F I D O N E W S Volume 16, Number 49 06 Dec 1999

F I D O N E W S Volume 16, Number 49 06 Dec 1999
+----------------------------+---------------------------------------+
| The newsletter of the | ISSN 1198-4589 Published by: |
| FidoNet community | "FidoNews" |
| _ | 1-717-732-6820 1:270/720 |
| / \ | |
| /|oo \ | |
| (_| /_) | |
| _`@/_ \ _ | |
| | | \ \\ | Editor: Douglas Myers, 1:270/720 |
| | (*) | \ )) | [email protected] |
| |__U__| / \// | |
| _//|| _\ / | |
| (_/(_|(____/ | |
| (jm) | Newspapers should have no friends. |
| | -- JOSEPH PULITZER |
+----------------------------+---------------------------------------+

___
_/...\ *==\ ________________
Santa Cows /::::::\ (/_\) / \
|:::::::_ (o o) | Moo, Moo, Moo |
/-----+-+--- \ / /\________________/
/ | | | | 0 ___/
* | _ |_| _ |
|| --+_+- ||
-- --
| |_ | |_
|____| |____|

Table of Contents
1. EDITORIAL ................................................ 1
Goodbye, George .......................................... 1
2. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR .................................... 3
FTSC Charter ............................................. 3
3. ARTICLES ................................................. 6
Echomail Terrorism ....................................... 6
Latency of Echomail, and why we need ..................... 6
Ex-Soviet Fido Is Alive And Kicking ...................... 7
4. COLUMNS .................................................. 8
Ol'WDB: Just a Christmas Thought ......................... 8
Fidonet-related sites .................................... 10
5. NET HUMOR ................................................ 14
Race Horses .............................................. 14
6. COMIX IN ASCII ........................................... 15
Moory Cowristmas! ........................................ 15
7. FIDONEWS INFORMATION ..................................... 16
Masthead ................................................. 16
FIDONEWS 16-49 Page 1 6 Dec 1999

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

Goodbye, George
Doug Myers

You don't have to hit me over the head with a two by four! It only
takes me a week or so to finally get the message!

So earlier this week I got netmail from George Peace telling me that
he could no longer provide the dial-up connection for file and echo
connections. At first it didn't occur to me that I had a problem,
as I was doing the bulk of my traffic with my NC - I transferred
FIDONEWS and another file area, BFDS, directly with George to get
them on the Filebone as rapidly and reliably as possible, but picked
up all the file areas I don't source through my NC. Similiarly with
echomail. In fact, I'd never done echomail with George until just
recently, when he allowed me a direct connection to his area manager
as a favor so I could resolve a problem getting regional echoes.

But then it occurred to me that my NC was also using George's
dial-up modem to get the net feed, so I wrote George back and asked
if my NC was also affected. It was starting to occur to me that I
might have to adjust to the situation. That same day, I wrote a
note in the FIDONEWS echo letting folks know that I'd need to change
where I introduce FIDONEWS into the Filebone, as George was shutting
down his dial up line.

Apparantly, I touched off a spat of rumors which reached back to
George: He wrote back to me the next day that John and I would be
affected, but only the two of us... and wanted to know if I knew
anything about the rumors that he was shutting down. <sigh> I sent
him a copy of what I'd written in the Fidonews echo and apologized
if it touched off any rumors.

Then the rumors started hitting me. At first the folks in the
FIDONEWS echo asked me if George was shutting down (or expressed
disbelief that he was doing so), so I spent my time "revealing" to
them that George's changes were only going to affect me and my NC.
Then folks started telling me I was wrong, and that he was actually
shutting down all Fido traffic.

"Mon," I thought, "these rumors are really getting out of control!"

I'm not sure when I first found out that they weren't rumors. John
Souvestre patiently explained things to me in netmail, including a
copy of a message George had posted... George really was leaving
Fido. Before I saw John's message, though, David Moufarrege called
me to see how FIDONEWS would be distributed once George shut down...
and I was telling him that George wasn't really shutting down, that
it was just a rumor. But somewhere in the conversation, I could
feel the two by four looming in the background, and figured I'd
better shut up so as not to invite it...

Durn... I didn't want to see George Peace go. He's done nothing but
FIDONEWS 16-49 Page 2 6 Dec 1999

good for me since I've known him. I especially didn't want to give
him any grief...

George, may you find every happiness in your time after Fido.
You've left some good people behind, and I'm confident they'll pick
up any slack which is felt from your system missing. But you'll be
missed...

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

FIDONEWS 16-49 Page 3 6 Dec 1999

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

from David Hallford, 1:208/103

Hi Douglas!

In a previous editorial you mentioned something about the FTSC.
Here is a copy of FTA-1001.002 which is the Charter for the FTSC.
It's pretty much plain language, but if you have any questions
please feel free to ask. I may not have an answer <g>, but I can ask
the other Standing Members.
I have to admit that the list of members sometimes makes me feel
inadequate. Folks like Mats Wallin, Joaquim Homrighausen, and now
Harald Harms and CHarles Cruden make me wonder what I am doing on
that list.
The conversation level, however, is pretty decent and I have
learned a lot in my 1st year on the committee.

with warm regards,
Dave

*********************************************************************
FTSC FIDONET TECHNICAL STANDARDS COMMITTEE
*********************************************************************

Publication: FTA-1000
Revision: 2
Title: FTSC Charter
Author: Administrator
Revision Date: 29 December 1997
Expiry Date: Permanent Document
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Contents:
1. Mission
2. Structure
3. Access
---------------------------------------------------------------------

1. Mission
----------

The Fidonet Technical Standards Committee (FTSC) is responsible
for providing a thorough technical definition of FidoNet and its
protocols sufficient to maintain it as a compatible electronic
mail system, specifically by:

1. Documenting current practice in technical standards.
2. Encouraging new technologies in Fidonet software development.
3. Reassessing and revising FTS documents regularly.
4. Being publicly accessible to Fidonet sysops.
5. Distributing Technical Standards and Proposals.
6. Providing FTS document interpretations on software compatibility.
FIDONEWS 16-49 Page 4 6 Dec 1999

The FTSC shall maintain a publication which documents only the
minimum acceptable protocol for a Fidonet node to receive mail as
referred to in the current FidoNet Policy Document (Policy 4.07 at
this writing) The FTSC shall not take upon itself any right to
increase or decrease this requirement without express direction to
do so from the International Coordinator (IC).

2. Structure
------------

2.1 Organization
----------------

1. All members are Fidonet nodes in good standing.
2. Membership consists of no less than 7 and no more than 30.
3. Standing members are appointed Fidonet-wide as detailed in
FTA-1001 (FTSC Operations).
4. An Administrator is selected by the FTSC standing members.
5. Working Group Leaders are appointed by the Administrator.
6. A freely-available list of members and Working Groups is
maintained.

2.2 FTSC Administrator
----------------------

Appointed for a specific term, and responsible for coordinating
the activities of the Working Groups and for the smooth operation
of the FTSC as detailed in FTA-1001 (FTSC Operations).

2.3 Standing Members
--------------------

Appointed for a specific term to advise and assist the
Administrator in directing the technical focus of the FTSC.

2.4 Working Groups
------------------

Formed to develop and update standards. Both standing and
short-term Working Groups may be formed.

2.5 Working Group Leader
------------------------

Responsible for forming an assigned Working Group and ensuring
that its work is completed in a timely manner. Working Groups, and
their assigned areas of expertise are detailed in FTA-1001 (FTSC
Operations).

3. Access
FIDONEWS 16-49 Page 5 6 Dec 1999

---------

A file distribution echo, and public and private echomail
conferences are maintained, along with conferences for the various
Working Groups, as detailed in FTA-1001 (FTSC Operations).

A. History
----------

Rev.1, 19971009: First non-draft release. Author Adrian Walker.
Rev.2, 19971229: Reformatted slightly. Author changed to
Administrator. Revision number added.

********************************************************************

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

FIDONEWS 16-49 Page 6 6 Dec 1999

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

ECHOMAIL TERRORISM
by David Hallford 1:208/103

There is a new breed of terrorist here in Fidonet - the
EchoMail Terrorist. You probably know some of them. You know, the
ones who only write in echomail and will never respond to your
netmail. Ever wonder why? They're cowards. What they write in
echomail is not covered by P4 at least here in Zone 1 (and the ZC
who made that ruling is now the IC so it is logical to assume that
it covers all of Fidonet).
Most of us are in a quandry about what to do with these folks.
Some (like me) choose to no longer participate in echomail. Some
choose to leave Fidonet. Many go to either the Internet or to other
FTN networks.
Through our inaction these terrorists are in fact now running
Fidonet. What can we do? Force the issue! If a moderator allows
these actions in their echo - start another echo and ban the
terrorist from it on day one! Before the "free speech' people get up
in arms - these terrorists have no rights in an echo except those
granted by the moderator so it is the moderators right to "refuse
service". If these terrorists can't play nice then don't let them on
the playground.
It really is that simple - let the old echos die a natural
death and refuse to allow terrorists in the new echos.
Maybe then they can overcome their aversion to netmail and
'step up to the plate' like everyone else instead of cowardly hiding
in the echos.

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

Latency of Echomail, and why we need
* By Joe Jared, 1:103/301 [email protected]

A couple weeks ago, I started campaigning heavily to improve
thruput on the fidonet backbone. With George Peace leaving
fidonet, latency will be a major issue, as nets find that
their feeds for echomail have dried out. It also means that
many of us at different levels of the backbone will have
additional work to do, and unfortunately, that latency will
increase. Currently, many of the FTP server hubs have
scheduled events that occur once an hour, or once every 1/2
hour. Depending on your position, this can translate to as
much as an hour for each hop along the backbone, and
ultimately producing lags of a day or more. Until this
problem is minimized at the top level hubs, we will
experience slower traffic, which also translates to less
messages. If it's not addressed promptly we will also see a
loss of nodes, nets and possibly be watching one of the
single worst disasters for fidonet, as people scramble to
get their feed switched. Finding a new feed for echomail
isn't difficult, but finding one that is responsive to your
FIDONEWS 16-49 Page 7 6 Dec 1999

needs may be. For this reason, I have added yet another
field to the list I have been maintaining, which will
reflect also the responsiveness of the hub. Anyone may be
added to this list just by asking, regardless of their
affiliations. For purpose of definition, Latency is defined
as the time in minutes that it takes for incomming mail to
be processed AND enroute to the next level. If this process
occurs immediately after the mail is received, then latency
is 0. For a scheduled event, the time between events is what
I'm looking for.

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

Ex-Soviet Fido Is Alive And Kicking

Modern netters think now of a Fido as of a dying net. The amount of
nodes decreases, echos either dry out or became the part of a
Usenet, Internet has kicked Fido out. Perhaps that is true in Zone1.
Why shall a new user get a point and use some obsolete FTN soft if
he can get cheap unlimited Internet access?

But here, in the countries of the former Soviet Union (the so-called
"Zone 7") the situation is vice versa. The number of nodes
increases, echomail traffic is fat, you can often meet a person, who
says "Ha, I-net? I don't need it actually. I'm a Fido point and
that's enough for me". Fido is even small for some, so they create
dozens of local FTNs - "X-net", "DoomNet", "21-Century Net", etc...
What causes such a great development?

Initially it is high internet prices. Full unlimited access costs
something about $70 per month. And that's very expensive here. Why
pay so much for an account if you can get a point number for some
bottles of beer. (Though according to the policy, Fido membership is
free, it's a common tradition here to buy some beers to your node
when you are getting a number.) So a fresh point can pick out any
echo he want - Region 2:50 backbone will satisfy all tastes. You can
have the most exotic hobby and be sure that there certainly is a
corresponding echo.

The problem is that "Zone 7" is mostly Russian-languge Fido. So
international echos are not very popular. For example, Fidonews are
read by a small quantity of nodes. That needs to be solved somehow -
we must feel ourselves really a part of an Earthwide friends
network.

Andrei Besedin from Kyiv, Ukraine.
[email protected]

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

FIDONEWS 16-49 Page 8 6 Dec 1999

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

Just a Christmas Thought...

'TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS,
HE LIVED ALL ALONE,
IN A ONE BEDROOM HOUSE MADE OF
PLASTER AND STONE.

I HAD COME DOWN THE CHIMNEY
WITH PRESENTS TO GIVE,
AND TO SEE JUST WHO
IN THIS HOME DID LIVE.

I LOOKED ALL ABOUT,
A STRANGE SIGHT I DID SEE,
NO TINSEL, NO PRESENTS,
NOT EVEN A TREE.

NO STOCKING BY MANTLE,
JUST BOOTS FILLED WITH SAND,
ON THE WALL HUNG PICTURES
OF FAR DISTANT LANDS.

WITH MEDALS AND BADGES,
AWARDS OF ALL KINDS,
A SOBER THOUGHT
CAME THROUGH MY MIND.

FOR THIS HOUSE WAS DIFFERENT,
IT WAS DARK AND DREARY,
I FOUND THE HOME OF A SOLDIER,
ONCE I COULD SEE CLEARLY.

THE SOLDIER LAY SLEEPING,
SILENT, ALONE,
CURLED UP ON THE FLOOR
IN THIS ONE BEDROOM HOME.

THE FACE WAS SO GENTLE,
THE ROOM IN SUCH DISORDER,
NOT HOW I PICTURED
A UNITED STATES SOLDIER.

WAS THIS THE HERO OF WHOM I'D JUST READ?
CURLED UP ON A PONCHO, THE FLOOR FOR A BED?
I REALIZED THE FAMILIES
THAT I SAW THIS NIGHT,
OWED THEIR LIVES TO THESE SOLDIERS
WHO WERE WILLING TO FIGHT.

SOON ROUND THE WORLD,
THE CHILDREN WOULD PLAY,
FIDONEWS 16-49 Page 9 6 Dec 1999

AND GROWNUPS WOULD CELEBRATE
A BRIGHT CHRISTMAS DAY.

THEY ALL ENJOYED FREEDOM
EACH MONTH OF THE YEAR,
BECAUSE OF THE SOLDIERS,
LIKE THE ONE LYING HERE.

I COULDN'T HELP WONDER
HOW MANY LAY ALONE,
ON A COLD CHRISTMAS EVE
IN A LAND FAR FROM HOME.

THE VERY THOUGHT
BROUGHT A TEAR TO MY EYE,
I DROPPED TO MY KNEES
AND STARTED TO CRY.

THE SOLDIER AWAKENED
AND I HEARD A ROUGH VOICE,
"SANTA DON'T CRY,
THIS LIFE IS MY CHOICE;

I FIGHT FOR FREEDOM,
I DON'T ASK FOR MORE,
MY LIFE IS MY GOD,
MY COUNTRY, MY CORPS."

THE SOLDIER ROLLED OVER
AND DRIFTED TO SLEEP,
I COULDN'T CONTROL IT,
I CONTINUED TO WEEP.

I KEPT WATCH FOR HOURS,
SO SILENT AND STILL
AND WE BOTH SHIVERED
FROM THE COLD NIGHT'S CHILL.

I DIDN'T WANT TO LEAVE
ON THAT COLD, DARK, NIGHT,
THIS GUARDIAN OF HONOR
SO WILLING TO FIGHT.

THEN THE SOLDIER ROLLED OVER,
WITH A VOICE SOFT AND PURE,
WHISPERED, "CARRY ON SANTA,
IT'S CHRISTMAS DAY, ALL IS SECURE."

ONE LOOK AT MY WATCH,
AND I KNEW HE WAS RIGHT.
"MERRY CHRISTMAS MY FRIEND,
AND TO ALL A GOOD NIGHT."

This poem was written by a Marine stationed in Okinawa Japan. The
following is his request. I think it is reasonable.....

FIDONEWS 16-49 Page 10 6 Dec 1999

PLEASE.

Would you do me the kind favor of sending this to as many people as
you can? Christmas will be coming soon and some credit is due to our
U.S. service men and women for our being able to celebrate these
festivities.

Let's try in this small way to pay a tiny bit of what we owe. Make
people stop and think of our heroes, living and dead, who sacrificed
themselves for us. Please, do your small part to plant this small
seed.

Passed along by: Ol'WDB

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

! = New entries this week
? = not responding
?? = unknown content, doesn't look like fidonet

. -- -- -- -- --- -- -- -- -- .
| FIDONET-RELATED SITES |
` -- -- -- -- --- -- -- -- -- '
Last update: Dec 4, 1999

FidoNet
Homepage: http://www.fidonet.org
FidoNews: http://www.fidonews.org [HTML]
ftp://ftp.nwstar.com/fidonet/fidonews/
ftp://sstar.com/fidonet/fnews/
SDS Files: http://fidobbs.dk/download (Web Access to SDS)
FTSC page: http://www.ftsc.org/
General: http://owls.com/~jerrys/fidonet.html
List server: http://www.onelist.com/subscribe.cgi/fidonet-discussion

Zone 1: http://www.z1.fidonet.org
Region 10: http://www.psnw.com/~net205/region10.html
http://www.tnl-online.com/andy/rgn10.htm
Net 103: http://www.webworldinc.com/club103/
Region 11: http://oeonline.com/~garyg/region11/
Net 2410: http://oeonline.com/~garyg/net2410/
Region 13: http://www.net264.org/r13.htm
Net 264: http://www.net264.org/
Region 14:
Net 282: http://www.rxn.com/~net282/
Region 17: http://www.nwstar.com/~region17/
Region 18: http://techshop.pdn.net/fido/
Region 19: http://members.home.net/hbh3/r19
Net 124: http://www.startext.net/np/net124
http://texoma.net/~flv
Net 130: http://www.startext.net/homes/net130
Net 393: http://www.chatter.com/~wb/
Zone 1 Elist http://members.xoom.com/echolist/

FIDONEWS 16-49 Page 11 6 Dec 1999

Zone 2: http://www.z2.fidonet.org
Region 20: http://www.fidonet.pp.se (in Swedish)
Region 23: http://www.fido.dk (in Danish)

Region 24: http://www.swb.de/personal/flop/gatebau.html (German)
Fido-IP: http://home.nrh.de/fido/ (English/German)
Region 25: http://www.literary.freeserve.co.uk/net2502/
Region 26: http://www.nemesis.ie
REC 26: http://www.nrgsys.com/orb
Region 27: http://telematique.org/ft/r27.htm
Region 29: http://www.rtfm.be/fidonet/ (French)
Region 30: http://www.fidonet.ch (German)
? Region 33: http://www.fidoitalia.net (Italian)
Region 34: http://www.pobox.com/cnb/r34.htm (Spanish)
REC34: http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/4552/
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 (Greek/English)
Region 42: http://www.fido.cz
Region 50: http://www.fido7.com/ (Russian)
Net 5010: http://fido.tu-chel.ac.ru/ (Russian)
Net 5015: http://www.fido.nnov.ru/ (Russian)
Net 5030: http://kenga.ru/fido/ (Russian & English)
Net 5049: http://www.n5049.z2.fidonet.org (English/Russian)
?? Net 5085: http://www.fidonet.uz/ (Russian)

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

Zone 4:
Region 80: http://fidobrasil.8m.com (Portuguese)
Region 90:
Net 904: http://members.tripod.com/~net904 (Spanish)

Zone 5: http://www.eastcape.co.za/fidonet/

Zone 6: http://www.z6.fidonet.org
Region 65: http://www.cfido.com/fidonet/cfidochina.html
(Chinese)

Fidonet Via Internet Hubs

a @ preceding an individual's name implies a virtual email address.
The email is translated as follows [email protected] will
automatically route to the appropriate individual's email. Anyone
in this list will also receive routed notice of this feature. In my
case, it would still be [email protected], but you get the
idea.

Also, as information is provided to me, I will be adding a latency
field to each node, which is defined as the time between when the
message is received, and when it is sent on to other nodes, or
available to be sent onward, defined in minutes. A latency of !
implies that there is an immediate response, and an attempt to
deliver immediately after processing, or a "MinuteMail System", as
it were.
FIDONEWS 16-49 Page 12 6 Dec 1999

v-email flag [email protected]
| email address or
Node# | Operator | Facilities (*) | Speed,| Basic Rate
| | |latency|
-----------+-------------------+----------------+-------+------------
Zone 1 | | | |
10/3 @ Brenda Donovan | FTP,UUE,BinkP | T1?,30| $??/$10
12/12 | Ken Wilson | FTP | T1 | $24mo.
13/25 @ Jim Balcom | FTP | 56k | $20mo.
103/153 @ Michael Box | BinkP | aDSL | n/c
103/301 @ Joe Jared | BinkP,FTP | aDSL,!| n/c
103/328 @ Mark Luetger | BinkP | 384k,!| n/c
105/8 | Russ Johnson | FTP,BinkP,VMoT | 384k | n/c
105/72 @ Larry James | FTP | aDSL | $5/$15 mo.
106/1 @ Matt Bedynek | BinkP, FTP | DS-3,5| $5/$15 mo
106/6018 | Lawrence Garvin | FTP, VMoT | aDSL | n/c
140/1 @ Bob Seaborn | FTP | T3,60 | $5/$16
167/133 | Stephen Monteith | BinkP | 128k+ | n/c
211/417 @ Korombos | BinkD,UUE,FTP | T1 | n/c
246/160 @ Mason Vye | FTP, UUE | 56K | n/c
271/140 @ Tom Barstow | UUE,FTP | T1 | n/c
280/169 | Brian Greenstreet | FTP | 33.6 | $2mo.
342/3 | Richard Dodsworth | BinkP,FTP | 128K+ | n/c
345/0 @ Todd Cochrane | FTP | T1 | n/c
396/1 @ John Souvestre | FTP,VMoT | T1 | $10/mo
396/45 | Marc Lewis | UUE | 33.6 | $26/yr
2401/305 | Peter Rocca | FTP,UUE | T1 | unkn
2424/101 | Kari Suomela | FTP,VMoT,BinkP,UUE| T1 | $25.00/mo
2604/104 | Jim Mclaughlin | FTP,VMoT,UUE | 33.6 | $1mo
3613/2 @ [email protected] | UUE | 28.8 | n/c
2613/404 @ David Moufarrege | BinkP,FTP,VMoT | 128k+ | n/c
2624/306 @ D. Calafrancesco | VMoT | 33.6 | n/c
3632/84 | Robert Todd |FTP,VMoT,UUE,BinkP | 57.6k | n/c
3639/93 @ Ross Cassell | FTP, BinkP |128K+,!| n/c
3651/9 | Jerry Gause | FTP,VMoT | 33.6 | $3/$6
3803/1 @ Ben Ritchey | UUE | 56k | n/c
--------------------------------------------------------------
Zone 2 |
20/11 | Henrik Lindhe | BinkP | ??? | n/c
31/1 | Gabriel Plutzar | BinkP | T1+ | n/c
203/600 | Mikael Karlsson | UUE | 64k | n/c
221/360 @ Tommi Koivula | BinkP,UUE | ??? | n/c
236/205 @ Michael Kaaber | BinkP | ??? | n/c
246/2098 | Volker Imre | BinkP | ??? | n/c
284/800 | Jeroen VanDeLeur | FTP,UUE | 64k | n/c
292/626 | Filip Ruymen | Binkp, UUE | 128K+ | n/c
292/2003 | Eric Vaneberck | BinkP | 768k | n/c
301/1 | Peter Witschi | BinkP | 768k | n/c
332/807 | Roberto Mascolo | BinkP | ??? | n/c
335/535 @ Mario Mure | BinkP,VMot,UUE | 64k | n/c
335/610 | Gino Lucrezi | UUE | 33.6 | n/c
344/201 | Julio Garcia | BinkP | ??? | n/c
346/3 @ Carlos Navarro | UUE | ??? | n/c
382/100 | Sinisa Burina | BinkP | ??? | n/c
406/555 | Marius Kaizerman | BinkP | ??? | n/c
406/555 | Ofir Michaeli & | BinkP | ??? | n/c
FIDONEWS 16-49 Page 13 6 Dec 1999

423/81 | Milos Bajer | BinkP | ??? | n/c
464/4077 | Serguei Trouchelle| UUE | 19.2 | n/c
465/204 | Va Milushnikov | BinkP | 33.6k | n/c
469/84 | Max Masyutin | VMoT | 256k | n/c
480/112 | Adam Sarapata| FTP, VMoT, UUE,BinkP| 128k | n/c
2411/413 @ Dennis Dittrich | UUE,BinkP | 64k | n/c
2446/301 | Lothar Behet | BinkP,VMoT,UUE,FTP | 64K | n/c
2474/275 | Christian Emig | UUE | 64k | unkn
5030/115 | Andrey Podkolzin | BinkP | ??? | n/c
5100/8 | Egons Bush | BinkP | ??? | n/c
5020/1159 | Gennady Kudryashoff | UUE | 33.6 | n/c
--------------------------------------------------------------
Zone 3
633/260 @ Malcolm Miles | FTP,BinkP | 64K | n/c
640/954 | Rick Van Ruth | FTP,VMot,UUE,BinkP| 56K| n/c
774/605 @ Barry Blackford|BinkP,VMoT:10023,ifcico,FTP |33.6| n/c

--------------------------------------------------------------
Zone 4
905/100 | Fabian Gervan | VMoT,UUE,BinkP | 128k | n/c
902/18 | Javier Tejedor | UUE | 33,6 | n/c

--
* FTP = Internet File Transfer Protocol
* VMoT = Virtual Mailer over Telnet (various)
* UUE = uuencode<->email type transfers
* BinkP = front end mailer for TCPIP networks

----------------------------------------------
Fidonet oriented news servers

news.osirusoft.com
news.tardis.net

Fidonet oriented chat rooms.

room #fidonet 5PM (PDT 11AM GMT) Sundays
irc.isonline.com
irc.killaz-r-us.com
irc.korombos.org

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

Please send updates, corrections and suggestions to
Joe Jared, 1:103/301, [email protected], and
complaints to [email protected] .

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

FIDONEWS 16-49 Page 14 6 Dec 1999

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

Race Horses
Thanks to Roy Reed
[email protected]

Charlie was a regular visitor at the racetrack. One afternoon he
noticed an unusual site. Right before the first race, a Catholic
Priest visited one of the horses in the stable area and gave it a
blessing. Charlie watched the horse race very carefully, and sure
enough, the blessed horse came in first!

Charlie followed the Priest before the next race. Again, the Priest
went to the stables and blessed another horse. Charlie quickly put
two dollars on that horse and won close to fifty bucks!

The Priest kept blessing horses and Charlie kept betting on them and
they won!

The last race of the day was the biggest and Charlie saw the Priest
with that horse, also! He quickly went to his bank and withdrew his
life's savings of $20,000, went back to the racetrack and put it
all on that horse!

He watched the race in certain anticipation of leaving a
millionaire! The horse was last to cross the line and Charlie was
dead broke!

He couldn't believe what happened so he went looking for the Priest.
He found the man and asked "What happened to that last horse you
blessed? Because your blessing didn't work, I've lost all of my
money!"

The Priest said, "That's the trouble with you Protestants, you can't
tell the difference between a blessing and the Last Rites!"

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FIDONEWS 16-49 Page 15 6 Dec 1999

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COMIX IN ASCII
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O
O O O
Moory O *
Cowristmas! ____ /|\
_____________________| |_____ /||o\
/______________________________\ /|o|||\
~ /________________________________\ /|||||o|\
~~ #### || | |||||||||||| | || /||o||||||\
~(oo) ||___|___||||||||||||___|___|| /||||o||||||\
/-------\/ || | |||||||||||| | || /|o||||o|||o||\
/ | || ||___|___||||||||||||___|__ || | |
* ||----|| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||ooooooooo| |ooooooo
oooo~~oooo~~ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

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FIDONEWS 16-49 Page 16 6 Dec 1999

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