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F I D O N E W S -- Vol.13 No.11 (11-Mar-1996) +----------------------------+-----------------------------------------+ | A newsletter of the | ISSN 1198-4589 Published by: | | FidoNet BBS community | "FidoNews" BBS | | _ | +1-519-570-4176 | | / \ | | | /|oo \ | | | (_| /_) | | | _`@/_ \ _ | | | | | \ \\ | Editors: | | | (*) | \ )) | Donald Tees 1:221/192 | | |__U__| / \// | | | _//|| _\ / | | | (_/(_|(____/ | | | (jm) | Newspapers should have no friends. | | | -- JOSEPH PULITZER | +----------------------------+-----------------------------------------+ | Submission address: editors 1:1/23 | +----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | MORE addresses: | | | | submissions=> editor@exlibris.tdkcs.waterloo.on.ca | | Don -- don@exlibris.tdkcs.waterloo.on.ca | +----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | For information, copyrights, article submissions, | | obtaining copies of fidonews or the internet gateway faq | | please refer to the end of this file. | +----------------------------------------------------------------------+ ======================================================================== Table of Contents ======================================================================== 1. Editorial..................................................... 1 2. Articles...................................................... 2 Free Listings in the Encyclopedia of Associations........... 2 Use It or Lose It........................................... 3 Prime Directive............................................. 4 The Death Of Fidonet, Revisited............................. 5 3. Fidonews Information.......................................... 7 ======================================================================== Editorial ======================================================================== FidoNews 13-11 Page: 2 11 Mar 1996 Two weeks ago, I wrote an editorial that concluded with: It would be real nice to have a migration pattern. I want to hook in and get mail at dtees@fidonet.org. I want my users to get mail at joe_smith@exlibris.fidonet.org. There have been several articles since, but the gist of the articles has been "you are right, we have to change". My response is less than enthusiastic. "Yes, I know, it is obvious. *How* do we change". A much more difficult question altogether. Internet, of course, is a net of nets. We are a net. One of the largest in the world, in fact. So why are we not members of internet? Because our mail is incompatible. How can we get it compatible? There are only two methods: create it as comaptible, or convert it. Creating it compatible is the cleanest, and probably the easiest. Take a PC, plug in LINUX. Everybody converts. We hook up using the same routing. We tear out our hair for a few months, maybe run both ways on different days of the week for a while. I can hear the screams of anguish already. But you know, we are sysops. We have already organized a world wide communications network, and a world wide net newspaper. No other non-governmental organization has ever accomplished what we have. If we cannot figure out a way to use that creation to organize a conversion, then we are a bunch of damned fools. Given 32,000 helpers, I do not even envision a big problem. We have the buying power to set up a load and go conversion CD if we can decide what we want as a starting point. I *know* that there are people in this net are capable of setting something like that up. There are other methods as well. But like it or not, we are going to have to change. There is no new software being written. The hardware is running out. It is time to bite the bullet and face reality. ======================================================================== Articles ======================================================================== Free Listings in the Encyclopedia of Associations by Nigel Allen (1:250/438) ndallen@io.org Free Listings in the Encyclopedia of Associations People who start new new non-profit associations (including othernets, lobbying groups and associations having nothing to do with BBSes) should get their group listed, free of charge, in FidoNews 13-11 Page: 3 11 Mar 1996 the Encyclopedia of Associations, so that prospective members, journalists and researchers can get in touch with them. Groups based in the U.S. should write to the following address and ask to be listed: Editor Encyclopedia of Associations Gale Research Inc. 835 Penobscot Building Detroit, MI 48226-4094 Telephone (313) 961-2242 Fax (313) 961-6815 Groups based outside the United States should instead get listed in International Organizations, a directory published by the same company. Its address is: Editor International Organizations Gale Research Inc. 835 Penobscot Building Detroit, MI 48226-4094 U.S.A. Telephone +1 313 961-2242 Fax +1 313 961-6815 As well, groups based outside the United States may also want to get listed in single-country association directories published in their own country, such as the Directory of Associations in Canada. Any librarian should be able to tell you how to get in touch with your country's national association directory, if one exists. Most large libraries have a copy of the Encyclopedia of Associations in hard copy or CD-ROM, but it is probably too expensive for someone to buy for home use. See also my Web page, http://www.io.org/~ndallen/ ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Use It or Lose It From: Eric Gray (1:300/507) Use It or Lose It. The next six months will determine the fate of Fidonet. Two years ago I saw the handwriting on the wall and started actively seeking other networks and starting some echos of my own. Last year Circuit Net broke w/years of the status quo and changed their software to allow non Spitfire systems to join their net. Last year the internet grew at the rate of 2 million users per month. The only reason Fidonet is still alive today is the dedication of the individual sysops who have taken the steps needed to keep their boards as fresh and exciting as possible. FidoNews 13-11 Page: 4 11 Mar 1996 But Fido has sat stagnant for almost 4 years now. In the next six months we will either bury it, or Fido will explode again as it did 8 years ago. The changes that will make this happen are: Voting by member sysops for all positions w/in Fido. Changing technology slightly to have HOURLY turn-around on msgs sending. Supplementing the system to allow the movement of files w/in 24 hours from the request of any user on any Fido Sysop's board. A User and A Sysop "Bill of Fido Rights" to be "hashed out" by the member sysops and users and voted upon by each sysop, w/any "right" gaining over 2/3rd affirmative vote being put into the "Bill of Fido Rights." Sure those running Fidonet now could say "It's worked for years this way, there's no need to change it." But then, that's what they said about the typewriter, the LP, and the light bulb. Make no mistake, Fidonet is at the root of the Internet and computer communications explosion, but if Fido doesn't keep up w/the people, it'll die. eric 1:300/507, or egray@daystar.org ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Prime Directive by Bill Whitehouse After 8 years, the fido policy I continue to find most appealing is its 'promote the growth of network' prime directive, a requirement that assumes like any other living organism or human enterprise, unless fido grows, fido dies... Snooze editor Donald Tees is right, my fellow fidonuts. The numbers confirm it. Fidonet is dying. Blaming our appointed coordinators is all too easy. They've long since ceased to promote the growth of this network, unless they can self-promote every last dime out of it. Witness the fact that with 4 primary North American fido vendors, the oaficial area lists now reflect reality for only one of them. No, our coordinators are only a symptom. We've seen the enemy and the real enemy is us. Remember those quaint days of yesteryear when many feared the phone company megaliths would finally contrive to shut down bbsing forever? We've forgotten why we're here, what makes fido unique. We belong FidoNews 13-11 Page: 5 11 Mar 1996 to a network that belongs to all of us, and anyone else who cares to add their resources to the collective whole. The internet, by contrast, is a cold, barren place, populated by anonymous geeks with no sense of community, stumbling around computers they do not own, resources in whose management they have no say. No one's responsible. Everyone's vulnerable. And they're squandering a fortune. This - fidonet - is personal. As in 'personal computer'? We each control our own small part of it. We built it. It's ours. Fidonet has earned and deserves a place in the future of the networked world. Speaking as one bbs obsessive to another, I urge you to promote it with the zeal of a Jehovah's Witness. Please don't give up. Bill (1:323/3@fidonet) - Radio Free Echomail ---------------------------------------------------------------------- The Death Of Fidonet, Revisited... Kurt Weiske realitycheckBBS (Fidonet 1:161/418) The continual death knell for Fidonet, well, it continues. here's yet another 2 cents added to the discussion... Fidonet for all intents and purposes is not DYING, but there is competition from usenet, the internet in general, othernets using Fido-Technology networking, and public-access online services like Compuserve and America online. Fidonet is no longer The Net; the internet, and the scores of Fido-technology "Othernets" are attractive alternatives to callers and sysops alike. Competition isn't bad, it merely prompts changes. The BBS Salad days may have passed, but there's no need to pack up and go home...yet. Competition isn't bad, it merely inspires change. So, what can we do? Support your local network: Build a local online community if you don't already have a series of local echoes. Build in some local flavor, give the users and sysops a local focus - that's one thing the internet CANNOT offer. Support your local network and look into making your local routing to make Fidonet more cost-effective to the net. Some local nets are getting sprawled out to the point where polling your "local" net is a toll call - this can be reduced by local hops, and ties into my next point... Make Fidonet more attractive to potential Sysops and Users: Call around to your local non-netted BBSes, invite them into Fidonet. I usually mention the local echoes available for no cost FidoNews 13-11 Page: 6 11 Mar 1996 and the BBS support echoes - most of my technical problems were solved by asking around - someone's run into your problem before, and someone's usually willing to help. If there's a local call and a low CRP figure in your local net, you may be able to pick up a few Sysops that were waiting to be sold. We all take for granted that we're connected to a worldwide network. To a newbie, seeing messages tossed into your message base from Nebraska, Europe, and the BBS next door is a rush. Remember that feeling? Try to sell that to prospective sysops. Does your net have an internet gateway? Use that as a selling point to get new users. I offer internet email through my gateway, and people who are new to the 'net, but want to have mail access only find it much more attractive than paying for an online service that offers more than they need. ADVERTISE! Get the word out on your BBS. Advertise in the local computer magazines (If your area is lucky enough to have 'em). Call other BBSes and add your phone number to their BBS list. Does your BBS support BBS lists? If not, add a list program. Put your number in your .sig file, advertise in alt.bbs.ads, advertise wherever you can think of. Post a BBS ad to your local message area, and ask callers to post it on BBSes they call regularly. If you offer text file downloads, consider adding your BBS name and number to the files (It's amazing how far those get distributed - most of my European callers got the number from text files.) Get The Word Out. Fidonet has a lot to offer in comparison to the internet. The usenet crowd has been overtaken by @aol.com kids on free ten-hour disks, the glut of .edu kids, and cross-posts from hell. Fidonet echomail offers mostly on-topic moderated echoes, a decent selection of message topics, and a well-rounded mix of people- Fido seems to reach the people who aren't in reach of cheap flat-rate internet providers, and people with different experiences to offer than their internet counterparts. I see the internet and Fidonet as complements, not competition. Make a change, and think about what you can do to make Fidonet work. There's a lot of people involved in Fidonet. What would happen if one out of ten of us did something? [end] FidoNews 13-11 Page: 7 11 Mar 1996 ======================================================================== Fidonews Information ======================================================================== ------- FIDONEWS MASTHEAD AND CONTACT INFORMATION ---------------- Editor: Donald Tees Editors Emeritii: Thom Henderson, Dale Lovell, Vince Perriello, Tim Pozar Tom Jennings, Sylvia Maxwell "FidoNews" BBS FidoNet 1:1/23 BBS +1-519-570-4176, 300/1200/2400/14400/V.32bis/HST(DS) more addresses: Don -- 1:221/192, don@exlibris.tdkcs.waterloo.on.ca (Postal Service mailing address) FidoNews 154 Victoria St. S. Kitchener, Ontario Canada N2H 2b5 voice: (519) 570-4899 Fidonews is published weekly by and for the members of the FIDONET INTERNATIONAL AMATEUR ELECTRONIC MAIL system. It is a compilation of individual articles contributed by their authors or their authorized agents. The contribution of articles to this compilation does not diminish the rights of the authors. Opinions expressed in these articles are those of the authors and not necessarily those of FidoNews. Authors retain copyright on individual works; otherwise FidoNews is Copyright 1996 Donald Tees. All rights reserved. Duplication and/or distribution permitted for noncommercial purposes only. For use in other circumstances, please contact the original authors, or the eds. OBTAINING COPIES: The most recent issue 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 by sending SASE to the above paper-mail address. INTERNET USERS: FidoNews is available via FTP from ftp.fidonet.org, in directory ~ftp/pub/fidonet/fidonews. Anyone interested in getting a copy of the INTERNET GATEWAY FAQ may freq GISFAQ.ZIP from 1:133/411.0, or send an internet message to fidofaq@gisatl.fidonet.org. No message or text or subject is necessary. The address is a keyword that will trigger the automated response. People wishing to send inquiries directly to David Deitch should now mail to fidonet@gisatl.fidonet.org rather than the FidoNews 13-11 Page: 8 11 Mar 1996 previously listed address. 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, and are used with permission. ' ' disgreement is actually necessary, or we'd all have to get in fights or semethin to amuse ourselves,, and create the requisite chaos." -Tom Jennings -- END -------------------------------------------------------------------