Connecting the Community to the Internet since 1995!

******* NOTICE TO ALL MEMBERS ******* HWCN IS CLOSING *******

After many years of service to the greater Hamilton area,
the Hamilton Community Net is closing its doors.

DEADLINE EXTENDED: Our office will be open for limited hours until the
END OF SEPTEMBER. NO ACCOUNT OR HOSTING WILL BE "LOST" IN ANY WAY.

All domain hosting clients are asked to CALL OUR OFFICE as soon as 
possible to make arrangements for transfer of your service to the
new hosting company "Networxhosting.com". 

At the bottom of this page you will find a FAQ, listing the answers 
to many questions, such as why we have chosen to close at this time.

********************* IMPORTANT ***********************************
YOU MUST SIGN-UP FOR CONTINUATION OF INTERNET SERVICE!

For Dial-Up Users Click Here
For High Speed Users Click Here
For Email Information 
For Webspace Information 
For Domain Information 
For the FAQ

We have made arrangements for ongoing internet access and e-mail services 
to be assumed by one of our corporate partners, 295.ca, which has been 
generously sponsoring our dial-up access modems and internet bandwidth
for several years.

Due to privacy regulations, and the complications they cause, HWCN can NOT 
simply 'transfer' member accounts en-masse to another organization. Seeing 
how it is necessary for each member to take personal action and 'give 
permission' for the moving of their service, it was decided that it would 
be simplest for all involved if we made it a requirement that
EACH MEMBER MUST INDIVIDUALLY SIGN-UP FOR A NEW 295.ca ACCOUNT,
using the information provided in this e-mail. This way, the member gives 
their personal information directly to 295.ca and properly establishes 
their relationship as a customer of 295.ca.



Information for Members with DIALUP SERVICE:

(If you have High Speed DSL Service, please see the section below)

295.ca has generously agreed to offer 18 months FREE UNLIMITED dial-up 
internet service to ALL HWCN DIAL-UP members, to offset the cost of any 
prepaid access that still remains on your HWCN account. 295.ca will also 
service your existing @hwcn.org e-mail address and/or www.hwcn.org/~user 
web pages, if any.

To obtain this special offer, please call the special 295.ca SIGN-UP 
telephone number: (905) 481-4295 and tell the 295 Customer Service 
Representative that you are an HWCN DIALUP member, and wish to receive 
the "HWCN promotional offer". Please note you CANNOT SIGN-UP THROUGH
THE 295.ca WEB SITE. You must phone the number above.

You will need to provide your HWCN User-id (eg. aa999) and your telephone 
number, for the 295.ca agent to verify your eligibility for the 18 months 
service credit. Please note that the agent will have NO access to any 
personal information from your HWCN account. They may see a warning 
message if your disk quota is greater than the 295 disk quota.

If you are a member with HWCN TEXT SERVICE:

While this free service offer is open to TEXT members of HWCN, we regret 
to announce that TEXT DIALUP SERVICE WILL NOT BE AVAILABLE on 295.ca. 
The service provided will be standard PPP (graphical) dialup access using 
Windows 'Dial-up Networking' or its equivalent.

Members who prefer the simplicity of the "Pine" text e-mail client can 
download a version of Pine for personal computers from:

     http://www.washington.edu/pine/getpine/pcpine.html

Please note that neither HWCN nor 295 will provide support for
PC-Pine. The link is provided only as a courtesy. The setup parameters for 
'mail servers' will be the same as for Outlook or any other mail client.



If you are a member with HIGH SPEED (DSL) SERVICE:

295.ca has generously offered to provide any of our members who sign-up 
for 295 high speed access, continuation of service for your existing 
@hwcn.org e-mail address and/or www.hwcn.org/~user web pages, if you have 
any. There is no 'free' promotional offer for high speed service.

To sign up for 295.ca high speed service, please call (905) 481-4295 
Please note you CANNOT SIGN-UP THROUGH THE 295.ca WEB SITE. 
You must call and speak to a customer service representative. When 
speaking to the 295 CSR, please do not mention HWCN. We find that the 
sign-up proceeds more smoothly if, as far as they are concerned, this is a 
'new' signup with their company.

YOU DO NOT NEED A NEW MODEM. Your old DSL modem is 'unlocked' so 
you can change the username and password, using the instructions below.
Some internet companies (like Bell) "lock" their modems, making them 
unusable on other services, and for this reason the 295.ca Customer 
Service Representative *may* tell you that your modem will not work and 
that you need to buy or rent a new one. This is NOT true. All you need is 
the username and password to enter into your modem.

IMPORTANT: Your HIGH SPEED HWCN service will be cancelled roughly 
a week after your next expiry date. You need to sign-up for your new 
295.ca service before that time, and SETUP YOUR NEW 295.ca USERNAME 
AND PASSWORD IN YOUR DSL MODEM.

Please note that the 295.ca will tell you that your service will take a 
week to setup. This is only true for people who do not already have DSL 
service. You will find that your new 295 username and password work 
immediately. Don't argue the point with them. Just thank them for the 
information then setup your modem anyway. :)

We have provided a detailed instruction page, including screen snapshots, 
of the procedure to 'login' to your modem's control panel via your web 
browser, make the required changes and then COMMIT (save) them in the 
modem's memory. These instructions are on our website at:

     http://www.hwcn.org/295highspeedsetup/

You will need the new username and password for your 295 account before 
you can make these changes. Be sure to follow the instructions all the way 
to the end. We suggest printing a copy for future reference.


CREDIT FOR MONTHS REMAINING ON HIGH SPEED SERVICE:

If your high speed account currently has any months of service remaining 
for which you have already paid HWCN, we will forward a CREDIT for those
months to 295.ca AFTER you sign-up with them. Once you have signed up for 
your new 295.ca high speed account, please CALL THE HWCN OFFICE 
(905-528-4936) and we will arrange a credit directly to your 295.ca 
account for the remaining months of service. You will need to pay the 
standard two month fee when you sign-up. Your credit will be added onto 
the end of those two months.

Please rest assured that NONE of your personal information will be 
divulged or transmitted in ANY form to any other organization.


E-MAIL ACCESS: YOU MUST SETUP E-MAIL FORWARDING!

Your old @hwcn.org e-mail address will continue to RECEIVE mail, but you 
will no longer be able to *read* it directly, nor will you be able to send 
mail using the old HWCN server. Instead, you must setup e-mail 
*forwarding* of your mail from your HWCN account to your new @295.ca 
e-mail address. This can be done from the "My Account" section of 
this web site (the button is on the left of this page). You will need to 
enter your new @295.ca address, so obviously, you cannot do this until 
after you have signed-up for your new 295 account.

Please don't forget to setup your e-mail client program (eg. Outlook)
to read and send mail via the server 'mail.295.ca'. 

We recommend that you notify your correspondents of your new address, as 
there is no guarantee that the hwcn.org domain will be maintained for 
longer than 18 months.



PERSONAL WEBSPACE:

If you are using personal webspace/pages on HWCN, you MUST ASK 295.ca to 
setup your personal webspace feature on your new 295.ca account. Personal 
webspace is NOT enabled by default, as it is on HWCN.

Once your 295 webspace is enabled, you will need to do three steps:

1. DOWNLOAD (or otherwise 'save') your current web pages from the HWCN web 
site using a File Transfer Program (such as WS_FTPLE - you can download 
this program from our website at:

         http://www.hwcn.org/ftp/ws_ftple_5.06_install.exe

Basic instructions for using FTP are available on our website at:

         http://www.hwcn.org/ftp/

We regret that HWCN cannot provide any further instructions/support for 
using FTP. Please consult yuor FTp rogram's HELP feature.

Note for TEXT users: The FTP program can be used on your NEW 295 dialup 
connection in graphical mode, and still access your old HWCN webspace.
The FTP program will NOT work on an HWCN text dialup session.

2. UPLOAD your web pages to your new 295.ca web space, following the 
instructions/settings provided by 295 Customer Service. Please note that 
295.ca may have a smaller disk quota than HWCN, so you may need to 'trim' 
older pages/archives from your site.

3. CALL THE HWCN OFFICE (at 905-528-4936), and tell us your new web 
space address (eg. http://users.295.ca/username) and we will setup
WEB ADDRESS FORWARDING so that your old HWCN web address 
automatically redirects browsers to your new 295 web space.

As with e-mail, we strongly recommend informing visitors of the new web 
address, as the hwcn.org domain name may cease to exist past January 2012.


DOMAIN CLIENTS:

We have made arrangements for the Hamilton hosting company 
NETWORXHOSTING.COM to take over our domain hosting client accounts and 
services. For our clients mid-way through their annual hosting period,
networx will generously provide the remainder of your service to its
normal expiry date.

NOTE: Due to privacy regulations, and the complications they cause, HWCN 
can NOT simply 'transfer' domain information/files en-masse to another 
organization. It is necessary for each domain holder to take personal 
action and

       INDIVIDUALLY SIGN-UP FOR A NEW NETWORXHOSTING ACCOUNT,

This way, you (and not HWCN) give your personal information directly to 
networxhosting, and properly establishes your relationship to them as a 
customer.

If you have pre-paid time remaining on your hosting account, please
contact the HWCN office for a special PROMOTIONAL CODE that will insure
that your networx hosting account provides the remainder of your
service period for no extra charge.

IMPORTANT: We cannot guarantee how long hosting service will conintue past 
SEPTEMBER 17, so please make this setup/transfer as soon as possible.

Please rest assured that NONE of your personal information will be 
divulged or transmitted in ANY form to any other organization.


TRANSFERRING DOMAIN HOSTING FILES:

The easiest way to move your files is this:

1. DOWNLOAD (or otherwise 'save') your current web pages from the HWCN web
site using a File Transfer Program (such as WS_FTPLE - you can download 
this program from our website at:

          http://www.hwcn.org/ftp/ws_ftple_5.06_install.exe

Basic instructions for using FTP are available on our website at:

          http://www.hwcn.org/ftp/

In the case of your domain hosting account, you will use
the HOST NAME: host6.hwcn.org and the username and password for your
domain hosting account. We regret that HWCN cannot provide any further 
instructions/support for using FTP. Please consult your FTp rogram's HELP 
feature.

2. UPLOAD your web pages to your new networxhosting.com web space, 
following the instructions/settings provided by Networx Customer Service.

3. CALL THE HWCN OFFICE (at 905-528-4936), and let us know you have 
done this. We may need to take some small additiona steps to insure that
your domain name registration is smoothly moved to Networx. And of course, 
we would like to be sure you have received this information and acted on 
it.


DOMAIN E-MAIL ACCESS: TIMING ISSUE

During the transfer process there will be a time period during which SOME 
locations on the internet will continue to send mail to your old e-mail 
box, and some will be using the new one. Your e-mail is normally fetched 
using an account setting for 'incomnig mail server' that points to 
'pop.yourdomainname.com'. There may be a brief period during which you 
will need to check your *old* mailbox manually, by changing the incoming 
server setting temporarily to point to 'host6.hwcn.org'. Just be sure to 
set it back to 'pop.(yourdomain).(com|ca) when you are done.


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Please accept our apologies for any inconvenice that may be caused by our 
closing and the effort needed to make the changes outlined above. We 
have tried to make the process as simple and straightforward as 
possible. If you have any questions, please call the HWCN Office, but 
please understand that there will be a lot of people calling. We value 
the friendships we have made over the years, and love to talk, but we 
just won't have the time. So please understand if we must keep calls brief 
and to the point. We want to be sure that everyone is happy on their new 
service with 295.

The board and staff of HWCN wish to express their gratitude to our 
members for their many years of support. We will miss you, and wish you 
well.



**** HWCN Closing and Transfer Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) ****

1. I heard HWCN is shutting down. Is this true?

Yes. After 15 years of providing Internet services and support to the
Hamilton-Wentworth community the organization has decided to wind down
operations. The not-for-profit coporation that is HWCN will be dissolved.

2. Why has HWCN decided to wind down now after 15 years of providing 
services?

There are several reasons. The main reason is that HWCN would soon be no 
longer financially sustainable and has decided to wind down while it has 
the financial means to do so. With more and more members switching to high 
speed and bundled services we have been unable to make enough margin to be 
able to cover expenses. In addition we no longer are fulfilling our 
original mandate of bringing the Internet to those unable to afford it and 
to provide training and centralization of community information. There are 
less expensive service providers, and search engines and myhamilton.ca 
provide better access to community information than we are able to.

3. When will HWCN stop providing access services?

HWCN will stop taking new customers or members immediately and will continue
to support the access of current members until at least the end of August,
2010. We have however made arrangements with another service provider to
take over providing internet access services to HWCN members.

The Waterloo based 295.ca and HWCN have cooperated to ensure that the
service HWCN members have paid for will be available to an equivalent or
better level of service at 295.ca.

4. What will happen to my service, access, e-mail, etc?

HWCN has made arrangements with 295.ca to take on HWCN members and
customers. HWCN and 295.ca have been working together now for several
years and they currently provide dialup and Internet lines for our members.

If you are a current HWCN dial-up member you can call (905) 481-4295 and 
ask for the HWCN Promotional offer. You will sign-up for a new 295.ca 
account, and upon verification of your membership status with HWCN, 295 
will provide you 18 months of free dial-up service regardless of how much 
time is remaining on your current service term remaining with HWCN.

If you are a current HWCN high-speed DSL member you can also sign up for 
295.ca high-speed service. There is no offer of free service period as the 
cost of high speed prevents this from being feasible. If you are paying 
month to month for high speed access then you can simply sign up for high 
speed with 295.ca at http://dsl.295.ca/DSL/Search/Residential. If you 
prepaid for high-speed service then you will sign-up the same way, and 
then HWCN will forward the appropriate payment to 295.ca on your behalf, 
to extend your new 295 service by the number of months equivalent to the 
service period you originally paid for.

PLEASE NOTE that 295.ca requires FIRST MONTH AND LAST MONTH'S 
DEPOSIT FOR HIGH SPEED ACCOUNTS upon sign-up. We apologize
for any extra financial burden this may cause, but it is the *simplest* 
way to perform the transfer on such short notice. Once you have 
signed-up, contact the HWCN Office, we will forward a credit payment on 
your behalf to 295.ca.

If you are a current HWCN Information Provider getting free hosted Web 
site services from us then 295.ca will offer you a residential service web 
hosting service for free. Just call 295.ca and reference the HWCN 
Promotional offer and ask for a USERNAME that is the same as the last part 
of your hwcn.org web address. Provide your information for help in setting 
up your account. You will need to use FTP to download your old website and 
then upload it to your new 295.ca webspace. Once this is done, PLEASE 
CONTACT the HWCN office, so that we may properly 'forward' your hwcn.org 
'link' URL to your new webspace address!

5. What if I don't want to use 295.ca for my service but another ISP?
Can I get a refund on my prepaid service with HWCN?

No. HWCN has made arrangements with 295.ca to provide services and 
continuance of user@hwcn.org email address. If you choose to decline 
signing up with 295.ca, as is your right, then HWCN does not offer any 
refund for services paid for and not yet used. In your signup or renewal 
agreement there is a clause indicating the HWCN does not provide a refund
if you choose to go elsewhere for service.

6. Will my email address still work? Can I still receive and send email1
with my old email address?

Yes. Your email address @hwcn.org will still work for delivery, but you 
will need to setup e-mail FORWARDING to deliver your mail to your new 
user@295.ca accout in order to read it. While you can also still send 
email as user@hwcn.org, you will need to use the 295.ca mail server to do 
so. We strongly encourage you to transition to your 295.ca email address.

If your e-mail is already forwarded to another address, such as a hotmail 
account, this forwarding will only be continued if you sign-up for the 
295 account.

7. I used HWCN web email service. Will this still be available via 295.ca.

It will be different. 295.ca provides its own web based email interface. 
The functionality will be similar, but you will need to use your new
295.ca user account to login. Your old hwcn user-id will NOT work. 
Please note that the webmail addressbook and any saved mail will NOT
be copied onto the new server. Please download/save these files to your 
home computer before August 31st!

8. If I have problems with transitioning from HWCN.org to 295.ca who do I
call for support?

HWCN will maintain the usual weekday support for the month of August, to 
help answer questions related to your HWCN services and provide 
information of how to transition to 295.ca. For any issues related to your 
service once you transition to 295.ca then you can call the 295.ca 
helpdesk for support. That support is available 7 days per week and 24 
hours per day for your support needs.

9. I have multiple email addresses and I have personal web pages enabled.
Will I have the same services from 295.ca

Yes. If you have multiple email addresses then 295.ca will be able to
provide you with the same multiple email addresses. Please inform them 
of this requirement when you sign-up.

If you have personal web pages on HWCN, please ask 295 Customer Service to 
setup Personal Webspace on your new 295 account. Please note PERSONAL 
WEBSPACE IS NOT AUTOMATICALLY ASSIGNED. You must request it. You will then 
need to DOWNLOAD your files from HWCN using an FTP CLIENT program, and 
then UPLOAD those files to your new 295.ca webspace. Once this is done, 
you can go to the "My Account" page on the HWCN website and setup a WEB 
PAGE FORWARD that will automatically send visitors using your old web 
address to your new one.

10. Will I need to change my DIALUP modem to be able to connect. Will 
there be more busy signals?

HWCN has been partnered with 295.ca for several years now and as part of 
that partnership you are already using 295.ca dialup lines and Internet 
connection. By switching to 295.ca nothing changes in your connection 
equiment or experience. You will need to change your dial up number 
to the 295.ca dial up number and login name and password to your new 
295.ca login id and password. You can get help from the 295.ca support 
services for this change to your dialup settings.

11. I'm a high-speed member of HWCN. Can I use my current modem to connect
to 295.ca?

Yes. When you sign-up with 295.ca you will be given a special username and 
password that applies to your DSL modem. You will then need to 'login' to 
the control panel of your modem, using your computer's web browser. 
Detailed instructions for the models of modem sold by HWCN may be found 
here:

     http://www.hwcn.org/295highspeedsetup/

Please note that many intrnet companies 'lock' their modems. HWCN does 
not. You *may* be told you 'have' to buy/rent a 295.ca modem. You don't.
You just need to explain to the CSR that your modem is unlocked and that 
you have already verified with 295.ca head office that you can use it.
Just get your username and password from the CSR. 


12. I use HWCN to host my internet domain, and/or register domain 
name(s) and/or provide Name Server (DNS resolution) services for my 
domains. What is being done to ensure my service will be available during 
and after this transition?

HWCN has made arrangements with the Hamilton offices of networxhosting.com 
to accept sign-ups for domain hosting and registration with an appropriate 
credit applied to your Networx account for any unused months still 
remaining in your annual renewal peiod with HWCN. A special online 
sign-up form will be available, and Netowrx will verify the amount of 
credit that applies. Please note there maye be a modest service fee 
related to the transfer of domain names, but this fee will add an 
additional year to your domain name registration, so no value will be 
lost.

13. I chose HWCN because I wanted to support a local organization and/or
have Customer Service and Help Line here in Ontario. What about 295.ca? 
Is it local?

295.ca is a Canadian company, located in Cambridge, with operations 
extending across Canada. They are very community-minded and have been 
generously supporting our dialup services for the past several years, for 
which HWCN is extremely greatful. Their front-line Customer Service and 
Help Line are operated by courteous and knowledgable staff based in the 
Caribbean, available 24 hours day, 7 days a week. Senior Technical Support 
staff are based in Cambridge.

14. I have been making my payments at the HWCN office. How will I make my 
payments now?

While 295.ca has operational faciltiies in many cities, they do not have a 
'front office' where you can make payments in person. We suggest that you 
speak to 295.ca Customer Service and inquire with them about available 
options for payment. 


*********** THANK YOU AGAIN, FOR ALL YOUR SUPPORT ****************

	

Who We Are...

HWCN was incorporated as a non-profit organization in 1994 with a grant from the Province of Ontario. In the early days, our goal was to introduce and educate the community of Hamilton on the emerging technology known as the Internet. Today, in addition to providing Internet service to the general community, HWCN develops and supports programs designed to assist local non-profits and the communities they serve on technology and connectivity-related issues.