Copyright 1991, 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 and for the Members of the
FidoNet (r) International Amateur Electronic Mail System. 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. ARTICLES ................................................. 1
The Bulletin Board Times ................................. 1
Zone 1 EchoMail Coordinator Election ..................... 3
(Electronic) Gay Community Magazine ...................... 6
Gay and Lesbian Resource Information ..................... 8
MY VISION ................................................ 10
2. LATEST VERSIONS .......................................... 12
Latest Software Versions ................................. 12
3. NOTICES .................................................. 17
The Interrupt Stack ...................................... 17
Universal Mayhem Update .................................. 18
And more!
FidoNews 8-04 Page 1 28 Jan 1991
"There's a whole world of information and entertainment
as close as your computer!"
I'm pleased to announce the creation of a newsletter speci-
fically designed for the bulletin board user. "The Bulletin
Board Times" has been awhile in creation and is now in
publication.
As a sysop, you might recommend this newsletter to your users
because we will be covering things like communications software,
bulletin board software, modems, transfer protocals -- basically
anything that has to deal with communications with bulletin
boards. The nice thing about your users receiving this
newsletter is that they will no longer have to bother you and
ask, "How do I download?", "What should I set my modem at to
call ......", and many of the other questions that have plagued
you as a sysop.
A subscription to "The Bulletin Board Times" is $15.50 a year.
If you're a sysop, you can recieve a subscription for only
$11.50 a year. If you have a fidonet number, this can be
automatically sent to you each month, or you may elect to
download the bbs version of the newsletter which currently only
supports RemoteAccess and QuickBBS and any other bbs software
that handles RemoteAccess-type menus and text files. This is
already set up and ready to install on your bbs, all you have to
do is copy it to the right places.
"The Bulletin Board Times" also caters to shareware authors by
reviewing between five and ten new shareware programs a month
and publishing reviews on them. If you're a shareware author,
you may upload your own personal copies of shareware and have
them reviewed by our staff of competent programmers and users.
Some of the items that "The Bulletin Board Times" will contain:
* Shareware Reviews, covering the newest and best
shareware available to you.
* National BBS List (sysops may F'Req BBSLIST in order to
be listing in our BBS list).
FidoNews 8-04 Page 2 28 Jan 1991
* New Hardware Reviews, hardware specifically for tele-
communications.
* A Classified section open to all (classified ads only
run $2 for up to five lines and $.50 a line after
that).
* Display ads for bulletin board as low as $15 a month
(can be as large as two inches wide by four inches
tall)
* Bulletin board hints and tips for users (Covers all
popular formats; RemoteAccess, QuickBBS, OPUS, PCBoard,
and many others).
* Communications software reviews and tips.
* User of the month, find out what people are really like
behind that big green eye!
* Sysop of the month, find out what that person behind
the board really thinks!
* Bulletin Board of the month, we call and check out your
board and then pass that along to our readers.
* Editorials -- Will the baby bells really pull off a bbs
coup?
Plus!
* Letters from our readers.
* Open question and answers about modeming and
communications.
* (and anything else we come up with in the future!)
If you're interested in posting a bulletin on your board about
"The Bulletin Board Times", you can F'req the magic filename
'BBSTIMES' from the above address 24 hours a day. This file
contains all the information that you need to know in order to
subscribe and to pass on to your users to let them know.
"The Bulletin Board Times" is a periodical that will increase
your usage and help your users out and who knows, maybe you'll
gain a thing or two from it also!
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FidoNews 8-04 Page 3 28 Jan 1991
Zone 1 EchoMail Coordinator (Z1EC) Election
George Peace 1:1/0@fidonet
Several weeks ago the Zone 1 Region EchoMail Coordinators (RECs)
published a letter in FidoNews requesting a ZEC election.
Lacking any formally adopted election mechanism, the RECs
suggested I use the method outlined in the 10/22/90 proposed
EchoPol draft for this election. Rather than select the
candidates on my own I asked the RECs to be the nomination
committee and round up 5 qualified candidates for our
consideration as Z1EC.
The RECs have completed that difficult task and I am now pleased
to present candidates for your consideration as Zone 1 EchoMail
Coordinator.
Tony Davis 1:147/100
Dean Lachan 1:124/4115
Amnon Nissan 1:151/100
John Roberts 1:385/49
Butch Walker 1:157/3
As indicated in the proposed EchoPol draft and the REC request;
10 days after the nominees are selected, an election
shall be held. The ZEC will be elected by a simple
majority of IC, ZC, RCs, NCs, RECs, and NECs in their
Fidonet zone. An individual holding more than one
position can only cast one vote. That is, if an
individual is both a NC and a NEC, they may cast only
one vote.
Simple majority is defined for purposes of this election as more
than 50% of votes cast.
Voting will commence 10 days from issuance of the FidoNews issue
first carrying this article. The voting period will extend for a
period of 14 days. If this article is first published on 28
January, voting will commence on 7 February and end on 21
February.
If no one candidate receives more than 50% of votes cast the two
candidates with the most votes will enter into a runoff
election. Z1EC will be the candidate with the most votes in the
runoff election.
Votes in each region will be collected REC or a designee
announced by the REC. All votes will be tallied and forwarded by
the REC to the Zone Coordinator (ZC) at the end of the voting
period. Votes submitted directly to the ZC by any NC or NEC will
not be counted.
FidoNews 8-04 Page 4 28 Jan 1991
Vote tallies and either the name of the new Z1EC or runoff
candidates will be published in the first FidoNews issue
following receipt of all vote tallies from all Zone 1 RECs.
I urge all RCs, RECs, NCs and NECs to cast their vote as
representatives of their respective regions and nets. I urge
them to consult with the SysOps in their regions and nets before
casting a vote.
Election Discussion Forum
-------- ---------- -----
A backbone EchoMail conference called Z1_ELECTION has been
established for Zone 1 Election discussions. I hope all of the
Z1EC candidates will find time to be "regulars" in that
conference at least until the voting period ends.
Candidate Questionnaire
--------- -------------
The Zone 1 RECs have provided a list of questions for each Z1EC
candidate to consider. The RECs and I invite each of the 5 Z1EC
candidates to respond to the questions publicly in the
Z1_ELECTION backbone conference and to publish those responses,
along with any other candidate position statements, in the next
issue of FidoNews. The questions:
1) What are your qualifications? What FTN positions have you
held?
2) If elected ZEC, would you continue with other currently-held
FTN positions?
3) What changes, if any, would you make to the Backbone (Stars,
Regional Hubs, feeds to other Zones, etc.)?
4) How do you feel about Echo Policy? What modifications, if
any, would you like to see made to it?
5) How do you feel about the Gateway Policy? What modifications,
if any, would you like to see made to it?
6) How do you see the relationship between *ECs and *Cs?
7) How do you see the relationship between *ECs and Moderators?
8) How do you feel about new technology (groupmail, routed net
mail, domains, EMSI, etc.)?
FidoNews 8-04 Page 5 28 Jan 1991
9) What goals would you set as ZEC?
10) Any other comments?
Peace to All,
George
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FidoNews 8-04 Page 6 28 Jan 1991
Rex Rivers
Fido 1:291/9
The (Electronic) Gay Community Magazine has been in operation
since July of 1990 and has found a great deal of acceptance
among gay and gay-supportive BBS systems. (E)GCM contains news
and information of interest to gay men and lesbian women from
all across the country.
If you wish to carry The (Electronic) Gay Community Magazine on
your system it will cost you nothing other than the telephone
charges to pick it up. The magazine may used it as an incentive
for new users or subscriptions to your system.
This is what the magazine contains:
+-------------------------------------------------+
| |+
| The (Electronic) Gay Community Magazine ||
| ||
| [F]=JUDICIAL Our Legal System ||
| [H]=HEALTH Staying Healthy ||
| [A]=AIDS/ARC On the Frontline ||
| [P]=POLITICS The Legislature ||
| [R]=REVIEWS Books & Movies ||
| [L]=LIFESTYLE The Gay 90's ||
| [U]=UNIVERSITY Campus Update ||
| [B]=BRIEFS News Shorts ||
| [C]=CAMPAIGNS Camp & Satire ||
| [E]=EDITORIALS Informed Opinion ||
| [D]=DOWNLOAD Pictures & Stuff ||
| [I]=INFORMATION About (E)GCM ||
| ||
+-------------------------------------------------+|
+-------------------------------------------------+
To make the magazine work on your system, create a menu where
the display of each file is an option on that menu. Each week,
poll node 1:291/9 for the GCM.ARC file. When you receive the
magazine archive, simply extract the files from the archive with
the replace option so that the "old" magazine files are overlaid
with the "new" magazine files. A simple weekly batch file can
do the job automatically for you.
The GCM.ARC file will be "freshened" as needed on a daily basis.
On average one section of the magazine is updated every day.
It is estimated that picking up the archive once a week (pick
any day you wish) will be sufficient to keep up.
The INFORMATION file which contains information about (E)GCM
will be changed when new (E)GCM distributors are added to the
list. If your system carries the magazine please let us know so
that you may be added to the list and benefit from this "free"
advertising.
FidoNews 8-04 Page 7 28 Jan 1991
The (Electronic) Gay Community Magazine will be available for
polling 24 hours a day (except for maintenance time) from The
Land of Awes computer in Wichita, Kansas. If your computer
system is not able to poll for the (E)GCM files you may download
the file from The Land of Awes computer system at 316-269-4208.
The file may be found in the News section of the computer.
If you have questions or problems contact:
Rex Rivers
The Land of Awes
Post Office Box 16782
Wichita, KS 67216-0782
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FidoNews 8-04 Page 8 28 Jan 1991
Dan Smith
1:153/755
The Gay Exchange BBS (604) 731-0538
Vancouver, B.C., Canada
Tonight I sat down and read the most recent FidoNews editorial
and decided it was about time I wrote something to do my share,
as we are all encouraged to do, and I have something I would
like to say for the sake of all of us. The following article
is a little bit about the BBS I run. I hope you find it
interesting and informative.
I operate a BBS which provides information for gay and lesbian
computer users. Our bbs is a non-profit, public service for use
not only by gays and lesbians, but heterosexuals, gender non-
specific users, cross-dressers, people who don't know just
exactly what their sexual orientation is, and anyone else who
might find our service of some importance and interest to them.
We provide an abundance of information, such as legal issues,
AIDS and ARC related conferences, counselling and guidance (to
the best of our ability), places to see and things to do
pertaining to gays and lesbians, the latest public domain and
shareware files, and user profiles.
Our BBS began operation on April 29, 1989 and has run
continuously to this day. In this time, we have had over 10,500
calls to the system and currently hold almost 275 users. This is
quite small compared to some of the larger US boards of the same
nature, where the number of users sometimes exceeds 500 or more.
I'd also like to say that I have been extremely pleased as to the
amount of usage our board is presently getting, from 45-50
percent on weekdays and 50-60 percent on weekends.
We give callers a sense of security and anonymity, knowing that
they don't have to disclose who they are. We take these points
into consideration, as there are people out there who don't feel
comfortable calling a gay bulletin board for the very first
time. We also act as an outlet to help people release some of
the feelings they might be experiencing and don't know who to
tell.
By operating and moderating our board, there might be a slim
chance that we can contribute to the understanding of people who
don't (or choose not to) understand us. Perhaps there might be
a chance that we can make the anti-homosexual a 'friend of the
family'. I know that for some people, that's like trying to find
a needle in a haystack, but if they will read what we have to say
and find out for themselves that we are not all bad people and we
shouldn't be classified as 'perverts' or another deroggatory word
or words on the list of what-have-you's, one day, hopefully, we
can call each other friends instead of enemies.
FidoNews 8-04 Page 9 28 Jan 1991
Thank you for letting me take a little of your time to tell you
about our service. I hope that by this article, our BBS will
attract more users interested in changing their attitudes about
homosexuality. We have ourselves a goldmine of information
available for the taking. Please utilize it at your leisure.
I might also add that if you're just out for 'bashing' your
thoughts and feelings are not welcome on our bbs.
However, if you are open for some thought-provoking conversation
and discussion, our doors are always open.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
FidoNews 8-04 Page 10 28 Jan 1991
Alan Jennings
FidoNet 1:3800/6
MY VISION
We have indeed become a global community. Ideas, thoughts, and
opinions from all around the world find their way to our personal
computers. We read, we select, we ponder, and we choose those
ideas and thoughts which become part of our being. We discard
much, add much, and forever learn and grow. Or so we can if we
choose. Many of us involved to this level in this vast network
are the thinkers and the doers. And while there is no small
number of closed-minded folk who will assault you with their
beliefs and condemn you for thinking otherwise, I think we can be
thankful they, too, can find something of value if they stay long
enough to hear some other ideas.
We are all the pioneers of a new way of communicating. Soon,
these terminals will be as common a fixture as the telephone is
today. We will soon be able to leave our messages for anyone
anywhere and anytime. It will not replace voice contact, nor will
it replace our face to face gatherings, our newspapers, our
books, our magazines, our televisions, radios, etc. But it will
supplement them considerably. As we can have personal dialogue
with someone across the globe at a comfortable time when we can
be receptive to the message. And, because of that personal
contact, we can -- indeed MUST -- truly effect a lessening of
global misunderstandings. If so, we may be able to achieve our
global dialogue just in time.
As this process unfolds, so does the spirit of man... the
indomitable force that hurls us into the 21st century with these
remarkable tools of communication. Yet no tool even yet to be
imagined can begin to compare with our mind and our spirit. And
each person is making a contribution to this global consciousness
by the very act of living. We automatically fuel our intellect in
this medium. And we will find food for our spirit here, too.
There are many, many ministers in these electronic halls.
Ministers who are traditionalists, and ministers who are not so
traditional. There are ministers who are credentialed and
ministers who are not. And there are as many religious beliefs as
there are people. But the operative word here is "minister." In
my journey through these halls, I find more and more of us
every day. And I see many (who had forgotten what they were) are
beginning to be of service again.
My vision is kind of hard to put into words. But I think the time
is right for each of us to recognize our personal ministry.
Distinct and apart from our "religious doctrines and dogmas," our
personal ministries are a true extension of what we believe
moreso than what we say we believe. I see continued heightened
awareness. I see bigotry becoming enlightened. I see people
willing to get deeper than the semantic dogfights we all see on
the surface.
FidoNews 8-04 Page 11 28 Jan 1991
I see people becoming ordained to be free in themselves to do
that which is right according to their own conscience and beliefs
as long as it does not impinge on the rights of others. I
believe this IS that day for every man to recognize his personal
stake in the outcome and to take responsibility for it. The
opportunity is as great as we can imagine if we but have the
courage to seize it.
*-Rev. Alan Jennings, Pastor
CompuChurch (tm)
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FidoNews 8-04 Page 12 28 Jan 1991
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 8-04 Page 17 28 Jan 1991
16 Feb 1991
Fifth anniversary of the introduction of Echomail, by Jeff Rush.
30 Mar 1991
Jim Grubs (W8GRT) was issued his first ham radio license forty
years ago today. His first station was made from an ARC-5
"Command Set" removed from a B-17 bomber.
12 May 1991
Fourth anniversary of FidoNet operations in Latin America and
second anniversary of the creation of Zone-4.
15 Aug 1991
5th annual Z1 Fido Convention - FidoCon '91 "A New Beginning"
Sheraton Denver West August 15 through August 18 1991.
8 Sep 1991
25th anniversary of first airing of Star Trek on NBC!
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
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.
1 Dec 1993
Tenth anniversary of Fido Version 1 release.
5 Jun 1997
David Dodell's 40th Birthday
If you have something which you would like to see on this
calendar, please send a message to FidoNet node 1:1/1.
Yes, well... Ok. I failed to pay my phone bill and I got my
ass yanked from the dial-up network. I have mailed
MAYHEM23.ZIP to some 25 sites and have another 100 or so to
go but it _is_ being mailed; just hang tight, please.
The phone line will be reconnected in a week or so and all
of the remaining sites that asked for it will get mailed!
I run a BBS list of Star Trek Related BBSes
distribute it regularly around Houston (I also make
it available for FREQ, "STBBS.LST"). If you would like
to be added to this list, please send me netmail with
the following information:
1. BBS Name
2. FidoNet Address and any other addresses you have (please
specify net name)
3. SysOp Name (Handle if desired)
4. Board Phone (with area code!)
5. Maximun Baud Rate
6. BBS Software and Version Number
7. Hours if part-time BBS
