Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Rock River Internet located?
What is a POP?
What operating systems can I use with Rock River Internet?
What is "reasonable usage"?
How do I disable call-waiting?
What can I do about "spam"?
I wish to read a newsgroup that isn't listed. What
can I do?
Why don't I connect at full speed with my analog modem?
Sometimes I get disconnected but I haven't logged
off. Why does this happen?
Is it safe to allow children to use the Net?
Where is Rock River Internet located? (Map)
Our office and network operations center is located in downtown Rockford, Illinois
on the 8th floor of the Rockford Trust Building at 202 West State Street.
This 12 story office building is on the SW corner of State and Wyman and
one block west of the Rock River.
What is a POP?
POP stands for Point of Presence. The POP location contains the equipment you
dial into when calling Rock River Internet. Once you are connected to a POP,
you are directly connected to, and a part of, the Internet.
What operating systems can I use with Rock
River Internet?
Any system that supports TCP/IP should be able to connect
to us, although we may not be able to provide tech support for uncommon
systems. Systems that should work include Windows (3.1, 95, 98, NT,
or XP), MacOS, OS/2, and UNIX.
What is "acceptable usage"?
Rock River Internet offers unlimited usage to our analog dialup customers within
reason. Basically, this means you should not stay on-line for excessive periods
of time, especially if you aren't actively using the Internet. Our Acceptable
Use Policy states that Rock River Internet does not allow use of artificial
means to keep a connection active. Our Acceptable Use
Policy suggests that you log on to our network when using our system
and log off if you are not. Idle connections tie up our equipment unnecessarily,
so please be respectful to other users in your area.
How do I disable call-waiting?
You can disable call-waiting by inserting *70, in front of the
number you dial. For example, the number "555-1212" becomes "*70,555-1212" (quotes
excluded).
I wish to read a newsgroup that isn't
listed. What can I do?
Rock River Internet provides a wide range of Usenet newsgroups,
but if a group you want isn't listed, first make sure you have the
latest group list, then send e-mail to news@rockriver.net requesting
the group. We reserve the right not to carry newsgroups that contain
illegal material, or that contain excessive binary material that
can affect the storage and bandwidth available to our customers.
Why don't I connect at full speed
with my analog modem?
Although our equipment and digital phone lines fully support 56K analog connections
(for both K56flex and V.90), we have no control over what a signal must pass
through on its way to us. New modem technologies are pushing the limits of
what even modern phone equipment can handle, and in some areas your lines may
be connected to much older equipment.
Your connect speeds to Rock River Internet will be the highest
possible, however, because we use only digital PRI phone circuits.
This means the only analog portion of a phone connection is the local
loop (the portion connecting the residence or office line to the
first phone company central office). By reducing the number of digital-to-analog
conversions to one, more information is able to be transmitted faster
to the user.
Sometimes I get disconnected
but I haven't logged off. Why does this happen?
Disconnects can occur for a variety of reasons such as call-waiting, line trouble,
another extension being picked up, or a software configuration problem. If
you are running Windows 98, be sure to check your Control Panel settings especially
Internet/Connection/Disconnect if idle (some on-line activities may not be
detected as activity by the system). If the disconnects continue, please call
your local telephone company to have your line checked for noise.
Please note that our system will only automatically disconnect
you after an extended period of inactivity. (And unlike Windows 95's
idle-checking, ours detects all online activity.)
Is it safe to allow children to use
the Net?
This largely depends on what Internet software is installed on the system they
will be using and how closely they will be supervised. The Internet is a massive
world-wide network whose content is largely unorganized and doesn't fall under
any one legal system and therefore cannot ever be made completely "Kid-Proof." There
are software packages designed to block access to sites containing objectionable
material, but none of them can guarantee 100% security.
Think of the Internet as a television with full cable service.
Just as it would be irresponsible to let children channel-surf unattended,
it's a good idea to keep an eye on what they're viewing on their
computers as well. Most Web-browsers have a 'history' feature that
allows you to see what sites have been accessed. Usage of other software
like News Readers and IRC clients can be harder to monitor.
|
