Volume 6, Number 10                                  6 March 1989
    +---------------------------------------------------------------+
    |                                                  _            |
    |                                                 /  \          |
    |                                                /|oo \         |
    |        - FidoNews -                           (_|  /_)        |
    |                                                _`@/_ \    _   |
    |        International                          |     | \   \\  |
    |     FidoNet Association                       | (*) |  \   )) |
    |         Newsletter               ______       |__U__| /  \//  |
    |                                 / FIDO \       _//|| _\   /   |
    |                                (________)     (_/(_|(____/    |
    |                                                     (jm)      |
    +---------------------------------------------------------------+
    Editor in Chief                                       Dale Lovell
    Editor Emeritus:                                   Thom Henderson
    Chief Procrastinator Emeritus:                       Tom Jennings
    Contributing Editors:                                   Al Arango

    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.  1:1/1 is available  for network  mail between  NMH-1
    hour to NMH+1 hour.  At all other times,  netmail is not accepted
    although submissions can be uploaded.

    Copyright 1989 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
       SEA Letter: Kitten 2.00  ..................................  1
    2. LATEST VERSIONS  ..........................................  6
       Latest Software Versions  .................................  6
    3. NOTICES  ..................................................  7
       The Interrupt Stack  ......................................  7
    FidoNews 6-10                Page 1                    6 Mar 1989


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

                         What's Happening at SEA?


    Just what the world needs -- another  BBS  program!  Well,  since
    everyone else has written one, why not us?

    Some of you may already be  familiar  with  Kitten  1.00  --  the
    world's  tiniest BBS program.  Kitten didn't do much;  no message
    bases, no uploads,  no games,  nothing but a bulletin and a short
    list of files for download.  But if that was all you needed, then
    Kitten was the best choice because she was so easy to set up.

    In  version 2.00 Kitten has grown up a bit.  She can still be the
    simple,  unassuming system she was before,  and when she is she's
    just as easy to set up as ever.

    But if you tell her to, Kitten can grow into a real LION!

     o  Unlimited message bases.

     o  Five access levels and up to sixteen access control flags.

     o  An unlimited number of menus -- all fully definable by you.

     o  "Hacker control" from the simple to the sublime -- limited
        only by your own imagination.

     o  Conditional menus, allowing menu flexibility unheard of in a
        BBS program.

     o  The ability to run "outside" programs with full redirection
        (see what the user sees, and you can type too) and a built-in
        watchdog for carrier AND for session time limit.

     o  File upload/download ability to an unlimited number of file
        areas, with file access under your control at all times.


    To  see  a  sample  of just how WILD a Kitten can get,  check out
    Irene & Leo's Funhouse at (201)  473-5371  (outside  of  business
    hours only, please).

    Kitten  2.00  comes  complete  with copious documentation and two
    sample configurations to get you started.  Whether your needs are
    simple or incredible,  you owe it to yourself to take a  look  at
    Kitten!



    Files mentioned this week:

                  KITTEN.ARC          The Kitten BBS package.
    FidoNews 6-10                Page 2                    6 Mar 1989


    KITTEN.ARC  may be downloaded from our technical support bulletin
    board at (201) 473-1991,  or may be  file-requested  from  either
    520/1015@AlterNet or 1:107/1015@FidoNet.


    Next week:  USNO

    -----------------------------------------------------------------
    FidoNews 6-10                Page 3                    6 Mar 1989


    Nodelist Flags and Brownshirts

    Evolution, Growth, and Political Structures

    In any society, there is a continual problem of the rules and
    rulemakers not always being able to keep up with the technologies
    that drive the society.  FidoNet is no exception, and the
    nodelist flags is a golden example of this.

    The defacto standard for nodelist flags has been considerably
    different than the written standards for quite some time.
    Recently, the FTSC has attempted to bring them closer to parity
    in the form of a new FTS-0005.


    Threatened Actions By A Now-ExRC

    When I was an RC, one of the things that irked me in a big way
    was a threat by another RC to drop any nodes whose flags did not
    correspond to the written spec.  That RC commissioned a program
    that would seek and comment out any nodes not in compliance.

    I did not, and do not, see why a node that has flags that don't
    match a written spec should be dropped from the nodelist, except
    in those cases where it clearly indicates bad faith on the part
    of the sysop.  For instance, saying CM when you are not.  But to
    be dropped because you have AKA:xxxx setting seems more than a
    little bogus to me.  That's a problem between an RC and an NC,
    since it's the NC who prepares the entries, not the sysop.  If
    totally illegal values are coming in a given NC's segment, you
    fire the creator of the segment, not the nodes being
    ill-represented.

    This is the kind of thing that scares me most about FidoNet - we
    seem to have two extremes for rules - either they don't apply at
    all, or we are going to use them as excuses for ax grinding.


    User Flags

    Primary Intent On My Part: To Give Lee Kemp A Place For Keys

    In direct recognition of the fact that our political structures
    in FidoNet don't work well or efficiently, I pressed to have the
    user flags added to the FTSC spec.  The intent of these flags was
    to provide a place for people to try new things out in the
    nodelist without rigamarole from the coordinator structure.  To
    legally provide for a mechanism for the organic growth that is
    clearly needed - a place where ideas can be tried, and either
    flourish, die, or be incorporated into some idea, without some
    hardass coordinator imposing his world view on what is supposed
    to be an egalitarian network.

    My specific, short term intent was to provide Lee Kemp with a
    place to store PKSCrypt keys in his nodelist entry.  Later in
    this article, you'll see how.
    FidoNews 6-10                Page 4                    6 Mar 1989


    Growing Out of The User Realm

    Implicit in this is the assumption that some user flags will
    migrate to the more standard flags.  For instance, once everyone
    agreed on some mechanism for encoding a signature key (from
    attempts in the user flags), the mechanism might be standardized
    by the FTSC, and moved into the "standard" flags area.


    Coordinator Actions

    In Hindsight, The Coordinator Flags Were Suggested

    As an afterthought, I suggested that a second, parallel set of
    flags be created, called Coordinator flags.  This was suggested
    because the FTSC nodelist specification serves a number of
    networks.  The coordinator flags would allow a particular local
    political structure to have it's own set of flags implemented in
    such a way that any robust, general purpose nodelist processor
    would not barf, while still keeping the "garden" of the user
    flags free from intervention.

    The uses that came to mind for this related to things like
    identifying EchoMail hubs, SDS nodes, etc.

    These flags could be added ONLY with the approval of the given
    coordinator structure, where in the case of the user flags, the
    coordinator structure would have little, if any, say over.


    As Usual, Coordinators Usurping The Users of the Network

    But as it stands, the coordinators of FidoNet have decided to
    take it upon themselves to use and control the User flags, while
    the FTSC has ignored the coordinator flags.  As usual, you and I
    are left at the mercy of a bunch of people who didn't understand
    the intent to begin with.

    Par for the course.  I guess I should have expected this.  For
    once, let's get them to do it right.  Tell your NC you want to
    use your User Flags for just that - user flags, and if the
    coordinators want some flags to control, let them get their own.
    For now, just ask your NC for the USER_NOT_*C_FLAG! flag.  If you
    have an AKA or PN flag, have them make it an UAKA or UPN flag.
    That's what they were created for.  You.  Not them.  If he tells
    you he can't, ask him when the coordinators are going to live by
    the rules they've written rather than the ones they make up along
    the way?


    JonesNose Flags

    I have submitted a request to my NC for the following flags:

    UPN5555,PK2E5F9D0D0999

    FidoNews 6-10                Page 5                    6 Mar 1989


    PN5555 means I use private net 5555.

    The latter is a 7 digit PKSCrypt key set, packed as two, six
    digit hexadecimal values.  (If someone would be kind enough to
    netmail me a copy of what they think the key would look like, I'd
    be much obliged.)

    Harry Lee
    1:321/202@FidoNet

    -----------------------------------------------------------------
    FidoNews 6-10                Page 6                    6 Mar 1989


    =================================================================
                             LATEST VERSIONS
    =================================================================

                         Latest Software Versions

                          Bulletin Board Software
    Name        Version    Name        Version    Name       Version

    Fido            12K*   Opus          1.03b    TBBS           2.1
    QuickBBS       2.03    TPBoard         5.0    TComm/TCommNet 3.2
    Lynx           1.22    Phoenix         1.3    RBBS         1.71D


    Network                Node List              Other
    Mailers     Version    Utilities   Version    Utilities  Version

    Dutchie       2.90C*   EditNL         4.00    ARC           5.32
    SEAdog         4.50*   MakeNL         2.12    ARCmail        2.0*
    BinkleyTerm    2.00    Prune          1.40    ConfMail      4.00
    D'Bridge       1.10    XlatList       2.90*   TPB Editor    1.21
    FrontDoor       2.0    XlaxNode       2.32*   TCOMMail       2.0
    PRENM          1.40    XlaxDiff       2.32*   TMail         8901*
                           ParseList      1.30    UFGATE        1.02*
                                                  GROUP         2.04*
                                                  EMM           1.40
                                                  MSGED         1.96

    * Recently changed

    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.

    -----------------------------------------------------------------
    FidoNews 6-10                Page 7                    6 Mar 1989


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

                         The Interrupt Stack


     8 May 1989
       Digital Equipment Corporations User Society (DECUS) will be
       holding its semi-annual symposium in Atlanta, GA. Runs
       through May 12. As usual sysop's will get together and chat.

    19 May 1989
       Start of EuroCon III at Eindhoven, The Netherlands

    24 Aug 1989
       Voyager 2 passes Neptune.

    24 Aug 1989
         FidoCon '89 starts at the Holiday Inn in San Jose,
         California.  Trade show, seminars, etc. Contact 1/89
         for info.

     5 Oct 1989
       20th Anniversary of "Monty Python's Flying Circus"

    If you have something which you would like to see on this
    calendar, please send a message to FidoNet node 1:1/1.

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

    FidoNews 6-10                Page 8                    6 Mar 1989


           OFFICERS OF THE INTERNATIONAL FIDONET ASSOCIATION

    Hal DuPrie     1:101/106  Chairman of the Board
    Bob Rudolph    1:261/628  President
    Matt Whelan    3:3/1      Vice President
    Ray Gwinn      1:109/639  Vice President - Technical Coordinator
    David Garrett  1:103/501  Secretary
    Steve Bonine   1:115/777  Treasurer



                        IFNA BOARD OF DIRECTORS

        DIVISION                               AT-LARGE

    10  Courtney Harris   1:102/732?    Don Daniels     1:107/210
    11  Bill Allbritten   1:11/301      Hal DuPrie      1:101/106
    12  Bill Bolton       3:711/403     Mark Grennan    1:147/1
    13  Rick Siegel       1:107/27      Steve Bonine    1:115/777
    14  Ken Kaplan        1:100/22      Ted Polczyinski 1:154/5
    15  Larry Kayser      1:104/739?    Matt Whelan     3:3/1
    16  Ivan Schaffel     1:141/390     Robert Rudolph  1:261/628
    17  Rob Barker        1:138/34      Steve Jordan    1:102/2871
    18  Andrew Adler      1:135/47      Bob Swift       1:140/24
    19  David Drexler     1:19/1        Larry Wall      1:15/18
     2  Henk Wevers       2:500/1       David Melnik    1:107/233

    -----------------------------------------------------------------
    FidoNews 6-10                Page 9                    6 Mar 1989


                                     __
                The World's First   /  \
                   BBS Network     /|oo \
                   * FidoNet *    (_|  /_)
                                   _`@/_ \    _
                                  |     | \   \\
                                  | (*) |  \   ))
                     ______       |__U__| /  \//
                    / Fido \       _//|| _\   /
                   (________)     (_/(_|(____/ (tm)

           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 ________________________________________________________
    BBS Phone Number ________________________________________________
    Baud Rates Supported ____________________________________________
    Board Restrictions ______________________________________________

    Your Special Interests __________________________________________
    _________________________________________________________________
    _________________________________________________________________
    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
                  PO 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
    and Articles of Association and By-Laws were adopted by the
    membership in January 1987.  The second elected Board of Directors
    was filled in August 1988.  The IFNA Echomail Conference has been
    established on FidoNet to assist the Board.  We welcome your
    input to this Conference.

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