F I D O N E W S -- | Vol. 10 No. 8 (22 February 1993) A newsletter of the | FidoNet BBS community | Published by: _ | / \ | "FidoNews" BBS /|oo \ | +1-415-863-2739 (_| /_) | NEW!--> 1:1/23@FidoNet _`@/_ \ _ | editor@fidonews.fidonet.org | | \ \\ | | (*) | \ )) | Editors: |__U__| / \// | Tom Jennings _//|| _\ / | Tim Pozar (_/(_|(____/ | (jm) | Newspapers should have no friends. | -- JOSEPH PULITZER ----------------------------+--------------------------------------- /********************************************************************* * IMPORTANT NOTE: The FidoNet address for FidoNews has been changed. * * The new address is: * * * * FidoNews = 1:1/23 * * * * Starting January 1993 email sent to the old address will not be * * forwarded! You were warned! * *********************************************************************/ For information, copyrights, article submissions, obtaining copies and other boring but important details, please refer to the end of this file. Table of Contents 1. EDITORIAL ..................................................... 1 Editorial: Almost time to be going ............................ 1 2. ARTICLES ...................................................... 3 Z1C election results .......................................... 3 A complete nodelist from 1985 ................................. 3 A Response To "The Youth of FidoNet" .......................... 9 Caller ID: Should it be outlawed? ............................ 9 Points in FidoNet ............................................. 11 Japanese Language Echo ........................................ 12 The Lighter Side of BBSing .................................... 12 3. FIDONEWS INFORMATION .......................................... 15 FidoNews 10-08 Page 1 22 Feb 1993 ====================================================================== EDITORIAL ====================================================================== Editorial: Almost time to go home Tom Jennings (1:1/23) Gee, I am almost regretting giving up FidoNewsEditorHoodShip. How else can I get away with annoying so many so easily? It will be nice however to be able to get on with (other parts of) my life. And the new editors, Silvia Maxwell and Donald Tees, of 1:221/192, seem to be ready to deal with FidoNews. If all goes well, the swap over starts *now*. The new address for 1:1/23 should be in the next nodediff, even though the next issue on 28 Feb will be done by me. After that, the new editors take over. On top of all that, I'm moving. Joshua and I are looking for an apartment now, somewhere within San Francisco. Our cooperative household has broken up, amiably; our six-year project is done. We'll be out of here by 1 March. (Our warehouse is being taken over by members of CONTRABAND, a high-tech dance group, and some of their friends.) So I'll be pulling the plug on my BBS around that time, and resurfacing... I don't know when. Maybe not for a while. I won't be completely unreachable though. I will maintain my (new) Internet host, address below. You can contact me from FidoNet easily enough, using a UFGATE site. (UFGATE sites, ie. FidoNet/Internet gateways, are flagged in the nodelist; check the nodelist for details.) basically, you address a message "TO:" the UFgate FidoNet address, embed the Internet address in the message *body*, and the gateway looks at the message and delivers it onward. You simply enter a FidoNet message however you do that now, and do two special things: ONE make the TO: name be "UUCP" (no quotes) an TWO put the Internet address as the first line of the message body, with one blank line after it. For example: to: UUCP ;you must do this from: (your name, etc) FidoNet: ;refer to nodelist ------------------------- message body follows ------------------ to: tomj@fido.wps.com ;my internet address ;ONE BLANK LINE! Hello, my name is Mr. X. Wanglefart, you don't remember me, but I pointed out to you a missing semicolon in FidoNews 1-02, and you never groveled or othewise congratulated me on finding this important mistake. ... ... FidoNews 10-08 Page 2 22 Feb 1993 The first line of the message body MUST start with "to:", followed by one or more blanks, followed by the full internet address without extraneous gunk following it. The regular FidoNet "TO:" field MUST contain the word UUCP. This is what triggers the UFGATe package to look'n'see if it's an internet message. Well it's been swell, really. I'm not going away forever, and my Internet address is permanent. Stay tuned for new developments... ---------------------------------------------------------------------- FidoNews 10-08 Page 3 22 Feb 1993 ====================================================================== ARTICLES ====================================================================== Z1C election results Don Dawson 1:141/730 (aka 1:16/0) [margins edited for FidoNews] Date: Thu Feb 18 1993 20:02:42 From: Don Dawson To: Zone 1 Sysops Subj: Z1C election - Round 1 Attr: sent ---------------------------------------------------------------- * Original to: Zone 1 Sysops at 1:0/0 CC'd to: Ben Mann, Rich Wood, Kevin Mcneil, Jim Bodine Matt Ionson, Bob Satti, John Summers, Gary Johnson Peter Zurich, Mark Skaff, Paul Williams, Ron Poulin Rick Haburne, DAN GUENTHNER, Tim Pearson, George Peace Matt Whelan, David Garrett, Mark Lynch, Bryan Hochberg Bill Andrus, Marv Carson, Christopher Baker, Bob Davis xc: Z1_ELECTION, REGCON Candidate: Pearson Satti Wood ======= ===== ===== Passwords: democracy we_did_it burner intrinsic eileen construed voxpopuli region 16 skyline mdlynch Policy4 requires an absolute majority vote to select a Zone Coordinator. As no candidate received the required number of ballots, a runoff will occur between Mr. Pearson and Mr. Satti. On behalf of all of the RC's I would like to extend our special thanks to all of the candidates for offering to serve the sysops in Zone 1. Don Dawson RC16 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- I ran across this ancient nodelist, from February of 1985, and just for fun, I thought I'd run it in FidoNews. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO DIAL ANY OF THESE PHONE NUMBERS!!! THEY ARE ALL INCORRECT NOW!! FidoNews 10-08 Page 4 22 Feb 1993 Consider that this nodelist was considered gigantic, at that time. Distributing the nodelist took up nearly all of ZMH (does anyone remember what phrase "ZMH" replaced?), and the looming of the 64K nodelist terrified all; there were dire warnings that "unless controlled, it would kill FidoNet". Ho hum. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO DIAL ANY OF THESE PHONE NUMBERS! THEY ARE ALL INCORRECT NOW!!! Oh how the network has changed... nearly noone knows about how, before routing (a forgotten art) the nodelist defined incoming hosts. And how many mailers these days properly handle incoming mail. Oh well. ; ;Node list updated 08 Feb 85 by Fido 51 ; ;Please send updates,corrections or other information to Fido 51. ;The latest version of Fido is Ver. 10e.Also make sure ;that you pick up copies of all the new SYSOP maintenance utilities. ;Make sure you obtain a copy of the FidoNews now being published ;weekly by Fido 1.You may submit articles to Fido's 1 or 51. ;This listing is published once a week and should be available to ;download from the text file area on Fido 51 Friday evenings ;From here on what we receive in Friday mornings FidoNet mail will ;not be published until a week later. ; 001 25 1200 Fido's-Board 1-415-864-1418 San_Francisco..CA 002 25 1200 CLP_Fido 1-301-484-2831 Baltimore......MD 003 25 1200 Fido_South 1-404-938-4808 Atlanta........GA 004 25 1200 Bulldog 1-314-441-9297 St_Louis.......MO 006 25 300 CastleNet 1-503-754-5244 Corvallis......OR 007 25 1200 Bob_Overlock 1-808-338-1277 Waimea.........HI 009 25 1200 Silver_Screen -Unpublished- Middlebury.....CT 010 25 1200 MDC_RCC 1-314-234-1462 St_Louis.......MO ;011 25 1200 PRO_TECH 1-714-898-8634 Cypress........CA 013 25 1200 Verns_Fido 1-408-923-5565 San_Jose.......CA 014 25 1200 WayStar 1-617-481-7147 Marlboro.......MA 016 25 1200 Mikes_Board 1-314-726-3448 St_Louis.......MO 017 25 1200 DCA_BBS 1-314-962-0395 St_Louis.......MO 021 25 1200 Phoenix_Sfwr 1-617-769-0850 Norwood........MA 022 25 1200 PCLUG 1-314-576-2743 St_Louis.......MO 025 25 1200 Take-A-Byte 1-714-847-5025 Anaheim........CA 026 25 1200 MicroFonePC 1-209-227-2083 Fresno.........CA 027 25 1200 Daves_Fido 1-617-632-1861 Gardner........MA 028 25 1200 World_Control 1-301-653-2074 Baltimore......MD 031 25 1200 HamRadioWest 1-714-681-0974 Riverside......CA 032 25 1200 Artesia_BBS 1-213-402-6217 Artesia........CA 033 225 1200 Rod_Smallwood 011-44-635-46480 London....ENGLAND 036 25 1200 Rainbow_Data 1-213-204-2996 Culver_City....CA 042 25 1200 MetChem 1-203-281-7287 New_Haven......CT 043 25 1200 Seequa_Comptr 1-301-672-3627 Odenton........MD 044 25 1200 NECS 1-617-646-3610 Arlington......MA 045 25 1200 Midnite_DEC 1-617-353-7528 Boston.........MA FidoNews 10-08 Page 5 22 Feb 1993 046 25 1200 Joe's_Rainbow 1-305-321-2369 St_Mary........FL 047 25 1200 The_Workshop 1-714-974-6925 Anaheim_Hills..CA 048 25 1200 El_Dorado 1-713-488-8771 Houston........TX 049 25 1200 NW/RBBS-PC 1-503-233-6583 Portland.......OR 050 25 1200 Crystal_Cavern 1-512-263-5805 Austin.........TX 051 25 1200 DECUS_Central 1-314-432-4129 St_Louis.......MO 052 25 1200 TOPCC 1-805-499-8378 Thousand_Oaks..CA 053 25 1200 SE_C-Board 1-404-928-1876 Woodstock......GA 054 25 1200 CEL_Comm_1 1-206-725-9413 Seattle........WA 056 25 1200 Denver-Fido 1-303-973-9338 Denver.........CO 057 25 1200 MCCPowers 1-312-480-8730 Northbrook.....IL 058 25 1200 PiCoSystems 1-714-855-3282 El_Toro........CA 059 25 1200 Washco_FidoNet 1-503-629-5581 Beaverton......OR 060 25 1200 Artichoke 1-713-870-8803 Houston........TX 061 25 1200 RAMS 1-507-289-8452 Rochester......MN 062 25 1200 Data_Jockey 1-206-643-0909 Bellevue.......WA 063 25 1200 WCE 1-313-623-1089 Waterford......MI 064 25 1200 Graf_Spee 1-713-530-2334 Houston........TX ;065 25 1200 TWACS 1-314-895-6471 St_Louis.......MO 066 25 1200 Info*Net 1-714-642-4408 Costa_Mesa.....CA 067 25 1200 DEC_Domain 1-806-795-0102 Lubbock........TX 069 25 1200 Sailboard 1-313-887-7429 Highland.......MI 071 25 1200 RosenburgExpr 1-713-342-9349 Rosenburg......TX 072 25 1200 HarryChesley 1-415-563-2491 San_Francisco..CA 073 25 1200 Eagle-1 1-617-881-6495 Ashland........MA 074 25 1200 The_Bears_Den 1-703-671-0598 Falls_Church...VA 075 25 1200 ThumbTech 1-214-985-7926 Plano..........TX 077 25 1200 GMCC 1-303-497-6968 Boulder........CO 079 25 1200 DEC-WARE 1-212-535-8924 NewYork........NY 080 25 1200 EldonZiegler 1-301-992-3835 Columbia.......MD 082 25 1200 DEC-House 1-609-429-6630 CherryHill.....NJ ;083 25 1200 Harmer's_Hut 1-215-565-7639 Philadelphia...PA 084 25 1200 SCI-Fido 1-415-834-3319 Oakland........CA 085 25 1200 Allens-Board 1-513-579-2587 Cincinnati.....OH 086 25 1200 Grummans-Fido 1-516-575-5838 Bethpage.......NY 087 25 1200 DeusXmachina 1-619-286-7838 San_Diego......CA 088 25 1200 Wizards_Tower 1-201-288-9076 Teterboro......NJ 089 25 1200 Boondocks 1-309-794-0289 Rock_Island....IL 090 25 1200 MidNet 1-608-233-8449 UW_Madison.....WI 091 25 1200 The_DEAD_END 1-512-255-1282 Round_Rock.....TX 092 25 1200 PCUTILboard 1-313-393-0527 Detroit........MI 099 25 1200 The_REAL_Fido -Unpublished- San_Francisco..CA ; 104 25 1200 BYTEnetListings 1-603-924-9820 Peterborough...NH 108 25 1200 Samson 1-312-991-8304 RollingMeadows.IL 115 25 1200 Arquimedes 1-202-332-9512 Washington.....DC 117 225 1200 Jim_Filgo 011-62-21-372518 Jakarta.INDONESIA 122 25 1200 MDS 1-703-893-4715 Falls_Church...VA 124 25 1200 TimeLifeBks 1-703-838-7355 Alexandria.....VA 125 25 1200 Radar's_Node 1-703-978-0351 Fairfax........VA 130 25 1200 Paul_Munson 1-714-650-6422 Costa_Mesa.....CA 131 25 1200 UofA_CAG 1-602-621-2097 Tucson.........AZ ; ; Nodes assigned by Fido 9,Jim Ryan ; ;200 25 1200 Grinnell_Fido -DOWN- Grinnell.......IA FidoNews 10-08 Page 6 22 Feb 1993 201 25 1200 HamRadioNet 1-203-665-1114 Newington......CT 202 25 1200 DEC-Line 1-617-721-1688 Winchester.....MA 204 25 1200 NobelHouse 1-212-534-8557 New_York.......NY 205 25 1200 DataCom 1-212-496-7946 New_York.......NY 206 25 1200 BlueStar -Unpublished- Edmonds........WA 207 25 1200 NorthernReaches 1-203-865-1794 New_Haven......CT 208 25 1200 Bruce's_Fido 1-203-236-3761 West_Hartford..CT 209 25 1200 FiresignTheater 1-203-234-0742 North_Haven....CT 210 25 1200 Rainbow's_End 1-203-453-1089 Guilford.......CT 211 25 1200 MicroSolutions 1-302-764-7522 Wilmington.....DE ; ; Nodes in the 300 Series assigned by Fido 51 SYSOP's ; ;300 25 1200 WeyCoFidoByter -DOWN- Federal_Way....WA 301 25 1200 Beyond_War 1-213-477-5706 Los_Angeles....CA 303 25 1200 Strictly_Sfwr 1-808-944-0562 Honolulu.......HI 304 25 1200 Westlake_BBS 1-512-327-7926 Austin.........TX 305 25 1200 The_Pacesetter 1-301-299-3228 Potomac........MD 306 25 300 Left_Cartridge 1-513-797-7040 Cincinnati.....OH 307 25 1200 DalTex_FIDOnet 1-214-991-7934 Dallas.........TX 308 25 1200 Software_PLUS 1-513-621-9273 Cincinnati.....OH 309 25 1200 Marc's_FIDO -Unpublished- Portland.......OR 310 25 1200 Daves_Annex 1-617-874-4325 Westminister...MA 311 25 1200 The_Lair 1-305-830-8494 Altamonte_Spgs.FL 312 25 300 Cinci_Comm_Net 1-513-874-0226 Fairfield......OH 313 25 1200 Mikes_Rainbow 1-714-537-7355 Garden_Grove...CA 314 25 1200 O_P_Harbour 1-817-294-7383 Ft_Worth.......TX 315 25 1200 DD_Network 1-617-536-9410 Boston.........MA 316 25 1200 Miami_1st_Fido 1-305-554-4602 Miami..........FL 317 25 1200 DEC-WARE_II 1-201-750-3748 Iselin.........NJ 318 25 1200 PC_Week 1-617-449-4727 Needham........MA 319 25 1200 TriBury_Fido 1-203-574-2449 Waterbury......CT 320 25 1200 Surprise_Pak 1-203-795-0339 Orange.........CT 321 25 1200 CANADA_1 1-416-226-9260 Willowdale....ONT 322 25 1200 PTC_Net 1-206-757-5233 Mt_Vernon......WA 323 25 1200 PC-Exploration 1-214-530-9143 Garland........TX 324 25 1200 UW_Hat 1-608-262-4469 Madison........WI 325 25 1200 Quantum_BBS 1-301-340-2486 Potomac........MD 326 25 1200 The_Barn_Board 1-513-752-8248 Cincinnati.....OH 327 25 1200 CanadaRemote4 1-416-231-0538 Toronto.......ONT 328 25 1200 CanadaRemote6 1-416-231-1262 Toronto.......ONT 329 25 1200 Computer_Aide 1-918-493-2137 Tulsa..........OK 330 25 1200 Buzzboard 1-617-577-8092 Cambridge......MA 331 25 1200 MSFIDO 1-213-250-8085 Los_Angeles....CA 332 25 300 American_Conn 1-713-831-3768 Houston........TX 333 25 1200 Rainbow_BBS 1-602-952-2146 Phoenix........AZ 334 25 1200 Micro_Broker 1-303-534-5456 Denver.........CO 335 25 1200 Phil's_Fido 1-301-921-0111 Gaithersburg...MD 336 25 1200 Berkshire 1-714-632-9117 Anaheim........CA 337 25 1200 Music-Terminal 1-714-826-2986 Cypress........CA 338 25 1200 RHS_BBS 1-808-244-9789 Wailuki........HI 339 25 1200 Midnight_Cnct 1-314-961-1585 St_Louis.......MO 341 25 1200 DASUG 1-303-431-0051 Denver.........CO 342 25 1200 InaNet 1-313-662-2184 Ann_Arbor......MI 343 25 1200 PC_Interconn 1-713-955-8120 Houston........TX 344 25 1200 The_Dog_House 1-904-721-3804 Jacksonville...FL FidoNews 10-08 Page 7 22 Feb 1993 345 25 1200 Alligator_Board -Unpublished- Gainsville.....FL 346 25 1200 Spiv 1-408-972-8164 San_Jose.......CA 347 25 1200 Dennis_Washburn 1-808-486-0407 Honolulu.......HI 348 225 300 Day_Rainbow 011-46-54-133170 Karlstad...SWEDEN 349 225 300 Sun_City_Fido 011-46-54-166988 Karlstad...SWEDEN 350 25 1200 SD_Rainbow_LUG 1-619-488-2116 San_Diego......CA 351 25 1200 CP/M-Net(tm)_E2 1-201-249-0690 Somerset.......NJ 352 25 1200 DG_Haus 1-713-681-9629 Houston........TX 353 25 1200 LYMPH_NODE 1-817-294-9386 Fort_Worth.....TX 354 25 1200 Campus_Linkup 1-713-333-2309 Houston........TX 355 25 1200 Bug_Board 1-602-621-7167 Tuscon.........AZ 356 25 1200 AUA_Net -Unpublished- Houston........TX 357 25 1200 Chips_And_Disks 1-914-352-6801 Spring_Valley..NY 358 25 1200 Rainbow_C -Unpublished- Austin.........TX 359 25 1200 LINDA 1-301-340-1376 Rockville......MD 360 25 300 The_Doggies_Den 1-817-277-8983 Ft_Worth.......TX 361 25 1200 WSO's_Roost 1-503-281-0952 Portland.......OR 362 25 1200 NYU_Med_Center 1-212-889-7022 New_York.......NY 363 25 300 Photo_Com_II 1-203-775-4898 Brookfield.....CT 364 25 300 Bearworks 1-914-352-3814 Spring_Valley..NY 365 25 1200 Tenn_Valley_Com 1-205-883-6154 Huntsville.....AL 366 25 1200 LOGON_Logon 1-801-753-4210 Logan..........UT 367 25 1200 RBG-ENG_HOOTNET 1-617-486-2285 Littleton......MA 368 25 1200 The_Bit_Box 1-817-861-1581 Arlington......TX 369 25 1200 Jim's_Fido -Unpublished- Portland.......OR 370 25 1200 Delta_Fido_1 -Unpublished- Anaheim........CA 371 25 1200 ModiFido 1-415-282-2366 San_Francisco..CA 372 25 1200 CP/M_SIG-INCIBM 1-303-465-1313 Denver.........CO 373 25 1200 Mega_Kauai 1-808-245-2080 Kauai..........HI 374 25 1200 Tuscon_Mts 1-602-743-9460 Tuscon.........AZ 375 25 1200 SEAboard 1-201-478-1633 Clifton........NJ 376 25 1200 Reference_Desk 1-513-372-4001 Xenia..........OH 377 25 1200 Fido_? 1-912-453-8567 Milledgeville..GA 378 25 1200 Plaza_Watchdog 1-805-687-9472 Santa_Barbara..CA 379 25 1200 HOVERCRAFT_BBS 1-818-354-7661 Altadena.......CA 380 25 1200 Mike's_C_Board 1-619-722-8724 Oceanside......CA 381 25 1200 CanadaRemote9 1-416-231-8078 Toronto.......ONT 382 25 1200 Wile_E_Coyote 1-214-380-8101 Dallas.........TX 383 25 1200 Saturday_RB 1-213-618-8454 Torrance.......CA 384 25 1200 PITT-BULL 1-412-257-2375 Pittsburgh.....PA 385 25 1200 EAGLE-2 -Unpublished- Ashland........MA 386 25 1200 Bit_Bucket 1-316-343-8028 Emporia........KS ; ; If you are not served by an outbound host, your Route.BBS file ; should contain the following (less the semicolon of course): ; (The list is now shown in the new format allowed in V10 and up) ; ; Route-To 1 ; 1,99 ; Route-To 27 ; 14,21,27,44,45,73,202,310,315,318,330,340,345,348,349,367 ; Route-To 36 ; 11,25,31,32,36,47,52,58,66,87,130,301,313,331,336,337,350 ; * 370,378,383 ; Route-To 50 ; 50,91,304,358 FidoNews 10-08 Page 8 22 Feb 1993 ; Route-To 51 ; 4,10,16,17,22,51,65,339 ; Route-To 56 ; 56,77,334,341,372 ; Route-To 59 ; 59,206,309,369 ; Route-To 60 ; 60,352,356 ; Route-To 61 ; 61,302 ; Route-To 69 ; 63,69 ; # Route-To 73 ; # 73,385 ; Route-To 79 ; * 79,88,204,205,317,351,362 ; Route-To 85 ; 85,306,308,312,326 ; Route-To 207 ; 42,207,209,210,320 ; Route-To 314 ; 314,368 ; Route-To 319 ; 9,319 ; Route-To 327 ; 327,328,381 ; Route-To 332 ; 332,343 ; Route-To 347 ; 117,347 ; # Route-To 357 ; # 357,364 ; ; *INDICATES CHANGE ON THIS UPDATE ; #INDICATES ADDITION ON THIS UPDATE ; ; This will direct your mail to the appropriate inbound host (and save ; you money as all messages to a given host are sent in one call).Check ; this section of the nodelist as new nodes are added, the ROUTE.BBS ; will be updated also. ; ; Little Dog Lost List; ; If anyone has information on these Fidos ; please contact Fido 51 SYSOP's ; 54,57,59,80,124 ; ; The following nodes are in the Dog Pound; ; (they will be removed from the list permanently ; unless we hear a yelp!) ; ; ; Tomb Of The Lost SYSOP ; "Here lies Fido, may his Yell be silenced forever" ; 05 Alan_Batie,08 Demon,18 Steve_Hedlund,34 Crossfire ; 35 Cosult_Net,38 Bill_1000_Jr,39 Karl_Reiger,40 Ron Crain ; 203 Dark_Planet,81 PC-World,302 Don_Quixote,78 LivingSober FidoNews 10-08 Page 9 22 Feb 1993 ; 340 Leading_Edge ; ;Please direct all changes to this nodelist to Fido 51 DO NOT ATTEMPT TO DIAL ANY OF THESE PHONE NUMBERS! THEY ARE ALL INCORRECT NOW!!! ---------------------------------------------------------------------- By Matt Barton, 1:231/70 A Response To "The Youth of FidoNet" I have read many articles in FidoNews from teenage SysOps who complain about the disrespect they receive from adult SysOps withing their nets. One such article was printed in last weeks FidoNews, written by a SysOp named Isaac Salpeter. I'm not going to add to the melting pot of complaints, or show you how nicely I can write an article, but to provide you with a possible solution. This article is aimed at teenage SysOps. But first things first ... I am 16 years old and I run a BBS called Guru Meditation and have been in FidoNet for the past two years. There, now we're done with the boring part. :-) Now, for the real purpose of this article ... I have found that the best way to solve this "problem of disrespect" is to not go right out and tell people how old you really are. Let them figure it out from the messages you write. It's always fun to write messages to someone and later tell them how old you are and to find out that they're totally amazed because they thought you were much older. The key here is to act mature and to use your head. FidoNet is an adult's world and in order for you to survive, you must act like one. And now for our adult readers ... realize that real life teenage troublemakers are less likely to be FidoNet SysOps, but SysOps who do not have a clue as to how to setup and run their BBS, let alone setup and run FidoNet software. Thank You ---------------------------------------------------------------------- By: Chris Farrar 1:246/20 Caller ID, Should it be Outlawed? =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= FidoNews 10-08 Page 10 22 Feb 1993 Calling Line Identification, or Caller ID is now coming to a phone near you. Is this new technology a blessing, or a curse? Where I live, in area code 519 (Windsor, Ontario, Canada), the services refered to as Call Management Features, will not be available until early in May. There is considerable debate on the possible use, and abuse, of Caller ID, both in our local echos, and in the national telephone echos. I have already purchased a Call SecurID system to control access to my BBS, and intend to have it up and running before Bell Canada activates CMF here in Windsor. I also intend to use the features of the Call SecurID board to prohibit people who call with the option to block the display of their number on Caller ID boxes engaged. Likewise, I will let my answering machine answer any phone call when the display shows "Blocked". I will deal with both issues separately below. Some people are up in arms, that they will not be able to connect with my BBS if they call with Caller ID suppressed. They believe that they have the right to call wherever, whenever, and whomever they choose, and to do so with anominity. They don't like the idea that when they call, their phone number, or lack thereof, will be used to decide if they connect with the BBS. I have a hard time accepting this argument, as on every BBS that I have called, you have to enter at least 1 phone number, which generally is used with a Call Back Verifier. The BBS already has their phone number, what possible reason could they have for wanting to hide it when calling the BBS on subsequent occasions? As for first time callers, they can't access the BBS without entering at least 1 valid phone number, for the Call Back Verifier to work, so what problem do they have with a sysop wanting their phone number? Similiarly, I seem to cause some peoples blood pressure to boil when I state that I will not answer a phone call when a "Blocked" message is displayed. They keep on throwing up red herrings, such as "What if your teenage daughter is late coming home, and the phone rings?", or "What if I want to protect my privacy when calling you?" If the words "blocked" show up on the display, the call will not be answered by myself, but left for the answering machine to take. If it does turn out to be the hypothetical daughter calling, the receiver can all ways be picked up, and a conversation will take place. As to the latter question, the caller's right to privacy ends when it hits my right to know who is calling me. Under the current phone system, when the caller picks up the phone, he has a distinct advantage, namely, he knows who he is, and he knows who he is calling. The person on the receiving end is at a distinct disadvantage, he only know who he is, and that someone is making his phone ring. With Caller ID, we even the playing field, in that the receiver now know who is calling him, and who he is himself, likewise the caller know whom he is calling, and who he is also. Now if that person wants privacy, he/she will be greated by my answering machine which will ask for their name and phone number in a semi-humorous way. At this point, the caller is on the horns of a dillemma. Does he leave his name and number so that he can be called back, and in doing so, immediately nullify the reason for blocking his number, or refuse to leave a number, and thus never receive a call back, and never connect with me. FidoNews 10-08 Page 11 22 Feb 1993 Caller ID, is an effective way to keep "twits" and other undesirables from trashing a BBS, as well as stopping people from calling you without equal knowledge on both sides. This technology is the best thing to happen to the telephone since the implemention of direct dialed long distance calls. Those that do not want it, or that do not want their number(s) displayed, are suffering from paranoia and need to enter the real world. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- By: Chris Farrar 1:246/20 Points In Fidonet =================== I have been seeing things in the last two issues of "The Snooze" regarding the use of points in FidoNet, and their rights and voting priveliges, if any, they should have. First, I want to clearly state that I do not believe that points should have any voting priveliges or rights in FidoNet, as they aren't full fledged nodes. I have seen some arguments that points should have voting rights, and there are simple responces to the arguments. 1) Points can communicate with other nodes. Most mailers, including FrontDoor, can be set to disallow mail sessions from unlisted points. My system, is one that is set that way. If your point isn't defined in my FDPOINT.PVT file, your Point system will never be able to get mail trough to me by calling directly. 2) Points can F'REQ from systems, normal users can't. Again, like mail sessions, FrontDoor and others can disallow file requests from systems not in the nodelist or nodelists that are compiled on the system. Additionally, a lot of BBS software will let users do file requests and file attaches if the user has sufficient security status. And with the advent of offline mail readers, such as BlueWave, users can make File Requests from other systems (if the Sysop has given the user sufficient security clearance.) If the ability to turn the FREQ bit on in a netmail message is to be a determining factor for voting, there are over 150 people on my BBS that would be eligable to vote. With the current popularity of offline mail doors, the reasons for setting up a point are rapidly diminishing. Offline mail readers and doors can give the user the exact same power as setting up a full fledged point, without the extensive use of disk space. If someone has the ability to get a point system up and running, running a private node, or a Mail Only system that answers the phone during ZMH isn't any more difficult. And, by running under either of the two above FidoNews 10-08 Page 12 22 Feb 1993 senarios, the person _has_ a vote in policy. I welcome anyones comments, and they can netmail me if they wish to discuss this at greater detail. One note, unlisted points cannot connect with my system, and must use routed netmail. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- by Robert Van.Zant Sysop 1:154/12 I'd like to take this opportunity to announce Nihon_Go, an echo devoted to learning Japanese/English. I'd like to, but at the moment it exists only in my over-active imagination, so instead this is a plea for participants. Having studied Japanese for some time now, I've come to the conclusion that such an echo would be extremely useful to students of both languages. During one recent contact with a sysop in Japan, I discovered that they've been considering just such a beast there as well. During these formative stages, those wishing more info can FREQ the magic filename NIHON_GO at 1:154/12 anytime. This text file will provide echo rules, systems carrying the echo, and anything else that seems appropriate at the moment. Due to the rather limited audience I'm addressing here, I won't bore the other 99% of Fidonet with such details. If one of the aforementioned is your native tongue, and you are interested in learning the other, give us a call. Domo Arigato Gozaimasu Thank you very much. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- by Dave Bealer (1:261/1129) Thrills! Chills! Laughs! The Heartbreak of Psoriasis? Now playing at a BBS near you, it's the February issue of Random Access Humor! What kind of laptop is fashionable on the slopes this Winter? What do cows, cycles and computer ads all have in common? What do programmers *really* think of users? The answers to these and other burning questions of the day can only be found in Random Access Humor (RAH). RAH is the monthly electronic humor magazine which debuted to critical acclaim last September (well, one or two people noticed). RAH publishes the best in online humor every month, no phoolin'! RAH pokes fun a draconian sysops, goose-stepping moderators and twits in all their infinite variety. FidoNews 10-08 Page 13 22 Feb 1993 What's that? Your favorite BBS doesn't carry RAH? Beat your sysop about the head and keyboard with a wet noodle until he comes to his senses! Better yet, check out one of these fine RAH distribution systems, all of whom have sysops with a sense of humor: RAH Official Distribution Sites: Alabama J & J Online Chickasaw 1:3625/440 (205) 457-5901 V.32bis Night Watch Birmingham 1:3602/26 (205) 841-2790 HST/Dual California Dragon's Cave Berkeley 1:161/412 (510) 549-0311 V.32bis InfoMat BBS San Clemente (NoFido) (714) 492-8727 HST/Dual Automation Central San Jose 1:143/110 (408) 435-2886 V.32bis The Software Station Saugus 1:102/1106 (805) 296-9056 V.32 Marin County Net Sausalito 1:125/55 (415) 331-6241 HST/Dual Florida The Software Cuisine Miami 1:135/57 (305) 642-0754 V.32bis Idaho The Blue Note BBS Pocatello 1:347/26 (208) 233-8782 V.32bis Illinois The Crossroads BBS Chicago 1:115/743 (312) 587-8756 HST/Dual The Loonatic Fringe Elk Grove 1:115/542 (708) 290-8877 V.32 Indiana Digicom Evansville 1:2310/200 (812) 479-1310 HST/Dual Maryland Wit-Tech Baltimore 1:261/1082 (410) 256-0170 V.32bis Outside the Wall Baltimore 1:261/1093 (410) 665-1855 V.32 Pooh's Corner Fells Point 1:261/1131 (410) 327-9263 V.32bis Michigan The Edge of Sanity Dearborn 1:2410/279 (313) 584-1253 V.32 CALnet @node.1 Detroit 1:2410/120 (313) 836-8275 V.32bis 007LZ Southfield 1:120/636 (Mail only) V.32bis Missouri Abiogenesis Kansas City 1:280/310 (816) 734-4732 V.32bis WRITER'S BIZ BBS Waynesville 1:284/201 (314) 774-5327 V.32bis New Jersey The Depths of Hell Bayonne 1:107/813 (201) 437-5706 HST/Dual New Mexico High Mesa Publishing Los Lunas 1:301/1 (505) 865-8385 V.32 Paula's House of Mail Los Lunas 1:301/301 (505) 865-4082 HST FidoNews 10-08 Page 14 22 Feb 1993 New York The Shop Mail Only Flushing 1:2603/203 (mail only) V.32bis The Wall-2 Middle Village 1:278/612 (718) 335-8784 HST/Dual Oklahoma H*A*L Muskogee 1:3813/304 (918) 682-7337 V.32bis Pennsylvania Cyberdrome Philadelphia 1:273/937 (215) 923-8026 V.32bis Milliways Pittsburgh 1:129/179 (412) 766-1086 HST/Dual Quebec, Canada Supernova BBS Scotstown 1:257/40 (819) 657-4603 2400 Texas Incredible BBS Burleson 1:130/82 (817) 447-2598 V.32 Virginia Wings and Wheels Cheasapeake 1:275/6 (804) 424-0394 V.32bis Data Empire Fredericksburg 1:274/31 (703) 785-0422 HST All these distribution sites should have the current issue of RAH available for File Request and/or download. RAH Headquarters, below, has all back issues and the docs for writers/distributors. As of February, every issue of RAH is published in ASCII text format, as well as READROOM.TOC format, for use with the industry standard Readroom periodical reading door. Both formats of RAH are now distributed through the SDS system, file echo: NEWSLETR. The Puffin's Nest Pasadena, MD. Sysop: Dave Bealer FidoNet> 1:261/1129 (410) 437-3463 14400 (V.32bis) (RAH Publication Site) Current Issue (ASCII Text Format): FReq: RAH Current Issue (READROOM.TOC Format): FReq: RAHR RAH Back Issues: FReq: RAHmmyy.ZIP Complete Writers Guidelines: FReq: RAHWRITE Complete Distributor Info: FReq: RAHDIST Readroom Periodical Reading Door: FReq: RDRM12.ZIP Warning: RAH has been found to cause insanity in laboratory rats! ---------------------------------------------------------------------- FidoNews 10-08 Page 15 22 Feb 1993 ====================================================================== FIDONEWS INFORMATION ====================================================================== ------- FIDONEWS MASTHEAD AND CONTACT INFORMATION ---------------- Editors: Tom Jennings, Tim Pozar Editors Emeritii: Thom Henderson, Dale Lovell, Vince Perriello IMPORTANT NOTE: The FidoNet address of the FidoNews BBS has been changed!!! Please make a note of this. "FidoNews" BBS FidoNet 1:1/23 <---- NEW ADDRESS!!!! Internet fidonews@fidosw.fidonet.org BBS +1-415-863-2739, 300/1200/2400/16800/V.32bis/Zyxel (Postal Service mailing address) (have extreme patience) FidoNews c/o World Power Systems <---- don't forget this 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, (and probably others), via filerequest or download (consult a recent nodelist for phone numbers). A very nice index to the Tables of Contents to all FidoNews volumes can be filerequested from 1:396/1 or 1:216/21. The name(s) to request are FNEWSxTC.ZIP, where 'x' is the volume number; 1=1984, 2=1985... through 8=1991. FidoNews 10-08 Page 16 22 Feb 1993 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.) 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 1:1/23 as file "ARTSPEC.DOC". Please read it. "Fido", "FidoNet" and the dog-with-diskette are U.S. registered trademarks of Tom Jennings, 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 ----------------------------------------------------------------------