Copyright 1991, Fido Software. All rights reserved. Duplication
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Table of Contents
1. EDITORIAL ................................................ 1
Sometimes EVERYTHING gets under your skin ................ 1
2. ARTICLES ................................................. 2
Indianapolis is now PC-Pursuitable ....................... 2
The so called WorldPol, a Disclaimer ..................... 3
Why Tony Instead of Amnon for Z1EC ....................... 4
WorldPol - World Saviour? ................................ 6
A PointOp's View on WorldPol ............................. 8
3. LATEST VERSIONS .......................................... 10
Latest Software Versions ................................. 10
4. NOTICES .................................................. 15
And more!
FidoNews 8-11 Page 1 18 Mar 1991
You know what it's like. You reach such a level of annoyance at
certain things that you don't even want to talk about them. But
everytime you think about them, you start to get really upset.
Your blood pressure goes up. You yell at your wife. You get rude
with your mother.
For me this week, it's Microsoft C 6.00A, Worldpol and the Z1EC
election, in no particular order.
I expect to recover from my problem with the C compiler. Dunno if
the other two will be as easy.
I still think the best way to handle whatever it is that Pablo
has on his mind is to split FidoNet into independent domains. I
still think that the most foolish way to deal with it is this
Worldpol thing. It ruins a lot of what made FidoNet useful in a
failed attempt to fix a few regional problems. I'm glad my name
isn't on it.
As for the Z1EC elections -- maybe we are better off without a
ZEC if this is what we have to go through to get one. In
retrospect, it appears to me that the echomail got through just
fine with a bitbucket as a ZEC. Why bother? Vote "NO."
Yuch. It smells around here. I'll talk to you later.
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FidoNews 8-11 Page 2 18 Mar 1991
After years of promises, Telenet's (SprintNet's) PC-Pursuit
service, also known as PCP, has finally installed outdials in
Indianapolis. The official announcement from Telenet is still
forthcoming, but the outdials are in place.
Indy's semi-official BBS list comes from the IUPUI BBoard,
and is maintained by sysop Don Smith. This file can be
requested from most of our Fido nodes as file INDY0301.ZIP.
The latest version contains 96 local boards. However,
taking all the multi-line boards into account, we have over 150
BBS lines!
Some of the multi-line boards of note are: PBS-BBS (Public
Brand Software) 856-2087, noted for its shareware; Data Central
543-2007, files and GIFs; User's Choice 894-1378, GIFs; and L.C.
Midwest 924-2219, a dating/adult board. Those are pay boards.
Indy is also Telelink/Starlink node 9349. Some people feel
that Starlink is a better service than PC-Pursuit.
Assuming that the outdial is in the same exchange as PCP's
indial, the following exchanges should be accessible according
to Indiana Bell's white pages. I include this list for your
convenience because PCP has not yet published an official XCH
list. Please excuse any typos or errors. These exchanges
include Indianapolis proper, Carmel, Zionsville, Noblesville,
Speedway, Beech Grove, Greenwood, Plainfield, Brownsburg,
Fishers, Greenfield, Mooresville, and New Palestine.
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FidoNews 8-11 Page 3 18 Mar 1991
Bill Bolton
3:711/403
The so called WorldPol, a Dislaimer
I would like to make it clear to everyone that the fact that my
name appears in the "Credits" section of the so called
"WordlPol" should not be interpreted as support on my part for
the document, in part or in whole. I do not support the
document.
Fidonet Zones are able under Fidonet POLICY4 to request a policy
variation by the IC to suit any local conditions which may
effect the application of any aspect of Fidonet POLICY4. The IC
has never received a request from any Zone for variation of
POLICY4 for any reason.
Bill Bolton
Zone 3 Co-ordinator
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FidoNews 8-11 Page 4 18 Mar 1991
Why Tony Instead of Amnon for Zone 1 Echomail Coordinator
Bob Germer
1:266/21
In the current runoff election for Zone 1 Echomail Coordinator,
we have two very experienced, capable, dedicated individuals.
Were these the only three qualifications for the job, there
would be no valid way to choose between them. Certainly those
three traits are critical for the incumbent in the position.
However, I think there are two more traits which also must be
considered carefully when making the choice. These two traits
are consistancy and maturity. When these two traits are added
to the balance, the scales tip heavily in one direction in my
opinion.
I have watched the actions and positions of Tony and Amnon for
the nearly five years I have been active in Fidonet. My
opinions are based on my interpretation of their actions as an
observer since I have never interacted directly with either
gentleman.
Consistancy is important since none of us are fortune tellers
and we can only make a choice based upon past history. While this
is far from a perfect guide as our experiences with United States
Presidents past show, it's all we really have.
Tony has often taken a position, sometimes one in direct oppo-
sition to the thinking of much of Fidonet. So has Amnon for
that matter. However, Tony has never deviated from his position
even while implementing policies, practices, etc. which his
duties required despite his own opposition. Amnon, on the other
hand, has changed his position more than once for reasons known
only to himself and he has refused to follow Policy.
Maturity is necessary since the Z1EC must deal with many differ-
ent types of problems and people. Neither qualifies as a Ralph
Bunche to be sure, but Tony has exhibited more maturity than
Amnon. When Tony disagrees, he campaigns, works, etc. to get
Fidonet to change all the while doing things the accepted way.
Amnon, on the other hand, has done it his way and let the chips
fall where they may.
One particular "battle" shows the shortcomings of Amnon vis-a-vis
Tony in maturity and consistancy. Let me elaborate.
Those of us who were members of Fidonet in 1987, 1988, 1989 or
thereabouts can remember the refusal of Amnon to conform to the
rules of moving echomail, his flat out challenges to one and all
to stop him from doing things his way, his daring of the *C
structure to excommunicate him, his promise to circumvent any
controls the net as a whole imposed. He flamed one and all in at
least two forums if they dared to suggest that his was way not
the right way or the only way.
FidoNews 8-11 Page 5 18 Mar 1991
I'm not saying that he was right or wrong in his position, but I
am saying that he didn't work within Fidonet but attacked it in
a very vocal and nasty way. Revolution rather than constitution-
al change appeared to be his aim.
Then suddenly, he "saw the light". Was it a "conversion" or was
it the spoiled child who saw himself as a clear loser and came
crawling back? Only Amnon can say for sure.
The result of this change attempt to move back into the Fidonet
power structure was a near revolt in his region, calls for his
recall, challenges to elections, etc. Many long-time sysops in
his region of the US left Fidonet or joined alternate newtworks.
Amnon's actions were in many ways the catalyst for the formation
of Eggnet.
So, for this old grey head, the choice has to be Tony Davis. I
hope the majority of the voters agree with me.
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FidoNews 8-11 Page 6 18 Mar 1991
WorldPol - Is it all it's cracked up to be?
I've been hearing a lot about WorldPol. About how it's the best
thing since canned beer. About how wonderfully gee whiz
democratically-elected and ultimately fantastic it is. It's so
great, don't even bother to read it, just get your NC to vote
for it.
Fight-O-Net politics aside, I decided to have a closer squizz at
the thing. Well, I didn't have much choice, it got posted into
ZONE3_SYSOP when the vote was announced. Although I had read it
before, I figured I'd really give it the once over. I'm glad I
did. I probably should have offered these comments while it was
being formulated, but I guess it's better now than not at all.
First, much of the language used in WorldPol is vague. Too
vague. Sure, Policy4 is vague too, but if we're going to have a
replacement why not make it a little easier to understand and
read?
Let me give one example: democratic elections by "western
standards". What the hell is a western standard of democracy?
Some "western" countries aren't very democratic at all. Of
those which are loosely labelled "democratic" there's a HUGE
difference between their respective methodologies for elections.
And of course there are those of us who might dispute just how
"democratic" the "West" really is anyway!
Also, who's to say that this magical panacea called "western
democracy" is the ideal method of running this network anyway?
(Well? there's a possibility it might not be!)
So, the proponents say that each Zone/Region/Net can set it's
own rules. What about if they directly contradict WorlPol,
and/or each other? Which takes precedence? Shouldn't it be
global Policy, not local policy? It just HAS to be MORE
SPECIFIC about election guidelines before it's useful.
While I'm carping about elections, I'll also carp about _who_
gets to vote. WorldPol aims to give the "grunt sysop"
emancipation. This is a very laudable idea and shuld be
supported BUT not in the absence of a comprehensive system of
voter division. Co-ordinating a vote of potentially 6000 people
plus is a _major_ vote returning effort. There's no attempt to
enforce electoral sub-division so potentially the Zone
Co-ordinator Council may have to count all those votes
themselves.
Now, onto what I think is the killing blow (for me) for WorlPol.
The loss of geographic Net division. Up until now, FidoNet has
divided Nets by geography and by geography alone. This is ideal
- it keeps PERSONAL and POLITICAL matters OUT of choosing what
net you belong to. As long as you weren't excessively annoying
or annoyed and you complied with the few technical standards,
you were entitled to a node number. But now the cat's out of the
bag.
FidoNews 8-11 Page 7 18 Mar 1991
You see, POLICY4 already allows you to get echomail from
ANYWHERE you want. All you _have_ to use your net structure for
is NETMAIL, nodediffs, Fidonews. That's that.
Also this method (of net choosing) f**ks with election
demographics. Say the local region's policy is that each net
votes and the net co-ordinator is bound to vote for the majority
view. This gives large, popular, nets an electoral disadvantage.
There's infinite variations on this scenario. IMHO the loss of
geographic nets will cause too much damage to the fabric of
FidoNet.
So there you have it. A dissenting grunt sysop! The aims of
WorldPol are commendable but it's implementation is NOT. It's
just too VAGUE. We could end up with a much WORSE situation
than the current one. That's why I'm going to ask my NC to vote
AGAINST WorldPol. What you do is up to you, but whatever you do,
READ it and think CAREFULLY, please, for all our sakes.
Scot Art, System-X 3:712/634
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FidoNews 8-11 Page 8 18 Mar 1991
One of the problems with the way FidoNet works is its treatment
of point systems. Point systems provide a quick, efficient way
for users to interface with FidoNet instead of fighting through a
long line of human callers, online time limits, and the lure of
other areas of the BBS (games, files, etc.). Occasionally a user
has to call twice (or more!) to read all the message s/he wants.
Point systems eliminate this need, thereby serving a useful place
in FidoNet.
POLICY4, in my view, has some serious flaws, but I won't point
most of them out here. WorldPol fixes many of these problems but
fails to address my major problem.
Under POLICY4 point operators have zero rights with regard to the
operation of FidoNet. They can not vote, they are not privy to
sysop-only echomail confrences, they have no say in anything.
WorldPol is a good document, but in this area it too fails.
What the authors of WorldPol have failed to note, in my opinion,
the signifigant contribution to the growth of FidoNet that
pointops have provided. I hear of many people writing new
utilities in response to a technical glitch, to provide some new
feature to software previously only dreamed about, to contribute
something new and innovative. I use some of these products and
have found them extremely useful.
The authors of WorldPol have failed to recongnize the signifigant
amounts of time that pointops spend working on their systems. I
have changed mailers not less than three times looking for
something that will do what I want - I think I've found it. I
have spent long nights tweaking my system to get rid of each
problem as it arises - I know others have, as well. I'd willing
to bet that some pointops spend more time working on their
systems than their bossnodes do.
The authors of WorldPol have failed to recognize the signifigant
role that pointops play in some of the message areas of FidoNet.
They devote large amounts of space to big message areas - I
receive several very large echos and store them in MSG format.
They don't have to - they could instead devote the space to
games, utilities, or other, more profitable persuits.
The only thing, in my opinion, that pointops don't do that sysops
do is receive netmail during ZMH - that's it. For myself, it's
not so much a lack of desire to become a full member of FidoNet -
it's a lack of funds. I won't go into detail - just enough to
say that I can't afford the hardware required to run a reliable
system.
FidoNews 8-11 Page 9 18 Mar 1991
Pointops deserve consideration in FidoNet, even if it's not to
the point of giving them full node status. In my view, WorldPol
needs to be changed to reflect a new attitude and a new role for
pointops in the changing world of FidoNet. If I had a vote in
the matter of WorldPol I would seriously consider voting against
it for this reason. I am not saying that WorldPol is not a good
document, but I think it does have some flaws. I think they need
to be seriously considered by those who may vote, and by those
who influence the voters. POLICY4 has got to go - but is
WorldPol its replacement?
I have serious reservations.
I can tell that I'm going to get a lot of netmail over this and
will happily accept it, but I can't gurantee a reply. If any of
that mail is a question as to why I put this in the News, well,
this is about my only good forum - most of the people in
INTERUSER aren't interested, and I can't access those sysop-only
echos 'cause pointops have no rights . . . remember?
AG
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FidoNews 8-11 Page 10 18 Mar 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.
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FidoNews 8-11 Page 15 18 Mar 1991
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.
