 ۻ  ۻ  ۻ ۻ             ۻ   ۻ ۻ ۻ
ۻ ۻ ͼ ۺ             ۻ  ۺ ͼ ͼ
ۺ ɼ ۻ   ۺ      ۻ ۻ ۺ ۻ      ۺ
ۺ ۻ ͼ   ۺ      ͼ ۺۻۺ ͼ      ۺ
ۺ  ۺ ɼ ۻ ۻ        ۺ ۺ ۻ    ۺ
ͼ  ͼ ͼ  ͼ ͼ        ͼ  ͼ ͼ    ͼ

      Hello Everyone, and Welcome to a new type of network!  If you are
the type of person that doesn't want to deal with a network hierarchy,
constantly being moderated for little non-important things, feeling that
must practically BOW to the Net Gods?  Then this is the net for you!

      Here at ABEL-Net, you will not only feel at home, but you will be
able to exercise many freedoms that the bigger nets take for granted.
For example, if you start to go a little off topic in a certain
conference, no problem!  All we might do is to very politely ask you to
change conferences before it becomes a 20 message thread.  We want to
make our users comfortable with the rules of this network, as well as
the people that run it.  In this way, we hope to foster confidence in
the "common sense" approach to networking.

The Founders
~~~~~~~~~~~~
      ABEL-Net actually stands for the initials of its founders, Andrew
Borrs and Elliot Lehman.  Well, after dealing with many other networks,
we sat down and said, "We're sick of it."  We were tired of constantly
feeling the pressure of the bigger networks breathing down our necks,
trying to find the smallest mistake to moderate us on.  So, we
established ABEL-Net.  By running our own net, we can eliminate that
stuffy feeling of always being watched by "big brother."  We thought
that a network should be a place to talk to other people about certain
topics, sell merchandise, or just get in contact with friends - not to
worry about someone moderating you.  We sat down one afternoon and got
cracking on what you're reading right now, creating conferences, writing
a small set of rules and contacting BBSes to join us in our quest.
Hopefully you will too!

The Administration Conferences
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
      Some of these conferences are restricted to the Network
Administration, Hub sysops and Node sysops only.  Some are for users to
chat with the Administration about problems, questions, or other things
pertaining to the network.  They exist so we can all keep in touch, up
to date, and feel that their are actually PEOPLE behind the titles.
Here they are for your reference:

ADM2Sysop
---------
This is the place where Sysops (our life blood) and Conference Hosts
(our work force) can talk to the Administration about setting up,
problem users, suggestions for new rules,  suggestions for new
conferences, or anything that pertains to Net Business.  Announcements
and rulings will also be given by the Administration in here.  This
conference is restricted to Administration, Conference Hosts and
Hub/Node Sysops ONLY and MUST be carried by every BBS.

ADM2ADM
-------
This is where Network Officials can talk to each other in privacy about
Network Decisions, to make Network Proposals, or to talk about BBS
applications and other such Net Business.  This conference is restricted
to Network Administration ONLY and can ONLY be carried by sysops who are
members of the Network Administration and MUST be FORCED PRIVATE.

ADM2User
--------
This is an open conference for everyone to reach the Administration.
Its for the users ONLY.  It works like the president's "red phone". Here
users may post messages to appeal disciplinary action, make suggestions
for improving the network or just leave us a note.  Anouncements and
rulings will also be given by the Administration for the users in here.



The Regular Conferences
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
These are the normal conferences and can be selectively carried by any
NODE.  Hubs MUST carry every conference.

Note: If you are a Software or Hardware Company, you may request your
      very own conference to support your product in the ADM2User
      Conference.

***********************************************************************
**** Please see CONFS.TXT for a full detailed list of conferences, ****
**** their descriptions, hosts, etc.                               ****
***********************************************************************


The Rules
~~~~~~~~~

      The rules on ABEL-Net are very simple, straightforward, and self-
explanatory.  Now, there are rules that may seem like common-sense, and
there are others that are more complex.  However, ABEL-Net Officials,
Hubs, Nodes and Users MUST comply with them at all times.  Simple
violations (i.e. overquoting) are dealt with in a very polite,
suggestive manner, as to encourage the user to correct his own
situation.  Serious violations (i.e. hacking), on the other hand, will
be dealt with IMMEDIATELY and SWIFTLY.  Continuous serious violations
will lead to the suspension or removal of ANY Hub, Node, or User at the
descretion of ABEL-Net Officials.

Note: Rules are referred to by number, so read and familiarize yourself
      with them.

Serious Violations
------------------

 1)   Offensive/Abusive Language
      ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
      No offensive or abusive language is allowed.  The use of any word,
      phrase, expression, comment, suggestion, or proposal which is
      deemed by the Administration to be profane, obscene, lewd,
      lascivious, filthy or indecent is STRICTLY PROHIBITED.  This
      includes, but is not limited to bigotry, discrimination, bashing,
      insults based on physical appearance, religious beliefs, gender,
      sexual orientation, intelligence quotient or any other type of
      immoral activity.  Also, do not send abusive, foul, harrassing or
      insulting messages to ANYONE on this network.

 2)   Hacking/Phreaking/Piracy
      ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
      DO NOT send commercial software through this net!!!!  By doing so,
      you leave us with no choice but to contact the proper authorities
      IMMEDIATELY AND remove your access as a user.  Hubs and Nodes are
      RESPONSIBLE for the actions of their users.  Also, ads or messages
      concerning these activities, whether past or planned, is EXPRESSLY
      PROHIBITED.

 3)   Changing/Deleting/Altering/False-Posting Messages
      ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
      All messages are considered public.  In other words, everyone can
      read them (1986 Privacy of Communications Act).  We do not,
      however, allow anyone to (1) Post messages for people other than
      themselves, (2) Change any existing message (3) Alter any existing
      message or (4) Delete any existing message (unless ABEL-Net
      Officials deem it necessary).  We want people to be sure that
      their messages are getting through, unaltered, and that they are
      the only ones to use there own names.  Any one of the above
      activities do not only constitute lying, but can also be
      considered purjury and is NOT ALLOWED WHATSOEVER.

 4)   Unintended Access
      ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
      No one is allowed in the ADM2ADM conference except for ABEL-Net
      Administration.  No one is allowed in the ADM2Sysop conference
      except for Administration, Network Sysops and Conference Hosts.
      All Network Sysops MUST make sure that it stays this way by not
      giving access to friends, family, users, etc.  If anyone wants
      access to these conferences, they must first apply to a position
      that has access to them and be approved by the Administration.
      Only the Administration can allow access to these conferences and
      will notify the proper Network Sysop on exactly who to give
      access to.


Simple Violations
-----------------

1) OverQuoting
   ~~~~~~~~~~~
   OverQuoting is defined as quoting an entire message, just to respond
   with "ok."  This is a gross example, but it happens all the time.  We
   recommend a 2:1 ratio.  In other words, your reply must be
   approximately half the length of your quote.  IT IS NOT WRONG TO
   QUOTE AN ENTIRE MESSAGE, as long as you respond with more than just a
   line or two.




Requirements To Become a HUB or NODE
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1) You MUST be running a REGISTERED version of your BBS Software.

2) You must be 18 or over due to legal liability laws.

3) You CANNOT carry ANY illegal, pirated or copyrighted software in your
   file areas.

4) You MUST download and make the ABEL-Net ZIP file available on your
   BBS as a free, no-ratio download.

5) You must print, fill out and SIGN APPLY.TXT from the ABEL-Net ZIP
   file and mail it to the address found on the bottom of the
   application.

      After complying with the above requirements, you will be contacted
by the Network Administration to begin trial mail-runs.  All new
Hubs/Nodes are subject to a 3-month probationary period, in which, at
any time, the Network Administration can deny your access to the
network.  Denial of access will ONLY occur if the Hub/Node consistently
does not comply with the rules of the network.















 