F I D O N E W S Volume 18, Number 04 22 Jan 2001

F I D O N E W S Volume 18, Number 04 22 Jan 2001
+----------------------------+---------------------------------------+
| The newsletter of the | ISSN 1198-4589 Published by: |
| FidoNet community | "FidoNews" |
| _ | 1-714-639-0377 1:1/23 |
| / \ | 1-714-532-1586 1:103/301 |
| /|oo \ | BinkD supported both above |
| (_| /_) | |
| _`@/_ \ _ | |
| | | \ \\ | Editor: Warren Bonner |
| | (*) | \ )) | [email protected] |
| |__U__| / \// | [email protected] |
| _//|| _\ / | |
| (_/(_|(____/ | |
| (jm) | Newspapers should have no friends. |
| | -- JOSEPH PULITZER |
+----------------------------+---------------------------------------+

Table of Contents
1. HEADLINE ................................................. 1
........................................................... 1
2. EDITOR'S BELIEFS ......................................... 2
3. GUEST EDITORIAL .......................................... 4
*Guest Editorial* ........................................ 4
4. ARTICLES ................................................. 7
+++Noteworthy Article+++ ................................. 7
5. OL'WDB'S COLUMN .......................................... 9
***Canada's Mooses*** .................................... 9
6. RECIPES .................................................. 10
*This weeks FLAVORITE Recipe* ............................ 10
7. POET'S CORNER ............................................ 11
-=+Poet's Corner+=- ...................................... 11
8. HUMOR .................................................... 12
===+Humor+=== ............................................ 12
9. QUESTION OF THE WEEK ..................................... 14
Question of the Week ..................................... 14
10. ANSWERS OF THE WEEK ..................................... 15
Answers Received ......................................... 15
11. NOTICES ................................................. 19
FIDONEWS INFORMATION ..................................... 19
12. FIDONET BY INTERNET ..................................... 21
13. FIDONEWS INFORMATION .................................... 26
***FIDONEWS INFORMATION*** ............................... 26
FIDONEWS 18-04 Page 1 22 Jan 2001

=================================================================
HEADLINE
=================================================================

+++Extra, Extra, Read all about it in ANSWERS secton!

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FIDONEWS 18-04 Page 2 22 Jan 2001

=================================================================
EDITOR'S BELIEFS
=================================================================

Editor's BBS Belief!
for Fido Sysops

I believe- that we don't have to change friends if we understand that
friends change.

I believe- they're going to hurt you every once in a while and you
must forgive them for that.

I believe- that true friendship continues to grow, even over the
longest distance. Same goes for true love.

I believe- that you can do something in an instant that will give you
heartache for life.

I believe- that it's taking me a long time to become the person I want
to be.

I believe- that you should always leave loved ones with loving words.
It may be the last time you see them.

I believe- that you can keep going long after you can't.

I believe- that we are responsible for what we do, no matter how we
feel.

I believe- that either you control your attitude or it controls you.

I believe- that regardless of how hot and steamy a relationship is at
first, the passion fades and there had better be something else to
take its place.

I believe- that heroes are the people who do what has to be done when
it needs to be done, regardless of the consequences.

I believe- that money is a lousy way of keeping score.

I believe- that my best friend and I can do anything or nothing and
have the best time.

I believe- that sometimes the people you expect to kick you when
you're down, will be the ones to help you get back up.

I believe- that sometimes when I'm angry I have the right to be angry,
but that doesn't give me the right to be cruel.

I believe- that just because someone doesn't love you the way you want
them to doesn't mean they don't love you with all they have.

I believe- that maturity has more to do with what types of experiences
you've had and what you've learned from them and less to do with how
many birthdays you've celebrated.
FIDONEWS 18-04 Page 3 22 Jan 2001

I believe- that it isn't always enough to be forgiven by others.
Sometimes you have to learn to forgive yourself.

I believe- that no matter how bad your heart is broken the world
doesn't stop for your grief.

I believe- that our background and circumstances may have influenced
who we are, but we are responsible for who we become.

I believe- that just because two people argue, it doesn't mean they
don't love each other and just because they don't argue, it doesn't
mean they do.

I believe- that you shouldn't be so eager to find out a secret. It
could change your life forever.

I believe- that two people can look at the exact same thing and see
something totally different.

I believe- that your life can be changed in a matter of hours by
people who don't even know you.

I believe- that even when you think you have no more to give, when a
friend cries out to you you will find the strength to help.

I believe- that credentials on the wall do not make you a decent human
being.

I believe- that the people you care about most in life are taken from
you too soon.

Send this to all the people YOU BELIEVE In...

I just did.

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FIDONEWS 18-04 Page 4 22 Jan 2001

=================================================================
GUEST EDITORIAL
=================================================================

by Preferred Anonymous
The Death of the Dog, Maybe

Now, this is just my opinion, so take the shots you desire at it.

We have a dog here named Fido. It's getting old and is, in many ways,
not able to keep up with the new dogs in town. Some, many, have
abandoned the dog thinking "I don't want to be around for the death.",
"The new dogs can do so much more, why mess with this old dog?" and
other reasons. Some want to "teach the old dog new tricks". Some just
ignore the dog and just let it lay there. Others, thought sad at the
sight of this old dog that, while willing, just can't keep up, wonder
what they can do. Some just stand around and watch the old dog grow
weaker and wait.

Let's look at this a little.

Those that have abandoned the old dog? Well, there's hope that they
might discover that they miss this old dog and will come back around.

Teach the old dog new tricks? It's being done. Many, myself included,
are discovering that this old dog can still do new tricks. Think about
it.

Ignore the dog? Stand around and watch it grow weaker? Wonder what you
can do? NOW YOU'VE HIT THE SPOT!

I've seen thoughts that the dog needs to be replaced with a new dog.
I've read that if we don't change, we'll die. It's been suggested that
the dog learn HTML. Some think that the dog should have a new set of
rules. Others want other things. While these ideas are not bad, in my
humble opinion, they are not the major problem with this old dog.

!! Do Something !!

Yes! DO SOMETHING!!

This dog is ignored! Pet it!! When you walk by your BBS machine on
your way to the new dog, stop and check on the old dog. Pet it for a
minute. Read some messages. Play a few of the door games. This old dog
needs love just as much now as it did when it was young.

Don't stand around and watch this old dog grow weaker. Feed it! The
dog is hungry!! Write a message. Fix that configuration problem. Add
a new game.

Take care of this dog. It's got some problems. They can be doctored.
Give it some medicine. Put in that program to help this old dog get
active with the new dogs.

If you're going to leave this old dog in the basement, all alone,
starving for love and food and let it die, maybe, along with being
FIDONEWS 18-04 Page 5 22 Jan 2001

very ashamed of yourself, you should give this old dog to someone that
will love it and take care of it. With a little care, food and some
medicine, this old dog might just fool you and show you some things.

!! Stop and think !!

Remember when this old dog sat in your living room and gave you back
more love than you could ever give it? You'd put the keyboard on your
lap and this old dog would show you things that amazed you. Tell you
things that you wondered about. Answer questions that you asked. Play
games with you. Do tricks for you. It still can... It's up to you.

?? So, What are you saying ??

Just this. Get off your behind and do something! This dog will die if
you don't!

A BBS that is ignored is worse than one that leaves. I'd rather see a
Node leave Fidonet than see a BBS that is left in the basement,
ignored, with half the games messed up and most of the echos outdated
because some sorry Sysop is too damn lazy, bored, infatuated with the
Internet or whatever, to take a few minutes to fix things. You can
argue all you want about what the problems are with BBS and Fidonet,
but the BIGGEST problem is the Sysop. Rules, policy, software, who did
what, the Internet, *Cs and anything else is pure BS and nothing but
an excuse!

We need to get new Nodes in operation? That's true, but, that's easy.
Start with Point systems. Make them Nodes. You'll see the Nodelist
increase a lot. What will that do for Fidonet? Not much. It'll look
good, but it won't get more messages flowing.

We need more BBS in operation. True, but if they are going to be put
online and then ignored, why?!? Will that get more people
participating in the message areas? No! It'll drive people to the
Internet and away from this old dog.

We need new rules, policies or software? Bull! We need Sysops that
will take the time to maintain their BBS, run their BBS, be more than
just a "Mail Only" system. Interact with people that do call. Talk to
people that they meet about their BBS. Mention Fidonet during a
conversation with someone about the Internet. Do something!

Think about this. If the Internet was ignored by it's operators like
many BBS system are ignored by their operators, what would happen??
Would you use an ISP that was up half the time, never responded to
you, didn't want to fix problems or other such?? Hell no! You'd drop
them in a minute. Yet you expect a User to call your BBS when half the
games don't work, the message areas are messed up and they can't get a
response from the Sysop. Good grief!

Final Shot

This old dog will die if Sysops don't do something about it. True,
this old dog won't keep up with the new dogs, but it can still give a
FIDONEWS 18-04 Page 6 22 Jan 2001

lot to you. It will love you more than you love it. It will do tricks
if you teach it how. It will teach you if you're willing to learn. It
will play with you and the new dogs and even teach them some tricks.
It will do these things and more if it is cared for, loved, given food
and some doctoring. Otherwise, It *WILL* die. I'm sure this old dog
will die in time. All things do, but it will die faster if the Sysops
starve it, ignore it and don't take care of it... and you, the Sysops,
will have killed it as sure as if you had put a gun to it's head and
squeezed the trigger.

I don't really know how this hobby got the name Fidonet and came to be
known as Fido, but I have to wonder if it was by accident

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FIDONEWS 18-04 Page 7 22 Jan 2001

=================================================================
ARTICLES
=================================================================

By: Joe Bruchis To: FidoNews Robot Re:
FidoNews 18:3 [00/03] Editorial St:
----------------------------------------------------------------------
FidoNews Robot wrote in a message to All:

FR> When are we going to take the giant step from ASCII only, to HTML?

Done! However, ASCII, ANSI, AVATAR, RIP, and HTML are co-existing in
parallel forms rather than as existing as one primary format to the
exclusion of the others.

FR> When are we going to branch out to two publications, one for ASCII
and one for HTML.?

That's probably also done. Merely use a text to html utility and post
the news as a web page if some users wish to read it that way. It's up
to the Sysop and the users.

FR> Let me bounce this off you, if I may: mirrored systems. The
concept was already known and implemented back in the early '60s when
only the Pentagon could afford such luxury. For those who don't know
what I am talking about, "mirrored systems" and "disk mirroring or
duplexing"

I think this is a good idea and is used throughout the internet. Why
not have two or more nodes act as mirrors of north/south stars, and
others as mirrors of hubs, similar to WAN backup domain controllers
which are geographically located in different cities? If one is down,
traffic gets redirected to the backup? These major points of traffic
are already on the internet (as far as I can tell). Or if not, at
least utilize the ones that are on the internet in this manner. As
backup, they would handle the primary system's routing, as well as
their normal routing. The switch mechanism from primary to backup
could merely be handled by the sending system's monitoring of a
non-responding ping directed to the receiving system during a specific
period of time. This would alert the sending system that the receiver
is "down" and redirect to the mirror. The mirror, having a
continuously updated duplicate (mirror) of the primary system, would
assume primary duties during the interval that there is a lapse in
service. Upon returning on-line, the primary would poll its catch-up
mail from its back-up and resume its primary role. The primary and
backup then returns to their normal processing.

If you get my drift, this would only be feasible with mail movers at
the very top of the hierarchy (no lower than hubs).

FR> I suggest that the Cs call upon the creative talents of the
membership to bring the Net into the 21st century. You might like to
set up a committee to examine the ways of modernizing FidoNet. Surely
Tom Jennings and company, who created this Net from scratch, did not
hold a monopoly on creativity.
FIDONEWS 18-04 Page 8 22 Jan 2001

Tom Jennings was creative, but my suggestion is very similar to
networking concepts for Wide Area Networks, which is all Fidonet is.

FR> long-distance phone call. I much prefer e-mail attachments.

Works great if everyone you try to reach has email

FR> Telnet is another noteworthy and valuable development. It enables
those of us with Internet connections and with poor or no local
FidoNet service to log onto distant BBSs at no extra cost. It also
creates competition among sysops. The good ones become widely known
and flourish, and those providing poor service and having attitude
problems fall by the wayside--as they should.

The problem with BBS's is they have nothing to offer except messages,
games and files. The files are widely available on the internet. The
games are fun but don't come close to the Accelerated 3d SVGA games
that can be played with and against opponents (in real time) on
internet game servers. The messages...well a few of us are still
interested but the largest part of information seekers are not. In
summary, BBSing, whether POTS or IP is a hobby for *Sysops* rather
than users. Kinda like singing in the shower without an audience.

Most of those frequenting BBS's are playing games or are Sysops
looking for a file. So if you want a bunch of teens (possibly all the
same person) playing BRE, LORD and TW2002, a BBS is a great thing.

FR> I think we can breathe new life into Fido. It will never match the
Internet in scope and versatility, but there is no need for it to
wither on the vine. It can fill a well-deserved niche. But wither it
surely will without modernization as the Internet becomes more
affordable all around the world. I would really hate to see this
happen. So let's get off our duffs and do something about it!

Match the internet?? Fido is part of what's available on the internet
and that's as far in matching the internet as it will ever be. The
internet is merely a more efficient packet transport method than what
we currently have in place. We should not mandate that everyone in
Fido have internet access (as you didn't). I think a huge portion of
the world's population does not have internet access, and that's the
main reason we still have the number of nodes we have.

FR> These are my two cents worth I am submitting for your
consideration. If they generate some creative action, they will have
been worth the effort.

I enjoyed discussing it!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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FIDONEWS 18-04 Page 9 22 Jan 2001

=================================================================
OL'WDB'S COLUMN
=================================================================

by Carl Austin Bennett

Here in the north country, mOOse have been loyally posting to FiDoeNet
for many years now, despite being swamped with work running a
profitable Moose Factory or important businesses like Bullmoose Mines
or Moose Jaw Times.

Why?

Perhaps it's because FiDoe has always been friendly to four-legged
critters.

It is with horrour then that followers of the loyal order of mOOse
open a dog-eared copy of the recent FidoeNews 18:3 to find none less
than one of our illustrious FiDoe RC's promoting her recipe for four
pounds of roast venison - Canadian elk, moose or deer.

Like, take off, eh? The typical mOOse would much rather be safely home
in Moose Creek with a comfortable pair of antler warmers and a case of
cold Moosehead Beer than find themselves on someone's dinner table.

At least there's refuge for mOOse who would rather migrate northward
than become Carol's supper: MOOSECHAT, a Canadian humour echo for
noble mOOse!

MOOSECHAT is dedicated to equality for mOOse everywhere, including
chocolate mOOse, as well as liberty and justice for all.

MOOSECHAT is a shining beacon of freedom for mOOse everywhere, as well
as a handy way to contact key world leaders like Vlad-on-Mir Poutine
from Russia, Jean Cretin from the Great White North eh?, Saddam Insane
from Iraq and Chad from Florida. It gives mOOse time away from the rat
race.

It also provides valuable moose-related investment info from
organisations like Moose River Gold Mines, Elk Resources and John
Deere as well as sports coverage of key Senators players like Alexi
Ya$hin and Hillary Clinton.

In short, it allows the Canadian mOOse to, like, gronk farther and
louder.

Beauty, eh?

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FIDONEWS 18-04 Page 10 22 Jan 2001

=================================================================
RECIPES
=================================================================

PORK BACKBONE STEW

Qty Measurement Ingredient

5 lbs pork backbone, cut into 2-in squares
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
salt (to taste)
red pepper (to taste)
white pepper (to taste)
black pepper (to taste)
1 cup cooking oil
1/2 cup flour
2 onions, chopped
2 green bell pepper, cored, seeded, and
chopped
3 ribs celery, chopped
7 cups chicken broth
1 can (10 ozs) Rotel tomatoes
2 pieces lemon peel (2-1/2- x 2-1/2-in)

In a small bowl, combine the dry seasonings. Sprinkle the
seasonings over the meat. Add and leftover seasonings to flour.

In a skillet, heat the oil and brown the meat on all sides.
Remove the browned meat and pour off all but a 1/2 cup of the
cooking oli. Add the seasoned flour, a third at a time, to make
a golden brown roux. Add onions, bell peppers, and celery and
let wilt.

In a large pot, heat in chicken broth. Add the meat and boil
until it begins to be tender. Add the roux, tomatoes, and lemon
peels. Simmer for about 1 hour, stirring occasionally. If the
stew becomes to thick add 1 cup of water.

Serve over Louisiana rice.

Recipe from: "Roger's Cajun Cookbook" by Vernon Roger, published
1987

* Origin: The World Within (1:106/4725)

~~~~~~~~~~~~end~~~~~~~~~~~

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FIDONEWS 18-04 Page 11 22 Jan 2001

=================================================================
POET'S CORNER
=================================================================

My forgetter's getting better,
But my rememberer is broke,
to you that may seem funny...
but, to me, that is no joke!

For when I'm "here" I'm wondering,
If I really should be "there"...
And, when I try to think it through,
I haven't got a prayer!

Oft times I walk into a room,
Say "what am I here for?"
I wrack my brain, but all in vain,
A zero, is my score.

At times I put something away,
Where it is safe, but, Gee!
The person it is safest from,
Is, generally, me!

When shopping I may see someone,
Say "Hi" and have a chat,
Then, when the person walks away...
I ask myself, "who's that?"

Yes, my forgetter's getting better,
While my rememberer is broke,
And it's driving me plumb crazy,
And that isn't any joke.

Author unknown

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FIDONEWS 18-04 Page 12 22 Jan 2001

=================================================================
HUMOR
=================================================================

SAD NEWS:
Please join me in remembering a great icon - the veteran Pillsbury
spokesman. The Pillsbury Doughboy died yesterday of a yeast infection
and complications from repeated pokes in the belly. He was 71.
Doughboy was buried in a lightly greased coffin. Dozens of celebrities
turned out to pay their respects, including Mrs. Butterworth, Hungry
Jack, the California Raisins, Betty Crocker, the Hostess Twinkies, and
Captain Crunch.

The gravesite was piled high with flours. As longtime friend, Aunt
Jemima delivered the eulogy, describing Doughboy as a man who never
knew how much he was kneaded.

Doughboy rose quickly in show business, but his later life was filled
with turnovers. He was not considered a very "smart"cookie, wasting
much of his dough on half-baked schemes. Despite being a little flaky
at times, he even still, as a crusty old man, was considered a roll
model for millions. Toward the end it was thought he would rise again,
but alas, he was no tart.

Doughboy is survived by his wife, Play Dough; two children, John Dough
and Jane Dough; plus they had one in the oven. He is also survived by
his elderly father, Pop Tart.

The funeral was held at 3:50 for about twenty minutes.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
MORE THAN A JOKE

Sometimes, we wonder why friends keep forwarding jokes to us without
writing a word, maybe this could explain: When you are very busy, but
still want to keep in touch, guess what you do-

you forward jokes.

When you have nothing to say,
but still want to keep contact,
you forward jokes.

When you have something to say,
but don't know what,
and don't know how,
You forward jokes.

To let you know that:
you are still remembered,
you are still important,
you are still loved,
you are still cared for,
you are still wanted,
FIDONEWS 18-04 Page 13 22 Jan 2001

guess what you get?

A forwarded joke from me.

So my friend, next time if you get a joke, don't think that I have
sent you just a joke, but that I have thought of you today and wanted
to send you a smile.

~~~~~~~~~~end~~~~~~~~~~

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FIDONEWS 18-04 Page 14 22 Jan 2001

=================================================================
QUESTION OF THE WEEK
=================================================================

When are we going to take the giant step from ASCII only, to HTML
with photo and graphics?

Should the weekly fidonews be a BI-Monthly newsletter, as proposed
by some readers?

Should it be alternately ASCII and HTML? Or ASCII weekly, HTML
monthly?

Should all sysops have the choice of which edition and format?

~~~~~~~~~~end~~~~~~~~~~

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FIDONEWS 18-04 Page 15 22 Jan 2001

=================================================================
ANSWERS OF THE WEEK
=================================================================

by many

From: "Richard Webb" <[email protected]>
To: <[email protected]>
Subject: ascii or html, one vote for ascii
Date: Monday, January 15, 2001 6:08 AM

HI there,

My preference is straight ascii. THought I'm on the internet, I use
an older machine, read and reply to my email offline, and don't have a
web browser on at least two out of three machines around here. The
only machine with a browser around here spends more time burning audio
cds or for my lady love's work.

Though some would like to tell you differently, ascii is still the
equivalent of a universal document format. Lots of folks are still
using older computers and for them html isn't a viable option.

One thing I enjoy about fidonet and the snooze is the fact that people
must actually say it with words, cute pictures and graphics aren't
allowed. I'm a blind man, and your cute graphic doesn't do anything
to make your point. Once we go down the html road people will want
fancy pictures and the whole nine yards. SHould I ever return to a
larger community you can bet I'll be pointing again, and should money
permit I'll again have a mailer up and be a cm node, offering point
access to those who want it, and maybe even a dial-up bbs as I once
did.

REgards, and keep up the good work.

Richard Webb

Electric Spider Productions

If you put garbage in a computer nothing comes out but garbage. But
this garbage, having passed through a very expensive machine, is
somehow ennobled and none dare criticize it.

By: Anne Page To: Warren Bonner Re: FidoNews 18:3 [00/03] Ed
----------------------------------------------------------------------
In reply to some of the questions posed by the Fidonews editor:

ED> When are we going to take the giant step from ASCII only, to HTML?

AP> I hope that it will be NEVER if it means giving up ASCII. I am
using a circa 1993 PC (486/33 with a slow modem) using WIN 3.1 and DOS
6.22 and do not have web access.

ED> Should the weekly fidonews be a BI-Monthly newsletter?
FIDONEWS 18-04 Page 16 22 Jan 2001

AP> No, it shouldn't. Even on a weekly basis, some of the news or
opinion pieces are stale when published. When something is happening,
the situation doesn't cease escalating until just before the deadline
for the next issue. And, in the case of opinion pieces, many
rebuttals are written in the echoes before the issue containing the
beginning of the discussion thread reaches the readers.

ED> Should it be alternately ASCII and HTML? Or ASCII weekly, HTML
ED> monthly?

AP> No, it shouldn't. People who can only read ASCII will miss half
of every year's issues.

ED> Should all sysops have the choice of which edition and format?

AP> No. All issues should be in ASCII and those sysops who want to
offer it to their users in HTML should convert it to that format
themselves.

Anne Page

An everyday BBS user and Echo
co-moderator

* Origin: The Underground (1:106/1234)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

By: Bob Seaborn To: FidoNews Robot Re: FidoNews 18:3 Editorial
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Hi FidoNews,

FR> When are we going to take the giant step from ASCII only, to HTML?

Never! :)

Who really needs HTML-Stuff?

BS> Second the motion!

* Origin: http://www.nwstar.com (1:140/12)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

By: [email protected] To: All Re: Re: FidoNews 18:3 Edito
----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: "Martin Taylor" <[email protected]>

Tony Campbell said..

TC> I have to agree here also. And from an html BBS sysop. Fidonews
should be ASCII, it is the lowest common denominator. Which is why
we use the ASCII, not the html in the fidonews archives.

Not only that, people think that they're artists. So, they fiddle with
FIDONEWS 18-04 Page 17 22 Jan 2001

the way that HTML can generate different effects. They end up posting
a message with little content, but lots of effects. Not only does this
mean that the rest of us have to download extraneous data, it can be
unreadable, or unattractive to read, and generally pisses people off.

I see this all the time in email mailing lists. People use that
Microsoft thing, Outlook Express. They post emails with fonts that
look like crap, are too small to read, or too blocky (bold font, small
point size) and so on.

Now, if a person can't get a message across without having to tart it
up, then it's not worth reading. I'm trying to figure out how to get
Eudora Lite to shove such messages straight into the trash...

----------------------------------------------------------------------
By: [email protected] To: All Re: Re: FidoNews 18:3 [00/03] Ed
----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: "Martin Taylor" <[email protected]>

Anne Page said..

AP> No. All issues should be in ASCII and those sysops who want to
offer it to their users in HTML should convert it to that format
themselves.

Excellent advice.

Fidonet, the last time that I looked (and that was some 5 years now),
was a text medium.

Fast forward to the present. Usenet and email on the internet is a
text based medium. Yet, because of some Microsoft agenda, they are
increasingly being hijacked by the HTML brigade? Why, I don't know.
HTML does nothing to enhance a message, unless you're fixated by
colors or flashing letters.

Plain text means less overheads for those who have to pay to transfer
it. It means that everyone can read it without problems.

In Usenet, I do not read html posted messages. When someone sends me
an 'enhanced' email, I respond requesting that they set Outlook
Express (which is the culprit 99% of the time) to send in "plain
text". It's not hard to do. And it makes the other, grumpy folk like
me, happier. Plus they get the privilege of me (and like minded folk)
reading their messages.

* Origin: Usenet:MJT Ink (3:633/262)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Thu 18 Jan 01 12:29a
By: Dan Ceppa
Re: FidoNews 18:3 [00/03] Editorial
---------------------------------------------------------------------
(Editors question: ASCII only or HTML w/photos or both?
---------------------------------------------------------------------
GP> investing my money or time in a modern convience I ask myself
FIDONEWS 18-04 Page 18 22 Jan 2001

"what is it going to do for me *that I would want done* that the old
stuff isn't doing" In other words, when it comes to conveying
messages in an organized(?) forum what would html do that ASCII
doesn't do?

DC> Make it look pretty?

DC>Trust me: I have to work with catalogs written by people that
like "fancy things". I need catalogs that are easy to use,
not look spiffy.

DC> Those may work for end-users to buy a particular product. But,
they don't work for those that need to easily find the correct
product to sell them. I want the donw-and-dirty info, not the
glitz that not just hides what I'm looking for but often hurts
my eyes.
* Origin: Soundly on the Fault Line (1:393/9005.30)

~~~~~~~~~end~~~~~~~~~

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FIDONEWS 18-04 Page 19 22 Jan 2001

=================================================================
NOTICES
=================================================================

FidoNews Article Submission (January 2001)

FidoNews, founded in early 1984, is the newsletter of the FidoNet
computer network, for both its Sysops and users. It is passed to its
readers electronically via the FidoNet and other computer networks and
to non-network readers as well as to the InterNet. Fidonews welcomes
articles, editorials, and features of interest to the Fidonet
Community.

To have your article included in Fidonews, simply send it via netmail
to 1:1/23 or 1:103/301, [email protected], [email protected],
[email protected]

In the past, this article submission document outlined the many
technical details involved in processing Fidonews articles. The
assumption in the past seems to have been that articles would be
automatically processed from the editor's inbound mail directly into
Fidonews. However, the current editor does no automatic inbound
processing; rather, each article is examined before publication and
technical details are handled by the editor rather than imposed on the
person submitting the article. It works better that way - it means
that you are free to just concentrate on what you want to say.

It's perfectly acceptable to simply write your article the same way
you would write netmail or email. Don't worry about the stuff added
by software along the way... I edit that out anyway. All I need at
this end is a text message which I can read with standard software and
which I can import into a standard text editor to format for the
Fidonews software. Alternatively, you can file attach an ASCII text
copy of your article.

Here are some guidelines you can use to help me make it easier to
format your article for Fidonews:

1. Use standard ASCII text. Most word processor formats can't be
used by the Fidonews software. In addition, the Fidonews software
won't accept most ASCII control characters nor any characters above
ASCII 127 (this, unfortunately, includes all those neat box drawing
characters).

2. Start your lines at the left of your screen when typing. The
software puts in a left margin automatically, and I have to manually
remove any left margin appearing in your document.

3. Keep your line length to under 70 columns for tables or charts (or
if you include an ASCII illustration). Regular paragraphs exceeding
this 70 column limit can be reformatted during the editing process,
but tables and charts are normally distorted beyond recognition by a
simple reformatting.

4. Separate paragraphs with a blank line. This is how my text editor
FIDONEWS 18-04 Page 20 22 Jan 2001

recognizes paragraph endings, so I have to add blank lines manually if
you don't.

5. Title your article as you'd like to see it in the Table of
Contents. If you don't, I'll make up a title for you, but I'd rather
have the article appear as you wish.

6. Include your name and node number (or internet address) under the
title. I'll grab it from your message, if necessary... but, again,
I'd rather have the article appear as you wish.

7. Check your own spelling and wording. Though I feel free to
reformat your article so it conforms to technical requirements, I
generally leave the wording (and spelling) alone as I don't want to
distort what you have to say.

8. Send your article before Saturday midnight in order to see it in
that Monday's edition. Normally I put the newsletter together Sunday
and send it out... and I normally check email and netmail before I
finalize the edition. So if I get your article to me before Saturday
midnight, I'll include it... but send it by Saturday to be safe :)

9. If you're not sure whether you should write or send in your
article, I would encourage you to send it anyway. Chances are, if you
write of something of interest to yourself, it'll be of interest to
others. Besides, Fidonews is a better publication when it's written
by a variety of people :)

Warren D. Bonner
Fidonews Editor

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FIDONEWS 18-04 Page 21 22 Jan 2001

=================================================================
FIDONET BY INTERNET
=================================================================

------------------------------------------------------
*Fidonet-related sites

. -- -- -- -- --- -- -- -- -- .
| FIDONET-RELATED SITES |
` -- -- -- -- --- -- -- -- -- '
Last update: December 30, 2000

FidoNet
Homepage: http://www.fidonet.org
FidoNews: http://www.fidonews.org [HTML]
ftp://ftp.nwstar.com/fidonet/fidonews/
ftp://ftp.sstar.com/fidonet/fnews/
Echolist: http://www.baltimoremd.com/echolist/
Echomail links: http://www.osirusoft.com/fidonet/fidoip.html
SDS Files: http://fidobbs.dk/download (Web Access to SDS)
FTSC page: http://www.ftsc.org/
General: http://www.writebynight.com/fidonet.html

Zone 1: http://www.z1.fidonet.org
Region 10: http://www.r10.org
Net 102 http://home.earthlink.net/~kayshapero/net102.htm
Net 103: http://www.webworldinc.com/club103/
Net 203: http://www.geocities.com/Area51/8687/net203index.html
Region 11: http://oeonline.com/~garyg/region11/
Net 2410: http://www.vector.11.com/net2410/
Region 12: http://sparkys.dyndns.org
Region 13: http://www.net264.org/r13.htm
Net 264: http://www.net264.org/
Net 275: http://www.homershut.net/~mahoover/net275/
Region 14: http://www.ouijabrd.com/region14
Net 282: http://www.rxn.com/~net282/
Region 15: <vacant>
Region 16: <vacant>
Region 17: http://www.region17.net
Net 140: http://www.nwstar.com/~net140
Region 18: http://techshop.pdn.net/fido/

Region 19: http://bise.tzo.com/r19
Net 124: http://www.dallasinet.com/net124
http://texoma.net/~flv
Net 130: http://www.startext.net/homes/net130
Net 393: http://www.chatter.com/~wb/

Zone 2: http://www.z2.fidonet.org
ftp://ftp.sstar.com/fidonet/zone2 (Z2 nodelists etc.)
Region 20: http://www.fidonet.pp.se (in Swedish)
Region 23: http://www.fido.dk (in Danish)

Region 24: http://www.swb.de/personal/flop/gatebau.html (German)
http://www.was-ist-fido.de/
Fido-IP: http://home.nrh.de/fido/ (English/German)
FIDONEWS 18-04 Page 22 22 Jan 2001

Region 25: http://www.literary.freeserve.co.uk/net2502/
Region 26: http://www.nemesis.ie
REC 26: http://www.nrgsys.com/orb
Region 27: http://telematique.org/ft/r27.htm
Region 29: http://www.rtfm.be/fidonet/ (French)
http://Welcome.to/skynetbbs/
Region 30: http://www.fidonet.ch (German)
? Region 33: http://www.fidoitalia.net (Italian)
Region 34: http://www.pobox.com/cnb/r34.htm (Spanish)
REC34: http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/4552/
Region 36: http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/7207/
Region 38: http://public.st.carnet.hr/~blagi/bbs/adriam.html
Region 41: http://www.fidonet.gr (Greek/English)
Region 42: http://www.fido.cz
! Net422: http://www.fido.sk (Slovak/English)
Region 50: http://www.fido7.com/ (Russian)
Net 5010: http://fido.tu-chel.ac.ru/ (Russian)
Net 5015: http://www.fido.nnov.ru/ (Russian)
Net 5028: HTTP://5028.nordnet.ru/
Net 5030: http://kenga.ru/fido/ (Russian & English)
Net 5049: http://www.n5049.z2.fidonet.org (English/Russian)
Net 5074: http://www.z2.n5074.fidonet.net
?? Net 5085: http://www.fidonet.uz/ (Russian)

Zone 3: http://www.z3.fidonet.org

Zone 4:
Region 80: http://fidobrasil.8m.com (Portuguese)
Region 90:
Net 904: http://members.tripod.com/~net904 (Spanish)

Zone 5: http://www.eastcape.co.za/fidonet/

Zone 6: http://www.z6.fidonet.org
Region 65: http://www.cfido.com/fidonet/cfidochina.html
(Chinese)

Fidonet Via Internet Hubs

See also: http://www.osirusoft.com/fidoip.html

a @ preceding an individual's name implies a virtual email
address. The email is translated as follows
[email protected] will automatically route to the
appropriate individual's email. Anyone in this list will
also receive routed notice of this feature. In my case, it
would still be [email protected], but you get the idea.

Also, as information is provided to me, I will be adding a
latency field to each node, which is defined as the maximum
time between when the message is received, and when it is
sent on to other nodes, or available to be sent onward,
defined in minutes. A latency of ! implies that there is an
immediate response, and an attempt to deliver immediately
after processing, or a "MinuteMail System", as it were.
FIDONEWS 18-04 Page 23 22 Jan 2001

v-email flag [email protected]
| email address or
Node# | Operator | Facilities (*) | Speed,| Basic Rate
| | |latency|
-----------+-------------------+----------------+-------+------------
Zone 1 | | | |
10/3 | Brenda Donovan | FTP,UUE,BinkP | 384K,30| n/c
10/345 @ Todd Cochrane | FTP,BinkP,VMOT | T1,! | n/c
13/25 @ Jim Balcom | FTP | 56k | $20mo.
18/500 @ Ross Cassell | FTP, BinkP |128K+,!| n/c
19/68 | Ben Ritchey | UUE:BFDS | 33.6k | n/c
103/5 @ Mark Luetger | BinkP | 384k,!| n/c
103/153 @ Michael Box | BinkP | aDSL,!| n/c
103/301 @ Joe Jared | BinkP,FTP,NFS | 384k,!| n/c
103/401 @ Warren Bonner | BinkP | aDSL,!| n/c
105/8 | Russ Johnson | FTP,BinkP,VMoT | 384k | n/c
105/72 @ Larry James | FTP, BinkP | aDSL | $50/yr
106/1 @ Steve Loupe | BinkP, FTP | 128k | ???
106/6018 | Lawrence Garvin | FTP, VMoT | aDSL,60| n/c
107/453 @ Jeffrey Estevez| FTP,BinkP,VMoT,UUE| 56k,60| $10 mo.
140/1 @ Bob Seaborn | FTP,BinkP | T3,30 | $5/$16
167/133 | Stephen Monteith | BinkP | 128k+ | n/c
211/417 @ Korombos | BinkP,UUE,FTP | T1 | n/c
220/10 | [email protected] |BinkP,FTP,UUE|1.5M+ | n/c
218/109 @ Matt Munson | BinkP,UUE | 33.6k | n/c
246/160 @ Mason Vye | FTP, UUE | 56K | n/c
249/116 | Carl Austin Bennett | FTP, UUE |ADSL,60 | n/c
280/169 | Brian Greenstreet | FTP | 33.6 | $2mo.
342/3 @ Richard Dodsworth | BinkP,FTP | 128K+ | n/c
395/670 | Arthur Stark | BinkD,FTP | CABLE | n/c
379/1 @ Dale Ross | FTP, BinkP,UUE | 256K+,! n/c
396/1 @ John Souvestre | FTP,VMoT | T1,10 | $5/mo
396/45 | Marc Lewis | UUE | 33.6 | $26/yr
2604/104 @ Jim Mclaughlin | FTP,VMoT,UUE | 33.6 | $1mo
2613/404 @ David Moufarrege | BinkP,FTP,VMoT | 128k+,!| n/c
2624/306 | David Calafrancesco | VMoT | 33.6 | n/c
3407/4 @ [email protected] | UUE,FTP | 28.8 | n/c
3632/84 | Robert Todd |FTP,VMoT,UUE,BinkP | 57.6k | n/c
3651/9 @ Jerry Gause | FTP,VMoT | 33.6 | $3/$6
--------------------------------------------------------------
Zone 2 |
20/11 | Henrik Lindhe | BinkP | ??? | n/c
31/1 | Gabriel Plutzar | BinkP | T1+ | n/c
203/600 | Mikael Karlsson | UUE | 64k | n/c
221/360 @ Tommi Koivula | BinkP,UUE | ??? | n/c
236/205 @ Michael Kaaber | BinkP | ??? | n/c
246/2098 | Volker Imre | BinkP | ??? | n/c
280/1601 @ Jeroen VanDeLeur | FTP,UUE | 64k | n/c
292/620 | Eddy Missoul | VMoT, UUE,BinkP| 64k |N/C
292/624 | Steven Leeman | UUE | 64k | N/C
292/907 | Bart Verhaeghe | BinkP,VMoT,UUE | 64K | n/c
292/2003 | Eric Vaneberck | BinkP | 768k | n/c
301/1 | Peter Witschi | BinkP | 768k | n/c
332/807 | Roberto Mascolo | BinkP | ??? | n/c
335/535 @ Mario Mure | BinkP,VMot,UUE | 64k | n/c
335/610 | Gino Lucrezi | UUE | 33.6 | n/c
FIDONEWS 18-04 Page 24 22 Jan 2001

344/201 | Julio Garcia | BinkP | ??? | n/c
346/3 @ Carlos Navarro | UUE | ??? | n/c
382/100 | Sinisa Burina | BinkP,ifcico | ??? | n/c
406/555 | Ofir Michaeli & | BinkP | ??? | n/c
406/555 | Marius Kaizerman | BinkP | ??? | n/c
423/81 | Milos Bajer | BinkP | ??? | n/c
465/204 | Va Milushnikov | BinkP | 33.6k | n/c
469/84 | Max Masyutin | VMoT | 256k | n/c
480/112 | Adam Sarapata| FTP, VMoT, UUE,BinkP| 128k | n/c
550/4077 | Serguei Trouchelle| UUE | ----- | n/c
2411/413 @ Dennis Dittrich | UUE,BinkP | 64k | n/c
2446/301 @ Lothar Behet | BinkP,VMoT,UUE,FTP | 64K | n/c
2474/275 | Christian Emig | UUE | 64k | unkn
5030/115 | Andrey Podkolzin | BinkP | ??? | n/c
5100/8 | Egons Bush | BinkP | ??? | n/c
5020/1159 | Gennady Kudryashoff | UUE | 33.6 | n/c
--------------------------------------------------------------
Zone 3
633/260 @ Malcolm Miles | FTP,BinkP | 64K | n/c
640/954 | Rick Van Ruth | FTP,VMot,UUE,BinkP| 56K| n/c
774/605 @ Barry Blackford|BinkP,VMoT:10023,ifcico,FTP |33.6| n/c

--------------------------------------------------------------
Zone 4
801/161 @ Renato Zambon | UUE | 33.6 |n/c
905/100 | Fabian Gervan | VMoT,UUE,BinkP | 128k | n/c
902/18 | Javier Tejedor | UUE | 33,6 | n/c

--
* FTP = Internet File Transfer Protocol
* VMoT = Virtual Mailer over Telnet (various)
* UUE = uuencode<->email type transfers
* BinkP = front end mailer for TCPIP networks
* NFS = Linux Networking
----------------------------------------------
Fidonet oriented news servers

news.osirusoft.com
news.tardis.net

Fidonet oriented chat rooms.

room #fidonet 5PM (PDT 11AM GMT) Sundays
irc.osirusoft.com (Peers wanted)

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

Please send updates, corrections and suggestions to
Joe Jared, 1:103/301, [email protected]. All email addresses
here for purpose of corresponding with fidonet members about
obtaining a feed. Improper use of the virtual email addresses, and
most especially, email addressed to [email protected]
will be considered a request to be blocked by my open relay spam
stopper at http://relays.osirusoft.com

FIDONEWS 18-04 Page 25 22 Jan 2001

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

FIDONEWS 18-04 Page 26 22 Jan 2001

=================================================================
FIDONEWS INFORMATION
=================================================================

+ -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- FIDONEWS STAFF - -- -- -- -- -- -- +
| |
| Editor: Warren D. Bonner, 1:1/23, [email protected] |
| Webmaster: Jim Barchuk, [email protected] |
| Columnist: Joe Jared, 1:103/0, [email protected] |
| (Fido Via Internet Hubs column) |
| Columnist: Ol' WDB, 1:103/401, [email protected] |
| Humor: Chuckles & Grins, emailed to editor |
| Sites Bio: Frank Vest, 1:124/6308.1 |
| (The best site of the week) |
+ -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- +

+ -- -- -- -- -- -- -- - EDITORS EMERITI - -- -- -- -- -- -- +
| |
| Tom Jennings, Thom Henderson, Dale Lovell, Vince |
| Perriello, Tim Pozar, Sylvia Maxwell, Donald Tees, |
| Christopher Baker, Zorch Frezberg, Henk Wolsink, |
| Doug Meyers |
| |
+ -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- +

"Fido", "FidoNet" and the dog-with-diskette are U.S. registered
trademarks of Tom Jennings, P.O. Box 410923, San Francisco, CA
94141, and are used with permission.

Fidonews is published weekly by and for the members of Fidonet.
Fidonews is Copyright (C) 2000 by Warren Bonner, though authors
retain rights to their contributed articles. Opinions expressed
by theauthors is strictly their own. Noncommercial duplication
and distribution within Fidonet is encouraged. Authors are
encouraged to send their articles in ASCII text to:
Warren Bonner at one of his addresses above.

The weekly edition of Fidonews is distributed through the file
area FIDONEWS, and is published as echomail in the echo FIDONEWS.
These sources are normally available through your Network
Coordinator. The current and past issues are also available from
the following sources:

+ -- -- -- -- -- -- - FIDONEWS AVAILABILITY - -- -- -- -- -- -- +
| |
| Freq FIDONEWS @ 1:140/1, or 1:396/1 |
| ftp://ftp.sstar.com/fidonet/fnews/ |
| ftp://ftp.nwstar.com/fidonet/fidonews/ |
| http://www.fidonews.org |
| email subscription: [email protected] |
| (subject: help body: list) |
| ftp mail: [email protected] (subject: help) |
| |
+ -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- +
FIDONEWS 18-04 Page 27 22 Jan 2001

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