Original_To:  BITNET%"mbu-l@ttuvm1.bitnet"
Newsgroups: bit.listserv.mbu-l
Date:         Wed, 19 Aug 1992 07:04:00 EDT
From:         "Composition Digest (Robert Royar,
              Moderator)" <R0MILL01@ULKYVX.BITNET>
Subject:      (Fwd: *C&CD*) More on NCTENet (maybe) (18)

Date:         Wed, 19 Aug 1992 06:08:46 EDT
From:         IN%"R0MILL01@ULKYVX.LOUISVILLE.EDU" Robert Royar (C&CD Moderator)
Message-Id:   <1992Aug19.060846.1.Grendel.Lair@Cratylus>
Subject:      More on NCTENet (maybe) (18)
Reply-to:     IN%"R0MILL01@ULKYVX.LOUISVILLE.EDU"  Robert Royar
Organization: Cratylus Educational Software

Regarding Nancy Allen <eng_allen@EMUNIX.EMICH.EDU> (Message-id:
<9208182041.AA08099@emunix.emich.edu>) and her request for more info on
NCTENet, most of my info is second hand. NYIT requested and received the
"Request for Proposals" (RFP) from NCTE in May.  The proposal deadline was
then set for June 30 (it had been moved, that I know of, 2-3 times since
January).  The RFPs were then to be followed by a series of RFQs (Requests for
Quotes?) from a selected group of "finalists".  The parameters were too tight
for our computing center and telecom provider to meet.  They were even less
than that charged by commercial services for connect time alone but were
supposed to have the line charges built-in.  Bill Wright who introduced the
idea to us said NCTE might be willing to subsidise the phone costs.  800
numbers are still quite expensive ($7-10 per hour) if they have to support a
number of callers at a time.

What NCTENet was supposed to provide
  - Connections to k-12 sights
  - Telnet and FTP access to the Internet
  - Online conferencing using BBS models (rooms, doors, interest groups)
  - Perhaps real-time conferences
  - Places to store and forward journal articles and files to interested
    readers
  - Perhaps an archiving facility

There are a number of these types of systems on usenet for the natural and
social sciences and for engineering.  Some are Public Access Unix (PUBNIX)
systems; others cost $15-20 per month.  I did a lot of research into PUBNIX a
few months ago--it's a very active world, but our types (intelechial
humanists) are not well represented.

I e-spoke to Bill Wright last week about the status of the current plan, and
he said the proposals had come and that the committee (see attached) was
behind the idea but that the NCTE main office administration was not behind
the idea.  Bill is where I got the "Let them use FAX" comment.  This morning I
received the following note from Joyce Kinkead.  The proposal she speaks of
from Gail may be the same one sent as a sample RFP that Gail wrote apparently
when the idea got going again last year.  This idea has been kicking around at
least since 1986 when the old 5thC PARTI conference died from lack of funding
at NYIT. (Ask Fred Kemp about how expensive that turned out to be for distant
users.)

That's about all I know, and some of it seems flawed (as the attached note
suggests.

robert royar
======================== attachment =========================
>Date: 18 Aug 1992 15:30:11 -0600 (MDT)
>From: FATCG@USU.BITNET
>Message-id: <01GNQCU6CBFM8YA0U1@CC.USU.EDU>
>Subject: RE: Computers and Composition Digest 6.236

>Robert Royar:
>Gail Hawisher is heading NCTE committee to plan the NCTEnet, and it will
>be housed at University of Illinois, so it does seem to be moving forward.
>I got this info from Michael Spooner.  He's also working on an informational
>session for the NCTE Convention on "Photocopies, Copyright, ...."
>joyce kinkead
===================== end of attachment =====================

 --Robert Royar (r0mill01@ulkyvx.bitnet) New York Institute of Technology

------------------------------
Comments: Gated by NETNEWS@AUVM.AMERICAN.EDU