In this chapter and in chapter 4, I will discuss two case studies: The Galactic Hacker Party (GHP) in chapter 3 and the Seropositive Ball (0+ball) in chapter 4. The introduction that follows below, and the context of the case studies as described in the next section, are relevant to both case studies. As described in chapter 1, the case studies are exploratory in nature. Because I have gathered and analysed material on the events that took place in 1989 and 1990 with hindsight, recent developments have coloured my memory and my perceptions. ^{note 67} As described in chapter 1, I have used the methodology of the text laboratory to facilitate this exploration. Thus in the text below I will make the distinction between describing what happened and the memories and reflections that were uncovered when I used the writing of text as a laboratory methodology. The comments of key-informants have been integrated into the text. I mention certain contributions specifically because they are personal memories or represent a particular personal perspective of one of the key-informants.
In chapter 2 I sketched how presence and the design of presence are deeply connected with social structures and our sense of survival. The analysis of the case studies in relation to concepts of presence as described in chapter 2 will be carried out in chapter 5.