The Great Lakes Free-Net's Impact

The Great Lakes Free-Net (GLFN) is the "Worlds first GUI Free-Net" (Tumanis), and so it is tempting to attribute its success to the attractiveness of its graphical interface. However, many other factors must clearly be considered, such as its age: CFN was booming in a similar fashion when it was three years old, and so it is possible that GLFN will be experiencing difficulties similar to CFN's when it reaches the age of ten.

It was my strong impression while studying GLFN that its community is in love with it. While I have never visited Calhoun County, Michigan, the Free-Net made me want to do so. If it has a similar effect on others, its impact on tourism alone may be a substancial community service.

I have one nagging doubt about GLFN, however. I was not able to get its text interface to function [during my research]. If the system is only accessible through a graphical interface that runs only on fairly new, standard computers, the Free-Net may be excluding a large number of potential users.

[Note: when I logged into the system in November 1996 the text interface was working properly. However, this paper was written in August while the text interface was nonfunctional.

"New technology can ... introduce or exacerbate gaps in quality of service by delivering a better or faster service to some of the users. ... Low-cost text-based terminals must not ... be made obsolete with the introduction of new graphics technology. The solution probably will require multiple user interfaces, resulting in an 'interface gap' that does not sacrifice the basic level of universal access." (Schuler, p.405)

I may be in error on this point; it may be that the text interface is accessible only through a different Internet address than the one I was using. If that is the case, I will no longer have reservations about GLFN's interface.

continuing issues

GLFN has a "sense of community"

I think the most concise argument I can offer on this point is that nearly every time I used the system, I was invited by a total stranger to join an interactive chat session. Members of the community recognized me as a newcomer and actively welcomed me.

GLFN encourages communication between people who live far apart, not neighbors

All of the people I interacted with on GLFN lived in Calhoun County. Since most of the information provided by the system is local, it seems unlikely to me that it will attract many users from outside the area (unless they're studying community networks!).

small businesses can use GLFN to pool their resources and compete against chains

Allan Grossman responded in his survey that this is the case. The Business & Industry menu contains SIGs for Ermisch Travel, Technical Auto Parts, and AMS Computer Stores.

GLFN replaces existing community institutions

"GLFN has an area devoted to the Battle Creek Enquirer, a local newspaper, which helps to enhance the paper by allowing to to carry local opinions on news events, and has probably created at least one job at the paper, someone has to come online, post questions, and get local opinions from the system." (Myers)

women and political minorities are underrepresented on GLFN

It was my impression that there are at least as many female users of GLFN as there are male users. If there are few other minorities on the system, it may be simply because "Calhoun County has a very small minority population." (Myers)

it is "accessible easily and comfortably with little waste of energy or time." (Sudia, p.10)

I found the Free-Net quite efficient in terms of time and energy. My access to the system was exclusively via the Internet, but since I was connecting to the Internet with a modem, I assume direct modem connections would be at least as fast, assuming all 20 lines were not already in use. The First Class software seems to be very speedy to begin with, and it helps that multiple windows can be opened simultaneously.

it prefers community culture to mass culture (Schuler, p.33)

While GLFN subscribes to quite a few global newsgroups via UseNet and OneNet and is working on a FidoNet connection, its preference does seem to be for local content. For example, although the OneNet Sports forum receives 3.75 posts per day (one post every 6.4 hours) from all over the world, there are 33 local message forums devoted to sports, with a total traffic rate of 5.309 posts/day (4.52 hours/post).

it prefers "democracy over autocracy" (Schuler, p.33) and is "on neutral ground" (Oldenberg via Schuler, p.42)

I did not have time to form a good impression of the way GLFN is governed. However, based on what I did see, I got the intangible feeling that the board of directors is receptive to users' feedback. All my respondents seemed happy with the system's administration.

"the mood is playful" (Oldenberg via Schuler, p.42)

The example that springs to mind is the Mad Dogs SIG, in which users interact through a ritualized and very silly set of rules including mandatory "mooning" and "sniffing" of newcomers.

"one may go alone at almost any time of the day or evening with assurances that acquaintances will be there." (Oldenberg via Schuler, p.47)

With 5,000 users in all, it seems unlikely that at any hour of the day one would be alone on the Free-Net. Whenever I connected in the evening hours, there were approximately 15-20 people online, and I was frequently invited by junior-high and/or high-school students to join interactive chats they were having with their friends.

it has been "front-loaded" with "talkative, diverse people" (Godwin)

So many local organizations are represented online that I assume they were actively recruited.

it promotes continuity (Godwin)

During the time I was studying the system, while I was in the process of creating the menu outline that is in the appendices of this paper, the menu structure changed considerably -- I was unable to find on one visit a menu that I had begun to outline on my previous visit. This is understandable in a system that is experiencing rapid growth and experimentation, but it was unsettling nonetheless.

it confronts "the users with a crisis" (Godwin)

The only crisis I saw evidence of was the yearly fundraiser, which seems to be carried out in a manner similar to that used by public radio and TV stations.

it creates "far more demand than [it] can accomodate." (Two)

In its three years, GLFN has attracted 5,000 users. This is a highly respectable rate, but it is short of the board's goal of 10,000 users (DePompolo, Apr. 10).

it is "a destination, not an on-ramp" to the "Information Superhighway" (Woolley)

Since the system offers no Internet connectivity beyond e-mail and newsgroups (as far as I could tell), it does not seem likely that it could be considered as just a gateway to the Internet. There are probably a few people who only use GLFN for Internet e-mail and newsgroups, but I would assume they are a tiny minority.

it involves "community members and organizations in the process" and addresses "real world problems using primarily real (nonprofessional) people to do it." (Schuler, p.xiii)

Notable SIGs include the Red Cross, ADA, and the Substance Abuse Council.