Manuel Mejia Jr
- 2001.06.18
Periodically, Low End Mac has run
articles describing different Internet Service Providers (ISPs).
One type of ISP that is often mentioned is the Freenet. These ISPs
are usually Unix-based shell computer accounts that are controlled
using the Lynx text browser. A Mac can usually access the freenet
using a terminal emulation program like Z-Term.
The Freenet is accessible at little or no cost to the computer
user. A new subscriber may need to make a donation in order to get
an account, but the reward for this is usually a vanity ID.
Freenets are the great economic equalizer to accessing the
Internet, because machines as basic as a Mac Plus or a PowerBook 100 running a 2400 baud modem can
interface with the Freenet. Computer users with very little in
terms of economic means can use the Freenet to gain email access or
other information off the Internet.
For all of these advantages, Freenets, like other items, suffer
from the same universal law of service - you get what you pay for.
Freenets do not offer all of the state of the art features that
fee-for-service ISPs give. Freenets usually have no graphics other
than ASCII art. They are also often unsuited for JavaScript or
secured Internet shopping transactions.
Service at Freenets can also be unpredictable. The Freenet is
usually run by volunteers who often have little to no understanding
of the past history of that Freenet. There is often high turnover
of volunteers. As a result, one volunteer's creative network fix
will likely be undone by his or her successors when they try to
install or change-out hardware. The Freenets often use hardware
that may be as old as the Mac II that
some Mac user is using to access the network.
If and when something goes wrong, it could take days, weeks, or
even months to fix. My local ISP announced that it was going to
upgrade some hardware in May. They noted that all dial-in service
would be disrupted for a few days to a week or more. A month later,
dial-in service for half of the Freenet's clients is still out. The
clients that had service restored cannot always get a connection
via modem to the Freenet. As a regular user of my Freenet, I found
myself having to submit articles to Low End Mac via floppy disk and
the US Postal Service during the month of May.
While my ISP continues to troubleshoot the network, those
without dial-in service have been told to go to their public
library and access their account using library terminals. This is a
most unique way of getting people to visit the local library
branch.
Such is life - you get what you pay for.
