FidoNews is the official newsletter of the International FidoNet
Association, and is published weekly by SEAdog Leader, node 1/1.
You are encouraged to submit articles for publication in
FidoNews. Article submission standards are contained in the file
ARTSPEC.DOC, available from node 1/1.
Copyright (C) 1987, by the International FidoNet Association.
All rights reserved. Duplication and/or distribution permitted
for noncommercial purposes only. For use in other circumstances,
please contact IFNA.
Table of Contents
1. EDITORIAL
FidoNews versus EchoMail
2. ARTICLES
EchoMail Censorship
IFNA Board of Director Elections
Fido on the air
My Reply to Mark Welch, Re: Shareware Expenses
3. FOR SALE
Magazine on Disk for IBM PC and Compatibles
4. NOTICES
The Interrupt Stack
An excerpt from a recently overheard conversation:
"I have an idea for a FidoNews article."
"Don't send it to FidoNews, put it in EchoMail! Everyone
will get it faster that way."
This brings up an interesting question. Is this true? Well,
partly.
It's true that EchoMail is usually faster. Not always by any
means, but usually. But does everyone read EchoMail? Is there
any one given EchoMail conference that is more widely read than
FidoNews? I think not.
One of the EchoMail backbone hubs recently told me the results of
some studies he's done. He analyzed the "seen-by" lists of all
of the message traffic on the "big four" conferences (SYSOP,
IFNA, TECH, and ECPROG), plus several other popular conferences
he carries, and he's found that only about a hundred nodes show
up in all conferences combined. Even if twice as many nodes see
those conferences than ever show up at his node, that's still
much less than a quarter of all sysops.
I might be biased, but I think that FidoNews is still an
important channel of communication between sysops, and I think
those numbers back me up. On a more subjective level, I feel
that FidoNews articles tend to be more considered, more thought
out, while EchoMail tends more to reflexive, off-the-cuff
reactions. This in turn makes FidoNews more valuable for
reference and for historical reasons. Not too many people keep
histories of EchoMail conferences, but quite a few people keep
full back-issue sets of FidoNews.
So why am I banging your ear(eye) about this? It's become a
matter of some concern to me lately. As you may have noticed,
the last couple of issues of FidoNews have been a bit shorter
than usual. This is because submissions have been dropping off.
It's been going on longer than you may have realized. I've had a
supply of "filler" on hand to take care of the occasional slow
issue, but recently I've had to dip into it more and more, and
recently I ran out. I can probably dig up some more, but what
I'd really rather have is something from YOU!
An Essay Supporting Censorship of EchoMail Conferences.
NetMail has some similarities with the service provided by the
Post Office, and like that Mail, should NOT be subject to
censorship, short of the standard requirement that it not be
illegal. EchoMail, on the other hand, can be thought of as a
group of magazines that we subscribe to, because we are
interested in the known subject matter and/or editorial policy.
Just as you, as a subscriber to Byte, would be upset to find the
current issue full of articles about the mating habits of the
Bolivian Field Cricket, so too are the readers of a given
conference perturbed to find it full of irrelevant material.
Magazines can avoid the inclusion of inappropriate articles and
the printing of offensive correspondence by the exercise of
editorial control at the point of origin. Because of the
distributed origin of EchoMail, no single person can control the
content of any given conference; therefore the only way to insure
that a given conference sticks to its stated subject matter is
for each of us to control its input.
If an author who submitted an article on microprocessor
architecture to Better Homes and Gardens were to complain about
its rejection, who of us would be upset? Wouldn't we say that
the author should have known better and should have addressed the
article to the appropriate audience? Would we condemn the
magazine for refusing to accept the article, or in the unlikely
event of the article being published, be surprised when the
subscribers complained? A large proportion of us are subscribers
to various EchoMail conferences, in that it costs us real money
for the service. Should we have any less rights than the
subscribers to a printed magazine?
Unfortunately, we have no single editor or publisher to complain
to. We as sysops are simultaneously subscribers, publishers and
editors, and in effect we comprise a distributed editorial board.
We subscribe to a given conference because we are interested in
the subject matter, and have a right to expect that the
preponderance of material in that conference pertain to the
stated subject. The only way this state of affairs may be
attained is for each of us to control the input to the various
areas, and not allow the introduction of extraneous material.
The position of Moderator is titular; there is no effective way
for that person to exercise any sort of control over the rest of
the participants in a conference. Some people (I can predict who
many of them will be) will flame about this being unethical,
immoral, and illegal, but we are not talking about censoring
NetMail, only EchoMail.
Fidonews Page 4 16 Feb 1987
We have the right and obligation to restrict the introduction of
non-pertinent material (even a rose in the midst of a bed of
marigolds is a weed) into our Echo conferences to prevent their
degeneration into general chatter areas. If we don't exercise
this right, eventually the sysops who pay for the distribution
will drop out of the conference, and then nobody will get it,
including those who would complain about the censorship, as well
as those who corrupt the conferences with irrelevancies and
inanities.
I can justify the expense of using my work machine, my company
phone, and my time to keep this board running only if the results
remain beneficial. As long as I can reasonably say this exercise
in frustration contributes to my professional expertise, I have
the support of my manager, but when the conferences become little
more than chit-chat, I won't be here anymore, and my nine
downstream nodes will be the losers.
May I remind those of you on List 23 (knee-jerk flamers) that
IFNA does NOT have anything to do with EchoMail, so don't even
bother beating that horse. We are not talking about NetMail,
only EchoMail.
Having been appointed, based on my response to the question about
working for IFNA, by Ken Kaplan to headup the Nominations and
Elections Committee. I have been joined by Phil Ardussi and we
are in the process of composing the letters which will be going
out to all IFNA Members requesting self-nomination to the
position of Director within IFNA.
As established within the By-Laws which outlines the procedure
Directors will be asked to send in their Declaration of Intention
to run, along with the support of ten (10) IFNA Sysops to the
address which will be attached to the Ballot. Furthur details
will be forthcomming.
This procedure will be a lengthy process and with that in mind, I
have recommended to the existing Board of Directors (Ken Kaplan,
Ben Baker and Thom Henderson) that they appoint a person from
each voting Division, to act as a Director until the ballots are
printed in FidoNews during the week of April 13th. This
recommendation was made based upon the fact that we would need to
hold two elections this year, the first for a period of six (6)
months and the second for the normal full-term assignments.
Rather than attempting to do this thing twice and tick everyone
off, I have gained the approval of the BoD for the recommendation
to take effect immediately.
Now before everyone starts sending FLAME Mail to 141/300, let me
tell you that this procedure effects approximately 200 people
throught the known FIDO/OPUS/SEADog Community and does not effect
any other Sysop in any manner.
I will be asking the backbone Echomail Hubs to initiate an area
called "NOM", which will be utilized by those affected to send in
their nominations to Phil Ardussi and myself. This will be a
sysop only area, therefore, the existing BoD will see these
ballots and the supporting documentation, and those who would
also like to see these things will be able to do so as well.
If anyone has comments concerning this matter, they may contact
me via FidoMail at 141/300 or 141/333.
Bob Morris, Chairman
Nominations and Elections Committee
During the Hobby Computer Fair last november in Utrecht The
Netherlands, Fido was connected to a radio amateur
receiver/transmitter via a packet radio modem called TNC-1. In
the Fido code all AT type instructions were deleted and replaced
with TNC-1 equivalents. A swith in Fido to allow the use of a
packet radio modem TNC-1 would be better. The following PR TNC-1
settings were required:
ABAUD 300 This is because the Fido handshake with the PR
modem did not work. Packet Radio transmissions
were at 1200 Baud so the 300 Baud between the
Fido computer and the TNC-1 did eleminate the
need for handshaking.
Recommendations: Implement the handshake in
Fido!
CANLINE $00
CANPAC $00
CPACKTIME ON
CR OFF
DELETE OFF
ECHO OFF
FLOW OFF
MALL OFF
MONITOR OFF
MTO NONE
MYVADR $00
PACTIME AFTER 3
PASS $00
REDISPLAY $00
RETRY 3 :TO PRVENT NEEDLESS RETRIES
SENPAC $0A
XFLOW OFF
All other parameters default value.
The only other problem encountered was the inability of Fido to
turn the Fido echo OFF. This would avoid redundant echoing via
the air, because the echoing was already done between the PR
modems en the computers.
In order to have more efficient transmission of the menus, I
suggest the possibility to limit the Menus to 128 characters (one
maximum packet length) end use a special end of menu character so
that this character may be used as a SENPAC character in the TNC-
1 allowing efficient menu transmission within one packet.
The result was a very workable setup. With the above mentioned
changes the Fido will be a perfect match to amateur radio.
Fidonews Page 7 16 Feb 1987
(The flow control mentioned by Andy is essentially the CTS
handshake. As I understand it OPUS and Fido generic use special
serial drivers. The OPUS!Comm driver from Bob Hartman is capable
of CTR handshake if initialized this way. A switch in OPUS's
control file ? HEY WYNN are you listening ? -henk wevers)
This editorial is in response to the article written by Mark
Welch published in the Fido Newsletter Volume 4, Number 2, dated
12 January 1987.
Now personally I agree with the sharware concept, provided that
it does in fact work. But let me start out explaining my
position in this matter before making any comments directly
concerning the reference made on the previous articles published
concerning shareware.
I've been involved in telecommunications both as a hobby and as a
vocation since 1981. In my experience I've seen a lot of both
good and bad bulletin boards. I've also seen my share of both
good and bad public domain software distributed on these boards.
Telecommunications originally peaked my interest due to the user
interaction achieved as well as the distribution and sharing of
public domain software. But as a whole I probably saw 10 bad
programs for every one good program. This in no way reflected
the expertise of the author, because good programs result in hard
work and dedication to the final purpose, not to mention a lot of
time.
But as the industry progressed so did the users. As more
advances were made in the computer industry the caliber and
expertise of the average user increased as well. Better programs
were resulting from not only upgrades of older versions of
software, but also the combination of new ideas from other
available software that were shared. Users of bulletin boards
were able to share ideas and techniques, as well as offer a
helping hand to the newer members of this fascinating hobby.
Never to my knowledge did anyone ask for anything in return for a
few good words or helpful tips to put someone else on the right
track to using their computer more productively.
Then came the concept of shareware and freeware. The authors
asked that if their software were used on a consistant basis that
it be registered by sending the author a certain amount of money
to help cover development costs. This is a fine method for
distributing good software, since many programs using this
concept are much better and more professional than most
proprietary software sold over the counter. Also donations such
as this help to 'push' the authors into upgrading and expanding
current software. So it seems only fair that the author of a
well written program should expect remuneration for his/her time
and expense.
But due to human nature, there will always be a few people that
Fidonews Page 9 16 Feb 1987
download shareware and use it consistantly without registration.
I can't name names since my mother always told me that whenever
you point your finger at someone else you always have the other
three pointing right back at you. This leads me to believe that
shareware authors are not rightfully compensated for their
trouble. I know if I released software using the shareware
concept that I would probably not receive enough contributions to
reimburse me for my expenses. I'd be lucky to come close to
breaking even. Therefore, once the authors of shareware products
allow the users to help them debug their products, they should
consider taking them out of shareware distribution and placing
the polished versions on the open market. But all of this is one
sided and purely my own speculation.
But now, to make my point. As I read Mr. Welch's financial
report concerning his gains and losses on the development and
distribution of GAGS (Generic Adventure Game System) I was first
led to believe that he had incurred great loss. But thanks to
the figures that he provided in his article it comes to my
attention that he really made MORE money from his software than
he actually reported. Again these are strictly my own opinions,
and I'd like to share them with everyone that read his article in
Fido Newsletter #402. Following are the figures that he provided
breaking down all expenses, gains, and losses in the development
and distribution of GAGS:
Table 2: Sales Total 1986
-------------- ------ ------
Disks $ 857.60 $ 721.05 (at about $10 each)
Registrations 949.44 827.12 (at about $15 each)
Source code 868.90 745.54 (at about $25 each)
Other 266.13 266.13 (upgrades, resold goods)
--------- ---------
Total $2,942.07 $2,559.84
Table 3: Profit/Loss Total 1986 only
----------------------- ---------- ----------
GAGS Sales $2,942.07 $2,559.84
GAGS Expenses (5,393.53) (2,029.42)
---------- ----------
Fidonews Page 10 16 Feb 1987
Net GAGS Profit (Loss): (2,833.69) $530.42
Let me stress again that these are only my opinions. First of
all I'd like to examine table 1 a bit closer. Here are my
opinions line by line.
* Books $69.12 (reference works, etc.) *
Provided that Mr. Welch purchased these references ONLY for the
expressed purpose of developing the one software package, then
these expenses are viable. However, I'd like to see a more
complete list of these references. My question is, were these
references placed back on the shelf until the next release of
GAGS, or were they ALSO used for other purposes not related to
GAGS. In my opinion this is not a viable expense for GAGS based
on the fact that these references were purchased for the purpose
of self education. Therefore the author received benifit from
these references not only in the development of GAGS, but also in
the development and use of other software and hardware not
associated with GAGS. Now providing that these references were
originally purchased for the development of GAGS, I'll give him
half of this figure on my own expense sheet to reflect:
** Books $34.56 (reference works, etc.)
* Cost of goods sold 470.30 (disks, etc.)
Please explain 'etc.'? A wild guess will tell me that
documentation, source code, work disks for compilers and toolkits
number really no more than 30. That would be enough diskettes to
back up a 20 meg hard disk about 3/4 full. Considering that 90
disks were sold (as in Table 2) this would number to 120. Twelve
boxes of the best floppies at about $18 apiece would be about
$216. Providing for extra mailers, lables, and 'etc.' and I
would guess:
** Cost of goods sold 300.00 (disks, etc.)
* Computer equip. 2,397.40 (computer, printers, etc.)
How did this one slip by? Does he use this for personal work
such as word processing, database, spreadsheets? Is this machine
set aside for the expressed purpose of GAGS development or is it
used only for occasional debugging and updates of GAGS? I would
guess that this system is used for GAGS on an occasional basis,
and does not qualify as an expense for GAGS. Now considering the
wear and tear in the development process, as well as the amount
of utilities expended (not to mention coffee) I would agree to:
** Computer equip. 400.00 (computer, printers, etc.)
* Development sw 284.29 (compilers, toolkits, etc.)
Again, this rates with the reference works. Based on the above
paragraph regarding my opinion on reference works, I'll give him
half.
** Development sw 142.15 (compilers, toolkits, etc.)
* Misc. 204.51 (magazines, memberships)
Rates with reference works as above. So to be fair, I'll give
him half. This also assumes that he uses this as an income tax
deduction.
** Misc. 102.26 (magazines, memberships)
Fidonews Page 11 16 Feb 1987
* Phone 834.03 (includes BBS)
Does his BBS only stock GAGS and no other files available for
download? Does his message base talk about nothing but GAGS?
Assuming he had lot of Fidomail both sent and received concerning
GAGS, I can only agree to:
** Phone 200.00 (includes BBS)
* Postage 296.98 (includes ALL postage!)
I agree, because this would not only show the expense incurred in
sending the actual disks, but also the time and trouble of making
sure that timely updates and announcements would arrive at the
distribution sources. Also including technical support and bug
reports, I think he might have short changed himself in this one.
In all fairness I give him:
** Postage 400.00 (includes ALL postage AND time!)
* Software 440.20 (VP-Planner, PC-Write, etc.)
Reference works again, unless these packages are used exclusively
for the updating and reporting of GAGS and associated expenses.
I'll give him half.
** Software 220.10 (VP-Planner, PC-Write, etc.)
* Supplies 396.70 (paper, ribbons, envelopes)
This I will agree with since he has kept accurate records
reflecting other expenses. Is this the 'etc.'?
** Supplies 396.70 (paper, ribbons, envelopes)
I'm not questioning Mr. Welch's figures, but how he arrives at
these figures. I'm not a tax lawyer and do not profess to be.
But it seems to me that after all these expenses he should
consider himself lucky to break even. My question is, did he
learn how to use a computer for personal benefit of the hobby, or
to make money?
I can only answer that question for myself. I never really
Fidonews Page 12 16 Feb 1987
planned on making money on distributing shareware software when I
purchased my computer. I've taught electronics as well as
computer programming, interfacing, and design for 6 years. I
consider myself very lucky to enjoy computers, electronics, and
communications as both a hobby and a vocation. What has happened
to the hobbiests of today? Do they expect to distribute a few
programs and get rich?
In 1981, I wrote a program called EM.COM for CP/M version 1.4 in
8080 assembly language. It is an 8080 mnemonic emulator. The
purpose of this program was to allow a person to enter a machine
language instruction directly into the computer and watch how it
affects both the registers and the flags. Sort of an extension
of DDT. With it, you had a machine language 'immediate' mode
similar to BASIC. After you enter the command as a mnemonic, you
see immediately how the registers and flags are affected. I
wrote the program originally to learn both the CP/M operating
system and 8080 assembly language. It took me about 4 months to
complete, and was still ridden with bugs. After it was working
to the point that it was useable, I uploaded it to to remote CP/M
board here in Dayton. That was in 1981. I forgot about it after
that. When I moved to Detroit in the summer of 1984, I was
suprised beyond belief to see the SAME program on Royal Oak
RCP/M. I downloaded it, worked out a few bugs, and uploaded it
again under the name of EM200.LBR. After making even more
extensive bug fixes and upgrades, I uploaded EM220.LBR to the
same board in 1985. Just this past summer (1986) I saw it on an
RCP/M board in California. The latest version, EM300.ARC, is
available on my board. I upgraded and fixed it on an IBM XT
clone using a V20 processor and V20-80.ARC, and now has even more
extensive documentation, source code, and RESOURCE data files.
I'm not comparing EM300 with GAGS. My point is this: I have
gotten more enjoyment and experience in writing and repairing the
program and documentation than any amount of money could have
given me. I feel very honored to recieve both complaints and
laudations concerning this program. It gives me a warm feeling
inside whenever I can do anything to help another learn about
computers. As a part of my own copyright notice, I even allow
both public and private institutions to use EM300 provided they
make a copy of the original documentation available to their
students.
Am I a dying breed? Am I a dinosaur that is quickly becoming
extinct? Time will tell...
=================================================================
FOR SALE
=================================================================
MAGAZINE ON DISK FOR IBM PC AND COMPATIBLES
BIG BLUE DISK, the magazine on disk for the IBM PC and
compatibles, is currently available at Waldenbooks stores and
many other retail locations, as well as by mail subscription.
It is contained entirely on a floppy disk. Each issue contains
programs, articles, feedback from subscribers, program reviews
and demos, and more.
For example, issue 5, which should be on the stands by the time
you read this, contains 2 disks full of features, including:
- Disk Indexer: Index your hard disk or floppy disk collection.
This handy program can alphabetize thousands of files.
- SuperDots: A challenging version of a traditional strategy
game.
- Periodic Table: A tutorial for beginning chemistry students.
- * BLUE PLATE SPECIAL * Power Reading: An interactive demo
showing how you can increase your reading speed.
- The CP Command: An enhanced file copy command.
- Monsters and Microchips: An in-depth interview with Richard
Garriott, the author of Ultima.
In addition, there are other programs, articles, and regular
features, including feedback from our readers.
You can order this issue by direct mail by sending $9.95 (check,
money order, or Visa/Mastercard/American Express accepted) to:
BIG BLUE DISK, DEPT F2, PO BOX 30008, SHREVEPORT, LA 71130-0008.
Mail subscriptions are also available: One year (12 monthly
issues) costs only $69.95. (A 41% savings over newsstand
price.) A six-month subscription is available for $39.95.
Lots of interesting stuff is coming up; issue 6 contains our
April Spool Foof... er, I mean April Fool Spoof, taking a peek
(and a poke) at PC-STRIFE, the ONLY magazine on disk. Subscribe
now and don't miss anything!
BIG BLUE DISK requires an IBM PC or compatible, with at least
256K and MS-DOS 2.0 or later. Color graphics is recommended.
Send questions/comments to Daniel Tobias on FIDO 380/2.
21 Feb 1987
The Next Occasional MetroNet Sysop Meeting, to be held at the
SEA office in Clifton NJ. Spouses and POSSLQs welcome.
Contact Irene Henderson at 107/9 for details and directions.
17 May 1987
Metro-Fire Fido's Second Birthday BlowOut and Floppy Disk
Throwing Tournament! All Fido Sysops and Families Invited!
Contact Christopher Baker at 135/14 for more information.
24 Aug 1989
Voyager 2 passes Neptune.
If you have something which you would like to see on this
calendar, please send a message to FidoNet node 1/1.
Metatek Fido (107/316) is the home of the Echomail Scribe.
I created the original Echomail Conference List, and I
published it around Jan 15th (1987). I planned on doing
monthly updates but the second issue will be delayed.
The list is available on my system 1-201-286-2567. I'm
running SEAdog so you can file request it, otherwise
first time callers can download it. If you have any
updates or corrections please let me know. Thank you
very much, your Humble Echomail Scribe, Thomas Kenny.
Membership for the International FidoNet Association
Membership in IFNA is open to any individual or organization that
pays an annual specified membership fee. IFNA serves the
international FidoNet-compatible electronic mail community to
increase worldwide communications. **
Name _________________________________ Date ________
Address ______________________________
City & State _________________________
Country_______________________________
Phone (Voice) ________________________
Net/Node Number ______________________
Board Name____________________________
Phone (Data) _________________________
Baud Rate Supported___________________
Board Restrictions____________________
Special Interests_____________________
______________________________________
______________________________________
Is there some area where you would be
willing to help out in FidoNet?_______
______________________________________
______________________________________
Send your membership form and a check or money order for $25 to:
International FidoNet Association
P. O. Box 41143
St Louis, Missouri 63141
USA
Thank you for your membership! Your participation will help to
insure the future of FidoNet.
** Please NOTE that IFNA is a general not-for-profit organization
in formation and Articles of Association and By-Laws were adopted
by the membership in January 1987. An Elections Committee has
been established to fill positions outlined in the By-Laws for
the Board of Directors. An IFNA Echomail Conference has been
established on FidoNet to assist the Elections Committee. We
welcome your input on this Conference.
