How can we get Icasa more involved in this to help out people seeking help as seems this forum will provide no answers can ctwug guide people with contact details so this can be taken up with Icasa
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this was a rule that no internet sharing was allowed the day i joined ctwug but on the end of the day it was partially ignored and saying anything about it was left on deaf ears or users getting pissed and switching off stuff.
This was bound to happen people was making money before and some still do i wont mention names. There was even users paying to get a wug connection
Best is to do your own research or contact them
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Iām not trying to be rude. But this is in open forum. Will moderate it. We are also trying to show ICASA that we are taking them seriously hence the post in open forum.
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Sorry Spin was not aware of open forum my apologies
@Anonymous1 and @Announmous2 ā¦ You have some very very valid points and I happen to agree with almost all of them; however, the simplest fact is being overlooked and that is āThe use of an NPO i.e: CTWUG and its NETWORK for profit gaining purposesā ā¦
A non-profit member (all those connected to the ctwug community) cannot make a profit off of a free organisation and then pocket the proceedsā¦ Itās really contradictory to the term non-profit. Whether it be to help you cover the cost of your inet really doesnāt make for a relevant argument (If you cannot cover the inet you initially signed up for then go for a cheaper option)
Honestly I doubt anyone is dishing out āFREEā internet anywhere
If you are doing the inet share thing specifically to assist individuals gain access to their emails, facebook, youtube and various social platforms etc then why charge in the first place?
a profit is āa financial gain, especially the difference between the amount earned and the amount spent in buying, operating, or producing something.ā
In other words, even a 1 cent can be seen as profit if its surplus
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And thank you RaZOR its nice to see someone agree and seeing point trying to be raised as all i have seen is people saying find your own way which is no help. All you see is internet is illegal yet wug is illegal but due to its free people wont speak of it due to loosing it
Maybe this would answer some questions:
https://www.icasa.org.za/pages/services-licencing
To clarify a last point, CTWUG is registered as a PECN with ICASAā¦
The question I have is does this apply to CTWUG owned highsites AND privately owned sites? I can understand the hoohaa about equipment owned by an NPO but what of the equipment owned privately? Is this a crime by association scenario?
Asked and answeredā¦ 
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Personal opinion: I would say yes. You (being any person as a member of CTWUG) agreed to these rules at the start, and via a majority vote by the community this would extend to changes in these rules.
It was made very clear between the rules & constitution what would acceptable, also what would not be acceptable or tolerated. To say it in so many words: If you do not agree with or adhere to these, should you not be quitting?
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My point is whether there are people sharing internet on the network and proffiting or sharing any kind of content without proper rights, it still remains illegal.
Sorry guys off topic.
The committee has always taken this seriously. At least while I was on it. The rules are difficult to enforce though as we do not monitor everyoneās traffic and canāt know everything going on. The community needs to do more to help us enforce it.
The post above quotes the relevant rule that has been threre since Iāve been on CTWUG.
This is partly the problem. Difficult to enforce.
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Difficult to answer. We have to operate a not-for-profit network. Hence we have the rules.
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Thatās basically what the problem is in my mind. Itās also difficult to ask the questions when it might be that some are abusing it already.
Youād be surprised.
That is another grey area. I donāt think some of the rules make sense for a community run network. If all the equipment on the network was owned by CTWUG NPO it would be easier, but we know thatās not the case. But everything is still connected to the same network. I donāt think the rule makers really thought about something like the CTWUG when they wrote the rules. This makes acting in the spirit of the law more important.
Having said that operating a WISP without a license is illegal for anyone.
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Possible questions to shed some light
If subject A has an Icasa registred licence to operate a network and provide a service via that network and subject A share internet over private owned sites/links that subject A owns would this be allowed?
OR
Subject A owns an existing network providing internet and then decides to join ctwug and give wug over there network as its a free service would this be allowed?
Is the proxy service (which is free) in breach of any ICASA rules?
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2.6.7. Operation of commercial, paid-for network services on the WUG is forbidden. This includes commercial Internet access.
Now the above CTWUG Rule state that you cannot even "if you have a registered license to operate and distribute internet commercially, in other words pay for a service whether this is to cover cost or to profit, if you wish to make use of such services you should start your own private network to those interested.
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This would still not be allowed with regards to my first remark.commercial internet services and WUG are not suppose to run on the same network and hardware.
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