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
From the Editor's Desk ................................... 1
2. ARTICLES ................................................. 2
Happy (?) Birthday, Zone-4 ............................... 2
Worldpol Vote Result ..................................... 4
Thanks! .................................................. 5
About CompuChurch (tm) ................................... 6
An old poem with some timeless wisdom .................... 8
The Fort Worth Format Nodelist? .......................... 10
The "TIPS" Echo .......................................... 18
3. COLUMNS .................................................. 19
And more!
FidoNews 8-20 Page 1 20 May 1991
Several articles failed to pass MAKENEWS this week. This week I
decided it was high time I stopped spending two hours a week
fixing articles that should have been right in the first place.
If your submission isn't here, get a copy of ARTSPEC and fix it.
There are some columns I have received as well but have not
printed. This is because of previous policy of not reprinting
material that is generally available in an Echomail conference,
particularly if the material is either insulting or objectionable
to large segments of the net. I'll be discussing this issue with
the submitter in the next week.
This week the Worldpol election story comes to a close with the
announcement of the results. Well, it almost comes to a close.
There's still the issue of the coordinators who didn't bother to
represent their nets or regions in the vote. And the whining
from certain folk who would like to have all the nonvoting
nets counted as "YES" votes (yeah, the old IFNA mandate BS all
over again!). Get out your Mylanta, Zeke, it's gonna be one of
those years...
So, now that Worldpol - in its present form - has failed, we are
still left with the problem of correcting Policy4, either through
repair or replacement. How do we get started on that process? And
should nonvoting NC's be replaced before we get to the voting
phase this time?
Enough of all that. It's almost summer here. I'm having a great
time. I hope you are too.
Cheers,
Vince
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FidoNews 8-20 Page 2 20 May 1991
Today's the day. It is the celebration of years of hard work and
growth. Today, the Latin American sysops celebrate the birthday
of "the nicest zone" in FidoNet. :-)
It was in May of 1987 when I started playing with Fido version
10j. A BBS system initially called "Fido Central Buenos Aires"
started operating then on my office's computer during the night.
According to what the manual said, I wrote a message to Tom
Jennings on "node 1" seeking admission to the network. I don't
know now what I imagined FidoNet would be, but never thought
there could be more than 100 or so systems on it.
After a couple of days, I noticed that my computer was not able
to get through to Tom Jennings', so the next day I arrived to the
office early (at 6 am local time, Zone-1 mail hour) to supervise
what was going on when my system tried to deliver the piece of
net-mail.
Sad surprise, I heard through the modem's speaker a recording
saying "the number you have dialed has been disconnected". Next
step was to try to find out the new number, and after about two
or three months of asking "everyone" in CompuServe about it, a
guy named Harvey Nehgila (yeah, he was the one!) on CompuServe
gave me the number for the IFNA BBS in Saint Louis. I sent the
message to them and was able to get through.
Sometime later, Ken Kaplan called me home and we spoke a bit. It
was very exciting to finally be in touch with FidoNet. I was
finally instructed to get in touch with Ben Baker and he assigned
me a strange node number in some net 1024. I still don't know
what it was, but assume it must have been a point number or
something.
Later with time, I was directed to Region 18 which was the
"closest" geographically to where I was located. Though due to
the incredible distance we are talking about, a region in New
York or Seattle wouldn't have made much difference for the case.
Still, I was lucky to have Christopher Baker as RC. He did make a
difference with his patience and assistance.
It was not long until we were Net 368: FidoNet del Sur. A few
nodes in Argentina, plus later a couple of systems in Venezuela
that later went offline. I arranged it so each country was
assigned a hub number. :-)
FidoNews 8-20 Page 3 20 May 1991
When new systems joined us in different parts of Argentina, it
was clear that we needed a wider range of possibilities: to be
able to assign network numbers to each country and eventually
part of a country, we needed something like a Region.
I now don't remember how that part of the story continued, but we
finally got to be Region 60 in Zone-1. It helped more than we
thought it would. But the problem of having the Zonegate at about
20,000 kilometers away, plus the ability to be able to organize
FidoNet in the rest of Spanish and Portuguese-speaking Latin
America prompted us to seek Zone status, that after a long time
was granted to us by then IC David Dodell.
Today, May 12, we celebrate 4 years of the genesis of FidoNet
operations in Latin America and two years of the creation of
Zone-4.
We are in part happy and in part sad. On one hand, things are
pretty much terrific within the zone. We have just been joined by
Uruguay and Chile, while Mexico joined late last year,
development of the network in Brazil has reached the Amazon, and
Region 90 Argentina is well established and growing.
We proudly exhibit our impeccable democratic state: all of the
coordinators in the zone have been elected by the sysops. And we
are currently choosing again the next Zone Coordinator having
each sysop in the zone one vote.
But we cannot hide our feeling of sadness when it regards to the
network as a whole. For two years we feel oppressed and forced to
tolerate a policy document we have invariably rejected through
time. The rest of the world, with the exception of Europe, seems
not to acknowledge our desire of not having to endure under
Policy4.
Zone-4 is full of life and delighted by being part of this
international network. But having now resigned as Zone
Coordinator and with the increasing discontent of the sysops in
this zone feeling coerced by hostile coordinators from other
Zones, I only hope that things change before FidoNet starts to
loose its international characteristics.
Pablo Kleinman
(4:900/101)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
FidoNews 8-20 Page 4 20 May 1991
Vote Result: Proposed New Policy
--------------------------------
Matt Whelan
International Coordinator
Voting has closed on the proposed new FidoNet<tm> policy. The
"WorldPol" proposal was ignored by a majority of eligible voters
(non-votes outnumbered votes by 229 to 195), and rejected by a
majority of the remainder.
To be accepted as FidoNet policy, the proposal needed a 'Yes'
from at least half of the votes cast. It received slightly less
than 40 percent. 'No' votes accounted for nearly 50 percent, and
the remainder were 'Abstain' votes -- effectively a vote against
any change.
Three FidoNet zones voted against the proposal, two voted for it,
and one failed to vote.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
FidoNews 8-20 Page 5 20 May 1991
WorldPol Kudos
Harry Lee (1:321/202.1)
I'd like to take this opportunity to give credit where credit is
due with regard to the WorldPol election.
First, a thanks to Pablo. Even though I disagreed with his
implementation, he deserves a great deal of appreciation for
trying to do something about a Policy that clearly needs work.
It matters not whether I agreed with his document, no matter what
it said, it is nearly an impossible task to prepare and present
to the contentious place that is FidoNet any set of rules. He
could have said the sky was blue, and still gotten serious
argument from FidoNet.
I'd also like to thank the coordinators of my region for at least
caring enough to vote, and reminding me once again of the many
reasons to love New England. And a thanks to the other
coordinators who deigned to vote on such an important issue.
Thanks to the coordinators who voted against the Policy.
Granted, it was a choice between two bad options, but you made
the right choice.
Finally, I'd like to give a rousing Bronx cheer to the vast
majority of coordinators in Zone 1 for not giving a flying
fatootie about FidoNet. I've expressed this sentiment in at
least one conference, and gotten some of the lamest excuses I've
ever seen for their behaviour. Those of you who didn't vote
should be ashamed of yourselves. Those of you who have actually
tried to DEFEND that behaviour nauseate me, and really make me
wonder about the future of the net.
Oh, and to anyone who advocates the idea that Zone 1 not voting
on WorldPol is some great conspiracy to defeat the proposition, a
big thanks from all of us on planet Earth for keeping in touch
with the Altairans and other space beings.
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FidoNews 8-20 Page 6 20 May 1991
Alan Jennings
FidoNet 1:3800/6
About CompuChurch (tm)
CompuChurch (tm) was founded in 1988 by Rev. C.A.Jennings of
Baton Rouge, Louisiana. First online May 14, 1988 on Comlink Data
Systems, BR LA, CompuChurch was offering a new church experience
to the world of personal computer telecommunications.
The first minister ordained online occurred on May 30, 1988 (as
of May, 1991 over 600 ministers have been ordained through this
church).
By August of 1988, CompuChurch had chartered the Batboard BBS, BR
LA as a CompuChurch BBS.
In January, 1989, our first free-standing system was provided for
a time, allowing for the system development which occurred during
the next several months.
During that period, CompuChurch sought and obtained recognition
from South Central Bell as a Church and as a Denomination.
Additionally, the name of the church "CompuChurch" (tm) was
registered by Rev. Jennings with the State of Louisiana, and
acknowledged by the Secretary of State.
Thanks to the efforts of the founders, and the generosity of many
ministers in the Greater Baton Rouge area, and members of the
Diocese of Baton Rouge ULC who operated the first chartered
congregations, and the International Headquarters of the
Universal Life Church, CompuChurch (tm) International
Headquarters began operation on November 29, 1989, in conjunction
with the Universal Life Church CompuChurch (tm) at (504) 927-4509
CompuChurch (tm) International Headquarters distributes the
ULC Ministers' Forum Echo and the CompuChurch Pastors' Echo both
through The CompuChurch (tm) Network (CCN). CompuChurch's
Fidonet address is 1:3800/6.
CompuChurch (tm) International Headquarters is the present
organizational Hub of all networked chartered CompuChurches. and
serves as Telecom Network Central for the Universal Life Church.
Charters are available to any ministry without question of faith
or dogma. We do not go between you and your God. It does not
matter to us about your particular religion, whether it be
Protestant, Catholic, Nondenominational Christian, Jewish, Islam
Buddhist, or whatever, you can charter a congregation to further
your religious objectives and your personal ministry. We have
available many resources for one another by virtue of this
structure.
FidoNews 8-20 Page 7 20 May 1991
For further information regarding chartering a congregation, you
can F'Req Magic name CHARTER (or the file CCTXTBK.LZH)
from us at FidoNet 1:3800/6 (2400 bps) or contact Rev. Jennings
online at (504) 927-4509, or write to:
CompuChurch (tm)
International Headquarters
P.O.Box 64575
Baton Rouge, LA 70896-4575
SYSOPS: PLEASE ask who among your callers are ULC Ministers.
There are presently 16,000,000 ULC ministers in this country,
and MANY of them are callers to BBS systems. We will appreciate
your making them aware of CompuChurch.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
FidoNews 8-20 Page 8 20 May 1991
Steve Winter
FidoNet 1:151/208 209
I'm reminded of a poem that My Grandfather used
to recite at age 92 (he was a school teacher
back in the days of the one room school.)
The Pert Chicken
There was once a pretty chicken;
But his friends were very few,
For he thought that there was nothing
In the world but what he knew:
So he always, in the farmyard,
Had a very forward way,
Telling all the hens and turkeys
What they ought to do and say.
"Mrs. Goose," he said, "I wonder
That your goslings you should let
Go out paddling in the water;
It will kill them to get wet."
"I wish, my old Aunt Dorking,"
He began to her, one day,
"That you wouldn't sit all summer
In your nest upon the hay.
Won't you come out to the meadow
Where the grass with seeds is filled?"
"If I should," said Mrs. Dorking,
"Then my eggs would all get chilled."
"No, they won't," replied the chicken,
"And no matter if they do;
Eggs are really good for nothing;
What's an egg to me or you?"
"What's an egg!" said Mrs. Dorking,
"Can it be you do not know
You yourself were in an eggshell
Just one little month ago?
And, if kind wings had not warmed you,
You would not be out to-day,
Telling hens, and geese, and turkeys,
What they ought to do and say!"
"To be very wise, and show it,
Is a pleasant thing, not doubt;
But, when young folks talk to old folks,
They should know what they're about"
Marian Douglas - from McGuffey's Third Eclectic Reader
FidoNews 8-20 Page 9 20 May 1991
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FidoNews 8-20 Page 10 20 May 1991
A number of discussions have taken place on tfe state of the
nodelist. With NODELIST.130 weighing in at 922,000 bytes
(exactly) it's becoming obvious rather quickly that that the
current St. Louis format nodelist is too large. Some of the
information conveyed in it, while interesting to humans, is
completely redundant and unnecessary, while some vital portions
of it could be shortened but left in.
The purpose of this article is to define the Ft. Worth format
nodelist. The Ft. Worth format, named for the city of its origin
(Fort Worth, Texas, USA), provides a great reduction in size of
the current format, while still relaying the important
information to the mailer. Specific definitions, in the
following sections, are followed by a detailed rationale for each
change.
The Ft. Worth format nodelist is based, in part, on the St. Louis
format. When the definition for the Ft. Worth style refers to
the "current" format, something "now in use," or other equivilent
phrases, it refers to the St. Louis format nodelist as defined in
FTS-0005. Thus, credit should be given to Ben Baker and Rick
Moore for their excellent definition of the St. Louis "raw"
nodelist format.
This document is not final. It's just something to "test the
waters" to see how others feel. Thus, some portions may be
unclear to all but myself. If that's the case please send
netmail and I'll take a look. This thing ain't ready for the
FTSC yet . . . but maybe someday. :-)
Okay, here we go. Let's start at the top.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
o Each line in the nodelist will still be CR/LF terminated.
o CRC calculation and notation on the first line of the nodelist
will remain the same.
o Each comment flag now in use will remain the same, with
current comment formats remaining, as well.
o The nodelist must still be a pure ASCII file, with
characters between 32 and 127 (space to tilde)
allowed.
o The nodelist will be organized along the same lines we
see today - that is, Zone/Region/Net/Hub/Node
organization.
FidoNews 8-20 Page 11 20 May 1991
o Each Zone number must still be unique to a nodelist.
Each Region and Net number must be unique to a Zone,
and each node number must be unique to a Net.
o Each field in the nodelist is still divided by a comma (,)
character, ASCII 44, hex 0x2C. Spaces (ASCII 32, hex
0x20) are not allowed except in comments. Underscore
(_) characters (ASCII 95, hex 0x5F) represent spaces in
nodelist entries.
o Current maximum integers for Zone, Region, Net, and node
numbers will apply.
* * * * Normal Nodelist Entries * * * * * *
For a normal public node a listing is as follows:
num,sys_name,sysop,phone,bps,mtype,hrs,Uxflag
The NUM field is the individual node address, unique to a
net, assigned according to current policy.
SYS_NAME is the system name, such as "Shadowdale_BBS". Maximum
field length is 20 characters.
SYSOP is the sysop name, such as "Mike_Wilson". Maximum
field length is 20 characters.
PHONE is the phone number of a BBS, without extra dialing
information such as an area code. The number placed
in this field is the same one you would dial if you
were calling from right next door. For example,
"732-6157" is a valid value, while "1-817-732-6157"
is not. Because phone systems vary there is no field
maximum.
BPS is a two character representation of the maximum
transmission rate of the node. Valid values are:
Redundant listings should be avoided. For example,
because HST implies MNP error correction no MNP flag
should be present. More than one flag may be present if
the modem type warrants it. For example, a USRobotics
Dual Standard with V.42bis could be listed as:
...,96,HST,V32,V42B,...
HRS is a two or nine character representation of the hours during
which a node accepts mail. If a node runs 24 hours this
flag should be "CM".
A nine character representation should be used for nodes
that don't run the entire day but are up for part. The
format is:
HHMM-hhmm
"HH" is the 24-hour representation of the hour in which a
node goes online to accept mail, translated to Greenwhich
Mean Time (GMT). Valid values are 00 - 23 (midnight to
11:xx pm).
"MM" is the two digit representation of the part of the
hour in which the node goes online. Valid values are
00 - 59.
"hh" is the 24-hour representation of the hour in which a
node goes offline, and ceases to accept mail, translated
to GMT. Valid values are still 00 - 23.
"mm" is the two digit representation of the part of the
hour in which the node goes offline and ceases to accept
mail. Valid values are still 00 - 59.
Thus, a node with this flag, listed as 0600-0900 is able
to accept mail for three hours, from 06:00 to 09:00 GMT.
A node listed as 1330-1800 is able to accept mail from
1:30 pm to 6:00 pm GMT.
If the flag is "CM" the node is able to accept mail 24
hours a day.
Absence of this flag indicates that a node only accepts
mail during ZMH. ZMH shuld not be indicated by this flag
because all nodes are required to accept mail during ZMH.
FidoNews 8-20 Page 13 20 May 1991
Only mail times different than ZMH should be noted in
this field.
This field is optional and may be left out.
UXFLAG is an informational flag used for special comments. The
is the ultimate authority over what goes into the
nodelist, and it is up to that person to decide upon
valid values for this flag, as well as their meaning.
Suggested values include:
UNEC - Net Echomail Coordinator
UREC - Region Echomail Coordinator
UZEC - Zone Echomail Coordinator
USDS - SDS Distribution point
This field is optional and may be omitted.
* * * * Pvt and Hub System Notation * * * * *
Two optional flags may be used at the beginning of a nodelist
entry. These flags, Pvt and Hub, retain their current meanings.
If one of these flags is used it placed before the node number,
with a comma (,) ending the field, like this:
Hub,sys_name,sysop,phone,bps,mtype,Uxflag
If the Pvt flag is used the PHONE, BPS, and MTYPE fields are left
blank, like this:
Pvt,sys_name,sysop,,,Uxflag
* * * * * * Host System Notation * * * * *
For net coordinators a different set of fields is used, preceeded
by the Host keyword as follows:
Field names duplicated from the previous section remain the same
except as noted below.
NET_NUM is the number of the network, assigned according to
current policy. A valid value of this is "130".
NET_NAME is the name of the network, created according to policy.
A valid value of this might be "FTW_Gateway". Maximum
field length is 20 characters.
FidoNews 8-20 Page 14 20 May 1991
AREA_ADMIN is the name of the region administered. A value for
this field might be "Ft_Worth_Metro". Maximum field
length is 20 characters.
SYSOP is the person holding the NC position. "Tom_Dobbins" is a
valid value.
DIAL_TRANS is a portion of a phone number added to the beginning
of the PHONE field on a call outside your local net.
An example of this would be "1-817-" for all nodes in Net
130. If you must dial something special to call long
distance (for example, from New York City to Fort Worth)
put that here. This does not include 011- for
international calls, nor does it include special
sequences to get an "outside line" on office phones, or
strange digit codes not used by a normal phone network.
* * * * Region and Zone System Notation * * * *
Each Region and Zone coordinator listing will be be preceeded by
either keyword "Reg" or "Zon", as appropriate.
The formats for Zone and Region Coordinators are as follows:
Unless defined below, each flag retains the meanings given in the
previous sections.
"Reg" and "Zon" are unchanging flags, in the same manner as Pvt,
Host, and Hub are unchanging flags.
REG_NUM and ZONE_NUM are Region and Zone numbers, respectively.
Each Region number must be unique to a Zone, and each
Zone number must be unique to a nodelist.
AREA_ADMIN means the area contained within that section of the
nodelist, such as "North_America" (for Zone 1) or
"TX.AR.OK.LA" (for Region 19).
FPHONE is the full phone number of the system, including area
code. A valid value would be "1-817-732-6157" while "732-6157"
would not.
* * * Zone Service and Regional Independants * * *
For Zone service nodes (1:1/x, 2:2/x, etc.) and regional
independant nodes (1:19/x, 2:23/x, etc.) one last format is used.
num,sys_name,sysop,fphone,bps,mtype,hrs,Uxflag
FidoNews 8-20 Page 15 20 May 1991
The only difference between this flag and a normal (networked)
node is that there is a full phone number, not a partial one.
* * * * * * NODEDIFFs * * * * * * *
The current system of NODEDIFF production using the A, C, and D
commands will not change.
* * * * * * Explanation * * * * * * *
Here's the part you've been waiting for, but the one that I
dread. Here are my reasons for the suggested changes.
There's no preceeding comma before a node number because there's
no need for one. It's just an extra byte to transmist and keep
around. If it doesn't need to be there, zap it. If it's not a
keyword it's a node number, and there's no need to create a field
to tell it that.
Fields are limited to 20 characters because that encourages
sysops and coordinators comments succinct. It discourages extra
information that doesn't need to be there. For example,
"The_Shadowdale_BBS" and "Shadowdale" in the SYS_NAME field
convey exactly the same information but one is shorter, thus
taking less disk space.
Sysop names are included in the nodelist to make sure that
someone is responsable for what goes on at a node, so that it's
not just an address with nobody on the other end. Some may argue
that if you don't know who the sysop is you don't need to be
sending mail there (and thus you don't need to list the name in
the nodelist), but it must be clear who is responsable for the
actions of a node. Including the name seems the reasonable way
to go. Since it's limited to 20 bytes per entry anyway, that's
not too hefty. Drop the first name if necessary.
Phone numbers have been shortened because it just carries
redundant information. There are about 50 nodes in Net 130 and
all carry 1-817- before their real phone numbers, which, on my
system, gets deleted anyway. In net 124 there are over 100
nodes, and each one had 1-214- in front of the number. Assuming
125 nodes that's 750 bytes of information that can be cut to 6
bytes. Do that for every net in FidoNet and we might just have a
good size cut.
BPS is cut to two characters because the trailing zeros just
aren't needed. Every listing has those two zeros, so it can be
universally understood that they're there. Zap them and, at
10,000 nodes that's 20k saved. Less disk space, less
transmission time, less money.
FidoNews 8-20 Page 16 20 May 1991
Mtype is included because some mailers allow the capability to
modify how a calling modem will react to the called modem's
carrier. For example, if you have a Dual Standard and you call
another Dual Standard you can choose if you want an HST or V.32
connection. Also, some modems require special commands be sent
to be able to connect with modems that offer different
communications protocols, and identifying the type of modem
present is a good way to facilitate this.
Hours online allow someone to send mail outside of ZMH to a node
that isn't CM. If the node is online 24 hours CM is used to
indicate this.
Uxflags allow the conveyance of additional information to sysops
and (maybe) mailers, such as who is the local NEC or SDS
distributor. Elections have been conducted using this flag and
it could be helpful.
Dropping the location field in the current nodelist eliminates
much of the redundant information, as does dropping area codes.
Does anybody really care what city 1:130/28 is in, so long as the
mail gets through? If it's that important you can send a netmail
message rather than have it sit on everybody's system.
Dropping the mailer capability flag is also a space saving idea.
Does ANY mailer really use that flag (you know, XA, XX, XR, XW,
etc.)? Every mailer I've seen determines what mail protocol to
use at session startup. Since FTS-0001 compliance is required
anyway, everyone supports it, and it's the minimum fallback
protocol - so everyone can talk to everyone. No need to list it
in the nodelist.
I have retained the current net/node system (Z:NNN/nnn.pt)
because all current mailer software supports some version of it.
Thus, mailers won't have to be completely rewritten to use a new
addressing scheme. Besides, would you remember that Shadowdale,
sysop Mike Wilson, is node 1-817-732-6157 if node numbers were
phone numbers? Everything would have to be rewritten. With this
change relatively minor modifications would have to be made to
nodelist compilers and mailers.
Most of the changes suggested here are designed to save space.
To see if it works, let's use the first ten Zone 1 service nodes
as a test (all Zonegates and a couple others). Here's the
current listing, as of NODELIST.130.
The last flag for 1:1/31 has been left on because it's there and
is a special flag. Only one SYS_NAME had to be cut - that of
1:1/30, and only two characters. Thus, twenty characters is
plenty for both sysop names (just look at Vince's listing) and
system names. And the entire line of all 11 entries fits in less
than 65 characters. The savings are obvious.
Please consider this proposal. If you'd like to suggest changes
you may netmail me at any address listed at the beginning of this
article. Of not, well, okay. :-) It's not final, I'm not done,
it's not an FSC yet. Take a look and see what you think.
Special thanks to the unwitting contributors on the DFW echo who
helped me decide how to do things.
This article is Copyright 1991 by Aaron Goldblatt. Unlimited
reproduction for noncommercial use is allowed. Don't sell it.
Aaron
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FidoNews 8-20 Page 18 20 May 1991
Doris Zagorski
FidoNet - 1:379/23
Have you ever had a good helpful hint or maybe you had
wished someone had given YOU a helpful hint? Well, we are
starting an echo just for that! It could be hints from getting
those white rings off your furniture or maybe just a tip about
what you could do with all those plastic grocery bags that keep
piling up.
This would be a way to pass a "Thoughtful Idea Plus S'more"
to all of us who need them. Many of us, at times, have exactly
what we need right under our noses, to solve some of those
household disasters... We just don't know that they are there.
Often we buy products that say they will take out grease, grime,
pen-marks etc... only to find out that we could have taken them
out with the can of hairspray that was in our bathroom or
something equally "innocent".
Just the other day I heard a suggestion about those new
handled detergent boxes. These boxes can be made into storage
units for VCR tapes. A little contact paper to cover it up and
you have yourself a VCR Tape carrier. The box that would have
found its way to the nearest dump... NOW has a new purpose.
The main idea of this echo is to share the tips, tricks and
thoughts about solving all those little "mishaps" we all face
from time to time in our homes. We all have them and just as
important, we all need them! :-)
"TIPS" is being made available on the backbone, but until it
is available in your area, you are more than welcome to ask for
it directly and we'll be glad to feed it to you (1:379/23). For
those who wish to save a little time (faster modem, Crashable,
etc...), you may get it from 1:379/1...
TagName - TIPS
Request TIPS now! Thoughtful Ideas Plus S'more!!
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FidoNews 8-20 Page 19 20 May 1991
The Telco's have a backbone network. Used to be, the phone
companies used the voice channels themselves to carry
signalling protocol. You would start off the process by taking
the phone off hook. Your local switch looked at the number you
dialed, allocated a channel from a trunk headed that-a-way, and
sent the digits and now billing information along the channel,
and each successive channel in the path to the destination.
The good thing about this method is that when an end to end
connection is finally established, the total path had been
tested with your signalling data. The bad thing was that it
cost too much to use the TRUNKS ( ie. voice grade channels )
for signalling.
Competition Breeds Innovation --
A backbone control network, a data switching network, was built
to provide cheaper signalling and as well, smarter signalling.
In the old way, switch A connected to B, B to C, C to D and then
the response D to C to B to A and wait for the human at D to
pick up or answer.
In the new way, the backbone system talks to all the switches,
and just tells the switches what to do from a centralized 'big
picture' point of view. In our example, A and D generate
rings, and BC aren't involved until D picks up the phone. The
backbone knows ABCXYD because it knows an alternate route. The
backbone knows ABCE because call forwarding has been set. The
backbone may even know your credit card number.
SemIantical --
Naturally, we in Fidonet use 'backbone' referring to our
trunking system, but our signalling system is FANTASTIC. Our
control over usage is cost based but still entirely driven at
the whim of the message creator. That's not bad. But we are
not saturated with mail to the point where we need to either
cut back service, or establish more TRUNKS. Telcos buy TRUNKS
and lease them back to the users for a profit, as needed, under
public scrutiny.
FidoNews 8-20 Page 20 20 May 1991
Fidonet takes all volunteers and we spread the cost out.
Remember the part about signalling ? We designate the path a
packet will follow IN ADVANCE. Most of us don't run multiple
lines so alternate routing is done manually when needed. And
95% of our mail is destined to several hundred end points for
each packet : a broadcast of data. The 'Eavesdrop Effect'.
While speaking of signalling, did you even notice how long it
takes to figure out who called, and what protocol to use. This
is becoming a big time waster in large local nets where there
is no cost, hence immediate calling with smaller packet sizes,
making the time to setup half the call time. If you run
Binkley, my CFL utility will tell you these values for your
system and connects ( 124/6120 CFL44.ZIP ).
So, we wait for saturation. I'm running about 71% idle, 21%
off hook and 8% off line processing. How you doing ?
Echo Schmecko --
Image a room full of people MILDLY interested in the same
things. You enter and pass by folks in groups and you stop to
listen in one group where you know someone. The topic jumps
from point to point with each comment or story. Eventually you
will have discussed 10 things. Probably four of those things
were also mentioned in EVERY one of the other groups.
You drift to another group. You discuss some new things and
REPEAT some things heard in other groups. You get different
opinions. You gain perspective. All those good social
interaction things.
When this 'party' process is laid into the format of an e-mail
conference, it must retain the GROUP MEMBERS, TIME,
SENDER/RECEIVERS and BODY TEXT. The loss of any of these
aspects in the replay causes disruption of the process. We
disrupt almost universally in echomail because of the
'Eavesdrop Effect', ie. we honk up the group members by
allowing everyone to see everybody all at once ( and because of
the packet bundling nature of our software ). The receivers
are not readily known as you might have with eye contact. And
there's no way to filter out the 'Buttinsky' or 'One-liner' or
'Boorish Slug' Effects either.
In live interaction, with no chair or lead speaker, probably 12
is the maximum. I'd guess 80% of all exchanges in echomail are
between two people, and 15% are three people. I participate
happily is several conferences where the count of participants
is not over 20, but those entering messages is not more than 8
at any given time. I barely participate in one so-called MEGA
conference, the BINKLEY echo, and only to read about the latest
crap Vince is dropping into the mailer I happen to use. [Vince's
note: we don't call it CRAP, we call it NEW FEATURES ;-]
FidoNews 8-20 Page 21 20 May 1991
<< Last time you're gonna let me down
<< Last time you're gonna fool around with me, HEY HEY
Joggraphy --
What's all this talk about Joggraphy ? Jogging is good
exercise, costs little and doesn't harm anybody. If you want
to take pictures that's your business, but remember joggers
have rights too, and ... oh, NEVERMIND.
All you folks who live for echomail will soon conclude that I'm
crazy as Emily but I'm telling everyone anyway. Electronic mail
is on the whole, a fine way to communicate with someone you
know, but echomail and other public access 'everybody sees
everybody else' type forums is not social interaction. It's
like having everybody watch TV and calling that our educational
system. Nothing is going to replace direct face to face
contact.
And that's why I think Geography is important to Fidonet.
Geographic boundaries, and particularly NETS, align folks into
groups which are physically close to each other, and best able
to get together. In my net, we have a monthly Pizza Party. In
our Region, we have a yearly Lake Party. You probably have
these kinds of meetings in your parts of the world. That's the
really good part.
I'm happy to report that the 4th Annual Poor Man's Fidocon and
Lake Party is going to be held by John Summers at his very own,
exclusive lake-side resort home. Complete information to
follow.
<< ...and the great big moon was a shinin' down, he said,
<< Forget about the preacher man, let's do it on the ground.
<< Let's go, let's go. -lennox/stewart
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FidoNews 8-20 Page 22 20 May 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 8-20 Page 27 20 May 1991
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.
Michael Staggs and Erica Sullivan, the sysop and co-sysop of The
Round Table (Fido # 1:3602/23) are starting an electronic
publication for minors. The first issue should be out the 1st
of June and will be available for F REQ off the system. The
publication will be about anything of interest to minors. It
can be requested as TUE.ZIP. For any more information, please
FidoNews 8-20 Page 28 20 May 1991
