By Gary Kirchherr
The topic that has dominated local news the last couple of months - at least from my admittedly biased perspective - has been the Internet. The Macatawa Area Free-Net's launching has generated a great deal of publicity in the local media, including this newspaper. Interest has been tremendous, which the 1,300-plus MacNet members makes evident.
I for one am glad to see such a big bandwagon. I would not have guessed that 1,300 Holland-area residents cared enough about the Internet to sign on. This is not an insult, but a testament to a computer-savvy populace.
However, news about the Free-Net seems to have taken a rather adulating tone, and this bothers me. Despite what one may have been led to believe from the hype, MacNet is not the area's only Internet service provider (ISP). It may not even be the best. It is simply the one that's made all the headlines.
This area has two other ISPs that I know of. The one I've talked with has unlimited access at rates only slightly higher than MacNet's. And although the service has a startup charge, the new customer gets all the software one needs to be up and running, plus a manual.
MacNet users, on the other hand, have to know precisely what software they need and what to do with it. They may not have to pay a startup charge, but if they don't have the software they need - or at least know what they need and where to find it - they'll end up paying for it anyway. And setting up an ISP connection is a daunting task if you've never done it before. Trust me.
I am one of those who jumped on MacNet immediately, and now I'm paying its maximum monthly fee for unlimited access. And while I wish I could say it's been fun setting up, I can't. Indeed, it was aggravating and frustrating. MacNet's online documentation is so cryptic it's useless, and the MacNet staff was no help whatsoever.
While I had trouble configuring my TCP and PPP software, publishing a World Wide Web page was an outright nightmare. I figured out the former by reading a "Dummies" book and enduring hours of trial-and-error configuring. My Web page got online only after reading a timely article in the November issue of Macworld magazine. It proved more helpful than my plea to MacNet to publish my page; the reply was, "I really think you should try doing this yourself."
Hindering Web-publishing efforts were two obstacles. One, the MacNet online documents don't say what software Mac users need to access their personal file space on MacNet. (Another unanswered question I had to figure out for myself.) Two, the "public directory" subdirectory, into which MacNet members put Web-page documents, has to be created - it is not already there, as the documentation implies.
Yes, the Macatawa Area Free-Net is indeed free. And because it's free, a cyber-mob seems to have overwhelmed the MacNet's few volunteers. Customer support actually makes America Online's look good by comparison.
Here's an example: The latest unanswered e-mail concerns billing. I was billed the full $25 for the month of September, even though I didn't have unlimited access until the month was more than half over. My question about this went unanswered. Any for-profit business that did this would be out of business in a hurry.
The for-profit ISPs can't afford to pull stunts like that. The owners of such enterprises depend on good service for their continuing livelihood. They know they can't afford to let the Webmaster's e-mail go unanswered.
I am not recommending against MacNet. And in fairness to its staff, it has responded promptly to my questions about the system's intermittent Internet connection problems. However, would-be Internet users must realize they are buying into a volunteer organization, not a business. And if you're new to the Net, you would be better off paying for the full-time, professional staff support you will need.