F I D O N E W S -- Volume 13, Number 44 28 October 1996
+----------------------------+-----------------------------------------+
| The newsletter of the | ISSN 1198-4589 Published by: |
| FidoNet community | "FidoNews" |
| _ | 1-904-409-7040 [1:1/23] |
| / \ | |
| /|oo \ | |
| (_| /_) | |
| _`@/_ \ _ | |
| | | \ \\ | Editor: |
| | (*) | \ )) | Christopher Baker 1:18/14 |
| |__U__| / \// | |
| _//|| _\ / | |
| (_/(_|(____/ | |
| (jm) | Newspapers should have no friends. |
| | -- JOSEPH PULITZER |
+----------------------------+-----------------------------------------+
| Submission address: FidoNews Editor 1:1/23 |
+----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| MORE addresses: |
| |
| submissions=>
[email protected] |
+----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| For information, copyrights, article submissions, |
| obtaining copies of FidoNews or the internet gateway FAQ |
| please refer to the end of this file. |
+----------------------------------------------------------------------+
SPECIAL HALLOWEEN ISSUE?
Table of Contents
1. EDITORIAL ................................................ 1
Submissions are picking up ............................... 1
2. ARTICLES ................................................. 2
ARTSPEC has been updated! ................................ 2
A Short *.MSG Programming Tutorial [II] .................. 7
Speaking of music echoes ................................. 14
Rules, rules, rules ...................................... 15
3. FIDONET HISTORY .......................................... 18
When TBBS became Echomail capable ........................ 18
4. COORDINATORS CORNER ...................................... 19
Nodelist-statistics as seen from Zone-2 for day 299 ...... 19
5. NET HUMOR ................................................ 20
Cybersaga song ........................................... 20
FTSC Jokes ............................................... 20
Do Geeks rule the Net? ................................... 23
Are you an Internet addict? .............................. 26
Are you addicted to the Net? ............................. 29
6. COMIX IN ASCII ........................................... 31
Hail hail the gangs all here? ............................ 31
Comix from Chattanooga ................................... 31
Come out come out wherever you are? ...................... 33
Just in time for goblins? ................................ 34
7. QUESTION OF THE WEEK ..................................... 36
Would you send in a headline given the chance? ........... 36
And more!
FIDONEWS 13-44 Page 1 28 Oct 1996
=================================================================
EDITORIAL
=================================================================
We got a lot of .JOK and .CMX files this week. We also got a good
response to last week's Question of the Week. Those responses have
initiated the creation of a new section called Answers of the Week
which appears in this Issue for the first time.
Keep 'em coming! [grin]
I have also updated ARTSPEC.DOC to include this new section
FILENAME.TYP [.ANS] as well as adding an instruction to the message
submission detail and correcting a couple other minor points. The
update is included in this issue as the first article. It was also
hatched out into SDS area SOFTDIST as ARTSPEC.ZIP and into the
FIDONEWS file Echo as ARTSPEC.DOC along with this Issue of FidoNews.
As always, it is also available on the FidoNews Webpage and by
file-request to 1:1/23 [1:18/14] by filename or magicname of ARTSPEC.
See the Masthead information at the end for addresses.
Next week, I will begin publishing the FidoNet Technical Standards on
a space-available basis. FTS-0001 is 65K so it will be most of next
week's Issue. The others are much shorter and may appear in bunches.
After all the FTSs have been published, the FSCs [standards
proposals] will appear regularly. Another new section will be created
for these publications to set them apart. Developers are welcome to
submit their proposals for FidoNews publication using the filename
extension of: .FTC .
I'm still looking for some .BIO submissions from all you lurkers. You
don't have to be famous or infamous to tell on yourself. Don't be shy.
There aren't any ghost stories here to make this a Halloween Issue but
we do have a Jack-o-Lantern courtesy of Dave Aronson. [grin]
Boo!
C.B.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
FIDONEWS 13-44 Page 2 28 Oct 1996
=================================================================
ARTICLES
=================================================================
[A few minor changes and adjustments and the addition of a new
FILENAME.TYP] Ed.
FidoNews Article Submission Guidelines
FidoNet address 1:1/23
Updated 27 Oct 1996 by Christopher Baker
Updated 29 May 1991 by Tom Jennings
Based on the original work by Thom Henderson
| denotes a change since the last update |.
"Fido" and "FidoNet" are registered trademarks of Tom Jennings,
Box | 410923 |, San Francisco CA | 94141 |, USA and are used with
permission.
--------
SYNOPSIS:
FidoNews is the newsletter of the FidoNet computer network, its
Sysops and users. It is passed to its readers electronically via
the FidoNet and other computer networks and to non-network
readers as well.
This document intends to tell you how to write and submit
articles for publication in FidoNews. Much of it describes the
technical specifications which an article must meet in order to
be included in the newsletter, as well as broad (very) guidelines
on content. (Of course you realize articles can be submitted only
electronically.) Please read it carefully. The article you save
might be your own.
------------
INTRODUCTION:
FidoNews was originally founded in early 1984 to include all
parts of the lives of its member Sysops and users, which of
course means not just technical matters. We do not have fixed
goals of maximum distribution or maximum readership (i.e. lowest
common denominator) but only to meet the needs of our individual
network members. The success of this venture has always been
contentious at best (ahem).
In any case the grand experiment continues. Twelve years later
(at this writing) and over 30,000 Nodes in the network, the
editorial policy, or lack of one, of FidoNews has shown to
best fit our ever-changing and unpredictable needs.
FIDONEWS 13-44 Page 3 28 Oct 1996
--------------
SUBJECT MATTER:
Articles on any subject of interest to FidoNet members and users
are welcome and encouraged, not necessarily of a technical
nature, though priority may be, but not necessarily, given to
articles of importance to the FidoNet, its technology and its
uses; other networks such as uucp and the Internet; social
aspects of communications; ethical issues; other related matters.
--------------
ARTICLE LENGTH:
Try to keep articles short. The longer it is, the less likely
people are to read it. Consider splitting long articles (more
than five pages) into smaller articles to be run serially.
Exceptions will be made at the whim of the editors.
For practical reasons, we will attempt to keep FidoNews to a
"reasonable size", which is of course a highly subjective and
variable thing. As of May 1991, the goal is under 100,000 bytes.
Decisions regarding content may be made based upon this, though
in general it shouldn't be an issue.
------------------
WRITING GUIDELINES:
We are not all professional writers, nor is that even a goal for
the FidoNews -- we want real communication to and from real
people; even at the expense of so-called "good writing", which is
frequently a tool to exclude. There are a few minimum
requirements though for any successful writing, even for the
lowly FidoNews:
* The subject discussed must be clear to people other than the
author! Don't assume that people will pick up the context from
your writing. Tell them explicitly.
* Why are you writing this? It may seem obvious -- "Review of the
new Acme 75-baud Modem" -- but it's not. Are you the
manufacturer? An irate customer? Let us know your point of
view.
* Who are you? A good question! Anonymity is acceptable, though
most people want to take credit for their work. Include full
contact information including electronic mail addresses.
* Articles submitted via Netmail or email must contain all the
technically required lines and delimiters in the BODY of the
message. This includes the *[title] line and the 70 character
width requirement. | To indicate the filename type for one of
these message submissions, place the FILENAME.TYP in the Subj:
line of your email, Netmail, or Echomail |. Those that require
extra editing may be delayed from appearing in FidoNews.
FIDONEWS 13-44 Page 4 28 Oct 1996
* Articles will appear when space becomes available, not
necessarily the "next" issue. If your article is of a time-
critical nature, please say so when you submit it; the editor
still has final say.
* The editor reserves the right to request changes from an author
to meet these "standards", which you have to admit are pretty
loose. It is not the intent for this to be a mechanism to
refuse articles the editor does not like, but simply to keep
the contents intelligible.
* If we have a backlog of articles, we may get fussier about
things. Historically, this has not been a serious problem.
---------------------
SUBMITTING AN ARTICLE
TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS:
If all that hasn't scared you away, the next step is to create a
text file which contains the text of your article. The resulting
file should be sent or uploaded to | "Editor" |, FidoNet
address 1:1/23. The "physical" location (and phone number) of
FidoNews varies, and hence must be found elsewhere, such as
within a recent copy of FidoNews itself.
Filenames must follow the MSDOS standard:
FILENAME.TYP
a 1 to 8 character file name (A - Z, 0 - 9)
a period,
a 0 to 3 character file type (A - Z, 0 - 9)
File types are used to distinguish types of submissions, as
follows:
.ART An article, commentary, open letter, or general news
item.
.GUE Want to write a Guest Editorial? [*Name & Node on line 1]
.RET Need to make a Retraction of a previous article or notice?
.COL Want to become a regular contributor with your own column?
| .ANS Answers to the Question of the Week. |
.BIO FidoNet biographies - tell us your story.
.HIS FidoNet history - got an anecdote to share?
.REV Reviews of related product, services, or programs.
.JOK Net humor in print.
.CMX Comics in ASCII. [watch those lines at 70 columns!]
.PRF Want to Proofread? Get a cookie for spotting errors.
.AD Advertising FREE services or events.
.SAL "For Sale"
.WAN "Wanted"
.NOT A notice for the back of the issue. Keep them short.
FIDONEWS 13-44 Page 5 28 Oct 1996
If your file doesn't have one of the above extensions, then it
will lay around taking up disk space until someone takes a look
at it and realizes what it is. Maybe.
The name of the file is up to you, though you should use a name
which is not likely to be "stepped on" by someone else -- the
system will not guarantee file names are unique. For example,
FNEWS.ART is probably not a good name for an article.
--------------
CHARACTER SETS:
The character by character contents of the file itself must meet
the following standards or it cannot be published in FidoNews.
The FidoNews staff WILL NOT be responsible for making file
contents conform to these standards.
* FLUSH LEFT MARGIN: Please do not put a "left margin" on your
articles. Have the text start at the very first column.
* RIGHT MARGIN AT COLUMN 70 OR LESS: Less is tolerable, more is
definitely not. If your cursor is resting at column 71 when
your line is ended, you're okay. One character past that even
with trailing spaces and MAKENEWS will barf on your submission.
If your submission is physically rejected, the Editor will have
to fix it manually or send it back for reformatting.
* RAGGED-RIGHT TEXT: Word-Star style "justification" (inserting
spaces into sentences so that a paragraph is perfectly rec-
tangular) is extremely hard to read, and consumes needless space.
Please don't use it!
* NO FUNNY CHARACTERS: This includes formfeeds, returns without
linefeeds, linefeeds without returns, tabs and other oddities.
The only control codes (character codes 0 through 31 decimal)
allowed are carriage return (CR) and linefeed (LF). The only
exception is: Control-Z "end of file" terminator characters are
tolerated. Not required.
* NO GRAPHICS CHARACTERS: Believe it or not, not everyone in the
world has an IBM PC. Please restrict yourself to printable
ASCII characters in the range 20 hex to 7E hex (space to
tilde).
* LINES TERMINATED: Each line in the article should be terminated
with a 'newline' -- either the MSDOS standard (CR/LF) or the
unix standard (LF only).
-----------------
SUBMISSION FORMAT:
Below is a sample article properly formatted. Features of it are
discussed further below.
FIDONEWS 13-44 Page 6 28 Oct 1996
--article file example begins below this line--
*A Sample Article [this is in LINE 1 starting at COLUMN 1]
This is My Title
by Joe Schmoe, [Netmail/email address]
And here is my article. Note that it is flush left (zero indent).
Also note that the right margin is at column seventy so that it
won't overflow "most" text windows. Each line has a newline. Note
the *'ed first line. My article will be listed in the table of
contents exactly as it appears after the * above.
Figure 1. Table 1.
+-------+ ========
| A Box | Alpha
+-------+ Bravo
Note that we am not using any funny-o characters. This ensures
that the final article will look the same to every user, no
matter what sort of hardware he has.
This is the last sentence of our article.
--article file example ends above this line--
The FIRST line of text is the Table of Contents line. It MUST
begin with an asterisk * as shown above. NO BLANK lines above
title line are permitted. If you do not follow this instruction
exactly, the article will not be listed in the Table of Contents.
This Table of Contents listing method works for all submission
file types.
* Everything that follows the *'ed line will appear in the body
of the newsletter. The *'ed line will be stripped out of your
article text so if you want it repeated as your title in the
article BE SURE to repeat it on a second line without the *.
* Next should be the title or name of your article, your name,
and contact information (network address(es), Postal Service
address, etc) Try to keep it to one or two lines each.
* Put a blank line between paragraphs. Paragraphs that all run
together are very difficult to read, and may be rejected.
* If you want to put in a table or a figure, go right ahead.
We do not rearrange text, so your table or figure will
remain exactly as you entered it. Try to limit them to ones
that make the communication CLEARER.
* Don't put a lot of blank space at the top or bottom. The
FidoNews-generator programs will visually separate articles
automatically.
* Please check for basic errors in spelling, grammar, and
punctuation. We're not publishing a textbook, but you don't
FIDONEWS 13-44 Page 7 28 Oct 1996
want it to embarrass yourself do you?
* Don't use FidoNews to grind your personal axes against other
FidoNet members. An article presenting a side of an internal
dispute is one thing. An article defaming or perseverating over
several Issues is another. Articles that merely quote endlessly
from other sources to no particular effect are also not a good
idea.
* Don't republish copyrighted material from other sources WITHOUT
the permission of those sources. Include the permission in such
articles.
* Remember that FidoNews is no better or worse than the articles
submitted to it. If you want FidoNews to be a useful newsletter,
get involved and submit useful articles. It's up to YOU to make
it work.
--------------------
SUBMISSION DEADLINES:
FidoNews is published on Monday of every week. Deadline for file
submissions to the FidoNews Editor via file-attach is 2300 ET
[0300 UTC/GMT] the previous Saturday. Deadline for submissions via
Netmail, email, or in the FIDONEWS Echo is 2300 ET [0300 UTC/GMT]
the previous Friday. Submissions which miss the deadlines will be
processed the following week. Submission by deadline is not a
guarantee of appearance in that week's FidoNews but it is likely
depending on volume of submissions.
-30-
-----------------------------------------------------------------
A Short *.MSG Programming Tutorial [II]
Damian Walker, 2:2502/666
This is article 2 of 3 on programming for *.MSG messages. We start
with alterations to the generic message reading routine included in
last week's article. A full listing of our example program will
appear in article 3.
A More Robust Routine to Read Messages
Let's revisit our readmsg() function which is the workhorse of this
program.
The first thing a seasoned C programmer might notice is that there
is no validation to see if the message file has been opened properly,
or that it exists at all. In our latest example program (the complete
file lister) it isn't so important since the existence of the file is
verified by the findfirst()/findnext() functions. However, if
readmsg() is used in other circumstances, this failing might make the
function unacceptable. A simple 'if' check solves this problem:
FIDONEWS 13-44 Page 8 28 Oct 1996
int readmsg(struct fts1 *msg, char *text, int limit,
char *filename)
{
FILE *msgfile; /* message file handle info */
int successful = 0;
msgfile = fopen(filename, "rb");
if(msgfile != NULL)
{
fread(msg, sizeof(struct fts1), 1, msgfile);
fread(text, 1, limit, msgfile);
fclose(msgfile);
successful = 1;
}
return successful;
}
I could have combined the open and the validation 'if':
if( (msgfile = fopen( filename, "rb" )) != NULL )
but I'm avoiding C-specific shortcuts like this in the interests of
readability.
Notice that I've introduced a return value into the function now,
so that the calling process can check to see if a message has actually
been read. This necessitates the 'successful' variable.
Alternatively, the value of the pointer 'msgfile' could have been
returned to the calling process, a NULL meaning that the read was
unsuccessful, but this is slightly messy as we're possibly giving the
calling process a pointer to an address which it shouldn't have.
The next problem with the function is that it relies upon the
zone and point information in the message header in order to find see
the full 4D address, and few programs actually use the zone/point
fields in the header. This is why our examples up until now have
limited their output of addresses to the 2D net/node format.
In order to avoid random data appearing as zone and point numbers
we must ignore these fields in the header entirely, and instead use
three kludges which FTS-1 tells us about: INTL, FMPT and TOPT. These
are all found within the message text, and are known as 'kludges'
since they were added to the original specification to cover for
fields not present in the header of the original message format
design. The format of INTL is:
^AINTL: destzone:destnet/destnode origzone:orignet/orignode
Although a few programs put an INTL in every message, it should really
only appear in messages which cross zones, eg. a message from zone 1
to zone 3. So this kludge can't be used for in-zone messages, and
unfortunately there isn't any reliable way of extracting the zone from
in-zone messages at all.
Although this sounds like a big drawback, there is an easy way to
avoid problems. Most FTN-specific programs will store the address of
the system which is using the software, and an in-zone message
arriving at your system has obviously originated from your own zone,
the zone for the origin and destination systems can be taken from your
FIDONEWS 13-44 Page 9 28 Oct 1996
own address.
Since a full config file is beyond the scope of this article, I
shall 'cheat' and use a simple #define to store your own zone number.
This will be a 2 in these examples (from my own address), but you'll
want to use your own zone number if you try these examples out-- or
engineer a better solution altogether, such as a config file or
command line argument.
So know we know we have some idea about how to extract the zone
numbers from a message, let's implement this in code. The way I do
this is to stick the origin and destination zones into the header
fields reserved for that purpose-- just as if they were there in the
message header in the first place. The new readmsg() function should
have the following added after 'int successful = 0;':
char *kludgefind;
and the following added after 'successful = 1;':
kludgefind = strstr(text, "\01INTL");
if(kludgefind == NULL)
{
msg->origzone = MYZONE;
msg->destzone = MYZONE;
}
else
{
kludgefind = strchr(kludgefind, ' ');
msg->destzone = atoi(kludgefind);
kludgefind = strchr(&kludgefind[1], ' ');
msg->origzone = atoi(kludgefind);
}
This assumes that MYZONE has been #defined elsewhere, such as in the
example:
#define MYZONE 2
And since it uses atoi(), strchr() and strstr() it also relies upon
the header files <stdlib.h> and <string.h>, which must now be included
at the top of the program as follows:
#include <string.h>
#include <stdlib.h>
Basically the code works like this: If no INTL kludge is present, the
user's zone (MYZONE) is used in the origin and destination addresses.
If the INTL kludge is present, it will contain two spaces. After the
first space will appear the destination zone followed by a colon
(':'), and after the second space the origin zone will appear, also
followed by a colon. The atoi() function is used to convert the
textual zone numbers into integers, with the colon serving as a
terminator which tells the atoi() function where the number ends.
So now we have a more robust message reading facility which will
not crash or choke if the file doesn't exist, and it will correctly
recognise origin and destination zones from kludges in the message
text. But what of points? The process is similar to recognition of
FIDONEWS 13-44 Page 10 28 Oct 1996
nodes, but is slightly easier since once the kludge is found, we know
that the point number is always six characters on. We don't need to
search for the intervening space. Technically this solution could
have been used to extract the destination zone from the INTL kludge as
well. The following code follows on from the closing brace ('{') of
the preceding example:
kludgefind = strstr(text, "\01FMPT");
if(kludgefind == NULL)
msg->origpoint = 0;
else
msg->origpoint = atoi( &kludgefind[6] );
kludgefind = strstr(text, "\01TOPT");
if(kludgefind == NULL)
msg->destpoint = 0;
else
msg->destpoint = atoi( &kludgefind[6] );
This section searches for a FMPT kludge, and if found, it takes the
following number as the originating point. If it's absent, then the
originating point number is set to zero, regardless of the existing
value of the point field in the header. Remember, the header
information is unreliable. Then a similar process follows for
determining the destination point number.
Now all we have left to consider in making readmsg() more robust
is the issue of messages lacking a terminating null() character.
Since the message text is read as is, and C requires a terminating
null character on all strings, we need to make sure that the
terminating null is actually present ourselves. The simplest way to
do this is to add the null regardless of whether it was present or
not. Converting this idea to C code we add the variable definition:
int textlen;
to the top of the readmsg() function and replace the second 'fread'
line (the one which reads the message text) with the following section
of code:
textlen = fread(text, 1, limit, msgfile);
if(textlen < limit)
text[textlen] = '\0';
else
text[limit - 1] = '\0';
fread() returns the number of items read, and you can see that the
fread() statement here chooses to define items as single characters,
so fread() here is returning the number of characters in the message
body into 'textlen'.
If the number of characters read is less than the maximum number
of characters allows (i.e. the size of our buffer) then it's safe to
add a terminating null onto the end, hence "text[textlen] = '\0';".
If we've completely filled our buffer, then we need to overwrite the
last character with a terminating null instead-- "text[limit - 1] =
'\0';".
With all these changes in effect, the readmsg() function is in its
final, reasonably robust, form. It copes with zone and point numbers,
FIDONEWS 13-44 Page 11 28 Oct 1996
so we could perhaps include these in the display. The following line
could be substituted for the existing printf() line in main():
printf("%-12s From: %s (%d:%d/%d.%d)\n", f.ff_name,
msg.fromusername, msg.origzone, msg.orignet,
msg.orignode, msg.origpoint);
So we can now return to an earlier issue. What of compilers which do
not have an equivalent to findfirst() and findnext()?
More advanced programmers on the PC will realise that these
functions map directly to a pair of DOS interrupts which may be used,
and systems other than the PC may have equivalent services in their
operating system. But such low-level fiddling is beyond the scope of
this tutorial.
There is a simpler, cumbersome brute-force method of obtaining a
list of messages in a directory, which we can use now that readmsg()
can cope with missing message files. The concept is very elementary.
Simply count from 1 to some arbitrary value, attempting to open every
message. The modified readmsg() will return 0 if the message is not
present, or 1 if it is. Hence you could use the following code to
call readmsg() in this way:
for(count = 1; count <= 2000; ++count)
{
sprintf(msgname, "\\apps\\fd\\mail\\%d.msg", count);
successful = readmsg(&msg, text, MAXMSGSIZE, msgname);
if(successful)
printf("%8d.MSG From: %s (%d:%d/%d.%d)\n", count,
msg.fromusername, msg.origzone, msg.orignet,
msg.orignode, msg.origpoint);
}
The 2000 could be replaced by a #defined constant which suits the
target system, or a value supplied by a user or in a configuration
file. But obviously this method is vastly inferior to the proper
directory search using findfirst() in both efficiency and
reliability-- the maximum message number may not be high enough to
ensure all messages are read.
Displaying the Body of Messages
For many purposes it is enough to display the message header, but
there are other cases where processing or display of the message body
is needed. To illustrate this a separate example program is required.
This program displays part of the header, and all of the body, of a
*.MSG file. At its simplest level, the program could be as follows:
#include <stdio.h>
#include "fidomsg.h"
#define MAXMSGSIZE 2048
/* include the readmsg() function here */
void main(int argc, char *argv[])
{
FIDONEWS 13-44 Page 12 28 Oct 1996
struct fts1 msg;
char text[MAXMSGSIZE];
readmsg(&msg, text, MAXMSGSIZE, argv[1]);
printf("From: %s (%d:%d/%d.%d)\n%s\n", msg.fromusername,
msg.origzone, msg.orignet, msg.orignode, msg.origpoint,
text);
}
This simply displays the message text as read, preceded by the 'from'
line of the header. This is rarely acceptable, though, since the
screen code for a new line may not be the simple carriage return
usually stored by Fidonet software. Some intellingent processing is
necessary; the simple printf() line could be replaced by the following
section of code:
printf("From: %s (%d:%d/%d.%d)\n", msg.fromusername,
msg.origzone, msg.orignet, msg.orignode, msg.origpoint);
lastchar = '\0';
for(count = 0; count < strlen(text); ++count)
{
switch( text[count] )
{
case '\n':
if(lastchar != '\r') printf("\n");
break;
case '\r':
printf("\n");
break;
default:
putc( text[count] );
}
lastchar = text[count];
}
where lastchar must be declared along with the other variables in
main(), as a 'char', and count must be declared as an int.
A little explanation is in order: Most characters are displayed as
is. A carriage return ('\r', or ASCII 13) is converted to a linefeed;
printf() will display this correctly on the target computer system no
matter what the actual code sequence for a linefeed should be. An
actual ASCII linefeed character ('\n' or ASCII 10) is displayed as it
is, only if it is not preceded by a carriage return.
This simple algorithm copes correctly with three eventualities: a
message stored with carriage returns, with linefeeds, or with carriage
return and linefeed pairs. To make the display more aesthetically
pleasing, you would also want to implement some form of word-wrap
routine since Fidonet messages usually only put line terminators on
the end of each paragraph.
At the simplest level, you could implement this with a simple
character counter and a 'if' statement which inserts a new line when
the character count exceeds some line length. Better word wrap
routines will read ahead of the display, and wrap a line at the last
whitespace character before the right margin is reached. Since this
is departing from Fidonet-specific concerns, I'll leave you to figure
out how this could be done, while I go on to cover the writing of
FIDONEWS 13-44 Page 13 28 Oct 1996
*.MSG files.
Other Header Fields
So far I have neglected to mention two important header fields which
are of no relevance to our chief example program, but which are still
important enough that they have a place in this tutorial.
The first of these fields is the date field. This is a
20-character null-terminated string, which is in a specific format.
If all you want to do with the date is display it, then you will find
it in an acceptable format already. For processing of the date you
will have a little more work to do. I won't go into a full
explanation on date parsing, as that subject would fill an article in
itself, but I will briefly explain the date format used so that you
have enough information to easily work out a way to extract the date
information for processing. The format is most concisely described as
follows:
DD Mmm YY HH:MM:SS
Followed by a terminating NULL character. DD is the day of the month,
from 01-31. Mmm is a 3-letter month name abbreviation in English, one
of the following:
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
YY is the year (I wonder how Fidonet software will cope in the year
2000?) Finally, the HH:MM:SS is the time-- hours, minutes and
seconds.
That's all you need to know about building/interpreting a
timestamp, but what about that other header field I mentioned? I'm
referring to the attribute word. This contains certain flags which
tell the mailer or mail processor how the message will behave
route-wise, and other yes/no information about the message. A full
list of attribute bits is available in FTS-1, but it's repeated here
in the form of a series of #defined constants which should be included
in the file 'fidomsg.h' for use by netmail programs:
#define MSGPVT 0x0001 /* Private */
#define MSGCRASH 0x0002 /* Crash message */
#define MSGRECD 0x0004 /* Message received */
#define MSGSENT 0x0008 /* Message sent */
#define MSGFILE 0x0010 /* File attached */
#define MSGTRANSIT 0x0020 /* In transit */
#define MSGORPHAN 0x0040 /* Orphan */
#define MSGKILL 0x0080 /* Kill/sent */
#define MSGLOCAL 0x0100 /* Local */
#define MSGHOLD 0x0200 /* Hold for pickup */
#define MSGFREQ 0x0800 /* File request */
#define MSGRRR 0x1000 /* Return receipt request */
#define MSGIRR 0x2000 /* Is return receipt */
#define MSGAUDIT 0x4000 /* Audit request */
#define MSGUPDATE 0x8000 /* File update request */
What I also need to tell you about are two attributes which you
might think belong in the attribute word but which are actually found
FIDONEWS 13-44 Page 14 28 Oct 1996
in kludges, presumably because they were added after the 16 bits of
the attribute word were all allocated.
'Direct' is the first of these, and it is often used so perhaps
it's reasonably important to know about. The other is 'Del/Sent'.
This isn't just another name for 'Kill', but refers to files in a file
attach message; a file attach message with 'Del/Sent' should delete
the file when it has been sent. These attributes both use the FLAGS
kludge, as follows:
^AFLAGS DIR
for direct, or
^AFLAGS KFS
for 'Del/Sent', I make the assumption that these initials stand for
'Kill File Sent', but whether this is correct or not, the technical
meaning of the attribute is more important to us than the expansion of
its acronym.
These attributes may be combined in a single FLAGS kludge, and
bear in mind that there may be other attributes which make use of the
FLAGS kludge as well.
Next week's article deals moves on to writing *.MSG messages, and
includes some examples unrelated to our message lister. It also
includes the full source code for the message lister.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
WHAT IS THIS ECHO CALLED FILK?
Kay Shapero 1:102/524 (
[email protected])
A recent article identified some, but by no means all of the music-
related echoes to be found in FIDOnet. Here's some information on
one not mentioned, which can be found on the Zone 1 backbone as FILK.
The following is reprinted from the (much larger) Filk Frequently
Asked Questions file, which I maintain and can be f'reqed from
1:102/524 as FILKFAQ.ZIP. The article by Nick Smith is used with
permission.
What is this stuff called filk? My own favorite definition is simply
"the folk music of the science fiction/fantasy fan community."
For a more detailed description, see below:
WHAT THE HECK IS FILK MUSIC?
by Nick Smith (of LA Filkharmonics)
Well, it's sort of like folk music. It is a mixture of song parodies
and original music, humorous and serious, about subjects like science
fiction, fantasy, computers, cats, politics, the space program, books,
movies, TV shows, love, war, death. . .
Filk music started off forty or fifty years ago, at science fiction
conventions, where people got together late at night to have good
old-fashioned folk music song circles. Well, late night circles being
FIDONEWS 13-44 Page 15 28 Oct 1996
what they are, some folks got a little silly and started singing song
parodies about their favorite SF books and authors. Fans started
writing song parodies about themselves or each other. Some started
composing serious songs about favorite topics. Some authors started
composing original songs for their books. If the author didn't list a
tune, fans made up one. Sometimes two. Sometimes several.
Eventually, Filk songs wre written for just about every major science
fiction or fantasy work. Some of them were actually good enough that
people wanted to learn them, or just listen to them more than just at
conventions. At that point, song books and recordings started being
made.
Over the last decade, Filk Music has reached the point where there
are entire Filk Music gatherings, conventions, recording companies,
and publications. Filk Music includes song parodies, original songs,
and slightly musical poetry. It's a fun way to indulge in a little
musical creativity, especially if you are a science fiction or fantasy
fan as well as musically inclined. If you are only a fan, but not
musical, you can still listen. Filk circles aren't pushy about
requiring you to play or sing. If you are only musical, but not a
fan, no one will hold it against you. Remember, we're in this thing
for fun!
[Written for flyer for distribution at California Traditional Music
Society Annual Summer Solstice Dulcimer Festival and other local Los
Angeles folk music events and stores.]
What Nick didn't tell you is that the name started out as a typo of
"folk" and was gleefully adopted by all and sundry as a term for what
is after all a somewhat unusual subset.
Kay Shapero, Moderator, FILK echo
-----------------------------------------------------------------
To:
[email protected]
Date: Sun, 20 Oct 1996 15:16:23 EST
Subject: Rules, rules, rules...
From:
[email protected] (Rob A Shinn)
For immediate release to FidoNews:
There has been a lot of political in-fighting on FidoNet regarding
rules in the past few months, and in fact for at least 5 years now.
Many people, particularly Internet people, refer to us a Fight-O-Net.
If we are *EVER* to exist side-by-side with the Internet in the online
future, we are going to have to change our errant ways.
First of all, people, we have to remember our roots! FidoNet was
founded in the ideals of FREE SPEECH. It is a very libertarian-style
network. Thus, rules have been very minimal on FidoNet. The reasons
for this are clear: rules are not conducive to the free exchange of
ideas. Just because you don't agree with someone's ideas, or you
don't like a participant, or you don't like the moderator of a
particular echo: CHANGE THE CHANNEL! You don't have to read anything
FIDONEWS 13-44 Page 16 28 Oct 1996
on FidoNet. You don't have to receive any "file-bone" echos, either.
If you disagree with the way Craig Ford runs the COMM echo, or with
the banishment of James Dixon from Trek, you don't have to read EITHER
echo. In fact, the Moderators would probably rather that you would
not. If you don't agree with the political ideas on the Rush Limbaugh
echo, or you have moral reservations about the Gay/Lesbian echo, no
one is twisting your arm. Don't read them, don't carry them.
If, OTOH, you think that all this stuff needs to regulated by some
central controlling body...Heck, quit FidoNet, and join Intelec or
U'NI-net (better not spell their name wrong or the Net Police will get
you...<snicker>). These socialist networks are run by petty
dictators (John Young and Cam Debuck, respectively) that have decided
that if they control the content and behavior of users, they can
somehow have a higher "quality" network.
Don't believe me? Get their policy/list files, IN_####.ZIP (the
latest as of this writing was IN_9610.ZIP) for Intelec and UNI###.ZIP
(latest being UNI324.ZIP) for U'NI-net. Try and post a message on
Intelec containing the word 'ABORTION' and watch how fast you are
"TCAN'ed". These networks actually have TCAN (trash can) files that
ban users from the ENTIRE NETWORK upon breaking the rules in any
conference...the discretion sitting with the "benign" Network
Administrator or Network Host (either read: Net Dictator). The
Dictato...errrr...Network Administrator of Intelec, John Young, is so
anal retentive, that he has a 300-and-some-line text file for the
network rules, NETRULES.IN, in which each rule has been painstakingly
fit onto one line, of 70 characters each, abbreviating or padding with
spaces if necessary to make it fit. And both dictators are so AR,
that even spelling the name of the network wrong, including improper
capitalization or punctuation, is grounds for immediate banishment
from the network. Do you want someone like that telling you what you
can and cannot post? Do you want to exist in a online Gestapo state?
If so, be my guest, go ahead and join the socialists, the dictators,
and the Nazis...
I, OTOH, will stick with FidoNet, as long as we can keep things simple
in regards to rules. FidoNet has existed in its present form since
1984! The current lack of Zone 1 Echo Policy is not in the least
detrimental to FidoNet. Individual moderators have done a decent job
of running their own echoes. Some, like Gary Gilmore have long lists
of very specific rules. Others, like Bob Kohl and Craig Ford have a
list of general guidelines (Craig's is *very* loose, having adopted
Steve Shapiro's 'Echomail Guidelines'). I favor looser guidelines,
but if you like strict rules, you can always vote with your feet.
Usenet is probably too loose. Most newsgroups are unmoderated and
spam and junk kill many newsgroups. But Intelec and U'NI-net (again,
making sure they're spelled right...) are nothing but extremism. We
need to have moderated discussions, but control by a dictator in the
name of "expediency" (an argument that has been used by Fidel Castro
and Adolph Hitler to name a couple) has no place in FidoNet. But
that's the way we're headed if we keep up this fighting up.
So lets get back to our roots...and stand united and proud of a
FidoNet that is what it always has been - a place for the free
FIDONEWS 13-44 Page 17 28 Oct 1996
exchange of ideas.
Rob A. Shinn @ 1:2410/116,
[email protected]
-----------------------------------------------------------------
FIDONEWS 13-44 Page 18 28 Oct 1996
=================================================================
FIDONET HISTORY
=================================================================
[Part of a continuing series on the history of FidoNet and the folks
and programs that made it happen] Ed.
Date: 05 Feb 87 11:55:57
From: Phil Becker on 128/16, FireNet Leader, Colorado Springs CO
To: All on 135/14, Metro-Fire Fido of SFLorida Net, Miami FL
Subj: TBBS ECHOMAIL
I am leaving this message here in order to inform FIDO and OPUS SYSOPs
that the TBBS Net Mail option will be released in about 2 weeks.
After that time there will likely be a large number of new (to
FIDONET) TBBS SYSOPS joining various EchoMail conferences. TBBS
EchoMail handling is enhanced somewhat over the basic FidoNet EchoMail
for use in TBBS only networks. However, I have included a command
line option on the ECHOSCAN processor called -v1 which makes its
output 100% compatible with the existing SCAN/TOSS. Now to the reason
for this message. This option is not the default. New users who fail
to set this option, and join a conference with those of you using FIDO
and OPUS, will generate messages that get "chopped up" at the 80
column point by TOSS/SCAN. If you see this sort of thing happening,
inform the TBBS SYSOP who is generating such messages to set the -v1
option on his ECHOSCAN command to generate compatible messages.
Unfortunately with the large number of users new to the net, I am sure
this will happen frequently and I want you, who will suffer from it,
to know how to quickly inform the TBBS SYSOP of his error in his own
terms to minimize this problem. It has already happened during beta
test a few times, and even with a sizeable caution in the manual I am
sure it will happen again, and hope this note will keep the confusion
down.
Also, in an attempt to anticipate the growth of EchoMail in this net,
and the directions it may take, the TBBS EchoMail handlers will
operate correctly if the AREA: and SEEN-BY lines are prefixed with ^A
to suppress their display. If the net converts to this format at
large, there is an option on the TBBS EchoScan called -hide which can
be set to generate this type of output to the net. I hope that this
information will allow those of you who are not running and don't want
to have to learn about TBBS, but will have to live with its output to
do so much more easily. Since there is now a proliferation of
software on the net, tracking down such problems can become quite time
consuming and I hope this will remove some of the false problems (due
to operator error) more easily by helping you to recognize them and
know what to tell the offending SYSOP to do to fix them.
Origin: TBBS Net - Aurora, CO (104/23)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
FIDONEWS 13-44 Page 19 28 Oct 1996
=================================================================
COORDINATORS CORNER
=================================================================
Nodelist-statistics as seen from Zone-2 for day 299
By Ward Dossche, 2:292/854
ZC/2
+----+------+------------+------------+------------+------------+--+
|Zone|Nl-271|Nodelist-278|Nodelist-285|Nodelist-292|Nodelist-299|%%|
+----+------+------------+------------+------------+------------+--+
| 1 | 11826|11826 0 |11666 -160 |11666 0 |11555 -111 |38|
| 2 | 16406|16394 -12 |16341 -53 |16356 15 |16324 -32 |53|
| 3 | 954| 951 -3 | 950 -1 | 956 6 | 954 -2 | 3|
| 4 | 629| 629 0 | 610 -19 | 620 10 | 620 0 | 2|
| 5 | 100| 100 0 | 97 -3 | 97 0 | 97 0 | 0|
| 6 | 1020| 1020 0 | 1022 2 | 1020 -2 | 1020 0 | 3|
+----+------+------------+------------+------------+------------+--+
| 30935|30920 -15 |30686 -234 |30715 29 |30570 -145 |
+------+------------+------------+------------+------------+
-----------------------------------------------------------------
FIDONEWS 13-44 Page 20 28 Oct 1996
=================================================================
NET HUMOR
=================================================================
CYBERSAGA
Words: Kay Shapero
Tune:"Black Denim Trousers"*
CHORUS: He had pointed green eartips, a socket in his head,
And a black leather jacket with "Deck 'em" on the back.
He had a pair of mirror shades that flashed like the midday sun
That elf was the terror of every shadowrun.
He streaked his face with red and he streaked his hair with green
He had rows of ruby rhinestones on the ridges of his eyes.
On the back of his right arm was a Moebius-type tattoo
That told the time in Tokyo in shades of red and blue.
Oh he had a cybermodem and it was a marvel rare
But tech will only do the things that tech can do
He cracked a wizard's data base and searched until he found
Ways magic could be used to get around...
chorus
The other hackers warned him not to play with magic spells.
They said "These things could send you to a dozen diff'rent hells."
He didn't hear, he didn't care, his mind was in a spin
At the worlds that now existed and the worlds that might have been.
He started searching like a madman, green fire shining in his eyes.
He vowed he'd plunder all the worlds for high tech gear and spells.
But he found a Disney dreamworld; and something that he met
Derezzed his body right into the Net...
No more pointed green eartips, no socket in the head,
And no black leather jacket with "Deck 'em" on the back.
The mirror shades are broken that flashed like the midday sun
But he still is the terror of every shadowrun!
Words copyright Kay Shapero, 1990
*with acknowledgements to Ted Johnstone's "Corduroy Trousers"...
-----------------------------------------------------------------
FTSC Jokes
by Lee Kindness, 2:259/7,
[email protected]
Just a wee ditty that flowed thru NET_DEV last week, and it relates
quite well to last weeks editorial...
*** Area: NET_DEV
FIDONEWS 13-44 Page 21 28 Oct 1996
*** From: Paul Edwards (3:711/934.9)
*** To : All
*** Subj: FTSC Jokes!
Hey guys, have you heard the latest list of FTSC jokes? If anyone
has seen any other joke lists floating around the echos, please post
them!
Q. How many FTSC members does it take to screw in a lightbulb?
A. The FTSC only documents existing practice. There is no
mathematical proof that lightbulbs are existing practice.
Q. How many FTSC members does it take to write an FTSC document?
A. The FTSC doesn't write documents, it just publishes them.
Q. How do I get the FTSC to publish my document?
A. That is not documented.
Q. How do I get the FTSC to approve my proposal and make it a
standard?
A. The FTSC doesn't approve proposals, that's the job of a standards
committee.
Q. Who do I report errors in the published standards to?
A. Do you have internet access?
NO) - sorry, the FTSC Chair only responds to internet mail.
YES) - what do you want to use fidonet for, if you have internet?
Everyone else in the FTSC only uses internet, including the only
person who has the legal authority to update FTS-1. We are still
attempting to track the author of FTS-4, to see if we can get him
to join the internet too.
Q. What do you get if you mix all the output of the FTSC, with a
dead fish?
A. A dead fish.
Q. Within the FTSC circles, what is the FTSC Chair known as?
A. We've got a Chairman, have we?
Q. What did the FTSC committee member say to the non-FTSC-committee
member?
FIDONEWS 13-44 Page 22 28 Oct 1996
A. Nothing. The FTSC does not talk to developers, they only get in
the way.
Q. Which has more intelligence - the FTSC Chair, the rest of the FTSC,
or a door knob?
A. Only an FTSC member would need to ask such a question. Don't
bother asking the chairman for the answer - try asking Mr Knob.
Q. Why is the FTSC echo not publicly-readable (even if not writeable)?
A. Because then the developers would know that they were dead. At
the moment developers have this quaint picture of lots of
committee members scurrying around trying to do things to help
the average developer actually WRITE something.
Q. What does FTSC stand for?
A. Need Another Seven Astronauts.
Q. What does FTSC really stand for?
A. What gave you the impression that the FTSC was capable of standing?
Q. What is the preferred programming language of the FTSC?
A. Turtle Graphics.
Q. If the FTSC were a country, which one would it be?
A. Mars. It's out-er-space, which is why there's no room for
any more standards.
Q. What do you get if you cross an FTSC member with a pen and a
coathanger?
A. Pens that multiply instead of disappearing (clarification for
FTSC members - it's the coathangers that cause the multiplication,
not you).
Q. Why don't FTSC members put ice in their drinks?
A. The FTSC member who had the recipe, died.
Q. Why do FTSC members' dogs have flat noses?
A. From chasing parked cars.
FIDONEWS 13-44 Page 23 28 Oct 1996
Q. Why do FTSC members have flat noses?
A. From chasing their dogs too closely.
Q. Does an FTSC member float or sink if immersed in water?
A. "Dissolved" is a better way to describe the phenomenon.
Q. Why do FTSC members prefer to use pentiums?
A. It reports that they have produced a positive number of
standards in the last 6 years (0.000000353).
Q. What's the difference between an FTSC member and a snail?
A. One's slow, doesn't have any intelligence, and if you were
stuck in traffic behind it, you'd die of old age before
getting to your destination. The other is an insect found
in gardens.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
From:
[email protected]
To:
[email protected]
Date: Thu, 12 Sep 1996 10:16:07 +45
Subject: TopFive -- 9/12/96 -- Indications That Geeks Rule the Web
Reply-To:
[email protected]
Sender:
[email protected]
_____________________________________
_________| |________
\ | The Top Five List | /
\ | www.topfive.com | /
\ | | /
\ | Sponsored by Windows Sources | /
> | www.wsources.com | <
/ | | \
/ | September 12, 1996 | \
/ |_____________________________________| \
/___________) (__________\
The Top 5 Indications That Geeks Rule the Web
18> I refuse to answer on the grounds that it may implicate me.
17> See contributor list below.
16> 20 bad hurricane names; zero complaints.
FIDONEWS 13-44 Page 24 28 Oct 1996
15> '96 World Wide Web Consortium postponed due to
international shortage of asthma inhalers.
14> 78,859,603,962,549,850,306,721,987,591,357,852 Karaoke
home pages -- and counting.
13> Latest Internet polls show Chris White leading
Bob Dole by 10 percentage points.
12> Most users chance of hacking into the Pentagon still
better than chance of hooking up with Cindy Crawford.
11> 95% of high-level system passwords are based on
Star Trek trivia.
10> Bathroom stalls at information superhighway rest
stops all covered with java code graffiti.
9> Uh, you're READING it, buddy.
8> Scanned photos of home page owners all look like cross
between Lyle Lovett and Thomas Dolby.
7> alt.binary.tape.glasses
6> Money magazine picks Bill Gates as sexiest man alive.
5> Cocoa Puff stains on the bottom left corner of most
WEB pages.
4> Frequent server crashes between 12-1 p.m. because most
users have been forced to surrender their lunch money.
3> Fierce Kirk vs. Picard debate crashes AOL.
2> "Click here for your free Netscape pocket protector!"
and the Number 1 Indication That Geeks Rule the Web...
1> Actually, Dogbert rules the Web, geeks are just his
loyal minions.
[ This list copyright 1996 by Chris White and Ziff-Davis ]
[ *To forward or repost, you must include this section.* ]
[ The Top Five List
[email protected] www.topfive.com ]
Today's Top Five List contributors are:
---------------------------------------------------------
Lee Oeth, San Diego, CA -- 1 (1st #1!)
Joel McClure, Sterling Heights, MI -- 2
David W. James, Los Angeles, CA -- 3
George Olson, Colorado Springs, CO -- 4, 17
FIDONEWS 13-44 Page 25 28 Oct 1996
Sam Evans, Charleston, SC -- 5 (Hall of Famer)
Paul Paternoster, Redwood City, CA -- 6
Lisa Stepaniak, Dearborn, MI -- 7
Dee Anne Phillips, Shreveport, LA -- 8
Marshal Perlman, Minneapolis, MN -- 9
Doug Johnson, Santa Cruz, CA -- 10
Kermit Woodall, Richmond, VA -- 11
Kathleen Buchanan, Tuscaloosa, AL -- 12
John Voigt, Chicago, IL -- 13
Jennifer Ritzinger, Seattle, WA -- 14
Jeff Downey, Raleigh, NC -- 15
Dennis Koho, Keizer, OR -- 16
Chuck Smith, Woodbridge, VA -- 18
Mr. E. Person, New York, NY -- Topic
Chris White, New York, NY -- List owner/editor
---------------------------------------------------------
Selected from 99 submissions by 35 contributors.
=========================================================
*** Windows Sources Spotlight ***
Download BusinessCards/32 for Windows 95,
a shareware Rolodex-like replacement for
keeping track of contacts, now at
http://www.winsources.com
=========================================================
Top Five List Helpful Hints
To subscribe: Send a message to
[email protected]
with "subscribe topfive" in the body of the message.
To unsubscribe: Send a message to
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with "unsubscribe topfive" in the body of the message.
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Send a message to
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=========================================================
Ruminations & Ponderances
It's not the size of the dog in the fight,
It's the size of the fight in the dog.
(Thanks to Dave Pugh)
I think you'd find that a laid-back Doberman would
still chew the stuffing out of an ornery Chihuahua.
(Thanks to Paul Paternoster)
It's not the size of the dog in the fight,
it's the size of the rats gnawing on the
dog's corpse after he loses.
(Thanks to Mitch Patterson)
=============================================================
** The Top Five List
http://www.topfive.com
** Sponsored by Windows Sources
http://www.wsources.com
FIDONEWS 13-44 Page 26 28 Oct 1996
-----------------------------------------------------------------
From: "Mike Riddle" <
[email protected]>
To: "Baker, Christopher" <
[email protected] (Christopher Baker)>
Date: Thu, 12 Sep 96 08:46:32 -0500
Reply-To: "Mike Riddle" <
[email protected]>
Subject: Fwd: Humor - YOU KNOW YOU ARE AN INTERNET ADDICT...
==================BEGIN FORWARDED MESSAGE==================
>From: "Joy Kendrick, WebWeaver" <
[email protected]>
>Organization: Joyous Creations
>To:
[email protected]
>Date: Wed, 11 Sep 1996 23:14:43 -0500
>Reply-to:
[email protected]
YOU KNOW YOU ARE ADDICTED TO THE INTERNET WHEN:
* You kiss your girlfriend's home page.
* Your bookmark takes 15 minutes to scroll from top to bottom.
* Your eyeglasses have a web site burned in on them.
* You find yourself brainstorming for new subjects to search.
* You refuse to go to a vacation spot with no electricity and no
phone lines.
* You finally do take that vacation, but only after buying a
cellular modem and a laptop.
* You spend half of the plane trip with your laptop on your
lap...and your child in the overhead compartment.
* All your daydreaming is preoccupied with getting a faster
connection to the net: 28.8...ISDN...cable modem...T1...T3.
* And even your night dreams are in HTML.
* You find yourself typing "com" after every period when using a
word processor.com.
* You refer to going to the bathroom as downloading.
* Your heart races faster and beats irregularly each time you see a
new WWW site address in print or on TV, even though you've never
had heart problems before.
* You step out of your room and realize that your parents have moved
and you don't have a clue when it happened.
* You turn on your intercom when leaving the room so you can hear if
new e-mail arrives.
* Your wife drapes a blond wig over your monitor to remind you of
FIDONEWS 13-44 Page 27 28 Oct 1996
what she looks like.
* All of your friends have an @ in their names.
* When looking at a pageful of someone else's links, you notice all
of them are already highlighted in purple.
* Your dog has its own home page.
* You've already visited all the links at Yahoo and you're halfway
through Lycos. or [C]ontinue?
* You can't call your mother...she doesn't have a modem.
* You realize there is not a sound in the house and you have no idea
where your children are.
* You check your mail. It says "no new messages." So you check it
again.
* You refer to your age as 3.x.
* You have commandeered your teenager's phone line for the net and
even his friends know not to call on his line anymore.
* Your phone bill comes to your doorstep in a box.
* Even though you died last week, you've managed to retain OPS on
your favorite IRC channel.
* You code your homework in HTML and give your instructor the URL.
* You don't know the sex of three of your closest friends, because
they have neutral nicknames and you never bothered to ask.
* Your husband tells you he's had the beard for 2 months.
* You miss more than five meals a week downloading the latest games
from Apogee.t, or [C]ontinue?
* You start looking for hot HTML addresses in public restrooms.
* You move into a new house and decide to Netscape before you
landscape.
* You tell the cab driver you live at
http://123.elm.street/house/bluetrim.html
* You actually try that 123.elm.street address.
* You tell the kids they can't use the computer because "Daddy's got
work to do" and you don't even have a job.
* Your friends no longer send you e-mail...they just log on to your
IRC channel.
FIDONEWS 13-44 Page 28 28 Oct 1996
* You buy a Captain Kirk chair with a built-in keyboard and mouse.
* Your wife makes a new rule: "The computer cannot come to bed."
* You are so familiar with the WWW that you find the search engines
useless.
* You get a tattoo that says "This body best viewed with Netscape
1.1 or higher."
* You never have to deal with busy signals when calling your
ISP...because you never log off.
* You ask a plumber how much it would cost to replace the chair in
front of your computer with a toilet.
* You forget what year it is.
* You start tilting your head sideways to smile.
* You ask your doctor to implant a gig in your brain.
* You leave the modem speaker on after connecting because you think
it sounds like the ocean wind...the perfect soundtrack for
"surfing the net".
* You begin to wonder how on earth your service provider is allowed
to call 200 hours per month "unlimited."
* You turn on your computer and turn off your wife.
* Your wife says communication is important in a marriage...so you
buy another computer and install a second phone line so the two of
you can chat.
* As your car crashes through the guardrail on a mountain road, your
first instinct is to search for the "back" button.
Hope you all have a great Thursday!
Joy Kendrick
Web Weaver & Owner
Joyous Creations
925 Gillette Street
Winston-Salem, North Carolina 27105-5715
E-mail:
[email protected]
Welcome to Joyous Creations!
http://www.clearlight.com/~jc/JoyousCreations/
Welcome to Joy's Wonderful & Wacky World!
http://www.clearlight.com/~jc/JoysWorld/
"Ok, who cancelled my reality check???"
Virtual Vacations, (You *need* a vacation!)
http://www.plws.com/vv
The Muse's Music Hall! Virtual E-Cards!
http://www.thecore.com/~nannette/
FIDONEWS 13-44 Page 29 28 Oct 1996
===================END FORWARDED MESSAGE===================
-----------------------------------------------------------------
From: "Mike Riddle" <
[email protected]>
To: "Baker, Christopher" <
[email protected] (Christopher Baker)>
Date: Wed, 11 Sep 96 12:03:39 -0500
Reply-To: "Mike Riddle" <
[email protected]>
Subject: Fwd: Austin Robinson-Coolidge: Humor - Addiction to the Net
(fwd)
==================BEGIN FORWARDED MESSAGE==================
>To:
[email protected]
>Subject: Austin Robinson-Coolidge: Humor - Addiction to the Net (fwd)
>Date: Wed, 11 Sep 1996 08:40:06 -0500
>From: Tyler Godfrey <
[email protected]>
------- Forwarded Message
Top 10 Signs You're Addicted to the net
10. You wake up at 3 a.m. to go to the bathroom and stop and
check your e-mail on the way back to bed.
9. You get a tattoo that reads "This body best viewed with
Netscape Navigator 1.1 or higher."
8. You name your children Eudora, Mozilla and Dotcom.
7. You turn off your modem and get this awful empty
feeling, like you just pulled the plug on a loved one.
6. You spend half of the plane trip with your laptop on
your lap...and your child in the overhead compartment.
5. You decide to stay in college for an additional year or
two, just for the free Internet access.
4. You laugh at people with 2400-baud modems.
3. You start using smileys in your snail mail.
2. The last girl you picked up was a JPEG.
1. Your hard drive crashes. You haven't logged in for two
hours. You start to twitch. You pick up the phone and
manually dial your ISP's access number. You try to hum
to communicate with the modem. You succeed.
------- End of Forwarded Message
Tyler Godfrey
UNIX Systems Intern
St. Olaf College, Northfield MN
[email protected]
FIDONEWS 13-44 Page 30 28 Oct 1996
http://www.stolaf.edu/people/godfreyt/
===================END FORWARDED MESSAGE===================
-----------------------------------------------------------------
FIDONEWS 13-44 Page 31 28 Oct 1996
=================================================================
COMIX IN ASCII
=================================================================
[Speech program users: The picture below is of two figures giving a
Roman salute (arm upraised with palm forward). One is wearing battle
gear and the other a toga.]
--- Following message extracted from NETMAIL @ 1:374/14 ---
By Christopher Baker on Fri Oct 25 10:26:50 1996
From: Dave Aronson @ 1:109/120
To: Chris Baker @ 1:18/14
Date: 24 Oct 96 23:49:26
Subj: more ascii comix!
Come to think of it, that old echomail you dredged up was probably
from the days when something like this was my BBS's opening screen:
iIi # A Hail, citizen! iIi
|||| __#__ Ave! | |||| ___ Oy Vey!
\__) /.-.-.\ / | Centurion Circus Maximus \__) {{{ }}} /
| | |'o o`| / | | | | o o | /
| | | @ | | and his twin brother | | | @ |
| | \`---'/ | | | \`---'/
` `==)___(==-\ A Senator Gluteus Maximus ` `---)___(---.
\ ||M M|| \ H \ | |
\/`'MM MM`'|\ \ H welcome you to \/ | |
| M M M | \ \H | _-.___.' |
| M M | \ H .------|>o------. |(____| |
|===(*)===| \() | T I D M A D T | | \ |
|HHHHHHHHH| H `---------------' | \ |
|HHHHHHHHH| H | \__/
|HHHHHHHHH| H (These Initials Don't | |
|VVVVVVVVV| H \ ___/
| | | | H Mean A Da*n Thing!) \__--~| |
|_| |_| H |_| |_|
(__| |__) H (__| |__)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
[Speech program users: The picture below is of a large screen
television being viewed by the denizens of Mystery Science
Theater 3000. There is a dragon with its wings unfurled on
the screen. Another row of seats is repeated then a picture
of Tom Servo and then a large hand palm out is displayed.]
From:
[email protected] (Troy H. Cheek)
Date: 17 Oct 96 09:19:14 -0500
Subject: ASCII art
Organization: river.chattanooga.net
To:
[email protected]
FIDONEWS 13-44 Page 32 28 Oct 1996
Not sure if ASCII art will make it unscathed through my internet
gateway. Here's trying...
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| __----~~~~~~~~~~~------__|
| . . ~~//====...... __--~|
| -. \_|// |||\\ ~~~~~~::::... /~ |
| ___-==_ _-~o~ \/ ||| \\ _/~~- |
| __---~~~.==~||\=_ -_--~/_-~|- |\\ \\ _/~ |
| _-~~ .=~ | \\-_ '-~7 /- / || \ / |
|~ .~ | \\ -_ / /- / || \ / |
| ____ / | \\ ~-_/ /|- _/ .|| \ / |
|~ ~~|--~~~~--_ \ ~==-/ | \~--===~~ .\ |
| ' ~-| /| |-~\~~ __--~~ |
| |-~~-_/ | | ~\_ _-~ /\ |
| / \ \__ \/~ \__ |
| _--~ _/ | .-~~____--~-/ ~~==. |
| ((->/~ '.|||' -_| ~~-/ , . _| |
| _-~-__ ~) \--______________--~~ |
| //.-~~~-~_--~- |-------~~~~~~~~ |
| //.-~~~--\ |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
It's like Godzilla __ ___ ____
only not good! \ / \ / \ (###(
\ / < | (~~\ /
||> \ | ~~~||
/ \ / \ /~ ~\
/~~~~~~~~\__/~~~~~~~~\__/~~~~~~~~\__/~~~~~~~~\__/~~~~~~~~\__/~~~~~~~~
\
/\ ______
-- \ > ___ \\__//
/ \ || /:::\ / \
\ / || <:::> /\ /
||> < \ \:::/ \-||
\ || / \ \_/ \ ||
...... ...... ...... ...... \ ......\ ......
./" "\./" "\./" "\./" "\./" "\./" "\
" " " " " " "
MYSTERY SCIENCE THEATER 3000
_____ ________________
/ \ | Hey, Pink Boy! |
| | / |________________|
\_____/ /
/_<U>_\
>\\\}| |o o| |{\\\<
| |o o| |
| |o o| |
/ / / \ \ \
/_/_/__|__\_\_\
______________________
FIDONEWS 13-44 Page 33 28 Oct 1996
/ || \___|
/ \_____/\______/_________________
_______________/ | \
| / |_____|______|_____/_
| / \ | | \
|| \ \ | |______|______|______ /
|| \ | | | \
| | | |______|_____|_____/
________________ | \
~~--___________________________|_____|____/
Owen E. Oulton
--
|Fidonet: Troy H. Cheek 1:362/708.4
|Internet:
[email protected]
|
| Standard disclaimer: The views of this user are strictly his own.
| River Canyon Rd. BBS <=> Chattanooga OnLine! Gateway to the World.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
[Speech program users: The picture below shows a figure half in and
half out of what appears to be a closet door.]
--- Following message extracted from NETMAIL @ 1:374/14 ---
By Christopher Baker on Thu Oct 24 11:37:06 1996
From: Fredric Rice @ 1:218/890
To: Editor @ 1:1/23
Date: 22 Oct 96 19:53:06
Subj: Article!
Greetings, Christopher!
I doubt this will fit your format requirements but here it is anyway
for FidoNews. David mentioned this file and sent me a copy. I
couldn't find mine and I had forgotten all about it.
-=- Begin ASCII art -=-
From: Fredric L. Rice
To: All Apr-26-94 20:45:26
Subject: Closet Bruce
--------------------------
Yes, you've heard .|.............. | Help bruce to come
a lot about him, .|.............. | out of the closet
all of your new .|..............-. | and stand up for his
friends have one, .|.............. o\ | Constitutional and
and you have even .|..............- ] | civil rights!
contemplated .|.............._/ |
owning one for .|.............. -. | Take him out and dress
your very own. .|.............. \ | him up to vicariously
.|.............. \ | explore the boundaries
FIDONEWS 13-44 Page 34 28 Oct 1996
Well now, as part .|.............. |\ \ | of your own latent
of this one-time .|.............. | \ \ | closet dwelling.
television offer, .|.............. | \--\ |
you, too can have .|.............._| /||\ | Not available in most
.|.............. | | stores and void where
.|.............. | | prohibited by bigotry
CLOSET BRUCE ! .|.............. | | and religious hatred.
.|.............. | |
"Comes in his .|.............. | | Dial 1-800-HEY-BOYS
own closet!" .|.............. |-- | for a rushed delivery.
.|..............____| |
--------------------------
"Just when you though it was safe to come out of the closet"
---
Origin: PRIME NETWORK! Where The Bullshit Never Sets (1:218/890.666)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
[Speech program users: The picture below is of a large Jack-o-lantern
under a full moon with a cat in the foreground.]
Date: 29 Sep 90 22:50:38
From: Dave Aronson
To: Jonathan Rolfe @ 906/201
Subj: Re: Happy New Year
______________________________________________________________________
> I always wondered what the creative could do within the constraints
> of ASCII! Now let's see if anyone can get some runes together for
> Hallowe'en!
Maybe something like:
_ H A P P Y H A L L O W E E N ! !
/ \ ___
( ) ////
\ _ / ////
**********************
****************************
************************************
******\~~~~~~/***********\~~~~~~/*******
********\ /*************\ /*********
**********\ /******/^\******\ /***********
************\/******/ \******\/*************
*******************/_____\********************
********************************************** #
*********\~~~~|***|~~~~~|***|~~~~/********** #
**********\ |***| ___ |***| /***|\___/|*/^^\ #
***********\ ~~~ |***| ~~~ /*****` o.o '/ \ #
************\___|***|___/*******=(___)= /^\ \#
*********************************U\ / \ )
***************************** #^# #^#
************************** # # # #
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
FIDONEWS 13-44 Page 35 28 Oct 1996
(which I picked up from a long-forgotten source). If anyone can
snailmail me a written copy of "Happy Samhain" in runed Gaelic, I'll
take a whack at ASCIIfying it....
Origin: TIDMADT Enterprises (703) 370-7054 (1:109/120)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
FIDONEWS 13-44 Page 36 28 Oct 1996
=================================================================
QUESTION OF THE WEEK
=================================================================
Some folks like to write stuff for newsletters and some don't. This
week you will get another prod to produce something for FidoNews.
The Question of the Week for 1344 is:
Can you compose a meaningful Headline for FidoNews Issues to come
if you are limited to good taste and 60 characters length?
Send your answers as the new .ANS submission by filesend to 1:1/23 or
as email, Netmail, or Echomail in the FIDONEWS Echo. See the Masthead
info for addressing details.
Thanks.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
FIDONEWS 13-44 Page 37 28 Oct 1996
=================================================================
ANSWERS OF THE WEEK
=================================================================
--- Following message extracted from NETMAIL @ 1:374/14 ---
By Christopher Baker on Tue Oct 22 18:08:12 1996
From: William Wilson @ 1:129/89
To: Christopher Baker @ 1:18/14
Date: 22 Oct 96 13:14:28
Subj: Speech and Fido
Christopher,
In volume 13, number 43 of FidoNews, you ask:
"I am aware that there are folks out there reading FidoNews with
speech programs. I know these programs are also used for Netmail and
Echomail.
The Question of the Week is who uses these programs, what programs
are in use, and are any of these functions available inside mailers
or BBS or editor programs?"
First of all, I will intentionally attempt to be as brief as
possible, mainly because my experience tells me I can quite
easily discuss this topic to the point of boring my audience and
stifling further interest! You see, for some of us, speech
access to computers has dominated our lifes for years, and
therefore our passion for the topic prevents us from recognizing
the bounds of normal conversation!
Simply put, speech programs are being used by anyone who finds
their use an aid in accessing the information on their computer
screen! This includes people such as myself who are totally
blind, partially sighted people who often use speech in
conjunction with a screen enlargement program, and others who are
in some way print impaired including the dyslexic. Although I
don't have specific numbers available to me, there are
undoubtedly many thousands of individuals using speech synthesis
to access their computer screens in North America, several times
this worldwide!
In most cases, by the way, there are two components to a speech
system, the software half or speech program you've referred to,
and the hardware half, the synthesizer itself. The speech
program gives the user control over how the text is spoken,
including very basic things like rate and pitch, as well as very
subtle characteristics such as pronunciation of specific
punctuation, color attributes, etc. Commands available with the
typical speech program range from keys to totally reread the
screen or current cursor line to automatic reading of this or
that enhancement, if and only if it appears in a specific area of
the screen! Basically speaking, the better the user knows their
speech program, the more efficient they can be with their
computer, and with today's speech programs the potential is
FIDONEWS 13-44 Page 38 28 Oct 1996
profound!
Speech synthesizers come in both internal and external models and
are configured as either a serial or parallel device. Some
common names of speech programs for DOS are Vocal-Eyes, ASAP,
Flipper and Jaws, demos available for downloading from BlinkLink,
1:129/89, as well as many other sources. Common synthesizers
include the Dectalk, SmarTalk, DoubleTalk and Soundingboard as
well as many others. In general, speech programs range from
about $300.00 to $550.00 while synthesizers go for between
$350.00 to $1200.00, the price dependant upon various factors
such as intelligibility, portability, etc.
No BBS or mailer program that I know of gives the user specific
speech functions, or at least none actually produce speech as I
assume you meant by your question. As you can tell by what I've
said above, however, most all text based software can be used
with a speech program-synthesizer combination, and this includes
everything from Binkleyterm to the vanilla Opus I'm running here!
In fact, certain things can be done by the programmer to insure
that their wares are indeed more speech friendly, thus the reason
Doug Boone added the "Talker" option to Opus 1.73A. In general,
what has become known as the "Speech Friendly Interface" has been
added to many Dos programs, including both the Silver Xpress and
Blue Wave off-line readers, the Commo communications program, and
even the Shez file manager, so if anyone would like to learn more
about what makes a program more speech compatible, file request
"SFI.ZIP" from 1:129/89. Also, you may wish to consider joining
us in BLINKTALK, the original Fidonet visual disabilities echo
that's available from the backbone and has been around since
1988. We discuss things like this and other topics related to
blindness everyday, and although most of us are indeed visually
impaired, ALL are welcome!
Hopefully that answered your question without boring TOO much, as
I truly did try and keep it as short as possible! Thank goodness
you didn't ask about how Windows and the Graphical User Interface
is effecting all this or I would just be getting warmed up at
this point! B-)
Willie
... BlinkTalk - the Electronic Voice of the Blind!
-----------------------------------------------------------------
--- Following message extracted from NETMAIL @ 1:374/14 ---
By Christopher Baker on Fri Oct 25 23:09:29 1996
From: Debra Turner @ 1:392/15
To: Christopher Baker @ 1:18/14
Date: 23 Oct 96 16:19:53
Subj: Speech Software
Hello Christopher,
FIDONEWS 13-44 Page 39 28 Oct 1996
I use speech synthesis because of my visual disability.
There are several commercially available applications as well as a
wide variety of speech synthesizers. These software packages are
often called screen readers. They are resident programs that sit in
the background causing keystrokes to be spoken as well as any Bios
output. Most modern screen readers also deal with direct screen
writes. Pulldown menu items are announced as I highlight them.
Characters that I cursor over while writing this message are spoken.
Also, there are provisions to review anything currently on my screen
at anytime.
What this means in practicality is since the screen reader handles the
task of providing output to the synthesizer many applications can be
successfully used without being adapted for the speech user.
There are some limitations to this of which I won't go into, but most
mailers, tossers and a lot of common Bbs packages work well. Some have
a "speech friendly" mode that causes them to use bios routines for
screen writes as well as other things that make them work a little
better with screen review apps. One example that comes to mind is the
setup for Allfix.
Most all of the common mailers, Binkleyterm, frontdoor etc have been
used with speech. I have ran Wildcat and Maximus as Bbs packages but
others are in use too.
I discovered Fidonet in 1991 when I heard about an echo for discussion
of adaptive software as well as many other things of interest to me.
There are quite a few visually impaired sysops in Fidonet. I put up
my board last year when the local net became a local telephone call in
my small town.
Thanks for the descriptions in the Fidonews this week. Grate
Newsletter!
Debra
[email protected]
-----------------------------------------------------------------
From:
[email protected] (Kurt Schafer)
Date: 24 Oct 96 12:12:00 -0800
Subject: Q. of the Week: Speech programs & mail readers
To:
[email protected]
Greetings Mr. Baker.
This is in response to your "Question of the Week", regarding the use
of speech programs within mailers or BBS or editor programs. I found
and tried just such an animal about a month ago, but it was an offline
mail reader. I hope this is the type of information you had in mind.
FIDONEWS 13-44 Page 40 28 Oct 1996
The program's name is: "QWKTALK (Version 4.0) by Pegasus Software.
The archive is: QWKTALK4.ZIP 572921 01-23-95
And the file_id.diz reads as follows:
Pegasus Software's * QWKTALK * 4.0
Worlds' only talking e-mail reader!
*** New Release! ***
>>>> Supports File Attachments! <<<<
Full unlimited reply capability enabled
Robotic voice reads your mail to you!
ANSI @ PCBOARD Color Display Features
NEW >> Carbon Copies and Bookmark!!
Full Voice Utilities * ALIAS Support
Auto Signature Attach...and IT TALKS!
Silent mode for PCs w/s Sound Card!
All features enabled!!!!
Now with sequential capture for
Internet binary file re-assembly!
A Pegasus Software & Imaging Product
And finally, this program was found on a two-disc cd-rom set of
"10,000 MS DOS shareware programs...from the Internet." (by Simtel-
May/95)
ttyl... Kurt. *FIDO: 1:153/412 *email:
[email protected]
---
-----------------------------------------------------------------
FIDONEWS 13-44 Page 41 28 Oct 1996
=================================================================
NOTICES
=================================================================
Future History
29 Oct 1996
Republic Day, Turkey.
5 Nov 1996
Election day, U.S.A.
5 Nov 1996
Guy Fawkes Day, England.
1 Dec 1996
Twelfth Anniversary of FidoNews Volume 1, Issue 1.
12 Dec 1996
Constitution Day, Russia
26 Jan 1997
Australia Day, Australia.
6 Feb 1997
Waitangi Day, New Zealand.
16 Feb 1997
Eleventh Anniversary of invention of Echomail by Jeff Rush.
29 Feb 1997
Nothing will happen on this day.
25 May 1997
Independence Day, Argentina
11 Jun 1997
Independence Day, Russia
1 Dec 1998
Fifteenth Anniversary of release of Fido version 1 by
Tom Jennings.
31 Dec 1999
Hogmanay, Scotland. The New Year that can't be missed.
15 Sep 2000
Sydney (Australia) Summer Olympiad opens.
-- If YOU have something which you would like to see in this
Future History, please send a note to the FidoNews Editor.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
FIDONEWS 13-44 Page 42 28 Oct 1996
=================================================================
FIDONET SOFTWARE LISTING
=================================================================
Latest Greatest Software Versions
by Peter E. Popovich, 1:363/264
Crap. In the final stages of preparing this week's submission, I
managed to accidentally trash most of the changes since last week and
all of my pending entries. I'll do my best to reconstruct the changes,
but it may take a few weeks to get back up to speed. Phooey.
I've had problems upstream with my inbound routed netmail. I strongly
suggest folks -crash- their submissions to me or e-mail them to me at
[email protected]
Phased out this week: Archimedes Software
Phase-out highlights:
This week: Atari ST/TT Software Deadline for info: 8 Nov 1996.
Last week: QNX Software Deadline for info: 1 Nov 1996.
-=- Snip -=-
Submission form for the Latest Greatest Software Versions column
OS Platform :
Software package name :
Version :
Function(s) - BBS, Mailer, Tosser, etc. :
Freeware / Shareware / Commercial? :
Author / Support staff contact name :
Author / Support staff contact node :
Magic name (at the above-listed node) :
Please include a sentence describing what the package does.
Please send updates and suggestions to: Peter Popovich, 1:363/264
-=- Snip -=-
MS-DOS:
Program Name Version F C Contact Name Node Magic Name
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Act-Up 4.6 G D Chris Gunn 1:15/55 ACT-UP
Announcer 1.1 O S Peter Karlsson 2:206/221 ANNOUNCE
BGFAX 1.60 O S B.J. Guillot 1:106/400 BGFAX
CheckPnt 0.5 beta O F Michiel van der Vlist
2:500/9 CHECKPNT
FidoBBS (tm) 12u B S Ray Brown 1:1/117 FILES
FrontDoor 2.12 M S JoHo 2:201/330 FD
FrontDoor 2.20c M C JoHo 2:201/330 FDINFO
GIGO 07-14-96 G S Jason Fesler 1:1/141 INFO
Imail 1.75 T S Michael McCabe 1:297/11 IMAIL
ImCrypt 1.04 O F Michiel van der Vlist
FIDONEWS 13-44 Page 43 28 Oct 1996
2:500/9 IMCRYPT
InfoMail 1.11 O F Damian Walker 2:2502/666 INFOMAIL
InterEcho 1.19 T C Peter Stewart 1:369/35 IEDEMO
InterMail 2.29k M C Peter Stewart 1:369/35 IMDEMO
InterPCB 1.52 O S Peter Stewart 1:369/35 INTERPCB
IPNet 1.11 O S Michele Stewart 1:369/21 IPNET
Jelly-Bean 1.01 T S Rowan Crowe 3:635/727 JELLY
Jelly-Bean/386 1.01 T S Rowan Crowe 3:635/727 JELLY386
MakePl 1.8 N F Michiel van der Vlist
2:500/9 MAKEPL
Marena 1.1 beta O F Michiel van der Vlist
2:500/9 MARENA
Maximus 3.01 B P Tech 1:249/106 MAX
McMail 1.0g5 M S Michael McCabe 1:1/148 MCMAIL
MDNDP 1.18 N S Bill Doyle 1:388/7 MDNDP
MsgEd 4.00 O F Paul Edwards 3:711/934 MSGED
Opus CBCS 1.73a B P Christopher Baker 1:374/14 OPUS
O/T-Track 2.63a O S Peter Hampf 2:241/1090 OT
PcMerge 2.7 N F Michiel van der Vlist
2:500/9 PCMERGE
PlatinumXpress 1.1 M C Gary Petersen 1:290/111 PX11TD.ZIP
RAR 2.00 C S Ron Dwight 2:220/22 RAR
RemoteAccess 2.50 B S Mark Lewis 1:3634/12 RA
Silver Xpress
Door 5.4 O S Gary Petersen 1:290/111 FILES
Reader 4.3 O S Gary Petersen 1:290/111 SXR43.ZIP
Squish 1.11 T P Tech 1:249/106 SQUISH
T-Mail 2.599I M S Ron Dwight 2:220/22 TMAIL
Terminate 4.00 O S Bo Bendtsen 2:254/261 TERMINATE
Tobruk 0.33 T F Paul Edwards 3:711/934 TOBRUK
TriBBS 10.0 B S Patrick Driscoll 1:372/19 TRIBBS
TriDog 10.0 M S Patrick Driscoll 1:372/19 TRIDOG
TriToss 10.0 T S Patrick Driscoll 1:372/19 TRITOSS
WWIV 4.24a B S Craig Dooley 1:376/126 WWIV
XRobot 3.01 O S JoHo 2:201/330 XRDOS
OS/2:
Program Name Version F C Contact Name Node Magic Name
----------------------------------------------------------------------
BGFAX 1.60 O S B.J. Guillot 1:106/400 BGFAX
FleetStreet 1.17 O S Michael Hohner 2:2490/2520 FLEET
GIGO 07-14-96 G S Jason Fesler 1:1/141 INFO
ImCrypt 1.04 O F Michiel van der Vlist
2:500/9 IMCRYPT
Maximus 3.01 B P Tech 1:249/106 MAXP
MsgEd 4.00 O F Paul Edwards 3:711/934 MSGED
PcMerge 2.3 N F Michiel van der Vlist
2:500/9 PCMERGE
RAR 2.00 C S Ron Dwight 2:220/22 RAR2
Squish 1.11 T P Tech 1:249/106 SQUISHP
T-Mail 2.599I M S Ron Dwight 2:220/22 TMAIL2
Tobruk 0.33 T F Paul Edwards 3:711/934 TOBRUK
XRobot 3.01 O S JoHo 2:201/330 XROS2
Windows (16-bit apps):
Program Name Version F C Contact Name Node Magic Name
FIDONEWS 13-44 Page 44 28 Oct 1996
----------------------------------------------------------------------
BeeMail 1.0 M C Andrius Cepaitis 2:470/1 BEEMAIL
Windows (32-bit apps):
Program Name Version F C Contact Name Node Magic Name
----------------------------------------------------------------------
BeeMail 1.0 M C Andrius Cepaitis 2:470/1 BEEMAIL
Maximus 3.01 B P Tech 1:249/106 MAXN
PlatinumXpress 2.00 M C Gary Petersen 1:290/111 PXW-INFO
T-Mail 2.599I M S Ron Dwight 2:220/22 TMAILNT
Unix:
Program Name Version F C Contact Name Node Magic Name
----------------------------------------------------------------------
ifmail 2.8f M G Eugene Crosser 2:293/2219 IFMAIL
ifmail-tx 2.8f-tx7.7 M G Pablo Saratxaga 2:293/2219 IFMAILTX
MsgEd 4.00 O F Paul Edwards 3:711/934 MSGED
Tobruk 0.33 T F Paul Edwards 3:711/934 TOBRUK
Amiga:
Program Name Version F C Contact Name Node Magic Name
----------------------------------------------------------------------
CrashMail 1.23 T X Fredrik Bennison 2:205/324 CRASHMAIL
CrashTick 1.1 O F Fredrik Bennison 2:205/324 CRASHTICK
MsgEd 4.00 O F Paul Edwards 3:711/934 MSGED
Tobruk 0.33 T F Paul Edwards 3:711/934 TOBRUK
Function: B-BBS, M-Mailer, N-Nodelist, G-Gateway, T-Tosser,
C-Compression, O-Other. Note: Multifunction will be listed
by the first match.
Cost: P-Free for personal use, F-Freeware, S-Shareware, C-Commercial,
X-Crippleware, D-Demoware, G-Free w/ Source
Old info from: 01/27/92
---------------------------------------------------------------------
MS-DOS Systems
--------------
BBS Software NodeList Utilities Other Utilities
Name Version Name Version Name Version
-------------------- -------------------- --------------------
Kitten 1.01 EditNL 4.00 MailBase 4.11a@
Lynx 1.30 FDND 1.10 MSG 4.5*
Merlin 1.39n MakeNL 2.31 MsgLnk 1.0c
Oracomm 5.M.6P@ Parselst 1.33 MsgMstr 2.03a
Oracomm Plus 6.E@ Prune 1.40 MsgNum 4.16d
PCBoard 14.5a SysNL 3.14 MSGTOSS 1.3
Phoenix 1.07* XlatList 2.90 Netsex 2.00b
ProBoard 1.20* XlaxNode/Diff 2.53 OFFLINE 1.35
QuickBBS 2.75 Oliver 1.0a
RBBS 17.3b Other Utilities OSIRIS CBIS 3.02
RemoteAccess 1.11* Name Version PKInsert 7.10
SimplexBBS 1.05 -------------------- PolyXarc 2.1a
FIDONEWS 13-44 Page 45 28 Oct 1996
SLBBS 2.15C* 2DAPoint 1.50* QM 1.00a
Socrates 1.11 4Dog/4DMatrix 1.18 QSort 4.04
SuperBBS 1.12* ARCAsim 2.31 RAD Plus 2.11
SuperComm 0.99 ARCmail 3.00* Raid 1.00
TAG 2.5g Areafix 1.20 RBBSMail 18.0
TBBS 2.1 ConfMail 4.00 ScanToss 1.28
TComm/TCommNet 3.4 Crossnet 1.5 ScMail 1.00
Telegard 2.7* DOMAIN 1.42 ScEdit 1.12
TPBoard 6.1 DEMM 1.06 Sirius 1.0x
WildCat! 3.02* DGMM 1.06 SLMail 2.15C
XBBS 1.77 DOMAIN 1.42 StarLink 1.01
EEngine 0.32 TagMail 2.41
Network Mailers EMM 2.11* TCOMMail 2.2
Name Version EZPoint 2.1 Telemail 1.5*
-------------------- FGroup 1.00 TGroup 1.13
BinkleyTerm 2.50 FidoPCB 1.0s@ TIRES 3.11
D'Bridge 1.30 FNPGate 2.70 TMail 1.21
Dreamer 1.06 GateWorks 3.06e TosScan 1.00
Dutchie 2.90c GMail 2.05 UFGATE 1.03
Milqtoast 1.00 GMD 3.10 VPurge 4.09e
PreNM 1.48 GMM 1.21 WEdit 2.0@
SEAdog 4.60 GoldEd 2.31p WildMail 2.00
SEAmail 1.01 GROUP 2.23 WMail 2.2
TIMS 1.0(mod8) GUS 1.40 WNode 2.1
Harvey's Robot 4.10 XRS 4.99
Compression HeadEdit 1.18 XST 2.3e
Utilities HLIST 1.09 YUPPIE! 2.00
Name Version ISIS 5.12@ ZmailH 1.25
-------------------- Lola 1.01d ZSX 2.40
ARC 7.12 Mosaic 1.00b
ARJ 2.20
LHA 2.13
PAK 2.51
PKPak 3.61
PKZip 1.10
OS/2 Systems
------------
BBS Software Other Utilities(A-M Other Utilities(N-Z)
Name Version Name Version Name Version
-------------------- -------------------- --------------------
Kitten 1.01 ARC 7.12 oMMM 1.52
SimplexBBS 1.04.02+ ARC2 6.01 Omail 3.1
ConfMail 4.00 Parselst 1.33
EchoStat 6.0 PKZip 1.02
Network Mailers EZPoint 2.1 PMSnoop 1.30
Name Version FGroup 1.00 PolyXOS2 2.1a
-------------------- GROUP 2.23 QSort 2.1
BinkleyTerm 2.50 LH2 2.11 Raid 1.0
BinkleyTerm(S) 2.50 MSG 4.2 Remapper 1.2
BinkleyTerm/2-MT MsgLink 1.0c Tick 2.0
1.40.02 MsgNum 4.16d VPurge 4.09e
SEAmail 1.01
FIDONEWS 13-44 Page 46 28 Oct 1996
Xenix/Unix 386
--------------
BBS Software Network Mailers Other Utilities
Name Version Name Version Name Version
-------------------- -------------------- --------------------
ARC 5.21
C-LHARC 1.00
|Contact: Willy Paine 1:343/15,| MSGLINK 1.01
|or Eddy van Loo 2:285/406 | oMMM 1.42
Omail 1.00
ParseLst 1.32
Unzip 3.10
VPurge 4.08
Zoo 2.01
QNX
---
BBS Software Network Mailers Other Utilities
Name Version Name Version Name Version
-------------------- -------------------- --------------------
QTach2 1.09 QMM 0.50s Kermit 2.03
QCP 1.02
NodeList Utilities Archive Utilities QSave 3.6
Name Version Name Version QTTSysop 1.07.1
-------------------- -------------------- SeaLink 1.05
QNode 2.09 Arc 6.02 XModem 1.00
LH 1.00.2 YModem 1.01
Unzip 2.01 ZModem 0.02f
Zoo 2.01
Macintosh
---------
BBS Software Network Mailers Other Software
Name Version Name Version Name Version
-------------------- -------------------- --------------------
FBBS 0.91 Copernicus 1.0 ArcMac 1.3
Hermes 1.6.1 Tabby 2.2 AreaFix 1.6
Mansion 7.15 Compact Pro 1.30
Precision Sys. 0.95b EventMeister 1.0
Red Ryder Host 2.1 Export 3.21
Telefinder Host Import 3.2
2.12T10 LHARC 0.41
MacArd 0.04
Mantissa 3.21
Point System Mehitable 2.0
Software OriginatorII 2.0
Name Version PreStamp 3.2
-------------------- StuffIt Classic 1.6
Copernicus 1.00 SunDial 3.2
CounterPoint 1.09 TExport 1.92
MacWoof 1.1 TimeStamp 1.6
FIDONEWS 13-44 Page 47 28 Oct 1996
TImport 1.92
Tset 1.3
TSort 1.0
UNZIP 1.02c
Zenith 1.5
Zip Extract 0.10
Amiga
-----
BBS Software Network Mailers Other Software
Name Version Name Version Name Version
-------------------- -------------------- --------------------
4D-BBS 1.65 BinkleyTerm 1.00 Areafix 1.48
DLG Pro. 0.96b TrapDoor 1.80 AReceipt 1.5
Falcon CBCS 1.00 WelMat 0.44 ChameleonEdit 0.11
Starnet 1.0q@ ConfMail 1.12
TransAmiga 1.07 ElectricHerald 1.66
XenoLink 1.0 Compression FFRS 1.0@
Utilities FileMgr 2.08
Name Version Fozzle 1.0@
NodeList Utilities -------------------- Login 0.18
Name Version AmigArc 0.23 MessageFilter 1.52
-------------------- booz 1.01 Message View 1.12
ParseLst 1.66 LHARC 1.30 oMMM 1.50
Skyparse 2.30 LhA 1.10 PolyXAmy 2.02
TrapList 1.40 LZ 1.92 RMB 1.30
PkAX 1.00 Roof 46.15
UnZip 4.1 RoboWriter 1.02
Zippy (Unzip) 1.25 Rsh 4.07a
Zoo 2.01 Tick 0.75
TrapToss 1.20
|Contact: Maximilian Hantsch 2:310/6| Yuck! 2.02
Atari ST/TT
-----------
BBS Software Network Mailers Other Utilities
Name Version Name Version Name Version
-------------------- -------------------- --------------------
FIDOdoor/ST 2.5.1 BinkleyTerm 2.40n9 ApplyList 1.00@
FiFo 2.1v The Box 1.95* Burep 1.1
LED ST 1.00 ComScan 1.04
QuickBBS/ST 1.06* ConfMail 4.10
NodeList Utilities Echoscan 1.10
Name Version FDrenum 2.5.2
Compression -------------------- FastPack 1.20
Utilities ParseList 1.30 Import 1.14
Name Version EchoFix 1.20 oMMM 1.40
-------------------- sTICK/Hatch 5.50 Pack 1.00
ARC 6.02 Trenum 0.10
LHARC 2.01i
PackConvert
STZip 1.1*
FIDONEWS 13-44 Page 48 28 Oct 1996
UnJARST 2.00
WhatArc 2.02
Tandy Color Computer 3 (OS-9 Level II)
--------------------------------------
BBS Software Compression Utility Other Utilities
Name Version Name Version Name Version
-------------------- -------------------- --------------------
RiBBS 2.02+ Ar 1.3 Ascan 1.2
DeArc 5.12 AutoFRL 2.0
OS9Arc 1.0 Bundle 2.2
UnZip 3.10 CKARC 1.1
UnLZH 3.0 EchoCheck 1.01
FReq 2.5a
LookNode 2.00
ParseLST
PReq 2.2
RList 1.03
RTick 2.00
UnBundle 1.4
UnSeen 1.1
-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Key to old info:
+ - Netmail Capable (Doesn't Require Additional Mailer Software)
* - Recently Updated Version
@ - New Addition
-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Please send updates and suggestions to: Peter Popovich, 1:363/264
-----------------------------------------------------------------
FIDONEWS 13-44 Page 49 28 Oct 1996
=================================================================
FIDONEWS PUBLIC-KEY
=================================================================
[this must be copied out to a file starting at column 1 or
it won't process under PGP as a valid public-key]
-----BEGIN PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK-----
Version: 2.6.2
Comment: Clear-signing is Electronic Digital Authenticity!
-----END PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK-----
Pending a formal decision about including 'encrypted' material inside
FidoNews from the Zone Coordinator Council, the guts of the FidoNews
public-key have been removed from this listing.
File-request FNEWSKEY from 1:1/23 [1:18/14] or download it from the
Rights On! BBS at 1-904-409-7040 anytime except 0100-0130 ET and Zone
1 ZMH at 1200-9600+ HST/V32B.
This section will contain only this disclaimer and instructions until
a ZCC decision is forwarded to the Editor.
Sorry for any inconvenience.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
FIDONEWS 13-44 Page 50 28 Oct 1996
=================================================================
FIDONEWS INFORMATION
=================================================================
------- FIDONEWS MASTHEAD AND CONTACT INFORMATION -------
Editor: Christopher Baker
Editors Emeritii: Thom Henderson, Dale Lovell,
Vince Perriello, Tim Pozar,
Tom Jennings, Sylvia Maxwell,
Donald Tees
"FidoNews Editor"
FidoNet 1:1/23
BBS 1-904-409-7040, 300/1200/2400/14400/V.32bis/HST(ds)
more addresses:
Christopher Baker -- 1:18/14,
[email protected]
[email protected]
(Postal Service mailing address)
FidoNews Editor
P.O. Box 471
Edgewater, FL 32132-0471
U.S.A.
voice: 1-904-409-3040 [1400-2100 ET only, please]
[1800-0100 UTC/GMT]
------------------------------------------------------
FidoNews is published weekly by and for the members of the FIDONET
INTERNATIONAL AMATEUR ELECTRONIC MAIL system. It is a compilation
of individual articles contributed by their authors or their
authorized agents. The contribution of articles to this compilation
does not diminish the rights of the authors. OPINIONS EXPRESSED in
these articles ARE THOSE OF THE AUTHORS and not necessarily those of
FidoNews.
Authors retain copyright on individual works; otherwise FidoNews is
Copyright 1996 Christopher Baker. All rights reserved. Duplication
and/or distribution permitted for noncommercial purposes only. For
use in other circumstances, please contact the original authors, or
the Editor.
=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=
OBTAINING COPIES: The most recent issue of FidoNews in electronic
form may be obtained from the FidoNews Editor via manual download or
file-request, or from various sites in the FidoNet and Internet.
PRINTED COPIES may be obtained by sending SASE to the above postal
address. File-request FIDONEWS for the current Issue. File-request
FNEWS for the current month in one archive. Or file-request specific
back Issue filenames in distribution format [FNEWSDnn.LZH] for a
FIDONEWS 13-44 Page 51 28 Oct 1996
particular Issue. Monthly Volumes are available as FNWSmmmy.ZIP
where mmm = three letter month [JAN - DEC] and y = last digit of the
current year [6], i.e., FNWSMAY6.ZIP for all the Issues from May 96.
Annual volumes are available as FNEWSn.ZIP where n = the Volume number
1 - 12 for 1984 - 1995, respectively. Annual Volume archives range in
size from 48K to 1.2M.
INTERNET USERS: FidoNews is available via:
http://www.fidonet.org/fidonews.htm
ftp://ftp.fidonet.org/pub/fidonet/fidonews/
ftp://ftp.aminet.org/pub/aminet/comm/fido/
You can read the current FidoNews Issue in HTML format at:
http://www.geocities.com/athens/6894/
STAR SOURCE for ALL Past Issues via FTP and file-request -
Available for FReq from 1:396/1 or by anonymous FTP from:
ftp://ftp.sstar.com/fidonet/fnews/
Each yearly archive also contains a listing of the Table-of-Contents
for that year's issues. The total set is currently about 11 Megs.
=*=*=*=
The current week's FidoNews and the FidoNews public-key are now also
available almost immediately after publication on the Editor's new
homepage on the World Wide Web at:
http://ddi.digital.net/~cbaker84/fidonews.html
There are also links there to jim barchuk's HTML FidoNews source and
to John Souvestre's FTP site for the archives. There is also an email
link for sending in an article as message text. Drop on over.
=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=
A PGP generated public-key is available for the FidoNews Editor from
1:1/23 [1:18/14] by file-request for FNEWSKEY or by download from
Rights On! BBS at 1-904-409-7040 as FIDONEWS.ASC in File Area 18. It
is also posted twice a month into the PKEY_DROP Echo available on the
Zone 1 Echomail Backbone.
*=*=*=*=*
Anyone interested in getting a copy of the INTERNET GATEWAY FAQ may
file-request GISFAQ.ZIP from 1:133/411.0, or send an internet message
to
[email protected]. No message or text or subject is
necessary. The address is a keyword that will trigger the automated
response. People wishing to send inquiries directly to David Deitch
should now mail to
[email protected] rather than the
previously listed address.
FIDONEWS 13-44 Page 52 28 Oct 1996
*=*=*=*=*
SUBMISSIONS: You are encouraged to submit articles for publication in
FidoNews. Article submission requirements are contained in the file
ARTSPEC.DOC, available from the FidoNews Editor, or file-requestable
from 1:1/23 [1:18/14] as file "ARTSPEC.DOC". ALL Zone Coordinators
also have copies of ARTSPEC.DOC. Please read it.
"Fido", "FidoNet" and the dog-with-diskette are U.S. registered
trademarks of Tom Jennings, P.O. Box 410923, San Francisco, CA 94141,
and are used with permission.
"Disagreement is actually necessary,
or we'd all have to get in fights
or something to amuse ourselves
and create the requisite chaos."
-Tom Jennings
-30-
-----------------------------------------------------------------
