From: jonathan@ukmug.uk.mugnet.org (Jonathan Allen)
Newsgroups: mugnet.gov,news.admin,comp.os.minix
Subject: MUGNET-UK FAQ
Date: 2 Apr 92 18:48:56 GMT
Organization: MUGNET UK Backbone (UKMUG)


	      F A Q   -   M U GN E T - U K
	    --------------------------------

This is the Frequently-Asked-Questions posting from MUGNET-UK.  It is
posted monthly, unless required more often, and can be obtained by a
polite email request to the author (below).

1.  What is MUGNET ?

    MUGNET stands for the Minix User Group NETwork.  It is a totally
    independant network which grew from  Minix users and sympathisers.
    It has its own registered domain ... mugnet.org ... and is fully
    connected for both Usenet News and email

2.  Where is MUGNET ?

    MUGNET has backbone machines in four countries at present: the US,
    the UK, France and the Netherlands (Holland).  Its main connection
    to the rest of the Internet is in the US and therefore free of any
    restrictions on traffic and re-distribution.

    MUGNET also has gateways onto Fidonet and Chatnet.  Direct links to
    other independant networks are planned as soon as possible.

3.  Who is on MUGNET ?

    Currently MUGNET supports a growing number of users, mainly in Europe
    where there is a problem for small sites and single users connecting
    to the Internet at an economic rate.

4.  What does MUGNET provide ?

    MUGNET provides a full email and news service.  Users may access it
    by 'login' on one of the backbone or node machines, but are encouraged
    to establish a uucp connection.  All node or leaf machines have a full
    domain name and users on these machines are addressed as:

	<user>@<machine>.<country>.mugnet.org

    MUGNET also carries a number of 'private' newsgroups, carried only
    within MUGNET, mugnet.* which are for private discussion of sources,
    testing software and communications and for MUGNET's own administration

5.  What does MUGNET cost ?

    All MUGNET charging is based on the principle of sharing costs.  Thus
    there are two types of access and charging policy:

	i) by subscription - a flat charge is made to join MUGNET
	   (currently 40 pounds sterling) which is annually renewable
	   (for 25 pounds sterling, index linked).  The subscriber then
	   gets up to 20K of free email each month, and pays the direct
	   cost of their email after that: currently 1.21 pence per K
	   and 1.21 pence per message

       ii) on usage - the user/site has no 'free' allowance, and pays a
	   higher figure for their email: currently 1.41 pence per K and
	   1.61 pence per message

    News costs are shared on the basis of shared reading costs.  The total
    news input cost each month is shared between all news consumers in direct
    proportion to the amount of news they take.  Input cost is taken as being
    currently 1.31 pence per K

    There is no minimum fee, and no charges beyond usage.  You pay for what
    you use and don't pay for what you don't want.  This ideally suits the
    small business or hobby/private site who only want an email connection
    with perhaps a couple of newsgroups ... the cost could be only a few
    pounds a month.

6.  Who can join MUGNET ?

    Anyone can join MUGNET by simply contacting the appropriate country's
    backbone operator and making the necessary arrangements.  Email is
    automatic, while newsgroups which are not currently carried can be
    turned on within 24-48 hours (usually).

7.  So now what ?

    The backbone operators are:

	jonathan@ukmug.uk.mugnet.org
	tms@frmug.fr.mugnet.org
	kersing@nlmug.nl.mugnet.org
	rdc30@nmrdc1.nmrdc1.nnmc.navy.mil

    Send email to your nearest backbone site for more details, or ring me
    during office hours (0830 - 1800 GMT/BST) on +44 271 79023

8.  Statistics ...

    January 1991:	email	msg_count 665		bytes 2,581,264
			news   	24MByte, news groups ~50-ish

    February 1991:	email	msg_count 691		bytes 2,295,475
			news   	25MByte, news groups ~50-ish

    March 1991:		email	msg_count 671		bytes 1,506,515
			news   	18MByte, news groups ~40-ish

Jonathan Allen, jonathan@ukmug.uk.mugnet.org