[isf-wifidog] vancouver article mentioning wifidog and IleSansFil

[Matthew Asham]

Sheesh, when don't we mention you.  You're a hot topic around these parts Mike. ;)

The article had a lot of info from interviews done last November, things slowed
down for us over the summer months but we're back at it.


> -----Original Message-----
> From: wifidog-bounces at listes.ilesansfil.org 
> [mailto:wifidog-bounces at listes.ilesansfil.org] On Behalf Of 
> Michael Lenczner
> Sent: September 16, 2006 6:38 PM
> To: Volontaires Ile sans Fil; WiFiDog Captive Portal
> Subject: [isf-wifidog] vancouver article mentioning wifidog 
> and IleSansFil
> 
> Thanks for mentioning us, Matthew + Joe!
> 
> http://www.vancourier.com/issues06/085106/news/085106nn1.html
> 
> "BCWNS programmers are working on a modified version of WifiDog, an
> open-source program created by Montreal's Ile sans Fil, a non-profit
> group dedicated to providing free wireless access in that city.
> 
> WifiDog is a relatively simple application to prevent hotspot misuse
> and diagnose problems.
> 
> To use a hotspot equipped with WifiDog, users log in with a central
> server run by BCWNS. According to Asham, a central server would be
> more secure and private than leaving security to the venue or a
> corporate wireless provider.
> 
> "As a registered incorporation, we are bound by law. We have privacy
> laws that protect the users. I'm not going to give my username, my
> password, my home address and my phone number to Joe
> Random-Coffee-Shop-Owner," he says.
> 
> "I think a non-profit tends to be more trustworthy as a matter of
> public perception than a government [agency], which has different
> privacy rules, or a corporation, which tends to sell information. We
> have no desire, no need, no ambition to go out and sell people's
> private data."
> 
> Technical support to businesses would be provided by BCWNS volunteers,
> which Asham admits could not compare in terms of the speed, guaranteed
> service and technical support provided by a commercial wireless
> provider like Telus or Bell. But it will also keep free wireless from
> directly competing with commercial providers.
> 
> "I don't see it being as good as a commercial provider," says Joe
> Bowser, BCWNS's hotspot coordinator and a Linux consultant. "There
> will be some services that a community network still won't be able to
> provide, like speed guarantees.... in comparison to a commercial
> provider. You get what you pay for."
> 
> BCWNS also wants hotspots to encourage community involvement.
> 
> Users who log on through WifiDog will see a page with something like,
> "Welcome to Ed's Coffee House. Here are our lunch specials."
> 
> It could also provide links to gallery shows, poetry readings, block
> parties and other neighborhood events and news.
> 
> Deborah Moffat, BCWNS's volunteer coordinator, sees this
> community-building as "a small attempt at taking a step back in your
> own backyard."
> 
> "Remember the days when you lived in a neighbourhood, and all the
> mothers knew who you were? And they'd all know whether you were
> supposed to be home or not, and you couldn't get away with anything,
> because everyone knew you and it was wonderful and everyone was
> looking out for you all the time? That's gone. And it's gone because
> nobody feels a part of a small community anymore." "
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