F I D O N E W S -- | Vol. 10 No. 3 (18 January 1993)
A newsletter of the |
FidoNet BBS community | Published by:
_ |
/ \ | "FidoNews" BBS
/|oo \ | +1-415-863-2739
(_| /_) | NEW!--> 1:1/23@FidoNet
_`@/_ \ _ |
[email protected]
| | \ \\ |
| (*) | \ )) | Editors:
|__U__| / \// | Tom Jennings
_//|| _\ / | Tim Pozar
(_/(_|(____/ |
(jm) | Newspapers should have no friends.
| -- JOSEPH PULITZER
----------------------------+---------------------------------------
/*********************************************************************
* IMPORTANT NOTE: The FidoNet address for FidoNews has been changed. *
* The new address is: *
* *
* FidoNews = 1:1/23 *
* *
* Starting January 1993 email sent to the old address will not be *
* forwarded! You were warned! *
*********************************************************************/
For information, copyrights, article submissions, obtaining copies and
other boring but important details, please refer to the end of this
file.
Table of Contents
1. EDITORIAL ..................................................... 1
Retry, Ignore, Abort, Fail, Quit, Give-up? .................... 1
2. ARTICLES ...................................................... 6
This week's nodelist .......................................... 6
Policy 4.1 now available for file request ..................... 6
Replacement needed for George Peace, Z1C ...................... 11
Just When You Thought It Was Safe to Be Phoolish .............. 11
The HYDRA Bidirectional File Transfer Protocol ................ 13
Lionnet ....................................................... 14
3. FIDONEWS INFORMATION .......................................... 16
FidoNews 10-03 Page 1 18 Jan 1993
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EDITORIAL
======================================================================
Retry, Ignore, Abort?
by Tom Jennings (1:1/23)
I don't know about you, but I tend to live around the margins of
culture. Most of the world is too stupid to live in. Safety and
security, those false gods of the TV generation. Tradition == habit.
Respectability over integrity. Chance and change exchanged for
comforting sameness. Mall fashions and MTV and coporate aesthetics
called "culture". Bigotry and fear-of-the-unknown passed off as
"traditional morality".
Here in the world-net there's at least a tiny bit of relief, though I
pine away for actual contact and something more than just (groan)
email; so much of the e-world is just technophilia by people with too
much money. Contact with other interesting people is needed, and
greater bandwidth than this ANTIQUATED TELEGRAPHICAL ASCII TEXT
CRAPOLA. It's worse than a miserable ordinary phone call; in ASCII no
means no or it means NO or possibly *NO*; how many ways can you say no
with your voice?...
Maybe you stumbled upon MONDO 2000 magazine. Wow! A quick browse of
the T of C brings rushes of delight! People who've noticed the changes
the technology has made on us, and the observation that (generally)
weirdos bring about social change, from below up!
Then upon reading you notice it's rather self-congratulatory and
self-referential. The burning of large piles of money generates a
bright light, but it doesn't warm you up much. And outside that light,
you kinda notice there's not much else around them. "Content-free" as
a certain Randy might possibly say. Hell, they call themselves "trend
surfers", I didn't say it. OK, so I'm a cynical post-apocalypse (yes
post- some of you people out there screwed things up royally already)
paranoid post-punk asshole, but at least I get off my butt and do
things occasionally.
In other words, it is a *vast* disappointment.
Well. I just got a copy of WIRED magazine. OK, yawn, another
neo-technophillic trendoid zine, favoring toy-value over
responsibility, ethics, cultural impact, usefulness.... WRONG!
It's really good. It's 112 brightly colored pages. It has an odd
layout that's dense, and only slightly hard to follow. It reads like a
cross between a digest and a magazine (I hope the content level stays
this high in subsequent issues).
FidoNews 10-03 Page 2 18 Jan 1993
A scan of the T of C: Bruce Sterling visits a Dep't of War (I mean
Defense) VR lab; Camille Paglia (yay!) talks at Stewart Brand; John
Markoff on hacked cellphones; John Browning (gunmaker kin? nahh...) on
the role of public libraries in the e-age; Japanese computer nerds
(just like you maybe...); public education obstructing "progress";
some insights into the INSLAW case (Meese and friends, Reagan's
hostage-for-guns deal...) that I hadn't known about; and the expected
hi-techy newsy items that make for good bathroom reading.
Not that I don't have my criticisms, which I'm in the process of
post-it-ing to send 'em, but hey they're in-context, minor -- it's
good stuff! It's a curious cross between high-techery news, cultural
criticism, and gosh-golly neophillia (watch that now). They know what
BBSs are. They're on the Internet. They know who Marshall McLuhan is
(gasp!) (One of them damn Canadians.)
Word is they're not owned by one of the 25 or so publishing behemoths
that quite literally own all the national rags, so they might actually
be able to remain independent. Time will tell how they handle the
tension between criticism of the spectacle vs. pissing off
advertisers. I'm skeptical enough in general to say "we'll see..." but
it sure looks well thought-out, well written, well targeted and well
assembled.
I send them a check on Monday. My periodical reading list is now: EE
TIMES, MAXIMUMROCKNROLL, RADIO WORLD, HOME POWER, BOARDWATCH, AMERICAN
RIFLEMAN, and WIRED! (Actually I'm dumping A.R. soon. Too dull,
embarrasing politics.)
Wired issue 1.1 hits the stores 26 Jan?. The sub card inside says
"19.95US/6 issues/1 year, 45US overseas", from WIRED, Box 191826, San
Francisco CA 941119-1826. Voice 1-800-SO-WIRED. Internet wired.com.
Tell 'em you read about it in FidoNews!
* * * * *
A few weeks ago I was called hypocritical for "promoting democracy"
(sic) in FidoNet (when I was simply calling for throwing the bums
out), while running FidoNews as a hereditary monarchy (which it is
currently). That I should put it up for a vote or something, like it
was some sort of administrative post, where you have some drone
perform rote tasks and the best thing they can do for you is leave you
the hell alone and not screw up too badly. If only it were that
simple.
Like it or not, editing is a "creative" job. When I started FidoNews
in 1984 (I was it's first editor) I didn't have a clue. Zip, none.
Luckily, it really didn't matter, because there weren't any readers!
FidoNews 10-03 Page 3 18 Jan 1993
Six or seven years later, I find myself editor once again. In the mean
time, I had actually gained some experience. I've contributed various
articles for other pubs (mostly non-technical), helped edit a few
others, written and self-published some small books (besides the
numerous Fido/FidoNet program manuals), and in one case conceived,
edited, published a magazine, HOMOCORE, with a small (2500)
circulation in U.S., Canada and Europe. It was utterly non-technical,
but in many ways similar to FidoNews, in that it was in some ways
leading-edge social change. I had to deal with deadlines, writers,
letters columns, illiteracy, off-the-pointism, bad artwork, printers,
money, postage, repro services...
About half of my editorial-like experience is in non-technical things,
which I have found to be far more applicable to FidoNews than tech
stuff. While most of FidoNet is quite a "techie" thing, it's content
(sysops, users, conferences, etc) are not. Most tech rags are not much
more than glorified advertisement. (And most "PC" type magazines are
not even as good as the more traditional trade rags, which at least
attempt a higher-level approach, and the business emphasis is at least
more honest).
FidoNews is NOT a technical publication, though it does of course
contain many technical items. It is a SOCIAL publication, loosely.
(very loosely!) This as it should be, I believe, as we've got tons of
techy conferences in which to nerd out to our hearts desire. FidoNews
should be ABOUT FidoNet, not OF FidoNet. It's a meta-FidoNet, in
which to discuss our network.
Anyways. To the point. Well, it's been fun, but it's time that
FidoNews had another editor. Time for some changes in my life.
It is time to start a new tradition, some coherent and auditable way
to pick a new editor. I've got in mind a very simple process: starting
now, I'm accepting resume's from would-be editors. A HELP WANTED ad
appears below.
Here's what I'd like to do:
* Collect resume's starting NOW
* Keep all (all!) resumes, correspondence, complaints, comments, etc
in a public file on the FidoNews BBS
* In a few weeks I'll pick some likely candidates from what I
receive. Comments, praise and character assasination should commence
at this point
* Pick a new heir to the FidoNews fortune within a week or two after that
FidoNews 10-03 Page 4 18 Jan 1993
* Turn whatever process comes out of this into a guideline for choosing
a new editor in the future.
The time line is highly variable. I want to do this "fast", but I also
want to do it right.
HELP WANTED
Editor wanted for the illustrious FidoNews, published electronically,
weekly. Circulation 5,000 -- 20,000 (anyone's guess). Experience
required, preferably outside computer/technical circles. TECHNICAL
AND/OR COMPUTER EXPERIENCE NOT REQUIRED beyond what's necessary to
produce FidoNews (editing files, etc). (FidoNews readership is about
50% non-technical.) Subject matter covers any and all interests of the
FidoNet at large; from cooking to politics to email protocol specs.
You must consider yourself accountable to all FidoNet members; this is
not an autonomous business-like newsletter. We're not trying to
"pass", but to serve our membership, even or especially at the expense
of "professional" imagery.
TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS
* Have adequate computing resources -- modem, disk storage, etc.
* Be available via FidoNet.
* Accept submissions and correspondence via netmail and fileattach.
* Provide dial-in and filerequest access for the most-recent-issue
and related files, open to the public upon first connect at no charge,
at 300 baud and up (grr, I hate sysops who want to lock out
low-speed users). (Your own BBS or someone else's.)
* Produce FidoNews every Sunday night and deliver it to the main
distribution site.
MY PERSONAL BIASES
Here's pretty much what I'd personally like to see in a FidoNews
editor. This is just bias, ie. tie-breaker, other things being equal.
It's not a shopping list.
I'd prefer a woman editor. I'd prefer someone with broad experience in
strange places. Someone who can communicate, regardless of writing
style. Someone who will take chances, won't let making mistakes get in
the way of expirimentation. Thick-skinned, to take all the shit you
get when you say something un-popular. Left, right, center, out in
space, unimportant; the willingness to welcome subjects that will piss
you off (and maybe readers). I've accomodated, encouraged, instructed,
suggested hand-held and even helped write text for fanatical
fundamentalist christians, anarcho-atheists, FidoNet-technology
reporters, people helping the handicapped, "gun nuts" (I'm one, so
shuddup), FidoNet politicians, democrats, autocrats, feudal-system
proponents, law'n'order nuts, technological neophiles, staunch
traditionalists, Canadians (some of my best friends are Canadians),
FidoNews 10-03 Page 5 18 Jan 1993
nationalists, militarists, programmers, whiners, do-nothings and other
assorted nuts with keyboards. As much as people have whined, I've
worked hard at keeping the policy WIDE OPEN (and every one of the
whiners SHUT UP when I told them, if you don't like something you see,
WRITE WHAT YOU WANT TO READ!)
I'd like to see this policy stay intact. WAIT! NO! Advance, mutate or
whatever you see fit, but hopefully, not go the Usual Route.
Respectability will buy you nothing but the fearful safety of the
bureaucrat; dare to think for yourself!
POTENTIAL PROBLEMS:
Geography: FidoNews has been pretty much Norte Americano from the
start. It is fact; is it desirable? This "one size fits all" solution
doesn't wash anyways. I am thinking, maybe it should stay N.A. ie. Z1?
I'm surprised other zones don't have zonal meta-nets.
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FidoNews 10-03 Page 6 18 Jan 1993
======================================================================
ARTICLES
======================================================================
Statistics for: NODELIST.015
Sun Jan 17 16:49:58 1993
Total nodes listed: 21524
- Nodelist Comments -
NOTICE -- NOTICE -- NOTICE -- NOTICE -- NOTICE -- NOTICE -- NOTICE
--------------------------------------------
|
| Replacement needed for George Peace, Z1C
| Don Dawson 1:141/730 (aka 1:16/0)
|
| . If you want to be a candidate for Zone 1 coordinator (Z1C), send
| netmail to:
| Don Dawson 1:141/730
|
| by 23:59 PST, Sunday, 1/31/93. See POLICY4 for the duties and
| responsibilities of ZC.
|
| . Discussion will take place in the Z1_ELECTION echo.
|
| . Regional Coordinators will submit a ballot for each region. If
| you have a point of view of any candidate, please send netmail
| to your RC.
|
| . Netmail received from candidates will be posted in Z1_ELECTION.
| The list of candidates will appear in FidoNews.
|
--------------------------------------------
You can request the most recent nodelist/nodediff from your Network
or Region Coordinator. They are usually available with the "magic name"
of NODELIST or NODEDIFF.
Please check the END of the nodelist for additional technical information.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
POLICY 4.1 SUBMITTED
by Glen Johnson 1:2605/269
Hello, FidoFolks!
FidoNews 10-03 Page 7 18 Jan 1993
Last night, January 16, Policy 4.1c was formally submitted to
the RCs for consideration. The guy that led the revision effort,
Rich Wood (you remember him, he's the Z1C candidate), formally
submitted the thing to all of the Zone 1 RCs, and sent it to
all of the Zone Coordinators worldwide, and asked them to forward
it to their RCs. I understand that there's only one ZC he hasn't
been able to get in touch with so far, as the guy's system
appears to be down or busy or something. I believe that's Zone 5.
In any case, I'm not sure if Tom Jennings is going to print the
text of the entire document in Fidonews; it is rather large,
although quite a bit smaller than the current Policy 4 we know
and love, but the document IS available for file request from
several Zone 1 systems:
1:2605/269
1:278/3
1:2606/583
I've also asked Mr. Jennings to make it available for file request at
1/23 as well. /* ED NOTE: It's not available from 1:1/23; it's not
FidoNews related. You should obtain it from the other sites listed. */
If it isn't feasible for you to call any of these systems, get in
touch with your Zone Coordinator; they all have it (with the
exception of one at the moment) . If you're in Zone 1, get in
touch with your RC, and ask for a copy. The filename is:
POL41C.ARC
Now that its been submitted, let me take a few minutes to describe
the substantive changes in it....
You'll be surprised to find that Policy 4.1 is almost exactly the
same as Policy 4.07, the current policy in force. Our intention
was not to gut the whole thing and propose a completely new way
of life for everyone. The way to modify policy is a piece at a
time. YES, there are still things in there that need to be
changed in the future. So, please don't write us netmails and say
things like "I can't BELIEVE you didn't do this to it or that to
it". Sure, there were LOTS of things we'd have liked to do to it,
and because we didn't, doesn't mean that we didn't think other
things needed to be changed.
But Rome wasn't built in a day, ya know. If ratified, Policy 4.1
will be the first major step toward substantive change in Fidonet.
After 4.1, the possibilities are endless. Now, on to what we did..
The first thing we did was make the document reflect what's
actually happening in Fidonet, rather than what USED to be
happening. We took all of the references to the Fidonews address
and changed them from 1/1 to 1/23.
FidoNews 10-03 Page 8 18 Jan 1993
Current policy says that the nodelist is produced by the
International Coordinator. It isn't; its produced by the Zone
Coordinators. So 4.1 says that the nodelist is produced by
the Zone Coordinators under the direction and supervision of
the International Coordinator.
Policy 4 says that points will make calls with a pointnet address.
That isn't necessarily true. 4D addressing was invented after
current policy was written, and 4.1 says that points MAY make
calls with pointnet addresses. In reality, points tend to use
4D addresses like 1:205/123.3 (Zone,net,node,point) .
The case studies at the end of Policy 4 have been removed. Rules,
regulations, laws, whatever you want to call it, don't usually
have examples attached to them. The case studies, although
beneficial at times, really have nothing to do with Fidonet
Policy, so we yanked them. Saved a lot of space too :)
Elections:
This is the major change. Policy 4.1 requires that net
coordinators be elected by a majority of votes cast by sysops in
the net. NCs serve a term of two years. Regional Coordinators
are elected by a majority of votes cast by sysops in the Region.
RCs serve a term of two years. Zone Coordinators are elected by
a majority of votes cast by the sysops in the Zone. ZCs serve a
term of two years. The International Coordinator is selected or
removed by a 2/3 majority of the Zone Coordinators, and serves
a term of two years. Sysops are allowed to run for any coordinator
position.
There's your democracy folks! Coordinators are directly accountable
to the rank and file. Policy 4.1 gives you the right to seek a
coordinator position, and it gives you the right to vote for your
coordinators.
Now before you start dancing on the tables, keep in mind that along
with the right to vote, comes RESPONSIBILITY and ACCOUNTABILITY.
If you elect a nutcase to be RC, you have noone to blame but
YOURSELF. *CHOOSE YOUR CANDIDATES WISELY*
The impeachment sections of Policy 4 have been removed because they
no longer apply. Sysops themselves can call for the removal of a
coordinator if they're not happy with the job he or she is doing.
The replacement election procedure takes care of that.
By petition of 20% of the people one level down, a replacement
election can be called to replace a coordinator. For example,
I believe Region 13 has 35 nets (if it doesn't, I'm sorry, this
is just a forinstance) . If 20% of the net coordinators are not
happy with the RCs performance, they can cause a replacement
election to take place. In our example here, it would take 7 net
coordinators to make the election happen.
FidoNews 10-03 Page 9 18 Jan 1993
SYSOPS, not NCs, vote in replacement elections. In our example,
all that those 20% of NCs can do, is make a replacement election
HAPPEN. The sysops do the voting in the replacement election.
If the replacement election results in a new coordinator taking
over, the replacement coordinator serves out the remainder of
the term. He is NOT in for two years. If there was a year left
on the term of the coordinator he replaced, then he serves for
one year.
It is IMPORTANT to note that replacement coordinators are NOT
subject to replacement elections! If you dump your NC mid-term,
and replace him with a new one, you will have to live with the
new guy until the end of the term.
Why did we do this? Ok, I'll explain the intent behind it...
We CANNOT bog down Fidonet with elections every five minutes.
If you want constant elections and referendums and votes, go
join Eggnet :) Coordinators have JOBS to do. We will NOT have
effective coordinators if they have to defend themselves in
replacement elections all the time. They should not have to
be looking over their shoulders constantly.
Remember what I said about accountability and responsibility?
You have to take responsibility for your vote. Make SURE you
are confident that the person you're voting for is the
person you want for the job. The replacement election is NOT
something that should be done regularly or frivolously. By
requiring a 20% consensus one level down introduces some
REPRESENTATIVE structure, and it also makes the process
sufficiently difficult to invoke but not impossible. We have
to give people a way of getting rid of coordinators that
aren't doing their jobs, but by the same token, coordinators
are people too, and they shouldn't be subject to getting
tossed because 3 guys with big mouths don't like the color
of his or her underwear. The replacement election process is
not something to be taken lightly. Next topic ...
Current policy indicates that the International Coordinator
must be a sitting zone coordinator. It defines the position
as a "first among equals ZC" . Policy 4.1 removes that
restriction. The IC can be anyone. He or she need not be
a current coordinator. This gives the Zone Coordinators the
freedom to choose the person they best feel will do the
job. No reason ZCs shouldn't have the same rights we're
giving to the rest of the sysops. As a matter of fact, our
current IC, Matt Whelan, ISN'T a sitting ZC. I don't know
how that happened, but if 4.1 is ratified, it won't matter.
Speaking of the IC, policy 4.1 gives him an additional
responsibility. The IC will issue the rules for elections.
He will be the person who formulates the mechanics of
vote collection, tabulation, and announcement of the results.
That doesn't mean that he is the guy that will DO it, it
means that the IC puts those procedures in place. He cannot
FidoNews 10-03 Page 10 18 Jan 1993
decide who is eligible for what; that's spelled out in the
policy itself, nor can he change the "value" of votes, that
too is spelled out in the policy (remember? Coordinators are
elected by a majority of votes cast by ... etc. etc.) . The
responsibility given to the IC as described in section 1.2.9,
gives him the authority to develop the METHODS for carrying
out the elections defined in the document. Part of that includes
determining when elections will be held. We OBVIOUSLY can't
have all coordinator terms in Fidonet expire at the same time!
We'd be in total chaos during the transition.
Don Dawson, RC18, suggested a BRILLIANT method for staggering
elections, based on the last digit of your net number or region
number or Zone number, etc. For example, the Net 107 NCs term
would expire in July, the Region 13 RCs term would expire in
March, etc. I would STRONGLY urge the IC to adopt Don's plan for
that; its quite good.
A few people complained that we didn't put the exact election
procedures in policy. Well, that was intentional. If we did that,
and for some reason, it had to be tweeked later on, we'd have to
come up with a whole new policy document and go through this
ratification process again. Again, the intent of this policy
proposal was to give sysops the right to vote and the right to
run for coordinator positions. It is NOT intended to bog down
Fidonet or handcuff coordinators to rigid, inflexible regulations.
We have to let coordinators COORDINATE, we MUST let them make
decisions, so that's why we put the election procedures in the
hands of the IC.
Redundancies:
We further shortened the document by removing redundant statements.
You only need to say that the IC is selected by the ZCs once, for
example.
And finally, future revisions to policy ...
Right now, only Regional Coordinators can cause a referendum on
policy revisions (like the one we submitted) to happen. Policy 4.1
moves that down a notch to the NCs. A policy referendum can be
tripped if 5% of the net coordinators want to consider one.
The revision history:
At the top of POL41C.ASC, the revision history says that a policy
referendum can be tripped by 5% of the sysops. That's a typo; its
5% of the net coordinators. The revision history isn't part of
the policy, it was just a brief summation intended for the RCs
to give them an overview of it . The actual text of the policy
document follows the revision history, and the policy document
*IS* 100% correct. We didn't correct it and issue another
version because the typo isn't in the policy document itself.
FidoNews 10-03 Page 11 18 Jan 1993
Sorry if that confused anyone; we didn't spot it until after it
went out.
So there you have it folks, Policy 4.1 . I encourage everyone
to file request it, read it, and ask your RC to support it.
Now, if you have any questions about it, netmail me at
1:2605/269 . I will answer your questions and post significant
questions and answers in Fidonews. Or you can write to Rich
Wood, he'll do the same.
Remember, file request POL41C.ARC from 1:2605/269, 1:278/3,
1:2606/583, or ask your RC or ZC for a copy of it.
"Rich Wood for Z1C"
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Replacement needed for George Peace, Z1C
Don Dawson 1:141/730 (aka 1:16/0)
If you want to be a candidate for Zone 1 coordinator (Z1C), send
netmail to:
Don Dawson 1:141/730
by 23:59 PST, Sunday, 1/31/93. See POLICY4 for the duties and
responsibilities of ZC.
Discussion will take place in the Z1_ELECTION echo.
Regional Coordinators will submit a ballot for each region. If
you have a point of view of any candidate, please send netmail
to your RC.
Netmail received from candidates will be posted in Z1_ELECTION.
The list of candidates will appear in FidoNews.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
by Rick Moen, Phido Phool (1:125/27)
The Phool File II
_That_ time has come around again. Hide the silverware. . . .
That's right, FidoNews's court jester is back in town.
I see Tom persists in his sinister habit of writing editorials, thus
trampling on the natural right of establishment figures to go
uncriticised. The nerve of this guy! At least it's gratifying to
see that defenders of the status quo have nonetheless recovered
enough, from this affront to their very souls, to write more
articles. I was worried, there.
FidoNews 10-03 Page 12 18 Jan 1993
We've had more impassioned pleas for enfranchisement of point-system
operators and BBS callers (including one from a writer possibly too
embarrassed to include his name) in FidoNet elections. Why stop at
such half measures, though? If 93% of the people on BBSs aren't
sysops, then it's equally true that 93% of those _affected_ by BBSs
aren't callers OR sysops. How, then, can we justify denying the
vote to BBS users' families and friends?
Surely, when Mom sees young Mordred staying up till 3AM each night
engaging in echomail combat, this gives her a personal stake in
FidoNet Policy. And what about Mordred's history teacher, Mr.
Snitters, who has to endure the young punk telling him that the
Magna Carta was ratified through a region-wide referendum? How can
we possibly shut these interested parties out of network decisions?
It Just Isn't Fair!
More people (for example, Steve Mulligan) are telling us that "Rich
Wood would be a great Z1C". On closer examination, it seems the
evidence adduced for this assertion is that _others_ have also said
it. Remember Graham Greene's spoof spy-story, "The Man Who Was
Thursday"? A suspects B of being a spy, because of B's suspicious
deeds in relation to C. C has similar doubts about D, and so on,
until we reach G, . . . who is busy keeping a wary eye on A.
So, here we have people alleging in Snooze that "R.W.w.b.a g.Z1C",
pointing at _one another's_ opinions as evidence -- possibly the
first truly self-booting process.
The other leading reason cited why "R.W.w.b.a g.Z1C" is that the
writer is Mad As Heck And Isn't Going to Take It Any More. Gosh,
he's just finally read Policy4 and desperately needs to let us all
know the depth of emotion thus triggered. This _also_ leads
inescapably to the "R.W...." conclusion. Quod Erat Demonstrandum.
No one else could possibly do!
(This working-out in public shouldn't surprise me, though: Jay
Stidolph says "we're like the world's biggest dysfunctional family."
I should have known: FidoNet is a "personal growth experience".
The Eighties never truly died, alas: We neglected to put a stake
through their heart.)
Steve closes by telling us that the "Z1C election sucks CA-CA!"
Steve, we here in CA are quite particular on the matter of being
sucked. . . and someone living in ON should be more careful about
the glass dwelling he casts acronymic stones from. ;->
Mike Mast tells us that "all sysops joining FidoNet must agree with
Policy4". Funny, I don't recall any loyalty oath, myself, and
Phoolishly assumed Policy was just a statement of how things would
work, short of amendments or replacements. If we are required to
_agree_ with it, what are all the "referenda" sections for?
Conceptual art, I assume?
FidoNews 10-03 Page 13 18 Jan 1993
Mike goes on to make some boringly responsible and mature appeals to
fair play, courtesy, and constructive behaviour. Hmmph! No material
there. You're no fun, Mike!
Glen Johnson goes out of his way to thank Shawn Quinn for the favour
of verbally abusing him. I'd be glad to help make Glen's day, too --
except that I'm a sadist, so I'm going to be nice to him. ;->
Gotta go. I'm putting the final touches on my new twelve-step
organisation: Adult Children of Normal Parents.
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The HYDRA Bidirectional File Transfer Protocol Released 11 Jan 1993
Designed by Arjen G. Lentz and Joaquim H. Homrighausen
HydraCom by Arjen G. Lentz (LENTZ SOFTWARE-DEVELPMENT)
- Bidirectional file transfer protocol with chat facility
- Full specifications (+ state tables!) and sources freely available
- BBS and terminal program authors: integrate Hydra in your application!
- Can be implemented by FidoNet Mailers for YooHoo and EMSI sessions
- HydraCom can be called from almost any BBS and terminal software
- Cost? Saying thanks is allowed!
HYDRA001.* ( 50k) HYDRA protocol specs, rev 001 (01 Dec 1992)
HCOM_100.* (109k) HydraCom 1.00 MS-DOS EXE, setup util, docs
HSRC_100.* ( 83k) HydraCom 1.00 C sources, docs
HYDRAKIT.* (240k) The above three archives together
The wildcard extension can be LZH, ZIP, ARJ, etc. Systems may provide
differently compressed files, depending on their platform and public.
Magic request 'HYDRA' will get you all three archives or HYDRAKIT.*
A copy has been sent directly to the FTSC and some others.
Unfortunately, we can't afford sending it to every mailer developer
and author BBS or terminal software....
All files have already been widely distributed across the world in
cyberspace, so it is not unlikely that you will be able to get them
from somewhere near you. In any case the files may be requested from
the authors' own systems, listed below.
An echomail conference HYDRADEV has been set up to talk about the
protocol itself and to help people implementing Hydra into their
software, but of course also for users of the HydraCom driver.
Ask your local *EC to get your net linked in!
Arjen Lentz Joaquim Homrighausen
LENTZ SOFTWARE-DEVELOPMENT 389, route d'Arlon
Langegracht 7B L-8011 Strassen
3811 BT Amersfoort Luxembourg
The Netherlands
FidoNet 2:283/512, AINEX-BBS +31-33-633916 FidoNet 2:270/17
FidoNews 10-03 Page 14 18 Jan 1993
[email protected] [email protected]
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LionNet
by
Glenda Beaty
Due to the large size of FidoNet these days it has become next to
immpossible to obtain address's for new Nets. This being the case, I
have taken it upon myself to start using the Zone 200 for the LionNet.
I am writing this article to go out in FidoNew to try and find out by
the only means left to me if there is anyone else using that Zone
address. I do not wish to step on someone else's toes, but at this
point I am left with no other choice. If at the end of two weeks I
have not recieve any mail to the effect that you are using this Zone
address it shall become LionNet forevermore. LionNet is devoted to
the adults who use their computer's as a source of relaxation.. There
are a lot of people in this country who just sign on to have fun.
Many people just like to role play and live in small areas where this
is not possible. This Net will give them a place to do it, in a safe
and fun manner. We will be carrying several on-line RPG games,
wargames (both board type and RPG). The only limitation we will put
on the RPG section is the limit of one's imagination. This Net is
not just a Net for RPGer's. We also welcome people who just want to
talk to other people about whatever. If you are having a bad day..
check out the HUMOR echo and laugh a little.. Are you having problems
with your relationships? Check out the ADVICE or the SEX echo where
advice is always freely given. There will also be echo's for those
who are looking for a little something to add to their relationship's
such as the MEETING PLACE which is designed for people who are looking
to find another person\couple to spice life up with. LionNet is an
adult Net. We are not looking to pick up bbs's that are not
responsible about who reads what, but if you have a system where
adults have a private area I am sure that this could only add to their
enjoyment. We will also welcome the use of "handles" as a regular
part of the echos. The people at LionNet feel that some people
posting in certain places would not like their real names to be know.
To pick up LionNet contact the following person:
Glenda Beaty
Fido Address 1:3600/12
LionNet Address 200:1/0
The above address is subject to change, but will be used until future
notice is recieve that it is already be used.
FidoNews 10-03 Page 15 18 Jan 1993
The Lionness..........
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FidoNews 10-03 Page 16 18 Jan 1993
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FIDONEWS INFORMATION
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------- FIDONEWS MASTHEAD AND CONTACT INFORMATION ----------------
Editors: Tom Jennings, Tim Pozar
Editors Emeritii: Thom Henderson, Dale Lovell, Vince Perriello
IMPORTANT NOTE: The FidoNet address of the FidoNews BBS has been
changed!!! Please make a note of this.
"FidoNews" BBS
FidoNet 1:1/23 <---- NEW ADDRESS!!!!
Internet
[email protected]
BBS +1-415-863-2739, 300/1200/2400/16800/V.32bis/Zyxel
(Postal Service mailing address) (have extreme patience)
FidoNews
c/o World Power Systems <---- don't forget this
Box 77731
San Francisco
CA 94107 USA
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 1992 Tom Jennings. All rights reserved. Duplication and/or
distribution permitted for noncommercial purposes only. For use in
other circumstances, please contact the original authors, or FidoNews
(we're easy).
OBTAINING COPIES: The-most-recent-issue-ONLY of FidoNews in electronic
form may be obtained from the FidoNews BBS via manual download or
Wazoo FileRequest, or from various sites in the FidoNet and Internet.
PRINTED COPIES may be obtained from Fido Software for $10.00US each
PostPaid First Class within North America, or $13.00US elsewhere,
mailed Air Mail. (US funds drawn upon a US bank only.)
BACK ISSUES: Available from FidoNet nodes 1:102/138, 1:216/21,
1:125/1212, 1:107/519.1 (and probably others), via filerequest or
download (consult a recent nodelist for phone numbers).
A very nice index to the Tables of Contents to all FidoNews volumes
can be filerequested from 1:396/1 or 1:216/21. The name(s) to request
are FNEWSxTC.ZIP, where 'x' is the volume number; 1=1984, 2=1985...
through 8=1991.
FidoNews 10-03 Page 17 18 Jan 1993
INTERNET USERS: FidoNews is available via FTP from ftp.ieee.org, in
directory ~ftp/pub/fidonet/fidonews. If you have questions regarding
FidoNet, please direct them to
[email protected], not the
FidoNews BBS. (Be kind and patient; David Deitch is generously
volunteering to handle FidoNet/Internet questions.)
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 BBS, or Wazoo filerequestable
from 1:1/23 as file "ARTSPEC.DOC". Please read it.
"Fido", "FidoNet" and the dog-with-diskette are U.S. registered
trademarks of Tom Jennings, Box 77731, San Francisco CA 94107, USA and
are used with permission.
Asked what he thought of Western civilization,
M.K. Gandhi said, "I think it would be an excellent idea".
-- END
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