Posted by Rick [Rick] on November 13, 1999 at 19:05:31 {OA5YBxH8IA7mY4XD8K2cFMFBt36Xyc}:
YOUR EMAIL ANSWERED
Dear friends,
Many emails I'm going through express similar problems. If you have emailed H2O in the last few weeks then please see your question or concern is covered below. I'm receiving too many emails to respond to them all, but I'm saving them and will try my best to still respond!
Each email below expresses a concern held by many emails. I've consolidated the wording into one generic question, and then respond.
Dear Rick:
I have Internet Explorer and it will not let me post.
I registered as a new poster and got a temporary name and password. When I try to submit the post, it says that the Internet Explorer cannot connect me, and that the connection was reset. Sometimes a get an Apache "mysterious reason" error. What am I doing wrong? Please email me and let me know the proper procedure.
ANSWER:
It has become evident that H2O's WWWBOARD posting software is not compatible with Microsoft's Internet Explorer web browser. I've come to this conclusion have receiving many dozens of emails.
You must use Netscape Navigator as your internet browser. Full download and installation instructions for putting Netscape Navigator on your computer and using it, are located at this link:
http://www.netscape.com/
Go to the link on this page for "Downloads." If you have any problem installing Netscape Navigator, contact your Internet Service Provider's technical support line (using their toll-free 800 number to save on long-distance fees).
Versions of Internet Explorer prior to version 5 seem to be compatible with our posting software. If you are considering upgrading your Internet Explorer to version 5, I would suggest you wait until you also have the time to install Netscape for posting on H2O.
If your Internet Service Provider such as America Online discourages you from using Netscape Navigator, tell them that you are using it as a second browser for the purpose of posting to an internet discussion forum. I typically go back and forth between Internet Explorer and Netscape Navigator with no problems whatsoever.
If you don't have enough hard-drive space to install Netscape Navigator, then you need a larger hard-drive. I would not recommend uninstalling Internet Explorer because it is part of the Windows operating system, and its absence could cause problems with running Windows. I personally have uninstalled Internet Explorer and didn't experience noticeable problems with running Windows, but others have experienced severe problems (including frequent system freezes) as a result of uninstalling Internet Explorer.
In conclusion, some Internet Explorer posting bugs will display a message that tells you to hit the "Refresh" or "Reload" button, and select "Yes." This has worked for some, and not for others. If this remedy does not work for you, then install Netscape Navigator (which is free of charge to download), as your second internet browser and use it for posting to H2O.
Rick
Dear Rick:
Your archives are missing. Is there a special FTP site to download the compressed archives of your International Forum?
ANSWER:
Regrettably, as of this date nobody has offered the several gigabytes of disk space necessary for storing uncompressed world-viewable archives, or even the gigabyte necessary to store the compressed versions.
As a result, archives on this site only go back to 5/26/98 (in uncompressed format). I haven't had time to bundle these archives into compressed format.
Broken links in the archives might point to dates further back. These were once available in compressed format for download, and some have downloaded them to CD-ROM. I recall that Joseph Malik was one who did this. I also have the compressed versions back to August 1996 when H2O started.
Scroll to the bottom of the International Open Forum to see the archives available. Again, these are not compressed. I hopefully will do this in the next few months, and will make an announcement when this is done.
I recommend going through the archives, finding topics you want to save, and save these onto your hard-drive.
I also ask for anyone who knows of a university or news server whose owner is willing to allow H2O to archive itself on an ongoing basis (so we can enjoy the same archival benefits back 5-7 years or more), to ask them to contact me via email. Once the archives are up-to-date from H2O's beginning onward on the donated server space, we can write scripts to automatically transfer new archives to the donated server space. This will allow the linking and listing of these archives on H2O and in search engines.
If we don't get volunteers within the next year for this server space, it is possible these original archives will be permanently lost.
Rick
Dear Rick:
I am looking for postings to your board given to me by someone else. I used your search engine but no results. Here they are:
www.hourglass2.org/www/board/messages/1180116.html, /180119.html, /1801158.html,/181612.html, /181668/html.
ANSWER:
Try removing the second slash in the above URL, so the correct URL is:
www.hourglass2.org/wwwboard/messages/1180116.html, /180119.html, /1801158.html,/181612.html, /181668/html.
Rick
Dear Rick:
Have just joined your website H20 would apreciate contact number for oz office.
ANSWER:
H2O exists only in cyberspace at this URL:
http://www.hourglass2.org/
There are no physical offices.
One side note. When you register your screen name (which we encourage is one that doesn't reveal your identity), and you receive a randomly generated password, you haven't "joined" any organization. You've become an active participant. Upon posting you are bound to the Forum Participation Policy.
This distinction is important because some have emailed H2O believing that donations are required to "join." All who read and/or post are visitors to this site, and not required to donate. Our monthly expenses are such that if a thousand people participate, and each contribute 50 cents a month, we could probably meet our expenses (although this is a very rough estimate because bandwidth charges can fluctuate widely). The cost of personal time donated to this site is not reimbursed in any manner.
Unlike a "non-profit" organization that pays administrative expenses including salaries, our expenses are limited to paying Cyberpass the monthly bill for the "H2O account." Donations can only go to Cyberpass (and must be applied to the "H2O account" or our balance won't get credited), and pay only for the monthly billing by Cyberpass. H2O will not accept donations in any other manner except directly to Cyberpass applied directly to the H2O account balance. Cyberpass is responsible for applying excess donations as a "credit balance" (to apply to future billings), and as in many consumer relationships we fully trust Cyberpass to honestly apply excess payments to a "credit" balance.
In the last few months, I have received a few emails stating they gave very small amounts (which is appreciated!) toward the H2O account. However, our balance has still remained a credit balance of approximately $50. As with many ISP's, the bill is not very itemized. It doesn't show a list of donations. I thereby conclude that our Anonymizer banner ad is covering most of the monthly billing.
Finally, due to our low overhead and use of Anonymizer banner advertising, there is no pressure for donations. If you are one of the few donating small amounts and feel in any way burdened, please rest assured that we are doing fine at this time! There is no need to feel a necessity to donate any amount. Your caring enough to do so is upbuilding, but we're current on our bill thanks to the collective efforts of our visitors and Anonymizer banner ad!
Rick
Dear Rick:
When will the JW Singles BBS return?
ANSWER:
There is presently no date. The software simply won't work for this forum, even though it will work for other forums.
Due to the emails I've received of brothers and sisters marrying as a result of their meeting on this forum, I don't want to give-up in restoring this forum. However, the moderator tools specifically will not work. Until I get the moderator tools to work, the forum must remain closed.
I encourage other brothers and sisters who are willing to moderate a JW singles forum on the Internet, to consider setting one up. Perhaps Obed will consider setting one up on www.witnesses.net if he hasn't done so already?
Rick
Consider also emailing our Forum Director
This way, if I'm unable to respond right away, perhaps our Forum Director will? Here is the link. You must use your registered screen name and password in order to access this link.
https://www.infonex.net/~h2o/bridge/communications/