Thanks in part to that free access, when we opened in 1994 and few
people had yet heard of the Internet, there were people in the area
who were already eager to pay to get better access.
We provide free access to any public library in our service area, so
they can provide public access to their patrons. Many of our paying
users got their first exposure to the Internet at the local library.
Truely free access is good for business. It's also good for your
communities.
What you do want to watch out for are organizations using public funds
and private donations to establish Free-Nets that aren't free. The
term "Free-Net" is copyrighted by nptn.org, and all it means is that a
group has an nptn.org franchise and can use the term in its
fundraising. Some franchised Free-Nets charge the going commercial
rate in their area for access after using the term to pry donations
out of unwitting corporations and government agencies.
A few years ago the lawyer who headed nptn.org was passing out threats
to people who used "freenet" or any similar term in postings on the
net, saying that violated his copyright. I got one.
> > USA has also had freenets for years. The original poster was just not aware
> > of them.
>
> Furthermore, one of the world's first "FreeNets" - Nyx, est 1989 (operational
> in 1991) is using a PM2E-30 donated by Livingston over a year ago...
-- Dick St.Peters, stpeters@NetHeaven.com Gatekeeper, NetHeaven, Saratoga Springs, NY, 1-800-910-6671 (voice) Saratoga/Albany/Amsterdam/BoltonLanding/Cobleskill/Greenwich/ GlensFalls/LakePlacid/NorthCreek/Plattsburgh/... Oldest Internet service based in the 518 area code - To unsubscribe, email 'majordomo@livingston.com' with 'unsubscribe portmaster-users' in the body of the message. Searchable list archive: <URL:http://www.livingston.com/Tech/archive/>