How can I get local access to the Internet?

MercerCounty now has several Internet access providers that, depending on where you live, offer local phone numbers. Merlink ^® maintains a current list of providers on its Webstuff page.

What is Merlink ^®?

Merlink ^® (officially the Mercer County Free-Net Association) is a group of volunteers who want Mercer County to have an outstanding presence on the World Wide Web. We created the Mercer County homepage that you find at www.merlink.org and continue to add and update information almost daily.

We would also like to provide Internet access for Mercer County residents but to date have been unsuccessful in raising the funds for the equipment needed to provide such access. Therefore, for now, we are concentrating our efforts on keeping Mercer County's homepage current and vibrant.

What is a Free-Net?

Free-Nets are perhaps best understood by thinking of a continuum with, for example, CompuServe® at one end and a hobbyist's BBS at the other. Free-Nets occupy a new middle ground between the two. They are multi-user systems with much of the power and sophistication of a commercial online service like CompuServe. Yet each system is locally owned, locally operated, and designed to wrap itself around the information needs of the community.

Other key characteristics:

• Free-Nets are driven by the information and communications needs of the local community.

• Their governance and organizational roots are in the community itself.

• They are dedicated to bringing the benefits of the Information Age to as many people as possible, at the lowest possible cost.

• While Free-Nets have connectivity to the outside world, they are not simply" on-ramps" to the "information superhighway." They are first and foremost local systems, run by local people, using local resources, to meet local needs.

Those are some of the characteristics of a Free-Net. If this is what you had in mind - if building a Free-Net is what you want to do - then NPTN can help.

How can I help Merlink ^® keep Mercer County's homepage up-to-date?

We need help coding documents in "HTML, "making phone calls to follow up on new or updated information, verifying that links to other homepages are still active, and updating the calendar of events and white/yellow/blue pages. Let us know by email when you can volunteer, what kind of Internet access you have, and what skills you can offer us. We'll contact you to arrange specific projects.

How can I add my name to the Mercer County while/yellow/blue pages?

Simply send us an email request. Indicate

• the list to which you'd like to be added
  White = individuals
  Yellow = business
  Blue = organizations
• your real name
• the address of your World Wide Web site if you have one and would like a link there from Mercer County's site

NOTE: We'll pick up your email address from your email request.

If you have a Web site, please add a reciprocal link to http://www.merlink.org.

How can I stay current with Merlink's^® activities and news?

We send out a hard-copy newsletter periodically. If you'd like to receive a copy, please email your "snail mail" address to us and request to be added to the mailing list.

NOTE:We're working on offering an electronic version of our newsletter which you'll be able to access from Mercer County's homepage. That project is "under construction."

Also you can send an email to our new mail list and receive in return any e-mail messages sent to the mail list.

What is a maillist (or mailing list)?

A (usually automated) system that allows people to send e-mail to one address, whereupon their message is copied and sent to all of the other subscribers to the maillist. In this way, people who have many different kinds of e-mail access can participate in discussions together.

How do I subscribe to Merlink's ^® maillist?

To subscribe to our maillist:

• Address an e-mail message to merlink-request@akorn.net
• Leave the subject line blank
• Type "subscribe" (without quotes) in the body

After receiving a couple of administrative messages from the maillist operator, you'll begin to automatically receive copies of any e-mail messages sent to the maillist.

To send a message to everyone on the maillist:

• Address the e-mail to merlink@akorn.net
• Fill in the subject to alert recipients about the nature of your message
• Type your message in the body

Who can help me set up my own homepage on the World Wide Web?

Your access provider probably has a homepage editor that can help you create a basic homepage.

There are software packages you can buy off the shelf or download from Web sites. (This page was created with the help of HoTMetaL PRO 2.0.)

Merlink ^® maintains a current list of Web site developers on its Webstuff page.

How can I set Netscape to open MERLINK as soon as I connect to the internet?

Start up Netscape and select preferences from the the options menu.

There you will find a window with a selection to start with a blank page or homepage Location. Select the homepage Location and in the space type http://www.merlink.org then click OK. The next time you launch Netscape you will be greeted by the Mercer County homepage.