F I D O N E W S -- Volume 15, Number 27 6 July 1998 +----------------------------+-----------------------------------------+ | The newsletter of the | ISSN 1198-4589 Published by: | | FidoNet community | "FidoNews" | | _ | 1-209-251-7529 [1:1/23] | | / \ | | | /|oo \ | | | (_| /_) | | | _`@/_ \ _ | | | | | \ \\ | Editor: | | | (*) | \ )) | Zorch Frezberg 1:205/1701 | | |__U__| / \// | | | _//|| _\ / | | | (_/(_|(____/ | | | (jm) | Newspapers should have no friends. | | | -- JOSEPH PULITZER | +----------------------------+-----------------------------------------+ | Submission address: FidoNews Editor 1:1/23 | +----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | MORE addresses: | | | | submissions=> editor@fidonews.org | | | +----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | For information, copyrights, article submissions, | | obtaining copies of FidoNews or the internet gateway FAQ | | please refer to the end of this file. | +----------------------------------------------------------------------+ ...and where it stops, nobody knows... Table of Contents 1. EDITORIAL ................................................ 1 2. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR .................................... 4 3. ARTICLES ................................................. 6 Response to Editorial Response ........................... 6 Response to Doc Logger ................................... 8 North American Backbone Echo Changes [May-Jun] ........... 8 The Elist "Battle" ....................................... 9 "Building a Better Fidonews" ............................. 12 Valid reason for new Net shot down in flames ............. 14 4. COLUMNS .................................................. 16 Did Zorch vote twice in the ZEC election? ................ 16 5. WE GET EMAIL ............................................. 18 Nodelist Statistics (from N5020.SYSOP) ................... 18 FIDONET Nodes on Internet ................................ 19 Policy ................................................... 20 6. NOTICES .................................................. 23 Future History ........................................... 23 7. FIDONEWS PUBLIC-KEY ...................................... 24 FidoNews PGP Public-Key Listing .......................... 24 8. FIDONET BY INTERNET ...................................... 25 9. FIDONEWS INFORMATION ..................................... 28  FIDONEWS 15-27 Page 1 6 Jul 1998 ================================================================= EDITORIAL ================================================================= An interesting week...no? Thanks go out first to Jim Barchuk, who has managed to fix the problem with the mail server at the FidoNews web site at http://www.fidonews.org. With that, a number of articles and E-Mail came tumbling forth, to be published in this issue, as well as adding a bit of delay to the publication this week through volume and the ANSI characters to boot throwing the software out of whack... Just as interesting is the selection process used to implement the ELIST in Zone 1...not so much the technical aspect, but the lack of investigation into the claims being put forth. Like a good illusionist, the audience is drawn to the object that the illusionist wants you to see, while making you forget the rational part of your mind that wants to know how it is done...or why. It's called 'misdirection'. One has to ask why such claims are being made by the RECC, when the person behind the effort has yet to be asked a single question about the content. And, I suppose, it goes to further their own agenda which has yet to be as fair or open as they have collectively claimed it to be. But, for now, Thom LaCosta has been named by the RECC as the new EchoList Coordinator in Zone 1. Our congratulations to his appointment...as defined in existing rules and procedures. And, as it may be interesting to note, a long-time critic of this Editor puts forth the idea of a change to the way in which the FidoNews is published. Hmmmmmmm... Interesting that someone from a society where free speech and free press makes such suggestions, while another reader from a society in which such freedoms have been restricted in the past asks for the FidoNews to remain the same. If nothing else, it makes for an interesting contrast in what is and is not taken for granted when one lives in a society where freedom has never been so constrained. Other than this, there is little news that came forward this week, though we do have a message from Peter Karlsson, who apparently has better connections to the FTSC as a 'member in limbo' than I have as a full member...but inquiries into the reasons why still go unanswered.  FIDONEWS 15-27 Page 2 6 Jul 1998 How odd. And just as interestingly, we hear from the "Zone 7" members...a sign that there is still hope for FidoNet, if only they can be allowed to develop as their own Zone. Added in here is another reminder to all who submit articles to the FidoNews that the "flush left, margin 70" standard is the one thing that will guarantee that your submission will be edited to meet. Among the submissions in the 'flood', only two were compliant to the FidoNews specifications. And, lastly, the issue of advertising in the FidoNews... I asked for particulars on this some time back in the FIDONEWS echo and received some comments, but recent events (and submissions) have caused me to re-open the request for comments. Interestingly enough, some of the comments suggest that I am asking only to justify doing this...especially in the light of one such request offering to sponsor or even _buy_ advertising space in the FidoNews. There has even been a threat to stop distribution of the FidoNews based on the same innuendo and assumptions that Fido has become trademarked for of late, rather than on any basis of fact. More on this in a moment... The reality, as those who have made the innuendo that has become so very typical in FidoNet of late, is that I would like to formulate a specification for myself and future Editors (if any) to operate from as to which types of advertising are 'acceptable' to FidoNet sysops. Should the FidoNews reject *ALL* advertising? Should it accept only that advertising which is _directly_ involving FidoNet, to the exclusion of such things as TCP/IP-capable hybrids which also incorporate Fido technology (programs such as ARGUS, TransX and iFTP come to mind)? Or should the Editor decide on a submission-by-submission basis as to what may be of interest to FidoNet sysops? The issue of payment for advertising in FidoNews is without merit, since FidoNews is free, distributed for free and there would be no possible way to determine who to pay any such fees to, let alone for what purpose they would be used for...or by whom. In simpler words, no paid advertising will be done in the FidoNews. If any company submits software for review, no 'quid pro quo' is to be expected, nor is one offered other than a legitimate and earnest assessment of the value and usefullness of the software...and even then, it would be more likely to be turned over to another sysop to perform the review itself, as chosen by the Editor...to do otherwise is to merely open the door for a 'ringer' to be used. At least, lacking any more suggestions, this is the _intended_ base  FIDONEWS 15-27 Page 3 6 Jul 1998 for the proposed advertising specification. But, the question still remains...and although I have many responses, including those sent to be posted here, the direction is not there. Should there be *no* advertisements? Should there only be Fido-based advertisements? Or is there a 'middle ground' that is acceptable to all that meets and satisfies as many as is possible? And, in reference to the pause above, how very interesting that for a 'tabloid-style' publication, which is 'losing readers' for being so 'biased', that several companies have decided that the FidoNews is of sufficient distribution to be 'useful' to them. In all, an interesting week...no? -zf- ### 30 ### -----------------------------------------------------------------  FIDONEWS 15-27 Page 4 6 Jul 1998 ================================================================= LETTERS TO THE EDITOR ================================================================= RESPONSE TO EDITORIAL IN FIDONEWS OF 29 JUN 1998 By Kent Anderson, 1:382/92 kand@onr.com In Fidonews V15N24, in part of your editorial, you said this: "In other news, the battle to wrest control of the EchoMail Listing has now moved into high gear, with the RECC all but demanding that the Z1C choose a particular system." I am a long time hangout in the Moderator and ZEC echos, and am a Moderator, (Memories) so I have to wonder where did this "battle to wrest control take place?" There was an outcry from Moderators when John Souvestre reported Adrian Walker's alleged wish that the Echolist be turned over to Peter Witschi, the Zone 2 Echolist Coordinator. I have been told that Zone 2 operates under an unratified Echopol which much resembles a certain ECROC, so why would I want my echo handled in Zone 2. Adrian Walker was never anything but helpful and nice to me, so I have no quarrel with him, but his departure did appear to me to be much like that of a child throwing a temper tantrum. He certainly did not do it with the grace and dignity of Mich Fuchs, who had the courtesy to see that the robot was smoothly passed into Adrian's hands. Thus, there was no disruption of Echolist updates. We might say that the uproar, or stink if you will, was caused by this tantrum. "Odd how this came out immediately after the existance of other ELIST systems was announced in the FidoNews." But, I think you tie their action to the wrong event. Your mention in an earlier Fnews did not name any specific echolists other than the Zone 1 and Zone 2 echolists. We Moderators, all along, have been aware that there were other, smaller echolists. In Zone 1, however, the major one has been the one which Adrian's Robot faithfully handled each month. In the Moderator Echo and elsewhere, Thom Lacosta announced that he had what he believed to be an excellent replacement system for Adrian's robot, and offered to run an open test of it to see if his assessment was correct. There was a tremendous response from Moderators, and it became obvious that his system's performance was very, very good, and it was then accepted by many, if not most of the Moderators who had input to it. So, recognizing that Moderators should have the major influence in selection of such a system used, the RECC's were kind enough to "suggest" to Bob Satti that Thom's system be awarded the title of "Echolist Robot" under a separate node number to distinguish it from Adrian's old system. In my considered opinion, not only was this move not politics but a recognition of the desire of Moderators as expressed by many, many of them. As I see it, it was done to help keep a political battle from erupting, and in  FIDONEWS 15-27 Page 5 6 Jul 1998 consideraton of the necessity for getting an operating Echolist Robot in place as quickly as possible. "One would think that a more prudent RECC would look at all of the accesibile systems before settling on one...or is this just another jab at the ZEC, and the RECC refusal to work with him?" You may manufacture any scenario you like out of it, but how do you know the RECC didn't look at others, but recognized and supported those most affected rather than some other faction? "More odd that the RECC would claim that the ZEC is supposedly to 'moderate and present' to the RECC, but then turns around to lock the ZEC out of discussions, then claim that the ZEC is not doing his assigned duties." If the ZEC is Bob Kohl, he has also said that the Echolist should be above politics, and your charges of some political agenda driving toward the selection of Thom's system appear to me to be totally manufactured and paranoid. "But then, these are also the same people who present in their erstwhile ultimatum to the Z1C that they wish the ELIST process to be above politics, while using the same proposed system as a political tool." I believe my other remarks have covered this. ### 30 ### -----------------------------------------------------------------  FIDONEWS 15-27 Page 6 6 Jul 1998 ================================================================= ARTICLES ================================================================= Response to Editorial Response by Bob Kohl, 1:102/861 > ================================================================= > LETTERS TO THE EDITOR > ================================================================= > RESPONSE TO EDITORIAL IN FIDONEWS DATED 22 JUNE 1998 > By Ben Hamilton, FidoNet 1:124/7008 > This letter is in response to the editorial that was included in > the FidoNews issue on June 22, 1998. > In response to the editor's opinion that the RECs have posted the > results of the no-confidence vote, then refused to reveal the > particulars, I can only say this: The ZEC duties, as written by > Bob Kohl, approved by the RECs, and then recognized by the ZC, > state the "charges" quite clearly. First point, the ZEC duties were written with input not only from the RECs, but from the sysops of Z1 themselves. There was no single author to the list. More to the point is some of the RECs convenient use of the list selectively without "remembering" that the list also notes the use of an interim ZEC. > The RECC charges that the ZEC is inactive, ineffective in his job, > and is not taking care of his responsibilities. Particularly true, I was indeed busy with personal business as happens to us all from time to time. On the other hand not competely true since Bob Satti had noted to me early on that Adrian was going to leave Fidonet. When I was elected, I started sending out netmail looking for a replacement for the Elist keeper. In the end, there were two individuals that were working on a replacement for the Elist: Thom (the appointed replacement Elist keeper), and Marshall Presnell. Marshall is a professional software engineer and has been for years. Marshall was also a Fidonet sysop for many many years. He offered to help and, as Thom was, in the process of building an Elist replacement. As things progressed, I continued to give feedback on the issue to the ZC in an impartial manner as I felt I was expected to. In the end, Thom was selected by Bob, and my congratulations or condolences as the case maybe. I did find it interesting that some of the RECs "jumped" on the bandwagon after I noted that there were two projects in the works in national echo areas.  FIDONEWS 15-27 Page 7 6 Jul 1998 > As I must continually remind you because the editor keeps asking, > Kohl's first act after winning the ZEC election was to ask the RECC > how he should go about removing an NEC from office. He did remove > the NEC. Wrong, as noted both in the REC echo and in other echos the question was one that was brought to me by the *C side and possibly looking for an alternative to the normal means of an RC dealing with the issue. There is nothing wrong with looking for an alternative means to deal with an issue except of course when it's turned around to make it look like there's political motivation involved. According to Ben, there's a deep dark implication at any question that might lead to evolution in the way things are done to keep an issue on the *EC side instead of involving a *C. > He soon removed an NC. I'd like everyone to remember Ben's statement that what goes on in Reg 10 is none of his business. Sounded good at the time, didn't it? > His REC quit, saying that he could no longer stand working with > Kohl. Ben's memory of the time line is a bit shakey. The REC quit before any action about this issue took place. > He disclosed some in-transit netmail. Ben also likes to paint with a very broad brush. There were two complaints brought up. One was dismissed, the other was explained and apologized for. Someone sent me netmail and I cc'ed Bob Satti when I responded. While technically it is disclosing in-transit mail, it isn't to the degree that Ben would like to make it out to be since neither Bob Satti or myself would be inclined to run around discussing the nature of that netmail. Bob was cc'ed since I did note to the sender that I would no longer route her mail. > Are these the actions of a active, effective, responsible ZEC? Can > you honestly say "yes" in good conscience? Can Ben accurately make some of these statements in good conscience? Moreover, is this the same Ben Hamilton that suggested to a sysop that he should change his node number to poll someone? Using an unissued nodenumber? Ben should spend a moment reading P4. > and how. Please be specific. And if a sysop-level vote is so > great, why was the recent R10C election only an NC-level vote? Ah yes, once again Ben should be reminded of his extremely short and yet convenient memory when it comes to his own statements. Ben forgets that he stated that the affairs of Reg 10 were none of his business in the last issue of the snooze. It should also be noted that we have another REC in a national echo  FIDONEWS 15-27 Page 8 6 Jul 1998 condoning packet ramming to an echo without permission of the moderator. I find it interesting that two of the REC's are now suggesting behavior that is generally frowned upon or considered illegal per P4. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Response to Doc Logger by Bob Kohl, 1:102/861 > In more Kohl news, I see that Kohl has suggested to Ruth > Argust that she is being excessively annoying by repeating > the true story about Kohl's pathetic attempts to get free > boarding for his horse. Our prayers and our edible underwear > should go out to Kohl in his hours of confusion. > Regards, > Doc Logger, > Far Eastern Veteran, > Furlang Island, South Pacific In the course of "trial by public opinion, hearsay and innuendo", I find it interesting that good old Doc Logger has never bothered to take the time to confirm any of the information that he continues to process in his little diatribes. It reminds me of the old days when we had such prominent gossips like Hedda Hopper, Walter Winchell, etc. Given Doc's use of such gossip without any regard to fact or fiction, I formally suggest that the editor make Doc the official "gossip Queen" of Fidonews. It would certainly fit his writing style and the "old hen" mentality that he subscribes to so well. ----------------------------------------------------------------- North American Backbone Echo Changes [May-Jun] by Lisa Gronke, 1:105/9 lisa@psg.com Summary of backbone & quasi-backbone echo changes during May & Jun. Brought to you courtesy of (unix) diff. diff (backbone.na + backbone.no) 03-May-98 05-Jul-98 [edited]. Echotag name changes -------------------- < QEDIT SemWare Support for TSE editors [old name] > SEMWARE SemWare Support for TSE editors [new name]  FIDONEWS 15-27 Page 9 6 Jul 1998 Added to the backbone --------------------- > ANYTHING_GOES Open, spirited and friendly discussions > EDUCATOR Discussion for Educators > ELIST ELIST Conference > LUNATICS Lunatic Fringe > METALSMITH Discussion of all forms of metalworking. > RTTY Amateur and Commercial Radio-Teletype > SYSOPS_CORNER SysOps Corner is a SysOps Only Echo! > TRADEWARS Conference for Discussion of the Game Tradewars Removed from the backbone or quasi-backbone ------------------------------------------- < BB-CARDS (low traffic since 4/1/98) < BEACH_BOYS (low traffic since 1/1/98) < BEAD-JEWEL (low traffic since 1/1/98) < BT-XE (low traffic since 4/1/98) < CAROLINA_GEN (low traffic since 3/1/98) < CDOOR (low traffic since 1/1/98) < CHESS_TOURNEY International Echo for Chess Playing < CHIPSMAG Chips 'n' Bits Magazine Echo < CONSCIOUSNESS (low traffic since 12/1/97) < DOG_FANCIERS (low traffic since 2/1/98) < ESPRIT Esprit - New Age Thinking & Action < FARMING (low traffic since 3/1/98) < GAYTEEN (low traffic since 4/1/98) < ICEUTILS (low traffic since 12/1/97) < IPMAILER (low traffic since 12/1/97) < IRC_SCRIPTS (low traffic since 4/1/98) < LOTUS (low traffic since 1/1/98) < MILLENNIUM (low traffic since 12/1/97) < NONSPORT_CARDS (low traffic since 12/1/97) < POOH (low traffic since 12/1/97) < SAILING (low traffic since 4/1/98) < SERVERS (low traffic since 1/1/98) < SE_GENEALOGY South Eastern US Genealogy Conference < SINGLE_DADS (low traffic since 1/1/98) < SPITFIRE_CHAT Global Spitfire BBS Chat Echo < TENN_GEN Tennessee Genealogy < {COMMO} (low traffic since 1/1/98) ----------------------------------------------------------------- o There are 633 echos in backbone.na [05-Jul-98] (down 29) o There are 100 echos in backbone.no [05-Jul-98] (up 10) o for a total of 733 backbone & quasi-backbone echos (down 19) ----------------------------------------------------------------- What's the problem now? by Gary Gilmore, 1:2410/400 I was rather disappointed in the editorial written by Zorch in the last Fidonews regarding the Elist. Forgive me, but I need to quote in order to state my views on the matter.  FIDONEWS 15-27 Page 10 6 Jul 1998 >In other news, the battle to wrest control of the EchoMail Listing Why is this a battle? The RECC -and- the Z1EC have done nothing but battle with each other over almost anything said, but meanwhile OUR echolist was going away. Too busy peeing in each others sandboxes, the Elist did finally disappear, when (thankfully) Thom Lacosta stepped up and said he not only had software to handle the job, but was willing (silly fool) to DO the job. The RECC/Z1EC were finally distracted from their "did too!/did not!" petty bickering long enough for someone to do something, anything about the situation. Thank God! Maybe this is a beginning where the REC/ZEC will start working again, rather than spending all their time fighting. I honestly hope so. If not, then perhaps we need to replace the whole damn lot of RECs and Z1EC, and replace them with people that give a damn about Fidonet first, and not their own petty desires and disagreements. (Now there's a thought!) They are ALL guilty for the lack of movement, no matter what they (all sides) want us to believe. >has now moved into high gear, with the RECC all but demanding that >the Z1C choose a particular system. I saw the original letter to Bob Satti regarding this. It did not look like a "demand" to me, but rather a recommendation. However, I know of only ONE REC (R11's) that bothered to get the input of his region BEFORE jumping in and saying "Yea" to this movement. (Yes, I asked friends in other Regions about it.) THAT should be the problem, not the decision itself. (Those in other regions should wonder if their REC is acting autonomously, and not getting YOUR input on matters that effect each and every node in their region.) >Odd how this came out immediately after the existence of other >ELIST systems was announced in the FidoNews. What announcement? It must have been made in Portuguese, since -I- never saw it. I'm one of hundreds of echo moderators, and no one bothered to ask MY input, no one bothered to tell/ask ME anything. I think most other moderators are in the same boat. It would be nice when decisions affecting OUR echos were at least run past US once in a while. It's pretty easy to find us, since almost all moderators -are- listed in the nodelist. (And netmail -would- be the way, since not all of us want to read the fight-filled "fidonet operations" type echos... we have real lives.) Instead, our echos are treated like the kids in a bitter divorce, with the parents (the RECs, the ZEC, and the "backbone providers") all pulling at us as a weapon against the other side. I don't want to speak for all moderators, but I think most of us are pretty sick of it. Grow up, boys and girls. >One would think that a more prudent RECC would look at all of the >possibile systems before settling on one... Prudent? How long -should- we wait for a replacement to the Elist?  FIDONEWS 15-27 Page 11 6 Jul 1998 How long would we wait if the Nodelist was suddenly gone, due to someone being childish and saying "it's MY program, and you can't have it, nyah nyah!"? (And yes, I think it was childish of Adrian to "take his ball and go home".) About 10 seconds is how long we'd wait. Echomail is THE most important force in Fidonet, IMHO. (And I completely disagree with Bob Satti's old decision that "echomail is not Fidonet". Yes it is Bob, and that decision is what opened the can of worms... thanks.) Take away the Echomail from your system for a month, then come back and tell me how many users you still have on your BBS, or if you don't have a BBS, tell me how exciting Fidonet is now that you don't have echomail. Maybe it's time for the moderators and users of echomail to take back echomail from those that use it like a weapon against each other. It's OUR echomail, and we shouldn't allow ANYONE to use it as a political football, or send it's control over to other zones, or as a means to make money while imposing additional control on its distribution, moderation, or use. >or is this just another jab at the ZEC, and the RECC refusal to work >with him? Jab, schmab. Perhaps, for a change, someone getting off the "attack metality" mode and doing something for a change. I think that the Z1EC -and- the RECC should have done something about this long ago, and done it together. (How many months have we all known the Elist was going away? Two? More?) All parties are guilty here. Not just Bob Kohl, not just any one REC, but all of them together. Stop the fighting and nitpicking, and do the damned jobs you were elected to. A truce should be declared, and a new beginning should start, one where they all try to do something for US, the sysops of Fidonet, rather than push political agendas and attack mentality (from BOTH sides). Those involved also need to drop their silly "secret" mailing list to discuss ZEC/REC matters, and get it all back into the echos designed for such purposes. Nothing can be accomplished while those involved "hide out" in a mailing list away from the other side, and this shows a complete lack of desire to get a working relationship going again. Again, all sides (ZEC and REC) are acting childish in this whole matter. Both sides, shake hands, share your toys, and start worrying about Fidonet FIRST, please. We'll all be better off. >More odd that the RECC would claim that the ZEC is supposedly to >'moderate and present' to the RECC, but then turns around to lock >the ZEC out of discussions, then claim that the ZEC is not doing >his assigned duties. I don't think the Z1EC has really done -anything- yet. This also means that he hasn't done anything wrong (in the title of ZEC), nor has he done anything to move forward. Likewise, I don't think the majority of RECC has done anything since the new ZEC took office except to attack and -keep- him from doing anything. Again, both sides are to blame here. This constant tit-for-tat mentality is keeping all parties concerned  FIDONEWS 15-27 Page 12 6 Jul 1998 from accomplishing anything for the good of Fidonet. That's a shame. You had someone that lost the ZEC election as a REC, leading a charge to attack Kohl. What is that? Sour grapes? Then you have Kohl on the attack against that. Do I think Bob Kohl has done a good job so far as Z1EC? No. He's done nothing that I can see. Have the RECs done their jobs? No again. Everyone seems to be too wrapped up in the whole "let's get " frenzy. It's a no-win situation, and the sysops are the losers. Wake up, RECs and ZEC. Drop the childish fights, and work for US, not in your own interests. >But then, these are also the same people who present in their >erstwhile ultimatum to the Z1C that they wish the ELIST process to >be above politics, while using the same proposed system as a >political tool. I disagree. I don't see Thom Lacosta being "political", (why, lately, does everything have to be political in Fidonet anymore?) nor do I see him "siding" with one or the other in the battles we've all had to endure around the various "Fidonet" echos. I think Thom's Elist works well, and every echo I moderate or co-moderate is listed on it. I strongly support Thom, and I think the numbers of moderators that -have- listed their echos with him speaks for them as well. That's my take on the matter. Your views will probably differ, but all I can ask is that your respect mine as I will yours. ----------------------------------------------------------------- "Building a Better Fidonews" by Andrea Santos, 1:135/382 Fidonet has long had a newletter for its membership, affectionately referred to as "The `Snooze" and, as irony would have it, the nickname has been a fairly apt description for most issues. How else to explain the abominably low readership levels attained by a publication which Fidonet Coordinators are required to make available to keep members informed? Coupled with regular doses of political conjecture, which the average sysop detests, it's little wonder one of the first electronic publications has been deemed boring and devoid of content which interests a larger audience. In reviewing the usual content, format, latest, greatest and oldest software listings, page long PGP signatures, etc., the `Snooze reads like a repetitive semi-technical document. Perhaps it's time to break with a tradition that isn't working and get a community effort involved. With that said, I've put together a preliminary outline for a "new and improved" Fidonews. Some of this is generally covered in ART.SPEC. The outline is suggestive only. Whether further consideration would be given depends entirely on feedback provided by sysops directly to  FIDONEWS 15-27 Page 13 6 Jul 1998 the Editor and the Editor's receptiveness to the suggestions. NEWSLETTER OUTLINE Suggested Positions =================== Editor (1) Puts it all together, provides Editorial and includes general Letters/submissions to the Editor Associate Editors: (6) One from each Zone, compiles Zone news and submits to Editor, including election results for ZC and ZEC posts as they apply. WEB Editor Maintains list of those carrying newletter via Web sites/ftp, submits new additions to the Fido WebRing, or anything else related to Fidonet which appears on the Web, ie., the addition of new Net or Region Web sites, Fido Boards accessible via telnet, ftp. Contact point for all such submissions. Artist Designs a slick Fidonews icon for Fidonet related Web sites, so visitors can point, click and download the latest Fidonews, distributed weekly. Suggested Contributors ====================== - FDN or SDS Coordinators submit new file updates - BRE/InterBBS League Coordinators submit info on new leagues, contests, championships - Regional Political Coordinators (1 per region) submit news on Region and associated Net election or appointment results Also submits news on area conventions, computer shows of interest to sysops. - Authors submit new product announcements, updates for freeware, shareware, demos - Echomail Coordinator announces new backboned echos and those which have been removed from distribution. - Advertising Coordinator posts on hardware/software deals for sysops.  FIDONEWS 15-27 Page 14 6 Jul 1998 - FTA Chair or designated member of FTA committee submit news on any new technical standards or updates - Grievance Coordinator submits any "bones to pick" re: Policy, standards - Satirists (2-3) submit "lighter side of fidonet" or other such amusing wit. Other than "Editor," the rest of the positions wouldn't be "official" per se, nor are these suggestions all-inclusive. What we do need is Fidonet, the Community, to make it happen, and this outline serves to provide basic organization, which is presently lacking. Hopefully, the end result will be regular involvement in producing a weekly publication that sysops will WANT to read and find meaningful. ANDREA SANTOS asantos@santronics.com http://www.santronics.com ----------------------------------------------------------------- Why??? by Jayson Taylor 1:120/107-mechanic@netquest.com In these times of FidoNet seemingly dying in North America, one would think that the creation of a new net would be a good thing, right? Well, the powers that be seem to think differently. They would rather hagle over false boundry lines. I am not looking to "grind my axe" here, I am just trying to get the word out about this, and hopefully get some feedback on it. Here is the complete story of my strugle to create a new net. I live in Pontiac, Michigan in the USA. I wanted to hook my BBS into FidoNet because I truely enjoy exchanging messages with others around the world. Much to my dismay, there were no local hubs in my area of North Oakland County, Michigan. After talking to several other SysOps in my area, we thought it would be a good idea to put in a requisition for a new net number. So, after reading the all mighty Policy 4, section 2.4, I went ahead and created a proposed node list and did research on our closest net, net 120. Net 120's published boundries cover only Southern Oakland and parts of Macomb County. Not one single hub in Net 120 is a local call from my area, so I figured there would be no conflicts with them. I then sent all of the proposed information to the RC for our region, just like Policy 4 states I am to do. He replies to me that he can't do anything because Net 120 is supposed to have control in the proposed area.  FIDONEWS 15-27 Page 15 6 Jul 1998 I stated to him that this is ridiculous, because not one single hub in Net 120 is a local call for any of the SysOps in my area wanting to join FidoNet. I explained that this defies all logic in that it would never be free to exchange Netmail. Echomail is not much of a concern becuase we could get it via FTP if we have to. After typing until I was blue in the fingers, I have gotten nowhere. This is clearly wrong, and I turned to FidoNews to get the word out. I hope some of you reading this can understand my frustration, and give me some feedback on what would be a good next move for us. Thank you for reading, and I hope to hear from you soon. Jayson Taylor -----------------------------------------------------------------  FIDONEWS 15-27 Page 16 6 Jul 1998 ================================================================= COLUMNS ================================================================= Dear Editorbeing, This article is submitted by Doc Logger (163/110) who was busy deciding which of the four tasty peanuts he'd eat. The peanuts were offered as the inflight meal by an airline which should remain nameless but whose stewardesses are world-renowned for surliness. To give this some perspective, Leona Helmsley would be counted as too polite to qualify as a stewardess on this airline. Roll da flic, Zorch.... Dear Reverend Visage, The good folks at Swamp Swine magazine were in high dungeon when I submitted the latest batch of petty cash vouchers. They claimed that there was something suspicious in the fact that I listed five cases of Glenlivet as "Lobster Repellent." Their argument was that lobsters were repellent enough on their own without being drunk. The case would be hard to disprove since no life form in the Maritimes appears to be sober for long, particularly the cheerful souls who drive the logging trucks on the scenic back roads. I see that the genius of Henk Wolsenk continues to shine through in the ZCC echo where he was busy trying to insult Ward Dossche. Henk is the stellar intellect who asserted that he supported representative democracy but promptly bent over for Satti and is now sniveling about an elective policy being continued in Germany. Our prayers and our edible underwear should go out to Henk in his hour of need. I see that his Zorchness got his policy complaint against Ruth Argust rejected as well it should have been. Zorch was even keen enough to offer a "complaint kit" to other Region 10 NCs so that they could follow his bizarre lead in attempting to foster Kohl's vendetta. The funniest part of Zorch's complaint was where he accused Ruth of lying. What makes this so terribly amusing is that the accusation comes from the man who hasn't quite answered whether he voted twice in the ZEC election. Zorch: Did you vote twice in the ZEC election? David Calafrancesco, Bob Seaborn, and a raft of others have been patiently trying to explain to Kohl why his version of the echolist robot was dismissed in favour of a more trustworthy system. Since the echolist robot is another function of Fidonet which has escaped the tentacular grasp of Kohl, we can give thanks to Thom Lacosta for saving us. Kohl was economical with the truth in terms of the timing of  FIDONEWS 15-27 Page 17 6 Jul 1998 his various pronouncements and it is a great pleasure to see that the RECC have unanimously chosen a process that will keep the echolist functional. In other Region10 news, it seems that a new R10EC has been appointed. It is quite amazing the progress that can be made by Kohl after just three months of brain-numbing thought. The new R10EC appears to share Kohl's subtle grasp of technical performance so it should be mid-September before she can directly connect herself to the RECC echo. Brenda Donovan, Kohl quisling extraordinaire, still hasn't answered any of my queries. I would have added a new question as to how five alleged NC votes magically appeared in the last 2 1/2 hours of the voting period but even asking could probably cause her to blow the same headgasket she overheated when she objected to Region10 being polled by "outside agitators." It seems that commercial interests are knocking on the Snooz's door, wondering if the last bastion of militant public domain publishing can be whored to their causes. I suggest that advertising of commercial interests should be banned from the Snooz with the single exception of those companies that manufacture electric artichoke steamers. I must go Visage, your secretary is back in the office and she is definitely not a happy camper. Andrea Santos sent us several tons of shark gizzards which reek only slightly less than Region10 politics. I may have to take her to Zurich with me next week so that the office has a chance to air out. Regards, Doc Logger, Furlang Island, South Pacific -----------------------------------------------------------------  FIDONEWS 15-27 Page 18 6 Jul 1998 ================================================================= WE GET EMAIL ================================================================= Date: Sat, 13 Jun 1998 06:17:49 +0400 (MSD) From: Gennady Kudryashoff To: editor@fidonews.org Subject: FidoNet Nodelist Statistics Please, post this info in the next issue of FidoNews, with or without comments. Thank you. = Echo of european FidoNet sysops (2:5020/1159) ======= ENET.SYSOP = Msg : 332 of 404 +387 Snt Loc From : Gennady Kudryashoff 2:5020/1159 Tue 09 Jun 98 23:04 To : All Tue 09 Jun 98 22:33 Subj : Nodelist statistics (from N5020.SYSOP) ==================================================================== One, two, three, four, one, two... Let me tell you how it will be, All. Here is translated forward of the letter from N5020.SYSOP, russian sysops conference. Please, think about it: === ======== == sysops.stat === ==================================================================== * Area : N5020.SYSOP * From : Mike Petrov, 2:5020/1413.1@FidoNet (Friday, 05/06/1998 23:53) * To : All * Subj : Fidonet systems, listed in nodelist. ==================================================================== * Crossposted in N5020.SYSOP * Crossposted in MO.ZGRAD * Crossposted in SOCHI.GENERAL * Crossposted in E95.TALK FidoNet systems, listed in nodelist. september 1997 may 1998 Zone 1 (North Am.) - 8592 6585 Zone 2 (Europe) - 17533 16144 Zone 3 (Australia) - 792 608 Zone 4 (South Am.) - 729 568 Zone 5 (Africa) - 129 122 Zone 6 (Asia) - 1289 1092 Region 24 (Germany) - 6227 4948 Region 46 (Ukraine) - 1402 1626 Region 50 (Russia) - 3959 4531  FIDONEWS 15-27 Page 19 6 Jul 1998 Net 5020 (Moscow) - 1132 1273 Net 5030 (S.Pb) - 608 652 Net 5065 (Sochi) - 21 24 All 29064 25119 1. World fidonet is in great shortage, half of year shortage is 4 thousand sysops. Russian Fido is growing, half of year grouth is 0.7 thousand sysops. 2. Germany + Russia - more than 1/3 of world fidonet. IMHO prognoses: Death of foreign fido. Life, but shortage of Fido in Russia because of Internet. This is only nodelist statistics, without points. If I'll count all the points, then Russia will be, IMHO, about 1/2 of world FidoNet. Abroad Russia point systems are not widely distributed. Mike Petrov, 2:5020/1413 -+- + Origin: Mercury BBS - Winged Messenger Of Gods (2:5020/1413.1) ==================================================================== === ======== sysops.stat === Think about the reasons of FidoNet shortage. If it because of Internet only? Or because of absence normal fast IP and modem routing scheme, absence of regional and European backbones? And so on, and so on. Ward included Internet Nodes into nodelist, but, may be, as a "last chance" for FidoNet. European fidonetters must consult with their Russian collegues, or FidoNet in Europe will die soon. P.S. For example, I'm trying to get UK echoes from November, 1997. Nowadays process was stopped after Cliff Harold passed away. Another examples are with international echoes. Without backbones, we have only a few message in them, then traffic rises, and gets down again. P.P.S. Sorry for my bad English. Gennady Kudryashoff. [Team The Beatles] ___ Who is that old man? * Origin: We all live in the Yellow Submarine (c) The Beatles (2:5020/1159) ### 30 ### -----------------------------------------------------------------  FIDONEWS 15-27 Page 20 6 Jul 1998 Date: Mon, 15 Jun 1998 23:25:00 PST From: (Dana Huggard) To: editor@fidonews.org Subject: FIDONET Nodes on Internet Greetings, I was just browsing FIDONEWS from June 15th and saw an article saying you're looking for a list of FIDONET nodes on Internet. My Amiga BBS serves a web page at http://tfbbs.tvinet.com and provides telnet access via a BSD like TCP/IP stack. It has been on a 24x7 dedicated connection since late March 1993. I'm located in Region 17 (Vancouver, BC Canada) Node: 1:153/765.0 Cheers, Dana_H -- Via DLG Pro v1.0 ____ \TF/ --=TERRA-FIRMA-BBS--=Serving the Amiga Community.=-- \/ FidoNet 1:153/765.0 (LDSHub) - AmigaNet 40:800/0.0(Pacific_Reg. Coord.) Internet: dana@tfbbs.tvinet.com - URL http://tfbbs.tvinet.com ### 30 ### ----------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 11 Jun 1998 23:22:43 -0500 From: Mitchell To: editor@fidonews.org Subject: Policy Thank you for taking the time to read my e-mail. My name is Randy Mitchell. I'm co-sysop of "The Collin County Station" in McKinney, TX. I also run a point from the same board. The reason for my message is to find out where I might be able to locate a cite in FidoNet rules, regulations, or policy about posting practices and norms. I know that most of what needs to be known about posting messages in certain echoes are basic common sense, but occasionally, as you may well know, one runs into a person who doesn't have a clue as to what policies should be adhered to. Let me give an example: A few postings in a specific echo are of a particular subject and one of the participants make a claim that sounds rather unbelievable. He is called upon to back his statement up with cites and the sources of the cites, but refuses to do so claiming that the other participants should look up the site themselves. Now I know something of this nature may sound petty and childish to  FIDONEWS 15-27 Page 21 6 Jul 1998 even be concerned about, but it would be advantageous to those who enjoy a good debate or discussion to have something in writing with which to quote from when being faced with a situation such as this. The moderator of the specific echo I'm concerned with doesn't seem to want to get involved in the discussion and there really is no need. I don't believe any rules have been broken (other than drifting from the topic:-) ever so slightly ) . Once again, I thank you for your time and look forward to hearing from you in the future. -- J. Randy Mitchell FidoNet-- 1:124/6308.7 http://members.tripod.com/~Mitchell_J/ mitchell@3dmail.com ### 30 ### ----------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 8 Jun 1998 15:51:54 +0200 (MET DST) Sender: dat95pkn@mds.mdh.se From: Peter Karlsson To: editor@fidonews.org Subject: Comments to remarks in this week's FidoNews > That means (for you keeping score) that Rune Johansen, Peter > Karlsson and Tom Schlangen have left the 'new' FTSC, and not > one 'official' announcement has yet to be made... To the best of my knowledge, there is no "requirement" that such a thing should be announced in FidoNews. While I can see why it could be a good thing, I don't think it's really required. Those who are interested in the proceedings of the FTSC should read the FTSC_PUBLIC echo (which, I admit, I forgot to post my announcement to). Anyway, I've not officially resigned yet, since they others are deciding whether to allow me to contine after dropping down to a point system (I don't want to tie my main computer up with OS/2 all the nights, because I cannot use it to logon remotely over the network). I'm planning on returning to node status when I can afford a harddisk for my secondary computer (which probably will not be until the autumn), and then I will ask if I can be "re-instaded" (if they decide to kick me out now). -- \\// Peter - http://nafmo.home.ml.org/ ### 30 ### ----------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sat, 06 Jun 1998 04:20:06 +0200  FIDONEWS 15-27 Page 22 6 Jul 1998 Sender: neffets@cs.tu-berlin.de From: Steffen Pietsch To: Bob@f23.n1.z1.fidonet.org Subject: Fidonews 22 Hello Bob, I claim to not publish the comercial news about acounts or trial soft. This would be only the beginning of a real commercialization One has to defend it in the begining yet. The most interesting part of the fnews is allways the first part, were (like in a telegram) the Big F's of the Fidonet are announced. more of them! fs Steffen Pietsch -- * "Parolu Esperanton kaj la mondo ne bezonus militon" * * Esperanto-pagxo de GEJ kaj GEA * * Request PGP public key 0x53B10BD5 with email-Subject: sendme PublicKey * ### 30 ### ----------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 16 Jun 1998 15:31:31 -0400 From: Roscinante To: editor@fidonews.org Subject: RE: Adveretisements in Fidonews Hello Zorch, I'm just catching up on things in fidonews for the last 3 months (head stuck in the MUD :) .. I'd appreciate keeping spam OUT of fidonews (re: issue 22) ~ All that is gold does not glitter.. . Not all those who wander are lost.. J.R.R.Tolkien . /\ . ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ._____// \\_____. And the knowledge that they fear . \\ Rush // . is a weapon to be held against them.. Neil Peart . \\ 2112 // . ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ . // /\ \\ . Roscinante (rosc@fbn.dandy.net) I[[[[[[[[]]]]]]]]I http://fbn.dandy.net/~rosc/index.shtml (C.Ingersoll 1:2623/71) ### 30 ### -----------------------------------------------------------------  FIDONEWS 15-27 Page 23 6 Jul 1998 ================================================================= NOTICES ================================================================= Future History 25 Jul 1998 SUPCon, Swedish FidoNet Convention at Sannabaden, Jankaping, Sweden. 14 Sep 1998 Start of International BBS Week [thru 20 Sep 98]. 22 Sep 1998 First anniversary of the FidoNews domain of www.fidonews.org. 1 Dec 1998 Fifteenth Anniversary of release of Fido version 1 by Tom Jennings. 24 Jul 1999 XIII Pan American Games [through 8 Aug 99]. 9 Jun 1999 Tenth Anniversary of the adoption of FidoNet Policy 4.07. 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. 1 Jun 2000 EXPO 2000 World Exposition in Hannover (Germany) opens. 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 15-27 Page 24 6 Jul 1998 ================================================================= FIDONEWS PUBLIC-KEY ================================================================= FidoNews PGP Public-Key Listing [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: Democracy Requires A Free And Uncensored Press. mQENAzUDQfgAAAEH/2cZjrzKxinfyk1NRYy2D78JEU8jFx6fvGyisnN2SX+QwRrA AxBbsMuseM3x60SFhHV7r93CxKWJylPCBJKvDazmWwy+vgBr+ZJvl7Ypj/IB4pWS Apngg8cmDH1h5d0VeYNORsuJ2udHZYRezkZ0eeJlaOsJCj5Xu0QImSp++VU/0oB1 6XRoNPy548xq8Qles1pLC8Kw7HU7Vff1WeaU3mPPQeaGZqn2qSAu5t6Z0Bhm27Pq zNaJ+JWNHaLCHlwrRHV+p9bCdfl3u303OxKPne0cSpxfe+gQBTlVta7B14ssgnzQ mnBFhvKWgM7LT105YD3EcWW9IJE1ByNHwo25a3EABRG0D0ZpZG9OZXdzIEVkaXRv cokAlQMFEDUKMDDrSgiY3KJNQQEB16YD/2tYVRC+dxghA/OwIWNH20GvQXw1zgfv cB6r8gYHcczTCqGu5qbjDOTftoBXY9vI3/CZNsSbvp0ibQinpN6zSgyy2+4wwPbu db/VnjXwBByq7ygTpNwQBMsYjs+iyndwTnR90dH3FewsveBCzeqjmP0Y/PJliElw zEmGKxoFr1SM =G82W -----END PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK----- File-request FNEWSKEY from 1:1/23 [1:205/1701] or download it from IKVHFoT! BBS at 1-209-251-7529 anytime Zone 1 ZMH at 300-9600+ V34. The FidoNews key is also available on the FidoNews homepage listed in the Masthead information. -----------------------------------------------------------------  FIDONEWS 15-27 Page 25 6 Jul 1998 ================================================================= FIDONET BY INTERNET ================================================================= This is a list of all FidoNet-related sites reported to the FidoNews Editor as of this issue; see the notice at the end. ============ FidoNet: Homepage http://www.fidonet.org FidoNews http://www.fidonews.org [HTML] http://209.77.228.66/fidonews.html [ASCII] WWW sources http://www.scms.rgu.ac.uk/students/cs_yr94/lk/fido.html FTSC page http://www.goldware.dk/ftsc Echomail [pending] WebRing http://ddi.digital.net/~cbaker84/fnetring.html [TFN] General http://owls.com/~jerrys/fidonet.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 13: none Region 14: none Region 15: none Region 16: none Region 17: none Region 18: http://techstop.pdn.net/fido/ Region 19: http://www.compconn.net ============ Zone 2: http://www.z2.fidonet.org ZEC2: Zone 2 Elist: http://www.fbone.ch/z2_elist/ Region 20: http://www.fidonet.pp.se (in Swedish) Region 23: http://www.fido.dk (in Danish) Region 24: http://www.swb.de/personal/flop/gatebau.html (German)  FIDONEWS 15-27 Page 26 6 Jul 1998 Region 25: http://www.bsnet.co.uk/net2502/net/ Region 26: http://www.nemesis.ie REC 26: http://www.nrgsys.com/orb Region 27: http://telematique.org/ft/r27.htm Region 29: http://www.rtfm.be/fidonet/ (French) Region 30: http://www.fidonet.ch (Swiss?) Region 33: http://www.fidoitalia.net (Italian) Region 34: http://www.pobox.com/cnb/r34.htm (Spanish) REC34: http://pobox.com/~chr Region 36: http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/7207/ Region 38: http://public.st.carnet.hr/~blagi/bbs/adriam.html Region 41: http://www.fidonet.gr (Greek/English) Region 48: http://www.fidonet.org.pl ============ Zone 3: http://www.z3.fidonet.org ============ Zone 4: http://www.altern.org/zone4 Region 90: http://visitweb.com/fidonet Net 903: http://www.playagrande.com/refugio Net 904: http://members.tripod.com/~net904 (Spanish) ============ Zone 5: http://w3.eastcape.co.za/fidonet/index.htm ============ Zone 6: http://www.z6.fidonet.org Region 65: http://www.cfido.com/fidonet/cfidochina.html (Chinese) ============ Pages listed above are as submitted to the FidoNews Editor, and generally reflect Zone and Regional Web Page sites. If no Regional site is submitted, the first Network page from that Region is used in its place. Generally, Regional pages should list access points to all Networks within the Region.  FIDONEWS 15-27 Page 27 6 Jul 1998 TCP/IP accessible nodes should submit their URL or Telnet locations to the FidoNews Editor for a later publication. ----------------------------------------------------------------- - Fidonet Via Internet Hubs Node# | Operator | Facilities (*) | Speed | Basic Rate -----------+-------------------+----------------+-------+------------ 1:12/12 | Ken Wilson | FTP | T1 | $24mo. 1:13/25 | Jim Balcom | FTP | 56k | $20mo. 1:124/7008 | Ben Hamilton |FTP,VMoT,TX,F2I,UUE| 64k | $10/$20mo. 1:140/12 | Bob Seaborn | FTP | T1 | $5/$20 1:270/101 | George Peace | FTP | T1 | $30mo. 1:271/140 | Tom Barstow | F2I | ??? | $2mo. 1:275/1 | Joshua Ecklund | UUE,TX,F2I | 28.8 | $10/yr. 1:280/169 | Brian Greenstreet | FTP | 33.6 | $2mo. 1:2401/305 | Peter Rocca | FTP,TX | T1 | unkn 1:2424/10 | Alec Grynspan | FTP,VMoT | T1 | $1mo. 1:2424/3121| Earl Clark | TX | 33.6 | n/c 1:2604/104 | Jim Mclaughlin | FTP,VMoT,UUE | 33.6 | $1mo. 1:2624/306 | D. Calafrancesco | VFOS | 33.6 | $15yr. 1:345/0 | Todd Cochrane | FTP | T1 | n/c 1:346/250 | Aran Spence | FTP,TX | T1 | $10mo. 1:342/1022 | Steve Steffler | TX,UUE,F2I | 33.6 | n/c 1:3651/9 | Jerry Gause | FTP,VMoT | 33.6 | $3/$6 1:396/1 | John Souvestre | FTP,VMoT | T1 | $15mo. 2:2411/413 | Dennis Dittrich | TX | 64k | n/c 2:252/358 | Sean Rima | VMoT | T1 | n/c 2:33/505 | Mario Mure | VMoT,UUE | 64k | n/c 2:335/610 | Gino Lucrezi | TX, UUE | 33.6 | n/c 2:469/84 | Max Masyutin | VMoT | 256k | n/c 2:2474/275 | Christian Emig | TX | 64k | unkn 2:2490/5170| Lenny Murphy | F2I | ??? | n/c 3:774/950 | Craig Box | UUE, F2I, TX | 28.8 | n/c 5:7104/2 | Henk Wolsink | FTP | 28.8 | n/c -- * VMoT = Virtual Mailer over Telnet (various) * F2I = Fido2Int (W95) * UUE = uuencode<->email packet transfers * TX = TransX (Proprietary uuencode<->email packet transfer software) compiled by C. Ingersoll, 1:2623/71, (609)814-1978, fbn@dandy.net (new addr) Posted on the 1st of every month in FN_SYSOP, R13SYSOP and Fidonews. - --- * Origin: * Fly By Night * (609)814-1978 *(1:2623/71) ### 30 ### -----------------------------------------------------------------  FIDONEWS 15-27 Page 28 6 Jul 1998 ================================================================= FIDONEWS INFORMATION ================================================================= ------- FIDONEWS MASTHEAD AND CONTACT INFORMATION ------- Editor: Zorch Frezberg Editors Emeritii: Tom Jennings, Thom Henderson, Dale Lovell, Vince Perriello, Tim Pozar, Sylvia Maxwell, Donald Tees, Christopher Baker "FidoNews Editor" FidoNet 1:1/23 BBS 1-209-251-7529, 300/1200/2400/9600/V.34/V.90 more addresses: Zorch Frezberg -- 1:205/1701, zorch@repairnet.com zorch@qnis.net zorch@kumr.lns.com (Postal Service mailing address) FidoNews Editor P.O. Box 642 Fresno, CA 93709-0642 U.S.A. voice: 1-209-446-9038 [voice mail = 'blind' numbers not returned] ------------------------------------------------------ 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 1998 Zorch Frezberg. 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 [FNEWSFnn.ZIP] for a particular Issue. Monthly Volumes are available as FNWSmmmy.ZIP  FIDONEWS 15-27 Page 29 6 Jul 1998 where mmm = three letter month [JAN - DEC] and y = last digit of the current year [8], i.e., FNWSJAN8.ZIP for all the Issues from Jan 98. Annual volumes are available as FNEWSn.ZIP where n = the Volume number 1 - 15 for 1984 - 1998, respectively. Annual Volume archives range in size from 48K to 1.4M. INTERNET USERS: FidoNews is available via: http://www.fidonews.org http://www.fidonet.org/fidonews.htm ftp://ftp.fidonet.org/pub/fidonet/fidonews/ ftp://ftp.aminet.org/pub/aminet/comm/fido/ ftp://ftp.irvbbs.com/fidonews/ ftp://ftp.nwstar.com/Fidonet/Fidonews *=*=* 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 may retrieve current and previous Issues of FidoNews via FTPMail by sending email to: ftpmail@fidonews.org with a Subject line of: help and FTPMail will immediately send a reply containing details and instructions. When you actually make a file request, FTPMail will respond in three stages. You find a link for this process on www.fidonews.org. *=*=* You can read the current FidoNews Issue in HTML format at: http://www.fidonews.org 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 13 Megs.  FIDONEWS 15-27 Page 30 6 Jul 1998 =*=*=*= The current week's FidoNews and the FidoNews public-key are now also available almost immediately after publication on the FidoNews Editor homepage on the World Wide Web at: http://209.77.228.66/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 1:1/23 [1:205/1701] by file-request for FNEWSKEY or by download from IKVHFoT! BBS at 1-209-251-7529 as FIDONEWS.ASC in File Area X. 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 [1:205/1701] 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- ### -----------------------------------------------------------------