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
IFNA By-Laws Amendments .................................. 1
Revised E-Mail Gateway Supports More Systems ............. 7
Mensa Echo Conference Continues To Grow .................. 10
SEA vs PKWare -- What's It About? ........................ 13
Back to the Bush! ........................................ 16
A New Echo: ZYMURGY ...................................... 20
2. NOTICES .................................................. 21
The Interrupt Stack ...................................... 21
Latest Software Versions ................................. 21
FidoCon '88 Registration Form ............................ 23
FidoNews 5-27 Page 1 4 Jul 1988
Submitted by Harold J. DuPrie 101/0
Member Board of Directors
21 June 1988
PROPOSED AMENDMENTS
Introduction:
As a member at large on the Board of Directors of IFNA I am
proposing this set of amendments in response to requests from my
constituents and observations on the growth of FidoNet.
The growth of IFNA and proliferation of amateur networking in
general requires that IFNA accommodate a larger set of Networks
then was originally anticipated. The set of amendments
presented here resolves current and anticipated organizational
difficulties, and removes IFNA from direct control of individual
nodes or networks in a zone
Representation and voting rights of individuals in the IFNA
networks is expanded and clarified in the set of amendments
under IFNA MEMBERSHIP.
The method for resolving disputes within the zones is modified
in the GRIEVANCE set of amendments, to better represent the
rights of IFNA members.
The ZONE amendment represents the old "FidoNet in North America"
returning to a non-political (perhaps anarchistic) network, and
expands IFNA to allow "other nets" to join.
When the Constitution of the United States of America was being
prepared the problem of how to govern a group of independent
States while at the same time allowing the States to rule
themselves was addressed. The resulting constitution seems to
have been reasonably workable. These amendments draw heavily on
the concepts used in the Constitution.
IFNA currently faces a similar set of problems: Networks which
would like to be able to communicate but can't accept the
detailed polices of IFNA (similar to States rights in the
original Union); Individuals who feel that they are not
represented by IFNA but are in the IFNA Nodelist (Voting
Rights); A grievance procedure which does not permit individual
Sysops to vote, or in any way select, the Judicial system they
operate under (Federal vs State law). The attached amendments
attempt to resolve these areas of dispute.
Overview:
The proposed amendments expand IFNA organization into the
FidoNews 5-27 Page 2 4 Jul 1988
equivalent of a high level governing body in a way which does
not interfere with the freedom of the Zones being governed.
Essentially it sets the rules which allow diverse networks to
coexist and communicate. Zones are treated similar to
individual states with independent governments and laws, but
which accept a basic set of rules for coexistence and retain all
rights not explicitly granted to IFNA. That is, IFNA governs
ONLY by rights granted to it by the Zones.
The proposed structure places IFNA at the top of a confederation
of Zones, with each Zone representing a unique Network or set of
Networks.
The Zones may be geographical, political (including network
politics) or organizational. Each Zone is free to establish any
set of operating procedures which it chooses, as long as it
meets a fixed set of IFNA requirements for IFNA representation,
publication of it's Nodelist, and adherence to technical
constraints for interfacing with other Zones.
The IFNA MEMBERSHIP set of amendments defines the criteria for
individual membership in IFNA (not membership in a ZONE), and
specifies an individuals voting rights at the IFNA (not ZONE)
level.
The GRIEVANCE set of amendments describe the grievance
procedure for ZONE level grievances.
The ZONES set of "amendments" represent a set of rules for
current ZONES in the net, and other networks wishing to join
IFNA.
IFNA MEMBERSHIP AMENDMENT summary:
This amendment modifies the criteria for an individual to become
a member of IFNA. The germane points here are that anyone
wishing to support IFNA may become a member. It is not
necessary to be an operator of a system to be a full voting
member of IFNA. Dues are waived for those contributing
significantly to IFNA.
AMENDMENT:
In BY-LAW 1.(b) -- change the definition of associate member.
Old wording:
"(b) Associate Member. Any person who is not eligible to be
a Regular Member, but who is interested in electronic
communications, is eligible to be an Associate Member by
paying required dues. Associate Members have all of the
rights of a Regular Member except the right to vote.
Amended wording:
(b) Associate Member. Any person who is not eligible to be
a Regular Member, but who is interested in electronic
communications, is eligible to be an Associate Member by
FidoNews 5-27 Page 3 4 Jul 1988
paying required dues. Associate Members have all of the
rights of a Regular Member. The membership committee will
establish a set of criteria to recognize significant
contributions to IFNA. Any person meeting these criteria
is exempt from the dues requirement for the period
established by the Membership Committee.
GRIEVANCE AMENDMENT summary:
This amendment assumes that the methods of grievance resolution
within a ZONE have been tried and has not been resolved in a
manner satisfactory to the IFNA member.
The rights of an IFNA member in this context are limited to
matters involving IFNA.
When the Zone joined IFNA it agreed to a set of rules and
procedures. Only those rules and procedures agreed to between
the Zone and IFNA may be the basis of a grievance to IFNA.
AMENDMENT, new BY-LAW N2:
N2. A Grievance Committee is hereby established.
Membership consists of one member (1) from each Zone in
IFNA, and one member from the Board of Directors. Each
Zone member will serve for a term defined by that Zone, but
not to exceed five (5) years. The member from the Board of
directors will have a term of 1 year, and will be elected
by the Board of Directors.
The Grievance Committee will hear and resolve all grievances
involving IFNA and IFNA members within a Zone which have
not been resolved within thirty (30) days to the
satisfaction of the IFNA member.
The Grievance Committee will resolve the grievance within 30
days. The resolution will be binding on the person filing
the grievance and on the Zone. Resolution will be based
upon the then current articles of association of IFNA and
the agreement between IFNA and the Zone.
ZONES AMENDMENT summary:
This amendment represents the agreement between Zones and IFNA.
It limits the power of IFNA to the administration of the
interactions of Zones (networks), while at the same time
returning IFNA to a central position of acting as a distributor
publisher of a set of Nodelists which are available to ALL Zones
in IFNA. It will likely result in a large amount of flames, but
essentially it "pulls IFNA back" to the administrative role,
leaving the operation and policies of the Network(s) to the
Network(s). It also allows for a large political structure
which can supply a lot of service without getting into the
Network itself. This should surely please a large amount of
people.
FidoNews 5-27 Page 4 4 Jul 1988
AMENDMENT:
IFNA recognizes the need to expand the method by which Networks
may join IFNA. IFNA also recognizes that telecommunications is
rapidly advancing, and different networks with different
organizations, policies, and telecommunications mechanisms will
arise.
DEFINITIONS:
ZONE: An autonomous network which has joined IFNA. NODELIST:
The set of documents which define a Network at the ZONE level.
Each Zone must file an agreement which defines the set of
interactions it will allow IFNA to have with the Zone, this
set of interactions must be acceptable to IFNA and defines
the jurisdiction IFNA has over the Zone.
Zones 1, 2, and 3 will operate under the current set of
rules, regulations and policies of IFNA for a period not to
exceed six (6) months from the adoption of this amendment,
or until an agreement between IFNA and the Zone is reached
which is agreeable to both, whichever comes sooner. If the
Zone and IFNA do not reach agreement within the allotted
time, the Zone will be removed from the IFNA nodelist, but
all IFNA members in the Zone will retain membership voting
rights.
A Zone applying for IFNA membership must meet the following
criteria:
1. Be an operational Network with over fifty (50)
nodes.
2. Be a Network which is not operated for profit, and
which allows public access as defined by IFNA.
3. Establish a grievance procedure within the Network
for IFNA members to follow for resolving any grievances
involving IFNA.
4. Present to IFNA a set of individuals from within the
Network to fill the required IFNA organizational positions. The
method of selecting these individuals is determined by the
Network.
5. Have an existing Nodelist, Network Map or other set
of documents which define the Network. Deliver this document to
the Vice-President of Technical Operations, and deliver updates
periodically as agreed to by IFNA. This document will be
referred to as the Nodelist.
This Nodelist need not conform to the current nodelist format(s)
in use by IFNA at the time of application (IFNA realizes that
not all networks use the current format) but it must contain
enough information to allow telecommunications between the
FidoNews 5-27 Page 5 4 Jul 1988
Network and other Zones. The Vice-President Technical Operations
will determine if the Nodelist is sufficient.
6. Establish an operational gateway for
telecommunications between the Network and other IFNA Zones.
7. Agree to abide by the policies, procedures, rules
and regulations of IFNA for all matters pertaining to IFNA.
That is, actually be a Zone in IFNA while retaining all rights
not in the agreement with IFNA.
The Board of Directors will establish a "ZONE COMMITTEE" for
including all changes to current operating procedures, and
modifications to the current set of BY-LAWS, such as BY-LAW
24 which defines the voting divisions, to accommodate this
expansion of IFNA.
The Vice-President Technical Operations, the chairman of the
FidoNet Technical Standards committee, the current ZoneGate
operator for Zones 1, 2 and 3, and four (4) additional
members appointed by the Board of Directors will be the
initial members of the ZONE COMMITTEE. The ZONE COMMITTEE
will have no more then three (3) months to prepare these
changes. Upon completion of the changes the Election
committee will prepare ballots to be mailed to all IFNA
members for voting on the changes. The ballot will contain
the full text of the changes and a single choice -- "accept
or reject".
If the vote of the IFNA membership is reject, then:
1. Each Zone in the IFNA nodelist will revert to
operation under "FidoNet policy 3" published by Tom Jennings,
and IFNA will stop all operations involving the zones, regions,
networks and nodes except for preparation and distribution of
FidoNews, the Nodelist, and the Nodediff.
2. The duties of the Region Coordinators will be
restricted to distribution of the Nodelist, Nodediff, and
FidoNews and processing of updates to the nodelist. ALL updates
from the individual networks will be accepted and processed.
3. The Network Coordinators will operate their Networks
as they choose within the constraints of Policy 3.
4. Individual nodes will operate their nodes as they
choose within the constraints of Policy 3.
Well i guess you all know that online games can be a real drag.. They
eat up disk space and memory. You have to use a front end to generate
the pcboard or rbbs files for the name and baud. They are sometimes
hard to set up and most of them have bugs in them that causes your
system to hang up.. ^
|
HAS THIS HAPPENED TO YOU?
Well i have just the thing for you opus sysop's!
ChessLine (CHESS-NET)
James Brown and myself have developed one of the best online games
around.. It's called CHESLINE and i just wanted to tell you a little
about it.
ChessLine was developed for the sysop who has everything.. This system
has everything we could think of ..
here is a list of a few of the options:
1.SYSOP ONLINE (REAL-TIME) PLAY WITH USER
2.NETMAIL FEATURE FOR NATIONAL CHESSMAIL
3.USER AGAINST USER
4.CHAT WHILE ONLINE PLAY IS RUNNING
This system is written in assembler and uses no more than 64k and
has doubledos and deskview conventions already in it for multi-tasking
games. It has its own ansi-interpreter so you dont have to load
ansi.sys.
REVISED E-MAIL GATEWAY SUPPORTS MORE SYSTEMS
by Daniel Tobias
1:380/2
A couple of months ago, I released a program called GATEWAY to
allow FidoNet sysops to exchange mail with online services. Now,
this program has been taken over by my employer, Softdisk, Inc.
(the publisher of diskmagazines SOFTDISK, LOADSTAR, and BIG BLUE
DISK, and the upcoming MacDISKWORLD) as an official product. The
latest release (1.10) has many enhancements over the earlier one.
The major new feature: In addition to CompuServe and The
Source, gatewaying to GEnie is also supported. There was much
demand from users for this feature, due to the much lower cost of
using GEnie as compared to the others. GEnie gatewaying supports
mail and forums as with the other two, with the added feature of
allowing both inbound and outbound file attaches via GEnie's
"XMODEM" file attach capability.
In addition, the CompuServe script file has been modified to
work with the revised forum software that went into effect this
May, and some other changes, improvements, and bug fixes have
been made.
The way GATEWAY works is by finding messages in your netmail
area that are properly addressed ("Genie D.TOBIAS" for GEnie ID
"D.TOBIAS" 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.
Forums work similarly; all new messages on a given SIG that
you wish to follow are posted in a message area on your board,
and any messages you enter are sent out to the SIG. 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 in a sysop-only message area from your console
rather than "while the meter's running" on a commercial service.
Where private E-Mail is concerned, though, there should be no
legal problems to setting your board up as a gateway to let your
users send mail to friends on commercial systems, and get replies
back; the online services don't really have any claim to the
copyright of private messages, since E-mail privacy laws prohibit
their disclosure to anyone other than the sender, recipient, or
sysop, hence the services would have no way to register a
copyright (which would require submission of the text of the
message to the U.S. Copyright Office). At any rate, others
(DASnet and Mnematics, for instance) have gatewayed E-Mail into
CompuServe and The Source just like GATEWAY does, and the
services haven't complained yet. Why should they; they make
money on the deal, since you've got to log in at their normal
rates to transfer the messages. (You still save, since you don't
FidoNews 5-27 Page 8 4 Jul 1988
have to pay online rates while you're composing or reading
messages. But they can't complain about that; most online
services are full of messages advocating and supporting the use
of automated scripts for offline message handling.)
Provisions exist to charge the cost of sending and receiving
E-mail messages against the Fido/Opus "credit" value in the
user's record, to allow accounting and charging for usage.
One more change: The previous versions of GATEWAY were strict
shareware, with a payment requested if you like them. Lots of
people downloaded or requested the program, but to date nobody
has paid for it. This is suitable to me as a private hobbyist,
but since GATEWAY is now an official Softdisk product, they
understandably would like to see some money come in for it.
However, I absolutely hate booby-trapping programs; I've seen
some programs around the net that do ugly things like generate
long distance netmail messages to the program author, disable
themselves after a given system date, and arbitrarily cripple
their capabilities in various manners. I don't like that; I'd
prefer to distribute my programs in their fully-functional form
to let users give them a complete workout, without fear of
bizarre side effects from the built-in traps. But on the other
hand, it seems unrestricted shareware doesn't really work in the
Fido world. The result is a compromise. GATEWAY 1.10 has been
released in its fully functional form, except that, as
distributed, it includes a brief note in all messages it
transfers stating that an unregistered copy of GATEWAY is being
used, and the sysop is expected to register it if he or she
continues to use it beyond a trial period. A similar note shows
on the sysop console when the program is run.
On payment of a $50 registration fee, you will receive an
encrypted "Key" file. Put it in the default directory from which
you will run GATEWAY, and the program will recognize that you're
a registered user (with a unique registration serial number), and
it won't give any of the "Unregistered" messages. Registered
users will also be informed of updates and other news through a
GATEWAY newsletter I intend to publish, and can use upgraded
versions with the same "key" file. (If we make an upgrade major
enough to change the units digit of the version, as from 1.00 to
2.00, we reserve the right to charge an added upgrade fee to
registered users, but then again we might not. All lesser
upgrades can always be used free of additional registration
charges.)
What's coming up in later versions? I've had a request to add
more flexible custom gatewaying capability. As it is, you can
set up gateways for systems other than the three supported by
writing your own scripts to exchange messages in a generic file
format the system defaults to. However, the capability of using
a "template" file to define custom file formats to suit the needs
of other systems would be desirable, and might allow GATEWAY to
be set up for exchanges with all sorts of systems, like
university and corporate networks, etc. I didn't get a chance to
implement this now, but I'll be working on it, so you can expect
FidoNews 5-27 Page 9 4 Jul 1988
it to be added to an upcoming version.
GATEWAY is downloadable in the file GATE???.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.
I'm making plans to attend the FidoCon in Cincinnati, and will
be available there to discuss remote system internetworking,
distribute copies of the latest version of GATEWAY, and take
suggestions for future improvements. Be There!
George Falcon
MENSA & MWM Echo Host
Opus 1:109/648
9314 Cherry Hill Road
College Park, MD. 20740-1249
17:11 hrs., 23 June 1988
Mensa Echo Conference Continues To Grow
The three echo conferences related to Mensa have shown
continued growth over the past two years, and since I've been
hosting two of them for several months now, I thought some of you
might like to know how they're doing.
The three conferences are MENSA, MWM, and MENSANS_ONLY.
The last is hosted by Christopher Baker at 135/14, and is
restricted... please contact Chris if you're a Mensan and are
interested in hooking into that conference. The first two are
international and local conferences, respectively. One needn't be a
Mensa member to link into either of these echo conferences, but
you'll have to find your own link... right now I haven't the time to
learn another software package, and we're already trying to figure
out how to handle distribution of the MENSA echo to 33 systems.
I'm sure that if you make arrangements with one of the systems
already participating, they can advise you on how to link in.
Many of you have heard about Mensa, but, for those who haven't,
a short explanation of the organization's purpose is appropriate here.
Mensa is an international organization with only one requirement
for membership--a performance on a standardized I.Q. test (or
certain alternative tests, such as the CEEB, SAT, GRE, LSAT, etc.)
which puts a person in the top 2% of the general population.
American Mensa has over 53,000 members, and there are another
15,000 members in other countries. There are Mensans in 98
countries throughout the world.
MENSA's purposes
1) to identify and foster human intelligence for the benefit of
humanity
2) to encourage research in the nature, characteristics, and
uses of intelligence
3) to provide a stimulating intellectual and social environment
for its members
"MENSA" defined
Mensa is Latin for "table." We are a round-table society that
makes no distinctions as to race, color, creed, national origin, age,
or eco-nomic, educational, or social status. Only intelligence
matters.
Joining MENSA
For more information, write to American Mensa, Ltd.
2626 East 14th Street
Brooklyn, NY 11235-3992
FidoNews 5-27 Page 11 4 Jul 1988
Here's the latest list of systems that I've been able to compile from
messages over the past few months. Please keep in mind, though,
that some sysops have varying restrictions: our board, for instance,
requires a $10/yr. maintenance donation in addition to proof of
Mensa membership. I did not seek the prior permission of any of
the sysops of these boards to post this list, so if there are any
problems with the list, they're not to blame... I am. The list was
compiled 19 June 1988.
12/700 FCAU IBM NET HST Ajax ON Bill Freads 416-427-0682
13/18 Freedom Network Honesdale PA Sherwood Tucker 717-253-4354
14/627 FOG LINE BBS Des Moines IA Dan Buda 515-964-7937
15/6 JJ's Fido Las Cruces NM Jim Johnson 505-522-7081
106/504 OilPatch OPUS Houston TX Joe Dougharty 713-859-4443
106/506 Fulcrum's Edge Spring TX Roy Browning 713-350-6284
107/210 D2 Systems BBS Melville NY Don Daniels 516-367-6387
107/211 IEEE Long Island Melville NY Bill Wilkes 516-367-9626
109/648 The Falcon's Rock College Park MD George/Dot Falcon 301-
345-7459
109/711 No Place Like Home University Park MD Mark Oberg 301-
454-0360
109/728 TIDMADT Alexandria VA Dave Aronson 703-370-7054
109/733 The Ophiuchi Hotline Lanham MD Mike Bartman
301-731-0263
114/9 Judicial Net Gilbert AZ Steve Ventre 602-926-9733
114/13 Corwin's Keep Tempe AZ Paul Coppinger 602-894-1470
114/26 The Corner Phoenix AZ Ted Malone 602-264-0750
115/729 Spectrum MACInfo Glenview IL Steve Levinthal 312-729-8768
119/5 Lazarus Chico CA Doug Boone 916-893-9019
119/13 LINKS.BBS Chico CA Tom Baughman 916-343-4422
135/14 MetroFire Miami FL Christopher Baker 305-596-8611
135/20 FrontDoor Headquarters Miami FL Joaquim Homrighausen
305-387-1135
138/37 Mac's Revenge Tacoma WA Mark Gregory 206-272-6343
138/52 Burrell's Ballpark Tacoma WA Jeff Burrell 206-752-4672
141/488 Alice's Restaurant Branford CT Sam Saulys 203-488-1115
147/14 DarkStar TBBS Oklahoma City John Roberts 405-691-0863
147/25 METRO OKC OPUS Oklahoma City Grady Hawkins
405-677-6800
153/4 PSG Vancouver Vancouver BC Ted Powell 604-228-9706
203/7 Eagle's Nest Shingle Springs CA Keith Chatterton 916-676-1132
203/42 Time Traveler Sacramento CA Ralph Scowden 916-739-8386
223/128 The Back Room II Oakville ON Dave Freeman 416-844-7578
223/202 Programmer's Resource Toronto ON Simon Ewins
416-967-5745
223/228 EGS/Philo Toronto ON Don O'Shaughnessy 416-286-6191
223/8088 DLJ Toronto ON David Lloyd-Jones 416-421-0938
345/1 Aura Net Honolulu HI Leonard Mednick 808-533-0190
The conference was founded by my friend and mentor in BBSing,
Jim Kay, who decided to retire from sysopping to pursue professional
goals, as well as assume the responsibility of the position of
Programs Officer for Metropolitan Washington Mensa. Since my wife
Dot and I (we met through Mensa) joined the MENSA conference
almost two years ago, it has grown slowly from less than 20 nodes
to well over 33. I hope to see it continue to grow.
FidoNews 5-27 Page 12 4 Jul 1988
George Falcon
Coordinator, Telecomputing SIG
9314 Cherry Hill Road
College Park, MD. 20740-1249
-----------------------------------------------------------------
FidoNews 5-27 Page 13 4 Jul 1988
SEA vs PKWare -- What's It About?
by Ben Baker -- 44/76
I suppose most of you know by now know that System Enhance-
ment Associates (SEA) is suing Phil Katz and PKWare. There has
bee a lot of comment (I hesitate to call it discussion) on the
suit in conferences in FidoNet and the commercial services. Most
of what I have read gave me the impression that the writer
thought about it for at least 30 milliseconds, then flamed! So
what's it really about?
First, a little history. In CP/M days, there were a number
of utilities for compressing and decompressing files, based on
the Huffman coding technique. The most popular were called SQ
and USQ, but there were several variations. There was at least
one utility called LIB, which did not do compression (remember
the total memory space was only 64K, and CP/M used at least 4K of
that), but it did collect files, "squeezed" or otherwise, into a
single file so that they could be treated as a unit.
When MS-DOS came along, many of the old CP/M utilities were
ported. Among them were several (often incompatible) variations
of SQ/USQ. Our own Tom Jennings ported LIB to DOS. DOS BBS op-
erators then had all the functionality they had in CP/M; they
could compress files, and they could pack them into "library"
files, in separate steps of course. But DOS wasn't memory poor
like CP/M. The climate was right for something "new." Enter
Thom Henderson.
Henderson, one of SEA's principals, borrowing from concepts
developed by Brian Kernigan, wrote a "library" utility which
overcame a limitation of LIB by using a distributed directory in-
stead of a fixed-length directory at the front of the file. It
also had built-in Huffman code compression, eliminating the need
for SQ/USQ. He called it ARC. Almost overnight, it became a
standard among bulletin board operators.
As ARC developed, it acquired a number of useful features,
encryption and LZ compression, for example, stirring interest in
the commercial marketplace. Thus ARC became one of those prod-
ucts marketed both commercially and as shareware.
In an effort to encourage porting ARC to other systems such
as Unix, SEA made the sources for ARC available for download on
its bulletin board. These files bear the SEA copyright notice,
and before people may legally do anything with them other than
study them, they need SEA's permission. When someone asks per-
mission to port, it is granted with three restrictions on the re-
sulting program: it may not be sold, it may not be used commer-
cially and a copy must be submitted to SEA for redistribution
(under the same restrictions). Someone may also use the sources
in a commercial product, but in this case, a source license fee
is charged and the resulting program may NOT be a general purpose
file-archiving utility.
FidoNews 5-27 Page 14 4 Jul 1988
A short time later PKXARC appeared on the scene, followed
quickly by PKARC. Katz hadn't followed the rules, but then, ARC
wasn't making anybody rich as shareware, and Katz wasn't address-
ing the much more lucrative commercial market SEA had developed
for ARC, so SEA overlooked it. Then, last year, an ad for PKARC
and PKXARC appeared in "PC Tech Journal" on the page facing SEA's
ad for ARC. Katz' ad priced the product a dollar and a half less
than ARC, and even went so far as to make comparisons to "the
other archive utility."
SEA then sent a "cease and desist" letter to PKWare, propos-
ing the following agreement: PKWare would withdraw all commer-
cial advertising and cease attempts at commercial distribution,
and SEA would forgive past violations and grant PKWare an unlim-
ited cost-free license to market its derivative products as
shareware with a non-commercial restriction. Katz refused.
I suspect, though I don't know, that there were additional
exchanges between SEA and PKWare. Were it me, I would have de-
manded a source license fee and royalties on sales to date. In
any event, no agreement was reached, so SEA filed suit.
As I understand it, there are four counts in the complaint
(not necessarily in this order): 1) "look-and-feel" violation, 2)
copyright violation, 3) trademark violation, and 4) unfair trade
practice. Let's look at them one at a time.
I placed "look-and-feel" first because it's fairly easy to
dismiss. I personally don't think SEA has a prayer on this one.
"Look-and-feel" is the current legal buzz-word so SEA's lawyer
tossed it in, but I can't imagine it applying in this case.
A concept or idea cannot be copyrighted, but the expression
of a concept or idea sure can, and a program is the expression of
one or more concepts or ideas. If the development of PKXARC and
PKARC were entirely independent of ARC, merely employing the con-
cepts used there, then the second count cannot be sustained. If
it can be shown that Katz obtained or had access to the sources
for ARC, then he probably infringed on SEA's copyright. If it
can be shown that he actually used them in developing his pro-
grams, then he IS guilty of copyright infringement. Even if he
translated them to assembly language, he violated the copyright.
Translating a novel from English to German without the permission
of the author and/or publisher is prohibited by copyright laws
world-wide. Same principle.
Is ARC a trademark? As relating to archiving or compression
utilities, you bet. Does the name "PKARC" violate that trade-
mark? Suppose I developed a new soft drink and began marketing
it under the name "BBCOKE." How quickly would I find myself in
court? And isn't there a network developer using the name "ARC,"
and are they in jeopardy? No! If I were a fuel dealer, I could
sell all the "Coke" (a coal derivative) I wanted and the Coca
Cola Co. couldn't care less. This one will be tough for Katz to
beat.
FidoNews 5-27 Page 15 4 Jul 1988
Why is a trademark important, anyway? A company spends con-
siderable effort, not to mention money, establishing a trademark.
I mentioned Coke in the previous paragraph. Did anyone have any
doubt what company I was referring to? This is called "product
recognition" and it is an extremely valuable asset. SEA has it
with "ARC," but that didn't just happen. They worked at it. My
"BBCOKE" would be trading on product recognition it didn't earn
on its own. If I then sought out advertisements for Coca Cola,
and placed ads of my own, claiming (whether right or not) "BBCOKE
is better than the other cola" next to all I could find, would I
be engaging in fair trade? Do you think I could argue that I was
not trying to deliberately undermine the effect of their adver-
tising and take advantage of their recognition? Do you suppose
that Coca Cola would give me the courtesy of a letter before they
fell on me like a ton of bricks? If any of the first three
counts can be sustained, then the fourth probably should be also.
A recent "PC Week" article has caused considerable comment
on this issue. One mentioned a "fact" cited in the article that
PKWare was a four-employee company operating out of Katz' home,
and implied this was a Goliath attacking a David. The "facts"
may or may not be true. The article was so badly written and so
poorly researched as to call into question all of its "facts."
The fact is that SEA is a four-employee (counting the principals)
company. The Wayne (not Fort Wayne) NJ corporate address is Andy
Foray's home. These are TWO small companies. Neither has the
resources to pursue a protracted legal battle. I think we can
expect a reasonably quick resolution.
So how does it all affect you? Will you still be allowed to
use a Unix port of ARC? Of course. Most ports have been made
with permission, and even those which have not are not encroach-
ing on SEA's commercial market. Will you still be able to use
PKARC or PKXARC copies you obtained through shareware? You did
so in good faith and SEA has neither the resources nor the in-
clination to search you out and persecute you. In fact, should
Katz lose the suit, he might still be granted a license to market
his programs as shareware. For that, we'll have to await the fi-
nal resolution. SEA is NOT being vindictive. They are trying to
protect what they regard as a valuable commercial asset.
If you are a shareware software developer, as I am, it may
affect you in a different way. The lawyers have been telling us
for several years that the copyright laws do in fact protect
products marketed as "shareware." But so far, no court has said
so, and the courts of the land are the final arbiters of the law.
A win for SEA, particularly on the second count above, would
place all, big or small, on notice! Shareware is NOT public do-
main! A win for Katz, on the other hand, is a signal to share-
ware authors, and a source of inexpensive, quality software might
well dry up. If that happened, it would hurt developers and
users alike. Think about it.
By Todd Looney, Sysop
Vietnam Veterans' Valhalla
143/27, San Jose, CA.
The Vietnam Veterans' Valhalla in San Jose, California has been
working to put together a trip for interested parties back to
Vietnam. We've really been pleased with the responses we've
received since our last article announcing this once-in-a-
lifetime trip back to Vietnam. You don't necessarily have to be a
Vietnam veteran to go with us, everyone is invited! We expect to
have a group of about fifty people. We are now accepting
deposits for those who want to get their reservations in early.
We have scheduled this event to depart from San Francisco,
California on Saturday, January 21, 1989. We will be gone
fourteen days and return on Saturday, February 4, 1989. The
itinerary has been established already as listed below, but there
is still room for change so if you have an idea, let us know,
we'll try to work it in if it is at all possible. Things are
starting to really look up for the "Back to the Bush" trip to
back to Vietnam!
All the amenities are includes as follows:
Round trip air fare
All hotels and lodging
Three meals per day
All transportation (Rail/Bus/Boat/Plane)
Daily sightseeing tours of your choice
(there are many tours available in every city, or you are free to
go off on your own!)
Cultural performances sponsored by the Vietnamese government
Vietnamese and Cambodian visas
(yes, you can take a sightseeing tour into Cambodia!)
English-speaking tour guides and interpreters in every city
All you have to furnish is your body, your international
passport, and have your inoculations up to date (ouch!).
Here's what we have planned for you:
Day 1 Depart San Francisco via Japan Airlines
Day 2 Arrive Hong Kong
(Overnight stay because we will arrive too late to
depart for SE Asia that evening. There will be a
breakfast in Hong Kong before we leave)
Day 3 Depart Hong Kong for Bangkok, Thailand
(We will need to stay two nights in Bangkok to get
all of our visas issued so you will have plenty of
time for a little R&R!)
Day 5 Depart Bangkok, Thailand for Hanoi, Vietnam
FidoNews 5-27 Page 17 4 Jul 1988
(We will stay two days in Hanoi)
Day 7 Depart Hanoi for Hue City
(We will stay two days in Hue City)
Day 9 Depart Hue City for Da Nang
(We will stay two days in Da Nang)
Day 11 Depart Da Nag for Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)
(We will stay two days in Ho Chi Minh City)
Day 13 Depart Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam for Bangkok, Thailand
(We must stay overnight in Bangkok again to "check out")
Day 14 Depart Bangkok, Thailand for Hong Kong and
San Francisco, California, USA!
(Itinerary subject to change)
That's what We have so far! We will keep everyone apprised of
any changes as they become available. The whole trip, everything
listed above (all transportation, lodging, food, and daily
entertainment) will only cost $2,000.00 each (try and do that on
your own, we are getting some great group discounts!) We are
still making every attempt to get this price cut down even more.
The more tickets sold, the less the price will be for everyone so
don't wait until the last minute! Start saving now, sign-ups are
starting this month! All deposits are refundable, but certain
restrictions will apply with regard to withdrawal less than 30
days prior scheduled departure date.
Don't put off saving . This is a trip of a lifetime! To do this
by yourself would bankrupt you so take advantage of this group
discount!
For further information contact:
Vietnam Veterans' Valhalla
28 Cecil Avenue, Suite 179
San Jose, California 95128
Attn: Todd Looney
or E-Mail to 143/27, 24 hours a day!
ALL DEPOSITS SHOULD BE IN THE FORM OF PERSONAL OR CASHIERS'
CHECK, OR MONEY ORDER PAYABLE TO "VIETNAM VETERANS' VALHALLA".
You can also keep in contact with what is going on in the world
of Vietnam veterans, their friends and family by participating in
the International Vietnam Veterans' EchoConference.
If you are not sure where the local node in your area is, I have
listed several of them below. We look forward to having you
aboard, and again, this is not just for veterans, *anyone* can
participate!
For those of you who are interested, ZYMURGY is the art of Beer
Making. Since 1979 homebrewing beer has been legal in most
states. In Ohio you can brew 100 gallons of beer per year for
personal use. If you are married or there are multiple adults
living in your household, you can brew up to 200 gallons per
year. (That's a lot of homebrew!)
You cannot sell your homebrew, but you can give away as much as
you like.
With the equipment and ingredients available today home brewing
is easy, inexpensive, and good! The motto of the American
Homebrewers Association (of which I am a member) is:
Relax, Don't worry, Have a homebrew!
I could very easily write a book about homebrewing but there are
already several good books available and why re-invent the
wheel. One of the best books available is: "The Complete Joy of
Home Brewing" by Charlie Papazian. This book can be
found/ordered at your favorite local bookshop.
Since last September, I have brewed over 40 gallons of high
quality beer. Just ask my friends! Everyone was a skeptic until
the first sip.... Then it was WOW! you really made this!
I started this echo in the hopes that I could find other
homebrewers out there and we could swap techniques and recipes. I
also started this echo for the new homebrewer that wants to learn
about homebrewing. If you are interested in obtaining the
'ZYMURGY' echo, drop me a note at 108/62.
Well the ball is in your court. Remember: Relax, Don't worry,
have a homebrew!
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.
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.
Ken Kaplan 100/22 Chairman of the Board
Don Daniels 107/210 President
Mark Grennan 147/1 Vice President
Dave Dodell 114/15 Vice President - Technical Coordinator
David Garrett 103/501 Secretary
Leonard Mednick 345/1 Treasurer
IFNA BOARD OF DIRECTORS
DIVISION AT-LARGE
10 Steve Jordan 102/2871 Don Daniels 107/210
11 Bill Allbritten 11/301 Hal DuPrie 101/106
12 Leonard Mednick 345/1 Mark Grennan 147/1
13 Rick Siegel 107/27 Brad Hicks 100/523
14 Ken Kaplan 100/22 Ted Polczyinski 154/5
15 Jim Cannell 128/13 Kurt Reisler 109/74
16 Vince Perriello 141/491 Robert Rudolph 261/628
17 Rob Barker 138/34 Greg Small 148/122
18 Christopher Baker 135/14 Bob Swift 140/24
19 Vernon Six 19/0 Larry Wall 15/18
2 Henk Wevers 2:500/1 Gee Wong 107/312
If you pay by Credit Card you may also register by Netmailing
this completed form to 108/62 or 1/88 for processing. Please
complete the information below and be sure to include a voice
phone number above so that we can contact you for Credit Card
FidoNews 5-27 Page 25 4 Jul 1988
verification. Rename this file ZNNNXXXX.REG where Z is your Zone
number, N is your Net number, and X is your Node number.
[ ] Visa [ ] MasterCard
Name as it appears
on credit card: ___________________________________________
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 _____
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ONLY 1 copy Fido/FidoNet per IFNA Member
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