What is RBmail?

RBmail is River Bend's broadcast e-mail system. By being placed on the member list by Charlie Sharpe  (csharpe@XXXsuddenlink.net) (remove XXX) one may send a message to all other River Benders by simply addressing their message to the following address:

rbmail@always-online.com

RBmail is a "closed list" of about 500 present and past residents, property owners, and town employees and officials. It is not possible for someone not on the list to send e-mail to the list. You must send mail from the e-mail address that you registered with on RBmail. If you change your service provider you must notify the Administrator Charlie Sharpe or your mail will bounce.

What RBmail is not:

RBmail is not run nor sponsored by the Town of River Bend but is used occasionally by town officials to disseminate information. RBmail is not a "newsletter" as  some people have called it. News comes from residents like yourself. There are no rules for what one may send except to use common sense and respect your neighbors.  Most people don't like to receive commercial ads. If you send a message to all residents advertising your business you may receive flak from some of the members.

How RBmail got started:

Few towns have an e-mail system. RBmail was started in River Bend around 1997 by Dave Wallace using a list of about 20 River Bend addresses from the New Bern Computer Users Group (NBCUG) e-mail list. At that time one had to copy/paste the list of addresses to send a message to all.  Soon afterwards Carolina Connections was kind enough to host the list so that anyone could address it by sending mail to rbmail@always-online.com. Dave Wallace ran the list with assistance from Al Kish for about 10 years, during which time it was relocated to Always-Online. In February 2007 it was turned over to Charlie Sharpe to administer and had grown to about  500 members..

Why be on the River Bend e-mail list?

The River Bend e-mail list is the fastest way to get information to a large and growing segment of the River Bend population. Any resident may send information they think is newsworthy to other residents or query residents with a problem.

Here are a few sample message topics that residents typically send to rbmail@always-online.com

Computer problems, home problems. Looking for advice or offering advice. Town activity. Virus warnings, hoaxes, scams, PC tips, suggestions. Announcements of meetings, petitions, parties, entertainment, surveys, etc. Storm, hurricane, flooding, utility outage information and warnings. Questions/comments on town policies, activities, shopping, etc. Yard sales, sale of car, boat, motorhome, etc. Lost or found pets or adoption of pets. Tips on Internet addresses that might be of interest to townspeople.

Tips using RBmail:

1. Before sending your message to River Benders, read it carefully and check spelling. You may want to send it to yourself first to assure that it arrives the way you intended. It may need editing to avoid unnecessary line wraparounds.     

2. You may reply to a message either directly to the sender or by sending your reply to RBmail if you think other residents would be interested in your reply. Unless you really want the original message to be included in your reply, it is a good practice to delete it within your reply. Learn how to edit e-mail messages that are being replied to or forwarded.

3. If you plan to leave town for an extended period of time, such as for the season, you may request to have your e-mail address at RBmail placed on hold so mail doesn't pile up. Since it is difficult to keep up with everyone's vacation schedule one must request reinstatement upon your return.  However, since putting e-mail on hold requires extra work, it is preferable that one access their mail remotely from out of town if at all possible. There's several ways to do this but an easy way  to remember is to go to the web page http://www.mail2web.com  and  enter your e-mail address and password.  Try it.   

4. Many people never send e-mail to RBmail because they are unsure of what to send. No matter what one sends there will always be someone that's not interested and who may send back a message telling you so. Don't worry about it unless you are flooded with complaints.  Besides a dislike for commercial advertising,  many residents are not particularly fond of receiving long lists of jokes, photos that take a long time to download, virus warnings that have been forwarded without being checked out as hoaxes, questionable attachments and editorials that don't appear germane to River Bend residents. A majority of residents voted no in a poll when asked if they'd like campaign e-mail in the last River Bend election. 

5. If you send a message to RBmail and you are not sure it went out don't resend it. Wait several minutes and check incoming mail to see if your copy arrives. If it does, you can be assured that your message to RBmail was sent OK. 

6. PLEASE DO NOT put rbmail@always-online.com in your e-mail program's address book. Should you receive a virus of the type that seizes your address book and sends itself out to all addresses everybody in River Bend will receive the virus. You will not even have any knowledge that it happens. This is not a hoax. It really happened once in River Bend but residents were alerted in time before opening the virus attachment. BE VERY CAREFUL about attachments to e-mail. Know what they are before opening. BEWARE of attachments with a blank message.

Charlie Sharpe 634-2860 csharpe@XXXsuddenlink.net  (remove XXX)

River Bend gets hooked on 'net

Click to enlarge photo by Byron X. Holland/Sun Journal

Dave Wallace looks over River Bend's web page from his computer room at his River Bend home. Many of the community's citizens keep track of the town's activities with their computers.

When Richard Milman heard about a proposal to open an in-home daycare center in River Bend, he turned to his computer to express his concerns to fellow residents.

Milman is one of 208 residents who have come to rely on the River Bend Broadcast or RB Mail. System to communicate with his neighbors.

This is no ordinary forum, but it seems to be working for residents in River Bend, according to Dave Wallace who helped set up the system two years ago.

"We are adding people every week," he said.

RB Mail, developed for River Bend residents only, is free and not sponsored nor run by the Town of River Bend.

A local Internet company retains a master list at its Internet service provider where residents can address all members by sending a message to rbmail@always-online.com. Anyone not on the list can't send messages to the address.

Since its inception, membership has grown from 20 to 208, and residents have taken advantage of the system.

They use RB Mail to address hot topic issues like the opening of a daycare or to get word-of-mouth recommendations on a good physician, Wallace said.

Also, "It's a good way to meet your neighbor."

Normally, RB Mail is very quiet, but every now and then it goes hyperactive when a controversy occurs," Wallace said.

Controversy or no controversy, Mayor Jim Findley finds the system to be useful to the town.

"It gives you a feel for what people are thinking and what their concerns are," he said.

Wallace said the system has been used to take polls to see where residents stand on certain issues. "It's pretty healthy having people speaking up."

Polls have been done on what color the water tower should be and whether candidates running for a seat on the town council or mayor should be allowed to campaign, he said.

There are no rules, but members are cautioned not to send commercial mail and not to use profanity.

"The best thing to do is treat your neighbor kindly," Wallace said.

For many RB Mail has become an important part of their daily routine.

Resident Dick Conner doesn't miss a day of going on-line. Sometimes he spends six or seven hours a day on the system, he said.

"I use it a couple of ways," Conner said, adding he's a musician. "I use it to announce concerts that we do in the area."

"It also gives me access to people who are knowledgeable and thirsty for what's happening with computers."

Certainly, e-mail and the Internet is nothing new, he said, "but for a small community like this, it's rather exceptional. It's wonderful to be able to express your views on the e-mail system," Conner said.

Milman, who uses the system just about everyday, said it's the fastest way to disseminate information to his neighbors.

"It's the greatest thing that's come out of the information super highway. People use it to buy and sell things. Just today they had pictures posted from last week's (March of Dimes) walk-a-thon. It's like having a daily newspaper."

Without it, residents would have to rely on meetings and the River Bender - both of which occur monthly, he said.

Wallace said he's even had requests from residents who moved away asking to remain on the list.

"They miss the RB connection and their new town doesn't have anything like this,"  he said.

In the future, Wallace hopes to see the system used for the town's business. For example, "Councilpersons could supplement the (public) hearings with a message to RB Mail providing a URL where residents can vote their opinion at a Web poll."

Nicole Jackson-Trull has since resigned from the SUN JOURNAL to remain home with her children. 

revised 8/22/07 dw