Board of Directors Meeting Minutes
August 7, 2001
Attending:
- Ed Dyer
- Bernie Hart
- Marilyn MacDonald
- Jeff Warnica
- Andrew D. Wright
Absent with notice:
- Tom Fullerton
- John McKay
- Grace Paterson
- Mark Rushton
- Viola Winstanley
Absent:
Staff:
Minutes of July 17th, 2001 Meeting
The minutes of the July 17th meeting were approved as amended. It was
agreed that Agenda Item #5 would not be included in the Minutes to be
posted but would be included in the set held by the Secretary.
Security of the Board List
In view of the fact that Grace Paterson was absent the Chair requested we
postpone discussion of this item until the next meeting. Jeff Warnica,
who is working on this issue with Grace, suggested we explore the use of
free encryption software as a means of dealing with the security of the
Board list. Marilyn asked if this could be part of the discussion at the
next meeting. It was agreed to postpone this item.
Board Membership
Marilyn reviewed the membership situation. Jamie Carroll has moved to
Ottawa; it is possible Chris Watt will be moving as well. Marilyn asked
that Bernie speak to Tracey Jones as to whether she would be willing to
serve.
Virus Management
Ed and Andrew reviewed the situation for the Board. They pointed out that
Code Red and Code Red "c" or "2" are the most active at present. At least
5,000 Hits Per Day have been initiated by these. CCN is not particularly
vulnerable except for the load placed on the system. Ed pointed out there
are many others - SIRCAM and SNOW WHITE are particularly dangerous - SC
could have brought our system down. Filters are used to prevent the virus
getting into email boxes. The Board expressed a vote of thanks to Ed and
Johnathan for the excellent work they have done in addressing this
problem.
Ed expressed a concern with respect to the use of filters. He pointed out
that once we attempt to control content we are no longer deemed to be a
common carrier. Ed asked whether we should be paying for a virus scanning
service. It was generally concluded the cost would be prohibitive. It
was agreed we would do minimal filtering on an ongoing basis and respond
to problems as they occur.
User and Neighborhood Account Agreement
Andrew circulated proposed changes to the Neighborhood Account Agreement.
These were approved by the Board. It was agreed a notice of the change
would be posted on the "News of the Day" page.
There was also a discussion of a "virtual domain" issue. An organization
is using a referral arrangement from CCN to a web page on another service
to avoid paying the $100 charge.
It was agreed Marilyn would write the organization requesting cooperation
and encouraging them to support Chebucto. Andrew will assist in providing
details concerning this situation.
Web Hosting Fees
Following a brief discussion Jeff agreed to raise his proposed strategy
with the Executive and Andrew. Following this he would bring his
recommendation to the Board.
Financial Accounting Arrangements
Marilyn reviewed the steps she has taken in cooperation with Andrew and
Jeff in attempting to reconstruct CCN's financial records. Jeff reported
that all transactions are now recorded within an appropriate accounting
package.
Following a discussion of a workable arrangement which Andrew and Jeff
could use to keep each other informed of the financial items received by
the office it was agreed Andrew will email Jeff indicating that an item
has arrived, this item will be filed by Andrew, when Jeff has reviewed the
item he will signify this by signing the item. It was agreed the
Executive plus Andrew will review the existing files to determine the next
steps required.
Word on the Street
Marilyn reported that the next meeting of the External Committee scheduled
for August 15th would deal in depth with this item.
Committee Reports
Treasurer
Jeff reported he had purchased the GICs as instructed at a rate of 3.75%.
It was recommended that Jeff make use of Doug McCann's document, which
provides the monthly breakdown of anticipated revenue. Use of this
information will give a better sense of how CCN is doing at any point in
the year.
Technical
Ed indicated there had been a series of list storms over the weekend.
These cases have been resolved. Michael Smith managed to stop much of
this and it now appears to be under control. One item to be looked at
would be to examine what filters could be added to majordomo to alleviate
this problem.
Ed reported he is still waiting for the new switch.
Andrew asked about the new server. He indicated it had been discussed at
the last Tech meeting - the discussion centred on the use of the new
equipment.
Andrew raised the issue of Domain Names. He suggested the Board acquire
all of the possible names so that they could be used when appropriate.
These included:
Chebucto.net
Chebucto.org
Chebucto.com (already in use but might be acquired for at a cost)
It was moved by Bernie Hart and seconded by John McKay that Chebucto
acquire all of the Chebucto name extensions for the use of CCN and further
that Andrew be compensated for the expense he incurred in obtaining the
first extension. Carried
Andrew raised the issue of the renewal of the "Secure Mail Certificate"
for the Provincial Server. It was moved by Ed Dyer and seconded by Jeff
Warnica that Chebucto pay for the renewal at an approximate cost of $150.
Carried.
Other Business
Andrew reported that the Weather Channel is willing to provide free ad
space for the use of images from our Web Cam. It was moved by John McKay
seconded by Jeff Warnica that CCN enter into an agreement with the Weather
Channel for the use of the CCN Web Cam images on their Channel.
John McKay reported he would have information on in-kind support from
Sobeys in the near future. He added that his daughter has contact with
the Canada-online project and she is willing to prepare an outline for a
business plan, which CCN will be able to use for a possible partnership
with this program.
The meeting adjourned. The next meeting will be on August
28th.
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