F I D O N E W S -- | Vol. 9 No. 33 (17 August 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: (I'm about to) snooze .............................. 1 2. ARTICLES ...................................................... 2 Practical Anarchy Online ...................................... 3 SHAREWARE BLUES ............................................... 4 A rebuttal .................................................... 5 LE_CLUB: The FidoNet Veterans Club! ........................... 7 Two new privately distributed echos ........................... 8 RUSH_FAN -- An Echo dedicated to the rock band 'Rush' ......... 8 3. FIDONEWS INFORMATION .......................................... 10 FidoNews 9-33 Page 1 17 Aug 1992 ====================================================================== EDITORIAL ====================================================================== Editorial: (I'm about to) snooze... by Tom Jennings (1:1/1) Before I get started, a quick note; I've updated the FidoNews info and masthead junk buried at the end of the newsletter. I changed the how-to-get info, and upgraded the copyright notice a bit. * * * * * I just got back Sunday night, FidoNews night from Denver, where I attended the ONE BBSCON put on by BOARDWATCH MAGAZINE and e-Soft Inc (makers of TBBS). ONE BBSCON was a combination of trade show and conference for the BBS world, and ran from Thursday through Sunday. It took place in a Stouffers Hotel, the kind that causes severe culture shock and fish-out-of-water syndrome for your poor editor. Also this same weekend a few miles away was the IBECC show, put on by some of the people who did last year's FidoCon. Alas, I never made it there due to overload and scheduling on my part. Due to the vagaries of hotel/conference scheduling and conflicts beyond anyone's control, it was far less successful than ONE BBSCON. The event was a whirlwind of activity, keeping all participants excited and exhausted. The large room comprising the trade show portion was interesting and busy; all of the Usual Suspects (and others) were displaying their wares. Modem deals were everywhere to be found. The show room was packed every day all day. There seemed to be about 1000 attendees. There were many dozens of conferences or seminars, arranged into paralell "tracks". In my usual response to sensory overload, I withdrew and took part in very little of it; I believe I attended three (3) conferences. Most of my time was spent talking to participants and conference-goers, which as far as I'm concerned was more interesting and more important. I would like to say more, but it's 11PM, and I am more than exhausted; I can barely stay awake. I got off the plane mere hours ago. This will have to do for now. Hopefully people who attended will write about their experiences, and send them in to FidoNews. My thanks to Jack Rickard of BOARDWATCH for getting me to the BBSCON, and to everyone who took part. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- FidoNews 9-33 Page 2 17 Aug 1992 ====================================================================== ARTICLES ====================================================================== Original Message Date: 07 Aug 92 13:53:12 From: Jack Decker on 1:154/8 To: Tom Jennings on 1:125/111 Subj: Possible idea for Fidonet sysops ^AMSGID: 1:154/8 2a8282b1 * Extending the local calling area of a BBS I saw this message in the UseNet comp.dcom.telecom conference, and thought the idea about using call-forwarding to extend the access to a BBS might be something that some Fidonet sysops could put to good use. If you agree, please feel free to publish this in Fidonews: * Forwarded by Jack Decker (1:154/8) Date: 05 AUG 92 22:23 From: MPA15AB!RANDY@TRENGA.tredydev.unisys.com Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom Subject: Re: Need Help Determining Local Access For Largest Area Message-ID: Organization: TELECOM Digest Sender: Telecom@eecs.nwu.edu Lines: 38 In Telecom 12.599, booloo@framsparc.ocf.llnl.gov (Mark Boolootian) writes: > I would like to set up a computer and provide dial-up access. I would > like phone calls into this system to be local calls for as wide an > area as possible ... > Additionally, can someone explain to me what distinguishes local calls > from toll calls? Are all calls within a LATA local? Does physical > proximity have anything to do with determining whether a call is local > (i.e. is it always the case that calling a couple of blocks away will > be a local call)? Assuming physical proximity had something to do > with it, I've always fancied setting up a dial-up system which chained > together a bunch of local calls, but for which the end-to-end call > would have been toll. It is mostly distance based. Each prefix has a set of prefixes which are local from it (out here, one prefix away is local, further away is toll). There is a BBS in Long Beach which gives free memberships to anyone donating a phone number. People who have a second line used for dialing out give the phone number to the BBS by setting up call forwarding on the out-dial line to a number as specified by the BBS. They can then continue to use the line for out-dialing. By chaining these numbers together, the BBS gets numbers in a variety of prefixes, thus offering local calling to a wide area. FidoNews 9-33 Page 3 17 Aug 1992 The number I use to call this BBS forwards three times, each hop is local, but the end-to-end call would be a high (intra-LATA) toll for me. It does take several seconds to set up the call, though. Randy Gellens randy%mpa15ab@trenga.tredydev.unisys.com >>>>>>> If mail bounces, forward to rgellens@mcimail.com <<<<<<<< Opinions are personal; facts are suspect; I speak only for myself [Note from Jack: You want to be sure that the lines used for the call-forwarding have unmeasured service, otherwise the owner of the line will get charged for each forwarded call! Since some telephone companies (particularly some in countries outside the U.S., but also some in the U.S.) don't offer any flat-rate service, this method would not be cost-effective in some areas.] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ANNOUNCING: ********************************** Practical Anarchy Online ********************************** a bi-monthly electronic zine featuring: * international anarchist news * anarchist scene reports * tips on "practical anarchy," * living anarchy everyday * zine, music, and book reviews * essays and articles Publication schedule: January, March, May, July, September, November. Submissions due the last day of the preceding month. ****************************************** All material will be anti-copyright unless copyrighted by a contributor. Recipients can do what they want with a downloaded version as long as they credit the source. We encourage folks in countries other than the US and Sweden to create their own paper versions of this zine and distribute them to their friends. ****************************************** FidoNews 9-33 Page 4 17 Aug 1992 Send stuff to the editors: Chuck Munson: Internet: cmunson@macc.wisc.edu Bitnet: cmunson@wiscmacc.bitnet Postal address: Practical Anarchy PO Box 173 Madison, WI 53701-0173 USA Mikael Cardell: Internet: cardell@lysator.liu.se Fidonet: Mikael Cardell, 2:205/223 Postal address: Practical Anarchy c/o Mikael Cardell Gustav Adolfsgatan 3 S-582 20 LINKOPING SWEDEN Subcription enquiries to cardell at the above addresses! ---------------------------------------------------------------------- SHAREWARE BLUES by Surya Lovejoy, 2:440/74.1 With a few honourable exceptions, shareware seems to be a concept which promises rather more than it delivers - to authors and users alike. Authors because only a small percentage of users pay the registration fee, users because said authors cannot or will not offer the degree of support expected by those who *do* pay the fee. A case in point. As one of a mere handful of Mac-based Fidonet users in the UK, I was delighted to come across MacWoof, a Point package for the Mac. Despite a few quirks, it's a very nice package. I immediately sent off my registration fee. Currency commissions and charges, together with a poor exchange rate, made the true cost nearly double the nominal fee, but I still considered it a fair price. Time went by, and my registered copy never arrived. This caused me no hardship, since the evaluation copy is fully-functional, and contains no time limit on use. I shrugged it off as a little disappointing, in that I had paid my money and hadn't received the promised goods, but of no real consequence. I then discovered a problem with the package. It claims to support 4D addressing, but doesn't in fact: if requires the use of a Fakenet to send Netmail, and even then sends messages with the wrong return address; it lists the fakenet instead of the proper Fidonet address. Which means that people replying to your netmails end up sending them into oblivion somewhere in the dusty corners of your boss. I've been fortunate in that I have a sysop with an implacable nature and a seemingly bottomless reserve of patience. He rounds up my replies before they are consigned to the bit bucket, edits the address and forwards them to me. But it's frustrating. It shouldn't be necessary. FidoNews 9-33 Page 5 17 Aug 1992 We've both written endless netmails to the author of MacWoof, my sysop crashing them direct to his BBS to be sure of delivery, and polling his system daily for a reply. All transatlantic calls, and all to no avail. I don't want to turn this into an attack on a particular author; it is possible that there is some explanation for his apparent disinterest. But it does point to the fragile nature of the shareware contract. I paid my registration fee partly as a matter of principle - a desire to play fair and to honour the trust shareware authors have for the great computer-using public - and partly from the selfish motive that doing so would entitle me to at least a minimum level of product support. The lack of such support has left me feeling cheated. Worse, it has provided me with a potential justification not to register future packages: I kept my part of the bargain, and got nothing in return. This is, of course, nonsense. I've got a software package I like and use on a daily basis. But it leaves me with a sour taste, in much the same way as shareware authors must feel when they come across users who have no intention of paying the registration fee. The irony is that, had I not been promised support in the documentation, I would have been perfectly happy to pay the registration fee and receive nothing more than the author's blessing to continue using the package. But the fact remains that I *was* promised more, and didn't get it. Perhaps the time has come for a more realistic look at the nature of the shareware 'contract.' For authors to invite people to use the package with or without payment (they will anyway, and 'time-bombs' merely provide a challenge along the way), simply adding that a donation would be welcomed if users would like to express their appreciation for the author's work. And for users to expect nothing in return but the satisfaction of knowing that they are rewarding the author for a job well done. As James Russel Lowell once observed, "there is no good arguing with the inevitable; the only argument available with an east wind is to put on your overcoat." ---------------------------------------------------------------------- By: Tracy Perry FidoNet 1:124/0 1:124/6106 SUBJ: Problem with Numbers in NET 124 Allow me to preface this by stating I am the NC of NET 124. I feel that the article posted by Mr. Butler needed to be rebutted due to it's inaccuracies. In FIDO932.NWS, Rob Butler stated a belief of discriminatory pratices in NET 124 based upon age. He based this upon the fact that when HE joined into NET 124, after sending messages to 1:124/1 (whoever that might be, but it sure isn't the correct place according to POLICY4), he had a difficult time getting a number isssued. If the address that he gave was correct, then it is no wonder, as it was NOT where he needed to send it. FidoNews 9-33 Page 6 17 Aug 1992 As for his POINT who sent in a request, he fails to mention the fact that the point used NODELIST.361 of 1991 to send in his request. That in and of itself isn't "so" bad, but he didn't even send it to the correct location using this nodelist. Finally the point got his request to the correct destination, my board. At this time, I already had several request pending. As a quality control measure, with each request that I receive I make sure that the requesting system meets the minimum standards as outlined in POLICY4, namely having a mailer online during ZMH. I allow two days to make a connect with a netmail message advising them that their application has been received and upon receipt of said netmail that their application will be processed to a HUB for issuance of a node number. I've been running anywhere from 10-15 requests a week for the past several weeks, and it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure up that 13 requests * 2 days = 26 days. During the time I had Mr. Butler's POINT set up for delivery, I could not get a connect with him, therefore the request was not processed at that time. Later I WAS able to make a connect and in the first week of August Sean's application was passed on to a HUB for issuance of a node number since in NET 124 each individual HUB is responsible for upkeep of their nodelist segment. NET 124 currently has approximately 160 nodes in it, and comprises the Dallas metroplex, which takes in a LARGE area. With school out, there are a proportionately larger number of BBS's going online, with the associated increase in requests for node numbers, something that Mr. Butler is apparently not aware of to have been involved in a network for so long. As for the below quote: "the last few weeks (four to be exact) I've heard him complain about" "124/1 and the inability to get his node number assigned. This person" "is also a teenager (16 to be exact.) So far, he has sent four" "requests for a node number." Mr. Butler fails to state that at least one, if not TWO of the requests never reached the correct location. The first request went to the OLD NC as listed in Sean's outdated nodelist, the second request went to the NEC of NET 124. Seans first inquiry into his node number status was 10 days after I finally got his request, and that was the last contact I have had from him. As far as Mr. Butler's allegations of age discriminations, I reviewed, and re-reviewed the messages sent by Sean, and could not find where he stated his age in there anywhere. I also could detect no ESP emanations that indicated he was 16yoa , which I guess, I should have been able to if Mr. Butler's statements about age discrimination are correct, since there was no other way of my knowing what the individuals age was. FidoNews 9-33 Page 7 17 Aug 1992 Personally I don't care if the individual that is requesting a node number is 3 years old, but he/she WILL meet the minimum requirements outlined in POLICY4 and have an operational mailer online during ZMH. If the requestee can't do that, then they WILL NOT get a node number, and will have to re-request it again. It is a little unrealistic upon the part of an individual to look at "recommended times" in a document written in 1989 and expect them to apply 3 years later, looking at the past and current growth of the nodelist. In ending, I can state without any qualms, that age has NOTHING to do with whether you are issued a node number or not in NET 124, but technical competence does. Tracy Perry NC 124 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- LE_CLUB - The FidoNet Veterans Club ----------------------------------- Le_Club is a social echomail conference that aims to bring together FidoNet oldtimers. The echo is not restricted in any way, except that it is only open to FidoNet sysops, and not to BBS users. Still, it is recommended for those that have been in the network for at least two years, although the more novice sysops are welcome to come, see, and participate. Le_Club is a species of electronic FidoNet "con." It is the place to talk about how each of us got started in the network, to remember how things were back then and, why not, to talk about the future each of us envisions for our dear FidoNet. It is also the place to socialize with other "names" we have seen for long but with whom we were never in touch, and of course, to simply talk about the weather, share happy experiences as well as tales of dupe loops, bombing runs and why not, thunderstorms messing around with the phone equipment. :) There is absolutely no room in Le_Club for politics or flames. Many of us have had differences with others -ranging from small discussions to full-fledged flame wars- throughout the years, but we MUST leave them out of the echo. In addition to this, Le Club is not a technical echo, there is the conference NET_DEV that is more appropriate for technical matters. There will be no moderator in Le_Club, other than the persons in charge of periodically posting the echo's guidelines and participation statistics, also known as the hosts or "Logkeepers." By getting linked to Le_Club, you are committing yourself to being friendly towards everybody, and to refrain from starting hapless episodes. We believe it is still possible. FidoNews 9-33 Page 8 17 Aug 1992 Henk Wevers, Noel Bradford, Pablo Kleinman LOGKEEPERS ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Two new (and unrelated) echos: PCMAIL and POEMS By Bill Smith, Sysop Esprit Descalier, 236/28 There are two new echos available from 1:236/28: PCMAIL and POEMS. POEMS is an echo for the electronic publishing of poetry. It is primarily for those who like to write or read poetry. All articles should be copyright by the author or have explicit permission from the copyright holder for distribution. All topics of poetry are welcome although sexually explicit poetry is discouraged. Critiques, commentary and other articles that are not poems are considered off-topic but if there is a demand, a companion echo could be created for such things. The moderator is 'Bill Smith At 236/28'. Contact him via Netmail if you wish to establish a feed. PCMAIL is an echo devoted to the discussion of confidential (Private) Computer MAIL. Topics include the technology needed to guarantee that messages are read only by sender and recipient (and no sysops) and the issue of preventing such confidential mail from being used for illegal purposes. Other topics include the development of SequreNet, a secure Fidonet Technology Network Zone, the use of non-traditional media for transmitting messages such as surface mail, and applications of this technology to commercial applications. PCMAIL is available to both BBS users and Sysops and may be requested from Bill Smith At 236/28 via Netmail. POEMS and PCMAIL may not be gatewayed to other FTN zones or other networks except those of the standard Fidonet zones. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Al Filandro 1:141/885, 1:141/1885@Fidonet Rush-Fan Echo The Rush Fan echo is looking for a few more participants to get things flowing again. This echo concentrates solely on the rock-band RUSH-- its music, philosophy and popularity in the online world. The echo is currently being seen by approximately twenty BBS's in Fidonet and we hope you would consider joining in on the action. FidoNews 9-33 Page 9 17 Aug 1992 All I ask is that you poll my system once every week or two to pick up the mail packets in the echo on hold for you. To get started and to join others in the online community interested in RUSH, contact me netmail at 1:141/885 or 1:141/1885 or on my system, Cygnus X-I, located in Southington, CT (203-628-9702 or 203-620-0757). Warning: THIS IS NOT A RUSH LIMBAUGH ECHO -Al Filandro ---------------------------------------------------------------------- FidoNews 9-33 Page 10 17 Aug 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 (2400 only until further notice!) (Postal Service mailing address) (have patience) FidoNews c/o World Power Systems 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. Authors retain copyright on individual works; otherwise FidoNews is copyright 1992 Tom Jennings. All rights reserved. Duplication and/or distribution permitted for noncommercial purposes only. For use in other circumstances, please contact the original authors, or FidoNews (we're easy). OBTAINING COPIES: The-most-recent-issue-ONLY of 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 Internet. PRINTED COPIES may be obtained from Fido Software for $10.00US each PostPaid First Class within North America, or $13.00US elsewhere, mailed Air Mail. (US funds drawn upon a US bank only.) BACK ISSUES: Available from FidoNet nodes 1:102/138, 1:216/21, 1:125/1212, 1:107/519.1 (and probably others), via filerequest or download (consult a recent nodelist for phone numbers). INTERNET USERS: FidoNews is available via FTP from ftp.ieee.org, in directory ~ftp/pub/fidonew/fidonews. If you have questions regarding FidoNet, please direct them to fidoinfo@fidoinfo.fidonet.org, not the FidoNews BBS. 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 9-33 Page 11 17 Aug 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 ----------------------------------------------------------------------