WHERE DO YOU START WHEN YOU ARE INTERESTED IN ESTABLISHING A FREENET
IN YOUR COMMUNITY?  

An individual from a US freenet indicated that the reason their
community chose a Freenet system was the fact that there is so much
information available.  There is an individual in the US, Dr. Thomas
Grundner who is the President of the National Public Telecomputing
Network in Cleveland, Ohio who can provide a great deal of information
on establishing a Freenet.  Much of this information such as model
budgets and technology to use, is available via the internet through
FTP:

   nptn.org  -  FTP Server
   tmg@nptn.org -  Thomas Grundner email

The discussion that ensued included the fact that where you decide to
get your funding will determine what Freenet becomes.  It was
indicated that you can start up a Freenet with very little actual
cash, but that you have to be creative and have strong community
support.  The Victoria Freenet was given as a perfect example of this
where much of the start-up costs involved utilizing close to $100k in
goods and services from individuals, corporations and government.

The National Capital FreeNet has accepted the responsibility of
providing technical advice to allow other FreeNets to get off the
ground in Canada, and is trying to build an on-line kit to enable
people in other communities to start themselves.


POSSIBLE "HOMES" FOR FREENETS

Libraries, schools and universities were identified as good starting
bases for community networks like FreeNets.  Some thought that the
best way to build support is to approach libraries.  Despite the
success of the National Capital, Cleveland, and other FreeNets,
universities may be bad choices because they are largely connected
already.  K-12 providers are another good base of support

Using universities could also give an "acadenmic" appearence to the
project -- and be bad for corporate donations/sponosors.


ACCEPTABLE USE POLICY

People said that if an Acceptable Use Policy (AUP) directory could be
written to allow new FreeNets to compare their ideas with those of
existing FreeNets, it would be excellent.


AND ABOUT THAT HARDWARE...

If you're planning ahead for your freenet for the next couple of
years, consider the client-server model.  It will cut your
telecommunications costs, but at the expense of some interactive
capabilities.  If you intend to continue using modem access, consider
going to high-speed lines, either 9600 baud or higher.

Rack-mounted modems are generally expensive, but there was an offer to
provide Ottawa Freenet with them for considerably less than they have
been paying.