F I D O  N E W S --                   Vol.10  No.17    (26-Apr-1993)
+----------------------------+-----------------------------------------+
|  A newsletter of the       |                                         |
|  FidoNet BBS community     |         Published by:                   |
|          _                 |                                         |
|         /  \               |      "FidoNews" BBS                     |
|        /|oo \              |       +1-519-570-4176     1:1/23        |
|       (_|  /_)             |                                         |
|        _`@/_ \    _        |       Editors:                          |
|       |     | \   \\       |         Sylvia Maxwell    1:221/194     |
|       | (*) |  \   ))      |         Donald Tees       1:221/192     |
|       |__U__| /  \//       |         Tim Pozar         1:125/555     |
|        _//|| _\   /        |                                         |
|       (_/(_|(____/         |                                         |
|             (jm)           |      Newspapers should have no friends. |
|                            |                     -- JOSEPH PULITZER  |
+----------------------------+-----------------------------------------+
|               Submission address: editors 1:1/23                     |
+----------------------------------------------------------------------+
|  Internet addresses:                                                 |
|                                                                      |
|    Sylvia -- [email protected]                       |
|    Donald -- [email protected]                    |
|    Tim    -- [email protected]                                      |
|    Both Don & Sylvia    (submission address)                         |
|              [email protected]                    |
+----------------------------------------------------------------------+
|       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.....................................................  2
2.  Articles......................................................  3
     The Cynic's Sandbox, v2.3- [Unregistered.]..................  3
     Response to LuxCon '93 Article in FNEWSA15..................  4
     Tabulation of FidoNet Nodes by Country......................  7
     SPEED READ v1.30 RELEASED *.................................  8
     Re: policy (as always)...................................... 10
     New Echo: MINI-PAINT........................................ 11
     Fido to internet............................................ 11
     NET 106 COMPASSION SHINES................................... 13
3.  Fidonews Information.......................................... 14
FidoNews 10-17                 Page:  2                    26 Apr 1993


========================================================================
                             Editorial
========================================================================
  There are lots of odds and ends for this editorial.

  First of all, we want to mention the Cynic's Sandbox, now in
it's fourth week.  I have always felt that a humour column would
be nice to have in the snooze, and it was great to get a
volunteer.  Anybody wanting to correspond to the Cynic can
address mail here (1:1/23), and we will forward it.  I am sure
that suggestions for articles would be more than welcome.

  Speaking of forwarding mail, there is a "name withheld by
request" article in this issue.  Anybody wanting to get through
to the author can use this address as a mail drop.  We will
forward it.

  We got routed netmail claiming to have a file attached on
Monday.  The file (FNEWS.SUB) never arrived.  The address that
was used was not in the nodelist, so we could not respond.  I am
presuming that the article was not delivered for the same reason.
If the author would like it printed, please send it again,
preferably from a listed node.  Otherwise crash it.

  We are both finding it interesting how mail comes in through
the door.  The "fringe" people tend to address it to Sylvia.
The "political" types tend to address it to Donald.  We have
deliberately never let it be known just who writes these
editorials (and have received letters demanding that we do,
addressed to Donald, but never to Sylvia).  It can remain one of
life's little mysteries.

  We have started to work on a specification for newsletters.
It would replace not only ARTSPEC.DOC, but also provide a
framework for distributing a newsletter so that it could easily
be imported into a door, or pseudo-echo.  Anybody interested,
please drop us a line.

  Last but not least, we received a letter this week expressing
fatigue with the Gandhi quotation at the end of the snooze.  That
is a matter that I can relate to, though I also feel that it has
become traditional enough not to mess with it<S>.  Any thoughts
out there?  We have considered a tagline contest, with the
winners being used on successive weeks ... but PLEASE do not
start sending me taglines.  It is an idea, nothing more.  And
maybe it should be left alone.  We await replies with great
anticipation.
FidoNews 10-17                 Page:  3                    26 Apr 1993


========================================================================
                              Articles
========================================================================
The Cynic's Sandbox, v2.3- [Unregistered.]
R. Cynic

Fight-O-Net LIVES on Echos, you know.  'Tweren't for them,
Fight-O-Netters might have to flame people in their home town.
That gets kinda dangerous.  It's much easier to call someone a
commie-lovin' boot-lickin' pencil-necked geek when they're a
good thousand miles away.  I ain't complaining - I'm
encouraging it!  In the spirit of finding new places to say
things you just wouldn't say in public, here's a couple new
echos in the "SIP" Survival-in-progress tradition.

New Echo announcement!

SIP_REDNECK

Are you a god-fearin' real American whose basic rights to get
plastered, marry your sister, and shoot things have been
infringed upon?  Are you tired of "modern women" and them
commie pinkos who wanna let ho-mo-sex-uALs into our great army?
Do them danged "environmentalists" just make you ragin' mad?

SIP_REDNECK is for you.  We're here to let you know that it's
OK to be yourself.  Not with any sissy encounter groups, mind
you.  Our program is a man's 12-step program, you bet.  Heck,
we like to call it a 12-gauge program on account of you get to
shoot things with one.

Aliases are encouraged, just so long as they sound MANLY.  No
sissy names here.  'Fact, if you ain't named Joe Bob, Bubba, or
Junior, there ain't much room for ya.

For a feed (And it's GOOD eatin'), drop us a line.  Hear?

Joe Bob Bubba Junior

SIP_SYSOP

Two hours ago, you decided to fix this last little problem with
1200 baud connects.  Now, you're a raving lunatic who's just
bitten through his modem cord and is eyeing your dog with
thoughts of revenge on SOMETHING named Fight-O.  You need help.
People you can talk to.  People who UNDERSTAND what it feels
like at 3 in the morning when national mail hour has come and
gone and you're struggling with your unregistered copy of
Frontdoor in a vain attempt to make the thing dial your hub.
You need someone to yell at because Caller*ID is so much less
then you'd thought.  Because your mom is going to take your
phone line away.  Because the feds might know about your
"elite" section and your 3rd grade teacher has just logged on
and asked for access to the adult area you've stocked with the
FidoNews 10-17                 Page:  4                    26 Apr 1993

rauchiest GIFs you could find.
You need the kind of well-intentioned psycho-babble that
Fight-O-Net is so happy to provide.

You need SIP_SYSOP.  Pick it up now.

SIP_LEECH

It's tough being a leech.  After a while, even your gigantic
hard drive gets filled up with programs you've never registered
or even decompressed.  The whine of a high speed connect doesn't
seem to excite as much as it used to.  You need the support of
others.  Others that can understand why you simply must have
everything.

SIP_LEECHers support eachother.  Someday, we hope to force all
sysops to provide one command that transfers every file on
their drives to yours.  Imagine the savings in typing alone!

SIP_LEECH.  Backbone status invertebrate.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Response to LuxCon '93 Article in FNEWSA15
Name withheld by request
"NON-Con"

My first thought at seeing the news of a Fido convention in Luxemburg
was that Joaquim Homrighausen was definitely going to be there.  Sure
enough, there's his name on the list of convention organizers.

Next up we have the date of the convention.  July 4th Weekend.  Good
time for conventions, since almost everyone has vacation at that time.
Everyone in America, that is.  But it's less than three months away.
Isn't that awfully short notice for a convention like this?

Then we have the location.  The HOTEL SAINT NICHOLAS, a "four star
hotel".  The description: "SAINT NICOLAS is a Best Western Hotel with
everything that is to be expected of a four-star Hotel".  Ahem.  Best
Western is the equivalent of a Holiday Inn with delusions of Grandeur.  A
cut above the normal motor lodge, but certainly NOT a four-star hotel.

Next on the agenda is, er, the AGENDA.  :-)   On Friday, we have three
hours of checking in, and two hours of dinner.  Boy, Friday went by
fast.  Then on Saturday, we have two hours of breakfast, two and a
half hours of "product presentations and other sessions" (see below),
an hour and a half for lunch (hey, what if it normally takes me two
hours to eat?), another four hours of political and technical
discussions, and then two hours for dinner and a raffle (oh boy!).  On
Sunday, we have a two hour breakfast, followed by two hours of kicking
everyone out on the street so they don't get to have lunch, wrapped up
by the annual hard disk throwing contest.  Boy, what a busy weekend.

Let's look at this - 9.5 hours of eating, and 8.5 hours of events -
two of which are spent throwing around computer equipment, excluding
FidoNews 10-17                 Page:  5                    26 Apr 1993

whatever gets thrown around during the "political" discussions.

Now we get to the good stuff.  From the article:

> We are currently looking for speakers (political and technical)
> for the sessions and companies to sponsor the prices given away
> during the Saturday evening raffle ("lottery") and the harddisk
> throwing contest.

Let me get this straight.  The convention is less than three months
away as I write this, and there aren't even any speakers or sponsors
yet.  As for the "prices" being given away, how costly are they?

> Several activities are available to those who do not wish to take
> part in the sessions.

At least there are alternatives for people who travel to Luxemburg and
find they are not interested in the convention (although why I'd
travel halfway around the world to stay at a motor lodge when there's
one half a mile from my house completely escapes me...)

>TRAVEL DIRECTIONS

> To be announced as we go along.. watch this space.

> Plane
> Train
> Car

You know, I saw that movie starring Steve Martin and John Candy, and
frankly, I don't relish the idea at all.  And NO, those aren't
pillows.  Less than three months to go, and not even the people
running it know how to get there.

> PARTICIPATION FEE

> The participation fee is LUF 5500.-, wich covers the sessions,
> conference literature, all meals from Friday evening to Sunday
> morning (inclusive), an official LuxCon/EuroCon '93 t-shirt,
> two nights in a double room (double occupancy) at the Hotel.

Nowhere in the article are rates of conversion mentioned - such as to
US dollars.  I called up my bank, and asked them about foreign
currency exchange rates.  They directed me to a currency exchange
brokerage firm.  The lady I spoke to was very helpful, and told me
that the current rate of exchange on Luxemburg Francs to US Dollars is
30 to the Dollar.  That's 3 1/3 cents.

Which means the cost of this little shindig is about $150.00 US.

Only 150 dollars for a trade convention?  Exsqueeze me?  Baking powder?
Most of the Fido cons usually run into the multiple hundreds.  Then again,
they're usually here in the US at more expensive hotels, and they already
have a complete schedule, sponsors, and events that span all three days of
the convention.  You get to spend a lot more time actually doing something
FidoNews 10-17                 Page:  6                    26 Apr 1993

other than eating.

Let's break this down.

The average cost for a Holiday Inn in a major US city, is around
80-100 dollars per night for a double occupancy.  According to the
convention rates, single occupancy for two nights' stay is 1000 LUF, or
$33.33.  That's very inexpensive for a "four-star" hotel.  Here in the US,
those rates can only be seen in flop-houses or motels that charge by the
hour (clean sheets are extra).  If three people share the room, it's only
$16.67 each.  For the conference itself, without the hotel, it's $116.67.
That would seem fair, except for the fact that there are currently no
sponsors, no real events, and only 8.5 hours of it.  Well, it does include
the Saturday lunch, but considering the low hotel rates, I doubt that would
be more than 10 bucks.  Late registration is 25 bucks.  That seems about
right.

With that kind of money, however, finding speakers to attend is going to be
difficult.  For one thing, the convention is only a few months away, and
for another, there's not enough money to pay for bringing them to the
convention and paying for their airfare, hotel and meals.  Any speaker who
goes to this convention will be paying most of his expenses out of pocket,
and overseas airfare to Europe is very expensive.  Most convention guests
and speakers turn down such conventions if they find out that they have to
pay for everything themselves.

And how do we pay for this convention, I hear you ask.  Simple.  Go to
your bank, and have the funds transferred to Joaquim Homrighausen's
private bank account.  Every convention I've ever seen, including the
little rinky-dink cons run by college kids and held in a student union
building have a business account that accepts credit cards, money orders,
and checks.  Sorry folks, but I wouldn't trust any convention that wants me
to pay for it by making a direct deposit into someone's personal bank
account.  Because if something goes wrong with the con and you can't make
it, you can't stop payment on a check or a credit card charge.  The moment
you make the transaction at the bank, your money is spent.  It's up to you,
of course.  With the tenuous existence of the convention as it currently
stands with no real scheduled speakers, sponsors, or financial backing,
it's akin to putting your life savings on "Glue Factory" to win in the
third race.

What really sticks in my craw is the fact that it's Joaquim Homrighausen's
personal bank account.  Over the past year I've heard too many rumors about
bad financial dealings with Joho.  I don't know if any of them are true.  I
personally don't care.  But when there are so many people up in arms about
it (those of you who have participated in the FDECHO conference for over a
year know what I'm talking about), I really have to give a good hard think
about putting my money into his personal bank account.

Caveat Emptor: "Let the buyer beware".  What's the Latin phrase for "Let
the buyer run screaming for his life"?
FidoNews 10-17                 Page:  7                    26 Apr 1993


Tabulation of FidoNet Nodes by Country
Don Daniels
1:107/210

I happened to have these numbers and thought that some of you
might also find them to be of interest.

The following list totals, by country or territory, the
number of nodes in the April 16, 1993 Nodelist.  Duplicate
phone number entries have been removed.  For comparison's
sake, the totals are also provided from the nodelist of
January 22, 1989.

    TABULATION OF FIDONET NODES BY COUNTRY

  93/04/16                            89/01/22
   NO. OF     COUNTRY OR               NO. OF
    NODES     TERRITORY                 NODES

    10335  -  United States              3003
     1884  -  Germany                      88
     1878  -  Canada                      423
      768  -  Australia                   178
      725  -  Netherlands                 201
      582  -  United Kingdom              147
      550  -  Sweden                      109
      440  -  Russia *
      433  -  Hong Kong                    45
      328  -  Italy                        79
      303  -  Denmark                      51
      241  -  Taiwan                       42
      205  -  Belgium                      28
      174  -  Finland                      96
      165  -  Ukraine
      140  -  Spain                        15
      139  -  Brazil
      136  -  New Zealand                   6
      123  -  Switzerland                  28
      119  -  Singapore                    23
      116  -  Austria                      14
      100  -  Argentina                    27
       86  -  Czech Republic *
       82  -  South Africa                 19
       64  -  France                        6
       63  -  Israel                       17
       49  -  Portugal                      1
       44  -  Greece
       41  -  Bulgaria
       37  -  Yugoslavia *
       36  -  Poland
       36  -  Philippines
       33  -  Slovakia
       29  -  Hungary
       26  -  Japan
FidoNews 10-17                 Page:  8                    26 Apr 1993

       25  -  Luxembourg
       24  -  Estonia
       22  -  Puerto Rico                   8
       19  -  Belorussia
       17  -  Latvia
       16  -  Norway                       13
       16  -  Thailand                      3
       15  -  Moldavia
       13  -  Malaysia                     12
       13  -  Mexico                        1
       12  -  Chile
       12  -  Guam
       12  -  Panama
       11  -  Korea
       11  -  Macau                         1
       10  -  Turkey
        9  -  Ireland                       1
        8  -  Georgia
        8  -  Uruguay
        8  -  Uzbekistan
        4  -  Iceland
        4  -  Okinawa
        3  -  Kenya
        2  -  Crimea
        2  -  Greenland
        2  -  Tadgikistan
        2  -  Virgin Islands
        1  -  Aruba
        1  -  Bermuda
        1  -  Botswana                      1
        1  -  Dominican Republic
        1  -  Ethiopia
        1  -  India
        1  -  Mauritius
        1  -  Peru
        1  -  Romania
        1  -  Senegal
        1  -  Tunisia
        1  -  Uganda
        1  -  Zambia
        1  -  Zimbabwe
        0  -  Indonesia                    14
        0  -  Venezuela                     3
        0  -  Suriname                      1
  ========                             =======
   20,708                               4,704

* Marked names may include multiple countries


----------------------------------------------------------------------

SPEED READ v1.30 RELEASED *
                                    Contact: Jim Smith
                                   Internet: [email protected]
FidoNews 10-17                 Page:  9                    26 Apr 1993


April 22, 1993:  Jim Smith, author of SPEED READ and SEdit, announced
the release of SPEED READ version 1.30 today.  SPEED is a QWK compatible
offline message base manager.  SPEED treats offline reading much like a
BBS.  It allows the user to specify a number of old messages to keep in
each conference and each new packet updates the message base.  This
gives the user seamless access to old messages while reading new ones.
Speed v1.0 was released in November of 1991.  Since then, Jim Smith has
become well known for his dedicated user support and consistent update
work.

This release follows closely Jim's March 1993 releas of v1.0 of a text
editor called SEdit, designed for small tasks like message writing.
Like SEdit, Speed is a shareware product, and the registration cost is
$25. Registered users of SEdit and those who register both products at
the same time receive a 20% discount.

New features in v1.30 include:

- Wide/long message support and the ability to handle long/wide replies!
 Messages/replies can be:
   * Up to 32,000 bytes.
   * Up to 1,000 lines.
   * Up to 32,000 columns.
- User-defined keyboard macros, with descriptions.
- Ability to attach files to messages when using doors that support this
 feature, and the ability to request files attached to a message.
- Carbon Copies.
- Ability to forward a message.
- Symbolic Language Toggle to help filter high-bit ASCII characters from
 the read message screen.
- Totally rewritten sorting routines.  They are *MUCH* faster.
- Configurable default sort option.
- Support for PostLink networking software.
- Stripping of "RE:" and "(R)" prefixes from subject lines.
- Ability to search for multiple strings.
- Word wrap toggle key to wrap long lines while reading messages.
- New status bar displays row/col information, number of lines in the
 message and the number of unread messages in the active conference.
- Option to choose between new SPAWNO code and old SWAP code when
 swapping SPEED out to run an external application.
- The BBS window displays the number of unread personal messages for
 each BBS.
- Automatic copying of SESSION.TXT to the message base directory during
 an import; it can be viewed from the conference window.
- User-defined page breaks and reply message lenths.
- Toggle to display "[SPEED]" when shelled to DOS.
- Header information is no longer included when editing a reply for
 compatability with Tag Line eXpress.
- Toggle to filter lines beginning with CTRL-A '
FidoNews 10-17                 Page: 10                    26 Apr 1993


Re: policy (as always)
scot art 3:712/634

RATIFIED by a Quorum of the Politburo, Fidonet General Congress
of the Supreme Soviet, Democratic Central Planning Committee and
Forced Collectivisation Bureau, with the permission of joint
DoD/CIA Latin American Foreign Policy Unit, in secret session as
directed by Col O.North on this day, April 1st 1993.

PROCLAIMED BY  His  Excellency  El  Presidente  R.Murdoch,
Self-Appointed Guardian of Democracy, Moral Virtue, and Media
Relations on this day and by His Offical Seal, 5 pm 1st April
1993.

Now for something completely serious - my proposal for a 5 point
simplified english and generally enlightening fidonet policy:

1: Fidonet is a not-for-profit community of people interested in
open, widely available, and non-discriminatory communication for
the minimum cost possible.

2: The cardinal sins are to be excessively annoying, and to be
excessively annoyed. Preventing item (1) from occurring is
regarded as overly excessively annoying. Breaches of the other
items in this policy are regarded as normally excessively
annoying.

3: Communications originating in fidonet must be in compliance
with the spirit and letter of this policy, and non-commercial in
nature. Communications should also be in accordance with the
various laws of at least the nation of origination. Please note
this is not a endorsement on the part of Fidonet of any
particular nation or set of national laws, but a reflection on
the reality of getting busted by the cops and the fact that most
laws fulfil at least =some= useful social function.

4: Membership of fidonet is open to any person who operates a
telecommunications system which is available for inbound fidonet
communications during their designated geographical mail hour.
Members must also fulfil the minimum requirement of being able
to communicate with other fidonet members in a rational manner
in accordance with this policy.

5: Operators of fidonet systems open to the public's use have
both the right and responsibility of supplying and regulating
access to fidonet communication. Fidonet members are personally
responsible for all communications entering fidonet from their
system, particularly their compliance or not with this policy.

thanks,
[email protected]
scot art 3:712/634

PS to all those who want a complex electoral system for choosing
FidoNews 10-17                 Page: 11                    26 Apr 1993

our mail handlers and dispute settlers embedded into policy,
please define exactly what you mean by "democracy", how voting
achieves it, and how this so-called "democracy" fixes our
problems.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

New Echo: MINI-PAINT
Steve Lamb, 1:203/1369.0

    I'm starting a new echo dedicated to the discussion of "lead"
miniatures common to today's RPGs.  However, they need not be from
and RPG or made of lead.  We'll talk about the miniatures themselves,
what paints to use to paint them, what to use to paint them, and other
such oddities.  In the future, if there is interest, other resin and
vinyl models may be included.

    If you are interested in participating in this echo feel free to
send netmail to me, Steve Lamb, at 1:203/1369.  The tag is MINI-PAINT
and I'll add you on as soon as I read the message.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

From: Benjy Arnold                         (2:254/1.3)
Fido to internet

Hi there!

This is a file which I reply with whenever anyone asks for information
concerning fidonet to internet... how about it for FidoNews?

Benjy

[ - - - - - - - -  T e a r   H e r e  - - - - - - - - ]

                    FidoNet to InterNet - The Answers

This is a very asked  question  within  the  realms  of  Communications
echoes  within  FidoNet, and so this is an explantion of the method for
transfer of messages from one system to the other.

The system which is used is called UUCP (UNIX to UNIX  Copy  Program  I
think).

               Sending a message from FidoNet to InterNet

The  first  stage  is  locating a gateway system which can transfer (or
gate) the messages from one system to  the  other.  These  are  systems
which have the string "GUUCP" within their nodelist entry.

The  primary  gateway  system within the world is located on Bink of an
Aye BBS in the USA - address 1:105/42. To send the message, simply send
a  netmail  message  addressed  to  user "UUCP" at this address, with a
normal subject line. Then, type on the first line of the message

FidoNews 10-17                 Page: 12                    26 Apr 1993

To: [email protected]

Where the [email protected] is the InterNet address to which  you
are  sending  the message. This should be followed by a blank line, and
then the text of the message.

It is important to note that the addresses must be organised with small
end  first.  This  means  that in the UK, for example, the ".UK" is the
last part of the address, instead of placing "UK." as the  first  parts
after the "@" character.

               Sending a message from InterNet to FidoNet

This  process  is  even  easier.  The  first  stage  is  to  create  an
InterNet-type address out of your FidoNet reference.  The basic  method
is to make the address like this (non case-sensitive).

[email protected]

To explain this better, I'll go through the splitting up of my reference.

First Name     Benjy
Second Name    Arnold
Zone           2
Network        254
Node           1
Point          3

This then becomes [email protected]

(The "P3." part is only needed if you are on a point system.)

Then,  simply  post a message on InterNet addressed to this address. It
will be picked up at FidoNet address 1:105/42, and then sent by  routed
netmail to you on FidoNet.

                                 FidoUK

There  is  a  gateway  system in the UK located on Barney's Rubble BBS,
address 2:253/153. The correct  alias,  for  UUCP  access  however,  is
2:25/25. To go from FidoNet to InterNet, the message is sent in exactly
the same way, except to "UUCP" at 2:25/25 instead of 1:105/42. To route
messages  from  InterNet to FidoNet via this gateway, however, you must
place "fidouk.fidonet.org" on the end of the InterNet address,  instead
of just "fidonet.org".

NB:  At the time of writing, 16 April 1993, this gateway system is down
due to (I think) the Sysop moving house.

                            Other Information

I have a large amount of other information - such as book titles etc  -
concerning this inter-domain gating.

Please netmail me if necessary.
FidoNews 10-17                 Page: 13                    26 Apr 1993


FidoNet   :    Benjy Arnold at 2:254/1.3
InterNet  :    [email protected]

----------------------------------------------------------------------

NET 106 COMPASSION SHINES

By Mike Griffin
NET 106 Helps Fellow SysOps

As I thought about the disaster that happened to a couple who ran a
popular BBS in the NET 106 area, I had to look at my family, my
surroundings, my life and my kingdom and imagine what it would be
like to loose everything I had with the exception of my family. It is
a scary thought when you think about a raging fire that could, in an
instant, destroy everything you worked so had for.

Lisa and Gary Jackson were totally wiped out when a fire destroyed
their Conroe Texas home. As the fire department arrived, the fire had
taken it's toll on their 3 bedroom mobile home and totally burned it
to the frame. Nothing survived the fire except Lisa, Gary and their
two twin sons. The only personal items they had were the clothes on
their backs. I still get chills when I think about that happening to
me.

Lisa and Gary were members of FIDO and ran a very popular BBS called
CSI Online in the Conroe/Houston area. They were very active in
several local echos and even hubbed a few locals that were really
popular. Their BBS was one of the best in Conroe and also allowed
users who were long distance to Houston the opportunity to converse
with Houston users because they had a Houston line installed. They
were a distributor for NET 106 to Conroe BBS's that were long
distance to the NET 106 Hub.

We were shocked to hear the news of such a tragedy within the net and
a few of us came up with some ideas. There were several FIDO members
who instantly made contributions of clothing, food and money to help
them get their feet back on the ground. I was amazed at the response
by FIDO net members in the 106 area who were giving time, money and
other things at such a fast rate. It wasn't no time at all and they
were starting to get things back in order. We still needed to give
them a boost. Something that would give them a boost mentally as
well as financially. Thus the CSI BBQ Benefit was born. Several of us
within NET 106 decided to get together and hold a BBQ Benefit for the
Jacksons. Several weeks of planning produced one of the best NET get
togethers of all time. We had the BBQ catered by a friend and charged
10.00 a plate for adults and 5.00 a plate for children. We had live
music provided by Angie Beck and Tejas, in which Gary plays lead
guitar for Tejas. There were pinatas for the kiddies and lots of good
time and cheer to be passed around. Several NET 106 sysops donated
spare computer parts and some of the user community donated other
items and we had an auction. The purpose was met as we did raise
money for the Jacksons and a couple of NET 106 sysops even wanted to
lend out hardware to get them back online again. We had a local radio
FidoNews 10-17                 Page: 14                    26 Apr 1993

celebrity from KLDE show up. (CSI started a local echo for open
discussion with the KLDE DJ.)

The afternoon was a great opportunity for all of us to show that we
do care and are willing to help each other out when we are in need.
I am truly proud to be a part of NET 106. The compassion within this
net goes above and beyond any that I have ever seen in any other
organization. Sysops are real people and I think NET 106 has the best!

----------------------------------------------------------------------

========================================================================
                         Fidonews Information
========================================================================

------- FIDONEWS MASTHEAD AND CONTACT INFORMATION ----------------

Editors: Sylvia Maxwell, Donald Tees, Tim Pozar
Editors Emeritii: Thom Henderson, Dale Lovell, Vince Perriello,
                            Tom Jennings

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!!!!
   BBS  +1-519-570-4176,  300/1200/2400/14200/V.32bis/HST(DS)
Internet addresses:
   Don & Sylvia    (submission address)
             [email protected]

   Sylvia -- [email protected]
   Donald -- [email protected]
   Tim    -- [email protected]

(Postal Service mailing address) (have extreme patience)
   FidoNews
   172 Duke St. E.
   Kitchener, Ontario
   Canada
   N2H 1A7

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 1993 Sylvia Maxwell. 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).

FidoNews 10-17                 Page: 15                    26 Apr 1993


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, (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.

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
----------------------------------------------------------------------