Ask About the Iraqi LUG

Yes, there is a Linux Users Group in Iraq. When it was first mentioned on Slashdot it only had two members. It's grown a little since then, as has The Iraqi Linux Group Portal. Adam Davidson, an American reporter in Baghdad who helped start the group, has agreed to answer your questions about Linux in Iraq. Please post only one question per comment. We'll email Adam 10 of the highest-moderated questions, and post his answers verbatim (except for HTML formatting) when he gets them back to us.

Linux and "Netscape" lead the statistics...

[tcopeland]

...right here [iraqilinux.org]. Netscape == Mozilla, and such, I bet.

Have to remember to check that page a day or two from now... there'll be a new "busiest hour", probably.

Re:Encryption

[Anonymous Coward]

Does this help? Iraq Sanctions [doc.gov]

Re:Wow!

[Frymaster]

One has to ask, would this have been allowed under Saddam Hussain?

well, according to the linux users journal, it sounds like it was. the article is here [linuxjournal.com] - you could have found it easily by reading the article.

additionally, it should be noticed that saudi arabia - a country that has consistently been in the top three worst regimes as far as human rights violations are concerned - has a lug as well [linux.org.sa].

Baghdad Internet Cafe

[TheSync]

I organized a chat [thesync.com] between the College Perk [collegeperk.org] coffeehouse near the University of Maryland and the Baghdad Internet Cafe [iraqbaghdad.net]. The Cafe has about 50 computers, and during the chat they had six people in the Cafe for an Internet training course.

They reported being able to buy cheap computers ("200 USD FOR P4"), but power was an issue - it goes down a lot - fortunately the Cafe has a generator.

I plan to do another chat with them in February.

It is important to keep in mind that during the mid-70's, Baghdad was practially a "European" city in terms of infrastructure, based on high oil prices and Saddam's desire to create a showplace for the glory of his regime. Things didn't really go downhill structurally there until the war with Iran, then Gulf War I, the sacntions, etc.

Also, a lot of businesses now depend on email for communications to and from Iraq, as the phone lines are often less than dependable.

The Baghadad Internet Cafe opened August 1. It is my feeling that it would not have been possible to have an open public Internet chat like the one we had before operation Iraqi Freedom without some kind of government political official there to monitor things. I'll have to ask next time.

Re:Mullah density in Iraq

[Arturus]

Well, since the Grand Ayatollah Sistani has his own website [sistani.org], I suspect that technology isn't viewed as being evil. The website's design is a bit evil (crazy browser resizing, whacked scrolling applets, etc.), but hey, good for him for having a website, and bonus points for having several language translations, including English.