This document is written as an approach for me to revive the community which was originally existed in UTP. A community where students from various race, religion, nation, and age communicate freely ignoring their differences, and freely voice their opinion towards matters. A community where students are able to share information easily without the limitations of physical methods. A community students are able to build good relationship between each other through sharing of opinions, sharing of knowledge, and even through idle chats and fun activities.

This community, originally existed in UTP since almost 10 years ago as two entities which depended on each other, which are widely known as UTPchat and Grapevine. UTPchat is an Internet Relay Chat (IRC) network, which serve as a medium for real-time chat between UTP residents. Students used the IRC network as a place for group communication and information and content sharing. Through the IRC network, they also get to know more students and expand their social network and contacts. Instant announcements , news, and latest notifications such as cancellation of classes, venue change, club activities, even some quick announcement from management offices who are looking for someone for urgent matters took place in this IRC network because generally all UTP students connected to it. UTPchat was like a one place communication medium for quick communication with everyone in UTP.

Grapevine on the other hand, was a community forum or bulletin board which students used as a place for them to communicate and post opinions which can be later archived for future reading. Usually, heavier discussions such as current issues, students problems, social and political issues, are discussed through Grapevine. The discussion, encouraged students to voice out their opinion, encouraged them to think, and made them more aware their surroundings.

However, an unfortunate event on 2005, caused these two entities to lose their momentum. UTPchat slowly losing users, which effectively destroying it as a one place stop for students in UTP to communicate with each other immediately. The once great legacy of Grapevine fell into ashes in less that several months because of it became inaccessible to the and an internal conflict lead it to its grave. Students, especially juniors, does not know the medium existed, which made them lose the opportunity to get to know the larger community of UTP students. Urgent matters and announcements which need quick attention from students no longer have a way to spread quickly to students. And, the saddest and the worst, is that students now live in their own microcommunity. Student from batch A course A only know themselves, students from batch B course B only know themselves. Even these microcommunity are splitted more due to students only group up with people who are within their own study/project team or classes.

From the burning ashes of UTPchat and the grave dirt of Grapevine, a new community emerged from a group of technologist in #linux channel of UTPchat. A channel where more known by some of its members as a place where IRC is used as what it originally intended to be - as a communication medium for information sharing and collaboration. We utilized technology for our benefits, knowledge are shared freely among us, following the culture of knowledge and sharing from the Free and Open Source culture. This #linux community is what was later emerged as UTP Open Source Software Association (UTPOSS). Seeing the current state of affairs in UTP, we felt the need for us to revive UTPchat and Grapevine. We have been benefiting from similar medium from all around the world for days, months and to some, years. We have seen how these technologies benefited other people from other countries, how these technologies made it easier for us to gain information and knowledge for our point of interests. We have seen how good communication will encourage development of knowledge. We know the potential these technologies have and we do not want them to die after we left UTP to pursue a greater purpose in life.

So, as a member of UTPOSS, and also the core administrator of UTPchat, I wrote this document, as an effort for me, and my fellow comrades, to give a new life to the once great legacy of UTPchat and Grapevine. This time around, as a much greater knowledge based infrastructure and community than its previous predecessor.