Raving on the Internet

Few groups are as aware of the potential of the World Wide Web as Canada's computer-literate rave community (see pages 1843-8). The Internet's most predominant rave sites have grown out of the tight-knit communities within cities possessing a large rave subculture. These sites, which provide an important voice for individual ravers, often include discussion groups, party reviews that allow members to decide which rave promoters to avoid, and a strong sense of community. In Ottawa, Techno XVI (www.techno.xvi.com) is the dominant site, with more than 4000 members from across North America. In Toronto, Purerave (www.purerave.com) provides an immense contact list of ravers to supplement its discussion groups.

The online rave community is well aware of the drug use that exists at raves, as evidenced by harm-reduction groups based across the country. From Alberta's Ravesafe group (www.freezingman.com/ravesafe/) to the Ottawa Association for Teaching Safety (www.oats.xvi.com), there are sites providing contacts for those wishing to help ensure the safety of ravers. FIGURE

Figure.

There are also several international harm-reduction sites, the most vocal of which are DanceSafe (www.dancesafe.org), an international site, and RaveSafe (www.ravesafe.org/home.htm), by a harm-reduction group in South Africa.

DanceSafe's site reflects its mission of educating ravers to the dangers of drug use. It provides information on specific drugs, their ingredients, their effects and the potential dangers they pose, including contraindications and precautions to take before choosing to drive home. DanceSafe maintains an open mind and tries to make the act of attending a rave as safe as possible.

RaveSafe's site is less thorough than DanceSafe's in providing information about ecstasy and other drugs, but it does have extensive testimonials from drug users that provide a revealing look at why people use (and continue to use) ecstasy. RaveSafe also provides an extensive and useful list of harm-reduction links (www.ravesafe.org/linx-harmreduction.htm), mainly articles in medical journals and documents provided by groups and associations with an interest in harm reduction.