F I D O N E W S -- Volume 14, Number 44 3 November 1997

F I D O N E W S -- Volume 14, Number 44 3 November 1997
+----------------------------+-----------------------------------------+
| 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. |
+----------------------------------------------------------------------+

Have you ever seen a dream squawking?

Table of Contents
1. EDITORIAL ................................................ 1
Those pesky formatting instructions ...................... 1
2. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR .................................... 2
Needs FidoNews in Net 332 in Zone 2 ...................... 2
I messed up! ............................................. 2
3. ARTICLES ................................................. 4
FTSC Administrator - NOTICE OF VOTE ...................... 4
CYBERNAUTS SING THE PRAISES OF BULLETIN BOARDS ........... 6
4. COLUMNS .................................................. 9
Fidonet in Europe ........................................ 9
5. COORDINATORS CORNER ...................................... 15
North American Backbone Echo Changes [Sep-Oct] ........... 15
6. NET HUMOR ................................................ 16
Diary of an AOL user ..................................... 16
7. ADVERTISE YOUR FREE SERVICE/EVENT ........................ 19
Wrestling Echos .......................................... 19
8. NOTICES .................................................. 20
Future History ........................................... 20
FidoNet via Internet Hubs ................................ 20
9. FIDONET SOFTWARE LISTING ................................. 22
Latest Greatest Software Versions ........................ 22
10. FIDONEWS PUBLIC-KEY ..................................... 26
FidoNews PGP public-key listing .......................... 26
11. FIDONET BY INTERNET ..................................... 27
And more!
FIDONEWS 14-44 Page 1 3 Nov 1997

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

I seem to have screwed up Gregg's story last week when taking his 66
columns to 70. Sorry about that, Gregg. I made sure continuity
remained when converting this week's from 66 to 70. You might just
set your w/p to 70 and avoid future reformatting. [grin]

I apologize for the late compilation of this week's Issue. It was my
mother's birthday and all my LD lines were out for some odd reason. We
had a tornado up the road yesterday and it may have taken out part of
the trunks or the local switching. I always run polls to several
Nodes before doing the FidoNews in case there are any last minute
submissions or messages so it took awhile to get through.

Who won the World Series? Oh, yeah, those redoubtable FLorida Marlins!
Remember you heard it here first!

Is it too soon to call the teams for the SuperBowl? Jacksonville
Jaguars versus Dallas Cowboys? Maybe even those Detroit Lions will
sneak in. [snicker]

Nothing new otherwise.

C.B.

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

FIDONEWS 14-44 Page 2 3 Nov 1997

=================================================================
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
=================================================================

--- Following message extracted from NETMAIL @ 1:18/14 ---
By Christopher Baker on Fri Oct 31 13:45:02 1997

From: Michail Verner @ 2:332/201
To: Christopher Baker @ 1:18/14
Date: 27 Oct 97 00:04:02
Subj: Fidonews

Hi, Christopher

I am searching in various BBSes near my home, but I cannot find
FidoNews. I was a user of Ge-Link (2:332/243) BBS, now gone :-(, can
you help me to find the recent issues of your newsletter on another
BBS?

I'm not point, and I'm not able to do any FReq at all.
Many Hopeful Thanks :-))))

|\./| Priviet ! _
| | |/| |_|_| |-|.

-30-

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

I messed up!
by Gregg Jennings, 1:331/109

Dear FidoEditor;

My piece, A BBS Story, was published in the last issue. Beyond the
"role reversal" of the two characters midway in the story (blame is on
Samuel Adams* Gregg, that's what I'd do), the story got wordwrapped by
your software.

Usually I read the instructions. I kept the right margin at less than
70 (I used 66 for some bizarre reason...), but your software
reformatted the lines, even merging a couple of lines.

Just wanted to point that out (trying to save some face you see).

(That was a lame attempt to draw attention away from me. Blame it on
the Editor! Just kidding of course.)

MY APOLOGIES to the good FidoPeople for making such a dumb mistake in
my story, re: the two guys suddenly taking up opposite roles.
Hopefully, if there was any point to the story it was not lost.

(I don't feel too dumb... At least not enough to not ever submit an
article again. You all have been warned!)

FIDONEWS 14-44 Page 3 3 Nov 1997

* (footnote) "Samuel Adams" is a brand of beer, very good by the way.
I don't know how widely marketed it is, hence this footnote.

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

FIDONEWS 14-44 Page 4 3 Nov 1997

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

==================
VOTING PROCEDURE
FTSC ADMINISTRATOR
==================

by Adrian Walker, 1:153/752
28 October 1997

Interim FTSC Web Site:
http://www.portal.ca/~awalker/ftsc.htm

VOTE REQUIREMENTS
=================

Fidonews 1441 detailed the nomination process for the position of
FTSC Administrator. Nominations have now closed, and 2 eligible
candidates are standing for election. FTA-1001 provides for the
following voting process for the FTSC Administrator:

=== Cut ===
The FTSC Administrator is appointed on the basis of a vote by all
Standing Members who are defined by the then-current edition of
FTA-0003 (FTSC Membership List). A successful candidate must
receive approval by at least a plurality of votes.

Publication of the nominations and the voting procedure shall
take place openly in the FTSC_PUBLIC echo, and voting shall close
three weeks after publication of the vote. Votes shall be by
netmail ballot to an independent enumerator.

Plurality: more votes than any other candidate, but less than
a majority.
=== Cut ===

VOTING PROCEDURE
================

FTSC Standing Members, and therefore eligible to vote, are as shown
in FTA-1003, dated 05 October 1997, namely:

---------------------------------------------------------------------
NAME NODE NUMBER APPOINTMENT EXPIRY
---------------------------------------------------------------------

1 Bash, Richard 1:231/45 01 Oct 1999
2 Bemis, Ron 1:124/1113 01 Oct 1999
3 Bilow, Mike 1:323/107 01 Oct 2000
4 Box, Craig 3:774/950 01 Oct 2000
5 Burchhardt, Tobias 2:2448/400 01 Oct 2000
6 Eriksson, Goran 2:201/505 01 Oct 1999
7 Felten, Bjorn 2:203/208 01 Oct 1999
8 Frezberg, Zorch 1:205/0 01 Oct 1999
FIDONEWS 14-44 Page 5 3 Nov 1997

9 Homrighausen, Joaquim 2:201/330 01 Oct 2000
10 Johansen, Rune 2:210/20 01 Oct 2000
11 Karlsson, Peter 2:206/221 01 Oct 1999
12 Klein, Andreas 2:2480/47 01 Oct 2000
13 McCabe, Michael 1:297/11 01 Oct 1999
14 Price, Gary 1:3607/26 01 Oct 1999
15 Sanz, Carlos Fernandez 2:341/70 01 Oct 2000
16 Schlangen, Tom 2:2450/10 01 Oct 2000
17 Schollnick, Benjamin 1:2613/477 01 Oct 2000
18 Sorensen, Odinn 2:236/77 01 Oct 2000
19 Steck, Jason 1:285/424 01 Oct 1999
20 Szarka, Robert 1:320/42 01 Oct 2000
21 Thunus, Francois 2:270/25 01 Oct 1999
22 Turner, Colin 2:443/13 01 Oct 1999
23 Waldmann, Thomas 2:2474/400 01 Oct 2000
24 Wallin, Mats 2:201/329 01 Oct 2000

Voting commences at 0000 UTC on Saturday 01 November 1997 and closes
at 2359 UTC on Friday 22 November 1997, or upon the receipt of all 24
votes, whichever is the earlier.

Each FTSC Standing Member ballot is to be sent to the independent
enumerator, Ken Tuley, either via:

* netmail to Ken Tuley at at 1:374/98 or 1:18/0 or
* Internet email to [email protected]

Receipt of votes will be acknowledged by return routed netmail or
email as applicable.

Ballots should include a password. The ballot format is given below.

Votes shall be cast as an "X" or other clear alphabetic character for
one of the 2 candidates. A ballot with a mark beside both names, or
with no mark beside any name, will be discounted.

APPOINTMENT
===========

More votes than the other candidate is required for that person to be
appointed as the FTSC Administrator.

No votes or summaries of votes shall be posted prior to the conclusion
of voting. Within 3 days after the conclusion of voting, the FTSC
Standing Member votes shall be posted in the FTSC_PUBLIC echo. For
each vote cast, only the password and the result for each vote will be
posted. The identity of the voter shall not be shown.

+-------------------------------------------------------------------+
| BALLOT - FTSC ADMINISTRATOR ELECTION, 1997 |
| |
| VOTER'S NAME _______________________________ |
| |
| FIDONET NODE NUMBER _______________________ |
| |
| PASSWORD _______________________________ |
FIDONEWS 14-44 Page 6 3 Nov 1997

| |
| Please indicate your vote for one of the following candidates |
| with an "X" in the square provided beside the candidate of your |
| choice. |
| |
| There are 2 names, so only 1 "X" may be entered. Names are given |
| in alphabetical order sorted by surname. |
| |
| "I wish this person to be the FTSC Administrator" |
+------+------------------------------------------------------------+
| VOTE | NAME NODE # |
+------+------------------------------------------------------------+
| | Craig Box 3:774/950 |
+------+------------------------------------------------------------+
| | Odinn Sorensen 2:236/77 |
+------+------------------------------------------------------------+

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

Bulletin Boards are online world's good old days
>by< Mark Stachiew,
Fidonet = 1:167/312,
MTLnet = 17:514/846,
Sysop of, The BBS at the End of the Universe

[ The following is a fine article that appeared in the October 29,
1997, issue of the Montreal Gazette. Forwarded to Fidonews by
permission of the author. ]

"Thanks to everyone who helped with my BBS article. Let's hope it
helps the hobby. Every little bit helps. " -- Mark Stachiew, The
Gazette

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

Back in the Stone Age of computers, before Bill Gates had made his
first million and the Internet had yet to see its first "spam"
message, computer users talked with each other via Bulletin Board
Systems (BBSes).

While the World Wide Web has taken a bite out of the number of BBSes,
they never really went away and now the old-timers who still use them
are banding together to tell cyberspace newcomers what they're
missing.

A BBS is basically a computer sitting in someone's home running
software which allows it to answer incoming calls. Other computer
users call the BBS to exchange messages, play games and download
computer programs. It really is an electronic bulletin board.

They are usually free to call since the system is being run as a hobby
by someone who is donating time and computer. No fancy browsers or
hardware are required. The lowliest computer with a modem and terminal
program will be enough to connect to a BBS.

Longtime users of BBSes remain nostalgic about the early days of the
FIDONEWS 14-44 Page 7 3 Nov 1997

1980s when the first home computers gave birth to the first fledgling
bulletin boards. In those days BBS callers used glacially-slow 300
baud modems with acoustic couplers that had to be fit over telephone
handsets and looked like rubber earmuffs. They endured these hardships
because of the magic that BBSes created. It was a new form of
communication which allowed people to make contact with total
strangers which sometimes developed into lifelong friendships.

Lynda McCormick knows all about how BBSes bring people together. She
runs one of the oldest ones in Montreal. McBBS has been in continuous
operation since 1984 and people who called on the first day are still
calling 13 years later. "Some of the old-time users will still call in
long distance when they've moved away," she says. "Not on a regular
basis, but it's fantastic to hear from them and hear how life is
treating them now in Toronto, London, Ontario, Seattle, or L.A."

McCormick is still enthusiastic about BBSing and is creating an online
BBSing Museum with electronic ephemera from BBSes which have long
since vanished into the ether. "The BBS scene in Montreal has been a
very rich one with many characters, personalities and a few very
hilarious stories," she says. "I for one would like to see it
preserved and cherished as it should be, and not simply swept away and
forgotten."

One local BBS operator, Steve Monteith, has maintained a list of
Montreal bulletin boards (www.vir.com/~capt_xerox/bbslist.html) for
nearly 12 years. Looking over archives of the list demonstrate how
much damage the Web has done to BBSing in this city. In 1989, Montreal
boasted 175 computer bulletin boards. That number grew steadily,
peaking at 482 in 1995 which is about the time that the Web began to
blossom. Since then the number of BBSes has plummeted to 221. At that
rate of decline they could be extinct in two years.

So do BBSes have a future? The people who still use them think so.
They persist because they create a sense of community among their
users and because callers usually live in the same town, so they are
able to get together offline where friendships are formed. That can be
difficult on the Internet where you could be exchanging E-mail with
someone in Zimbabwe or Kuala Lumpur.

Monteith notes a few other advantages of the local BBS over the
Internet. You won't get unwanted E-mail (spam) and BBSes are rarely
commercial. "You can read through whole message bases, and not see an
advertisement and you can be quite sure that your name on a BBS isn't
going to be sold to some mailing list."

An international grass-roots organization has sprung up to spread the
word about BBSes. The Council for Online Community Alternatives(http:/
/coca.home.ml.org) aims to promote BBSes as an alternative to the
Internet and to build awareness among computer users that BBSes are
available in their communities. They maintain that in recent years
millions of people have rushed out to buy computers thinking their
only online alternative was the Internet, oblivious to the existence
of local BBSes.

COCA likes to point out some of the advantages of BBSes. For example,
FIDONEWS 14-44 Page 8 3 Nov 1997

at peak times the busy Internet can slow to a crawl. That isn't a
problem on a BBS since there is usually only one user connected at a
time so your new fast modem will actually work at full speed. Unlike
most discussion groups on the Internet, the ones on BBSes are usually
moderated and ill-tempered "flame" wars are less common. And
pornography is much rarer on BBSes.

BBSes are becoming more sophisticated. Many local BBSes now offer
Internet E-mail and access to select Usenet newsgroups. Some have lots
of downloadable files while others use flashy terminal programs which
give them a graphical interface which is almost as easy to use as a
Web browser. Some bulletin boards are even directly accessible over
the Web, usually via telnet. You can find a list of other Internet
BBSes at http://dkeep.com/sbi.html .

Other BBS resources on the Web:

BBS FAQ
www.sysopworld.com/bbsfaq/text/faqmain.htm

Directory of North American BBSes
www.thedirectory.org/areacode.htm

BBSes on the Internet
www.digitalis.net/~messer/bbs/

The World of BBSing
www-scf.usc.edu/~thuyenqu/bbsing.htm

Here are some Montreal BBSes to call:

Juxtaposition BBS
(Home of the Montreal BBS list)
(514) 364-2937

The BBS at the End of the Universe
(For science-fiction fans)
(514) 421-0673

Coder's Pixel
(For programmers)
(514) 624-5900

McBBS
(For general conversation)
(514) 697-7184

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

FIDONEWS 14-44 Page 9 3 Nov 1997

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

Fidonet in Europe
-----------------
by Dave Meikle (2:258/69.2 , [email protected])

I'd like to Start With a question from a Vladimir Gaitanoff from
Russia. The question is What software does he need to FREQ via the
Internet? I don't know so if anyone can help netmail or eMail the
answer to me or Vladimir on [email protected] .

Secondly Astrowars has got a new address which is:

Astrowar@2:258/69.69 .

Here is the astrowar rules and info:

What is AstroWar?

AstroWar is a play-by-email game of space conquest. What's so
special about this particular game? From the player's view,
it's simple and fun. From the game moderator or sysop's view,
it's fully automatic, adaptable, expandable, portable and
free! Bear with me while I justify some of these claims...

It's simple: The rules and construction of this game are as
simple as I could make them. There is just one type of
planet, and one type of ship. Each planet just has a single
statistic: production, which decides how many ships it
produces each turn. Ships are just single faceless, nameless
units which are used in greater or lesser numbers in order to
overwhelm, hold back or discourage an enemy.

It's fun: How can I justify this? Well, I can't really since
it's just my opinion, but most of the players in the beta test
games find it quite entertaining. Its simplicity means that
you won't spend much time learning the rules, and you'll be
playing properly and developing your strategies almost
immediately. It's hardly worth setting up a practice game.

Playing the Game

Getting Started

AstroWar is a simple game of space conquest, usually played by
email. The simplicity of the rules mean that the time taken
to learn the game is extremely short. However, it may take
just as long to develop a winning strategy as it does for more
complex games.

Let's take a look at the game rules before we go into details
of how to play. The map consists of a number of planets
spread across a galactic map. The number of planets and the
size of the map are defined by the person running the game.
FIDONEWS 14-44 Page 10 3 Nov 1997

There is only one type of planet, although each planet has a
production rating. This production rating reflects the number
of ships that planet produces each turn, when it is owned by a
player. Neutral planets do not produce any ships.

Ships are not treated individually in AstroWar. There is only
one type of ship, the variation being in the number of ships
you send to the planets you are attacking. Ships are sent in
fleets of one or more ships, and each fleet's mission is
decided by the number of ships sent, and the ownership of the
planet the ships are being sent to.

Part of the game's attraction lies in the high level of
secrecy. In some games, you can see the entire map when you
start the game, and sometimes you can see where other empires
are. Some games are very open, and allow you to see as much
detail about other players' empires as those players can see.

This is not the case with AstroWar. When you start playing
AstroWar, you only see full details of your homeworld, and the
positions of nearby planets. To get more information, you
must scout the planets you can see, and you must start to
expand before you see planets further away.

But I'm getting ahead of myself here, for before any of this
becomes apparent you must first join a game. In order to join
a game, you must submit a 'join' request. With this join
request you give a name which will be used to identify your
empire. Your empire name can be up to 15 characters long.

Upon successfully joining a game, you will receive
confirmation that your request to join has been accepted.
With this you will be given the name of your homeworld, that
homeworld's details, and a map of nearby planets to get you
started. Note that homeworld planets always have a production
of 15 ships per turn.

There are a few cases in which a join request might fail.
Firstly, you might choose an empire name which is already in
use. This is unlikely, but possible. Another case in which a
request to join might be rejected is when the game is full,
i.e. there are no planets which have not already been scouted
or taken. In the former case, just try to join again, with a
different name. In the latter case there's nothing you can
do, except wait for the game to finish and re-start, or find
another game.

Scouting, Conquering and Redeployment

The first thing you will want to do when you start a new game
is scout one or more of the planets which were shown on your
first map. To scout a planet, simply send a single ship to
it. When the ship arrives, you will receive details about the
production and ownership of that planet, along with the number
of ships currently in orbit. The scout ship will then turn
around and begin the return journey.
FIDONEWS 14-44 Page 11 3 Nov 1997

Once you have received details about some of the nearby
planets, you should start making your attacks. A fleet of 2
or more ships sent to a neutral or enemy planet constitutes
and attack force. Generally, you should send more ships than
are already in orbit around a planet if you wish to take it.
However, you can send your attacks in two or more 'waves' if
you don't have enough ships to take the planet straight away.
The first arrivals will reduce the enemy's numbers, so that
the later fleets have an easier job of taking the planet. If
a fleet takes a planet, it is disbanded, and the ships take up
orbit around the planet.

You can start making attacks before you scout, but this is not
always a good idea, particularly if you are joining a game
which has already been running for a number of turns. For all
you know, an attack fleet sent out 'blind' might be travelling
towards a planet belonging to a relatively powerful empire,
and this is not a good way to gain allies.

Once you have more than one planet, you may want to start
redistributing your forces, for more effective attacks or
defense. Sending any number of ships from one of your planets
to another is a normal fleet movement. When the fleet
arrives, it will be disbanded and the ships will join those in
orbit around the planet.

-A Note About Fleet Movements---------------------------------
A fleet does not start to move towards its destination until
the turn after it is launched. So, for instance, if you
launch a fleet from one planet to a planet four squares away,
it will still be four squares away on its first turn; only in
the next turn will it start to move.
--------------------------------------------------------------

Requesting Details About Your Empire

Although the reports you receive from scouting, attacking and
fleet movements tell you everything you need to know about
your planets, there are times when you will want reminding
about various aspects of your empire. There are a couple of
reports which you can request from AstroWar, whenever you need
them.

The planet list contains a list of all your planets, together
with a reminder of the planets' positions, their production
ratings and the number of ships in orbit around them. Only
your own planets are included in this list; if you want up-to-
date information about enemy or neutral planets you must scout
them.

-Turn Phases--------------------------------------------------
--There are four phases to each AstroWar turn: Fleet
movement, Order processing, Ship production and Victory
checking, executed in that order. Bear this order in mind
when submitting orders; for example, a planet report (a
response to a 'planet list' order) will not take into
FIDONEWS 14-44 Page 12 3 Nov 1997

account the ship production which comes later in that
turn.
--------------------------------------------------------------

The fleet list contains a list of all your fleets, with a
reminder of their planets of origin and their destinations.
The list also contains the number of ships in the fleets, and
their distances from their objectives. You can use the
distance figure to work out how long it will be before a fleet
arrives.

As your empire expands, you will want to be able to see more
of the map. This information isn't given to you
automatically, you must request it using the map order. When
you submit a map order, you must give the name of a planet
around which the map will be centred. You can only centre a
map around a planet you own, so in order to begin mapping the
entire galaxy you must start expanding your empire.

The Message System

In order that you can communicate with other empires, to form
alliances, make threats or gloat over victories, there is a
message system which passes free-form messages between
players.

To write to another empire, simply submit a 'write' order,
along with the name of the empire you wish to send to, and the
text of the message. Next turn, that empire will receive that
message with the your empire name identified as the writer (in
order that he or she can reply).

It is also possible to write a general announcement to all
empires. This is not always a good idea. Usually your empire
will be unknown to others until they see your planets, or
receive a message from you. Secrecy itself may often be a
useful weapon, but writing a message to all will immediately
reveal your existence to everyone else in the game. Later on
in the game, if your empire becomes powerful, you could
perhaps use this facility as a propaganda tool.

Finally, it is also possible to write messages to the system,
and receive messages from the system. Although this has no
use in the standard game, it is there as a way of
communicating with add-ons. Add-ons can scan for messages to
the system and interpret their contents as extended orders to
access features in that add-on. Similarly, replies or
information generated by add-ons will be addressed as coming
from 'the system'.

Winning the Game

The standard victory conditions dictate that the empire who
owns everybody else's homeworlds wins the game. This is a
change from the usual condition of conquering all of everyone
else's planets, since that condition usually results in a
FIDONEWS 14-44 Page 13 3 Nov 1997

tedious end game where the eventual victor has to mop up the
remains of defeated empires.

One problem is that enemy homeworlds are not identified. You
can assume that, in a normal game, all the homeworlds will
have a production of 15 ships per turn. However, not all
planets with this production are homeworlds. You just have to
hunt out all the non-neutral planets with 15 production until
you are awarded victory.

When victory is awarded to a player, a report is sent out to
everyone saying who the winner is. However, the game must be
manually stopped and restarted by the person running the game,
so it is possible that a few turns may go by with the
'victory' message being sent out.

It is quite possible that victory conditions in a game have
been disabled, making it 'open-ended'. This means that the
game will continue indefinitely. Our Games is Open-Ended.

Resigning Your Position

Once your position has become unworkable, or you want to quit
the game for some other reason like lack of time, there is a
'resign' command you can use. Resigning from a game will
cause all your planets to revert to neutral status, and will
make all in-transit fleets wink out of existence.

If you are going to have to stop playing a game, it's polite
to resign properly. If you just let your fleets build up
uselessly, it will get in the way of legitimate players and
ruin their enjoyment of the game.

Orders

This section gives a list of orders understood by the order
processing phase of turn processing. To send an order send a
netmail TO: Astrowar@2:258/69.69 with the SUBJECT:GAME1 and in
the main body type one off the commands:

join <empire> A join order, or join request, asking
that a player be added to the game
with the empire name <empire>.

send <n> <o> <d> A send order. Orders a launch of <n>
ships from planet <o> to planet <d>,
where <o> is owned by this empire and
there are at least <n> ships in orbit.

planets Requests a list of the planets owned
by this empire.

fleets Requests a list of fleets belonging to
this empire.

map <planet> Requests a map of the area around
FIDONEWS 14-44 Page 14 3 Nov 1997

<planet>, showing the names and
positions of all planets within 7
squares of this centre planet.

write <emp> <txt> Write a message to empire <emp>,
containing the text <txt>. <Emp> may
be an empire name, All ("*") or The
System (""), and <txt> may be up to
64k of text spread across multiple
lines.

resign Requests that this empire is removed
from the game. All planets revert to
neutral ownership (with ships in orbit
remaining), and all fleets will
magically disappear.

Dave

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

FIDONEWS 14-44 Page 15 3 Nov 1997

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

North American Backbone Echo Changes [Sep-Oct]
by Lisa Gronke, 1:105/16
[email protected]

Summary of backbone & quasi-backbone echo changes during Sep & Oct.

Brought to you courtesy of (unix) diff.

diff (backbone.na + backbone.no) 07-Sep-97 02-Nov-97 [edited].

Added to the backbone
---------------------
> BEACH_BOYS Fans of the Beach Boys & their music
> CABLE_MODEMS Cable_Modems
> CARPENTERS Fans of Karen & Richard Carpenter & their music
> FTN_INTERNET FTN Internet Discussion
> HAM-ECHO Open discussion of Ham/Amateur Radio general
> interest.
> IPMAILER IPMAILER
> JUNO The JUNO e-mail service
> LORD2_CHAT LORD 2 Discussion Conference
> LORD2_IGM LORD 2 IGM Discussion Conference
> LORD2_SYSOP LORD 2 Discussion Conference
> MOSCOW_OKLAHOMA LINK BETWEEN The States and Moscow!
> PRO_WRESTLING PROFESSIONAL WRESTLING ECHO.
> TRIUS TRIUS, Inc. Product Support and Information Echo
> Z1C Zone 1 Coordinator Contact Conference

Removed from the backbone or quasi-backbone
-------------------------------------------
< AIDS.DATA (not in EchoList since 9/1/97)
< ECOLOGY Ecology - Discussion of problems and solutions.
< EMERG_NOTIFY (not in EchoList since 9/1/97)
< LORE (low traffic since 7/1/97)
< MEMPHIS (low traffic since 8/1/97)
< MS_WORD Microsoft Word
< MUSICIAN (low traffic since 7/1/97)
< OFFICE97 (low traffic since 8/1/97)
< QUICKPRO QuickBBS Professional Sysop's Forum
< SIM Simulation & Wargaming
< SINGLE_MOMS Forum for Single Mothers
< WARNING (low traffic since 7/1/97)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
o There are 679 echos in backbone.na [02-Nov-97] (down 16)
o There are 98 echos in backbone.no [02-Nov-97] (up 18)
o for a total of 777 backbone & quasi-backbone echos (up 2)

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

FIDONEWS 14-44 Page 16 3 Nov 1997

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

From: "Mike Riddle" <[email protected]>
To: "Baker, Christopher" <[email protected] (Christopher Baker)>
Date: Tue, 21 Oct 97 13:32:35 -0600
Reply-To: "Mike Riddle" <[email protected]>
Subject: Fwd: Diary of an AOL user

==================BEGIN FORWARDED MESSAGE==================
From: [email protected] (Bob Resch)
Subject: Diary of an AOL user
Sender: [email protected]
Reply-To: [email protected]

Diary of an AOL user

July 18 - I just tried to connect to America Online. I've heard it is
the best online service I can get. They even included a free disk! I'd
better hold onto it in case they don't ever send me another one! I
can't connect. I don't know what is wrong.

July 19 - Some guy at the tech support center says my computer needs a
modem. I don't see why. He's just trying to cheat me. How dumb does he
think I am?

July 22 - I bought the modem. I couldn't figure out where it goes. It
wouldn't fit in the monitor or the printer. I'm confused.

July 23 - I finally got the modem in and hooked it up. That nine year
old next door did it for me. But it still won't work. I can't get
online.

July 25 - That nine year old kid next door hooked me up to America
Online. He's so smart. I told the kid he was a prodigy. But he says
that's just another service. What a modest kid. He's so smart and he
does these services for people. Anyway he's smarter than the jerks who
sold me the modem. They didn't even tell me about communications
software. Bet they didn't know. And why do they put two telephone jack
holes in the back of a modem when you only need one? And why do they
have one labeled phone when you are not suppose to hook it to the
phone jack on the wall? I thought the dial tone sounded funny! Boy,
are modem makers dumb! But the kid figured it out by the sound.

July 26 - What's the internet? I thought I was on America Online. Not
this internet thing. I'm confused.

July 27 - The nine year old kid next door showed me how to use this
America Online stuff. I told him he must be a genius. He says that he
is compared to me. Maybe he's not so modest after all.

July 28 - I tried to use chat today. I tried to talk into my computer
but nothing happened. Maybe I need to buy a microphone.

July 29 - I found this thing called usenet. I got out of it because
FIDONEWS 14-44 Page 17 3 Nov 1997

I'm connected to America Online not usenet.

July 30 - These people in this usenet thing keep using capital
letters. How do they do that? I never figured out how to type capital
letters. Maybe they have a different type of keyboard.

JULY 31 - I CALLED THE COMPUTER MAKER I BOUGHT IT FROM TO COMPLAIN
ABOUT NOT HAVING A CAPITOL LETTER KEY. THE TECH SUPPORT GUY SAID IT
WAS THIS CAPS LOCK KEY. WHY DIDN'T THEY SPELL IT OUT? I TOLD HIM I
GOT A CHEAP KEYBOARD AND WANTED A BETTER ONE. AND ONE OF MY SHIFT KEYS
ISN'T THE SAME SIZE AS THE OTHER. HE SAID THAT'S A STANDARD. I TOLD
HIM I DIDN'T WANT A STANDARD KEYBOARD BUT ANOTHER BRAND. I MUST HAVE
HAD AN IMPORTANT COMPLAINT BECAUSE I HEARD HIM TELL THE OTHER SUPPORT
GUYS TO LISTEN IN ON OUR CONVERSATION.

AUGUST 1 - I FOUND THIS THING CALLED THE USENET ORACLE. IT SAYS THAT
IT CAN ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS I ASK IT. I SENT IT 44 SEPARATE QUESTIONS
ABOUT THE INTERNET. I HOPE IT RESPONDS SOON.

AUGUST 2 - I FOUND A GROUP CALLED REC.HUMOR. I DECIDED TO POST THIS
JOKE ABOUT THE CHICKEN THAT CROSSED THE ROAD. TO GET TO THE OTHER
SIDE! HA! HA! I WASN'T SURE I POSTED IT RIGHT SO I POSTED IT 56 MORE
TIMES.

AUGUST 3 - I KEEP HEARING ABOUT THE WORLD WIDE WEB. I DIDN'T KNOW
SPIDERS GREW THAT LARGE.

AUGUST 4 - THE ORACLE RESPONDED TO MY QUESTIONS TODAY. GEEZ IT WAS
RUDE. I WAS SO ANGRY THAT I POSTED AN ANGRY MESSAGE ABOUT IT TO
REC.HUMOR.ORACLE. I WASN'T SURE IF I POSTED RIGHT SO I POSTED IT 22
MORE TIMES.

AUGUST 5 - SOMEONE TOLD ME TO READ THE FAQ. GEEZ THEY DIDN'T HAVE TO
USE PROFANITY.

AUGUST 6 - SOMEONE ELSE TOLD ME TO STOP SHOUTING IN ALL MY MESSAGES.
WHAT A STUPID JERK. I'M NOT SHOUTING! I'M NOT EVEN TALKING! JUST
TYPING! HOW CAN THEY LET THESE RUDE JERKS GO ON THE INTERNET?

August 7 - Why have a Caps Lock key if you're not suppose to use it?
Its probably an extra feature that costs more money.

August 8 - I just read this post called make money fast. I'm so
excited. I'm going to make lots of money. I followed his instructions
and posted it to every newsgroup I could find.

August 9 - I just made my signature file. Its only 6 pages long. I
will have to work on it some more.

August 10 - I just looked at a group called alt.AOL.sucks. I read a
few posts and I really believe that AOL should be wiped off the face
of the earth. I wonder what an AOL is.

August 11 - I was asking where to find some information about
something. Some guy told me to check out ftp.netcom.com. I've looked
and looked but I can't find that group.
FIDONEWS 14-44 Page 18 3 Nov 1997

August 12 - I sent a post to every usenet group on the Internet asking
where the ftp.netcom.com is. Hopefully someone will help. I can't ask
the kid next door. His parents said that when he comes back from my
house he's laughing so hard he can't eat or sleep or do his homework.
So they won't let him come over anymore. I do have a great sense of
humor. I don't know why the rec.humor group didn't like my chicken
joke. Maybe they only like dirty stuff. Some people sent me posts
about my 56 posts of the joke and they used bad words.

August 13 - I sent another post to every usenet group on the Internet
asking where the ftp.netcom.com is. I had forgot yesterday to include
my new signature file which is only 8 pages long. I know everyone will
want to read my favorite poem so I included it. I'm also going to add
that short story I like.

August 14 - America Online is a local call! So, since I do not have to
call long distance, I decided to just leave it on so I won't get
anymore busy signals!

August 24 - My computer froze up a few days ago. Since I could not
choose "Shut down", I left it alone, waiting for it to unfreeze. Today
my wife unplugged it so she could vacuum, and now it works!

August 25 - America Online canceled my account, saying my Visa card
would not accept the bill. They say the bill was for three hundred
dollars. I can't figure it out?

August 26 - America Online must want me to join up again, because they
sent me another disk in the mail today! I will call later!

[ ]
| Robert R. "Bob" Resch - Network Administrator
| <[email protected]>
|
| Macon State College
| 100 College Station Drive
| Macon, Georgia 31206-5144
|
| Office: (912) 471-5376 FAX: (912) 471-2869
[ ]
===================END FORWARDED MESSAGE===================

-30-

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

FIDONEWS 14-44 Page 19 3 Nov 1997

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

Emanuel Edwards
1:348/963
[email protected]

IMPORTANT NOTICE TO ALL SYSOPS!!!!!!

Hello all Sysops and Co_Sysops:

If you are looking for all the latest wrestling news both in the
WCW and the WWF I suggest you request these two echoes on your
BBS.

PRO_WRESTLING News from the WCW & WWF
WRESTLING_CHAT Wrestling News straight from the Internet.

There are great wrestling fans on both echoes and those echoes should
be a great addition to your message bases.

Thank you

Emanuel Moderator for the wrestling_chat
Co_moderator for the Pro_wrestling

Internet [email protected]
Fidonet 1:348/963

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

FIDONEWS 14-44 Page 20 3 Nov 1997

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

Future History

1 Dec 1997
World AIDS Day.

10 Dec 1997
Nobel Day, Sweden.

12 Jan 1998
HAL 9000 is one year old today.

30 Apr 1998
Queens Day, Holland.

22 May 1998
Expo '98 World Exposition in Lisbon (Portugal) opens.

14 Sep 1998
Start of International BBS Week [thru 20 Sep 98].

22 Sep 1998
First anniversary of the FidoNews domain of www.fidonews.org.

1 Dec 1998
Fifteenth Anniversary of release of Fido version 1 by
Tom Jennings.

24 Jul 1999
XIII Pan American Games [through 8 Aug 99].

31 Dec 1999
Hogmanay, Scotland. The New Year that can't be missed.

1 Jan 2000
The 20th Century, C.E., is still taking place thru 31 Dec.

1 Jun 2000
EXPO 2000 World Exposition in Hannover (Germany) opens.

15 Sep 2000
Sydney (Australia) Summer Olympiad opens.

1 Jan 2001
This is the actual start of the new millennium, C.E.

-- If YOU have something which you would like to see in this
Future History, please send a note to the FidoNews Editor.

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

--- Following message extracted from NETMAIL @ 1:18/14 ---
By Christopher Baker on Sat Nov 01 12:35:09 1997
FIDONEWS 14-44 Page 21 3 Nov 1997

From: C. Ingersoll @ 1:2623/71
To: Editor @ 1:1/23
Date: 01 Nov 97 02:13:28
Subj: Fidonet via Internet Hubs
-
Fidonet Via Internet Hubs

Node# | Operator | Facilities (*) | Speed | Basic Rate
-----------+-------------------+----------------+-------+------------
1:12/12 | Ken Wilson | FTP | T1 | $24mo.
1:13/25 | Jim Balcom | FTP | 56k | $20mo.
1:124/7008 | Ben Hamilton | FTP,VMoT,TX,F2I| 64k | $20mo.
1:140/12 | Bob Seaborn | FTP,TX | T1 | $5/$20
1:270/101 | George Peace | FTP | T1 | $30mo.
1:271/140 | Tom Barstow | F2I | ??? | $2mo.
1:280/169 | Brian Greenstreet | FTP | 33.6 | $2mo.
1:2222/1 | Ed Georgen | FTP,TX,VMoT,UUE| T1 | $3/$10
1:2401/305 | Peter Rocca | FTP,TX | T1 | unkn
1:2424/10 | Alec Grynspan | FTP | ??? | $1mo.
1:2424/3121| Earl Clark | TX | 33.6 | n/c
1:2604/104 | Jim Mclaughlin | FTP,VMoT,UUE | 33.6 | $1mo.
1:2624/306 | D. Calafrancesco | VFOS | 33.6 | $15yr.
1:2651/9 | Jerry Gause | FTP,TX | ??? | unkn
1:330/204 | Patrick Rosenheim | TX | 33.6 | $25yr.
1:346/250 | Aran Spence | FTP,TX | T1 | $10mo.
1:342/1022 | Steve Steffler | TX,UUE,F2I | 33.6 | n/c
1:396/1 | John Souvestre | FTP | T1 | $25mo.
2:252/358 | Sean Rima | VMoT | T1 | n/c
2:335/610 | Gino Lucrezi | TX, UUE | 33.6 | n/c
2:469/84 | Max Masyutin | VMoT | 256k | n/c
2:2474/275 | Christian Emig | TX | 64k | unkn
2:2490/5170| Lenny Murphy | F2I | ??? | n/c
3:774/950 | Craig Box | UUE, F2I | 28.8 | n/c
--
* VMoT = Virtual Mailer over Telnet (various)
* F2I = Fido2Int (W95)
* UUE = uuencode<->email packet transfers
* TX = TransX (Proprietary uuencode<->email packet transfer
software)

compiled by Cindy Ingersoll, 1:2623/71, (609)814-1978,
[email protected] Posted on the 1st of every month in FN_SYSOP,
R13SYSOP and Fidonews.
-
---
* Origin: * Fly By Night * (609)814-1978 *(1:2623/71)

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

FIDONEWS 14-44 Page 22 3 Nov 1997

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

[from 1441 - Ed.]

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

Hmm. Not much to say.

-=- 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 4.40 T S Harald Harms 2:281/415 ALLFIX
Announcer 1.11 O S Peter Karlsson 2:206/221 ANNOUNCE
BGFAX 1.60 O S B.J. Guillot 1:106/400 BGFAX
Binkley Docs 2.60 M F Bob Juge 1:1/102 BDOC_260.ZIP
BinkleyTerm 2.60 M F Bob Juge 1:1/102 BDOS_260.ZIP
BinkleyTerm-XE XR5 M F Thomas Waldmann 2:2474/400 BTXE_DOS
CFRoute 0.92 O G C. Fernandez Sanz 2:341/70 CFR
CheckPnt 1.0a O G Michiel vd Vlist 2:500/9 CHECKPNT
FastEcho 1.45a T S Tobias Burchhardt 2:2448/400 FASTECHO
FastEcho/16 1.45a T S Tobias Burchhardt 2:2448/400 FE16
FastLst 1.36 N S Alberto Pasquale 2:332/504 FASTLSTD
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
GEcho 1.00 T S Bob Seaborn 1:140/12 GECHO
GEcho/Plus 1.11 T C Bob Seaborn 1:140/12 GECHO
GEcho/Pro 1.20 T C Bob Seaborn 1:140/12 GECHO
GIGO 07-14-96 G S Jason Fesler 1:1/141 INFO
GoldED 2.50 O S Len Morgan 1:203/730 GED
GoldED/386 2.50 O S Len Morgan 1:203/730 GEX
GoldED Docs 2.50 O S Len Morgan 1:203/730 GEM
GoldNODE 2.50 O S Len Morgan 1:203/730 GEN
FIDONEWS 14-44 Page 23 3 Nov 1997

Imail 1.75 T S Michael McCabe 1:1/121 IMAIL
ImCrypt 1.04 O G Michiel vd Vlist 2:500/9 IMCRYPT
InfoMail/86 1.21 O F Damian Walker 2:2502/666 INFOMAIL
InfoMail/386 1.21 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
JD's CBV 1.4 O S John Dailey 1:363/277 CBV
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
JMail-Hudson 2.81 T S Jason Steck 1:285/424 JMAIL-H
JMail-Goldbase 2.81 T S Jason Steck 1:285/424 JMAIL-G
MakePl 1.9 N G Michiel vd Vlist 2:500/9 MAKEPL
Marena 1.1 beta O G Michiel vd Vlist 2:500/9 MARENA
Maximus 3.01 B P Tech 1:249/106 MAX
Max User Ed. 0.18 O F Larry Cooke 1:300/53 MUE
McMail 1.0 M S Michael McCabe 1:1/148 MCMAIL
MDNDP 1.18 N S Bill Doyle 1:388/7 MDNDP
Msged 4.10 O G Andrew Clarke 3:635/728 MSGED41D.ZIP
Msged/386 4.10 O G Andrew Clarke 3:635/728 MSGED41X.ZIP
NEF 2.38 O S Alberto Pasquale 2:332/504 NEFD
NorthStar 3.31.29 B S A&B Darin 1:285/82 NSTAR
Opus CBCS 1.79 B P Christopher Baker 1:374/14 OPUS
O/T-Track 2.66 O S Peter Hampf 2:241/1090 OT
PcMerge 2.8 N G Michiel vd Vlist 2:500/9 PCMERGE
PlatinumXpress 1.3 M C Gary Petersen 1:290/111 PX13TD.ZIP
QuickBBS 2.81 B S Ben Schollnick 1:2613/477 QUICKBBS
RAR 2.01 C S Ron Dwight 2:220/22 RAR
RemoteAccess 2.50 B S Mark Lewis 1:3634/12 RA
Searchlight 4.5 B S Paul Casey 1:343/117 DEMO450.ZIP
Searchlight 5.02 B C Paul Casey 1:343/117 SLBBS50.TXT
Silver Xpress
Door 5.4 O S Gary Petersen 1:290/111 FILES
Reader 4.4 O S Gary Petersen 1:290/111 SXR44.ZIP
Spitfire 3.51 B S Mike Weaver 1:3670/3 SPITFIRE
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 2.600 M S Ron Dwight 2:220/22 TMAIL
Telegard 3.02 B F Tim Strike 1:259/423 TELEGARD
Terminate 5.00 O S Bo Bendtsen 2:254/261 TERMINATE
Tobruk 0.33 T G Paul Edwards 3:711/934 TOBRUK
TosScan 1.01 T C JoHo 2:201/330 TSINFO
TransNet 1.00 G S Marc S. Ressl 4:904/72 TN100ALL.ZIP
TriBBS 11.0 B S Gary Price 1:3607/26 TRIBBS
TriDog 11.0 T F Gary Price 1:3607/26 TRIDOG
TriToss 11.0 T S Gary Price 1:3607/26 TRITOSS
WaterGate 0.93 G S Robert Szarka 1:320/42 WTRGATE
WWIV 4.24a B S Craig Dooley 1:376/126 WWIV
WWIVTOSS 1.36 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
FIDONEWS 14-44 Page 24 3 Nov 1997

----------------------------------------------------------------------
ALLFIX/2 1.10 T S Harald Harms 2:281/415 AFIXOS2
BGFAX 1.60 O S B.J. Guillot 1:106/400 BGFAX
Binkley Docs 2.60 M F Bob Juge 1:1/102 BDOC_260.ZIP
BinkleyTerm 2.60 M F Bob Juge 1:1/102 BOS2_260.ZIP
BinkleyTerm-XE XR5 M F Thomas Waldmann 2:2474/400 BTXE_OS2
CFRoute 0.92 O G C. Fernandez Sanz 2:341/70 CFR
FastEcho 1.45a T S Tobias Burchhardt 2:2448/400 FE2
FastLst 1.36 N S Alberto Pasquale 2:332/504 FASTLST
FleetStreet 1.20 O S Michael Hohner 2:2490/2520 FLEET
FP-OS/2 97-03-21 O F Mike Bilow 323/107 FPOS2
GEcho/Pro 1.20 T C Bob Seaborn 1:140/12 GECHO
GIGO 07-14-96 G S Jason Fesler 1:1/141 INFO
GoldED 2.50 O S Len Morgan 1:203/730 GEO
GoldED Docs 2.50 O S Len Morgan 1:203/730 GEM
GoldNODE 2.50 O S Len Morgan 1:203/730 GEN
ImCrypt 1.04 O G Michiel vd Vlist 2:500/9 IMCRYPT
Maximus 3.01 B P Tech 1:249/106 MAXP
Max User Ed. 0.18 O F Larry Cooke 1:300/53 MUEP
Msged/2 4.10 O G Andrew Clarke 3:635/728 MSGED41O.ZIP
NEF 2.38 O S Alberto Pasquale 2:332/504 NEF
PcMerge 2.3 N G Michiel vd Vlist 2:500/9 PCMERGE
RAR 2.01 C S Ron Dwight 2:220/22 RAR2
Squish 1.11 T P Tech 1:249/106 SQUISHP
T-Mail 2.600 M S Ron Dwight 2:220/22 TMAIL2
Tobruk 0.33 T G Paul Edwards 3:711/934 TOBRUK
WaterGate 0.93 G S Robert Szarka 1:320/42 WTRGATE
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
FrontDoor APX 1.12 P S Mats Wallin 2:201/329 FDAPXW

Windows (32-bit apps):
Program Name Version F C Contact Name Node Magic Name
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Argus 95/IP 2.704 M S Max Masyutin 2:469/77 A9I
Argus NT/IP 2.704 M S Max Masyutin 2:469/77 ANI
BeeMail 1.0 M C Andrius Cepaitis 2:470/1 BEEMAIL
Binkley Docs 2.60 M F Bob Juge 1:1/102 BDOC_260.ZIP
BinkleyTerm 2.60 M F Bob Juge 1:1/102 BW32_260.ZIP
BinkleyTerm-XE XR5 M F Thomas Waldmann 2:2474/400 BTXE_W32
CFRoute 0.92 O G C. Fernandez Sanz 2:341/70 CFR
FastLst 1.36 N S Alberto Pasquale 2:332/504 FASTLSTW
GoldED 2.50 O S Len Morgan 1:203/730 GEO
GoldED Docs 2.50 O S Len Morgan 1:203/730 GEM
Maximus 3.01 B P Tech 1:249/106 MAXN
Msged/NT 4.10 O G Andrew Clarke 3:635/728 MSGED41W.ZIP
NEF 2.38 O S Alberto Pasquale 2:332/504 NEFW
PlatinumXpress 2.00 M C Gary Petersen 1:290/111 PXW-INFO
Searchlight 5.02 B C Paul Casey 1:343/117 SLBBS50.TXT
T-Mail 2.600 M S Ron Dwight 2:220/22 TMAILNT
WinFOSSIL/95 1.12 r4 F S Bryan Woodruff 1:343/294 WNFOSSIL.ZIP
WinFOSSIL/NT 1.0 beta F S Bryan Woodruff 1:343/294 NTFOSSIL.ZIP
FIDONEWS 14-44 Page 25 3 Nov 1997

Unix:
Program Name Version F C Contact Name Node Magic Name
----------------------------------------------------------------------
ifmail 2.12 M G Eugene Crosser 2:293/2219 IFMAIL
ifmail-tx ...tx8.6 M G Pablo Saratxaga 2:293/2219 IFMAILTX
ifmail-tx.rpm ...tx8.6 M G Pablo Saratxaga 2:293/2219 IFMAILTX.RPM
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
DLG Pro BBOS 1.15 B C Holly Sullivan 1:202/720 DLGDEMO
GMS 1.1.85 M S Mirko Viviani 2:331/213 GMS
Msged 4.00 O G Paul Edwards 3:711/934 MSGED
Tobruk 0.33 T G Paul Edwards 3:711/934 TOBRUK
TrapDoor 1.86.b2 M S Maximilian Hantsch
2:310/6 TRAPDOOR
TrapToss 1.50 T S Rene Hexel 2:310/6 TRAPTOSS

Atari:
Program Name Version F C Contact Name Node Magic Name
----------------------------------------------------------------------
ApplyList 1.00 N F Daniel Roesen 2:2432/1101 APLST100.LZH
BinkleyTerm/ST 3.18pl2 M F Bill Scull 1:363/112 BINKLEY
BTNC 2.00 N G Daniel Roesen 2:2432/1101 BTNC
JetMail 0.99beta T S Joerg Spilker 2:2432/1101 JETMAIL
Semper 0.80beta M S Jan Kriesten 2:2490/1624 SMP-BETA

Function: B-BBS, P-Point, M-Mailer, N-Nodelist, G-Gateway, T-Tosser,
C-Compression, F-Fossil, 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

Please send updates and suggestions to: Peter Popovich, 1:363/264

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

FIDONEWS 14-44 Page 26 3 Nov 1997

=================================================================
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]

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Version: 2.6.2
Comment: Clear-signing is Electronic Digital Authenticity!

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=61OQ
-----END PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK-----

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. The FidoNews key is also available on
the FidoNews homepage listed in the Masthead information.

-----------------------------------------------------------------
FIDONEWS 14-44 Page 27 3 Nov 1997

=================================================================
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.fidonews.org
WWW sources http://www.scms.rgu.ac.uk/students/cs_yr94/lk/fido.html
FTSC page http://www.portal.ca/~awalker/ftsc/ftscmirr.htm
Echomail http://www.portal.ca/~awalker/index.html
WebRing http://ddi.digital.net/~cbaker84/fnetring.html

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

Zone 1: http://www.z1.fidonet.org

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

Region 11: http://oeonline.com/~garyg/region11/

Region 13: http://www.smalltalkband.com/st01000.htm

Region 14: [disappeared?]

Region 15: [disappeared?]

Region 16: http://www.tiac.net/users/satins/region16.htm

Region 17: http://www.portal.ca/~awalker/region17.htm
REC17: http://www.westsound.com/ptmudge/

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

Region 19: http://www.compconn.net

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

Zone 2: http://www.z2.fidonet.org

ZEC2: http://www.proteus.demon.co.uk/zec.htm
Zone 2 Elist: http://www.fbone.ch/z2_elist/

Region 20: http://www.fidonet.pp.se (in Swedish)

Region 24: http://www.swb.de/personal/flop/gatebau.html (in German)

Region 25:
http://www.trak-one.co.uk/net254

FIDONEWS 14-44 Page 28 3 Nov 1997

Region 27: http://telematique.org/ft/r27.htm

Region 29: http://www.rtfm.be/fidonet/ (in French)

Region 30: http://www.fidonet.ch (in Swiss)

Region 33: http://www.fidoitalia.net (in Italian)

Region 34: http://www.pobox.com/cnb/r34.htm (in Spanish)
REC34: http://pobox.com/~chr

Region 36: http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/7207/

Region 38: http://public.st.carnet.hr/~blagi/bbs/adriam.html

Region 41: http://www.fidonet.gr (in Greek and English)

Region 48: http://www.fidonet.org.pl

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

Zone 3: http://www.z3.fidonet.org

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

Zone 4: (not yet listed)

Region 90:
Net 904: http://members.tripod.com/~net904 (in Spanish)

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

Zone 5: http://w3.eastcape.co.za/fidonet/index.htm

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

Zone 6: http://www.z6.fidonet.org

Region 65: http://www.cfido.com/fidonet/cfidochina.html (China)

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

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

FIDONEWS 14-44 Page 29 3 Nov 1997

=================================================================
FIDONEWS INFORMATION
=================================================================

------- FIDONEWS MASTHEAD AND CONTACT INFORMATION -------

Editor: Christopher Baker

Editors Emeritii: Tom Jennings, Thom Henderson, Dale Lovell,
Vince Perriello, Tim Pozar, 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 1997 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
FIDONEWS 14-44 Page 30 3 Nov 1997

back Issue filenames in distribution format [FNEWSEnn.ZIP] 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 [7], i.e., FNWSAUG7.ZIP for all the Issues from Aug 97.

Annual volumes are available as FNEWSn.ZIP where n = the Volume number
1 - 14 for 1984 - 1997, respectively. Annual Volume archives range in
size from 48K to 1.4M.

INTERNET USERS: FidoNews is available via:

http://www.fidonews.org
http://www.fidonet.org/fidonews.htm
ftp://ftp.fidonet.org/pub/fidonet/fidonews/
ftp://ftp.aminet.org/pub/aminet/comm/fido/

*=*=*

You may obtain an email subscription to FidoNews by sending email to:

[email protected]

with a Subject line of: subscribe fnews-edist

and no message in the message body. To remove your name from the email
distribution use a Subject line of: unsubscribe fnews-edist with no
message to the same address above.

*

You may retrieve current and previous Issues of FidoNews via FTPMail
by sending email to:

[email protected]

with a Subject line of: help

and FTPMail will immediately send a reply containing details and
instructions. When you actually make a file request, FTPMail will
respond in three stages. You find a link for this process on
www.fidonews.org.

*=*=*

You can read the current FidoNews Issue in HTML format at:

http://www.fidonews.org

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.
FIDONEWS 14-44 Page 31 3 Nov 1997

=*=*=*=

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.

"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-

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