Volume 5, Number 25 20 June 1988 +---------------------------------------------------------------+ | _ | | / \ | | /|oo \ | | - FidoNews - (_| /_) | | _`@/_ \ _ | | International | | \ \\ | | FidoNet Association | (*) | \ )) | | Newsletter ______ |__U__| / \// | | / FIDO \ _//|| _\ / | | (________) (_/(_|(____/ | | (jm) | +---------------------------------------------------------------+ Editor in Chief Dale Lovell Editor Emeritus: Thom Henderson Chief Procrastinator Emeritus: Tom Jennings Contributing Editors: Al Arango FidoNews is published weekly by the International FidoNet Association as its official newsletter. You are encouraged to submit articles for publication in FidoNews. Article submission standards are contained in the file ARTSPEC.DOC, available from node 1:1/1. Copyright 1988 by the International FidoNet Association. All rights reserved. Duplication and/or distribution permitted for noncommercial purposes only. For use in other circumstances, please contact IFNA at (314) 576-4067. IFNA may also be contacted at PO Box 41143, St. Louis, MO 63141. Fido and FidoNet are registered trademarks of Tom Jennings of Fido Software, 164 Shipley Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94107 and are used with permission. The contents of the articles contained here are not our responsibility, nor do we necessarily agree with them. Everything here is subject to debate. We publish EVERYTHING received. Table of Contents 1. ARTICLES ................................................. 1 New Bird Watchers ECHO - "For Birders Only" .............. 2 As FidoCon'88 Approaches ................................. 3 2. COLUMNS .................................................. 4 FidoCon'88 Agenda ........................................ 4 3. FOR SALE ................................................. 6 Programs too big? Give 'em the AXE! ..................... 6 4. NOTICES .................................................. 7 The Interrupt Stack ...................................... 7 FidoCon Supersavers ...................................... 7 Latest Software Versions ................................. 8 New Zone 3 Coordinator ................................... 8 5. COMMITTEE REPORTS ........................................ 9 And more! FidoNews 5-25 Page 1 20 Jun 1988 ================================================================= ARTICLES ================================================================= I have written two Outside programs for the OPUS and Fido 11w Bulletin Board Systems. They may be piped (redirected) using the excellent program GATEWAY, or using DOS redirection through CTTY Com1 or CTTY Com2. These two programs are called TRANSITS and NATAL. They are for the astrology student. (And, it seems, Ronald Reagan.) When invoked, TRANSITS will calculate the longitude and latitude for the Sun, Moon, planets, five asteroids, and eight uranian placements, with heliocentric and geocentric values, for the exact moment TRANSITS is run. It gets the required information from the computer's date and time stamp, and a sysop-edited file called TRANSITS.CTL. These values will be given in decimal and sign notation. TRANSITS.CTL just holds the geographic longitude, latitude, and time zone for the computer running TRANSITS. A sample batch file is included with TRANSITS. The device driver that does the redirection (piping) is NOT included, as it is not my program, but is available at Astro-Net (Called GATEWAY). The carrier detect program WATCHCD is also a good idea, and is available at Astro-Net as well. Please, if you use the programs GATEWAY and/or WATCHCD, pay the shareware price for them. TRANSITS may be downloaded from Astro-Net free of charge. It may not be sold for any price or remittance. This means "distributing companies" may not copy and sell any of my programs. TRANSITS may only be installed on a BBS that does not charge users for any remittance for using said BBS. File request: TRANSITS.ARC. The program NATAL will do the same as TRANSITS, but requires the user to supply all information. The user must enter day of event, month, year, time, longitude, latitude, and zone. NATAL will also calculate the Placidian house cusps, unlike TRANSITS. NATAL does not require any other file to run, and therefore requires no maintenance. Fire Request: NATAL.ARC David Rice Astro-Net (1:103/503.0) (714) 662-2294 2400,n,8,1. ----------------------------------------------------------------- FidoNews 5-25 Page 2 20 Jun 1988 Mike Ratledge, SysOp - 372/888 - The East Bay X-Change TCommNet =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= = "For Birders Only" Echo = =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= I am pleased to announce the availability of a new echo-mail conference group for bird watchers named "For Birders Only"! This echo will be supported by the Charleston Natural History Society (local Audubon chapter) and also expects to get regular input from the Cornell University Laboratory of Ornithology and "Wild Bird" magazine, as well as rare bird sighting information from various sources available through the nationwide rare bird hotline, Carolina Bird Club and the South Carolina Wildlife and Marine Resources department in Columbia to get us started. I hope that interest will be sufficient in the near future for us to bring the headquarters of the National Audubon Society online as they have expressed interest to me in hopes of creating a new bulletin board to carry similar information! This conference group has been active for quite a while, and all previous information posted will be available if you want to get "up-to-date". Note that I expect at least two other sources to be available shortly - one through Tom Hendricks (13/33) on his "Avi-Tech" board which specialized in pet birds (and has another echo named 'AVICULTURE' available to pet bird lovers). Interested SysOps should contact me via netmail at 372/888 and I will arrange for a feed either from my board, or from someone in a closer location if possible. The "For Birders Only" conference group is mentioned in the next (not out as of this writing - August) issue of "Wild Bird" magazine on pages 6 and 7 in the 'Bulletin Bird' section. I will post a listing of other boards participating in an upcoming issue of "Wild Bird" as well. I know there is a lot of interest out there, so let's get started and provide a useful vehicle for information to the bird-lovers around the country! Conference host and SIG-Op will be the real expert in the family: Donna Ratledge. ----------------------------------------------------------------- FidoNews 5-25 Page 3 20 Jun 1988 Tim Sullivan 108/62 + * + * + IT'S STILL NOT TOO LATE! + * + * + FidoCon'88 is quickly approaching and it's still not too late to register! Less than a month from now is the closing date for the Delta Airlines free ticket giveaway and the USR discounts are going FAST! You must register before July 15 to be eligible to win a free round-trip ticket from Delta Airlines to anywhere they fly in the continental US! There are still some coupons left for the US Robotics special discount offer. If you are one of the first 50 to register for this year's conference, you will receive a discount from US Robotics of $50 off the price of an HST 9600 baud modem. You may use this discount along with the SYSOP deal ($495) to bring the cost of an HST down to $445.00! - - > BUT you must be one of the first 50 to register! Remember after July 31 the cost for the conference jumps to $75! and you must register at the door. So register now and get in on the discounts and they airline ticket drawing! For more information contact Rick Ashworth at 1/88 or Tim Sullivan at 108/62. See you all here in August! ----------------------------------------------------------------- FidoNews 5-25 Page 4 20 Jun 1988 ================================================================= COLUMNS ================================================================= ----------------------------------------------------------------- FidoCon is Coming! | | | | FidoCon is Coming! | | | | FidoCon is Coming! ----------------------------------------------------------------- FidoCon'88 is taking shape. Come August, Cincinnati will be full of BBSers and their families ready to soak up fun, friendship and knowledge. We have an exciting agenda taking shape and I just couldn't wait any longer to give you a peek! Here is the first look at some of our speakers and what they will be talking about. George Stanislov Opus George Stanislov Avatar Tim Pozar UUCP->Fido Gateway Henk Wevers Dutchie & Region 2 report Tom Jennings & Ken Kaplan History of Fidonet Michael Connick Tabby and Tabby point Phil Becker TBBS Decker Doggett Lessons in echo mail Mike Bader Fido technology in the Work place Julia Stockreef New online information system Chris Irwin D'Bridge Bob Hartman/Vince Periello Binkleyterm Bob Hartman FTSC Marshall Presnell ANS Jonathon Wallace Legal ramifications of BBS'es Randy Van de Loo Hard Drives and ARLL technology David Dodell Policy 4 Harry Lee GS point, Glu fwd and others Mike Bryeans Dutchie and Brinkers Joaquim Homrighausen Front Door Butch Walker Echo Policy Linda Thompson BBS & Privacy - A question of Liability We are also expecting presentations from some of our favorite vendors such as: US Robotics, Borland, Apple and Compuserve. Also on the slate are panel discussions dealing with IFNA, Echomail, FidoNet of the future and much more! And a very special guest will be here to address us at the Friday night banquet! Make plans now to be here this August. For more information contact Rick Ashworth at 1/88 or Tim Sullivan at 108/62. Just a few more days left before the Delta Airlines ticket is given away! Don't miss out! Register before July 15th. FidoNews 5-25 Page 5 20 Jun 1988 ----------------------------------------------------------------- FidoCon is Coming! | | | | FidoCon is Coming! | | | | FidoCon is Coming! ----------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------- FidoNews 5-25 Page 6 20 Jun 1988 ================================================================= FOR SALE ================================================================= Programs too big? Give 'em the AXE! What could SEA do to top it's phenominally successful ARC program? Well, have you noticed that new programs from SEA don't seem to ARC very well lately? * * * System Enhancement Associates, Inc. is proud to announce the latest and greatest addition to our line of quality software. Our new product is called AXE, and it can chop your programs down to size! If you thought ARC was good, wait until you see AXE! It can compress almost any .EXE or .COM file by twenty to thirty percent, saving you megabytes of disk space. And, here's the best part, the programs don't have to be uncompressed to run! That's right, you can AXE all your programs and make them twenty to thirty percent smaller (or MORE), and they still run just like they always did. You'll never even notice you AXEd them, but you'll sure notice the extra disk space! AXE is available for $50 from: System Enhancement Associates, Inc. 21 New Street, Wayne NJ 07470 or you can call us (voice) at 201-473-5153. We accept VISA and MasterCard. Get AXE today, and chop your programs down to size! ----------------------------------------------------------------- FidoNews 5-25 Page 7 20 Jun 1988 ================================================================= NOTICES ================================================================= The Interrupt Stack 25 Jun 1988 EuroCon II starts in Tiel, Holland. Sponsored by the Dutch Hobby Computer Club. Will run for 2 days. Contact Hans Lichthelm at 2:2/999 for information. 16 Jul 1988 A new areacode, 508, will form in eastern Massachusetts and will be effective on this date. The new area code will be formed from the current areacode 617. Greater Boston will remain areacode 617 while the rest of eastern Massachusetts will form the new areacode 508. 25 Aug 1988 Start of the Fifth International FidoNet Conference, to be held at the Drawbridge Inn in Cincinnati, OH. Contact Tim Sullivan at 108/62 for more information. This is FidoNet's big annual get-together, and is your chance to meet all the people you've been talking with all this time. We're hoping to see you there! 24 Aug 1989 Voyager 2 passes Neptune. If you have something which you would like to see on this calendar, please send a message to FidoNet node 1:1/1. ----------------------------------------------------------------- * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * It has come to my attention that there are great deals to be had by booking your FidoCon'88 airfare early. By making reservations now you can save $$$$ and with many of today's SuperSaver fares you can still cancel as late as 3 days ahead of time if there is a problem. Couple these already low fares with the special discounts Delta has made available to us and you can potentially save BIG $$$$! Contact 1/88 or 108/62 for more details! * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * FidoNews 5-25 Page 8 20 Jun 1988 ----------------------------------------------------------------- Latest Software Versions BBS Systems Node List Other & Mailers Version Utilities Version Utilities Version Dutchie 2.81 EditNL 4.00* ARC 5.21 Fido 12h* MakeNL 2.12* ARCmail 1.1 Opus 1.03b Prune 1.40 ConfMail 3.31 SEAdog 4.10 XlatList 2.86 EchoMail 1.31 TBBS 2.0M XlaxNode 1.02 MGM 1.1 BinkleyTerm 1.50* XlaxDiff 1.02 QuickBBS 2.01* ParseList 1.10 * Recently changed Utility authors: Please help keep this list up to date by reporting new versions to 1:1/1. It is not our intent to list all utilities here, only those which verge on necessity. ----------------------------------------------------------------- David Dodell, 1:1/0 FidoNet International Coordinator Larry Lewis has just been appointed the new Zone 3 Coordinator. Larry's node number is 3:713/606 ... He will assume responsibilities of the job at the end of June. ----------------------------------------------------------------- FidoNews 5-25 Page 9 20 Jun 1988 ================================================================= COMMITTEE REPORTS ================================================================= By-Laws and Rules Committee 1:102/2871 The By-laws and Rules Committee has prepared the rules which appear below for this year's By-laws amendment process. They have been approved by the IFNA Board of Directors. 1988 Rules for Amendment of By-laws 1. By-Law Amendments will only be accepted from IFNA members. 2. The By-Laws Committee is responsible for any suggested changes to the By-Laws. To this end, all suggestions must be submitted to the By-Laws Committee for inclusion on the Ballot. The Committee reserves the right to edit, combine, or expand the submissions provided that any changes made do not substantially change the original intent of the suggestion. In the event of conflicting suggestions, the changes may be presented on the Ballot in the form of a "multiple choice" where only one of the suggestions may be selected. 3. All proposed amendments will be of the form "old wording"/ "new wording" including By-Law reference numbers where applicable. This is intended to clarify the changes proposed. 4. All changes must be received by the Secretary at least 60 days prior to the scheduled vote date in order to be included on the Ballot. They will then be forwarded to the By-Laws committee for preparation for inclusion on the Ballot. 5. Ballots will be accepted from members in good standing through regular postal service addressed to the Secretary and must be received no later than the Annual Meeting. Alternately, Ballots will be accepted from members in good standing provided they are hand delivered to the Secretary or his designate at the Annual Meeting, no later than the announced time for the closing of the polls. 6. A certified public accountant will receive and collate all mail Ballots received prior to the Annual Meeting, and will be responsible for the receipt, tabulation and verification of all Ballots cast before the close of voting. The certified public accountant will present and certify the results of the balloting. 7. In the event of a tie, the current (outgoing) President shall cast the deciding vote. ----------------------------------------------------------------- FidoNews 5-25 Page 10 20 Jun 1988 OFFICERS OF THE INTERNATIONAL FIDONET ASSOCIATION Ken Kaplan 100/22 Chairman of the Board Don Daniels 107/210 President Mark Grennan 147/1 Vice President Dave Dodell 114/15 Vice President - Technical Coordinator Tom Marshall 107/524 Secretary Leonard Mednick 12/1 Treasurer IFNA BOARD OF DIRECTORS DIVISION AT-LARGE 10 Steve Jordan 102/2871 Don Daniels 107/210 11 Bill Allbritten 11/301 Hal DuPrie 101/106 12 Leonard Mednick 12/1 Mark Grennan 147/1 13 Rick Siegel 107/27 Brad Hicks 100/523 14 Ken Kaplan 100/22 Ted Polczyinski 154/5 15 Jim Cannell 128/13 Kurt Reisler 109/74 16 Vince Perriello 141/491 Robert Rudolph 261/628 17 Rob Barker 138/34 Greg Small 148/122 18 Christopher Baker 135/14 Bob Swift 140/24 19 Vernon Six 19/0 Larry Wall 15/18 2 Henk Wevers 2:500/1 Gee Wong 107/312 ----------------------------------------------------------------- FidoNews 5-25 Page 11 20 Jun 1988 The World's First / \ BBS Network /|oo \ * FidoNet * (_| /_) _`@/_ \ _ | | \ \\ | (*) | \ )) ______ |__U__| / \// / Fido \ _//|| _\ / (________) (_/(_|(____/ (tm) Membership for the International FidoNet Association Membership in IFNA is open to any individual or organization that pays the annual membership fee. IFNA serves the international FidoNet-compatible electronic mail community to increase worldwide communications. Name __________________________________ Date ___________________ Address _________________________________________________________ City ____________________________________________________________ State ________________________________ Zip _____________________ Country _________________________________________________________ Home Phone (Voice) ______________________________________________ Work Phone (Voice) ______________________________________________ Is this a new application? _________ a renewal? ________________ Are you a Sysop? _________ If so, for how long? ________________ Your BBS Info: (Non-Sysops enter info for your most-called BBS) Zone:Net/Node Number ____________________________________________ BBS Name ________________________________________________________ BBS Phone Number ________________________________________________ Your Special Interests __________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ In what areas would you be willing to help in FidoNet? __________ _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ Are there any special resources that you could provide? _________ _________________________________________________________________ Regular Membership $25 Lifetime Membership $250 Send this form and a check or money order in US Funds to: International FidoNet Association c/o Leonard Mednick, CPA 700 Bishop Street, #1014 Honolulu, HI 96813 USA IFNA is a general not-for-profit organization. Articles of Association and By-Laws were adopted by the membership in January 1987. The IFNA Echomail Conference has been established on FidoNet to assist the Board of Directors. We welcome your input on this Conference. ----------------------------------------------------------------- FidoNews 5-25 Page 12 20 Jun 1988 INTERNATIONAL FIDONET ASSOCIATION ORDER FORM Publications The IFNA publications can be obtained by downloading from Fido 1:1/10 or other FidoNet compatible systems, or by purchasing them directly from IFNA. We ask that all our IFNA Committee Chairmen provide us with the latest versions of each publication, but we can make no written guarantees. Hardcopy prices as of October 1, 1986 IFNA Fido BBS listing $15.00 _____ IFNA Administrative Policy DOCs $10.00 _____ IFNA FidoNet Standards Committee DOCs $10.00 _____ SUBTOTAL _____ IFNA Member ONLY Special Offers System Enhancement Associates SEAdog $60.00 _____ SEAdog price as of March 1, 1987 ONLY 1 copy SEAdog per IFNA Member Fido Software's Fido/FidoNet $100.00 _____ Fido/FidoNet price as of November 1, 1987 ONLY 1 copy Fido/FidoNet per IFNA Member International orders include $10.00 for surface shipping or $20.00 for air shipping _____ SUBTOTAL _____ HI. Residents add 4.0 % Sales tax _____ TOTAL _____ SEND CHECK OR MONEY ORDER IN US FUNDS: International FidoNet Association c/o Leonard Mednick, MBA, CPA 700 Bishop Street, #1014 Honolulu, HI. 96813-4112 USA Name________________________________ Zone:Net/Node____:____/____ Company_____________________________ Address_____________________________ City____________________ State____________ Zip_____ Voice Phone_________________________ Signature___________________________ -----------------------------------------------------------------