Free-Net
A
free-net is a computer system which provides public access to a large
number of resources. Once registered, users can typically access email,
Usenet newsgroups, chat rooms (typically
IRC),
telnet, and often other services.
Unlike most modern ISPs, Free-nets provide direct terminal-based dialup
instead of
PPP. The increased availability/affordability of PPP dialup
connections, and more recently cable and
DSL has largely obsoleted the free-net community, and so a number
of the free-nets, including the original Cleveland Freenet, have shut down.
External Link
An example of an existing Free-net is the Los Angeles Free-Net.