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Web Community for everyone.
Since long before the Marches Greenwood Convention, held March 1999, folk have kept saying `we must keep in touch', `we need to share experiences', `how about sending us your newsletter and we'll send ours', and so on, and so on. A variety of suggestions were made at the Convention, including making use of the Web (Internet). Like all the
previous good intentions this was not happening because folk were
concerned that: These and, no doubt others, are good explanations for the inaction BUT it still leaves us all where we were, doesn't it? Out of a sense of frustration I finally took personal, individual action and have, I hope, provided an opportunity for us all to find out if we really do want all those contacts and sharing of experience (other than the occasional, and relatively very expensive face to face get-togethers). So now: - it takes YOU no time except putting in your own contribution because, for the moment anyway, I'll shoulder the burden of managing the Community. - it is cost-free (except for your ISP/telephone charges; or fee to the local library, or whoever) because Microsoft offer the facility to anyone for exactly this sort of community service: which is why it's called a Community - it's controlled only in the sense that you can only alter your own contributions and that, as manager, I'll remove things when they've been around a long time: I've invited you to suggest any other MINIMAL constraints we might need: it's open to ANYONE to join i.e. individuals, organisations, groups - anyone; just follow the on-screen instructions - Web access is growing apace. Depending on the statistics you quote, there may be up to 40% of the population with easy access now. Even if you don't have it yourself you can hire it at the library, in a cyber cafe, or borrow it from a friend. Once you have the files you want on screen there are a variety of ways of copying them on to disk and, therefore, of printing them out and circulating them to those who don't have WEB access. So you only circulate what's worthwhile and it saves postage and paper and time. You will have gathered I think it's potentially brilliant - BUT IT'S UP TO YOU. If you don't use the Community it will just die and show that all our protestations of `staying in touch' are as meaningless as most of those exchanged on Spanish beaches! Alan Shepley
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