The FlyNet Aviation Network Policies and Procedures Document Version 2.02 June 17, 1992 This document has been set forth as the official policy of The FlyNet Aviation Network and supercedes all previous editions immediately. FlyNet Policy Document Version 2.02 6/17/92 The FlyNet Aviation Network Policies and Procedures Version 2.02 June 17, 1992 This document has been set forth as the official policy of The FlyNet Aviation Network and supercedes all previous editions immediately. 1. MISSION AND PURPOSE The sole purpose of FlyNet is to provide a "gathering place" for electronic bulletin board system users interested in socializing with others in a relaxed environment as well as provide a place to trade, inform and search for information on anything having to do with Aviation and related topics of interest. FlyNet is funded solely by interested Zone, Region and Net Coordinators and users. The plan for this network is solely up to its users, there are many things that will be implemented as it grows and people show interest in it. New EchoMail and Tick file areas, as well as any other ideas, are always welcomed. We encourage input from the membership. We feel this network is long overdue for Aviation. FlyNet is the membership. Without its members, FlyNet would not exist. With this in mind, certain procedures and policies have been established to provide a basis for how FlyNet will operate. The procedures and policies outlined provide FlyNet with a structure in which to operate and are based on the concept that FlyNet will remain flexible to the needs of its members. Procedures have been established to allow for proper action in any matter that may present itself and is protected by the right of the membership to vote and an appropriate appeal process. 2. MAIL TIMES Mail will be distributed to the Zone, Region and Net Coordinators nightly during a preset time, Net Coordinators will establish schedules to route NetMail and EchoMail to the member systems. The Net Coordinator can poll the Region Coordinator anytime to get fresh mail. 3. MESSAGE BASE AND MAILER COMPATABILITY The FlyNet Network supports the FIDO Message Base system, you must be able to send and receive FIDO compatible messages and mail packets in order to properly function with other systems. FlyNet Policy Document Page 2 Version 2.02 6/17/92 FlyNet Policy Document Version 2.02 6/17/92 4. ECHOMAIL ETIQUETTE (An excerpt from FIDOnet) a. BE HELPFUL AND FRIENDLY The electronic acquaintances you'll make on our network may well turn into lifelong friends. You may see a lot of characters in mail like :-) or :) or ;-). These aren't line noise. They're smiles (if you hold your head right). You'll also see s and other manifestations of this idea everywhere. Many of our callers use these little touches to indicate that the comment was meant to be friendly and humorous. b. READ THE MESSAGE BASE TILL YOU'RE COMFORTABLE Jumping into a message base can be a scary thing at first. Read the conference description and understand what type of discussions are welcomed in the conference in which you want to begin participating. Try to read several day's worth of messages before you post that first message. c. KEEP YOUR MESSAGES ON TOPIC When you do start to post, try not to stray off the topics of the conference. If you are posting about chili cooking in the COMM conference, you are causing nodes to download messages they don't want. They're reading COMM to talk about communications. You are probably also duplicating topics that are under discussion in other, more appropriate conferences. In the above example, it would be a good idea to move your thread to the COOKING conference and ask the others to join you. d. NO PERSONAL FLAMES Although users are encouraged to express personal opinion in conferences where appropriate, the use of personal flames in messages directed at other members of the conference is frowned upon, and can result in formal suspension from EchoMail areas for an un-specified time period by the moderator of the conference at their discretion. There is a difference between direct, personal attack directed toward an individual, and lively discussion or expression of personal opinion. We encourage *idea* exchange, but if you cannot communicate those ideas without attacking another caller personally, you will be better off dropping the conference. Your moderator will let you know what is acceptable. Remember, treat people as you would have them treat you. * DON'T QUOTE EXCESSIVELY Most message readers offer "quote" functions. Quotes are parts of the original message that you copy into your reply to help maintain the continuity of a thread. Big quotes mean big phone bills to transfer, since these messages are effectively duplicates. Experience also shows that people just DON'T READ posts with lots of big quotes. Use quotes sparingly!! Of all, this is the biggest and most blatant problem plaguing networks. FlyNet Policy Document Page 3 Version 2.02 6/17/92 FlyNet Policy Document Version 2.02 6/17/92 5. JOINING FLYNET If you wish to become a member of FlyNet, please make sure you fully understand the information provided within this document and follow the procedures in the FlyNet Welcome Packet. Your system must be at least 30 days old and operate 24 hrs a day. If you feel that your system qualifies without having been in operation for 30 days, you may state your reasons in a NetMail message to the Net Coordinator (or Region Coordinator) that you forward your application to. The Net Coordinator (or Region Coordinator) will notify you of the status of your request. We will need to know your real name, handle, board name, software you are using, type of modem and both data and voice numbers where we may reach you. In the event that your system will be down for more than a day or so, you will need to notify your Net Coordinator. This is the only acceptable way of informing the rest of the network that you will be down for any length of time. If you will be dropping out of the network for a period of time longer than two or three weeks please let your Net Coordinator know the reasons for this action as well as an estimated time of return to the network. This will allow your Net Coordinator to properly handle your inbound NetMail and EchoMail. 6. ACTIONS REQUIRED FOR SUBMISSION OF PROPOSALS The following actions must be followed for the submission of proposals: In the case of a request for proposals from an Zone, Region or Net level appointed committee, proposals should be submitted via private NetMail directly to the committee. In the absense of an appointed committee, proposals shall be submitted to the Net Coordinator of your Net. On Net level proposals, the Net Coordinator will review and take whatever action is required to either implement or reject the proposal. On proposals that include a scope broader then the single Net, the proposal will be forwarded to the Region Coordinator serving the area along with the Net Coordinators recommendations. On Region level proposals, the Region Coordinator will review and take whatever action is required to either implement or reject the proposal. On proposals that include a scope broader then the single Region, the proposal will be forwarded to the Zone Coordinator serving the area along with the Region and Net Coordinators recommendations. FlyNet Policy Document Page 4 Version 2.02 6/17/92 FlyNet Policy Document Version 2.02 6/17/92 On Zone level proposals, the Zone Coordinator will review and take whatever action is required to either implement or reject the proposal. Action on a proposal may be handled in several different forms: a. The Coordinator at the level at which the proposal is intended may either implement or reject the proposal based on the information at hand. b. A committee may be appointed to further review and recommend action on a proposal. The committee will report its recommendation to the appropriate Coordinator for action as described in this section. c. A vote of the general membership at the appropriate Zone, Region or Net level may be called. In the case of rejection, the Coordinator at the appropriate level will submit a rejection summary to the author of the proposal via private NetMail. The author of the proposal may then request that the proposal be presented to the appropriate Net, Region or Zone membership for a vote of the general membership at the appropriate level. 7. MATTERS REQUIRING A VOTE OF THE GENERAL MEMBERSHIP On Zone level matters, the Zone Coordinator will announce the call for a vote, including the ballot deadline for the Zone, as well as other pertainent information, to the general membership of the Zone by posting the required information to make an educated decision in an EchoMail message in the FlyNet AVIA_SYSOP conference The Zone Coordinator will also include the same information in a private NetMail message to each Region Coordinator in the Zone. Region Coordinators will cross post the message in the appropriate Region Sysop EchoMail conference and include the ballot deadline for the Region. Region Coordinators will also include the same information in a private NetMail message to each Net Coordinator in the Region. Net Coordinators will cross post the message in the appropriate Net Sysop EchoMail conference and include the ballot deadline for the Net. Net Coordinators will also include the same information in a private NetMail message to each node in the Net. On Region level matters, the Region Coordinator will announce the call for a vote, including the ballot deadline for the Region, as well as other pertainent information, to the general membership of the Region by posting the required information to make an educated decision in an EchoMail message in the appropriate Region Sysop EchoMail conference. The Region Coordinator will also include the same information in a private NetMail message to each Net Coordinator in the Region. Net Coordinators will cross post the message in the appropriate Net Sysop EchoMail conference and include the ballot deadline for the Net. Network Coordinators will also include the same information in a private NetMail message to each node in the Net. FlyNet Policy Document Page 5 Version 2.02 6/17/92 FlyNet Policy Document Version 2.02 6/17/92 On Net level matters, the Net Coordinator will announce the call for a vote, including the ballot deadline for the Net, as well as other pertainent information, to the general membership of the Net by posting the required information to make an educated decision in an EchoMail message in the appropriate Net Sysop EchoMail conference. The Net Coordinator will also include the same information in a private NetMail message to each node in the Net. The redundancy of multiple EchoMail conference and NetMail messages will ensure the widest dissemination of information to all concerned. The voting process will begin at the Net level. Each individual System Operator, regardless of the number of node numbers he operates under, will be permitted one vote, which must be submitted via private NetMail to the Net Coordinator. A System Operator must be listed in the current FlyNet nodelist in the Net which the ballot is cast. The Net Coordinator will tally the received ballots and only submitted ballots will be counted. Ballots not cast will not count for or against the matter at hand, they will simply be no ballot. After the deadline for casting ballots, the Net Coordinator will post the ballot results, by number of ballots in each category, in the appropriate Net Sysop EchoMail conference. The Net Coordinator must retain the ballots of the Net for a period of 60 days from the ballot deadline. Where the ballot results are for a Zone or Region ballot, the Net Coordinator will forward the number of total eligible ballots, the total number of received ballots, and the number of ballots in each category to the Region Coordinator. The Region Coordinator will tally ballot results submitted by each Net Coordinator. After the ballot deadline for casting ballots, the Region Coordinator will post the ballot results, by number of ballots in each category, in the appropriate Region Sysop EchoMail conference. The Region Coordinator must retain the ballots of the Region for a period of 60 days from the ballot deadline. Network Coordinators will cross post the Region ballot results in the appropriate Net Sysop Conference. Where the ballot results are for a Zone ballot, the Region Coordinator will forward the number of total eligible ballots, the total number of received ballots, and the number of ballots in each category to the Zone Coordinator. The Zone Coordinator will tally ballot results submitted by each Region Coordinator. After the ballot deadline for casting ballots, the Zone Coordinator will post the vote results, by number of ballots in each category, in the appropriate FlyNet AVIA_SYSOP EchoMail conference. The Zone Coordinator must retain the ballots of the Zone for a period of 60 days from the ballot deadline. Region and Net Coordinators will cross post the Zone ballot results in the appropriate Region and Net Sysop conferences. FlyNet Policy Document Page 6 Version 2.02 6/17/92 FlyNet Policy Document Version 2.02 6/17/92 8. FLYNET ADMINISTRATIVE ACTIONS The Net Coordinator of each respective Net is responsible for the overall operation and actions of that Net. The Net Coordinator will take whatever actions are deemed appropriate to correct any occurances that require attention within the Net. The Region Coordinator of each respective Region is responsible for the overall operation and actions of that Region. The Region Coordinator will take whatever actions are deemed appropriate to correct any occurance that require attention within the Region. The Zone Coordinator is responsible for the overall operation and actions of the Zone. The Zone Coordinator will take whatever actions are deemed appropriate to correct any occurances that require attention within the Zone. Any FlyNet node may file a formal complaint via NetMail to the appropriate Net Coordinator. Formal complaints must be filed within 60 days from the date of the occurance of the matter the complaint is based on. The Net Coordinator will investigate and take whatever appropriate action is deemed neccessary on any matter that pertains to that Net. The Net Coordinator must render a decision within 14 days of receipt of a formal complaint. Action taken by a Net Coordinator may be appealed to the Region Coordinator overseeing that Net. On matters that exceed the boundries of the single Net, the complaint will be forwarded to the Region Coordinator for further investigation and action. The Region Coordinator must render a decision within 14 days of receipt of a formal complaint. Action taken by a Region Coordinator may be appealed to the Zone Coordinator. On matters that exceed the boundries of the single Region, the complaint will be forwarded to the Zone Coordinator for further investigation and action. The Zone Coordinator must render a decision within 14 days of receipt of a formal complaint. Action taken by the Zone Coordinator may only be appealed to a board consisting of four Region Coordinators, whose decision is final. The filing of a formal complaint must be to the Net Coordinator of the Net that the filing node is a member of. Any formal complaint that is submitted to a higher level will be returned to the Net Coordinator for investigation and action. The only exception to this filing procedure is if the complaint is against a person in the outlined chain, then the formal complaint should be filed with the next level. 9. REGION AND NET POLICY FlyNet Regions and Nets may implement policies applicable to the appropriate Region or Net, however, Region and Net policies may not be in conflict with the official policies of FlyNet, as specified in the FlyNet Policy Document. FlyNet Policy Document Page 7 Version 2.02 6/17/92