F I D O N E W S -- | Vol. 9 No. 42 (19 October 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: Huh?! .............................................. 1 2. ARTICLES ...................................................... 2 Why We Don't Need New Laws .................................... 2 Region 18 More Fun Than A Barrel Of Rattlesnakes ............. 3 All Good Things ............................................... 4 Misconceptions Of Responsibility .............................. 6 Commodore C=128 Echo Backboned ................................ 7 Cohousing Echo ................................................ 8 The Brigadoon Village Network ................................. 8 EPUBNET - Electronic Publishing Network ....................... 10 New NATURIST echo ............................................. 11 3. FIDONEWS INFORMATION .......................................... 13 FidoNews 9-42 Page 1 19 Oct 1992 ====================================================================== EDITORIAL ====================================================================== Editorial: Huh?! by Tom Jennings (1:1/1) Another not so quiet week here at the FidoNews ranch. Privacy, encryption, BBS law, carrier vs. publiser status for BBSs and in-transit mail... I'm on two private Internet mailing lists, BBSLAW and CYPHERPUNKS. As well as a participant in the PUBLIC_KEYS echo. I can tell you, things are heating up, and we might actually get some definition or at least a seat-of-the-pants feel for where we stand regarding just how liable a sysop is for the traffic on their system. POLICY4 again leads the pack in naivete and silliness, outright banning "encryption" because it prevents sysops from censoring mail. Which practice is questionable anyways under US law. But anyways. I won't dwell on the subject until there's something solid to report. I will give you this to consider: there is very good reason to believe a sysop has only limited liability for messages in their system. And this liability may vary, depending on the type of message. For echomail, you've probably got fairly limited liability; you don't have control over them, and the traffic is too great to monitor. For in-transit mail, such as net hosts, it's probably near zero; this is carrier activity, and carriers are generally not liable for their content. None of this is "fact", it is my sense of what's going on. Most of the law in our area simply isn't defined. We are breaking new ground, and it's not always for the fainthearted. I would suggest also to net hosts, to consider if they really want to do the job, if they will not allow, nay, encourage, the free flow of traffic through their systems. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- FidoNews 9-42 Page 2 19 Oct 1992 ====================================================================== ARTICLES ====================================================================== Why We Don't Need New Laws by: Jack D. Feka 1:153/615 Chilliwack, B.C., Canada Janis Kracht's article in FidoNews 940 raises some interesting and vital issues not only concerning BBS's but about laws in general and our attitudes towards them. Ms. Kracht states that we should have better laws available to protect her and others from potential abusers of BBS's. We must realize, in the first place, that laws do not "protect" anybody from anything. What the laws do is establish the penalties that may be applied to people who are judged guilty of breaking them, and also procedures which must be followed in order to have a person judged and penalties applied. The only way any law is going to protect anyone is by judging someone else guilty even before they have acted and incapacitating them. Even now, Ms. Kracht is not immune from future assualts from the Johnson brothers, especially if they decide that they don't care about the consequences. Ms. Kracht might argue that if the penalties were stronger the deterrant would be more effective, and in many cases it would be provided that the potential abuser knew in advance about the penalties. In our increasingly complex world we have to be more and more prepared to accept that people are not going to be aware of all the laws which might affect them. Recently reported statistics stated that in the US, governments on all levels are enacting literally thousands of new laws EVERY DAY! Another aspect of having more and stronger laws is the enforcement of those laws. No law is effective if nobody is available or willing to enforce it. This implies that enforcement agencies must have the trained staff and the resources available to respond to complaints, investigate them and to undertake all the other steps which are necessary. To do this requires money and that, under our present system, would probably come from taxes. What Ms. Kracht seeks, in essence, is that somebody else pay for her privilege of operating a "very open" BBS. While I agree that it is laudable that she is willing to operate such an open system as she describes, I also believe she is being unrealistic if she returns to such a policy without taking any steps to protect herself unless she is prepared to accept the risk of a future assalt. FidoNews 9-42 Page 3 19 Oct 1992 I think Ms. Kracht's article was a great first step in the process of developing self-defense against potential abusers of a BBS: it made us aware of a potential problem for all who want to enter that activity. Now, rather than seek to change our laws, lets see what can be done using education, cooperation, technology and other resources within our reach to arm ourselves against such assaults. Especially with all the demands already erroding the public purse, I do not agree that we need new laws and enforcement capabilities for BBS's and other new technologies. Before we seek protection and remedies through the law we ought to do everything within our own power to protect ourselves. In doing so I believe we will not only strengthen ourselves but enhance our society and quality of life as well. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- By David Rye 3649/0 Region 18's Most Interesting Approach To Elections Region 18 is having a Regional Coordinator election. Sounds like a fairly simple proposition. And rain makes applesauce. When the current RC announced the election there was quite a feeling of shock to a lot of the sysops. There had been no talk before by the current RC about, "Hmmmmmm. Think I will hold an election next week, OK?" In fact, some people in the region felt that the election time for the RC position was long overdue. I myself was pleasantly surprised. My job as Net Coordinator is elected, so why shouldn't then RC's be? Even more shocking to the people banging around in the HOST18 (Regional NC & NEC) echo was that Ben (the current NC) was not going to run for the position. In all fairness, I can't say I envy him the job. There are always some people that you will make mad. It doesn't matter what you do, some are simply happier when they are making noise. The announcement in the HOST18 echo stated Mr. Mann's intent to hold an election, and laid down some basic guidelines for the rules. He also appointed another gentleman to be in charge of running the election. Due to some difficulties in timing, all the firm dates for the election had to be shifted back. Mostly this was a result of the slow propagation time of the HOST18 echo. Mr. Mann's rules included the following: 1) The region's NCs would be voting for their choice of candidate. 2) The only people eligible for the position would be current NCs. Very soon, the information concerning the election had made it into Region 18's general sysop echo. It caused a storm of messages. The topics of these messages ranged from simple "good-bye & thanks" type messages to some quite rude comments about the eligibility requirements. The messages that were upset about the requirements soon began to take on the aspects of an epic battle. Two sides formed, and the bickering became quite intense. On one hand was the side saying that someone with experience was needed to handle the RC FidoNews 9-42 Page 4 19 Oct 1992 spot because of the importance in handling the nodelist segments, etc. The other side rallied under a cry of an elitist conspiracy to keep "grunt sysops" from reaching the position. They also argued that experience in another net should count as experience in FidoNet. As of this writing, the battle has cooled somewhat, but there is still the occasional sniping taking place. Meanwhile, in the HOST18 echo, an amendment was made to the original rules to allow both past and current *Cs to run for the position. Since Region 18 has no formal policy, and no election guidelines, this was simply a request from Mr. Mann to allow this change. Soon thereafter, people in HOST18 began to nominate candidates for the RC position. At first there was a slight question as to whether a nomination must be seconded or not, but it was accepted as requiring a second. The candidates for the election were given access to the HOST18 echo so as to let them post their platforms. Some people were opposed to the idea of allowing the candidates access. Others felt that some had begun to get their echo feeds before it had been decided to let them in. There was a small back and forth message session between some of the HOST18 participants concerning these ideas. It was certainly more interesting that the weekly nodelist segment acknowledgements, however intense it became. There is more coming. I don't know exactly what else, but as always, it's bound to be worth the price of admission. ** grin ** The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author. If you are offended by them, go soak your head or drop me a note at 3649/10. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Butch Walker 1:157/2 All Good Things Must Come to an End. When George Peace appointed me to the ZEC position I had hoped to finally accomplish some objectives that had been left undone at the end of my first term back in 1989. Fidonet is in desperate need of a general Echomail Policy whether a stand alone policy or an inclusion into a rewritten Policy4. The Echomail Coordinator positions need to be properly defined as well. The 'backbone' in Zone 1 needs to become independant of the *ECs and have a well defined distribution agreement similar to the other independant echomail distribution systems such as Groupmail, K12_Net, etc. FidoNews 9-42 Page 5 19 Oct 1992 Over the last several months it has become obvious that I am spitting in the wind. Many moderators, Sysops and Users seem to believe that they are in possession of some God given rights to do as they please everyone else be damned. Added to that are some problems within my family that require my time and attention, plus my course load, a non-profit agency that needs my attention and I'm 15 days away from buying an equity position in a couple of insurance agencies that will eat 40 - 60 hours a week. Frankly life is hectic enough without the abuse that goes with a Fidonet position. With a heavy heart I am resigning as Zone Echomail Coordinator for Fidonet Zone 1 effective Monday October 19, 1992. I appologize to Zone 1 for not being able to accomplish some of my goals and can only hope that someone in the near future will be able to put things on the right track. I leave you with some thoughts. Fidonet had grown tremendously since I called the first meeting of the backbone in Chicago in September of 1986. Unfortunately it hasn't grown up or matured, it's just gotten bigger. Anarchy may be fine for an organization of 1,200 nodes but it's out of the question for an organization of 12,000 let alone an organization of our current size. An organization the size of Fidonet cannot afford the luxury of individuals in administrative positions that do nothing but occupy a node number. An organization the size of Fidonet in North America cannot continue to watch the echomail explosion without 'offical' guidelines that cover it's growth, operation, ettiqute and set some non-technical standards. Thom Henderson said in the fall of 1986 that Fidonet would collapse under the weight of echomail. I said in addressing the attendees of Fidocon '88 that echomail was the cocaine of Fidonet. I believe both statements are true today. Echomail, undirected or unregulated, will be the downfall of Fidonet. Not due to the volume or the expense, but at some point in time in the not too distant future without Fidonet guidelines echomail will cause a court action. Due to the adicting nature of echomail and it's tendency to make folks do or say things that they wouldn't do in a face to face manner, fewer and fewer will be willing to serve and those that do serve will do nothing to further the cause of Fidonet in order to avoid the slings and arrows of the adicted masses. Over the years I have been thrilled by the growth of both Fidonet and Echomail. I hope I have played a small role in that growth since I joined Fidonet in the fall of '85. I am disturbed by the lack of history that has been passed on however. Fidonet has lost it's roots and without roots growth will eventually stop when the tree topples. Few know of the pains we went through in the first year to get echomail off the ground nationally or internationally. That's sad, for without a knowledge of the past you can't appreciate the present nor plan for the future. FidoNews 9-42 Page 6 19 Oct 1992 I've rambled enough. I leave disappointed, but I hope Fidonet is a little better place leaving than when I came. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Misconceptions Of Responsibility By Brian Keahl 1:133/524 Americans have had so many years of freedom and economic growth that we have forgotten what creates it, how it is maintained, and how easily it can be destroyed. I believe our country is in terrible danger in both economic growth and personal freedoms. The problem has less to do with Republicans and Democrats and more to do with the fact the citizens of the United States of America do not understand how our government works. Please, if you read this no further, locate and read the constitution of our great country. It is not very long and it is not very hard to understand. The constitution is divided into four parts. These parts are the preamble, articles, signatures, and amendments. The articles of the constitution dictate how government works. Since we have election campaigns in progress I think it is important to understand what the president and congress are empowered to do. You may find that candidates are claiming they will do things that they can not do and that others are taking credit and being given blame for things they can not control. Article I (A fancy way to say chapter one) describes congress. An interesting portion of article I (Section 7) is that it gives congress the right to pass any piece of legislation it wants simply by two-thirds of them agreeing that it is the right thing to do. A two- thirds vote by the house of representatives and the senate overrides a presidential veto. In other words, the president lacks the power to stop congress from implementing laws (and taxes) if congress can get two-thirds of the members to agree. Congress is also given the right (and responsibility), in section 8, to borrow money and regulate commerce and trade with foreign countries. By virtue of this congress controls the flow of economic aid and business development capital inside our own country and to foreign countries. Article II of the constitution gives the president control over the army and navy, the ability to grant pardons and reprieves, and to make treaties as long as two-thirds of the senate agree. The president does not have the right to control domestic spending or taxes at all. The only recourse the president has is to veto, which can be over-ridden by the congress by a two-thirds agreement. FidoNews 9-42 Page 7 19 Oct 1992 Given the limited power of the president it is surprising to me that he is burdened with the blame for unfair taxes, government debt, and the domestic troubles our country is perceived to face. Congress determines where the money goes and where it comes from, the president can only choose to veto or sign. It angers me that a congress and senate controlled by democrats can not create bills which are clearly good enough for our country and get a two-thirds vote to override a presidential veto. If this can not be accomplished then I must assume we have an inept congress, the bills are not really in the general interest of our country, or the combination of both. Congress took great pride in the one override that it managed: A cable television bill. With high taxes, government debt, crime, and unemployment our elected congressmen marshall their incredible power and responsibility to ensure we have some new "rights", of questionable value, in watching television. If the bills that the president vetoed were as important as many congressional members claim, why didn't they override it like they did with the cable bill? Lets give credit where due and blame where it belongs. Evaluate congress and the president based upon the powers and responsibilities given when you go to the polls. Read and understand the constitution and its definition of powers and then evaluate our leaders and the promises of our candidates. The president has the power and responsibility to deal with foreign affairs, treaties and ability to veto legislation. Congress has the power and responsibility of creating a balanced budget, collecting revenue (taxes), and passing laws. Consider the implications of a president that agrees with the choices congress is making. Consider whether we really want a congress that has operated in the manner we have seen. Consider placing your vote based upon the power and responsibility of the office and the ability of the candidate to fulfill those needs. It's time for a change all right, but not where many seem to think it is needed. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Commodore C=128 Echo Backboned By Jim Speerbrecher FidoNet 1:154/92 On-Line 9 Pm to 9 Am CDT Echo Tag: CBM-128 FidoNews 9-42 Page 8 19 Oct 1992 I would like to invite you all to pick up the CBM-128 echo. CBM-128 is a support echo where C=128 users can share information about the C=128 computer, its software, its peripherals, programming it, news and reviews, etc.. The CBM-128 echo is important to C=128 users, because it is one of the few avenues of support for the C=128 that is growing at a time when industry support is declining. The FIDOSTAT.NA released 10-Oct-92 shows that CBM-128 has been accepted for FidoNet Zone 1 Backbone distribution. So you can now get CBM-128 through your regular echo feed. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Cohousing Echo by Wilma Keppel, 1:283/657 Community Living Project, P.O. Box 2262, Iowa City, IA 52244-2262 Cohousing is a type of cooperative housing which originated in Denmark about 20 years ago and is becoming more and more popular in Europe and the United States. Since the concept reached the States in 1988, several communities have been built here, more are under construction,and more than 90 cohousing development groups have formed. The COHOUSING echo was started by my development group, the Community Living Project, as a way to network with other cohousers, hold electronic meetings, and provide a way for interested people to find out about cohousing and link up with groups or individuals in their area. Groups which are spread out geographically are invited to hold meetings on the echo; localized groups can hold meetings there until it becomes a problem for others. The echo is currently available from 1:283/657 and 1:285/666, and should appear in the November Echolist. Please netmail for more information. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Brigadoon Village Network This world's chill and damp and drear. Our plight Like Sisyphus to push uphill all day And stop to see it roll down and away. Each with our little secrets this cold night We weary, turn, then see a welcome sight: Of warmth and friendship - shelter for each stray - FidoNews 9-42 Page 9 19 Oct 1992 An open door and a safe place to stay. (Where Holly serves up drinks for free each night.) Come in and meet the crew - there's Max who's Mad, There's Rebel, Cherry, Woody, and Nitehawk, A Tiger (Black), two wolves called Z and Vlad, And many many others come to talk. To talk and share and laugh a little while, And chance a glance at J'mes to see him smile. for information or to join Brigadoon contact: James Pallack (aka J'mes) 1:325/101.0 FidoNet 10:802/101.0 Brigadoon pallack@wsyd.com InterNet For information package, FREQ the magic name: BRIGADOON ECHO TAG Conference Title =================== ==================================== SysOp's Conference: BRIGADOON Brigadoon City Hall (SysOp's only) (Real Names) The CORE group: BW_A_PARLOR Auntie Bellums Parlor BW_AUDIOACTIVE Punk Rap Heavy Metal Bouts BW_GRAFWALL Great way to meet people BW_GREEN_DRAGON Green Dragon Good Time Pub BW_PLAY Dragons, Fire Lizards and such. BW_GUVMINT Whats wrong w/our government BW_INSANITY Insanity, anything goes BW_MAYBE Just say Maybe to drugs BW_OPENFORUM What ever, open to all BW_PAGANS_AN Pagans Against Normalcy BW_PARACITY Where the Down boys go! BW_VIDEOACTIVE Cult Movies, Bad Films, tapes. etc. BW_BOOKSACTIVE SciFi Books, Cult ,etc.. BW_DRUGINIT Talk Of the use of Drugs Little Secret's World (>= 18) SECRETS_BED Down and dirty with Little Secrets PLAYROOM everybody needs a toy KITCHEN_FUN Fun with food & Oral delights FidoNews 9-42 Page 10 19 Oct 1992 ROMAN_BATH More fun than soap on a rope! DR_PIXIE Sexual advice, better than Dr. Ruth! PLEASURE Lonely hearts club BASEMENT For you kinky people DIAL_TONE general chat area *NEW* Pyewackett & Gene's place WACKO As the name implies Some InterNet conferences that I think belong alt.fan.pern Anne McCaffrey's PERN conference. alt.pub.dragons-inn The Dragon's INN alt.vampyres Vampires Conference (e.g. Anne Rice) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- EPubNet - The Electronic Publishing Network by Kief Morris 1:3603/210 Nowadays we have enormous power and flexibility at our fingertips when we write documents using a computer. However, most publishers abandon this power by distributing their publications on paper. Electronic publishing lets readers tap the power of the computer to read text, by offering the ability to scan, leap around within the document at whim, etc. This publication is an example of EPub in its simplest form - for more sophisticated examples we need only turn to the hypertext help systems which come with most high-end programs and GUI's today. The Electronic Publishing Network has been started to support EPub in two major ways - by providing echoes for people to communicate ideas and information, and by building an electronic distribution system for publications and related files. EPubNet uses regular Fido numbers, so there's no need for new aka's and the associated hassle - essentially, we're simply establishing our own, alternative distribution system for our echoes and files. Who is EPubNet for? Anybody who is at all interested in the concept of EPub! There are echoes where people new to the idea of EPub can ask questions, where you can get help on using hypertext and other authoring software, and where you can discuss ideas for better ways to write, format, publish and distribute publications. Here are the main (non-administrative) echoes we are distributing: EP-AUTHOR For authors interested in writing for electronic publication. EP-BOOKSTORE Running a BBS as a location for people FidoNews 9-42 Page 11 19 Oct 1992 to download publications. EP-GENERAL General EPub Chat/Discussion echo. EP-PUBLISH For publishers and self-publishers to discuss the business of electronic publishing. EP-TOOLS General support echo for electronic authoring software, such as hypertext programs. The authors of several such programs are already participating in the net, with more expected! What's in it for you? If you're a writer interested in EPub, the net will give you BBS's where you can discuss ideas with others, and make contacts with publishers. We also distribute electronic authoring tools, such as shareware hypertext programs. If you are a publisher or self-published author, not only does EPubNet let you communicate with others in this fledgling trade, it also provides a way to distribute your publications to a number of systems with a single upload. We intend to explore other avenues of distributing member publications, so you can get wide distribution with little effort and no cost (other than the initial upload). Sysops - you can help users interested in EPub connect with others via the echoes, plus you can build a sizeable collection of publication files. General users will be able to find "Electronic Bookstores," BBS's they can call to find a variety of the latest publications. EPubNet is new, but we're committed to building a viable support organization for all kinds of people interested in EPub. We've got a lot of plans to support this effort, and we not only want members, we also want people with ideas to help the net grow and succeed in its goals. Interested? More details are provided in a file called: EPUBINFO.ZIP, available from: Kief Morris 1:3603/210 (v42) N.L. Hargrove 1:301/301 (v42b) 1:301/1 (HST) Feel free to netmail either sysop with questions, or post a message in the OTHERNETS echo. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- New NATURIST echo Wayne Silsbee 1:105/222 FidoNews 9-42 Page 12 19 Oct 1992 As life becomes more and more stressful, an increasing number of people are finding family-oriented nude recreation to be the perfect tonic. And whether joining in with an organized club or resort, or going out to a secluded spot for some sunning and skinny dipping, the social climate has never been more favorable to enjoying nude recreation. There is now an echo for naturism/nudism discussion. In the NATURIST echo, discussions may range from recent outings and information concerning establishment or closure of public areas designated for nude recreation to personal reasons for being involved in nudism. Are you looking for a club or a public clothing optional place in your area? Are you someone who finds yourself usually nude when you're home, and you would like to find out more about social nudism? Or are you just curious about what kind of person would *want* to run around stark nekkid :) ? If you answered 'Yes' to any of the above, NATURIST is the place to be. The two primary feed points for NATURIST are 1:105/222 (v32b) and 1:3401/1 (HST/v32b). This is not an adult echo. Nudism isn't about orgies or swinging. Entire families enjoy nudism -- we would like to keep the echo family-oriented as well. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- FidoNews 9-42 Page 13 19 Oct 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@fidosw.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/fidonet/fidonews. If you have questions regarding FidoNet, please direct them to deitch@gisatl.fidonet.org, not the FidoNews BBS. (Be kind and patient; David Deitch is generously volunteering to handle FidoNet/Internet questions.) FidoNews 9-42 Page 14 19 Oct 1992 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". "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 ----------------------------------------------------------------------