Chebucto Community NetBoard Minutes January 7, 1997 Attendance: Jan Fullerton, John van Gurp, Ben Armstrong, Bernie Hart, Joan Macintosh, David Trueman, Rob Currie, Doug Rigby 1. Alleged Child Pornographer with CCN Account Sergeant Bill Cowper of the Halifax Regional Police Service contacted David Trueman and John van Gurp last week. He had a search warrant for CCN relating to a child pornography case involving a CCN user. He conducted the search on Monday, January 6, and took copies of relevant files from the individual's account as well as the individual's user agreement. He also asked that any system log files be kept in case they are needed for the investigation. John prepared some notes with potential questions and some answers should the media contact CCN. He has already spoken to some members of the media. CCN should also be prepared for the reactions of CCN users. The best approach may be a proactive one, addressing some potential user concerns on this subject before they become serious issues. John will prepare something and mail it to the board for review, after which it could be posted in the newsletter or another appropriate location. On a related note, firm guidelines should be established for inconsistencies with some users' registration process. Some people don't send in all the required supporting documentation and there is no concrete follow-up procedure. This is especially important where proof of age is required. This could also be a good opportunity to develop a policy on privacy. Basically, CCN responds to police investigations but does not otherwise provide access to people's personal files. Another possible benefit to this is an opportunity to develop our relationship with the police. Sergeant Cowper requested a meeting to establish a process for CCN-police co-operation. Hugh Wright should be involved with this meeting. Sergeant Cowper also encourages users and the general public to contact the police if they have any concerns, even if they are not sure whether it is really a problem. This potential partnership with the police could be a possible topic for the TC97 conference, drawing onthe experience of other community nets as well. 2. CSuite Report David Trueman reported that CSuite is coming along well, although there is still much to do. David Trueman, David Murdoch, David Potter, Landon Boyd and Gerard McNeil are working on the project almost exclusively, while others are helping with the project on a part-time, contractual basis. Robert Cormier has been working on the translation of CCN documents into French. Industry Canada has given part of the payment which has been used largely to cover employee wages. Industry Canada has scheduled a press conference for January 17 in Halifax, at which time John Manley will be announcing the latest successful CAP applicants. The CSuite project is tied into this. This involves a number of high profile people in the community as well as CCN. CCN is supposed to have some sample French documents ready for this press conference as well as a bilingual version of LYNX. There is a French prototype ready now (reseau.chebucto.ns.ca?) that can be accessed with the guest login "visiteur." The introductory pages have been translated, as have the second level graphics. Robert Cormier also has a list of local French resources and will be approaching existing IPs about developing French versions of their sites. The CSuite team is working on getting a French version of PINE, but have not done anything about TIN yet. Although the focus right now is on French, this project opens up the possibilities for dynamic multilingualism, where people can switch languages on-line. The next language option being considered is Mik'maq. It may be worth doing some other sample pages before the press conference - Mik'maq, Portuguese (Carlos), Dutch (John's father?), etc. Bernie Hart and Marion Pape met with the Native Council, who are eager to have a homepage on CCN. They may be interested in the multilingualism project as well. There are basically seven weeks left for the completion of the CSuite CD (version 1.0). Joan MacIntosh suggested it may be good to develop our policy documentation as much as possible, starting with a list of required policy documents which can then be developed into formal policies. In many cases, CCN has unwritten policies that just need to be documented. The CSuite team is also working on a new set of terms for CSuite. It is available under license but the license is free to those that meet certain criteria. There may be a 30-day trial license with fairly loose regulations, then a standard one-year license. This one-year license would be free to those who qualify, be sold to those who don't qualify. Those wishing to receive upgrades will have to renew their licenses annually. 3. Strategic Planning Community Relevance: Bernie Hart and Doug Rigby posted notes on-line; these were mostly a follow-up to the last meeting. Doug raised the additional point that we haven’t really addressed the impact of CSuite on CCN overall and its ability to get things done. There is an inevitable trade-off between time spent on one thing versus time spent on another. Doug also suggested that CSuite should be incorporated into the strategic planning. CSuite provides opportunities for both community relevance and geographic/international outreach. Bernie Hart will post the revised strategic planning information soon. Jan Fullerton will collate strategic planning information. Jan and Joan MacIntosh will post their information following the format used by Bernie. Rob Currie will post the information about costs and institutional support. Joan MacIntosh will alsopost a revised mission statement for discussion after the other parts are assembled because it is contingent on the other items. In her role as chair, Joan MacIntosh will extend a formal thank you to Peter for his help. 4. Other items CCN also needs to maximize the potential benefits of the upcoming press conference. Although it is a federal conference, CCN can benefit from it by preparing a press package, follow-up, etc. We could also use the services of the graphic designer who offered his services, or someone on staff at the Halifax Regional Library may be able to help. This contact could be established through Laura Jantek and/or David Potter (who worked on the last press release). CCN also needs to solicit volunteers for this, the Internet show, and other projects. Somebody is needed to speak at the Internet show. This would be a 20-30 minute presentation, once on Friday January 24 and once on Saturday January 25. Jan Fullerton can do Friday, Doug Rigby can do Saturday, and Ben Armstrongcan provide backup support. Rob Currie may also be able to help depending on other duties. David Trueman will mail out a revised information sheet based on the fact sheet used for the strategic planning sessions, other people will develop the presentation. A potential topic may be the community need/role/importance of a local community net. It also might be a good idea to develop a new CCN information tape to replace the out-dated one being used by Halifax cable. The best way to do this is to get a professional producer to do it. The focus could be on several things: -success stories -community need -other: The department of education might also do the production, allowing us to maintain control over the content and production. CTV morning news has a regular Internet feature and it may be possible to get it on the National Magazine as well. When Jan Fullerton is able to check email from home, she will advertise for volunteers for everything going on (PR team, Internet show, regular volunteers, etc). The Board needs to start thinking about the AGM, including the need for a nominating committee. There should be about three people on the nominating committee, not all of them from the Board. The Board could use some bolstering as well. The financial statement can’t be prepared until late January, making March a good possibility for the AGM. We also need to check whether David Tower was nominated as auditor at the last AGM; an informal audit needs to be done. At present, our finances are okay. Doug Rigby intends to contact the Halifax Regional Library about reconnecting the two problem PATs for training purposes, even if only for dialup use. David Trueman suggested contacting Ken Burke in Community Services. The cable project is currently on hold; there are on-going problems with the technology despite the fact the two schools using cable connections are not having problems, nor is the development machine in the CCN office. The next meeting will be in two weeks on January 21, 1997. The main focus will be a wrap- up of strategic planning; everyone should bring sufficient printouts of information to the meeting as well as completing on-line work.