As part of our community services, we offer free web hosting services to non-political, non-religious and non-profit Iranian social and cultural clubs.   We also extend this service to publications and special interest groups that meet our basic standards.  This is in accordance with our long-standing commitment to bring Iranian community closer together. There are many Iranian organizations that do not have the required resources to be present on the Internet.  Furthermore, the structure and nature of most of these organizations do not allow them to commit themselves to continually update and maintain a dedicated site. To help these organizations, we have dedicated part of our resources to provide them with the Internet presence at no cost. The  "Rainbow" section of the Iran Online is designed to be the forum and act as the gateway to the sites that Iran Online hosts.

There are currently a number of organizations and special interest groups that are taking advantage of this service.  Following are the answers to the frequently asked questions about this service.
 

1-      What kind of organizations can be qualified for Iran Online free web hosting services?

Any non-profit Iranian grass root organization without any religious and political preference can be qualified. Examples are community groups, university student clubs, societies and special interest groups that have a history and a track record in their respective areas of interest.
 

2-      Are there any geographic restrictions?

No, there is absolutely no geographic restrictions or preference. The organization can be based anywhere on the glob.  As long as it meets Iran Online standards, it can be qualified for this service.
 

3-      What kind of services qualified organizations can expect?

We tailor our services according to the needs of each recipient organization. The range of services varies from setting up few pages introducing the organization, to providing the organization with a dedicated FTP account, email account and disk storage space on our servers.  When appropriate we also offer free banner advertising throughout Iran Online site and mass mailing (email) for the cultural events that are held by these organizations.
 

4-      Are there any restrictions on the contents of the material to be posted?

Yes, we do not allow profanity and pornographic material to be posted as part of Iran Online forum.  Furthermore, Iran Online does not support religious and political ideologies advocacy.  Finally, subscribing organizations can not use Iran Online for business advertising of any kind.  This does not include advertising the social and fund raising events that are held by the subscribing organizations.
 

5-      Is there a special format to follow in preparing the Internet site?

Yes, each page will contain two banner ads reserved for Iran Online use only.  Typically, one ad is displayed at the top of the page and the other is placed at the bottom of the page.  There should also be buttons linked to the "Rainbow" and Iran Online Main pages at the bottom of every page.  Furthermore, Manou & Associates Inc. logo should be posted at the bottom of each page.   This is the general format used throughout Iran Online web pages.  We believe maintaining the same format insures the site navigation friendliness.
 

6-      What will be the URL address of the subscribing organization?

Since the site will be hosted by Iran Online, it will have the Iran Online domain name as part of its URL address. Therefore, a typical URL address is http://www.IROL.COM/organization name/. Some of the organizations have chosen to use a short name for their URL address. Following are examples of the URL names that are currently being used:

     Iran Gohar publications uses .......  http://www.IROL.COM/IranGohar/
     Anti-Violence Campaign uses ...... http://www.IROL.COM/AVC/
     Iranian Student Club of University of California, Irvine uses  ........  http://www.IROL.COM/ICC-UCI/
     Gilanian Council uses ...... http://www.IROL.COM/GilanianCouncil/
 

7-      Are there any standards for the content of the pages to be posted in the organization site?

Yes, material presented in each page should be useful and of high quality.  Furthermore, they should read well and show proper usage of the language (Farsi and English). Either Farsi and English can be used for the site.  Ethnic organizations can use Persian dialogues and languages.
 

8-      What happens if a subscribing organization do not adhere to the required format and guidelines?

We will simply remove the organization site and cut off its access to our server.
 

9-      Is Iran Online prepared to provide this service to all qualified organizations?

Manou & Associate Inc. provide Iran Online resources. These are limited resources. We have dedicated a portion of them for this purpose.  Therefore, if the demand exceeds our available resources, we will have to offer this service selectively.
 

10-     How can an organization apply for this service?

You can simply contact us by email and tell us about your organization, its goals, history, membership and recent activities. We also like to review your organization by-laws (if available), charter and any recent publications and brochures.  You should also list the services that your organization would like to receive from us.  Additionally, you need to describe the type of materials that you would like to include in your site.   These do not have to be in any special format.  They are basically intended to help us decide if we can offer you the requested services. You will be notified of our decision after we review your materials. Iran Online is not obligated to provide any explanation should your application be rejected.
 

11-     What are the advantages of having the organization site hosted by Iran Online?

Iran online is clearly one of the most popular Iranian Internet sites.  This popularity is the direct result of the wide range of services that Iran Online offers.  This has been achieved through the dedication of the large amount of resources and personal devotion of our staff over the last few years. An Internet site is only valuable when its targeted audience views it.  Iran Online Forum provides the opportunity for organizations that wish to be visited by the Iranian Internet community.
 

12-     How can Manou & Associates Inc. offer these services free of charge?

We at Manou & Associates Inc, hope to recover our cost through fees collected from business advertising in Iran Online and Iranian Online Yellow Pages Internet sites. We believe that the addition of cultural and social sites to Iran Online Forum will further increase our traffic and will add to the value of advertising in the Iran Online forum.  We are in a unique position that allows us to offer these services and makes it possible for all involved parties to benefit from them.
 

13-     Can Manou & Associates Inc. help us to have our own independent dedicated Internet site?

We at Manou & Associates Inc. can provide you with the full range of web hosting services according to our fee schedule.  In fact this is our main line of business and Iran Online and Iranian Online Yellow Pages are just two of the sites that we host and manage. We encourage all Iranian organizations and businesses to take advantage of the full range of web hosting services that we offer.  In a way this will allow us to dedicate more resources to the expansion and growth of Iran online and its community services.
 

In summary, the services that are presented here are designed and planned carefully to meet the needs of viewers with diverse backgrounds.  We have tested this model with the organizations that are presently taking advantage of these services.  We are now prepared to offer these services to other organizations free of charge.  We invite you to seriously consider our offer and secure a seat for your organization in the cyberspace as part of one of the most frequently visited Iranian Internet sites.
 

Iran Online
January 1998