ÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜ INTRODUCTION ÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜ Thank you for your interest in The Annex, a new mail transfer network. We're not a computer network -- we're a people network commited to bringing you a climate and forum for extremely good discussion. Why another QWK network, you might ask? We certainly did ask that from the very beginning. Our only answer that made any sense was "why not?" Many of us have been BBSing on networks for awhile. We wanted to try our own hand at providing a space for intelligent, vigorous discussion. We wanted to see if we could do this in a collaborative way with a minimum of rules, controlled growth and limited scope. You won't find a lot of conferences on The Annex. We would rather have broader conferences that cover a several topics and even off-topic chatter from time to time. Your hosts are commited to facilitating discussion, not just policing it. We are definitely not a one-liner net -- our discussions are free-wheeling and lively, and can be extended (that means you should enjoy, at times, long messages). In this files, we keep all of the documentation with regard to The Annex. This document is available to anyone who calls the network or anyone involved in managing the net. If you are a caller, we welcome your feedback in our CALLERS2NX conference. Let us know what you think. ÜÜÜÜÜÜ VISION ÜÜÜÜÜÜ We are an association of friends who want to provide for ourselves and our callers inviting, professional and interesting forums for discussion. We are responsive to our callers and each other. No idea is put down out-of-hand. No suggestion, from caller or admin team, is derided. All of us who put time and effort into the net are important. We are equals. Those in administrative positions are there as "public servants." We value participating in the network far more than we do administering it. We are aware that ASCII has its limits; therefore, we are dedicated to providing each other with benefit of the doubt. Flaming and snideness take the fun out of BBSing. We treat each other with respect and dignity. We are a net run by adults, for adults. We wish to use the minimum number of rules to achieve our goals. We don't promise that we'll hit this one on the mark all the time, but we do promise to accept feedback so that we can cut anything unnecessary. ÜÜÜÜÜÜÜ MISSION ÜÜÜÜÜÜÜ Our mission is really good, solid, lively discussion, facilitated by conference hosts and coordinated in a collaborative manner by sysops and team leaders who would like to get back to the basics of BBSing: exchanging mail, promoting communication across the miles, and exploring the possibiities of the electronic frontier. ÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜ DESCRIPTION ÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜ The Annex is a QWK-based network which seeks to maintain quality conversation and messaging among its members. We hope to achieve this by conferences that are facilitated by hosts and are broad in scope. We also hope to have minimal rules for as long as possible. Those who are involved with running the net have access to all management conferences (although these conferences are restricted from callers). We hope that we can keep things simply enough that, though collaboration and delegation, most of our member sysops and team leaders/members can participate far more in the net than in running the net. We do not seek to be the biggest or most comprehensive net. For instance, we are limiting technical conferences -- other nets already do this sort of thing and do it well. Instead, we would like to concentrate on quality discussion in our conferences. ÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜ TEAM LEADERS ÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜ Mike Meyer (Datawarp) Network Host Elizabeth Lipson (Seekers) Network Coordinator/Manager John Stewart (Lunatic Fringe) Admissions Team Leader Patrick Spreng (Blue Flame) Topology and Technology Leader Joe Rosenman (Invention Factory) Conference Team Leader Dave Bonds (The Cutting Edge) Publicity Team Leader Kathy Lessa (Blue Flame) Records and Voting ÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜ ADMISSIONS ÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜ ==Requirements== The following are considered minimum requirements. Exceptions may be made on an individual basis by a majority vote of the Admissions Team. A. Sponsorship of an Annex Candidate is preferred but not mandatory. Sponsoring sysops simply need to forward the completed application form to the Admissions Team Leader. Neither the capture file nor a separate review will be necessary as long as the admissions form is complete. B. A properly completed application form is required for all Candidates. Any intentional misrepresentation, including alteration of any required capture files, will be sufficient grounds for not being admitted or expulsion from this network (if discovered after admission has occurred). C. The Candidate's system should show pride and enjoyment and reflect a professional approach on the part of the sysop. The system should be informative and fun for callers. It should be evident that the Candidate's system attracts quality callers who can contribute to quality messaging. D. There can be no hint of illegal activities. ==The Process== A. In the case of a sponsored Candidate, the sponsoring sysop will forward the completed application to the Admissions Team Leader. He/she will in turn post a notification in The ANNEX conference (our management conference) for comments from the current members of The Annex. B. For unsolicited applications, once the Admissions Team Leader determines that the form is complete and that all required captures have been included, he/she will post a notification in The ANNEX conference for comments from the current members of The Annex. C. After seven days have passed, the Admissions Team Leader will make a decision based on the application, the captures and any comments received. If he/she approves the application, the necessary information is passed to the Topology/Technology Team Leader for Hub assignment. A Candidate's application should be processed in a timely manner, with two weeks being the approved time frame. D. Should he/she decide not to approve, the Admissions Honcho forwards the application for automatic review to the Topology /Technology Team Leader and the Network Host (or their designates). Should they both disagree with the Admissions Team Leader, the Candidate shall be considered approved and the Topology/Technology Team Leader will proceed with the Hub assignment. E. If either the Topology/Technology Team Leader and the National Host (or their designees) agree with the Admissions Team Leader, the Candidate will be notified that his application has been denied, along with a brief explanation of the cause. F. All information relevant to each application shall remain private between the Candidate and The Annex Management, including any comments posted in The Annex conference. This is to protect the Candidate system from being stigmatized by The Annex's views. Rejected Candidates may re-apply for membership after a 4-month waiting period. G. All admissions applications must be submitted to the Admissions Honcho, as detailed in ANNEXAPP.ZIP ==Miscellaneous== Any situation not covered by these rule, in regards to admissions, shall be the sole responsibility of the Admissions Team Leader, including the delegation of duties, as they relate to admissions. As always, the Admissions Team Leader is expected to act in collaboration with The Annex management. ==Member System Responsibilities== All systems in the network shall conform to the following general policies and bylaws. 1. Cross posting of Annex network mail to other systems or networks is not permitted, nor is posting of other networks into The Annex. 2. Aliases or "handles" or handles may not be used in the FROM: field of any messages. 3. To the extent that it is within a system's reasonable control, no Annex system shall allow, promote or in any way condone any activity in any Annex message base that violates any law, regardless of whether the specific law that prohibits that action is local, state or federal. Because Annex originates in the United States, the test of illegality shall be United States law. 4. Members should pick up and deliver mail daily, if at all possible. Transfers are required a minimum of four (4) times (for domestic systems) and two (2) times (for international systems) in any seven (7) day period. Members should maintain contact with their direct host if a long interruption in mail transfer occurs. 5. Fees EXPRESSLY implemented to access The Annex are prohibited. 6. Member systems will adopt certain system-wide conventions regarding conference names, taglines and bulletins. Network taglines shall conform to the following convention: ž ANNEX: BBS_Name ž City, State/Provence ž Country (if not USA) The BBS's phone number, etc, optionally may be added after all of the required information. 7. The use of Annex-approved mail software is mandatory. Currently this includes QNet, RNet, RoseMail and Cam-Mail (PCBoard); TNet (Wildcat); BgNet (GT-Power) and MkNet and M/A/X (Remote Access). 8. The Annex expects its members to actively participate in the success of The Annex. As a minimum, members must monitor the ANNEX Conference for personal messages from Conference Hosts and other Annex members concerning user or mail problems. This is also the forum for policy and grievance discussions among members and the administration. The ANNEX Conference is a limited access conference. Access is limited to full sysops as well as any team leaders/members. Access to other system operators of The Annex is at the member's discretion. 9. All Member systems shall carry the Callers2NX conference for the benefit of their callers. This conference is a public conference, and is to be accessible to all fully registered callers of the system. Required conferences are: ANNEX (restricted) VOTING (restricted) CALLERS2NX Participating boards may take as few as one or as many as all other conferences. We *strongly* recommend that, when it is offered, member boards carry the ONE2ONE private conference. 10. Member systems should offer the Annex conference list, member list, policies, guidelines, etc, for download by callers. 11. Network members are to share the costs of mail distribution with their respective hosts, as in any cooperative venture. At this time, the authorized amount is a nominal fee of $52 per year. Members who carry all of The Annex's conferences will be allowed a 25% discount, paying $39 per year. International members are exempt due to heavy mail transfer costs. 11. We have few rules, so they must be kept. Disregarding network rules can result in a member system being disciplined or expelled from Annex. Grounds for dismissing a member from The Annex shall include, but not be limited to: Evidence of any illegal activity. Refusal to comply with one or more member requirements. Misrepresentation on the application form. Refusal to cooperate with the moderation procedures. Not echoing the messages for extended periods of time. 12. Please remember that our purpose is quality communication. To achieve this, all member boards should promote The Annex as much as possible. We request that member boards have a bulletin devoted to The Annex. We also strongly suggest that you promote The Annex through messages in your news file and on your main board. We appreciate any efforts member sysops make to provide quality callers. ßßßßßßßßß STRUCTURE ßßßßßßßßß Our structure is pretty simple. We have moderated conferences. A team approach is taken to running the network. Anyone who is a team leader, team member or sysop has access to the network management conference. We are commited to building a collaborative relationship. We actively seek feedback from our callers and we will respond to this feedback. While the network management is not a democracy, the Network Coordinator seeks input from everyone involved in running the net. If a vote needs to be taken, each board has one vote (the sysop of each participating board may make that vote or delegate it to someone else). We are very concerned that everyone have a fair hearing and that we do not make major decisions without collaboration and advice from our management team.