How can my organization/I as an individual researcher participate in the activities of LIRNEasia? 
LIRNE.NET is made up of research organizations, but we are building up organically, based on actual collaborative work rather than formal agreements.  We worked with the LINK Centre in S Africa for years, before it became a member of LIRNE.NET.  This is the approach we adopt at LIRNEasia as well.  We have a number of projects that we have obtained funds for; using our best judgment, we assemble teams of researchers to work on those projects; when they produce the output, we involve as many people as we can in the discussion so that the product is improved/the knowledge is disseminated.  That’s what we were doing in Mt Lavinia last year.
People get involved in our work, primarily through our website, which is open and interactive or through WDR or LIRNE.NET, all of which allow for participation.  We cannot individually communicate with people (like I am doing now!) most of the time, not because we don’t want to, but because we don’t have the resources.  But we have lots of discussions going on the website, and generally someone responds to a comment of substance.    The problems of telecom reform are vast and we are doing only the little part we can handle.  My suggestion is that you should do what interests you; we will read it if it’s on the web.  If there are commonalties in approach and the findings are of interest and are well supported, we will have reason to work together.
Do I need to register in order to participate in a discussion?
You don’t need to register to read the ongoing discussions, and make contributions (in the form of comments) of your own. You can comment on any post by scrolling down to the bottom of the page, and filling in your name and email address and then writing your comment and clicking on submit comment. But, if you want to make new posts or start a new thread, you need to register, supplying your name and a valid email address. When you post a question or comment, your name (as you indicate) will be automatically inserted. The system won’t accept posts from unrecognized email addresses. Once you’ve logged in you can submit posts  including attachments and you’ll receive notification of comments on your postings via email. If you register and then log in, your name and email will be automatically entered into your messages, saving you some time. Registered users are also able to use their login ID and password to edit their messages later on.
Do I have to give my email address and other details?
For technical reasons, you are required to give a valid email address to be able to register. You don’t need to provide any information if you do not wish to when making comments on existing postings. But your email address will not be published even if you do decide to provide it.
Who can register?
Anyone interested in the discussion/debates going on may register.
How do I register?
On the main page, go to the Team tab on the side bar (on the right side), and click on register. This will take you to a page where you can enter a login name and a password of your choice, and you must supply a VALID email address. Once you are registered, you can log in using your login name and password. Logging in will take you to a page where you can make and edit your posts, upload content, edit your profile, and change your password.
Whose views and opinions does the content of the website represent? Because the active discussion and debate on this website is a direct result of blogging by a number of users, both registered and unregistered, and anyone who is interested can register, LIRNEasia cannot accept responsibility for the views and opinions expressed in these. Unless otherwise indicated, the views expressed in content appearing in the discussions and debates are the personal views of the individuals submitting them.
Is the discussion moderated?
Comment moderation is enabled, and may result in a small delay before it appears on the website.
How can I view past discussions?
Archives can be accessed at the bottom of the blog tab on the on the side bar of the main page. Archives are arranged by month, so at the end of each say November 2004, all discussions from that month will go into November 2004 archive. By following the link for the month that you want, you will be taken to a page, similar to the main page, containing links to all discussions and comments of that month. If you choose to add a comment, this will bring the post up under activity on blog tab of the main page.
How do I make a comment?
You can add a comment to any post at the bottom of the post. You have to follow the link of the post (click on its title); scroll down to the bottom of the page, fill in your name and email address and comment and click on submit comment. You can’t submit comments on the main page. Comments cannot be edited or deleted after they are saved.
How do I make a post?
You must be registered to do this. You can either post directly on the website, or email your post to the website. For web posting once you are logged in, you will be taken to the WordPress page. Web posting allows you to write and format your text on the website itself. You can save your post in draft form, and continue writing it next time you log in by clicking on the edit tab. Once the post is published, you can still edit it once you login and click on the edit tab. Documents that have been uploaded to the document manager may also be linked into your post. E-mail posting allows you to post information by just sending an email as follows: To: lirne@indi.ca Subject: [this will appear as the title of the post] Main body text: [this will appear as the content of the post] You can also attach files and documents to your email, which will appear as downloads in your post. E-mails must be sent in plain text format, and from your registered email address. Editing posts submitted by email can be done once your post has appeared on the site, in the same manner as above. To upload documents, the simplest way is via email posting, just by attaching your documents to the email, and sending as normal.
How do I upload a document from my computer?
Once you are logged in, you can access the document manager in the team tab. here, click on browse and once you have selected your document, then click on upload. You can create folders and organize documents in the document manager. To link a n uploaded document into your post, copy it’s web address (right-click/copy shortcut) and hyperlink it in your post. You can also email documents to lirne@indi.ca .as attachments. This will appear as a post.
How do I edit my post?
Once you are logged in, you will be taken to the WordPress page; here click on the edit tab at the top of the page. Here you can select which of your posts you want to edit, and then proceed.
What if I comment on an old discussion/archived discussion?
Any new additions to the site both comment and post will appear on the blog tab in side bar of the main page. Posts with new comments will appear in the activity section and any new posts will appear at the top of the blog tab. When new comments on your posts are submitted, you will receive notification via your registered email address.
Will my comment or post show immediately?
There may be some delay before your comments show up; this is because comment moderation is enabled. There is no need to re-submit.
Can I create a news feed?
Registered users can create news feeds from any source that is RSS or XML enabled. These will appear in the feed tab of the main page.