Some of you may remember from our early days that we discussed the =
possibility of joining with the FreeNet movement, which was run by a =
group called NPTN. There were a couple of dozen FreeNets in the =
Midwest, including even its most eastern reaches, like Buffalo. For =
various reasons -- mostly the cost of the program to us and the low =
level user interface -- we decided not to join and instead to see what =
we could do to expand public access in other ways. =20
I think our strategy has been a successful one, but I have always =
maintained an interest in and respect for the Free Net movement. =
Recently, I came across the news that the parent organization of the =
FreeNets seems to be dying. It has entered into bankruptcy, undergone =
major personnel changes and is "going off the air" soon. So, you might =
be interested, as well, in the attached update.
Regards,
Norm
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- ---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Thu, 19 Sep 1996 15:39:06 -0400
From: Tim Connors <tim@nptn.org>
Subject: NPTN Announcement
To all community networkers:
The following message to NPTN affiliates is being posted
to various NPTN listserves and to the Communet listserve.
The Bad News:
I regret to report that the National Public Telecomputing Network will =
soon
be closing its doors permanently. On September 17, 1996, NPTN filed for =
a
Chapter 7 bankruptcy.
As most of you know, funding has been a serious problem at NPTN since
before the resignation of Dr. Grundner in October of 1995. The Board =
and
staff have been relentlessly pursuing a number of potential sources of
funding since that time, but over the course of the past few weeks, each =
of
our erstwhile prospective donors has made it clear (in some cases after
many months of discussion) that they do not intend to fund NPTN. We are
now well past the point of no return. As a number of our prospective
donors have made clear to us, no serious funder is willing to make =
grants
to an insolvent non-profit.
Affiliate Dues:
You may ask why we have not solicited dues from affiliates. As you =
know,
Dr. Grundner declared a temporary moratorium on collecting renewal dues
last October, when it became clear that the ongoing shortage of funds =
would
require NPTN to scale back its operations significantly. After =
listening
to your feedback on our proposed dues schedule earlier this summer, we
concluded that our affiliates, understandably, would not be willing to
resume the payment of dues without some clear sign of long-term =
viability
- -- i.e., an infusion of money and the resumption of operations at or =
near
previous levels. What we did not want to do was solicit dues from our
affiliates, collect enough from our most loyal supporters to buy =
ourselves
a few weeks or maybe a couple months, then close our doors anyway. =
Given
the large number of affiliates who never paid their dues even in good
times, and the number who have expressed doubts about future payments
(and/or higher payments) in recent weeks, we did not believe soliciting
dues offered any promise without having other funding in place first.
Logistical Matters:
There are a number of practical details to the bankruptcy procedure that
will affect NPTN and its affiliates. Now that NPTN has filed, the
organization will be wound down under the supervision of a trustee, who =
is
appointed by the bankruptcy court to represent the interests of all the
creditors. The trustee's authority trumps that of anyone here at NPTN.
You should realize that the trustee's latitude is narrowly circumscribed =
by
the Bankruptcy Code. The ultimate arbiter of any disputes will be a =
judge
in the Bankruptcy Court.
Some of our affiliates have been listed as creditors or potential =
creditors
in our bankruptcy petition. Those affiliates should receive a notice =
from
the bankruptcy court alerting them to the existence of the petition. =
After
90 days or so, those people will receive a second notice that will =
explain
how to file a proof of claim with the bankruptcy court.
Those affiliates who believe they are owed money but do not receive a
notice may contact their local bankruptcy court for a proof of claim =
form
which must then be filed with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern
District of Ohio. The address is :
U.S. Bankruptcy Court
Northern District of Ohio
31st Floor
Key Tower
Cleveland, OH 44114
The case number is 96-15026 and the Judge is Judge Baxter. The name of =
the
case is In re National Public Telecomputing Network.
NPTN will continue to exist for at least a few weeks in order to wind =
down
its affairs. However, our telephone service will not be available after
Sunday, September 22 at 5:00, so those of you with dial-in access will =
no
longer have it as of that time. It is essential that you download any
files belonging to you that you need before this time. Our Internet =
access
will terminate by 5:00 Wednesday, September 25. I realize this doesn't
give you much time to make other arrangements but there is, =
unfortunately,
no way to keep our equipment going past that time.
......
For What It's Worth:
Those few of you who stand to lose money as a result of our bankruptcy =
will
doubtless be angry about this turn of events. Rest assured, you're in =
good
company. Our Chairman of the Board of Trustees will be out a =
considerable
sum of money as a result. Another of our trustees has lent us thousands =
of
dollars as well. Having unwisely sat on paychecks and advanced expenses =
to
NPTN over the past few months, both John Kurilec and I will be out many
thousands of dollars more than the meager amount of employee salary that
enjoys a preference over other creditors. There are several friendly
creditors who have already reduced their fees that will now be out
thousands, including our attorney, our bookkeeper, our accountants, and =
our
consultant Drew Taubman, who worked many many hours in the past few =
months
in the hope of salvaging this organization. As you can imagine, none of
the Board or staff are happy about the consequences of this bankruptcy =
for
ourselves, for our affiliates, or for those who have helped NPTN so =
much.
Not surprisingly, the psychic toll on our Board and staff (and their
families) has also been extremely high. So if we're a little cranky =
when
you call, please bear with us.
The Good News:
Not all the news in the last few months has been bad. I'm very proud of
what we accomplished, in spite of all our financial problems, during the
past six months. (Under the circumstances, I hope you'll forgive me for
blowing our own horn a bit.) The TeleOlympics '96 went well this year
under the guidance of John Kurilec, who has neither sought nor received =
the
credit he deserves for the success of that program every year since its
inception. (John has been mailing out certificates to the medalists =
with
money from his own pocket, since the postal meter is on empty -- all too
typical for him.)
.....
NPTN was also in the forefront of the universal service movement this =
year,
with the help of Glenn Manishin and Jeff Blumenfeld, our pro bono =
counsel
from the noted telecom law firm, Blumenfeld and Cohen in Washington, =
D.C.
With their help, NPTN had the opportunity to advance community networks =
as
a model for universal service. Our comments to the FCC, and subsequent
meetings with FCC staff, the offices of two FCC commissioners, and =
Senate
staff, attracted the interest of the policy makers, so much so that NPTN
was invited to (and did) testify before the Joint Board on Universal
Service. The Board's request for follow-up comments also referred =
directly
to our comments. I continue to hope that the FCC will follow our =
proposal
to provide seed money for community networks, as the Canadian government
does.
In addition to these accomplishments, NPTN continued to do the lower
profile things that support community networking -- like directing a =
dozen
or so callers to community networks in their areas every day, and =
working
on such projects as Academy One, the Health and Wellness Area, and
CyberSolon. And we did all of this on a fraying shoestring.
The Big Picture
The closing of NPTN should not be taken as a sign of problems in the =
field
of community networking generally. All over the United States, Canada, =
and
much of the world, more and more community networks are starting and
succeeding. Public interest has never been higher in socially =
constructive
uses of telecommunications technology. New models for community =
networking
and new faces laboring at the grass roots appear each day, with valuable
contributions to add. Despite the financial, technical, and competitive
challenges that face community networkers in the coming years, I have =
every
confidence that they will continue to bring the Internet to their
communities and, more importantly, bring their communities to the =
Internet.
On a Personal Note:
Before we sign off for good, there are many people I will wish to
acknowledge and probably a few thoughts about the future of community
networking I will want to share. I'll save those for a future message.
For now, just this: the people I have met in this field are some of the
most decent, dedicated and hard-working folks I have had the pleasure to
meet, and I thank you in advance for the supportive messages you will
probably send. Any offers of employment for John or me will be =
cheerfully
entertained!
Please contact me if you have any questions, comments, brickbats, =
flames, etc.
Yours truly,
Tim Connors
Tim Connors, Acting Executive Director
The National Public Telecomputing Network (NPTN)
30680 Bainbridge Road, Solon, Ohio 44139
tim@nptn.org 216-498-4050 fax: 216-498-4051
http://www.nptn.org
Free-Net is a service mark of NPTN registered in the U.S.
and other countries.