The News-Times, Vol 111, No. 362, Thursday, Dec. 29, 1994 Danbury CT
Robert Miller; The News-Times Staff Writer

In the Danbury area, people with a computer, a phone and a modem can hook up to Hatter's Park - a free computer bulletin board that specializes in AIDS, as well as other topics for gays, lesbians and those exploring other lifestyles.

"The purpose goes beyond just creating a bulletin board," said its system operator, Bill Hausler. "There's been so much negative publicity about pornography being sent on computer bulletin boards. But most of us are supplying real information."

Hausler started Hatter's Park about two years ago; there are about 545 people who use it, with messages being carried from as far away as Australia, Europe and Canada.

While is supplies a place for people to discuss a range of activities from alternative healing to Wiccan fellowships, from Alcoholics Anonymous to gay lifestyles, it's also the local carrier of the AIDS Education General Information System Network.

AEGIS is the work of Sister Mary Elizabeth, an Episcopalian nun who lives in San Juan Capistrano, Calif. The network provides the most complete non-government resource of AIDS information in the United States, compiling articles and governement reports from around the world and offering them free to AEGIS users.

"We're in at least 40 countries, 45 states, Australia and three provinces of Canada," Sister Mary Elizabeth said. "With a single phone call, people can have access to 27 publications, to organizations like the Centers for Disease Control and the National Institute of Health, and to the White House Bulletin Board. I've been quite surprised at the number of people in high places who use it."

Sister Mary Elzabeth started AEGIS four years ago after her order sent her to the Missouri Ozarks to manage a herd of dairy cows. The cows were all under lien and had to be sold; but there she met a couple of people with AIDS who were completely isolated in the rural surroundings.

"There were still party lines, so that phone calls weren't private." she said. "It was still a rural delivery postal system, so it wouldn't take long for people in town to learn what mail was being delivered. And the nearest hospital was 34 miles away, so there really was no medical care."

Having sold the cows, Sister Mary Elizabeth - who is a computer consultant - returned to California and started AEGIS. She now works on it from about 5 a.m. to 11 p.m., seven days a week.

"It's grown beyond my wildest expectations," she said. "It started out on two bulletin boards and now it's on more than 100."

In an effort to assist in Sister Mary Elizabeth's work, the Burger King on Newtown Road will hold a benefit Jan 29 starting at 2 p.m. The restaurant will donate 20 percent of all sales to AEGIS.

The Hatter's Park bulletin board gets AEGIS via a computer user in Newtown who picks it up from a satellite broadcast. He sends it over phone and modem to a Woodbury fan, who sends it to Newtown; from there it goes to Hausler.

"There's no toll calls involved," Hausler said. "Everybody said 'Hey, we'll cooperate.'"

Hausler allows the participants of his bulletin board to sign on anonymously if they like; about 40% use an alias or give no name at all, he said.

Hausler allows the people signing on to discuss sex and sometimes, he said, "it can get racy." But given that AIDS is often transmitted during sex, Hausler said, "It's better to have people talking."

Hausler spends about four to six hours a day running Hatter's Park on a strictly volunteer basis.

"These small bulletin boards don't attract the numbers," he said. "But they're independent and they're free."

To participate in the Hatter's Park bulletin board system, Hausler said, a person must have a computer, a modem and communications software that is readily available. The person can then call the bulletin board's number - 744-0179 - hook his phone to the modem and start scanning or sending messages. There is no charge.

Copyright (c) 1994 - The News-Times. Reproduced with permission. Reproduction of this article (other than one copy for personal reference) must be cleared through the Permissions Desk, The News-Times, 333 Main Street, Danbury, CT 90510.
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