===cut=here=== Date: Thu, 2 Dec 93 01:09:03 EST Subject: Your Request From: Americans Communicating Electronically@ra.esusda.gov. (info@ace.esusda.gov) - -------------------------------------------------------------------- AMERICANS COMMUNICATING ELECTRONICALLY (ACE) Thank you for your electronic mail message. This note acknowledges receipt of your message to info@ace.esusda.gov. WELCOME Welcome to ACE--Americans Communicating Electronically! ACE is a team of volunteer citizens, from inside and outside federal government, dedicated to open access to information and learning from every home and community across the Nation. Your initial message to us signals your interest in making this exciting experiment a reality for all Americans. Your participation is vital to the success of this project! WHO ARE ACE MEMBERS? Who are the pioneers in launching ACE? They include: the White House, the Department of Agriculture, National Archives, Commerce, Defense, Education, Energy, Environmental Protection Agency, Government Printing Office, General Services Administration, Health and Human Services, House of Representatives, Interior, Justice, Labor, National Science Foundation, Small Business Administration, U.S. Senate, State, Transportation and numerous associations and organizations. Several states, including many universities and colleges, are also part of the ACE team. WHAT KIND OF INFORMATION IS AVAILABLE FROM ACE? The ACE Experiment is coming on line in stages. During Stage One, selected agencies in the Departments listed above will participate. A single electronic mail address will be used to receive incoming messages from citizens. These messages will be forwarded electronically to the appropriate ACE agency contact for action. Citizens will receive responses, either electronically or through conventional means within "48 hours" of their request. During Stage Two, a directory of U.S. Government agencies and online databases that can be accessed directly by electronic mail will be accessible by citizens. Also, available on line, will be frequently asked questions, policy and issue papers, and speeches. You will be able to browse this information at your leisure. Future stages will build on what we learn! ACE is already finalizing plans to pilot test "Interactive Citizen Participation Centers" in local communities where people can electronically access U.S. government information when they grocery shop or visit the local library. Your feedback as we roll out these stages will be critical in helping us learn to improve this exciting, interactive communications. Working together, we can make it happen! HOW CAN I, MY NEIGHBORS, MY COMMUNITY, MY ORGANIZATION-- JOIN ACE? To join ACE, send an electronic mail message to: letters@ace.esusda.gov Describe how you would like to volunteer. Can you help others learn how to use the network? Can you provide a facility where citizens can come to access the network? Can you help form a group of citizens that would like to establish an interactive participation center? WHAT HAPPENS NEXT? We expect to receive a large volume of electronic mail. You, and your message, are important to us. So important, we'd like some additional information about you. Please provide us your conventional address (name, street address, city, state, zip, phone and fax) as well as your electronic mail address. HOW CAN YOU GET ADDITIONAL INFORMATION FROM ACE? Send your query to the Internet Electronic Mail Address listed below: - - Information request for a specific item (This notice): info@ace.esusda.gov - - Letter of inquiry of a more general nature: letters@ace.esusda.gov. INFORMATION AVAILABLE FROM THE ACE SERVER We currently have information on the National Initatives available for access in various ways. To find out more on what is available, Send a message to the following addresses. NAFTA nafta@ace.esusda.gov Health Security Act health@ace.esusda.gov National Performance Review npr@ace.esusda.gov National Information Infrastructure nii@ace.esusda.gov Each one of these has information on how to access the documents for your areas of interest. The ACE project is an exciting one! It's an opportunity for people, inside and outside government, to become involved. Involved,--not just in re-inventing today's government, but in charting tomorrow's future together! AMERICANS COMMUNICATING ELECTRONICALLY [You will receive this message only once a day] ------- End of Forwarded Message