Well, what's this all about? What is a Neighbourhood Guide Program? I hope to answer all
these questions and more in the next few minutes .... and hopefully, some of you out
there will be joining me in making Fortune City (The Oasis district in particular) a
better, nicer place in which to live and work.
What is the Neighbourhood Guide Program?
The NGP (Neighborhood Guide Program) is a district program that allows residents with
limited time to help FC and their district. Volunteers are assigned Oasis streets to
monitor & surf. They e-mail sites that do not meet guidelines, and write the
resident a nice e-mail to change things... then they check in a week to see if it
happened, if not then they e-mail the URL to the head of the NG who will doublecheck
that the sites do indeed need to be removed (sometimes people think a gal in a bathing
suit is pornography) and then send the URL and why the removal to the FC administration
who will then remove them. Also while surfing the assigned streets, the NG recommends
sites that they think should be considered for The Oasis District award (still in the
drawing board) and/or to be put as a featured site in the district front page... these
lists they send to the minister who ramrods the award stuff. Finally they sign the guest
books of those they visit and say hi, glad you're at FC, etc please visit the
message board at:
http://www.fortunecity.com/registered/wwwboard/boards/oasis/ or if no guest book
available they send an e-mail instead.
Who are the guides?
You can be one of them. We (that is, Fortune City, The Oasis and I) need your assistance
in helping out. This is a volunteer program run by the citizens who maketheir home here.
Click here for a current listing by street assignment.
Why is it needed or even desireable?
Any community or society composed of individuals must have a foundation based in a set
of rules. Without them anarchy would be the result -- and no matter how unpleasant it
may seem to live under the gimlet eye of "BigBrother" (or Big Sister in
today's politically correct world), anarchy is always worse.
Fortune City is such a community of web minded individuals, and therefore has a set of
rules to ensure the greatest measure of freedom and a pleasant environment for the
greatest number of its inhabitants. Naturally, not every person will agree with its
administration. That is to be expected in any organization, but again, the key words
here are the GreatestNumber.
However, try not to think of the NG Program as a "Dirty Harry" kind of cop
-- rather the "Officer Joe Bolton" kind of friendly officer on the beat, ready
to help out. There is much more to the NG program than going around looking for
non-compliant sites. We want tol ook for the good places to visit out there, mention
them to the ministers so that they'll get some deserved recognition, and perhaps submit
them for one of the FC awards.
The matter should be approached in a positive manner rather than a negitive one. And if
one of the guides happens upon a non-compliant site, well, first the webmaster of that
site must be politely notified of the disgresson. After all, he/she may not be
aware of his/her breaking the guidelines of the city. Then, after notification and a
period of time, if the webmaster chooses to ignore the polite prod, his/her site will
be scrutinized by regular FC employees. No direct action is taken by the guide at any
time.
How does it work?
The team of Neighborhood Guides, together with myself, will cruise through the streets
of The Oasis looking at each and every residence which is occupied. Naturally this is
an ongoing task as new people move in and occassionally residents move out as time goes
along.
Each NG is assigned a block of streets by myself. You can think of me as the Sergeant
of the Guard if you like. Each NG, according to his/her own personal schedule, visits
homes on his/her "beat", looking for ones that ought to get some recognition
or perhaps even be recommended for the District Award. Also, if the NG sees that the
owner of the home is having coding problems (such as broken links, missing graphics, etc)
then he/she can notify them of the situation -- and perhaps even offer some helpful
advice as to how to enhance their page or rectify the programming error(s). It's the
neighbourly thing to do. You'd tell your next door neighbour if his/her house was burning
down, wouldn't you?
I would expect this "OfficerFriendly" type of attitude in each person who
works with me on the NG program. In the event that the guide happens upon a site which
is at odds with the FC guidelines, he/she would notify the webmaster via email
(carbon copying the email to me to ensure that proper wording is used) of the
rule which is in question and giving them ample time to correct the matter or relocate
to a more suitable server (ie if someone wants to have a hard-core porno page, it needs
to reside on a server which allows this type of site -- FC does not).
I will follow up on the original e-mail and visit the site to verify that it, in fact,
does not comply with the guidelines. Now the clock begins to run. The webmaster of the
site in question has seven (7) days to correct the matter or to relocate. If in that
time he/she does not choose to do so, I will e-mail them personnaly -- again requesting
that they bring their home within FC guidelines and give them a day or two more. Should
compliance yet remain a problem after the xtra time, I will recommend the site's removal
from the FC server to the appropriate FC administrator. From there, the matter is in
official FC hands.
Who can suggest a site for recognition?
Any resident of FC can. The NG are the regular "patrolmen" on the beat, but
anyone who comes across a really good site can recommend it to either his/her local NG or
myself. I would prefer that people do not recommend their own sites simply because I
know of the amount of mail this generates. However, if you really want to submit your
own work then we'll look at it as time permits.
In the matter of a site where compliance with the guidelines is a problem, you can
notify either your local NG or myself. We will then take whatever action is deemed
appropriate. Keep in mind that this entire program deals only with FC sites. We
won't visit a site located on another server.
How can I suggest a site?
You simply e-mail either myself or your local NG. Naturally, we will need the suggested
home's web address. It would be nice to have its title too, so we can be sure of being
at the correct location (mistakes do happen). Your e-mail and home address would also
be appreciated if you choose to supply them so that we may acknowledge your
communication.
Again, remember, the NG program only deals with sites and folks located on the Fortune
City server. Others will not be visited.
Can I join the Neighbourhood Guide Program?
Yes. The more people we have working on this program, the better the district can be
covered. The only requirements of the position are that:
- You are a Fortune City resident (ie: you have a web site on FC). Your site
needs to be in The Oasis district and be 'District Theme related' (traveling).
- You are willing to take a little time each day or two to cruise your assigned block.
- You are serious about helping our residents and willing to make a commitment
to the community.
- If you will not do your job, please do not sign up.
If this sounds interesting and worthwhile to you, click here to apply
. I will get back to you, usually within a day or two.
Who are the points of contact for the program?
The Oasis NGPA
Tulip
http://www.fortunecity.com/oasis/paradise/525/
