NOTE: This document is for the use of Sysops who presently distribute ModemNews Magazine, OR for those sysops who may in the future consider doing so. Please direct any questions to the numbers above.
If you already have a copy of ModemNews in your file base, or you are offering it for online viewing please note that NO permission is needed for either, however, the magazine may not be altered in any way except for when used for online viewing. (See the note at the end of this document for more information.)
As you may already know, ModemNews Magazine has grown into an international electronic publication, and has grown this way due to the hard work of many Sysops and BBS users across North America.
ModemNews started out as a local DOS based BBS news magazine. As our issues were uploaded around the BBS circuit it began to spread far from the original area for which it was intended. All for the better. As of this writing we are presently in more than seventy major markets, and can be found on some of the many NetWorks that link BBS's around the country.
This is just the beginning. As we grow, so will the BBS community. The thousands of BBS users across North America will be able to find a common voice within the pages of ModemNews Magazine.
ModemNews Magazine is not a technically oriented publication. Rather it is more like a `Readers Digest' of the electronic medium. In our pages your users will be able to find all manner of interesting information. From recipes to jokes, from technical papers to News and Views about the computer and BBS industry. These pages can be used as a focal point for BBS users from all over to exchange information and ideas on just about, well, anything! That's the beauty and intent of ModemNews.
ModemNews Magazine is distributed through a Network of NewsStands that will make it possible for any reader to obtain a copy of the magazine on a BBS near to their home. Each week we are adding more NewsStands to the ranks. This document will tell you how you may join this constantly growing number of ModemNews NewsStands.
Below, we hope to clearly delineate a distribution policy for ModemNews that will be fair to all Sysops and readers alike. In addition, you will find out how to be listed in our pages as a ModemNews NewsStand. The advantages to your board are many and the demands on you are very few. Just a few minutes of your time to get set up, and a few minutes more once each month to post the newest issue of the magazine. More about that later.
Publication Schedule for ModemNews Magazine
ModemNews will be published once each month (except for July and August).
Deadline date for entries is the 15th, and release date of each new issue will be on the first of the month.
Information from you, your users, or from your board that is received by the specified date will, if space permits, be published in the immediate issue. If space is not available, the information will be posted in the very next issue in turn.
You or your users may submit anything you or they feel should be published in an issue of ModemNews. We are particularly looking for the following;
NOTE: Numbers in parentheses denote the 'rough' maximum Kilobyte limit.
1) Interesting message threads from your board about most any topic.(10K)
2) General Purpose technical papers and articles.(15K)
3) General articles concerning the computer/BBS industries.(15K)
4) Editorial comments and replies.(5K)
5) Feature articles and stories.(15K)
6) ANSI and/or MacPaint artwork.(15K)
Do not limit yourself to the above list. We are open to all suggestions. It should be remembered that this magazine is wholly dependant upon user submissions for it's content. You are encouraged to submit a profile of your particular BBS as well as an ANSI/TEXT/or MacPaint ad which will be displayed in the magazine once your BBS has been approved as a ModemNews NewsStand.
Your BBS ad will be seen by readers from coast to coast and be one of only 10 that will be published within each issue!
[The above option is available ONLY to BBS systems that are FREE to the general public, and are officially recognized NewsStands]
If general access to your system is limited to paying members, you may then purchase commercial ad space in the magazine. (see AD.DOC included with this package)
How to become an Official ModemNews NewsStand.
BEFORE YOU CONTACT MODEMNEWS YOU MUST HAVE COMPLIED WITH THE SET UP LISTED IN THIS DOCUMENT. DO NOT CALL US BEFORE YOUR SYSTEM IS READY. YOUR BBS WILL BE CHECKED BY ONE OF OUR STAFF. (usually within 14 days.)
ModemNews reaches it's readership through 'FREE' distribution. No fee or penalty may be levied for a download of ModemNews. This does not imply `free' downloads from your board. Upload/Download ratios on your board are exempt, though, some boards allow ModemNews to be accessed without affecting user U/D ratios. If your board has commercial or paid access lines, ModemNews must be able to be accessed through the public lines on a callers FIRST or, at the least, his second call after they have completed your verification process if you have one.
A new user MUST however be able to see on his FIRST call that he has reached a ModemNews NewsStand.
In order for you to be an official NewsStand several things must be done.
Sysops requesting NewsStand status from ModemNews Magazine must be at least 18 years of age and be operators of established Bulletin Board Systems.
NewsStand status will NOT be granted to BBS's that encourage or engage in the following activities;
Phreaking Pirating Virus development or distribution.
If an existing NewsStand is found to be actively engaged in any of these activities they will be immediately dismissed, and local Law Enforcement Agencies will be notified. There will be no exceptions.
A notice MUST be placed on the front end of your system notifying callers that you are indeed a ModemNews NewsStand. This is a MUST and will be strictly enforced.
1) Create and maintain a download FILE area for ModemNews that will contain at least the immediate issue, as well as the past two issues of the magazine. There is no need to keep the entire collection of magazines in your database. This file area may be "shared" with other `magazines' as long as the file menu clearly states the words ModemNews.
2) Try to get your users involved. This is for THEM and BY them. Advertise the magazine, request your users to upload their works, and contribute yourselves by sending us a Profile of your BBS (roughly 5-10K in size). You may also send us interesting message threads from your system. Anything that may allow other readers to get a feel for your particular BBS system and inform our readers.
3) You MUST contact ModemNews OnLine (516) 679-0674 and request listing in the magazine and leave a message to the Sysop requesting such be done. (You might also upload at this time any ads or BBS profiles.)
Notify the Sysop what action has been taken on your part and be sure to include your boards name and number.
While online you should fill out questionnaire #3 at ModemNews OnLine. If you do not answer honestly, your request will be disregarded. There will be no exceptions and you will not be able to reapply with us for at least one calendar year. Your system will be checked and screened BEFORE you are granted NewsStand status. If your System has not been set up properly to receive ModemNews when one of our staff calls to check, your request for NewsStand status will not be granted.
4) You MUST pick up your NEXT issue of ModemNews from the ModemNews Central Library at ModemNews OnLine. Thereafter we will find an alternate (read:less expensive) method for you to obtain your newest issues, including automatic transfer via RelayNet if you carry the ModemNews conference.
We will try to make it possible for you to obtain your copies from another NewsStand in your area or through a NET system in your area. If you CAN already do this, please phone us and let us know. This will help speed up the distribution of the magazine and keep a good deal of your money out of the pockets of our favorite phone companies.
5) In MOST cases submissions from your readers or from yourselves should be sent to ModemNews OnLine as soon as they are received.
6) The magazine may NOT be altered in anyway when posted in your ModemNews file area. It must be posted EXACTLY as received. This also holds true for the archived version.
7) Your system will be checked by our staff from time to time. If it has been found that you have violated our agreement, you will be deleted from our NewsStand listing, and a note will be posted in the magazine stating why this was done.
8) We REQUIRE that you contact ModemNews OnLine at least once in every 30 (thirty) day period so that we know you are still with us, and operating in accordance with our requests. A call like this need only last one or two minutes. At ModemNews OnLine you will find important information for you updated frequently, as well as the current issues. (You need not get your issues from us after the first, you may get them from your nearest local NewsStand if that is available to you. A message left to us in the ModemNews conference on RIME (RelayNet) will suffice.
If 60 days pass without your logging onto ModemNews OnLine, or if you should drop more than 2 issues behind, we will have no choice but to drop your system from our NewsStand list. We trust this will not be necessary.
In these few paragraphs I hope that I have answered the many questions I am sure you will have. I have tried to make this process as simple as is possible, and feel confident that this has been done.
If you have any suggestions for us or further questions PLEASE call us at ModemNews OnLine at anytime. You will usually receive a response within 48 hours. The more exact information you leave us, the better we can answer your questions, or deal with your requests.
Note for DOS systems....
When ModemNews is offered for online viewing on your system, Sysops are ENCOURAGED to use the /0 <--- that's a ZERO option that will allow a caller to go directly to PageOne, and upon exiting go directly to the last page. The magazine may NOT be altered in any other way without the express permission of the editor. This will be a blessing to those who log onto your boards at 1200, and a miracle for those who are still crawling along at 300.
My lawyer made me include the following.........
Shareware Notice:
This file is NOT Freeware. It is Shareware in an interesting form.
If you continue to read ModemNews Magazine for any length of time (at least three issues) we would expect you to register your support with a donation of your choosing.
The official NewsStand price for a copy of ModemNews Magazine is $3.00 (three dollars), but please note, no SysOp or person, or BBS service of any kind may charge for a download of any issue of the magazine. This also includes disk copying services and Shareware distribution services.
Only the officers of ModemNews Magazine may collect your registration fees. Officers of ModemNews Magazine can be found at ModemNews OnLine ONLY!. If you should need further information, your local NewsStand SysOp should be able, and will be more than happy to help you.
