File:Red Hook WiFi Captive Portal Shoutbox.jpg

English: After the first Red Hook WiFi antenna had been running on the roof of Red Hook Initiative for a few weeks, the first iteration of a mobile community website was installed on the router (the same custom openWRT Linux router used to handle the Internet, a TP-Link WR1043nd).

When someone connected to the open wireless entitled “Red Hook Initiative WiFi,” they were redirected to the local RHI website first, a captive portal, before they could go to the rest of the Internet (like the page that pops up when logging onto free WiFi at a store). This was inspired by an earlier community network in Montreal, “Île Sans Fil,” which aims to socially engage users locally at WiFi enabled coffee shops by redirecting to a page showing other users on the network.

This initial RHI WiFi based website served as an interactive placeholder to gauge a level of interest among community members. The “R” banner graphic at the top is a collective symbolic identity for Red Hook residents. Along with admin controlled RHI announcements at the top of the page (including upcoming LGBTQ meeting times), an anonymous shoutbox, or public forum, was installed to promote a free flowing discussion of the network itself. The first question was “What do you think of the project?” This garnered a large range of responses that evolved over the next few weeks.