About the Z1NZ0L1N dispatch system
Z1NZ0L1N is a dispatch system operated by Anthony Nelzin-Santos, transmitting from the field since January 2025. This document describes the operator, the protocol’s naming convention, its transmission history, its field office, its tools, and how it’s funded.
Operator
Anthony Nelzin-Santos is a writer at heart, teacher by instinct, flâneur by habit. He’s known to wander in search of old shopfronts, to spend an inordinate amount of time curating his music library, to craft pocket notebooks with vintage roadmaps, to keep a collection of half-repaired typewriters and half-empty fountain pens, to wear jeans and hiking shoes all year round, to watch his plants grow, to roam around with the heaviest long-tail bike on the planet, and to acquire more books than can be read. He’s married to the only person willing to put up with all of it.
Naming convention
“Zinzolin” is a shade of purple between lavender-field blue and crushed-blackberry red. The medieval Italians traced it to jujube fruits (giuggiolino). The Mozarabs, were they still around to argue the point, would insist on sesame seeds (djoudjolân) instead. The operator chose it because it’s his favourite colour — which happens to sound like his name.
Transmission history
The operator was born before the world wide web was invented, but grew up surrounded by computers. He launched his first website in 2000, started his first blog in 2004, recorded his first podcast in 2005, and uploaded his first video in 2006. He went pro in 2008. In 2025, after years spent transmitting in French, the frequency switched to English.
Field office
Z1NZ0L1N is hosted by Infomaniak near Geneva (CH). The operator is based in Lyon (FR) but has also sent dispatches from
Aachen (DE), Besançon (FR), Liège (BE), Marseille (FR), Moulins-sur-Allier (FR), Paray-le-Monial (FR), Paris (FR), and Vienne (FR). He’s made it a goal to visit and write in every country in the European Union (7 down, 20 to go!).
Notebooks: handmade. Ink: purple, one of many. Pen: a fountain pen, also one of many. Backup: a Leuchtturm1917 Drehgriffel Nr. 1 ballpoint, a Uniball Zento Signature rollerball, or a Caran d’Ache 849 mechanical pencil. Notes when the notebook’s out of reach: Bloom. Computer: MacBook Air. Mechanical keyboard: more than one. Writing: Lettera, formerly Ulysses. Proofing: Antidote. Code: BBEdit. Publication: Hugo.
Funding
Proudly ad-free. The operator covers hosting and the domain name – roughly €120 a year – out of pocket. A cup of coffee is always welcome, from anyone who feels like sending one.