HOW IS INFORMATION ORGANIZED AND WHO LOOKS AFTER IT? The hierarchy menu system of the current Freeport software affects the way that people may access the entire system. The politics that are associated with the administrative decisions as to who and what goes where can sometimes be a great concern. Items that are in sub-menus may not get accessed very often because they are difficult to locate. It was suggested that every community that is considering establishing a Freenet should ensure that they access the cataloging and organizing skills of the community s library staff. It was also indicated that the Freeport software is probably only a starting point and that in the near future it may be possible to eliminate it totally by using key word searches for the topics of interest to each individual user. CAN JUST ANYBODY PUT STUFF UP ON THE NATIONAL CAPITAL FREENET? No, it can be done only by "trusted users", who are given access to do so, frequently on behalf of a community organization. Some important legal advice to keep in mind is to keep minimal editorial control over what your information providers are putting up on your freenet. The reason is that if you act simply as a common carrier for their information, you ARE NOT LEGALLY LIABLE for what your IPs put on the system, either in terms of quality or content. Freenet in Ottawa provides gateways to other organizations with their own databases, which remain resident on their own systems. An example of this is Revenue Canada - Taxation. Such providers are responsible for providing their own dedicated line into their system. This can to a certain extent alleviate the problem of getting information that is not in a .txt file, although if you're accessing such information from a VT100, you're going to have a problem with displaying this information, regardless of where it is resident. But for information being mounted on Freenet, the requirement is that it be in a .txt file only. The issue of disseminating database information without the permission of whoever compiled it (eg., mailing lists) was raised. There is the possiblilty that misuse of information that is of potentially great commercial value could be construed as "piracy". Logging user pattern information could be of use to information providers because it can have long-term impact on what information they will continue to put up on Freenet. Log files monitor how often a specific file is looked at. There was a suggestion that this information be made available on Freenet and that it be updated on a regular basis (say, once a month.) WHAT ABOUT MENUS? You can only display a maximum of 17 menu items on screen at one time and if you have more menu items than this number, you have to display them all before you can choose one. So, if you have more than 17 menu items, consolidate similar topics wherever possible and then break them down in a second-level menu. This will cut down somewhat on user frustration. Remember that most users will begin to lose patience after three levels of menus. HOW MUCH ACTIVITY IS THERE ON THE PART OF THE ORGANIZATIONS AND INSTITUTIONS THAT ARE PROVIDING INFORMATION ON THE FREENET, TO KEEP IT CURRENT AND TO RESPOND TO INQUIRIES THAT ARE POSTED FOR THEM? So far it has been found that the existing communication strategies of organizations do not lend themselves to the Freenet very well. Many organizations are timid about being accessible by the general public through a medium which they do not yet fully understand. Many of these organizations are being carried on the Freenets right now even though their participation is low because it does not really increase the costs. HOW CAN INFORMATION PROVIDERS BE ENCOURAGED TO POST TO THE FREENET? Getting information on the Freenet is a challenge. An "Information Providers Kit" would be an ideal way to help and encourage information providers to submit stuff. Help is needed to overcome phobias, technical problems, etc. Equipment shortages can also be a problem. FreeNets should try to arrange for equipment to be donated or loaned to "poorer" information providers from old government equipment/donations. It must be a clear responsibilty of info providers to update their info. One possible way of encouraging them would be to provide them with usage statistics, so they would know how many people look at which items. This would also help to convince them that the "passive" information is not as well used as the more active, communications sections. HOW DO YOU RECRUIT MODERATORS AND ADMINISTRATORS FOR A FREENET AND WHAT KIND OF TRAINING IS NECESSARY FOR THEM AND INFORMATION PROVIDERS? It was pointed out that most people were recruited because of their affiliation with a particular organization with an interest in Freenet. Most of these people already have the skills necessary to participate in the development of the network. When the systems became operational, it was found that people volunteered to participate as SIG moderators and volunteer other services. There is very minimal training required to become a SIG moderator. In the NCF, Warren Thorngate (aa004.freenet.carleton.ca), has produced a comprehensive package for training individuals to be a information provided on the Freenet. Another group also discussed moderating special interest groups. Moderators should act as facilitators or animators, not as cops or censors. For expert advice on the subject of how to be a good moderator, two sources were recommended. One is the Study Circle Resource Center, which has produced guides for moderators and the other is Medisystems Design Group (MDG). Both of these are US sources and MDG can be accessed on Internet. HOW CAN YOU BE SURE THE INFORMATION IS GOOD? There was concern over the fact that the information you maybe receiving may not be correct (not necessarily an expert opinion), but others were quick to point out that the information received is often based on consensus/mass consultation - there is a self-corecting mechanism involved with enough people participating in a discussion.