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
Happy Birthday FidoNet ................................... 1
2. ARTICLES ................................................. 3
FidoCon '90 Update: New Prices & Other Stuff! ............ 3
New Echos ................................................ 5
NEW! FidoCon '90 Registration Form ....................... 6
3. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR .................................... 8
4. LATEST VERSIONS .......................................... 9
Latest Software Versions ................................. 9
5. NOTICES .................................................. 12
The Interrupt Stack ...................................... 12
FidoNews 7-24 Page 1 11 Jun 1990
[Editor's note: This week marks the fifth anniversary of
FidoNet's present multiple net organization. We took this
occasion to invite Ken Kaplan to write a guest editorial.]
This week multinet FidoNet is celebrating it's fifth birthday.
It seems quite appropriate that current world events are
"proclaiming an end of the Cold War and calling for a joint
venture in a new world order". FidoNet is also heading into a
new age of cooperation, cooling tempers, and new democratic
selection procedures for its leaders. FidoNet is one of the
oldest public networks and yet it has only reached a maturity
level now prepared to enter kindegarden. My son Eric and FidoNet
are the same age and it has been interesting over the past five
years to watch them both grow and mature.
The FidoNet *C's have their own bit of history. In the beginning
there was a single tier network and no *C's as I was doing all
the data collection, hand editing, and publishing of the
nodelist. The nodelist was split into Networks and Regions right
after the St Louis FidoCon on June 12th 1985. Zone's came many
months later. The original RC's were located in places outside
of major metropolitan areas and were there primarily to handle
SYSOP's who could not locate in a network. They had little to do
and complained quite a bit. In the meantime I still had too much
of the workload. A few months after the original Jeff Rush
echomail processor was released (Summer '86) I started a
conference called REGCON between all the RC's and that's when the
first RC's started getting organized and writing Policy. The
RC's were not really a major factor in the control of the
formation of the Nodelist until late '87 when Ben Baker released
MAKENL which allowed the RC's to create their own nodelist
segment. MAKENL was further enhanced in '88 to allow the NC's
and even HUB's to prepare their own segment and that's when the
power of the NC's came into play. The control of the FidoNet
Nodelist eventually fanned out like a funnel stating with myself
doing everything to the process of today where all of *C's
throughout the world are now involved.
I keep getting asked where is all this heading? What does future
hold for FidoNet over the next decade? Computers keep getting
faster and more efficient and FidoNet's developers must keep
ahead of the pace if the network is to survive. FidoNet has
truly brought the world a little closer together and that effort
will continue into the ninties. The next five years should be
very entertaining as well as exciting. I would send you all a
piece of FidoNet Birthday cake, but the one in our house only has
Ninja Turtles.
FidoNews 7-24 Page 2 11 Jun 1990
Ken Kaplan
FidoNet 1:1/10
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FidoNews 7-24 Page 3 11 Jun 1990
We have good news, better news, and great news for you this week!
The good news is that registrations have skyrocketed, and we can
now say that we're confident this is going to be the biggest and
most enjoyable FidoCon in years!
The better news is that due to the increasing number of regis-
trations, we've cancelled the July 1st pricing, and have settled
on giving everyone the last $50 discount!
The great news is that we're even ROLLING BACK prices for some
of the plans! The conference only, conference & banquet, and
spouse plan have been reduced to their original May 1st prices
of $75, $105, and $620.
[However, if you plan on attending and staying for meals or at
the hotel, we MUST know whether you're coming by July 1st, as
that is our cut-off date for notifying the hotel of our 'final'
numbers. If you register after that, we cannot guarantee you a
room or a meal ticket.]
There's other news, as well. Chris Irwin (author of D'bridge)
has told us he's coming. That means that the author of virtually
every major mailer package will be attending to tell you about
their programs!
Ryugen Fisher of Blue Frog Micro Computing will also be
speaking. "Old Frog's" going to give a talk on the future of
system architecture called "You Can Always Catch the Next Bus".
Hector Santos and Silver Xpress Software will be attending and
giving a seminar on off-line mail readers.
Telecomputing Magazine will be attending and giving a seminar,
as will Dr. James Waldron of UNITEX, the United Nations Press
Release and UNICEF information service.
The Tomorrow's Children Foundation will be participating to tell
us how local sysops have helped children enjoy their stay at the
Hackensack Medical Center while being treated for cancer.
Chuck Gorish and Bennett Griffin of the GeneSys Project will be
demoing their new multi-line continuous mail version of the
Phoenix BBS program.
US Robotics, as well as giving a talk on their new v.42bis
upgrade and other new products, has graciously donated an HST
9600 baud modem to our prize pool.
FidoNews 7-24 Page 4 11 Jun 1990
Speaking of prizes, our pool of vendor hardware and software
continues to grow! The earlier you register, the more chances
you'll have to win! Registrations after 7/1 will not be
eligible (we have to have SOME inducements for early
registration, you know! :-)
[Those registering before 5/1 will be given 3 changes in the
drawings, while those registering before 6/1 will be given 2. If
you register before July 1st, you can also participate in our
prize drawings. Rumor has it we'll be making an announcement of
a 'super prize' any day now, so keep tuned to this channel.]
Please use the updated registration form you'll find in this
issue of Fidonews. It's headed FIDO-CON '90 REGISTRATION FORM
to take advantage of our new pricing. We hope to see you there!
Bill VanGlahn, FidoCon '90 committee chairman, 1:1/90 1:107/557
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FidoNews 7-24 Page 5 11 Jun 1990
John Bierrie
Fido 1:322/235
NEW ECHOS
I thought I would take this oportunity to anounce that
there are two new echos available which might be of interest
to some of you.
-=R&R=-
The R&R Echo is an offshoot from the dBase and Clipper
echos, where discussions concering the use of "Report Writer"
software for dBase was building. The R&R echo is dedicated to
discussing the use and implimentation of report writing software
used by many dBase/Foxbase/DBXL, etc., programmers. This covers
both commercial and shareware versions and can be of immence
help to those using these programs. The echo is open to any
individual with interest in this type of software.
Symbolic Name (TAG) - R&R
-=RA_UTIL=-
The RA_UTIL Echo is dedicated to discussions concerning the
many "external" programs being written for the Remote Access BBS
software package. The participants include many of the authors
of such programs and the discussions range from "problem solving"
to what is upcoming in the future. "Support" program authors,
very often need a place to offer assistance for their users and
do not always wish to utilize the primary BBS echo, the RA_UTIL
Echo is available for their use. The echo is open to anyone who
has interest in the external programs written for Remote Access
and "authors" wishing to discuss what they are doing.
Symbolic Name (TAG) - RA_UTIL
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FidoNews 7-24 Page 6 11 Jun 1990
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: (Hotel rooms cannot be guaranteed if you
register after July 1st!)
A. Single Occupancy...................$545.00
B. Double Occupancy...................$400.00
C. Conference w/ meals................$250.00
D. Conference w/ Banquet..............$105.00
E. Conference only.....................$75.00
F. Banquet only........................$30.00
G. Registrant & Spouse................$670.00
Plans A B & G include all conference and hotel fees and meals.
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 7-24 Page 7 11 Jun 1990
F I D O - C O N '90 R E G I S T R A T I O N F O R M
=================================================================
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
=================================================================
From: Jim Dailey of 202/309.0
To: Vince Perriello of 1/1.0
Subj: Fnews Vol 7, Num 23 - June 4, 1990
I won't include it here as I am sure you have a copy of Policy 4.
Section 1.3.6 contain wording on the use of Fido Net for
commercial purposes.
The above referenced issue of Fido News has an article on "Short
Story Disk" and "Electronic Book Club".
These articles do not represent an exchange of information
between commercial interests and customers instead, the articles
represent a clear act of solicitation.
My question - is Fido News, the offical news letter of Fidonet(r)
International BBS Network, exempt from the policies and
procedures set forth in the current policy, Policy 4.
[Editor's response:
I wasn't really sure how to classify those submissions. I always
intended to publish them, but at first I was going to do so with
an associated editorial stating that I would not publish anything
like it again unless the readers thought I should.
Then I read the stuff again while attempting to look at things
more from the public service side of things, and decided that I
had gotten too sensitive. The stuff seemed to be a reasonable
thing for one sysop to announce to his fellow sysops, as long as
it didn't become some kind of Kalah/Superdots kind of repeater.
Obviously you read those things the way I did at first. Perhaps
my first opinion was correct. Of course, maybe you could try the
same process I went through and arrive at the same SECOND
conclusion that I reached.
Now that it has become an issue, I suppose the only thing to do
is to invite commentary. Was this stuff blatantly commercial?
If so, is it the kind of commercial stuff we want to read here?
(Examples of stuff we seem to want to read here would be USR, SEA
etc announcements which are most definitely commercial in nature)
Comments welcome. Preferably in ARTSPEC.DOC format with filename
(something).LET. ]
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FidoNews 7-24 Page 9 11 Jun 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 7-24 Page 12 11 Jun 1990
12 Jun 1990
Fifth anniversary of FidoNet's switch to multiple nets.
14 Jul 1990
Start of Eurocon / Techcon conference in Antwerp, Belgium.
Please note that the date has changed: The conferences are
one day later than originally planned !
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,
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
FidoNews 7-24 Page 13 11 Jun 1990
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.
