Submitted by:
Eric L. Griffin
Chief Executive Officer
DIMENET
Independence Associates, Inc.
9 Taunton Green
Taunton, MA 02780 USA
v: (508) 880-5325
f: (508) 880-6311
e: dimenet@tsbbs02.tnet.com
Categories:
Opportunities for people with disabilities
Keywords:
Innovative or improved ways of doing things; More equitable access to technology or electronic information; Creation of new ideas, products, or services Technology transfer; Local commitment to network-based activities; Leverage of public funding; Volunteer contributions of time and energy
Supporting Documentation (contact author for more information):
Audio recordings; Other
The Story:
DISABLED INDIVIDUALS MOVEMENT for EQUALITY NETWORK: (DIMENET)
DIMENET’s mission is to provide an electronic communications and publication system which is responsive to the needs and values of the independent living and disability rights movement. It’s a new and innovative service that is (practically and philosophically) owner operated by people with disabilities and was developed out of a commitment to more equitable access and community based networking activities.
Recognition of the value of networking is growing rapidly within the disability community as evidenced by DIMENET’s escalating utilization. This recognition is a function of the array of DIMENET’s benefits including greatly increased communication within the disability community and the ease and efficiency with which equitable access may be gained to a range of resources for information and support that otherwise would be unthinkable for individuals and local consumer organizations.
DIMENET is the result of years of voluntary leadership, research and development efforts directed toward meeting the expressed needs for an accessible, easy to use and efficient networking system. The inspiration, perspiration and cash required for the development and operation of DIMENET has been contributed by Roland Sykes of GIMP, Inc. (Dayton, Ohio), Kevin Reed of Telesys Development Systems (Mesa, Arizona) and Eric L. Griffin, CEO of Independence Associates, Inc. d/b/a DIMENET in Taunton, MA. These voluntary contributions of time, energy and dollars will serve as leverage for public funding.
DIMENET has newsgroups hosted by the Research and Training Center on Independent Living, Kansas Association, New York Association, National Council on Independent Living, National Rehabilitation Information Center and the New England Coalition of Independent Living Centers among others.
In addition to the above and the range of features and services described below, DIMENET hosts newsgroups regarding the Americans with Disabilities Act, Massachusetts News, Editorial Committee, Employment, Items for Sale, Meetings and Conferences, Personal Care Attendant Services, the Rehabilitation Act, Town Meeting, General Information, and access to worldwide forums on disability issues.
DIMENET has the capability to serve as the all inclusive network of the disability community on the local, state, and national levels. DIMENET incorporates many features requested by network users including:
- An intuitive menu structure and on-line help at all levels including inside the Editor.
- Mnemonic Hot Keys for one key menu selection and system navigation.
- Compatibility with voice output computer systems.
- ASCII file uploading to the Editor for posting of newsgroup messages and private mail.
- A multi-user networking system with unlimited format expansion capabilities.
- Worldwide electronic mail. The mail system allows sending and receiving private email between DIMENET and addresses on INTERNET, USENET and FIDONET. This allows communication with the broadest possible audience while learning one mailsystem.
- Seamless merging with other networking systems. Newsgroups provide access to forums from other networks allowing participation in forums of other networks and response via confidential email to INTERNET, USENET or FIDONET. This means participation in numerous networks while learning one networking system.
- Compressed batch reads for retrieval, in one move, of all new information posted to newsgroups since your last logon.
- On-Line Conferencing.
- On-line questionnaires.
- On-line Information & Referral System.
- File Areas/Document Libraries for sharing of files.
- A member database system.
- Advanced document reader allowing control of the display of documents.
To connect to DIMENET, you need a computer, modem, and virtually any communications software. DIMENET accommodates 300,1200,2400, or 9600 baud modems, set at 8 bits, one stop bit and no parity. Have your modem dial (508)880-5412 to reach DIMENET.