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
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Opinions expressed in FidoNews articles are those of the authors
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Most articles are unsolicited. Our policy is to publish every
responsible submission received.
Table of Contents
1. ARTICLES ................................................. 1
Alternative news - who needs it? ......................... 4
BBS World Review Digest Update! .......................... 6
Fidocon '90 Update! ...................................... 7
FIDOCON 1990 REGISTRATION FORM ........................... 8
2. COLUMNS .................................................. 11
A View from the Bridge ................................... 11
Talk Me Through It, Honey ................................ 13
3. LATEST VERSIONS .......................................... 15
Latest Software Versions ................................. 15
4. NOTICES .................................................. 18
And more!
FidoNews 7-14 Page 1 2 Apr 1990
Hello everyone out there in bulletin board land! Welcome to
our never-ending search for Truth (in whatever version you
like your truth), Justice (if there is in fact any), and of
course, What it Be! (Noone really knows for sure).
What is What It Is? It's whatever you think it is, actually.
or more appropriately, whatever you make it out to be. What WE
think it is, is a column that editorializes specific items in
Fidonet that pique our interest, or just plain piss us off.
Kinda like The Andy Rooney of Fidonews in a strange sort of
way. A little fun. a little humor (unless that's been banned
by policy recently), and a little blood-letting here and
there. Nothing too serious now mind you! I mean hey, after
all, this column DID make it into the Snooze now didn't it? So
it can't be all THAT bad!
If there's a particular cause you'd like us to take up and
have a look at, we'll be in touch. We KNOW who you are. We
have CALLER ID ...
This week, we're going to take a look at:
"The POLICY COMPLAINT" !!! And hopefully, when we're all
done, we might have a better understanding of just "What It
Is"...
When our founding fathers invented Fidonet (You know, George
and Abe and those guys), back in the Nineteenth Century, They
laid down the law of the land. Then they sat back and waited
to see how many people would be foolish enough to say "Hey!
Great idea! I'll join your club, live by your rules, do what
you tell me, and like it". This was Ancient Fidonet.
Today, in Modern Fidonet, there are thousands of these
people.
After a while, (After George and Abe and those guys dropped
carrier and passed on) it was decided that having the rules
really wasn't good enough. Nope. They needed a way to NAIL
those that break them! I mean after all, what good is having
some rules if you don't have a rule you can use to screw
someone to the wall for breaking the rules?
FidoNews 7-14 Page 2 2 Apr 1990
And so the POLICY COMPLAINT was invented. The inventors, for
lack of anything better to call it, decided that it was going
to be called the "policy complaint", and if you didn't LIKE
it, they'd file one against you.
So the guys that took over when 'ol George and Abe and those
guys passed on, figured that if there was a way to GET YOU if
you broke the rules, then everyone would feel better, and
there wouldn't be any problems. A little INSURANCE against
potential violent, maniacal onslaughts so to speak.
And this was good.
Years went by, and nobody broke the rules.
So then it was decided that rules weren't any good if nobody
was going to break them. Furthermore, there was no way to
actually FIELD TEST the Policy Complaint without something to
complain ABOUT.
So they changed the rules.
They made up a rule that said, "If your system isn't up
during Zone Mail Hour, then you have broken the rules. And by
the way, this rule has been in effect for a year"
As soon as it was made known that this new rule had been in
effect for such a long time, tens of thousands of sysops went
scrambling through old logs to find out if they had ever tried
to send a netmail during ZMH and couldn't because the
recipient's system wasn't up. Many sysops found that THEY
THEMSELVES weren't up during ZMH at one time or another, to
their utter horror.
Once the vicious offenders had been discovered, the offended
asked if they could actually FILE a Policy Complaint.
Just to see if it really worked.
So the rule makers said "This is a democratic society we
live in. Of COURSE you may file a Policy Complaint against
anyone you wish, and we will be happy, no, we will be
OBLIGATED to excommunicate them for you."
And so it happened. And it worked.
Today in Modern Fidonet, there are only 5000 or so nodes,
depending on who's doing the counting and how many duplicate
phone numbers you care to weed through. Only the strong and
the terminally stupid survive. But be careful! There are
plenty of "Policy Complaint Snipers" out there!
FidoNews 7-14 Page 3 2 Apr 1990
Yup, the new breed in Modern Fidonet. The Policy Complaint
Sniper. Those are the guys who sneak around late at night in
the bushes outside your house, armed with sophisticated
electronic listening devices and a copy of Policy 4, just
WAITING for you to commit the tiniest infraction. And then, at
3 O'clock in the morning, when you're out of coffee and your
brain is fried, and you accidentally host route that 800k file
attach... BANG!! Floodlights snap on all around your house!
Sirens wail, the Flamers' blowtorches heat up the night! The
800 decibel voice from the bullhorn screams out "This is the
ECHOMAIL POLICE! Give yourself UP! We will not harm you, or
excommunicate you, Give yourself UP!!! We have the place
surrounded ..."
Well, that's how it was, how it came to be, and that's What
It Is ...
Next time, we'll have an in-depth interview with a real
heavy duty Policy Complainer. Phrank Phutz, the Policy Complaint
COMMANDO ...
I've heard a lot of comments about the news and our press
in general. I've also heard a lot of comments about the
"left-wing" or alternative press. But one that struck me as
odd was when someone asked me, "Who needs it?"
After reading various alternative news echos on the FidoNet
and other media forms, the best answer I could come up with was
a series questions:
Have you heard about the CIA - Savings and Loan scandal
where the CIA defrauded banks of billions of dollars, adding up
to $14 billion by some accounts, to be used for illegal covert
activities forbidden by Congress? Now the taxpayers are
footing the bill for that money and the CIA operatives are
getting off scott-free. This story was broken by a large
Houston paper, and extensively reported in the alternative
press, but for some reason (???) it has yet to be reported in
the major newspapers or on the "Big 3" television networks.
I stammered on, you probably thought that the old FBI
domestic spying programs ended back in the 70s - Did you hear
about how the FBI is conducting a late-1980s smear campaign
against Detroit Mayor Coleman Young that was recently
revealed in court?
I was gaining speed now and my mind was starting to click
(well, maybe not click - but it was making some sort of noise).
How about the invasion of Panama? While the "standard"
media was cheerleading the invasion and trying to cover up the
fact that the "cocaine" found in Manuel Noriega's home was only
ground corn flour for tortillas, did you hear about former U.S.
Attorney General Ramsey Clark stating that thousands of
innocent Panamanian civilians were killed by U.S. forces in the
attack? I'd hardly call the former U.S. Attorney General a
half-cocked radical.
Or how about the recent hunger strike by the new Panamanian
president to protest our government's aid policies, or the
lack of them, to Panama to help rebuild their ravaged country
destoyed by the economic war and invasion we launched against
them? Imagine that, the U.S.-installed president going on a
hunger strike to protest against the government that installed
him into power. I didn't hear a thing about that in the
normal media.
I continued on with a couple of more examples, and then
started in about how the Berlin Wall has fallen but the
$3 billion U.S.-built concrete wall that divides North and
South Korea is still standing, but by then I guess he was
overwhelmed. All he said was "Thousands died, in the invasion,
huh? I heard it was only 200."
FidoNews 7-14 Page 5 2 Apr 1990
The whole point of this article, if you're starting to
wonder, is to inform you of some of an alternative news
echomail conference, called ANEWS, or "News of the US and
World."
While ANEWS doesn't have any witty conversation in it or
talk about the latest adventure game, it routinely carries
stories, such as the above ones, that are routinely ignored
by our normal media channels. While you may or may not agree
with all of the stories or the points made by these stories,
you'll be better informed by reading them.
I once read, years ago, about how the FidoNet was supposed
to make transmitting little-known information easier and to
provide an informal yet effective means of doing that. That's
what ANEWS is all about - providing people with information
that our standard media doesn't bother to inform us about.
Sound interesting? Like to know more? Besides ANEWS, which
is general in nature, there are several good news-type echomail
conferences in the FidoNet that focus on specific regions on
the world.
For more information, check the FidoNet echomail listing put
out by node 1:1/201 or contact Randy Edwards at node 1:141/552.
BBS World Review Digest(sm)
===========================
It truly sadden's me on this date to announce the demise of the
DISKazine program BBSWRD(sm). As of this date there have been no
subscription request and with programming being what it is today.
It does not pay Me or anyone else to do something which no one
desires to see. So I have decided not to continue with the
development of the program.
The one or two individuals who have show interest will be
contacted and provided information on how to continue to receive
the only magazine program currently being published by High Mesa
Publishing for FREE.
================================================================
Jake Hargrove
High Mesa Publishing
Net Node 301/1
Fidocon '90 Information Update
Bill Vanglahn 1:1/90@Fidonet
The Fidocon '90 Committee continues to work to make this year's
convention one of the best ever. We have already received
registrations from as far away as Holland, and as close as our
own backyard.
One of our main goals in planning the event was to allow Fidocon
to be part of a family vacation. New Jersey has a great variety
of summertime activities, as well as the proximity of the
convention site to New York City.
We have gotten many requests for family plans, and we are more
than happy to accommodate! Therefore, the following plan is
added to the Fidocon '90 schedule (Note: These prices are ONLY
in effect until 5/1/90):
1) For a participant and spouse, the cost for BOTH will be
$620.00. This includes conference registration for the
registrant, and hotel and meals for both you and your spouse.
2) For each child attending the conference (accompanied by either
a plan A or the above spouse plan participant), add $75.00 to the
cost. This will include hotel and meals.
*** Discount Deadline Extended ***
Because of some confusion, and problems associated with "tax
time", we have extended the deadline for discounted registration.
Instead of the deadline being 4/1/90, we are extending it to
5/1/90. Any registrations postmarked by midnight on May 1, 1990
may register at the discounted rate.
*** Deposits for Fidocon! ***
As I said before, we are (sometimes painfully) aware that it is
tax time. If you plan to attend the conference, but your funds
are low right now, don't fret! We will accept a $100.00 deposit
(nonrefundable) toward your registration. This will lock you
into the discounted rate, and give you until July 1, 1990 to pay
the balance.This, of course, only applies to plans A through F
and the family plans.
*** Any ideas? ***
If you have any ideas on things you would like to see or do at
the convention, drop us a note at 1/90. We WANT to hear from
you!
The Secret Sysop Society presents __
*** Conclave '90 *** / \
The SYSOPS Convention /|oo \
Home of FidoCon 1990 (_| /_)
Lyndhurst, New Jersey _`@/_ \ _
August 1-5, 1990 | | \ \\
| (*) | \ ))
______ |__U__| / \//
/ Fido \ _//|| _\ /
(________) (_/(_|(____/ (tm)
Rate Plan Schedule: Before 6/1/90: Before 5/1/90:
-------------- --------------
A. Single Occupancy.......$595.00 $545.00 $495.00
B. Double Occupancy.......$450.00 $400.00 $350.00
C. Conference w/ meals....$300.00 $250.00 $200.00
D. Conference w/ Banquet..$205.00 $155.00 $105.00
E. Conference only........$175.00 $125.00 $ 75.00
F. Banquet only...........$130.00 $80.00 $ 30.00
G. Registrant & Spouse....$720.00 $670.00 $620.00
(All rate plans except plan F include all conference and hotel
fees. Those registering before 5/1/90 get a $100.00 discount,
those registering before 6/1/90 get a $50.00 discount.)
You must pay by Check, Money Order, or Credit Card. Please send
no cash. All monies must be in U.S. Funds. Checks should be
made out to: "Conclave '90"
The following registration form must be completed and mailed to:
PO Box 12
Lyndhurst, NJ 07071
You may register by Netmailing this completed form to 1:1/90 for
processing. Rename it to ZNNNXXXX.REG where Z is your Zone
number, N is your Net number, and X is your Node number. US Mail
confirmation is required within 72 hours of electronic filing.
If you are paying by credit card, please include the required
information. For your own security, do not route any message
with your credit card number on it. Crash it directly to 1:1/90.
The official Conclave '90 airline is American Airlines.
American offers a 5% discount the lowest applicable round-trip
fare, including 1st class travel, subject to availability of
inventory. All fare rules and restrictions apply. In addition,
American offers 40% off their round trip unrestricted day coach
fare. International travelers qualify for special benefits,
including complimentary admittance to the Admiral's Club Lounge
at any American Airlines terminal. Newark is an American Air-
lines city with direct flights to most major cities. When making
reservations, you must call American's Toll-free reservation
number at 800-433-1790, and reference Star number 13704F.
FidoNews 7-14 Page 9 2 Apr 1990
C O N C L A V E '90 R E G I S T R A T I O N F O R M
When I was a young boy, I used to like to watch Star Trek (I
still do, though I don't have as much time for it as I used to),
and I was always impressed with the technological advances they
demonstrated on the show. Push a button, and food was instantly
prepared. They had little t.v.s that you could carry around
your neck on a strap. Other things. I always wished I was born
just 100 years into the future to see all these marvelous things
and grow up in that technologically advanced civilization. (Of
course, I also wished that I'd been born 60 years before I was
to witness the 'exciting times' of the early 20th century.)
Just the other day, I was using my microwave oven. As I used
the touch-sensitive keypad, I reflected on how it wasn't long
ago that these machines used dials, just like a kitchen timer.
Then I realized that it wasn't long ago that we didn't even have
microwave ovens.
It came to me in a flash that I was born at just the RIGHT time.
In my short lifetime, I've seen men land on the moon (I still
have a laquered copy of the NY Daily News issue of that day), a
president of the United States resign. I've seen the effects of
an oil gluttonous nation, and the development of nuclear power.
I've seen the creation of digital watches, now the norm (and
driving into Manhatten to buy one for $150.00 that used 24 hour
time just before I joined the Air Force). I've witnessed and
participated in the birth of the personal (it used to be 'home')
computer, and how its changed, and continues to change, our lives.
Some things haven't changed too much. Cars are still cars, they
don't fly, aren't electric, and still pollute. The phone,
though finally starting to show some progress towards its
potential as an information processing device, is still a phone.
Even with the advancement of cellular technology, we still don't
have Dick Tracy "2-way wrist tv's".
Some things have gotten worse. The US Space Program is at its
worst point since the days of Sputnik. If you have a few
minutes, please write your congressman, and ask him to vote some
life into NASA.
The bottom line, however, is that it appears that I have lived
the ancient chinese curse. I truly was born in interesting times!
FidoNews 7-14 Page 12 2 Apr 1990
(P.S. See you at FidoCon! The time to put in your deposit is NOW!)
I have been fortunate to receive quite a bit of new software of
late; it's wonderful. Not the least of which is the new
release of Opus 1.10. No, I haven't installed it for real
yet; it's pretty obvious that everyone else IS though. One of
these days, I'll know so much about it from reading the
echoes... piece of cake.
A buddy at the office got a new laptop, and wanted to transfer
all the files from his old disk onto the laptop's disk. I had
purchased Laplink III with that amazing 3 headed cable. Both
computers had 100 meg disks. His E: drive was one giant
database file, 32 meg. This file went across in 13 minutes,
using the Parallel Turbo mode. Fitting name.
I got a new protected mode interface TSR from Oracle. Forget
the database stuff, ( it's pretty good too ). I can write
programs bigger than 640k, I can allocate megabytes of memory,
and now these programs coexist with expanded memory managers
and Desqview.
Home Computing --
I've also been buying copies of PC Anywhere III. My clients
use Carbon Copy 5. No they aren't compatible. There are good
points about each; I think PC Anywhere is a little faster ( or
maybe not as slow ). I still have trouble with HST mode.
The whole question of remote computing, especially from home,
is going to boil in the '90s. There are all kinds of liability
questions about your being at home and working for your
employer. If you get hurt at home while working, whose
insurance pays? If you work at home in the morning and then
drive to work, that's not commuting, or is it? Does working at
home qualify you for tax breaks such as home-office
deductions? Is this for your employer's convenience?
Someone always raises two questions : How do you get your
voice phone calls?; and how do you interact with your fellow
employees?. The first is easy, call forwarding. The second
question is a little harder. We shall see.
The Snail Box --
FidoNews 7-14 Page 14 2 Apr 1990
Gawd, I'm sick of junk mail. I never even look at that
Neighborhood Shopper flyer. Do you get that too? I get offers
for free credit cards, offers for subscriptions, offers for
software and hardware. I can't believe the Post Office has to
raise rates when they have all this junk mail to work with.
Actually, I like the offers that include a return envelope; you
know the kind that's postage paid. I shove everything back in,
find some trash to put in too and send it back. Support your
local post office.
I now have the perfect excuse to not pay the bills. It got
lost in all the junk mail.
I hear now about junk-fax. You suppose E-Mail will follow suit ?
Windfall --
I recently derided shareware and maybe the gods were reading
FIDONEWS too. Low and behold : a big check arrives in the
mail. I wrote this utility call TimeRun which is a TSR and it
stuffs the keyboard buffer with a user command whenever a
particular target time has been met.
I had originally written it back in 1987 for DOS 3.1 and then
it didn't work for DOS 3.3. A while back someone asked about
it, so I reworked it for 3.3 and, well, it was OK again.
Now some 6 months later, in the mail comes this really big
check from a technical college in Wisconsin for multiple
licenses and I'm walking on air around here. It's that old
FALSE HOPE coming to get me.
Anyway, Honey sees the check and those visions of sugar plums
start dancing.
"But Honey, don't you remember that hard disk I bought last
week?"
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.
3 Jun 1990
Comdex/Spring, which will run from June 3-6 in Atlanta, will be
held at the World Congress Center and other locations.
5 Jun 1990
David Dodell's 33rd Birthday
12 Jun 1990
Fifth anniversary of FidoNet's switch to multiple nets.
13 Jul 1990
Start of Eurocon / Techcon conference in Antwerp, Belgium.
Further information will follow.
27 Jul 1990
The beginning of the REGION 17 Convention at Menucha Resort in
the Columbia Gorge, Oregon. For details contact Ken Zwaschka,
1:105/54.
1 Aug 1990
Start of FidoCon '90. Contact Bill Vanglahn at 1:1/90 for
details.
5 Oct 1990
21st Anniversary of "Monty Python's Flying Circus"
6 Nov 1990
First anniversary of Van Diepen Automatiseert, 2:500/28
14 Nov 1990
Marco Maccaferri's 21rd Birthday. Send greetings to him at
2:332/16.0
1 Jan 1991
Implementation of 7% Goods and Services Tax in Canada. Contact
Joe Lindstrom at 1:134/55 for a more colorful description.
16 Feb 1991
Fifth anniversary of the introduction of Echomail, by Jeff Rush.
7 Oct 1991
Area code 415 fragments. Alameda and Contra Costa Counties
will begin using area code 510. This includes Oakland,
Concord, Berkeley and Hayward. San Francisco, San Mateo,
FidoNews 7-14 Page 19 2 Apr 1990
Marin, parts of Santa Clara County, and the San Francisco Bay
Islands will retain area code 415.
1 Feb 1992
Area code 213 fragments. Western, coastal, southern and
eastern portions of Los Angeles County will begin using area
code 310. This includes Los Angeles International Airport,
West Los Angeles, San Pedro and Whittier. Downtown Los
Angeles and surrounding communities (such as Hollywood and
Montebello) will retain area code 213.
If you have something which you would like to see on this
calendar, please send a message to FidoNet node 1:1/1.
