Volume 6, Number 6 6 February 1989 +---------------------------------------------------------------+ | _ | | / \ | | /|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. 1:1/1 is available for network mail between NMH-1 hour to NMH+1 hour. At all other times, netmail is not accepted although submissions can be uploaded. Copyright 1989 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 Crimson Ties Questioned in Virus Case .................... 1 Future Looks Brighter Than Ever for Courier HST Modem .... 2 Pick A Number, Any Number ................................ 3 The Power Posting School ................................. 5 Sysop Liability For Pirated and other Illegal Software ... 7 PAKIT Version 1.02, a utility for oMMM users ............. 9 Welcome to SACC! ......................................... 11 Sysop Sues User Who Allegedly Uploaded Trojan ............ 13 The SYSLAW Conference .................................... 14 2. COLUMNS .................................................. 15 And more! FidoNews 6-06 Page 1 6 Feb 1989 ================================================================= ARTICLES ================================================================= Crimson Ties Questioned in Virus Case by James Daly, ComputerWorld Staff (originally from ComputerWorld magazine) CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - A Harvard University assistant professor, systems programmer and graduate student have been ordered to testify this week before a federal grand jury investigating the spread of a computer virus that ground the Internet computer network to a near-halt earlier this month. Assistant Professor of Computer Science Mark Friedell, computer programmer Andrew Sudduth and computer science graduate student Paul Graham are scheduled to appear in a Syracuse, N.Y., court Wednesday to explain their connection to Robert T. Morris Jr., a Cornell University graduate student and Harvard alumnus suspected of creating the virus that struck 6,000 computers nationwide. As Federal Bureau of Investigation officers served the subpoenas Monday, other federal officers searched Harvard's Division of Applied Sciences for computer accounts that may show what role that facility played in the virus' spread, a Department of Justice official said. The grand jury will reportedly investigate telephone conversations among Sudduth, Graham and Morris that began shortly after the virus began to spread. Sudduth, a senior systems programmer at Harvard's Aiken Laboratory, where Morris worked for his last two years as an undergraduate, has stated that Morris phoned him shortly after the virus began. Sudduth said Morris asked him to sound the alarm about the virus and disseminate a message explaining how to inoculate computers against it. According to Sudduth, Morris said he was unable to do so because the virus had inactivated his system at Cornell. ----------------------------------------------------------------- FidoNews 6-06 Page 2 6 Feb 1989 Future Looks Brighter Than Ever for Courier HST Modem by Casey Cowell President, U.S. Robotics, Inc. In little more than a year, U.S. Robotics' Courier HST modem has established itself as the price/performance value leader among high-speed modems. Courier HST is a success today because it delivered on its very straightforward promise -- to radically improve dial-up data communications by using the best ideas and most affordable mix of technology. And it will be a success tomorrow as it evolves to meet ever- growing demands for power, speed, reliability, economy and ease of use. Courier HST's success must be framed in the context of a marketplace rife with unsubstantiated product claims, announced- but-undelivered products, a variety of incompatibility problems and very unstable pricing. As the smoke finally begins to clear, Courier HST emerges as the strongest "proprietary" product in the high-speed modem market, with tens-of-thousands of highly satisfied users and a litany of praise from oft-skeptical industry observers and product reviewers. Even PC Week, last of the nay-sayers on proprietary high-speed modems, admits the Courier HST is "here to stay." Courier HST occupies the leading edge of a revolution in modem design that has simply outpaced the formal standards process. The standards-setting community (CCITT) is slow to confer formal recognition upon new technology. For example, CCITTa dynamic marketplace. *Origin:SitUbuSit (Opus 1:115/500) ----------------------------------------------------------------- FidoNews 6-06 Page 3 6 Feb 1989 David Rice 103/503 Want $50,000 real quick? It's easy! Just pick the right numbers just once, and it's yours. And what will it cost you? Only one dollar. Yep! This small fortune can be yours, for the tiny sum of $1.00. No, really! Here's how it works. You go to Las Vegas, into a hotel like The Stardust, and find your way to the Keno Lounge. Pick up a piece of paper with 80 numbers printed on it, mark 15 of them with a black crayon, and bring this paper to the lady at the counter, along with one American Greenback for company. Be sure to mark the RIGHT 15 numbers! You'll get a receipt in return, along with a ticket that shows the numbers you have picked. Now wait three or four minutes. 20 numbers will be drawn, ranging from 1 to 80. Each of these 20 numbers will be different. When all 20 numbers are drawn, go to the counter, present your ticket, and collect your $38,460.65 (the IRS is standing there waiting, and every payoff over $1,500 is immediately taxed!). What's the matter? You didn't win a dime? Well, that's not MY fault! I told you to pick the RIGHT numbers, not the crap you did. Sounds like you need practice picking the right numbers. Humm. I've got just the thing! It's an on-line game called KENO, and is designed to run from OPUS, but any BBS which can run external programs may run KENO. KENO handles it's own modem routines, baud rate determinations, carrier detect, and user scores. KENO may be played over the modem, or locally. KENO requires ANSI device driver to be installed. New users get $105.00 to start. Every time they play the game, they receive another $5.00. The system operator may set the KENO configuration file to allow a user to run the game each day from 1 to 32,727 times (I have mine set to 2 times a day). If the user runs out of money, she or he must wait until the next day to play again. The system operator may also tell KENO to exit back to the BBS when the user fails to enter a keystroke within X seconds (in other words, the SysOp may control user time-out) Mine is set to 120 seconds, or two minutes. Also, the system operator must tell KENO, via it's configuration file, if the BBS is OPUS or not. If it is OPUS, KENO will attempt to read the file LASTUSER.BBS for the user's name. If it is not OPUS, KENO will ask the user FidoNews 6-06 Page 4 6 Feb 1989 for her or his name. This allows most (if not all) BBSs to run KENO! A scorekeeper program reads the user's data file and produces a file with all the user's names and money on hand. This file was designed to be included in a bulletin or other BBS readable text file. Want a copy? File Request KENO.ARC from The Astro-Net (1:103/503.0) and you'll receive the program, sample configuration file, documentation, and the scorekeeper program. Best of all, it's FREE! ----------------------------------------------------------------- FidoNews 6-06 Page 5 6 Feb 1989 POWER POSTING SCHOOL Are you REALLY SATISFIED with the impact of your USENET postings? Do people quail and quiver at the thought of your followups? Is your name on the lips of net.fans on seven continents? Or perhaps you are NOT HAPPY with your posting style. Do people ignore you? Perhaps you are disappointed that no one ever posts followups to your messages, or that Mark Ethan Smith is more famous than you. Perhaps you are bored and like to get lots of mail. If so, take heart! Here is a new service for net.wimps! *** THE POWER POSTING SCHOOL *** Our world-flamous instructors will turn you into A BEAST OF A MAN. Topics will range from pure theory (Monty Python's Argument Clinic) to practice (assignments reading and posting in alt.flame, soc.singles and other hot-gas newsgroups). Seminars will focus on patented power-posting techniques: *** USE OF REPETITION AND CAPITALS. Suppose some clown makes a mistake of fact in his posting (e.g., <1309@nmtsun.nmt.edu>, by John Shipman): >> The FORTRAN 77 standard does not prohibit modification >> of the iteration variable inside the loop. Now, some WUSS might try to be polite, and reply I believe you have missed a critical paragraph in the standard (e.g., <162@amelia.nas.nasa.gov> and <4026@aw.sei.cmu>). You'll never get anywhere with this approach. People are so ready to hit the `n' key these days; you have to get their attention with flashy graphics or they'll ignore you altogether. The proper style is: (e.g., <1328@nmtsun.nmt.edu>): WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG Politeness is for wimps. If people have been ignoring you, it's not because you're a twit, but because you don't SCREAM LOUD ENOUGH (the Sam Kinison School). *** THE SMILEY FACE: YOUR SHIELD AGAINST A CRUEL WORLD. You can say anything you want, no matter how insulting, and get away with it! All you have to do is obey the proper net.etiquette. Example: This is not a flame, you scumbag, slimeball toad! Your parents were mutant intestinal parasites! Your face would make a pathologist puke! Vultures and maggots would disdain your carcass! Your romantic preference is for pets, livestock, organ meats, AIDS sufferers and rejects from Idi Amin's harem! :-) (No flames, please) FidoNews 6-06 Page 6 6 Feb 1989 *** THE GRANDSTAND FINISH. No one will respect you unless your .signature file runs for two screens. Special lectures will cover: -- Drawing unrecognizable pictures using only ASCII characters -- How to come up with at least 35 different return mail paths -- Sources for obscure, meaningless, flashy quotations *** CALL TODAY. Are you ORGANISM ENOUGH to be a net.god like Fai Lau? Interested applicants please reply by posting in alt.flame. Please don't reply by e-mail, as the instructors spend all their time reading the net and never get to the e-mail. -- John Shipman/Zoological Data Processing/Socorro, New Mexico USENET: ihnp4!lanl!unm-la!unmvax!nmtsun!john ``If you can't take it, get stronger.'' --Falline Danforth ----------------------------------------------------------------- FidoNews 6-06 Page 7 6 Feb 1989 SYSOP LIABILITY FOR PIRATED SOFTWARE AND OTHER ILLEGAL MATERIAL Jonathan D. Wallace, Esq. When sysops get together, electronically or in person, sooner or later the question of a sysop's responsibility for pirated software, stolen credit card codes or other illegal material comes up. Everyone has heard the story of Tom Tcimpidis, the California sysop who was criminally charged because a user left a telephone credit card code on his BBS, and other similar horror stories. This area of the law is in considerable turmoil. As yet, there have been no decided court cases involving sysops, though numerous civil suits and prosecutions have been resolved by settlements, dismissals or guilty pleas. The following, therefore, is not a statement of the law as it exists; it is rather a statement of the law as I believe it will evolve, based on common sense and precedents from other areas of law. A sysop should not be held liable for the presence of illegal material on his BBS unless he placed it there, encouraged its presence, or was negligent in allowing it to be placed there or to remain there. When does a sysop "encourage" the presence of illegal material? When the BBS is named "The Pirate Ship" and the sign-on message says "Over 80 megs online! Upload something I don't already have to get access to the Hi-Access Lair".This sysop might be sued or criminally charged as both a copyright infringer (for making and distributing illegal copies of software) and as a contributory infringer (for abetting and promoting the illegal activity). When is a sysop negligent in allowing illegal material to be placed or to remain on the BBS? Over the next few years, the courts will deal with the question of when a sysop has exercised "due care". Sysops can protect themselves today by imposing standards of care on themselves that the courts will later accept. A sysop who never reviews the messages or uploads on the BBS would certainly be negligent by any standard. I recommend that sysops attempt to review messages and new uploads on a daily basis; if this is burdensome, appoint some assistant sysops. Other measures that will help avoid accusations of negligence are directing uploads to a separate subdirectory, using utilities that detect dangerous programs such as Trojans and viruses, and placing bulletins and messages on the BBS strictly enjoining users against the upload of illegal materials. Most criminal cases will involve intentional behavior (the sysop placed the illegal material on the BBS or encouraged users to upload it), while civil lawsuits might involve either intentional or negligent behavior. If, despite your best efforts, you ever do find yourself embroiled in a legal proceeding, evidence that you run a clean board and that you did your best to prevent uploads of illegal FidoNews 6-06 Page 8 6 Feb 1989 material should go a long way in your favor. --- Jonathan D. Wallace, Esq. is an attorney specializing in computer-related legal matters in New York City, the sysop of the LLM BBS (107/801), and author with Rees Morrison of The Sysop's Legal Manual. He can also be reached (voice line) at (212) 766-3785. ----------------------------------------------------------------- FidoNews 6-06 Page 9 6 Feb 1989 Jack Decker Fidonet 1:154/8 LCRnet 77:1011/8 NetWork 8:70/8 Here's a little utility program that's free to anyone who wants it... these are (mostly) excerpts from the documentation for..... PAKIT Version 1.02 - a semi-intelligent ARCA to PAK Converter for use with oMMM Version 1.07 or higher. No warranty expressed or implied - use at your own risk! The purpose of this program is to allow you to create smaller outgoing mail archives (*.mo? files) for systems that can accept them, by using NoGate Consulting's PAK File Compression Utility (Version 1.0 or higher) with oMMM version 1.07 or higher (it will probably work with earlier versions as well, but you should upgrade anyway!). Those who use oMMM may be aware that oMMM calls ARCA for file compression purposes. This program intercepts the call to ARCA, translates it to a format that PAK can understand, and then hands it over to PAK. Starting with version 1.01 of PAKIT, you may also optionally specify that PKWARE's PKARC or PKPAK program is to be called when creating "Crunched" or "Squashed" mail archives. While this program is specifically designed for use with oMMM, it MAY also work with other packers that call ARCA using the "/D" parameter at the end of the invocation line. If you use this program and PAK without a PAKIT.CTL file, the resulting mail archive files should be no different than if you had just used ARCA only (obviously, there's no real advantage in doing that, but you can do it if you want to). The major advantage in using this program is that you can use a control file called PAKIT.CTL, which will allow you to specify which of PAK's three possible compression levels will be used when packing mail to any given node. Thus, if you KNOW that a particular node is using PKWARE's PKXARC (or PKUNPAK) program to de-archive mail packets, you can create mail packets using "Squashing", which will make smaller packets and possibly save you some transmission time. If you regularly communicate with a node that uses PAK to unpack mail, you can create mail bundles using "Crushing" and save even more disk space and transmission time. These options should only be used with nodes with which you communicate regularly, and know what program is being used to uncompress mail packets. The current version of PAKIT renames individual .PKT files prior to placing them in the mail archive, in order to assure that older files are always placed before newer ones in the archive. This is done to overcome a difference in operation between ARCA and PKARC/PKPAK/PAK10. ARCA always added packets to the END of an existing archive, but the newer programs do us the favor(?) of inserting new files into an existing archive in alphabetical order. oMMM creates packets using a naming sequence that restarts every day, thus packets created just after midnight would be stored in the archive BEFORE packets FidoNews 6-06 Page 10 6 Feb 1989 created on the previous day (when one of the newer archivers is used). The result is that replies to messages are sometimes stored prior to the original messages when the destination system unpacks the mail! PAKIT attempts to overcome this problem by renaming the packets using a naming sequence that restarts at the beginning of every year, rather than every day. Thus, it is only possible to create out-of-order mail packets at the beginning of January. The packet names used contain only the hexadecimal digits 0-9 and A-F, and are always eight characters long (not counting the .PKT extension). As far as I can determine, this will not cause any problem for any existing mail unpacker, but please let me know if you discover otherwise. Version 1.02 of PAKIT has just been released, and is compatible with the new release of oMMM (1.30). Older versions of PAKIT will most likely not work properly with the new version of oMMM. The most recent copy of PAKIT should be file requestable from Fidonet node 1:154/7 (aka LCRnet node 77:1011/7 or NetWork node 8:70/7), under the filename PAKIT*.ARC. This is a mail-only node located in Milwaukee, and is PC Pursuitable. If you are located in a PC Pursuitable city and for some reason can't make a file request work, send me a message and I'll try file attaching it to you. By the way, there's no copyright notice or request for payment (or anything else) anywhere in PAKIT. It's a gift to anyone who wants it, pure and simple! If you find an archiving program that creates archives that are even smaller than "Crushed" files (particularly if it's truly public domain, or at least free to non-commercial users), please send a copy of the program to me and I will at least consider making a version of this program that will use it. Also, if the Fidonet (or any "other" net) nodelist is ever modified to include a "compression level" flag for mail archives, I will consider rewriting this program to look directly to the nodelist for compression level information. Jack Decker (1:154/8, 77:1011/8, 8:70/8 <== Don't file request PAKIT from these addresses, this is a private node!) ----------------------------------------------------------------- FidoNews 6-06 Page 11 6 Feb 1989 Welcome to: THE SOCIETY FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF COMPUTER COMMUNICATIONS By: Al Arango, 1:107/523, 7:520/523 As many of you know, there is a great misconception about the public bulletin board community. Most people have gotten a very nasty impression of computer telecommunicators, due to the bad press that we receive. It seems that only the bad points of our community are reported. Unless a person is directly involved with BBS'ing, they have no idea of the good points of public access telecommunications. Well, several NY-NJ area System Operators (SYSOPS) have joined together to try and combat this bad press and provide high ethical standards. Together, we have formed the Society for the Advancement of Computer Communications. The purposes of S.A.C.C. are to: Promote the common interests of the members; Promote high ethical standards among sysops and users of bulletin board systems; Encourage high standards of competence and conduct, promoting professionalism among its members through educational programs and discussion of common business, legal and technical problems; Increase awareness among the general public, and the governmental and business communities, Of the nature of a sysop's role and the responsibilities of sysops to their users and to the general public; Provide various services and benefits to members. Our effort is to educate the public about the BBS community and to try to prevent any more improper ideas from forming in the minds of the media and the general public. We will attempt to provide many different members of the media with information about BBS's, and try to inform them of the good points of telecommunications. If we can provide this good information and try to stop any illicit activities on BBS systems, then we will succeed in improving the entire electronic community. Another reason for forming S.A.C.C. is this : there are certain types of people that get no greater joy than 'breaking the rules' of a BBS system. Until now, a person such as this would raise havoc on one system, and then simply move on to another system to continue his mischief. A Sysop had no recourse other than to ban the user from his system. That is going to change. Should a user intentionally cause problems on a S.A.C.C. Member Board (whether they use profane language, upload pirated software, or break any local BBS rules), that user will be reported to all members of S.A.C.C. so that action can be taken against said FidoNews 6-06 Page 12 6 Feb 1989 user on as many systems as possible. We feel that this will keep many people from causing problems on BBS systems, and this will once again improve the electronic community. An added benefit for the users of BBS systems is this: a Sysop's forum such as S.A.C.C. can serve as a place to discuss improvements among ALL BBS systems in the area. S.A.C.C. can serve as a 'central nervous system' for all computer users. A 'global users group', if you will. With an organization such as S.A.C.C., it will be easier to coordinate inter-BBS activities such as gatherings or any other idea that a Sysop or a user comes up with. Any legitimate bulletin board system is may join S.A.C.C. Membership is open to any individual or organization that runs a networked or potentially networked BBS or EMAIL system which in whole or in part is run for the public good or for the benefit of the other members. Membership is available regardless of race, creed, sex, national origin, or physical disability. We wish to provide our services to all Sysops and wish to pass our benefits on to ALL of the users of BBS systems. Society for the Advancement of Computer Communications MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION FOR MEMBERSHIP-PLEASE FILL OUT THIS FORM & RETURN TO: SACC C/O AL ARANGO 429 CLIFTON AVENUE CLIFTON, NJ 07011 LEGAL NAME______________________________________________________ ADDRESS_________________________________________________________ CITY____________________________STATE____________ZIP____________ NAME AS APPEARS IN A NODELIST (IF APPLICABLE), AND NAME OF NODELIST/NETWORK: ______________________________________________ IF NETWORK COMPATIBLE, NET/NODE #s______________________________ BBS PHONE#_______________________ VOICE PHONE#__________________ BBS SOFTWARE______________________________VERSION_______________ MAILER PACKAGE____________________________VERSION_______________ ----------------------------------------------------------------- FidoNews 6-06 Page 13 6 Feb 1989 SYSOP SUES USER WHO ALLEGEDLY UPLOADED TROJAN PROGRAM by Jonathan D. Wallace, Esq. 107/801 Bill Christison, sysop of a bulletin board system called the Santa Fe Message, filed suit in August in New Mexico federal court against a user he believed had uploaded a trojan horse program to his BBS. The program, which purported to compile statistics on BBS usage, erased the operating system from Christison's hard disk and damaged the file allocation table when he ran it. With the aid of the telephone company, Christison was able to identify the user (who had called his BBS under a pseudonym as Michael Dagg, also of New Mexico.) Christison's law suit is the second case involving bulletin board systems to have been brought under the Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986 (ECPA). Under the ECPA, it is a federal crime to access stored electronic communications without authorization and to alter, obtain or prevent access to such communications. Penalties include imprisonment of up to one year and fines up to $250,000.00. The statute also provides for private civil suits such as Christison's. As of October 7th, Dagg had not yet hired an attorney or responded to the complaint, according to Christison's attorney, Ann Yalman. The ECPA potentially provides a potent tool for sysops who wish to defend themselves against malicious users. It is a two-edged sword, however: the first case brought under the ECPA involving bulletin board systems was Thompson v. Predaina, in which a user sued a sysop who allegedly made private files public without permission. --- Jonathan D. Wallace, Esq., an attorney in private practice in New York City, is editor of The Computer Law Letter, a bimonthly newsletter, and author of SYSLAW: The Sysop's Legal Manual. He can be reached at (212) 766-3785 or at Fido 107/801. ----------------------------------------------------------------- FidoNews 6-06 Page 14 6 Feb 1989 The SYSLAW Conference There is a new conference area that's been formed in which several SACC members participate. This is the SYSLAW conference, tag SYSLAW. It is a SYSOP ONLY conference, although users may READ it at the sysop's discretion. This conference is moderated and coordinated by Phil Buonomo, reachable at Alliance 7:520/583, FIDOnet 1:107/583, Phoenix net 807/1, or just plain 201-935-1485. There are no FLAMES or Advertisements allowed in this echo. Messages must be kept to the topic of the legal responsibilities and liabilities of sysops and their users. Failure to do so will result in ONE Netmail warning, and thereafter the offending system's links WILL be cut. Participating in this echo are Jonathan Wallace, author of "SYSLAW: The Sysop's Legal Manual", and Thomas Marshall, Esq. of tmmnet ltd. Both gentlemen are prominent attorneys, well versed in today's computer technology. This conference is distributed using the GROUPMAIL method. You MUST use GROUP.EXE to process this conference. If you do not have this software, you may File REQuest a copy of GROUP204.ARC from my system (named above). Anyone distributing this conference via echomail will have their links cut IMMEDIATELY. This conference may NOT be carried by the "backbone". Links MUST be approved by the conference moderator. ----------------------------------------------------------------- FidoNews 6-06 Page 15 6 Feb 1989 ================================================================= COLUMNS ================================================================= Ken McVay, SysOp The Old Frog's Almanac (153/20) Nanaimo, British Columbia In my first column, I discussed the origins of The Almanac, and provided a representative list of the topical files available. This week, I'll show you how it's all accomplished. (Anyone wishing to set such a system up is welcome to bark-request ALMANAC.PAK and EGREP100.ARC, 24-hours a day, via HST) Briefly, here's how it all works from my SEAdog batch file: First, since Murphy rules supreme, I set it up so I could turn the whole extraction system off, just in case I was going to be away for more than a day or two, by adding "SET ALMANAC=ON" at the top of the batch file. The extraction routines are an integral part of my daily INBOUND routine, and are run after ConfMail's IMPORT and RENUM functions are completed. :INBOUND if %ALMANAC% == OFF goto CLEANUP First, I check each message directory for the existence of 100.MSG, just to make sure Sirius won't clobber all the mail. If 100.MSG is there, the appropriate Sirius script is executed for that message area. E: cd\OPUS if EXIST G:\M22\100.msg Sirius HDCONF .... .... Here's a portion of the file HDCONF.SIR: ;------------------------HDCONF.SIR (Sirius V0.50)-------------- ; ; This script scans the HDCONF area and extracts specific ; topical messages as defined by "(Define ('T' ..." line. ; ; First, it goes to the LOW message, then TAGS it so we ; can loop back to it for subsequent routines ; (View (Xpertise (High)) View (Continuous) Area (Known as ('HDCONF')) ;-------------Begin MINISCRIBE Extractions View (Until ('SEEN-BY: ')) Low Tag FidoNews 6-06 Page 16 6 Feb 1989 Out ('Running MINISCRIBE 3650 Search...') Group (Define ('T' @Subject CO '3650')) 1 Next ;-Stop at Message #99 ! ! (While (@Msg# LE 99)) ;-Sirius appends the extension TXT, so no need to designate it ;-here... Move (Flat file ('F:\WORK\M3650' 'y')) Next ! (End) Group (Define ('A' )) Back ; Now we return to the LOW message, mark it, and begin again: Low Tag View (Until ('SEEN-BY: ')) Out ('Running MINISCRIBE 6128 Search...') Group (Define ('T' @Subject CO '3650')) 1 Next ! (While (@Msg# LE 99)) Move (Flat file ('F:\WORK\M6128' 'y')) Next ! (End) Group (Define ('A' )) Back ;-The script loops through HDCONF about 30 times before it ;-runs out of subjects to look for, then concludes with ;-extracting ALL the remaining messages between 2 and 25 and ;-placing them in the generic HD flat file ; View (Until ('SEEN-BY: ')) 1 Next ! (While (@Msg# LE 25)) Move (Flat file ('f:\work\HD' 'y')) Next ! (End) ; Now we exist to DOS so SEAdog can pick up where ; it left off Quit (BBS)) ;--------------------End HDCONF.SIR (Sirius V0.50)-------------- After running through all the required Sirius scripts, we are left with a pile of *.TXT "flat files" in my working directory - now it's time for EGREP to clean up the mess and append the day's updates to the Almanac text files: F: cd\WORK SET E=EGREP -V :3AVG if NOT EXIST 3AVG.TXT goto 3BAS %E% "^SEE ALSO " 3AVG.TXT | %E% "^--- " | %E% "^--\[SEEN-BY: \]" >tmp %E% "^.#[0-9]*" tmp | %E% "AREA:" >tmp1 %E% "^.?$" tmp1 >> \f1\3AVG0189.MSG del 3AVG.TXT :EREPCLN del TM*.* SET E= cd\F1 set P=PAK U : "HDCONF" Extracts %P% F:\F5\36500189 36500189.MSG %P% F:\F5\61280189 61280189.MSG set P= I use the ancient but still pristine FidoUtil to log all of this activity, so I can keep track of how much system time is required. At the present time, running on an Everex Step 286/16 and MiniScribe 6128/Perstor 180, it takes about 12 minutes from beginning to end. The whole process raises absolute hob with the drives, and I don't recommend it if you are running an XT :-) - Running VOPT is a must after everything else is completed! It still takes a long time to skim through message areas to FidoNews 6-06 Page 18 6 Feb 1989 clobber the floobydust, one-liners, etc., but I have received help from several users who, via Opus barricaded areas, edit specific areas and do some of the work for me. In time, I hope to have enough editors on the job to cover all the areas available so I won't have to do it. The files created in this manner can be a rich source of technical and social data, and can cover virtually any area and any subject available on your system. The "proof of the puddin' " in my case is clear - users who used to ignore the Almanac topical extracts now download them regularly, and I receive a lot of positive comments and requests for more specific topicals from areas which aren't extracted yet. I hope to enlist additional help from sysops receiving conferences which are unavailable to me, and perhaps establish an "Almanac Network" which will exchange topicals on a regular basis. I would recommend using floppies to do this, however, as the files quickly eat up drive space, and would be far too expensive to swap via modem, high speed or not. My system presently has over 12 megs of extracts available, and I would be happy to send them to anyone who sends me disks containing other files in exchange, particularly business-oriented utilities and applications. Anyone wishing my address is invited to contact me netmail, or call me voice at 604-758-4137. ----------------------------------------------------------------- FidoNews 6-06 Page 19 6 Feb 1989 ================================================================= LETTERS TO THE EDITOR ================================================================= From: MARK BORNSTEIN Y Subj: 2 CENTS Saw your words in Fido news and wanted to put in my 2 cents worth. One would get the feeling from reading your words that you are in the pay of sea and want all to do some good old fashion 'book burning.' Now I don't much care for politics nor politicians, for I hold with Mencken that "the only difference between a good politician and a bad one is that the good one KNOWS just how much to steal!" Now I know very little about the controversy , nor PC-World, nor do I care to. However, it seems to me that you are guilty of the same thing that you accuse Judy Getts of. You do an injustice both to yourself and to the prestige of Fidonews by your words. If anything your actions will probably have the reverse effect you so ardently desire. i.e. From the few I have spoken to about this, it would appear that you have evoked no small measure of sympathy for PK. It would appear that the average user, rightly or wrongly, does not care about the politics of this issue. They seem to want, as do I, rightly or wrongly, the fastest and best compress utility of all. In the final analysis neither your words or mine will determine the outcome. Perhaps a more appropriate medium for your message would be the FLAME ECHO. It is wonderful for letting off steam and would not appear as if you were using your position to advance goals seen as personal rather than for the good of the network. I will not mind at all if this is printed in the next issue of Fidonews as a letter to the editor. In fact please do. I enjoy seeing my name in print. ...mark Sysop of Island Logistics, Marblehead, Mass 617-631-3304 ---------------------------------------- Mark, You seem to have to have one misconception about FidoNews, that I write everything that's printed. FidoNews is made up of article submissions from the people in FidoNet, both sysops and users. The article in question was sent in by one of the sysops in Net 107, I myself am in Net 157. As far as the SEA vs. PKWare lawsuit, there have been quite a few articles on this subject printed in FidoNews. However, if you have little interest in it or knowledge about it and don't want to learn enough to make your own EDUCATED decisions on it... Well then I feel sorry for you. Apathy is not an answer. Apathy is one of the causes of much of FidoNet's problems these days. Do you vote for the candidate for whom you've seen the most promotional material? Do you buy a product because it has the nicest ads on TV? I hope not, but this is what you're telling me. It is this same sort of attitude that has sysops joining FidoNet just for echomail. These individuals have never read a policy document and FidoNews 6-06 Page 20 6 Feb 1989 are only in it for a free lunch (the free lunch being free echomail). Their attitude is one of "let me do everything my way or else I'm going to scream and pout, I don't care what everyone else is doing or why, I just know I'm going to keep doing things my way." This isn't the principles that made FidoNet strong, it is one that seeks to destroy something special. FidoNet was put together by people who learned and made educated decisions together. I once received a message from a sysop who was wondering what all these FNEWS*.ARC files were that he was receiving every week and did he need a special program to use them. While this is an extreme, it shows that in some ways FidoNet has grown to quickly. As far as what the user's want. I know that right and wrong make a difference to me. While it may not bother some people, I still have to look at myself every morning in the mirror. Right and wrong are important. While many may not be happy with what the courts have decided, all of us have to live with their decision. If we don't agree, then their are established methods of changing those rulings. I've heard a lot on this issue, but I don't claim to have all the facts. I understand that they are available to anyone who wants them by contacting the state of Wisconsin's judicial system. Supposedly there are several nice thick books of the court proceedings, including all the depositions. I understand obtaining a copy isn't cheap, but then truth (and anything worth having) isn't always cheap or free (in fact, those things worth having are almost never cheap or free). Personally, I would have preferred that events hadn't happened as they did. However, with all the information I've seen and heard on the issue (and while it's far from complete, it quite a bit) I have to support SEA. I don't care for the way things went (having to go to court and all), but personally I will stand behind Thom. If you feel that PKWare and Phil Katz have gotten the short end of it, please write an article for FidoNews giving the facts on why. Just please try and keep it factual. Also, try to keep away from confusing the issue with the relative speed of the products. That wasn't the issue. The real issue was and still is "Did SEA have a right to bring PKWare to court." Regardless of which product who happen to like, if Phil was wrong (and I'm not saying he was) then you've got to accept it. Please note that I am not judging either of these two parties. Even if I had all the facts, I'm not sure if I could judge these fine people. I know that from what I've heard, I do have to support SEA. I have to disagree with you on either of our words making a difference. I firmly believe that one man (or woman) CAN make a difference. Where would we be today without Tom Jennings? Would something like FidoNet ever have developed? Probably not as quickly, and possibly never. How about Jeff Rush? FidoNet was around for several years before he came up with using netmail to share a message base. Outside of the FidoNet community, where FidoNews 6-06 Page 21 6 Feb 1989 would the world be today without a John F. Kennedy ("Ask not what your country can do for you, but what can you do for your country"), a Douglas MacArthur (no favorite quotes), a Ronald Reagan ("We the people give government these rights" I first heard this from him when he stopped at Bowling Green State University in Ohio during the '84 campaign in response to a question asked him by my roommate), and the list goes on. History is filled with examples of how one person did make a difference. A line out of one of my favorite movies is "Words can be wonderful" (2 months of having FidoNews delivered to a node of your choice within the US and Canada to the first person who can name the movie and the character who said it). Anyway, this has gone on far longer than I anticipated. FidoNews prints almost anything it receives that matches specs. One person doesn't control it or write everything that appears in it. As I have often said "FidoNews is YOUR newsletter." The recent request on how you'd like to see FidoNews changed by Rick Siegel, chairman of the IFNA Publications Committee shows that the majority still want it to be run as it has for the past five years and baring very unusual circumstances, that's the way it going to stay. If FidoNet wants changes, the can inform both Rick and their IFNA rep. and if the majority decides on a change, it will be done. Until then, we get it...we print it. Dale Lovell FidoNews Editor ---------------------------------------- Late follow-up to Mark's initial letter It appears on closer reading that you may not have been the author of the message concerning sea/PK Getts et al. If so I apologize for contributing the authorship to you. However, as editor of Fidonews, the responsibility for its being included still remains yours. One of the things about this article is that there is no clear indication of just who it was that entered the message. This becomes more clear after re-reading its contents. Because of the stylistic setting of page numbers it is difficult to determine if it is editorial comment or written by the one (Zachary I think) who wrote the article following. At any rate, if you did not write it I again apologize profusely and ask that if you do print my earlier message, that you please include this apology with it. Thanx. ...mark ---------------------------------------- It is never hard to tell what section you're reading in FidoNews. The editorials start with a header marking them as editorials. The articles, by a divider bar saying articles. I agree that I am responsible for it being printed. To date, I have never had to censor anything for FidoNews. Everything that's come in matching specs has been printed with no delay. While TJ's article of a few months back came close to being censored because of the language, I let it go out because I felt the information on California FidoNews 6-06 Page 22 6 Feb 1989 propositions was very important and that if nothing else everyone in FidoNet owes him a big thank you for starting everything in the first place. Only the combination of those two items let that article be printed. As far as authorship, I've always included my name at the bottom of anything I've had printed in FidoNews. Usually with several addresses as well (FidoNet, Usenet, US Mail). The problem with authorship on submissions is that by the time I get it here, it too late to determine who wrote it. All I've got is a log entry indicating calls received. What happens if an article doesn't match the specs given in several editorials last year and the ARTSPEC.DOC file mentioned at the top of every edition? It tends to sit around until I have a slow week. Then I fix several of them so that MakeNews will accept them. Easiest solution to this is to make sure your article matches specs, not hope that I'll fix any problems. Yes, I will eventually fix the errors but it may sit around here for a long time. Here's a brief summary of those specs for those who might be interested. Left justify your text, MakeNews puts in the leading spaces you see on every line. Don't go beyond 65 characters per line. Keep everything within the ASCII characters space and tilde (decimal 32 through decimal 127). The file extension determines where it goes. Use ART for an article, COL for a column or series, or LET for a letter to the editor (there are more but I'm summarizing here). If the first line starts with an asterix ("*"), then that line is printed in the table of contents and does not appear in the text of the article. Proof read your own article as a lot of people are going to be reading it. If you send it in with misspellings and poor grammar, I assume that's how you want it. FidoNews is mostly an automated process, ideally if I died tomorrow everything would still get out until a new editor was found. FidoNet is a very diverse group, FidoNews allows for something to interest everyone. Dale Lovell FidoNews Editor FidoNet 1:1/1, 1:157/504, 1:157/540 UseNet ..!ncoast!lovell ----------------------------------------------------------------- FidoNews 6-06 Page 23 6 Feb 1989 ================================================================= WANTED ================================================================= ATTENTION AMATEUR RADIO OPERATORS: Looking for schematics, manuals for the following 6 meter transceivers: Lafayette HE 45-a Hallicrafters SR46A Any help appreciated, and happy to reimburse for photocopying and/or shipping expense. Also would like to locate used, working simplex autopatch equipment. If you can help, please send Fidonet mail to me at 379/6. __ _ _ / ) // // /--< o // // 73, de /___/_<_