Copyright 1990, Fido Software. All rights reserved. Duplication
and/or distribution permitted for noncommercial purposes only.
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FidoNews is published weekly by the System Operators of the
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Most articles are unsolicited. Our policy is to publish every
responsible submission received.
Table of Contents
1. ARTICLES ................................................. 1
FidoCon '90 Update: ...................................... 1
Breaking the Cycle of Child Sexual Abuse ................. 3
Broken Links ............................................. 6
New Echos ................................................ 9
Region 11 RC Election .................................... 10
Labor and Union News Conference .......................... 13
MLM (Multi-Level Marketing) Echo Availability ............ 15
Incest Survivors Newsletter .............................. 17
Vietnam Veterans' Valhalla BBS is Back! .................. 19
NEW! FidoCon '90 Registration Form ....................... 22
And more!
FidoNews 7-27 Page 1 2 Jul 1990
If you plan on attending and staying for meals or at the hotel,
we MUST know whether you're coming by July 1st (that's THIS
WEEK), as that is our cut-off date for notifying the hotel of
our 'final' numbers. If you register after that, we cannot
guarantee you a room or a meal ticket. If necessary, send
crashmail to 1:1/90@FidoNet.
Chris Irwin has announced a gigantic give-away at FidoCon! One
of the prizes at the conference will be a D'Bridge license for
each member of the lucky winner's net!
Rumor has it that not only US Robotics will be participating,
but modem manufacturers Telebit, Unicom, and MicroCom may also
be there! Stay tuned for further details.
Zone 1 Coordinator George Peace will be attending and he's
invited the other amateur networks to participate in a "network
summit". Details will follow as they become available.
One of the things that's truly amazing about this conference is
the fact that people are coming all the way from Europe, Canada,
and Australia just to attend. This sort of thing makes all the
work and effort putting on the conference worthwhile.
Chris Bahr of PC-MAGnet will be making an appearance.
We are in the process of mailing out the Conference packets to
all registered attendees. It contains directions to the hotel,
a map of the area, and a tenative seminar schedule.
For our adventurous attendees, we have added an optional trip to
Six Flag's Great Adventure theme park in Jackson, NJ for $30/person.
And now for the BIG announcement! For a grand prize, we will be
giving away a "Sysop's Dream" computer system complete with a multi-
line Continuous mail TBBS/TIMS bbs package (courtesy of eSoft).
[Those who registered before 5/1 will be given 3 changes in the
drawings, while those registering before 6/1 will be given 2. If
you register before July 2nd, publication date of this FidoNews,
you can also participate in our prize drawings.]
Please use the updated registration form you'll find in this
issue of Fidonews. It's headed FIDOCON '90 REGISTRATION FORM.
Also, please note that the prices listed only apply to those who
pre-register using the appropriate form. We regret a typo in
last week's form, the spousal plan is $620, not $670.
FidoNews 7-27 Page 2 2 Jul 1990
We hope to see you there!
Bill VanGlahn, FidoCon '90 committee chairman, 1:1/90 1:107/557
Every year thousands of children are sexually abused by adults.
I want to do something about it.
This summer, I am again participating in BRAKE THE CYCLE, a bike
ride from San Jose, California to Washington D.C. to raise
support and funds for local and national treatment and training
agencies that work with these abused children and their
families. We are calling the ride "Brake the Cycle", to
illustrate our cause: breaking the cycle of child sexual abuse.
Two years ago, "Brake the Cycle" 1988 raised over $30,000.00 for
this cause. We also delivered a statement signed by 15,000
people such as yourself to our Representatives in Washington
D.C. with the message that our communities want child abuse
stopped. "Brake the Cycle" 1990 hopes to do the same, and with
your help we can.
If you would like to be a partner in my effort to take positive
steps towards breaking the cycle of child sexual abuse, there
are several ways you can participate. First, sign the
"Statement of Concern" that we are taking to Washington D.C.
Second, make a pledge to the ride itself. Donations are tax
deductible, and 100% of the funds go directly to local and
national treatment agencies. Third, be a direct contributor to
the ride expenses. The other riders and I are donating our
time, energy and personal funds to this project, and it would be
a great benefit to have help with the expenses. These
contributions also are tax deductible.
After you have had time to consider this opportunity, please
fill out the form and return it to me at the address provided.
Sincerely,
/s/ Cathrine J. Foote
Break the Cycle Founder
NOTE: The "Statement of Concern" mentioned in Cathrine's letter
is printed in this article, please make copies and pass them
around, and it is available by FREQ from the Vietnam Veterans
Valhalla, 1:143/27, HST 14.4 (408) 298-2740. Use the filename:
BRAKE.FRM for the request.
FidoNews 7-27 Page 4 2 Jul 1990
=================================================================
BRAKE THE CYCLE
National Ride to Stop Child Sexual Abuse
Project of Childsong Inc.
=================================================================
STATEMENT OF CONCERN
Yes, I want to help break the cycle of child sexual abuse. Every
family and every community needs to be aware of this problem and
take steps to prevent it.
Studies show that reports of child abuse in our county are
increasing. One girl in four and one boy in seven in the United
States will be molested before his or her 18th birthday.
Proper treatment needs to be made available to abused children and
their families. Public awareness can prevent this crime from being
committed. I gladly add my name to this statement of concern
urging the institution and people of the United States to provide
these funds and the human resources necessary to stop child sexual
abuse.
Is our Echo Mail Broken?
And How long has it been this way?
I think it almost goes with out saying that over 3/4 of the
Network is bonded together by echos. So when there is a problem
it is rather upsetting. After a while everybody starts to
notice and wants to fix it or to see it fixed. *If* possible.
This is NOT a political article. I do thouth like voting and
believe it ought to be mandantory that Coordinators
periodocally allow voting for the chair they hold. Not just
when it suits thier fancy, but yearly. I also firmly believe
there should be no Gods as System Operators OR Coordinators.
And Thou being a coordinator be a thankless job when done right
they have my extreme thanks. In fact when I think of it -- the
Cooperative state - it is truely amazing. But the other side of
the coin is -- that when done irresponsibly it can be a mess
which almost seems to strecth to infinity. Who do i contact?
Just how persistant should I get? What does it mean when I get
no responces? What can i do? Who Cares? I even, for awhile,
thought about the worst ..Mebbe I will get my link cut for
even talking about it. Etc...
I live in Region 18. I am very fortunate because I have two
Echo sources. So if something is broke and i get no responce
about getting it fixed, I can go get it from an alternative
source in another Region. There are many here thou that are
not as fortunate. This problem has been going on since at
least a couple of years ago and I do wonder how widespread
it is.
I was told two years ago the DND echo was booming in Region 13
yet not a message ever appeared in Region 18. That started me
looking! Recently I switched feeds on the IFNA conference (one
i wanted *before* the vote took place). it went immediately
from 0 messages to as many as 20 messages a week. It was a bit
late for getting involved so i turned it off. Another was
RC_MODELS, The first day I changed feeds i recieved 1 message
(from reading it I could tell it was a responce to another in
the echo). Yet in Region 18 not a message filtered in. A Local
SysOp I supply mail with wanted STARGAZE. Ok, I turn it on from
my Region 18 source - weeks go by and not a single message. The
SysOp asks me "what is going on, I read in the ELIST that
traffic should be 10 messages a week minimum". I tell him post
a "test" message. He posts, meanwhile the user who wanted it
calls the Moderators board. The test message is there and even
responces yet none make it back to Region 18!? An update is
that the new feed has more messages but when the User calls
the Moderators Board There is even MORE messages there and
FidoNews 7-27 Page 7 2 Jul 1990
some of them Unseen. Why are echos like CAD-CAM called CAD_CAM
in some Areas and Regions? We have the CHESS Echo Moderator
right outside of our local calling area. My NEC tells me a very
unusual story about the Echo Telemate which was not linked.
Lately I have heard of a SysOp calling asking if he could read
on the Moderators board. The SysOp then asked if he could pick
up directly from the Moderator's System. They said messages are
NOT making it to thier Region. Are we heading Back to "the Old
Days" - Remember when folks called the Moderator and Picked up
the Echo. Can YOU afford it! Why do we bother to have a Back-
Bone if it isn't going to work?
This has been plauging me. What can *I* do about it?? I thought
of writing the EC ..mebbe the ZC ...is there any guarentees it
will be fixed ...or not keep happening again and again. How
many other places does this happen and no one talks about it?
How many Echos are broke?? Are links that sensitive? Is some
one Lying? Is the Mail being Censored? I pick up LD and
recently when my source asked folks who are picking up there
for a donation, most of us chipped in a few bucks. Thou WE
call Ld to pick up the echos... Hell, I even send some in!
It bothers me that my Source does not respond to my NetMail.
It bothers me even more that it happens to more than one echo.
What causes this and what can be done about it? After all this
Network is part of all of us. It is OUR Network(s). Aint see
no reason than belonging other than to "share" the Mail!
I know somebody is going to scream "We need more rules.." Any
one with the sence of at least a rusty nail will know that
this is obviously a bunch of %^&# and Rules and Regulations
are NOT the answer! What is happening is the large echos which
are very popular are linked but the small specialty echos are
sorta haphazardly put together ...after all less SysOps would
notice it and those that do can be easily ignored. ..Well
think about it ...mebbe they ALL are Broken? how can we tell?
I have seen local echos go straight to hell when echo
distribution is done in a irresponsible manner. Just because
someone has an Echo listed in thier Areas.BBS doesn't mean
they are linked ..Even If they do have other Net/Nodes listed!!
I had the pleasure of my Net Coordinator cutting me off with
out even a word. There were actually two local Echos. Who's to
say this hasn't happened somewhere on a Regional Level. Could
it be that someone just cut a link and forgot about it.
All this really didnt matter when echomail was first
transmitted. But we do exspect everyone upstream to be honest
about the links ...right? Infact we depend on the integerity
of the BackBone Echo Mail Systems and our fellow NetWork
members. Mebbe it hasnt been working for a long time. Our
Software can not tell if upstream is together! Take one echo
FidoNews 7-27 Page 8 2 Jul 1990
for instance. Notes could be compared on the path and seenbys
from different parts of the country but that is not to
guarentee that there are at least a dozen broken links
somewhere inbetween. Anybody got any ideas on a Utility which
can help out? Our software is not really designed that way. I
was talking to a friend in GT Net. Since Gt's Software is so
much different things are done differently. He told me he can
send sort of test message that reports routing status back to
him. It is part of the EchoMail Software. ..Gawd, I wish I was
a Software writer... This problem is part ALL of our problem!
After all, What fun is it belonging to a NetWork who boasts
sharing Free Information that doesn't get sent to active
participants. Are we sewing the mouth shut on our guest
speakers?
by Kenneth "Kevin" Snively
1:116/24 EET BBS
1:116/29 the Dawg Byte
1:116/28 The Nashville HUB System
I thought I would take this oportunity to anounce that
there are two new echos available which might be of interest
to some of you.
-=R&R=-
The R&R Echo is an offshoot from the dBase and Clipper
echos, where discussions concering the use of "Report Writer"
software for dBase was building. The R&R echo is dedicated to
discussing the use and implimentation of report writing software
used by many dBase/Foxbase/DBXL, etc., programmers. This covers
both commercial and shareware versions and can be of immence
help to those using these programs. The echo is open to any
individual with interest in this type of software.
Symbolic Name (TAG) - R&R
-=RA_UTIL=-
The RA_UTIL Echo is dedicated to discussions concerning the
many "external" programs being written for the Remote Access BBS
software package. The participants include many of the authors
of such programs and the discussions range from "problem solving"
to what is coming in the future. The echo is open to anyone who
has interest in the external programs written for Remote Access
and "authors" wishing to discuss and support their programs.
Symbolic Name (TAG) - RA_UTIL
Donn Bly (1:236/7)
Region 11 RC Election Coordinator
Region 11 has elected a new RC. A few weeks ago we posted the
election rules here, and now we are posting the final results.
Region 11 RC Election Report
----------------------------
The following is the final tabulation of all votes received by me
as of the close of the polls on June 30, 1990 at 18:00 EST. To
the best of my knowledge these results are accurate and complete.
If there is a question about the validity of vote, please get in
touch with me IMMEDIATELY via netmail or voice call. My home
voice number is (219) 925-3474.
If you voted, and your password is not listed under the candidate
for which you voted, or your node number is not listed below,
please contact me IMMEDIATELY.
So that I did not have to return as many ballots, I relaxed the
rules slightly -- the outcome of the election is not effected. I
decided to allow for codewords up to 9 characters instead of 8,
and I allowed non-alphanumeric characters as well as
alphanumeric. I also received a request to allow both upper and
lower case, so when I rewrote the software for the non-
alphanumerics I made allowances for that too.
As the documentation below shows, the winner of the RC11 Election
is Mark Lynch.
The first salvo of voting achieved the following results:
Candidates Number Of Votes
-------------------------- ---------------
Mark Lynch 58 (39.5%)
George Kasica 27 (18.4%)
Ed Almasy 25 (17.0%)
Bill Huther 23 (15.6%)
Martin Essenburg 14 ( 9.5%)
Because no one candidate received a majority of the votes, a run-
off election was held between the two candidates that received
the most votes. The full results of the run-off election are as
follows:
Candidates Number Of Votes
-------------------------- ---------------
Mark Lynch 109 (72.7%)
George Kasica 41 (27.3%)
FidoNews 7-27 Page 11 2 Jul 1990
Breakdown
-----------------------------
Total Nodes Listed : 597
Total Eligible : 535
Total Ineligible : 62
Total Votes : 150
Return Percentage : 28.037%
The full results of the first vote should be available from your
NC (if you are in Region 11), and were posted in the REGION11
conference, just as these results will.
As mentioned in the original rules that I posted, a period for
commenting on the election process has been opened. I have not
decided how long it will remain open as I have no idea how many
people have suggestions and how long it will take. If you do
have any comment, suggestions, etc. I will gratefully accept any
netmail on the subject at 1:236/7. If there are enough people
interested in it, an echo may be started to handle the traffic.
I wish to take this opportunity to thank all who were involved in
this process: Steve Bonine for commissioning it as one of his
final acts as ZC, John Summers for being RC until he had to move
out of the Region, Rick Moore for acting as interim RC until this
vote was completed, the candidates who stepped forward and
offered their services to an often-unthankful network, and George
Peace, our ZC, who has said that he will accept the results of
this election as final and appoint the winner to the RC11
position.
The Labor and Union News Conference
-----------------------------------
"The average weekly wage in 1979 was $189.32. In 1988,
compensating for inflation, it was $168.10, a fall of
11.2 percent." -- Quote from journalist David Bacon
I pulled that out of my quotes file because I thought it
would be a good introduction to this article. It's a truly
startling statistic because we all sadly know that grocery
prices haven't dropped 11.2 percent after inflation!
Over the same time period quoted above, we've seen a
definite drop in union membership in this country. There are
many reasons for this, the changing economy and labor force
for one, but one of the biggest reasons has been the corporate
offensive against organized labor launched in the Reagan years
and now continuing under the Bush administration.
We've seen company after company launch efforts to bust
their unions and to shift health care costs onto workers
causing many of the strikes that get reported in the
corporate-owned mass media.
While workers still have the right to strike, the companies
now force strikes, like the current Greyhound strike that is
going on now, in order to replace strikers with permanent
replacement workers -- better known as scabs. Of course it's
still illegal to fire striking workers, but it's not illegal to
permanently replace strikers with scabs. Nice little catch-22
there, huh?
And all this effects far more than unionized workers. It
effects our entire economy and, in particular, all working
people. In any given profession, unionized workers tend to
be better paid than non-unionized workers. If the unions
are suffering and are being forced to take wage and benefit
cuts, then eventually all workers will be in the same boat.
What's the above paragraphs leading up to? I'm glad you
asked.
I'd like to inform you of an echomail conference devoted
to working-class issues. The conference focuses on labor and
union news -- things you normally wouldn't hear about in our
normal corporate-owned mass media. The daily newspaper always
has a large "business" section devoted to that tiny percentage
of people who own enough stock in a company to effect the
company's operation, but it never has a "labor" section
devoted to the vast majority of people in this country -- the
working class.
FidoNews 7-27 Page 14 2 Jul 1990
The conference's area name is, appropriately enough,
LABOR_CONFERENCE, and it currently is not distributed on the
echomail backbone. It has its own distribution system (if you
could really call it a "system").
The conference's moderator is William Bowles at 1:107/607
and Bill can let you know where to find a link into the echo.
The echo consists mainly of news items from various sources
and has a little conversation. The news tends to be very
interesting and informative and comes from such sources as
union newsletters, and other labor-oriented writers. Hopefully
we'll increase the conversation end of the echo with more
links and with more participating systems.
A few weeks ago I wrote up an article for FidoNews describing
the MLM (Multi-Level Marketing) Echo. This conference has been
picking up a bit lately, but I still occasionally hear from
folks who are having difficulty finding links to it.
An inspection of messages entered in the last week or so
reveals the following net/nodes listed in the PATH lines:
It's quite possible that more nodes may be carrying the
conference, but no messages have been entered from those nodes
so they do not appear in the PATH lines. The conference SHOULD
be available from any backbone feed, since it is carried on the
Eastern Star. If you absolutely cannot get a feed through your
regional backbone node, you may wish to see if you can get a
feed from one of the nodes listed above (but PLEASE check with
your Regional Echomail Coordinator first, so that "dupe loops"
can be avoided!).
If you (or any of your users) are involved in Multi-Level
Marketing, or if you have an interest in the topic, you are
invited to link in. As far as I am aware, there are no links
to nodes outside of Zone 1 at present, although I did receive
one request from a sysop in Australia (Kurt Johannessen at
3:713/610) who wanted the echo via a HST feed. If anyone who
has an HST (and who is familiar with the requirements for
sending an echo to another Zone) can provide a feed, your help
would be appreciated (please send netmail to Kurt directly).
For those who missed the original announcement, I will just
repeat a couple of paragraphs from it: We have started a new
echo called MLM, the echo for those involved or interested in
Multi-Level Marketing (sometimes also known as "network
marketing"). For those of you who are not familiar with the
phrase "Multi-Level Marketing", this is the method by which a
large number of products and services are sold nowadays. Some
of the better-known firms in this field are Amway (home care
and other products), and A.J. Williams (insurance), but there
are literally hundreds of firms that utilize this method of
marketing their products.
We expect that those who participate in the MLM echo will agree
that Multi-Level Marketing is a valid and responsible method of
marketing products. HOWEVER, we also recognize that there are
irresponsible people who try to use MLM as a "cover" for
illegal pyramid schemes, but that does not detract from the
fact that MLM itself is a very valid method of selling products
or services direct to the customer, that has been utilized for
years. Those who disagree, or who feel that _all_ MLM activity
FidoNews 7-27 Page 16 2 Jul 1990
is a scam of some type, should not be participating in this
echo.
Everyone else is welcome and if your are interested in the
topic, please link in to the MLM conference!
I am writing to announce a couple of important events which I am
quite proud of. As a member of Parents United, Inc. (PU), and
AMACU (Adults Molested as Children, Inc), a component of PU, in
San Jose, California, I have become quite involved in trying to
break the cycle of child sexual abuse in this country. The
statistics are astounding. This disease is in a rampage and has
struck nearly every, if not all, families in this country. I am
convinced that public awareness - education - is the key to
breaking this cycle. It CAN prevent this crime from being
committed. To this end, I have created and am now proud to
announce the first issue of SIPIS (Singleness in Purpose -
Incest Survivors), named after a SIP echo conference if the same
name (I hope they don't mind stealing their name but it gets the
point across in a no-nonsense fashion).
SIPIS is a newsletter written *by*, *about* and *for* incest
survivors and others who are interested in trying to do
something to prevent this from happening to other children. One
in four girls and one in seven boys will be molested before they
reach the age of eighteen in this country alone, and that is
intolerable. Only *you* can make a difference by making your
feelings known, and getting involved. SIPIS is file requestable
(HST 14.4) from 1:143/27 at (408) 298-2740 anytime but NMH under
the magic filename SIPIS.
I am also looking for people who want to become part of this
*first* electronically compiled and distributed newsletter on
the subject of child sexual abuse. You can help in several
ways. First, by participating in the SIP_INCEST echo
conference, also available from the Vietnam Veterans Valhalla if
you cannot find it locally. Second, by contributing articles
related to child sexual abuse to me at 1:143/27, or by mailing
them to:
Vietnam Veterans Valhalla, Inc.
SIPIS Managing Editor
1016 E. El Camino Real
Suite 331
Sunnyvale, CA. 94087
Third, you can become a part of the SIPIS *team* by volunteering
to become a section editor. I need your help, the success of
this vitally important newsletter is up to those of you who
care. To give you an idea of what the market for such a
publication is, the Vietnam Veterans Valhalla was *inundated*
with requests for the first newsletter during the first week
after it's release. There were 327 File requests, and another
FidoNews 7-27 Page 18 2 Jul 1990
35 individual downloads in *one week*!!! This was totally
unexpected but served to convince me I am doing the right thing!
VIETNAM VETERANS' VALHALLA
Todd C. Looney
-SYSOP-
FidoNet Node 1:143/27
300/1200/2400/9600 Bauds
22 Hours a day/365 Days a Year
BBS (408) 298-2740
"In the jungles of 'Nam, some of us were scared and wary, but we
pulled one another along and were able to depend on each other.
That has never changed.
Today, free of the criticisms and misunderstandings many veterans
have endured, the Vietnam Veterans' Valhalla is a ray of hope,
and a reminder that the lessons learned at such a high price
shall not be forgotten, nor the errors repeated!!!"
The Vietnam Veterans' Valhalla bulletin board started back when
"Fido" was the only BBS software available for hobbyists and the
like. Since that time over 40,000 calls have been made to our
system which indicates to us that there is an expansive need for
such a service as we provide. The Vietnam Veterans' Valhalla is
back online again after being down for a year. We have a new
computer and a HST 14.4 modem from USR to make long distance
calling a little less painful.
When the Valhalla started back in early 1986, the only other
veteran-related conferencing service was through CompuServe.
Since then veteran-related BBS systems have sprung up all over
the world and we help each other to grow through a kind of
unofficial "VetNet". For a complete list of BBS systems
comprising the VetNet, simply file request the magic filename
VETNET from the Vietnam Veterans' Valhalla, 1:143/27.
Also through this VetNet we disseminate what has become one of
the most popular backbone echo's available, the International
Vietnam Veterans EchoConference (IVVEC), titled VIETNAM_VETS.
Although the conference originated here at the Vietnam Veterans'
Valhalla, it is Co-moderated by G. Joseph Peck, President of
Berkshire Vet Center in Pittsfield, MA, who also sysops VETLink
#1, 1:321/203, (413-443-6313, 300/1200/2400/9600 bauds).
Together, Joe Peck and I created and manage a monthly publication
dedicated to Vietnam Veterans called the "NAM VET Newsletter".
During my absence, Joe and others have built the NAM VET into the
pillar of information it is today. The NAM VET has grown from a
tiny newsletter into a 100 page per month publication of vital
importance to Vietnam veterans and non-veterans alike. Topics of
interest addressed in each issue, and their section editors are:
FidoNews 7-27 Page 20 2 Jul 1990
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
Kathleen Kelly, Ph.D.
The New York Transfer BBS - Staten Island, NY
(718) 448-2358
AGENT ORANGE
Martin H. Kroll
Fort Mountain BBS - Chatsworth, Ga. 30705
(404) 695-8703
MIA-POW
Rick Stolz
Okauchee, Wisconsin
VETLink #1 BBS - Pittsfield, MA
(413) 443-6313
-and-
Glenn Toothman
The Commo Bunker BBS - Karnes County, TX
VetPoint 8 (1:321/203.8) & FidoNet 1:387/801
HOMELESSNESS
Lefty Frizzell
The Executive Washroom BBS - San Antonio, TX
(713) 347-2588
FEDERAL BENEFITS
Jim Hildwine
VetPoint 47 - FidoNet 1:321/203.47
Shady Side, Md
INCARCERATED VETS
Todd C. Looney
Vietnam Veterans' Valhalla - San Jose, CA
(408) 298-2740
-and-
Joyce Flory
Desert Dolphin BBS - Las Cruces, NM
(505) 523-2811
Herndon Byte Exchange BBS - Herndon, VA
(703) 471-8010
CHAPLAIN
Rev. Ed Brant
The Landing Zone BBS - Fall Creek, OR
(503) 747-9809
The NAM VET Newsletter is available through file request at any
of the BBS systems listed above using the magic filename NAMVET.
(At least I think that they all use that magic filename, if not,
please excuse my error, I did *not* check with them first. Best
to request FILES from their systems first to get a list of
available files. I believe the International Vietnam Veterans'
EchoConference (IVVEC) is available for viewing at all of these
systems as well.
The Vietnam Veterans' Valhalla also has a collection of veteran-
related text files for you to read. Just file request the magic
filename FILES to get a complete list of those files which are
available on this system.
The Valhalla has taken on a different perspective this year from
when you might last have been on that system. It has expanded
the scope of its services to include overall RECOVERY, and hosts
a wide variety of such topic-related echo conferences and files.
I certainly hope to be "seeing" you at the Vietnam Veterans'
Valhalla soon. And please be sure to leave me a note when you
stop by.
The Secret Sysop Society presents __
*** Conclave '90 *** / \
The SYSOPS Convention /|oo \
Home of FidoCon 1990 (_| /_)
Lyndhurst, New Jersey _`@/_ \ _
August 1-5, 1990 | | \ \\
| (*) | \ ))
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/ Fido \ _//|| _\ /
(________) (_/(_|(____/ (tm)
Rate Plan Schedule: (Hotel rooms cannot be guaranteed if you
register after July 1st!)
A. Single Occupancy...................$545.00
B. Double Occupancy...................$400.00
C. Conference w/ meals................$250.00
D. Conference w/ Banquet..............$105.00
E. Conference only.....................$75.00
F. Banquet only........................$30.00
G. Registrant & Spouse................$670.00
Plans A B & G include all conference and hotel fees and meals.
Prices are for pre-registrants using this form only.
You must pay by Check, Money Order, or Credit Card. Please send
no cash. All monies must be in U.S. Funds. Checks should be
made out to: "Conclave '90"
The following registration form must be completed and mailed to:
PO Box 12
Lyndhurst, NJ 07071
You may register by Netmailing this completed form to 1:1/90 for
processing. Rename it to ZNNNXXXX.REG where Z is your Zone
number, N is your Net number, and X is your Node number. US Mail
confirmation is required within 72 hours of electronic filing.
If you are paying by credit card, please include the required
information. For your own security, do not route any message
with your credit card number on it. Crash it directly to 1:1/90.
The official Conclave '90 airline is American Airlines.
American offers a 5% discount the lowest applicable round-trip
fare, including 1st class travel, subject to availability of
inventory. All fare rules and restrictions apply. In addition,
American offers 40% off their round trip unrestricted day coach
fare. International travelers qualify for special benefits,
including complimentary admittance to the Admiral's Club Lounge
at any American Airlines terminal. Newark is an American Air-
lines city with direct flights to most major cities. When making
reservations, you must call American's Toll-free reservation
number at 800-433-1790, and reference Star number 13704F.
FidoNews 7-27 Page 23 2 Jul 1990
F I D O - C O N '90 R E G I S T R A T I O N F O R M
FidoCon '91 -- The New Beginning
Zone 1 Region Coordinators
Zone 1 Zone Coordinator
The Region Coordinators of FidoNet Zone 1 continue to respect the
results of the "IFNA dissolution referendum".
We also respect Tom Jennings' revocation of IFNA's right to use
trademarks and logos registered to Fido Software (FidoNet and the
Fido logo). Tom Jennings has granted the Zone 1 Region
Coordinators the right of continued use of the Registered
Trademarks.
The vote to dissolve IFNA as well as the [IFNA] trademark
revocation make the 1990 Zone 1 FidoCon event the last one
possible by authority of IFNA. But FidoCon, a celebration of
FidoNet History and Tradition, will continue.
The FidoNet Zone 1 Region Coordinators (RCs) invite you to submit
proposals to sponsor and host the Zone 1 FidoCon '91, "The New
Beginning". Please submit your individual or Net proposal to any
Zone 1 RC before July 18. A committee of Zone 1 RCs will select a
primary and backup site from proposals submitted. Please contact
any Zone 1 RC for information and assistance with your proposal.
Each year, several excellent proposals are eliminated through the
selection process. 1990 was no exception. Those dormant proposals
are some of the ones we hope you will resubmit for 1991. Let's
not let all that good effort be wasted. We're asking you to "show
us what you've got" so we can evaluate a variety of completed and
in-progress proposals and make a selection without geographic
bias.
The primary and backup sites of the Zone 1 FidoCon '91 will be
announced in FidoNews on Monday, July 30, 1990.
Start thinking about your FidoCon '92 proposal. It's not that far
off.
One of the large Long Distance phone companies is coming in for
a demo of two big switches, which I have a small part in. One
system is a 45 megabit digital switch, bandwidth suitable for
video switching. Now why does that interest them ? Running on
a little laptop buried in a cabinet somewhere is a program I
wrote which commands the switch routing processor to route the
video signals differently. For the demo, it changes the
routing between a camera, a VCR, a CD player and a test pattern
generator to eight TV monitors.
The other system is a 1.54 megabit digital switch, bandwidth
suitable for voice channel switching. Carried on the channel
is 4 kilobits of statistical data, which is gathered by my
programs on PC and displayed in fancy colors on the screen.
The significant part is that these two systems are standing
side by side, and customer came in to see both.
The business of long distance ( read nonlocal ) carriers will
change depending upon the restrictions placed on your local
carrier in terms of "who can transport what". What we are
looking at is the ability to 'dial' into any video source,
similar to the way we dial into voice and data sources.
Buried Cable --
The phone companies are going to take over the cable TV
operations in this country and I'll tell you why. A review of
the history of these natural monopolies would have to start
with the baby boom of the '60s.
All these young'uns have finally gotten their houses built and
the housing market is starting to fall off, simply because
there are fewer buyers out there. I can see no possibility of
this trend changing for at least 20 years, probably more like
30. This falloff leaves the phone companies with little room
for expansion, so they have to look elsewhere for new business.
The phone company expansion that did occur was in the areas of
buried cable and local switching equipment. They were quite
peeved to see the cable TV companies burying their cable along
the same lines. Cable TV has quite a way to go before they
have saturated the market. Everyone has a phone, only about
17% of households have cable TV connections. Add to this the
fact that phone companies have buried twisted pair, and cable
TV companies have buried coax.
FidoNews 7-27 Page 26 2 Jul 1990
Now we have optical fiber. No one disputes it's superiority
over copper. The dispute is over who gets to bury the optical
fiber cable in your back yard. When you finally do get fiber,
you have all the bandwidth you need on the one cable for both
phone, data ( ISDN style ), television and anything else you
can think of. And you will only need ONE fiber. Even if 20
years from now, something better comes along, YOU will not
need any extra bandwidth.
In exchange for the privilege of being your only
communications company, you extract certain restrictions from a
natural monopoly. You get to force reduced profits and specify
minimum levels of service. ( Sounds a lot like echomail, doesn't
it ? )
Who's going to win the opportunity to dig up your yard ( again
) ? I believe it will be the phone companies, because they
have the better administrative systems and more financial
resources. They are waging this battle in congress right now.
Our systems will become the terminals of a worldwide network
which carries all communications traffic. The regional
carriers will provide the administrative services and local
routing. The long distance carriers will provide the backbone
services. Network television will operate similar to the 1-800
toll free number. Pay channels on your TV will be billed the
same as pay phone calls. This trend will become worldwide.
=================================================================
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
=================================================================
Dave Thompson
1:18/60
Well, Vince, you asked for opinions concerning the subject
article. I have heard a lot of complaints about lack of interest
in network issues, so I will respond.
When I first scanned issue 7.23 of FidoNews, I skipped over the
High Mesa Publishing (HMP) article without a thought. I am not
very sensitive to the no solicitations clause in Policy 4.
Therefore, I never thought about the article. After reading Jim
Dailey's letter, and your response, I decided to reread and think
about the text.
Publication of solicitious material is a two-edged sword. On one
hand, it alerts possible consumers (many of us in FidoNet will be
interested) to the product. On the other hand, it sets a
precedent for further solicitations. I would not like to see
FidoNews become a weekly trading paper similar to those available
locally.
From the first perspective, I see nothing offensive in the HMP
article. The material is clearly of interest to FidoNet sysops
and users. In fact, there may be many FidoNet participants who
will provide text for inclusion in the diskazine and disk-based
books. I think this is a good use for FidoNews.
From the second point of view, how will you determine whether the
next solicitation is appropriate for publication? As I said
before, FidoNews is not a weekly trader's paper. I doubt that
any of us want it to become one, too.
One possible solution is to charge for advertising from
commercial ventures. If the submission requirements and fees are
set appropriately, then inclusion of commercial advertisements
would pay for distribution of FidoNews. Of course, I have no
idea how you would distribute any money received.
To summarize, this is a thin line to walk. I would like to see
similar material, because I am interested in such things. If you
can control this, everything will be fine. Furthermore, this
case is very clear. If the next one is similar, then you should
publish it as well. However, what will you do when an article
appears which treats a subject not so obviously of general
interest? I would not like to see advertisements for deodorant!
Utility authors: Please help keep this list up to date by
reporting new versions to 1:1/1. It is not our intent to list
all utilities here, only those which verge on necessity.
14 Jul 1990
Start of Eurocon / Techcon conference in Antwerp, Belgium.
Please note that the date has changed: The conferences are
one day later than originally planned !
15 Jul 1990
Michael Keller, sysop of 1:170/401, will be wedded to Ruby Morain.
27 Jul 1990
The beginning of the REGION 17 Convention at Menucha Resort in
the Columbia Gorge, Oregon. For details contact Ken Zwaschka,
1:105/54.
1 Aug 1990
Start of FidoCon '90. Contact Bill Vanglahn at 1:1/90 for
details.
17 Aug 1990
Start of first ever Searchlight SysOps convention in Chicago, IL.
Contact Marge Robbins at 1:283/120 for details.
5 Oct 1990
21st Anniversary of "Monty Python's Flying Circus"
6 Nov 1990
First anniversary of Van Diepen Automatiseert, 2:500/28
14 Nov 1990
Marco Maccaferri's 21rd Birthday. Send greetings to him at
2:332/16.0
1 Jan 1991
Implementation of 7% Goods and Services Tax in Canada. Contact
Joe Lindstrom at 1:134/55 for a more colorful description.
16 Feb 1991
Fifth anniversary of the introduction of Echomail, by Jeff Rush.
7 Oct 1991
Area code 415 fragments. Alameda and Contra Costa Counties
will begin using area code 510. This includes Oakland,
Concord, Berkeley and Hayward. San Francisco, San Mateo,
Marin, parts of Santa Clara County, and the San Francisco Bay
Islands will retain area code 415.
FidoNews 7-27 Page 33 2 Jul 1990
1 Feb 1992
Area code 213 fragments. Western, coastal, southern and
eastern portions of Los Angeles County will begin using area
code 310. This includes Los Angeles International Airport,
West Los Angeles, San Pedro and Whittier. Downtown Los
Angeles and surrounding communities (such as Hollywood and
Montebello) will retain area code 213.
5 Jun 1997
David Dodell's 40th Birthday
If you have something which you would like to see on this
calendar, please send a message to FidoNet node 1:1/1.
