NetNews Usenet Archive 1993 #3

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Path: sparky!uunet!walter!att-out!pacbell.com!decwrl!parc!biosci!kumr!pozar From: pozar@kumr.lns.com (Tim Pozar) Newsgroups: comp.org.fidonet Subject: FidoNet Newsletter, Volume 10, # 4 Message-ID: <1993Jan25.161722.1372@kumr.lns.com> Date: 25 Jan 93 16:17:22 GMT Organization: Late Night Software (San Francisco) Lines: 1610 Approved: pozar@hoptoad.UUCP F I D O N E W S -- | Vol. 10 No. 4 (25 January 1993) A newsletter of the | FidoNet BBS community | Published by: _ | / \ | "FidoNews" BBS /|oo \ | +1-415-863-2739 (_| /_) | NEW!--> 1:1/23@FidoNet _`@/_ \ _ | editor@fidonews.fidonet.org | | \ \\ | | (*) | \ )) | Editors: |__U__| / \// | Tom Jennings _//|| _\ / | Tim Pozar (_/(_|(____/ | (jm) | Newspapers should have no friends. | -- JOSEPH PULITZER ----------------------------+--------------------------------------- /********************************************************************* * IMPORTANT NOTE: The FidoNet address for FidoNews has been changed. * * The new address is: * * * * FidoNews = 1:1/23 * * * * Starting January 1993 email sent to the old address will not be * * forwarded! You were warned! * *********************************************************************/ For information, copyrights, article submissions, obtaining copies and other boring but important details, please refer to the end of this file. Table of Contents 1. EDITORIAL ..................................................... 1 Editorial: none of the above .................................. 1 2. ARTICLES ...................................................... 2 BBS in India .................................................. 2 Sample bulletin explaining Netmail & Fidonet/Internet ......... 4 The Third Conference on Computers, Freedom and Privacy ........ 9 Announcing CONNECT -- a new telecommunications magazine ....... 11 Z1C applicants ................................................ 12 The truth about ZEC ........................................... 12 Response to "FidoNet, Elections, and Agreements" .............. 18 Z1C Wanted: Sysops can apply, but they can't vote ............. 21 The Policy 4.1 debate ......................................... 22 The AIRGUN Echo Is Backboned! ................................. 23 Doing it full-duplex .......................................... 25 3. FIDONEWS INFORMATION .......................................... 27 FidoNews 10-04 Page 1 25 Jan 1993 ====================================================================== EDITORIAL ====================================================================== Editorial: None of the above by Tom Jennings (1:1/23) This week, I'm really going to beg off this week's scratchings. The Z1C process is unfolding in our usual glorious manner. We've got some pretty interesting articles outside local politics too. I talked my head off last week, enough for this week too. The process of searching for a new FidoNews editor continues. If you missed last week's editorial, I'm quitting and looking for a replacement. I laid out the process (such as it is...) in last week's news. I have started what I promised last week, which is a public file of all correspondence on this subject. In it so far you'll find the messages and resume's received so far. This week I will start contacting applicants, and all of my responses (and theirs, etc) will go into this file. The file is called NEW-ED, and is filerequestable and downloadable to first-time callers on the FidoNews BBS, 1:1/23, +1-415-863-2739. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- FidoNews 10-04 Page 2 25 Jan 1993 ====================================================================== ARTICLES ====================================================================== BBS in India Copyright (c) 1992 Suchit Nanda Suchit.Nanda@f1.n606.z6.fidonet.org This article appeared in Volume 2 Number 11, (November 1992) of Matrix News, the monthly newsletter of Matrix Information and Directory Services, Inc. (MIDS). It is copyright by its author. For further information, please contact the author or MIDS: Matrix News Matrix Information & Directory Services, Inc. (MIDS) mids@tic.com +1-512-451-7602 fax: +1-512-450-1436 1106 Clayton Lane, Suite 500W Austin, TX 78723 U.S.A. Reprinted with permission. India is a beautiful country in many ways. With a population of over 800 million people and with a long heritage and strong bond between its people, electronic communications has been a rather neglected area until recently. While paper & voice are the predominant modes of communication amongst the masses, the business community relies very heavily on FAXes and modems are almost non-existent. The computing population here is largely confined to the metropolitan cities and is growing very rapidly every day. I'm located in Bombay - the commercial & economic capital of the country with a long & scenic shoreline to the Arabic Sea. It is well connected with roads, rail & sea routes and headquarters the telecommunications network of the country. I had been toying with the idea of starting a BBS but could never get down to it as the required critical mass for sustaining one was never around and a failure at the start of something beautiful such as this could really bury a good concept. So I waited in anticipation till it was early March of this year when I decided to take the plunge. Late last year I had assembled my own 386 machine with a 130MB HDD & SVGA and had a 1200bps modem to start with. Being the Chief Editor of Microcomputer Users' Club which is a non-profit organization with a number of international affiliations, I had developed a lot of friends. Mr. Woody Khoman of Bangkok User Group was kind enough to send me WildCat BBS software using which I setup "Live Wire! BBS" at my residence which alternated between voice and data calls (boy was that tough!). WildCat was a very simple software but unfortunately was very limited in what it could do (no flames pls - I had an old version of it and knew what a good BBS software was capable of). Before long I was looking elsewhere. Dr. Raj Mehta, a friend of mine had an access to an Ernet account using which I sent a shot-in-the-dark mail asking FidoNews 10-04 Page 3 25 Jan 1993 for more information regarding BBS software. Within no time we got a reply from Keith Dickinson (1:3603/75 - Psycho.FidoNet.Org) who not only offered to help but also send the software down! Wow, that's what I call a friendly soul. You bet we took up that offer and very soon after an exchange of few e-mails we had the software zipping across the continents. To cut a long story short, Keith went way out of his way to help us right up to hand-holding us with installing Maximus CBCS. The next big step was joining FidoNet as we were already aware of it thru FidoNews. But that meant setting up BNU, FrontDoor, Squish and the link to Maximus. Getting help from 10,000 miles away is not exactly cheap no matter how helpful the guy at the other end. Finally things fell into place but not knowing whom to contact, we called Honlin Lue, Samson Luk & Wing Lee who were all most co-operative. Very soon, in the first week of August we had our own node number and e-mail - the life & blood of FidoNet started flowing in. What makes FidoNet even more interesting is EchoMail and that is the next thing that we started getting. But very soon I realized that the volumes of mail generated would soon make me bankrupt with my measly 2,400bps modem so with a heavy heart I had to limit my EchoMail participation. Recently I read in the FidoNews about DataNETLink and started a dialogue with Kuah Woon Hua of The Calling Center (6:600/76) Singapore which resulted in my becoming the India Co-ordinator. Looking into my crystal ball I see a lot of latent potential for the Indian region. No matter what, it still amazes me why we took so long to plug in. But now that we are here, I'm sure BBSs will come up faster than mushrooms can sprout up. As for me, our BBS is going to go 24 hrs in a month's time and we should be upgrading to 14.4K any day now. If I can be of assistance to anyone out there all you need to do is ATDT me. :-) Live Wire! BBS Suchit Nanda, SysOp 6:606/1 BBS: (91-22) 5781132 Timings: 10:30 p.m. - 7:00 a.m. C-503, Eden-4, Hiranandani Gardens, Powai, Bombay - 400 076. INDIA -- uucp: uunet!m2xenix!puddle!6!606!1!Suchit.Nanda,.Live.Wire!.(6:606/1) Internet: Suchit.Nanda,.Live.Wire!.(6:606/1)@f1.n606.z6.fidonet.org Suchit Nanda is the Chief Editor of Microcomputer Users' Club, a registered nonprofit organization which is India's first and largest user group, with many chapters and international affliations, and about 1,000 members from all walks of life. For the club, he has co-authored a book *War On Virus* which is currently in its second edition. The also club has a monthly 40+ page newsmagazine which is circulated to all members. FidoNews 10-04 Page 4 25 Jan 1993 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- By Dave Appel, Indianapolis Computer Society. A dumb ascii-user on 1:231/30 SAMPLE BULLETIN EXPLAINING NETMAIL AND FIDONET/INTERNET Here's an article that I wrote that appeared in the INDY PC NEWS the magazine of the Indianapolis Computer Society. I thought it would make a nice bulletin for Fidonet sysops who get tired of explaining netmail and gated Internet mail to new users. I've tried to replace the specifics of state/city/net etc with keywords that you can search-and-replace with your text editor to make it applicable to you. Also, place a prettily formatted version of your local nodelist at the end of this article. If you aren't the NC, get his permission to reprint it. You don't have to use the baud and flag fields, but at least node number, bbs name, city, sysop name, and phone number. There is also a place to list the nets in your state. Permission is hereby granted to reprint this article in not-for- profit user-group newsletters as long as I am notified, and my name stays on as author, and "Originally printed in the INDY PC NEWS" stays in. Permission is hereby granted to post this article as a bulletin on Fidonet bulletin boards as long as such bulletin board remains in the official Fidonet nodelist. To make this article apply to your city/node, replace: YOUR_NET with your net number. YOUR_NET_NAME with your net's name. YOUR_STATE with your state's name. YOUR_CITY with your city's name. YOUR_GATEWAY with the net/node of the Fido UUCP gateway serving your network or region. YOUR_NC_BBS with the BBS name of your Net Coordinator. YOUR_CITY_ECHO with the mnemonic name of your city-wide echo YOUR_STATE_ECHO with the mnemonic name of your state-wide echo ---------------------------- cut here ---------------------------- Bulletin ## Fidonet Netmail and Internet mail. By Dave Appel, Indianapolis, IN. 1:231/30 Adapted from an article originally appearing in the INDY PC NEWS C:\INTRO> This article describes a low cost amateur email network that is available to YOUR_CITY area bulletin board users. FidoNews 10-04 Page 5 25 Jan 1993 I am using the term "email" to mean electronic mail messages that you enter on one bulletin board and then get sent automatically to one or more bulletin boards around town, around the state, around the country, and around the world. This article will deal with an international amateur network called FIDONET. Just a couple quick definitions. BBS stands for Bulletin Board System. A BBS is a computer and modem that someone has dedicated to a phone line so people like you can call it with a computer and modem. Sysop is short for SYStem OPerator. The sysop is the owner/operator of a bulletin board. Fidonet currently has over 19,000 separate member bulletin boards worldwide. It is by far the largest of the amateur networks. There is a list at the end of this article that contains the bulletin boards in the YOUR_NET_NAME. This list is updated weekly, so call your favorite BBS (or YOUR_NC_BBS, the local net coordinator) to get an up-to-date list. First, I'll give you the basics of email, and then go on to the fancy stuff like gateways that allow you to send mail to other networks like Internet, Compuserve, America Online, MCImail, ATTmail, and others. C:\NETMAIL> There are two categories of email that one can send on Fidonet. These are in addition to the "local only" messages that stay on the bulletin board on which you enter them. The first is a person- to-person message that is transmitted from the BBS you are using to the BBS of the recipient. There may be several BBS's in between that pass the message on, but there is a defined "origin" BBS and a "destination" BBS. This is also called "point to point" or "one to one." This kind of email is called "netmail" on a Fidonet BBS. To enter a netmail message, you must enter the section of the BBS that is specifically called NETMAIL. You must also know two things about the person with whom you are corresponding. You must know the exact spelling of their user name on their bbs. For instance, to send netmail to me, you must send it to "Dave Appel" and not to "David Appel". The second thing you must know is the "node number" of the bbs. The node number is the address of the BBS in terms that the BBS software can understand. For instance, the YOUR_NC_BBS is known as 1:YOUR_NET/0. The "1" is the zone. Zone 1 is North America. The "YOUR_NET" is the network, or just plain "net." Net YOUR_NET is the YOUR_NET_NAME. And the "0" is the individual bulletin board, which is called a "node" within the YOUR_NET network. Node "0" always indicates the local net coordinator. By knowing that I am "Dave Appel" of 1:231/30, anyone on any of the 19,000 Fidonet BBS's in the world can send me netmail. If you are a member of Rob Haverly's Paladen BBS, your netmail address would be 1:231/20. FidoNews 10-04 Page 6 25 Jan 1993 C:\ECHOMAIL> The second kind of email is that which is entered in an "echo conference." This email is called "echo mail." This is where a message you enter on the BBS gets transmitted to several BBS's around town, around state, around the country or around the world. This is a "one to many" relationship. After you enter your message, eventhough it may be addressed to one person, it is sent to ALL BBS's that are "participating" in that echo conference. "Participating" in this context means that the BBS has this conference "turned on" and is receiving messages for this conference from the local "Echo Coordinator." The Echo Coordinator is the local BBS that makes the long distance phone calls on a regional or national level. The Echo Coordinator then distributes the echo mail conference messages to the local bulletin boards for efficiency and cost sharing. If the preceeding paragraph confused you, let me give you a real life example that might clear it up. There is a national echo conference for skydiving. The conference name is SKYDIVE. Southside BBS, 1:231/30 has the SKYDIVE conference "turned on" and a conference message area set up. I call Southside BBS, and navigate the menus to go into the national Echomail area of the bbs. I select the SKYDIVE conference. I read all new messages, and reply to a few. I see messages from people in Florida, Norway, Ohio, Texas, Illinois, and Purdue University. I see a message from a guy who's going to go to a skydiving convention in Richmond Indiana. I reply to that message, and tell the guy to look for me at the convention, and I'll be wearing a T-Shirt with "Frankfort Indiana" on it. But since I enter my message in the "echo conference" and not in "netmail" my message actually gets transmitted to ALL the bulletin boards in the world who are tied into the SKYDIVE conference. Therefore, all the other skydivers who read the echo conference will know that Dave will be wearing his Frankfort Indiana T-shirt at the skydiving convention. However, if I don't want to broadcast to the world what I'll be wearing, then I leave the echo conference section, and go to the netmail section and enter a private person-to-person message to my correspondent. Every message in an echo conference has a line at the end called the "origin line." The origin line tells the name and node number of the originating BBS. So before I leave the echo conference, I look at the other guy's origin line to find out how to address the private reply. YOUR_CITY_ECHO is another echo conference, but it is a local only conference. The sysops have it set up so that only the YOUR_NET_NAME, Net YOUR_NET, bulletin boards have this conference. If I enter a message in YOUR_CITY_ECHO, only the BBS's in the list at the end of this article can receive it, and then only if the sysop has YOUR_CITY_ECHO activated on his BBS. FidoNews 10-04 Page 7 25 Jan 1993 Activating a conference or "turning it on" is a complicated procedure that only the sysops need to know. User's don't need to be concerned with how that is done. If your favorite Fidonet BBS doesn't have your favorite conference activated, just ask your sysop to "turn on" such-and-such conference. "Carry," "turn on," and "activate" are synonymous in regard to conferences. YOUR_STATE_ECHO is an example of a state-wide echo conference. This conference is carried by Net YOUR_NET and other Fidonet networks in YOUR_STATE. Again, only if the individual sysop wishes to. Whether an echo conference is "national" "international" "state- wide" or "local" is up to the sysops and Echo Coordinators involved. C:\BENEFITS> The benefits of having many local bulletin boards carry the same echo conferences is that if your favorite BBS is busy or has crashed, you merely call another BBS in the network, and see the same messages. But even more than this, echo conferences give you the ability to share your interests, from Agriculture to Zymurgy, with others around world. C:\ADVANCED\GATEWAYS> Now we get to the real juicy part of all this. This is where you are going to learn to really have fun, impress your friends, and SAVE MONEY. One of the mondo cool things of Fidonet is its ability to link with MOST MAJOR EMAIL vendors through another network called "Internet." Defining and explaining Internet would take a whole book. Therefore, I will merely explain how to use it, instead of going into an explanation of what it is. This time I will start with an example first. Suppose you have a user account at one of the Fidonet boards listed at the end of this article. Suppose you have a friend or business associate with a Compuserve account, and he wants you to send email to his Compuserve account. But you don't want to pay $95/year to subscribe to Compuserve when you can get access to a Fidonet BBS for free. Here is what you do: Sign on your favorite Fidonet BBS. Go into the netmail section. Enter a netmail message to the user "UUCP" or "Uucp". When the BBS asks you the net/node address, enter "YOUR_GATEWAY". All you need to know is that "Uucp" at "YOUR_GATEWAY" is our local Internet gateway for YOUR_CITY. Now comes the tricky part. In the VERY FIRST line of the message, starting in column 1, you must put "To: 76543.9999@compuserve.com". But you must replace the number with the person's actual Compuserve number. 76543.9999 is just a made-up number. And don't type in the quotes. "To" must have an uppercase "T" and lowercase "o". There must be exactly one space after the colon. You must replace the comma in the Compuserve account number with a period, and you must FidoNews 10-04 Page 8 25 Jan 1993 not have any spaces other than the space following the colon. There must not be anything else on this line. In the SECOND line of the message put at least one space followed by a period. Do not put anything else on the second line. [This is not true. You must put an empty line after the Internet address line. - Tim Pozar] There are other ways of formatting the address, but I'm just telling you what will work for all situations, just to be on the safe side. That's all there is to get your message to Compuserve. Enter your message, save it, and within 24 to 48 hours your message should appear in your correspondent's in-box on Compuserve. Note that I said "should" not "will." That is because Fidonet is an AMATEUR network run by people who are not being paid to do it. If for some reason your email doesn't reach the destination, you have no legal recourse. So if you have email that is of an urgent nature, or you have business depending on it, then go ahead and get an account on Compuserve. Now I'll explain a little bit of the "To: " address above. The format of the "To: " address is the standard Internet format which is "username@domain". In our example, "76543.9999" is the username, and "compuserve.com" is the domain. Again, defining what a domain is gets complicated. Suffice it to say, you need to know your correspondent's username and domain. Once you know those two things, you are all set. When your correspondent receives your message, their mail system should tell them your address as the sender of the message. But if you want them to send you mail first, you'll have to give them your address. Again, I'll start with my example and then explain. If someone on another system with Internet access (such as Compuserve or MCImail) wants to send me email on the Southside BBS they would send it to: "Dave.Appel@f30.n231.z1.fidonet.org". Note that I put the period outside of the ending quote because the ending period of that sentence is not part of the address. And of course, don't include the quote marks. Now let's analyze that. My user name on Southside BBS is "Dave Appel". But Internet addresses can't have embedded spaces, so the convention is to put in a period. The "f30" part means node 30, which is the node number for Southside BBS. The "n231" means network 231, which is the Central Indiana Fidonet. "z1" means Zone 1, which is North America. And "fidonet.org" tells Internet that it has to go to a Fidonet gateway. If your name is "John Doe" and you are on the Paladen BBS, your Internet address would be "John.Doe@f20.n231.z1.fidonet.org". FidoNews 10-04 Page 9 25 Jan 1993 MCImail's domain is "mcimail.com". America Online's domain is "aol.com". C:\UNIVERSITY\LEVEL> Internet is the network that links just about all university computing centers together. For instance, everyone who has a student account on the INDYVAX computer at IUPUI has access to Internet and thereby to Fidonet and the other Internet-linked email services. Suppose someone's IUPUI INDYVAX account is ILWF123. Their Internet address would be "ILWF123@indyvax.iupui.edu". You could send them mail from any Fidonet BBS as described above. ILWF123 is the username, and indyvax.iupui.edu is the domain. So if your college friends have accounts on a university computer, ask them their account name, and the "Internet domain address" of their college's computer, which will probably end in ".edu". C:\CONCLUSION> There are many other factors and features involved in email, netmail, echo mail, Internet, and gateways that are too detailed to go into here. I hope the above gives you enough to start with. Good luck and have fun. [[ INSERT YOUR LOCAL NODELIST HERE ]] (Note: the above list will not be accurate by the time you read this. Some of the above BBS's may be part-time hours. Permission to print this list was obtained from the Net YOUR_NET coordinator.) The other Fidonet networks within YOUR_STATE are: Network # Name --------- ---- [[ INSERT THE NET #'S AND NAMES OF OTHER NETS IN YOUR STATE HERE ]] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- CFP'93 The Third Conference on Computers, Freedom and Privacy 9-12 March 1993 San Francisco Airport Marriott Hotel, Burlingame, CA The CFP'93 will assemble experts, advocates and interested people from a broad spectrum of disciplines and backgrounds in a balanced public forum to address the impact of computer and telecommunications technologies on freedom and privacy in society. Participants will include people from the fields of computer science, law, business, research, information, library science, health, public policy, government, law enforcement, public advocacy and many others. Some of the topics in the wide-ranging CFP'93 program will include: FidoNews 10-04 Page 10 25 Jan 1993 ELECTRONIC DEMOCRACY - looking at how computers and networks are changing democratic institutions and processes. ELECTRONIC VOTING - addressing the security, reliability, practicality and legality of automated vote tallying systems and their increasing use. CENSORSHIP AND FREE SPEECH ON THE NET - discussing the problems of maintaining freedom of electronic speech across communities and cultures. PORTRAIT OF THE ARTIST ON THE NET - probing the problems and potential of new forms of artistic expression enabled by computers and networks. DIGITAL TELEPHONY AND CRYPTOGRAPHY - debating the ability of technology to protect the privacy of personal communications versus the needs of law enforcement and government agencies to tap in. HEALTH RECORDS AND CONFIDENTIALITY - examining the threats to the privacy of medical records as health care reform moves towards increasing automation. THE MANY FACES OF PRIVACY - evaluating the benefits and costs of the use of personal information by business and government. THE DIGITAL INDIVIDUAL - exploring the increasing capabilities of technology to track and profile us. GENDER ISSUES IN COMPUTING AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS - reviewing the issues surrounding gender and online interaction. THE HAND THAT WIELDS THE GAVEL - a moot court dealing with legal liability, responsibility, security and ethics of computer and network use. THE POWER, POLITICS AND PROMISE OF INTERNETWORKING - covering the development of networking infrastructures, domestically and worldwide. INTERNATIONAL DATA FLOW - analyzing the issues in the flow of information over the global matrix of computer networks and attempts to regulate it. The conference will also offer a number of in-depth tutorials on subjects including: * Information use in the private sector * Constitutional law and civil liberties * Investigating telecom fraud * Practical data inferencing * Privacy in the public and private workplace * Legal issues for sysops * Access to government information * Navigating the Internet FidoNews 10-04 Page 11 25 Jan 1993 INFORMATION For more information on the CFP'93 program and advance registration call, write or email to: CFP'93 INFORMATION 2210 SIXTH STREET BERKELEY, CA 94710 (510) 845-1350 cfp93@well.sf.ca.us A complete electronic version of the conference brochure with more detailed descriptions of the sessions, tutorials, and registration information is also available via anonymous ftp from sail.stanford.edu in the file: pub/les/cfp-93 or from sunnyside.com in the file: /cfp93/cfp93-brochure or via email from listserv@sunnyside.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Pegasus Press 3487 Braeburn Circle Ann Arbor, MI 48108 (313) 973-8825 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Announcing CONNECT -- A New Telecomputing Magazine ANN ARBOR, MI -- For a limited time, Pegasus Press is offering dramatically discounted subscription rates on its new magazine, CONNECT. Covering the major commercial online services, Internet/Usenet and bulletin board system networks, CONNECT focuses on telecommunications from a user's perspective. The first bi-monthly issue of CONNECT will be available in March, 1993. Issue after issue, CONNECT shows you how to get the most from the commercial online services you're using -- CompuServe, Delphi, America Online, Prodigy, GEnie and BIX. With columnists on staff to cover these services in depth, you'll find CONNECT a valuable resource. CONNECT also shows you what "free" networks like Internet have to offer. Every issue of CONNECT contains Internet coverage that helps you find your way around the biggest network in the world. But CONNECT doesn't stop there. BBS callers also receive a wealth of information from each issue. All varieties of computer platforms are covered in the pages of CONNECT, as are the many different types of bulletin board software and services found on these computers. Articles spotlighting BBSes in specific cities or similar categories (such as medical BBSes or handicapped-related systems) appear regularly. FidoNews 10-04 Page 12 25 Jan 1993 Finally, each issue contains platform-specific columns highlighting programs available online for IBM and Macintosh users. Of course, you'll also find hardware and software reviews in CONNECT. From high speed modems and LAN-based BBS systems to shareware terminal programs, we cover it all. For more information, please contact Pegasus Press at 3487 Braeburn Circle, Ann Arbor, MI 48108 or phone (313) 973-8825. For the fastest response and a copy of the subscription form, please email us at CompuServe (70007,4640) GEnie and Delphi (Unicornpub) and Internet at pegasus@grex.ann-arbor.mi.us. Don't delay. Get CONNECTed today! ---------------------------------------------------------------------- The cards and letters are arriving daily! Don Dawson 1:141/730 (aka 1:16/0) The following sysops have indicated their interest in the Z1C opening: Ben Mann - 1:151/2 Rich Wood - 1:278/3 Kevin Mcneil - 1:128/45 Jim Bodine - 1:141/415 Matt Ionson - 1:3619/24 Bob Satti - 1:153/6 John Summers - 1:124/4103 Gary Johnson - 1:203/151 - end of list - as of 1/23/93 18:30EST ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Marge Robbins 283/120 ZEC Co-Moderator There has been a lot of publicity and some misinformation about the recent events in the ZEC echo being circulated about Fidonet recently. I would like to set the record straight and provide an account of what really happened. The ZEC echo was created by Tony Davis while he was Zone 1 Echo coordinator as a place where Zone 1 Sysops can talk to the ZEC, ask questions, and discuss matters relating to the distribution of Echomail. I am and have been, since shortly after Tony Davis created the ZEC echo, Co-moderator, serving under two ZECs, Tony Davis and Butch Walker. FidoNews 10-04 Page 13 25 Jan 1993 Two days before Thanksgiving I went into the hospital for what was supposed to be a simple procedure and a 24 hour stay. Prior to being admitted I posted a message in ZEC stating that John Souvestre, 396/1 would be acting as temporary moderator in my absence. Complications arose and I had to remain in the hospital for 7 days with a rather rocky recovery that kept me fairly inactive Fidonet wise until around Christmas time. I was released from the hospital on December 2. Sometime that week <I don't remember the exact day> Mr. Souvestre called me and informed me that he wanted to remove Bob Moravsik 2606/583 and Glen Johnson 2605/269 from ZEC. Having complete confidence in Mr. Souvestre I gave him the go-ahead to do so. On DEC 5 he ordered their links cut. Then things started to get complicated. Instead of complying with his legitimate requests to cut links as per BOP <Back Bone Operating Procedures> all the hubs involved <Mark Astarita 2605/10, Tom Lawrence 2605/606, B.J. Weschke 2606/403, Eric Hiby 2605/614> up to the Rhub level refused to cut the links, in some cases telling Mr. Souvestre to go pound salt. On DEC 7, 1993 Mr. Paul DiNovo, Rhub cut the link to Eric Hiby's system. This resulted in quite a few nodes losing access to the ZEC echo. Initial refusals to cut the links as requested were based on a variety of things including demands that Mr. Souvestre prove that ZEC rules had been violated. Since this is not required by BOP Mr. Souvestre declined to provide the proof. Later the question of Mr. Souvestre's authority was thrown into the proceedings. At that point I sent a message to all involved parties <December 7, 1992 at 8:22 AM> informing them that I had indeed appointed Mr. Souvestre to act as temp moderator in my absence. I am reasonably sure, although I no longer have my logs to prove it, that all those messages were delivered within 1 or 2 hours. That evening at 6:15 PM Mr. DiNovo cut the link to Eric Hiby's system. In my opinion, any or all of the hubs involved could have averted disaster at that point by agreeing to cut the links requested. Nobody did so. Somewhere along the line somebody discovered that I wasn't in Elist 212 as Co-Moderator. Immediately Mr. Souvestre contacted both Mr. Butch Walker, elisted ZEC Moderator and Mike Fuchs, keeper of the Elist. Mr. Fuchs made the statement that an HD problem on his system had corrupted the file resulting in my being dropped from the list. This wasn't discovered for months simply because none of us had checked the ZEC entry in the elist. Mr. Walker posted a message on DEC 8 at 9:02 am confirming that I am indeed the ZEC Co-Moderator. Copies of this were supplied to all nodes involved. Another chance for the hubs to rectify things. NO one did so. Instead the case was taken to the public with a lot of yelling screaming and name calling in FN_Sysop. FidoNews 10-04 Page 14 25 Jan 1993 For about two weeks not much happened. I was too sick to take an active interest in what was going on, although I was engaged in conversations with some of the major players. Just before Christmas I returned to the ZEC echo on what can only be described as a part time basis, my ability to sit at the keyboard for over 10 minutes at a time having returned. At this point I offered all the hubs their links back if they would agree to not feed the ZEC echo to Mr. Johnson and Mr. Moravsik. After some discussion everyone involved agreed to my terms except Mr. Astarita. So on December 26, 1992 I authorized the restoration of all links with three exceptions Mr. Astarita, Mr. Johnson, and Mr. Moravsik. As I understand it, the links haven't actually been restored at this point in time, the folks in the tri-net area having chosen to start their own ZEC echo. A little silly if you ask me, but their choice. I can only make links available. I can't force anyone to carry the echo. But charges that many nodes are disenfranchised are not at all true. During this same time period demands were being made upon me by Mr. Johnson and Mr. Moravsik to restore their links unconditionally. Not wanting to make any decisions without all the facts or in a chaotic kangaroo court type atmosphere, I borrowed liberally from Policy 4 and set up a simple appeal process that I offered to all involved parties. Let me digress here a moment to make a position statement. I am a strong proponent of checks and balances. I think that Fidonet badly needs a review process and some curbs on Moderator powers. At the very least we need a mandatory review of moderator decisions. I would like to see that as part of a ratified Echomail policy. Alas I don't see that happening anytime soon. Since we don't have anything in place at this time, I have been forced to rely on work-arounds. For that I am drawing a lot of fire. A delay of about two weeks was caused by some dancing around on the question of my authority as ZEC Co-Moderator. Mr. Moravsik would submit an appeal to the "elisted" Moderator cc'ed to both myself and Butch Walker. Mr. Walker on at least two occasions reaffirmed to Mr. Moravisk that he had delegated all his authority in the echo to me pending selection of a new ZEC. Mr. Moravsik at the same time was loudly proclaiming that since I was not in the Elist I was not the moderator. Under those circumstances I saw no point in making a ruling that I knew Mr. Moravisk would totally disregard unless I gave him exactly what he wanted regardless of the facts. So, we remained at a deadlock until Elist 301 came out with me properly listed as ZEC Co-Moderator. Mr. Lawrence and Mr. Moravisk both filed appeals. Mr. Lawrence's was accepted and replied to by Mr. Souvestre. I ruled against Mr. Lawrence on the grounds that he was contesting the legality of Mr. Moravisk's link cut. I stated that Mr. Moravisk had to contest his own cut. The full text of this matter is available for freq as ruling2.zip. FidoNews 10-04 Page 15 25 Jan 1993 Mr. Moravsik's first attempt was rejected simply because the evidence he submitted had no bearing on the question of the correctness of Mr. Souvestre's actions. The full text of this one is available as ruling1.zip. Mr. Moravsik then submitted another appeal that did have some corroborating evidence that I accepted and forwarded to Mr. Souvestre who responded in full to the charges Mr. Moravisk was levying against him. Again I ruled against Mr. Moravsik. The full text of appeal, responses and ruling are in ruling3.zip also available for freq. Much attention has been given to the fact that Mr. Souvestre didn't send Mr. Moravsik the two netmail warnings called for in the ZEC rules. That is very true, and earned Mr. Souvestre a reprimand. I feel that he should have followed the ZEC rules. So why didn't I restore Mr. Moravsik's link? The purpose of the two netmail warnings is to be sure that the participant is aware of the rules and the fact that he is in violation of them. The evidence that Mr. Souvestre submitted shows beyond a shadow of a doubt that Mr. Moravisk knew precisely what he was doing and chose to defy the moderator anyway. So I ruled against him, but set the term of his banishment for 6 months minus time already out. Not an unreasonable "sentence" considering his record in ZEC. He was suspended once for not obeying the rules and on several other occasions has had to have netmail warning to impell him into following the rules. Not wanting to have the final word on this, I have taken the additional step of offering Mr. Moravsik the opportunity to appeal my decision. At this writing we are negotiating terms. It is likely we will submitt the dispute to outside arbitration something no Moderator in Fidonet is under any obligation to do. Mr. Johnson has also submitted an appeal that has been ruled on. All the data on that one is available in ruling4.zip. This one was more difficult to made a call on because it boils down to a matter of moderator judgment. Mr. Johnson's appeal was based on his contention that his cut was unjustified. He maintains that he was trying to end the off topic thread and move it elsewhere when Mr. Souvestre cut his link. The evidence, I must admit, can be read either way. Mr. Souvestre felt at the time and still does, that Mr. Johnson was being defiant and using moving the thread as an excuse for continuing the thread. I, on the other hand, tend to believe Mr. Johnson's contention. So while I couldn't rule that Mr. Souvestre's decision was incorrect <He was the moderator in charge of the echo at the time, and I honestly believe he made what he felt was the best decision> I restored Mr. Johnson's link which also restores Mr. Astarita's link in the interests of trying to be fair and give Mr. Johnson the benefit of the doubt. FidoNews 10-04 Page 16 25 Jan 1993 Naturally neither one of those two gentlemen is happy with my decision. Mr. Johnson is declining to pick up ZEC. So at the present time the situation is this. There is only one node not authorized to pick up ZEC. At least three nets are declining to do so as a matter of principle. Mr. Moravsik will probably get a chance to appeal my decision. There have been a lot of nasty things said about both me and Mr. Souvestre in this matter. I don't believe I have been unfair or unresponsive. But now that you have all the facts, judge for yourself. As for Mr. Souvestre I feel that he did a pretty good job as Temp Moderator in my absence. The only error that I can see is the lack of two netmail warnings to Mr. Moravsik. Other than that, all applicable rules were followed in the cutting of the links. It is regrettable that the hubs in the Tri-Net area chose to be uncooperative and allow this matter to escalate beyond what it needed to be. A lot of nodes got hurt unnecessarily. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- By Ray L. Kaliss - SDN Project Manager SDN Changing Compression and Security SWITCHING COMPRESSION ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ With the coming release of the new ARJ, expected soon from Robert Jung, SDN International(sm) will be switching from PAK to ARJ compression for all it's distributions, however (are you listening) the .SDN extension will remain. The change to ARJ was discussed and decided many weeks ago, Robert Jung was contacted and has been nothing but attentive and helpful with all of us in SDN. A model of a software author listening to his users needs. ARJ was chosen by SDN sysops not only for it's tight compression but for it's overall features and Robert's dedication to keeping it updated. ARJ while continually being improved, strikes a balance with reliability. ARJ also states plainly it is free for non-commercial use. THE .SDN EXTENSION ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Because the .SDN extension is widely recognized and respected, we will be continuing it's uses despite the small bit of confusion switching compression might cause. PAK v2.51, used to decompress .SDN files up to the switch, will not recognize .SDN files compressed with ARJ. On the other hand, ARJ will notify you if you attempt to decompress older, PAK compression .SDN files. Consult ARJ's new documentation to find out how it will notify you. For a few months anyways it is advisable for SDN users to have PAK 2.51 as well as the newest ARJ on PATH to handle FidoNews 10-04 Page 17 25 Jan 1993 .SDN files. SWITCHING SECURITY ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ARJ will be offing a new approach to security. Being aware that with other archiver's security being hack almost on the same day they are released, Robert has taken a new approach and consulted expert advise. SDN files will being no doubt using ARJ security. Along with specific ARJ security, SDN will be using the FSecure System from PaceSoft. FSecure, in it's FidoNet implimentation, is a system created for File Distribution Networks so they may seal and 'signature' each distribution that they originate. A publicly released file testing devise, named FILETEST, will be made available for all to use. By the use of the FSecure/FileTest System for FDN's, the public can be assured that a distributed file indeed did come from an authorized hatching point in the File Distribution Network. The International File Distribution Cooperative approached PaceSoft with the need for a public security system that could be used on any archive regardless of compression. PaceSoft, ran with the concept and produced the FSecure system with capabilities beyond our expectations. GK Pace has produced a combination security and signature verification system that all FDN's can make use of. With one publicly released verification utility (FileTest) sysops and users can now have a public and common way to verify file supposedly distributed into FDN pipelines has actually come from authorized hatching sites, regardless of network. Each FDN has it's own software criteria and it's own authorized hatchers, with the use of FSecure/FileTest sysops and users downline can be assured the files they get have passed the FDN's criteria and have been hatched by an authorized agent of the FDN. Integrated into the FSecure System is a method to handle cases where security has been breached. If for example an errant copy of the security devise falls into no-good-nik hands, through a timely public release of an updated FileTest.Exe... any files secured with the errant devise can be recognized as such. I recommend that all IFDC member network contact GK Pace at 1:374/26 and follow up with a voice call to GK, and obtain the FSecure system for their network hatchers. FSecure was based on IFDC recommendations and GK's innovative mind. Second, I recommend that any other legitimate FDN head coordinator also contact GK and make arrangements to use FSecure. Although FSecure/FileTest will beging public use with SDN, we hope that all recognize the value of a public system and it's use spreads. SDNSEAL - AUTHOR DIRECT ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The brand of FSecure SDN will be implementing is a specific security to SDN releases. It is called the SDNSeal and is a specific implementation of FSecure. Files sealed here at the SDN Project as author-direct will FileTest as having an SDNSeal applied. As SDN itself is part of the FidoNews 10-04 Page 18 25 Jan 1993 IFDC concept and will be a type of clearing house for authors that desire author-direct distributions into FidoNet, we will be also applying the SDNSeal (meaning author-direct) to distributions that we forward to other IFDC networks for public distribution. For example, SDN does not distribute Windows programs... so any author-direct software for Windows will be forwarded directly to Larry Mundy of WINNet (an IFDC member) for distribution in Fido, and to verify the archive as author-direct it will carry the SDNSeal. Programs forwarded to other FDNs' will be compressed with ARJ and have the .ARJ extension. How files forwarded are treated or if they are distributed by that FDN, will be entirely up to the head of that FDN. SDN in this case merely makes available an author-direct service and gateway to other IFDC networks. Thanks for your ear. I will keep you aware of the switchover through the FidoNews. Cheers... *ray SDN Projet Manager ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Jack Decker 1:154/8 An open response to "FidoNet, Elections, and Agreements" by Mike Mast: Mike, regarding your article in Fidonews Vol. 10 No. 2 (11 January 1993), let me just say the following. The crux of your position seems to be that all Fidonet sysops agreed with Policy 4 when they joined Fidonet, and Policy 4 clearly calls for a non-democratic structure for Fidonet, and that therefore sysops should just accept the status quo (or, presumably, get out of Fidonet). I've been in Fidonet for several years, and would just like to point out a few facts to you: 1) There are many Fidonet sysops who have never even SEEN a copy of Policy 4, much less agreed to it. I know, Policy 4 says that all sysops joining Fidonet must agree with and abide by it, but in plain point of fact a LOT of sysops routinely IGNORE policy except when they find it in their interests to haul it out and study it. One major reason for this is that Policy 4 is just too long and complicated. It tries to micro-manage the operation of the net, but because it is so long and contains such minute detail, few sysops ever read it all the way through (at least not more than once), and VERY few can remember all of it. While I can't prove it, I suspect that a majority of NC's will issue a node number to any sysop that can send and receive mail, and MAYBE will send new sysops a copy of Policy 4 as part of a "welcome package." But do they, or could they require new sysops to actually READ the policy? I suspect not in most cases. What generally happens is that the new sysop blunders around a bit at first and makes a few mistakes, is "corrected" by his NC and/or others in his net (maybe gently, maybe with blast furnace intensity, but nonetheless he is FidoNews 10-04 Page 19 25 Jan 1993 informed of his errors!), and eventually he learns how to act so as not to offend the local group. What he learns may or may not necessarily line up with Policy, but as long as he doesn't feel too put upon, and the netmail and echomail flows, who cares? Let me give you an example from real life (remember, Fidonet is "only a hobby"). Consider the United States tax codes. Every U.S. citizen is expected to comply with them 100%, but even tax "experts" (even those who work for the Internal Revenue Service) can't rattle off every provision of the tax codes off the top of their head. Many taxpayers just do the best they can (with or without assistance from someone else), and hope that they are complying with the law, or at least coming close enough to not make the government unhappy. But mistakes are often made, even by experienced certified accountants, because the codes are so complex. Now, one comes to expect that when dealing with the government, things will never be simple. But, is it too much to expect that the hobby organizations we belong to will not come up with policy documents that look like they were written by government bureaucrats? I think not, and if we do, then we have to expect that mistakes will be made often, because after all, we cannot impose serious penalties for non-compliance the way the government can (getting kicked out of the Fidonet nodelist is not quite the same as a few months in the slammer)! 2) Regardless of what Policy says, it not common practice to require all Fidonet sysops to agree with every point of policy. Indeed, if that were STRICTLY enforced, there would be exactly one person in Fidonet: The guy who wrote the Policy document! The fact of the matter is that every sysop in Fidonet who has ever read Policy 4 probably disagrees with at least a part of it. Well, maybe you are saying that even though you may disagree in principle, you should keep your disagreement to yourself because you joined under a certain set of rules and agreed to abide by them. Well, I have a news flash for you, the current Fidonet policy was not written by God! It was written by mere mortals like you and I, who sometimes come up with ideas that seem good at the time, but in practice are found to be unworkable. There will never be a "final" Fidonet Policy (unless folks get so apathetic about it that it is totally ignored by everyone, which is something I see as a distinct possibility... it's almost the case now!). The members of any group are certainly within their rights to discuss the policies of that group, and to discuss whether changes might be appropriate (the only exception to this might be in a military-type organization, and even there, when good ideas are ignored it often results in disaster). 3) For many sysops, Fidonet may be the ONLY option for local networking... and that is due in part to the efforts of the higher-ups in Fidonet, who for a long time have tried their best to discourage the formation of alternative Fidonet-technology networks. Even today, no other Fidonet-technology network comes close to providing what Fidonet has (for example, the number of available echomail conferences). Because Fidonet has tried to be all things to all people, they have to expect a diversity of opinions. It's something like having a fair-sized town and only one house of worship... there is going to be a lot of infighting when folks can't agree on various points of "doctrine." I think one of the big mistakes of Fidonet history was when the formation of alternate Fidonet-technology networks was at FidoNews 10-04 Page 20 25 Jan 1993 first vigorously opposed, and later simply discouraged by the "powers that be." Here is a BASIC principle of life for you: You cannot try to force EVERYONE to belong to YOUR particular group, club, sect, or whatever and also expect any unanimity of opinion or substantial measure of agreement, no matter what your guiding documents say. FAR too many people just don't understand this basic principle, and it has resulted in a lot of discord through the centuries. The bottom line is this: You stated that we all "... agreed to not have a 'say' in appointing the *C structure when you joined this organization." Well, I for one never "agreed" to any such thing. I would like to see the group that has a policy as complex as Fidonet's and that makes a point of saying that all members must "agree" with 100% of the policy document. That group is either going to be VERY small, or VERY full of liars (or of people with the IQ of field grass)! I think that you are trying to read something into policy that doesn't exist. None of us intended to join a cult and follow only one leader when we joined Fidonet. Finally, you said "Please consider providing a positive and constructive alternative." Okay, you asked for it: Scrap policy altogether! Just say no to net-wide policy documents. Quit trying to pretend that you can force sysops of diverse social and cultural backgrounds to interact with each other based on one document. Instead, let sysops freely associate and set their own rules. Please note that I'm NOT saying there cannot be rules, but they should be set by sysops who choose to associate with each other, preferably on a local level. If the region or zone needs to make some rules to insure that mail flows smoothly, let them do so, but don't give them the power to exclude someone from the nodelist for setting up an alternate mail delivery structure that bypasses them. In other words, if your local net sets up rules that no one can live with, just let sysops form a different local net and ignore the first. When there are choices and even perhaps a bit of competition, folks tend to behave more reasonably. As many folks have pointed out, the Internet has no lengthy general policy document, and in fact parts of it are quite anarchistic. Yet it functions quite well, is much larger than Fidonet (admittedly, they had a few advantages going in that we didn't!), and folks are still developing new software and new ways of doing things there (unlike Fidonet, where development of new major software packages seems to have just about ground to a halt). I hope you'll consider these things... and for the record, although George Peace may be a really nice guy (and I think he is), I think it was a serious error in judgement on his part to try and limit the election candidates in the way he did. That's not picking on him, not saying he didn't have good intentions, or anything else negative about him... just that he made a bit of an error in judgement, and who among us has NOT done that at one time or another? I would like to see Rich Wood get a shot at the ZC position and see how it works out. I think Fidonet would be better for it. FidoNews 10-04 Page 21 25 Jan 1993 That's my two cents' worth, anyway... ---------------------------------------------------------------------- The Z1C Election Fiasco - The Continuing Saga by Glen Johnson 1:2605/269 Well, I see the rules have changed for the Z1C election. It appears that the rule prohibiting non-RCs from running has been removed. Apparently, sysops can run for the job. This is good. But it also appears that sysops can't vote in the election. This is bad. I hope this is the LAST TIME we see an "election" like this in Fidonet. Its quite unfair. When its all over, make sure you ask your RC who he voted for. So I guess we can claim partial victory here. But I'll reserve further comment until I actually see Rich Wood's name on the ballot. To add to Rich's already lengthy list of qualifications for the job, he's the guy that chaired the Policy 4.1 project. Let's hope he shows up on the ballot. And if he does, and if you support him, NETMAIL your RC and TELL HIM SO. Whining about it in echomail conferences won't do any good. DO something about it. Speaking of echomail conference, Pablo Kleinman wrote a note in the SYSOP conference saying that the reason George Peace announced his resignation as Z1C was because he had cut a deal with Matt Whelan to become the International Coordinator. The story goes that Whelan later backed out of the deal. I have no way of knowing if this is true, but if it is, I'll say that its PRETTY DAMN SLEAZY. Bullshitting all of Zone 1 into believing the resignation was for personal reasons, and the personal reason being wanting to grab the IC job. I'll also say that this isn't the FIRST time I've heard this story. What about it George? Did you resign as Z1C in a power grab attempt to get the IC job? Is this story true? Inquiring minds want to know. If it IS true, then you got what you deserved. NOTHING. Tell us more, Pablo... FidoNews 10-04 Page 22 25 Jan 1993 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Elections in FidoNet by Glen Johnson 1:2605/269 Howdy ... First of all, there was a typo in my last Snooze article. Don Dawson is RC16, not RC18. Sorry Don. I've been hearing from a few people, even reading in the Snooze, about point systems and BBS users having "rights" or voting privileges in FidoNet. A novel concept, indeed. But, I gotta oppose that one, friends. See, a point system, by definition, is an extension of an existing Fidonet Node. Points are not subject to policy; they don't have to be up during Zone Mail Hour, they don't even have to run compliant mailers. As long as they can get stuff from the bossnode or send stuff to the bossnode, they can exist. Points can pretty much do as they please. If a point sysop wants to vote, etc., he or she should get a node number and run with policy 4 like the rest of us. As a matter of fact, if there are point sysops that feel that strongly about having a say in Fidonet, I'd ENCOURAGE them to come out into the mainstream! BBS users are another story altogether. Again, Fidonet is an amateur electronic mail network made up of member nodes. By definition, its a network of computer bulletin boards, physical systems, not "users". BBS users contribute precious little, if anything, toward the actual operation of the network. BBS users write echomail messages, and sometimes netmail messages, that's it. They are not involved in the operation of the network. Giving BBS users a vote in things not only doesn't make sense, the potential for fraud is real high. Nothing to stop an unscrupulous BBS sysop from inventing 500 users, sticking them in his user file, and having them all vote. The only people that should have a say in "how things work" are those people that actually make up the entity. Those people are the Fidonet sysops. You remember them, right? They're all in the nodelist. Anyway, that's just my .02 ... Thank You Rick Moen, for not beating on me in your last Snooze article. It hurt so good :) Now, Policy 4.1 ... I think Rich Wood submitted a Snooze article last week. Looks like it didn't make it. I understand that the article contained the entire text of Policy 4.1c, which is probably WHY it didn't make it. Perhaps Fidonews isn't really the place to disseminate policy proposals. Sure would be efficient though :) FidoNews 10-04 Page 23 25 Jan 1993 In any case, the document is available for file request from 1:2605/269, 1:2606/583, and 1:278/3 . The filename is POL41C.ARC . I also understand that Bill Andrus, RC13, has made it available for request too. Bill's address is 1:13/0 . He's also asked for input from Region 13 on it. I hope other Zone 1 RCs will follow suit. All Zone 1 RCs have the file. If you can't get it, write to your RC and ask for it. I'm told all the Zone Coordinators and the International Coordinator have it too. READ IT! ---------------------------------------------------------------------- AIRPOWER Airgun Echo Now Available Via Backbone! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ AIRGUN, the EchoMail version of the AirPower Airguns message base, is now being distributed via the zone 1 backbone for importation by other FidoNet sysops! AIRPOWER has been online 24 hours per day since March of 1990, serving users across the nation interested in the pleasures of shooting and collecting precision adult airguns. Activities covered include collecting, silhouette, field target shooting, small game hunting, pest control, and many technical and legal issues. Precision airgunning represents shooting pleasure on a human scale, without the excess power, noise, smoke, and harsh recoil of firearms. It is now one of the fastest growing of the shooting sports, with enthusiasts across the nation. Please request AIRGUN now from your FidoNet hub! For more information, or if you have difficulty obtaining a feed, contact me directly. Jim Henry 1:273/408 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- * Echo Announcement Announcing the DBTECH Echo Greg Shaffer 1:370/510 What is it? - DBTECH is a *new* echo which will be moderated by an elected moderator serving a set term. Its purpose will be to help those desiring to seek technical assistance regarding the operation of D'bridge, the FidoNet mailer package. FidoNews 10-04 Page 24 25 Jan 1993 Why is it? - It is our idea that the echoes should reflect the new democratic ideals that FidoNet is slowly but surely moving towards. This echo will reflect those ideals in that the participants will have the real power rather than the moderator. An experiment in democracy if you will. What's different about DBTECH? - The participants will own the echo and will rule the echo through a moderator of their choice rather than one who appoints themselves and their successors. Below is an outline of the guidelines that are currently being discussed. 1) The moderator will be elected by the participants once the echo is on the backbone. 2) The moderator will serve a set term as yet undecided in length, then there will be an election in which that same moderator may be re-elected. 3) The echo will not "belong" to the moderator but rather the participants of the echo. The moderator will have the power to control the echo on an individual basis but the participants as a voting group will have the final control. 4) The moderator will not have any connection, real or implied with either Mosaic Press or D'Bridge Software, the company other than of course, he owns a license to run D'Bridge. 5) Possibly a board of directors who will also be elected and who will choose among them a temporary moderator should something unforeseen occur and the active moderator be unable to complete his term. 6) No arbitrary decisions by the moderator regarding instant cutting of someone's feed. An offender should receive two -respecful- requests to comply via the echo and one final request via netmail. Should they fail to comply at that point then a 30 day read only suspension should go into effect. Any further action might possibly be a decision for the board of directors and the moderator. In this way noone will be denied support for D'Bridge unless there truly is cause for further action. - We hope to mirror the new proposed Fidonet policy and its long awaited democratic ideals. The above items are by no means final as yet. Term limits and the actual rules as they will be Elisted will be decided by the participants. It is our intention to let the participants decide how the echo should be run. FidoNews 10-04 Page 25 25 Jan 1993 - It is our hope that the old saying "vote with your feet" which is constantly heard echoing throughout the halls of FidoNet will ultimately become "vote with your vote" as it should be. With FidoNet moving more and more towards becoming a truly democratic entity we certainly hope that the days of egotistical iron fisted control and abuse of power will also fade into the past. Hopefully DBTECH will be a successful step in that direction. - The DBTECH echo is being monitored by Mosaic Press a.k.a. D'Bridge Software and the author has expressed a desire to participate and is currently active in the echo. - Backbone status is currently being applied for. If you desire a feed in the interim please contact one of the systems listed below. Please note that these are only the acting hubs until the echo is active on the backbone. - For further info and/or a temporary feed until DBTECH is on the backbone please contact one of the following: Tim Wool - 1:370/20 (Temporary Moderator - Moderator of WC_TECH) Ed Ivey - 1:3616/1 Luis Garcia-Barrio - 1:273/60 Andy Smith - 1:3645/1 Greg Shaffer - 1:370/510 Dick Castanie - 1:228/17 Tim Kahler - 1:273/20 Gary Bristol - 1:147/1234 Mark Moran - 1:2607/104 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- by Joaquim Homrighausen 2:270/17@fidonet joho@ae.lu HYDRA - A new file-transfer protocol Hydra is a greek mythological creature (the watersnake). Like the Nemeic lion, Hydra is the daughter of the giant Typhon and the snake Echidna. She grew up in the marshes of Lerna near/in Argolis (Argos). There she ate entire herds of cattle and destroyed large cropfields. Later, she lived in caves on a hill near the spring of Amymone. Hydra is a monstrous large snake with nine heads: eight mortal ones, and one (the middle one) immortal. She was defeated and killed by Heracles (Hercules) - son of Zeus and Alcemene, grandson of Perseus - as the second of his twelve tasks, with the help of his cousin Iolaos. Every time he cut of one of the heads with his sword, two new heads grew in its place. So Iolaos scorched the wound of each cut off head with burning branches so the head couldn't grow on again. FidoNews 10-04 Page 26 25 Jan 1993 Heracles buried the last and immortal head under a stone nearby. He also dipped his arrows in Hydra's poisonous blood, thereafter the wounds caused by those arrows were incurable. .. so it is said anyway. With this, I'd like to introduce the file-transfer protocol named after the above described creature, HYDRA. Designed by myself and Arjen Lentz, it has now been released to the public with complete speficiations, source in C/ASM to an implementation, and executables to same implementation (HydraCom, by Arjen Lentz). HYDRA is a bi-directional protocol, meaning that it can transfer file data in both directions, on full-duplex lines, simultaneously. For more information, file request HYDRA from 2:270/17 or 2:283/512. This should give you HYDRAKIT.ARJ. You may also specifically request HYDRAKIT.LZH. An EchoMail conference by the name of HYDRADEV ("Discussions about the HYDRA file-transfer protocol") has also been established and will hopefully appear on the US 'bone structure. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- FidoNews 10-04 Page 27 25 Jan 1993 ====================================================================== FIDONEWS INFORMATION ====================================================================== ------- FIDONEWS MASTHEAD AND CONTACT INFORMATION ---------------- Editors: Tom Jennings, Tim Pozar Editors Emeritii: Thom Henderson, Dale Lovell, Vince Perriello IMPORTANT NOTE: The FidoNet address of the FidoNews BBS has been changed!!! Please make a note of this. "FidoNews" BBS FidoNet 1:1/23 <---- NEW ADDRESS!!!! Internet fidonews@fidosw.fidonet.org BBS +1-415-863-2739, 300/1200/2400/16800/V.32bis/Zyxel (Postal Service mailing address) (have extreme patience) FidoNews c/o World Power Systems <---- don't forget this Box 77731 San Francisco CA 94107 USA 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 1992 Tom Jennings. All rights reserved. Duplication and/or distribution permitted for noncommercial purposes only. For use in other circumstances, please contact the original authors, or FidoNews (we're easy). OBTAINING COPIES: The-most-recent-issue-ONLY of FidoNews in electronic form may be obtained from the FidoNews BBS via manual download or Wazoo FileRequest, or from various sites in the FidoNet and Internet. PRINTED COPIES may be obtained from Fido Software for $10.00US each PostPaid First Class within North America, or $13.00US elsewhere, mailed Air Mail. (US funds drawn upon a US bank only.) BACK ISSUES: Available from FidoNet nodes 1:102/138, 1:216/21, 1:125/1212, (and probably others), via filerequest or download (consult a recent nodelist for phone numbers). A very nice index to the Tables of Contents to all FidoNews volumes can be filerequested from 1:396/1 or 1:216/21. The name(s) to request are FNEWSxTC.ZIP, where 'x' is the volume number; 1=1984, 2=1985... through 8=1991. FidoNews 10-04 Page 28 25 Jan 1993 INTERNET USERS: FidoNews is available via FTP from ftp.ieee.org, in directory ~ftp/pub/fidonet/fidonews. If you have questions regarding FidoNet, please direct them to deitch@gisatl.fidonet.org, not the FidoNews BBS. (Be kind and patient; David Deitch is generously volunteering to handle FidoNet/Internet questions.) 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 BBS, or Wazoo filerequestable from 1:1/23 as file "ARTSPEC.DOC". Please read it. "Fido", "FidoNet" and the dog-with-diskette are U.S. registered trademarks of Tom Jennings, Box 77731, San Francisco CA 94107, USA and are used with permission. Asked what he thought of Western civilization, M.K. Gandhi said, "I think it would be an excellent idea". -- END ---------------------------------------------------------------------- --- Remember Campers!!! To send mail from an Internet site or smart UUCP Site TO a user that calls a Fido-Net system. You need to know the name of the person and node number of the Fido-Net system that the person uses. The address of a FidoNode looks like this: 1:105/302.0. Usually the 1: and .0 are left off, but they are there by default. (In Europe it is 2: and in the Pacific Basin it is 3:.) That address can be translated as "Zone 1, Net 105, FidoNode 302, Point 0." or p0.f302.n105.z1. Add the FidoNet domain of .fidonet.org to the end of that, chop off the p0 (it is again, a default) and you have f302.n105.z1.fidonet.org - the "Fully Qualified Domain Name" of a FidoNode. Another example is 1:105/4.3 which would be written as p3.f4.n105.z1.fidonet.org (since there is a point number other than 0, we have to specify it). Note also that we are only using zone 1. This will also work for zones 2 and 3, just use z2 or z3 as appropriate. FidoNet uses full names of the callers. Multi-part name folks (eg. First Last, ie. "Dale Weber") will have a period '.' seperating their names. So, lets say you wanted to send mail to Dale Weber at 1:105/55.0, you would address your letter to: Dale.Weber@f55.n105.z1.fidonet.org. ************************************************************************ Submissions to comp.org.fidonet should be addressed to pozar@kumr.lns.com ************************************************************************ -- Internet: pozar@kumr.lns.com FidoNet: Tim Pozar @ 1:125/555 Snail: Tim Pozar / KKSF / 77 Maiden Lane / San Francisco CA 94108 / USA Voice: +1 415 788 2022