IETF programs and offers ten sponsored attendees the opportunity to participate in both the Australian Network Operators Group (AusNOG) conference and our IAASysters@AusNOG workshop.

We are passionate about cultivating a more inclusive Internet industry and have created the IAASysters@AusNOG program to support and enable women to access the valuable technical content and business networking opportunities that come from the AusNOG conference.

Sponsored attendees will receive:

  • Economy airfares to Sydney and three nights accommodation for interstate participants
  • Admission to the AusNOG conference – provided by AusNOG (December 8-9)
  • Admission to the IAASysters@AusNOG workshop (December 7)
  • A one-year complimentary Professional membership to IAA – subject to Board approval.

An essential part of our program is the IAASysters@AusNOG workshop. This is a one-day event; offering targeted technical and presentation skills training in addition to a career planning session delivered by industry professionals, designed to help you advance your career.

Whether you are at the beginning of your career, yet to begin or starting again, the IAASysters@AusNOG program offers a variety of opportunities designed to boost your knowledge, skills, and confidence.

Due to the current Covid-19 situation in New South Wales, the program dates have changed to be in line with the AusNOG conference in December.

Details for the IAASysters@AusNOG workshop:

Date: Tuesday, 7 December 2021
Time: 9:00am AEDT – 3:00pm AEDT
Location: The Fullerton Hotel, Sydney

Applications close on 31 Sunday, October 2021, 5:00pm AEDT.

For more information or to apply, please visit the IAASysters@AusNOG information page on our website.

Program Sponsors

The IAASysters@AusNOG Program is proudly brought to you with the help of our sponsors.

We are pleased to announce that members of the Association voted to support the proposed transition to a company limited by guarantee at the Special General Meeting held Wednesday 28 July 2021.

The process of deregistration from the Associations Incorporation Act 2015 (WA) has been authorised by the WA regulator, and we have submitted the paperwork to register under the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) as a company limited by guarantee.

We would like to say a special thank you to all the members that contributed to this process, providing input through our various member consultations and workshops, taking the time to vote and attend the meeting.

Another fantastic event done and dusted in 2021. During this joint event with the Australian Computer Society (ACS), our very own, Narelle Clark, took us on a journey through all things Internet, guided by the theme ‘how it started and how it’s going.’ Beginning with a brief introduction of IAA, we heard about technology, architecture, service, regulatory and social issues, finishing off with some of the important lessons learnt from 2020.  This event is one not to be missed!

If you weren’t able to attend, don’t worry, we have you covered! You can catch the recorded live stream on our Facebook page or Youtube channel.

To keep informed about more fantastic IAA events, stay connected with us on our social media channels  (Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter) and be sure to keep an eye on our newsletters and member emails.

 

 

During the month of August, both IAA and New Zealand Internet Exchange (NZIX) hit new records across their exchanges. With half of Australia in lockdown, we hit a new record of 790Gbps over the weekend ending Sunday, August 22, 2021, breaking our previous record of 750Gbps.

In comparison, as lockdown commenced across the ditch, so too did the spikes in traffic across AKL-IX and CHC-IX, with Auckland reaching an all-time high of 341Gbps with plenty of room to spare. The peaks continued across the remainder of the week finishing off with a Friday afternoon high of 335Gbps.

Primus DC, located at 55 King Street, Melbourne, is closing, and we have been advised that we need to vacate the premises by 30 September 2021. Unfortunately, this means members with ports within the data centre will be affected as we will no longer be offering services from this facility after that date.

Rest assured that we are working hard to ensure service continuity despite the closure and request that members with a current service at 55 King Street migrate to any of our other sites on VIC-IX. All location options can be found on our website. Hopefully, you’ve already seen the relocation of the route server from that site, and a shorter ring transit time with our rearrangements already completed.

If you require any further information or assistance with your migration, please get in touch at peering@internet.asn.au Time is running out!