04SEP94_5000                     \_O__                     |
   | |                             \  \                  \ L /
 __| |__4500                       /\                  - -( )- -
   | |                        ____<__\__                 / T \
 __| |__4000                                               |
   | |                                _-_-_-_
 __| |__3500                        (,= _- _\.\
   | |                            (,, , __ \ ` \`.
 __| |__3000                      , ( /     .\ `\ \.
   | |                           (( ,,      .) `` \ \.
 __| |__2500                      (,(       ,/`|`   \  \.
   | |                                      )/)   \    \  \=-_
 __| |__2000                               / .  )     O       \`=-_
   | |                                    /  / )   )     \=-_      \=-_,,
 __|$|__1500                            /  . .!  |   ) P     \`=-_,
   |$|                               _-  /  ) .    )       \=-_,
 __|$|__1000                      _==   _-=/  _-=`/|    N       \=-_,
   |$|               ---.____.--``  _-=/    _/
 __|$|__500
   |$|           Oregon Public Networking -- Surfing the Growth Curve
 __|$|__0 
  /$$$\                           Population: 1,320
  \OPN/

A BIG MONTH AHEAD

Our fundraising goal for September is $4200, so we're once again behind
schedule on raising funds for the month.  I'm hoping we can repeat the
end-of-month push that brought us up to over $4300 for August.  Things
are better than ever and more hectic than ever at the same time.  This
is just a dashed-off summary so I won't delay the news any longer.
Please forgive any typos and clumsy sentences.

We have a completed contract for machine room space at LCC and signing
is a formality at this point.  Clif has ordered 45 (YAY!) phone lines
for the new site.  We'll have to buy another terminal server ($3000),
about twenty more modems ($2000) and pay installation on new phone
lines ($1800).  New members are pouring in at twice last month's rate
since the article in the Register Guard appeared.  At the new site,
we'll be upgrading our Internet connection to T-1 (1.5 Megabits/second)
or roughly thirty times (30x) our current bandwidth.  The new phone
lines should get us up to 2000 members, and if anyone starts a pool on
what the date for reaching that number of members is, my money's on
late December :-) after people unpack their Holiday gift modems.

Our volunteers have been doing an excellent job of orienting new users
and assisting people with technical questions.  We couldn't have gotten
this far without their dedication and expertise.  (Big round of
applause)  Nonetheless, our incredible growth is taking its toll and we
need more help.  If you can help teach your friends about EFN, please
do.  Even better, volunteer to become one of our "Ask-A-Nerds" and
field questions on-line.  If you're a video maven, we could really use
some training videos for the most used software on EFN (PINE, NN, WWW,
Gopher, Veronica, etc.) as well as how to set up PCs for
telecommunications.  These videos would help us to train hundreds of
people very quickly, instead of one at a time, thus freeing our
volunteers to work on more esoteric problems and installing new
software features.

It's possible that OPN/EFN will soon become one of the largest
community networks in the U.S.-- not bad for a city our size.  What
you're helping us to create may soon be a shining example for other
cities all over the country of how to bootstrap a network, fund and
administer it.  Many believe free access is an impossible dream or a
utopian fantasy.  OPN is unique in that free access and priority access
provide a pragmatic compromise that provides free access for those who
can't afford to contribute as well as commercial quality access for
those who contribute on a regular basis.

So, please contribute again this month-- we're growing so fast and we've
got some serious financial hurdles to clear this month.

Take a moment and mail a check today (payable "Oregon Public
Networking" or "OPN") to:

            OPN, Attn: Fundraising
            PO Box 1914
            Eugene OR 97440-1914

Remember to write your user-id (login name) on the check in the "memo" or
"for" space in the lower left.  Thanks for your support.

P.S. For details about priority access and donations, please read the
Priority Access FAQ which can be accessed from the New or (A)lternate
menu, (D)ocumentation and Help Menu, (P)riority Access FAQ selection.

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      Oregon Public Networking  -- "Connect Globally; Dial Locally"
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------+