Chronology of SWARM

September 10, 1998

Linz, Austria

"We want all who walk the roads of truth to unite hearts."
–The Zapatistas

To our Indigenous sisters and brothers of other organizations:
To the Mexican people:
To the people and governments of the world:

Dear sisters and brothers here is a long tale for your enjoyment:

April 10

The Electronic Disturbance Theater initiates its first act of Electronic
Civil Disobedience to Stop the War in Mexico and in support of the
Zapatistas in Chiapas, Mexico, which are followed by actions, using its
FloodNet software, on May 10, June 10, June 28, July 3, July 19, and August
7. See http://www.nyu.edu/projects/wray/ecd.html for details.

End of April

Ricardo Dominguez of The Electronic Disturbance Theater writes a SWARM
proposal for the Ars Electronica Festival on InfoWar and communicates this
with festival organizers while they are visiting New York.

July 12

Stefan Wray of the Electronic Disturbance Theater arrived in Amsterdam and
began to inform cyber activists and artists about the ECD project and SWARM.

August 25, Tuesday

The Electronic Disturbance Theater issues first bulletin about the upcoming SWARM action on
September 9 and calls for a fall campaign of hybrid actions on the street and on the Net (http://www.nyu.edu/projects/wray/ecd.html).

September 4, Friday

Stefan Wray of the Electronic Disturbance Theater arrives in Linz, Austria in the late afternoon and
joins the HEART encampment (Hackers Electronic Art) outside the OpenX exhibit where from
where SWARM was activated.

September 5, Saturday

Announcements about the SWARM action on September 9 are crafted and begin to be sent out
over the Net late that night.

"In solidarity with the Zapatistas in Chiapas, Mexico, and with people everywhere struggling
against the global neoliberal economy, the Electronic Disturbance Theater calls for multiple
acts of Electronic Civil Disobedience (SWARM), on Wednesday, September 9, 1998.

"The Electronic Disturbance Theater issues this call in connection with its participation in the
Ars Electronica Festival on Infowar, held in Linz, Austria, from September 7 to 12.
(http://web.aec.at/infowar)

"Actions will begin on Sept. 9 at 11:00 a.m. (Linz time) for a 24 hour period. Other start
times are: Berlin 11:00 a.m.; London 10:00 a.m.; New York 5:00 a.m.; Mexico City 4:00
a.m.; and San Francisco 2:00 a.m.

"Our FloodNet software will target three web sites in Mexico, the United States, and Europe
representing three important sectors: government, military, and financial.

1) President Zedillo (http://www.presidencia.gob.mx)
2) The Pentagon (http://www.defenselink.mil)
3) The Frankfurt Stock Exchange (http://www.exchange.de)"

September 6, Sunday

Ricardo Dominguez of the Electronic Disturbance Theater arrives in Linz, Austria at 3:30 a.m. after
a 5 day train trip from Revolting in Manchester, England (http://yourserver.co.uk) where he
presented a workshop and a panel on Electronic Civil Disobedience and spread news of the
upcoming SWARM action against Mexico President Zedillo, the Pentagon, and the Frankfurt
Stock Exchange.

Spanish versions of SWARM announcements are distributed via email

Electronic Disturbance Theater announced to the micro-power radio movement in the United
States that it is prepared to release versions of FloodNet that can be applied during the upcoming
"Showdown" with the Federal Communications Commission in Washington, DC on October 4
and 5.

September 7, Monday

SWARM installation is completed. Disturbance Theater meets with Ars Electronica press office to
attempt to obtain email addresses of journalists.

Critiques of FloodNet from within hacker community begin to be raised. One element of this
critique is that FloodNet will not only impact targeted web sites but also begin to clog up the
pipelines between participants computers and targeted sites

September 8, Tuesday

Ricardo Dominguez and Stefan Wray meet with members of the HEART and other hackers to
discuss the efficacy of the FloodNet software from a technical perspective. It is agreed that the
hackers and critics will write a statement outlining their concerns

After meeting with HEART hackers and others, Dominguez and Wray test FloodNet by activating
it on 16 machines in the OpenX. There appears to be no problem with using this number of
machines.

RTMARK distributes announcement about the SWARM action to a massive list of email
contacts.

"In solidarity with the Zapatistas in Mexico, the Electronic Disturbance Theater will launch its
FloodNet software against the web sites of Mexican President Zedillo, the Pentagon, and
the Frankfurt Stock Exchange on Wed., September 9, from its base at the Ars Electronica
InfoWar Festival. These actions are part of the Electronic Disturbance Theater