Bringing People Together through Internet Technologies
TCFN is a nonprofit organization that uses Internet technologies to bring people together in communities of shared interest or need. We've been linking the people of Minneapolis, St Paul and neighboring communities since 1995.

Twin Cities Free-Net Help Center

Getting Help on the Free-Net
You may get help on the Free-Net with any of the following four ways. You should always try first to get your help through one of the first three ways. Leaving a telephone message is the least effective way, and should be used only if you cannot connect to the Free-Net. Even if you cannot connect through your modem from home, you may be able to visit a library or friend that has internet access.

1. Read the online material in the Help Center
2. Post your question in the Answers Conference
3. Send your question to the help volunteer staff
4. Leave your question on the Free-Net answering machine 

Read the online material in the Help Center

The preferred method to get an answer is to read the online material in the Help Center. Because the Free-Net support staff is all volunteer, please try to find the answer to your problem there first. This may be your quickest solution.

Post your question in the Answers Conference

If you do not find a solution to your problem in the online Help Center, you can post a query in the Answers conference of the Conference Center. This conference is available for use by all users and is monitored by support volunteers. Depending on your question, it may get answered by a user quicker than by one of our help support volunteers. This is especially true of problems which are related to specific personal computer hardware and software.

Send your question to the help volunteer staff

Depending on your question, you may wish to post it directly to a Free-Net Help Center volunteer. Do this with e-mail sent directly to one of the groups listed below. During the dialogue that follows the selection of one of these links, you will get a prompt:

Do you wish to include the original message? (y/n) 

Please answer 'n'. An answer of 'y' transmits a copy of this page (that you are now reading) and is of no use to the staff.

* help@tcfreenet.org
For help with Lynx, Pine, and file management functions. Or, if you can't figure out which of the other problem reporting e-mails to use.
* accounts@tcfreenet.org
For account-related problems, like you forgot your password
* systems@tcfreenet.org
For system problems, like you're having trouble dialing in 

To speed your response, include the following information in your message:

* Free-Net Login ID (or your real name for Guest users)
* E-mail address (for our response)
* Phone
* Computer platform and software
* Access provider (Remember, if your problem is not Free-Net related, your access provider should support you in resolving it.)
* A thorough description of the problem 

Leave your question on the Free-Net answering machine

This is your last resort, and probably the slowest way, to getting a question answered. In some cases, we realize it might be the only way.

The Free-Net voice phone number is:

Voice only: 651/256-2112

Since the office is not usually staffed, follow the directions on the answering machine to leave your message and include the information listed above. Use voice mail only if you cannot submit your question by e-mail.