Volume 8, Number 11 18 March 1991 +---------------------------------------------------------------+ | _ | | / \ | | /|oo \ | | - FidoNews - (_| /_) | | _`@/_ \ _ | | FidoNet (r) | | \ \\ | | International BBS Network | (*) | \ )) | | Newsletter ______ |__U__| / \// | | / FIDO \ _//|| _\ / | | (________) (_/(_|(____/ | | (jm) | +---------------------------------------------------------------+ Editor in Chief: Vince Perriello Editors Emeritii: Thom Henderson, Dale Lovell Chief Procrastinator Emeritus: Tom Jennings Copyright 1991, Fido Software. All rights reserved. Duplication and/or distribution permitted for noncommercial purposes only. For use in other circumstances, please contact Fido Software. FidoNews is published weekly by and for the Members of the FidoNet (r) International Amateur Electronic Mail System. It is a compilation of individual articles contributed by their authors or authorized agents of the authors. The contribution of articles to this compilation does not diminish the rights of the authors. 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 a Continuous Mail system, available for network mail 24 hours a day. Fido and FidoNet are registered trademarks of Tom Jennings of Fido Software, Box 77731, San Francisco CA 94107, USA and are used with permission. Opinions expressed in FidoNews articles are those of the authors and are not necessarily those of the Editor or of Fido Software. Most articles are unsolicited. Our policy is to publish every responsible submission received. Table of Contents 1. EDITORIAL ................................................ 1 Sometimes EVERYTHING gets under your skin ................ 1 2. ARTICLES ................................................. 2 Indianapolis is now PC-Pursuitable ....................... 2 The so called WorldPol, a Disclaimer ..................... 3 Why Tony Instead of Amnon for Z1EC ....................... 4 WorldPol - World Saviour? ................................ 6 A PointOp's View on WorldPol ............................. 8 3. LATEST VERSIONS .......................................... 10 Latest Software Versions ................................. 10 4. NOTICES .................................................. 15 And more! FidoNews 8-11 Page 1 18 Mar 1991 ================================================================= EDITORIAL ================================================================= You know what it's like. You reach such a level of annoyance at certain things that you don't even want to talk about them. But everytime you think about them, you start to get really upset. Your blood pressure goes up. You yell at your wife. You get rude with your mother. For me this week, it's Microsoft C 6.00A, Worldpol and the Z1EC election, in no particular order. I expect to recover from my problem with the C compiler. Dunno if the other two will be as easy. I still think the best way to handle whatever it is that Pablo has on his mind is to split FidoNet into independent domains. I still think that the most foolish way to deal with it is this Worldpol thing. It ruins a lot of what made FidoNet useful in a failed attempt to fix a few regional problems. I'm glad my name isn't on it. As for the Z1EC elections -- maybe we are better off without a ZEC if this is what we have to go through to get one. In retrospect, it appears to me that the echomail got through just fine with a bitbucket as a ZEC. Why bother? Vote "NO." Yuch. It smells around here. I'll talk to you later. ----------------------------------------------------------------- FidoNews 8-11 Page 2 18 Mar 1991 ================================================================= ARTICLES ================================================================= Dave Appel, 1:231/30 INDIANAPOLIS IS NOW PC-PURSUITABLE After years of promises, Telenet's (SprintNet's) PC-Pursuit service, also known as PCP, has finally installed outdials in Indianapolis. The official announcement from Telenet is still forthcoming, but the outdials are in place. Indy's semi-official BBS list comes from the IUPUI BBoard, and is maintained by sysop Don Smith. This file can be requested from most of our Fido nodes as file INDY0301.ZIP. The latest version contains 96 local boards. However, taking all the multi-line boards into account, we have over 150 BBS lines! Some of the multi-line boards of note are: PBS-BBS (Public Brand Software) 856-2087, noted for its shareware; Data Central 543-2007, files and GIFs; User's Choice 894-1378, GIFs; and L.C. Midwest 924-2219, a dating/adult board. Those are pay boards. Indy is also Telelink/Starlink node 9349. Some people feel that Starlink is a better service than PC-Pursuit. Assuming that the outdial is in the same exchange as PCP's indial, the following exchanges should be accessible according to Indiana Bell's white pages. I include this list for your convenience because PCP has not yet published an official XCH list. Please excuse any typos or errors. These exchanges include Indianapolis proper, Carmel, Zionsville, Noblesville, Speedway, Beech Grove, Greenwood, Plainfield, Brownsburg, Fishers, Greenfield, Mooresville, and New Palestine. Outdial Site: D/ININD 317 222 226 230 231 232 233 235 236 237 238 239 240 241 242 317 243 244 247 248 251 252 253 254 255 256 257 259 261 262 317 263 264 265 266 267 269 271 272 273 274 276 277 278 283 317 290 291 293 297 298 299 321 322 326 328 335 351 352 353 317 355 356 357 359 422 424 425 431 432 439 441 442 443 445 317 461 462 464 465 466 467 469 470 471 485 486 488 535 539 317 541 542 543 545 546 547 549 556 571 573 574 575 576 577 317 578 579 580 630 631 632 633 634 635 636 637 638 639 681 317 684 685 686 687 691 694 736 738 745 769 773 776 780 781 317 782 783 784 786 787 788 823 831 835 838 839 841 842 843 317 844 845 846 848 849 852 856 861 862 867 870 871 872 873 317 875 876 877 878 879 881 882 885 887 888 889 891 892 894 317 895 896 897 898 899 920 921 923 924 925 926 927 928 929 317 976 994 ----------------------------------------------------------------- FidoNews 8-11 Page 3 18 Mar 1991 Bill Bolton 3:711/403 The so called WorldPol, a Dislaimer I would like to make it clear to everyone that the fact that my name appears in the "Credits" section of the so called "WordlPol" should not be interpreted as support on my part for the document, in part or in whole. I do not support the document. Fidonet Zones are able under Fidonet POLICY4 to request a policy variation by the IC to suit any local conditions which may effect the application of any aspect of Fidonet POLICY4. The IC has never received a request from any Zone for variation of POLICY4 for any reason. Bill Bolton Zone 3 Co-ordinator ----------------------------------------------------------------- FidoNews 8-11 Page 4 18 Mar 1991 Why Tony Instead of Amnon for Zone 1 Echomail Coordinator Bob Germer 1:266/21 In the current runoff election for Zone 1 Echomail Coordinator, we have two very experienced, capable, dedicated individuals. Were these the only three qualifications for the job, there would be no valid way to choose between them. Certainly those three traits are critical for the incumbent in the position. However, I think there are two more traits which also must be considered carefully when making the choice. These two traits are consistancy and maturity. When these two traits are added to the balance, the scales tip heavily in one direction in my opinion. I have watched the actions and positions of Tony and Amnon for the nearly five years I have been active in Fidonet. My opinions are based on my interpretation of their actions as an observer since I have never interacted directly with either gentleman. Consistancy is important since none of us are fortune tellers and we can only make a choice based upon past history. While this is far from a perfect guide as our experiences with United States Presidents past show, it's all we really have. Tony has often taken a position, sometimes one in direct oppo- sition to the thinking of much of Fidonet. So has Amnon for that matter. However, Tony has never deviated from his position even while implementing policies, practices, etc. which his duties required despite his own opposition. Amnon, on the other hand, has changed his position more than once for reasons known only to himself and he has refused to follow Policy. Maturity is necessary since the Z1EC must deal with many differ- ent types of problems and people. Neither qualifies as a Ralph Bunche to be sure, but Tony has exhibited more maturity than Amnon. When Tony disagrees, he campaigns, works, etc. to get Fidonet to change all the while doing things the accepted way. Amnon, on the other hand, has done it his way and let the chips fall where they may. One particular "battle" shows the shortcomings of Amnon vis-a-vis Tony in maturity and consistancy. Let me elaborate. Those of us who were members of Fidonet in 1987, 1988, 1989 or thereabouts can remember the refusal of Amnon to conform to the rules of moving echomail, his flat out challenges to one and all to stop him from doing things his way, his daring of the *C structure to excommunicate him, his promise to circumvent any controls the net as a whole imposed. He flamed one and all in at least two forums if they dared to suggest that his was way not the right way or the only way. FidoNews 8-11 Page 5 18 Mar 1991 I'm not saying that he was right or wrong in his position, but I am saying that he didn't work within Fidonet but attacked it in a very vocal and nasty way. Revolution rather than constitution- al change appeared to be his aim. Then suddenly, he "saw the light". Was it a "conversion" or was it the spoiled child who saw himself as a clear loser and came crawling back? Only Amnon can say for sure. The result of this change attempt to move back into the Fidonet power structure was a near revolt in his region, calls for his recall, challenges to elections, etc. Many long-time sysops in his region of the US left Fidonet or joined alternate newtworks. Amnon's actions were in many ways the catalyst for the formation of Eggnet. So, for this old grey head, the choice has to be Tony Davis. I hope the majority of the voters agree with me. ----------------------------------------------------------------- FidoNews 8-11 Page 6 18 Mar 1991 WorldPol - Is it all it's cracked up to be? I've been hearing a lot about WorldPol. About how it's the best thing since canned beer. About how wonderfully gee whiz democratically-elected and ultimately fantastic it is. It's so great, don't even bother to read it, just get your NC to vote for it. Fight-O-Net politics aside, I decided to have a closer squizz at the thing. Well, I didn't have much choice, it got posted into ZONE3_SYSOP when the vote was announced. Although I had read it before, I figured I'd really give it the once over. I'm glad I did. I probably should have offered these comments while it was being formulated, but I guess it's better now than not at all. First, much of the language used in WorldPol is vague. Too vague. Sure, Policy4 is vague too, but if we're going to have a replacement why not make it a little easier to understand and read? Let me give one example: democratic elections by "western standards". What the hell is a western standard of democracy? Some "western" countries aren't very democratic at all. Of those which are loosely labelled "democratic" there's a HUGE difference between their respective methodologies for elections. And of course there are those of us who might dispute just how "democratic" the "West" really is anyway! Also, who's to say that this magical panacea called "western democracy" is the ideal method of running this network anyway? (Well? there's a possibility it might not be!) So, the proponents say that each Zone/Region/Net can set it's own rules. What about if they directly contradict WorlPol, and/or each other? Which takes precedence? Shouldn't it be global Policy, not local policy? It just HAS to be MORE SPECIFIC about election guidelines before it's useful. While I'm carping about elections, I'll also carp about _who_ gets to vote. WorldPol aims to give the "grunt sysop" emancipation. This is a very laudable idea and shuld be supported BUT not in the absence of a comprehensive system of voter division. Co-ordinating a vote of potentially 6000 people plus is a _major_ vote returning effort. There's no attempt to enforce electoral sub-division so potentially the Zone Co-ordinator Council may have to count all those votes themselves. Now, onto what I think is the killing blow (for me) for WorlPol. The loss of geographic Net division. Up until now, FidoNet has divided Nets by geography and by geography alone. This is ideal - it keeps PERSONAL and POLITICAL matters OUT of choosing what net you belong to. As long as you weren't excessively annoying or annoyed and you complied with the few technical standards, you were entitled to a node number. But now the cat's out of the bag. FidoNews 8-11 Page 7 18 Mar 1991 You see, POLICY4 already allows you to get echomail from ANYWHERE you want. All you _have_ to use your net structure for is NETMAIL, nodediffs, Fidonews. That's that. Also this method (of net choosing) f**ks with election demographics. Say the local region's policy is that each net votes and the net co-ordinator is bound to vote for the majority view. This gives large, popular, nets an electoral disadvantage. There's infinite variations on this scenario. IMHO the loss of geographic nets will cause too much damage to the fabric of FidoNet. So there you have it. A dissenting grunt sysop! The aims of WorldPol are commendable but it's implementation is NOT. It's just too VAGUE. We could end up with a much WORSE situation than the current one. That's why I'm going to ask my NC to vote AGAINST WorldPol. What you do is up to you, but whatever you do, READ it and think CAREFULLY, please, for all our sakes. Scot Art, System-X 3:712/634 ----------------------------------------------------------------- FidoNews 8-11 Page 8 18 Mar 1991 Aaron Goldblatt 1:130/20.1102 FidoNet 20:491/223.0 MailNet A PointOp's View on WorldPol One of the problems with the way FidoNet works is its treatment of point systems. Point systems provide a quick, efficient way for users to interface with FidoNet instead of fighting through a long line of human callers, online time limits, and the lure of other areas of the BBS (games, files, etc.). Occasionally a user has to call twice (or more!) to read all the message s/he wants. Point systems eliminate this need, thereby serving a useful place in FidoNet. POLICY4, in my view, has some serious flaws, but I won't point most of them out here. WorldPol fixes many of these problems but fails to address my major problem. Under POLICY4 point operators have zero rights with regard to the operation of FidoNet. They can not vote, they are not privy to sysop-only echomail confrences, they have no say in anything. WorldPol is a good document, but in this area it too fails. What the authors of WorldPol have failed to note, in my opinion, the signifigant contribution to the growth of FidoNet that pointops have provided. I hear of many people writing new utilities in response to a technical glitch, to provide some new feature to software previously only dreamed about, to contribute something new and innovative. I use some of these products and have found them extremely useful. The authors of WorldPol have failed to recongnize the signifigant amounts of time that pointops spend working on their systems. I have changed mailers not less than three times looking for something that will do what I want - I think I've found it. I have spent long nights tweaking my system to get rid of each problem as it arises - I know others have, as well. I'd willing to bet that some pointops spend more time working on their systems than their bossnodes do. The authors of WorldPol have failed to recognize the signifigant role that pointops play in some of the message areas of FidoNet. They devote large amounts of space to big message areas - I receive several very large echos and store them in MSG format. They don't have to - they could instead devote the space to games, utilities, or other, more profitable persuits. The only thing, in my opinion, that pointops don't do that sysops do is receive netmail during ZMH - that's it. For myself, it's not so much a lack of desire to become a full member of FidoNet - it's a lack of funds. I won't go into detail - just enough to say that I can't afford the hardware required to run a reliable system. FidoNews 8-11 Page 9 18 Mar 1991 Pointops deserve consideration in FidoNet, even if it's not to the point of giving them full node status. In my view, WorldPol needs to be changed to reflect a new attitude and a new role for pointops in the changing world of FidoNet. If I had a vote in the matter of WorldPol I would seriously consider voting against it for this reason. I am not saying that WorldPol is not a good document, but I think it does have some flaws. I think they need to be seriously considered by those who may vote, and by those who influence the voters. POLICY4 has got to go - but is WorldPol its replacement? I have serious reservations. I can tell that I'm going to get a lot of netmail over this and will happily accept it, but I can't gurantee a reply. If any of that mail is a question as to why I put this in the News, well, this is about my only good forum - most of the people in INTERUSER aren't interested, and I can't access those sysop-only echos 'cause pointops have no rights . . . remember? AG ----------------------------------------------------------------- FidoNews 8-11 Page 10 18 Mar 1991 ================================================================= LATEST VERSIONS ================================================================= Latest Software Versions MS-DOS Systems -------------- Bulletin Board Software Name Version Name Version Name Version DMG 2.93 Phoenix 1.3 TAG 2.5g Fido 12s+ QuickBBS 2.66 TBBS 2.1 GSBBS 3.02 RBBS 17.3B TComm/TCommNet 3.4 Lynx 1.30 RBBSmail 17.3B Telegard 2.5 Kitten 2.16 RemoteAccess 1.00* TPBoard 6.1 Maximus 1.02 SLBBS 1.77A Wildcat! 2.55 Opus 1.14+ Socrates 1.10 WWIV 4.12 PCBoard 14.5 XBBS 1.15 Network Node List Other Mailers Version Utilities Version Utilities Version BinkleyTerm 2.40 EditNL 4.00 ARC 7.0 D'Bridge 1.30 MakeNL 2.31 ARCAsim 2.30 Dutchie 2.90C ParseList 1.30 ARCmail 2.07 FrontDoor 1.99c Prune 1.40 ConfMail 4.00 PRENM 1.47 SysNL 3.14 Crossnet v1.5 SEAdog 4.51b XlatList 2.90 DOMAIN 1.42 TIMS 1.0(Mod8) XlaxDiff 2.35 EMM 2.02 XlaxNode 2.35 4Dog/4DMatrix 1.18 Gmail 2.05 GROUP 2.16 GUS 1.30 HeadEdit 1.15 InterPCB 1.31 LHARC 2.10* MSG 4.1 MSGED 2.06 MSGTOSS 1.3 Oliver 1.0a PK[UN]ZIP 1.10 QM 1.0 QSORT 4.03 Sirius 1.0x SLMAIL 1.36 StarLink 1.01 TagMail 2.41 TCOMMail 2.2 Telemail 1.27 FidoNews 8-11 Page 11 18 Mar 1991 TMail 1.15 TPBNetEd 3.2 TosScan 1.00 UFGATE 1.03 XRS 4.10* XST 2.2 ZmailH 1.14 OS/2 Systems ------------ Bulletin Board Software Network Mailers Other Utilities Name Version Name Version Name Version Maximus-CBCS 1.02 BinkleyTerm 2.40 Parselst 1.32 ConfMail 4.00 EchoStat 6.0 oMMM 1.52 Omail 3.1 MsgEd 2.06 MsgLink 1.0C MsgNum 4.14 LH2 0.50 PK[UN]ZIP 1.02 ARC2 6.00 PolyXARC 2.00 Qsort 2.1 Raid 1.0 Remapper 1.2 Tick 2.0 VPurge 2.07 Xenix/Unix ---------- BBS Software Mailers Other Utilities Name Version Name Version Name Version BinkleyTerm 2.30b Unzip 3.10 ARC 5.21 ParseLst 1.30b ConfMail 3.31b Ommm 1.40b Msged 1.99b Zoo 2.01 C-Lharc 1.00 Omail 1.00b FidoNews 8-11 Page 12 18 Mar 1991 Apple II ---------- Bulletin Board Software Network Mailers Other Utilities Name Version Name Version Name Version GBBS Pro 2.1 Fruity Dog 1.0 ShrinkIt 3.2 DDBBS + 4.0 ShrinkIt GS 1.04 deARC2e 2.1 ProSel 8.65 Apple CP/M ---------- Bulletin Board Software Network Mailers Other Utilities Name Version Name Version Name Version Daisy v2j Daisy Mailer 0.38 Nodecomp 0.37 MsgUtil 2.5 PackUser v4 Filer v2-D UNARC.COM 1.20 Macintosh --------- Bulletin Board Software Network Mailers Other Utilities Name Version Name Version Name Version Red Ryder Host 2.1 Tabby 2.2 MacArc 0.04 Mansion 7.15 Copernicus 1.0 ArcMac 1.3 WWIV (Mac) 3.0 LHArc 0.33 Hermes 1.01 StuffIt Classic 1.6 FBBS 0.91 Compactor 1.21 TImport 1.92 TExport 1.92 Timestamp 1.6 Tset 1.3 Import 3.2 Export 3.21 Sundial 3.2 PreStamp 3.2 OriginatorII 2.0 AreaFix 1.6 Mantissa 3.21 Zenith 1.5 FidoNews 8-11 Page 13 18 Mar 1991 Eventmeister 1.0 TSort 1.0 Mehitable 2.0 UNZIP 1.02c Amiga ----- Bulletin Board Software Network Mailers Other Utilities Name Version Name Version Name Version Paragon 2.082+ BinkleyTerm 1.00 AmigArc 0.23 TransAmiga 1.05 TrapDoor 1.50 AReceipt 1.5 WelMat 0.42 booz 1.01 ConfMail 1.10 ChameleonEdit 0.10 ElectricHerald1.66 Lharc 1.30 MessageFilter 1.52 oMMM 1.49b ParseLst 1.30 PkAX 1.00 PK[UN]ZIP 1.01 PolyxAmy 2.02 RMB 1.30 RoboWriter 1.02 Skyparse 2.30 TrapList 1.12 Yuck! 1.61 Zippy (Unzip) 1.25 Zoo 2.01 Atari ST/TT ----------- Bulletin Board Network Node List Software Version Mailer Version Utilities Version FIDOdoor/ST 2.12* BinkleyTerm 2.40l* ParseList 1.30 QuickBBS/ST 1.02 The BOX 1.20 Xlist 1.12 Pandora BBS 2.41c EchoFix 1.20 GS Point 0.61 sTICk/Hatch 5.10* LED ST 1.00 MSGED 1.96S Archiver Msg Format Other Utilities Version Converters Version Utilities Version FidoNews 8-11 Page 14 18 Mar 1991 LHARC 0.60 TB2BINK 1.00 ConfMail 4.03 ARC 6.02 BINK2TB 1.00 ComScan 1.02 PKUNZIP 1.10 FiFo 2.1j* Import 1.14 OMMM 1.40 Pack 1.00 FastPack 1.20 FDsysgen 2.16 FDrenum 2.10 Trenum 0.10 Archimedes ---------- BBS Software Mailers Utilities Name Version Name Version Name Version ARCbbs 1.44 BinkleyTerm 2.03 Unzip 2.1TH ARC 1.03 !Spark 2.00d ParseLst 1.30 BatchPacker 1.00 + Netmail capable (does not require additional mailer software) * 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. ----------------------------------------------------------------- FidoNews 8-11 Page 15 18 Mar 1991 ================================================================= NOTICES ================================================================= The Interrupt Stack 30 Mar 1991 Jim Grubs (W8GRT) was issued his first ham radio license forty years ago today. His first station was made from an ARC-5 "Command Set" removed from a B-17 bomber. 12 May 1991 Fourth anniversary of FidoNet operations in Latin America and second anniversary of the creation of Zone-4. 15 Aug 1991 5th annual Z1 Fido Convention - FidoCon '91 "A New Beginning" Sheraton Denver West August 15 through August 18 1991. 8 Sep 1991 25th anniversary of first airing of Star Trek on NBC! 7 Oct 1991 Area code 415 fragments. Alameda and Contra Costa Counties will begin using area code 510. This includes Oakland, Concord, Berkeley and Hayward. San Francisco, San Mateo, Marin, parts of Santa Clara County, and the San Francisco Bay Islands will retain area code 415. 1 Feb 1992 Area code 213 fragments. Western, coastal, southern and eastern portions of Los Angeles County will begin using area code 310. This includes Los Angeles International Airport, West Los Angeles, San Pedro and Whittier. Downtown Los Angeles and surrounding communities (such as Hollywood and Montebello) will retain area code 213. 1 Dec 1993 Tenth anniversary of Fido Version 1 release. 5 Jun 1997 David Dodell's 40th Birthday If you have something which you would like to see on this calendar, please send a message to FidoNet node 1:1/1. -----------------------------------------------------------------