*** Introduction to the Paul Revere Network *** Paul Revere was the original "Freedom Rider". Today, we ride the North American continental telecommunications network. We do so in support of the fundamental freedoms to which we, as Americans, were born. The Paul Revere Network (PRN) is a coast-to-coast network of committed grass-roots gun rights activists who rely upon computer bulletin board systems for their primary mode of communication. Leroy Pyle (past NRA Director and 27-year San Jose police veteran) is Founder and Director of the PRN. Based in Chicago, IL, Pyle's BBS (176:1/0) feeds all network message traffic to Regional Coord- inators. Currently, there are approximately 150 nodes, coast to coast, a ZC in Germany, and Regional Coordinators in Kansas City MO, Minnesota MN, San Jose CA, Los Angeles CA, Fayetteville NC, and Kingston NY. The PRN offers an additional channel of information in the form of The Paul Revere News. This irregularly-published hard-copy news- letter serves as our official publication; any who are interested in receiving a sample copy may post a request for it on any PRN board. *** PRN: 2nd Amendment Orientation PRN stands firm and four-square in support of the "NEW NRA" and Neal Knox' Second Amendment Action. With respect to "compromise" with the anti-gun factions, our policy is - and will remain - "No Negotiation with Terrorists!" *** PRN: Purpose The purpose of the PRN is to allow local- and regional-level 2nd Amendment activists to initiate and coordinate political actions designed to further the movement's goals. Our ability to instantly share information which affects us all gives us a tremendous edge over the opposition. Using our computers, we can multiply our efforts a hundred-fold; we will one day be able to mobilize thousands of letters and telephone calls in support of or in opposition to particular legislation or media actions. We can "get the word out", as needed, and very quickly! In addition to providing the ability to communicate rapidly, Paul Revere Network Nodes all maintain 2nd Amendment-oriented file areas. Structured at the discretion of the individual PRN Node Operator (NodeOp), these file areas contain massive amounts of data grouped under headings such as "firearms/technical", "2nd Amendment reference", "letters to the editor" (for sharing writing styles, topics, and ideas), local/regional grass-roots action information, newsletter articles, legislative updates, and so forth. The Paul Revere Network has produced a CD-ROM entitled, "The GunRights Compendium", which is for sale via PRNet HQ, Chicago. It is a fact that gunowners have lost ground over the past several decades and that, further, the slope appears to be steepening the farther we slide! States on both coasts now have actual bans in place while in New York, registered rifles and shotguns are scheduled for confiscation. Alert gunowners have come to the fore and have, on their own, militated for a stronger NRA, written letters, made appointments with their legislators, made the phone calls, and so forth. Many of these alert gunowners have joined forces with like-minded people local to their area and begun to make concerted, unified local efforts to halt the erosion of their gun freedoms. We want these folks in our loop! The more we can tie grass- roots, loosely organized activists together, the greater the number of previously-uncommitted gunowners we can reach and enlist in our cause. And there is no better a central information-exchange medium than a local computer bulletin board system! *** PRN: How to join You must have implemented a front-end mailer and a tosser. You may use any mailer that accomodates normal FidoNet-format transmissions - currently, various NodeOps are using D'Bridge, FrontDoor, and BinkleyTerm. Most of our nodes are listed in the Fido Nodelist. This allows them to carry some of the popular echoes available in FidoNet, including RTKBA and FIREARMS. Step 1: A copy of the PRN nodelist is included in PRNKIT.ZIP for your use. Please install it. Create four new conferences - "PR_NET", "PRN_TECH", "PR_NODE_OP" and PRN_NEWS. PR_NET, PRN_TECH and PRN_NEWS are general PRN user conferences which are swapped openly across all the other PRN systems, while PR_NODE_OP is the NodeOps' "private channel" and is flagged as "private" inside your BBS software in such a manner as to restrict access to all but other NodeOps. PRN_NEWS, is to be configured as READ-ONLY, this con- ference contains items of special interest to gunowners copied from the PR_NET. Without the chatter of 100+ msgs per day intermixed, the info will not scroll past so quickly and will serve almost as a bulletin or reference area for users. PRN is the origin for NRA_COPS (Cops, the NRA & RKBA) for those inter- ested in carrying a pro-gun cop echo, and CHAPTERS, for communications between the various NRA Members Councils. PRN also hubs out LIBERTY, the Libertarian Echo, and HUNT_ADV, The Hunters Advocate. Please advise if interested in any of the above. If the primary purpose of your BBS relates to 2nd Amendment issues, then we prefer that you make the Paul Revere Network conference the default main conference. While this is certainly not mandatory, it provides uniformity across the net and enhances the ability of your users to engage in and enjoy direct communication with the other activists in the Net. Most NodeOps have the PR_NET conference set up as the main conference with separate, local special-purpose conferences available to their users. * * * * * * * NOTE: The Paul Revere Network has enjoyed considerable success these past few years with references in various publications by such notables as Neal Knox, Alan Gottlieb, Larry Pratt and David Kopel. For this reason, activists are alerted to the name, "The Paul Revere Network". If you are interested in taking advantage of this notoriety, please consider how an activist might find your BBS when looking for the PRNet! * * * * * * * (LP 2/95) Step 2: Make an identifying origin line. If your BBS uses the PR_NET as its primary, root conference, then make the origin line read along the lines of: "Paul Revere Network/Nevada (702) 555-1234" ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ What this does is indicate that your board is a primary, "front- line" Paul Revere Network board. If you have an established board and want to keep its name in the origin line, that's fine, too! We merely ask that the origin line reflect membership in PR_NET ala the following examples: "Paul Revere Network/PA (Second Amendment) (814) 555-1234" ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ or "The Second Amendment (PR_NET/PA) (814) 555-1234" ^^^^^^^^^^^ Step 3: Scan your outgoing mail and poll your hub for mail pickup. We understand that economics may limit the frequency of your calls. While daily polling is optimum for most of us, we understand that economics and light traffic on your board (especially if it is a new board) might limit the need for frequent polling. We ask only that you balance the requirement that the "word must get to the grass roots" with your ability to provide the benefits of polling PRN messages for your users. Remember: Without messages from its various nodes, PRN will die. You will need to contact your hub's Node_Op in order to establish session-level password security. As PRN grows and matures, more structure designed to enhance overall function will be developed. We vow to never allow the manifestations of the structure we impose to interfere with our battle to preserve and further the Second Amendment. We recognize the importance of local autonomy and value the input of all NodeOps. That's basically it! If you have further questions, call any of the many Paul Revere BBS's listed in the FidoNet Nodelist or our own PRNodeList, or the Paul Revere Network/HQ in Chicago at (312) 482-9940 or direct NetMail there at 1:115/223. The Paul Revere Network Brad Alpert Leroy Pyle, Director Associate Director, PRN 1153 No. Dearborn, Suite #106 Regional Coordinator SoCntrl Chicago, IL 60610 (816) 597-3353/Voice (312) 482-9910 (voice) (816) 597-3950/DATA (312) 482-9940/60 BBS May 15, 1992 Updated February 17, 1995 (LP) -------------------- MEMO TO NEW PR_NET SYSOPS: Just a reminder to set up a PR_NODE_OP as a private conference and PRN_NEWS as read-only. Please run the enclosed file MAKEREQ.EXE and return the resulting file .APP to me at 176:100/0 or 1:115/223 at your earliest con- venience. Also indicate a password and the hub you prefer to poll (you can poll directly from Chicago/HQ, or choose any hub from the PRNodelist). Thanx, Leroy