F I D O N E W S -- Vol.11 No.45 (07-Nov-1994)
+----------------------------+-----------------------------------------+
| A newsletter of the | ISSN 1198-4589 Published by: |
| FidoNet BBS community | "FidoNews" BBS |
| _ | +1-519-570-4176 |
| / \ | |
| /|oo \ | Small animal psychology and |
| (_| /_) | Spiritual guidance Department: |
| _`@/_ \ _ | Rev. Richard Visage 1:163/409 |
| | | \ \\ | |
| | (*) | \ )) | Editors: |
| |__U__| / \// | Donald Tees 1:221/192 |
| _//|| _\ / | |
| (_/(_|(____/ | Tim |
| (jm) | Newspapers should have no friends. |
| | -- JOSEPH PULITZER |
+----------------------------+-----------------------------------------+
| Submission address: editors 1:1/23 |
+----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| MORE addresses: |
| |
| Don --
[email protected] |
| Tim Pozar --
[email protected] |
| David Deitch -- 1:133/411.411,
[email protected] |
| submissions=>
[email protected] |
+----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| For information, copyrights, article submissions, |
| obtaining copies of fidonews or the internet gateway faq |
| please refer to the end of this file. |
+----------------------------------------------------------------------+
========================================================================
Table of Contents
========================================================================
1. Editorial..................................................... 2
2. Articles...................................................... 3
Consultants and Consulting Organizations Directory.......... 3
An answer to the "FrontDoor Question"....................... 3
FrontDoor Net Coordinator Offer............................. 4
FILTERED MESSAGE IDENTIFICATION FOR FIDONET................. 6
Response to the letter of James Smith in FIDONEWS44:........ 9
The History of Fidonet: A progress report................... 11
FIDONET YESTERDAY, TODAY, AND TOMORROW...................... 12
New Firearms Related Echomail............................... 13
FIDONET YESTERDAY, TODAY, AND TOMORROW...................... 14
The Hawaii Rotary BBS System needs help..................... 15
PHONE NUMBERS in Europe..................................... 16
Backbone Echo Changes [Sep-Oct]............................. 18
3. Fidonews Information.......................................... 19
FidoNews 11-45 Page: 2 07 Nov 1994
========================================================================
Editorial
========================================================================
Swamp Swine Magazine
The First Church of Spandex Tube-Tops,
Arkansas Rafting & Loan Society,
P1S 0RF
Dear Reverend Visage,
I have been remiss in not writing earlier but I have been
unaccountably detained by customs in Samoa. It is a
testimony to the strength of Samoan ale that they formed the
mistaken impression that I was Ollie North, returning to
spread large wads of cash around for suspect purposes. I can
only hope that they elect Ollie to the Senate with all haste
and that he carpools with Teddy Kennedy at every
opportunity.
You will be relieved to note that Zone 1 has finally divined
from the entrails of roadkill, the wisdom they needed to
elect a new ZEC. No one is quite sure what a ZEC is
empowered to do but it'd be a safe bet that a new policy
initiative will be unleashed on the unsuspecting masses. The
election rhetoric was most amusing and looked remarkably
like a convention of Quotaholics. Special mention in that
regard should go to Alan Rackmill whose last apparent
original thought was waaay back in the late fifties.
I shudder to mention Region12, but events have turned even
more savage and ugly in the last couple of weeks. Our
narcoleptic RC, Rick "Smart Like Hockey Puck" Johnston, has
issued a policy complaint appeal decision. For our regular
reader who may have missed the beginning of this stirring
saga. A failed NC candidate, Matty "Pampers PosterChild
1994" Stein, was bigtime miffed that the electorate failed
to recognize his obvious charms and elected someone else.
Matty, in a petulant frenzy which would have made Roseanne
Barr blush, filed a policy complaint against one of his
tormentors. The NC250 turfed the complaint. Undaunted, Matty
appealed to our somewhat conscious RC who wrote a decision
containing some of the world's most contused and confused
logic. Alas, poor Rickster's attempts to create several
consecutive sentences must have over-taxed his system
because he fouled up the nodediff processing for yet another
week.
The matter is in the hands of god now, and we can hope
fervently that Mr. Satti (pausing to burn incense) will
suggest that Rick "Dan Quayle's Less Gifted Brother"
Johnston spend some remedial time in Moose Jaw.
FidoNews 11-45 Page: 3 07 Nov 1994
I must go Visage. Your secretary is not the least bit amused
and this has nothing at all to do with the fact that I
forgot to mention that I'd put the porpoises in the hot tub.
I suggest that we book her passage on short-haul Indiana
commuter flights as soon as possible.
Regards,
Doc Logger
Save the Whales: Harpoon a Greenpeacer,
FlinFlon, Manitoba
========================================================================
Articles
========================================================================
Consultants and Consulting Organizations Directory
by Nigel Allen (1:250/438)
Consultants and Consulting Organizations Directory
If you run a consulting business in the United States or
Canada, you may want to get it listed free of charge in the
Consultants and Consulting Organizations Directory.
To request a questionnaire for the directory, just write
to the following address:
Consultants and Consulting Organizations Directory
Editorial Code and Data, Inc.
645 Griswold Street, Suite 3480
Detroit, Michigan 48226-4015
U.S.A.
telephone (313) 961-2926
fax (313) 961-5919
Unfortunately, this only applies to consultants in the United States
and Canada. The directory does not list consultants in other countries.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
An answer to the "FrontDoor Question"
by Shawn McMahon, 1:19/34
[email protected]
Latest FrontDoor licensing questions
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
In Fidonews volume 11, issue 44, we were all treated to a lengthy
discussion of what the FrontDoor distributor would be doing to all the
naughty users who run the latest version without registering it.
(I should add, at this point, that I am a firm believer that those who
wish to be paid for their code should be paid, and that I would view
anybody who ran FrontDoor beyond it's "free" period with disdain.)
FidoNews 11-45 Page: 4 07 Nov 1994
Folks, you know you're going to get caught if you run FD too long.
They're paranoid enough to put in code so that all of us can pay long
distance charges for the priviledge of helping them track illegal usage
of their software.
Therefore, I'd like to remind everybody of the three options you have
for dealing with this eventuality.
1) Register the damn thing. It's not that expensive.
2) Use FrontDoor 2.02/NC. You never have to register, and it works
reasonably well.
3) Blow it off and use Binkleyterm. It's free, and it works just as
well. And *IT* doesn't have features crippled out of it in the
non-registered version.
(At this point, somebody connected with FD will probably claim that
there's nothing "crippled" in FD 2.02/NC. Ignore them, because there
are menu options listed in that program that say "only in commercial
version" when you attempt to select them. If that doesn't meet the
definition of "crippleware" then I've completely failed to understand
that definition in my 17 years in this business/hobby.)
If everybody will do this, we can all enjoy the priviledge of *NOT*
seeing any more lengthy articles from FrontDoor distributors.
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Comment: Privacy is a basic human right.
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----------------------------------------------------------------------
FrontDoor Net Coordinator Offer
FrontDoor Net Coordinator Offer
by James Smith
Online Communications, Inc.
Distributor of FrontDoor for the Americas
Online Communications, Inc. is pleased to acknowledge the contribution
of Network Coordinators throughout FidoNET with a special reduced
price on the multiline version of FrontDoor. Regular $149, the current
version (2.20.c/ml) is available at the reduced price of $100 plus
shipping and handling.
Plus, with the next release, you will automatically receive the software
upgrade (softcopy), keeping you current with the latest version!
FidoNews 11-45 Page: 5 07 Nov 1994
Note:
This special offering will be keyed to the net's NC node address,
enabling free transfer to next NC should local changes take affect, or
re keyed to the purchasers permanent node address should upon change in
the NC position.
To purchase, utilize the following order form. This offer is limited to
Zone 1 NC's only, and is good through November 30th. One NC offer per
Net.
If you have questions regarding the capabilities of FrontDoor for your
application or this offer, netmail us direct at 1:132/300.
James Smith
Online Communications, Inc.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Online Communications Inc. Order Form 11/01/94NC
22 State Street Voice: 207-941-1110
Bangor, Maine 04401 Fax: 207-990-2293
______________________________________________________________________
Qty Program Version Unit cost Total
______________________________________________________________________
____ FrontDoor (NC special) v2.20c.ml $100.00 $ _________
(FidoNET Net Coordinator use only)
All software comes with 30 day voice support and
unlimited netmail/bbs technical support.
Maine residents please add 6% sales tax $ _________
Shipping and handling (US only) $ _________
(Order total $ 25-$300, shipping/handling: $ 8.00
___________
Total $ _________
Payment: [] Check [] Money order [] Visa [] MasterCard
(payable to Online Communications, Inc. - US funds only)
Credit Card # _______________________________ Expiration Date ________
Signature ________________________________________________________
Name ________________________________________________________
Company ________________________________________________________
Address ________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
Phone (day) ______________________ (data) __________________________
Network address: (zone:net/node, if affiliated) _1:______/0___
______________________________________________________________________
Netmail orders accepted at 1:132/300@fidonet and 255:2001/1@fdnet.
Please allow 10 - 14 days for delivery.
All prices subject to change without notice.
______________________________________________________________________
FidoNews 11-45 Page: 6 07 Nov 1994
This is the last line of our article.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
FILTERED MESSAGE IDENTIFICATION FOR FIDONET
by John Mudge @ 1:352/111 or
[email protected]
FILTERED MESSAGE IDENTIFICATION FOR FIDONET
*DRAFT II*
FIDONET TECHNICAL COMMENT
Author : John Mudge
Fido : 1:352/111
Date : 02OCT1994
ABSTRACT:
The following document proposes a standard for filtered message
identification for Fidonet and Fidonet-based electronic mail
systems.
The proposed standard will assist in filtered-message detection.
The standard consists of mandatory provisions.
STATUS OF THIS DOCUMENT:
This FSC suggests a proposed protocol for the Fidonet(R)
community, and requests discussion and suggestions for
improvements. Distribution of this document is unlimited.
Fido and Fidonet are registered marks of Tom Jennings and Fido
Software.
BACKGROUND:
Currently, filtered messages are not uniquely identified.
No schemes are in place to determine whether a message
received by a Fidonet node has been filtered. Current Fido Policy
(Policy4) prohibits modifying routed encrypted material except as
required for technical purposes. This FSC proposes a method
of identifying such traffic in order to allow downlinks to identify
messages that have been tampered with.
IFNA KLUDGE LINES:
Fidonet supports a general method for sending additional information
embedded in a message known as the "IFNA kludge line". This is a
line of text beginning with the ASCII SOH character (^A). The
characters following SOH are a word indicating the type of kludge
line, and the remainder of the line contains information specific
to that type. This standard introduces a new type of kludge line,
the FILTER.
FORMAT OF A MESSAGE ID - MANDATORY:
FidoNews 11-45 Page: 7 07 Nov 1994
The mandatory portion of the ^AFILTER line shall consist of the
Ascii SOH character immediately followed by the uppercase characters
FILTER and a colon and one space.
It is further required that the unique part of all ^AFILTER lines
consist of a unique product identifier following the same format as
specified in FSC-0046 for ^APID kludge lines and identifying the
program used for filtering. This product identifier is to be one
word and is to be followed by a space and the 3D, 4D, or 5D node
address belonging to the system doing the filtering.
EXAMPLE:
^AFILTER: NOBOGUS134 1:352/
[email protected]
with NOBOGUS134 to be replaced with a two digit hex identifier at such
time as a central product registry exists.
MANDATORY REVIEW OF FILTER CONFIGURATION:
Since message filters that currently exist (GMD, NOBOGUS, and PKTIM
come to mind) can easily be configured in such a manner as to violate
Policy, this standard also requires that copies of the configuration
portion of any message filtering programs currently in use or having
been used by a system within the prior 30 days be made available for
public scrutiny by use of the standardised MAGIC name FILTER The use
of MAGIC names in File Requests within Fidonet and FTN compatible
networks is documented in the .DOC files included with most FTN
compatible mailers but has not yet been the subject of an FTSC
proposal.
IMPLEMENTATIONS:
As of this writing, no products exist to implement this proposal.
SUMMARY:
As of this date, no public repository exists for encryption/decryption
product registration, but the FTSC is suggested as is the application
form presented in FSC-0022.
I am publishing this information as a Fidonet technical comment in
hopes that other Fidonet products will eventually incorporate all or
part of this standard as well, and that it will eventually form part
of a Fidonet Technical Standard.
CREDITS:
I would like to thank all of the pioneers of Fidonet for making all of
this possible. The ^AFILTER proposal is the result of the collective
efforts of many of the participants of Fido who jealously guard the
spirit inherent in free and open communications on a global level.
Much of the wording and structure for this document I stole from
authors of previous FSC proposals. Special thanks go to the brave
FidoNews 11-45 Page: 8 07 Nov 1994
souls who have recently exposed the use of message text filtering
within one of the largest mail movers in North America.
A PLEA:
I hope to see the Fidonet Technical Standards Committee adopt this
proposal without delay and that the mandatory portions of this
standard be immediately placed placed into effect and that the
penalty for violation be immediate and permanent excommunication for
any node caught modifying messages in any fashion other than those
allowed within Policy and the FSC/FTSC standards and proposals.
Recent events indicate that adoption of this proposal and immediate
compliance must be handled on an emergency basis.
---ooo000ooo---
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Darrrrling Madam Emmy?
Q: What was the biggest disaster performed by the editrix?
A: She tried to tell people what to read a couple of issues ago,
with regard to copy-right. YEACH!
Q: What's the big deal about the satellite dish affair?
Q: What do you think of gun laws?
Q: What do you think of copy-right?
Q: What do you think of free speach?
A: I don't like those questions.
Q: Why?
A: They make me feel preachy if i have one answer for them.
Q: Why haven't you done more work?
A: So that i can be penetant and petulant and feel bad to feel good.
Q: That's rather oblique. Why don't you simply do whatever you
want rather than orchestrating badly?
A: I'm watching. That's what i'm doing. Naa-na-naaa.
Q: That's not enough. bzzzzzzzzt. <g> <g>
!
ooooooh
A: You're going to have to lock yourself in a room with paints and
FidoNews 11-45 Page: 9 07 Nov 1994
no modem and a freezer full of hot-dogs for three weeks now to do some
work to justify your existence, or everyone will be mad at you.
Q: You're a masochist. You like to think that way.
A: I HAVE MY STANDARDS. All _you_ have are questions.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Area Netmail, Msg#446, Nov-03-94 00:46:20
From: Detlev Rackow (2:241/1032)
Hello Sylvia,
would you be so kind as to post this in the Snooze. I'm sorry that
I did not freq ARTSPEC.DOC from your BBS, but connections to Z1 cost
just too much.
Response to the letter of James Smith in FIDONEWS44:
Dear James,
in your letter concerning the license policy of FD 2.xx, you told us,
that :
> Shareware Products:
> Our shareware agreement grants a limited use license for both
registered
> and unregistered non-commercial use of the product. Non-registered
use
> is limited to a 30 day trail or evaluation of our shareware products.
> After 30 days, the user must stop using the product, or register it
by
> purchasing a license to use (LTU) through Online Communications.
> Continued unlicensed use of the product beyond the 30 day period
> constitutes copyright infringement which we are prepared to litigate.
When I read this statement, a different file came to my mind. It is
included in
BDOC_250.ARJ, and its title is license.250. It starts this way:
---------------------------cut here------------------------------------
NO WARRANTY
BECAUSE BINKLEYTERM IS LICENSED FREE OF CHARGE, WE PROVIDE ABSOLUTELY
NO WARRANTY. EXCEPT WHEN OTHERWISE STATED IN WRITING, BIT BUCKET
SOFTWARE CO. AND/OR OTHER PARTIES PROVIDE BINKLEYTERM "AS IS" WITHOUT
WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT
LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR
A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. THE ENTIRE RISK AS TO THE QUALITY AND
PERFORMANCE OF BINKLEYTERM, AND THE ACCURACY OF ITS ASSOCIATED
DOCUMENTATION, IS WITH YOU. SHOULD BINKLEYTERM OR ITS ASSOCIATED
DOCUMENTATION PROVE DEFECTIVE, YOU ASSUME THE COST OF ALL NECESSARY
FidoNews 11-45 Page: 10 07 Nov 1994
SERVICING, REPAIR OR CORRECTION.
[...]
Please feel free to contact us at any time to share your comments about
our software and/or licensing policies.
----------------------------cut here-----------------------------------
The attitude is somewhat different, don't you think?
When I started my career as a Fidonode, I used FD 2.02/nc (who
hasn't?). The actual release was 2.11/sw. The setup showed me lots of
options (esp. for multiline-operation), which were excluded from the
non-commercial version.
Later, I discovered Binkleyterm. The setup was crude, and I played with
it for one evening, then deleted it again, as I had neither the time nor
the attitude to work through the docs.
About two weeks later, I had no special plans for the weekend, and after
two days of hard work, my Binkleytermsystem ran much smoother than my
old FD 2.02.
BT offers bidirectional protocols, fax-reception, easy multiline-
operation, and a very effective use of multitaskers; I have succesfully
tested the operation of 1 analog 19K2 and 2 digital 64k lines (passive
cards, very demanding on the cpu!) on my 486DX33 with OS/2. I could even
use DOS-versions of BT under OS/2, dial my second ISDN-Line and freq
files at more than 7000 cps.
Now, about 11 months after my conversion, I am still quite happy with
BT/2 2.59a. Some fellow sysops around have also converted, especially
when they set up their second line.
So, why do I write this letter? Simple and easy answer:
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!To say THANK YOU to the guys in the Binkley-Team!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
By spending so much time on this great mailer, you helped hundreds of
nodes and even more points to set up smoothly running bbses around the
world.
Btw: Is there a german translation of some part of the docs? Maybe this
would give me a starting point to make a german doc which is completely
up-to-date.
Ciao,
Detlev
--- GED/2 2.50+|FE 1.40+|Itrack/2|BT/2 2.59a+
Via 2:241/1032@Fidonet @19941102.004714.70 Itrack
FidoNews 11-45 Page: 11 07 Nov 1994
The History of Fidonet: A progress report
The History of Fidonet: A Progress Report
by Marge Robbins 1:283/120 or
[email protected]
If it's possible for a snail to move at a fast pace, that would be
an apt discription of my progress. I've interviewed Tony Davis and
am in the process of transcribing that interview. Bob Hartman has
agreed to talk. And Wow! Am I looking forward to that. Bob Satti
has agreed to talk. Though I think I am going to have to fly to
Canada and sit on him to actually accomplish that interview. He's a
busy man. One of my users, bless her heart, is so fired up about
Fidonet that she and her children have volunteered to type some of
the old nodelists and articles from TJ's collection. Once that's
done I will make them available via the 'net and the Fidohist FDN.
The old nodelists make fascinating reading.
Drum Roll!!!!!!! Big announcement here, so wake up. I now have a
home page on the Internet's World Wide Web that I have opted to
dedicate to Fidonet and its pioneers. To access it you need to be
able to run a program like Lynx or Moasic. <Moasic is best, you can
look at the purty pics. I am in the process of putting in some
graphics> The URL is
http://www.infonet.net/showcase/fidonet/
It has some basic information about Fidonet and the history project
with links to Fido resources elsewhere on the 'net. More stuff will
be added as time allows.
HELP NEEDED COLUMN
I still need someone or several someones to help organize and check
for accurate references the stuff I have pulled from back issues of
the snooze.
The timeline literally sucks! I have a wealth of information about
the first few years. Our early pioneers have been very generous
with their time and memories. But then we have the big gap between
then and now. I have little or nothing on the formation of your
individual nets or the developement of your regions. Now come on
guys, how hard can it be to ferret out who your first NC was and
when your net was organized and send it to me? Some nets have given
me complete histories.
Zones 2-6 WHERE ARE YOU??????????????????????????????????? The
project is in serious danger of becoming a history of zone 1. And
TAHT is the last thing I want. So PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Software! I am still looking for early versions of mailers, tossers,
BBSes, utils and etc whose developement aided the growth of the net.
I'm also looking for early tech standards, old nodelists and diffs,
early info packets, help files and anything else that is part of
Fidonet's past.
FidoNews 11-45 Page: 12 07 Nov 1994
People memories If you were around in the early and not so early
days and would like to be interviewed, to contribute what you know
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE contact me.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
FIDONET YESTERDAY, TODAY, AND TOMORROW
FIDONET YESTERDAY, TODAY, AND TOMORROW
by Marge Robbins 1:283/120 or
[email protected]
Working on the history of Fidonet is giving me the unique
oppertunity of seeing our network in a different perspective. Its
fascinates me, but at the same time it gives me pause and concern.
At present I have very little responsibility in Fidonet save for
moderating ZEC and working on the history of Fidonet. I move very
little echomail, my board runs itself, and I have no coordinator
responsibilites. This gives me the time and freedom to spend many
hours a week listening to voices from the past as I either
interview early pioneers or convert those interviews to electronic
media. At the same time my position of moderator of ZEC gives me
the oppertunity to watch history in the making more as an observer
than an active participant.
The result is both exhilarating and alarming. Fidonet ten years
ago was much different than it is today. It was smaller, more
intimate. "Everybody knew everybody else", was how one old timer
described it to me. It was a more peaceful time, a more congenial
place to be. The focus was on taking Tom's idea of getting two
fidos to talk to each other and expanding it to a multitude of
systems and boards all sharing with each other. That was
accomplished in a wonderful way. There is no doubt that the growth
of Fidonet is nothing short of phenomenal. I love it when I can
spend an hour or so working on one of my tapes and "living in the
past".
But....then we come to todat. To an era of chaos. To an era of
bickering. To an era where cooperation seems to be a dirty word.
We hear phrases like policy complaint, sue, packet ramming, mail
bomb, I can do whatever I want. I never agreed to follow pol 4,
control freak, etc, etc, etc, on and on and on. I have seen THREE
ZECs driven out of office by those whose only goal in Fidonet
seems to be to see how much chaos and conflict they can cause. I
have seen an entire zone in chaos with many sysops left out of the
nodelist through no fault of their own.
All this makes me shake my head and wonder. Is this the same
Fidonet that Tom, and Butch, and Tony, and Randy, and Bob, and
David have told me so much about? Or is this a malignant changling
posing as Fidonet?
I also have to wonder. Where will we be ten years into the
future? Will we be a backwater fight-o-net struggling for
FidoNews 11-45 Page: 13 07 Nov 1994
survival? Or will we be part of the brave new world I see
unfolding before my vary eyes on the information highway?
Wish I know, folks. I really wish I knew. Where will Fidonet be ten
years from now? I do know one thing. Our present cours is not
going to tak us to the heights of our capabilities. It can't. Too
much time and energy is being wasted on senseless conflict that
accomplishes nothing.
Let me close with a famous quote. If you aren't part of the
solution you are part of the problem.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
New Firearms Related Echomail
Two New Echomail Areas Now Available!!
======================================
As of 11/4/94, two REC's have requested that the following two new
firearms related echos be added to the backbone and FIDONET.NA file.
A big thank you goes to Rick Ashworth (R11EC) and Jerry Seward (R13EC)
GUNS
====
An echo dedicated to the discussion of firearms, and the
advancement of their uses in target shooting, hunting, defense,
collecting, and just about any other legal means. This echo is not a
political echo but the ocassional RTKBA discussion will not be frowned
upon. Moderation of this echo is by the level headed Elmer Cooper,
who is always willing to lend a hand. Discussions of all firearms,
both military and civilian, are welcome. Welcome to GUNS, where
safety comes first.
RELOAD
======
An echo devoted to the rifle, shotgun, and pistol cartridge reloader
and those that would like to learn more about this fast growing art
form.
How much does it cost?
Where can I get the equipment?
Which powder is best?
Is it legal?
Does it really save money?
Are handloads more accurate than factory?
Find the answers to these and many many more questions in the RELOAD
echo. RELOAD is also moderated by Elmer Cooper. Elmer has been
reloading his own for years and is a vast source of reloading
knowledge.
Did you know that you can reload your own shotgun shells for less than
$2.00 a box? Some pistol cartridges can be reloaded for less than
FidoNews 11-45 Page: 14 07 Nov 1994
three cents a round. Find out how! Subscribe to RELOAD today.
RELOAD and GUNS should be available on the backbone by the time this
gets published, just ask your NEC to turn it on. If you have problems
getting the echo in your area, please notify Brian Murrey at
1:231/30
Currently GUNS is running about 100 messages a week, and RELOAD is
running close to 60 a week.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
FIDONET YESTERDAY, TODAY, AND TOMORROW
FIDONET YESTERDAY, TODAY, AND TOMORROW
by Marge Robbins 1:283/120 or
[email protected]
Working on the history of Fidonet is giving me the unique
oppertunity of seeing our network in a different perspective. Its
fascinates me, but at the same time it gives me pause and concern.
At present I have very little responsibility in Fidonet save for
moderating ZEC and working on the history of Fidonet. I move very
little echomail, my board runs itself, and I have no coordinator
responsibilites. This gives me the time and freedom to spend many
hours a week listening to voices from the past as I either
interview early pioneers or convert those interviews to electronic
media. At the same time my position of moderator of ZEC gives me
the oppertunity to watch history in the making more as an observer
than an active participant.
The result is both exhilarating and alarming. Fidonet ten years
ago was much different than it is today. It was smaller, more
intimate. "Everybody knew everybody else", was how one old timer
described it to me. It was a more peaceful time, a more congenial
place to be. The focus was on taking Tom's idea of getting two
fidos to talk to each other and expanding it to a multitude of
systems and boards all sharing with each other. That was
accomplished in a wonderful way. There is no doubt that the growth
of Fidonet is nothing short of phenomenal. I love it when I can
spend an hour or so working on one of my tapes and "living in the
past".
But....then we come to todat. To an era of chaos. To an era of
bickering. To an era where cooperation seems to be a dirty word.
We hear phrases like policy complaint, sue, packet ramming, mail
bomb, I can do whatever I want. I never agreed to follow pol 4,
control freak, etc, etc, etc, on and on and on. I have seen THREE
ZECs driven out of office by those whose only goal in Fidonet
seems to be to see how much chaos and conflict they can cause. I
have seen an entire zone in chaos with many sysops left out of the
nodelist through no fault of their own.
FidoNews 11-45 Page: 15 07 Nov 1994
All this makes me shake my head and wonder. Is this the same
Fidonet that Tom, and Butch, and Tony, and Randy, and Bob, and
David have told me so much about? Or is this a malignant changling
posing as Fidonet?
I also have to wonder. Where will we be ten years into the
future? Will we be a backwater fight-o-net struggling for
survival? Or will we be part of the brave new world I see
unfolding before my vary eyes on the information highway?
Wish I know, folks. I really wish I knew. Where will Fidonet be ten
years from now? I do know one thing. Our present cours is not
going to tak us to the heights of our capabilities. It can't. Too
much time and energy is being wasted on senseless conflict that
accomplishes nothing.
Let me close with a famous quote. If you aren't part of the
solution you are part of the problem.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
The Hawaii Rotary BBS System needs help
By Ron Skates 1:345/0
Fidonet 1:345/9 helps Rotary Clubs in Hawaii
The following appeared in the October issue of the
Rotarian, in the By the Way section.
Hawaii Online: Rotarians in Hawaii USA
(District 5000) can now communicate via an
existing Inter Island Bulletin Board (BBS) E-
Mail system called Fidonet. The main system is
located on Oahu and is called the Hawaii
Community BBS. There is a special area called
The Rotary BBS on this system that hosts and
shares a statewide conference on Rotary with
other BBSs on the neighbor islands. Rotarians
can share information about different club
projects, club bulletins or just have
fellowship. A listing of Clubs, meeting times
and places is also on line for visiting
Rotarians to Hawaii. Information like the
Rotary News Basket, and other information on
Rotary International is spread this way also.
Conceived by Ron Skates, a new member of the
Metropolitan Club of Honolulu, it has quickly
grown beyond the Metro Club to a statewide
project. Other participants like Ron Nagy of
the Honolulu Club, Leo Kamata of the Waikiki
Club, and Adrain Lee of the Ala Moana Club are
helping to guide the system to meet the ever
changing needs of Rotary. They have decided to
FidoNews 11-45 Page: 16 07 Nov 1994
Open it not only to Rotarians but the public
also so they can learn about Rotary. They all
hope it will lead to a worldwide network of
BBS�s carrying Rotary information and
fellowship. For more information contact Ron
Skates at 808/599-4994 or via computer modem at
808/528-5515, up to 28,8 Baud 8 Data Bits/1 Stop
Bit/ No Parity.
Since then I have recieved calls from New Zealand to
Germany by Rotary Memebers. I am looking for other
Fido boards who would be willing to carry information
about Rotary clubs for Roatrians and the general
public. My long term goal is to establish an
international Rotary conference and File area. The
reason I want to use Fidonet is because it's structure
is very similar to that of Rotary International, and
the fact that the conferences are moderated rather
than the free for all format of Internet. If any
Sysops are interested, please net mail me via 1:345/0.
If you are a Rotary member who uses a BBS please ask
your Sysop to consider getting involved. If you do
decide to carry it, I will make it a point to notify
the Rotary District in your area to let their
members know to help build your user base. Rotary is
a worldwide organization that is very community
oriented both locally and internationaly.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
TO........ All in FidoNet.lst
FROM...... John Bone
SUBJECT... Re: Phone number field Changes
DATE...... 03:08pm 1st-Nov-94
Hi, everyone
PHONE NUMBERS in Europe
If you do not read the fidonet nodelist, a reminder that, you that the
United Kingdom (GreatBritian, (England, Wales, Scotland, Northern
Ireland, and their off-shore iles, access-ed by Country Code "44" )
have altered (as from 1st August 1994) ALL their geographic Area Codes.
Please note. The 'old' area codes will stop working on 16th april 1995.
For most towns and city the new code changes are fairly simple.
Eg. LOTT my OPUS_CBCS/BinkleyTerm site. was -44-91-478-6272
and now is .............................. -44-191-478-6272
So almost all new area codes have a '1' added;-
eg. London has two area codes 081 and 071 these are now 0181 and 0171.
FidoNews 11-45 Page: 17 07 Nov 1994
FreePhone (0800) & (0500) and Premium Rate (900)&(0891) and Mobile
Cellnet/Vodaphone radion mobile telephone "area" codes are NOT altered.
However, there arte six TOTALLY NEW CITY AREA CODES:-
The six large towns have totally different area codes, subsituted for
their old codes, and have at the same time, an added an prefix digit
to all subscribers numbers.
Eg.
Town_name Old Area code New Area Cod
City_Name ( + six digit Tel Number) ( + new 7 digit Tel Number )
LEEDS 0532 nnn nnn 0113 2nn nnnn
Nodelist 44-532-nnn-nnn 44-113-2nn-nnnn
SHEFFIELD 0742 xxx xxx 0114 2xx xxxx
Nodelist 44-742-xxx-xxx 44-114-2xx-xxxx
NOTTINGHAM 0602 ccc ccc 0115 9cc cccc
Nodelist 44-602-ccc-ccc 44-115-9cc-cccc
LEICESTER 0533 xxx xxx 0116 2xx xxxx
Nodelist 44-533-xxx-xxx 44-116-2xx-xxxx
BRISTOL 0272 nnn nnn 0117 9nn nnnn
Nodelist 44-272-nnn-nnn 44-117-9nn-nnnn
The UK nodediff will be moving network over to the newer numbers,
during the next 10 weeks. September to December 1994.
Oh, yes, and IF you are over here calling "home", you must remind
'ET' to dial 00-(country code)-(national number).
It is Not now 010-XX-NN-NNNNNN etc etc.
Still no talk of 911 in addition to 999 for the emergency services
too! (But no real date for this change...)
Have a nice cup of tea dear!
Cheers
John Bone (G7OOE)
LOG-ON-THE-TYNE OPUS BBS
2:256/18 and 2:256/17
SysOp@ LOTT
--- Opus-CBCS 1.72a
* Origin: LOG_on_the_TYNE (1v73_LOTT) (2:256/17.0)
FidoNews 11-45 Page: 18 07 Nov 1994
Backbone Echo Changes [Sep-Oct]
by Lisa Gronke, 1:105/6
[email protected]
Summary of backbone & quasi-backbone echo changes during Sep & Oct.
Brought to you courtesy of (unix) diff.
diff (fidonet.na + fidonet.no) 04-Sep-94 (ditto) 30-Oct-94 [edited].
Added to the backbone
---------------------
> CNET_BBS International C-Net BBS support
> HOLISTIC Holistic Thought & LIfestyle
> MTG_WOC Magic-the-Gathering card games
> MYTHOLOGY Mythology Conference
> NBA_ECHO National Basketball Association Discussion
> ROTTIES Rottweilers discussion
> TBB4SALE Breadboard Distribution System
> TCM Traditional Asian Medicine & Bodywork
> TRAPFAX Trapfax support
> VHEAL Vibrational Healing
> WC!_CHAT Wildcat 3rd Party Support & Sysop info.
> WCCODE WildCat wcCODE author support Echo
> Z1_BACKBONE Zone One Mail Backbone - Users
Removed from the backbone or quasi-backbone
-------------------------------------------
< AFRICA_TODAY (not in EchoList since 3/1/94)
< AMIGA_NET_DEV (not in EchoList since 12/1/93)
< DECONONET (not in EchoList since before 1/1/92)
< EXOTIC_BIRDS (not in EchoList since 10/1/93)
< HANDY.SYSOP (not in EchoList since 11/1/93)
< HOLY_BIBLE Bible, Wholly Bible Related Discussions.
< HOME_REPAIR The Home Repair Echo
< INET.EFF.TALK (not in EchoList since 9/1/92)
< PERFECT WordPerfect Corporation Products Basic Echo
< PERFECT_MACRO WordPerfect Corporation Products Advanced Echo
< QMODEM (not in EchoList since 11/1/93)
< REAL The Real Estate Discussion Echo
< ROBO RoboBoard/FX Support Conference
o There are 644 echos in fidonet.na [30-Oct-94] (up 19)
o There are 22 echos in fidonet.no [30-Oct-94] (down 21)
o for a total of 666 backbone & quasi-backbone echos (down 2)
FidoNews 11-45 Page: 19 07 Nov 1994
========================================================================
Fidonews Information
========================================================================
------- FIDONEWS MASTHEAD AND CONTACT INFORMATION ----------------
Editors: Donald Tees
Editors Emeritii: Thom Henderson, Dale Lovell,
Vince Perriello, Tim Pozar
Tom Jennings
"FidoNews" BBS
FidoNet 1:1/23
BBS +1-519-570-4176, 300/1200/2400/14400/V.32bis/HST(DS)
more addresses:
Rev. Richard Visage -- 1:163/409
Don -- 1:221/192,
[email protected]
Madam Emilia -- 1:221/194,
[email protected]
Tim --
[email protected]
(Postal Service mailing address)
FidoNews
128 Church St.
Kitchener, Ontario
Canada
N2H 2S4
voice: (519) 570-3137
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 1994 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 the eds.
Articles by Madam emilia may be retransmitted freely through
cyber-space.
OBTAINING COPIES: The most recent issue 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 by sending SASE to the above paper-mail
address, or trade for copy of your 'zine.
INTERNET USERS: FidoNews is available via FTP from ftp.fidonet.org,
in directory ~ftp/pub/fidonet/fidonews.
Anyone interested in getting a copy of the INTERNET GATEWAY FAQ may
FidoNews 11-45 Page: 20 07 Nov 1994
freq GISFAQ.ZIP from 1:133/411.0, or send an internet message to
[email protected]. No message or text or subject is
necessary. The address is a keyword that will trigger the automated
response. People wishing to send inquiries directly to David Deitch
should now mail to
[email protected] rather than the
previously listed address.
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, and are used with permission.
"the pulse of the cursor is the heartbeat of fidonet"...
-- END
----------------------------------------------------------------------
