FidoNews · Vol 14, No 12 · 24 March 1997
F I D O N E W S -- Volume 14, Number 12 24 March 1997
+----------------------------+-----------------------------------------+
| The newsletter of the | ISSN 1198-4589 Published by: |
| FidoNet community | "FidoNews" |
| _ | 1-904-409-7040 [1:1/23] |
| / \ | |
| /|oo \ | |
| (_| /_) | |
| _`@/_ \ _ | |
| | | \ \\ | Editor: |
| | (*) | \ )) | Christopher Baker 1:18/14 |
| |__U__| / \// | |
| _//|| _\ / | |
| (_/(_|(____/ | |
| (jm) | Newspapers should have no friends. |
| | -- JOSEPH PULITZER |
+----------------------------+-----------------------------------------+
| Submission address: FidoNews Editor 1:1/23 |
+----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| MORE addresses: |
| |
| submissions=> cbaker84@digital.net |
+----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| For information, copyrights, article submissions, |
| obtaining copies of FidoNews or the internet gateway FAQ |
| please refer to the end of this file. |
+----------------------------------------------------------------------+
WHY DO SOME FIDONET FOLKS JUST DISAPPEAR?
Table of Contents
1. EDITORIAL ................................................ 1
Lots of articles and another loss to FidoNet? ............ 1
2. CORRECTIONS .............................................. 2
Error in Region 14 Internet listing last week ............ 2
3. ARTICLES ................................................. 3
Burt Juda's system no longer in the Nodelist? ............ 3
Cash and Carry - Financing FidoFolks ..................... 3
Solid Oak Software's extremist, fascist behavior ......... 5
Doomsday is only when you decide it to be ................ 9
Fidonet versus Internet: A Followup ...................... 11
Fidonet Technical Standards Committee - NOTICE OF NOMIN .. 14
Ides of March..Hog Wash! ................................. 15
4. REVIEWS .................................................. 20
TransNet - A new Fidonet/Internet gateway ................ 20
5. GETTING TECHNICAL ........................................ 22
FSC-0052 - Making the PATH zone aware .................... 22
FSC-0053 - Specifications for the aFLAGS field ........... 24
6. COORDINATORS CORNER ...................................... 28
Nodelist-statistics as seen from Zone-2 for day 080 ...... 28
7. WE GET EMAIL ............................................. 29
ZEC/RC19 Election notice ................................. 29
8. NET HUMOR ................................................ 31
If MicroSoft was in Alabama? ............................. 31
9. ADVERTISE YOUR FREE SERVICE/EVENT ........................ 32
And more!
FIDONEWS 14-12 Page 1 24 Mar 1997
=================================================================
EDITORIAL
=================================================================
This Issue is packed with .ARTs from all over the world. I guess we've
finally got the readership stirred up. [grin]
But in the midst of all this input we lost something, namely: the uucp
Gate at 1:13/10. Burt Juda no longer appears in any capacity in the
FidoNet Nodelist. Why? And WHO was going to tell us? ZC1 was unaware
of it last I asked. James Young and I have been discussing it in email
for several days and his last communication from Juda appears later.
This lack of communication in a network dedicated to communication
mystifies this writer.
What effect does this have on Internet gating or the fidonet.org
domain? Is there now a NEW Guucp honcho? Who?
Don't forget you can post info, answers, and articles et al, in the
FIDONEWS Echo available everywhere. Otherwise, we will be waiting for
input to next week's Issue for some answers/news.
The Internet listings in the FidoNet by Internet Section now only
include Region level and up listings. Net listings by Region are
available on the FidoNews webpages listed in the Masthead. Personal
sites may be linked to the FidoNet International WebRing also listed
in the Masthead.
C.B.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
FIDONEWS 14-12 Page 2 24 Mar 1997
=================================================================
CORRECTIONS
=================================================================
The Region 14 page listing should read 'netins' instead of the
'metins' that appeared in 1411.
This error has been corrected in this Issue. Sorry for any
confusion.
Ed.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
FIDONEWS 14-12 Page 3 24 Mar 1997
=================================================================
ARTICLES
=================================================================
[Burt Juda's Guucp Node and all other Nodes under his name no longer
appear in the FidoNet Nodelist. Here's a little info on this
event from an ongoing conversation in email.] Ed.
Date: Sun, 23 Mar 1997 09:43:03 -0600
From: James Young <youngj@sparky3.arc.net>
To: Christopher Baker <cbaker84@digital.net>
Subject: Re: 1:13/10
CB> did he say something else would replace it or is he finished?
CB> what is/was his email address? i'd like to get something into
CB> FidoNews tomorrow.
Here's a copy of the message I received:
==================================================
Subject: Re: 1:13/10
Date: Fri, 21 Mar 1997 10:14:34 -0500
From: merlin@mcastl.ieee.org (Burt Juda)
Organization: Merlin's Castle, Edison, NJ
To: James Young <youngj@sparky3.arc.net>
At 04:25 PM 3/14/97 -0600, James Young wrote:
JY> I've been using 1:13/10 for some time now as my gateway and
JY> appreciate the service that you have provided.
>
JY> For the last several days, however, my system has not been able to
JY> connect with it. Is 1:13/10 down for a while?
Down permanently .. hardware crash.
======================================================
-30-
[Does this mean anything to the fidonet.org domain for FidoNet to
Internet email routing? An official notice would have been nice.
[sigh] Guucp gurus please reply to FidoNews.] Ed.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Cash and Carry - Financing FidoFolks
by: Clay Tannacore (1:372/136)
Just when you thought it was safe to start reading FIDONEWS again.
I'm back! This time with an unforgiving message to all of the Network
FIDONEWS 14-12 Page 4 24 Mar 1997
EchoMail Coordinators, and the SysOps who have by way of their
acquisitiveness damn near annihilated FidoNet. These parsimonious
individuals who have persuaded themselves that users, and/or EchoMail
recipients have a reverential responsibility to pay for whatever they
(NECs or SysOps) elect to charge for. Some-how these weasels have
decided that a federation such as FidoNet that was established as a
network of hobbyists, should now (to suit their greedy souls) become
the Federal Savings and Loan Association for Retarded (OOPs, did I
misspell that last word?) SysOps and NECs. This technique of self
enrichment is a plague within the FidoNet community and requires
immediate attention. When I say "immediate action" I do not mean some
co-conspirator *looking into it*, I mean every damn Regional
Coordinator launching a extensive inquiry into this agendum. I'm
sure that this form of self enrichment has won the wide embrace of
those who have profited by it, but the rest of us are witnessing the
demise of our user base, and FidoNet as our parent organization.
For those of you who are not familiar with what I have been doing
in the most recent past. I have for the last 76 days been researching
complaints in reference to the charging of fees to users and the pay
as you go fees charged for EchoMail (NEC's) distribution. Be it known
that I have only been able to accumulate statistics from 26 different
nets. This was accomplished by personal contact with various SysOps
in those nets, and obtaining copies of their respective EchoMail
policy documents. Without elaborating on individual net policies, I
will state that there are a number of bulletin board systems that
charge a user fee (aka, a donation, registration fee, or voluntary
contributions) for services that should (under POLICY4.) be free of
any expense. The proceeding statement includes access to FidoNet (and
international) EchoMail, local EchoMail, files (sometimes shareware)
including Copyrighted material. As a matter of fact the greatest
number of Pay-For-Access bulletin board systems, are nothing but
illegal software distribution points, catering to those who want low
cost (copyright infringements) programs. However, to be fair about
this statement, there are an abundant amount of boards that only
charge for access to the Internet. Something that is exclusively
harmful and destructive in nature to FidoNet as a whole.
There are correspondingly many Network Coordinators that are for
reasons unbeknown to me allowing the Network EchoMail Coordinators to
place monitory assessment in excess of the cost of providing their
services to their nets SysOps. The *buddy-buddy system* is
widespread, and individual SysOps are being assessed amounts that can
not be justified once telephone LD charges are reviewed. A *buddy*
may only pay a penance for the import of 30 or more Echoes while
another SysOp who hasn't been initiated into *The Brotherhood* will
have to supplement the NEC's coffers by paying (his FAIR share) 10 to
20 times as much as an amigo, even though the SysOp only carries 4 or
5 Echoes. Don't get me wrong, there are a number of NEC operations
that are completely within the parameters set forth in Policy 4.
There are many NEC's that will for reasons justified to him, wavier
the requirement of fees for certain systems. I'm in one of those
nets that do. The NEC here (in the 372 Net) has allowed my system to
operate without the burden on fees for EchoMail. While my system
only imports 3 national Echoes (totally for Disabled American
Veterans) it is without a doubt a Godsend not to have to expend the
FIDONEWS 14-12 Page 5 24 Mar 1997
extra bucks each month. The trouble is, not very many other NEC's
will do that. They have an agenda to fill, along with their pockets,
and wouldn't give a worthwhile cause the time of day, without an
interest payment. I have read over 19 of the local EchoMail policies,
and without a doubt they all sound like a *financial statement*
rather than a policy document. Sometimes this is an attempt by the
NEC to *explain* to the SysOp why he must help out financially, and
what he will receive in return for his buck. Nevertheless, there are
policy documents that I have reviewed that are nothing more than the
NEC's way of intimidating the SysOp's with refined threats. Even in
my own net, the policy document is little more than a business type
financial proclamation. There is a time and place for this sort of
document, but rather than constructing a policy document laden with
"what has to be paid", why not give a demonstration (factual, of
course) of what it costs to operate for a month. Surely this way
will serve two purposes. One, the SysOp gains an understanding as to
why he is paying, and what he is getting for his money. Two, there
is a *full disclosure" of what is *really* spent for mail distribution
and communications, leaving no undisclosed data to cause derogatory
or speculative talk.
Gentlemen what I have just expounded upon is true. You know it,
you live under it day by day. You, (whether you are a user or SysOp),
know the practices and circumstances I quoted above are factual.
You've seen it in almost every net. So, why not do something about
it? Let your Regional Coordinator know your feelings. Have your NEC
post in an open message base, his phone bill for the previous month.
Maybe the last two or three months. Get on the NC of your net
relating to what you feel is an unjust and inequitable way you must
support the EchoMail system. One word of caution here. When and if
you do as I propose, be sure you have a valid complaint. Talk to
others in your net, find out their charges for their EchoMail.
Compare the charges they are required to pay, and ask them to inquire
of their friends as to their *contributions*.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Solid Oak Software's extremist, fascist behavior
Fredric L. Rice (frice@stbbs.com)
The Skeptic Tank, 1:218/890.0. (818) 335-9601
http://www.linkline.com/personal/frice/index.htm
Right-wing extremist groups operating in the United States have been
using the rhetoric of "Save the children!" to advance their occult
agendas for decades. Now, with the help of technology, a new fascist
business called "Solid Oak Software" has managed to rise above all the
rest and get noticed.
As described below, their Internet-access software limits the
information that the company's leader -- Brian Milburn -- wants his
customers to access. Even though customers are told it "saves the
children!" the company doesn't advertise [1] the fact that the parents
who purchase the software have no say-so in what it will allow access
to and what it will not; the buyer unthinkingly purchases the
extremist bias of the company's leader.
FIDONEWS 14-12 Page 6 24 Mar 1997
Indeed, it gets worse: Mr. Milburn refuses to divulge the sites that
the software won't access and has implemented very weak encryption to
make sure that parents never learn about his extremist bias. He gets
upset when people publicly report on some of the sites that he doesn't
want anyone to access. (If he's embarrassed by his prejudices, he
shouldn't expose them, I opine.)
Buyer beware.
As for myself, I've asked to have my web pages included in the list of
banned sites. The cult _does_ provide a highly valuable service to
educational organizations like mine by limiting the access to their
web pages to educated, intelligent people. As more and more people
become aware of what the software does, only people who share the
company leader's bizarre bias will use it --and I don't want those
types of people accessing my materials any way. Do you?
[1] This may change. The company may have to start publicly admitting
that customers can't select what they can or can not access (perhaps
the company has already started.) People who purchase Internet-
censoring software have the right to at least know that in addition to
limiting the access to pornography, the software also limits access to
educational systems and charity organizations.
-=-
CyberWire Dispatch // Copyright (c) 1996 // December 20
Jacking in from the "Your Agenda is Showing" Port:
Washington -- It's a long held maxim that technology is "agenda
neutral." Until now.
As an earlier Dispatch investigation proved, the so-called "blocking
software" industry, praised for enabling parents, teachers and
corporations to block porn from being sucked into the computers of
those trolling the Web, often comes with a shrink-wrapped, encrypted
agenda in the form of the database of web sites and newsgroups these
programs actually block.
Porn sites aren't the only ones blocked. Sites with decided political
or activist agendas, such as the National Organization for Women (NOW)
or animal rights groups, also are blocked. Trouble is, these blocking
software programs don't make this known to the user. For some
companies, shedding a spotlight on their underlying agenda, makes them
sweat bullets or foam at the ascii mouth. Such is the case with Brian
Milburn, president of Solid Oak Software, developer of an insipidly
named blocking program called "Cybersitter."
When confronted with his agenda ridden software, Milburn isn't shy
about it, indeed, he was outright indignant when he originally told
Dispatch: "If NOW doesn't like it, tough... We have not and will not
bow to any pressure from any organization that disagrees with [our]
philosophy."
So when Bennett Haselton decided to put a sharp edge on this subject
by focusing on Cybersitter with laser like precision, Milburn went off
FIDONEWS 14-12 Page 7 24 Mar 1997
the charts.
Milburn wrote to Media3, the ISP that houses Haselton's website
<www.peacefire.org>, saying he was adding the entire domain of Media3
to the Cybersitter blocking database, in order to keep anyone using
his company's product from gaining access to Haselton's article.
Milburn ranted to Media3 that Haselton had made it "his mission in
life to defame our product" exhibiting "extreme immaturity," by
"routinely" publishing names of sites blocked by Cybersitter. Milburn
claimed that Haselton may have "illegally reversed engineered" the
Cybersitter database. Milburn has threatened legal action. Haselton,
however, found a white knight. After hearing about Milburn's actions,
Mike Godwin, legal counsel for the Electronic Frontier Foundation,
decided to represent him.
In an Email to Wired News correspondent Rebecca Vesely, who wrote
about Milburn's beef with Haselton, Milburn said he was swamped with
"geek-mail" from Wired News' "loyal following of pinhead idiots."
Milburn characterized Haselton, "an aspiring felon" and said that he
had confirmation that Haselton was the "ghost writer" for the original
Dispatch article that broke the story of the hidden agendas in
blocking software.
All this bluster over Haselton, an 18-year-old with too much time on
his hands. If right about now you're thinking that Milburn should pick
on someone his own size, well, he's already "been there, done that"
and got his ass kicked in the process.
You see, after the first Dispatch article, Milburn sent us a saber-
rattling Email. His Aug. 15th Email claimed that "your willful reverse
engineering and subsequent publishing of software code is a clear
violation" of copyright law. And although he claimed he was sure he
could win a case in civil court, he was instead seeking "felony
criminal prosecution" by going to the FBI with his beef.
I referred Milburn to my lawyers at Baker & Hostetler, who promptly
pointed out that Dispatch hadn't been the one to hack the cybersitter
database. Further, our article was "protected by the full force of the
First Amendment," our lawyers said.
And because Dispatch only published "fragments" of the Cybersitter
database (a word used first by Milburn in his own threatening letter),
such publication "fits squarely within the fair use provisions" of the
copyright act, our lawyers reminded Milburn.
Finally, Milburn was left to chew on this: "If you persist in accusing
[Dispatch] falsely of copyright infringement and if you proceed with
your ill-conceived threat to encourage the FBI to commence
activities... you should understand that, unless the information you
provide is accurate and complete, you and your firm may be incurring
liability of your own."
Not a peep has been heard from Milburn since he received that letter,
until he decided to pick on the kid.
FIDONEWS 14-12 Page 8 24 Mar 1997
Milburn is apparently operating in some alternative reality. His so-
called "confirmed sources" about Haselton "ghost writing" our original
story are utterly false.
Haselton had nothing to do with our article. Dispatch obtained the
cracked code of Cybersitter and the other programs we mentioned from
an entirely different source. Haselton did nothing but build on the
work of our original story, but never wrote a single word of the
article nor did he provide us with the hacked databases.
All of Milburn's heartburn has me confused. Rather than try and slay
Haselton, he should pay him for the right to reprint his article and
findings. Milburn makes no apologies for his agenda; indeed, he is
proud that one of his major distributors is "Focus on the Family" a
conservative Christian organization.
And for people that brook with the conservative, straight-arrow family
values ideals that Focus on the Family advocates, Cybersitter is the
perfect fit. Indeed, this is the free market working at its best.
Products spring up in direct response to demand. Cybersitter fits that
model for a particular segment of the society. You may not like it; I
certainly wouldn't use a product with this built in agenda, but nobody
is making us buy it.
You would think that Milburn would eat up such "negative" press and
wear it like a badge of honor. But he is too petty; too small minded.
And when he discovers that Haselton did nothing more than run
Cybersitter through its paces, much the same way that a reviewer for
computer magazine might, and then report the findings, he'll have
nobody left to harass. I hope he doesn't have a dog he can kick...
Have a Merry Christmas, Mr. Milburn. Peace on Earth, Good Will
to Men.
Meeks out...
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Cybersitter Goes after Teen
by Rebecca Vesely
8:00 pm PST 9 Dec 96 - A teenager who founded a Net anti-censorship
group could face a lawsuit from the owner of the popular blocking
program Cybersitter, Solid Oak Software, on grounds that he illegally
obtained the list of sites blocked by the program.
But the 18-year-old student at Vanderbilt University who founded
Peacefire, Bennett Haselton, says that he merely ran the blocking
software on his computer and kept track of which sites were blocked -
such as the National Organization for Women, Mother Jones, and The
Well.
"According to our sources, he has engaged in illegal criminal
copyright violations to further his juvenile teenaged political
agenda, and reduce the effectiveness of our product," said Brian
Milburn, president of Solid Oak Software.
FIDONEWS 14-12 Page 9 24 Mar 1997
Solid Oak has added Peacefire to its list of blocked sites and has
asked Peacefire's Internet provider, Media3, to remove Peacefire from
its server. Milburn has also said he will block out all content Media3
hosts if it does not remove Haselton's site.
"It's pretty ironic that Cybersitter, which is supposed to help kids,
is blocking a student-run organization," Haselton said. Peacefire was
founded in August and now has about 100 members, of whom the average
age is 15 years old.
Haselton wrote an article naming some of Cybersitter's blocked sites
last month on the Peacefire Web site, but the site wasn't blocked
until Friday, after Haselton contacted Milburn to discuss the
company's blocking practices, Haselton said. The student was then told
that Solid Oak had referred the matter to its legal department.
"There was no way he could have known who was on our list without
breaking into our system," said Solid Oak spokesman Mark Kanter. "The
filter had to be decoded by reverse engineering" - a process of taking
a piece of technology and, without any knowledge of the techniques
used to create it, making a copy.
In an email written to Media3 on Friday, and forwarded to Wired News
by Media3's administrator, Joe Hayes, Milburn said that Haselton "has
made it his mission in life to defame our product," and warned that
all content to Media3 - some 2,500 domain names -would be blocked on
Cybersitter if Peacefire was not removed.
"We realize this is an extreme measure and regret that our customers
will no longer have access to any sites serviced by Media3. I am not
sure if any of our current customers are Media3 subscribers, but as
they will no longer be able to access their email and such, we will
offer any affected customers complete refunds," Milburn said in the
email.
Hayes said Solid Oak has given him no proof that Haselton has done
anything illegal, so he would not remove Peacefire, and noted that
among the content on Media3's server is a Mayflower Society Bulletin
Board and "everything to do with Pilgrims and Plymouth Rock." Hayes
added that Media3's attorneys have been alerted to the situation, and
if the ISP is blocked, it will take legal action. Solid Oak does not
normally inform sites they have been blocked.
Copyright (c) 1993-97 Wired Ventures, Inc. and affiliated companies.
All rights reserved.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: Doomsday is only when you decide it to be.
I have been a SysOp for 7 years.. and a member of FidoNet for 6 years.
When I first joined the network, FidoNet's NodeList wasn't very large
at all, in fact, it was puny compared to 1995. But the quality of
messages was far greater and made up for the few nodes. The quality
FIDONEWS 14-12 Page 10 24 Mar 1997
of FidoNet's messages even now is far higher than that of the
InterNet, which has a gigantic amount of nodes that kills our count
by a longshot. Quality far outweighs magnitude.
Through my experience with the BBS world I have found that we have
always struggled for our hobby. This struggle in many cases has faced
the shut-down of our systems or networks in one way or another.
During the years of 1994 through 1996, the number of BBSes grew by
the thousands. But were ALL of these systems quality BBSes? In many
cases no. It was until my second year as a SysOp that I learned what
the true meaning of the word was. During that second year my Seagate
ST251 MFM Hard Disk died, it literally burnt up the spindle motor as
a result of a shot power regulator. I lost everything I had made of
my BBS, which at the time had about 1000+ members and about 30 callers
per day. All of this work was lost, and I knew there was no way I
could retrieve it. It quite unfortunately went up in smoke, I came
home one night and smelled burning epoxy in the air... and immediately
feared the loss of my Bulletin Board System. After three long weeks
and about twenty litres or more of Pepsi, I knew that I was a true
SysOp... I could not give up. I *WANTED* my BBS, I wanted to have
that feeling that I was offering a free service to the public... I
wanted to be respected for my efforts. My BBS stayed online until
December 16th, 1995.. when I could no longer afford the bills to
maintain my computer and the phone line. I felt like my life had
ended, because it was and is still all that I have ever had. If it
weren't for the BBS world, I would not have met my best friends, who
have brought the best times of my life. I would not have known that my
strengths lie in computers. Forget the InterNet, anything can have
Balloon Curtains and Fluffy Bunnies, but when there is slime packaged
inside, it becomes unattractive very quickly. BBSes retain character,
and quality.. and offer something the InterNet will never have,
because of the commercialization and magnitude which the InterNet
thrives upon; the FidoNet is a warm caring community, which is
controlled and managed, this is quite clearly not shown on the
InterNet. I worked for many months and finally paid all of my bills,
and have put my system online only three weeks ago. "You're crazy!",
"You won't get your users back!" people would say... But I know that I
can bring them back, not the same users, but I will get back good
users. That's all that will be left, and that's all I ever wanted.
Back in 1995, the BBS world became more strongly oriented towards
files and such, when it used to be communication and entertainment.
The InterNet offers these, but they are abused and not managed. The
BBS world is not shown on TV or flashed in newspapers only because it
does not bring profit. That's the media for you, but I don't want that
attention... I want to provide a means of communication which is
precisely what FidoNet provides and always has provided to its clients
and its clients users. Three weeks have passed since I put the BBS
back online, and I already have over thirty users and eight calls a
day average, which I am quite impressed with at this time.
After all of the dust has blown off, the goodness of the FidoNet
community will shine through and continue to be what it always has: An
Icon to the connected world, a free service which has much higher
standards than that of any commercial service. Those who remove
themselves from the FidoNet Nodelist are quitters, I am not a quitter.
FIDONEWS 14-12 Page 11 24 Mar 1997
Let all of those nodes drop like flies, but the nodes which remain
will bring the great quality they have always provided to the FidoNet
Echos. And the users from those systems which drop, will call the
systems which remain. And the BBS world will thrive once again... the
way it should be.
Fidonet's doomsday is not today, and I will not allow for it to happen
tomorrow.
Statistics are pointless, a curve of dropping nodes will not remain,
as the number of users reverting to other systems will increase, the
with-drawn node addresses will decrease. And there will certainly
always be a BBS community, as long as there are people like me, and
hopefully all those who read FidoNews.
Carl Hultay - SysOp of Cannibal Bar & Grill BBS
1:259/546
egon@idirect.com
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Followup to Pete Snidal's Fidonet/Internet Comparison
by Dave Aronson, sysop of Air 'n Sun (1:109/120)
PS> FIDONET Is a system of hobbyist-operated bulletin boards,
Well, mostly. To nitpick, there are some professional nodes.
However, I feel that your point is basically correct and should be
expanded upon. The important part IMHO is that most Fidonodes are
one-line DOS-PC dialups, operated from the sysop's home. By contrast,
an ISP typically has hundreds or thousands of lines, hooked to large
computers, operated in a "machine room" in commercial space.
PS> which connect and exchange data
PS> regularly, usually on a nightly schedule.
Where local calling is cheap, it's very common for high-traffic nodes
to get an "unlimited local calling" line, and connect to local links
whenever there is anything to send.
PS> INTERNET Is a system of server computers, also spanning the
PS> world,
Or would that be "spamming the world"? B-(
PS> which are virtually connected to one another at all times.
Not necessarily. There are many that are only occasionally connected,
but these do not generally host any of the "real time" services that
most people think of when they think "Internet", like web pages and
ftp directories.
PS> The "Noise/signal ratio" of these echoes is quite low,
FIDONEWS 14-12 Page 12 24 Mar 1997
So let's look into HOW this miracle is achieved. It is in fact IMHO
one of the most important differences, concerning day-to-day use.
In Internet, almost all newsgroups are unmoderated -- any twit can
wander in, say whatever he wants (not only off-topic chatter, but
flames, trolls, ads, etc.), AND he can instantly spew it into every
newsgroup in creation. The only recourse is public pressure on his
ISP, who may or may not be willing to do a damn thing. (Usually not,
so long as he pays his bills and doesn't generate too many complaints
to ignore.) There are SOME moderated newsgroups, but this is a very
heavy burden on the moderator, as THEIR type of moderation means that
the moderator must pre-screen each and every post for approval.
Fidonet echoes, on the other claw, usually (always, in the case of the
backbone) have a moderator, who is authorized to eject unruly posters,
and if the sysop refuses, the moderator can have that entire node
ejected from the echo! However, it rarely comes to that, as the sysop
has no vested interest in refusing, as he's almost certainly not
getting any money from the user, nor does the sysop have support staff
to deal with the complaints for him. Also, it is impossible on most
Fidonet BBSes to "crosspost", at least in the Internet sense of having
the whole thread continue to be crossposted to all the newsgroups the
original was in, barring manual intervention.
PS> files of particular interest may even be "File
PS> Requested" from other systems.
...though the sysop will have to pay for the call, and may require
that the user reimburse the cost.
PS> Sending of commercial messages in Fidonet is prohibited, and
PS> "Spamming" - electronic junk-mail - is impossible.
Not impossible at all... just MUCH more difficult, and of course our
sysops are MUCH faster to DO something about it! B-)
PS> "Spamming" - the sending of electronic junkmail to your personal
PS> email box - is seriously frowned upon, and sort of prohibited,
Hunh? There are currently no laws against it anywhere that I know of;
the closest are some USA laws against junk faxes, but some courts have
held that it doesn't apply to email. Many ISPs have a clause against
it in their Terms Of Usage (or whatever they call it), but most are
very slow to enforce it.
PS> but the fight with those who would capitalize on this resource
PS> in this way is ongoing.
Amen! Americans, PLEASE lobby your Congresscritters to have the "no
junk faxes" law extended to email!!! Others, do whatever you can....
By the way, I have thought up two slogans that I would like to get
spread as widely as possible. First, inspired by Woodsy Owl's
admonition to litterbugs, "Give a damn, don't spam!". Secondly,
inspired by the reaction of a Vogon to Arthur Dent's struggles, NOT
the Borg as some may think, "Resistance is UCE-less!". (UCE is an
FIDONEWS 14-12 Page 13 24 Mar 1997
Internet abbreviation for Unsolicited Commercial Email.)
PS> INTERNET Allows access to the "World Wide Web."
(Probably the biggest thing that helped the Internet explode in
popularity with the Great Unwashed.)
PS> FIDONET Costs the user nothing. Free basic access is a
PS> fundamental given on all Fidonet systems. User support is
PS> sometimes encouraged, but never demanded.
True in, I'd guess, 99% of cases, but don't take it for granted that
Fidonet means free. Also, many nodes offer a basic level of service
for free, but reserve some goodies for donors. However, these are
usually things that the sysop must shell out significant money for,
like extra phone lines, Usenet newsgroups, echoes he must make
long-distances calls to get, etc., and the fee is usually a tiny
fraction of a typical ISP's.
PS> FIDONET Encourages the use of Pre-Windows computers, or
PS> "dosboxes."
More like, Fidonet *allows* the use of *ANY* computer, or even a dumb
terminal, so long as it has a modem, and is efficient enough that it
can even be a SLOW modem. This is a huge contrast to how, ever since
the Web exploded, it's very difficult to do much on the Internet
without a GUI, fast CPU and modem, and tons of disk space and RAM.
PS> node and bbs software, [...] all of which run fine in Dosboxes
PS> such as 286's and even XT's, with small hard drives, or no hard
PS> drives, and with memory as low as the basic 640K.
...or on a wide variety of NON-DOS boxes, like Macs, Amigas, Atari
STs, assorted flavors of Unix, etc.! Standards and compatibility....
PS> INTERNET "No tickee, no launlee" is the motto of the ISP. The
PS> Internet is a strictly commercial, no-bones money-making
PS> proposition.
As far as today's ISPs are concerned, yes. However, do realize that
the roots are quite different. It was spun off from ARPANET, built by
the Defense Advanced Projects Research Agency, as a network to supply
government communications need in times of emergency, being able to
withstand even a direct nuclear strike on most major nodes. Until the
price of computers fell fast enough to let the Great Unwashed afford
the Internet, it was generally the province of those lucky enough to
work at a connected company or attend a connected university, with the
institutions usually doing a lot of defense research.
PS> For the number of the fidonet bbs nearest you (there is likely
PS> one in your town,) consult your local computer outlet or computer
PS> paper. For details on hooking up to the internet, consult your
PS> yellow pages.
That really says it all. B-(
FIDONEWS 14-12 Page 14 24 Mar 1997
-----------------------------------------------------------------
==========================
NOTICE OF FTSC NOMINATIONS
==========================
by Adrian Walker, 1:153/752
Since 1 December 1996, discussion has been underway in the FTSC_PUBLIC
echo defining the mission and operating procedures for a revitalized
Fidonet Technical Standards Committee (FTSC).
These have been formalized in two new documents, FTA-1000 (FTSC
Charter) and FTA-1001 (FTSC Operations) which have been hatched into
the FTSC file echo and are also available from:
File Request - 1:153/752 as FTA-1000.TXT and FTA-1001.TXT
Internet - http://www.portal.ca/~awalker/ftsc.htm
With the finalization of these documents, nominations are now being
accepted for FTSC Standing Members. The following extract from
FTA-1001 describes the nomination and voting process:
FTSC members are appointed for a two year renewable term. [50 %
of appointments on initial formation of the FTSC shall be for a 3
year renewable term, to ensure continuity of the Committee on
expiry of the terms.]
To be selected as a FTSC member, an individual must be a Fidonet
node, and should be actively involved in Fidonet. Examples
include having put out a Fidonet-related product or having
updated a product in the preceding two years, or having
experience as a Coordinator, Echomail Coordinator or mail or file
Hub.
Standing members may be nominated Fidonet-wide by all of the
following methods:
1. any RC or REC
2. a nominating committee established for the purpose by the
FTSC
3. a nominating committee established for the purpose by the
ZCC
A nominating committee may not consist of any current member or
officer of the FTSC.
Standing members are appointed on the basis of a vote by all RCs
and RECs who are nodelisted as holding those positions at the
time the nominations are published. A successful candidate must
receive approval by a majority of votes.
Publication of the nomination and the voting procedure, and
posting of RC and REC votes, shall take place openly in the
FIDONEWS 14-12 Page 15 24 Mar 1997
FTSC_PUBLIC echo, and voting shall close three weeks after
publication of the vote.
[Majority as defined in FTA-1001:
more than fifty percent of all votes cast.
===============
ACTION REQUIRED
===============
Since there is no nominating committee at this stage, those persons
interested in becoming a Standing Member of the FTSC should state
their interest to any currently-serving RC or REC and request that the
RC or REC nominate them either by message in the FTSC_PUBLIC echo, or
by netmail to Bruce Bodger (1:170/400) or Adrian Walker (153/752), who
are administering the initial committee setup.
The closing date for such applications to be an active Standing Member
of the FTSC will be Friday 18 April 1997. At that time a list of all
applicants having been properly nominated will be published, and the
voting process will then be followed as defined above.
---OOO000OOO---
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Beware the Ides of March..Hog Wash!!!!
by Clay Tannacore 1:372/136
I have just completed reading the article written by a young man
named Ken Reaverson. Now, I don't know if this is just one of the
editor's (Chris Baker) spurious names, but I certainly hope so.
Because if this isn't, we have yet another case of FidoNet Brain-
washing, here. Allow me to elaborate somewhat on this point. The
young man says he has been *around* FidoNet for some time, but has
only recently became a Fido SysOp, sometime around the first of this
year. To this point everything appears about right. However, what
appears rather strange to me is his everlasting devotedness to an
association he is only vaguely familiar with. A short three months as
a FidoNet SysOp, and he is all ready to sacrifice his first born to
King Fido. He has already forgiven those nasty old SysOps who wanted
him to pay for access to their systems. Not only that, but this young
man is ready to join the Pay-For-Access crowd who have bestowed upon
FidoNet the title as the FREE (for a fee) HOBBYIST (semi-commercial)
INFORMATION (flame thrower) SERVICE. He states that "These days, I
like Fido", well I do to, it's just some of the deceitful folks within
the Fido family that cause me to toss my cookies. Another really
*great* thing this young man finds with the FidoNet community is the
*information and help* he has received, and is now "able to provide my
users with access to Internet email or USENET groups". Fine! Just
what FidoNet needs, another access path to the Internet. Another way
to draw on the user base of FidoNet. Another brain fart, thought up
by people who don't give a damn what happens to this association of
ours. Just when the hell are FidoNet SysOps going to start supporting
FidoNet, again? I said this before and may as well repeat it here,
FIDONEWS 14-12 Page 16 24 Mar 1997
because no one pays any attention to an old fart like myself, but it
WAS FidoNet that paved the way for the new nouveau riche we now
lovingly (?) call The Internet.
It is not my intention to make an example of this young man (Ken),
but only to show what has happened in the (Fido) community in the last
few years. In plain English, the damn organization has fallen apart.
We haven't got an IC, and as far as an election goes, you may as well
be spitting in the wind. There are just to many self serving dolts
with their own agendas in positions within the association to hold out
much hope for a FidoNet rebirth. To many power insatiate people in
the organization to ever have a FidoNet that once was an entity with
pride and purpose. To many egotistical SOB's who can't stand to see
the organization get bigger than their own subliminal selves. Just
to many blackguards to ever revive FidoNet, at least not to the
decorated position it once held amongst computer users.
Let us once again take a close look at this dilapidated piece of
paper, we so insipidly call a policy document. This ridiculous clump
of words with the title of POLICY 4! Talk about a waste of writing.
This asinine document that over the years has been the cornerstone of
FidoNet, in that it is suppose to guide various IC's, ZC's, RC's, and
NC's in the operation of their positions, and the function intended
for FidoNet itself. Needless to say, much is lacking in this useless
assemblage of gibberish we are suppose to consider a *bible* for the
organization. Much is lacking, but one of the basics considerations
that is missing is intelligence. I hate to admit to it, but I was
around when this diseased document was originally written and voted
upon. I didn't like it then, and I sure as hell can't stand the idea
of it, today. It is time a new (and improved) POLICY document were
written. A team of Fido people have to be assembled to formulate a
coherent policy document. Whether they are brought together in one
area as a group, or via the EchoMail process, there has to be action
taken on this new policy document, if FidoNet is to survive. A set
of guidelines, or rules, or even procedures must be written with the
goal of standardizing and regulating the day to day operation of Fido
Net, and the thousands of nodes down the line, while there are still
enough nodes to even bother.
Okay people! A new song and dance. I know you're sick of the
same old doom and gloom. Lets touch upon the Regional Coordinator
position, and what they are doing, and what they should be doing. On
a whole the RC's in *most* Nets are doing a fine job considering the
lack of any real guidelines they have to work with. Of course I'm
speaking of that piece of wreckage christened POLICY 4. Again the
document with less testosterone than a flaccid Oscar Mayer Wiener.
The lack of procedural material within that spent instrument never
ceases to amaze me, and keeps me forever wondering just how any
Regional Coordinator can administer the nodes they are responsible
for. Consequently, we have a number of destructive individuals at
the Network Coordinator level who whether or not they mean it, are
contributing to the demise of FidoNet. The RC's are (and damn sure
should be) responsible for each NC within their region. The RC *HAS*
to involve himself (or herself) in the individual Nets under his
control, and *NOT* by placing all his apples in one bushel. The RC
is going to have to listen to those within that Net, that find his
FIDONEWS 14-12 Page 17 24 Mar 1997
choice of NC disagreeable and inappropriate. RC's have to understand
that the SysOp's under the command of his choice of NC, feel anxious
about making a complaint to him, for fear of retaliation. The RC's
(whether or not they agree with this) are going to have to set up a
system, to allow not only the SysOp's who fall within their
jurisdiction, but individuals who use (called users, in case you've
forgotten) the numerous Nets within their regions. Like it or not,
these RC's are going to have to become diplomats, and deal with the
problems that are semi-rampart within FidoNet, today. Encouragement
of new users, new systems (SysOp's) and users who do not feel totally
alienated because of the *I'm better than you* attitudes that many
SysOp's and Network Coordinators demonstrate towards them. The new
or seasoned user who has been in some way *wronged* by a decision or
judgment of some moderator or NC, has to be able to see a way to
attain justice (even if no REAL wrong was performed) in what he/she
perceives as an unjust system. Here is an example of what could
happened (and has) happened, when the *GOOD OL' BOY* mentality is put
in place. A user said something that the moderator of a certain
local Echo didn't feel was in the proper spirit of *his* Echo. The
Moderator, in an open message to the user, explained his *rules* for
access to that particular Echo. The Moderator felt it was absolutely
beyond the limits (in HIS Echo) for the user to denounce the way that
messages were being written. He used the word damn in one of his
posts, and out of the Echo he went. The user feeling this was not a
valid reason to be excommunicated requested of the moderator that he
be given another chance. The moderator said "no, and that's final."
The user wanted to appeal the moderators decision as per the normal
course of such petitions. He went to the NC, who informed him that
if the moderator had banned him from that Echo (or any other) he (the
NC) would support the moderator. Now, this scenario sounds familiar
to many of you, and it also sounds proper. However, this user was
extraordinarily upset about his banishment and requested help from
another SysOp in the Net. What this SysOp learned was that the user
had been denied the right of appeal, due to the fact that the
moderator was *not* a FidoNet SysOp, and thus, the user was denied
his right to appeal, by the fact the one level of the appeal process
was not there You know, the *appeal* process that FidoNet members
are supposed to have (?).
Here is a personal exemplification of what happens when the NC of
a Net, takes a disliking to one of his SysOp's, and allows his
(supposedly) impartial attitude to become predominating. I have been
with FidoNet since 1985 (December 4, to be exact) and in all that
time my node number has been 1:372/4. In 1991, due to numerous
medical (thank you Uncle Ho & Co.) problems, and 992 days in the
hospital I had to leave the local net, thus giving up my node number.
When I returned to the (same) local net (and FidoNet) I requested my
old node number back, as no one had been assigned that number. Not
only did I not get that number, but I was enlightened to the fact
that my request for a *private* node was disapproved. Of Course, due
to FidoNet's antipathy for the .Pvt node flag. I really did
understand that, but in view of the need for the private flag, and
what it was requested for, I asked the NC to please reconsider. He
didn't, but in all fairness to him, he did pass on my request to the
Regional Coordinator. The RC after reading the reasons why the
private flag was required, nullified the NC's decision, and allowed me
FIDONEWS 14-12 Page 18 24 Mar 1997
a node number (1:372/136) to operate Vet_Net_South. Anyway, I think
this action perhaps compiled with other idiosyncrasy has caused a rift
between the NC and myself, and this is why, when I again requested
that I be assigned my old node number (1:372/4) if for no other
reason than old time sakes, I was informed that it would be a
QUOTE: "make-work" thing and "I'm not inclined to do it." UNQUOTE.
This type of attitude is not in the best interest of an already
unhealthy FidoNet, and it is up to the RC's to terminate these kinds
of practices. The antecedent is not a criticism of the NC I have
mentioned, but is being utilized as an example of what sort of
predilection that has crept into the ranks of FidoNet. These sort of
incidences can do nothing for FidoNet, but enhance its demise.
Furthermore, occurrences similar to the above, do nothing but harm
to the individuals involved, thus doing nothing for the Net in which
the misdeeds took place. I have been around long enough to not allow
this method of *muscle flexing* to bother me. However, what of the
new SysOp in a net? Will he/she be as constrained as I am? No, I
think in all reality not. Once the new SysOp is faced with a
situation similar to the above, and is informed by other SysOps in
that Net, that the Regional Coordinator almost always sides with the
NC in matters of this kind, he begins to feel the old FidoNet
alienation, and either sits back and contemplates his/her revenge, or
simply does the only other thing open to him/her. He/She drops out
of the Net, opens up an account on the Internet, and FidoNet pays the
price by another divestiture of personnel.
Enough of this, right? You have reached that point in reading
where you have decided that a formal complaint for being excessively
annoying is in order. Well, hell, go ahead, I need the rest, anyway.
Just be aware of the fact the Chris Baker (editor of FIDONEWS) asked
me for another article (as I promised) in public. What was that a
great man once said? Oh, yea, I remember, "Forgive him Father for
he knows not what he does." I probably misquoted Him somewhat, but
what else would you expect from a guy who just pooped in his own mess
kit, by partially trashing his NC. Oh hell, what could happen? No
node number? So what! I can always put my head up my anus blow hot
air, count some money, and everyone will think I'm Bill Gates. Apply
for a new node number under the Gates acclaim, and sit back and laugh.
Just a footnote for all of you out there who are thinking about a
way to assassinate me, via NetMail. My phone number is unpublished,
my mailbox (snail mail type) has an anti explosive device built in.
I have no E-Mail address on the Internet (gag), and all my daughters
are grown up, gone away (with one exception) and impregnable. My
dog isn't gay, and the parrot is a wino, and doesn't give a poop what
you do to him or me. My wife is meaner than my old First Sergeant,
and would probably kick your booty before you got to me. Anyway, the
Veterans Administration has top priority when it comes to wasting me.
I have to say this before I leave you fellow SysOps, RC's, NC's.
If I have offended anyone, in anyway. If the language I used was
aberrant to any person. If what I said was a blow to your self
esteem, and if after reading all that I wrote, you feel downhearted
I say this from the bottom of my heart:
"I DON'T GIVE A DAMN!"......[smile]
FIDONEWS 14-12 Page 19 24 Mar 1997
-----------------------------------------------------------------
FIDONEWS 14-12 Page 20 24 Mar 1997
=================================================================
REVIEWS
=================================================================
Review of TransNet - A new Fidonet/Internet gateway
by Marc S. Ressl, ressl@interactive.com.ar
Some months ago, while looking for a Fido/Internet gateway for our
private network DLD from Argentina, I realized that I couldn't find
any that suited our needs. What I was looking for should only require
a single POP3 email account, and, by the way, be able to import and
export echogroups as mailing lists.
So, after some daydreaming :) I started working, and this is what came
out: the TransNet gateway.
The program runs under MS-DOS, and has two main functions: It links
net and echomail to email and mailing lists, and manages mailing
lists.
And, indeed, it uses only ONE POP3 email account. Now you'll ask
yourself how it resends emails to Fido users? It uses a trick with the
subject line: email senders specify there a keyword, which can be a
Fido address, a mailing-list, or any of these special keywords: SYSOP,
HELP, or MAILMAN (to access the mailing list manager). Real subjects
go after the keyword.
This system might look somewhat weird, but after testing it for the
whole summer it proved to work, and didn't cause big trouble to users.
There is also template support in TransNet, so you can put some help
at the beginning of each exported/imported messy. And to make it even
easier, keywords may be aliased, so people can put in the subject
"Peter" instead of the cryptic "1:234/567.89".
The Fidonet part works like most gateways.
The program also features a security system, so you can ban annoying
users, or deny access to groups.
It also resends error receipts from the Internet correctly.
Regarding connection to the Internet, TransNet comes with two Internet
mail add-ons, one for MS-DOS, and the other for Windows 95. There is
also another add-on, for those who prefer things in Spanish.
Last but not least, TransNet needs a FrontDoor-style mailer, support
for Binkley/Xenia will be added soon.
TransNet is shareware, and is freely distributable. For more
information, visit my program's page at:
http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Lakes/2382
And if you wish to contact me:
FIDONEWS 14-12 Page 21 24 Mar 1997
Marc S. Ressl
ressl@interactive.com.ar
http://www.geocities.com/Vienna/1914
Marc S. Ressl
Buenos Aires: ressl@geocities.com
Rosario: ressl@interactive.com.ar http://www.geocities.com/Vienna/1914
-----------------------------------------------------------------
FIDONEWS 14-12 Page 22 24 Mar 1997
=================================================================
GETTING TECHNICAL
=================================================================
[This is part of the continuing series of FidoNet Technical Standards
Committee documents demonstrating FidoNet history. These docs are
reformatted to the 70 columns for FidoNews where required.] Ed.
Document: FSC-0052
Version: 001
Date: 23-Sep-90
ZPTH
----
A proposal for making the PATH zone aware
Gerard van der Land
FidoNet 2:283/1.5
Status of this document:
This FSC suggests a proposed protocol for the FidoNet(r)
community, and requests discussion and suggestions for
improvements. Distribution of this document is unlimited.
Fido and FidoNet are registered marks of Tom Jennings and Fido
Software.
The PATH line can be a more accurate source of information
than the SEEN-BY line to determine if a message is a
duplicate. TosScan with Circular PATH Protection (CPP) enabled
will consider messages that already have your address in them
as duplicates. This works fine in conferences that are
distributed within one zone, but in conferences spread
across zones it can cause problems.
Unlike SEEN-BY lines, PATH lines are not stripped at the
zone gate, because they have a very important purpose: to
be able to determine the used echomail topology and
troubleshooting, like finding the cause of duplicate messages.
Unfortunately this also means that if a message is entered at
1:283/1 and my boss would be running TosScan with CPP enabled,
the message would be considered as a duplicate, because
"283/1" is already in the PATH lines.
If such messages are not deleted but stored in a
duplicate directory, you will of course notice this happen and
disable CPP, but you can't know if messages never reach your
system because they were deleted for the same reason by another
node that had CPP enabled.
That's why I have the following proposal. If a message
travels from one zone to another, the zone gateway should move
FIDONEWS 14-12 Page 23 24 Mar 1997
all information in the current PATH lines to kludge lines with
the following format:
^aZPTH: <origin zone>:<old path info>
The receiving system in the destination zone creates a new
PATH with his address in it.
There is no need to support or allow 4D addresses in the
ZPTH, since it is only supplements the existing PATH lines.
Simple sample
-------------
A message originating at 1:154/40 arrives at 1:260/340...
^aPATH: 154/40 970 9 157/200 265/7 13/13 260/340
...and is sent to Europe. This is how I would see it:
^aZPTH: 1:154/40 970 9 157/200 265/7 13/13 260/340
^aPATH: 310/11 507/1 512/0 280/0 283/1
Now suppose that 283/1 would gate it to zone 3, it would
look like this when it gets there:
^aZPTH: 1:154/40 970 9 157/200 265/7 13/13 260/340
^aZPTH: 2:310/11 507/1 512/0 280/0 283/1
The receiving node in zone 3 now creates a new PATH line
with his address in it.
Advantages
----------
1) It enables Circular PATH Protection (CPP) on conferences
that travel across zones without the risk of messages
that are erroneous considered as duplicates and deleted.
2) A zone gate can optionally parse the ZPTH lines to see
if his zone or the destination zone has already seen the
message (CZP, Circular ZPATH Protection), which means a
duplicate message will never go to another zone. Of course
this could only be used if it sure that messages shouldn't
re-enter a zone.
3) You get a much better view on the used echomail
topology, sometimes it is very hard to see where a message
goes from one zone to another.
4) It will not screw up with any echomail processor as long as
they ignore unknown kludges. Only nodes gating echomail from
one zone to another would need to have a processor that
supports the ZPTH kludge.
5) It will hardly increase the size of compressed mail
FIDONEWS 14-12 Page 24 24 Mar 1997
archives.
-30-
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Document: FSC-0053
Version: 002
Date: 08-Dec-92
Specifications for the ^aFLAGS field
Joaquim H. Homrighausen
2:270/17@fidonet or joho@ae.lu
December 8, 1992
Status of this document:
This FSC suggests a proposed protocol for the FidoNet(r)
community, and requests discussion and suggestions for
improvements. Distribution of this document is unlimited.
Fido and FidoNet are registered marks of Tom Jennings and Fido
Software.
Purpose
To explain and document the existing usage of the ^aFLAGS field
used by many software packages, including FrontDoor, TosScan, and
D'Bridge. And to inform software authors of its proper usage.
Prologue
One of the problems with the FTS-1 (stored) message format is its
limitations in regards to message attributes. Several bits are
used (reserved) by SEAdog, another by several packers and editors
- even though most mailer authors don't support them, they
remain. One reason would be backward compatibility with older
software.
Unfortunately, this presents a problem for software authors that
would like to pass extended message attributes for use and
handling by other software.
Some software packages have been using an alternate method called
"FLAGS" which is 7-bit ASCII placed behind <SOH>FLAGS somewhere
near the beginning of a message. The various flags will now be
described.
Flags
The FLAGS string should be placed somewhere near the beginning of
the message text, and is preceeded by a <SOH> (^a) character.
There is no need to support all or any of the below mentioned
FIDONEWS 14-12 Page 25 24 Mar 1997
flags.
If flags are stripped when a message passes through a system, all
relevant and correct FTS-1 status bits should be updated to
indicate the original contents of the FLAGS field.
Flag Brief Long description
-----------------------------------------------------------------
PVT Private Indicates that the message may only be
read by its addressee and author.
HLD Hold Message should be held for pickup by its
destination system.
CRA Crash High-priority mail.
K/S Kill/Sent Remove message after it has been
success-fully sent.
SNT Sent Message has been successfully sent (used
for message without Kill/Sent status).
RCV Received Message has been read by its addressee.
A/S Archive/Sent Place message in "sent mail" archival
system after it has been successfully
sent.
DIR Direct Message must be sent directly to its
destination and may not be routed.
ZON Zonegate Send message through zonegate (if
possible).
HUB Hub/Host-route Host- or Hub-route message (as
appropriate).
FIL File attach Message has one or more files attached
to it.
FRQ File request Message has one or more file requests in
subject field.
Flag Brief Long description
-----------------------------------------------------------------
IMM Immediate NOW!-priority mail. Send at first
opportunity, override any transmission
restrictions enforced by events, costs,
or qualification.
XMA Xmail Message has alternate form of compressed
mail attached.
KFS Kill file Remove attached file(s) after they have
been successfully sent. Only valid for
FIDONEWS 14-12 Page 26 24 Mar 1997
file attach message.
TFS Truncate file Truncate attached file(s) to zero length
after they have been successfully sent.
Only valid for file attach message.
Primarily used by Conference Mail
processors.
LOK Lock Prevent message from being processed.
This includes sending, deleting,
purging, and editing.
RRQ Receipt REQ When the mailer/packer at the message's
final destination unpacks the message,
it's asked to generate a receipt to the
author of the message that indicates
that the message arrived at its final
destination.
CFM Confirm REQ When message is read by its addressee, a
Confirmation Receipt should be generated
to the author of the message.
HIR HiRes FAX: Hi-Resolution image.
COV CoverLetter FAX: Cover sheet.
SIG Signature FAX: Signature.
LET LetterHead FAX: LetterHead.
| FAX Fax image The filename specified in the message's
| subject field contains a fax document
| that should be viewed using software
| capable of doing so.
Flag Brief Long description
-----------------------------------------------------------------
| FPU Force pickup Treated as a message with an IMM flag.
| This instructs the mailer to keep
| calling the destination system, if the
| connection is aborted for some reason,
| until a valid "End of files" signal is
| received (i.e. no more files remain to
| pick up).
Notes
Xmail is related to the ARCmail 0.60 standard as adopted by the
FTSC. The exception is that any type of compression method may
be used and the naming convention isn't necessarily limited to
that of the ARCmail 0.60 standard.
Epilogue
Feedback would be appreciated and can be sent to me at the
FIDONEWS 14-12 Page 27 24 Mar 1997
addresses specified on the title page. Please send feedback via
netmail.
--- end of file "fsc-0053.001" ---
-30-
-----------------------------------------------------------------
FIDONEWS 14-12 Page 28 24 Mar 1997
=================================================================
COORDINATORS CORNER
=================================================================
Nodelist-statistics as seen from Zone-2 for day 080
By Ward Dossche, 2:292/854
ZC/2
+----+------+------------+------------+------------+------------+--+
|Zone|Nl-052|Nodelist-059|Nodelist-066|Nodelist-073|Nodelist-080|%%|
+----+------+------------+------------+------------+------------+--+
| 1 | 9527| 9405 -122 | 9405 0 | 9107 -298 | 9088 -19 |33|
| 2 | 16051|16116 65 |16083 -33 |15996 -87 |15956 -40 |58|
| 3 | 812| 807 -5 | 800 -7 | 800 0 | 800 0 | 3|
| 4 | 541| 541 0 | 545 4 | 547 2 | 548 1 | 2|
| 5 | 87| 87 0 | 87 0 | 87 0 | 87 0 | 0|
| 6 | 1071| 1088 17 | 1088 0 | 1088 0 | 1088 0 | 4|
+----+------+------------+------------+------------+------------+--+
| 28089|28044 -45 |28008 -36 |27625 -383 |27567 -58 |
+------+------------+------------+------------+------------+
-----------------------------------------------------------------
FIDONEWS 14-12 Page 29 24 Mar 1997
=================================================================
WE GET EMAIL
=================================================================
--- Following message extracted from NETMAIL @ 1:18/14 ---
By Christopher Baker on Tue Mar 18 00:50:20 1997
From: Bruce Bodger @ 1:170/400
To: Christopher Baker @ 1:18/14
Date: 16 Mar 97 15:09:42
Subj: .
Here's another one for submission, Chris. It (almost) negates the
previous one. I don't think it would hurt a bit if they both were to
run in the same issue.
Thanks.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
On: Sun 16 Mar 97 11:52a
By: Bruce Bodger
To: All
Re: ZEC / RC Election
St: Local Sent
----------------------------------------------------------------------
From the ZEC echo:
Last week I cross posted a message here (and in many other places)
which I had originally written to the RECs of Zone 1. The message
instructed them to:
"... conduct a survey of their respective Regions to determine if
they, the Regions, would prefer either another (ZEC) election being
conducted or an affirmation and acceptance of my willingness to serve
another term (as ZEC)."
I asked them to come back to me with one of the following 2
statements;
My Region would like an election to be conducted =or= My Region would
like you to stay on for another term.
I set the earliest date for replies to Mar. 24 and required that they
survey their Regions.
Shortly before I wrote the above message I had been nominated to run
for the postion of Region Coordinator of Region 19. I accepted the
nomination. Knowing my own schedule committments I felt that I could
handle both positions without allowing them to interfere with each
other. However, there is something that I failed to consider and that
is that I owe my Region more than just a part time committment as
their Region Coordinator.
FIDONEWS 14-12 Page 30 24 Mar 1997
I have been a member of Region 19 for about 9 years. The Region has
been good to me, supporting me in all of my campaign bids including 2
terms as their REC, through the past ZEC election, as well as the
current REC polling process.
Region 19 is about to lose on of the best Region Coordinators that it
has ever had, James Ray. Jamey (:-)) has served 2 outstanding terms
as R19C but has decided to allow his family to get to know him for a
while :-) Had it not been for James' decision to "retire", I would
never have accepted the nomination for R19C.
In order to afford my Region the attention it deserves, I have decided
to cancel what's come to be known as the "vote of confidence" and will
begin organizing an election for the postion of Zone 1 EchoMail
Coordinator. I will not be one of the candidates.
If the Region allows me the honor of serving as its Coordinator I will
do my best to follow in James Ray's footsteps. We have worked very
well together through the years and he has set an excellent example
for his successor.
AllTheBest,
Bruce
Via 1:170/400@fidonet @19970316.211049.UTC O/T-Track+ 2.65.b0307
-30-
-----------------------------------------------------------------
FIDONEWS 14-12 Page 31 24 Mar 1997
=================================================================
NET HUMOR
=================================================================
From: "Mike Riddle" <mriddle@monarch.papillion.ne.us>
To: "Baker, Christopher" <cbaker84@digital.net (Christopher Baker)>,
Date: Wed, 29 Jan 97 08:12:05 -0600
Reply-To: "Mike Riddle" <mriddle@monarch.papillion.ne.us>
Subject: Fwd: Microsoft spam: Fwd: A joke
==================BEGIN FORWARDED MESSAGE==================
From: FA2930E
To: RedSilk103
How things would be different if Microsoft Headquarters was in
Alabama...
1. Their #1 product would be "Microsoft Winders".
2. Instead of an hourglass icon you'd get an empty beer bottle.
3. Occasionally you'd bring up a window that was covered with a
Hefty bag and some duct tape.
4. Dialog boxes would give you the choice of "Ahh-right", "Naw",
or "Git" instead of "Yes", "No", or "Cancel"
5. Instead of "Ta-Da!", the opening sound would be Dueling
Banjos
6. The "Recycle Bin" in Winders '95 would be an outhouse
7. Whenever you pulled up the Sound Player you'd hear a
digitized drunk redneck yelling "Freebird!"
8. Instead of "Start Me Up", the Winders '95 theme song would be
"Achey-Breaky Heart"
9. PowerPoint would be named "ParPawnt"
10. Microsoft's programming tools would be "Vishul Basic" and
"Vishul C++"
11. Winders 95 logo would incorporate the Confederate Flag
12. Instead of "VP", Microsoft big shots would be called "Cuz"
13. Hardware could be repaired using parts from an old Trans Am
14. Four words: Daisy Duke Screen Saver
15. "Well, the first thing you know old Bill's a billionaire...."
16. Flight Simulator replaced by Tractor-Pull Simulator
17. Microsoft CEO: Billy-Bob (a.k.a "Bubba") Gates
===================END FORWARDED MESSAGE===================
-----------------------------------------------------------------
FIDONEWS 14-12 Page 32 24 Mar 1997
=================================================================
ADVERTISE YOUR FREE SERVICE/EVENT
=================================================================
by Nigel Allen (1:250/438) ndallen@interlog.com
Free Listings in the Encyclopedia of Associations
People who start new non-profit associations (including othernets,
lobbying groups and associations having nothing to do with BBSes)
should get their group listed, free of charge, in the Encyclopedia of
Associations, so that prospective members, journalists and researchers
can get in touch with them.
Groups based in the U.S. should write to the following address and ask
to be listed:
Editor
Encyclopedia of Associations
Gale Research Inc.
645 Griswold Street, Suite 835
Detroit, MI 48226-4094
Telephone (313) 961-2242
Fax (313) 961-6815
Groups based outside the United States should instead get listed in
International Organizations, a directory published by the same
company. Its address is:
Editor
International Organizations
Gale Research Inc.
645 Griswold Street, Suite 835
Detroit, MI 48226-4094
U.S.A.
Telephone +1 313 961-2242
Fax +1 313 961-6815
As well, groups based outside the United States may also want to get
listed in single-country association directories published in their
own country, such as the Directory of Associations in Canada. Any
librarian should be able to tell you how to get in touch with your
country's national association directory, if one exists.
Most large libraries have a copy of the Encyclopedia of Associations
in hard copy or CD-ROM, but it is probably too expensive for someone
to buy for home use.
See also my Web page, http://www.interlog.com/~ndallen/
-----------------------------------------------------------------
FIDONEWS 14-12 Page 33 24 Mar 1997
=================================================================
NOTICES
=================================================================
Future History
17 May 1997
Independence Day, Norway.
6 Jun 1997
National Commemoration Day, Sweden.
11 Jun 1997
Independence Day, Russia.
1 Jul 1997
Canada Day - Happy Birthday Canada.
9 Jul 1997
Independence Day, Argentina.
13 Oct 1997
Thanksgiving Day, Canada.
1 Dec 1997
World AIDS Day.
10 Dec 1997
Nobel Day, Sweden.
12 Jan 1998
HAL 9000 is one year old today.
22 May 1998
Expo '98 World Exposition in Lisbon (Portugal) opens.
1 Dec 1998
Fifteenth Anniversary of release of Fido version 1 by
Tom Jennings.
31 Dec 1999
Hogmanay, Scotland. The New Year that can't be missed.
1 Jan 2000
The 20th Century, C.E., is still taking place thru 31 Dec.
15 Sep 2000
Sydney (Australia) Summer Olympiad opens.
1 Jan 2001
This is the actual start of the new millennium, C.E.
-- If YOU have something which you would like to see in this
Future History, please send a note to the FidoNews Editor.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
FIDONEWS 14-12 Page 34 24 Mar 1997
=================================================================
FIDONET SOFTWARE LISTING
=================================================================
Latest Greatest Software Versions
by Peter E. Popovich, 1:363/264
Awk! I didn't realize how far behind I've gotten. Events in my
personal life have conspired to keep me away from the keyboard
during my recreational time. Heck, I'm late for a meeting right
this very second.
Phased out this week: "Amiga" and "Atari ST/TT" Sections.
-=- Snip -=-
Submission form for the Latest Greatest Software Versions column
OS Platform :
Software package name :
Version :
Function(s) - BBS, Mailer, Tosser, etc. :
Freeware / Shareware / Commercial? :
Author / Support staff contact name :
Author / Support staff contact node :
Magic name (at the above-listed node) :
Please include a sentence describing what the package does.
Please send updates and suggestions to: Peter Popovich, 1:363/264
-=- Snip -=-
MS-DOS:
Program Name Version F C Contact Name Node Magic Name
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Act-Up 4.6 G D Chris Gunn 1:15/55 ACT-UP
ALLFIX 4.40 T S Harald Harms 2:281/415 ALLFIX
Announcer 1.1 O S Peter Karlsson 2:206/221 ANNOUNCE
BGFAX 1.60 O S B.J. Guillot 1:106/400 BGFAX
Binkley Docs 2.60 M F Bob Juge 1:1/102 BDOC_260.ZIP
BinkleyTerm 2.60 M F Bob Juge 1:1/102 BDOS_260.ZIP
BinkleyTerm-XE XR4 M F Thomas Waldmann 2:2474/400 BTXE_DOS
CFRoute 0.92 O G C. Fernandez Sanz 2:341/70 CFR
CheckPnt 1.0 O G Michiel vd Vlist 2:500/9 CHECKPNT
FastEcho 1.45a T S Tobias Burchhardt 2:2448/400 FASTECHO
FastEcho/16 1.45a T S Tobias Burchhardt 2:2448/400 FE16
FidoBBS (tm) 12u B S Ray Brown 1:1/117 FILES
FrontDoor 2.12 M S JoHo 2:201/330 FD
FrontDoor 2.20c M C JoHo 2:201/330 FDINFO
GIGO 07-14-96 G S Jason Fesler 1:1/141 INFO
GoldED 2.50 O S Len Morgan 1:203/730 GED
GoldED Docs 2.50 O S Len Morgan 1:203/730 GEM
GoldNODE 2.50 O S Len Morgan 1:203/730 GEN
Imail 1.75 T S Michael McCabe 1:1/121 IMAIL
FIDONEWS 14-12 Page 35 24 Mar 1997
ImCrypt 1.04 O G Michiel vd Vlist 2:500/9 IMCRYPT
InfoMail 1.11 O F Damian Walker 2:2502/666 INFOMAIL
InfoMail/386 1.20 O F Damian Walker 2:2502/666 INFO386
InterEcho 1.19 T C Peter Stewart 1:369/35 IEDEMO
InterMail 2.29k M C Peter Stewart 1:369/35 IMDEMO
InterPCB 1.52 O S Peter Stewart 1:369/35 INTERPCB
IPNet 1.11 O S Michele Stewart 1:369/21 IPNET
JD's CBV 1.4 O S John Dailey 1:363/277 CBV
Jelly-Bean 1.01 T S Rowan Crowe 3:635/727 JELLY
Jelly-Bean/386 1.01 T S Rowan Crowe 3:635/727 JELLY386
JMail-Hudson 2.81 T S Jason Steck 1:285/424 JMAIL-H
JMail-Goldbase 2.81 T S Jason Steck 1:285/424 JMAIL-G
MakePl 1.9 N G Michiel vd Vlist 2:500/9 MAKEPL
Marena 1.1 beta O G Michiel vd Vlist 2:500/9 MARENA
Maximus 3.01 B P Tech 1:249/106 MAX
McMail 1.0 M S Michael McCabe 1:1/148 MCMAIL
MDNDP 1.18 N S Bill Doyle 1:388/7 MDNDP
Msged 4.10 O G Andrew Clarke 3:635/728 MSGED41D.ZIP
Msged/386 4.10 O G Andrew Clarke 3:635/728 MSGED41X.ZIP
Opus CBCS 1.73a B P Christopher Baker 1:374/14 OPUS
O/T-Track 2.63a O S Peter Hampf 2:241/1090 OT
PcMerge 2.7 N G Michiel vd Vlist 2:500/9 PCMERGE
PlatinumXpress 1.3 M C Gary Petersen 1:290/111 PX13TD.ZIP
QuickBBS 2.81 B S Ben Schollnick 1:2613/477 QUICKBBS
RAR 2.00 C S Ron Dwight 2:220/22 RAR
RemoteAccess 2.50 B S Mark Lewis 1:3634/12 RA
Silver Xpress
Door 5.4 O S Gary Petersen 1:290/111 FILES
Reader 4.4 O S Gary Petersen 1:290/111 SXR44.ZIP
Spitfire 3.51 B S Mike Weaver 1:3670/3 SPITFIRE
Squish 1.11 T P Tech 1:249/106 SQUISH
StealTag UK 1.c... O F Fred Schenk 2:284/412 STEAL_UK
StealTag NL 1.c... O F Fred Schenk 2:284/412 STEAL_NL
T-Mail 2.599I M S Ron Dwight 2:220/22 TMAIL
Terminate 4.00 O S Bo Bendtsen 2:254/261 TERMINATE
Tobruk 0.33 T G Paul Edwards 3:711/934 TOBRUK
TriBBS 11.0 B S Gary Price 1:3607/26 TRIBBS
TriDog 11.0 T F Gary Price 1:3607/26 TRIDOG
TriToss 11.0 T S Gary Price 1:3607/26 TRITOSS
WaterGate 0.92 G S Robert Szarka 1:320/42 WTRGATE
WWIV 4.24a B S Craig Dooley 1:376/126 WWIV
WWIVTOSS 1.36 T S Craig Dooley 1:376/126 WWIVTOSS
xMail 2.00 T S Thorsten Franke 2:2448/53 XMAIL
XRobot 3.01 O S JoHo 2:201/330 XRDOS
OS/2:
Program Name Version F C Contact Name Node Magic Name
----------------------------------------------------------------------
ALLFIX/2 1.10 T S Harald Harms 2:281/415 AFIXOS2
BGFAX 1.60 O S B.J. Guillot 1:106/400 BGFAX
Binkley Docs 2.60 M F Bob Juge 1:1/102 BDOC_260.ZIP
BinkleyTerm 2.60 M F Bob Juge 1:1/102 BOS2_260.ZIP
BinkleyTerm-XE XR4 M F Thomas Waldmann 2:2474/400 BTXE_OS2
CFRoute 0.92 O G C. Fernandez Sanz 2:341/70 CFR
FastEcho 1.45a T S Tobias Burchhardt 2:2448/400 FE2
FleetStreet 1.19 O S Michael Hohner 2:2490/2520 FLEET
FIDONEWS 14-12 Page 36 24 Mar 1997
GIGO 07-14-96 G S Jason Fesler 1:1/141 INFO
GoldED 2.50 O S Len Morgan 1:203/730 GEO
GoldED Docs 2.50 O S Len Morgan 1:203/730 GEM
GoldNODE 2.50 O S Len Morgan 1:203/730 GEN
ImCrypt 1.04 O G Michiel vd Vlist 2:500/9 IMCRYPT
Maximus 3.01 B P Tech 1:249/106 MAXP
Msged/2 4.10 O G Andrew Clarke 3:635/728 MSGED41O.ZIP
PcMerge 2.3 N G Michiel vd Vlist 2:500/9 PCMERGE
RAR 2.00 C S Ron Dwight 2:220/22 RAR2
Squish 1.11 T P Tech 1:249/106 SQUISHP
T-Mail 2.599I M S Ron Dwight 2:220/22 TMAIL2
Tobruk 0.33 T G Paul Edwards 3:711/934 TOBRUK
XRobot 3.01 O S JoHo 2:201/330 XROS2
Windows (16-bit apps):
Program Name Version F C Contact Name Node Magic Name
----------------------------------------------------------------------
BeeMail 1.0 M C Andrius Cepaitis 2:470/1 BEEMAIL
FrontDoor APX 1.10 P S Mats Wallin 2:201/329 FDAPXW
Windows (32-bit apps):
Program Name Version F C Contact Name Node Magic Name
----------------------------------------------------------------------
BeeMail 1.0 M C Andrius Cepaitis 2:470/1 BEEMAIL
Binkley Docs 2.60 M F Bob Juge 1:1/102 BDOC_260.ZIP
BinkleyTerm 2.60 M F Bob Juge 1:1/102 BW32_260.ZIP
CFRoute 0.92 O G C. Fernandez Sanz 2:341/70 CFR
GoldED 2.50 O S Len Morgan 1:203/730 GEO
GoldED Docs 2.50 O S Len Morgan 1:203/730 GEM
Maximus 3.01 B P Tech 1:249/106 MAXN
Msged/NT 4.10 O G Andrew Clarke 3:635/728 MSGED41W.ZIP
PlatinumXpress 2.00 M C Gary Petersen 1:290/111 PXW-INFO
T-Mail 2.599I M S Ron Dwight 2:220/22 TMAILNT
WinFOSSIL/95 1.12 r4 F S Bryan Woodruff 1:343/294 WNFOSSIL.ZIP
WinFOSSIL/NT 1.0 beta F S Bryan Woodruff 1:343/294 NTFOSSIL.ZIP
Unix:
Program Name Version F C Contact Name Node Magic Name
----------------------------------------------------------------------
ifmail 2.9 M G Eugene Crosser 2:293/2219 IFMAIL
ifmail-tx ...tx7.9 M G Pablo Saratxaga 2:293/2219 IFMAILTX
Msged 4.00 O G Paul Edwards 3:711/934 MSGED
Tobruk 0.33 T G Paul Edwards 3:711/934 TOBRUK
Amiga:
Program Name Version F C Contact Name Node Magic Name
----------------------------------------------------------------------
CrashMail 1.23 T X Fredrik Bennison 2:205/324 CRASHMAIL
CrashTick 1.1 O F Fredrik Bennison 2:205/324 CRASHTICK
DLG Pro BBOS 1.15 B C Holly Sullivan 1:202/720 DLGDEMO
GMS 1.1.85 M S Mirko Viviani 2:331/213 GMS
Msged 4.00 O G Paul Edwards 3:711/934 MSGED
Tobruk 0.33 T G Paul Edwards 3:711/934 TOBRUK
Atari:
Program Name Version F C Contact Name Node Magic Name
FIDONEWS 14-12 Page 37 24 Mar 1997
----------------------------------------------------------------------
BinkleyTerm/ST 3.18pl1 M F Bill Scull 1:363/112 BINKLEY
Function: B-BBS, P-Point, M-Mailer, N-Nodelist, G-Gateway, T-Tosser,
C-Compression, F-Fossil, O-Other. Note: Multifunction will
be listed by the first match.
Cost: P-Free for personal use, F-Freeware, S-Shareware, C-Commercial,
X-Crippleware, D-Demoware, G-Free w/ Source
Old info from: 01/27/92
---------------------------------------------------------------------
MS-DOS Systems Other Utilities Other Utilities
-------------- Name Version Name Version
-------------------- --------------------
Network Mailers 2DAPoint 1.50* Netsex 2.00b
Name Version 4Dog/4DMatrix 1.18 OFFLINE 1.35
-------------------- ARCAsim 2.31 Oliver 1.0a
D'Bridge 1.30 ARCmail 3.00* OSIRIS CBIS 3.02
Dreamer 1.06 Areafix 1.20 PKInsert 7.10
Dutchie 2.90c ConfMail 4.00 PolyXarc 2.1a
Milqtoast 1.00 Crossnet 1.5 QM 1.00a
PreNM 1.48 DOMAIN 1.42 QSort 4.04
SEAdog 4.60 DEMM 1.06 RAD Plus 2.11
SEAmail 1.01 DGMM 1.06 Raid 1.00
TIMS 1.0(mod8) DOMAIN 1.42 RBBSMail 18.0
EEngine 0.32 ScanToss 1.28
Compression EMM 2.11* ScMail 1.00
Utilities EZPoint 2.1 ScEdit 1.12
Name Version FGroup 1.00 Sirius 1.0x
-------------------- FidoPCB 1.0s@ SLMail 2.15C
ARC 7.12 FNPGate 2.70 StarLink 1.01
ARJ 2.20 GateWorks 3.06e TagMail 2.41
LHA 2.13 GMail 2.05 TCOMMail 2.2
PAK 2.51 GMD 3.10 Telemail 1.5*
PKPak 3.61 GMM 1.21 TGroup 1.13
PKZip 1.10 GROUP 2.23 TIRES 3.11
GUS 1.40 TMail 1.21
NodeList Utilities Harvey's Robot 4.10 TosScan 1.00
Name Version HeadEdit 1.18 UFGATE 1.03
-------------------- HLIST 1.09 VPurge 4.09e
EditNL 4.00 ISIS 5.12@ WEdit 2.0@
FDND 1.10 Lola 1.01d WildMail 2.00
MakeNL 2.31 Mosaic 1.00b WMail 2.2
Parselst 1.33 MailBase 4.11a@ WNode 2.1
Prune 1.40 MSG 4.5* XRS 4.99
SysNL 3.14 MsgLnk 1.0c XST 2.3e
XlatList 2.90 MsgMstr 2.03a YUPPIE! 2.00
XlaxNode/Diff 2.53 MsgNum 4.16d ZmailH 1.25
MSGTOSS 1.3 ZSX 2.40
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
BBS Software Macintosh Other Software
Name Version --------- Name Version
FIDONEWS 14-12 Page 38 24 Mar 1997
-------------------- --------------------
FBBS 0.91 Network Mailers MacArd 0.04
Hermes 1.6.1 Name Version Mantissa 3.21
Mansion 7.15 -------------------- Mehitable 2.0
Precision Sys. 0.95b Copernicus 1.0 OriginatorII 2.0
Red Ryder Host 2.1 Tabby 2.2 PreStamp 3.2
Telefinder Host StuffIt Classic 1.6
2.12T10 Other Software SunDial 3.2
Name Version TExport 1.92
-------------------- TimeStamp 1.6
Point System ArcMac 1.3 TImport 1.92
Software AreaFix 1.6 Tset 1.3
Name Version Compact Pro 1.30 TSort 1.0
-------------------- EventMeister 1.0 UNZIP 1.02c
Copernicus 1.00 Export 3.21 Zenith 1.5
CounterPoint 1.09 Import 3.2 Zip Extract 0.10
MacWoof 1.1 LHARC 0.41
-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Key to old info:
+ - Netmail Capable (Doesn't Require Additional Mailer Software)
* - Recently Updated Version
@ - New Addition
-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Please send updates and suggestions to: Peter Popovich, 1:363/264
-----------------------------------------------------------------
FIDONEWS 14-12 Page 39 24 Mar 1997
=================================================================
FIDONEWS PUBLIC-KEY
=================================================================
[this must be copied out to a file starting at column 1 or
it won't process under PGP as a valid public-key]
-----BEGIN PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK-----
Version: 2.6.2
Comment: Clear-signing is Electronic Digital Authenticity!
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-----END PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK-----
File-request FNEWSKEY from 1:1/23 [1:18/14] or download it from the
Rights On! BBS at 1-904-409-7040 anytime except 0100-0130 ET and Zone
1 ZMH at 1200-9600+ HST/V32B. The FidoNews key is also available on
the FidoNews homepage listed in the Masthead information.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
FIDONEWS 14-12 Page 40 24 Mar 1997
=================================================================
FIDONET BY INTERNET
=================================================================
This is a list of all FidoNet-related sites reported to the Editor as
of this appearance.
============
FidoNet:
Homepage http://www.fidonet.org
FidoNews http://ddi.digital.net/~cbaker84/fidonews.html
HTML FNews http://www.geocities.com/Athens/6894/
WWW sources http://www.scms.rgu.ac.uk/students/cs_yr94/lk/fido.html
FTSC page http://www2.blaze.net.au/ftsc.html
Echomail http://www.portal.ca/~awalker/index.html
WebRing http://ddi.digital.net/~cbaker84/fnetring.html
============
Zone 1: http://www.z1.fidonet.org
Region 10: http://www.psnw.com/~net205/region10.html
Region 11: http://oeonline.com/~garyg/region11/
Region 14: http://www.netins.net/showcase/fidonet/
Region 15: http://www.smrtsys.com/region15/
Region 16: http://www.tiac.net/users/satins/region16.htm
Region 17: http://www.portal.ca/~awalker/region17.htm
Region 18: http://www.citicom.com/fido.html
Region 19: http://ccove.n-link.com/ [not answering]
============
Zone 2: http://www.z2.fidonet.org
ZEC2: http://fidoftp.paralex.co.uk/zec.htm [not answering]
Zone 2 Elist: http://www.fidonet.ch/z2_elist/z2_elist.htm
Region 24: http://www.swb.de/personal/flop/gatebau.html (in German)
Region 25:
http://members.aol.com/Net254/
Region 27: http://telematique.org/fidofr.shtml (in French)
Region 29: http://www.rtfm.be/fidonet/ (in French)
Region 30: http://www.fidonet.ch (in Swiss)
FIDONEWS 14-12 Page 41 24 Mar 1997
Region 34: http://www.pobox.com/cnb/r34.htm (in Spanish)
REC34: http://pobox.com/~chr
Region 36: http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/7207/
Region 48: http://www.fidonet.org.pl
============
Zone 3: http://www.z3.fidonet.org
============
Zone 4: (not yet listed)
============
Zone 5: (not yet listed)
============
Zone 6: http://www.z6.fidonet.org
============
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FIDONEWS 14-12 Page 42 24 Mar 1997
=================================================================
FIDONEWS INFORMATION
=================================================================
------- FIDONEWS MASTHEAD AND CONTACT INFORMATION -------
Editor: Christopher Baker
Editors Emeritii: Tom Jennings, Thom Henderson, Dale Lovell,
Vince Perriello, Tim Pozar, Sylvia Maxwell,
Donald Tees
"FidoNews Editor"
FidoNet 1:1/23
BBS 1-904-409-7040, 300/1200/2400/14400/V.32bis/HST(ds)
more addresses:
Christopher Baker -- 1:18/14, cbaker84@digital.net
cbaker84@aol.com
cbaker84@msn.com
(Postal Service mailing address)
FidoNews Editor
P.O. Box 471
Edgewater, FL 32132-0471
U.S.A.
voice: 1-904-409-3040 [1400-2100 ET only, please]
[1800-0100 UTC/GMT]
------------------------------------------------------
FidoNews is published weekly by and for the members of the FIDONET
INTERNATIONAL AMATEUR ELECTRONIC MAIL system. It is a compilation
of individual articles contributed by their authors or their
authorized agents. The contribution of articles to this compilation
does not diminish the rights of the authors. OPINIONS EXPRESSED in
these articles ARE THOSE OF THE AUTHORS and not necessarily those of
FidoNews.
Authors retain copyright on individual works; otherwise FidoNews is
Copyright 1997 Christopher Baker. All rights reserved. Duplication
and/or distribution permitted for noncommercial purposes only. For
use in other circumstances, please contact the original authors, or
the Editor.
=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=
OBTAINING COPIES: The most recent issue of FidoNews in electronic
form may be obtained from the FidoNews Editor via manual download or
file-request, or from various sites in the FidoNet and Internet.
PRINTED COPIES may be obtained by sending SASE to the above postal
address. File-request FIDONEWS for the current Issue. File-request
FNEWS for the current month in one archive. Or file-request specific
back Issue filenames in distribution format [FNEWSEnn.ZIP] for a
FIDONEWS 14-12 Page 43 24 Mar 1997
particular Issue. Monthly Volumes are available as FNWSmmmy.ZIP
where mmm = three letter month [JAN - DEC] and y = last digit of the
current year [7], i.e., FNWSFEB7.ZIP for all the Issues from Feb 97.
Annual volumes are available as FNEWSn.ZIP where n = the Volume number
1 - 14 for 1984 - 1997, respectively. Annual Volume archives range in
size from 48K to 1.4M.
INTERNET USERS: FidoNews is available via:
http://www.fidonet.org/fidonews.htm
ftp://ftp.fidonet.org/pub/fidonet/fidonews/
ftp://ftp.aminet.org/pub/aminet/comm/fido/
*=*=*
You may obtain an email subscription to FidoNews by sending email to:
jbarchuk@worldnet.att.net
with a Subject line of: subscribe fnews-edist
and no message in the message body. To remove your name from the email
distribution use a Subject line of: unsubscribe fnews-edist with no
message to the same address above.
*=*=*
You can read the current FidoNews Issue in HTML format at:
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/6894/
STAR SOURCE for ALL Past Issues via FTP and file-request -
Available for FReq from 1:396/1 or by anonymous FTP from:
ftp://ftp.sstar.com/fidonet/fnews/
Each yearly archive also contains a listing of the Table-of-Contents
for that year's issues. The total set is currently about 11 Megs.
=*=*=*=
The current week's FidoNews and the FidoNews public-key are now also
available almost immediately after publication on the Editor's new
homepage on the World Wide Web at:
http://ddi.digital.net/~cbaker84/fidonews.html
There are also links there to jim barchuk's HTML FidoNews source and
to John Souvestre's FTP site for the archives. There is also an email
link for sending in an article as message text. Drop on over.
=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=
A PGP generated public-key is available for the FidoNews Editor from
FIDONEWS 14-12 Page 44 24 Mar 1997
1:1/23 [1:18/14] by file-request for FNEWSKEY or by download from
Rights On! BBS at 1-904-409-7040 as FIDONEWS.ASC in File Area 18. It
is also posted twice a month into the PKEY_DROP Echo available on the
Zone 1 Echomail Backbone.
*=*=*=*=*
SUBMISSIONS: You are encouraged to submit articles for publication in
FidoNews. Article submission requirements are contained in the file
ARTSPEC.DOC, available from the FidoNews Editor, or file-requestable
from 1:1/23 [1:18/14] as file "ARTSPEC.DOC". ALL Zone Coordinators
also have copies of ARTSPEC.DOC. Please read it.
"Fido", "FidoNet" and the dog-with-diskette are U.S. registered
trademarks of Tom Jennings, P.O. Box 410923, San Francisco, CA 94141,
and are used with permission.
"Disagreement is actually necessary,
or we'd all have to get in fights
or something to amuse ourselves
and create the requisite chaos."
-Tom Jennings
-30-
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