The first scribble anthology appeared before I ever read the echo, far less participated in it. Subtitled: Poetic Dandruff combed from cyberspace, and introduced by 'The Queen of Scribble', Christine Schiff, who was then moderator of the echo, this publication contained an illuminating foreword by Brian Wrigley. In it, he explains such things as Bulletin Boards, Modems, Echoes and FidoNet. Not, as it is here being used, to explain these things to the Internet Community, but rather to an audience not used to the idea of computers at all. This was, after all, not so very long ago.
Brian's foreword is reproduced here with his permission.
scribble
poetic dandruff, combed from cyberspace
The poems in this book first appeared in 'Cyberspace'. 
Cyberspace. The information Superhighway. Electronic Bulletin Boards. Terms like these conjure up images of a culture apart from everyday life, a high-tech culture of computers and wires and people hunched over consoles in dimly lit rooms in the middle of the night. A culture beyond the comprehension of ordinary people, where the denizens speak in bits and bytes, not words. 
      Some of that is true. More and more, though, ordinary people are using their computers and phone lines to keep in touch with their friends - across town, up and down the country, around the world. Or to make new friends. Or discuss issues that interest them with strangers. Or swap recipes. Or share their thoughts in the form of poems. 
      That's the environment this book comes from: the computer technology is just the medium, replacing the paper or radio or television signals of other media. Using a computer and modem to dial a bulletin board and send a message simply replaces writing a letter, making a film or printing a newspaper. 
      This book is a compilation of poems that were first published on electronic bulletin board systems (BBSs) by their authors, for readers to enjoy, and perhaps comment on. Once posted on one BBS, in an area called Scribble, set aside for poetry, they are automatically sent around New Zealand to other members of a network of BBSs called Fidonet. The same poems appear, within a day or two of their original posting, on every Fidonet BBS in New Zealand that has a Scribble area. 
      You will see strange little clusters of punctuation in some pieces: these are not mistakes: they are 'emoticons", designed to convey concisely, in a medium where tones of voice, facial expression and body language are absent, a hint of what the author is feeling. Usually a smiling or frowning face on its side. There are many variations on the theme, and entire poems can be written with them. Another unique feature of this electronic medium is its interactivity. Some poems have two authors, with lines written by one interspersed with those by the other. These interactive poems arise when one person posts a poem, then a second writer develops the same theme by starting with some or all of the original poem, then adding and intermingling his or her own lines. 
      Every day, poets around New Zealand and around the world are displaying their latest works in Scribble and similar electronic conferences. If you enjoy this book, and maybe have a poem or two of your own to share, then get on your computer and modem, dial a Fidonet BBS and look for Scribble, or Poetry and Writing , and if it's not there, ask the system operator if he or she can arrange to get it for you. 
BRIAN WRIGLEY

A stylish writer with a delightful sense of the absurd. He has a sharp eye, sharp wit, and knows well how to turn a phrase.  He's a lively debater 'of  whom I stand in awe."

His fluid prose, neat turns of mind and phrase, and complete sang froid have kept Scribblers on their toes for year. 

He is well known to Auckland BBSers as a technical assistant to the sysop of 'Hairless Girls' and long time supporter,  promoter of scribble the echo and of  NZ_Fidonet .
 

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