F I D O N E W S -- | Vol. 9 No. 24 (15 June 1992) The newsletter of the | FidoNet BBS community | Published by: _ | / \ | "FidoNews" BBS /|oo \ | (415)-863-2739 (_| /_) | FidoNet 1:1/1 _`@/_ \ _ | Internet: | | \ \\ | fidonews@fidonews.fidonet.org | (*) | \ )) | |__U__| / \// | Editors: _//|| _\ / | Tom Jennings (_/(_|(____/ | Tim Pozar (jm) | | | Newspapers should have no friends. | -- JOSEPH PULITZER ----------------------------+--------------------------------------- Published weekly by and for the Members of the FidoNet international amateur network. Copyright 1992, Fido Software. All rights reserved. Duplication and/or distribution permitted for noncommercial purposes only. For use in other circumstances, please contact FidoNews. Electronic Price: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . free! Paper price: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $10.00US For more information about FidoNews refer to the end of this file. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Table of Contents 1. EDITORIAL ..................................................... 1 Editorial: Remotely related ................................... 1 2. ARTICLES ...................................................... 2 The Bit Bucket Churns ......................................... 2 Echomail-Routed Netmail: Who's Responsible? ................... 3 The Commercialization of FidoNet via Support Echoes ........... 5 A COMMUNICATION WORKHORSE ..................................... 6 Welcome To WorldNet ........................................... 7 Postmodern Culture Needs Fidonet Distribution ................. 10 Announcing the CAUCUS echo .................................... 17 Electronic Publishing Echo .................................... 20 Start of the JFK echo ......................................... 22 SYS4SALE Echo ................................................. 22 3. LATEST VERSIONS ............................................... 24 Software Versions List ........................................ 24 4. FIDONEWS INFORMATION .......................................... 25 FidoNews 9-24 Page 1 15 Jun 1992 ====================================================================== EDITORIAL ====================================================================== Editorial: Remotely Related Tom Jennings 1:1/1 Another week far from home. I'm having a great time not being here (there?) Whatever. My editorial last issue about lost routed netmail seems to have generated a flurry of interest... The articles speak for themselves, but I'll say this in response to one: Yes, it is true that the NC's responsibility is incoming netmail. Outgoing netmail is a nicety, a frill, a favor done, an added feature, and in no way a requirement of FidoNet. However, volunteering to forward netmail is a responsibility, regardless of why you might do it. Just because you volunteer does not let you off the hook. If someone is consistently unable to do the job, then they should remove themselves from the loop, and if they aren't capable of even that level of consideration to the rest of the net, then someone should do it for them. And as to why "after 8 weeks I should know better", well, I think that's a pretty arrogant answer. I send out a few dozen messages a week, and nearly all of them seem to get there, only certain messages to certain areas seem to get dropped. When I haven't received a response after a while, I send off another message, without complaint. To assume I should "put up with" an unusable error rate because someone doesn't feel like or is incapable of doing a job they volunteered to do or is an insult to all of us. Each system listed in the nodelist is responsible for maintaining the reliability and integrity of the network. If you can't do the job, by all means give it to someone else who can! ---------------------------------------------------------------------- FidoNews 9-24 Page 2 15 Jun 1992 ====================================================================== ARTICLES ====================================================================== Paul J. Henry 1:221/279@fidonet.org _The Bit Bucket Churns_ The Father of FidoNet was not amused. This was the second time this week that his netmail messages to "Compu-Chomp: The official doughnut supplier of the 1992 FidoCon" had gone unanswered. "Why weren't they answering? Was it something I said? Was it my transfer protocol?" he thought to himself. "Whatever it is, I'll find it!" Soon BinkleyTerms worldwide were abuzz with "Remote uses Fido!! (Hi Tom!)" A day passed. Meanwhile, at the abandoned workshop of Edgar P. Stickney-Stapers III, software designer, in the tiny midwest town of STEREO (()) WHERE AVAILABLE, the Bit Bucket burped. Tiny bits of FidoNews(tm) and invitations to join OtherNet(tm) flew out, sending reverberations netwide. Tom heard them. Travelling clear across the country, virtually of course, the Father of FidoNet arrived at the abandoned shop. Strange Hollywood winds blew, and the sounds of a mailer churning off in the distance could be heard. Entering the building, Tom found what he was looking for. It was the Terminal -- an old DECwriter keyboard, attached to the guts of a Tandy 200 and welded to it -- a CheapoLAN(tm) card. Peering out of the monitor were the infamous words: "ADDRESS -1:-1/-1 Waiting for call...." Staring blithely at the screen, the Father of FidoNet invoked a OS-Shell. He typed the word: HISTORI. Turning around to be sure that no one had seen him make a mistake, he silently pressed the RUBOUT key. Off in Seattle, an OtherNet(tm) sysop named Ed puffed out of existence. Correcting his mistake, he pressed the RUN key. And this is what he saw: PERSONAL JOURNAL OF EDGAR P. STICKNEY-STAPERS III, BfD. June 3rd: I've begun enhancements on the N'Spice file compression system, and I believe, from my initial computations, that I can achieve file compression up to 1,000 percent. June 18th: I've progress farther on N'Spice today. I was able to compress the National Archives so that it occupied (-700,000 bytes) on my harddrive. I believe that with N'Spice, everyone can have a copy of the Library of Congress on a 5-1/4" diskette. July 1st: Today was my first setback. Fluffy the Cat got caught in the compression routines and is now trapped in (-7) space. I'm afraid I'm going to have to go in after her. If I don't come back, whoever reads this, please pull the RED switch. FidoNews 9-24 Page 3 15 Jun 1992 -End of Line- With much melodrama, the Father of FidoNet pulled the BIG RED SWITCH, shutting down the CheapoLAN server for good, and solving the Big Mystery. But was this the end? Was Fluffy still alive and well in (-7) space? And what ever happened to the shirts Edgar had left at the cleaners? These mysteries, it would seem, would have to remain unanswered. Credits: _The Bit Bucket Churns_ Copyright (c) 1992 Paul J. Henry (1:221/279) We gratefully acknowledge the following trademarks used in this story: Fluffy the Cat Copyright (c) 1991 Peter G. Zion. (1:249/1) N'Spice Copyright (c) 1991 David Slonosky. (1:249/104) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Submitted by Glenn Caleval In his "editorial" in fido923.nws, Tom Jennings said the following: "There is apparently a serious problem with routed mail somewhere between here and there, which is pretty damn near intolerable.... "There's an informal netmail-routing system out there, that seems to handle netmail similarly to echomail.... "The occasional lost message would be one thing; consistently killing messages, over a long period of time (8 weeks at least!) should be grounds for severe treatment at the hands of their fellow sysops. "Netmail should be treated like Postal Service mail -- holy, private, with great care and reliability. If someone in the path can't handle this, they better get out of the loop." Mr. Jennings comments raise a number of issue regarding echomail-routed netmail. The most obvious one off the bat, is, if one has continuing problems with e-routed netmail, over 8 weeks, no less, why would one continue to use that routing method? In other words, perhaps the person who is not receiving the reliability he would like should be the one to get out of the loop and start going direct. By coincidence, similar issues were raised in RGN17 recently and a very cogent explanation was provided by our resident Olde Pharte. I warned him at the time that if the matter was raised again I would plagiarize and herewith I deliver on that promise, with apologies to the original author, Ken Ganshirt: FidoNews 9-24 Page 4 15 Jun 1992 The NC's responsibility extends to netmail only, and there is only an incidental association with echomail, insofar as sysops may, from time to time, choose to route their netmail via the echomail distribution topology. The NC's responsibility for topology-related matters (ie: reliability, timeliness, etc) _ends_ at the point where the netmail messages get bundled with echomail - in effect, _becoming_ echomail for the duration of their ride through that topology. It is quite impossible to distinguish what is contained in any given compressed mail bundle. The NC's have no control beyond the point that the netmail enters the echomail distribution topology, therefore no further responsibility. The NEC's responsibility extends to echomail only. There is only an incidental association with netmail, insofar as some gets routed through the echomail topology. The sysops who have volunteered to be part of the echomail distribution topology - including the ?EC's - have the standard moral obligation to make a reasonable effort to see that the echomail (which may, from time to time, contain netmail bundled in with it) eventually gets where it's supposed to ... usually. Or to be more blunt, any sysops who personally choose to route netmail via the echomail topology in order to take advantage of the free ride are on their own as regards reliability and timeliness of the delivery of their mail, and they should not expect to hold either the NC or NEC responsible if the result of the mixed service is ... well ... mixed. If an NC chooses to take advantage of the echomail topology to get their net a free ride, or a partial free ride, they should not expect to hold the NEC, nor anyone in the echomail distribution structure, responsible to do any more than they normally would in transporting echomail. And nobody should hold anyone else in the normal ?C structure responsible for any individual NC's netmail routing decisions. The two structures serve two entirely different purposes. They are constructed and managed to serve those purposes. Neither Coordinator structure has more than the usual moral obligation to get along with the other and make reasonable attempts not to screw up the activities of the other. Neither has more than an incidental responsibility in the other's domain. Caleval's addendum: At the end of the day if you're not happy with echomail routed netmail service, it's up to you to fix it by going direct or using the "proper" ?C routing structure. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- FidoNews 9-24 Page 5 15 Jun 1992 The Commercialization of FidoNet via Support Echoes By: Paul Harney @ 1:107/579 Dated: June 13th 1992 Greetings to you fellow FidoNet members, I wish to discuss a topic that is causing quite a stir in the ZEC conference at the moment for your consideration and review. It seems that there is at least one commercial echo, with severel warming up in the wings waiting to see if this one gets shot down, that provides direct customer support to the users of a particular software product FOR A FEE. This fee is the registration of the software package concerned AND a subscription to the home BBS of the support echo. No registration, no subscription fee, NO ACCESS to the conference. Now while I have absolutly no problem with any company providing as many ways as possible for their customers to reach out for product support, the problem with this particular style of customer service is it is being done VIA THE MAIN FIDONET BACKBONE. I other words, on the dime of the people who move the mail and support this HOBBY. Now that is not just the big three or four echomail distributors but all those that participate in Cost Recovery Programs and BBS Donations. I have a problem with the precedent being set here. Although it will be next to immpossible for those that created this echo to keep it from distribution as a READ ONLY affair without the total cooperation of the entire backbone, it is still firmly stated in the conference's rules that there is to be no access to those who have not paid the fees and that no response will be given, that's no response at all folks, not just the by the software vendor but by any other participant in the forum, unless the name of the sender appears on the roles of those that have fee paid for response. It has always been my contention that any echo that either provides a service to a section of the FidoNet community or was general interest in nature should be allowed on the backbone as long as it met BOP standards for implimentation of same. In some cases restricted access may be allowed for, in very limited situations i.e. administration type echos or special needs echoes, where these echoes can make an argument that they benifit a segment of the FidoNet community or provide a public service and are NOT operated for PROFIT. In general ALL backboned echoes should be availible to ANY FidoNet SysOp in good standing as it is they who, in one manner or another, provide the means on which the backbone works. In this case we have a situation where an echo is being made availble for a FEE. Access to this echo is to be unavailible without the paying of this fee. Further it could be argued, with legitimicy, that direct customer support via this echo can be used as a selling point for the software package in question, thereby making this forum a sales and marketing device. Now I have no problem with that IF private distribution methods are being used but when a not-for-profit hobbiest distribution method, like our own, is used to move this mail I have to have serious reservations as to direction this would be taking us in. FidoNews 9-24 Page 6 15 Jun 1992 The commercialization of FidoNet and its subsidiary backboned echoes is something, I believe, we must strongly oppose if we are to maintain our hobbiest/public service ethic. There are very sound and reasonable reasons for this that go beyond pure ethical considerations. Law makers, etc, who scrutinize public access media and have sway regarding legislation that might effect them, have very different criteria for judging that which is purely hobbiest/public service in orientation from that which is commercial. It is in our own best interest to remain strictly within the vien of former of these two directions. Your review and comments on the issue are welcome. They may be sent to me at the address above. If you feel strongly on the issue, as I do, please advise your NC and write to Butch Walker, ZEC of FidoNet Zone 1 @ 1:157/2.1 and politly inform him that you find the commercialization of FidoNet in this manner ill advised. Thanks for hearing this out. Be well and pax. Paul H. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- by Scott B. Laughlin, N7NET MORSE CODE, ONCE THE COMMUNICATIONS WORKHORSE copyright 1992 Though the word telegraphy can be traced as far back as torch-bearing Greeks, Western Union usually comes to mind, at least with most older Americans. Telegraph became the information backbone for the United States shortly before the Civil War, setting a standard of communications excellence. Telegraphers such as Andrew Carnegie, Thomas Edison, and Horace Greeley were among the thousands who hammered out the messages, letter-by-letter. In 1901 the Chicago Western Union office employed 880 telegraphers who handled an average of 2,327,436 messages each month. Twenty-four years later, telegraphers kept the world abreast of the Scopes Trial by hand-keying an average of 175,000 words each day for 11 days. Figures of this magnitude bear out the fact that telegraphy was accurate and dependable, proving why it earned the privilege of being America's primary communications system for more than 120 years. A scant half-dozen years following Chicago's Western Union marathon, de Forest, Armstrong, and Marconi, to name but a few, were experimenting with schemes for transmitting Morse code great distances with a device called the Wireless. Many of our older radio amateurs, with headphones pressed to their ears, have witnessed numerous communications milestones. FidoNews 9-24 Page 7 15 Jun 1992 Technology has pressed on and telephone lines now carry other sounds besides the chatter of human voices. Changes in communication concepts have surpassed man's wildest dreams. The computer, modem, and fiber-optics have changed the definition of speed forever. But, Morse code lives on and CW (Continuous Wave) is in regular use, the world over, by amateur radio operators. The mode is very slow by todays standards. But, the "Brass Pounders", as they prefer to be called, take great pride in their "fists" and their abilities to "copy" when solar conditions have paralyzed all other modes of radio communications. Scores of these radio pioneers have witnessed communications history in the making, up to and including the most modern of communications protocols, Netmail. * * * * Author's note: These "ear-witness" accounts have gone largely unnoticed. But, during the past two years QNC!, The CW Journal, has been actively engaged in uncovering and publishing these timeless experiences before they are lost forever. If you know a CW/Morse code related story, or know someone else who does I urge you to share it. You may send files to QNC! via Netmail, or make arrangements for me to pick them up. Best regards, Scott, N7NET, Publisher, QNC!. ................. ... ...-....1200 N81N ......................... ... ...-....1200 N81N ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Welcome To WorldNet =================== Once upon a time there was void. Then, the Great God TJ came upon the scene and created FidoNet. And it was good. FidoNet was fruitful and multiplied. Soon it became a monstrous behemoth, growing and growing and growing. And then... it had some children. We know these children today by such names as GoodEggNet, Alternet, EchoNet, MetroNet, and others (the list is long). To this day, however, most of them are still regarded as "children", none of which are nearly as "important" as FidoNet. Certainly none has approached FidoNet in terms of sheer size. Why did these "othernets" spring up? There are several reasons, but the largest of them are these: FidoNews 9-24 Page 8 15 Jun 1992 1) Dissatisfaction with the "system" and FidoNet's internal "government" (it's there, even if you don't always see it) combined with a feeling that "there must be a better way". 2) Dissatisfaction with certain individuals within FidoNet. 3) The desire to join a group of like-minded individuals in a "genre" network (ie: TREKNET). One of the first, and biggest, and in my opinion BEST, of these othernets was the Good Egg Network. It sprang up during some particularly trying times in FidoNet's infancy. Feelings were high, and some folks were *REALLY* pissed off at FidoNet and its leadership. Whoever was "wrong" isn't the issue: the fundamental problem, it seemed, was in the WAY FidoNet went about enforcing its rules and moving the mail. The Good Egg Network was given this name because of the expectation that only "Good Eggs" would join. The network would be based on a "bottom up" democratic approach. In fact, EggNet was virtually "leaderless" in that the "real" power derived, rightfully, from the sysops who, in effect, owned the network. For quite some time, things were an "either/or" situation. You were either in FidoNet or in EggNet, and only a few sysops joined both simultaneously. Thankfully, tempers cooled and the software improved, and now dual membership is quite common. Then, one day, EggNet saw its own rebellion. Democracy, it seemed, was certainly a good thing: but EggNet's particular implementation of it was seriously flawed. EggNet's elected "leaders" were in fact powerless to do anything that was not explicitly covered by its policy document. Echomail links began to mysteriously disappear. Routed netmail wasn't arriving at destinations. A virtual WAVE of apathy engulfed the entire network and members began dropping like flies. Today's EGGLIST is at a very low ebb, certain among the lowest membership it has had in its entire history. A group of nine sysops, determined not to let the ideals of EggNet die, formed a group they called "the Diehards" and began a 3-month process in which an entirely new policy was created. In fact, this policy would be called the "Charter" and would provide only rough guidelines for network operation. At the heart of this Charter was a model of "government" based (loosely) upon that in use in the United States of America. This included the equivalents of President, Senate, and Supreme Court, and a lot of checks and balances to prevent abuse of "authority" (which still remains, effectively, with the member sysops). Essentially, it came down to replacing DIRECT democracy with REPRESENTATIVE democracy. Gone are such EggNet trademarks as "the vote of the month club", replaced with annual balloting as well as more-frequent senate votes. FidoNews 9-24 Page 9 15 Jun 1992 Not explicitly stated was the idea that the network would no longer be subservient to FidoNet nor any other network. The network would stand ON ITS OWN. Members would, of course, certainly be allowed to be members of any other network (including FidoNet), but the network would be its own entity, dependant on no-one but itself... serving no-one but itself. EggNet has yet to vote on the proposal. It became SEVERELY bogged down in some heavy-duty red tape, both because of flawed existing policy as well as some errors made by the Diehards (who goofed on the procedures and therefore caused SIGNIFICANT delays in the ratification procedure). Additionally, there were some EggNet sysops who strongly resisted completely throwing away the old policy document and thus resisted the Charter. Faced with this, some of the Charter authors decided that it would be better to form an entirely new network based upon the Charter, rather than force it on anyone who had not joined the network with it already in place. The Charter was then slightly modified (hey, some of that negative feedback produced some good ideas!), and WorldNet was born. We consider this network to be a "third generation" network. A lot of thought and effort has gone into this project, and we believe we have succeeded in creating a network in which individual system operators can feel comfortable, can have FUN again, and aren't faced with a myriad of bizarre and sometimes contradictory rules and regulations. Best of all, an excellent AMENDMENT procedure exists to allow WorldNet to evolve as this hobby evolves (is it still a hobby?) WorldNet is one of *VERY* few networks that was designed, from the ground up, to be RESPONSIVE to the needs of those who comprise and own the network. The "framework" is still there (for things like echomail distribution, such "frameworks" are necessary) but it's a FLEXIBLE framework, rather than rigid. And the people that decide the shape of that framework are the same people who comprise the nodelist. At present, we're still rather small. We're aiming *BIG*, however, and already we have a very good selection of echomail conferences (more are needed, however), some of which have an amazingly-high interest level (and corresponding traffic level). How do *YOU* enter into this picture? Simple, really. We want *YOU* to help us mould WorldNet into the kind of network that we can all be proud to be a part of. By joining up, you will literally own a piece of the network and you will have a say in where it goes. We like what we've done so far but without YOUR help and support (and ideas!), WorldNet won't realize its full potential. As the name suggests, we welcome systems (public or private) from anywhere in the world. FidoNews 9-24 Page 10 15 Jun 1992 Please file-request WNPOL102.ARJ from the systems noted below. In it you'll find the latest incarnation of the Charter, a recent echo list, a recent nodelist, and information on how to join. One final note about that Charter, though: we realize that it's not perfect. Yet. If you like most of what you read, but have some ideas for improvements, we WANT YOU TO TELL US. Help us build the better mousetrap. So come join the fun. Bring all of the othernet addresses that you've got, and bring all the experience (or inexperience) that you have as well. We've got quite a bit to offer you already, and once you join we'll have even more to offer to the next sysop! You can f'req WNPOL102.ARJ from the following systems: 1:134/42 FidoNet 99:9305/55 GoodEggnet 55:6000/42 WorldNet 55:6000/55 WorldNet 201:5500/42 MetroNet 201:5500/55 MetroNet (the 42's are HST, the 55's are HST/V32) - Joey Lindstrom, WorldNet Director ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Postmodern Culture Needs Fidonet Distribution _Postmodern Culture_, an electronic journal distributed free of charge to 1900 subscribers in 40 countries, via Bitnet and the internet, is looking for someone to distribute PMC on Fidonet. We have, in the past, been available on Fidonet, but our local distribution point is not very reliable, and we'd like to keep the Fidonet distribution channel open. PMC is available for anonymous ftp for those with an internet connection; failing that, we can supply PKZIP files on disk. PMC appears three times a year and has just completed its second year of publication. Each issue is 500 Kb to 720 Kb in length, and all files are plain ASCII text. PMC's copyright statement provides for the archiving and distribution of the journal by volunteers, provided that each issue is distributed in its entirety and no fee is charged the readers. In order to give you an idea of what the journal pubishes, I'm including the table of contents for the May, 1992 issue. Please contact me if you're interested in helping out. John Unsworth Co-editor, _Postmodern Culture_ FidoNews 9-24 Page 11 15 Jun 1992 pmc@ncsuvm pmc@ncsuvm.cc.ncsu.edu 919-834-4735 ---------------------------------------------------------------- POSTMODERNCULTUREPOSTMODERNCULTURE P RNCU REPO ODER E P O S T M O D E R N P TMOD RNCU U EP S ODER ULTU E C U L T U R E P RNCU UR OS ODER ULTURE P TMODERNCU UREPOS ODER ULTU E an electronic journal P TMODERNCU UREPOS ODER E of interdisciplinary POSTMODERNCULTUREPOSTMODERNCULTURE criticism ----------------------------------------------------------------- Volume 2, Number 3 (May, 1992) ISSN: 1053-1920 ----------------------------------------------------------------- Editors: Eyal Amiran John Unsworth, Issue Editor Book Review Editor: Jim English Managing Editor: Nancy Cooke List Manager: Chris Barrett Editorial Assistant: Mina Javaher Editorial Board: Kathy Acker Chimalum Nwankwo Sharon Bassett Patrick O'Donnell Michael Berube Elaine Orr Marc Chenetier Marjorie Perloff Greg Dawes David Porush R. Serge Denisoff Mark Poster Robert Detweiler Carl Raschke Henry Louis Gates, Jr. Mike Reynolds Joe Gomez Avital Ronell Robert Hodge Andrew Ross bell hooks Jorge Ruffinelli E. Ann Kaplan Susan M. Schultz Barbara Kirshenblatt-Gimblett William Spanos Arthur Kroker Tony Stewart Neil Larsen Gary Lee Stonum Jerome J. McGann Chris Straayer Stuart Moulthrop Paul Trembath Larysa Mykyta Greg Ulmer Phil Novak ----------------------------------------------------------------- FidoNews 9-24 Page 12 15 Jun 1992 CONTENTS AUTHOR & TITLE FN FT Masthead, Contents, Abstracts, CONTENTS 592 Instructions for retrieving files Russell A. Potter, "Edward Schizohands: POTTER 592 The Postmodern Gothic Body" Fred Pfeil, "Revolting Yet Conserved: Family PFEIL 592 %Noir% in _Blue Velvet_ and _Terminator 2_" Tessa Dora Addison and Audrey Extavasia, ADD-EXT 592 "Fucking (With Theory) for Money: Toward an Interrogation of Escort Prostitution" Rochelle Owens, "Drum and Whistle" and OWENS 592 "Black Stems," Two Poems from _LUCA: Discourse on Life & Death_ Donald F. Theall, "Beyond the Orality/Literacy THEALL 592 Dichotomy: James Joyce and the Pre-History of Cyberspace" Walter Kalaidjian, "Mainlining Postmodernism: KALAIDJI 592 Jenny Holzer, Barbara Kruger, and the Art of Intervention" Paul McCarthy, "Postmodern Pleasure and MCCARTHY 592 Perversity: Scientism and Sadism" POPULAR CULTURE COLUMN: Cathy Griggers, "Lesbian Bodies in the Age of POP-CULT 592 (Post)Mechanical Reproduction" REVIEWS: Terry Collins, "The Vietnam War, Reascendant REVIEW-1 592 Conservatism, White Victims," review of _The Vietnam War and American Culture_, ed. John Carlos and Rick Berg, and _Fourteen Landing Zones: Approaches to Vietnam War Literature_, ed. Philip K. Jason. Michael W. Foley, review of _Post-Modernism REVIEW-2 592 and the Social Sciences: Insights, Inroads, FidoNews 9-24 Page 13 15 Jun 1992 and Intrusions_, by Pauline Marie Rosenau. Ursula K. Heise, "Becoming Postmodern?" REVIEW-3 592 review of _Sequel to History: Postmodernism and the Crisis of Representational Time_, by Elizabeth Deeds Ermarth. Edward M. Jennings, "The Text is Dead; Long REVIEW-4 592 Live The Techst," review of _Hypertext: The Convergence of Contemporary Literary Theory and Technology_, by George P. Landow. Matthew Mancini, review of _Thinking Across REVIEW-5 592 the American Grain: Ideology, Intellect, and the New Pragmatism_, by Giles Gunn. Meryl Altman and Keith Nightenhelser, review of REVIEW-6 592 _Making Sex: Body and Gender from the Greeks to Freud_, by Thomas Laqueur. Mark Poster, review of _Michel Foucault_, by REVIEW-7 592 Didier Eribon. Linda Ray Pratt, "Speaking in Tongues: Dead REVIEW-8 592 Elvis and the Greil Quest," review of _Dead Elvis: A Chronicle of a Cultural Obsession_, by Greil Marcus. Rei Terada, "The Pressures of Merely REVIEW-9 592 Sublimating," review of _American Sublime: The Genealogy of a Poetic Genre_, by Rob Wilson. Announcements and Advertizements NOTICES 592 ----------------------------------------------------------------- ABSTRACTS Russell A. Potter, "Edward Schizohands: The Postmodern Gothic Body" ABSTRACT: In the conjunction between the gothic body of Edward in Tim Burton's film _Edward Scissorhands_ and the anti-Oedipal Body without Organs in Deleuze and Guattari's _Anti-Oedipus_, this essay posits a common machine, that of the fragmentary, persecuting Gothic body. Whether in James Whale's 1931 film _Frankenstein_ or in 1991's _Body Parts_, the partial body appears again and again as the persecuting agent of a society founded upon the monolithically Oedipal FidoNews 9-24 Page 14 15 Jun 1992 nuclear family. This constitution of this body, with its scars and sutures, is in fact fundamentally Anti-Oedipal; when organs do not stay in place, where is an erogenous zone to go? This essay thus offers a reading not only of _Edward Scissorhands_ and its filmic and novelistic precursors, but also of the postmodern suburbanity which beings from Frankenstein to Edward continue to invade. --RAP Fred Pfeil, "Revolting Yet Conserved: Family %Noir% in _Blue Velvet_ and _Terminator 2_" ABSTRACT: In the new Hollywood, quintessential site of the intersection between the flexible specialization of post-Fordist production and the free-floating ideologemes-turned-syntax of postmodernism, the transgressive energies and subversive formal practices that first animated and defined %film noir% may be most alive and well in a new and even perverse combination with other similarly deracinated formal and thematic elements from other ex- genres of film. In contrast to classic %noir%, which was non- or even anti-domestic, this newer %noir% includes, and indeed is centered on, home and family, even as it decenters and problematizes both. Through a look at two successful recent films, _Blue Velvet_ and _Terminator 2_, I mean to show how home and family are being destabilized, "%noir%-ized" in both--dissolved into a semic flow or play of boundaries from which, paradoxically, those same categories re-emerge with renewed half-life. --FP Tessa Dora Addison and Audrey Extavasia, "Fucking (With Theory) for Money: Toward an Interrogation of Escort Prostitution" ABSTRACT: This essay is intended as an introductory interrogation of the terrain of escort prostitution, mobilizing terms from both _The Telephone Book_ by Avital Ronell and _A Thousand Plateaus_ by Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari. --TDA & AE Donald F. Theall, "Beyond the Orality/Literacy Dichotomy: James Joyce and the Pre-History of Cyberspace" ABSTRACT: _Finnegans Wake_ articulates a radical modernist or postmodernist theory of poetics and communication, based on gesture and tactility, essential to understanding cyberspace and the limitations of the orality/literacy dichotomy. Joyce's impact upon theorists like Derrida, Eco, or McLuhan contributes to understanding the development of VR out of electromechanical technologies FidoNews 9-24 Page 15 15 Jun 1992 and high modernism. --DFT Walter Kalaidjian, "Mainlining Postmodernism: Jenny Holzer, Barbara Kruger, and the Art of Intervention" ABSTRACT: Taking up the "new times" of postmodernity, this essay considers the political resources and limits of cultural critique afforded by Kruger's appropriation of advertising signage and Holzer's work in light emitting diode board technology, both within museum culture and at street level. The essay compares their interventions to the more communal, socioaesthetic praxes of Greenpeace and ACT UP. --WK Paul McCarthy, "Postmodern Pleasure and Perversity: Scientism and Sadism" ABSTRACT: The project of this essay is to provide a theoretical basis for ethical-political resistance to postmodern perversity. Through a comparison of Deleuze & Guattari's (1987) _A Thousand Plateaus_ to de Sade's prototypical deconstructionism, this essay traces the nature and consequences of the circulation of desire in a postmodern order of things (an order implicitly modeled on a repressed archetype of the new physics' fluid particle flows), and it reveals a complicity between scientism, which underpins the postmodern condition, and the sadism of incessant deconstruction, which heightens the intensity of the pleasure-seeking moment in postmodernism. --PM ----------------------------------------------------------------- TO RETRIEVE SINGLE ITEMS LISTED ABOVE, send a mail message to listserv@ncsuvm or listserv@ncsuvm.cc.ncsu.edu containing as its one and only line the command get [fn ft] pmc-list f=mail (replace [fn ft] with the filename and filetype, as listed in the table of contents, for the file you want to receive). There should be no blank lines, spaces, or other text preceding this line. TO RETRIEVE THE WHOLE ISSUE as a package, send a mail message to listserv@ncsuvm or listserv@ncsuvm.cc.ncsu.edu with the command get pmcv2n3 package pmc-list f=mail If you request the issue as a package, please make certain you have sufficient virtual disk space on your e-mail account to receive it (at least half a megabyte). More detailed instructions are available in the file NEWUSER PREFACE: to retrieve this file, send a mail message to listserv@ncsuvm or listserv@ncsuvm.cc.ncsu.edu with the command FidoNews 9-24 Page 16 15 Jun 1992 get newuser preface pmc-list f=mail If none of the above works for you, contact the editors. _Postmodern Culture_ uses only ASCII text (the character-code common to all personal computers): this means that readers can download the text of the journal from the mainframe (where mail is received) to any personal computer and import it into almost all word-processing programs. Text in the journal uses a 65- character line, so you should set your margins accordingly before importing journal files into a word-processing program. ----------------------------------------------------------------- _POSTMODERN CULTURE_ is published three times a year (September, January, and May) using the Revised LISTSERV program ((c) Eric Thomas 1986, Ecole Centrale de Paris). It is distributed to more than 1,800 subscribers worldwide from an IBM mainframe at North Carolina State University, and is published with support from the NCSU Libraries, the NCSU Computing Center, the NCSU Research Office, and the NCSU Department of English. Special thanks to Chuck Kesler of NCSU Engineering Computer Operations. _Postmodern Culture_ is a member of the Conference of Editors of Learned Journals (CELJ) and of the Association of Electronic Scholarly Journals (AESJ). ----------------------------------------------------------------- SUBSCRIPTION to the journal in its electronic-mail form is free. Each issue is available on disk and microfiche as well. Disk and fiche rates are $15/year for an individual and $30/year for an institution. For disks or fiche mailed to Canada add $3 postage; outside North America, add $7. Single issues are available for $6 (U.S.), $7 (Canada) or $8 (elsewhere). Postal correspondence, payment for subscription, and books for review should be sent to: Postmodern Culture Box 8105 NCSU Raleigh, NC 27695-8105 Electronic-text submissions and requests for e-mail subscription can be sent to the journal's editorial address (pmc@ncsuvm or pmc@ncsuvm.cc.ncsu.edu). Using the same addresses, readers may also subscribe free of charge to PMC-TALK, an open discussion group for issues relating to the journal's contents and to post- modernism in general. SUBMISSIONS to the journal can be made by electronic mail, on disk, or in hard copy; disk submissions should be in WordPerfect or ASCII format, but if this is not possible please indicate the program and operating system used. The current MLA format is recommended for documentation in essays; a list of the text- formatting conventions used by _Postmodern Culture_ for ASCII text is available on request. _________________________________________________________________ FidoNews 9-24 Page 17 15 Jun 1992 COPYRIGHT: Unless otherwise noted, copyrights for the texts which comprise this issue of _Postmodern Culture_ are held by their authors. The compilation as a whole is Copyright (c) 1992 by _Postmodern Culture_, all rights reserved. Items published by _Postmodern Culture_ may be freely shared among individuals, but they may not be republished in any medium without express written consent from the author(s) and advance notification of the editors. Issues of _Postmodern Culture_ may be archived for public use in electronic or other media, as long as each issue is archived in its entirety and no fee is charged to the user; any exception to this restriction requires the written consent of the editors of _Postmodern Culture_. -----------------END OF CONTENTS 592 FOR PMC 2.3---------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Jack Decker Fidonet 1:154/8, BIZynet 70:1/17 Announcing CAUCUS-the political discussion echo for conservati If you've ever read the Fidonet "available echo" lists, or participated in some of the political echoes, you may have decided that there are parts of Fidonet where liberals, and liberal political viewpoints, are definitely considered to be more acceptable and more "correct" than conservatives and the conservative point of view. The problem is that if you are a liberal or a socialist, you can find a number of echoes where you will feel as though you are mostly among friends, but heaven help the hapless conservative who stumbles in to one of those echoes and says so much as a word in favor of President Bush or Senator Jesse Helms, or who admits to listening to Rush Limbaugh over lunch. Something about that situation has always seemed just a bit unfair to me, and I felt that there ought to be an echo where those ware politically conservative can come together and have a discussion without being constantly assailed by the vocal liberals who feel it's their mission on earth to turn any conversation they don't agree with into a flame war. FidoNews 9-24 Page 18 15 Jun 1992 I'm not saying that conservatives shouldn't participate in those other echoes if they want to, but not everyone enjoys being in what seems a never-ending debate with those whose world view is fundamentally different. For those of you who consider yourself to be politically conservative and/or pro-capitalism (as opposed to pro-socialism), and would enjoy an honest discussion with fellow conservatives(without a lot of "noise" from the other side), I would invite you to join the CAUCUS echo. CAUCUS actually originates in BIZynet, a business-oriented network, but it is being made available to all who will agree to restrict access to real conservatives. If you run a BBS, you may give read access to all callers, but you should probably try to restrict the ability to post new messages to those callers that have in some way identified themselves as conservatives (particularly if you already know that you have some real dyed-in-the-wool liberal users on your board). I don't envision CAUCUS as ever being a Fidonet backbone echo, since it would be too difficult to keep track of the distribution of the echo. Right now, the only way you can get it is by polling the host node for it. Any node that wants it can send an AreaFix or AreaLink message to Fidonet address 1:202/1008 (a.k.a. 8:7705/8, 50:5010/1008, or 70:1/0; the phone number is 1-619-283-1721). You may then start polling for the echo, and should do so regularly. One you start getting the echo, we'll try to find a feed closer to you if you want one. We do reserve the right to disconnect any system or discontinue the feeds to anyone if problems develop (at your end or at the feed). FidoNews 9-24 Page 19 15 Jun 1992 You may pass the CAUCUS echo on to other systems, but you are responsible for the conduct of those you feed. If they are annoying, you are annoying. We'll probably cut you some slack so long as the annoyances happen infrequently. However, you must make it clear to those you feed that CAUCUS is a BIZynet echo, NOT a Fidonet echo, and that it must not be sent to the Fidonet echomail backbone! A few other things to note: First and foremost, it is true that conservatives will often differ on particular single issues. So please don't expect that everyone will agree with you on certain hot issues (I won't name them; you probably know what they are already). But if you take the "wrong" position on too many issues, we may start to suspect that you're an undercover liberal sent to spy on us, and ask you to tone it down. :-) Also, please try not to be repetitive; if you've said essentially the same thing two or three times in a row and the other guy STILL doesn't get it, he probably isn't going to. And finally, while the exact definition of a "conservative" is a bit fluid at times (just as the definition of "liberal" and "moderate" is sometimes a bit hard to pin down), one thing that "conservative" does NOT equate to "racist". If you're the David Duke type of "conservative" and you want to join the echo just to solicit new followers, save yourself the trouble... you'll get booted out faster than a liberal would! That isn't "conservative", that's just nuts. So, if you'd like to take part in a discussion by and for conservatives, send an Areafix/AreaLink message today, and then begin polling for the echo. Remember, the address to poll is 1:202/1008, a.k.a. 8:7705/8, FidoNews 9-24 Page 20 15 Jun 1992 50:5010/1008, or 70:1/0. This is the BIZynet host system, so if you run a business-oriented BBS, be sure to leave netmail to the sysop (Chris Gunn) asking for more info on BIZynet. But, you do NOT have to be part of BIZynet to get a feed of CAUCUS. Hope t ---------------------------------------------------------------------- by Kief Morris 1:3603/210 Electronic Publishing Echo The fledgling field of Electronic Publishing (E-Pub) is one with great potential. Publications written, distributed, and even read entirely on computer, like the one you are reading now, are becoming more and more common. In the future this will become a thriving industry - in the present it is a hobby which is striving to find ways to become that thriving industry. The E_PUB echo is intended for discussion of both the present and future of E-Pub, and the means to make that future a reality. Topics for discussion include current publications, the tools of E-Pub (ie Hypertext software), efforts at publishing electronically, distribution of E-pubs, and anything else related to the subject! Everybody is welcome, whether you are interested in writing, publishing, distributing, or reading E-Pubs, or even if you aren't too sure what the concept is all about! The goals of the echo are to build communication and organization between people in the field, and to give more people a chance to learn about it and get involved. Available from 1:3603/210 (Backbone pending ...) please Netmail for info, even if you don't want to carry the echo until it hits the backbone. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Tomas Hood ICDM ZC 1:352/777 77:77/0 Notice: Invitation to Carry ICDM Net The International Christian Discipleship Ministries (based in Washington State in the U.S.) is proud to invite new bulletin boards to the ICDM Network. This is a specialized Network. It deals with issues such as Liberation Theology, "Missions," (dealing with historical missions, and the great evils done in the name of God), modern Biblical Discipleship, environmentalism and the disciple, community living, Six Questions, and other topics that may interest users of subscribing boards. There is at this time introductory threads and research on Gnosticism and FidoNews 9-24 Page 21 15 Jun 1992 Christianity, New Age trends, and other "hot" topics. The traffic is light, but, the messages are informed and intense. The sysop of a board does not have to subscribe to the "creed" of the ICDM or to that of any participating board. It is a Network for the Users of the bulletin board. The ICDM Network is based on the Bible. But, it deviates from some of the stereo-type religious expectations and traditions. Some may call it "mystical christianity." We call it practicle discipleship to Jesus Christ. It is open to any board that is FidoNet compatible. It is compiled as a separate Zone (77), so your software must be Zone aware. It is open to any faith, any person, regardless of sex, creed, color, etc. etc. The HOST is Tomas Hood, 1:352/777, the Zone 77 Co-ordinator. We now have major Regions across the United States, Canada, and in Singapore. Australia is being negotiated at this time. We are looking for any non-North American sysops who would like this network on their board. We will work with sharing costs to haul the messages into your country. Please netmail us at 1:352/777 for info on this. We are also looking for any other sysop and system. All are welcome if you can abide by the simple rule of love. Respect the participants, and repect the network. No one is looked upon as an outsider. For more information, send netmail to 1:352/777, and request ICDM, which is an information packet. We are also listed on OTHERNETS. Thanks for your interest and we look forward to hearing from you. in Him, Rev. Tomas Hood ICDM, (a non-profit ministry) P.O.Box 2196 Olympia, Washington 98507-2196 U.S.A. BBS: 1:352/777, 77:77/0, 1-206-866-3621 14400 V.32b/V.42b and 16800 HST (US Robotics Courier HST Dual Standard) AGAIN! We are really looking for any transoceanic links. If you are a sysop outside the of North America, and are interested, please contact me at 1:352/777. We perhaps can work out a link, as there are many 9600+ nodes in the network. FidoNews 9-24 Page 22 15 Jun 1992 (Tomas Hood's bbs is also: 1:352/500 8:2000/777 70:2000/777 96:202/0) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- by Al Saveriano 1:2606/205.0 201-398-6360 NJ Introducing the JFK echo As of June 1st 1992, the KENNEDY THEORIES echo (area tag: JFK) began on the Alche-miga BBS (1:2606/205.0) and will be moderated by your truly. As a long time follower of this American tragedy I have seen a major resurgence of interest in the subject. Please NetMail me for an AreaFix password if you wish to poll me for it. I am presently beginning the process to bring JFK to the backbone. You may FREQ my system for the rules to this echo. Name: JFKRULES. I look forward to a large participation. If there really was a coup in our country, wouldn't you like to know about it? - al saveriano - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- by Don Maner Moderator (1:3632/12) Ed Propes Moderator (1:360/4) This article was written to inform you that the new echo, SysOp For Sale, is now on the Region18 backbone. The objective of SYS4SALE is to provide a special echo espically for the advertisment of merchandise that is being offered at a special price for SysOps. This can include Commercial as well as Shareware programs. But it's not limited to SysOps. It can include ANYTHING that is being sold, as long as it is priced at a special price for SysOps. The idea for this echo was from Michelle Stewart. Thanks, Michelle! So, come and join us! If you're in Region 18, request it from your Hub or NEC. If you're not in Region 18, it can be picked up from Ed Propes at 360/4 (HST/v.32bis) or me, at 3632/10 (v.32bis). FidoNews 9-24 Page 23 15 Jun 1992 Thanks, and hope to see you there! ---------------------------------------------------------------------- FidoNews 9-24 Page 24 15 Jun 1992 ====================================================================== LATEST VERSIONS ====================================================================== Software Versions List Please refer to the article in this issue... ---------------------------------------------------------------------- FidoNews 9-24 Page 25 15 Jun 1992 ====================================================================== FIDONEWS INFORMATION ====================================================================== ------- FIDONEWS MASTHEAD AND CONTACT INFORMATION ---------------- Editors: Tom Jennings, Tim Pozar Editors Emeritii: Thom Henderson, Dale Lovell, Vince Perriello "FidoNews" BBS FidoNet 1:1/1 Internet fidonews@fidonews.fidonet.org BBS (415)-863-2739 (9600 HST/V32) (Postal Service mailing address) FidoNews Box 77731 San Francisco CA 94107 USA Published weekly by and for the Members of the FidoNet international amateur electronic mail system. It is a compilation of individual articles contributed by their authors or their authorized agents. The contribution of articles to this compilation does not diminish the rights of the authors. Opinions expressed in these articles are those of the authors and not necessarily those of FidoNews. FidoNews is copyright 1992 Fido Software. All rights reserved. Duplication and/or distribution permitted for noncommercial purposes only. For use in other circumstances, please contact FidoNews (we're easy). OBTAINING COPIES: FidoNews in electronic form may be obtained from the FidoNews BBS via manual download or Wazoo FileRequest, or from various sites in the FidoNet and via uucp. PRINTED COPIES mailed may be obtained from Fido Software for $5.00US each PostPaid First Class within North America, or $7.00US elsewhere, mailed Air Mail. (US funds drawn upon a US bank only.) BACK ISSUES: Available from the following sources (and possibly others), via filerequest or download (consult a recent nodelist for phone numbers). Back issues are *NOT* available from FidoNews 1:1/1. FidoNet 1:102/138 (All issues) FidoNet 1:216/21 (All but 18 issues) Internet ftp.ieee.org, in directory ~ftp/pub/fidonew/fidonews SUBMISSIONS: You are encouraged to submit articles for publication in FidoNews. Article submission requirements are contained in the file ARTSPEC.DOC, available from the FidoNews BBS, or Wazoo filerequestable from 1:1/1 as file "ARTSPEC.DOC". FidoNews 9-24 Page 26 15 Jun 1992 "Fido", "FidoNet" and the dog-with-diskette are U.S. registered trademarks of Tom Jennings of Fido Software, Box 77731, San Francisco CA 94107, USA and are used with permission. Asked what he thought of Western civilization, M.K. Gandhi said, "I think it would be an excellent idea". -- END ----------------------------------------------------------------------