The purpose of RTPnet (a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization) is to promote the electronic communication of information of public interest to and among the general public. The organization consists entirely of volunteers, working on their own time.

RTPnet Members

Learning Centers

• Hargraves Learning Center: RTPnet is joining forces with the Northside Community Organization and with Chapel Hill Parks and Recreation to establish a computer learning center in the Hargraves Recreation Center in Chapel Hill. The facility should be available in Spring 1999.

• Birchwood Learning Center: RTPnet continues to work with several individuals and organizations to provide a public learning center in the Birchwood Heights community in Durham. This year, the Birchwood Learning Center (BLC) incorporated and was granted 501(c)(3) nonprofit status.

  Day-to-day operation and maintenance of the learning center are provided by the Executive Director, Paul Godshall <godshall@minister.com>. Birchwood Learning Center is used primarily by children ages 6 - 13 afterschool (Monday - Thursday, 3:30 - 5:30).

  An innovative program for teenagers to learn life skills and computer skills and earn money for doing so was sponsored in the Spring by Durham Community Prevention Partnership, Center for Substance Abuse Prevention, Birchwood Homeowners Association, and Birchwood Learning Center. The program is described in a press release.

  A grant proposal was funded for $10,100 by the Frances C. and William P. Smallwood Foundation in August 1997. The funds were used to purchase nine machines, educational software, and a phone line. A second grant proposal, submitted by RTPnet in June 1998, was partially funded by the Frances C. and William P. Smallwood Foundation in August 1998, with $9,000 for enhancing BLC.

  Paul Godshall's report to the Birchwood Heights Home Owners Association, June 1998, provides a summary of the Birchwood Learing Center's activities in 1998, with links to additional information.

• Orange County Public Library: Classes in Navigating the World Wide Web resumed in the Fall. They were taught at Orange County Public Library in Hillsborough October 29, November 12, and December 3.

Public Training

• Self Help: A Web page, Computers and the Internet, is being developed to help people with their computer problems. Besides linking to useful computer and Internet resources, this Web page provides a Web-based discussion forum, tied to an e-mail list. When a message is posted to the forum, an e-mail message is sent to helpteam-l@rtpnet.org and a member of the Help Team posts a response to the Web page.

• Training Classes: Brainstorming sessions were held in April to discuss possibilities for providing public computer training. Planning continued through the year. There is particular interest in encouraging school children to help teach seniors, and there is interest in finding ways to pay at risk school children to improve their computer skills while performing useful tasks, such as assisting in training others and creating and maintaining Web pages.

AFCN and CTCnet Memberships

Hardware/Software

• E-mail List Services: RTPnet now provides an e-mail list as part of its services for members, and the RTPnet list was moved from UNC-CH (where it was housed since 1992) to RTPnet. Managing a Mailing List on RTPnet provides instructions for using the service, which uses Majordomo software. Lists created on RTPnet in 1998 include:

    aaw-l                   American Association of Woodturners Local Chapters
    anchasl-l               Association of NC Health and Science Libraries
    asnc-list               Anthroposophical Society of North Carolina List
    asq-list                ASQ Section 1113 - Raleigh, NC Mailing List
    cafa-list               Capital Area Families for Adoption (CAFA)
    emmaus-list             Mailing list to post prayer requests
    garnerjc-l              Communication for the Garner Jaycees
    helpteam-l              Help: Computers and the Internet
    pucc-l                  Members of Pilgrim United Church of Christ
    rars-l                  Raleigh Amateur Radio Society E-mail List
    rcband-l                Mailing list for members of Raleigh Concert Band
    rtpnet-list             A Community Network for the RTP area of NC
    salem-list              Salem Baptist Church News
    teaa-l                  Triangle Electric Auto Association announcements
    train-l                 Training: Computers and Information Technology
    twnc-l                  Triangle Woodturners of North Carolina List
    tyjp-l                  Triangle Young Jewish Prof. List
    uufrya-list             Unitarian Universalist 20's & 30's Activities
  

  Archived messages can be displayed as Web pages, using MHonArc software. For examples, see http://www.RTPnet.org/lists/. Postings can be viewed by date or by subject, and messages can be searched by keyword. Since the setup procedures are labor intensive, this service is available only for established lists containing at least 100 postings.

• Web-Based Discussion Forums: Software to support web-based discussion forums has been implemented and is being used on a trial basis with plans to make this a service for members in Spring 1999. For an example, see http://www.rtpnet.org/comp/help_forum/wwwboard.html.

• Web Server Statistics: Web Server Statistics are now available, using the Analog program.

• Search Engine: A search engine was installed to search rtpnet.org. Links to it are on the RTPnet Home Page and on the page Search the World Wide Web. The search engine uses FreeWAIS.

• Password-Protected Web Pages: Members may now password-protect Web pages. This new service allows groups to have information viewable by group members only. For more information, see Restricting Access to Web Pages.

• Technical Changes: The RTPnet computer was moved from The Internet Center to Deltaforce Technologies, Amnon Nissan's new business office (Amnon is president of the RTPnet Board of Directors), and the machine's IP number was changed. In addition, the web server was upgraded to Apache 1.3.3.

General Meetings

• April, three meetings brainstorming training
  
• May and June, planning training

Meeting summaries are online at http://www.RTPnet.org/rtpnet/min/.

In addition, the System Administrators met September 24 to discuss software and hardware issues.

Board Activities

• Board Members

  In the annual Board business meeting (March 1998), Errol Casey was elected to the Board of Directors, and Dan Eddleman and Robert Gotwals were re-elected.

  Thomas P. Davis resigned from the Board in June.

  Mike Rulison resigned as convenor of Board meetings in June.

  Amnon Nissan was elected President of RTPnet, effective July 1, 1998.

  Current Board members are:

  Granville Errol Casey, Jr. <errol@rtpnet.org> or <errol@pobox.com>
  Lead System Administrator
  304 Garrison Avenue
  Clayton, NC 27520
  Home: (919) 550-0930
  Work: (919) 991-7064
  

  Dan Eddleman <eddleman@prodigy.net>
  Treasurer
  Engineering Management Consultant, CDI Inc.
  3408 Lapin Lane
  Chapel Hill, NC, 27516
  Home 919-929-7220

  Robert R. Gotwals Jr<gotwals@shodor.org>
  Computational Science Educator
  The Shodor Education Foundation, Inc.
  923 Broad Street Suite 100
  Durham, NC 27703
  Work: 919-286-1911

  Judith H. Hallman <judy_hallman@unc.edu>
  Executive Director and Vice President
  Retired from Information Technology Services, UNC-Chapel Hill
  1078 Lystra Road
  Chapel Hill, NC, 27514
  Home: 919-933-3931

  William R. Hutchins <hutch@RTPnet.org>
  President, Future Concepts, inc.
  5605 Brisbane Drive
  Chapel Hill, NC, 27514
  Work: 919-968-4292
  Home: 919-968-4292

  Amnon Nissan <amnon@deltaforce.net>
  President
  President, Deltaforce Technologies
  5421 Wayne St.
  Raleigh, NC 27606
  Work: 919-852-2121
  Home: 919-851-7609

  Michael v.E. Rulison <mrulison@unity.ncsu.edu>
  Secretary and Convenor
  Principal, DataNomics,
  Economic analysis and microcomputer applications development
  3256 Lewis Farm Road
  Raleigh NC, 27607
  Home: 919-782-9576

  Jane Sparks <jlsparks@co.orange.nc.us>
  Retired from Orange County Information Systems
  PO Box 8181
  Hillsborough, NC 27278
  Work: 919-732-8181; then 1; then 2277#

• Board Meetings
  • March 31
  • June 23
  • Ocotber 14

• Exhibits

  RTPnet participated in the Governor's Sumit on Volunteerism in Greensboro, January 21-22, with an exhibit in the Cyber Lounge.

• Assets

  Assets entering 1998: $5,336.59
  
  Income: $14,095	
      250     contributions
     4845     membership fees
     9000     grant from Frances C. and William P. Smallwood Foundation 
                for the Birchwood Learning Center (BLC)
  
  Expenses: $8,552.24
      716.96  RTPnet hardware and membership fees (AFCN and CTCnet)
     2144.14  BLC hardware, software, digital camera, phone line
     5691.14  5 - 300 Mhz computers for the Hargraves Learning Center 
  	
  
  Assets at end of 1998:	$10,879.35
     6855.86  for BLC from the Smallwood grant
     4023.49  RTPnet resources