8.8. HIVNET/AEGIS Gateway. How does AEGIS operate?
Description
This article is from the AIDS FAQ, by Dan Greening with numerous contributions by others.
8.8. HIVNET/AEGIS Gateway. How does AEGIS operate?
Since its inception, AEGIS has been managed by Sister Mary
Elizabeth, its founder and system operator (sysop). Like many
founders of grassroots organizations, she is a singular person
doing the work of many people. AEGIS is now her life's work and
she is on the job nearly every waking hour.
Since 1990, Sister Mary Elizabeth has operated AEGIS on an annual
budget considerably less than $20,000. AEGIS has received no
government or foundation support, and has depended solely on
contributions of money, equipment, and space from individuals who
believe in its mission. In addition, its founder has worked as a
consultant, with those fees going to maintain the service.
In 1994, Sister Mary began to be more direct in asking users for
contributions. This effort has had, at best, a modest success.
A recent system crash, which kept AEGIS down from Sunday, December
4, to Wednesday, December 7, 1994, resulted in a number of
donations and offers of assistance. If this was a "blessing in
disguise", it was in demonstrating that AEGIS is not secure at the
present level of funding.
To protect AEGIS, the organization has entered a second
evolutionary stage. As an initial step, AEGIS is reorganizing as a
501(c)3 nonprofit educational and charitable organization with a
Board of Directors.
A Business Plan is under development which will set goals and
explore a variety of funding options, including foundation
grants, government grants, and user fees. Some of the goals that
have been identified are:
- To have a salaried, full-time system operator
(sysop)/coordinator. At this time, this position is being
filled without pay by Sister Mary Elizabeth.
- To train a half-time technical assistant in all aspects of
maintaining the system, so that AEGIS is not fully dependent
on its founder. This position is new and remains vacant.
- To hire an executive director with primary responsibility
for development and marketing. This position is new and
currently is being filled by Christopher Quilter on a
volunteer basis.
- To become a node on the INTERNET.
- To develop and maintain a more redundant and robust system
better protected from crashes and better able to recover
when they occur, and to acquire the technology that will
augment the system's power and features.
- To find and implement telecommunication options that make
access to AEGIS easier and more affordable for the user.
Christopher Quilter
January 12, 1995
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