F I D O N E W S -- Vol.11 No. 5 (31-Jan-1994) +----------------------------+-----------------------------------------+ | A newsletter of the | | | FidoNet BBS community | Published by: | | _ | | | / \ | "FidoNews" BBS | | /|oo \ | +1-519-570-4176 1:1/23 | | (_| /_) | | | _`@/_ \ _ | Editors: | | | | \ \\ | Sylvia Maxwell 1:221/194 | | | (*) | \ )) | Donald Tees 1:221/192 | | |__U__| / \// | Tim Pozar 1:125/555 | | _//|| _\ / | | | (_/(_|(____/ | | | (jm) | Newspapers should have no friends. | | | -- JOSEPH PULITZER | +----------------------------+-----------------------------------------+ | Submission address: editors 1:1/23 | +----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | Internet addresses: | | | | Sylvia -- max@exlibris.tdkcs.waterloo.on.ca | | Donald -- donald@exlibris.tdkcs.waterloo.on.ca | | Tim -- pozar@kumr.lns.com | | Both Don & Sylvia (submission address) | | editor@exlibris.tdkcs.waterloo.on.ca | +----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | 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..................................................... 2 2. Articles...................................................... 3 Censorship - Sailing the Seas of Cheese..................... 3 What Are Them SDN Extension Files?.......................... 4 An Appeal For Proper Use of Language........................ 8 A Review of Macintosh Graphical-Oriented (GUI) BBS's vs Herm 9 Rune's Rag -- An Electronic MagaZine for the 90's........... 15 Introducing................................................. 16 An Introduction to Pascal-net............................... 17 File 2--DEF CON ][ Initial Announcement..................... 18 Does FidoNews accept pomes? If so: ............. 23 My note regarding questions on FidoNet...................... 23 California Legislature online -- free....................... 24 Users can be real demons....................... 26 Quick thinking electrical engineer.......................... 28 3. Fidonews Information.......................................... 30 FidoNews 11-05 Page: 2 31 Jan 1994 ======================================================================== Editorial ======================================================================== Well, the inevitable policy complaints have arrived. Why am I not surprised? "Policy four says documents should be in English" ... "Please stop sending us Fidonews as the editors feel they are above policy four ...". Etc. First of all, let me make an important point. A letter to Max or I is *not* a "fido document". It is a letter. A letter to the editor, to be sure, but a letter nevertheless. Perhaps the case could be made that the snooze is an official "fido document", but it is stretching real hard. Documents are defined in my dictionary as written or printed matter that provide a legal record or agreement. The only Fido documents that I know of are policy four itself and the FSC documents. It makes a lot of sense to ask that they be in English. It also makes a lot of sense that we attempt to keep the snooze primarily in English, if only because that is the most common language. The articles are, howvever, *our* mail. Most of those articles come in in the form of letters to the editor, and for some backseat lawyer to claim that we cannot receive letters in any language but english is excessively annoying, to my mind. As to whether we should run them, that is the other question. Max and I look at the snooze a bit differently than "just a newsletter". The snooze has a special place in the net, also defined by policy. The snooze serves two purposes. Firstly, it serves as the official place to announce things, and secondly the snooze serves as a sort-of-court-of-final-opinion for net issues. That places some duties upon the snooze that are above and beyond the norm. It cannot exist as only a vehicle for the editors' sense of what is meaningfull. It must, to an extent, be an open forum for the renegade viewpoint, else it cannot fulfil its mandate. We have defended that purpose to the point that we have included tonnes of crap, articles that we personally consider repugnant, on occasion stupid, and often articles that are poorly written and boring. To now cut letters on the basis that they are not in english strikes me as provincial, small-minded, and derelict in our duty. Simply put, the answer is no. FidoNews 11-05 Page: 3 31 Jan 1994 ======================================================================== Articles ======================================================================== Censorship - Sailing the Seas of Cheese Sailing the Seas of Cheese - CensorSHIP now boarding... (subtitle: Look, ma, my first Snooze article!) by Matt Ion Okay, let's try this again. First two times I've tried to write an article, something spooky (probably a renegade TSR) has caused a complete system lockup. I hate this having-to-think stuff. Flamewars are so much more relaxing, requiring little actual thought. BTW, special wave to you Primus fans who get the title. Primus sucks. Heh heh heh heh heh. Anywho, on to the important stuff. Censorship. There's been a lot of talk about it lately in the Snooze, and it's really starting to sound like another one of those "politically correct" terms that everyone uses but no-one really knows what it means ("demeaning" for example... someone disagrees with something, and that thing then "demeans" some group of which this person is a (lunatic?) fringe element.) I think Dennis McClain-Furmanski hit it bang-on the proverbial head in "What An Editor Is For" in Snooze 1104. The editor of a publication, even an electronic one such as this, is saddled with the thankless job of having to make that publication "good." Usually, this means catering to the majority of the target audience. Items are typically rejected because they don't fit that criteria. This is NOT censorship. As Dennis pointed out, "censorship" is when content, editorial and otherwise, is controlled by an OUTSIDE force: government, for example. "Censorship" is what we'd have if any one of us FORCED the Editors to include or exclude something from the Snooze. Most of this talk has centered on certain bits and pieces of the language. What is or isn't a bad word, and so on. Certain four-letter words are often singled out. Let me clarify right away, I don't typically use such language myself, and only VERY rarely in very specific circumstances. Personally, I find it offensive and entirely unnecessary in the volume in which it's commonly used. Then again, let's consider just exactly what some of these bad words really mean. A few years ago, I had a fascinating textfile on the uses of the word "fuck." The gist of the whole thing was that this word denotes an apathetic attitude; ie. to "fuck" someone, as opposed to "making love." When someone says they "don't give a fuck," well, that pretty much fits, no? Likewise, "shit." Technically, it means exactly the same thing as feces, stool, excrement... all perfectly acceptable, technical terms. Other synonyms such as crap, dung, guano, doo-doo, etc. don't seem to garner such reaction as does "shit." FidoNews 11-05 Page: 4 31 Jan 1994 I guess a lot of it depends on the context (the above two examples are hideously over-used, and in improper usage), or the attitude carried with such language. And a lot of it is societal. Heck, "fags" used to be cigarettes. Words' meanings, or at least acceptance of existing meanings, change over time. A few hundred years ago, Pilgrim parents were outraged at the blasphemous words their children had picked up in their everyday play. Shocking, how they could shorten the sacred benediction, "God be with you," into something as vile and filthy as "Good-bye." As Dennis mentioned, the limitations on what will make it into the Snooze are pretty lax as it is; there's very little basis for complaints of "censorship" by the Editors. Personally, I think we could do with a little less Steve Winter, as his presence here tends to initate all manner of flame wars. Or maybe the Editors should just not print flames anymore, merely stamp them "rejected" and return them to their senders, along with a form letter advising them to take it to netmail. That's not to indicate anything personal against Mr. Winter. I happen to be on "his side" on a very fundamental level... however, I DO NOT agree with his tactics of spreading his version of "the Gospel". By the same token, I don't appreciate everyone who jumps all over him for stating and sticking to his beliefs. At times, it seems almost any belief in anything will pass unhindered, until someone brings Christianity or some related religeon into it. It's almost like there's an unwritten anti-Christian thing throughout Fido. Something doesn't seem quite fair here. Granted, some will try to shove their religeon down everyone else's throats... that doesn't mean someone else who casually admits to holding similar beliefs (ie. ME) should have YOUR non-religeon crammed down his/her/its (MY) throat. Capish? Anyways, enough of that. If I'm lucky, this won't make it into the Snooze until 1106, which'll give me plenty of time to recharge the fire extinguishers and get on my asbestos undies. To the Editors: thanks for doing an otherwise thankless job, and doing it well. See ya in the funny papers, Matt Ion -- 1:153/7106 aka MATT@SHIP.NET ---------------------------------------------------------------------- What Are Them SDN Extension Files? Ray Kaliss - SDN Project Manager 1:141/840@fidonet WHAT ARE SDN FILES ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ SDN files are shareware author's programs that have been sent to SDN International for processing and distribution to bulletin boards and online services. Each .SDN file is a compression of individual program files into one file (.SDN) for easy downloading. FidoNews 11-05 Page: 5 31 Jan 1994 As an example, you might see this type of listing on the BBS you log into. FILES SIZE DATE DESCRIPTION --------------------------------------------------------------------- 3MENU10.SDN 112987 02/15/93 Three-Menu 1.0 easy DOS menu system MYED410.SDN 648833 02/15/93 My Editor 4.10 programmers text editor OLCOM51.SDN 1290000 02/19/93 ON-Line COM 5.1 full featured terminal Each .SDN extension file contains an author's complete program in compressed form. When you download one .SDN file you have the complete program ready to be un-packaged. The file is named to reflect the program and version number it contains. SDN files, before the release of ARJ v2.41, could be decompressed with NoGate Consulting's PAK compression utility. .SDN files since 1993 can be decompressed using the ARJ 2.41 compression utility or a newer version. The compression utility named ARJ241.EXE can be found for downloading on most of the better bulletin boards where .SDN's are posted. Each .SDN file can be verified for authenticity. It has been secured with two tamper-proof seals. The first seal can be tested with the ARJ.EXE test feature. C:>ARJ T MYED50.SDN If it has verified you will see this banner on screen. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- | *** Valid ARJ-SECURITY envelope signature: | | *** SDN International(sm) SDN#01 R#2417 | | | | This file is an SDN International(sm) Author-Direct Distribution. | | It should be verified for the SDN Security Seal by the FileTest | | utility available at The SDN Project AuthorLine BBS 203-634-0370. | ---------------------------------------------------------------------- The second seal can be tested with the FileTest utility by PaceSoft posted at The SDN Project BBS and most BBS'es where you find .SDN files. If it passes both test you can be assured it is a genuine author-direct SDN distribution with contents exactly as the author intended. C:>FILETEST MYED50.SDN If the .SDN file also passes FileTest testing.. you can feel safe to decompress and use the packaged program files. Decompress like this.. C:>ARJ E MYED50.SDN You may find that on some BBS'es the .SDN files may have been renamed in extension from .SDN to .ARJ (MYED50.ARJ) .. if this has been done the SDN security may still exists, ARJ will test the seal and verify it. FileTest may also be used. FidoNews 11-05 Page: 6 31 Jan 1994 WHAT ARE SDA FILES ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Inside every .SDN there is a pure ASCII text file that you can read to get a description of the program. The files name is {SDA.ID}. XMENU EXE 60123 12-11-93 7:44p XMENU DOC 123564 12-13-93 12:00p MENUAPP1 DAT 2345 10-01-93 10:00a --> {SDA ID} 1200 10-12-93 1:00p UTILONE EXE 47567 2-04-93 2:00p On most BBS'es where you can find .SDN files you may also find a message area in the message base where copies of each program's SDA are posted. This makes for easy browsing of all the .SDN programs posted at the BBS. What's neat about this is most BBS'es save your place in the message base when you leave it.. so the next time you login - the messages in that area that you have not read yet are all new arrivals since the last time you were on. READING THE SDA ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Most of the SDA is a description of the program and it's features. The top lines however can give you some quick information. +--------------------------------------------------------------------+ | X-Menu 2.1 fast GUI menu system for DOS uses popup menues and mouse| | 1-UTIL JAN93 MENU DOSSHELL GUI X-SOFTWARE | | FILES: xmenu21a.sdn xmenu21b.sdn | | | | Author: X-Software Inc. | | Registration: $50.00 | | | | A superVGA menu system that uses icons you create. | | Fantastic for the novice or the advanced power user. Menu pages | | can be stacked 100 deep. Programmable using script langu... | | etc.. etc.. etc.. | The first line tells the name of the program and it's version number (X-Menu version 2.1 in our example). An author will usually initially release the program at version 1.00 and increment the version number each time he makes an improvement, a fix, or adds features. In general the higher the version number the more recent the release. The second line starts off with the distribution category. In this case it is a DOS character based utility (DOS based utilities are areatag 1-UTIL) and you may find the bulletin board has posted it in the 1-UTIL File area. The next words are keywords. The first keyword is the month/year this program was distributed by SDN (January 1993), the keyword on this line are related to features and uses of the program. The next line is the FILES: line. This gives the posted name of the archive or archives you need to download to obtain this program. In FidoNews 11-05 Page: 7 31 Jan 1994 this case you must be sure to download XMENU21A.SDN and XMENU21B.SDN to obtain the entire program as it comes in two parts. Next it tells who the author is and the program registration amount. Read all the documentation included with the program to determine the full registration requirements. WHERE TO GET SDN ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ January 1st - SDN will be available from these sources. * Service: Fidonet nodes. Form: Fidonet TIC Contact: Nodelist USDN or SDN user flag or your net's Files_Coordinator Comment: Many SDNer's use the zone 1 USDN user flag. Most local nets are getting on the ball and appointing Files_Coordinator or Files_Distribution nodes. If your net does not yet have this - suggest it to your NC - it is the future. If you are importing SDN into your net let your net's Files_Coordinator know about it. Also let your net's sysops know they can get it from you - share. * Service: Planet Connect Service Form: Fidonet TIC Contact: Boyd Goodin at 1:3612/50@fidonet Address: Planet Systems Inc. 1065 Cosby Highway, Newport, TN 37821 Phone: 615-623-4694 Type: Satellite Comment: You must have a fido node number. Planet Systems offers a subscription service which downlinks fidonet and other networks. The full Backbone and most of the Filebone are available. * Service: Internet Form: Individual distribution files or TIC script. Both Tiers. Contact: Burt Juda 1:107/309@fidonet Address: E-mail msg to 'listproc@ftp.fidonet.org' with the first line of 'subscribe filebone YOUR NAME'. Be sure to subscribe from an Internet site and not from a fidonet system via gateway. Comment: SDN areas are available via anonymous-FTP from 'ftp.fidonet.org'. Each SDN area is in a subdirectory named the same as the AreaTag below the directory '/pub/fidonet/sdn'. Be sure to use BINARY mode when transferring files via 'ftp'. They are also mirrored to 'ftp.halcyon'. * Service: BIX Form: Individual files only. Contact: ibm.utils 'listings' Address: BIX online Comment: These are presently mostly the IBM DOS files. The moderator sometimes does not post all the files, but most get posted. This is a commercial online service. This is not in Fido format. * Service: Fidonet Filebone Form: First Tier Fidonet TIC FidoNews 11-05 Page: 8 31 Jan 1994 Contact: Local FB sites or obtain FILEBONE.NA listing. Address: - Comments: Many FB sites also carry SDN's Second Tier ---------------------------------------------------------------------- An Appeal For Proper Use of Language by Chris Farrar - 1:246/20 Letter, And What They Really Mean For the last couple of weeks, I have been reading The Snooze and wondering when anyone is going to catch some of the typos that are going on in our beloved electronic magazine. As is printed in Artspec.Doc: Please check for basic errors in spelling, grammar, and punctuation. We're not publishing a textbook, but you don't want it to embarrass yourself do you? In the opening Editorial by our esteemed editor, there are typos and poor/improper capitalization of letters. In particular, the word "I" is mis-capitalized 11 times in only 39 lines of actual text. The most glaring thing is that the errors aren't even consistent. In some places "I" is properly written, others it isn't. Surely the editor/publisher should at least be setting the standard. If a teacher in anything above grade 3 was marking this, they'd use up several red markers. The letter "i," when referring to yourself is _always_ capitalized, and as well, the first letter of a sentence is always a capital letter. Going over the opening editorial, we have the following lines, and what they should actually read. What was written | What we should have --------------------------------------------------------------------- else done, i can tolerate | else done, I can tolerate by adding some whine to | by adding some wine to (1) soup i was intensely | soup I was intensely so i thought about | so I thought about i'm | I'm Of sourse, i'll hear about | Of course, I'll hear about wrong i am. | wrong I am. sense to me, i want to print | sense to me, I want to print i know there's lots of | I know there's lots of (2) newsletter, i believe, is | newsletter, I believe, is What am i saying! | What am I saying! column. i'm hoping to hear | column. I'm hoping to hear (3) I don't know about everyone else, (1) but I always preferred putting a drink made out of crushed and fermented grapes (wine) in my soup, than putting a bunch of complaints (a la Peg Bundy's famous whine). At points 2 and 3, we have sentences beginning with lower case letters, and it is a letter that should be capitalized even if it isn't at the beginning. In the newspapers (The Globe and Mail, The Windsor Star, The Toronto Star, The Toronto Sun, and The Detroit News and Free Press), on TV (NBC, FidoNews 11-05 Page: 9 31 Jan 1994 ABC, and CBS's news magazines, as well as CTV's news show W-5) we see constant complaints that the use of "proper" english is going down the toilet, and just recently on the US stations, we have seen stories on how kids want to use "street slang" in the classroom, and bastardize the English language even more (and the French and French Canadians have been making similar complaints about the "Anglicization" of their language too, with "le hotdog, le snack" etc). "Le Snack" was actually seen at the name of a snack bar in the Atlanta International Airport. Kids today see and hear enough junk on the streets, isn't is appropriate to at least make the _effort_ to spell and punctuate properly here, and provide at least a semblance of "proper" form for them to read and emulate? Here in Canada, many of our newspapers already butcher "Canadian" english, by using US spellings for colour, honour, neighbour, licence, centre, metre etc. And then they wonder why education standards are slipping. If I saw spelling and punctuation on a job application similar to that of the FidoNews 11-04 editorial, I wouldn't hire that person, would you? If I saw it on a University test paper/assignment, the marks would be flying off so fast it wouldn't be funny, and I'd start calling for english proficiency tests for all students enrolling, and by God, by the time they were up accepting their degree and diploma, they'd at least be able to write properly in english, or they simply wouldn't graduate. And catching most of the mistakes would only involve running the text through a spell checking programme before submitting it. As spell checkers exist for almost everything from the Commodore PET 4032 (PaperClip for the PET) to the Mac, the Amiga, Unix boxes, and PC's, there is no real excuse for what we see turning up here week after week. Getting down from my high horse, Chris Farrar Fido: 1:246/20 Fax: +1-519-256-6693 for internet users, mail may be sent to: farrar@insom.eastern.com [Editor's note: Wine would also be preferable in the snooze. Whine can result in the soup being thrown at the wall, as was noted in the editorial.] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- A Review of Macintosh Graphical-Oriented (GUI) BBS's vs Hermes BBS by Glen Stewart, The Association Mac BBS 1:2240/174 (810) 695-6955 HST/v.32bis Here is a preliminary set of requirements which I used to evaluate Telefinder, Public Address, Hi-BBS, FirstClass, NovaLink and Public Address. The scores for each software program are listed below the feature description, along with the weighting factor (importance FidoNews 11-05 Page: 10 31 Jan 1994 multiplier) used. Hermes was also scored since it was the framework from which many of these features were generated. Second Sight, Mansion, and MUBBS were not reviewed. This was primarily an exercise to see what Graphical User Interface BBS systems REALLY have to offer when compared to a Command Line Interface (CLI) like Hermes. KEY:HB=Hi-BBS,PA=Public Address,TF=Telefinder,FC=FirstClass,NL=Nova Link v.1.08 v.0.8a3 v.3.01 v.2.0 v.3.0 HR=Hermes II v.1.01 SCORING: WF=Weighting Factor, 0=Poor/No Feature, 1="ok", 2=Well Done A dash "-" indicates the feature could not be reviewed due to lack of experience or documentation for the system. Valuable features in a BBS: -------------------------- good command-line interface for first-time callers without interface software, as well as those who have incompatible computer platforms. 30% of my callers have non-Mac computers. Only 1% have neither IBM or Mac (ie. the 29% are IBM). WF=100 HB=0 PA=2 TF=2 FC=1 NL=2 HR=2 multi-node REAL-TIME chat - both for the sysop and inter-user chat. Being able to see each character as it is typed is important, as this conveys information about the writer's thought processes, as well as whether he's still there or not! WF=100 HB=0 PA=2 TF=0 FC=0 NL=2 HR=2 sysop availability should be noted to users, based on a time schedule established by the sysop beforehand. Hours available on certain days is prefered to a generic time block that applies to all days. WF=1 HB=- PA=- TF=0 FC=0 NL=1 HR=1 the sysop should be able to log a user off if they are being a nuisance. WF=100 HB=- PA=2 TF=2 FC=2 NL=2 HR=2 sysops like to customize menus, and add helpful information here and there. WF=10 HB=- PA=2 TF=1 FC=1 NL=2 HR=2 the BBS must have a terminal mode, where the sysop can call out to other systems when necessary. This must be an ANSI-capable and proprietary GUI-capable interface. Text capture must be available, as well as a dialing directory. All popular file transfer protocols must be supported. CTB tool support is very important, as new tools like HS-Link are released for the Mac. WF=10 HB=- PA=2 TF=0 FC=0 NL=2 HR=2 all user actions should be visible to the sysop. This is a valuable aid in letting the sysop help new users around the BBS, and also provides a handle to how the BBS is actually being used - what users like can sometimes best be learned by watching them. This helps a BBS prosper. Each node should be visible by selecting it from a menu. FidoNews 11-05 Page: 11 31 Jan 1994 WF=10 HB=- PA=1 TF=0 FC=0 NL=1 HR=2 all the standard Edit menu features should be available in any text window - cut, copy, clear, paste, find, find-next. WF=100 HB=1 PA=2 TF=2 FC=2 NL=2 HR=1 user access levels must be modifiable on-the-fly WF=100 HB=- PA=2 TF=1 FC=2 NL=2 HR=2 logs of previous days activity must be preserved for a sysop-defined number of days. WF=1 HB=- PA=2 TF=2 FC=2 NL=2 HR=2 functional screen menus (CLI) should be held to a minumum - ie. message and file. WF=10 HB=- PA=2 TF=2 FC=1 NL=1 HR=2 message and file areas should be hierarchial, just like folders. The actual file and message databases must be locateable on any HD of the BBS. WF=10 HB=2 PA=2 TF=2 FC=2 NL=2 HR=2 message area and file area access must be controllable within certain age RANGES and security levels. Alphabetical flags are nice, but not necessary. WF=1 HB=- PA=1 TF=2 FC=2 NL=1 HR=2 The full 31 Mac characters must be visible for file names. Some areas should be viewable, but not interacted with - no downloads, or no posting messages. Other areas should be moderated such that a message is not posted until approved by a given user, sysop, etc. WF=10 HB=2 PA=2 TF=2 FC=2 NL=2 HR=2 messages should be purgeable by quantity and age. If BOTH are selected, messages should be deleted by age until the quantity is reached. WF=10 HB=- PA=1 TF=1 FC=1 NL=1 HR=1 information for all users on what folks have called that day is valuable. Telling what speed, where they called from, how long they were on, and what file & message activity they conducted is interesting and useful as well. WF=10 HB=0 PA=0 TF=0 FC=0 NL=0 HR=2 I enjoy presenting a random logon quote to users, as well as a short message-of-the-day. WF=1 HB=0 PA=0 TF=0 FC=0 NL=0 HR=2 it's VERY important to put new user help functions in a very obvious place. A bulletin menu during the logon process is very helpful. WF=100 HB=- PA=0 TF=0 FC=2 NL=2 HR=2 users should be notified of waiting e-mail just before they reach the main menu - early in the logon process. It's also important for them to know that a reply to a message awaits them in certain message areas. Both e-mail and replies should be instantly accessible. Once read, they FidoNews 11-05 Page: 12 31 Jan 1994 should no longer be presented as 'unread' in subsequent calls. If e-mail or replies are written to a user while they are online, they should be notified immediately. WF=10 HB=2 PA=2 TF=1 FC=1 NL=2 HR=2 message subjects and senders should be listable in a condensed form, rather than being forced to view the entire message. WF=100 HB=2 PA=2 TF=1 FC=2 NL=2 HR=2 users should be able to scan ALL messages, as well as NEW messages since their last scan. A message threading function should allow a topic to be followed to its conclusion, without reading extraneous topics in-between. Messages and e-mail should be deleteable by the originator. WF=100 HB=0 PA=2 TF=1 FC=1 NL=2 HR=2 Messages should be searchable along the hierarchy - global, by forum, and by sub-forum. Subject, sender, receiver, and body must be searchable selectably. A word-search function similar to that described below would also be very useful - updated at least once each day. WF=1 HB=1 PA=2 TF=0 FC=2 NL=0 HR=0 Files must be searchable by name and by description - both globally, and by 'forum' and 'sub-forum'. Descriptions should be stored in the SitC resource AS WELL AS a master index, which should be updated at least once each day. The master-index should be indexed for high-speed searches of both name and description (eg. all search matches found in 1 second, for 1Mb of index). The C-based indexing routines in TEX (now Free Text, by Mark Zimmerman) are available and highly optimized. WF=100 HB=- PA=2 TF=1 FC=2 NL=1 HR=2 It's valuable to see a text listing of new files after a certain date. WF=1 HB=1 PA=- TF=1 FC=1 NL=1 HR=2 Wildcards should be useable in file searches. Matches should be put in a cue for download, at the users discretion. WF=100 HB=1 PA=2 TF=2 FC=2 NL=2 HR=2 Download ratios must be imposeable, as well as a method of crediting a users account when they donate/pay for access to files. It would be most useful to have a translation table where donation $'s equate to certain online time increases, upload credit, etc. WF=100 HB=- PA=2 TF=0 FC=2 NL=2 HR=2 Messages and files must be deleteable by the sysop - locally and remote, through GUI and CLI (as must all BBS features). WF=100 HB=- PA=2 TF=2 FC=2 NL=2 HR=2 a graphically-oriented scripting language should allow other functions, as well as games and useful utilities like report generation of BBS use, new files, and message import from networks. WF=10 HB=0 PA=0 TF=0 FC=0 NL=2 HR=0 Tabby (and its successors) must be thoroughly integrated with the BBS. Real-time message import, sub-launching, 24hr crashmail, file attaches, etc. Sending files and messages to a remote site should be as easy as a FidoNews 11-05 Page: 13 31 Jan 1994 local message or f-mail if at all possible. Any existing databases (nodelists, etc.) should be used to assist the user in selecting the target of his message. WF=10 HB=- PA=2 TF=2 FC=1 NL=1 HR=1 the sysop must have complete remote access to his system, including files not within the normal BBS boundaries. WF=100 HB=- PA=0 TF=2 FC=2 NL=2 HR=1 users must be warned several minutes before their online time runs out. WF=1 HB=- PA=2 TF=- FC=2 NL=- HR=0 the CLI must support full-screen editing and quoting of previous messages, as must the GUI. WF=10 HB=- PA=0 TF=1 FC=1 NL=1 HR=0 a report on file transfer 'cps' is valuable information - makes high-speed callers happy and helps diagnose setup problems. WF=1 HB=- PA=2 TF=2 FC=0 NL=0 HR=2 InterNet and proprietary network functions are fine, however, I would prefer a compatible full set of the FidoNet FTSC recommendations and InterNet functions (most BBS's don't use the whole set). WF=1 HB=- PA=1 TF=1 FC=1 NL=1 HR=1 Finally, the BBS must be VERY stable. If it senses that something is awry, it should log users off and reset itself. WF=100 HB=0 PA=0 TF=2 FC=2 NL=0 HR=1 Source code available. WF=1 HB=0 PA=0 TF=0 FC=0 NL=0 HR=0 -------------------------- Score Cost - figures are to equip a BBS with 2 nodes, 300 users ------- ---- HB=462 several hundred PA=2380 100 has been mentioned TF=1955 425 FC=2527 500+ NL=2703 500 HR=2672 95 Other points to consider: NovaLink is not stable. During several LONG DISTANCE demos, the server locked up. In local demo mode, I experienced similar problems, as well as bad screen updating. In one case, user data was corrupted while online, but restored when I logged on again. RIPscrip (in which mode I was calling during two of three lock-ups) is in its infancy, and not yet dependable in the ResNova implementation. At first, I was VERY impressed by NL's integration of CLI and GUI - it even uses CTB (Communication Toolbox) tools. Future bug-fixed versions may be a fine choice for many sysops. FidoNews 11-05 Page: 14 31 Jan 1994 Telefinder has a horrid message reading system. There's no simple way to review the titles of all messages in an area. Searches for file names was very slow, and descriptions of small file collections basically couldn't be searched - I was online over 20 minutes seeing little dots printed on the screen...(indicating the BBS was still alive). Hi-BBS uses Communication Toolbox tools - a plus. However, CLI logon was a nightmare. Many features could not be evaluated since the developers have not released a demo of the server. FirstClass is truly impressive, if one ignores the non-intuitive CLI. The "e-mail waiting" announcement (just a graphical flag) system could be developed more, and SoftArc should open the utility (interface) development doors to more than just Apple-certified developers. I also have yet to experience a FC file transfer that comes _anywhere_ near the speed of Zmodem...their advertisements are misleading in this regard. Public Address is in its infancy. It, like NovaLink, will have an integration of GUI and CLI that should be impressive. PA is difficult to evaluate since alpha versions have been SO buggy. The author has a lot of good features in mind, so this one is a "wait and see". Reviews/scores are my opinion only, though they have been adjusted in some areas with feedback from experienced users - they're my research notes as I look for the best BBS interface for myself and my users. This is intended to provide a basis upon which others may evaluate these programs, and to promote development of the more obvious defficiencies by the developers. Copies of the evaluation programs used are FREQable as: hi-BBS Client 1.08. (yes, the "." is part of the name) TELEFIND.301 (3.2.2 is out now) NovaLink Pro 3.0.sea (3.1 should be out now) PA v.9b7.sea (a newer version - no GUI yet) FIRSTCLASS2.0DEMO (I've seen 2.4 mentioned) 01Jun93 -released first evaluation - corrected some figures w/feedback from more experienced sysops. 26Jan94 -added versions of BBS's evaluated. Newer versions of FC, TF, and NL have been released since this evaluation. I heard some rumblings of excessive TF upgrade costs, and was on the new NL BBS which STILL has some lockup/instability troubles in RipScript mode. I visited one of the few (only?) BBS's running PA and left without feeling I'd experienced anything new. FidoNews 11-05 Page: 15 31 Jan 1994 Rune's Rag -- An Electronic MagaZine for the 90's To RUNE or not to RUNE . . . by Rick Arnold Contact: WRITERS BIZ BBS (412-LUV-RUNE) 1:2601/522; or WRITING on FidoNet; EP-PUBLISH on EPubNet. There are many E-mags disrupting the ether. RUNE'S RAG tries to do so in a kinder, gentler fashion. This electronic magazine eases through space and time bringing you reading material, which bursts your synaptic gaps with pleasurable charges. The magazine is dedicated to the *Free Exchange of Information and Ideas* through vehicles of fiction, non-fiction, essay, and poetry and virtually all sub-genres. New authors are welcome and encouraged to submit material for *publication*. We've even accepted material from inveterate authors of questionable ilk. This blend, of new and experienced authors, provides you, the reader -- the most *important* aspect of writing -- with a reading experience that you'll want to share with others. It provides you these pleasures with two versions, one -- all ASCII, displayable on most computer types, in a format similar to FIDO NEWS. The other, supporting ANSI/RIP graphics with reader included, is in a BBS Doorable platform provided by EXHIBIT A COMMUNICATIONS. The Door, FREQ as READROOM,(rdrm30.zip) at SDN file sites, also at WRITERS BIZ @ 1:2601/522, presents text files prepared for READROOM.TOC format. It's much easier than it sounds. Easy enough to make it your first shot at installing a Door on your BBS. Issues have presented works from T. Woodward, C. Thames, D. Havens F. Kaltenbaugh, G. Willard, T. Francis, P. Curry, D. Bealer, and others well known within the WRITING community. RUNE'S RAG is a magazine for people who enjoy reading, and we enjoy seeing feed back on the stories and articles presented for you. Netmail is welcome and does have an influence on content, the E-Mag is for you, the reader. RUNE'S RAG is found at most SDN sites, EPubNet file sites and is obtained in the format: (RUNE9401.ZIP) RUNEYYmm.zip = ANSI version, and RUNEmmYY.zip = ASCII version. During the first week of each month, you will find RUNE'S RAG at a SDN or EPubNet file site. 1:261/1129 - The Puffin's Nest, home of Random Access Humor, allows File Requests for RUNE'S RAG and is an Excellent companion magazine, also in READROOM.TOC format. Random Access Humor is a great humor e-mag covering On-line antics and the laughable aspects of computing. So, crank up your modem, obtain both RUNE'S RAG (MAGIC Name: RUNER=ANSI version, RUNE=Ascii version and Random Access Humor (RAH9401R.ZIP)). Then begin pleasurable reading experiences; leave copies on the bedstand and in the private reading room -- you'll be glad you did. # # # FidoNews 11-05 Page: 16 31 Jan 1994 Introducing... \[[[[[\ [[[[[[\ [[ \[[[[[\ [[[[[[[ ___ __ _______ ________ [[\\\\ [[\\\[[ [[ [[\\\[[ ^[] ____ __ __ __ ____[[ [[____ [[ [[___[[ ^[] __ __ __ _____ __ _[[[[[_ [[ [[[[[[[ [[ [[ ^[] __ ____ __ __ Simulated, PaintBall Combat __ ___ _______ __ Attention [FIDONET] SysOps: ZDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD? 3~ What is it? ~ 3 @DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDY SplatNet is a new and unique echomail network devoted to the fast growing sport of paintball. In less than two months of operation, SplatNet has grown nation-wide and promises to spread even further. Spring is approaching, and paintball is a great way to enjoy the outdoors. ZDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD? 3~ Description ~ 3 @DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDY SplatNet currently offers a diverse range of conference areas. Discussions include equipment overviews, updates, and suggestions; technical advice from notable dealers across the country, and from tournament winning professionals; strategical methods and tactics; and exclusive electronic editions of the premier paintball publication, Paintball News Magazine from New Hampshire. There are currently 11 exciting message bases to choose from, or select them all. ZDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD? 3~ Where do I sign? ~ 3 @DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDY You may FREQ an information packet, including the latest nodelist, echos, and application from 1:2606/554 or 1:2606/537 at any time. Once you have completed the forms, simply send them back and you will receive a node number. ZDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD? 3~ What about LD bills? ~ 3 @DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDY Don't worry. There is no red tape in the SplatNet network. Feel free to poll as often or as little ask you like. All messages will be available for up to one week after they are received. You will also be assigned a hub in your area, or as close as we can find one, to receive your feeds from. Currently, SplatNet incorporates systems across the continental US, so there should be no problems. For more information, contact: Kent Manno, Zone Coordinator, East Coast Region. FidoNet 1:2606/537 Stephen Surman, Zone Echo Coordinator. FidoNet 1:2606/554 John Lyon, Mid-West Region. FidoNews 11-05 Page: 17 31 Jan 1994 FidoNet 1:2380/400,401,402 Elijah Mayeux, West Coast Region. FidoNet 1:161/514 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- An Introduction to Pascal-net by Edwin Groothuis (2:284/205.1@fidonet 115:3145/102.1@pascalnet) There are thousands of Pascal-programmers in the world. Most of them need help at one time or the other. You could try asking a friend, but what can you do when they can't help? You can call the product-support line of the Pascal-compiler, but that's mostly meant for the support of the *products*, not the *programs* and *language*... You can write to a magazine, but that always takes a lot of time... You can post a message in the international pascal-echo, but boy... have you seen that flow? It's hard to follow the threads, it's hard to find the topics of the messages and they seem to have only one thing in common: The Pascal programming language. Wouldn't it be nice to have an area for each topic of pascal- programming? Like an area for Pascal_Under_Windows, Pascal_and_- assembler, Pascal_and_TurboVision. It's not a difficult question and the answer is even simplier: Yes! Forget the just_one_topic-area, create several new areas, one for the TurboVision-programmer, one for the Windows- programmer, one for the beginner, one for the Soundcard- programmer, one for the fill_in your_favorite_pascal_programming_- topic-programmer... It's not easy getting this done in FidoNet. Let several thousands people change their setup only because some pascal-programmer wants it... It's not quite useful for FidoNet. FidoNet wants to be a carrier for general topics, like 'all-the-msdos-problems', and not specified 'msdos-problems while using QEMM' and 'msdos-problems while using a discache'... It's easier to create a new network, only for Pascal-programmers, in which they where they can ask their questions in an area which is related to his/her problem. This Pascal-Net was created by Marc van Leeuwen (2:285/228@fidonet) somewhere in Autumn 1993. First it was only in the Netherlands, but more countries followed fast: Belgium, Denmark, England, Finland, Germany, Israel, Iceland, Sweden and Australia. But to have a reasonable flow and to have the knowledge it needs more countries and more nodes. Pascal-Net is not only echomail, but also has some fileecho's for distributing Pascal-sources, utilities and so on. There are programmers in Pascal-Net who release their programs first in Pascal-Net and wait a week of 2 a 3 before releasing them in other nets, or they keep Pascal-Net as their only distributor. So if you're a Pascal-programmer and always want to have the files as first: Join Pascal-Net. Currently there are 16 echos: FidoNews 11-05 Page: 18 31 Jan 1994 ANNOUNCE.PAS For announcements of new files ASSEMBLER.PAS Pascal & Assembler (Built-in Assembler, Inline machine code) BEGINNERS.PAS For beginners COMMS.PAS For communication-related problems FILESEARCH.PAS Filesearch-requests GRAPHICS.PAS Graphics-programming HARDWARE.PAS Programming of hardware (video, I/O) OOP.PAS Object Oriented Programming OTHERCOMPILERS.PAS For non-Borland Pascal compilers OWL.PAS Object Windows Library SOFTWARE.PAS Using Pascal in combination with other software SOUND.PAS Programming of soundcards ed. SOURCE.PAS Source-code contributions TP60.PAS Turbo Pascal 6.0 specific TP70.PAS Turbo/Borland Pascal 7.0 specific TURBOVISION.PAS Turbo Vision-programming UPTO55.PAS Turbo Pascal until version 5.5 specific WINDOWS.PAS MS-Windows programming New echos can be added if there is a need for them, some can be removed if there is no need for them. With 150 nodes the flow isn't that high: curruntly around 15 messages a day. Join Pascal-Net, and you'll find it can play a major part in your life as Pascal-Programmer. If you want more info about Pascal-Net, complete with subscription- form, nodelist and rules, request or download the file PASINFO from Marc van Leeuwens BBS, known as 2:285/228@FidoNet, 111:397/308@TechNet and 115:115/0@Pascal-Net or dial ++31-13-674745 (19k2/V42b) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From Computer Underground Digest #6.10: Date: 22 Jan 94 19:32:19 -0500 From: Conal.Garrity@F8004.N282.Z1.FIDONET.ORG(Conal Garrity) Subject: File 2--DEF CON ][ Initial Announcement Updated Last : 1.16.1994 xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx DEF CON ][ Convention Initial Announcement READ & DISTRIBUTE & READ & DISTRIBUTE & READ & DISTRIBUTE ========================================================= What's this? This is the initial announcement and invitation to DEF CON ][, a convention for the "underground" elements of the computer culture. We try to target the (Fill in your favorite word here): Hackers, Phreaks, Hammies, Virii coders, programmers, crackers, Cyberpunk Wannabees, Civil Liberties Groups, CypherPunks, Futurists, Artists, Etc.. FidoNews 11-05 Page: 19 31 Jan 1994 WHO: You know who you are, you shady characters. WHAT: A convention for you to meet, party, and listen to some speeches that you would normally never hear. WHEN: July 22, 23, 24 - 1994 WHERE: Las Vegas, Nevada @ The Sahara Hotel So you heard about DEF CON I, and want to hit part ][? You heard about the parties, the info discussed, the bizarre atmosphere of Las Vegas and want to check it out in person? Load up your laptop muffy, we're heading to Vegas! Here is what Three out of Three people said about last years convention: "DEF CON I, last week in Las Vegas, was both the strangest and the best computer event I have attended in years." -- Robert X. Cringely, Info World "Toto, I don't think we're at COMDEX anymore." -- Coderipper, Gray Areas "Soon we were at the hotel going through the spoils: fax sheets, catalogs, bits of torn paper, a few McDonald's Dino-Meals and lots of coffee grounds. The documents disappeared in seconds." -- Gillian Newson, New Media Magazine DESCRIPTION: Last year we held DEF CON I, which went over great, and this year we are planning on being bigger and better. We have expanded the number of speakers to included midnight tech talks and additional speaking on Sunday. We attempt to bring the underground into contact with "legitimate" speakers. Sure it's great to meet and party with fellow hackers, but besides that we try to provide information and speakers in a forum that can't be found at other conferences. While there is an initial concern that this is just another excuse for the evil hackers to party and wreak havok, it's just not the case. People come to DEF CON for information and for making contacts. We strive to distinguish this convention from others in that respect. WHAT'S NEW THIS YEAR: This year will be much larger and more organized than last year. We have a much larger meeting area, and have better name recognition. Because of this we will have more speakers on broader topics. Expect speaking to run Saturday and Sunday, ending around 5 p.m. Some of the new things expected include: > An INet connection with sixteen ports will be there, _BUT_ will only provide serial connections because terminals are too hard to ship. So bring a laptop with communications software if you want to connect to the network. Thanks to cyberlink communications for the connection. FidoNews 11-05 Page: 20 31 Jan 1994 > There will be door prizes, and someone has already donated a Cell Phone to give away. > Dr. Ludwig will present his virii creation awards on Sunday. > A bigger and better "Spot The Fed" contest, which means more shirts to give away. > More room, we should have tables set up for information distribution. If you have anything you want distributed, feel free to leave it on the designated tables. Yes, this year there will be a true 24 hour convention space. > A 24 hour movie / video suite where we will be playing all type of stuff. VHS Format. Mail me with suggested titles to show, or bring your own. > Midnight Tech Talks on Friday and Saturday night to cover the more technical topics and leave the days free for more general discussions. WHO IS SPEAKING: I was going to run a list of the current speakers we have lined up, but at this point things are still fluid. In a few months when the speakers list is more solidified I will release it. I'll name the people who have committed to attending in the next announcement. Trust me. WHERE THIS THING IS: It's in Las Vegas, the town that never sleeps. Really. There are no clocks anywhere in an attempt to lull you into believing the day never ends. Talk about virtual reality, this place fits the bill with no clunky hardware. If you have a buzz you may never know the difference. It will be at the Sahara Hotel. Intel as follows: The Sahara Hotel: 1.800.634.6078 Room Rates: Single/Double $55, Triple $65, Suite $120 (Usually $200) + 8% tax Transportation: Shuttles from the airport for cheap NOTE: Please make it clear you are registering for the DEF CON ][ convention to get the room rates. Our convention space price is based on how many people register. Register under a false name if it makes you feel better, 'cuz the more that register the better for my pocket book. No one under 21 can rent a room by themselves, so get your buddy who is 21 to rent for you and crash out. Don't let the hotel people get their hands on your baggage, or there is a mandatory $3 group baggage fee. Vegas has killer unions. OTHER STUFF: If you check out Wired like 1.5 or 1.6 there was a blurb about the new Luxor hotel with it's total VR experience. It looks like the first FidoNews 11-05 Page: 21 31 Jan 1994 true VR ride / experience for a group of people, it seats eight. Intense. A friend was just over there, and tested out the various rides. Not to be outdone the new MGM grand (Largest hotel in the world) has a ride called the R360 which is basically a gyroscope they trap you into with goggles. We should get a group together and make a mass trek over there and check it out. If enough people are interested I'll call and see if we can book a time to reserve space for a bunch of us. Both are within walking distance. I'll whip up a list of stuff that's cool to check out in town there so if for some reason you leave the awesome conference you can take in some unreal sites in the city of true capitalism. MEDIA: Some of the places you can look for information from last year include: New Media Magazine, September 1993 InfoWorld, 7-12-1993 and also 7-19-1993 by Robert X. Cringely Gray Areas Magazine, Vol 2, #3 (Fall 1993) Unix World, ??? Phrack #44 COST: Cost is whatever you pay for a hotel room split however many ways, plus $15 if you preregister, or $30 at the door. This gets you a nifty 24 bit color name tag (We're gonna make it niftier this year) and your foot in the door. There are fast food places all over, and there is alcohol all over the place but the trick is to get it during a happy hour for maximum cheapness. ============================================================================ UPDATE: I wanted to thank whoever sent in the anonymous fax to Wired that was printed in issue 1.5 Cool deal! Dan Farmer posted his paper on unix security on the net, and I've put a copy of it on the ftp site if you want to grab it and take a look. It's called "zen.txt" I've received more scanned images from last year, and they will be put on the ftp site. ============================================================================= FOR MORE INFORMATION: For InterNet users, there is a DEF CON anonymous ftp site at cyberspace.com in /pub/defcon. There are digitized pictures, digitized speeches and text files with the latest up to date info available. FidoNews 11-05 Page: 22 31 Jan 1994 For email users, you can email dtangent@defcon.org for more information. For non-net people call: The Alliance BBS [612] 251.8596 16.8k speed Dual Standard Open Access. 24 Hours. Users get full access on 1st call. iirg disto site, Syncro Net, text files galore. Sysop: Metal Head (The huge guy from last year) A DEF CON directory is maintained here For Snail Mail send to: DEF CON, 2709 E. Madison Street Suite #102, Seattle, WA, 98112 For Voice Mail and maybe a human (me), 0-700-TANGENT on an AT&T phone. A DEF CON Mailing list is maintained, and the latest announcements are mailed automatically to you. If you wish to be added to the list just send email to dtangent@defcon.org. We also maintain a chat mailing list where people can talk to one another and plan rides, talk, whatever. If you request to be on this list your email address will be shown to everyone, just so you are aware. [Note: We need some good list-serv software for BSD, if anyone knows where to find some, please e-mail me.] STUFF TO SPEND YOUR MONEY ON: > Tapes of last years speakers (four 90 minute tapes) are available for $20 > DEF CON I tee-shirts (white, large only) with large color logo on the front, and on the back the Fourth Amendment, past and present. This is shirt v 1.1 with no type-o's. These are $20, and sweatshirts are $25. > Pre-Register for next year in advance for $15 and save half. > Make all checks/money orders/etc. out to DEF CON, and mail to the address above. If you have any confidential info to send, use this PGP key to encrypt: -----BEGIN PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK----- Version: 2.3 mQCrAiyI6OcAAAEE8Mh1YApQOOfCZ8YGQ9BxrRNMbK8rP8xpFCm4W7S6Nqu4Uhpo dLfIfb/kEWDyLreM6ers4eEP6odZALTRvFdsoBGeAx0LUrbFhImxqtRsejMufWNf uZ9PtGD1yEtxwqh4CxxC8glNA9AFXBpjgAZ7eFvtOREYjYO6TH9sOdZSa8ahW7YQ hXatVxhlQqve99fY2J83D5z35rGddDV5azd9AAUTtCZUaGUgRGFyayBUYW5nZW50 IDxkdGFuZ2VudEBkZWZjb24ub3JnPg== =ko7s -----END PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK----- FidoNews 11-05 Page: 23 31 Jan 1994 The next announcement will have more updated information. I'll hold off on naming the speakers unless they commit to attending. It looks to be a great line up. - The Dark Tangent ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Does FidoNews accept pomes? If so: The wolves, they come to feed the sheep, they stay and bleed one's a service the other's need and superstition plants the seed. The bloodlust runs all through the night and sheep, they tremble with their fright sharp fangs crunch bones when they bite they kick, they struggle, they fight. The wolves they'll have it no other way the sheep? well they've got nothing to say and when they're done at moon they'll bay and in cool shade of day they'll lay. - Wolves and Sheep - Fredric Rice (1:102/890.0), Sep. 1993. -- : Fredric Rice - via mcws.fidonet.org - Public Access (213)256-8371 : ARPA/INTERNET: Fredric.Rice@f890.n102.z1.fidonet.org : UUCP: ...!{elroy,oxy}!mcws!890!Fredric.Rice : Compu$erve: >internet:Fredric.Rice@f890.n102.z1.fidonet.org ---------------------------------------------------------------------- My note regarding questions on FidoNet Organization: Galaxy Information System (GIS) Atlanta, Ga. Sylvia, I recently re-read the lines regarding my answering status as a question answerer. I think it is time I had that updated as follows: INTERNET USERS: FidoNews is available via FTP from ftp.fidonet.org, in directory ~ftp/pub/fidonet/fidonews. If you would like a FAQ, or have questions regarding FidoNet, or UUCP<==>FidoNet gateways, please direct them to David Deitch (1:133/411@fidonet) at deitch@gisatl.fidonet.org. I thank you for your assistance and encourage you to keep up the good work. I could even go for a new Tom Jennings Skateboard epic! David Deitch (GIS), Net 133 FidoNet<==>UUCP Gateway Administrator FidoNews 11-05 Page: 24 31 Jan 1994 __ FidoNet <==> UUCP / \\ Galaxy Information System Gateway / oo \\ (GIS) Atlanta (_| /_) David Deitch, _`@/_ \\ Administrator | | \\ \\\\ 1:133/411@fidonet (404)252-1699 | (*) | \\_ )) gisatl.fidonet.org ______ |__U__| / \\// / FIDO \\ _//|| _\\ / Go Knights! (________) (_/(_|(____/ (jm) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- California Legislature online -- free Date: Sat, 22 Jan 1994 17:11:30 -0800 From: Jim Warren Subject: File 5--GOV-ACCESS--Cal Leg online; Minn PubInfo Net; Cal Emg Serv Jan. 22, 1994 On Friday, Jan. 21, 1994, the California Legislature began offering global online access to almost-all public information about legislation-in-process, all current state statutes, and the voluminous California Constitution. The state is prohibited from charging *anything* for access to or re-use of this electronic information. Access is by Internet ftp and ftpmail ["ftp" = file transfer protocol]. Note: ftpmail allows anyone with access to the Internet at least for email purposes to access these files (that are often large). ftpmail provides access for users of FidoNet, CompuServe, GEnie, Prodigy, etc., as well as offering Internet users an option to direct ftp . README and help files provide complete details. FOR A GOOD TIME, CALL ... To receive the help file, send the following email: To: ftpmail@leginfo.public.ca.gov subject: Message lines: connect leginfo.public.ca.gov help quit To receive the two README files, send the following email: To: ftpmail@leginfo.public.ca.gov subject: Message lines: connect leginfo.public.ca.gov get README_WELCOME cd pub get README_FIRST quit FidoNews 11-05 Page: 25 31 Jan 1994 And await details of how you may finally participate in the process of your own governance. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, California is the first state in the nation to offer almost all of its public legislative, statutory and constitutional information via the Internet, *especially* without charge by the state. ================================================================ Subject--Cal.Emergency Svcs.online + Net-fax + MINN Pub Info Net Jan. 22, 1994 CALIFORNIA OFFICE OF EMERGENCY SERVICES INFO AVAILABLE ONLINE The state Emergency Digital Information Service is working fine Telnet to telnet oes1.oes.ca.gov 5501 ===== Is the OES system open/intended to permit public use? --jim ===== It seems to be. No login at all is required. You telnet to that port and get a menu listing the last 20 or so press releases. SACRAMENTO INTERNET LOCALS: HOW 'BOUT LEGI-FAX ? Are you familiar with the internet fax gateway service? You can send to an internet address and IF that telephone exchange is covered by a fax server, your mail will be delivered via fax. If it is not covered you get a bounce. For more details send mail to: tpc-faq@town.hall.org A very cool service! Maybe someone in Sacramento would like to put up a gateway that would transmit faxes to the legislators? :-) MINNESOTA DRAFT ONLINE-ACCESS PROPOSAL Date: Thursday, 20 January 1994 3:15pm CT To: net-people@nic.state.mn.us, metronet@vm1.nodak.edu, libnet@mr.net, net-people@mail.unet.umn.edu, tc-all@mail.unet.umn.edu, ednet@mr.net, mcowork@vm1.nodak.edu, STEVEN.CLIFT From: STEVEN.CLIFT@MNEMC2 Subject--Draft Legislative Proposal - Minn Public Info Network This is a DRAFT proposal from the Electronic Access to Public Information Task Force of the Information Policy Office, Minnesota Department of Administration. This is probably the first time a draft proposal of this nature has been released electronically within government and to the public. Please send us your comments and suggestions by February 4, 1994 as FidoNews 11-05 Page: 26 31 Jan 1994 indicated in the text of this document. As of January 20, this proposal has been presented to the full Electronic Access Task Force and the Information Policy Council. They are just beginning to review this proposal. The one thing that is guaranteed is that this proposal will change as it moves toward and through the legislature process. This draft proposal is more of a concept paper and much of this proposed activity does not require legislative action, but the overall concept and funding will need legislative support. While I have been researching and developing this proposal since early fall, (I have been on the Internet for two years and run a public policy (PUBPOL-L) electronic mail list at the Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs) the timing of its release is very good. It should be of interest to a number of people and gain some public attention. On a lighter note, I think government interest was illustrated by the good turnout we had at our Task Force meeting on January 18 when it was about -20F. I have a new theory about why Minnesota is known for having innovative government programs: we spend our cold winters thinking up good ideas for public services because there is little to distract us. If this is a relative theory inversely related to how cold it is, the Minnesota Public Information Network should be a great proposal. However, we need you feedback to ensure that it is developed with broad government and public support. Electronic Access to Public Information Task Force c/o Steven Clift Information Policy Office Minnesota Department of Administration 320 Centennial Office Building St. Paul, MN 55155 Telephone: (612)297-5561 Fax:(612)296-5800 Electronic Mail: steven.clift@state.mn.us ===== Send a request to Steven Clift if you wish the full document. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Users can be real demons Fredric Rice, The Skeptic Tank 1:102/890.0 Park Ypenburg 'n', 2396 CS Koudekerk, Netherlands Users can be real demons (Originally from some private mail) ... And, you know, I could tell you stories. When David Rice ran Astro-Net there was a user who was going from forum to forum getting ejected from each in turn for rants about demons and Soviets beaming thoughts into his head -- no _end_ of nonsense. And David took each Moderators' complaints one by one and locked off the poor, misguided, honestly mistaken idiot. Eventually the guy found that his access to most of the forums were limited to "read only" and he found that someone named "David Rice" was cutting him -- not knowing that he was refering to his SysOp god. FidoNews 11-05 Page: 27 31 Jan 1994 Eventually, this user found the 'yell/chat' function and David, being a dutyful god, always answers his subjects prayers. Mister user asked David if he knew any 'satanists' or demons or all kinds of unusual, bizzare things to which David (thinking the individual pulling both of his legs (and his tail) <-snort->) responded much to the effect that he had not encountered any of the afore mentioned personifications and/or manifestations lately. Events progressed over a couple of days where the user and David (keeping copies of the chat log for his own safety, you know) became buddies -- well, user had thought so any way. The user had thought that David might be able to hook him up to something called "the underground." No end to the nonsense was forseeable and the future of handing the individual a clue looked dim. David had realized that the user was entirely serious in his rants. Eventually, being buddies, the user had decided to confide to David about his enemies. He specifically spelled out a few individuals whos names he had written down from various echo mail forums and, of course, David's name was also offered as his "arch enemy." Some how, poor user said, David Rice, through his god-like powers, had managed to block his every move, read his every thought, and _really_ had it out for him -- no reason specified, of course, but that's the way with invisible enemies at times. I would have liked to have seen the poor users' face when David finally pronounced that he, the SysOp, the one he was talking to through the keyboard was the very evil presense stalking him. After David typed, "David Rice, here" the characters from the other end of the telephone line suddenly stopped for several minutes. David was reaching for the keyboard to type something like "hello?" when carrier was suddenly and mysteriously dropped. Not being the brightest SysOp god around, David decided to keep the individual in the user list to see if the individual would call back and to see if there might be any problems with the individual later. The next day, the user had managed to work up enough courage to face the evil denzines of the deep and he placed another call to Astro-Net. The results of answering the yell/chat was entirely expected, of course, as circumstances already outlined above could doubtless predict. David had been trying to explain the workings of Echo Mail, Moderatorship, rules, and what "on topic" means for some time. Because of this, the user in his last post went on at some length uninterrupted in his tirade about how "powerful" he (the user) was and that he (David) should never have messed with the forces of 'Hell.' Pages and pages of text were typed -- one could almost smell the brimstone burning in the final opus -- nay, virtual encyclopedia of FidoNews 11-05 Page: 28 31 Jan 1994 demons, gods, goddesses, saints, Saturday cartoon characters, and, strange as it might seem, CBS news persons who were aligned with the user. Finally there was a pause. A couple of line feeds. Another pause. And then, just before carrier was dropped, the user told David that he had better not fall asleep tonight but that he'll have to fall asleep eventually. His very last words were about "unleashing the dogs of 'Hell.' with the words "Prepare to meet your DOOM!!!" $13&^%[] NO CARRIER The individual never called back yet I highly suspect that he was eventually elected to the office of President of the United States in 1989. -- : Fredric Rice - via mcws.fidonet.org - Public Access (213)256-8371 : ARPA/INTERNET: Fredric.Rice@f890.n102.z1.fidonet.org : UUCP: ...!{elroy,oxy}!mcws!890!Fredric.Rice : Compu$erve: >internet:Fredric.Rice@f890.n102.z1.fidonet.org ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Quick thinking electrical engineer (forwarded from THE SHIT-LIST) ================================== The following text has been forwarded around enough that all trace of its original author's identity has been lost. - ------- Begin ------- My girlfriend always seemed to enjoy seeing how much she could get away with doing some form of bondage stuff in public. She does this partly because she finds it fun, mostly because she knows it drives me out of my tree. Usually, I's able to fast- talk my way out of potentially embarrassing situations with Mundanes, but yesterday she very nearly got me fired. Yesterday afternoon we had lunch together. Afterward, she accompanied me back to work. I thought this slightly unusual, since she had never before expressed in interest in my work (electronic engineering), but it didn't occur to me that she had something planned. We arrived at my workbench, where I currently trying to figure why the $&#%@^$ board on which I am working is not performing the way it is designed. "Is this where you work?" she asked. "At the moment," I replied. I reached over to turn on the scope, thereby completely failing to notice the huge black studded collar she had produced from her purse. Before I could blink (it's amazing the speed at which she can do this), she had locked the collar snugly around my neck, and locked the end of the 6 foot jack FidoNews 11-05 Page: 29 31 Jan 1994 chain to the center of the bench ( where there just happened to be a mounting hole, dammit). I turned to her in utter disbelief, mouth agape. "I'll be back for you at five," she said. "HAVE YOU GONE COMPLETELY WACKO!??!?!", I yelled in a hushed voice. "How the hell am I going to explain this!?!?!" "You'll think of something", she said, dropping the keys into her cleavage, "you always do". "But suppose I have to go to the bathroom", I countered. "Don't give me that", she hissed, "I've seen you go a whole day without visiting the bathroom" "But....," I tried to say. "SHHH! The subject is closed. I'll be back at five. Bye" She turned around and left, against my hushed protests. I sat in panic and tried to think out my situation. I tried to think of who might visit. Most of my co-workers were friends who knew that my girlfriend and I were a bit odd, so this shouldn't surprise them. But I had *no* idea what I was going to do if one of my bosses came in. I checked my watch to see how long I would have to endure this ignominy. 13:30 (I'm a military time weenie). "Three and a half hours," I thought. I heaved a heavy sigh, and got to work, such as I could. As it happened, three of my co-workers visited for what-not. All of them immediately noticed the collar (it would be hard not to) and asked if it was my girlfriend's idea. I said yes. They asked what I would do if my supervisor saw it. I told them I hadn't the faintest idea. One of the aforementioned colleagues took the bench next to me, and after a few remarks (and a question as to where he could get such a collar), settled down to work in silence. After some time, I checked my watch. 16:40. "Gee, I just might make it through this after all," I thought. I was even beginning to get a handle on the problem with the $#%&&$# board on which I was working. Murphy must have been standing right behind me, reading my thoughts, for not two minutes later one of my bosses entered the room. And not just any boss. Noooooooo. This was Mr. Narrowminded himself. This was the guy who took Lifespring *and* became a born-again funda- mentalist. How he came to have the power of hire-and-fire over us is one of the Great Mysteries of The Universe. We avoided this guy at all costs. His eyes fell upon me immediately. A few picoseconds later, he saw the collar around my neck in all it's splendor. "My life is over," I thought. I still hadn't thought of a plausible explanation for this. Mr Solderbrain (the name we called him behind his back; a corruption of his real name) started to walk slowly and deliberately over to me, his eyes fixed on the collar. Fifteen agonizing seconds later, he was standing next to me. I thought the guy sitting next to me was going to have FidoNews 11-05 Page: 30 31 Jan 1994 seizures stifling all his giggles. I continued to work, acting as though there were nothing the least bit unusual about my predicament. Finally, he spoke. "What. the. HELL! is. THAT!?!?!" he said. I don't know how I thought of what I said. In fact, I'm pretty sure I didn't know what I was going to say until I was saying it. I'm even more amazed that Solderbrain actually bought it and didn't fire me on the spot. I turned to face him calmly, with total nonchalance, exuding complete confidence in what I was about to say, even though I didn't know what it was yet. I didn't even miss a beat. "Grounding strap," I said, and returned to work. The guy next to me fell off his chair and nearly died laughing. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ======================================================================== Fidonews Information ======================================================================== ------- FIDONEWS MASTHEAD AND CONTACT INFORMATION ---------------- Editors: Sylvia Maxwell, Donald Tees, Tim Pozar Editors Emeritii: Thom Henderson, Dale Lovell, Vince Perriello, Tom Jennings IMPORTANT NOTE: The FidoNet address of the FidoNews BBS has been changed!!! Please make a note of this. "FidoNews" BBS FidoNet 1:1/23 BBS +1-519-570-4176, 300/1200/2400/14400/V.32bis/HST(DS) Internet addresses: Don & Sylvia (submission address) editor@exlibris.tdkcs.waterloo.on.ca Sylvia -- max@exlibris.tdkcs.waterloo.on.ca Donald -- donald@exlibris.tdkcs.waterloo.on.ca Tim -- pozar@kumr.lns.com (Postal Service mailing address) (have extreme patience) FidoNews 128 Church St. Kitchener, Ontario Canada N2H 2S4 FidoNews 11-05 Page: 31 31 Jan 1994 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 1994 Sylvia Maxwell. 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.) INTERNET USERS: FidoNews is available via FTP from ftp.fidonet.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, 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 ----------------------------------------------------------------------