>> -------- Frequently Asked Questions about Pioneer Neighorbood --------

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PIONEER.FAQ                     Rev 06a                      31-Dec-1993

This is the FAQ file for using the resources provided by Pioneer
Neighborhood, a public access store-and-forward Internet service
operated by Rich Braun.  It is a system operated independently of, but
in support of the work of, New England Community Internet.

1.  What services are provided?

  The primary services are store-and-forward email and USENET news.
  Secondarily, access to a local archive and remote email-based servers
  (including mailing lists and anonymous-ftp file retrieval) is also
  available.  The system can be used to forward mail from a single PC
  or a corporate LAN's email server into the global Internet.

  Under development are a variety of information services for home
  delivery.  These are listed here as they are added:

    New England regional weather   -- posted daily, updated hourly
                                      (daily-weather-request@pn.com)

2.  How do I get connected?

  The main requirement is a home computer capable of running the UUCP
  store and forward communications standard.  Application for service
  is made using a form available via email from admin@pn.com.

  You will also need a modem, 2400 through 16,800 baud.  Most people
  find that a 14.4K modem, available at computer and department stores
  for about $150-225, is most desirable.  (MacWarehouse is now selling
  external 14.4K modems by mail order for just $99.95.)

  A separate phone line is not necessary.  An advantage of store-and-
  forward technology is its minimal use of telephone time.

3.  What kind of computer do I need?

  Most people use a 386 or a 486 running DOS or Windows.  But UUCP will
  also run on any of the following:  8088- or 80286-based PC, Commodore
  Amiga, Atari, Linux and any other Unix variant, Apple Macintosh,
  VAX/VMS, OS/2, or Windows NT.

  If you are using Windows and a high-speed modem, an additional
  requirement is a COM port containing a FIFO chip compatible with the
  NS-16550AFN, often called simply the 16550.  Most internal modems are
  sold with this capability.  To drive an external modem you will want to
  buy a special COM card with this chip; ask your retailer (such as
  Computer City) or consult Computer Shopper magazine.

4.  Do I need any special software?

  The power of community-based networking resides in your ability to
  run the software of your choice, rather than just that which a
  dialup service provider requires you to run.

  Any software package containing UUCP capability should work with this
  system.  New users unfamiliar with UUCP are encouraged to use the
  following:

     DOS, Windows, OS/2, NT -  UUPC/Extended version 1.12b
                               Pegasus Mail
                               SNews
     Macintosh              -  UUPC_3.0 or uAccess
                               Eudora mail
                               ToadNews
     Linux                  -  Taylor UUCP v1.04
                               Pine v3.05 or Elm v2.4.23
                               Trn or xrn

5.  Where do I get the software I need?

  A quick installation starter kit for DOS is available on diskette upon
  request; it will be mailed to you for a $3 handling fee.  This diskette
  includes the user-friendly Pegasus mail program and SNews reader.

  UUCP-compatible software is available free or at low cost for a wide
  variety of systems.  Some of the more common ones are:

   UUPC/Extended for DOS, OS/2, Windows, NT (send the command
     'get howtoget.txt' in an email message to listserv@kew.com)
   FSUUCP v1.3 for DOS, available from cis.ohio-state.edu:/pub/ibm-pc/uucp
   UUPC_3.0 for Macintosh, on wuarchive.wustl.edu
   uAccess for Macintosh, write to time@ice.com for purchasing info
   Taylor UUCP for Linux, on tsx-11.mit.edu
   Taylor UUCP for other other Unix-class systems, on prep.ai.mit.edu

6.  What USENET newsgroups do you carry?

  All of the worldwide public-distribution groups (over 4000 of them).

7.  How does the mail and news system work?

  Pioneer polls an Internet system (in Cambridge MA) once every half hour.
  Any mail or news postings you sent during that interval will be sent to
  the recipients, and any incoming mail and news for your site will be
  downloaded for the next time you call in.

  Mail addresses are advertised globally using MX records in the domain
  name system.  Your system is assigned its own name, so mail sent to you
  or any other person or alias on your system is addressable using the
  convenient Internet addressing standard.

  Netnews subscriptions are managed by Dynafeed, which allows you to add
  or delete groups without intervention from a central administrator
  (updates are emailed to setfeed@pn.com).  Dynafeed runs about
  every two hours, producing compressed batches for each subscriber.

  All of this is done on an ordinary 486DX/33 which runs the Linux
  operating system.  There are three public dialup phone lines plus two
  private lines.

8.  What does it cost?

  Small membership fees have been established to help recover part of the
  costs of running this system.  These are listed in a separate price list.

  There are no per-hour usage fees; your bills will be predictable and my
  accounting will be simple.

9.  Are there any restrictions?

  Anonymous access is not permitted; this system helps protect your
  privacy but with the restriction that all messages transmitted from
  your system are identifiable as being from you or other members of
  your household/business.  Similarly, while you may establish an
  automated email server on your system to handle inquiries, you may
  not run an anonymous forwarding service (one which retransmits messages
  minus identifying headers).

  Use of the system for any illegal activities will not be tolerated and
  will be grounds for immediate termination.

10.  Do you take referrals?

  Absolutely, at least until the system becomes too large to be managed
  by one person.

11.  How about if I'm long distance from Somerville?

  Because connect time is only a few minutes per day, the cost is really
  not unreasonable.  A number subscribers use the system from long
  distances.  Referrals of similar free or low-cost service are available
  in the following cities:

      Worcester MA                  North Reading MA
      Nashua NH                     Manchester NH
      Hudson MA

12.  Sounds like you'd like others to run systems like yours--what's it
     take?

  About $1500 worth of commodity computer equipment, one 14.4K modem and
  one dedicated phone line.  The entire software configuration on Pioneer
  may be copied free of charge to any 386 or 486 system with 350Mb or more
  of disk storage.  You will also want to dedicate time to regularly
  monitoring and maintaining the software, which is based on Linux.

  Some people operate similar services using UUCP-capable BBS packages such
  as Waffle (DOS/Windows) or First Class/Postal Union (Macintosh).

13.  What about SLIP and PPP?

  SLIP stands for Serial Line Internet Protocol, and PPP is an improved
  standard called Point-to-Point Protocol.  These provide online TCP/IP
  access to the Internet, enabling a number of interactive software
  applications.  Pioneer has this capability locally but does not have
  a dedicated online Internet connection at present.

  At least one company sells this access locally; write to info@netcom.com
  or telnet into their system and login as user guest, password guest.

14.  How reliable is the system?

  The system runs 24 hours per day and under normal circumstances stays
  running weeks at a time.  If the system is down for maintenance, the
  phone lines will not answer, so as to avoid costing long-distance charges
  for remote users.  Usually there is no advance notice of system
  maintenance.

  Sometimes there will be hardware problems or modem glitches; these will
  usually be corrected within a few hours but there are no guarantees of
  service reliability.

15.  How long have you been running the service?

  The computer itself was purchased in January 1993 and has been providing
  public access Internet connectivity since February 1993.

16.  What about software downloading?

  A variety of communications software for several hardware platforms is
  available through UUCP once you've established an initial connection (it
  is not available anonymously--to prevent connect-time abuse).  To
  retrieve the directory list, use the following command or its equivalent:

  uucp -r ci-pioneer!~/pub/ls-lR .

  Under DOS you will also want the file ~/pub/dos/x2d.exe, a conversion
  utility to allow reading Unix text files.

  Subscribers are encouraged to request and contribute items to the
  archives on pioneer, which has plenty of room for expansion.

17.  What if I have a problem?

  This is a self-help system.  All support is done via email.  Send a
  description of your problem, and a debugging trace of any sessions
  which exhibit the trouble, to support@pn.com.  You will usually get
  a response within 24 hours but remember that the service is being
  provided at extremely low cost so your patience is requested.

  If you need basic help getting your system installed or upgraded, this
  is not something provided here.  You are encouraged to use Internet
  newsgroups and mailing lists to get help.  If you think your problem
  is likely to have been solved by someone else using pioneer, send an
  inquiry to pioneer-sites@pn.com and another user may be able
  to help.  You are asked to help answer other people's questions, as
  your contribution to keeping this service available.

  Kendra Electronic Wonderworks offers support for NECI and Pioneer
  users.  If you encounter difficulties using UUPC/Extended, you may
  email help@kew.com or, if email is unavailable, call 617-641-3452.
  Mention you're a Pioneer user and your call will be returned even
  if you have not yet registered your copy of UUPC/Extended.  The
  mailing list uupc-info@kew.com carries an ongoing discussion of
  this software package.

18.  OK, I just connected.  How do I get netnews?

  Send a request to admin@pn.com and ask to have a feed turned on.  You
  will be subscribed to newsgroups ne.* and be sent further instructions
  on how to manage your own feed; changing your subscription list is done
  by sending email to an automated server, and you may make updates at
  any time.

19.  Do you offer Unix shell accounts?

  No.  Those are available very inexpensively from existing, well-
  established businesses.

20.  You said I could access anonymous ftp to the Internet.  How?

  Send an email message containing the command "help" to address
  ftpmail@decwrl.dec.com.  You will get an automated reply within
  an hour or so providing further instructions on retrieving any
  file made available on public Internet archives, via your email
  link.

21.  What's behind the silly name?

  This project is intended to emphasize the fact that we're all next-
  door neighbors on the electronic frontier.  Services like this will
  be an important part of the way we interact in tomorrow's society.

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Pioneer Neighborhood                                         Richard Braun
20 Moore St. #3
Somerville, MA 02144-2124                         Info line:  617-646-4800
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>> --------- Pricing ---------

Small fees have been established to help recover part of the costs of
running this system.  During the introductory period through 3/31/94,
fees are as follows:

     Basic membership:     $20 annually
     Standard membership:  $10 monthly
     Business membership:  $40 monthly

There are no per-hour usage fees; your bills will be predictable and my
accounting will be simple.  Here are descriptions of the categories:

  Basic membership:

     Gives you email and netnews connectivity into the Internet.  Limited
     to ten polls a day and ten minutes of average daily connect time (5
     hours a month, enough for heavy personal email usage and light netnews
     reading if you have a 14.4K modem).

  Standard membership:

     Up to one hour of daily connect time, sufficient for heavy
     mailing-list subscriptions, newsreading, or archive retrieval
     for a household or small business limited to five email users
     (or a BBS with up to four dialup lines).  You may poll as frequently
     as 50 times a day.

  Business membership:

     Up to two hours of daily connect time for your corporate email /
     netnews server, feeding up to 50 individuals; or a BBS with any
     number of dialup lines.

Should your requirements exceed these amounts, arrangements can be made.

This project is being done to ensure access without economic barriers;
to provide a model for anyone else who wants to establish a similar
system; and to help create a market for Internet-based services
offered by entrepreneurs.

>> --------- Application for service ---------

=========================================================================
For low-cost UUCP access to the Internet via Pioneer Neighborhood, please
fill this out and send it to admin@pn.com or by mail to 20 Moore St. #3,
Somerville, MA  02144-2421.  You will be given an account to use free for
30 days, after which a nominal membership fee is due.

Contact info
------------
  Name (First/Last)?
  Occupation?
  Age (optional)?
  Street Address (where your system is)?
  City/State/ZIP?
  Voice Phone (in case of connection problems)?
  Day Phone?
  Fax number (if you have one)?
  Email address?

System info
-----------
  Domain name?

    If you don't already have a domain name, pick a name in the form
    <site>.pn.com.  The site name should be between 1 and 10 alphanumeric
    characters.  You may apply to Internet registration authorities
    for a top-level domain if you wish; this is not a service provided
    here (yet); information on this process will be sent upon request.

    If you are working with New England Community Internet, you may
    select a site name under the ci.net domain.

    If you already have a domain and wish to use this new UUCP link as your
    primary forwarder, you will need to make a request to the people who
    maintain name service for your domain.  Tell them your new MX forwarder
    is the Internet host usenet.elf.com.

  UUCP name?

    If you are planning to connect to only one system, leave this blank
    and the first part of your domain name will be used as your UUCP name.
    If you already have a UUCP name, please provide it here.  If you are
    thinking of becoming a hub site, the first 7 characters of this name
    must be unique worldwide.  You may find out if your UUCP name is taken
    by sending a mail message containing the proposed name to uupath@dmc.com,
    which will respond automatically with a status message.

  Site name (or organization)?

    This is just a one-liner describing your site.  If it's your desktop
    or notebook PC and you only use it for personal stuff, leave this blank.

  System Hardware/Software?

    Describe what kind of computer you have and what UUCP/email software
    you're using.

  Modem data rate?

    The speed in bits per second at which raw data is transmitted over the
    phone line.

  Dialup phone number?

    If you provide UUCP or terminal session access, give the dialup number.

  Any existing UUCP links?

  Will you accept referrals for new UUCP links?

    If you already (or plan to) provide downstream UUCP access, answer yes.

  Date you want service to start?

  Class of service?

    Basic, standard, or business (see price list)

=========================================================================
UUCP software is available free for a wide variety of systems.  See the
FAQ for more info.

Formal usage policies are still being drafted, but here's the gist of
what you can expect:

  - 24-hour UUCP dialup at speeds 2400-14400, V.32bis in the
      Somerville MA exchange
  - A domain-style email address (if your software handles it)
  - Your choice of newsgroups
  - A small amount of help getting set up; if you need a lot of help
    please ask around

The purpose of offering this to you at low cost is to build a foundation
for Community Internet, a network of residential home systems, and to
get a better feel for what people want out of this sort of network.

If you have friends who also want similar access, I'm happy to accept
referrals.

Please allow 2 business days for processing.
=================================================================01======
