Copyright 1990, Fido Software. All rights reserved. Duplication
and/or distribution permitted for noncommercial purposes only.
For use in other circumstances, please contact Fido Software.
FidoNews is published weekly by the System Operators of the
FidoNet (r) International BBS Network. It is a compilation of
individual articles contributed by their authors or authorized
agents of the authors. The contribution of articles to this
compilation does not diminish the rights of the authors.
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 a Continuous
Mail system, available for network mail 24 hours a day.
Fido and FidoNet are registered trademarks of Tom Jennings of
Fido Software, Box 77731, San Francisco CA 94107, USA and are
used with permission.
Opinions expressed in FidoNews articles are those of the authors
and are not necessarily those of the Editor or of Fido Software.
Most articles are unsolicited. Our policy is to publish every
responsible submission received.
Table of Contents
1. EDITORIAL ................................................ 1
Jottings from an old geezer .............................. 1
2. ARTICLES ................................................. 2
A Little Story ........................................... 2
IFNA Minutes of the Board of Directors 1/27/90 (Draft) ... 5
3. COLUMNS .................................................. 15
The Captain's Log ........................................ 15
4. LATEST VERSIONS .......................................... 17
Latest Software Versions ................................. 17
5. NOTICES .................................................. 20
The Interrupt Stack ...................................... 20
And more!
FidoNews 7-06 Page 1 5 Feb 1990
As I write this, the white stuff outside my door is getting
deeper and deeper. Perhaps I'll get to stay home from work
tomorrow and play with my computer. That would be nice.
In a few months, we're going to reach the fifth anniversary of
FidoNet's switch to Multinet. Maybe there aren't enough old
geezers out there who appreciate that fact, but this one thinks
we should do something to observe that occurrence. It will be a
nice dry run for next year's fifth anniversary of Echomail...
One of the criticisms I have heard of FidoNews is the difficulty
of locating the articles and their authors' names. This is (yes,
I know you hear this all the time) not entirely my fault.
ARTSPEC.DOC is pretty clear on a suggested style, and articles
using this style will have the information presented in a
consistent location in the story, and will most likely be
properly indexed in the Table of Contents. Many weeks I find
myself fixing up stories to conform to this, but if I don't have
the time, it just doesn't happen.
Last week's banner page was so long that very few items fit into
the Table of Contents. Since there were so many interesting
articles last week, that's unfortunate. I have shortened the
banner page somewhat. I'm going to work on it some more between
this week and next, hopefully resulting in a basic presentation
that will last a while.
We now have the route-through arrangement with Harry's system
complete. He tells me that a few file requests for ARTSPEC.DOC
came up empty this week, though. We've now fixed that. At this
point, I believe that we have 1:1/1 completely working at Harry's
site. We're sorry for any inconvenience our fumbling and
bumbling might have caused you in the interim.
That's it until next week. Happy Trails.
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FidoNews 7-06 Page 2 5 Feb 1990
My career began under the christmas-tree, when a 12-year-old
pupil living in New York got me as a present. He had never
expected to get me (some people fear a 120% increase of
their phone bill), so his joy was enormous, and he wanted
to start the "maiden-voyage" immediately. But there was the
first hurdle: all the New York numbers were busy - many pu-
pils seemed to have gotten a modem as a christmas present.
Luckily the resources of numbers were not exhausted: there
still was the number of a very good multi-user BBS in San
Francisco. That wasn't a local call at all, and I wondered
what the parents of my new owner would say about the phone
bill. But at least that number wasn't busy - Pacific Time is
3 hours different from New York Time, and therefore there
surely wasn't distribution of presents yet. The first ses-
sion with me could start. A very simple communications pro-
gram had to be enough, but it was certainly better than no-
thing. The session lasted about 30 minutes, when the father
of my new owner asked: "Where are you connected to? I need
the phone for ordering a table in the restaurant." When he
heard the true answer - "San Francisco" - his face went
white, as he expected his statement of account to get red
numbers (for minus). That was no wonder , because the phone
bill had been increased by at least 80%. I had a long break
now.
It was a "bad-cluster-life" for me to lie in the cupboard
unused. The father called me a "100-$-note-eater", and
every time the son asked for the permission to use me again
the answer was "No". He seemed not to bear the high bill I
had caused with the long-distance call to San Francisco. Af-
ter three weeks (when the holidays were over and school
ate up most of my owner's time) I was used again. The father
had caused more telephone charge than I with the long-dis-
tance call by asking everybody who had something to do with
computers in any way for local BBS numbers that weren't busy
and not too expensive to call. And - he had success. Now I
wasn't a "100-$-note-eater" any more, as the local calls
were free of charge. My owner could make long sessions with-
out having to get pangs of conscience. I didn't have to lie
in the cupboard again.
One of the local numbers was the "favorite": the number of a
BBS which had a direct conference with one in Sydney, Au-
stralia. The messages were transported at night (the oversea
charge was lower then) and arrived at the destination more
quickly than a letter. One thing was not so good: the sysop
had to charge a little price for the usage of the confe-
FidoNews 7-06 Page 3 5 Feb 1990
rence. That was easy to understand, oversea charge was not
cheap at all, and he had to pay very much for that hobby.
But that price was not so high as the first increased phone
bill. Luckily, because the first one wasn't paid off yet. It
had made a really big hole in the purse.
When access to file areas was opened, my owner began to no-
tice that 300 bps aren't very fast. Programs got bigger and
bigger, and the transmission time made that the father of
my owner was an extremely hard-to-reach person. The line was
always busy, callers had only a chance when my owner was at
school or doing homeworks. I feared a new "cupboard period".
That nightmare didn't become true, but the busy line prohi-
bited my owner to wish a faster modem. If those long calls
had been long distance or oversea calls - imagine what an
astronomical phone bill would have been caused!
The highest point of my career began when my owner discove-
red a BBS which was connected to several hundred others in
the USA. He could write messages to San Francisco, Los Ange-
les, Anchorage or Nome now without breaking the telephone
charge world record. And his private mail was full of re-
plies every day. Unfortunately, the 300 bps prevented him
to read ALL the messages in the message boards. So the call
for a faster modem got louder and louder. But it wasn't
heard for a long time. I think it was the first bill which
had caused that. What a pity - 300 bps became less actual
from day to day, and long-distance calls were impossible be-
cause of the long time needed for transmission...
Then, after a few months, when my owner broke his money-box
in order to buy a faster modem and open the door to long-
distance and oversea calls, my hour rang. My owner celebra-
ted the "maiden-voyage" with his new, faster modem, and I
was no longer used. But I had a "memorial" - the first bill,
and I could be sure that I had served loyally in my time.
And then, when I was put into the corner, I made a few
questions: What a phone bill will the new modem cause? Will
the new modem remain actual for a longer time than I? Will
my owner remember me, or will I simply no longer exist for
him?
I only found out the answer for the first question: The bill
caused by the new modem got the 3rd dimension - exponents
had to be used, otherwise the field "Amount to pay" had been
to small. But I don't know what the father said about that
bill. I only know that it had been caused by a few oversea
calls.
------------------------------------------------------------
I hope that I haven't made too many mistakes (I have used a
spell checker), and that you have enjoyed this little story.
Netmail comments from all zones are welcome - please write
them to Fabian Kiendl on 2:507/8 (STONES *Herdecke*, FRG).
FidoNews 7-06 Page 4 5 Feb 1990
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FidoNews 7-06 Page 5 5 Feb 1990
INTERNATIONAL FIDONET ASSOCIATION, INC. (IFNA)
DRAFT
Minutes of the Board of Directors
(Special Meeting)
27 January 1989 09:00
The special meeting of the Board of Directors of the IFNA
was opened by the Chairman Thom Henderson at 09:06 hours in the
City of Clifton, New Jersey. Irene Henderson was appointed the
Sergeant of Arms.
Agenda Item I.
Roll Call
Attending:
Phil Buonomo
Irene Henderson
Thom Henderson
Karl Schinke
Jim Hruby
Bill VanGlahn
Fabian Gordon
Burt Juda
John Raffuse
Don Daniels
Randy Bush
Bob Moravsik
Ivan Schaffel
John Roberts
Alternates Held:
Bill VanGlahn alternate for Mark Hawthorne
Thom Henderson alternate for Steve Jordan
Don Daniels alternate for Dave Melnick
Randy Bush alternate for Tom Jennings, Matt
Whelan and Steve Barnes
Bob Moravsik alternate for Bill Bolton
The following statement was requested to be added to the
minutes by:
FidoNews 7-06 Page 6 5 Feb 1990
A. Bill Bolton - Bob Moravsik
B. Tom Jennings - Randy Bush
C. Matt Whelan - Randy Bush
D. Steve Barnes - Randy Bush
"We Reserve the Right to claim that the meeting was
improperly constituted."
Agenda Item II.
Amendments to the Agenda
A. Future Dissolution of IFNA
Motion to amend the agenda to add the Motion "Future
Dissolution of IFNA" requested by Randy Bush, seconded
by Irene Henderson.
Motion carried by a unanimous vote of the Board of
Directors.
Motion to close amendments to the Agenda by John
Roberts, seconded by Irene Henderson.
Motion passed.
Agenda Item III.
Committee Reports
Elections Committee - Report distributed to Board
Members and read by Secretary. Motion made and
seconded to accept report as sent to Board of
Directors.
Motion passed.
Motion made by Randy Bush to "Thank Steve Bonine
for a job well done." Seconded by Kris Veitch.
Motion passed unanimously.
Treasurer Report - Report distributed to Board
Members and read by Treasurer. Motion made and
seconded to accept report.
Motion passed.
FidoNews 7-06 Page 7 5 Feb 1990
Secretary Report - Letter from Tom Jennings regarding
the termination of the Trademark License Agreement
that allows IFNA the use of the trademarks, commencing
28 February 1990. Motion made and seconded to accept
the report.
Motion passed.
Bylaws Committee Report - No business pending by the
committee. Motion made and seconded to accept report.
Motion passed.
Agenda Item IV.
New Business
A. Future Dissolution of IFNA
B. Immediate Dissolution of IFNA
C. Dissolution of the FidoNet Technical
Standards Committee
D. Dissolution of the IFNA Publications
Committee
E. Dissolution of the IFNA Technical
Coordinator
Don Daniels moved to accept the Motion before the Board
"The Future Dissolution of IFNA".
John Raffuse seconded.
Discussion.
Randy Bush moved to amend Preamble.
Phil Buonomo seconded.
Amendment passed.
Don Daniels moved to amend Motion and strike 3rd
resolution.
Bob Moravsik seconded.
Roll Call vote.
Amendment passed.
Bob Moravsik moved to amend Motion on 4th whereas to
add Missouri statute.
Kris Veitch seconded.
FidoNews 7-06 Page 8 5 Feb 1990
Amendment passed.
Randy Bush moved to amend the Motion and add to the
3rd Resolve that the Association minimalize business
activities.
John Raffuse seconded.
Roll Call vote.
Amendment passed.
Break for lunch at 12:20 to Resume at 13:15
Meeting called to order at 13:15
Ivan Schafel moved to amend verbiage in first resolve.
Jim Hruby seconded.
Roll Call vote.
Amendment failed.
Phil Buonomo moved to amend the second resolve to drop
the reference to August meeting and Annual meeting.
Burt Juda seconded.
Amendment passed.
Randy Bush moved to amend the second resolve to add
Annual Membership Meeting.
Fabian Gordon seconded.
Roll Call vote.
Amendment passed.
John Roberts moved to amend the verbiage of the first
resolve to read "recommend".
Bill VanGahln seconded.
Amendment passed.
Phil Buonomo moved to amend the second whereas from
one-third to one-half of the Sysops of Fidonet and
the word manage to represent.
John Roberts seconded.
Roll Call vote.
Amendment passed.
FidoNews 7-06 Page 9 5 Feb 1990
John Raffuse called the question of the Resolution on
the floor.
John Roberts seconded.
Roll Call vote.
Failed.
John Roberts moved to table the Future Dissolution
motion before the Board.
Karl Schinke seconded.
Roll Call vote.
Failed.
Don Daniels moved to amend the Future Dissolution
first resolve verbiage from "We" to "The Board of
Directors".
Fabian Gordon seconded.
Amendment passed.
Fabian Gordon called the question of the Resolution
on the floor.
Randy Bush seconded.
Karl Schinke moved to table the Resolution.
Phil Buonomo seconded.
Roll Call vote.
Resolution tabled.
Karl Schinke moved to accept the Motion of Immediate
Dissolution of IFNA.
Don Daniels seconded.
Point of Order by Kris Veitch that the Motion is
illegal.
Over-ruled by Thom Henderson.
Randy Bush wished to have his statement recorded in
the minutes:
"Strenuously object to the Chairman's ruling."
Debate on Point of Order allowed by Chairman.
John Roberts moved to close debate.
FidoNews 7-06 Page 10 5 Feb 1990
Randy Bush seconded.
Burt Juda moved to table Motion.
Fabian Gordon seconded.
Roll Call vote.
Motion tabled.
Phil moved to accept the Motion of the Dissolution
of the FTSC.
Karl Schinke seconded.
Bob Moravsik moved to table the Motion.
Ivan Schaffel seconded.
Roll Call vote.
Motion tabled.
Randy Bush moved to untable the Motion of the Future
Dissolution of IFNA.
John Roberts seconded.
Passed.
Phil Buonomo moved to amend the 2nd resolution to
add verbiage from the Missouri statute.
Fabian Gordon seconded.
Amendment passed.
Ivan Schaffel called the question of the resolution
of the Future Dissolution of the International
FidoNet Association.
Irene Henderson seconded.
Roll Call vote.
Resolution passed.
Ivan Schaffel moved to Adjourn.
Randy Bush seconded.
Passed.
The Special Meeting of the Board of Directors of the
International FidoNet Association was adjourned at
18:15 hours on January 27th, 1990.
FidoNews 7-06 Page 11 5 Feb 1990
Secretary's Note:
The following is the completed Resolution that
is presented to FidoNet.
On the Future Dissolution of the International FidoNet
Association
WHEREAS:
At the Board of Directors Meeting concluded on 27 Aug 1989
a Resolution was passed to hold a Referendum of FidoNet to
determine if the International FidoNet Association, Inc.
should continue to exist, and
WHEREAS:
In the Referendum of FidoNet concluded on 1 Dec 1989 fewer
than one half of the sysops of FidoNet desired that the
Association officially represent them, and
WHEREAS:
The Board of Directors established the rule for the
election that upon failure of this Referendum the Board of
Directors would initiate dissolution of the Association,
and
WHEREAS:
Missouri statute requires receiving at least two thirds of
the votes entitled to be cast by members present at a
membership meeting in order to dissolve a corporation
therefore be it
RESOLVED:
That the Board of Directors recommends to the membership
that the Association be dissolved.
RESOLVED:
That the question of dissolution be submitted to the
membership for a vote at the next Annual Membership
Meeting, or, prior to that meeting, by consent of the
membership pursuant to Missouri statute 355.460.
RESOLVED:
That the Association take no action that is not required
by statute, Articles of Association, or Bylaws until such
time as the vote to dissolve is completed.
RESOLVED:
FidoNews 7-06 Page 12 5 Feb 1990
That the Regular Annual Board Meeting of our Association
scheduled for 16 February 1990 is hereby canceled.
RESOLVED:
That the next Meeting of the Board of Directors of the
Association shall be at the Annual Meeting of our
membership after the vote is concluded, and that all
motions now before the Board regarding the disposal of
assets be tabled until that time.
Please find enclosed the content of the letter sent
to the Secretary of this Corporation by Tom Jennings.
1. This letter is to inform IFNA that I am
terminating our Trademark License Agreement that
allows IFNA the use of my trademarks, commencing
28 February 1990.
2. The vote by the network members this past 1
December 1989 clearly indicates that IFNA does
not represent the wishes and needs of the Fido
Net network at large, and therefore myself.
Elections and Nominations Report
Please consider my article in the January 1, 1990 edition
of FidoNews (FNEWS701.ARC) to be the Final Report from the
Elections and Nominations Committee.
I have no recommendations on conclusion of ongoing business,
as I do not consider that there is any ongoing business of
this committee. The election is concluded, and it would appear
that there need be no nominations for any future posts. Thus,
the work of this committee is done.
Treasurer's Report
IFNA Financial Report
2/ 1/89 Through 1/27/90
IFNA Page 1
1/27/90
2/ 1/89-
FidoNews 7-06 Page 13 5 Feb 1990
Final Note: This is a Draft Copy sent to FidoNews for
immediate publication. The Board Meeting
was taped and the tapes will be transcribed
in detail at a future date.
I personally would like to thank Bob Moravsik
for bringing copies of the Missouri State statutes.
Bob and I haven't always seen eye to eye, but I
now understand. Thanks Bob!
FidoNews 7-06 Page 14 5 Feb 1990
To the other members of the Board, thank you for
being there. Thanks!
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FidoNews 7-06 Page 15 5 Feb 1990
"Captain's Log, Stardate 9002.03..."
by Phil Buonomo, 1:107/583@FidoNet 520/583@AlterNet 9:807/1@PNet
The opinions expressed here are MINE, and do not represent anyone
else's. If you don't like 'em, tough. Those wishing to express
differing opinions are invited to jump off a cliff. ;-)
I suppose I should explain a little about the title of this
column. Ever since my CB days back in high-school, my handle
has been "The Captain". When I put up my first bbs, a Networks
][ that ran on my Apple ][ plus, back on July 1st, 1980, my
handle was "The Captain" never "Sysop" (hence the name of my
board, The Starship, now the Starship ][, since converting to an
IBM PC). Unlike most other 'starship' boards, however, I never
called my system "The Enterprise", nor did I ever fashion myself
as "Captain Kirk". I wanted my own identity. So, I called my
'ship' the Potemkin ("P" for Phil), which has been the answer to
a trivia question ever since ("So, what's the name of your
StarShip?"). That over, on with the REAL column!
A few issues ago, I wrote an article warning folks about
incompatibilities between the new Front Door 1.99b and the
SEAdog mailer. The author had removed support for BARK style
requests, which SEAdog generates, and the SEAlink protocol,
which SEAdog supports. This, and a bug in the new FTS-0001
implementation, led to a failure for the two mailers to send
files to each other (one of the basic definitions for being
"FidoNet compatible" going back to distribution of the nodelist
in the original Fido Network). I warned of the incompatibility
and demonstrated some ways to keep your mailer (whichever one
you run) from running up your phone bill.
Since then, the Front Door author has announced his intention to
release a new version that WILL talk to SEAdogs, although it
still won't support BARK requests or the SEAlink protocol, which
means that while you WILL be able to get those files across,
it'll only be at about 35% efficiency at 9600 baud. The author
has also returned the money of those Front Door users who've
asked for it. I think he's to be commended for showing good
business sense in offering refunds. There are lots of FD users
who still have to communicate with SEAdog users, and will find
it very inconvenient to run the new Front Door.
So, if you're one of those FD users that are dissatisfied with
the lack of BARK request of SEAlink support, and would like a
refund, contact Joaquim Homrighausen at 1:135/20. It's to his
credit that he's willing to return your money if you don't like
his product. Too many businesses wouldn't do that these days.
FidoNews 7-06 Page 16 5 Feb 1990
-----------------------------------------------------------------
FidoNews 7-06 Page 17 5 Feb 1990
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.
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FidoNews 7-06 Page 20 5 Feb 1990
As a remimder to those of you who are FReq Computer
Information Montly News the following names should be used when
doing so. A few of you have been using wild cards, this will
only run your phone bill and my system use time up. The files
names below have been selected for convience. As of this month
CIMN will be the color version only for the current month.
CIMNBW will be the black and white version. You will notice a
size change. Available for FReq on 10 Feb 1990, Feb ISSUE.
CIMN.ARC OR ZIP..........COLOR VERSION
CIMNBW.ARC OR ZIP........BLACK & WHITE VERSION
FidoNews 7-06 Page 21 5 Feb 1990
I am also happy to announce CIMN has just gone
international. I will be sending both Jan 90 and Feb 90 issue to
Larry Lewis in Emerton NSW, Australia. So for you folks DOWN
UNDER who have been Inquiring. It will be available on Prophet
BBS within the next 10 to 15 days. Thanks Larry. Hope you enjoy
it as much as I enjoy doing it.
=================================================================
HIGH MESA RANGER'S BBS (301/1) JAKE HARGROVE
HIGH MESA PUBLISHING, 13 OSAGE DR, LOS LUNAS, NM 87031 USA
