Explanation of Terminology

Internet Service Provider (ISP)

A commercial business that offers you Internet connectivity and server hard disk space. This enables you to use the e-mail and web browsing capacity of your home computer, and to have a place for your personal web site files so that they can be accessed by anyone in the world.
DCN is a local Community Network; a 501(c)(3) nonprofit California Corporation.
DCN is not an ISP.
DCN contracts with a commercial ISP to provide connectivity via dial-up or shell accounts etc. using the DCN geographical domain name (dcn.davis.ca.us)
DCN maintains the MailingList/Listserve, Forum, and Web servers which belong to DCN not to an ISP.

A Dial-up Account

The IPC authorizes the use of dial-up accounts for limited periods of time only. A dialup account inolves an arrangement made with an Internet Service Provider (ISP) that allows you to use a modem and certain software/applications on your computer to access the Internet (for email and web browsing etc.). The ISP will provide you with the telephone number that your modem must dial in order to make the Internet connection. Your computer's connecting software/application will need the ISP's Internet address with certain other information entered in the appropriate places with your log-in/username. In addition the ISP will assign a password (of your choice) to your account and may assist you in setting up your system.
Normally you pay a monthly fee to the ISP for this dial-up connection service but DCN's IPC projects are allowed to use the service without charge for a limited period.

A Non Dial-up, Shell Account

This is an arrangement made with an Internet Service Provider (ISP) for a certain amount of space on the ISP's web server to be set aside for your use as a web site. The ISP will assign a log-in/username and a password (of your choice) to the account. In order to use this space you do need to have a dial-up account (with that ISP or another) as described above. You also need to have software/applications such as Fetch and Telnet installed on your computer so that you can access the shell space and upload your web files.

A DCN Simple Web Site

This is a new option as of late 2002. Access to the Internet via a business or home computer is necessary. This option is for groups wishing to build a web page without needing to know about HTML coding or learning how to upload files to a Web server. This option provides a group with a free, "Simple Web Site" account that has a "www2.dcn.org/orgs/groupname" web address, a user ID and a password. Information is entered into the Web Site template by a DCN Webpage interface. See http://www2.dcn.org/orgs/ipc/anne

A Mailman Mailing List

A Mailman List keeps, on the DCN server, the list of email addresses for those who are subscribed to your List. A single email address is used to send messages to everyone on the List simultaneously. The addressees do not see the name of any of the other subscribers on the message they receive. A List is a very effective and efficient way of communicating with an unlimited number of members of an organization.

A very brief explanation of Mailman:
When you are notified that your list request has been approved you will be told who to contact to set up the List. When your list is created you are assigned ownership of the list and will receive an automatically-generated message giving you your administrative password, as well as directing you to the URLs needed to manage the list through your browser.

Some initial assistance will be provided to set up the List to suit your group's needs but follow-up help is provided only at scheduled Mailman training sessions held about once a month. You will need to allow yourself several weeks after the List creation before putting the List into full use unless you are quite experienced at negotiating your way through software settings. However, there is an excellent Mailman List Management Guide to help you. See Mailman Management at http://staff.imsa.edu/~ckolar/mailman/mailman-admin-quickref-0.2.html

You will be using your browser to access your List management settings and will be able to make changes in the default settings or in your initial selections. The changes go into effect when you click the "Submit Your Changes" button -- nothing needs to be changed or restarted on the list server itself.

Mailman allows you a good deal of control over who may and may not post to the list.

Unlike other mail list managers, Mailman has a built-in archival feature that is easily activated and configured by the list manager.

Mailman List management is not hard. Your administrator will simply need to be comfortable working with putting information into on-line forms. The alternative is a DCN Majordomo List obtained for a small monthly fee from Omsoft in Davis)

A DCN Calendar

This is a new opportunity for local nonprofit groups. Groups need to apply to the IPC AND attend a DCN Calendar workshop. This can happen in that order or in the reverse.
The calendar provides a place for an organization to publish its own events on a calendar of its own on the DCN server. Certain of the organization's events can be marked to appear on the group's calendar AND on a community wide calendar.The management is by web interface.

Training

DCN can arrange for group training sessions to help you and your colleagues to a) understand the technology that you are planning to use, b) create web pages.
DCN's goal is always to get you started. In this case (training) the goal is the same as for the project program overall; DCN gives you a push start and you race off on your own probably returning to DCN one way or another as you need additional help. Sometimes that help might be on the DCN Web, at other times it will have to be provided personally by a web team member or other DCN volunteer. Questions can always be asked in the HyperNews forum or might be addressed to the Web Team's resident expert(s) at msmosaic@dcn.davis.ca.us

Web Team Help

This is provided in several ways. Team leaders and other project participants may contact the Web Team Chair to:
a) ask a specific question
b) arrange to attend a Web Team meeting at which they can ask their questions or talk over their needs with one or more team members.

Also, Web Team members answer the questions posed in the HyperNews Forum or sent to msmosaic@dcn.davis.ca.us.