alt.cybercafes FAQ Ver 5.1
Kireau Kendrick
alt.cybercafes
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Version 5.1
________________________________
I. Introduction
Welcome to alt.cybercafes. We are a newsgroup dedicated to communication
pertinent to anything to do with cybercafes and internet cafes. This
FAQ's purpose is to provide basic information to users new to the group
and to answer questions which are often asked. It is also to provide
guidelines to the etiquette and accepted uses of the group.
II. Table of contents
I. Introduction
II. Table of contents
III. Accepted practices of the group
IV. Frequently asked questions and information sources
V. Informative links
VI. Disclaimers
III. Accepted practices of the group...a.k.a. do's and don'ts
**Don'ts:**
alt.cybercafes is an unmoderated newsgroup. This allows for a completely
free exchange of ideas but in turn opens itself to the risk of abuse.
Most of these abuses are commonly discouraged throughout the usenet and
Internet and hence are discouraged here as well. The following is a list
of those abuses that are commonly found in most usenet FAQ's:
1. Advertisements: Also known as "spam". Many newsgroups have been
destroyed by the proliferation of unsolicited advertisements and e-mail.
The practice is highly discouraged in alt.cybercafes. An exception is
if you provide appropriate information to the group and include a link to
your business. Collecting email addresses for SPAM is also discouraged.
2. Offensive off-topic posting: Also called "trolling" or "flame
baiting". Examples of this practice would be "Take a pill man!" or "why
are net people so hostile". This is inappropriate and rude. Don't do it.
3. Personal attacks: Also called "flame wars", they are discouraged.
Discussions are welcome but insults are beyond discussion. You are
communicating with strangers here. If you wouldn't say something to a
stranger on the street, chances are that it is inappropriate here.
Criticizing someone for asking a question is also considered a personal
attack. The posting of personal email to a newsgroup is also considered
a personal attack and is unacceptable.
4. Offensive language and conduct: Swearing and inappropriate slang
names for civil, ethnic, racial, and religious groups is discouraged.
5. Do not post binaries in a non-binary newsgroup. (alt.cybercafes
is not a binary newsgroup). It takes up a lot of bandwidth and most
servers will drop it anyway. If you need to show a picture, put it on a
page and link to it. Do NOT post it.
6. When posting a reply, don't repost the entire previous message. Cut
out the parts that are irrelevant to your reply. This will save bandwidth
as your post is distributed to every other news server on the internet.
7. Cross posting: At recent count, there are over 34,000 newsgroups
available on the usenet. When asking a question or posting a comment, be
careful that the groups you are posting to are relevant to the question.
For example a question about starting cybercafes should not be
crossposted to alt.internet, rec.travel.cancun, or soc.culture.amish.
8. Copyright violations: International copyright treaties have
gotten stiffer with their penalties. Do not post the contents
of any website to this newsgroup without permission of the website's
owner. You may post a URL referring anyone to any site, but
posting its actual contents goes against this charter. Violations
will be reported to the Abuse team of the ISP providing service to
the violator.
**Do's**
1. If you have a question, ask it. The group is filled with a lot of
knowledgable people who are willing to help as much as they can. However,
just like you would not walk into a restaurant and order "food", make sure
your questions are as specific and to the point as possible.
2. If you can answer a question, or add information to it, don't
hesitate to post. Even the most seasoned cybercafe owner can learn from
others experiences.
3. Before posting a reply to a question, read the other replies and see
if the question has already been answered and check Dejanews for older
threads relative to your question.
Any information that you have that would aid someone else, please post it.
That is how we learn. The most seasoned cybercafe owner still has a lot
to learn. As was stated, this is a medium of exchange for ideas and people
have different ideas.
IV. Frequently asked questions and information sources
Summary
1. What is a cybercafe (Group Definition)
2. Where can I find information about starting a cybercafe?
3. Where can I find a cybercafe 'somewhere' in the world?
4. I own a cybercafe and want to join an organization of other
owners. Is there one?
5. Where can I always find a copy of this FAQ on the web?
6. What about internet kiosks?
7. Is this newsgroup archived?
8. Where can I buy a cybercafe?
9. What other related usenet groups can help?
Frequently asked questions and their answers
1. What is a cybercafe?
A cybercafe is a place where you can go to rent a computer
connected to the internet, mainly to check email, get information
i.e. news, weather, and make connections with others via
chat, videocams or to upload digital photos while away from
home.
A cybercafe definition does not include GAMING BUSINESSES. If
you have found this group looking for information on establishments
that conduct interactive gaming, please be aware that they
rarely overlap with internet cafe/cybercafe services and
often are not even connected to the internet. If there are no
gaming establishment usenet groups, please do the world a big
favor and start one.
2. Where can I find information about starting a cybercafe?
a. View an actual cybercafe business plan online used for the purpose
of starting a cybercafe in San Mateo, CA
http://cybercaptive.com/bp.shtml
b. Join the cybercafe mailing list:
email cybercafe...@lightspeed.co.uk
The people on the list are very helpful and you will learn a lot about
starting a cybercafe.
c. Time Management Resources
i-table(tm) Public Browser Interface http://www.i-table.com/
Desk Tracy http://www.kansasbay.com/
Netlock http://www.infotouch.net/
SurfPass http://www.surfpass.com/
NetShift http://www.netshift.com/
CafeLink Timer http://www.cafelink.com/
Netloan http://www.lorensbergs.com/
Smart Clock http://www.smartclock.com/
Time Wolf http://www.lonewolfsoftware.com/
Cyber-Time http://www.cybertimesoftware.com/
Full Control & WinU http://www.bardon.com/
CCtime32 http://www.upstatenetworks.com/software/
i-Card http://www.icard.net/
SiteKiosk http://www.sitekiosk.com/
NetStop http://www.netstop-kiosks.com/
iLock http://www.ilock.com
NetTime http://www.nettimesoftware.com
Cafe Insight http://www.insight-icam.com/
CyberCafe Billing Software http://www.easybrowsing.com/download.htm
CafeSuite http://cafesuite.net/
Webtube Cafemanager Billing Software http://www.webtube.co.uk/
ClickGuard http://www.clickguard.co.uk/
Internet Cafe Control Panel http://www.it-partner.com.pl/soft/iccp
TimeWatcher http://www.timewatcher.de/
CiberControl http://www.lucioperri.com/eng/index.htm
EasyCafe http://www.tinasoft.com/easycafe/
Internet Caffe http://www.antamedia.com/caffe/
CyberCafePro http://www.cybercafepro.com
InterNet Cafe Control http://www.splat.co.zw/
SmartLaunch http://www.smartlaunch.net/
d. Other Resources
Cafe Innovations http://www.cafeinnovations.com
Pancho Networks `http://www.panchonetworks.com/
3. Where can I find a cybercafe 'somewhere' in the world?
Check the links at the end of this faq for places that keep track
of cybercafes. These sites are automatically protected by
copyright, so do not post their contents to the group. The
fines just got stiffer this year and the people creating
these resources need your traffic to their sites in order to
remain there.
4. I own a cybercafe and want to join an organization of other
owners. Is there one?
yes:
Asociacion Mexicana de Cyber Cafes http://www.amcc.org.mx/
The International Association of Cybercafes http://www.theiac.org/
5. Where can I always find the most recent version of this FAQ on the web?
http://cybercaptive.com/faq.shtml
6. What about internet kiosks?
There are several links leading to good resources at the end of this FAQ
including http://kiosks.org .
7. Is this newsgroup archived?
Yes. Google groups is a free searchable newsgroup server which is accessible
from the World Wide Web. It archives all of the past newsgroup posts and,
if used correctly, can provide a wealth of information. The address is
http://groups.google.com . Remember that if you have
a question, it is unlikely you were the first to think of it.
8. Where can I buy a cybercafe?
Cyberia Franchise and Consultancy packages - abbie...@easynet.co.uk
http://www.cyberiacafe.net/fran/ +44 (207) 681 4135
9. What other related usenet groups can help?
rec.food.drink.coffee
alt.food.coffee
alt.coffee
comp.infosystems.kiosks
V. Links
Finding Cybercafes
The Cybercafe Search Engine http://cybercaptive.com
Indranet http://www.indranet.com/potpourri/links/cybercafe.html
Curious Cat http://www.curiouscat.com/travel/cybercafe.htm
American Cybercafes http://www.globalcomputing.com/cafes.html
Yahoo Internet cafes
http://dir.yahoo.com/Business_and_Economy/Shopping_and_Services/Communication_and_Information_Management/Internet_and_World_Wide_Web/Internet_Cafes/
Cybercafes of Belgium http://cybercafes.potaulait.be/uk/
Internet Outside Your Office
http://travelers.israel.net/internet/
Internet Kiosks
Find a Public Internet Access Point Near You
http://cybercaptive.com/pia.shtml
The Kiosk Homepage http://kiosks.org
Organizations
The International Association of Cybercafes http://www.theiac.org/
Asociacion Mexicana de Cyber Cafes http://www.amcc.org.mx/
Irish Internet Cafe Association http://www.iica.net/
VI. Disclaimers
This FAQ is for informational purposes only. Cybercaptive reserves the
copyright (2002) of the document. The authors are not to be held
responsible for any consequences of reading this document and are not
responsible for any misinformation. As of writing, all urls are current
and all information is believed to be correct. If there are any
questions, comments, corrections, or additions that you believe should
affect the document email f...@cybercaptive.com
The Cybercafe Search Engine
http://cybercaptive.com
Kim Holviala
Kireau Kendrick <kir...@clearlight.com> wrote:
> 2. Where can I find information about starting a cybercafe?
>
> a. View an actual cybercafe business plan online used for the purpose
> of starting a cybercafe in San Mateo, CA
>
> http://cybercaptive.com/bp.shtml
I've been getting a "403 Forbidden" for the whole cybercaptive site for
a while now.... I don't think a non-working site should be listed in the
FAQ.
> 5. Where can I always find the most recent version of this FAQ on the
> web?
>
> http://cybercaptive.com/faq.shtml
"403 Forbidden"
> V. Links
>
> Finding Cybercafes
The list is missing at least one good site: http://www.netcafeguide.com/
.
Kim