                                                                                                                                                                                                    
         = FAQ for the PC Recycling & Web Design WFTD Project 


* Can you give me an upgraded computer?

  Possibly, yes. As far as I ('mjb' http://www.geocities.com/matth3wbishop ) 
  am aware, the rules are that you need to be 
  some kind of community organisation or non-profit organisation in
  order to be eligible to receive a computer. Please 
  'contact' link:///contact-info.html Damien Gooley or Ian Price for more 
  information. The idea behind these rules is that these Work for the Dole
  projects should not compete with the 'private sector', that is to say,
  normal businesses which are operating in the district. The Government
  clearly has not heard about the concept of 'synergy'
  http://www.hyperdictionary.com/dictionary/synergy


* Can I donate a computer?

  That would be nice. It can be difficult to find uses for computers
  which are 486s or less but I believe that the project is still 
  receiving these computers.

* I have some software which I have pirated. Would you like me to give it to you?

  Thanks for the offer, but the answer is definitely NO. The PC Recycle
  project is committed to observing the various national and international
  laws regarding intellectual property and software copyright. We avoid
  all use of unlicensed and pirated software. This inevitably is leading
  us down the path of investigating and using Open Source
  [http://www.opensource.org] alternatives to proprietary software.

* Can I volunteer on the project?

  Yes but it is requested that you either already have some skills
  in these areas or that you are able to work reasonably autonomously.

* What is work for the dole?

  It is a system introduced by the Australian Federal Government
  to require unemployed people receiving a Government social security
  benefit ('the dole') to do some part-time work on community
  based projects. 

* Does Mission Australia run other 'work for the dole' projects?

  Yes. The current site has some information about many of them.
  Some are located in Wagga Wagga, New South Wales, and others
  are located in nearby towns.

* What is the difference between a 'participant' and a 'volunteer'?
 
  A participant is somebody who has been required by Centrelink
  (The Australian Federal Government Social Security department) to
  undertake a 'work for the dole' (WFTD) activity. A volunteer is
  somebody who has decided to donate their services to a WFTD project
  without being required to by Centrelink.

* What will I learn on the PC recycle and Web-Design WFTD project?

  The PC recycle and Web-design work for the dole project is largely
  based on the principal of self-motivation and 'iniciative' (a word
  much used by Australian Liberal governments). This means that you
  will not be receiving intensive one-on-one instruction in the tasks
  at hand. The project will therefore most benefit participants who
  are comfortable with learning and contributing in a reasonably 
  independant way. There is a very wide range of skills that can be
  learned from this project including Hardware trouble-shooting,
  Hardware upgrading, Network administration and troubleshooting,
  Internet Development and programming, and Web-design. There is 
  a large selection of donated computer hardware with which the 
  participants can experiment and construct new systems. This is
  a valuable training environment since it requires the participant
  to overcome the various obstacles which surround combining different
  computer hardware components into one working system.

* I have heard that this WFTD project is really -Surf the Internet for the Dole-. Is this true?

  No, this is not correct. Internet facilities are available at the 
  Mission Australia building but they are reserved for use which is 
  related to the project. In other words, the Internet may be used
  in order to learn and practice web-design activities and in order
  to carry out any research related to the project. The accessing of 
  offensive material from these computers results in the participant
  being immediately asked to make alternative arrangements to fulfill
  his or her Work for the Dole obligations.




  
[*faq*]
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        