F I D O N E W S -- Volume 13, Number 53 30 December 1996

F I D O N E W S -- Volume 13, Number 53 30 December 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. |
+----------------------------------------------------------------------+

HAPPY NEW YEAR! AN EXTRA FIDONEWS ISSUE THIS YEAR!

Table of Contents
1. EDITORIAL ................................................ 1
End of the Volume 13 year ................................ 1
2. COLUMNS .................................................. 2
FIDONET IN EUROPE ........................................ 2
3. FIDONET BIOGRAPHIES ...................................... 3
Joe Klemmer, 1:109/370, a .BIO finally! .................. 3
4. GETTING TECHNICAL ........................................ 5
FSC-0004 - Zones & ZoneGates explained ................... 5
FSC-0005 - Opus passwording explained .................... 6
FSC-0007 - Message Format Specification .................. 10
5. COORDINATORS CORNER ...................................... 17
Nodelist-statistics as seen from Zone-2 for day 362 ...... 17
6. WE GET EMAIL ............................................. 18
FCC information .......................................... 18
7. NET HUMOR ................................................ 22
End of the year laugh? ................................... 22
8. COMIX IN ASCII ........................................... 24
Keep watching the skies! ................................. 24
9. ADVERTISE YOUR FREE SERVICE/EVENT ........................ 27
Announcing the CRICKET_ECHO .............................. 27
Announcing the WRESTLING_CHAT Echo ....................... 27
10. NOTICES ................................................. 28
Future History ........................................... 28
11. FIDONET SOFTWARE LISTING ................................ 29
And more!
FIDONEWS 13-53 Page 1 30 Dec 1996

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

We get an extra Issue this year since we're still in 1996 for this
last Issue. Is that luck or design? [snicker]

The complete year is available here as:

FNEWS13.ZIP

at about 700K compressed. It also contains the complete Table of
Contents for 1996 by Issue in chronological order. The complete year
is also available on the FidoNews webpage at:

http://ddi.digital.net/~cbaker84/fidonews.html

and will be available at the other archive sources listed in the
Masthead at the end of every Issue.

ARTSPEC.DOC has been revised again. The new version has been hatched
into the FIDONEWS file echo and into the SDS area SOFTDIST as
ARTSPEC.ZIP. It will be published in full in Issue 1401 next week.

The only change is the addition of a new filetype for submissions. It
is called: .INT for FidoNet sources via the Internet.

A new Section appears in this Issue just before the Masthead. It
contains Internet addresses for Administrative links and for Zone,
Region, and Net homepages. It will appear every week with accumulated
info. Submissions of independent info using the .INT file extension
will also be written to the new Section. The listed sites are also
available from the FidoNews webpage [see above address]. To date, only
Zone 1 sites are known and listed. I invite all other Zones, Regions,
and Nets to submit their site addresses for listing via Netmail,
email, or .INT submission.

This doesn't mean FidoNet is being taken over by the Internet. It's
just another way to communicate and for many it's much cheaper for
files and docs. FidoNet IS part of the Internet after all. [grin]

It's been a good year for FidoNews with your help and submissions. So
keep them coming! We even have our FIRST .BIO submission this week! I
hope it starts a trend and encourages the rest of you lurkers to get
out of that closet. [Thanks, Joe!]

Starting in Volume 14, Issue 01, the FidoNews PGP public-key will
begin appearing again barring any injunction from the ZCC. A majority
of ZCs responding to my direct Netmail have no problem with its
inclusion in FidoNews. Tom Jennings certainly has no problem with it.

Happy New Year to all!
C.B.

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

FIDONEWS 13-53 Page 2 30 Dec 1996

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

Fidonet In Europe
-----------------
by Dave Meikle ( NOTE NEW NET ADDRESS : 2:259/24.105)

Sorry about last week , I was getting my new net address do you
forgive me ? :-) Nothing happened anyway :-( Newz just in:

THE (UN)OFFICAL DALKEITH THISTLE F.C. Web PAGE.
http://members.aol.com/rebeljambo/thistle

Thats all folks.

Dave

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

FIDONEWS 13-53 Page 3 30 Dec 1996

=================================================================
FIDONET BIOGRAPHIES
=================================================================

Joe Klemmer
1:109/370

I was born on November 12th, 1962 in Bremerhaven of what was
then known as West Germany. My father was a teacher for the DoD
Depend Schools over there. I grew up bouncing back and forth between
the U.S., mostly PA and DE, and Germany until 1976. That summer we
moved to Kaiserslautern where I attended the American High School
there. I was one of three people who went all four years at the
school, such is the life of the Overseas Brat<tm>. After graduating
HS in 1980 I "attempted" collage but, well, let's just say I wasn't
cut out for a prolonged academic career. <g>

My first "real" job was as a U.S. Government Civilian (GS)
computer operator on an old IBM 4331 mainframe. This is where I got
my initial exposure to what is now referred to at the "Cyberworld". I
spent the next 8 years working at many jobs including a dish washer,
truck driver, teacher, more computer operator, football coach, rock
guitarist (paying job doing clubs), still more computer operator and
other things I can't remember.

In July of 1988 we moved to the Washington DC area where I got
a job as. . . No, it wasn't a computer operator. It was a 7-11 clerk!
That lasted about a month till I COULD find a job as a computer
operator. :-) This was with also a GS job and it was here that I
first met my future wife, Joy. After a year and a half of stalking.
. . uh, "wooing" her, we were married on July 28th, 1990. During this
time I fell into a job as a GS computer programmer. I was still
working on mainframe systems, this time an IBM 3090 running MVS, and
my primary work was in COBOL-85.

Now, after I got married and we got a place of our own, I
found that I needed a computer to access the system at work. I got a
386sx-16 with 40meg HD, 2meg RAM and a 2400bps modem. Hot stuff in
late '90, huh? Anyway, I'd heard about BBS's and such so I figured
I'd try some out, since I had the modem and all. Well that got me
hooked and, OC, it wasn't long before I fired up my own BBS. It was
called "My UnKnown BBS" and came up around November of '91. After a
little while I started to get interested in message networks so I
joined (actually I helped create) a QWK net that is now known as the
World Message Exchange or WME.

By now I'd met a number of other Sysops, some of whom were in
Fidonet. I started to look into Fido and, to make a long story short
[too late!], in Nov '92 I got a node number of 1:109/370 thanks to
Dave Aronson and Bruce Feist. About this time I had also started to
notice some discomfort in my hands and a slight numbing of the
fingertips but didn't think it was anything.

So, now I'm in Fido. What's one of the first things to do
when you're in? Dump over 55,000 dupes onto the backbone in a 3 hour
FIDONEWS 13-53 Page 4 30 Dec 1996

period. Needless to say I made many friends at this point, not the
least of which was the NEC for Net-109. After finding the problem
(bad software) and getting it fixed (long story for some other venue)
I was allowed to carry echos again. Since I'd been in such a close
working relationship with the NEC for about a year, I volunteered to
become a backbone hub now that I had a stable setup. I was still
running the BBS and it had become slightly popular but the discomfort
I'd been feeling in my hands had now become unbearable. In the spring
of '94, I was diagnosed with CTS and had to go in for surgery on both
hands. At this point I'd been pretty much unable to maintain the BBS
so I shut it down but kept on as a Fido hub. The surgery worked and,
for a brief time, I had regained 99% of the use of my hands. It was
the fall of that year that the current NC decided it was time to step
down so, being the big mouth. . . uh, Active Citizen that I am, I
stepped in and was elected NC for Net-109. OC, since I was running
unopposed this wasn't much of a surprise.

Not long after that my hands had started to bother me again.
Luckily as NC I didn't need them for much typing.

<RANT>
A good NC should be virtually invisible to the net he's in. If an NC
is sending lots of "admin" messages he's not doing his job right.
</RANT>

The problem with my hands turned out to be something
different. It's called Myofacial Pain Syndrome and is a musculature
disorder that has made my left hand/arm nearly useless and greatly
reduced the use of my right. Because of this, by the beginning of
1996 I'd been thinking about stepping down as NC. This decision was
reinforced when, to our great surprise, Joy became pregnant with our
first child. In September, I stepped down as NC.

During this time my "real" job has moved into the world of the
Web. I built and maintain a site for the Army Publications & Printing
Command and am learning a LOT about perl and java on the fly.
Additionally, we had the best Christmas present ever this year; our
son was born at 1:12 a.m. on Dec 16th. Between him and the web stuff,
I don't think I'll ever get to run a BBS again but. . .

I _AM_ still running a major Backbone hub, though, and will
continue in Fidonet for as long as I have a system and a phone line.

---

The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds new
discoveries, is not "Eureka!" (I found it!) but "That's funny . . ."
-- Isaac Asimov

-30-

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

FIDONEWS 13-53 Page 5 30 Dec 1996

=================================================================
GETTING TECHNICAL
=================================================================

[This is part of our continuing series of FidoNet Technical Proposals.
This Issue contains three FSCs since they were small. They have been
reformatted to 70 columns where required.] Ed.

FSC-0004

Date: Mon 9 Feb 87 21:46
From: Randy Bush on 105/6, PSG Portland of VanPort Area, Portland OR
To: Wynn Wagner on 124/108, The POLE: Opu of Dallas Metrop, Dallas TX
Subj: Re: Zones

The FSC has been working with existing implementations based on a year
or two old paper by Kilgore Trout describing Zones and Points, zone
gates, and nodes supporting points. [ The paper was published in
FidoNews last year, but unfortunately was mostly to do with exploiting
FidoNet financially, but had pretty good technical requirements buried
underneath. ]

The FSC's goal is to send to some place for which one does not have
the nodelist. The underlying problem we are addressing is nodelist
growth. We envision over 10^5 nodes in a few years. Our approach may
be a bit more disjoint than you were considering.

We have private nodelists already, and many of us use them (including
remapping to private nodelists using Points and/or addressees' names).
This has been in use for long enough that we almost understand half
the uses to which folk seem to put it. But the important part of
Zones is not the nomenclature, rather the mapping of addresses.

What the FSC was seeking with Zones (and is implemented and being
tested) is a method of getting mail to Bialystok (sp) without having a
Polish phone book. In the following example, please imagine possible
sugar such as using POLAND for 42 etc.

When I, 1:105/6 address a message to Krzystzof in Bialystok,
42:451/666, it addresses the message header to <irrelevant> and
creates a ^a line something like

^aINTL 42:451/666 1:105/6

The ^aINTL line is noticed by a smart router at either my node, or my
outbound host's node. To date the only ways to create the ^aINTL line
are SEAdog's Mail program and some private utilities.

Either in a batch run on the smart node (currently implemented by the
program ZoneGate) or in a truely smart mailer program (not yet known)
the smart router changes the destination net/node of the message
containing the ^aINTL to the outbound gateway to (or toward) zone 42
by a simple algorithm shown below. Thus, the message will travel
within zone 1 (this zone) as if its final destination was the net/node
FIDONEWS 13-53 Page 6 30 Dec 1996

of the outbound gate. This allows Opera and Fidos 11w to carry it on
its meanderings within any particular zone.

When it arrives at the destination outbound zone gate, the smart
router there notices it, and

o may strip the seenbys (we had thought of it but not yet
implemented it) except for that of the zonegate
o hands the message to the corresponding inbound zone gate by an
unspecified means (intl zone gates tend to be other than FidoNet)

The recipient inbound zone gate looks at the message's ^aINTL line
and, using the same algorithm as all the other smart routers that have
seen the message,

(* I hope you were waiting for the algorithm *)
IF msg.aINTL.toZone = myzone THEN
msg.address := msg.aINTL.toNetNode
ELSE
msg.address := outboundZoneGate [ msg.aINTL.toZone ]

And thus the message travels onward, with its header address net/node
representing it's intra-zone routing within the current zone and the
^aINTL line showing smart routers the true final destination.

Observe that smart routers and zone gates only need know the local
addresses of the outbound zone gates from their own zone's nodelist,
and nothing about the nodelists of other zones. One imagines the
truely international FidoNet having more than 10^5 nodes, with Opera
and Fidos and other pre-Zone clones will carrying the international
traffic on its way within a zone in complete innocence.

The return address for the message is also stored in the ^aINTL line,
so a 'smart' recipient node can reply.

Rather than trading private nodelists, the only information that needs
to be given to smart routers is the addresses of zone gates out of the
current zone. And, of course anybody can set up Zones, zone gates,
and all those nice egalitarian sentiments, all they need is a simple
mapping utility and a way of telling folk that they're a zone gate and
to what.

There are some who consider a Unix gate merely a zone gate. Usenet
certainly is another zone.

-30-

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

FSC-0005

The Opus Computer-Based Conversation System

FIDONEWS 13-53 Page 7 30 Dec 1996

(c) Copyright 1987, Wynn Wagner III, All Rights Reserved

OPUS-CBCS

Matrix Password Methods

MATRIX PASSWORDS USED BY OPUS
-----------------------------

Opus uses two kinds of passwords for matrix sessions:

SESSION LEVEL access code is roughly the same
sort of thing as a user's
password. It is passed from one
system to another during the
session negotiation sequence (aka
YooHoo) and is in effect for the
entire matrix session.

TRANSACTION LEVEL passwords are valid only for WaZOO
"ZedZap" style file requests.
They are a way to protect
requestable material on a file-by-
file basis.

MATRIX PASSWORDS USED BY OTHER<tm> SYSTEMS
------------------------------------------

It is possible that Opus will be sensitive to passwords
produced by other netmail software. Because other password
methods have not been documented or their behavior publicly
explained, the compatibility between Opus and non-WaZOO
systems isn't assured.

Apparently the behavior of some other methods involves
protection against unauthorized "pickup" of material that is
on hold. You can make a case that Opus does this as well.
Opus uses a true session-level protection scheme.
Unauthorized pickup is avoided in that the remote system will
find itself without a carrier.

Within a couple of days of the scheduled release of Opus
1.00, we discovered a change in the implementation of some
"bark" style file request programs. The change was made to
the method of exchange the name of the file being requested
and apparently offers some kind of transaction-level
password. There was no attempt to include this change in
Opus 1.00.

PASSWORDS
---------
FIDONEWS 13-53 Page 8 30 Dec 1996

A password consists of 4 to 6 characters or numbers and is
case insensitive. The password cannot contain white space,
control codes, or punctuation (except an underscore).

Valid characters for passwords are

"a".."z", "A".."Z", "0".."9", "_"

SETTING UP A SESSION LEVEL PROTECTION SYSTEM
--------------------------------------------

UPFRONT
-------

Both sides of a password protected session use the same
access code. My system's password on your system is your
password on my system.

OPUSNODE
--------

The OPUSnode program (by Wes Cowley) has facilities for
dealing with Opus-compatible passwords beginning with version
1.4.4.

STORING PASSWORDS
-----------------

This is fairly technical information about the storage of
matrix passwords.

There are plans to change the structure of the node list file
(NODELIST.SYS), and the new structure has room for a 6-
character password. That's in the future. For the present,
we have to have some place to store the password.

This kludge is about as temporary as they come. The correct
way to handle passwords is to have a structure that can
handle them. The current node list structure has no such
field. It does, however, have an extra-ordinarily amount of
space to hold the CITY.

The CITY in the NodeList.Sys file is 40 characters. If you
want to put a session level password in the node list file,
you can do so.

NORMAL CITY: ccccccccccccccccccnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn

PASSWORDED CITY: ccccccccccccccccccn!ppppppnnnnnnn

c = city information
n = null (ascii zero)
! = exclamation point (or "=")
FIDONEWS 13-53 Page 9 30 Dec 1996

p = password information

In other words, to put a password into the node list CITY
record, follow the city with a null and an exclamation point
and a null-terminated password.

An equals sign can appear instead of an exclamation point.
This has a special meaning to ECHO GUARD (see below).

METHOD
------

The session level password is used during the YooHoo
negotiation. If there is a problem, Opus will drop carrier
on the caller and make a "*" type log entry.

As a confidence factor, successful passwords will be logged
with a tracer ("#") style entry.

SETTING UP A TRANSACTION LEVEL PROTECTION SYSTEM
------------------------------------------------

Transaction level passwords only work with WaZOO "ZedZap"
style file requests.

ORIGINATING SYSTEM
------------------

The REQUESTING system puts the required transaction level
access code into its REQ file.

EXAMPLE: NEATFILE.ARC !mypass_x

SYSTEM WITH REQUESTED FILES
---------------------------

The REQUESTED system has passwords in its `OkFile.'

EXAMPLE: c:\files\neat*.arc !mypass_x

NOTE: Password protected files will not be
available to non-WaZOO file requesters.
There is no known method for having an
access code in the "BARK" style file
request, so Opus just pretends it doesn't
have the file available if such a request
comes in.

ECHOGUARD
---------

FIDONEWS 13-53 Page 10 30 Dec 1996

IMPORTANT: As with the rest of Opus, there is no
guarantee that anything will work as
documented. Because EchoGuard is a
security feature, this fact needs to
be stressed...

THERE IS NO ASSURANCE THAT
ECHOGUARD WILL OFFER YOU ANY
KIND OF PROTECTION.

EchoGuard is a method to trap many attempts "unauthorized"
echomail attempts. There is an undocumented control file
switch for this:

ECHO Guard

If this switch is set, Opus will mark many unauthorized
messages so they won't be scanned and sent to other systems.
EchoGuard does NOT prevent the message(s) in an unauthorized
bundle from being tossed.

Opus assumes bundles from password-protected systems have
already passed the access code test. If it finds a "="
instead of a "!" in the NodeList.Sys file where the password
would go, it treats the packet as though it were approved.
In other words, you can use EchoGuard even though you
exchange echomail with some non-WaZOO systems. For the WaZOO
systems, use a "!" and password in NodeList.Sys.

For the non WaZOO systems, use a "=" character. The equals
sign tells the ECHO GUARD routine that the system in question
is not capable of handling session level passwords.

Unauthorized messages sent to echomail areas will be flagged
as "Sent" and "Orphan" to keep other scan programs from
sending them to anybody else.

###

-30-

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

Document: FSC-0007
Version: 002
Date: 17-Apr-90

FidoNet(r) RFC822-Style Message Format
(Informal Proposed Message Format Specification - Draft, revised)
Robert Heller @ 1:321/153.0
April 17, 1990

FIDONEWS 13-53 Page 11 30 Dec 1996

Status of this document:

This FSC suggests a proposed protocol for the FidoNet(r)
community, and requests discussion and suggestions for
improvements. Distribution of this document is unlimited.

Fido and FidoNet are registered marks of Tom Jennings and Fido
Software.

1. Purpose.
===========

The purpose of this document is to outline my ideas concerning FidoNet
(r) message format, both as stored on disk as message files handled by
BBS (or other "conferencing" programs) and as these messages exist
packed into "bundles" or "packets" as transmitted from machine to
machine. I think using a uniform format for normal message storage
will make things easier, at least in terms of "standardized" message
bundling and transmiting software is concerned. If done right it also
makes things easier for BBS and conferencing software writers too.

This specification is only a first draft proposal. Just something to
put on the table for discussion. Feel free to comment on it. I am open
to suggestions.

2. Preliminary Definitions.
===========================

I will be using BNF notation to describe the format of data fields.
This is a fairly standard notation and should be familar to anyone who
has taken a compiler design course. To make things a little briefer,
I will be using some pre-defined psuedo-terminal symbols. These
symbols are defined as:

o The symbol ALPHA referes to any ASCII alphabetic character,
including the uppercase letters ('A' thru 'Z', 41H thru
5AH), the lowercase letters ('a' thru 'z', 61H thru 7AH) and
these characters: '#' (23H), '$' (24H), '&' (26H), '*'
(2AH), '+' (2BH), '-' (2DH), '=' (3DH), '^' (5EH), and '_'
(5FH).

o The symbol DIGIT refers to any of the ASCII characters '0'
thru '9' (30H thru 39H).

| o The symbol NEWLINE refers to the single ASCII character LF (0AH),
| when the message is in transit, and refers to the local O/S's
| newline convention for text files (i.e. LF under UNIX, CRLF under
| MS-DOS and CP/M, CR under OS-9, etc.), or whatever is convient
| for the BBS software.

o The symbol WHITESPACE refers to one or more ASCII space
(20H) or tab (09H) characters.

o The symbol OPTWHITESPACE referes to zero or more ASCII space
(20H) or tab (09H) characters.

FIDONEWS 13-53 Page 12 30 Dec 1996

o The symbol TEXT referes to zero or more printable ASCII
characters not including a NEWLINE sequence.

o The symbol NULL referes to the null string (no characters at
all).

Oh, one other thing: message files contain only printable ASCII
characters and NEWLINE sequences (packed messages will have non-
printable bytes). Also, I'll number the definations. I am also only
using six BNF operator characters: a vertical bar (|) for alteration,
braces ({}) for comments, single quotes (') for character and string
literals and parens (()) for expression grouping.

3. Definations 1: Stored Message.
=================================

Changed or added definations are indicated by an '*' after the def
number.

The goal symbol is "<message>".

{ A message consists of a header followed followed by a
NEWLINE followed by a message body. }
<message>::=<header> NEWLINE <message-body> {Def 1.1}
{ A message body is just unbounded text. }
<message-body>::=NULL | (TEXT NEWLINE <message-body>) {Def 1.2}
{ A header is more complicated: There are a series of
header line types. }
<header>::= NULL | (<header-line> NEWLINE <header>) {Def 1.3} *
{ This syntax defines the posiblity of a null header -
this needs to be checked for by sematic routines,
since it makes no sense. } <header-
line>::=<to>|<from>|<date>|<attributes>|
<cost>|<subject>|<via>|<origin>| <area>|<seen-
by>|<path>|<message-id>|
<processed-by>|<other-header-line> {Def 1.4} *
{ Now for the header line formats themselves.
Some notes: certain header lines are required (<to>,
<from>, and <date>), and some can only occur once (<to>,
<from>, <date>, and <subject>). Except for these
restrictions, most header lines can either be omited or can
occur more than once. }
<to>::='To: ' <address> {Def 1.5}
<from>::='From: ' <address> {Def 1.6}
<address>::=<user> OPTWHITESPACE '@' OPTWHITESPACE
<nodeid> {Def 1.7}
<user>::= ALPHA <user1> {Def 1.8}
<user1>::= (ALPHA | DIGIT | WHITESPACE | NULL) <user1> {Def 1.9}
{ Note: this is the full blown FidoNet node address -
includes optional zone and point numbers.
It does not include the "domain". I am not sure
about this - I think more discussion on the whole
idea of "domains" and "zones" is needed. My feeling
is we should look into a symbolic addressing system,
simular to what the InterNet uses. }
FIDONEWS 13-53 Page 13 30 Dec 1996

<nodeid>::= ((<digits> ':') | NULL) {zone}
<digits> '/' <digits> {basic net/node}
(('.' <digits>) | NULL) {point} {Def 1.10}
<digits>::= DIGIT | (DIGIT <digits>) {Def 1.11}
<date>::='Date: ' <date-string> {Def 1.12}
{ Here it is: my idea for a *standard* date string }
{ day-of-week month date, year hour:minute AM/PM time-zone }
{ Although not specified, hours and minutes are zero padded to
two digits. The date and year are not padded at all.}
<date-string>::= <day> ' ' <month> ' ' <digits> ', '
<digits> ' ' <digits> ':' <digits>
<am-pm> ((' ' <time-zone> | NULL) {Def 1.13}
<day>::= 'Mon" | 'Tue' | 'Wed' | 'Thu' | 'Fri' |
'Sat' | 'Sun' {Def 1.14}
<month>::= 'Jan' | 'Feb' | 'Mar' | 'Apr' | 'May' |
'Jun' | 'Jul' | 'Aug' | 'Sep' | 'Oct' |
'Nov' | 'Dec' {Def 1.15}
{ If the AM/PM indicator is missing (null), the hours
field is assumed to in 24-hour format (i.e. 00 to 23) }
<am-pm>::= 'AM' | 'PM' | NULL {Def 1.16}
{ This field is optional. It makes sense given that
FidoNet <tm> is international. }
<time-zone>::= ALPHA | (ALPHA <time-zone>) {Def 1.17}
<subject>::=('Subject: ' | 'Subject (Private): ') TEXT {Def 1.18}
<cost>::='Cost: ' <money-sign> <digits>
(('.' <digits>) | NULL) {Def 1.19}
{ This is tricky, given the internationalness
of FidoNet(r). I guess it isn't critical. }
<money-sign>::= '$' | '#' | NULL {Def 1.20}
<via>::= 'Via: ' <nodeid> ', ' <date-string> <program> {Def 1.21}
<program>::= NULL | (' ' TEXT) {Def 1.22}
<processed-by>::= 'Processed-by: ' TEXT {Def 1.22.1} *
{ This replaces the 'tear' line. }
<origin>::= 'Origin: ' TEXT '(' <nodeid> ')' {Def 1.23} *
<area>::= 'Area: ' <areaname> {Def 1.24}
{ I'm leaving the question of all caps for the
area name open: other than ease of comparision,
is it neccessary to be all caps? }
<areaname>::= ALPHA | (ALPHA <areaname>) {Def 1.25}
<seen-by>::= 'Seen-By: ' <node-list> {Def 1.26} *
<node-list>::= <nodelist-nodeid> |
(<nodelist-nodeid> <node-list>) {Def 1.27} *
<nodelist-nodeid> ::= ((<digits> ':') | NULL)
((<digits> '/') | NULL)
(<digits> | NULL)
(('.' <digits>) | NULL) {Def 1.28} *
{ This is also open-ended. Should there be a
standard format for this?
The syntax here is somewhat ambigious - it
allows for certain bogus forms. It needs sematic
routines to handle these forms (raise an error
or whatever). Writing the grammer to avoid these
problems would add complexity not needed at this
level. }
<path>::= 'Path: ' <node-list> {Def 1.28.1} *
<message-id>::= 'Message-id: ' <nodeid> ' ' <serialnum> {Def 1.29} *
FIDONEWS 13-53 Page 14 30 Dec 1996

{ This is the syntax proposed by Jim Nutt }
<serialnum>::= {8 hex digits} {Def 1.29.1} *
{ I've left out a proper grammer rule or token
for a hexidecimal number. }
<attributes>::= 'Attributes: ' <attrlist> {Def 1.30}
<attrlist>::=<attribute> | (<attribute> ', ' <attrlist>){Def 1.31}
{ This is probably not complete, but...}
<attribute>::='Kill Sent' | 'File Attached' | 'File Request' |
'Sent' | 'Crash' | 'Audit' {Def 1.32}
{ Maybe we should forget about an 'Attributes: '
header tag and instead have a collection of
additional header tags to handle each posible
attibute - i.e. 'File-Attached: <filename>',
'File-Request: <filename> <update-info>',
'Sent: <date-sent>', etc. header lines. }
<other-header-line>::=<tagname> ': ' (TEXT | NULL) {Def 1.33}
{ This is the expandsion hook. }
<tagname>::= ALPHA <tagname1> {Def 1.34}
<tagname1>::=NULL | ((ALPHA | WHITESPACE | DIGIT |
<pun> <tagname1>) {Def 1.35}
{ This is also open-ended. Restriction: colon (:)
cannot be allowed! }
<pun>::='(' | ')' | '.' | ',' | ';' {Def 1.36}

4. Packed Message Format.
=========================

A packed message is simply a regular message with some binary
header (i.e. an "envelope") info and a NUL (00H) byte after the
message text:

Offset
dec hex
.-----------------------------------------------.
0 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
+-----------------------+-----------------------+
2 2 | origZone (low order) | origZone (high order) |
+-----------------------+-----------------------+
4 4 | origNet (low order) | origNet (high order) |
+-----------------------+-----------------------+
6 8 | origNode (low order) | origNode (high order) |
+-----------------------+-----------------------+
8 8 | origPoint (low order) | origPoint (high order)|
+-----------------------+-----------------------+
10 A | destZone (low order) | destZone (high order) |
+-----------------------+-----------------------+
12 C | destNet (low order) | destNet (high order) |
+-----------------------+-----------------------+
14 E | destNode (low order) | destNode (high order) |
+-----------------------+-----------------------+
16 10 | destPoint (low order) | destPoint (high order)|
+-----------------------+-----------------------+
18 12 | Attribute (low order) | Attribute (high order)|
+-----------------------+-----------------------+
20 14 | message text (includes ASCII header) |
~ unbounded ~
FIDONEWS 13-53 Page 15 30 Dec 1996

| null terminated |
`-----------------------------------------------'

Some notes: I've included both the Zone and Point addresses in the
packed message headers. This does not really affect things like
routing and point mapping. The packets themselves have addressing
info in their headers (as described in FSC001). The addressing in the
packet header - this addressing is used by the transmitting programs.
The internal addressing info is processed by re-packing programs -
that is programs which peel routed messages (messages that are "just
passing through") and re-packet them for later re-transmitsion to
another node during a future mail event. Messages destined for the
current node (one whose address exactly matches all four destination
address words), get extracted from the packet and stored in the
message base. Note that only the ASCII message text is stored. The
binary header is discarded at this point.

5. Conclusions.
===============

It is my idea that FidoNet(r) is going to sooner or later going need
some of the extendablity provided by this sort of message format. If
fact it allready needs some of these fields, and has been "faking it"
for some time now: things like EchoMail ("Area: ", "Origin: ", "Seen-
By: ", and "Path: " header lines), points and zones (extra addressing
hacks), uucp gatewaying (more extra addressing hacks), routing ("Via:
" header lines). Going to a RFC822-style message format also helps to
increase the varity of BBS and conferencing software - this will help
improve the "state of the art" in this regard. Also, using a RFC822-
style message format allows indefinite extensablity - as new ideas
regarding messages and conferencing develope, the message format can
be easily extended to handle these new ideas with ease.

6. Contact Info.
================

Comments, suggestions, gripes, etc. can be sent to me at any of
these addresses:

ARPANet: [email protected]
BITNET: [email protected]
Genie: RHELLER
BIX: lockshill.bbs
CompuServe: 71450,3432
FidoNet Robert Heller @ 1:321/153.0
USMail: HC82 Box 29 LH1, Locks Hill Road, Wendell, MA
01379
Voice Phone: Home: 617-544-6933, Work: 413-545-0528
Data Phone: 617-544-8337 at 300, 1200, or 2400 BAUD
24hours, except during FidoNet(r) mail
periods.

7. More Information.
====================

I have written a set of EchoMail processing using a message format
FIDONEWS 13-53 Page 16 30 Dec 1996

described in this document. The code is in C and is freely available
for evalation. If you would like a copy, let me know and I will get a
copy to you. I developed the code under OS-9/68000, but the code
should easily port to other platforms.

-30-

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

FIDONEWS 13-53 Page 17 30 Dec 1996

=================================================================
COORDINATORS CORNER
=================================================================

Nodelist-statistics as seen from Zone-2 for day 362
By Ward Dossche, 2:292/854
ZC/2

+----+------+------------+------------+------------+------------+--+
|Zone|Nl-334|Nodelist-341|Nodelist-348|Nodelist-355|Nodelist-362|%%|
+----+------+------------+------------+------------+------------+--+
| 1 | 10931|10931 0 |10737 -194 |10564 -173 |10452 -112 |36|
| 2 | 16240|16185 -55 |16150 -35 |16127 -23 |16104 -23 |55|
| 3 | 886| 882 -4 | 882 0 | 878 -4 | 876 -2 | 3|
| 4 | 584| 578 -6 | 572 -6 | 413 -159 | 556 143 | 2|
| 5 | 94| 94 0 | 94 0 | 93 -1 | 93 0 | 0|
| 6 | 1008| 1006 -2 | 1003 -3 | 1003 0 | 1075 72 | 4|
+----+------+------------+------------+------------+------------+--+
| 29743|29676 -67 |29438 -238 |29078 -360 |29156 78 |
+------+------------+------------+------------+------------+

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

FIDONEWS 13-53 Page 18 30 Dec 1996

=================================================================
WE GET EMAIL
=================================================================

--- Following message extracted from FIDONEWS @ 1:18/14 ---
By Christopher Baker on Thu Dec 26 15:37:56 1996

From: Mike Bilow
To: Christopher Baker
Date: 26 Dec 96 02:15:12
Subj: FCC fines LDSI/LDS for "slamming"

* Forwarded (from: NESYSOP) by Mike Bilow using BilowMail0.2.
* Originally from Mike Bilow (1:323/107) to All.
* Original dated: Dec 26 '96, 02:10

This is an official FCC news release which may be of importance to
some Fidonet sysops if they have had dealings with the companies
concerned.

-- Mike

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

NEWSReport No. CC 96-21 COMMON CARRIER ACTION December 17, 1996

COMMON CARRIER BUREAU FINDS TWO COMPANIES
APPARENTLY LIABLE FOR FORFEITURE FOR SLAMMING

Today the Common Carrier Bureau issued two Notices of Apparent
Liability ("NALs") for alleged violations of the Commission's
"slamming" rules. The Bureau's action was directed at two companies,
Long Distance Services, Inc. (LDSI) and a separate entity with the
same name located in Michigan, Long Distance Services, Inc., (LDS,
Inc.). The Bureau found each company liable for forfeiture penalties
for violating Commission rules and orders concerning changes to
consumers' long distance carriers.

Under Commission rules, changes in a consumers long distance
service by another long distance carrier must be confirmed by a
document known as a Letter of Agency ("LOA"), which is signed by the
customer to authorize the change. The Bureau noted that if carriers
rely on LOA's to change a consumer's long distance service that the
carrier must ensure that the authorization has been validated by the
consumer.

The Bureau's action against LDSI today generated from consumers
who alleged that they did not authorize changing their long distance
service to LDSI. Based on an investigation by the Enforcement
Division, the Bureau found no similarities between the signature on
the LOA authorizing the changes and the signature on the consumer
complaint submitted to the Commission. The Bureau assessed a
forfeiture of $80,000 for the violations.

In the case involving LDS, Inc., the Bureau received two
FIDONEWS 13-53 Page 19 30 Dec 1996

complainants from consumers who alleged that they did not authorize a
change in service to LDS, Inc. The Bureau found in the first case
that the LOA authorizing the change in long distance service used by
LDS, Inc. did not bear a valid signature or address. A second
consumer admitted to entering a raffle by completing an entry form to
win a prize, but claimed that he did not sign an LOA to authorize a
change in his long distance service. The Bureau found that the LOA in
question violated Commission rules regarding proper LOA form and
content. The Bureau issued an NAL for $40,000 for the unauthorized
conversion and $40,000 for the violation of proper LOA form and
content, for a total of $80,000.

In both actions announced today, the Common Carrier Bureau found
that each carrier in question apparently violated the Commission's
"slamming" rules by substituting itself as the long distance carrier
for a consumer without that consumer's authorization. The practice of
changing a consumer's long distance carrier without authorization is
commonly known as "slamming." Last year, the Commission implemented
new rules to better protect consumers from the practice of "slamming".
The Common Carrier Bureau's Enforcement Division investigates consumer
complaints and takes action against responsible carriers.

Actions by the Chief, Common Carrier Bureau, December 17, 1996,
by Notices of Apparent Liability (DA 96-2101, DA 96-2102).

-FCC-

News media contact: Jodie Buenning (202)418-1500
Common Carrier Bureau contact: Kathie Kneff at (202) 632-7553 or
Kaylene Shannon at (202) 418-0960.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

---
Origin: N1BEE BBS +1 401 944 8498 V.34/V.FC/HST16.8 (1:323/107)

--- Following message extracted from FIDONEWS @ 1:18/14 ---
By Christopher Baker on Thu Dec 26 15:38:12 1996

From: Mike Bilow
To: Christopher Baker
Date: 26 Dec 96 03:23:06
Subj: ISPs to be charged IEXC access fees?

* Forwarded (from: NESYSOP) by Mike Bilow using BilowMail0.2.
* Originally from Mike Bilow (1:323/107) to All.
* Original dated: Dec 26 '96, 03:22

Mike Bilow wrote in a message to Mike Bilow:

MB> See:

MB> Linkname: CNNfn - FCC dials up reform of local-access fees -
MB> Dec. 24, 1996
MB> URL: http://cnnfn.com/hotstories/companies/wires/9612/24/fcc_wg/
FIDONEWS 13-53 Page 20 30 Dec 1996

MB> According to a minor comment at the end of the story, the
MB> FCC is now asking for public comment on whether ISPs should
MB> be treated like long distance companies for purposes of
MB> local access fee charges.

The FCC has posted a news release on this subject at

http://www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/Common_Carrier/News_Releases/nrcc6088.txt

and the full text in both ASCII and WordPerfect 5.1 for Windows
formats at

http://www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/Common_Carrier/Notices/fcc96488.txt
http://www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/Common_Carrier/Notices/fcc96488.wp

The FCC seems quite cautious, if not outright terrified, realizing
that messing with the Internet too much could kill it. In fact, the
FCC very much seems to understand the real problem:

288. We tentatively conclude that information service
providers should not be required to pay interstate
access charges as currently constituted. As we have
explained throughout this Notice, the existing access
charge system includes non-cost-based rates and
inefficient rate structures. We see no reason to extend
this regime to an additional class of users, especially
given the potentially detrimental effects on the growth
of the still-evolving information services industry.
Although our original decision in 1983 to treat ESPs as
end users rather than carriers was explained as a
temporary exemption, we tentatively conclude that the
current pricing structure should not be changed so long
as the existing access charge system remains in place.
The mere fact that providers of information services use
incumbent LEC networks to receive calls from their
customers does not mean that such providers should be
subject to an interstate regulatory system designed for
circuit-switched interexchange voice telephony. We seek
comment on this tentative conclusion.

Comments in response to the inquiry are due February 21, 1997 and
reply comments are due March 24, 1997. The FCC will accept informal
filings by Internet e-mail; see http://www.fcc.gov/isp.html for
instructions. Internet e-mail filings must contain the proper caption
code in the subject line, in this case "CC Docket No. 96-263."

The full official caption for the Notice of Inquiry is "Usage of the
Public Switched Network by Information Service and Internet Access
Providers, Common Carrier Bureau Docket No. 96-263."

-- Mike

---
Origin: N1BEE BBS +1 401 944 8498 V.34/V.FC/HST16.8 (1:323/107)

FIDONEWS 13-53 Page 21 30 Dec 1996

-30-

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

FIDONEWS 13-53 Page 22 30 Dec 1996

=================================================================
NET HUMOR
=================================================================

From: "Mike Riddle" <[email protected]>
To: "Baker, Christopher" <[email protected] (Christopher Baker)
Date: Sat, 28 Dec 96 09:48:04 -0600
Reply-To: "Mike Riddle" <[email protected]>
Subject: Fwd: An end of the year laugh

==================BEGIN FORWARDED MESSAGE==================

>From: rsd381 <[email protected]>
>To: [email protected]
>Subject: An end of the year laugh

I saw this while surfing. Even though this is not law related we all
are entitled to a laugh once in a while.

Ten Things That Would Be Different if Microsoft Started Building Cars.

1: A particular model year of car wouldn't be available until
after that year instead of before it.

2: Every time they repainted the lines on the road, you'd have to
buy a new car.

3: Occasionally, your car would just die for no reason, and you'd
have to restart it. For some strange reason, you'd just
accept this.

4: You could only have one person in the car at a time, unless
you bought a Car 95 or Car NT. But then you'd have to buy
more seats.

5: Sun Motorsystems would make a car that was powered by the sun,
was twice as reliable, and five times as fast - but it would
only run on 5 percent of the roads.

6: The oil, engine, gas, and alternator warning lights would be
replaced by a single "General Car Fault" warning light.

7: People would get excited about "new" features in Microsoft
cars, forgetting completely that they had been available in
other cars for years.

8: We'd all have to switch to Microsoft gas.

9: The U.S. government would be getting subsidies from an
automaker, instead of giving them.

10: New seats would force everyone to have the same size butt.

Robert Daniels
FIDONEWS 13-53 Page 23 30 Dec 1996

[email protected]

===================END FORWARDED MESSAGE===================

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

FIDONEWS 13-53 Page 24 30 Dec 1996

=================================================================
COMIX IN ASCII
=================================================================

From: [email protected] (Kay Shapero)
Date: 17 Dec 96 21:54:14 -0800
Subject: ASCII art
Organization: An Internet Gateway
To: [email protected]

You were asking about ascii art for FidoNews... :->

The following is the record of a little zap war conducted between
yours truly and Keith Glass. I don't know who originally drew the
Klingon Cruiser; the Shadow BattleCrab is Keith's, the rest mine.

I led off with:

_
_|_|_
^/ . ..\^
___[=========]___
___-==++""" . /. . . \ . """++==-___
__-+"" __\ .. . . | .. . | . . . /__ ""+-__
/\__+-"" `-----=====\_ <O> _/=====-----' ""-+__/\
_/_/ ""="" \_\_
/_/ \_\
// | \\
/") \ | / ("\
\o\ \*/ /o/
\_) --**O**-- (_/
/*\
/ | \
|

Ahem...

Keith countered with:

/
/
/ _-
/ /
# / _-
####/ _____/
#########
##########--___
##########
########## @
/ ######| @
/ / | |@
/ / | |@
/ / | |
FIDONEWS 13-53 Page 25 30 Dec 1996

@
@
\# @ #/
> \@/ _
> _|_|_
> ^/ . ..\^
> ___[=========]___
> ___-==++""" . /. . . \ . """++==-___
> __-+"" __\ .. . . | .. . | . . . /__ ""+-__
> /\__+-"" `-----=====\_ <O> _/=====-----' ""-+__/\
> _/_/ ""="" \_\_
> /_/ /@\ \_\
> // /#@#\ \\
> /") /##@##\ ("\
> \o\ @ /o/
> \_) @ (_/

And I responded with....

\ /
\ /
\ / _-
_\ PSSST!!!!! / /
\ \ # / _-
\ \--| /.................................####/ _____/
\____/ /.....................................#########
! !=============================================##########--__
_( )_ \........................########## |
/ \ \...................... ##########
! ! / ######|
! R ! / / |
! ! / / |
! A ! / / |
! !
! I !
! !
! D !
! !
\-----/

When last seen, things had degenerated into words, and a hail of
custard pies as contributed by yours truly:
__ __ __ __
--- ! \ --- ! \ --- ! \ --- ! \
--- ! ! --- ! ! --- ! ! --- ! !
--- !_/ --- !_/ --- !_/ --- !_/

SPLATSPLATSPLATSPLAT!!

__ __ __ __
/ ! --- / ! --- / ! --- / ! ---
! ! --- ! ! --- ! ! --- ! ! ---
\_! --- \_! --- \_! --- \_! ---

FIDONEWS 13-53 Page 26 30 Dec 1996

!!TALPSTALPSTALPSTALPS

If anything else of interest emerges from the front I'll let you
know... :->

-30-

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

FIDONEWS 13-53 Page 27 30 Dec 1996

=================================================================
ADVERTISE YOUR FREE SERVICE/EVENT
=================================================================

Emanuel Edwards
1:348/963
[email protected]

Hello all Cricket Lovers:

This ad is to inform you that there is a cricket echo now on fidonet.
The echo tag is called CRICKET_ECHO. The cricket_echo describe all
aspects on how the game is played, the latest scores and upcoming
tours and events in the cricket world. Please request the
cricket_echo onto your bbs. Thanks Emanuel Moderator.

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

Emanuel Edwards
1:348/963
[email protected]

Hello all Wrestling Fans:

This ad is to inform you that there is a new wrestling echo on the
fidonet backbone. The echo tag is called WRESTLING_CHAT. This echo
is a free speech wrestling echo. It gives all the latest rumours
of what's going on in the wrestling world, upcoming matches and
events in the wrestling world. Please request the WRESTLING_CHAT
onto your bbs. Thanks Emanuel Moderator.

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

FIDONEWS 13-53 Page 28 30 Dec 1996

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

Future History

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 13-53 Page 29 30 Dec 1996

=================================================================
FIDONET SOFTWARE LISTING
=================================================================

[This is a repeat of last week's Software List.] Ed.

Latest Greatest Software Versions
by Peter E. Popovich, 1:363/264

-Still- in the process of catching up. Ugh.

Phased out this week: ProBoard 1.20, QuickBBS 2.75,
PCBoard 14.5a, and Phoenix 1.07.

Phase-out highlights:
This week: SimplexBBS 1.05 and SLBBS 2.15C
Deadline for info: 03 Jan 1997.
Last week: RBBS 17.3b and RemoteAccess 1.11
Deadline for info: 27 Dec 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
ALLFIX 4.33 T S Harald Harms 2:281/415 ALLFIX
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
2:500/9 IMCRYPT
FIDONEWS 13-53 Page 30 30 Dec 1996

InfoMail 1.11 O F Damian Walker 2:2502/666 INFOMAIL
InfoMail/386 1.20 O F Damian Walker 2:2502/666 INFO386
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 G 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
StealTag UK 1.c... O F Fred Schenk 2:284/412 STEAL_UK
StealTag NL 1.c... O F Fred Schenk 2:284/412 STEAL_NL
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 G 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
WWIVTOSS 1.30 T S Craig Dooley 1:376/126 WWIVTOSS
xMail 2.00 T S Thorsten Franke 2:2448/53 XMAIL
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 1.18 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 G 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 G Paul Edwards 3:711/934 TOBRUK
FIDONEWS 13-53 Page 31 30 Dec 1996

XRobot 3.01 O S JoHo 2:201/330 XROS2

Windows (16-bit apps):
Program Name Version F C Contact Name Node Magic Name
----------------------------------------------------------------------
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 2.8g M G Eugene Crosser 2:293/2219 IFMAIL
ifmail-tx 2.8g-tx7.8 M G Pablo Saratxaga 2:293/2219 IFMAILTX
MsgEd 4.00 O G Paul Edwards 3:711/934 MSGED
Tobruk 0.33 T G 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 G Paul Edwards 3:711/934 MSGED
Tobruk 0.33 T G 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 Other Utilities Other Utilities
Name Version Name Version Name Version
-------------------- -------------------- --------------------
RBBS 17.3b 2DAPoint 1.50* Netsex 2.00b
RemoteAccess 1.11* 4Dog/4DMatrix 1.18 OFFLINE 1.35
SimplexBBS 1.05 ARCAsim 2.31 Oliver 1.0a
SLBBS 2.15C* ARCmail 3.00* OSIRIS CBIS 3.02
Socrates 1.11 Areafix 1.20 PKInsert 7.10
SuperBBS 1.12* ConfMail 4.00 PolyXarc 2.1a
SuperComm 0.99 Crossnet 1.5 QM 1.00a
TAG 2.5g DOMAIN 1.42 QSort 4.04
FIDONEWS 13-53 Page 32 30 Dec 1996

TBBS 2.1 DEMM 1.06 RAD Plus 2.11
TComm/TCommNet 3.4 DGMM 1.06 Raid 1.00
Telegard 2.7* DOMAIN 1.42 RBBSMail 18.0
TPBoard 6.1 EEngine 0.32 ScanToss 1.28
WildCat! 3.02* EMM 2.11* ScMail 1.00
XBBS 1.77 EZPoint 2.1 ScEdit 1.12
FGroup 1.00 Sirius 1.0x
Network Mailers FidoPCB 1.0s@ SLMail 2.15C
Name Version FNPGate 2.70 StarLink 1.01
-------------------- GateWorks 3.06e TagMail 2.41
BinkleyTerm 2.50 GMail 2.05 TCOMMail 2.2
D'Bridge 1.30 GMD 3.10 Telemail 1.5*
Dreamer 1.06 GMM 1.21 TGroup 1.13
Dutchie 2.90c GoldEd 2.31p TIRES 3.11
Milqtoast 1.00 GROUP 2.23 TMail 1.21
PreNM 1.48 GUS 1.40 TosScan 1.00
SEAdog 4.60 Harvey's Robot 4.10 UFGATE 1.03
SEAmail 1.01 HeadEdit 1.18 VPurge 4.09e
TIMS 1.0(mod8) HLIST 1.09 WEdit 2.0@
ISIS 5.12@ WildMail 2.00
Compression Lola 1.01d WMail 2.2
Utilities Mosaic 1.00b WNode 2.1
Name Version MailBase 4.11a@ XRS 4.99
-------------------- MSG 4.5* XST 2.3e
ARC 7.12 MsgLnk 1.0c YUPPIE! 2.00
ARJ 2.20 MsgMstr 2.03a ZmailH 1.25
LHA 2.13 MsgNum 4.16d ZSX 2.40
PAK 2.51 MSGTOSS 1.3
PKPak 3.61
PKZip 1.10

NodeList Utilities
Name Version
--------------------
EditNL 4.00
FDND 1.10
MakeNL 2.31
Parselst 1.33
Prune 1.40
SysNL 3.14
XlatList 2.90
XlaxNode/Diff 2.53

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
FIDONEWS 13-53 Page 33 30 Dec 1996

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

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

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
TImport 1.92
Tset 1.3
TSort 1.0
UNZIP 1.02c
Zenith 1.5
Zip Extract 0.10

Amiga
FIDONEWS 13-53 Page 34 30 Dec 1996

-----

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*
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
FIDONEWS 13-53 Page 35 30 Dec 1996

-------------------- -------------------- --------------------
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 13-53 Page 36 30 Dec 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 13-53 Page 37 30 Dec 1996

=================================================================
FIDONET BY INTERNET
=================================================================

This is a list of all FidoNet-related sites reported to the Editor as
of this appearance.

============

FidoNet:

Homepage http://www.fidonet.org
FidoNews http://ddi.digital.net/~cbaker84/fidonews.html
HTML FNews http://www.geocities.com/athens/6894/
WWW sources http://scms.rgu.ac.uk/students/cs_yr94/lk/fido.html
FTSC page http://www.blaze.net.au/ftsc.html
Echomail http://www.portal.ca/~awalker/index.html

============

Zone 1:

Region 10:
http://www.psnw.com/~net205/region10.html

Region 15:
http://www.smrtsys.com/region15/

Region 17:
http://www.portal.com/~awalker/region17.htm

Region 18:
http://www.citicom.com/fido.html

Region 19:
http://ccove.n-link.com/

============

Zone 2:

============

Zone 3:

============

Zone 4:

============

Zone 5:

============

Zone 6:
FIDONEWS 13-53 Page 38 30 Dec 1996

============

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

FIDONEWS 13-53 Page 39 30 Dec 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]
[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
FIDONEWS 13-53 Page 40 30 Dec 1996

FNEWS for the current month in one archive. Or file-request specific
back Issue filenames in distribution format [FNEWSDnn.LZH] for a
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.

*=*=*=*=*

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.
FIDONEWS 13-53 Page 41 30 Dec 1996

"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-

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