I think, however, that wireless in the bay area has a ways to go. Those guys in Portland are seriously showing us up.
To this end, I suggest we take a look at what they're doing that we're not. I'm looking for input on getting more _user_ involvement to take the burden off these guys and get the local network going, both in terms of increasing the number of Joe Publics making free hotspots and increasing links to SFLAN. A glance through Portland's site shows what they're doing:
1) Meetings, both user-level and developer-level
2) Organization. I'm not sure how much org there is. I think quite a lot in SFLAN, but it seems to be tightly held. I can't, for example, find any info about what IP layout they use, etc, etc.
It seems to me the goal of a wireless group should be to encourage any kind of adoption, from getting people to put up SFLAN nodes (clearly a big win) to simply sharing their DSL. To this end, we need to make it _easy_ for people to walk up the wireless path.
First, we need simple hand-holding explanations of what Joe User can do to put up a WAP and share his connection with his neighbor. This entails getting an ISP that doesn't mind, buying the tools, choosing the best channel, and securing their own machines. I think there will be a hand-out document* in the future here on this topic, but the best way to do research is to start helping people.
Second, I know I'd like to see more of a plan, more info on what SFLAN is about and what their future direction is. It's hard to know it right now. To this end, Friday, I'll go down to archive.org and bother the fine gents at SFLAN, if I can find them, and see if I can fill the gaps in my knowledge. I'd like to see some network infrastructure plans, get a sense of how this all goes down. Ideally, this should be semi-documented, but I'm not sure how best to go about it or what they have done already.
Third (I lied, there are three, I just thought of this): Recognition. Nobody knows to whom they should turn if they want to set up a wireless link. Many of the local cafes are already starbucked, which is a shame, because they both advertise and encourage if you get them in. A logo? Something to add to warchalking (does anyone warchalk anymore?) How can we let people know about what they could do for/with community wireless? I think if we get a little bit of organization, we could arrange an interview by eg the Guardian, and drive up membership or interest. We'll need an active group before that's smart, though.
In the mean time, I think we need to light a fire. Mr. Pretorious has offered a meeting spot for a bigger, full-scale meeting, in Freemont. Does anyone have one in San Francisco? I think we'd get more people.
--
Don't be afraid to take a big step if one is indicated. You can't cross a chasm in two small jumps. -- David Lloyd George
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