Fidonews is published weekly by SEAboard, Fido 107/7. You
are encouraged to submit articles for publication in
Fidonews. Article submission standards are contained in the
file FIDONEWS.DOC, available from Fido 107/7.
Disclaimer or don't-blame-us:
The contents of the articles contained here are not our
responsibility, nor do we necessarily agree with them;
everything here is subject to debate. We publish EVERYTHING
received.
Fido in the News
We seem to be getting alot of press these days, mostly bad.
The latest story I've heard is about a bunch of kids in New
Jersey who hacked away at a Pentagon computer. They don't
seem to have caused any harm, just made general nuisances of
themselves, but the media had a field day.
I saw a news broadcast on one of the New York stations where
they interviewed a Pentagon official about it. He firmly
stated that there is no way any hacker can do any real harm
(the reporter was concerned about kids getting control of
satellites). Having studied Naval Intelligence, I know he's
right. Government systems holding confidential data DO NOT
have phone lines! This is nothing new; confidential
information is never transmitted by phone.
Once the reporter established that these kids were basically
harmless, she went on to cover some "background" about home
computers, modems, phone lines, and so forth. This mainly
consisted of a short piece on remote bulletin board systems.
FIDONEWS -- 29 Jul 85 00:00:40 Page 2
In fact, they actually demonstrated a person logging onto a
bulletin board. And, here's the cute part, the Fido doggie
was plain as day. Now, maybe I'm biased, but it strikes me
that Fidonet is the cleanest collection of boards in the
country.
She wrapped up her whole piece by stating that while she
didn't see anything illegal or immoral on the system she was
looking at, that didn't mean it wasn't there, since there
are different levels of access and not everyone sees
everything.
Nice, eh? She didn't say anything that wasn't true, but the
way she said it implies secret cabals of subversive
criminals, conspiring to overthrow The American Way Of Life.
Face it, kiddos. The powers that be don't like us. Here we
are, with unprecidented powers of communication, and nobody
really knows what we can or will do with it. We have
nothing less than our own private electronic mail system. I
can sit here in my own little room and contact thousands of
(more or less) like-minded people all over the country. You
may not beleive it, but this translates into tremendous
political power.
It reminds me of something I was once told about military
tactics. It matters not what they are doing, nor what we
think they will do, but only what they CAN do if they want
to. We are seem as being able to do a great deal, possibly
much more than we are actually able to do. And we don't fit
any of the established categories. Just look at where we
are:
o A guy sits in his room and types a message. It isn't
printed in a newspaper or published in a magazine, but
the next day hundreds of people read it. Within a few
weeks thousands of people all over the country have read
it. All of the normal channels of news distribution
have been totally bypassed, for a cost counted in
pennies.
o A guy writes a program, and gives it away. Friends pass
it on to their friends, and soon it's in use all over
the country. People mail in voluntary donations. The
guy isn't a non-profit organization, or a major
corporation, or even a reasonably normal small company,
yet he's making money without contracts, without
dealers, without even charging anyone for anything.
o A guy goes into business as a consultant. His startup
costs are minimal; less than the cost of a used car. He
has no office, no employees, no inventory, and no
overhead, but he makes good money.
Now I ask you, how possible was any of this ten years ago?
We simply don't fit any of the established categories. This
is a new industry, and it's working in totally different
FIDONEWS -- 29 Jul 85 00:00:42 Page 3
ways from anything that's ever come before.
Which is not to say that nothing new has ever happened; it
has many times. But the normal reaction to new things is to
try and shove them into old boxes, or to get rid of them if
they won't fit.
The independant consultant is being shoved into the old
boxes. A bill has been introduced in California that would
make an independant consultant legally an employee of his
client. Federal legislation has been proposed to make a
consultant's office in the home illegal, and to force
consultants to hire only union employees. Tax rulings that
are unfavorable to the independant abound, as many of you
well know.
Bulletin boards won't fit into any established category,
though some people are trying. Classing a bulletin board as
a "common carrier" is an attempt to define us in previously
understood terms. Other attempts are a good deal more
harmfull, as they sound like an attempt to classify a sysop
as an accessory before the fact, and bulletin boards as
conspiracies to commit felonies.
We need to act NOW, before it's too late! We need to write
our senators and representatives and tell them how we feel.
We need to set up our own political action group to
represent our interests. We need to make our voices heard.
You should also write to your local newspapers, television
stations, and radio stations telling them that you are
willing to provide background on any computer related
stories they get.
To ban bulletin boards because a few of them are used for
hacking is on par with shutting down the phone company
because criminals use phones.
FIDONEWS -- 29 Jul 85 00:00:44 Page 4
============================================================
NEWS
============================================================
BBSLAW01.MSG From Chip Berlet, Public Eye Magazine.
HELP FIGHT BAD BBS LAWS - 01
FEDERAL LEGISLATION RESTRICTING BBS OPERATION DUE SOON!
POST THIS MESSAGE ON EVERY BBS IN AMERICA!
A new federal law that would outlaw some BBS systems
and severely restrict all others could be passed by Congress
in 1985. A mobilization of SYSOPS and BBS users is urgently
needed to ensure we have a chance to speak out on the new
law.
Watch BBS's for messages with "BBSLAWXX.MSG" headers or
"HELP FIGHT BAD BBS LAWS - XX" titles. An ad-hoc group will
be posting these messages on BBS's and the commercial
systems.
LAWMUG SYSOP Paul Bernstein and I have learned the law
could be introduced as soon as MID JULY! Although aspects
of the new law have been discussed for months by "experts"
in Washington, NOT ONE SYSOP WAS CONSULTED until a June 20
conference in Chicago which Paul and I attended.
Vague language in another telecommunications law
already introduced in Congress might also restrict BBS
activities.
We urged the Congressional aide involved in that legislation
to exempt BBS systems until we could let SYSOPS and lawyers
study the language more carefully. We must also monitor
this law.
The law restricting BBS operations was prompted by
panic over the possibility that children (minors) might read
pornographic material, and by the wave of publicity
regarding the malicious hackers and illegal credit card and
phone information posted on BBS's by electronic graffiti
vandals.
Among the ideas SERIOUSLY DISCUSSED for the new federal
law restricting BBS's are provisions which would require:
* Registration of all BBS's as a public utility.
* BBS users to log in with, and post their legal names.
* SYSOPS to keep a log of all names of users.
* SYSOPS to keep a log of all messages & access times.
FIDONEWS -- 29 Jul 85 00:00:46 Page 5
* Criminal penalties for SYSOPS whose BBS's have
illegal messages posted on them - even if the SYSOP
was not aware of the message and had not been
informed the message was there nor given a chance to
remove it!
While the law is currently only being discussed, there
is much pressure to restrict and regulate BBS's. A good BBS
law could protect BBS's and SYSOPS. A bad law could destroy
BBS's in their infancy as a telecommunications phenomena.
BBS's put the individual back into mass society in the
age of telecommunications. BBS's encourage information
sharing and remove barriers to discussion posed by social
status, wealth, class, race, sex, physical size, and many
physical handicaps. BBS's encourage the democratic process
and are a powerful new communications system which deserves
Constitutional protection and First Amendment Rights.
NO LEGISLATION WITHOUT REPRESENTATION! There will be
differing views of wording, law, and tactics; all should be
given a chance to be heard. Congress should delay passage
of any BBS legislation until BBS users and SYSOPS have a
chance to discuss the legal issues and make their opinions
known in a series of Congressional hearings. Our discussion
must start immediately and we must organize to block bad BBS
legislation until our voices are heard.
We share the responsibility. Time is short. Spread
the word. It is the electronic age. We are all Paul
Revere....
THE FOLLOWING IS A SAMPLE LETTER THAT IS TO BE COPIED AND
ADDRESSED TO YOUR TWO SENATORS AND CONGRESSMAN. IF YOU HAVE
ANY INTEREST IN PRESERVING YOUR FREEDOM OF SPEECH, I STRONGLY
RECOMMEND YOU SIGN AND MAIL OUT COPIES OF THIS LETTER.
SPREAD IT AROUND TO ALL THE BBSES YOU CALL - ONLY A FLOOD
OF LETTERS TO CAPITOL HILL WILL PROTECT US FROM REACTIONARY
LAWS!
Joseph P. Salemi
_______________________________
United States _________________
Washington, DC
As a user of a personal computer for telecommunications,
and as a member of the new "electronic community," I wish to
strongly protest the current proposals for laws regulating
electronic Bulletin Board Systems.
Recent negative publicity about a few such systems being
used to spread illegal long-distance access codes and stolen
credit card numbers has cast public doubt on our hobby. It is
time that the record is set straight.
Electronic BBSes are the freest form of interpersonal
communications ever created. The people who use them do so as
a way of sharing their thoughts, ideas, and information on the
rapidly changing computer technology. Also shared are
thoughts and ideas about the world in general; many systems
have ongoing debates about National and world issues. Not
since the days of the American Revolution, when thoughts and
ideas were first spread around through pamphlets and flyers,
has such a system of rapid communication been developed.
The vast majority of BBSes and their users are honest
people, who use this new technology in their work and as a
hobby. We should not be punished for the illegal actions the
few misguided people about whom there has been so much
publicity.
I therefore recommend that before any laws restricting
the use of BBSes are passed, input is received from the
operators and users of these systems. Representation of our
interests in promoting the freedom of speech we exercise on
the BBSes is the answer to reactionary laws. I urge you to
support our position in this matter.
This is a response to Jim Lynn and Paul Kelly who
wrote an article for the last issue of FIDONEWS about the
re-write of FIDO. I guess that I have a basic problem with
the article in that as far as I know, there is no FIDO
"re-write committee". From all of the information that I
have been able to gather, there are simply a number of
individuals who have taken it upon themselves to try and
re-write FIDO. I don't know of any group that has as yet
successfully emulated the entire range of FIDO operations.
I myself have started a re-write project of my own, and so
far I have about 90% of the message section written and
working from the console keyboard. Any sysops interested
in beta testing this software should call my board at
(603) 888-8179 and dowload the file 'ROVER.ARC' which is
the executable program, and some short documentation.
As far as the ideas presented in the article go, I
liked them a lot. The idea of overlays for FIDO is
something that I simply never thought of, but now that I
have thought about it, the question of how to implement it
arises. This area would have to be more thoroughly
explored to see if it is feasible. I could see FIDO being
distributed as 2 .OBJ modules, one that would be the inner
guts of FIDO, and 1 that would be a standard do-nothing
overlay which could be tailored by each individual sysop
that had the programming tools necessary to do such a job.
I would welcome any input from groups that are
also working on a FIDO re-write. Perhaps a lot of work
could be saved by pooling our resources.
Bob Hartman
Sysop Fido 101/101 - The UN*X Gateway
or if your nodelist is old
Sysop Fido 101/10101 - SPARK SOFTWARE
OK....first of all, all you male sysops DON'T FREAK
OUT!! I am not a radical feminist....just another Fido
Sysop who happened to notice there aren't many female
sysops (in fact, glancing at the latest nodelist...I may
be it!!) I haven't seen any bias in Fido regarding
gender, so Congratulations!! But, with so many women in
the computer field, it does seem odd to me that there
aren't more female sysops. If I'm overlooking anyone...
please contact me at 15/1001. Thanks!!
Now, my REAL beef-- It seems that lately Fido News has
been over run with articles about pirating. A topic
that is more upsetting to me is "Crackers" and board
crashers. In both Albuquerque, NM & Denver, CO, there
seems to be a recent serious rash of this activity. So
bad that we have possibly lost a few good sysops. Node
104/341 (DASUG) and a great sysop is down due to Trojan
Horse type programs on his board, and he may not come
back. Other non-fido boards in Albuquerque have been
victimized and may not try putting their boards back up.
Can't we as Legimate Sysops band together and do
something about this plague? We can certainly "turn in"
pirate boards. I don't like playing the role of
"squealer"....BUT, laws are forthcoming on bulletin
boards and electronic communications, and we need to
stand up for the legitimate uses and make sure lawmakers
recognize the difference between "Crackers" & pirates,
and lawful uses of telecommunication.
I would like to know if there is an organization that
can lobby on behalf of this issue? This is serious,
because if we don't stand up for ourselves, no one else
will!! Any information on this issue would be greatly
appreciated at 15/1001. Thank you for the time and
space for this type of forum!!
There is a wonderful, new world out there for
communication by PC. It revolves around references to man's
best friend -- Fido! Like its namesake, Fido can be a
worker, a thing of wonder, a fun pastime and a pain in the
neck. Those of you who aren't involved have no idea and to
you this article is addressed. The rest of you are saying
"amen!"
I never had a pup of my own before Fido. I couldn't
really compare electronic Fido with the flesh and blood kind
until I got both about the same time. PC Fido is much
neater in many senses of the word. Nice people were
responsible for both my dogs moving in. My mother-in-law
decided my son needed a pup and Bob Klahn decided my office
needed one. Both folk are tenacious. I have one dog at
home that barks when I call sometimes and a dog at the
office that usually will bark at those of you who own
modems.
Fido was created to help a couple programers keep
abreast of their progress on a mutual project. Strange
thing, though -- they were on opposite coasts. Tom
Jennings, our doggy daddy, was in San Francisco and his
counterpart was in Baltimore. Tom fathered Fido so they
could compare source code, hence the FidoNet standard time
of 1:00 A.M. Pacific time. From the two original NetMembers
we have grown to more than 400 visible nodes. There are
numerous Fido boards, or nodes, that aren't public and can't
be enumerated. Safe to say, there are lots of Fidos out
there on which you may use your typing talents.
For a public domain program, Fido is well supported.
The current version in distribution is 10K, --and there was
a version 1. You will find fleas on Fido from time to time,
but the flea powder troops are very active. Tom Jennings
deserves a medal. This is a long way of saying R* is the
most unreliable command in the lexicon. But, as it says on
the Woodstock I album, "treat the imperfections as marks in
fine leather -- proof of its authenticity.
Anyone can be a Fido Sysop. You don't have to own a 3088
with VMS. I started my board with a 300 baud Hayes and two
floppies for storage. Bob Klahn came to my office one
Saturday afternoon and installed it. You may wish to
download the files to make it run from many of the Fido
boards. If you plan to put it to business use, your
software consultant probably can offer some advice or
assistance making it fit your hardware configuration. Fido
is a public domain program and nobody should collect money
for it, save Tom Jennings. There are some applications out
there that dogfight with Fido and good business practice
says you should check with a consultant who knows those
conficts. See me for their names. It will cost you hourly
rates but it's good insurance. If you want to use it for
personal stuff there are countless people who will help you
join the throng. I love it. I have been known to spend
voluntary hours playing with it. I have also saved DAYS of
FIDONEWS -- 29 Jul 85 00:00:55 Page 11
work due to the information that I could receive and send
through it. I have saved weeks of travel time. One sysop
has it trigger a beeper. He gets out of more lengthy
meetings that way. Another Fido wakes his master and
mistress with Bach a la PC. When Jim Goldschneider set up
his Fido, two guys I know made his board exit to DOS at
midnight, play him and his wife some classical music, and
return to Fido. I forget their names. Moral: be
thoughtful of your choice of folk to whom you extend sysop
privileges. And that brings up a thought. I have seen many
try to crash my system. I have seen no one succeed. Nor
has anybody else. You can get in. Only those you allow to
do so can get in. Some sysops do not let anyone in until
they are asked first. And they frequently say no. Some
sysops keep their boards a secret. It's fun. It's safe and
profitable. Only conversation, good books and sex rank
higher.
Van Olmstead 107/214
(302)655-6342
hours 8:00 PM to 8:00 A.M.
FIDONEWS -- 29 Jul 85 00:00:56 Page 12
============================================================
WANTED
============================================================
From: Dan Taylor
Sysop of 102/411
(213) 970-9238
I am trying to find some back issues of FidoNews from 1984.
I have Vol. 1 #'s 1 and 2, but am missing the rest for
December. I've been looking around the local boards, but no
luck. If anyone has them (after all this time), or knows of
someone who does, please let me know. My intent is to keep
an on-line archive of all Fido Newsletters.
For those of you that have received the National FIDO user
list, there is one small change that you should make. My
old node number (it should have been changed the Friday
before this is published) was 101/10101. Unfortunately,
the SHIPUSER program created a file NNNNnnnn.USR where NNNN
was my net number (0101), and nnnn was my node number, which
came out as 1010 instead of 10101. Unlike the FIDO software
itself, they did not use a hexadecimal representation for
the net and node numbers, and any node number that was 5
digits got truncated. Anyway, to get to the point, my new
node number is 101/101 (to avoid such problems in the near
future), and if you have the user list please change all
occurences of 1010 to 101.
