FidoNews · Vol 2, No 23 · 22 July 1985
FIDONEWS -- 22 Jul 85 00:00:48 Page 1
Volume 2, Number 23 22 July 1985
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| _ |
| / \ |
| - FidoNews - /|oo \ |
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| Fido and FidoNet _`@/_ \ _ |
| Users Group | | \ \\ |
| Newsletter | (*) | \ )) |
| ______ |__U__| / \// |
| / FIDO \ _//|| _\ / |
| (________) (_/(_|(____/ |
| (jm) |
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Publisher: Fido 107/7
Chief Procrastinator: Thom Henderson
Fidonews is published weekly by SEAboard, Fido 107/7. You
are encouraged to submit articles for publication in
Fidonews. Article submission standards are contained in the
file FIDONEWS.DOC, available from Fido 107/7.
Disclaimer or don't-blame-us:
The contents of the articles contained here are not our
responsibility, nor do we necessarily agree with them;
everything here is subject to debate. We publish EVERYTHING
received.
User Unsupported Software
Last week I wrote about the high cost of marketing a
software package. This week I'll write about an
alternative.
You are all familiar with it -- it's called user supported
software. It's more commonly referred to as "freeware", but
that name has been trademarked (as has almost every other
variant of {something}ware). But "user supported software"
is a clumsy term, so I'll be lazy and call it freeware.
The freeware concept is an ingenious idea. The author is
able to sell his wares without the immense gamble of a
normal commercial offering, and can thus offer quality
products at a low cost. The user benefits from the low
costs, and is in addition able to extensively "test drive" a
program before purchasing it. Everyone benefits!
Well, not quite. The user benefits from copious quantities
of "free" software, and a small handful of authors make a
decent buck. The sad truth is that most freeware vendors
receive little if anything for their trouble.
FIDONEWS -- 22 Jul 85 00:00:51 Page 2
Let's face it. If you have a freeware product that you are
still using after a couple of weeks, you are out of the
"test drive" category. If you haven't sent in a donation,
then you are effectively a software pirate. The author may
say it's okay (since he can't really do anything anyway),
but you are still deriving benefits from his work without
providing any compensation.
I see freeware as an attempt to open a new marketing
channel. When viewed that way, a freeware product is no
different than a product sold at your local computer store.
In either case it is wrong to use the product without paying
for it. The penalties differ, however.
For stealing a product offered through standard commercial
channels you might find yourself being sued by large
corporations, though this is unlikely if you are stealing on
a small scale.
But for stealing a freeware product the penalty is much more
subtle, and much more severe. If people use freeware
products without paying for them, then the entire freeware
concept will cease to be valid. The good authors will have
to go find something else to do (probably working for the
large corporations), and low cost quality software will
become a thing of the past. Also no more "test drives";
you'll have to shell out the bucks if you want to try
something out.
So how about it? You know what you're using that you
haven't paid for yet. Send in the donations, and let's keep
the freeware concept alive.
FIDONEWS -- 22 Jul 85 00:00:52 Page 3
============================================================
NEWS
============================================================
A FIDO BBS WITH A MISSION
11/499
USER : "I've been a computer user both at home and
work for several years now. Recently my vision has begun
to fail and reading the CRT is getting more and more
difficult. Anyone have any suggestions ?"
SYSOP: "Yes there are a few articles in the rehab
file section that might be of interest to you. You can
download these files or just use the T)ype command they
are store in ASCII. If you don't find an answer here let
me know. For about $18.00 we can sign-on through DIALOG or
BRS and access the Abledata (National Rehab. Info. Center)
where listings of over 8000+ commercial products for the
disabled have been stored."
USER : "I read your articles and found some good
leads will let you know what happens."
USER : "Wow I just ordered the PC-Talker program and
a Vortrax synthesizer today. The total solution to my
problem ... for under $700.00. The price was so reasonable
that my employer picked up the tab."
This dialog is an example of what a new BBS forming
in South Bend Indiana is all about. The System is know as
Care-Net. Care-Net (Computer Aided REhabilitation NETwork)
is a member of FIDO Network #11 Node 499. The system is
run by a husband and wife team, Marlin and Kathy
Sheffield. They are not new to rehabilitation or
computers. Kathy has been an employee of Council For The
Retarded for the past eight years. Kathy works at the
community sheltered workshop known as Logan Industries.
Kathy has served as Work Adjustment Supervisor, Work
Evaluator, and now as Rehabilitation Director. Kathy is a
member of the National Association Of Disability Examiners
and is CC-WAVE certified as a work evaluator. Marlin also
worked at the sheltered workshop for about 4 years;
currently he is the Manager of Information Services for a
metal stamping and fabricating firm. He has been involved
in programming micro-computers personally and as a
consultant for some 8 years now. Perhaps, as much a
motivation as any, is the fact that the couple is the
rather proud foster parents of two developmentally
disabled teenagers.
The goals of the BBS are described by the systems
editorial as :
Care-NET is a non-profit effort to utilize a computerized
FIDONEWS -- 22 Jul 85 00:00:55 Page 4
message exchange with the following goals :
o A Forum Between Inconvenienced Citizens.
o A Tool To Encourage Dialogue Between Consumers
Of Rehabilitation Service And The Professionals
Providing These Services.
o A Medium For Health Care And Rehabilitation
Professionals To Share Information, Resources
Ideas and Develop Joint or Regional Projects.
o A Free Alternative To TTY Services -Private as
Well As Public Messaging Is Supported.
o A Link To The Rest Of The Telecomputing World.
We will maintain a library of public domain
programs available for downloading or uploading
by any computer enthusiasts. We will also post
your ideas for needed software to aid
rehabilitation efforts. Hopefully some of the
computer wizards can help contribute to the
cause.
The sysops are willing and excited about sharing
information with others who are willing or already are
running similar bulletin boards. This networking of
similar services was the primary reason for the selection
of Fido software.
For such an ambitious project to succeed regional
input is needed. If you have articles to contribute or are
in need of information please give Care-Net a call. The
system is on-line from 10PM to 5PM on weekdays (19 hours)
and from 10PM to 9AM on weekends. The Sheffields are
running the BBS on their Leading Edge Computer and single
phone line. They are looking forward to trying to add an
additional phone line and machine so Care-Net can be a
twenty-four hour a day seven day a week service. (This
author is frankly a little puzzled about how they plan to
do this since the system charges no access fees, does not
require or even request subscriptions, and claims to be
funded only by free will contributions. I hope their faith
in the goodness of the computer community is not aimed too
high.) The system is a closed but free system and is not
limited only to rehabilitation and social service issues.
You are required to log on the system and complete a brief
questionnaire before full access to the system is granted.
Your status is upgraded usually within 24 hours. Give the
Sheffield's and their project of love 'CARE-NET' a call at
1-219-233-1261 (300/1200 baud). Or drop them a line or seek
more information or express your support by writting :
Care-Net
% Marlin & Kathy Sheffield
820 Whitehall
South Bend, Indiana 46615
FIDONEWS -- 22 Jul 85 00:00:58 Page 5
Fido V10j Documentation correction.
Lloyd Miller, Calgary_Fido, #17/418
If anyone has tried the "previously undocumented" feature
decribed in the V10I.doc update they probably had trouble
getting it to work if they followed the documentation. It
states that you should a file called QNEWUSER.BBS! This is
obviously wrong because that file is used for new users not
for users who forgot their password. The correct file name
is QNOPWD.BBS, which is logical and you could probably
guessed it your self.
I have set up the file to display the following message
since I have an open board and got tired of calling users
who couln't remember their password to tell them what they
should have known anyway.
"The penalty for forgetting your password is - you cannot
log in for 30 days. See you then, Bye."
Of course all I do is use the "O)ld" command from the sysop
utility to delete users after 30 days so when they come back
they will be able to log in and enter a new password.
Lloyd Miller
Calgary_Fido
#17/418
------------------------------------------------------------
FIDONEWS -- 22 Jul 85 00:00:59 Page 6
Running Fido with MultiLink
Allen Miller, Fido 108/0
This brief document is an attempt to describe how to
use MultiLink (by Software Link) to run 2 Fido's on one PC.
The reader should be able to use this information to
determine how to run Fido as a background task while being
able to run other programs in the foreground. Software Link
is located at 8601 Dunwoody Place, Atlanta, Georgia, 30338.
Their policy, when I bought MultiLink, was to allow a 30 day
trial period. MultiLink is copy protected.
I said I would do this a long time ago, and I apologize
for its tardiness.
Accompanying this document should be 4 files:
AUTOEXEC.BAT, AUTOEXE1.BAT, FUP1.BAT and FUP2.BAT. These
are commented batch files that I use on my system. For
those of you that are interested, Fido 108/0 at 513/579-2587
runs on an IBM AT with a 20 meg internal drive and a 35 meg
external Tallgrass drive, 2 Hayes 2400 baud modems and is
supported by phone service providing 'hunt' when an incoming
call encounters a busy on line number 1. I am currently
running DOS 3.0 and MultiLink 3.01.
MultiLink has several parameters that may be set via
the MLUTIL utility program. This will allow the operator to
modify keyboard loop polling, allocation of cycles between
partitions, relative priority between partitions, resource
(COM port) allocation and others. I have experimented with
this and found an arrangement that is good for me that you
will see in the .BAT files.
Please feel free to contact me if you find that this
collection is not enough help to get you going or get out of
trouble. I have been running Fido with MultiLink since
December, 1984, and both have run flawlessly.
------------------------------------------------------------
:FILE AUTOEXEC.BAT
:FOR RUNNING MULTILINK WITH FIDO BULLETIN BOARD SYSTEM
:ALLEN MILLER, FIDO 108/0, 7/13/85
:SYSTEM - IBM AT, DOS 3.0, ML 3.01
PATH=C:\BAT;C:\DOS;C:\UT;C:\RB\F;C:\ML
:REPLACE DOS C> PROMPT
prompt 2 $p
:ACTIVATE ML TIMESLICING
MLSLICE
:INVOKE ML PARTITIONING
MLINK /9,280
:ENQUE ML RESOURCE (COM2:) TO THIS PARTITION
MLUTIL ENQ -3
:NORTON UTILITY TO COLOR CODE PARTITION
SA CYAN
FIDONEWS -- 22 Jul 85 00:01:01 Page 7
:CALL SECOND FIDO PARTITION
FUP2
------------------------------------------------------------
:FILE AUTOEXE1.BAT
:FOR RUNNING MULTILINK WITH FIDO BULLETIN BOARD SYSTEM
:ALLEN MILLER, FIDO 108/0, 7/13/85
:SYSTEM - IBM AT, DOS 3.0, ML 3.01
PATH=c:\DOS;c:\UT;c:\BAT;c:\RB\f;c:\ML
:REPLACE DOS C> PROMPT
prompt 1 $p
:ENQUE ML RESOURCE 4 (COM1:) TO THIS PARTITION
MLUTIL ENQ -4
:NORTON UTILITY TO COLOR CODE PARTITION
SA YELLOW
:CALL FIRST FIDO PARTITION
FUP1
------------------------------------------------------------
:FILE FUP1.BAT
:FOR RUNNING MULTILINK WITH FIDO BULLETIN BOARD SYSTEM
:ALLEN MILLER, FIDO 108/0, 7/13/85
:SYSTEM - IBM AT, DOS 3.0, ML 3.01
:RUNS COM1, WITH NO OUTGOING MAIL
:SET DIRECTORIES
CD C:\rb\f
CD D:\
CD E:\
:DISABLE ML KEYBOARD POLLING
mlutil dis
:SET/RESET ML PARTITION PRIORITY TO 2
mlutil pri 2
:CALL FIDO
fido_ibm 11/j 8/w 30/l 15/F 60/D 350/K 3/S /x 128/V /u 1/g 1/i /y
:SYSOP '0' BRANCH
if errorlevel 8 goto DOS
:
:
:CTRL-C BRANCH
if errorlevel 1 goto end
fup1
:DOS
:TO MONITOR CARRIER
WATCHDG1 ON
:ML CYCLE ALLOCATION TO GIVE 2:1 PREFERRENCE
mlutil time 2
CTTY COM1:
COMMAND
CTTY CON
WATCHDG1 OFF
:ML CYCLE ALLOCATION TO RETURN TO 1:1
mlutil time 1
: return to run Fido after DOS
FIDONEWS -- 22 Jul 85 00:01:02 Page 8
FUP1
:end
:ENABLE ML KEYBOARD POLLING
mlutil nod
------------------------------------------------------------
:FILE FUP2.BAT
:FOR RUNNING MULTILINK WITH FIDO BULLETIN BOARD SYSTEM
:ALLEN MILLER, FIDO 108/0, 7/13/85
:SYSTEM - IBM AT, DOS 3.0, ML 3.01
:RUNS COM2, PROCESSES OUTGOING MAIL
:SET DIRECTORIES
CD C:\rb\f
CD D:\
CD E:\
:DISABLE ML KEYBOARD POLLING
mlutil dis
:SET/RESET ML PARTITION PRIORITY TO 2
mlutil pri 2
:CALL FIDO
fido_ibm 11/j 8/w 30/l 15/F 60/D 3/S 350/K 128/V /u 1/g 2/i /2 /y
:SYSOP '0' BRANCH
if errorlevel 8 goto DOS
:EXTRACT RECENT CALLERS LIST
if errorlevel 5 goto USERLIST
:CTRL-C BRANCH
if errorlevel 1 goto end
fup2
:DOS
:TO MONITOR CARRIER
WATCHDG2 ON
:ML CYCLE ALLOCATION TO GIVE 2:1 PREFERRENCE
mlutil time 2
CTTY COM2:
COMMAND
CTTY CON
WATCHDG2 OFF
:ML CYCLE ALLOCATION TO RETURN TO 1:1
mlutil time 1
: return to run Fido after DOS
FUP2
:USERLIST
users 3 >\A\UPLOADED\USERS.LST
FUP2
:end
mlutil nod
------------------------------------------------------------
FIDONEWS -- 22 Jul 85 00:01:03 Page 9
News Flash!
Memphis, Tennessee abandons tradition! Fido Nodes
proliferate as Memphis makes bold move into network
telecommunications!
Seriously folks, we Memphians are proud to join your ranks.
Historically, we've had one private board operating Fido
software for over seven months. In the two weeks preceding
the adoption of the net/node format, another board opened up
augmenting that sysop's local service, non-Fido bulletin
board system. Currently, the City on the Mississippi River,
sports four different nodes, each with different
personalities. Several more are being discussed. Already a
local Fido Users' Group (FUG) is being formed to coordinate
support for sysops in the acquistion of FIDONEWS, NODELISTS,
FIDO software updates and general files. Our users base
spans a wide range of occupations, ages and interests.
Among our endevours thusfar is one which might be of some
interest. Collaborative writing projects have too often
become either very disjointed or overly restrictive
creatively. Our "project" has been set up to maximize both
creativity and cohesiveness and, thusfar, has been very
successful in both regards. We are considering uploading it
to the Fido Newsletter as an experiment in reader
interaction, where readers would be able to help determine
plot lines and character development by providing
suggestions in feedback to project staff and contributors.
We intend to get beyond a Writers Guide, Prologue and four
Chapters before making a decision in this regard. A Readers
Guide would also be published to provide procedures for the
interactive feedback. In essence, we are, as with this
article, attempting to introduce our new net in order to
develop contacts for our users to establish Fido-mail
correspondence with.
One topic, which has produced a lot of message traffic
locally, has been that of sysop and user rights and
responsibilities. We would be very interested in hearing
from any other node's sysop or user in this regard.
Specifically, we are curious about the types of rules
established, levels of compliance, ratio of "active" users
to "lurkers" and any distinctions made between local usage
and networking. Generally, we'd like to profit from your
experience and guidance.
Again, we'd like to express our joy in joining the ranks of
networking Fido systems and look forward to establishing our
community as vibrant, contributing members of the Fido
Fraternity.
Bob Allman
FIDONEWS -- 22 Jul 85 00:01:05 Page 10
FUG
Radio Free Fido
Region 18/Node 13
(pending approval of
new net assignment)
[Sysop: Jim Key]
901-754-3850
5:00 PM CST to
8:00 AM CST weekdays;
24 hrs weekends
300/1200 baud
(soon at 2400!)
------------------------------------------------------------
FIDONEWS -- 22 Jul 85 00:01:06 Page 11
Mike Ringer
Fido 437/ in net 107
For about eight months in Bryan/College
Station has had a computer service called
Fun-net. What is Fun-net? Good question
Fun-net is simillar to the C.B. option on
compuserve. up to 16 people can be on at
one time with lines coming in from
Houston and Austin. The operator of this
system Capt K operates a company out of
Houston T.x. called FYI systems. Capt K
said that "FYI means nothing as a company
name but Normally it is an acronym for
`For Your Information'". I asked Capt K
where he got the idea for Fun-net he said
that "Fun-net is a spin off of
Roundtable... The first of interactive
computer entertainment networks, Which
was designed and developed by one Jim
Penny.... Clear Lake City Texas." Capt K
said that there is one basic version that
has been in exsistence for about one
year. When asked if fun-net was outside
of Tx he said "Not yet... There are plans
to put it in other cities and states...
At the moment there are only five in
exsistence...All in Texas. Fun-net works
only on the TRS-80 Model 4 with an
additional outboarded cpu... The first
time I asked him how much it cost he said
"I don't know how much Fun-net cost
yet...So far it's just been my house and
3 cars" after a little prodding he said
that "it cost 10k plus instalment. When
asked if if was to be developed for other
Computer he said "Its not planned for
any other hardware and it takes a modem
for each incoming line." I think with a
little prodding (and money) you might be
able to get Capt K. to give you the
source.
FYI systems
P.O. Box 690111
Houston, Texas 77269
------------------------------------------------------------
FIDONEWS -- 22 Jul 85 00:01:07 Page 12
A few Ideas about the rewrite of FIDO.
by
Paul Kelly and Jim Lynn
13/11 13/384
When in the course of human events, it becomes
necessary for two or more FIDO Sysops to sit around and
discuss the operations of a FIDO-BBS, the topic (BS) always
turns to the impending re-write of FIDO as a Public Domain
system. After all of the pros and cons have been beaten to
a pulp, the simple fact emerges that no one is quite sure
just what they want in FIDO. When last the Sysops of FIDO
#13/384 (PITTBULL) and FIDO #13/11 (PITTSBURGH'S SANYO FIDO
BOARD) got together (through the keyboards), two major
points of discussion arose. The first was the subject of
compatability with existing FIDO systems/mail-
communications. The second topic was that of the ability to
customize one's own board to allow expanded functions on
that particular board.
One of the current plus points of Fido at this time is
due to the fact that there is in reality, only ONE correct
version of Fido, that being the latest revision issued by
Tom Jennings. This allows a person to log into almost any
Fido board in existence and enter commands that have become
familiar and expect consistent results. Rather than feel
like a stranger when entering a `new' board, one can almost
feel as at home as when dialing into the local home board;
something like putting on an old pair of well broken-in
shoes, everything seems to fit.
At the same time, with Fido being a public domain
program, written to play to a general audience that is
growing at rate beyond anyone's dreams, many groups feel
that while Fido is well designed to handle the original
goals, there could be an acceptable means for customizing
their own board to better suit the particular interests of
their users. This could be anything from allowing a search
through the FILES.BBS of an area to list only newly
available files since their last log-in, to allowing a
continuously running "forum" type conversation where the
messages would simply be added into one file and accessed as
a whole rather than tracking through messages and threaded
replies.
A case in point is occuring on the PITTBULL system
which has become a standard meeting place for several local
special interest groups. The board has added a separate
area for each of these groups, and within each group are
designated individuals who are `in charge' of that
particular area of the board. They assume the task of
testing uploaded files, editing the FILES.BBS display,
monitoring messages and generally acting as an "assistant
sysop" within that particular area.
FIDONEWS -- 22 Jul 85 00:01:09 Page 13
Within these local areas, we feel there is the
possibility of customizing the type of displays and type of
functions to meet the needs of this group to allow quicker
access to the type of operation that the group desires.
This we envision as some type of a customizable overlay to
allow, from within this area only, access to a variety of
external routines which could for example:
A) Provide a database type program which would allow
better facilities for searching and retrieving files and
messages relating to certain subjects than could possibly be
provided within Fido.
B) Allow conferences between users on multi-line Fido
systems.
C) Display mail waiting for a user when the user logs
on.
D) Show a list of files uploaded or newly available
since the last time a user was in the files area.
E) Allow the user with proper clearance to "run"
programs from within FIDO such as adventure games or any
program which is a "line-output" type.
And yet, by far the majority of Fido boards across the
country would not have a need of this type, hence the idea
of an overlay to Fido, utilizing Fido's device drivers and
privilege determination, and allowing a return to `standard'
Fido operation for the user on exiting these specially
`operator configured' areas.
A rewrite is comparible to re-inventing the wheel, and
the wheel we now are re-inventing would not require that
much extra work to function in a way which may be more
flexible for certain applications.
We all know what Fido looks like from the outside, and
once source is written to provide similar action to THE Fido
we have come to know and love (or hate, or accept), there is
such a great possibility that chaos will erupt. In witness
to this, look at the thousands of versions of RBBS that
exist, with none being compatible with any other.
We feel that what should be recommended is that the
"code committee" guard the material during the re-write in
order to prevent a "leak" of the souce code for the new FIDO
and only release compiled versions to guarantee the
existence of only one current version of FIDO, in a fashion
very similar to the current situation. The `hooks' for
overlays and the format that they must conform to could be
distributed. This would provide with fair certainty that
there would be no pirated or customized FIDO's which would
lead to a situation like the RBBS "net-work" where every
board in existence is different.
FIDONEWS -- 22 Jul 85 00:01:12 Page 14
In this manner, the work that goes into the `new' Fido
source code is still available for later groups to work on
and modify if the original re-write group becomes unable to
handle the task, and yet the code is not available for
casual perusal and modification at the whim of a curious
passerby with the intent of creating a back door entrance or
other obvious detrimental effect.
Fido can remain the viable and compatible `operation'
that it always has been, and with some changes, it may
become the ONLY RBBS system to exist. People that feel
`handicapped' due to not having source code to `operate on
and patch' would need no longer yearn to get at the innards
of our standard and compatible Wonder Dog. Change and patch
your overlay to you hearts desire, make it as unique or
complex or fancy as you wish, without begining the ruination
of the friend that has caused us to come together as such a
large group of enthusiasts.
We encourage other operators to submit their views
toward our suggestions. Maybe we can draft some optimum
goals to obtain towards having a system that remains
totally compatible and yet as flexible as it needs to be,
without the fear of negating the efforts to remain an
integrous network that have already been put forth so well.
------------------------------------------------------------
FIDONEWS -- 22 Jul 85 00:01:13 Page 15
SAUNTERING SYSOPS BATMAN...
Picture a bus load of Fido Sysops with a printed
text file as a guide scooting north on the Garden State
Parkway. That's what we had on our hands when Dan North,
Comm Sig Chair; Bob Klahn (Fido Coordinator); Jim
Goldschneider; Joel Garrett; Gwen and Van Olmstead dog
tracked to a Fido Sysop conference a couple weeks ago. You
thought we only traveled at 300/1200/2400 baud? Not so. We
also move at sub-warp speeds. We were answering the call of
Thom Henderson (Node #107/7 on the national list) who fidoed
an invitation to all Net 107 Sysops to join him on his boat
for a day of sun, suds, surf and sysoping. Spouses and all.
I, for one, relished the opportunity to bring Spouse Gwen
along. She is a distant observer of most of this PC junk
and she could burn her bronze body while the Sysops lamented
the routing system bugs and generally yapped about kennel
business.
Dogbreath Klahn, (he started the name himself), our
leader dog, called to inform me that the directions that
were Netmailed to him were wrong. "Thom's message says
these directions are to his boat. They are the same
directions he sent last time--those were to his house!" Not
to worry. We called Thom Henderson on the conference line
and we were promised a correction.
With the location all co-ordinated we could go on to
coordinate other things. Irene, Thom's POSSLQ (Person of
Opposite Sex Sharing Living Quarters), did not relish
providing more than relish for the whole of Net 107 so there
was food to co-ordinate. Do Fido's eat dogs? What do they
woof down? Where should the pack congregate? What doggone
time do we leave?
I drove the van. It seemed fitting. It's Gwen's
Van. She has several, counting me, my son and the Toyota.
She let us use it. That was nice. Her van isn't like
home...it's better. Graphic equalizer, ice maker and refrig
at hand make two-hour drives almost pleasant, even if the
directions don't lead you where you wanted to go. We made
it anyhow. To Thom's barkentine.
Actually, it wasn't a barkentine. Thom and Irene
own a cabin catamaran. The nicest thing on two hulls! Big
areas to sun and lots of cabin space. Computer nuts should
have gadgets and the Hendersons did. Binoculars with the
compass headings visible in the eyepiece make it much easier
to spot the nudist colony at 193 degrees magnetic. He
showed us all sorts of electronic navigational gadgets.
Among the neatest was their friend Mike. We let Mike sail
us across the bay. Mike is an electronic helmsman. He
sailed just fine.
The day was warm enough and we got a chance to toss
the hook and go swimming in the bay. I stepped on a crab
but I didn't tarry long enough for it to retaliate.
FIDONEWS -- 22 Jul 85 00:01:16 Page 16
Besides, nobody was working hard that day. The most labor
done had something to do with pop tabs on cans. After
enough sailing and swimming was done to satisfy the interest
of all, we headed for the marina and made fast. Then we got
down to real business.
Like all good computer related stuff, Fido would be
lost without sufficient jargon to confuse the user and
observer alike. We convened long enough to get some of the
conventions adopted. Some definitions:
1. Dogyard, kennel, puppy palace all refer to the Fido
environment. "Thanks for stopping by my dogyard."
"Appreciate you sniffing around the kennel."
2. A bone is free credit on the users' behalf to be used for
long distance communication by FidoNet. "Thanks for
throwing me the bone."
3. Fido programs do not have bugs but rather fleas.
4. Barking dogs are those who use the Yelp command too
frequently.
5. Routing codes mean your message goes through Africa to
save phone charges.
6. Almost anything can be paid for by credit on one's board.
7. No right thinking Sysop will accept payment for anything
by means of credit on a Fido.
8. Veterinarian--what Bob Klahn does if you give him Sysop
privs.
9. Although dognames may be used to refer to sysops (e.g.
Dogbreath, Edifido, K-9, Diversifido [should be my
board]) there are no laws on the books with respect to
the practice. In short, it's not Dogma!
Van Olmstead, Fido 107/214
------------------------------------------------------------
FIDONEWS -- 22 Jul 85 00:01:17 Page 17
Chris Rowley
Sysop, Fido 359 LINDA (301) 340-1376
Sysop, non-net Fido WITHK Systems (301) 340-0246
The following text is from the Sex Story board RAUNCH that I
have been running on my boards for the last 7 months. It
originally ran on my Fido at college, Hell Central, where it
got off to a slow, diversified start. Now on my board at
home (which doesn't have the hardware to make my being in
the net feasible) it continues to expand in characters and
realism, although the number of contributors has lessend.
Below are the first four entries; you will notice that they
are more juvenile than subsequent entries will be, but I
believe the quality is well above that of most story board,
sex story boards to say the least. Hope you enjoy it, and
if you want, give the board a call and contribute.
Now many would call me a peeping Tom, but my name is
Mark, and am only an admirer...really. Anyway, I couldn't
believe it yesterday. I'm not bad looking, but hunting down
females around here is quite a chore. For that reason I was
really surprised when the Wheelers moved next door. There
used to be a older couple, but they headed off to Florida or
something... Anyway, I was my usual interested self and wan-
dered next door to check out what was going on. There was a
little obnoxious kid running around, just like my younger
brother. This wasn't a good sign. But I looked in the door
and politely knocked. Mrs. Wheeler appeared, holding some
books I guess she was putting them away at the time. Being
the neighborly sort I offered my aid in moving them in and
she graciously accepted.
I was getting curious as to the make-up of their fam-
ily, only seeing the mother and the little kid named Scott.
After about ten minutes a sleek new corvette came rolling
into the driveway. Mr. Wheeler got out of the passenger
seat. He wasn't THAT old, but was definitely middle-aged.
But what got my eyes popping out of their sockets was the
image exiting from the driver seat. Never, and I mean
NEVER, had I seen such a vision...not in any of the many
sexpot mags I had hidden away in my closet (shhhh....), or
anything around here. I wish I had a chance to get a better
look at that time, but she headed right inside blocked by
the car. I knew I would have a better opportunity if I
played my cards right.
Mrs. Wheeler said that her number one daughter was
named Rachel. "Number one?" I thought..."could there be
more?" I inquired to this, and Mrs. Wheeler said that
daughter number two was named Stacy.
About an hour later we finished up. I was both hyper
to see Rachel and use the restroom facilities. I had
learned that Stacy was with her grandparents until they were
all moved in. She is 16 like me, while Rachel is 18. I
wandered towards the bathroom, and, upon seeing the door
locked, knocked. It was then that I saw Rachel up-close for
the first time...well, only her face, but it was enough to
send me off into my wild dream land. Her face was perfectly
FIDONEWS -- 22 Jul 85 00:01:20 Page 18
shaped, with long brown hair, soul-piercing eyes, and full,
waiting lips. I can't even remember what she said, as I was
too caught up in my imagination. I remember wandering off
and Mrs. Wheeler inviting me to dinner once they were all
set in, but the next thing I knew I was in my bed.
I woke up to my mom's shakings...it was dinner time.
Being a saturday, I knew I could stay up without the usual
parental pestering, and spy on my new voluptuous dream. I
rushed through dinner, and wandered around aimlessly until
about 10. It was ripe time for spying...especially since
the Wheelers were just moved in and would like to hit the
sack after a long day.
I circled their house until I saw Rachel in her room on
the first floor. This was a stroke of luck, putting the
"kids" upstairs, so I wouldn't have to do as much
maneuvering. Rachel was on her bed, back turned to be. I
was really getting pumped up just thinking about her. A
half an hour passed in what appeared to be an eternity when
she got up and walked to her dresser to get her nightgown.
She then lifted her blouse high. "Damn," I whispered, since
her stance blocked her reflection in the mirror. She
turned, and undid her bra. "Gasp," could be my only
utterance, as beautiful, round, full, HUGE tits swung into
view. I had to catch my breath, and by the time I turned
back she was slipping on her gown. I managed to get a quick
glimpse at her smooth, long legs, and was once again on the
ground. I quickly ran home. This was enough excitement for
one night!
After that sight, I couldn't wait to see the other
daughter. Sure enough, after a couple of days, she arrived.
This was a sight worth waiting for. Picture the ideal slut
that every man has in his head. She was it. Long blond
hair,red lips, too much eye makeup, and the biggest set of
knockers I had ever seen on such a petite frame. They were
stuffed into a sheer tank top that left no doubt about the
absence of a bra. Below this was a pair of cutoffs that
revealed the bottom third of a pair of perfect ass cheeks,
and a few wisps of dark curly hair.
No sooner had she climbed from the corvette than her
father hustled her into the house. From the look on his
face I could tell that he didn't approve of her appearance.
That didn't matter I sure did. I knew that when the dinner
invitation came I would be there. I also hoped to get her
over for a swim in our pool.
The next day Mrs. Wheeler invited me over. It was a
good deal since my parents were going to a small party for a
couple of hours and I'll take home cooking over TV dinners
anyday. But the absence of my parents made the prospect of
getting Stacy over for a swim even better, and would possi-
bly allow me to get a BETTER view of the 16-year old dream.
I certainly had spent much of this first week fanta-
sizing about the Wheeler girls, so much that I was really
being distracted in school. Not that it mattered since
school is just there, but my friends were getting to wonder-
ing what was going on and I didn't want them to learn of my
FIDONEWS -- 22 Jul 85 00:01:22 Page 19
"find" as of yet.
At 6:30 I walked over to Wheelers. The little brat was
there with is big wheel and proceeded to roll over my toes
before I practically leaped through the door. Stacy was
there and introduced herself. My earlier observa-
tions/wishes were re-invoked and she usually gave me that
certain stare and squeezed her huge chest together with her
arms and she blinked her eyes like an innocent. This girl
was not! And she still had that tank top that was driving
me crazy.
It was near dinner so I sat down and Stacy sat next to
me. Mr. Wheeler seemed to keep an eye on us all the time,
and his presence combined with my nervousness made my speech
very weird. We talked a bit about where they used to live
and all the people around here, and about school (ugh!).
The dinner was great, but I was hoping the desert would be
better. I helped clear the table and then walked into the
family room to sit by Stacy and struck up a conversation.
*** TO BE CONTINUED ***
FIDONEWS -- 22 Jul 85 00:01:23 Page 20
============================================================
NOTICES
============================================================
The Interrupt Stack
27 Nov 1985
Halley's Comet passes closest to Earth before perihelion.
24 Jan 1986
Voyager 2 passes Uranus.
9 Feb 1986
Halley's Comet reaches perihelion.
11 Apr 1986
Halley's Comet reaches perigee.
24 Aug 1989
Voyager 2 passes Neptune.
If you have something which you would like to see on this
calendar, please send a message to Fido 107/7.
Download original FidoNews · Volume 2 (1985) · ← Previous · Next →