F I D O N E W S --       Volume 14, Number 50          15 December 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.                             |
    +----------------------------------------------------------------------+


     ONLY 10 DAYS TILL CHRISTMAS or 6 DAYS TILL SOLSTICE!


                       Table of Contents
    1. EDITORIAL  ................................................  1
       Ah, the holiday poetry begins  ............................  1
    2. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR  ....................................  2
       Bah Humbug - another slant on Christmas poems  ............  2
       Sobering Santa stuff?  ....................................  3
    3. ARTICLES  .................................................  5
       Open letter from 1:395/8  .................................  5
       A MicroSoft Christmas  ....................................  6
       Sysop's Night Before Christmas  ...........................  8
       News from a fellow cyberjournalist  .......................  9
    4. NET HUMOR  ................................................ 11
       Top 12 Reasons We Like Hanukkah  .......................... 11
    5. NOTICES  .................................................. 12
       Future History  ........................................... 17
    6. FIDONET SOFTWARE LISTING  ................................. 19
       Latest Greatest Software Versions  ........................ 19
    7. FIDONEWS PUBLIC-KEY  ...................................... 23
       FidoNews PGP public-key listing  .......................... 23
    8. FIDONET BY INTERNET  ...................................... 24
    9. FIDONEWS INFORMATION  ..................................... 26
    FIDONEWS 14-50               Page 1                   15 Dec 1997


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

    This Issue has pro and con Christmas poems and one Hanukkah joke. So
    far that's all that's come in for the effort. There isn't anything
    about Solstice, Ramadan or Kwanzaa, yet. If your favorite hasn't
    appeared, yet, you still have one more week to submit it.

    The ZEC election nominations are underway. A couple of well-meaning
    but obviously confused folks nominated and seconded yours truly for
    the post. Since I don't believe in Echomail [I'm an Etheist {snicker}]
    and don't have the technical wherewithal for such a job, I certainly
    decline the 'honor' for all time.

    Candidates who don't decline [even if they should], can publish their
    platforms and promises right here, if they wish.

    I only hope the ZEC election motivates some action in other venues
    like the quest for an International Coordinator. When that comes
    along, I most certainly will accept the nomination. [evil grin]

    Speaking of the Nodelist, I see we are slipping on our worldwide
    synchronization again. Some international network we are. [sigh]

    Anybody want their Christmas [or other festival] wish published next
    week? Send in your properly formatted text file with the extension of
    your choice [freq ARTSPEC.DOC] before Saturday. Details on submission
    are in the Masthead at the end of every Issue. ARTSPEC.DOC appears in
    the Notices section today in case your system cannot do a
    file-request or you are not a Sysop. You don't have to be a Sysop to
    publish in FidoNews.

    C.B.

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

    FIDONEWS 14-50               Page 2                   15 Dec 1997


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

    From: "Mike Riddle" <[email protected]>
    To: "Baker, Christopher" <[email protected] (Christopher Baker)
    Date: Sun, 14 Dec 97 14:42:48 -0600
    Reply-To: "Mike Riddle" <[email protected]>
    Subject: Fwd: A Bah Humbug Christmas

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

     A Bah Humbug Christmas

       T'was the night before Christmas - Old Santa was pissed
       He cussed out the elves and threw down his list,

       Miserable little brats, ungrateful little jerks
       I have good mind to scrap the whole works

       I've busted my ass for damn near a year
       Instead of "Thanks Santa" - what do I hear

       The old lady bitches cause I work late at night
       The elves want more money - The reindeer all fight

       Rudolph got drunk and goosed all the maids
       Donner is pregnant and Vixen has AIDS

       And just when I thought that things would get better
       Those assholes from IRS sent me a letter

       They say I owe taxes - if that ain't damn funny
       Who the hell ever sent Santa Clause any money

       And the kids these days - they all are the pits
       They want the impossible ...Those mean little shits

       I spent a whole year making wagons and sleds
       Assembling dolls...Their arms, legs and heads

       I made a ton of yo yo's - No request for them
       They want computers and robots...they think I'm IBM!

       If you think that's bad...just picture this
       Try holding those brats...with their pants full of piss

       They pull on my nose - they grab at my beard
       And if I don't smile..the parents think I'm weird

       Flying through the air...dodging the trees
       Falling down chimneys and skinning my knees

       I'm quitting this job...there's just no enjoyment
       I'll sit on my fat ass and draw unemployment

    FIDONEWS 14-50               Page 3                   15 Dec 1997


       There's no Christmas this year...now you know the reason
       I found me a blonde.. I'm going SOUTH for the season!! >>

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


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

    Date: Sun, 7 Dec 1997 15:26:16 -0500 (EST)
    From: BB Oros <[email protected]>
    Subject: Sobering Santa Stuff

    1)  No known species of reindeer can fly.

         BUT there are 300,000 species of living organisms yet to be
         classified, and while most of these are insects and germs,
         this does not COMPLETELY rule out flying reindeer which only
         Santa has ever seen.

    2)  There are 2 billion children (persons under 18) in the
        world.

         BUT since Santa doesn't (appear) to handle the Muslim,
         Hindu, Jewish & Buddhist children, that reduces the workload
         to 15% of the total - 378 million according to Population
         Reference Bureau.  At an average (census) rate of 3.5
         children per household, that's 91.8 million homes.  One
         presumes there's at least one good child in each.

    3)  Santa has 31 hours of Christmas to work with.

         This is due to the different time zones and the rotation of
         the earth, assuming he travels east to west (which seems
         logical). This works out to 822.6 visits/second.

         This is to say that for each Christian household with good
         children, Santa has .001 second to park, hop out of the
         sleigh, jump down the chimney, fill the stockings,
         distribute the remaining presents under the tree, eat
         whatever snacks have been left, get back up the chimney, get
         back into the sleigh and move on to the next house.

         Assuming that each of these 91.8 million stops are evenly
         distributed around the earth (which, of course, we know to
         be false but for the purposes of our calculations we will
         accept), we are now talking about .78 miles/household, a
         total trip of 75.5 million miles; not counting stops to do
         what most of us must do at least once every 31 hours, plus
         feeding & etc.

         So Santa's sleigh must be moving at 650 miles/second, 3,000
         times the speed of sound.  For purposes of comparison, the
         fastest man-made vehicle on earth, the Ulysses space probe,
         moves at a poky 27.4 miles/second.  A conventional reindeer
         can run, tops, 15 miles/hour.

    FIDONEWS 14-50               Page 4                   15 Dec 1997


    4)  The payload on the sleigh adds another interesting
         element. Assuming that each child gets nothing more than a
         medium-sized lego set (2 lb.), the sleigh is carrying 321,300
         tons, not counting Santa, who is invariably described as
         overweight.  On land, conventional reindeer can pull no more
         than 300 lb.  Even granting that "flying reindeer" (see #1)
         could pull 10 TIMES the normal amount, we cannot do the job
         with 8, or even 9 reindeer.  We need 214,200. This increases
         the payload - not counting the weight of the sleigh - to 353,430
         tons.

         This is four times the weight of the ocean-liner Queen
         Elizabeth.

    5)  353,000 tons traveling at 650 miles/second creates
         enormous air resistance.

         This will heat the reindeer up in the same fashion as a
         spacecraft reentering the earth's atmosphere.  The lead pair
         of reindeer will absorb 14.3 QUINTILLION joules of energy.
         Per second.  Each.  In short, they will burst into flame
         almost instantaneously, exposing the reindeer behind them,
         and create deafening sonic booms in their wake. The entire
         reindeer team will be vaporized within 0.00426 of a second.
         Meanwhile, Santa, will be subjected to centrifugal forces
         17,500.06 times greater than gravity.  A 250-lb. Santa
         (seems ludicrously slim) would be pinned to the back of his
         sleigh by 4,315,015 lb. of force.

         If Santa ever DID deliver presents on Christmas Eve, he's
         dead now.

    Ho Ho Ho, Merry Christmas!!!

     -30-

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

    FIDONEWS 14-50               Page 5                   15 Dec 1997


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


    Open letter from 1:395/8
    Larry Black, 1:395/8

    Dear Bruce, Jim, and Chris,

    I wish to thank all of you for supporting me in my time of need.  At
    this time, I am still unable to comply with Crashmail, Zone Mail Hour,
    Etc., Etc., due to reasons beyond my Control.  However, as an old-time
    member, and one of the local Founders of 395, I was very active in
    helping Fido acquire new nodes, and always supported the Efforts of
    new sysops, which was extremely Difficult in the Killeen/Fort Hood
    area, due to the large turnover of military personnel in our Unique
    situation.

    Every day, I watch as we Lose more and more sysops and more and more
    nodes around the world to that Hi-Tech THANG called the Internet!!  To
    me, it is TOTALLY incomprehensible that a few remaining Hobbyist
    Sysops that helped build THE WORLD'S GREATEST AMATEUR MAIL NETWORK
    must be STUCK in a rut with a Policy that was enacted in the 8-bit
    days of computers.  Meanwhile, the World is moving Forward on the
    Internet, which does NOT have such Draconian restrictions!  For the
    last two years, we have watched many of the Amateur mail networks that
    I and the others have participated in rapidly Disappear (RBBS-Net,
    Egg-Net, Etc., Etc.,), mostly due to the fact that they attempted to
    clone the archaic policies of the larger Fidonet and Refused to adapt
    to the changing technology around them.

    I find it strange that Zone 2 has somehow managed to elude parts of
    the archaic Policy 4, mostly due to the infighting over the one simple
    rule that Fido has.  Zone 2 meanwhile has an Internet Site that allows
    sysops with a Node Number to directly pick up mail over the Internet
    and has made changes to allow its users to directly participate in
    online conferences through the Internet.  Perhaps if we were less
    restrictive and worried less about who has node numbers and Zone Mail
    Hours, and were more concerned about maintaining sysops in the
    nodelist instead of watching a shrinking nodelist, we could provide a
    more REALISTIC and REAL TIME Echolist by having numerous Internet
    Sites that provide access to Users and Sysops for realtime response
    throughout the world.

    The Truth is that I, as well as most of the older Fido sysops around
    the world, became a part of the Net not for Chit-Chat with other
    sysops, but so we could get Responses from PC Hardware Manufacturers,
    specifically Modem Manufacturers, and other communications tools about
    PC Hardware, so that when I need a new init string, I didn't have to
    sit on the phone for 14 hours at my expense to get a new AT&F string.
    And of course, we were able to interact with shareware/software
    authors around the world, which is a Good thing, in what was a super-
    timely manner of only 3-5 days.  In the days of 2400 baud modems, that
    was a Wonderful thing!  In today's modern world, using this wonderful
    thing called the WORLD WIDE WEB, every large and small PC hardware,
    FIDONEWS 14-50               Page 6                   15 Dec 1997


    modem, shareware, software, etc., company has an online WEB-SITE
    providing people around the world with INSTANTANEOUS access to
    drivers, fixes, and help!!  Don't you think it's strange that us
    hobbyist sysops, using our sizzling fast Pentium computers and light-
    speed 56K modems still have to wait the same original 3-5 days (BTW, I
    have a Skylink satellite dish in my back yard for downloading Fidonet
    mail that used to cost me an annual subscription that I would gladly
    donate to a dedicated hobbyist if he paid the shipping cost.  However,
    It's still cheaper (aka FREE) to get Fido echoes from zone TWO over
    the Internet!).

    I realize that all of you will see that this is irrelevant, so if you
    wish, because I am not in compliance, you may pull my node number.
    However, I would like to HUMBLY request an independent node number.
    If this is impossible, you may use the Internet gateway, (providing
    that it's still working) to send me mail at [email protected].

    Thank You.

    Larry Black
    1:395/8_???
    86:8406/5

    P.S.  Instead of people at the top, Region Coordinator, Zone
    Coordinator, etc., dictating Archaic policies to us poor hobbyist
    sysops on the bottom run, maybe should allow the lowly sysops, who
    have kept the Net together for years, to become part of the decision-
    making process, by requesting that the lowly sysops provide input,
    recommendations, and suggestions, to modernize our network.  Elections
    are a wonderful thing, but rather meaningless if we can really make NO
    changes.  I feel BADLY that this network that I helped SUPPORT and
    BUILD is disintegrating before my eyes because no-one is willing to
    ROCK the BOAT or make changes for fear of being singled out as a BAD
    GUY or ROGUE!

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

    From: "Mike Riddle" <[email protected]>
    To: "Baker, Christopher" <[email protected] (Christopher Baker)
    Date: Fri, 12 Dec 97 17:07:20 -0600
    Reply-To: "Mike Riddle" <[email protected]>
    Subject: Fwd: *** Have Yourself a Microsoft Christmas***

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

    *** Have Yourself a Microsoft Christmas***

    'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house
    Not a creature was stirring, except Papa's mouse.
    The computer was humming, the icons were hopping,
    As Papa did last-minute Internet shopping.

    The stockings were hung by the modem with care
    In hope that St. Nicholas would bring new software.
    The children were nestled all snug in their beds,
    While visions of computer games danced in their heads.
    FIDONEWS 14-50               Page 7                   15 Dec 1997


    PageMaker for Billy, and Quicken for Dan,
    And Carmen Sandiego for Pamela Ann.
    The letters to Santa had been sent out by Mom,
    To [email protected] -

    Which has now been re-routed to Washington State
    Because Santa's workshop has been bought by Bill Gates.
    All the elves and reindeer have had to skedaddle
    To flashy new quarters in suburban Seattle.

    After centuries of a life that was simple and spare,
    St. Nicholas is suddenly a new billionaire,
    With a shiny red Porsche in the place of his sleigh,
    And a house on Lake Washington that's just down the way
    From where Bill has his mansion. The old fellow preens
    In black Gucci boots and red Calvin Klein jeans.
    The elves have stock options and desks with a view,
    Where they write computer code for Johnny and Sue.

    No more dolls or toy soldiers or little toy drums (ahem - pardon me)
    No more dolls or tin soldiers or little toy drums
    Will be under the tree, only compact disk ROMS
    With the Microsoft label. So spin up your drive,
    From now on Christmas runs only on Win95.

    More rapid than eagles the competitors came,
    And Bill whistled, and shouted, and called them by name.
    "Now, ADOBE! now, CLARIS! now, INTUIT! too,
    Now, APPLE! and NETSCAPE! you are all of you through,"

    It is Microsoft's SANTA that the kids can't resist,
    It's the ultimate software with a traditional twist -
    Recommended by no less than the jolly old elf,
    And on the package, a picture of Santa himself.

    Get 'em young, keep 'em long, is Microsoft's scheme,
    And a merger with Santa is a marketer's dream.
    To the top of the NASDAQ! to the top of the Dow!
    Now dash away! dash away! dash away - wow!"

    And Mama in her 'kerchief and I in my cap,
    Had just settled down for a long winter's nap,
    When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,
    The whir and the hum of our satellite platter,
    As it turned toward that new Christmas star in the sky,
    The SANTALITE owned by the Microsoft guy.
    As I sprang from my bed and was turning around,
    My computer turned on with a Jingle-Bells sound.

    And there on the screen was a smiling Bill Gates
    Next to jolly old Santa, two arm-in-arm mates.
    And I heard them exclaim in voice so bright,
    Have a MICROSOFT CHRISTMAS, and TO ALL A GOOD
    NIGHT.

    ===================END FORWARDED MESSAGE===================
    FIDONEWS 14-50               Page 8                   15 Dec 1997


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

    --- Following message extracted from 374SYSOP @ 1:18/14 ---
        By Christopher Baker on Sat Dec 13 20:42:07 1997

    From: Genie Bohn
    To: All
    Date: 11 Dec 97  04:52:00
    Subj: From the archives

     A   S Y S O P S   N I G H T   B E F O R E   C H R I S T M A S
     -------------------------------------------------------------

    Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the nodes
            The modems were buzzing from many abodes.
    And the new soundcard I'd hid by the chimney with care,
            Had been returned by my spouse who had found it there.

    I knew kids had long since been poured in their beds
            While visions of new Apogee games danced in their heads.
    My spouse fell asleep in a chair next to me
            The computer was mine, I shouted with glee!

    When a ring on Node 1 woke me quick from my throes
            For the name on the logon thrilled me to the toes
    Away to the keyboard I tore like a flash
            Fell onto the table - broke a mouse with a crash.

    The moon on the breast of the new fallen snow
            Shone bright on the RIP screen from a user we know.
    And what to my wondering eyes did I see?
            But one SANTA CLAUS typed so very hesitatingly.

    In the NEWUSER script answered "YES" to real name,
            "North Pole" as location, the "XT" was a shame.
    He read all the rules and then to the bulletins he went.
            So perfect his logon, I was slow to get bent.

    I thought: "Download a file, you ain't got all night!"
            The menus were boring in plain black and white.
    But no interest in files this user displayed,
            And I knew that this guy might get an upgrade.

    He read all the Main Conference, then paused for a sec
            Made me wonder if the guy worked with a full deck
    And then, in a twinkling a message he typed
             When I read it, the tears from my eyes I did wipe.

    THANK YOU SYSOP, FOR THE ACCESS - YOU HAVE A GREAT BOARD
            I thought at this time the sub he couldn't afford
    HAVE A WONDERFUL CHRISTMAS, AND A BETTER NEW YEAR
            At least for a lockout he had nothing to fear.

    MRS CLAUS SENDS HER BEST AND THE ELVES SEND A GREETING
            Maybe we should invite this guy to our next meeting.
    I'LL ONLY CALL ONCE A YEAR, BUT I'LL UPLOAD A FILE!
    FIDONEWS 14-50               Page 9                   15 Dec 1997


            Just once a year? How many boards does he dial?

    After saving this message, to the RIPNet! echos he went,
            Joined the EUROPE echo quickly, and read with intent,
    Through RIPSYSOP and RIPCHAT and RIP Q&A he flew
            Even left a few messages to people I knew!

    Then upload he did - 'twas some warm Christmas text
            Made me wonder in awe at just what he'd do next
    I sprang to the kitchen a poured me a drink
            Stirred it quick with a dirty spoon right from the sink.

    Then back to the keyboard, but he'd logged off with a BYE
            No chance for a chat with this SANTA CLAUS guy.
    But I heard in the distance as I turned off the light,
            MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL, AND TO ALL A GOODNIGHT!
        -----------------------------------------------------------

     Origin: Flamingo BBS, Melbourne, FL V34+ (407)242-8184 (1:374/46)

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

    Journal X Press Release
    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

    FOR MORE INFORMATION:
    Kevin Bertram - (703) 938-6901 [email protected]
    Shane Ham - (202) 785-3916 [email protected]

     Journal X Webzine Sends Press Release to Gain Publicity
     "We hope nobody sees through this sham," says editor.

    Journal X, a webzine devoted to politics and culture from the
    twentysomething perspective, sent a press release today in the hopes
    of gaining free publicity. Editor Kevin Bertram and Associate Editor
    Shane Ham dreamed up the idea in order to increase readership for
    their fledgling internet publication.

    "All kinds of people and organizations publicize themselves by
    convincing the media that advertising is news," said Bertram. "If it
    works on Entertainment Tonight, it should work for us."

    "Our budget is tight to say the least," said Ham. "If we can con one
    or two reporters to do a 'news' story on us, we can get our name and
    URL out without spending a penny."

    "We just hope we can find reporters who are gullible enough to fall
    for it," added Bertram.

    Journal X is a webzine devoted to political commentary, original
    fiction, and reviews of everything from movies to computer games. The
    entire staff is composed of young men and women in their twenties. It
    is published every Thursday morning, and it can be found on the World
    Wide Web at http://www.journalx.com .

    The Politics and Culture department carries both conservative and
    FIDONEWS 14-50               Page 10                  15 Dec 1997


    liberal commentators that write about the world with a cynical but
    humorous edge. The Fiction and Reviews department carries short
    stories, diaries from young people living in New York and San
    Francisco, and Journal X's most popular feature, movie reviews.

    "The previous two paragraphs are the critical ones," said Bertram.
    "We're hoping that it will move reporters to open their browsers and
    look at our zine. Once they do that, my phone will be ringing off the
    hook with interview requests."

    Journal X editors brushed aside naysayers who predicted their press
    release scam would fail. "Just open up the newspaper," said Ham. "It
    is filled with articles that couldn't even be considered news in the
    bizarro universe. If you can read about the woman who turned her doll-
    making hobby into a marginally profitable home business, you should be
    able to read about the best new webzine on the net." He added that he
    hoped his upbeat tone and superlative descriptions of Journal X would
    convince reporters that a story about the webzine would indeed be
    interesting.

    "Sure this is a cynical ploy," said Bertram, "but everyone else does
    it and it works very well for politicians and celebrities. We just
    want our piece of the pie."

    Kevin Bertram and Shane Ham are both available for interviews.

    # 30 #

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

    FIDONEWS 14-50               Page 11                  15 Dec 1997


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

    From: "Mike Riddle" <[email protected]>
    To: "Baker, Christopher" <[email protected] (Christopher Baker)
    Date: Fri, 12 Dec 97 17:13:12 -0600
    Reply-To: "Mike Riddle" <[email protected]>
    Subject: Fwd: Top 12 Reasons Why We Like Hanukkah

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

    Top 12 Reasons Why We Like Hanukkah

         12. You can't be nailed to the menorah

         11. More elephants in the Hanukkah story

         10. No roof damage from reindeer

         9. Never a silent night when you're among your Jewish loved ones

         8. Dance of the Sugar-Plum Rebbe

         7. Betting Hanukkah gelt on candle races

         6. Yes, Rivka'le, there is no Santa Claus

         5. Naked spin-the-dreidel games

         4. Fun waxy buildup

         3. No awkward explanations of virgin birth

         2. Cheer optional

         1. No Irving Berlin songs

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

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

    FIDONEWS 14-50               Page 12                  15 Dec 1997


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

    FidoNews Article Submission Guidelines

    FidoNet address 1:1/23

    Updated 1 Jul 1997 by Christopher Baker
    Updated 29 May 1991 by Tom Jennings
    Based on the original work by Thom Henderson

    | denotes a change since the last update |.

    "Fido" and "FidoNet" are registered trademarks of Tom Jennings,
    Box 410923, San Francisco CA 94141, USA and are used with
    permission.

    --------
    SYNOPSIS:

    FidoNews is the newsletter of the FidoNet computer network, its
    Sysops and users.  It is passed to its readers electronically via
    the FidoNet and other computer networks and to non-network
    readers as well.

    This document intends to tell you how to write and submit
    articles for publication in FidoNews. Much of it describes the
    technical specifications which an article must meet in order to
    be included in the newsletter, as well as broad (very) guidelines
    on content. (Of course you realize articles can be submitted only
    electronically.) Please read it carefully. The article you save
    might be your own.


    ------------
    INTRODUCTION:

    FidoNews was originally founded in early 1984 to include all
    parts of the lives of its member Sysops and users, which of
    course means not just technical matters. We do not have fixed
    goals of maximum distribution or maximum readership (i.e. lowest
    common denominator) but only to meet the needs of our individual
    network members. The success of this venture has always been
    contentious at best (ahem).

    In any case the grand experiment continues. Twelve years later
    (at this writing) and over 30,000 Nodes in the network, the
    editorial policy, or lack of one, of FidoNews has shown to
    best fit our ever-changing and unpredictable needs.


    --------------
    SUBJECT MATTER:

    Articles on any subject of interest to FidoNet members and users
    FIDONEWS 14-50               Page 13                  15 Dec 1997


    are welcome and encouraged, not necessarily of a technical
    nature, though priority may be, but not necessarily, given to
    articles of importance to the FidoNet, its technology and its
    uses; other networks such as uucp and the Internet; social
    aspects of communications; ethical issues; other related matters.


    --------------
    ARTICLE LENGTH:

    Try to keep articles short. The longer it is, the less likely
    people are to read it. Consider splitting long articles (more
    than five pages) into smaller articles to be run serially.
    Exceptions will be made at the whim of the editors.

    For practical reasons, we will attempt to keep FidoNews to a
    "reasonable size", which is of course a highly subjective and
    variable thing. As of May 1991, the goal is under 100,000 bytes.
    Decisions regarding content may be made based upon this, though
    in general it shouldn't be an issue.


    ------------------
    WRITING GUIDELINES:

    We are not all professional writers, nor is that even a goal for
    the FidoNews -- we want real communication to and from real
    people; even at the expense of so-called "good writing", which is
    frequently a tool to exclude. There are a few minimum
    requirements though for any successful writing, even for the
    lowly FidoNews:

    * The subject discussed must be clear to people other than the
      author! Don't assume that people will pick up the context from
      your writing. Tell them explicitly.

    * Why are you writing this? It may seem obvious -- "Review of the
      new Acme 75-baud Modem" -- but it's not. Are you the
      manufacturer? An irate customer? Let us know your point of
      view.

    * Who are you? A good question! Anonymity is acceptable, though
      most people want to take credit for their work. Include full
      contact information including electronic mail addresses.

    * Articles submitted via Netmail or email must contain all the
      technically required lines and delimiters in the BODY of the
      message.  This includes the *[title] line and the 70 character
      width requirement. To indicate the filename type for one of
      these message submissions, place the FILENAME.TYP in the Subj:
      line of your email, Netmail, or Echomail. Those that require
      extra editing may be delayed from appearing in FidoNews.

    * Articles will appear when space becomes available, not
      necessarily the "next" issue. If your article is of a time-
      critical nature, please say so when you submit it; the editor
    FIDONEWS 14-50               Page 14                  15 Dec 1997


      still has final say.

    * The editor reserves the right to request changes from an author
      to meet these "standards", which you have to admit are pretty
      loose. It is not the intent for this to be a mechanism to
      refuse articles the editor does not like, but simply to keep
      the contents intelligible.

    * If we have a backlog of articles, we may get fussier about
      things. Historically, this has not been a serious problem.


    ---------------------
    SUBMITTING AN ARTICLE

    TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS:

    If all that hasn't scared you away, the next step is to create a
    text file which contains the text of your article. The resulting
    file should be sent or uploaded to "Editor", FidoNet
    address 1:1/23. The "physical" location (and phone number) of
    FidoNews varies, and hence must be found elsewhere, such as
    within a recent copy of FidoNews itself.


    Filenames must follow the MSDOS standard:

        FILENAME.TYP

        a 1 to 8 character file name (A - Z, 0 - 9)
        a period,
        a 0 to 3 character file type (A - Z, 0 - 9)


    File types are used to distinguish types of submissions, as
    follows:

        .LET Letters to the Editor.
        .ART An article, commentary, open letter, or general news
             item.
        .GUE Want to write a Guest Editorial? [*Name & Node on line 1]
        .RTX Need to make a Retraction of a previous article or notice?
        .COL Want to become a regular contributor with your own column?
        .ANS Answers to the Question of the Week.
        .BIO FidoNet biographies - tell us your | personal | story.
    |   .TRU True stories of FidoNet. |
        .HIS FidoNet history - got an anecdote to share?
        .REV Reviews of related product, services, or programs.
        .JOK Net humor in print.
    |   .FIC FidoNet (computer related) short fiction. |
        .CMX Comics in ASCII. [watch those lines at 70 columns!]
    |        [.CMX that are political will be renamed to .GUE] |
        .PRF Want to Proofread? Get a cookie for spotting errors.
        .AD  Advertising FREE services or events.
        .SAL "For Sale"
        .WAN "Wanted"
    FIDONEWS 14-50               Page 15                  15 Dec 1997


        .NOT A notice for the back of the issue. Keep them short.
        .INT Internet addresses for FidoNet webpages of general interest.

    If your file doesn't have one of the above extensions, then it
    will lay around taking up disk space until someone takes a look
    at it and realizes what it is. Maybe.

    The name of the file is up to you, though you should use a name
    which is not likely to be "stepped on" by someone else -- the
    system will not guarantee file names are unique. For example,
    FNEWS.ART is probably not a good name for an article.


    --------------
    CHARACTER SETS:

    The character by character contents of the file itself must meet
    the following standards or it cannot be published in FidoNews.
    The FidoNews staff WILL NOT be responsible for making file
    contents conform to these standards.

    * FLUSH LEFT MARGIN: Please do not put a "left margin" on your
      articles. Have the text start at the very first column.

    * RIGHT MARGIN AT COLUMN 70 OR LESS: Less is tolerable, more is
      definitely not.  If your cursor is resting at column 71 when
      your line is ended, you're okay.  One character past that even
      with trailing spaces and MAKENEWS will barf on your submission.
      If your submission is physically rejected, the Editor will have
      to fix it manually or send it back for reformatting.

    * RAGGED-RIGHT TEXT: Word-Star style "justification" (inserting
      spaces into sentences so that a paragraph is perfectly rec-
      tangular) is extremely hard to read, and consumes needless space.
      Please don't use it!

    * NO FUNNY CHARACTERS: This includes formfeeds, returns without
      linefeeds, linefeeds without returns, tabs and other oddities.
      The only control codes (character codes 0 through 31 decimal)
      allowed are carriage return (CR) and linefeed (LF). The only
      exception is: Control-Z "end of file" terminator characters are
      tolerated. Not required.

    * NO GRAPHICS CHARACTERS: Believe it or not, not everyone in the
      world has an IBM PC. Please restrict yourself to printable
      ASCII characters in the range 20 hex to 7E hex (space to
      tilde).

    * LINES TERMINATED: Each line in the article should be terminated
      with a 'newline' -- either the MSDOS standard (CR/LF) or the
      unix standard (LF only).


    -----------------
    SUBMISSION FORMAT:

    FIDONEWS 14-50               Page 16                  15 Dec 1997


    Below is a sample article properly formatted. Features of it are
    discussed further below.

    --article file example begins below this line--
    *A Sample Article [this is in LINE 1 starting at COLUMN 1]

    This is My Title
    by Joe Schmoe, [Netmail/email address]

    And here is my article. Note that it is flush left (zero indent).
    Also note that the right margin is at column seventy so that it
    won't overflow "most" text windows. Each line has a newline. Note
    the *'ed first line. My article will be listed in the table of
    contents exactly as it appears after the * above.

    Figure 1.                       Table 1.
            +-------+               ========
            | A Box |                  Alpha
            +-------+                 Bravo

    Note that we am not using any funny-o characters. This ensures
    that the final article will look the same to every user, no
    matter what sort of hardware he has.

    This is the last sentence of our article.

    --article file example ends above this line--


    The FIRST line of text is the Table of Contents line. It MUST
    begin with an asterisk * as shown above.  NO BLANK lines above
    title line are permitted. If you do not follow this instruction
    exactly, the article will not be listed in the Table of Contents.
    This Table of Contents listing method works for all submission
    file types.

    * Everything that follows the *'ed line will appear in the body
      of the newsletter.  The *'ed line will be stripped out of your
      article text so if you want it repeated as your title in the
      article BE SURE to | REPEAT | it on a second line without the *.

    * Next should be the title or name of your article, your name,
      and contact information (network address(es), Postal Service
      address, etc) Try to keep it to one or two lines each.

    * Put a blank line between paragraphs. Paragraphs that all run
      together are very difficult to read, and may be rejected.

    * If you want to put in a table or a figure, go right ahead.
      We do not rearrange text, so your table or figure will
      remain exactly as you entered it. Try to limit them to ones
      that make the communication CLEARER.

    * Don't put a lot of blank space at the top or bottom. The
      FidoNews-generator programs will visually separate articles
      automatically.
    FIDONEWS 14-50               Page 17                  15 Dec 1997


    * Please check for basic errors in spelling, grammar, and
      punctuation. We're not publishing a textbook, but you don't
      want it to embarrass yourself do you?

    * Don't use FidoNews to grind your personal axes against other
      FidoNet members. An article presenting a side of an internal
      dispute is one thing. An article defaming or perseverating over
      several Issues is another. Articles that merely quote endlessly
      from other sources to no particular effect are also not a good
      idea.

    * Don't republish copyrighted material from other sources WITHOUT
      the permission of those sources. Include the permission in such
      articles.

    * Remember that FidoNews is no better or worse than the articles
      submitted to it. If you want FidoNews to be a useful newsletter,
      get involved and submit useful articles. It's up to YOU to make
      it work.

    --------------------
    SUBMISSION DEADLINES:

    FidoNews is published on Monday of every week.  Deadline for file
    submissions to the FidoNews Editor via file-attach is 2300 ET
    [0300 UTC/GMT] the previous Saturday.  Deadline for submissions via
    Netmail, email, or in the FIDONEWS Echo is 2300 ET [0300 UTC/GMT]
    the previous Friday.  Submissions which miss the deadlines will be
    processed the following week.  Submission by deadline is not a
    guarantee of appearance in that week's FidoNews but it is likely
    depending on volume of submissions.


     -30-

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

                               Future History

    12 Jan 1998
       HAL 9000 is one year old today.

    30 Apr 1998
       Queens Day, Holland.

    17 May 1998
       Independence Day, Norway.

    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.
    FIDONEWS 14-50               Page 18                  15 Dec 1997


     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.

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

    FIDONEWS 14-50               Page 19                  15 Dec 1997


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


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

    New entry: Tornado, a BBS from Konstantin Klyagin. Welcome to the
    list... ;-)

    -=- 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         5.00     T S Harald Harms      2:281/415   ALLFIX
    Announcer      1.12     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       1.46.1   T S Tobias Burchhardt 2:2448/400  FASTECHO
    FastEcho/16    1.46.1   T S Tobias Burchhardt 2:2448/400  FEX
    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 14-50               Page 20                  15 Dec 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
    Tornado        1.50g    B F Konst Klyagin     2:461/22    TORNADO
    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:
    FIDONEWS 14-50               Page 21                  15 Dec 1997


    Program Name   Version  F C Contact Name      Node        Magic Name
    ----------------------------------------------------------------------
    ALLFIX/2       5.00     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       1.46.1   T S Tobias Burchhardt 2:2448/400  FE2
    FastLst        1.36     N S Alberto Pasquale  2:332/504   FASTLST
    FleetStreet    1.21     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
    Tornado        1.50g    B F Konst Klyagin     2:461/22    TORNADO2
    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
    FIDONEWS 14-50               Page 22                  15 Dec 1997


    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

    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      1.31     T X Rene Laederach    2:301/133   CRASHMAIL
    CrashTick      1.2      O F Rene Laederach    2:301/133   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 14-50               Page 23                  15 Dec 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]


    -----BEGIN PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK-----
    Version: 2.6.2
    Comment: Clear-signing is Electronic Digital Authenticity!

    mQCNAzINVLcAAAEEAM5dZN6t6j5Yc0kl7qegVFfiBeVoteuhDg4ay8h43u38Q4kO
    eJ9Mm7J89wXFb9vgouBVb4biIN6bTWCwcXTbGhBe5OIceLvluuxuEKsaIs/UwXNe
    Ogx5azIPhRfC7MJDe41Z8tMEBuHY/NE88cuxQ8yXWO126IRttavu6L/U5BwRAAUR
    tCRGaWRvTmV3cyBFZGl0b3IgPDE6MS8yM0BmaWRvbmV0Lm9yZz6JAJUDBRAyGwFS
    JZMgw7eCKz0BAZl0A/9xrfhpsEOqGiPfjy2qd9dv6tvSVPPVFu+Wy1lGTHYtuTtg
    FIN3fQ47AM3XzqHxWRWvp/xZYgR6sRICL7UFx94ShYBQc7CyqBBZKA0IvIWqXP/g
    c4Br+gQJR6CLiQK7TUyjUbqNbs6QAxuNUi4xFQM+O2Gene5/iTjHFmmSDj2C9YkB
    FQMFEDIOmHDTQ6/52IG1SQEBQ78H/Rz/mleIrtZwFIOhzy3JH4Z6FUTfZuM9nPcs
    1ZLjZCPptHvY7wEYJWGr03lPPJ6tj1VBXwTrWJTf/hOLsoi00GKV8t1thjqGDo23
    O91/bSQ+Vn0vBQ2vOEJys8ftxdoLJAyI5YLzHVT+RsMTQLIXVuPyrNcKs1vC2ql+
    UDHpU1R+9cG9JUEHpGI6z0DPnQ74SKbQH3fiVBpHhYx4BmvcBC4gWQzKMkDWFiq3
    8AssIZ7b9lWl3OBgQ4UM1OIDKoJyjRewIdKyl7zboKSt6Qu8LrcsXO3kb81YshOW
    ZpSS3QDIqfZC4+EElnB15l4RcVwnPHBaQY0FxUr4Vl4UWM36jbuJAJUDBRAyDpgY
    q+7ov9TkHBEBAQGoA/sFfN07IFQcir456tJfBfB9R5Z6e6UKmexaFhWOsLHqbCq6
    3FGXDLeivNn6NTz81QeqLIHglTuM3NP1mu8sw215klAG8G3M1NA2xLw7Eqhspze2
    raGvNeEwxl8e+PY9aZwBj4UWU+CmIm6QNiP0MtvR7QYDIKn5mZCDc3CLmr942IkB
    FQMFEDIOh0O8AhTPqRipPQEB4EYH/1gkDmdHL6lbEkFuQLrylF+weBl0XQ+kv7ER
    vWXYrvIrkppxtc4VAge6CXXEbOGJnvkFHgyNZzO9Q9O64QsmZvjip+4lhDLeNrdH
    X9DizS4YKXxkSKr9Yltmn2/AlBCx6jwcDIfkqy/P1tNWcikxZZMd6KryK0Wsres9
    Ik12OmVmJjQSxb5bS6Q8aYUbV3qwosGXTqy+BzYh/UYAX/XJIWa5kxFVSPKFSZ+5
    toiSzANd9SpHPEogGvQDHJlJ23lmsMx/6uHsR1LTsQ8su8zIk92XyqePJTjlMx2j
    D7KJWNR7Zzu4QHCXBkga5W8l2FfPk7D3+o7bXTLRuR1yTYGdNoiJAJUCBRAyDhwt
    SlKLwP4OFW0BAdaMA/9rcWQlSq44K9JuJ7fZUgt9fwxGreTud9fC8DvlbUW79+CA
    AHLTLLagcEF1OKsWzVBWcA2JEAp+TUTqktRN0oD8vnaw3uNJd1G5KK59hw0WR8x1
    v4ivypbSjiq95Y3gBunb7WjpyiFRWDlm0PrKrWHtbWzjnpPIpetln1UuqsSfbokB
    FQIFEDIOG9C3N61ZQ4Dr/QEBIzMH/1VxxztmBPBszbjZLDO8Svcax9Ng8IcWpcDy
    WqHCAA2Hoe5VtMD0v6w31ZgVqTPIvCark2Y/aTR1GofiuN9NUqbVV534AgAYLzYk
    DMT1swsPvqDTpOYgQl6PCGh6A5JGAbWJfKkX9XCUHJAAmiTsEVRNnjOgL+p6qjoh
    EfIG8CGehghWSRKl5eGeDAtbXupZKNjFI1t2XV+ks0RFQ/RPuTH7pF7pk7WO6Cyg
    +Dk2ZMgua0HRL1fXvHKb5Xzr3MVgsbAl5gP8ooIiD9MI/x5Irh3oo58VyoEZNBs/
    Kz+drGFDPljcS6fdiVCFtYIzMrshY6YsfLi0aB8fwOvFtxgBqli0J0NocmlzdG9w
    aGVyIEJha2VyIDwxOjE4LzE0QGZpZG9uZXQub3JnPrQoQ2hyaXN0b3BoZXIgQmFr
    ZXIgPGNiYWtlcjg0QGRpZ2l0YWwubmV0Pg==
    =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 14-50               Page 24                  15 Dec 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 14-50               Page 25                  15 Dec 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 14-50               Page 26                  15 Dec 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 14-50               Page 27                  15 Dec 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 14-50               Page 28                  15 Dec 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-

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