"Where in the Megaconference is Evil Dr. X?"

The First Ever Megaconference Game.

By Egon Verharen, Bob Dixon, Gabe Moulton, Megan Crabb, JohnLangkals, Jonathan Tyman, and John Krienke.

Inspired by the Broderbund game, "Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?"(R)

When

*After the first Café Break in Megaconference IV.

*Approximately 7.00 AM PST/10.00 AM EST/15.00 UTC(GMT)/2.00 AEDT

*Duration: approximately 30 minutes.

Object

*Find the Evil Dr. X lurking at some participating Megaconferencesite and report back to Headquarters (HQ). The first to find this menace and report back wins a prize!

How

* Find clues hidden in the Megaconference and left behind with other agents.

* Decipher the clues that give you the dial digits of a proper GDS number. Collect all of the dial digits and put them in the right order. <IAC><CC><OP><EN>

* Dial the correct endpoint number based on the dial digits you've found. If you see Evil Dr. X, contact HQ (00111096142928443) and explain how you cracked the case.

Details

* First prize is a secret agent tool, a full-fledged H.323 endpointunit, and a promotion to Super Agent! There are no consolation prizes.

* You are encouraged to collaborate with other agents as you hunt down the Evil Dr. X. For instance, you may find a clue in a language you'll need translated by another agent. You might negotiate and trade clues in return.

* Snitches and other agents often hang out in the SpyCafe (the main number you have been given to participate in the Megaconference). Go there to hear the latest gossip and learn a thing or two.

* Other good hangouts are the SpyBars (0011899201234 and 0011896201234, 768 Kbs H.263). Meet other agents there and listen to the snitches. But beware -- this is a popular place with a cranky bouncer who randomly kicks people out.

* You can have a private meeting where other agents won't hear what clues you want to exchange, or set up ways to contact each other by any means you see fit. For example, you might want to exchange instant messaging/chat aliases or email addresses.

* Clues will also be posted on the SpyMessageBoard at 0031302305301 (using Netmeeting). Beware: the line can be busy. Keep trying.

* Or, tune in to the SpyChannel (using Starbak) at

* If you get stuck you can dial HQ (00111096142928443 H.261, 384 kb/s) and ask for help. The officer on duty will try to help you on your way. Beware: the line can be busy. Keep trying.

* Each clue also includes the name of the GDS field (IAC, CC, OP, or EN) for which the clue applies. See the forthcoming attachment regarding GDS information or find GDS information soon on the Megaconference website.

Rules

* You must be familiar with the Global Dialling Scheme (GDS). Seethe forthcoming document or find the GDS information on the Megaconference website soon.

* The endpoint you are using must be registered with the Megaconference.

* The game will last for 30 minutes or until the Evil Dr. X has been found.

* HQ will give all agents (participants) the same set of initial clues upon entering the game.

* You are allowed (and encouraged) to collaborate and share clues.

* You can use any means you see fit to contact other agents, be it by phone, fax, email, chat, instant message, or of course by videoconference. See the Megaconference participant list for some contact details with other agents:

* You are free to use any resource available on the World Wide Web to decipher clues.

* The organising committee can change these rules at any time before the Megaconference starts. If so, changes will be communicated by email to all registered Megaconference participants.

* The jury that is guarding the rules and appointing the winner consists of: Egon Verharen, Bob Dixon, Gabe Moulton, Megan Crabb, Jonathan Tyman, and John Krienke.

* Members of the organising committee, the Internet2 Commons management team, Commons gatekeeper managers that operate a cascaded Megaconference MCU, and Megaconference presenters cannot play as participants.

The Global Dialing Scheme Explained

The Global Dialing Scheme (GDS) is a new numbering plan for the global video and voice over IP network test bed, developed by ViDeNet.

It resembles the international telephone system numbering plan, with some exceptions. With the GDS, you can number each participating videoconferencing endpoint, MCU conference and gateway. GDS provides easy, uniform dialling throughout the world.

Each basic number consists of four parts:

1. The International Access Code (IAC) (also called the world gatekeeper prefix) This is defined as 00.

2. A Country Code (CC)
This follows the ITU international access code system. For instance, the country code for the Netherlands is 31. See the following PDF document for country codes:

http://www.itu.int/itudoc/itu-t/ob-lists/icc/e164_717.pdf

3. An Organisational Prefix (OP)

Many national research organisations follow the telephone number system in their country and use their area code and organisational telephone exchange prefix. For instance, SURFnet's OP is 302305.

However, there are other possibilities. Some organisations use their administration number or make one up. National research organisations or videoconferencing service providers could instead supply you with an OP, as was the case with the old ViDeNet system.

In any case, your OP MUST be unique within a country. If you don't know your OP, please contact your videoconferencing service provider, your national gatekeeper, or the NASM working group (see below).

4. An Endpoint Number (EN)

Your EN can be any number and is decided by each organisation. However, we recommend that it be no longer than seven digits. Each endpoint number MUST be unique within the organisation. Both 305 and 1234567 are fine examples as long as they are unique.

The whole numeric number therefore looks like: <IAC><CC><OP><EN>

Examples:

The Megaconference informal test MCU:

00(IAC) 1(CC) 189(OP) 7201234(EN)

Typed into your videoconferencing endpoint, the number would simply look like: 0011897201234

The GDS also defines an alphanumeric dialplan (not used during the Megaconference game). This part is equal to the alphanumeric dialplan of the old ViDeNet and should be in the form: <station ID>@<fully qualified domain name of the institution>

An example is: egon.verharen@surfnet.nl

More information on the GDS and the Numerical Addressing Space  Management (NASM) working group overseeing its development can be  found at:  http://www.wvn.ac.uk/support/h323address.htm and http://www.vide.net/workgroups/nasm/index.shtml