FidoNews is published weekly by the International FidoNet
Association as its official newsletter. You are encouraged to
submit articles for publication in FidoNews. Article submission
standards are contained in the file ARTSPEC.DOC, available from
node 1:1/1.
Copyright 1988 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 at (314) 576-4067. IFNA may also be contacted
at PO Box 41143, St. Louis, MO 63141.
Fido and FidoNet are registered trademarks of Tom Jennings of
Fido Software, 164 Shipley Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94107 and
are used with permission.
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.
Table of Contents
1. ARTICLES ................................................. 1
In Search of a Democratic FidoNet ........................ 1
12 Ways to Kill An Association ........................... 2
Now FidoNews Too ......................................... 3
Moving Ahead With FidoCon'88 ............................. 4
Gateway E-Mail to Other Systems .......................... 6
Health Info-Com Network Newsletter ....................... 8
2. COLUMNS .................................................. 9
FidoCon '88 News ......................................... 9
3. NOTICES .................................................. 10
The Interrupt Stack ...................................... 10
Region 14 Coordinators Position Open ..................... 10
Latest Software Versions ................................. 11
And more!
FidoNews 5-16 Page 1 18 Apr 1988
Mike Goldman
FidoNet 1:129/57.0
BitNet MJGST3@PITTVMS
IN SEARCH OF A DEMOCRATIC FIDONET
As I was reading Steven Hoskin's most recent column in the
FidoNews, a thought occurred to me. Perhaps you will not think it
a good thought, but here it is, and you can form any opinions
you like. Steven discussed in his article the methods by which
IFNA, as the corporate manager of the FidoNet, could set up a
system where "grunt SysOps" could vote on issues. The problem,
as he mentioned, was that SysOps didn't all belong to IFNA, and
hence could not, at present, vote. He also mentioned that
nobody should ever have to PAY to vote.
Amid all the flames, counterflames, et alia dealing with the
proposal to disincorporate IFNA by Randy Edwards, and
counterproposals to the effect of IFNA no longer governing the
FidoNet, but instead acting as the representative of ALL FidoNet
compatible networks, I have yet another suggestion to make.
I hereby propose that IFNA is a necessary administrator of the
FidoNet, and has every reason to exist, for without it we
would surely fall apart. But I further propose that no
representative of a FREE network should have a FEE for
membership. In other words, IFNA Membership should be a
RIGHT granted to ALL FidoNet SysOps. IFNA is a non-profit
organization to start with, so this should not be as big of a
deal as it seems...
Anticipating the answers to this proposal, yes, we will have
to work out a new means by which IFNA raises capital to fund
itself. Some possibilities include: Voluntary donations (tax-
deductible, hopefully), Sales of modems (if a suitable deal
with USR, for instance, can be worked out...), or any suggestions
that you (readers of this) might have.
If you feel a comment to this article is in order, so long as
it is not a flame, I can be reached by NetMail between 11pm and
8am. I will be 24hrs within a number of weeks, but am not at
time of writing.
ECHO FLAMES >> NUL
-Mike
No one individual sabotages a community association
intentionally. But a glance at this list might reveal ways to
work against an association's best interests without being aware
of it.
1. Don't come to meetings. If you do come, be late.
2. If you attend, find fault with the work of others.
3. Never run for the board--it's easier to criticize.
4. Be angry if you're not appointed to a committee.
5. If you're asked your opinion, say nothing. Afterward, tell
everyne how things should have been.
6. Do no more than necessary. If a few persons work tirelessly,
complain that the association is run by a clique.
7. Don't bother to help get new members involved.
8. Don't tell board members how they can help you or achieve
certain goals--but if they don't, quit participating.
9. When attending a meeting, vote for one thing, and then forget
about it after you get home.
10. Agree to everything at the meeting--disagree later.
11. Take all the benefits your association provides--but don't
make a personal contribution.
12. Talk about cooperation, but don't practice it.
------------------------------------------------
Revised from Management Memo of the Associated General
Contractors of VA, July 1987. Reprinted [in the Woodlake Letter]
with permission of "Association Trends". Reprinted here without
permission.
by Dot Falcon
Co-sysop, The Falcon's Rock
Opus 1:109/648
College Park, MD
The endless complaining and debating that has ruined the SYSOP and
IFNA echoes has now reached FidoNews too. Recent issues (even the
editorials) contain a daunting quantity of debate about who should
do what, and why.
Normally, endless griping is a symptom of unresolved problems.
I'm a person who likes to speak plainly, and I offer here, in the
interest of resolving three major issues, what I consider to be
some plain truths.
1. What is IFNA's function? This can be debated forever,
because I believe IFNA has no function. In my opinion, it
was formed because some people decided to collect money and
didn't feel right about doing it without some official
sanction, so they formed a corporation. Dissolve IFNA. Stop
collecting money. Let the nodelist, FidoNews, and anything
else be distributed by those who feel like it. That's how it
was in the old days so many of you would like to bring back,
wasn't it?
2. What to do about all those new nets forming? You folks sound
like AT&T when MCI and Sprint came on the scene. Just relax,
relinquish your monopoly, and enjoy the new abundance.
3. What to do about all the flaming? My personal plan of action
is to remove myself from those situations which involve
humans who can't make themselves palatable to others.
Obviously, a lot of people have already made that decision
about FidoNet. Those of you who are still out there
bemoaning what's become of the net, do something. If you
can't make things better, consider going elsewhere. Take
action instead of complaining, and you'll stop being part of
the problem.
Those of you who still have problems after reading this, do
something. Do anything. But please stop the endless debating and
recommending, and especially, stop griping.
Tim Sullivan
Chairman FidoCon'88 Host Committee
108/62
------------------------------------
FidoCon'88 is closer than you think!
------------------------------------
Despite all of the net rumblings, FidoCon'88 in Cincinnati is
attracting more attention than ever before. Already
registrations are coming in. People in the net seem to be almost
as excited about this year's conference as we are. Just think,
here is the opportunity to meet with fellow SYSOPs you have been
chatting with for years. A chance to meet face to face with
friends and flamers alike.
FidoCon also provides an opportunity to meet face to face with
vendors important to sysops such as: drive manufacturers, modem
manufacturers, common carriers (like AT&T), software companies
and more. We are asking the vendors not to bring just sales
people, but technical people that can answers YOUR tough
questions.
Cincinnati will also provide interesting conferences with topics
you want to here about and panel discussions for you to
participate in. We will be reviewing products, talking about
standards, new technology, and even fun stuff like net politics.
Probably the most important thing about FidoCon is fellowship.
All of us in the net have a common bond. We may not always
agree, but in the end we share similar goals and experiences.
There will be plenty of 'quiet time' to strengthen and renew
these ties. You'll be surprised how reasonable some people can
be when you meet them in person.
August is closer than you think. The conference dates are August
25th - 28th (well really August 24th - 28th, registration will
start Wednesday afternoon and there will be a reception that
night. All are welcome). For more information contact Rick
Ashworth at 1/88 (our special FidoCon'88 node). You can file
request 'REGISTER' from 1/88 or most net 108 boards for the
latest registration information packet.
We are still looking for more ideas for speakers and topics. If
you have an idea for a topic or would like to speak at FidoCon,
contact Mark Walker at 108/50.
Don't forget about the US Robotics special offer! The first 50
people to register for the conference will receive a coupon for
$50 off the price of an HST 9600 baud modem. This coupon CAN be
used with the USR SYSOP offer! This brings the price of a USR
HST down to a reasonable $445.00! -> BUT you have to be one of
the first 50 to register.
Many SYSOPs have already taken advantage of this special offer,
so you had better act fast!
FidoNews 5-16 Page 5 18 Apr 1988
GATEWAY: A System to Exchange E-Mail with Other Systems
by Daniel Tobias
1:380/2
There's been some talk in FidoNews and elsewhere about
gatewaying mail between FidoNet and various other systems. This
idea comes from the desire of many to fully inter-network all E-
Mail systems so that everybody who uses E-Mail of any sort can
send mail to anyone else, similarly to how the telephone
presently operates. (You don't have to know what local or long
distance company your friend subscribes to in order to call him.)
The E-Mail field, as it is now, is terriby Balkanized, with
numerous different networks (amateur, commercial, institutional,
etc.) which can't all talk to each other. While some (like
commercial E-Mail providers who wish everyone to subscribe to
their service) may consider it in their interest to keep the
systems separated, it is in the interest of people who like to
communicate to break down the walls and let everyone send
messages to everyone else, whatever service they might use.
To this end, I am now releasing GATEWAY, a program to enable
E-Mail gatewaying between Fido/Opus/compatible systems and other
services. In particular, I have set up the ability to gateway to
CompuServe and The Source, but the program is general enough so
you may be able to use it for other gatewaying as well.
The way GATEWAY works is by finding messages in your netmail
area that are properly addressed ("Cis 77777,7777" for CompuServe
ID 77777,777, for instance), and writing them to text files in a
standardized format; then, a script file (requiring Datastorm's
PROCOMM-PLUS to run) logs in to the remote system, sends the
outbound mail and fetches anything inbound; and then GATEWAY
takes over again and sticks the incoming messages into the
netmail area. (The above address format is the present default;
should FidoNet ever adopt a standard for internetwork addressing
as discussed in an earlier FidoNews, I'll modify GATEWAY to use
addresses of the new standard, whatever it may be.)
I designed GATEWAY primarily for gatewaying private E-Mail;
however, by popular demand, I added some features for sending and
recieving messages for the online forums/SIGS on the commercial
services. However, due to copyright considerations, it is not
recommended you make commercial SIGs accessible to your users;
but this feature can be helpful in your own personal perusal of
SIG messages, which you can now do offline on your sysop console
rather than "while the meter's running" on a commercial service.
Where private E-Mail is concerned, though, to my knowledge no
service has claimed copyright to such messages, and I know of
several people who are operating gateways of such messages into
and out of CompuServe and its ilk. Hence, there should be no
legal problems to setting your board up as a gateway to let your
users send mail to friends on CompuServe and The Source, and get
replies back. Provisions exist to charge the cost of sending and
receiving messages against the Fido/Opus "credit" value in the
FidoNews 5-16 Page 7 18 Apr 1988
user's record.
With GATEWAY, combined with some programs from others to
interlink FidoNet with the UUCP/UseNet network, just about
everything can be connected with everything else in a great big
WorldNet, to the furtherance of interpersonal communications.
GATEWAY, a "shareware" program, is downloadable in the file
GATE100.ARC (the last three digits will change to reflect the
version number) from SOFT FIDO at (318) 222-3503; it's in file
area 6. Bark and WaZoo file requests (to node 1:380/2) will work
as well; use GATE???.ARC to be sure you get it even if the
version changes.
First, what is HICNet? HICNet is an acronym for Health
Information by Computer Network. This is why I got involved in
FidoNet. With the advent of easy computer access around the
world at minimal cost compared to commercial networks, I
envisioned a system where medical information could be
disseminated to many individuals at a low-cost. While the
medically related echos of GRAND_ROUNDS, ABLED, RECOVERY,
AIDS/ARC are exceptional as discussion areas, the HICNet
Newsletter is for hard news information.
Each issue comes out on the Monday of each week and includes the
latest weekly news from the Centers for Disease Control Morbidity
and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), Food and Drug Administration
reports, news items from the Surgeon General, and the latest
information and statistics on AIDS. We also have occasional
articles from various other medically related fields such as
dentistry and optometry.
An elaborate distribution system to get the newsletter out around
the world in a timely manner has been developed by Robert Klotz
at FidoNet Node 1:19/9. Robert is the worldwide distribution
coordinator for the newsletter.
In my eyes, this is a wonderful use of the resource we call
FidoNet. The newsletter has been in operation for almost two
years providing an education resource to many individuals,
augmenting the daily discussions in the echomail areas.
If you are interested in receiving the newsletter, and wish to be
on the regular distribution schedule, please contact either
myself, David Dodell at 1:114/15 or Robert Klotz at 1:19/9. If
you would like a sampl of the newsletter, the most current
version is available for file request from 1:114/15 using the
keyword HICNEWS.
This is the first in hopefully a weekly article updating you on
and providing you with information for FidoCon '88 at the
Drawbridge Inn in Cincinnati. With the cooperation of the Net
108 Sysops on the planning committee, I will try and keep
everyone up to date on events as well as inform you on guest
speakers, excursions for the family, etc.
All of us here in Cincinnati are trying to make things as easy as
possible for you to get up to the minute information about the
conference, therefore we have brought up a special 'Registration'
node: 1/88. Right now you can call 1/88 (300-9600 baud - thanks
to US Robotics for the HST) and get the latest information about
registration, pricing, agenda, vendors, special events, etc. The
registration node will also support file requests with "magic"
filenames for FidoCon '88 information. Soon you will even be
able to register on-line if you plan to use either Visa or
Mastercard. Stay tuned for more!
At this time we are still looking for guest speakers and topics
of discussion for FidoCon '88. While no speaker can be of
interest to everyone, we would like to see a broad range of
topics discussed. Remember this is going to be a family event,
not devoted entirely to the computer user! We'd be interested in
hearing your suggestions. Please send your suggestions to
Mark Walker at 1:108/50.
If you have any comments or questions, please send your inquires
to 1:1/88 or 1:108/62 via Netmail. Rick Ashworth or Tim
Sullivan, operating the above nodes respectively, will get back
to you as soon as possible.
16 May 1988
Digital Equipment Corporations Users Society Spring Symposium.
Will be held May 16-May 20 in Cincinnati, OH.
25 Jun 1988
EuroCon II starts in Tiel, Holland. Sponsored by the Dutch
Hobby Computer Club. Will run for 2 days. Contact Hans
Lichthelm at 2:2/999 for information.
16 Jul 1988
A new areacode, 508, will form in eastern Massachusetts and
will be effective on this date. The new area code will be
formed from the current areacode 617. Greater Boston will
remain areacode 617 while the rest of eastern Massachusetts
will form the new areacode 508.
25 Aug 1988
Start of the Fifth International FidoNet Conference, to be
held at the Drawbridge Inn in Cincinnati, OH. Contact Tim
Sullivan at 108/62 for more information. This is FidoNet's big
annual get-together, and is your chance to meet all the people
you've been talking with all this time. We're hoping to see
you there!
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 1:1/1.
John Pritchard, the Region 14 Coordinator has unexpectantly
relinquished his responsibilities. Till a new RC can be
appointed, I have asked Ken Kaplan to be Acting RC for the next
few weeks.
If you are interested in assuming the responsibilities of the
Region 14 Coordinators position, please send netmail to David
Dodell at 1/0. Please supply a brief narrative about your
involvement in FidoNet, including any past positions held (i.e.
Network Coordinator, Hub Coordinator, Echomail Coordinator.) It
is highly recommended that you are running at least a 2400 baud
modem, with 24 hour mail capabilities.
Utility authors: Please help keep this list up to date by
reporting new versions to 1:1/1. It is not our intent to list
all utilities here, only those which verge on necessity.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* * U R G E N T ! ! ! * *
* * * *
* * There is still time for you to announce your candidacy * *
* * for a position as a Director of IFNA. Candidates are * *
* * required for Divisions 2, 10, 12, 14, 16, and 18. In * *
* * addition, five more directors are required to fill at- * *
* * large positions making a total of 11 in all. If you * *
* * are interested in running for one of these positions, * *
* * please send a message to 1:103/501 immediately. * *
* * * *
* * Nominating petitions, signed by 10 IFNA Members, must * *
* * be in the hands of the IFNA secretary by April 27th, so * *
* * please don't wait, express your interest now! * *
* * * *
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Membership for the International FidoNet Association
Membership in IFNA is open to any individual or organization that
pays a specified annual membership fee. IFNA serves the
international FidoNet-compatible electronic mail community to
increase worldwide communications.
Member Name _______________________________ Date _______________
Address _________________________________________________________
City ____________________________________________________________
State ________________________________ Zip _____________________
Country _________________________________________________________
Home Phone (Voice) ______________________________________________
Work Phone (Voice) ______________________________________________
Zone:Net/Node Number ____________________________________________
BBS Name ________________________________________________________
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Baud Rates Supported ____________________________________________
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Your Special Interests __________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
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In what areas would you be willing to help in FidoNet? __________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
Send this membership form and a check or money order for $25 in
US Funds to:
International FidoNet Association
c/o Leonard Mednick, MBA, CPA
700 Bishop Street, #1014
Honolulu, Hawaii 96813-4112
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
and Articles of Association and By-Laws were adopted by the
membership in January 1987. The first elected Board of Directors
was filled in August 1987. The IFNA Echomail Conference has been
established on FidoNet to assist the Board. We welcome your
input to this Conference.
The IFNA publications can be obtained by downloading from Fido
1:1/10 or other FidoNet compatible systems, or by purchasing
them directly from IFNA. We ask that all our IFNA Committee
Chairmen provide us with the latest versions of each
publication, but we can make no written guarantees.
System Enhancement Associates SEAdog $60.00 _____
SEAdog price as of March 1, 1987
ONLY 1 copy SEAdog per IFNA Member
Fido Software's Fido/FidoNet $100.00 _____
Fido/FidoNet price as of November 1, 1987
ONLY 1 copy Fido/FidoNet per IFNA Member
International orders include $10.00 for
surface shipping or $20.00 for air shipping _____
SUBTOTAL _____
HI. Residents add 4.0 % Sales tax _____
TOTAL _____
SEND CHECK OR MONEY ORDER IN US FUNDS:
International FidoNet Association
c/o Leonard Mednick, MBA, CPA
700 Bishop Street, #1014
Honolulu, HI. 96813-4112
USA
