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alt.cybercafes FAQ
alt.cybercafes Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) Version 5.2 ________________________________ I. Introduction Welcome to alt.cybercafes. We are a newsgroup dedicated to communication pertinent to anything to do with cybercafes and internet cafes. This FAQ's purpose is to provide basic information to users new to the group and to answer questions which are often asked. It is also to provide guidelines to the etiquette and accepted uses of the group. II. Table of contents I. Introduction II. Table of contents III. Accepted practices of the group IV. Frequently asked questions and information sources V. Informative links VI. Disclaimers III. Accepted practices of the group...a.k.a. do's and don'ts **Don'ts:** alt.cybercafes is an unmoderated newsgroup. This allows for a completely free exchange of ideas but in turn opens itself to the risk of abuse. Most of these abuses are commonly discouraged throughout the usenet and Internet and hence are discouraged here as well. The following is a list of those abuses that are commonly found in most usenet FAQ's: 1. Advertisements: Also known as "spam". Many newsgroups have been destroyed by the proliferation of unsolicited advertisements and e-mail. The practice is highly discouraged in alt.cybercafes. An exception is if you provide appropriate information to the group and include a link to your business. Collecting email addresses for SPAM is also discouraged. 2. Offensive off-topic posting: Also called "trolling" or "flame baiting". Examples of this practice would be "Take a pill man!" or "why are net people so hostile". This is inappropriate and rude. Don't do it. 3. Personal attacks: Also called "flame wars", they are discouraged. Discussions are welcome but insults are beyond discussion. You are communicating with strangers here. If you wouldn't say something to a stranger on the street, chances are that it is inappropriate here. Criticizing someone for asking a question is also considered a personal attack. The posting of personal email to a newsgroup is also considered a personal attack and is unacceptable. 4. Offensive language and conduct: Swearing and inappropriate slang names for civil, ethnic, racial, and religious groups is discouraged. 5. Do not post binaries in a non-binary newsgroup. (alt.cybercafes is not a binary newsgroup). It takes up a lot of bandwidth and most servers will drop it anyway. If you need to show a picture, put it on a page and link to it. Do NOT post it. 6. When posting a reply, don't repost the entire previous message. Cut out the parts that are irrelevant to your reply. This will save bandwidth as your post is distributed to every other news server on the internet. 7. Cross posting: At recent count, there are over 34,000 newsgroups available on the usenet. When asking a question or posting a comment, be careful that the groups you are posting to are relevant to the question. For example a question about starting cybercafes should not be crossposted to alt.internet, rec.travel.cancun, or soc.culture.amish. 8. Copyright violations: International copyright treaties have gotten stiffer with their penalties. Do not post the contents of any website to this newsgroup without permission of the website's owner. You may post a URL referring anyone to any site, but posting its actual contents goes against this charter. Violations will be reported to the Abuse team of the ISP providing service to the violator. **Do's** 1. If you have a question, ask it. The group is filled with a lot of knowledgable people who are willing to help as much as they can. However, just like you would not walk into a restaurant and order "food", make sure your questions are as specific and to the point as possible. 2. If you can answer a question, or add information to it, don't hesitate to post. Even the most seasoned cybercafe owner can learn from others experiences. 3. Before posting a reply to a question, read the other replies and see if the question has already been answered and check Dejanews for older threads relative to your question. Any information that you have that would aid someone else, please post it. That is how we learn. The most seasoned cybercafe owner still has a lot to learn. As was stated, this is a medium of exchange for ideas and people have different ideas. IV. Frequently asked questions and information sources Summary 1. What is a cybercafe (Group Definition) 2. Where can I find information about starting a cybercafe? 3. Where can I find a cybercafe 'somewhere' in the world? 4. I own a cybercafe and want to join an organization of other owners. Is there one? 5. Where can I always find a copy of this FAQ on the web? 6. What about internet kiosks? 7. Is this newsgroup archived? 8. Where can I buy a cybercafe? 9. What other related usenet groups can help? Frequently asked questions and their answers 1. What is a cybercafe? A cybercafe is a place where you can go to rent a computer connected to the internet, mainly to check email, get information i.e. news, weather, and make connections with others via chat, videocams or to upload digital photos while away from home. A cybercafe definition does not include GAMING BUSINESSES. If you have found this group looking for information on establishments that conduct interactive gaming, please be aware that they rarely overlap with internet cafe/cybercafe services and often are not even connected to the internet. If there are no gaming establishment usenet groups, please do the world a big favor and start one. 2. Where can I find information about starting a cybercafe? a. View an actual cybercafe business plan online used for the purpose of starting a cybercafe in San Mateo, CA http://cybercaptive.com/bp.shtml b. Join the cybercafe mailing list: email cybercafe-subscribe@lightspeed.co.uk The people on the list are very helpful and you will learn a lot about starting a cybercafe. c. Time Management Resources i-table(tm) Public Browser Interface http://www.i-table.com/ Desk Tracy http://www.kansasbay.com/ Netlock http://www.infotouch.net/ SurfPass http://www.surfpass.com/ NetShift http://www.netshift.com/ CafeLink Timer http://www.cafelink.com/ Netloan http://www.lorensbergs.com/ Smart Clock http://www.smartclock.com/ Time Wolf http://www.lonewolfsoftware.com/ Cyber-Time http://www.cybertimesoftware.com/ Full Control & WinU http://www.bardon.com/ CCtime32 http://www.upstatenetworks.com/software/ i-Card http://www.icard.net/ SiteKiosk http://www.sitekiosk.com/ NetStop http://www.netstop-kiosks.com/ iLock http://www.ilock.com NetTime http://www.nettimesoftware.com Cafe Insight http://www.insight-icam.com/ CyberCafe Billing Software http://www.easybrowsing.com/download.htm CafeSuite http://cafesuite.net/ Webtube Cafemanager Billing Software http://www.webtube.co.uk/ ClickGuard http://www.clickguard.co.uk/ Internet Cafe Control Panel http://www.it-partner.com.pl/soft/iccp TimeWatcher http://www.timewatcher.de/ CiberControl http://www.lucioperri.com/eng/index.htm EasyCafe http://www.tinasoft.com/easycafe/ Internet Caffe http://www.antamedia.com/caffe/ CyberCafePro http://www.cybercafepro.com InterNet Cafe Control http://www.splat.co.zw/ SmartLaunch http://www.smartlaunch.net/ PAC Manager http://www.pac-manager.com/ CCAutoSoft http://www.ccautosoft.com d. Other Resources Pancho Networks http://www.panchonetworks.com/ 3. Where can I find a cybercafe 'somewhere' in the world? Check the links at the end of this faq for places that keep track of cybercafes. These sites are automatically protected by copyright, so do not post their contents to the group. The fines just got stiffer this year and the people creating these resources need your traffic to their sites in order to remain there. 4. I own a cybercafe and want to join an organization of other owners. Is there one? yes: Asociacion Mexicana de Cyber Cafes http://www.amcc.org.mx/ The International Association of Cybercafes http://www.theiac.org/ 5. Where can I always find the most recent version of this FAQ on the web? http://cybercaptive.com/faq.shtml 6. What about internet kiosks? There are several links leading to good resources at the end of this FAQ including http://kiosks.org . 7. Is this newsgroup archived? Yes. Google groups is a free searchable newsgroup server which is accessible from the World Wide Web. It archives all of the past newsgroup posts and, if used correctly, can provide a wealth of information. The address is http://groups.google.com . Remember that if you have a question, it is unlikely you were the first to think of it. 8. Where can I buy a cybercafe? Infobaz http://www.infobaz.com/ Cyberia Franchise and Consultancy packages - abbie.scott@easynet.co.uk http://www.cyberiacafe.net/fran/ +44 (207) 681 4135 9. What other related usenet groups can help? rec.food.drink.coffee alt.food.coffee alt.coffee comp.infosystems.kiosks V. Links Finding Cybercafes The Cybercafe Search Engine http://cybercaptive.com Indranet http://www.indranet.com/potpourri/links/cybercafe.html Curious Cat http://www.curiouscat.com/travel/cybercafe.htm American Cybercafes http://www.globalcomputing.com/cafes.html Cybercafes of Belgium http://cybercafes.potaulait.be/uk/ Internet Outside Your Office http://travelers.israel.net/internet/ Internet Kiosks Find a Public Internet Access Point Near You http://cybercaptive.com/pia.shtml The Kiosk Homepage http://kiosks.org Organizations The International Association of Cybercafes http://www.theiac.org/ Asociacion Mexicana de Cyber Cafes http://www.amcc.org.mx/ VI. Disclaimers This FAQ is for informational purposes only. Cybercaptive reserves the copyright (2008) of the document. The authors are not to be held responsible for any consequences of reading this document and are not responsible for any misinformation. As of writing, all urls are current and all information is believed to be correct. If there are any questions, comments, corrections, or additions that you believe should affect the document email faq@cybercaptive.com The Cybercafe Search Engine http://cybercaptive.comThe Cybercafe Search Engine Please feel free to send email to faq@cybercaptive.com with your comments, questions, or suggestions.
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