Volume 8, Number 18                                    6 May 1991
    +---------------------------------------------------------------+
    |                                                  _            |
    |                                                 /  \          |
    |                                                /|oo \         |
    |        - FidoNews -                           (_|  /_)        |
    |                                                _`@/_ \    _   |
    |         FidoNet (r)                           |     | \   \\  |
    |  International BBS Network                    | (*) |  \   )) |
    |         Newsletter               ______       |__U__| /  \//  |
    |                                 / FIDO \       _//|| _\   /   |
    |                                (________)     (_/(_|(____/    |
    |                                                     (jm)      |
    +---------------------------------------------------------------+
    Editor in Chief:                                  Vince Perriello
    Editors Emeritii:                    Thom Henderson,  Dale Lovell
    Chief Procrastinator Emeritus:                       Tom Jennings

    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. EDITORIAL  ................................................  1
       Home Again  ...............................................  1
    2. ARTICLES  .................................................  2
       Wide beta KITTEN  .........................................  2
       FidoCon '91 Countdown  ....................................  4
       Through The Wire  ......................................... 10
       Prodigy Accused of Electronic Spying  ..................... 20
       New Wholly Bible Conference HOLY_BIBLE  ................... 25
       FidoCon Membership List  .................................. 26
    3. COLUMNS  .................................................. 28
       A Word from the Bible - The Gospel  ....................... 28
    And more!
    FidoNews 8-18                Page 1                    6 May 1991


    =================================================================
                                EDITORIAL
    =================================================================


    Hello. It's nice to be back.

    From the look of things, most everything we got went out last
    week. I've reformatted the offending article (keep in mind that
    I reserve the right to not publish any article that MAKENEWS
    kicks out, and some night I'll get pissed and delete everything
    that doesn't make the cut!) and you'll see it this week.

    Click your heels together three times and say "There's no prez
    like Quayle... There's no prez like Quayle..." ARRRRRRGGGHHHH!

    I'm sorry you didn't like my sense of humor, Jack. Frankly, I
    found the metaphor extremely apropos. One of your most annoying
    traits, in my opinion, is your propensity for looking at things
    from the most negative possible viewpoint and throwing the baby
    out with the bathwater. You don't actually see yourself in the
    role of an optimist, do you?

    Sorry about the version updates. I'll get them in next week.


    I hope you all had a good Cinco de Mayo. I sure did.


    Enjoy your week!
    Vince



    -----------------------------------------------------------------
    FidoNews 8-18                Page 2                    6 May 1991


    =================================================================
                                ARTICLES
    =================================================================

    Thom Henderson
    BBS: (201) 473-1991


                             Wide Beta KITTEN


    I can't stand it.  I just finished catching up on  a  few  week's
    worth  of  FidoNews,  and  it  seems  to be nothing but political
    wrangling.  Doesn't anyone ever talk about FUN stuff anymore?

    So okay,  I can bitch and moan and be part of the problem,  or  I
    can  write  about  something  else.   So  I  will.  (Write  about
    something else, that is!)

    Do sysops still get a charge out of tearing  their  whole  system
    apart  and  putting it together differently?  Now that you've got
    your system fully debugged and huming along  nicely,  aren't  you
    about  ready  to  break  it  again?  Is  the humdrum existence of
    running debugged software starting to get to you?

    If so, then why not try a beta test BBS system?

    That's right,  the latest KITTEN is now available for  wide  beta
    test.  It can be downloaded or freqed (BETACAT1.ARC) from our BBS
    at (201) 473-1991 (Hey!  This is *THE YEAR* for SEAboard!)

    So  what is KITTEN,  you ask?  (Even if you didn't,  I'm going to
    tell  you  anyway,  so there!)  KITTEN is a programmable bulletin
    board program.  How it acts and what it does  are  controlled  by
    menu scripts that you can create and modify however you like (two
    sample setups are provided).

    Waitasec!  Programming?  Ugh!  Isn't that what those weirdo nerds
    do in dimly lit back rooms?  Well,  yes,  but it isn't  hard.  If
    you can write a batch file, you can program KITTEN.

    There  is  almost  no  end  to KITTEN's flexibility,  and the new
    KITTEN has been substantially beefed up.  New features include:

      * Twenty six string variables and twenty six numeric variables.

      * If we have variables, we have to be able to use them, and you
        can.  Variables can be read from and written to files,  input
        from the user, calculated on the fly, and used in conditional
        expressions.  They can also be displayed in  menus,  used  in
        commands,  and  they  can even be used in text files and file
    FidoNews 8-18                Page 3                    6 May 1991


        lists.

      * If that's not enough,  there are forty two system macros  for
        everything  from  the  caller's name to how many minutes he's
        been connected.  Wait,  let's expand that a bit -- that's how
        many  minutes he's been connected in the current session,  or
        all in all today, or in total since he first joined.

      * Just in case that isn't enough either,  you can  also  define
        your  OWN  macros  for  whatever  you  like.  You can make up
        things like "@ansi(green)" and then use them in menus,  text,
        file lists, et cetera.

      * KITTEN now supports external protocols (such as DSZ) for file
        uploading and downloading.

      * KITTEN  now  (ta  daaa!) directly supports Caller*ID.  KITTEN
        can know who is calling  your  board  before  she  even  gets
        carrier!  She  can  handle either restricted logins (user can
        only call from one number) and/or  fast  logins  (user  isn't
        asked  for  a  name),  and  their  is  a system macro for the
        caller's phone number,  so you can make use of it directly in
        menus and commands however you like.

        That  "fast login" can be a bit spooky the first time you see
        it.  Riiiing!  Connect -- "Hello,  Joe!"  But I'll  warn  you
        now,  once you get used to it you'll start getting annoyed at
        boards that have to ask you who you are!

      * Direct door support for PC Board, RBBS, QuickBBS, and RA door
        programs.

      * And lots more neat stuff.

    So,  are you ready to stir up your disk a bit?  If  so,  consider
    giving KITTEN a whirl.

    -----------------------------------------------------------------
    FidoNews 8-18                Page 4                    6 May 1991


                          For Immediate Release

     Denver will be the host of an International BBSing Conference
     to be held August 16-18, 1991 at the Lakewood Sheraton Hotel
     and Conference Center.  Called FidoCon '91, all BBS System
     Operators, Users, and those interested in electronic
     communications and networking are invited to attend.

     This three day conference will include manufacturers, software
     suppliers, writers, and dealers, and will be both educational
     and fun.

     Special events include a "mud-pie" throw for charity (Friday
     night, for the Multiple Sclerosis Foundation) - with some
     SPECIAL guests, A Banquet, and a drawing for a full, multi-line
     BBS System, complete with modems, hardware and software.

     Special guests include: Tom Jennings (arriving via natural-gas
     powered auto) - the "inventor" of Fido; Steve Jackson (CEO of
     Steve Jackson Games, and GURPS CYBERPUNK) - speaking on BBSing
     and what to do when your system is seized; Phil Becker (CEO of
     eSoft) and many others.


           FOR MORE DETAILS - PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING ATTACHMENT



                            For Immediate Release
                                 &Date&

                               FidoCon '91
                              P.O. Box 486
                       Louisville, CO  80027-0486


     * Zone 1 FidoCon '91 Update

     FidoCon '91 Committee
     1:1/91

                         FidoCon '91
                August 16th through 18th, 1991
               fidocon_'[email protected]

     FidoCon '91 VIP Membership $104 US* Rate Changes July 15th
     Banquet                      25 US
                                  ===
                                 $129 US

      FidoCon '91 VIP Membership $104.00 US*
    FidoNews 8-18                Page 5                    6 May 1991


      Significant Other**           9.69
      2 Banquet tickets            50.00
                                  =======
                                  $163.69

      * After July 15,       $169

                                  *NEW*
        A "No Frills", good from 9am to 6pm, for Seminar and Dealers
        Rooms ONLY membership (no Convention Hospitality Suite
        access or ticket for the SuperSystem Drawing) is available
        for $45 US for the three days or $20 US per day.  Full
        credit can be applied to a VIP membership if you elect to
        upgrade.

                                  *NEW*
        A "Supporting Membership" for those unable to attend, is
        available for $25 US.  Supporting members Will receive the
        progress reports and program book.

        Hotel:   Sheraton Lakewood
                 360 Union Blvd
                 Lakewood, CO
                 (303) 987-2000

        Rooms:

         Single/Double                      $59 US per night
         Adjoining Rooms (Pseudo-Suite)     118 US
         Triple/Quad                         78 US
         Adjoining Rooms (Pseudo-Suite)     156 US

     FidoCon '91 is a limited attendance event.

     Guests of Honor:

      Tom Jennings      --   FidoCon '91 Guest of Honor. Tom is
                             credited with starting FidoNet
      Tim Pozar         --   Gateway Guru
      Ray Gwinn         --   The Fossil master his self
      Vince Perriello   --   President of Bit Bucket Software &
                             publisher of FidoNews, Co-Author of
                             Binkley and TIMS.  Kibitzer at large.
      Alan Applegate    --   VICE-President of Bit Bucket, Writer of
                             the infamous Binkley Docs & Technical
                             Support for eSoft.
      Bob Hartman       --   Author of ConfMail, ReMapper.
                             Co-Author of Binkley and TIMS.  Major
                             asset of eSoft's program development
                             team.
      Phil Becker       --   CEO of eSoft .. publisher of TBBS,
    FidoNews 8-18                Page 6                    6 May 1991


                             TDBS, TIMS
      Steve Jackson     --   CEO of Steve Jackson Games ..
                             Publisher of GURPS CYBERPUNK and center
                             of Secret Service attention for over 8
                             months.
      John Perry Barlow --   Internet Guru and one of the founders
                             of the Electronic Frontier Foundation.

     Those indicating they will be attending:

      Tom Tcimpidis          The first to have his BBS seized by the
                             law enforcement community.
      Several notable writers of computer columns
      Several popular Science fiction authors
      Several distinguished members of the broadcast community.
      Mitch Kapor Founder of the Electronic Frontier Foundation.

     Invited and not yet committed:

      Steve Wozniack The WOZ, one of the founders of Apple Computer

     Convention Hospitality Suite by:

     Kevin "DOC" McNeil and the FidoNet COOKING echo {newsgroup}

     Featuring: Seadog Casserole, Zip-Tarts, Pak-Man Cookies,
                Roast Opus

     Seminars: Tentative Schedule

     Friday 16 August
     ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
     The Ethical Software Hacker      Copyrights demystified

     For this I gave up my Love       Dealing with SYSOP burnout
     Life?

     How to moderate an Echo          BBSing in the 90's and beyond

     BBS Role Playing Gaming Forum


     Saturday 17 August
     ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
     TBBS\TDBS\TIMS                   Software Development
                                      Roundtable

     Getting the most from            DOS 4/5, Windows
     BinkleyTerm

     Designing TDBS Applications      File your own copyrights for
    FidoNews 8-18                Page 7                    6 May 1991


     Remote Access system design      $20
     and implementation.

     AMAX made easy                   XRS/RAX/QMX/SeX/XOR/OREO/MORE-
                                      /XRS (the Universal Off-Line
                                      Reader Editor

     Gateways - the internetwork      Association of Shareware
     connection                       Professionals

     Surviving Government Scrutiny    Promoting your BBS Drawing the
                                      users you WANT to your system,
                                      Basics in advertising

     The Ultimate BBS/BBSing in the   BBS Business Sense Setting
     future.  Network evolution       your BBS up to support itself
                                      and you.
     Network Ethics

     Sunday 18 August
     ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
     How to setup multi-node          CD-ROMS - Beyond Mass Storage
     QuickBBS QuickBBS, Menu          - Databases at your users
     control language                 fingertips

     BBS Users Groups Activities:

     TBBS Users Group will be convening as FidoTUG '91 during the
     convention.
      AlterCon will be sharing the facilities.
           AlterNet Costume Banquet          Royal Court
           Meeting of the Dukes

     Fun Activities:

     WEDDING:

     We are pleased to announce the wedding of Peter Stewart &
     Michele Hamilton, Sunday 18 August, 1991 at FidoCon '91.
     Michele and Peter met with the aid of the InterMail/InterUser
     Echo, and Cupid found their hearts.  Come share in the union.

     Traditional Hard Diskus Throw         Floppy Fling

     The Big Three Brewery Bash            National SYSOP Mud Pie
                                           Fight -- Proceeds to
                                           go to the MS Society

     Air Force Academy Tour                Garden of the Gods

     Psychic and Physical Tours            Golfing Tours of
    FidoNews 8-18                Page 8                    6 May 1991


     of Colorful Colorado                  Colorado

     We are scheduling additional seminars and social activities.
     Fire off a message letting us know what you'd like to see and
     do.  If you would like to see someone special, let us know as
     well.

     *** FidoCon '91 Dealers Room will be open from 9:00 am to
     *** 6:00 pm Friday and Saturday, 9:00 am to 3:00 pm Sunday

     Confirmed dealers

       Bit Bucket Software          CDB Systems             eSoft
       Mustang Software, Inc.       CompuCom                U.S.
                                                            Robotics
       Online Communications, Inc.  Boardwatch Magazine

     Drawings & Prizes

       Including:

        16 Line TBBS/TDBS/TIMS Sysop Dream SYSTEM CPU with a 486
        with sufficient horsepower to run a multiline system 700+Meg
        of fixed or hard disk, 4 port Digiboard and up to 4 9600 bps
        modems, who knows, maybe a CD ROM Drive .. depending on
        number of attendees.  A portion of the memberships and
        vendor fees go to purchasing this system.

        Autographed copies of the books that made Steve Jackson a
        household name, GURPS CYBERPUNK.

        For the SYSOP that has everything 300 baud acoustic Sysop
        Nightmare System

        All kinds of donated equipment and software, some even
        working.

     Hospitality Suites

        eSoft                   Bit Bucket Software
        Boardwatch Magazine

     More as it comes to being.  Subscribe to the FIDOCON_91 Echo.

     This will be THE BBSing Event of '91, BE THERE.

     ================= FidoCon '91 Registration Form ===============

     Name: _________________________________________________________

     Street Address: _______________________________________________

    FidoNews 8-18                Page 9                    6 May 1991


     City: _______________________ State/Province: _________________

     Postal Code: _______________________ Country: _________________

     Voice #: ___________ Data #: _____________ Net Address: _______

     Name: ___________________ Membership Type: ____ Amount: _______

     Name: ___________________ Membership Type: ____ Amount: _______

     No. of T-Shirts: __ Sizes(S/M/L/XL): _____  @  $15/ea = _______

     Complaints: _ Banquet Tickets: ___ @ $25/ea = _______

                                                      TOTAL $_______



     Visa/Mastercard Number ___________________ Expire Date: _______

     Signature: _______________________ Date: ________

     Please make checks payable (in U.S.A. Dollars) to FIDOCON '91
     and Mail To:

      FidoCon '91
      P.O. Box 486
      Louisville, CO 80027-0486

    -----------------------------------------------------------------
    FidoNews 8-18                Page 10                   6 May 1991


                            THROUGH THE WIRE
             Commentary and News Concerning the Other World
                           by Michael A. Banks

    Copyright (c), 1990, 1991, Michael A. Banks

         Well, I was going to talk about the United States Government
    and telecomputing this time out, but I've decided to cut that in
    favor of expanding info and commentary on international
    telecomputing.  (There's not much happening in that area at the
    moment; you've read everything there is to know in the news
    magazines, or caught it on TV or radio news.)  I'll still cover
    online elitism, and give you the reading list--all as promised.
    And I'll give you something to think about regarding online
    security.
         First, let's take a look at what's happening with
    international telecomputing, on two levels.

    International Telecomputing, Level One: "The Walls Come Tumbling
    Down"
         If you're over 35 or so, you probably felt the same awe and
    sense of history as I did when you saw the Berlin Wall and all it
    symbolized come crashing down earlier this year.  After all, we
    grew up with that symbol of what was known as the Communist
    menace and--far, far worse--of the sad legacy handed Eastern
    Europe in the wake of World War II.  (My God--remember when those
    emergency broadcasting system tests used to be followed by "Had
    this been an attack ... "?)
         (In footnote to "the Communist menace," you may assume that
    I concur with Dr. Jerry Pournelle's statement on returning from
    Russia in April: "I have seen the fourth world, and it doesn't
    work.")
         Now, in less than a year, we've seen four decades of
    oppression slough away like the rotting husk of a fallen fruit,
    revealing the seeds of a new world.  Even Mother Russia is
    loosening her hold (though not too much) on satellite nations,
    and there are echoes of freedom in South and Central America.
         What does this have to do with being online?  Well, I've
    stated often enough that the online world tends to mirror the
    "real" world.  This is no less than true where the growing
    freedom of long-oppressed (politically or otherwise) nations are
    concerned.  Now that the political walls blocking free trade and
    communication in many parts of the world are coming down, so are
    the barriers to telecomputing.
         For example, U.S. Sprint has commenced setting up a quality
    data communications service for the U.S.S.R.  The Moscow-based
    service, which should be up and running by the end of the year,
    will see the installation of state-of-the-art data communications
    switching equipment, making it easier for Soviet citizens to
    telecommunicate with the rest of the world.  The service will be
    a joint venture with Russia, called "Telenet USSR" (although the
    name could change, since Telenet has been renamed "SprintNet"
    here in the U.S., in the wake of its acquisition by U.S. Sprint).
    FidoNews 8-18                Page 11                   6 May 1991


         But in this instance, the online world has been and is
    anticipating as well as mirroring real-world events.  Telenet
    USSR is not the first Soviet data link with the Western world.
    The famed Washington/Moscow "Hot Line" has been a data link for
    quite a few years.  Nor is it the first commercial link: an
    existing data communications center in Moscow routes commercial
    telecomputing traffic via SprintNet/Telenet through Vienna,
    Austria (a similar link can be made via Helsinki, Finland, though
    that route cannot handle heavy traffic).  Other links with Russia
    are made circuitously via Tymnet and, it has been rumored, over
    Internet.  Still another link, the cleverly titled San
    Francisco/Moscow Teleport (SFMT), leases time on a comsat to link
    Moscow to packet-switching networks in the U.S. via San
    Francisco.  (And now, users on the majority of American online
    services can, for a fee of perhaps five bucks for 150 words, send
    E-mail to Russia via SFMT, courtesy of DASnet, an inter-service
    E-mail carrier.  DASnet ties in to almost all major online
    services.  For more info phone 415-559-7434 voice and speak with
    Anna Lange.)
         Those links will be much in the public eye over the next 12
    to 18 months, but they are only half the story where the
    "opening" of Communist and Third-World nations are concerned.  A
    public, international BBS opened in Estonia (one of the Soviet
    Baltic states) in mid-1989, and DELPHI and CompuServe have forged
    data links with South and Central American countries.  (Text from
    sessions on some of DELPHI's links--actually, local versions of
    the DELPHI online service--are shown on these pages.  If you read
    Spanish, enjoy!)
         In these developments, the online world anticipated
    developments in the real world, as stated a few paragraphs back.
    And, there are some developments online that are unique to the
    online world.  For example, on ConnectEd (an online university
    operated in conjunction with New York's New School for Social
    Research), you'll find a service that provides essays from Soviet
    writers and commentators on all manner of topics.  (Freely
    written, I might add, and with a surprising undercurrent of
    Russian patriotism.)  (For information about ConnectEd, telephone
    212-548-0435 voice and ask for Paul Levinson.)

    International Telecomputing, Level Two: Commercial Expansion
         On a less sensationalistic plane, the three largest
    commercial online services in the U.S. are expanding into Europe
    and Japan in a big way--shrinking the global tent city (a term I
    prefer to "global village," because we all go home after those
    international interactions ... ) still more.  Here's a summary:
         CompuServe in Europe.  CompuServe is offering limited (and
    expensive) service in Europe via the CompuServe Forum.  (The
    service is lower in cost than previous means of accessing
    CompuServe via Europe, however.)  A special TOP menu has been
    created for European subscribers, and there are plans for various
    CompuServe computer forums to add sections for European users.
    Additional plans call for "CompuServe software" (whether this is
    front-end software or the service itself is not known) to be
    offered in several European languages.
    FidoNews 8-18                Page 12                   6 May 1991


         CompuServe already has access from Japan via a joint venture
    that offers CompuServe access or a mirror of same, called "Nifty-
    SERVE."
         DELPHI Introduced in Japan.  General Videotex Corporation
    (GVC), parent company of DELPHI, has created a partnership with
    Japan's ASCII Corporation to distribute DELPHI services in Japan.
    ASCII Corp., which operates one of the three largest online
    services in Japan and publishes books and magazines on computing,
    among other topics, is creating a "regional" version of DELPHI
    called ASCII NET in Japan.  According to GVC, the ASCII NET Japan
    will "supplement DELPHI's current regional partners in Buenos
    Aires, Argentina; Miami, Florida; Kansas City, Missouri; and
    Boston, Massachusetts."
         GVC and ASCII Corp. expect to sign up more than 5,000
    members during the first year of distribution.  Presumably, there
    will be an extra-charge gateway service between ASCII NET and
    DELPHI, as is the case with DELPHI in the U.S. and
    DELPHI/Argentina.   There is talk of sub-licenses to Singapore
    and/or Taiwan.
         GEnie in Europe.  GEnie is now officially online in Europe.
    The service can be dialed up directly in Austria, Germany, and
    Switzerland via networks operated by distributors of General
    Electric Information Services (GEIS), GEnie's parent company.
    Unlike CompuServe's European service, GEnie is making almost all
    the features that are available to North American subscribers
    available to European callers.  This augments international
    access from Japan, and will presumably be expanded to include
    other European countries (including the U.K.) in the near future.
         BIX Clones.  In footnote, it's worth mentioning that clones
    of BIX exist in Japan and the U.K.  These are totally without
    connection (data links or business connection) with BIX (which is
    an online service sponsored by Byte Magazine).  In Japan, the
    service is called "Nikki-MIX" and runs the same basic UNIX
    software as BIX, but with Kanji (written graphic character)
    capability.  In the U.K., the clone is called CIX; I don't know
    whether it uses the same operating system, but the structure is
    close enough.
         (You'll find screens from some Japanese services on
    accompanying pages.)

    Online Elite?
         Back on the topic of new-found telecom riches, it is worth
    noting that not everyone in Russia or in Central or South America
    has access to international telecom services--just as not
    everyone in newly "free" nations has access to the tools of
    capitalism (money and contacts.)  For example, any Soviet citizen
    can walk into the Moscow data communications center and dial up
    Europe or America--in theory.  In practice, however, access is
    limited to those who have a need to telecompute (certain
    scientists would constitute one such group), and perhaps to the
    more privileged or those with the proper contacts.  And in
    countries with little "hard currency," there is a definite upper
    limit to how much international telecomputing activity can go on
    in any event.  It's all on a "need to telecompute" basis.
    FidoNews 8-18                Page 13                   6 May 1991


         But, before you jump to conclusions about totalitarian
    telecomputing and elitism in Communist-controlled or third-world
    nations, consider the fact that telecomputing is new in Russia,
    and computer literacy is not widespread.  The same is true in
    Central and South American nations.  And in most of the countries
    to which I've alluded here, the economic situation is such that
    only a minority of those who are computer literate have the
    wherewithal to obtain the prerequisite hardware and software.
         Then consider the fact that telecomputing in the U.S. (and
    in Japan and the U.K.) is not something to which everyone has
    access; though the cost of telecomputing in both money and
    knowledge has dropped, the online world is still populated
    largely by elitists--either the techno-elite or a subset of the
    financially elite.  Those who are online otherwise remain a
    minority.
         That's going to change, however, as telecomputing becomes
    more and more a "legitimate" product/service.  And telecomputing
    will indeed become legitimate.  The majority will adopt it over
    the next decade, in the same manner as we adopted cable TV, VCRs,
    FAX machines, and telephones.  Why?  Because, like those other
    technologies, telecomputing is information exchange ... and with
    information exchange comes freedom--not to mention the desire to
    have access to everything.  (For more on the online elite, see
    the accompanying sidebar.)
         All in all, it looks as if telecomputing outside the Western
    world is merely a decade or so behind us--and catching up fast.

    Things to Come
         All this talk about what's happening with international
    telecomputing has me thinking about what the future holds.  So
    I've put together some of my thoughts on what's likely to be
    happening in the global online world (mainly involving its
    interfaces with the real world) over the next few years.
         Note that these are not straight predictions (that's a con
    game), but extrapolations to which we can assign fairly high
    probabilities.  Too, I've deleted a couple of them since I began
    writing this last month--because they came true, two or three
    years before the time I'd assigned to them.

                               1990 - 1991
         Soviet special-interest groups spring up on various online
    services.
         A few American BBS freaks dial into Eesti BBS #1 in Tallin,
    Estonia and copy off message bases and files, which are then
    uploaded to various online services and BBSs in the U.S.  Similar
    material snakes its way westward via Internet.
         Eesti BBS #1 is joined by other non-commercial Baltic and
    Eastern European BBSs.

                               1992 - 1993
         CompuServe is the first computer network to offer TASS, the
    official Soviet news service, online; the surcharged service is
    provided to CompuServe on a one-year exclusive basis for an
    undisclosed sum.
    FidoNews 8-18                Page 14                   6 May 1991


         As topics covered by Russia's American-distributed Soviet
    Life magazine continue to mirror those in various American
    cultural and news magazines, the magazine runs a special feature
    on Soviet hackers, focusing on underground BBSs in Baltic nations
    and in Leningrad and Moscow.  The tone is one of mild rebuke.
         More and more Russian citizens sign on to American online
    services under the auspices of various institutions like the
    Soviet Academy of Sciences.
         A few Eastern Europeans and residents of former Soviet
    states begin showing up on American online services, some as
    individual citizens but more under the auspices of governmental
    agencies.
         Russian and Eastern European hackers begin working the new
    packet network and other links to the West, and show up on
    Internet as well as various commercial online services and
    private BBSs.  They are particularly ingenious in their
    techniques, which require that they use relatively ancient and
    unprotected telephone technology to gateway into more
    sophisticated systems in the Western world.  They quickly
    discover that they are easily tracked and nailed, and their
    successors devise still more ingenious techniques to cover their
    trails.

                               1993 - 1995
         A cosortium consisting of General Electric, the now British-
    owned BT Tymnet, and unnamed investors vies with the combined
    forces of IBM and AT&T to win the right to provide commercial
    data communications links with Leningrad and Moscow via X.400
    communications links through Austria and Germany.  (This will
    offer links mainly with western Europe, with limited availability
    to North America and Asia.)
         GEnie, via its GEIS international X.25 service, offers
    limited service to residents of Moscow and Leningrad, as well as
    to various former Soviet states.  The links are into Western
    Europe, with packet-switching networks like U.S. Sprint and GE/BT
    Tymnet as record carriers.
         With the increasing availability of hard currency in Russia,
    a relatively large number (scores) of individual Russian citizens
    open accounts on American and British commercial online services.
    These will be professionals, intent on establishing information
    businesses and/or enhancing their own professional activities
    with information from the West.  (Behind the scenes, an arm of
    the Russian internal security service--your guess--notices the
    information interchange and begins monitoring it, with no
    expressed or real intent.)

    Online Security
         Speaking of hackers (and I was, a few dozen lines back) I've
    another bomb (well, a grenade in this case) to drop, along the
    lines of the unknown threat Wall Street and the money-heads
    mentioned in my first column.  This time it has to with computer
    data security.
    FidoNews 8-18                Page 15                   6 May 1991


         You all know what hackers are, how they break into systems
    and steal data for fun and/or profit, etc.  This, thanks to the
    mainstream news media, which portrays them in a somewhat
    glamorous vein, like modern-day counterparts of corsairs in
    historical novels.  The threat to data posed by real hackers has
    been missed, in large part, because the media prefers to focus on
    hackers who get caught, and on soi-disant computer security
    experts who emphasize the sensationalistic and speak knowingly of
    viruses.
         (Compare John xxxxx getting literally hours of air time and
    gallons of ink in the national media with FLU_SHOT+ author Ross
    Greenberg getting maybe ninety seconds on CNN.  The disparity
    comes from Ross' providing a level-headed, step-by-step approach
    to virus protection.  No blood-and-guts there ... but I digress--
    as I shall whenever I can take a shot at media airheadedness.
    After all, is not the implied purpose of the news media to inform
    rather than entertain?  Or am I inferring too much and is the
    avowed purpose of the media to not only sway but dictate public
    opinions, topple governments, and the like?)
         That's not the only threat to data and privacy that's been
    missed.  An equally dangerous threat, that of accidental data
    sharing or disclosure, has been mentioned not once in any book or
    article on computer security.
         And what constitutes accidental data sharing?  Easy: Someone
    mistakenly includes your E-mail address in a distribution list,
    or sends E-mail intended for someone else to you because your
    online ID is similar to that of the intended addressee.  I've had
    it happen several times on one system in particular.  I've
    received corporate-confidential information that conceivably
    could have been sold to a certain mega-corporation's competitors
    (something, I hasten to add, I didn't do; my ethics run counter
    to accepted Yuppie and pirate practices.  If they didn't, I
    wouldn't be scrambling to make car payments.)  I've received even
    more sensitive information.  All because someone didn't pay
    attention to what he or she was typing.  (Where this happened is
    your guess; I'm now on 31 networks with 36 IDs.)
         The hell of it is, it's something that's easily fixed.  And,
    no, I won't warn the service of it.  Not at the moment, anyway.
    Why?  I mentioned ethics a few lines back; in addition to what I
    said there, I have ethics that say "No" to professional rape.  To
    keep it short, I won't give away my knowledge and expertise to a
    large corporation when said corporation is paying kilobucks to
    employees and "consultants" who are supposed to catch this stuff.
         But, be warned; a typo, a tired person sending E-mail, or
    someone who's inattentive or untrained--any of these can result
    in sensitive data being given to those who shouldn't have it.
         (Hm ... there's a story in this, perhaps.  Let's see ... Big
    Bucks Corp. is losing big bucks because of a data leak.  The data
    leak is an accident, but it means Someone's job, so Someone
    covers his ass by inventing a hacker.  Hm ... could be
    particularly interesting if it were a national security leak ...)

    FidoNews 8-18                Page 16                   6 May 1991


    The Reading List (at last!)
         Okay, here's the skinny: Whether you're new to this stuff or
    not, buy and read any of the books on this list that you haven't
    read (yes--even mine), with the exception of those branded as
    technical if you're not of a technical bent.  I've intentionally
    left out some books that you've probably already read.
         The bottom line: Each of these is worth ordering if you
    can't find it in your favorite bookstore.

         Communications and Networking for the IBM PC and
    Compatibles, by Larry Jordan and Bruce Churchill (good if you
    want to learn the tech-hardware end of things; Brady Books/Simon
    & Schuster)
         The Cuckoo's Egg, by Clifford Stoll (you know--the
    bestseller; Bantam Books)
         The Hacker, by Chet Day (interesting horror novel involving
    hackers--ignore the reviews and judge for yourself; Pocket Books)
         The Matrix, by John S. Quarterman (non-fiction, explains
    computer networks around the world; Digital Press)
         The Modem Reference, 2nd edition by Michael A. Banks (Brady
    Books/Simon & Schuster; has everything you need to know about
    buying and using a modem, getting online, what's online, etc.)
         Synners, by Pat Cadigan (a novel, from Bantam/Spectra)
         True Names, by Vernor Vinge (a collection of short stories
    that also contains the novelette, "True Names," which is required
    reading; currently in print in a Baen Books edition)
         Understanding Data Communications (good reference for tech-
    heads; pick it up at your local Radio Shack store)
         That's a start.  I'll add books to this list under an In
    Print header next edition and each time thereafter.
                                    #
         That's it for now.  Next edition: the much-overrated compu-
    sex phenomenon, copyright theft (a bit of a scandal revealed),
    more international stuff, and whatever looks interesting.  In the
    meantime, have fun!
                                    #

                                 SIDEBAR

    The Online Elite Revisited
         Some leftover comments on online elitism ... .
         I spoke earlier in this issue (and in the previous issue)
    about an "online elite."  We networkers in the Western world are
    an elite (which I'll attempt to prove by example in a couple
    paragraphs).  But we'll become less so over the next three years
    as the cost of going online--in cash and knowledge--continue to
    drop and modem communication becomes as "legitimate" in the
    marketplace as VCRs and pizzas.
         In the meantime, a lot of people are smearing us with the
    same brush as the ubiquitous "rich man" and "Illuminati."  The
    "lot of people" are those who hear about what goes online but
    aren't online.  I've seen this happen time and again.  Basically,
    those who aren't online are afraid they're missing something
    (they are), and that they're being barred from information and
    contacts (they aren't).
    FidoNews 8-18                Page 17                   6 May 1991


         I first grappled with this issue a couple of years ago, when
    I was asked by some people in a national writers' organization of
    which I'm a member (okay, it was the Science Fiction Writers of
    America, aka SFWA) to try to quell a flap over someone not online
    misunderstanding what "goes on" online.  The best I could do (and
    it was and is legitimate) was to explain that the public,
    private, and semi-private exchange of information about which the
    offline person was paranoid was in its net effect nothing more
    than what went on via "street mail" letters, voice telephone
    conversations, and in-person chats.
         It wasn't accepted then, and it's not being accepted now.
    In my capacity as Online Committee chairperson for SFWA, I set up
    a panel at a recent SFWA event, at which one or two offline
    people in the audience made accusations of conspiracies and
    power-plays and information control on the part of those online.
    If such exist (attempts at these things exist, anyway), it is no
    more than goes on in the physical world, albeit faster at times.
         But we'll never convince those offline of that.  So the
    offline "lots of people" brand those online as an elite group,
    simply because they have access to communications channels
    knowledge (and gossip) faster.
         Interestingly enough, it has been my experience that those
    offliners who cry "Elitists!" are those who are most able but
    least likely gain access to online services.  Which is to say,
    they're the kind of people who either misunderstand things,
    and/or like to have problems.  (I'm not certain this is true in
    the latter instance, but in general it is.)
         On the other side of the coin, I should re-emphasize that
    the people you and I meet online who are not in the U.S., where
    telecom costs are low, are an elite group, indeed.  For it costs
    much in money and knowledge to get online if you're living in
    Tokyo or Buenos Aires.  It's not unlike (to haul out the realtime
    metaphor again) foreigners visiting or moving to the U.S.--you
    will rarely, if ever, meet someone from another country who was
    without money or power or special knowledge or training, or some
    special ability that enabled him or her to get here.  Thus, we
    don't really meet the "common man" via a virtual visit to other
    countries--not yet, anyway.
         But, what the heck--being part of an elite group isn't all
    bad.  (<SMIRK>, as we say online.)
                                    #
         Michael A. Banks is the author of 21 published non-fiction
    books and science fiction novels (including the definitive work
    on personal computer communications, The Modem Reference,
    published by Brady Books/Simon & Schuster).  He's also published
    more than 1,000 magazine articles and short stories, lively
    technical documents, and "... a few catchy slogans."
         He can be found online "almost anywhere," but if you want to
    reach him fast, try E-mail to KZIN on DELPHI, to MIKE.BANKS on
    GEnie, to BANKS2 on AOL, or to mike_banks on BIX.
                                    #
    FidoNews 8-18                Page 18                   6 May 1991


                        BOOKS BY MICHAEL A. BANKS
         "If a technical thing is troubling you, just wait a bit.
         Michael Banks is probably writing a book that will make it
         clear." --The Associated Press

         Do you use DeskMate 3?  Are you getting the most out of the
    program?  To find out, get a copy of GETTING THE MOST OUT OF
    DESKMATE 3, by Michael A. Banks, published by
    Brady Books/Simon & Schuster, and available in your local
    Tandy/Radio Shack or Waldenbooks store now.  Or, phone 800-624-
    0023 to order direct.  (The all-new 2nd edition is now
    available!)
         "GETTING THE MOST OUT OF DESKMATE 3 is more than a guide to
         DeskMate; it's an enhancement..."--Waldenbooks Computer
         NewsLink

         Interested in modem communications?  Check out THE MODEM
    REFERENCE, also by Michael A. Banks and published by Brady
    Books/Simon & Schuster.  Recommended by Jerry Pournelle in Byte,
    The New York times, The Smithsonian Magazine, various computer
    magazines, etc.  (Excerpts from this book accompany this file.)
    THE MODEM REFERENCE is available at your local B. Dalton's,
    Waldenbooks, or other bookstore, either in stock or by order.
    Or, phone 800-624-0023 to order direct.  (1st edition currently
    available; all-new 2nd edition available in January, 1991!)
        "I definitely recommend it." --Jerry Pournelle, BYTE Magazine
         Want the lowdown on getting more out of your word processor?
    Read the only book on word processing written by writers, for
    writers: WORD PROCESSING SECRETS FOR WRITERS, by Michael A. Banks
    & Ansen Dibel (Writer's Digest Books).  WORD PROCESSING SECRETS
    FOR WRITERS is available at your local B. Dalton's, Waldenbooks,
    or other bookstore, either in stock or by order.  Or, phone 800-
    543-4644 (800-551-0884 in Ohio) to order direct.

                     Other books by Michael A. Banks
    UNDERSTANDING FAX & E-MAIL (Howard W. Sams & Co.)
    THE ODYSSEUS SOLUTION (w/Dean Lambe; SF novel; Baen Books)
    JOE MAUSER: MERCENARY FROM TOMORROW (w/Mack Reynolds; SF novel;
                                                          Baen Books)
    SWEET DREAMS, SWEET PRICES (w/Mack Reynolds; SF novel;
                                                          Baen Books)
    COUNTDOWN: THE COMPLETE GUIDE TO MODEL ROCKETRY (TAB Books)
    THE ROCKET BOOK (w/Robert Cannon; Prentice Hall Press)
    SECOND STAGE: ADVANCED MODEL ROCKETRY (Kalmbach Books)
         For more information, contact:
                            Michael A. Banks
                              P.O. Box 312
                           Milford, OH  45150

    Submitted in entirety with permission from the author, by
    Dennis McClain-Furmanski, 1:275/42, UMOD, Apple, Writing

    FidoNews 8-18                Page 19                   6 May 1991


    -----------------------------------------------------------------
    FidoNews 8-18                Page 20                   6 May 1991


    Dennis McClain-Furmanski, 1:275/42
    UMOD, Apple Writing

         Prodigy Accused of Electronic Breach of Privacy

    This compilation of postings has been popping up in a few echos.
    If you haven't seen it, read on. Whenever someone as big as
    Prodigy gets fingered for something like this, the gummint can't
    be far behind. It could mean more meddling for all of us to have
    to deal with. And if you use Prodigy, I'd read REAL hard.

         D McC-F

    -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

    The following message was contained in another echo that sees
    limited distribution.  This is of concern to a great many of
    you.

    -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

     * Message originally:
         From: Steve Winter
         To  : All
         Date: 05-01-91
         Area: "PrNet : Net wide Chat Line"
     * Forwarded by Tomas Hood using RemoteAccess 1.01

     * Message originally:
         From: Steve Shapiro
         To  : All
         Date: 04-30-91
         Area: "SHAREWRE FIDO Shareware"
     * Forwarded by Steve Winter using RemoteAccess 1.01+

    While this is not exactly on-topic, I felt that it would be very
    important to many of you because I know that you are members of
    Prodigy. I know that there are also some of you thinking of
    becoming members.

    To reduce the traffic on this off-topic message, please do not
    respond to it at all here in the echo. Netmail only please. This
    is FYI so let's not let it take up any more space in this echo.
    Thanks.

    Regards, Steve.

    RE:     PRODIGY MAY BE STEALING PERSONAL INFO FROM YOUR COMPUTER!

    Gentlemen,

    FidoNews 8-18                Page 21                   6 May 1991


    The following file was sent to me today, April 29th.  I've read
    it twice and then had to try it out myself just to see if it was
    true.

    Whether it is a bug in the software, or a covert effort by Sears,
    IBM, and Prodigy to *STEAL* private and personal information
    from your computer, the fact remains that the STAGE.DAT file in
    the Prodigy Subdirectory digs up all sorts of information that
    would be absolutely meaningless to the operation of the
    software.

    ------------------CUT HERE - ORIGINAL MESSAGE FOLLOWS------------

    Subject: Prodigy security warning

    While some of the enclosed article from comp.dcom.telecom is the
    usual bbs liver-chewing, the concerns about the STAGE.DAT file's
    grabbing of disk data is pretty serious.  If you have the
    Prodigy demo kit or, heaven forbid, the real thing, what do you
    find when you look in your STAGE.DAT file? -- Bob

     ### BEGIN BBS FILE ###

       218/250: Fraudigy
       Name: George J Marengo #199 @6974
       From: The Gangs of Vista (Southern California) 619-758-5920

    The L. A. County District Attorney is formally investigating
    PRODIGY for deceptive trade practices.  I have spoken with the
    investigator assigned (who called me just this morning, February
    22, 1991).

    We are free to announce the fact of the investigation.  Anyone
    can file a complaint.  From anywhere.

    The address is:

    District Attorney's Office
    Department of Consumer Protection
    Attn: RICH GOLDSTEIN, Investigator
    Hall of Records   Room 540
    320 West Temple Street
    Los Angeles, CA 90012

    Rich doesn't want phone calls, he wants simple written statements
    and copies (no originals) of any relevant documents attached. He
    will call the individuals as needed, he doesn't want his phone
    ringing off the hook, but you may call him if it is urgent at
    1-213-974-3981.

    PLEASE READ THIS SECTION EXTRA CAREFULLY.  YOU NEED NOT BE IN
    CALIFORNIA TO FILE!!

    FidoNews 8-18                Page 22                   6 May 1991


    If any of us "locals" want to discuss this, call me at the Office
    Numbers: (818) 989-2434; (213) 874-4044.  Remember, the next time
    you pay your property taxes, this is what you are supposed to be
    getting ... service.  Flat rate?  [laugh] BTW, THE COUNTY IS
    REPRESENTING THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA.  This ISN'T limited to
    L.A. County and complaints are welcome from ANYWHERE in the
    Country or the world. The idea is investigation of specific Code
    Sections and if a Nationwide Pattern is shown, all the better.

    LARRY ROSENBERG, ATTY

      Prodigy: More of a Prodigy Than We Think?
      By: Linda Houser Rohbough

    The stigma that haunts child prodigies is that they are difficult
    to get along with, mischievous and occasionally, just flat
    dangerous, using innocence to trick us. I wonder if that label
    fits Prodigy, Sears and IBM's telecommunications network?

    Those of you who read my December article know that I was tipped
    off at COMDEX to look at a Prodigy file, created when Prodigy is
    loaded STAGE.DAT. I was told I would find in that file personal
    information form my hard disk unrelated to Prodigy.  As you
    know, I did find copies of the source code to our product
    FastTrack, in STAGE.DAT. The fact that they were there at all
    gave me the same feeling of violation as the last time my home
    was broken into by burglars.

    I invited you to look at your own STAGE.DAT file, if you're a
    Prodigy user, and see if you found anything suspect. Since then I
    have had numerous calls with reports of similar finds,
    everything from private patient medical information to
    classified government information.

    The danger is Prodigy is uploading STAGE.DAT and taking a look at
    your private business. Why? My guess is marketing research, which
    is expensive through legitimate channels, and unwelcomed by you
    and I. The question now is: Is it on purpose, or a mistake?  One
    caller theorizes that it is a bug. He looked at STAGE.DAT with a
    piece of software he wrote to look at the physical location of
    data on the hard disk, and found that his STAGE.DAT file
    allocated 950,272 bytes of disk space for storage.

    Prodigy stored information about the sections viewed frequently
    and the data needed to draw those screens in STAGE.DAT.  Service
    would be faster with information stored on the PC rather then
    the same information being downloaded from Prodigy each time.

    That's a viable theory because ASCII evidence of those screens
    shots can be found in STAGE.DAT, along with AUTOEXEC.BAT and
    path information. I am led to belive that the path and system
    configuration (in RAM) are diddled with and then restored to
    previous settings upon exit. So the theory goes, in allocating
    that disk space, Prodigy accidently includes data left after an
    erasure (As you know, DOS does not wipe clean the space that
    deleted files took on the hard disk, but merely marked the space
    FidoNews 8-18                Page 23                   6 May 1991


    as vacant in the File Allocation Table.)

    There are a couple of problems with this theory. One is that it
    assumes that the space was all allocated at once, meaning all
    950,272 bytes were absorbed at one time.  That simply isn't
    true.  My STAGE.DAT was 250,000+ bytes after the first time I
    used Prodigy. The second assumption is that Prodigy didn't want
    the personal information; it was getting it accidently in
    uploading and downloading to and from STAGE.DAT. The E-mail
    controversy with Prodigy throws doubt upon that. The E-mail
    controversy started because people were finding mail they sent
    with comments about Prodigy or the E-mail, especially negative
    ones, didn't ever arrive. Now Prodigy is saying they don't
    actually read the mail, they just have the computer scan it for
    key terms, and delete those messages because they are
    responsible for what happens on Prodigy.

    I received a call from someone from another user group who read
    our newsletter and is very involved in telecommunications. He
    installed and ran Prodigy on a freshly formatted 3.5 inch 1.44
    meg disk. Sure enough, upon checking STAGE.DAT he discovered
    personal data from his hard disk that could not have been left
    there after an erasure. He had a very difficult time trying to
    get someone at Prodigy to talk to about this.

                               --------------

    Excerpt of email on the above subject:

    THERE'S A FILE ON THIS BOARD CALLED 'FRAUDIGY.ZIP' THAT I SUGGEST
    ALL WHO USE THE PRODIGY SERVICE TAKE ***VERY*** SERIOUSLY. THE
    FILE DESCRIBES HOW THE PRODIGY SERVICE SEEMS TO SCAN YOUR HARD
    DRIVE FOR PERSONAL INFORMATION, DUMPS IT INTO A FILE IN THE
    PRODIGY SUB-DIRECTORY CALLED 'STAGE.DAT' AND WHILE YOU'RE
    WAITING AND WAITING FOR THAT NEXT MENU COME UP, THEY'RE
    UPLOADING YOUR STUFF AND LOOKING AT IT.

    TODAY I WAS IN BABBAGES'S, ECHELON TALKING TO TIM WHEN A
    GENTLEMAN WALKED IN, HEARD OUR DISCUSSION, AND PIPED IN THAT HE
    WAS A COLUMNIST ON PRODIGY. HE SAID THAT THE INFO FOUND IN
    'FRAUDIGY.ZIP' WAS INDEED TRUE AND THAT IF YOU READ YOUR ON-LINE
    AGREEMENT CLOSELY, IT SAYS THAT YOU SIGN ALL RIGHTS TO YOUR
    COMPUTER AND ITS CONTENTS TO PRODIGY, IBM & SEARS WHEN YOU AGREE
    TO THE SERVICE.

    I TRIED THE TESTS SUGGESTED IN 'FRAUDIGY.ZIP' WITH A VIRGIN
    'PRODIGY' KIT.  I DID TWO INSTALLATIONS, ONE TO MY OFT USED HARD
    DRIVE PARTITION, AND ONE ONTO A 1.2MB FLOPPY.  ON THE FLOPPY
    VERSION, UPON INSTALLATION (WITHOUT LOGGING ON), I FOUND THAT
    THE FILE 'STAGE.DAT' CONTAINED A LISTING OF EVERY .BAT AND SETUP
    FILE CONTAINED IN MY 'C:' DRIVE BOOT DIRECTORY.  USING THE HARD
    DRIVE DIRECTORY OF PRODIGY THAT WAS SET UP, I PROCEDED TO LOG
    ON.  I LOGGED ON, CONSENTED TO THE AGREEMENT, AND LOGGED OFF.
    REMEMBER, THIS WAS A VIRGIN SETUP KIT.

    FidoNews 8-18                Page 24                   6 May 1991


    AFTER LOGGING OFF I LOOKED AT 'STAGE.DAT' AND 'CACHE.DAT' FOUND
    IN THE PRODIGY SUBDIRECTORY.  IN THOSE FILES, I FOUND POINTERS
    TO PERSONAL NOTES THAT WERE BURIED THREE SUB-DIRECTORIES DOWN ON
    MY DRIVE, AND AT THE END OF 'STAGE.DAT' WAS AN EXACT IMAGE COPY
    OF MY PC-DESKTOP APPOINTMENTS CALENDER.

    CHECK IT OUT FOR YOURSELF.

     ### END OF BBS FILE ###

    I had my lawyer check his STAGE.DAT file and he found none other
    than CONFIDENTIAL CLIENT INFO in it.

    Needless to say he is no longer a Prodigy user.

    [Moderator's Note: Thanks very much for sending along this
    fascinating report for the readers of TELECOM Digest. I've
    always said, and still believe that the proprietors of any
    online computer service have the right to run it any way they
    want -- even into the ground! --and that users are free to stay
    or leave as they see fit. But it is really disturbing to think
    that Prodigy has the nerve to ripoff private stuff belonging to
    users, at least without telling them. But as I think about it,
    *who* would sign up with that service if they had bothered to
    read the service contract carefully and had the points in this
    article explained in detail?    PAT]

    -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
    end of forwarded msg...
    Tomas Hood, The Mountain, 206-666-9113

    -----------------------------------------------------------------
    FidoNews 8-18                Page 25                   6 May 1991


    Steve Winter
    FidoNet 1:151/208 209

                            HOLY_BIBLE

    I would like to announce that I have started a new conference
    called HOLY_BIBLE.  The TOPIC is Wholly Bible.

    There will not be a lot of rules other than basic rules,
    common decency (ie. no profanity, lewdness, etc), and rules
    to prevent censorship.

    Unlike the existing FIDO Bible conferences, we will not be
    practicing the censorship of doctrines or ideas.

    This will be a Christian Conference in the Biblical sense,
    but everyone is welcome regardless of religious orientation
    or lack thereof.

    This conference is "in progress" and is gated to the PRIME
    Network.

    If anyone is interested yet is unable to afford the phone
    costs, I am willing to work with people on a case by case
    basis as far as delivering the mail until we can get it on
    the backbone.

    Send netmail to 1:151/208 209 for more info.

    Please help spread the word about this new conference.

                            Steve Winter


    -----------------------------------------------------------------
    FidoNews 8-18                Page 26                   6 May 1991


    Attending Convention:

      Marshall Barry &               Daniel L. Bonner &
      Michelle Weisblat              Linda L. Bonner
      Jim Burt &                     Brenda Donovan &
      Karen Burt                     Ed Moore
      James H. Dunmyer &             Michael Kanavy &
      Janice L. Dunmyer              Elizabeth Kanavy
      Scott Munhollon &              Thomas Pat Nefos &
      Tammy Munhollon                Judy Nefos
      George Peace &                 Mike Ratledge &
      Christine Keefer               Donna Ratledge
      Jack Rickard &                 Terry N. Rune' &
      Nancy Rickard                  Wayne A. Rune'
      Jeff Rush &                    Steven G. See &
      Mary Rush                      Pam See
      Eric L. Smith &                Peter Stewart &
      Diane B. Smith                 Michele Hamilton
      William M. Van Glahn &         Bob Whiston &
      Janet Van Glahn                Cheryl Whiston
      Peter N. White &               Rodney A. Aloia
      Cheryl Gordon                  Chris Anderson
      Russell Anderson               Bill Bacon
      Alan Applegate                 Charlie Bass
      Brian P. Bartee                Bruce Bodger
      Phil Becker                    George R. Cornell
      Jeff P. Brothers               Don Daniels
      Ben Cunningham                 Emmitt W. A. Dove
      Joe Dehn                       Brian Godette
      Mike Eckles                    Fabian R. Gordon
      Tony Goggin                    Bob Hartman
      Ray Gwinn                      Stanley A. Hirschman
      Norman B. Henke                Mark Howard
      Joaquim Homrighausen           Tom Jennings
      Steve Jackson                  Bruce H. Kirschner
      John Johnson                   Thomas Lange
      Mark K. Kreutzian              Andrew Milner
      Don Marquart                   Mark Peterson
      Vincent E. Perriello           Michael Pratt
      Tim Pozar                      Steve Raymond
      Chris Rand                     Steven L. Rusboldt
      John P. Roberts Jr.            Daniel D. Segard
      Sam Saulys                     James F. Smith
      Steven Sherwick                Zhahai Stewart
      John R. Souvestre              Roy Timberman
      Jeff Tensly                    Girard Westerberg
      Terry L Travis                 Ken Zen
      Jack Winslade

         259 Memberships available

    FidoNews 8-18                Page 27                   6 May 1991


    Attending Banquet:

      Marshall Barry &               Daniel L. Bonner &
      Michelle Weisblat              Linda L. Bonner
      Jim Burt &                     Brenda Donovan &
      Karen Burt                     Ed Moore
      James H. Dunmyer &             Michael Kanavy &
      Janice L. Dunmyer              Elizabeth Kanavy
      George Peace &                 Mike Ratledge &
      Christine Keefer               Donna Ratledge
      Jack Rickard &                 Jeff Rush &
      Nancy Rickard                  Mary Rush
      Steven G. See &                Eric L. Smith &
      Pam See                        Diane B. Smith
      William M. Van Glahn &         Peter N. White &
      Janet Van Glahn                Cheryl Gordon
      Rodney A. Aloia                Russell Anderson
      Chris Anderson                 Brian P. Bartee
      Charlie Bass                   Phil Becker
      Bruce Bodger                   Jeff P. Brothers
      Ben Cunningham                 Don Daniels
      Brian Godette                  Fabian R. Gordon
      Ray Gwinn                      Bob Hartman
      Norman B. Henke                Joaquim Homrighausen
      Mark Howard                    Tom Jennings
      John Johnson                   Mark K. Kreutzian
      Don Marquart                   Andrew Milner
      Vincent E. Perriello           Mark Peterson
      Tim Pozar                      John P. Roberts Jr.
      Daniel D. Segard               Steven Sherwick
      James F. Smith                 John R. Souvestre
      Roy Timberman                  Terry L Travis
      Girard Westerberg

          59 Banquet Tickets available

    -----------------------------------------------------------------
    FidoNews 8-18                Page 28                   6 May 1991


    =================================================================
                                 COLUMNS
    =================================================================

    Steve Winter
    FidoNet 1:151/208 209


                         The Gospel

    The gospel is the death, burial, and ressurection of the
    Lord Jesus Christ. This gospel (good news) is to be preached
    in all nations (beginning at Jerusalem).
    The gospel was first preached at Jerusalem on the the day
    of Pentecost (Acts 2:38)

    We are commanded to OBEY the gospel.(2 Th 1:8) (1Pe 4:17)
    Now..how does one OBEY the death, burial, and ressurection?

    Of course if someone did not believe, they would have no
    desire to obey.  Jesus told Nicodemus a couple of very
    important things in John 3:16 and John 3:5, he said that
    those who believeth SHOULD not perish. He had just told
    Nicodemus that he HAD to be born AGAIN two ways. One water,
    one of Spirit.

    What does water and Spirit have to do with the gospel?

    Well, the first gospel sermon preached to sinners was
    Acts 2:38."....Repent, and be baptised every one of you in the
    NAME of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins and ye shall
    receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

    Here we are: water (baptism) and Spirit (the gift of the Holy
    Ghost). IN repentance a person dies to sin; the 'old' man
    dies. The Bible says that we are "buried with Christ in
    baptism" (Romans 6:4) or baptised into his death.
    The Holy Ghost is the Spirit of Christ living in the
    Christian, the hope of glory, the hope of ressurection.

    So there you have death, burial, and ressurection..the gospel.
    And the way that the apostles taught to obey it.
    Have you obeyed the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ?
    Gal 1:8, Acts 2:39, Acts 10:44-48, Acts 11:5, Acts 19:1-6.

             Steve Winter, (moderator HOLY_BIBLE)


    -----------------------------------------------------------------
    FidoNews 8-18                Page 29                   6 May 1991


    =================================================================
                             LATEST VERSIONS
    =================================================================

                        Latest Software Versions

                             MS-DOS Systems
                             --------------

                          Bulletin Board Software
    Name        Version    Name        Version    Name       Version

    DMG            2.93    Phoenix         1.3    TAG           2.5g
    Fido            12s+   QuickBBS       2.66    TBBS           2.1
    GSBBS          3.02    RBBS          17.3B    TComm/TCommNet 3.4
    Lynx           1.30    RBBSmail      17.3B    Telegard       2.5
    Kitten         2.16    RemoteAccess   1.00*   TPBoard        6.1
    Maximus        1.02    SLBBS          1.77A   Wildcat!      2.55
    Opus           1.14+   Socrates       1.10    WWIV          4.12
    PCBoard        14.5    SuperBBS       1.10    XBBS          1.17

    Network                Node List              Other
    Mailers     Version    Utilities   Version    Utilities  Version

    BinkleyTerm    2.40    EditNL         4.00    ARC            7.0
    D'Bridge       1.30    MakeNL         2.31    ARCAsim       2.30
    Dutchie       2.90C    ParseList      1.30    ARCmail       2.07
    FrontDoor     1.99c    Prune          1.40    ConfMail      4.00
    PRENM          1.47    SysNL          3.14    Crossnet      v1.5
    SEAdog         4.60*   XlatList       2.90    DOMAIN        1.42
    TIMS      1.0(Mod8)    XlaxDiff       2.35    EMM           2.02
                           XlaxNode       2.35    4Dog/4DMatrix 1.18
                                                  Gmail         2.05
                                                  GROUP         2.16
                                                  GUS           1.30
                                                  HeadEdit      1.18
                                                  IMAIL         1.10
                                                  InterPCB      1.31
                                                  LHARC         2.10
                                                  MSG            4.1
                                                  MSGED         2.06
                                                  MSGTOSS        1.3
                                                  Oliver        1.0a
                                                  PK[UN]ZIP     1.20
                                                  QM             1.0
                                                  QSORT         4.03
                                                  ScanToss      1.28
                                                  Sirius        1.0x
                                                  SLMAIL        1.36
                                                  StarLink      1.01
                                                  TagMail       2.41
    FidoNews 8-18                Page 30                   6 May 1991


                                                  TCOMMail       2.2
                                                  Telemail      1.27
                                                  TMail         1.15
                                                  TPBNetEd       3.2
                                                  TosScan       1.00
                                                  UFGATE        1.03
                                                  XRS           4.10*
                                                  XST           2.3e
                                                  ZmailH        1.14


                               OS/2 Systems
                               ------------

    Bulletin Board Software   Network Mailers     Other Utilities

    Name            Version   Name      Version   Name       Version

    Maximus-CBCS       1.02   BinkleyTerm  2.40   Parselst      1.32
                                                  ConfMail      4.00
                                                  EchoStat       6.0
                                                  oMMM          1.52
                                                  Omail          3.1
                                                  MsgEd         2.06
                                                  MsgLink       1.0C
                                                  MsgNum        4.14
                                                  LH2           0.50
                                                  PK[UN]ZIP     1.02
                                                  ARC2          6.00
                                                  PolyXARC      2.00
                                                  Qsort          2.1
                                                  Raid           1.0
                                                  Remapper       1.2
                                                  Tick           2.0
                                                  VPurge        2.07


                                Xenix/Unix
                                ----------

    BBS Software                  Mailers         Other Utilities
    Name             Version  Name      Version   Name       Version

                              BinkleyTerm 2.30b   Unzip         3.10
                                                  ARC           5.21
                                                  ParseLst     1.30b
                                                  ConfMail     3.31b
                                                  Ommm         1.40b
                                                  Msged        1.99b
                                                  Zoo           2.01
                                                  C-Lharc       1.00
    FidoNews 8-18                Page 31                   6 May 1991


                                                  Omail        1.00b


                                  Apple II
                                 ----------

    Bulletin Board Software   Network Mailers     Other Utilities

    Name            Version   Name      Version   Name       Version

    GBBS Pro            2.1   Fruity Dog    1.0   ShrinkIt      3.23*
    DDBBS +             5.0                       ShrinkIt GS   1.04
                                                  deARC2e       2.1
                                                  ProSel        8.66*



                                Apple CP/M
                                ----------

    Bulletin Board Software   Network Mailers     Other Utilities

    Name            Version   Name      Version   Name       Version

    Daisy               v2j   Daisy Mailer 0.38   Nodecomp      0.37
                                                  MsgUtil        2.5
                                                  PackUser        v4
                                                  Filer         v2-D
                                                  UNARC.COM     1.20


                                Macintosh
                                ---------

    Bulletin Board Software   Network Mailers     Other Utilities

    Name            Version   Name      Version   Name       Version

    Red Ryder Host      2.1   Tabby         2.2   MacArc         0.04
    Mansion            7.15   Copernicus    1.0   ArcMac          1.3
    WWIV (Mac)          3.0                       LHArc          0.41
    Hermes              1.5                       StuffIt Classic 1.6
    FBBS               0.91                       Compact Pro    1.30
    Precision Systems 0.95b*                      TImport        1.92
    TeleFinder Host 2.12T10                       TExport        1.92
                                                  Timestamp       1.6
                                                  Tset            1.3
                                                  Import          3.2
                                                  Export         3.21
    Point System Software                         Sundial         3.2
                                                  PreStamp        3.2
    Name            Version                       OriginatorII    2.0
    FidoNews 8-18                Page 32                   6 May 1991


                                                  AreaFix         1.6
    Copernicus          1.0                       Mantissa       3.21
    CounterPoint       1.09                       Zenith          1.5
                                                  Eventmeister    1.0
                                                  TSort           1.0
                                                  Mehitable       2.0
                                                  UNZIP         1.02c
                                                  Zip Extract    0.10

                                  Amiga
                                  -----

    Bulletin Board Software   Network Mailers     Other Utilities

    Name            Version   Name      Version   Name       Version

    Falcon CBBS        0.45   BinkleyTerm  1.00   AmigArc       0.23
    Paragon           2.082+  TrapDoor     1.50   AReceipt       1.5
    TransAmiga         1.07   WelMat       0.44   booz          1.01
                                                  ConfMail      1.12
                                                  ChameleonEdit 0.10
                                                  ElectricHerald1.66
                                                  Lharc         1.30
                                                  Login         0.18
                                                  MessageFilter 1.52
                                                  oMMM         1.49b
                                                  ParseLst      1.64
                                                  PkAX          1.00
                                                  PolyxAmy      2.02
                                                  RMB           1.30
                                                  Roof         44.03
                                                  RoboWriter    1.02
                                                  Rsh           4.06
                                                  Skyparse      2.30
                                                  Tick          0.75
                                                  TrapList      1.12
                                                  UNZIP         1.31
                                                  Yuck!         1.61
                                                  Zippy (Unzip) 1.25
                                                  Zoo           2.01

                               Atari ST/TT
                               -----------

    Bulletin Board         Network                Node List
    Software    Version    Mailer      Version    Utilities  Version

    FIDOdoor/ST   2.2.3*   BinkleyTerm   2.40l    ParseList     1.30
    QuickBBS/ST    1.02    The BOX        1.20    Xlist         1.12
    Pandora BBS   2.41c                           EchoFix       1.20
    GS Point       0.61                           sTICK/Hatch   5.50*
    LED ST         1.00
    MSGED         1.96S

    FidoNews 8-18                Page 33                   6 May 1991


    Archiver               Msg Format             Other
    Utilities   Version    Converters  Version    Utilities  Version

    LHARC          0.60    TB2BINK        1.00    ConfMail      4.03
    LHARC2         3.18*   BINK2TB        1.00    ComScan       1.02
    ARC            6.02    FiFo           2.1m*   Import        1.14
    PKUNZIP        1.10                           OMMM          1.40
                                                  Pack          1.00
                                                  FastPack      1.20
                                                  FDrenum      2.2.7*
                                                  Trenum        0.10


                               Archimedes
                               ----------

    BBS Software           Mailers                Utilities
    Name        Version    Name        Version    Name       Version

    ARCbbs         1.44    BinkleyTerm    2.03    Unzip        2.1TH
                                                  ARC           1.03
                                                  !Spark       2.00d

                                                  ParseLst      1.30
                                                  BatchPacker   1.00


    + Netmail capable (does not require additional mailer software)
    * Recently changed

    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 8-18                Page 34                   6 May 1991


    =================================================================
                                 NOTICES
    =================================================================

                         The Interrupt Stack


    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 Nov 1991
       Area code 301 will split.  Area code 410 will consist of the
       northeastern part of Maryland, as well as the eastern shore.
       This will include Baltimore and the surrounding area. Area 301
       will include southern and western parts of the state,
       including the areas around Washington DC. Area 410 phones will
       answer to calls to area 301 until November, 1992.

     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.

    FidoNews 8-18                Page 35                   6 May 1991


    -----------------------------------------------------------------