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dpc
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Free-nets - What Are They?
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Dec 25 02:55 UTC 1995 |
What is a typical "Free-net"? How is it organized, who are its
users, and what is it for?
Will any of the answers to these questions change in the
next year or two?
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| 22 responses total. |
srw
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response 1 of 22:
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Dec 25 17:07 UTC 1995 |
A "Free-Net" is a community network that is affiliated with the
National Public Telecommunications Network. The term is a service mark of that
organization, and community networks are not free to use the term unless they
are affiliated with NPTN and pay a fee.
So, if I understand the spirit of your questions, I think they should be
rephrased with "Community Network" substituted for "Free-Net".
--
There is no typical community network. They are all different, but they share
the common goal of giving people online access to community information at
very low cost. They are usually organized as non-profit 501(C)(3)
organizations, and usually got significant donations from local corporations
or in-kind donations of internet services from local educational institutions
or both. They also raise funds by accepting donations from individuals.
Some are free, others charge, and some charge for selected features only, such
as vanity IDs, priority connection (fewer busies), etc.
Some offer unlimited access to the internet, others limit it, some have none.
Some offer PPP connections, and graphical Web Browsers, but most don't.
Most are now accessible from the Web, some only by gopher, some only by
telnet.
Some offer access to most of Usenet, some limit it severely,
some don't offer it.
Almost all of them offer e-mail.
Some offer chatting or IRC-like features, but most don't.
A few have time-shifted conferencing, like Grex or M-Net, but most don't.
---
The following community networks exist or are planned in Michigan:
Greater Detroit Free-Net,
Great Lakes Free-Net (Battle Creek),
Grand Rapids Free-Net,
Genesee Free-Net (Flint),
Traverse City Free-Net,
Huron Valley Community Network (AA, Web only as yet)
Capitol City Free-Net (Lansing) (Planned)
Grex and M-Net are not quite in the mold of community networks, but they
are closely related. The Well, River and Spring are organized as profit-making
or cooperative systems, and so in a sense are less like community networks,
but some of the information (on the Well in particular) is of great value to
the community and is available free over the Web.
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dpc
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response 2 of 22:
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Dec 28 02:45 UTC 1995 |
Steve, is there any generally available database on community networks?
Is there any way to put some numbers or percentages around the services,
etc., you describe, or is all this anecdotal?
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srw
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response 3 of 22:
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Dec 29 22:44 UTC 1995 |
I don't have any data, although I can locate a list of community networks
on the web. Also there is a lot of info from the NPTN on free-nets.
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adbarr
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response 4 of 22:
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Dec 31 23:24 UTC 1995 |
How do we survive -- get funds to run. That is the real question.
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dpc
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response 5 of 22:
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Jan 11 01:45 UTC 1996 |
By charging for services people are willing to pay for. 8-)
Is there a "typical" community network whose budget we might
look at?
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dpc
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response 6 of 22:
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Mar 2 18:14 UTC 1996 |
Is there some *organized* information somewhere about the
501(c)(3) status of a "typical" community network? For example,
can an acceptable purpose simply be to provide "free" telecom services
to the community, funded by the sale of premium telecom services to
those who wish to purchase them?
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rcurl
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response 7 of 22:
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Mar 3 08:23 UTC 1996 |
There's a newsgroup devoted to that kind of thing. When I was reading
it I got several promises from sysops elsewhere to send me their
organizational information and a copy of their 501(c)3 application -
but none of them ever did! [I also lost contact with that newsgroup.]
The law on 501(c)3 tax exemption limits how much money you can raise
by sales compared to how much you raise by public donation. I don't
have it in from of me right now, but I recall it to be something like
no more than 1/3 of total income (I'll look it up if you ask).
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srw
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response 8 of 22:
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Mar 3 17:50 UTC 1996 |
THere's also a mailling list for community networks. The communet mailing
list. I think you can get information from Keith Stanger of HVCN about that
list. lib_stanger@emuvax.emich.edu
I'm sure he'll be happy to tell you more info about it, but you should mail
him as he doesn't read this conference.
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adbarr
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response 9 of 22:
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Mar 5 04:13 UTC 1996 |
The IRS Instructions on 501(c)(3) are helpful. Charities give away stuff.
Charity is a very broad term. Charities, like everyone else, need money to
survive. I sense a confusion about the idea of a charity, and the idea
of a focus for a particular organization. Being too particular is a trap
here, dpc.
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dpc
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response 10 of 22:
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Mar 9 03:51 UTC 1996 |
Thanx, srw! I'll check out that mailing list.
Rcurl and adbarr, I am rapidly learning about 501(c)(3)'s for
reasons that would be obvious if we were on M-Net. 8-) What rcurl
is talking about I call the "Anti-Fat-Cat Rule." It says that over
a four-year period an organization must receive at least 1/3 of its
income from gifts, grants, fees, contributions, and every other
conceivable source of funds. Then it says "No single contribution
can be counted toward the numerator in the 1/3 rule to the extent that
it exceeds the greater of $5,000 or 1% of the organization's support
for that taxable year."
So the rule means that at least one-third of the organization's
income must come from sources that are *not* $5,000, etc. That is,
an organization must have at least one-third of its support from sources
other than fat cats. It appears the IRS won't approve of organizations
which are fronts for a handful of heavy hitters.
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adbarr
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response 11 of 22:
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Mar 9 22:55 UTC 1996 |
Well, dpc, think about the concept of "charity". Bill Gates giving to the
"Bill Gates" worship fund, is subject to question, I would think. Giving is
giving, gift is gift. No BS allowed.
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rcurl
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response 12 of 22:
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Mar 11 07:29 UTC 1996 |
To clarify #10: the 1/3 rules (and the not-more-than-1/3 rules) refer to
being excluded from private foundation treatment, under 509(a)2, which
gives the broadest exemptions for contributions. In the 1/3 rule test, the
numerator is the sum of 1) gifts, grants, contributions, or membership
fees and 2) receipts from admissions, sales, services, facilities *in a
related trade or business*. However excluded from the numerator must be
receipts of type (2) from "any person or similar agency" that individually
exceed the greater of $5000 or 1% of total support. The denominator
consists of 1) + 2) *plus* income from investments and *unrelated*
business income (after unrelated business income taxes). The clarification
I want to make to #10 is that individuals and agencies *may* make
contributions of type 1) that exceed $5000 or 1%; it is only type 2) to
which the limits apply. The subtle point is to distinguish "amounts
received as grants *for* carrying on exempt activities ... from amounts
received as gross receipts *from* carrying on exempt activities".
It is extremely easy for Free-nets to meet this rule because they do not
generally have significant income from investments and *unrelated*
business income. They ma also have as many Fat Cats as they can find, so
long as the Fat Cats do not have control of the organization as a result
of their contributions.
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rcurl
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response 13 of 22:
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Mar 11 07:53 UTC 1996 |
Oh yes - the "not-more-than-1/3 rule is that income from investments and
*unrelated* business income (after unrelated business income taxes) must
not exceed 1/3 of total income. In summary, if R = income from activities
related to purpose, and U = income from activities unrelated to purposes
(such as, renting a facility for unrelated use), then the 1/3 rules are
R/(R+U) > 1/3 and U/(R+U) < 1/3
which requires R > 2U (plus the restrictions on part of R).
Is there a summary somewhere of the "parameters" for all of thos
Michigan Free-Nets? I've been referring people to them, but each
has its own particulars such as listed in #0 (and also how one
can access them by internet or by dialin).
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adbarr
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response 14 of 22:
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Mar 11 13:30 UTC 1996 |
Rane, the UM School of Information and Library Science has developed extensive
lists of Free-nets in Michigan, I believe. I don't have the direct URL right
now, but you can get there if you can browse http://www.hvcn.org, go to UM
in Education, then SILS, you may also be able to get there throug the
Libraries infocenter. I think it varies about how much financial information
they post. I'll try to get back to you on this. Frankly, it would be very
helpful for free-nets and community nets, others similarly situated to
cooperate in developing a unified understanding of these points.
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adbarr
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response 15 of 22:
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Mar 11 13:46 UTC 1996 |
The SILS pages point to several Web resources listing the free-nets and
community networks. Direct URL is
http://www.sils.umich.edu/community/community.html -- you can also get
there from http://www.hvcn.org then to Libraries, then to Community
Resources.
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srw
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response 16 of 22:
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Mar 15 07:00 UTC 1996 |
The Genesee freenet Gopher has a text list that's about 8 months old, at
gopher://gfn1.genesee.freenet.org/00/comserv/orking/mich.lis
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rcurl
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response 17 of 22:
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Mar 15 20:03 UTC 1996 |
That list was rather preliminary with information missing in some
categories for some freenets. It says it is going to be updated - but
hasn't been. At the moment genesee.freenet seems to be having some serious
problems - can't reach them and mail is refused.
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srw
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response 18 of 22:
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Mar 18 08:25 UTC 1996 |
That's the best we've got to work with right now.
I probably ought to try and gather the info into a web page for HVCN,
but I am too distracted right now.
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dpc
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response 19 of 22:
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May 27 19:07 UTC 1996 |
In a recent Coop item, adbarr said that "Freenets" were re-evaluating
their function, purpose, or some such, and that Grex might soon be
one of the few true "Freenets" left.
Could you expand on these comments, adbarr? What's happening
to the Freenets?
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adbarr
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response 20 of 22:
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May 28 01:34 UTC 1996 |
Yes, David, I can expand on this. But, right now I am tired. I will look up
the archived files and respond asap. Suffice it to say for now that NPTN is
experiencing, somewhat reluctantly I think, a revolution in thinking akin
to the debate in Russia/The Soviet/CIS. What has been has not worked, but
there was a comfort level, despite the obvious failure to compete in the
world. I will send you or post some info from NPTN. They are grasping, and
should be rescued, but not at their terms. They still have some growing to
do.
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dpc
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response 21 of 22:
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Jun 4 20:26 UTC 1996 |
I'd appreciate any info you can post when you're re-energized, Arnold.
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adbarr
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response 22 of 22:
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Jun 4 22:24 UTC 1996 |
Sorry, Dave. This slipped my mind for a while. I'll do my best to dig this
out of the depths of the disk and send to you.
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