Community Networking Descriptions

TYPE: Gopher
ADDRESS: gopher gopher.civic.net 2400
URL: gopher://gopher.civic.net:2400 OR http://www.civic.net:2401
CONTACT: For info about CCN's policy work and associational activities, contact Richard Civille, rciville@civicnet.org, 202-387-6030.
For info about CCN's pilot programs and networking services, contact Miles Fidelman, mfidelman@civicnet.org, 617-241-9205.
COMMENTS:
The Center for Civic Networking is a non-profit organization whose goal is to help develop models of beneficial uses of the Internet for local, regional and national organizations and governments. Included in this gopher is information on developing a sustainable information network, policy issues regarding electronic development, information regarding municipalities and local governmental information networks. This gopher also contains a link to the Institute for the Study of Civic Values, which contains information on building a civic oriented community through the use of technology. This gopher does not contain much raw data information, such as statistics or phone numbers. What it does provide are potential visions of networking possibilities that could be applied to most any non-profit, public service oriented organization.
There is also a mailing list that provides a forum for the discussion of civic networking. To be added to the mailing list, send a request to: majordomo@civicnet.org, containing the single line: subscribe nii_agenda

Communitarians discussion list

TYPE: E-mail discussion list
ADDRESS: communitarians@civic.net (to post)
SUBSCRIBE: E-mail to majordomo@civic.net; use "subscribe communitarians" in message body
CONTACT: Not provided
COMMENTS:
Co-sponsored by the Center for Civic Networking (section above), the Communitarians list is made up of individuals dedicated to "shoring up our moral, political, and social environment." The Communitarian philosophy includes a commitment to the welfare of the community. Very low traffic: several messages per week at the maximum.

TYPE: Gopher
ADDRESS: gopher sunsite.unc.edu
/ Worlds of SunSITE -- by Subject
/ US and World Politics
/ Community_Idea_Net
OR: telnet sunsite.unc.edu
/ login as: gopher, enter vt100 at the "TERM=" prompt, use the following path: Worlds of SunSITE -- by Subject / US and World Politics / Community_Idea_Net
URL: gopher://sunsite.unc.edu :70/11/../.pub/Politics / Community_Idea_Net
CONTACT: Terry Sullivan (sullivan@SUNSite.UNC.EDU)
COMMENTS:
This gopher is generally geared toward local government managers, although the information contained in it could also prove quite useful to non-profit organizations (particularly those working closely with local government units). This gopher contains descriptions of actual projects used by local government to overcome difficult political, financial, and policy difficulties.
Each description contains a brief description of programs that worked, along with contact information to allow the user to obtain more detailed information. The gopher is searchable, so that the user can easily locate project descriptions that match their situation. The database contains articles on a wide variety of topics, which makes it a useful resource for just about any organization working with local governments.

Community Networking discussion list (COMMUNET)

TYPE: E-mail discussion list
ADDRESS: communet@elk.uvm.edu
URL: E-mail to listproc@elk.uvm.edu; use "subscribe communet " in message body
CONTACT: Not provided
COMMENTS:
Communet is a low-traffic list (0-10 messages per day) about community networking. Common discussion topics include the hows and whys of setting up a new community network, the relationship between local government and social service agencies, the role of the community in education, and more. Occasionally, high-volume unrelated tangents develop out of the conversation. Many organizers of community networks contribute to this discussion. Recommended for non-profit organizations who wish to set up or be part of community networks. Note new address as of mid-1995.

Community-Wide Education and Information Services discussion list (CWEIS)

TYPE: E-mail discussion list
ADDRESS: cweis@mtn.org (to post)
SUBSCRIBE: E-mail to listproc@mtn.org; use "subscribe cweis " in message body
CONTACT: John Ladwig (jladwig@mtn.org) and Tamara Blaschko (trb@mtn.org), list owners
COMMENTS:
CWEIS discusses the Community-Wide Education and Information Service initiative and is set up as a forum for discussion of CWEIS programs across the country. Traffic is fairly light, ranging from 0-5 messages per day.

Frankford Plan mailing list

TYPE: E-mail discussion list
ADDRESS: frkdplan@bts.com (to post)
SUBSCRIBE: Send e-mail to server%plf@bts.com; use "subscribe frkdplan" in message body
CONTACT: Sam Rennie (plf!desktop@bts.com)
COMMENTS:
This is a new list (1/95) specifically for those participating in Philadelphia's new revitalization effort (the Frankford plan) but everyone involved in similar programs involving community arts, recreation, housing, education, safety, and revitalization is invited to contribute and share their wisdom.

New Mexico Communet discussion list

TYPE: E-mail discussion list
ADDRESS: nmcommunet@laplaza.taos.nm.us (to post)
SUBSCRIBE: Send e-mail to nmcommunet-request@laplaza.taos.nm.us; leave subject line blank and use "subscribe nmcommunet YOUR NAME" in message body.
CONTACT: Richard W. Bryant (rb@laplaza.taos.nm.us)
COMMENTS:
This list, sponsored by the community network La Plaza Telecommunity Foundation in Taos, NM, concerns community networking issues specific to New Mexico.

TYPE: Gopher and WWW sites
ADDRESS: gopher info.senecac.on.ca
/ Interesting Places
/ Community Free-Nets
URL: gopher://info.senecac.on.ca/11/internet/freenets
OR http://herald.usask.ca/~scottp/freewww.html
CONTACT: Not provided; different for each community network
COMMENTS:
Both of these sites provide links to local community networks on the Internet. Some are Gopher-based, others are Web-based, and others (mainly the Free-Net sites) must be telnetted to. Because many of these community networks contain information on local social service organizations, we have included a link to them here so that non-profits can discover what programs are being run in other areas of the country.