TinPan Alley Neighborhood Guide HQ

A Minister's work is not that easy as you might think. To be up and work in the city is usually a daily standard. The Neighborhood Guide Program should give you as a citizen the opportunity to raise the your voice and the voice of the citizens, to help the community and get rewarded for this by FortuneCity with extra megabytes aswell.

What is the Neighborhood Guide program?

The NGP (Neighborhood Guide Program) is a district program that allows residents with limited time to help FC and their district. Volunteers are assigned Tin Pan Alley District's streets to monitor and surf. They eMail sites that do not meet guidelines, and write the resident a nice eMail to change things... then they check in a week to see if it happened, if not then they eMail the URL to the head of the NG who will double check that the sites do indeed need to be removed (sometimes people think a gal in a bathing suit is pornography) and then send the URL and why the removal to the FC administration who will then remove them. Also while surfing the assigned streets, the NG recommends sites that they think should be considered for the Tin Pan Alley District award and/or to be put as a featured site in the district front page... these lists they send to the minister who ramrods the award stuff. Finally they sign the guest books of those they visit and say hi, glad you're at FC, etc. please visit the message board at: http://www.fortunecity.com/registered/wwwboard/boards/tinpan/ or if no guest book available they send an eMail instead.

Who are the guides?

You can be one of them. We (FortuneCity and the Tin Pan Alley District's Ministers) need your assistance in helping out. This is a volunteer program run by the citizens who make their home here.
Click here for a current listing by street assignment.

Why is it needed or even desirable?

Any community or society composed of individuals must work together, otherwise the words "community" and "society" are hollow words with no meaning.
Fortune City is such a community of web minded individuals, we work together to ensure the greatest measure of freedom and a pleasant environment for the greatest number of its inhabitants. Naturally, not every person will agree with its administration. That is to be expected in any organization, but again, the key words here are the greatest number.
However, try not to think of the NG program as a "Marilyn Manson" kind of crusader program...rather the George Michael kind of friendly mentor, ready to help out. There is much more to the NG program than going around looking for non-compliant sites. We want to look for the good places to visit out there, mention them to the ministers so that they'll get some deserved recognition, and perhaps submit them for one of the FC awards.
The matter should be approached in a positive manner rather than a negative one. And if one of the guides happens upon a non-compliant site, well, first the web master of that site must be politely notified of the transgression. After all, he/she may not be aware of his/her breaking the guidelines of the city. Then, after notification and a period of time, if the web master chooses to ignore the polite prod, his site will be scrutinized by regular FC employees. No direct action is taken by the guide at any time.

How does it work?

The team of Neighborhood Guides, together with the ministers, will cruise through the streets of Tin Pan Alley looking at each and every residence which is occupied. Naturally this is an ongoing task as new people move in and occasionally residents move out as time goes along.
Each NG is assigned a block of streets by the ministers. Each NG, according to his/her own personal schedule, visits homes on his/her "beat", looking for ones that ought to get some recognition or perhaps even be recommended for the District Award. Also, if the NG sees that the owner of the home is having coding problems (such as broken links, missing graphics, etc.) then he/she can notify them of the situation and perhaps even offer some helpful advice as to how to enhance their page or rectify the programming error(s). It's the neighborly thing to do. You'd tell your next door neighbor if his house was burning down, wouldn't you?
We would expect this "friendly" type of attitude in each person who works with the ministers on the NG program. In the event that the guide happens upon a site which is at odds with the FC guidelines, he/she would notify the web master via email with a copy to the ministers of the rule which is in question and giving them ample time to correct the matter or relocate to a more suitable server (i.e. if someone wants to have a hard-core porno page, it needs to reside on a server which allows this type of site - FC does not).
We will follow up on the original eMail and visit the site to verify that it, in fact, does not comply with the guidelines. Now the clock begins to run. The web master of the site in question has seven days to correct the matter or to relocate. If in that time he/she does not choose do so, I as minister will email them personally again requesting that they bring their home within FC guidelines and give them a day or two more.
Should compliance yet remain a problem after the extra time, I will recommend the site's removal from the FC server to the appropriate FC administrator. From there, the matter is in official FC hands.

Who can suggest a site for recognition?

Any resident of FC can. The NG are the regular "patrolmen" on the beat, but anyone who comes across a really good site can recommend it to either his local NG or one of the ministers. I would prefer that people do not recommend their own sites simply because I know of the amount of mail this generates. However, if you really want to submit your own work then we'll look at it as time permits.
In the matter of a site where compliance with the guidelines is a problem, you can notify either your local NG or the ministers (who still have other tasks at hand so please contact the NG's mostly). We will then take whatever action is deemed appropriate.
Keep in mind that this entire program deals only with FC sites. We won't visit a site located on another server.

How can I suggest a site?

You simply email either myself, or your local Neighborhood Guide. The emails are all listed below. Naturally, we will need the suggested home's web address. It would be nice to have its title too, so we can be sure of being at the correct location (mistakes do happen). Your email and home address would also be appreciated if you choose to supply them so that we may acknowledge your communication.
Again, remember, the NG program only deals with sites and folks located on the Fortune City server. Others will not be visited.

Can I join the NG program?

Yes. The more people we have working on this program, the better the district can be covered. The only requirements of the position are that:
  1. You are a Fortune City resident. Your site needs to be in Tin Pan Alley and be 'District Theme related' or at least one of your sites if you maintain more than one.
  2. You are willing to take a little time each day or two to cruise your assigned block.
  3. You are serious about helping our residents and willing to make a commitment to the community.


If this sounds interesting and worthwhile to you, click here to apply. We will get back to you, usually within a day or two.

Who are the points of contact for the program?