Re: [gaia] draft-irtf-gaia-alternative-network-deployments. Mitar review, question #9: Services provided

[panayotis antoniadis <[e-mail]>]

Hi again,

My second high-level comment is that if one "opens the door" of local
services, it is crucial from a classification point of view to clarify
what exactly means "local". Are these services offered to a wider
public or only to the members/contributors of the community network?

There is even a technical dimension to this separation. The local
services of AWMN mentioned by someone are mostly available
for the members/contributors of the network. One needs to have
installed an antenna on his/her roof to have access to them since
the "access to the public" network of AWMN is rather limited.

And so this opens up more complex issues related to the
concept of community itself, inclusion, etc. Going back to the issue of
motivation, it is very often the case that members of community
networks wish to see themselves as part of a network that it does
not "just" provide Internet access. But my impression, based on "secondary
sources", is that very rarely these "local" services are "successful" and
even less often are accessible to a wider audience.

Actually, in a recent event we organized in Transmediale, 
http://2016.transmediale.de/content/off-the-cloud-zone, one of the founders
of a big European community network stated that "local services in
community networks is a myth".

In the same event, we had many representatives of artistic/activist 
projects
that use one-node solutions, e.g., a captive portal installed on a 
Raspberry Pi,
like PirateBox and Occupy.here (see also http://nethood.org/links.php).
Shouldn't they be part of a classification of alternative networks that 
includes local-only services?







On 13/04/16 12:50, Mitar wrote:
> Hi!
>
> On Wed, Apr 13, 2016 at 1:55 AM, Jose Saldana <[e-mail]> wrote:
>>> - Inter-network peering/VPNs: https://wiki.freifunk.net/IC-VPN
>>> - Local wikis like: https://localwiki.org
>>> - Community oriented portals: http://tidepools.co/
>>> - Network monitoring/deployment/maintenance platforms
>>> - VoIP sharing between networks, allowing cheap calls between countries
>>> - Sensor networks and citizen science build by adding sensors to devices
>>> - Community radio/TV stations
>>>
>>> What is interesting that some networks do not even provide Internet
>> access. For
>>> example, in Croatia, historically, there were wireless communities which
>> made
>>> networks in villages just to be able to play games.
>> Do you have any reference/example?
> For which one? Networks in Croatia? There are some links, but I do not
> think many are really active anymore:
>
> http://wireless.mzm.hr/
> http://wireless.uzice.net/
> http://www.dugave.net/
> http://www.wirelesskz.net/
> http://www.5net.hr/
> http://extremewifi.hr/
>
> Anyway, this was just an example. I think listing those specialized
> services for community/alternative networks above is more important.
>
>> This other e-mail also suggested some improvements:
>> http://www.ietf.org/mail-archive/web/gaia/current/msg01191.html
>>
>> This is the improved version of the section. Feel free to say whatever you
>> want.
> I do not have strong position on this section. To me it feels a bit
> redundant, but it is probably a question of style.
>
>
> Mitar
>
>> 7.3.  Services provided
>>
>>     This section provides an overview of the services provided by the
>>     network.  Many Alternative Networks can be considered Autonomous
>>     Systems, being (or aspiring to be) a part of the Internet.
>>
>>     The services provided can include, but are not limited to:
>>
>>     o  Web browsing.
>>
>>     o  e-mail.
>>
>>     o  Remote desktop (e.g. using my home computer and my Internet
>>        connection when I am away).
>>
>>     o  FTP file sharing (e.g. distribution of software and media).
>>
>>     o  VoIP (e.g. with SIP).
>>
>>     o  P2P file sharing.
>>
>>     o  Public video cameras.
>>
>>     o  DNS.
>>
>>     o  Online games servers.
>>
>>     o  Jabber instant messaging.
>>
>>     o  Weather stations.
>>
>>     o  Network monitoring.
>>
>>     o  Videoconferencing / streaming.
>>
>>     o  Radio streaming.
>>
>>     o  Message / Bulletin board.
>>
>>     Due to bandwidth limitations, some services (file sharing, VoIP,
>>     etc.) may not be allowed in some Alternative Networks.  In some of
>>     these cases, a number of federated proxies provide web browsing
>>     service for the users.
>>
>>     Some specialized services have been especifically developed for
>>     Alternative Networks:
>>
>>     o  Inter-network peering/VPNs (e.g. https://wiki.freifunk.net/IC-
>>        VPN).
>>
>>     o  Local wikis (e.g. https://localwiki.org).
>>
>>     o  Community oriented portals (e.g. http://tidepools.co/).
>>
>>     o  Network monitoring/deployment/maintenance platform.s
>>
>>     o  VoIP sharing between networks, allowing cheap calls between
>>        countries.
>>
>>     o  Sensor networks and citizen science build by adding sensors to
>>        devices.
>>
>>     o  Community radio/TV stations.
>>
>> 7.3.1.  Use of VPNs
>>
>>     Some "micro-ISPs" may use the network as a backhaul for providing
>>     Internet access, setting up VPNs from the client to a machine with
>>     Internet access.
>>
>> 7.3.2.  Other facilities
>>
>>     Other facilities, as NTP or IRC servers may also be present in
>>     Alternative Networks.
>>
>>
>> Best regards,
>>
>> Jose
>>
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>
>