The Ninth International Online Information Meeting

Annual fairs have a long tradition; in medieval times, they created the one time each year when everyone saw everyone else, when the ‘invisible college’ of traders and purchasers met together for a few days, when one caught up with all the news, when rumours were verified and new rumours were recreated. Established traders, charlatans, those trying to break in and those weighing up the scene all congregated at some traditional spot for the same few days — and often complained about prices, transport and lack of facilities.