The F I D O N E W S Volume 19, Number 26 01 Jul 2002
+--------------------------+-----------------------------------------+
| |The newsletter of the | | Fido, Fidonet and dog-with-diskette are |
| | FidoNet community. | | US Registered Trademarks of Tom Jennings|
| | | | San Francisco, California, USA |
| | ____________| | |
| | / __ | Crash netmail articles to: |
| | / / \ | Editor @ 2:2/2 (+46-31-944907) |
| | WOOF! ( /|oo \ | Routed netmail articles to: |
| \_______\(_| /_) | Bjorn Felten @ 2:203/0 |
| _ @/_ \ _ | Email attach to: |
| | | \ \\ | bfelten@telia.com |
| | (*) | \ ))| |
| |__U__| / \// | Editor: Bj”rn Felten |
| ______ _//|| _\ / | |
| / Fido \ (_/(_|(____/ | Newspapers should have no friends. |
| (________) (jm) | -- JOSEPH PULITZER |
+--------------------------+-----------------------------------------+
Copyright 2002 by Fidonews Editor for Fidonews Globally.
Table of Contents
1. FOOD FOR THOUGHT ......................................... 1
2. INSIDE ................................................... 2
The Fidonews at a Glance ................................. 2
3. GENERAL ARTICLES ......................................... 3
The Loss of a Friend ..................................... 3
Confessions of an Ex-Sysop (7) ........................... 5
FRAMED IN CYBERSPACE BY THE FBI .......................... 7
Destruction of a network: The Elements of Control ........ 8
To Change Or Not To Change ............................... 11
Why I like Fidonet, part 3: The BBS ...................... 14
4. CATCALLS FROM THE CHEAP SEATS ............................ 16
Catcalls from the Cheap Seats ............................ 16
5. FIDONET'S INTERNATIONAL KITCHEN .......................... 20
Mahimahi Mexicali (Fish) ................................. 20
6. CLEAN HUMOUR & JOKES ..................................... 21
Beware the drunken stranger .............................. 21
7. TODD COCHRANE'S FIDONET SOFTWARE LISTING ................. 22
Fidonet Software List .................................... 22
8. FIDONET BY INTERNET ...................................... 26
Fidonet-related Sites .................................... 26
9. SPECIAL INTEREST ......................................... 31
Nodelist Stats ........................................... 31
10. FIDONEWS INFORMATION .................................... 33
How to Submit an Article ................................. 33
Credits, Legal Infomation, Availability .................. 35
FIDONEWS 19-26 Page 1 1 Jul 2002
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FOOD FOR THOUGHT
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"Moral indignation is jealousy with a halo."
-- H.G. Wells
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FIDONEWS 19-26 Page 2 1 Jul 2002
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INSIDE
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The Fidonews at a Glance
No less than six articles in this issue. First out is "The Loss of a
Friend" about Common Sense. Matt McCarthy suggested this as a Jokes
contribution, but I think it deserves better than that. Unfortunately
we have yet another Author Unknown issue here, but I hope it will not
lead to any future problems. Next there's number seven in the, now
probably familiar, "Confessions of an Ex-Sysop" series by Steve
Townsley. This week about the difficulties to find updated Fidonet
information on the web. "Framed in cyberspace by the FBI" by Michiel
van der Vlist is a story about an unfortunate Dutch young man and his
experience of the US justice system. "Destruction of a network: The
Elements of..." by Matt Bedynek presents yet another theory about why
Fidonet is shrinking. Frank Vest writes about the ongoing efforts to
change our policy, the so called P4, in "To Change Or Not To Change"
and finally Petko Bossakov continues his series about why he likes
Fidonet in "Why I like Fidonet, part 3: The BBS".
Then we are delighted to welcome back Luke Kolin. This week he
spends some lines on a rebuttal on Steve's article last week, the one
about the Microsoft trial, remember? Except for some rantings about
some sports events, that I don't want to hear about, his article has,
as usual, lot's of other interesting thoughts, much about the future
of Fidonet. All this in "Catcalls from the Cheap Seats".
Another friend that has returned after some absence, is Carol, with
a bunch of new recipes for our International Kitchen column. This week
she cooks "Mahimahi Mexicali (Fish)".
Finally we cannot do without a joke of the week, can we? "Beware
the drunken stranger ..." from Warren will close up the contributions
section this week. Enjoy!
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FIDONEWS 19-26 Page 3 1 Jul 2002
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GENERAL ARTICLES
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The Loss of a Friend
Matt Mc_Carthy, 396/45.17
Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, by the name of
Common Sense.
Common Sense lived a long life but died in the United States from
heart failure on the beginning of the new millennium.
No one really knows how old he was, since his birth records were long
ago lost in bureaucratic red tape. He selflessly devoted his life to
service in schools, hospitals, homes, factories, helping folks get
jobs done without fanfare and foolishness. For decades, petty rules,
silly laws, and frivolous lawsuits held no power over Common Sense.
He was credited with cultivating such valued lessons as to know when
to come in out of the rain, why the early bird gets the worm, and
that life isn't always fair.
Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don't spend
more than you earn), reliable parenting strategies (the adults are in
charge, not the kids), and it's okay to come in second
A veteran of the Industrial Revolution, the Great Depression, and the
Technological Revolution, Common Sense survived cultural and
educational trends including body piercing, whole language, and "new
math."
But his health declined when he became infected with the
"If-it-only-helps-one-person- it's-worth-it" virus.
In recent decades his waning strength proved no match for the ravages
of well intentioned, but overbearing regulations.
He watched in pain as good people became ruled by self-seeking
lawyers. His health rapidly deteriorated when schools endlessly
implemented zero-tolerance policies.
Reports of a six-year-old boy charged with sexual harassment for
kissing a classmate, a teen suspended for taking a swig of mouthwash
after lunch, and a teacher fired for reprimanding an unruly student
only worsened his condition.
It declined even further when schools had to get parental consent to
administer aspirin to a student but could not inform the parents when
a female student was pregnant or wanted an abortion.
Finally, Common Sense lost his will to live as the Ten Commandments
became contraband, Churches became businesses, criminals, received
better treatment than their victims, and federal judges stuck their
noses in everything from the Boy Scouts to professional sports.
FIDONEWS 19-26 Page 4 1 Jul 2002
Finally, when a woman, failed to realize that a steaming cup of coffee
was hot, was awarded a huge settlement, Common Sense threw in the
towel.
As the end neared, Common Sense drifted in and out of logic, but was
kept informed of developments regarding questionable regulations, such
as those for low flow toilets, rocking chairs, and stepladders.
Common Sense was preceded in death by his parents, Truth and Trust;
his wife, Discretion; his daughter, Responsibility; and his son,
Reason.
He is survived by two stepbrothers: My Rights, and Ima Whiner.
Not many attended his funeral because so few realized he was gone.
-Author Unknown-
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FIDONEWS 19-26 Page 5 1 Jul 2002
Confessions of an Ex-Sysop (7)
Steve Townsley stownsley@g7spn.org
One of the great advantages of electronic communication is the instant
method by which you can find out something or get the impression of
something. I am a good example of this. I have been out of the FidoNet
loop since January 1996 and in reality only half running a BBS for the
18 months before that.
Back in 1993 I bought a copy of SEAMAIL from Systems Enhnacement
Associates to upgrade my SEAdog FidoNet mail system. It was a great
product and frankly writing these few articles has inspired me to run
up the old software and see if I can get a an echomail feed from
somewhere and interact with you guys a bit more directly. The disk
read and even installed on my computer but pretty quickly I ran into
some problems. Firstly it kinda assumed I was modem aware - not DSL
ready. I couldn't really blame it for that one but it hung the
computer a couple of times. I had this vague idea that if I could get
the mail reading part of SEAMAIL up and running maybe I could use some
kind of front end to communicate with a hub via FTP to get some
packets.
Just to test things out I created a dummy message and discovered at
least one problem. The old DOS program was not Y2K compliant. Having
avoided Y2K problems at work two years ago I was stunned to find my
mail program telling me I was in year 102! So much for bullet-proof
coding! OK it might be displaying the wrong date but it might be
writing the correct date. What I needed was Randy Bush's old technical
standards on packet formats because, if I recalled correctly, it used
the SEAdog file format as an example of how different formats work.
Next stop the Internet. I started first at www.fidonet.org. It seemed
sensible to begin with the basics. After all a lot must have changed.
So I read the basic docs on "What is FidoNet". It told me if (FidoNet)
was 30,000 BBS' worldwide. Jeez how old was this text - there were
30,000 nodes back in '95 but now a cursory look at the nodelist is 30%
of that number. Also the latest information at fidonet.org says that
it is not possible to telnet or ftp to FidoNet BBS'.
The policy document on fidonet.org dates back to 1989. Two out of the
four listed FTP FidoNet feeds work and none of the gateway programs
listed is in active development.
It's a sad state of affairs that the fidonet.org domain website is
littered with inaccurate information, dead links and nothing positive
to say about today's network.
Right now I am back at square one looking for a TCPIP client that will
hook into FidoNet. As I trawl for this information in search engines
most websites appear to be years out of date or written in a bizarre
form of technobabble that assumes you have been running a BBS for
years.
I propose that we establish a version of SETI for FidoNet. SETI, for
those who don't know, is the project looking for intelligent life in
the universe. In my particular version I propose trying to find Fido
FIDONEWS 19-26 Page 6 1 Jul 2002
related websites that have information on them that is not 5 years old
and horrendously out of date. If you know of a really useful FidoNet
website let me know and I will visit it!
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FIDONEWS 19-26 Page 7 1 Jul 2002
FRAMED IN CYBERSPACE BY THE FBI
By: Michiel van der Vlist, 2:280/5555
Two weeks ago 25 year old Dutch citizen Menno B. was convicted to two
years imprisonment by an American court for intent to have sex with a
minor.
What happened?
Menno B. had made contact via the InterNet with a 14 year old American
girl. Or so he thought. Menno and his "girl" chatted via ICQ and
exchanged e-mail. Sex was a subject that regularly came up in their
conversations. At some point in the development of this relation Menno
B. decided to fly to the US to meet his girl friend.
Much to his surprise it was not a fourteen year old girl that came to
meet him at the airport but a 50 year old FBI agent. He was arrested
for "intent to have sex with a minor".
Apparently the FBI agent had posed as a fourteen year old girl to lure
potential perpetrators into a trap. Menno B. took the bait.
Now what is so upsetting about this?
For one, the fact that what Menno B. did is not a crime at all in his
own country. He has to do his time in an American prison. He can not
be extradited to do his time in The Netherlands. What he did could
never have led to a conviction in the country where the alleged crime
was committed. In the Netherlands "intent to have sex" isn't a crime.
Over here one has to actually do something to get convicted. Moreover,
even if he had the intent - which he claimed to have forgone - he
could never have carried it out. The object of his desire only existed
in cyberspace. That is upsetting.
For two, the fact that the FBI - upholder of the law in what claims to
be the country setting an example in ethics for the rest of the world
- does not seem to have any problems with provoking what they perceive
as a serious crime. This side of the pond that is considered totally
unethical. That is upsetting.
For three and most: One would expect the country who's citizen fell
victim to this atrocity to be in turmoil. But no, just a few articles
in the newspapers. The prime minister didn't summon the American
ambassador, no questions asked in parliament, no trade agreements
revoked, participation in the JSF project stands and NATO was not
called upon to free the prisoner by force as the USAians have
threatened to do when an American soldier is ever charged for crimes
of war by the International Criminal Court in The Hague. That my
fellow countryman are so apathic towards what I consider a scandalous
breach of human rights by the most powerful country in the world, that
my fellow Fidoians, is really upsetting.
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FIDONEWS 19-26 Page 8 1 Jul 2002
Destruction of a network: The Elements of Control
Written by Matt Bedynek at 1:106/1.1
I wonder how many reading this essay will remember the days
when Fidonet was many times larger than it is today? As it shrinks it
is required to pass through as many changes as it did when it grew.
Unfortunately not all these changes are for the better and we must
learn to live with them or abandon our hobby altogether. Fidonet is
long past its prime and will continue to shrink. The depletion of the
membership cannot be attributed specifically to the Internet because
there are aspects of Fidonet that retain users. Likewise, there are
factors that have driven them away never to return. The primary
reason that it is shrinking is that it is no longer flexible.
The definition of a "silent majority"
The silent majority is that which remains silent in every
debate. They are the Sysops who do not care about the battles the
rest of us engage and waste our time with. In some cases their silence
is linked to the fact that they are not even linked to the echoes
where it all takes place. Their reason for being here is
communication. In the early days they found the idea of bulletin
boards linked with others in many parts of the world to be the most
fascinating aspect of the online world. Ask them about the latest hot
debate and they are completely oblivious to the drama which permeates
these so-called Sysop echoes. They are usually the ones whose first
and last post is, "What's the deal with all this fighting?"
Immediately they are assaulted by various factions and never to post
again. In some cases they may read an echo for months never getting
involved because they want to be spared the grief of assault. I used
to fall into the later category myself. Unfortunately, when it truly
comes down to it the silent majority is what makes up most of Fidonet.
Unfortunately, idle hands are the devil's playground. There have been
and always will be those that will take advantage of their silence;
claiming to speak on their behalf.
The "silent majority" clause
The silent majority clause has to be the oldest trick in the
book! It is the oldest tactic that will emerge at the onslaught of
every online battle. No matter who is loosing they will always claim
that they have the unconditional support of the silent majority. If
they do not speak then they must agree with me? Would you not agree?
All in all, the only thing we can hold the silent majority at fault
for is not getting involved. It is their Fidonet. Without them we
would occupy a node list no longer than a few pages (at best). How it
is that we sit by and claim to represent their rights as a Sysop when
they are not there to speak? What gives us the self righteous
motivation to believe that we as coordinators or mail movers know what
is best for them? Does our intervention do more harm than good? I
believe so.
The symphony of collision
Every debate begins with a cause. Some are genuine while
others are manufactured to achieve a specific goal. Manufactured
causes are those often obscured behind a shroud and designed for a
purpose for other than that which appears on their cover. The most
complex issues are usually sparked as a result of a single detail.
FIDONEWS 19-26 Page 9 1 Jul 2002
Most of which are the result of people who take pleasure in turning an
ant hill into a mountain. To get to the bottom of it all we have to
tear it apart piece by piece. As a comparison, some debates are so
complex that they rival even the most advanced mathematical formulas.
There is simply not enough time in the day for one to analyze all the
properties of a debate. By the time we are all though bickering, the
original goal or desire is lost. Both parties part in disgust and
carry a big chip on their shoulders that will influence behavior in
the next battle; the war is far from over. Another aspect of an online
battle is the breakdown of communication. With every debate sparks yet
another. One participant will write something that another takes
offense to and then all hell breaks loose. There are in fact cases
where it is an honest mistake. There was no desire on the part of the
original poster to upset the other; however, no attempts are made on
part of the respondent to clarify the intentions of the poster, he or
she simply and automatically responds with full force and intent to
destroy the other.
Are you biased?
Admit it, you are biased, every one of us are. In every
debate one participant will make a point to remind the other that he
or she is biased. Every one of us will pick a side and promote our
position via debate. If there were no bias then there would be no
debate; bias equals disagreement. It is the key ingredient to every
argument, debate, and disagreement. The next time you take it upon
yourself to remind another that he or she is biased remember who you
are and to ask them not to be biased is asking the impossible.
Is Fidonet homogeneous?
In short order, no. Coordinators take great comfort in
reminding the average Sysop that Fidonet is not a democracy and that
it never has been. How convenient for them. There is a hierarchy you
see. According to them, we occupy its lowest levels, and deservedly
so. I truly believe that some of them believe they have our best
interest in mind. Unfortunately, many are willing to sink to any
level needed to achieve their goal-no price to great.
Why is the administration of Fidonet private? Behind closed doors?
If it is truly our hobby then why does administration of it
take place behind closed doors? For those of you in zone one I highly
encourage you to contact your regional coordinator and respectfully
request if you can have a connection to the super secret Z1REGCON
echo. This echo has been around for years and it is where they
discuss how they are going to deal with issues that they believe we
should have no part in. Ironically, if you carefully survey, you will
find that there are likely private echoes all though out Fidonet, each
catering to its own private group. Honestly, I cannot understand the
psychology behind making issues private while at the same time they
call it a hobby and claiming that they are protecting the Sysop
rights. If they truly care about the Sysops then such super secretive
echoes would not exist. The only logical conclusion we can come to is
that they are placing personal interests in the hobby above the rest
of us. If for some reason these echoes are ever leaked then it would
be nothing for them to create another to replace it and this time we
might not ever hear of its existence. Therefore, I dare you to ask
because you will get the run around and assaulted from the warriors
FIDONEWS 19-26 Page 10 1 Jul 2002
lower in the food chain that support their meddling. The truth is, if
you ever want to see what goes on in these echoes you will have to
kiss ass. So start practicing!
Control of the traffic
Fidonet has not always been about echo mail. In fact it was
created as a medium to send net mail only-much how Internet e-mail
works today. For all intent and purposes, echo mail is essentially
net mail with an area designator so that your software knows to treat
it as such. Coincidentally, echo mail soon became the life blood of
Fidonet. It is what most of us are likely here for. The problem stems
from the fact that some have decided to exploit this because they know
that to control echo mail means to control the whole network.
Where do they come from?
Those who claim that Fidonet was never a democracy and never
will be are pulled out of the Sysop ranks that you and I occupy.
There were those before them who held the power and they too craved
for it. When Fidonet began to move on its downward spiral it allowed
greater opportunity for those who were never elected to get their foot
in the door. No longer were there long drawn out races for positions.
Now all you have to do is get nominated in most cases and your chances
of getting the job are guaranteed.
Is there a solution? How can I help?
Good question. Incidentally, some systems work best with the
least amount of interference. The same can be said about evolution.
There are those who believe that "playing god" by tampering with genes
is wrong and I tend to agree. However, in the case of a network such
as Fidonet, one where personalities and ideas have a tendency to
diverge by a great degree, the best solution is indeed the least
amount of intervention. For as long as there is bias there will also
be the self righteous desire to impose a view on others. The users of
Fidonet should get involved regardless of the consequences. After
all, what is the worst a coordinator can do? Excommunicate you? Is
that really so bad? If you do nothing you will eventually leave as
the network dies. Is your silence worth their continued control of
your hobby? I recommend you get connected to the FN_SYSOP echo now.
It has been around for years. But beware, this is a treacherous
environment; however, if you have the patience to muddle through all
the rhetoric and innuendo there are indeed concerned folks to which
you can have pleasant conversation.
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FIDONEWS 19-26 Page 11 1 Jul 2002
To Change Or Not To Change
(Is that a question?:)
By Frank Vest
1:124/6308.1
As is NOT well known, there is an echo in Fidonet named "FIDOPOLS".
The purpose of this echo is to discuss policy changes and work on new
policies for Fidonet. It is also NOT well known that there is
currently a purposed policy change being discussed in the above
mentioned echo.
Why is all this NOT well known? Probably several reasons. In no
particular order: No one has bothered to publicize the echo or the
discussion. Break down in message transfers. Language barriers. And,
of course, apathy.
So, now you know about the echo and the discussion. Ask your *C or
feed to see about getting the FIDOPOLS echo and start getting in on
this. It was announced in last week's Fidonews.
Now that I've put in another plug for the above, I'll get on with the
other part of this article.
It has been asked, and discussed, as to why Fidonet needs a policy
change. There was pro and con on both sides and I'll not debate those
here. I'll just put forth my reason for believing that Fidonet needs a
policy change.
Why does Fidonet need a policy change?
Technology is changing. Sometimes it changes daily. What quite
literally couldn't be done yesterday, can be done today. At one point
in time, Fidonet was on the "cutting edge" of technology. Now, we are
following along as best we can with technology. Of course, now that
Fidonet is more of a hobby than ever before, that's understandable.
Still, part of what is, and will be holding Fidonet back is our Policy
4. It may not affect you now, but it will in the (not so distant)
future.
What part of Policy 4 will affect you? Read on.
As I said, technology is moving ahead. Those that can't, or won't,
stay up with it are left behind. That's the way it's always been and
will continue to be.
My reason for believing that a change is needed is simple.
The Internet
I'm not going to get into a "bash the Internet" discussion. Instead,
I'm going to ask that you look at what is happening in the realm of
communication. In particular, the means of connecting computers to
each other for mail and information.
FIDONEWS 19-26 Page 12 1 Jul 2002
In the day of Fidonet being on the cutting edge, there was the modem.
It started as a slow, but amazing way to connect computers together
via the public phone system. Modems increased in speed and in a few
years, there was this new ISDN thing. The speed difference was
amazing, but it was costly, as were other means of fast connects via
phone lines. As time went on, DSL and cable modems came to be and
costs went down. Today, the connections to the Internet via dial-up
modem, at least in Z1, are almost gone.
I ask you to consider this. How many computers are shipped, or sold
today with modems installed? In Zone 1, very few, if any.
So, what does this have to do with a need for a policy change?
Think about what will happen a few years from now. It's coming faster
than you think. There will be no dial-up BBS systems. All of Fidonet
will be broadband connected or gone.
I'm betting on gone. Why, you ask? Because P4 won't allow strictly
broadband connections in Fidonet. It requires dial-up. The Nodelist is
even based on dial-up.
You might argue that this can and has been worked around, but that is
simply a "band aid" to the problems. True, policy can be worked
around, ignored, stretched, twisted and other things to make it work,
but the base is still there. Further, these "work arounds" that are
used can be reversed at any time. They are not Policy.
You might argue that this isn't and won't be a problem in your Zone.
You are wrong! As example, there was a recent post in the FIDOPOLS
echo of an election policy for another Zone in Fidonet. Part of the
election policy was that the NC of a net had to have dial-up
abilities. What is going to happen when there is no one with dial-up
abilities to be a NC? In Zone 1, that is already happening. There are
several Nets that have no dial-up ability. Of course, the mentioned
election policy can be changed, but that means writing a new policy
and voting. That is what is being tried in the FIDOPOLS echo now.
Ok, in closing, I'll sum up this way. Fidonet must move forward to
survive. Yes we can survive. We have strong points, but we are also
weak in many areas. One of them, I believe, is in our policy. We need
to make our policy easier to change in order to keep up with
technology. We might push through some change or modification that
will fix the up coming problem with dial-up, but what will we do when
broadband goes the way of dial-up? It will happen. Even now, there are
ISP connections being offered via cellular connections. No need for a
DSL, Cable modem or physical connection via wire.... IOW "wireless".
Will our policy allow this? We need to be sure.
Yes, we can twist, ignore and work around failures or lackings in P4
"when the time comes", but why not be pro active instead of reactive.
We can make this happen, but only we can do it.
Regards,
FIDONEWS 19-26 Page 13 1 Jul 2002
Frank Vest - Sysop, Collin County Station
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FIDONEWS 19-26 Page 14 1 Jul 2002
Why I like Fidonet, part 3: The BBS
Petko Bossakov, 2:535/1
Hi there, it's me praising good ol' Fido again. Before seriously
thinking about it, I was convinced that the only great point of
Fidonet is that you can't beat the price. After I joined it, I
gradually started to see the other things that make it what it is,
which I already have described in my past two articles.
While researching, trying to find out why people are still into the
hobby, I found that it's often forgotten, or rather untold, that
Fidonet was originally built, and is still functioning, to serve the
BBS.
The Bulletin Board System, that strange thing. Many of them constitute
equally important parts of Fidonet, but at the same time they may be
entirely different from one another, each one being an exciting -- but
closed -- community.
The information amount on a BBS may vary. Mine only has about 50 MB of
files, and a carefully chosen variety of linked echos and gated
newsgroups. Other systems have gigabytes of downloads ordered in a
complex topical hierarchy, and access to hundreds of message areas.
Yet, the information available on a BBS is in no way comparable to the
vastness of the Internet. Files, articles, discussions, tools -- name
anything, and you can bet that it's there. On the Internet you can get
almost every single piece of information.
That is, if you can find it. It's very easy to get lost. With
experience, I have mastered searching on the web, and, naturally, have
often been getting from there files which are unavailable on the local
BBSes.
However, especially for an inexperienced user, it is always advisable
to check the BBSes first. I mean, wouldn't it be easier to call a BBS
and try to find your thing in the file areas, which are well organized
/unless the sysop is lazy :-)/, and if that fails, to try navigating
through the vast ocean known as the WWW.
Even if searching is so difficult, Internet certainly has a clear
advantage over the BBS and Fido when it comes to information
availability. However, I'd like to draw your attention to the
community part of it.
Yeah, you've heard about that a thousand of times, Fidonet is friendly
and spamless. Some people believe it, some don't, but as it's been
told many times, I don't find it necessary to write extensively about
that. Rather, I'll focus on the reasons for that "friendliness".
The first one is that Fidonet focuses on real people, with their real
opinions and real problems. Unlike the web, Fidonet operates mostly
with real names, and you provide plenty information about yourself, so
that people are not talking to an anonymous entity with nothing more
than a nickname, but to a real human being.
FIDONEWS 19-26 Page 15 1 Jul 2002
Locality is a good thing, too. Access to a standard dial-up BBS is
possible from a limited area only, and this isn't necessarily bad.
When all the callers are from town, there is at least one thing you
have in common, and you can even organise a meeting (believe me, a
virtual community can be much better and friendlier if the people have
seen each other face to face and have drunk a decent quantity of
alcohol together. And if you want your closed community to have more
access to the world, just get one of those international echos.
Let's not forget order, too. There's always a sysop that can root out
unpleasant elements and make their lives miserable (ever read the
Avenger's Handbook?). If the sysop has some common sense, he'll know
when someone has crossed the border in being offensive. If he's too
strict and mad about order, or too forgiving and peaceful, the BBS
will not be likely to attract people.
The World Wide Web made communication easier than ever before.
Thousands of people from all over the world can participate together
in a vast online community, but the question is: is bigger really
better? Many will say yes, and that's perfectly OK, but in my opinion
the BBS must still stay as a "shelter" for all those who need a nice
old-fashioned friendly interaction.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
FIDONEWS 19-26 Page 16 1 Jul 2002
=================================================================
CATCALLS FROM THE CHEAP SEATS
=================================================================
Catcalls from the Cheap Seats
By Luke Kolin
I fear our Editor has had a poor year thus far - first the Swedish
hockey team gets overwhelmed by that perennial hockey power
Belorussia, and now the Swedish soccer side escapes the "Group of
Death" only to fall victim to mighty Senegal. However, the Swedes are
in good company - it seems like every major soccer power short of
Brazil and Germany has been upset this year - and like the Olympic
hockey tournament, I expect the finals will be either a titanic
struggle between Germany and Brazil again, or the product of yet
another upset. To see Brazil or Germany take on Turkey or (especially)
South Korea would be yawn-inducing, a result ordained in advance. Of
course, I imagine the Spaniards and the Italians thought so, too.
I've been reading Steve Townsley's serial with considerable interest.
Apart from his ability to pick up the slack from this commentator (who
seemed to vanish into the ether once he got his own column), he's
raised a number of good points during recent weeks that I believe
deserve addressing.
Most recently, it's interesting to see Steve's characterisation of
Microsoft. Not being much of a Microsoft fan myself, the US
government's scrutiny of their anti-competitive practices is a welcome
intrusion into a somewhat anti-ethical business model. (Of course, if
you really want to see sleaze, check out Oracle being investigated by
the State of California. Larry Ellison makes Bill Gates look like a
Boy Scout.) However, to claim that Microsoft's success is related to
putting companies like Netscape out of business (and in fact that
Netscape was put out of business by Microsoft) is incorrect.
I recall setting up my first commercial web server in late 1995, using
Netscape's Commerce Server. At that time, a singe copy sold for
approximately $2,000. The browsers were $50 each to license. Microsoft
did consumers a huge favour by allowing anyone to set up a reasonably
robust, easy to configure (if insecure) web server by bundling it with
pretty much every version of Windows since 1996. The market moved
under Netscape, basic HTTP servers became a commodity and the real
value started being the application server layers atop the HTTP stack
(such as Java servlets and scripting (ASP/PHP)). It's interesting that
Steve doesn't mention the fact that the most popular web server in the
world is given away for free - and it's not IIS, it's Apache. If
Microsoft hadn't been a convenient monopoly target, people would
notice that the real demise of Netscape's business model was Apache.
Microsoft has thrown around the "It's for consumers' benefit" line so
long it's viewed universally with deep suspicion. However, it's hard
to argue against the company here. Web servers used to be the province
of corporations at $2k a shot - today every 15-year-old with a cable
modem can set one up. Every computer made in the last 5 years has an
OS on it that can connect to the Internet with ease, instead of paying
extra for a Web browser and a modem dialer. The consumer truly has
FIDONEWS 19-26 Page 17 1 Jul 2002
benefited from what Microsoft has done. Netscape employees and
shareholders have done less well, but that's to be expected in a
modern marketplace. These bright-eyed, bushy-tailed revolutionaries
were convinced that they were creating a seismic shift in the
marketplace that would put Microsoft out of business. Microsoft (being
large but still somewhat agile) responded with a seismic shift of
their own that Netscape couldn't handle. Essentially, Netscape was a
one-dimensional tennis player with a booming serve , but who couldn't
handle a return shot if the serve didn't score for an ace.
As a professional web application developer, I don't have much
sympathy for Netscape. Their browsers are quirkly, with a non-standard
DOM and eccentric behavior between versions. The "rigid adherence to
standards" that purists like so much are downright annoying to a
developer - and fundamentally, Netscape didn't change very much from
when Netscape 4 came out in 1997 until Netscape 6. They just stopped
innovating and changing, and surprised when the marketplace ate them
for lunch. (Not to mention that Netscape 6 was a bloated, buggy piece
of garbage.) Perhaps as one of those nefarious, heartless Anglo-Saxon
capitalists, I don't see how the consumer is better off by allowing
companies like Netscape to survive or prosper. It's not like the
knowledge contained within that firm has been lost - the former
employees have moved on to other firms, and what they've learned is
being used in other areas.
Steve, would you prefer that every user had to pay $50 to get a web
browser on their system? I don't see how that improves things for the
consumer one bit. The whole point of the suit against Microsoft is
that their actions harm the consumer, not that they've put other
companies out of business. Harming the consumer by forcing them to pay
for an inferior browser is harming the consumer, period. I fear that
some folks have gotten so far along on the anti-Microsoft bandwagon
that we lose site of the most important person in the equation - the
average user who now has an advanced, free web browser.
On another note, by around 1994 the most common operating system used
for FidoNet nodes was not DOS, but probably OS/2. This operating
system had superb multi-tasking abilities and memory management. Disk
I/O was an order of magnitude faster when flushing (much larger)
buffers. And with Ray Gwinn's SIO comm drivers, it could handle the
fastest modems and locked serial port data rates with ease. People
switched to OS/2 not because it was "subversive" or not Microsoft, but
because it was the best available product. Software developers wrote
stuff for OS/2 for the same reason - it was simpler to do without
having to worry about 32-bit DOS 'extenders' or XMS/EMS memory
management (boy did that suck). Microsoft wrote a good, inexpensive
piece of software with DOS, and IBM extended it in a good way with
OS/2.
Unfortunately, IBM could not (and still cannot) market fresh, steaming
horse manure to flies.
And in the interim, Microsoft went out and created a better product in
Windows NT and 2000. The driver support is better, the available
software is better and they're far less finnicky of non-standard
hardware than OS/2 ever was. The proper response for IBM was to
FIDONEWS 19-26 Page 18 1 Jul 2002
improve OS/2, but IBM doesn't understand innovation. They're stuck
with slow moving, large corporate clients. When I was still running
for *C jobs in FidoNet, I used to joke that the key to my success was
my ability to properly choose my opponents. Despite my (considerable)
flaws, the opposition usually was worse. I won't detract from the
anti-competitive behavior that Microsoft has truly engaged in, but IBM
and Netscape were the victims of their own downfall.
Steve closes with an interesting observation - what would FidoNet be
like if it was created today? I think he misses the point a little.
FidoNet doesn't need to "program" a new infrastructure with new web
servers and mail exchange; it's already out there. There are free web
servers (like Apache) and free SMTP mail servers that are secure. DNS
works reliably and scales - why invent your own system?
I see this strategic error repeated again and again when people talk
about FidoNet in the 21st Century, that it would involve rebuilding
FidoNet's infrastructure. We built an infrastructure in 1985 because
one didn't exist at that point in time. Today, we have DNS. Why bother
with weekly nodelist updates when DNS can be distributed and allows
constant updating? Why write your own HTTP server or application
server when Apache and PHP or Tomcat can do whatever you want (on any
platform). You can use Linux, if you feel "subversive". Or you can use
Win2K if you don't feel like modifying complex startup scripts just to
change your IP address. The infrastructure exists - FidoNet needs to
become a layer atop the Internet, not replace it.
To come full circle, that's the same error Netscape made. When HTTP
servers and browsers became commodities, Netscape needed to move up
the chain and support higher-value networking services. They didn't,
and died. FidoNet is in the same place - they've been wiped off the
planet infrastructure-wise, so they need to adopt the infrastructure
and focus on content. Unfortunately, they've chosen not do so, which
is why the network is stuck in a time warp.
I'd be remiss as a columnist if I didn't take a few minutes to turn my
guns onto the area of spam. I've read a lot of articles by individuals
claiming that FidoNet is superior since it didn't (and still doesn't)
have great volumes of spam. I don't necessarily see this as the case.
Fundamentally, FidoNet was and is a closed system. People naturally
restricted who they could talk to. If you weren't listed in the
nodelist, no go. In other cases, people ran with session passwords for
different nodes - which is a fundamentally flawed system since it
doesn't depend on true authentication by a trusted third party. I
can't begin to count the times you had a hub go down and mail stopped
if the list of session passwords wasn't freely available.
In the Internet model (and in networking in general) that's a poor
design. The system is designed to be robust and allow people to
communicate. Yes, that means a lot of spam gets through. However, the
Internet is moving to deal with this. Realtime blackhole lists (one
hosted by the longtime Snooze contributor Joe Jared) allow systems
some intelligence when dealing with incoming mail, as does content
filtering. That's a far cry better than the FidoNet default of
securing one's system by locking things down all over the place. Two
years from now, we're going to see much less spam, as slowly RBLs
FIDONEWS 19-26 Page 19 1 Jul 2002
become more and more widespread. The system will react. (Keep in mind
as well that FidoNet has avoided spam because it's so darn small to
not be worth spamming.)
Unfortunately, spam will be possible as long as you have a system that
allows free expression and unfiltered postings. We're developing great
technical solutions, but ultimately the final solution will be legal.
If spammers can be sued, arrested or otherwise shut down legally, that
will provide the best incentive not to do it.
Going forward, the notions of "session" and "packet" level passwords
espoused sound absolutely quaint. If one assumes up to 8 alphanumeric
characters, we're looking at around 48-bit security when one could use
an LDAP server as a public RSA key repository to provide exponentially
better levels of encryption and authentication. However, this does
nothing to eliminate the core problem - we do not know that someone is
a spammer until after we accept them into the network. At this point,
we've conclusively authenticated the individual and encrypted the data
so it cannot be intercepted, yet we cannot protect against
inappropriate content using technical means. It just cannot be done -
all one can do is provide an effective deterrance through punitive
actions.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
FIDONEWS 19-26 Page 20 1 Jul 2002
=================================================================
FIDONET'S INTERNATIONAL KITCHEN
=================================================================
Mahimahi Mexicali (Fish)
Yield: 6 Servings
1 1/2 lb MahiMahi fillets
1 tb Light oil (can use 1/2 tb)
1 ea Clove garlic, minced
1 sm Onion, chunked
2 sm Green peppers, seed/chunk
1 c Favorite salsa brand
Cut fish to 1 1/2 inch cubes. Heat oil at medium high in a large
skillet.
By using a well cured cast iron skillet, or a good grade of 'stick
free' pan, you can reduce the oil by 1/2 in this dish. Use a quality
'thin' oil such as lite sesame for best effect. Saute veggies, garlic
and onion until soft. Add fish and stir fry until they look opaque
(about 5 minutes). Add salsa and heat until all the way hot.
Goes really well with hot garlic bread. For a full meal, add slices
of fresh cucumber (or a cucumber salad), and a sliced up bosk pear
with cinnimon sprinkled lightly atop the pear.
From: xxcarol
-----------------------------------------------------------------
FIDONEWS 19-26 Page 21 1 Jul 2002
=================================================================
CLEAN HUMOUR & JOKES
=================================================================
Beware the drunken stranger ...
By Warren Bonner <wdbonner@pacbell.net>
A man and his wife are awakened at 3 o'clock in the morning by a loud
pounding on the door. The man gets up and goes to the door where a
drunken stranger standing in a pouring down rain is asking for a push.
"Not a chance" says the husband - "It's three o'clock in the
morning!" He slams the door and returns to bed.
"Who was it?" asks his wife.
"Just a drunken stranger asking for a push" he answers.
"Did you help him?" she asks.
"No, I didn't - it's three in the morning and raining like hell out
there!"
"Well, you've got a short memory" says his wife. "Can't you remember
about three months ago when we broke down on the freeway and those two
guys helped us? I think you should help him."
The man does as he is told and gets dressed and goes out into the
pounding rain and calls out into the dark.
"Hello - are you still there?" "Yes," comes the answer.
"Do you still want a push?" calls out the husband.
"Yes, please!" comes the reply from the dark.
"Where are you?" asks the husband.
"Over here on this great swing" the drunk replies.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
FIDONEWS 19-26 Page 22 1 Jul 2002
=================================================================
TODD COCHRANE'S FIDONET SOFTWARE LISTING
=================================================================
Fidonet Software List
By Todd Cochrane
Type:
B=BBS D=Door M=Mailer T=Tosser C=Communication (terminal)
U=Utility P=Point Software I=Internet (telnet, BinkP...)
<+-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=+=-=+=-=-+-=-=+=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=+>
( Software Name ) |Type| ( Author/Contact )
<+-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=+=-=|=-=-|-=-=+=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=+>
|BBBS Home Page |B | b@bbbs.net |
| | | www.bbbs.net/ |
|-----------------------|----|---------------------------------------|
|ELEBBS The Elevator |B | elebbs@elebbs.com |
|Software Production | | www.elebbs.com |
|-----------------------|----|---------------------------------------|
|Hermes II Project |B | info@HermesII.org |
| | | http://www.hermesii.org/ |
|-----------------------|----|---------------------------------------|
|Maximus BBS Support |B | sales@lainus.com |
|Page (Non Official) | | http://www.vector11.com/maximus/ |
|-----------------------|----|---------------------------------------|
|MBSE BBS |B | Michiel Broek |
| | | mbroek@users.sourceforge.net |
| | | http://mbse.sourceforge.net |
|-----------------------|----|---------------------------------------|
|Mystic BBS |B | http://www.mysticbbs.com/mystic/ |
| | | |
|-----------------------|----|---------------------------------------|
|Nexus Bulletin |B | groberts@nexusbbs.net |
|Board System | | http://www.nexusbbs.net/ |
|-----------------------|----|---------------------------------------|
|Proboard, Searchlight, |BC | info@telegrafix.com |
|Telegrafix | | http://www.telegrafix.com |
|Communications | | 540-678-4050 |
|-----------------------|----|---------------------------------------|
|RemoteAccess |B | Bruce Morse |
|Central | | bfmorse@rapro.com |
| | | http://www.rapro.com/ |
|-----------------------|----|---------------------------------------|
|Spitfire BBS |B | MDWoltz@AOL.COM |
|Buffalo Creek Software | |http://www.angelfire.com/ia/buffalo/ |
|-----------------------|----|---------------------------------------|
|Synchronet BBS |BT | sysop@vert.synchro.net |
| | | http://www.synchro.net |
|-----------------------|----|---------------------------------------|
|Telegard BBS |B | support@telegard.net |
| | | http://www.telegard.net/ |
|-----------------------|----|---------------------------------------|
|Wildcat Interactive |BTMI| sales@santronics.com |
|Net Server | | http://www.santronics.com |
FIDONEWS 19-26 Page 23 1 Jul 2002
|Plantinum Express | |(305)248-3204 |
| | | Santronics Inc. |
|-----------------------|----|---------------------------------------|
|Bentstone Capabilities |D | info@stonebenders.com |
|Group | | http://www.srupc.com/mall |
|-----------------------|----|---------------------------------------|
|Jibben Software |D | scott@jibben.com |
| | | http://www.jibbensoftware.com/ |
|-----------------------|----|---------------------------------------|
|JNS Software Door Games|D | Rusty Johnson |
| | | rustyjohnson57@hotmail.com |
| | | 304-733-0113 |
| | | http://www.geocities.com/jnssoftware/ |
|-----------------------|----|---------------------------------------|
|Legend Of The Red |D | |
|Dragon Reborn | | |
|(L.O.R.D.) | | http://www.lordlegacy.org/ |
|-----------------------|----|---------------------------------------|
|PC Pursuits |D |brucep@pop.kis.net |
| | |(301)240-6653 |
| | |http://www.pcpursuits.com/products.htm |
|-----------------------|----|---------------------------------------|
|S and T Software |D |Mark Bappe |
| | |mark.bappe@bozax.iainc.net |
| | |(770)788-6843 |
| | |http://bozax.iainc.net/public/ |
|-----------------------|----|---------------------------------------|
|Shinning Star BBS Doors|D |nannette@shiningstar.net |
| | |http://www.shiningstar.net/bbsdoors/ |
|-----------------------|----|---------------------------------------|
|Sunrise Door Software |D |Al Lawerence |
| | |al@sunrisedoors.com |
| | |(404)256-9518 |
| | |http://www.sunrisedoors.com/ |
|-----------------------|----|---------------------------------------|
|The Brainex System |D |info@brainex.com |
| | |http://www.brainex.com/brainex_system/ |
|-----------------------|----|---------------------------------------|
|Trade Wars Door Game |D |jpritch@eisonline.com |
| | |http://www.eisonline.com/tradewars/ |
| | |1:299/110 |
|-----------------------|----|---------------------------------------|
|Vagabond Software |D |Bryan Turner |
| | |vagabond@darktech.org |
| | |http://vagabond.virtualave.net/ |
| | |1:124/7013 |
|-----------------------|----|---------------------------------------|
|FMail Support |T |wijnstra@fmail.nl.eu.org |
| | |http://fmail.nl.eu.org/ |
| | |2:280/1076 |
|-----------------------|----|---------------------------------------|
|Squish Tosser |T |http://www.lanius.com/squish.htm |
|-----------------------|----|---------------------------------------|
|Argus RITLABS |M |argus@ritlabs.com |
| | |373-2-246889 |
| | |http://www.ritlabs.com/argus/ |
FIDONEWS 19-26 Page 24 1 Jul 2002
| | |2:469/84 |
|-----------------------|----|---------------------------------------|
|FrontDoor |MTPC|Definite Solutions |
|FrontDoor APX | |sales@defsol.se |
|Mailer/Point Software | |http://www.defsol.se/ |
|-----------------------|----|---------------------------------------|
|BeeMail Home Page |M |http://beemail.gexonline.net |
| | |Stephen Proffit |
| | |1:211/405 |
|-----------------------|----|---------------------------------------|
|BinkleyTerm XE |M |http://btxe.sourceforge.net/ |
|Frontend Mailer | | |
|-----------------------|----|---------------------------------------|
|BinkD |MI |maloff@corbina.net |
| | |http://2f.ru/binkd/ |
|-----------------------|----|---------------------------------------|
|Fidogate |UIT |Martin_Junius@m-j-s.net |
| | |http://www.fidogate.org/ |
|-----------------------|----|---------------------------------------|
|Fidonet to Internet |IM |Bo Bendtsen |
|Mailer | |sales@terminate.com |
| | |http://www.terminate.com/fido2int.htm |
|-----------------------|----|---------------------------------------|
|GiGo Software |UI |http://www.gigo.com/ |
|-----------------------|----|---------------------------------------|
|Internet Rex |IM |cruden@cs.ualberta.ca |
| | |http://plaza.v-wave.com/InternetRex/ |
|-----------------------|----|---------------------------------------|
|Tmail |IM |http://www.tmail.spb.ru/index-19.htm |
|(Russian /w English DL)| | |
|-----------------------|----|---------------------------------------|
|TransX Multiboard |M |support@multiboard.com |
|Communications Inc. | |http://www.multiboard.com/software/ |
| | |transx.html |
| | |1:2401/305 |
|-----------------------|----|---------------------------------------|
|TransNet |I |transnet@ressl.com.ar |
| | |http://www.ressl.com.ar/transnet/ |
|-----------------------|----|---------------------------------------|
|Watergate |I |ramon@sbbs.se |
| | |http://www2.sbbs.se/hp/ramon/ |
|-----------------------|----|---------------------------------------|
|JetSys-Home of JetMail |TU |http://www.jetsys.de/ |
|JetStat and other Atari| | |
|Fidonet utilities | | |
|-----------------------|----|---------------------------------------|
|APoint (Author) |P |http://www.apoint.websale.net/index.htm|
| | |http://www.apoint-mail.de (Co-Autho) |
|-----------------------|----|---------------------------------------|
|CrossPoint |P |("Original" version) |
| | |http://www.crosspoint.de |
| | |http://www.apoint-mail.de |
| | |(OpenXP Projekt) |
| | |http://www.openxp.com (English) |
| | |http://www.openxp.de (German) |
| | |CrossPoint (XP2 Team) |
FIDONEWS 19-26 Page 25 1 Jul 2002
| | |http://www.xp2.de |
|-----------------------|----|---------------------------------------|
|WinPoint95 |P |http://www.schenksmir.de/wp/english |
|-----------------------|----|---------------------------------------|
|The OpenXP CrossPoint |P |http://www.happyarts.de/xp |
|Projekt | | |
|-----------------------|----|---------------------------------------|
|Terminate Terminal |P |http://www.terminate.com |
|-----------------------|----|---------------------------------------|
|PPoint-FTS compatible |P |http://www.alcuf.ca/ppoint.htm |
|E-Mail System | | |
|-----------------------|----|---------------------------------------|
\====================================================================/
-----------------------------------------------------------------
FIDONEWS 19-26 Page 26 1 Jul 2002
=================================================================
FIDONET BY INTERNET
=================================================================
. -- -- -- -- --- -- -- -- -- .
| FIDONET-RELATED SITES |
` -- -- -- -- --- -- -- -- -- '
2002-06-24
Send updates, corrections and suggestions to Shannon Talley, 1:275/311
or fbi@fidotel.com. Please ensure your website is operational before
submitting. All websites will be checked at least once per month. If
your website is down, or if it is a commerical website advertising
products or services, it will be removed from the queue.
FidoNet Email subscriptions:
http://www.fidonews.org
http://www.fidotel.com
FidoNet
Homepage: http://www.fidonet.org
http://www.fidonet.ca
FidoNews: http://www.fidonews.org [HTML]
ftp://ftp.nwstar.com/fidonet/fidonews/
http://www.fidotel.com/public/fidonews
Echolist: http://www.tlchost.net/echolist/
ftp://ftp.nwstar.com/fidonet/echolist/
SDS Files: http://download.r23.dk/ (Web Access to SDS)
FTSC page: http://www.ftsc.org/
General: http://www.writebynight.com/fidonet.html
http://www.fidotel.com
Parody: http://www.fidonet.ro/
Zone 1: http://www.z1.fidonet.org
Region 10: http://www.r10.org
Net 102 http://home.earthlink.net/~kayshapero/net102.htm
Net 103: http://www.webworldinc.com/club103/
Region 11: http://www.vector11.com/region11/
Region 12
Net 229: http://net229.darktech.org/
Region 13: http://www.ispaceonline.org/region13/
Net 261: http://www.baltimorepress.com/~net261/
Net 267: http://www.angelfire.com/ny4/net267/
Net 275: http://www.ispaceonline.org/net275/
Region 14:
Net 282: http://www.rxn.com/~net282/
Region 15: http://www.bobsplc.com/public/reg15
Region 17: http://www.region17.net
Net 140: http://www.nwstar.com/~net140
Region 19: http://www.biseonline.com/r19
Net 124: http://www.DallasInet.com/net124/
http://pages.sbcglobal.net/flv/
Net 393: http://www.chatter.com/~wb/
FIDONEWS 19-26 Page 27 1 Jul 2002
Zone 2: http://www.z2.fidonet.org
Region 20: http://www.fidonet.pp.se (in Swedish)
Region 23: http://www.fido.dk (in Danish)
Region 24: http://www.was-ist-fido.de/ (German)
Fido-IP: http://home.nrh.de/fido/ (English/German)
Region 26: http://www.nemesis.ie
Region 27: http://telematique.org/ft/r27.htm
Region 29: http://www.rtfm.be/fidonet/ (French)
http://Welcome.to/skynetbbs/
Region 34: http://www.pobox.com/cnb/r34.htm (Spanish)
REC34: http://www.fidospain.org
Region 38: http://public.st.carnet.hr/~blagi/bbs/adriam.html
Region 41: http://www.fidonet.gr (Greek/English)
Region 50: http://www.fido7.com/ (Russian)
Region 53: http://fido.bitsoft.ro/
Net 5010: http://fido.tu-chel.ac.ru/ (Russian)
Net 5015: http://www.fido.nnov.ru/ (Russian)
Net 5085: http://www.fidonet.uz/ (Russian)
Zone 3: http://www.z3.fidonet.org
Zone 4:
Region 80: http://fidobrasil.8m.com (Portuguese)
Net 904: http://members.tripod.com/~net904 (Spanish)
Zone 5: http://www.eastcape.co.za/fidonet/
Zone 6: http://www.z6.fidonet.org
Region 65: http://www.cfido.com (Chinese)
Fidonet Via Internet Hubs provided by FidoTel.com
Node# | Operator | Facilities (*) | Speed,| Basic Rate
| | |latency|
-----------+-------------------+----------------+-------+------------
Zone 1 | | | |
10/3 | Brenda Donovan | FTP,UUE,BinkP | 384K,30| n/c
10/345 | Todd Cochrane | FTP,BinkP,VMOT | T1,! | n/c
18/500 | Ross Cassell | FTP, BinkP |128K+,!| n/c
103/5 | Mark Luetger | BinkP | CABLE | n/c
103/301 | Joe Jared | BinkP,FTP,NFS | 384k,!| n/c
103/401 | Warren Bonner | BinkP | aDSL,!| n/c
105/8 | Russ Johnson | FTP,BinkP,VMoT | 384k | n/c
105/72 | Larry James | FTP, BinkP | aDSL | $50/yr
106/1 | Steve Loupe | BinkP, FTP | 768k | FREE
106/2000 | Bob Juge | BinkP VMoT FTP TX| ??? | n/c
106/6018 | Lawrence Garvin | FTP, VMoT | aDSL,60| n/c
107/453 | Jeffrey Estevez| FTP,BinkP,VMoT,UUE| 56k,60| $10 mo.
134/11 | Michael Grant | FTP, BinkP, VMoT UUE, IFCICO,TransX
aDSL, 60 | n/c
138/146 | Marc Blakely | BinkP,FTP | ??? | n/c
140/1 | Bob Seaborn | FTP,BinkP | T3,30 | $5/$16
FIDONEWS 19-26 Page 28 1 Jul 2002
142/906 | Chris Griffin | BinkP | ??? | n/c
150/220 | Dave Nemeth | UUE | ??? | n/c
153/7715 | Dallas Hinton | BinkD, FTP | CABLE | ???
167/133 | Stephen Monteith | BinkP | 128k+ | n/c
167/166 | Jesse Dooling | POP? UUE TX FTP| ??? | n/c
218/109 | Matt Munson | BinkP,UUE,TX | 33.6k | n/c
220/10 | groberts|nexusbbs.net |BinkP,FTP,UUE|1.5M+ | n/c
229/1 | Phil Simpson | BinkP UUE FTP | ??? | n/c
229/2000 | Robert Couture |BinkP FTP UUE TX| ??? |
229/622 | Dave Hamilton | BinkP | ??? | n/c
250/98 | Darin McBride | BinkP FTP TX | ??? | n/c
250/99 | Brent McLaren | FTP BinkP | ??? | n/c
250/102 | Darin McBride | BinkP FTP | ??? | n/c
267/169 | Philip Lozier | FTP TX | ??? | n/c
261/1380 | Joe Davis | UUE TX | ??? | n/c
275/311 | Shannon Talley|FTP,BinkP,FTP,VMoT,QWK| T1 |n/c
280/169 | Brian Greenstreet | FTP | 33.6 | $2mo.
297/11 | Michael McCabe | TX | ??? | n/c
323/120 | Craig Healy | VMoT FTP | ??? | n/c
342/3 | Richard Dodsworth | BinkP,FTP | 128K+ | n/c
393/48 | Ben Ritchey | UUE:BFDS? | 33.6k | n/c
379/1 | Dale Ross | FTP, BinkP,UUE | 256K+,! n/c
379/1200 | Chris Cranford | BinkP FTP TX | ??? | n/c
396/45 | Marc Lewis |BinkP FTP UUE TX| ADSL | n/c
2215/300 | Dennis Haddox | UUE,TX | CABLE | n/c
2320/38 | Janis Kracht | BinkP FTP | ??? | n/c
2410/400 | Gary Gilmore | FTP BinkP | 384K,60| n/c
2410/213 | Kevin Bentz | FTP, BinkP, UUE| Cable | n/c
2604/104 | Jim Mclaughlin | FTP,VMoT,UUE | 33.6 | $1mo
2624/306 | David Calafrancesco | VMoT | 33.6 | n/c
3613/1275 | @ jyates@bsdi.ldl.net | UUE,FTP | 28.8 | n/c
3407/4 | Robert Todd |FTP,VMoT,UUE,BinkP | 57.6k | n/c
3632/84 | Robert Todd |FTP,VMoT,UUE,BinkP | 57.6k | n/c
3830/5 | Jeff Schrunk |BinkP FTP TX UUE| ??? | n/c
3830/9 | Steve Quarrella |BinkP FTP IFCICO VMoT UUE|?|?
--------------------------------------------------------------
Zone 2 |
20/11 | Henrik Lindhe | BinkP | ??? | n/c
22/222 | Kim Heino | BinkP | ??? | n/c
28/1 | Lody Caenen | BinkP FTP | ??? | n/c
31/1 | Gabriel Plutzar | BinkP | T1+ | n/c
37/37 | Gabor Z. Papp | BinkP | ??? | n/c
47/999 | Andrej Kirejev | BinkP,ifcico | ??? | n/c
53/558 |Vladimir Hrusca|POP,VMoT,UUE,BinkP,ifcico|2mbs|??
201/329 | Mats Wallin | VMoT TX | ??? | n/c
201/505 | G”ran Eriksson | BinkP | ??? | n/c
201/600 | H†kan Andersson |BinkP,FTP |512kbps| n/c
203/600 | Mikael Karlsson |BinkP,FTP,TX,UUE| 512k | n/c
211/37 | Torbjorn Mohn | BinkP | 8/2mb | n/c
221/360 | Tommi Koivula | BinkP,UUE | ??? | n/c
236/205 | Michael Kaaber | BinkP | ??? | n/c
240/6298 | Steve Tell | BinkP UUE | ??? | n/c
246/2098 | Volker Imre | BinkP | ??? | n/c
252/110 | David Rance | UUE | ??? | n/c
255/90 | Simon Avery | UUE | ??? | n/c
263/950 | Sean Rima | TX UUE | ??? | n/c
FIDONEWS 19-26 Page 29 1 Jul 2002
280/1027 | Lukas de Groen | BinkP FTP | ??? | n/c
280/1601 | Jeroen VanDeLeur | FTP,UUE | 64k | n/c
280/4312 | Jos Huijnen | BinkP ifcico UUE TX| ??? | n/c
280/5003 | Kees van Eeten | BinkP ifcico | ??? | n/c
292/624 | Steven Leeman | UUE | 64k | n/c
292/854 | Ward Dossche | BinkP UUE TX | ??? | n/c
292/2003 | Eric Vaneberck | BinkP | 768k | n/c
301/1 | Peter Witschi | BinkP | 768k | n/c
332/807 | Roberto Mascolo | BinkP | ??? | n/c
333/0 | M Gianformaggio | BinkP | ??? | n/c
335/534 | Mario Mure | BinkP,VMot,UUE | 64k | n/c
335/610 | Gino Lucrezi | UUE | 33.6 | n/c
341/14 | Rafael Suarez | BinkP VMoT | ??? | n/c
341/51 | Jose.Maria Tejada | VMoT | |
341/66 | Angel Ripoll | VMoT | |
343/168 | Jose Casanova | VMoT | |
344/201 | Julio Garcia | BinkP | ??? | n/c
346/3 | Carlos Navarro | UUE | ??? | n/c
347/1 | Javi Polo | UUE | |
348/105 | Alejandro Estraviz| BinkP UUE | |
382/100 | Sinisa Burina | BinkP,ifcico | ??? | n/c
400/555 | Ofir Michaeli | BinkP,ifcico | ??? | n/c
400/557 | Marius Kaizerman | BinkP,ifcico | ??? | n/c
423/81 | Milos Bajer | BinkP | ??? | n/c
461/256 | Andrew Rutkas | BinkP | ??? | n/c
461/640 | Alex Semenyaka |BinkP ifcico UUE| ??? | n/c
465/204 | Va Milushnikov | BinkP | 33.6k | n/c
469/84 | Max Masyutin | VMoT | 256k | n/c
469/128 | Oleg Vasenyoff | BinkP,ifcico | ??? | n/c
480/112 | Adam Sarapata| FTP, VMoT, UUE,BinkP| 128k | n/c
550/4077 | Serguei Trouchelle| UUE | ----- | n/c
2410/201 | Karsten Ebeling | BinkP UUE | ??? | n/c
2411/413 | Dennis Dittrich | UUE,BinkP | 64k | n/c
2432/200 | Sven Dueker | BinkP TX UUE | ??? | n/c
2446/301 | Lothar Behet | BinkP,VMoT,UUE,FTP | 64K | n/c
2474/275 | Christian Emig | UUE | 64k | unkn
2487/3000 | Steffen Gross | BinkP | ??? | n/c
5002/5002 | Victor Belyakov | BinkP | ??? | n/c
5014/4 | Alex Bagmanov | BinkP,ifcico | ??? | n/c
5020/52 | Peter Didenko | BinkP | ??? | n/c
5020/54 | Serge Wizgounoff | BinkP,ifcico | ??? | n/c
5020/69 | B Chernivetsky | BinkP | ??? | n/c
5020/238 | Sergey Gubanov | BinkP | ??? | n/c
5030/115 | Andrey Podkolzin | BinkP | ??? | n/c
5030/1251 | K Stepanekov | UUE | ??? | n/c
5100/8 | Egons Bush | BinkP | ??? | n/c
5020/1159 | Gennady Kudryashoff | UUE | 33.6 | n/c
5049/12 | Amir Shabashvili | BinkP | ??? | n/c
5054/3 | Andrew Popov | BinkP | ??? | n/c
5080/80 | Eugene Zorin | BinkP,ifcico | ??? | n/c
5083/21 | Alexander Uskov | BinkP,ifcico | ??? | n/c
5090/2 | Andrew Titov | BinkP | ??? | n/c
5100/8 | Egons Bush | BinkP | ??? | n/c
--------------------------------------------------------------
Zone 3
633/260 | Malcolm Miles | FTP,BinkP | 64K | n/c
FIDONEWS 19-26 Page 30 1 Jul 2002
640/954 | Rick Van Ruth | FTP,VMot,UUE,BinkP| 56K| n/c
712/311 | Bob James | TX | ??? | n/c
774/605 | Barry Blackford|BinkP,VMoT:10023,ifcico,FTP |33.6| n/c
--------------------------------------------------------------
Zone 4
801/161 | Renato Zambon | UUE | 33.6 |n/c
902/18 | Javier Tejedor | UUE | 33,6 | n/c
--------------------------------------------------------------
Zone 6
65/3000 | Lawrence Fan | UUE | 33600 | free
653/1009 | Maorong Chen | UUE | ??? | free
654/0 | Bin Li | UUE,BinkP | 33600 | free
654/1501 | Lawrence Fan | UUE,BinkP | 28800 | free
--
* FTP = Internet File Transfer Protocol
* VMoT = Virtual Mailer over Telnet (various)
* UUE = uuencode<->email type transfers
* BinkP = front end mailer for TCPIP networks
* TX = TransX
* NFS = Linux Networking
* ifcico = ifcico-compatible virtual mailer
* QWK = Quick Packets/Offline mailer "networking" capable
----------------------------------------------
Fidonet oriented news servers
news.fidotel.com (currently offline)
news.osirusoft.com
news.tardis.net
nntp://fido.bitsoft.ro
nntp://bbs.bitsoft.ro
Fidonet oriented chat rooms.
room #fidonet 5PM (PDT 11AM GMT) Sundays
irc.osirusoft.com (Peers wanted)
irc.sinoptix.ro : malay, chinesse, english, #fido, #fidonet, #wwb
irc.bitsoft.ro : 6667 russian, english, hebrew, #fido, #wwb
irc.tsua.net : 6668 russian, english #fido
-----------------------------------------------------------------
FIDONEWS 19-26 Page 31 1 Jul 2002
=================================================================
SPECIAL INTEREST
=================================================================
Nodelist Stats
Input nodelist nodelist.179
size 1096.7kb
date 2002-06-28
The nodelist has 9840 nodes in it
and a total of 12724 non-comment entries
including 6 zones
63 regions
466 hosts
675 hubs
admin overhead 1210 ( 12.30 %)
and 935 private nodes
346 nodes down
393 nodes on hold
off line overhead 1674 ( 17.01 %)
Speed summary:
>9600 = 916 ( 9.31 %)
9600 = 8423 ( 85.60 %)
(HST = 180 or 2.14 %)
(CSP = 1 or 0.01 %)
(PEP = 12 or 0.14 %)
(MAX = 0 or 0.00 %)
(HAY = 1 or 0.01 %)
(V32 = 4712 or 55.94 %)
(V32B = 498 or 5.91 %)
(V34 = 5638 or 66.94 %)
(V42 = 4643 or 55.12 %)
(V42B = 518 or 6.15 %)
2400 = 106 ( 1.08 %)
1200 = 7 ( 0.07 %)
300 = 388 ( 3.94 %)
ISDN = 1000 ( 10.16 %)
----------------------------------------------------------
File Req Flag Applicable software Number of systems
----------------------------------------------------------
XA Frontdoor <1.99b 3546
Frontdoor 2.02+
Dutchie 2.90c
Binkleyterm >2.1
D'Bridge <1.3
TIMS
Xenia
--------------------------------------
FIDONEWS 19-26 Page 32 1 Jul 2002
XB Binkleyterm 2.0 8
Dutchie 2.90b
--------------------------------------
XC Opus 1.1 10
--------------------------------------
XP Seadog 6
--------------------------------------
XR Opus 1.03 60
--------------------------------------
XW Fido >12M 395
Tabby
KittenMail
--------------------------------------
XX D'Bridge 1.30 4383
Frontdoor 1.99b
Intermail 2.01
T-Mail
--------------------------------------
None QMM 1432
--------------------------------------
CrashMail capable = 3169 ( 32.21 %)
MailOnly nodes = 5330 ( 54.17 %)
Listed-only nodes = 771 ( 7.84 %)
Other = 570 ( 5.79 %)
[Report produced by NETSTATS - A PD pgm available from 1:106/100]
[ Revised by B Felten, 2:203/208]
-----------------------------------------------------------------
FIDONEWS 19-26 Page 33 1 Jul 2002
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FIDONEWS 19-26 Page 34 1 Jul 2002
Send Articles via E-mail or Netmail, file attach or message to:
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FIDONEWS 19-26 Page 35 1 Jul 2002
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