F I D O N E W S -- Vol.11 No. 9 (28-Feb-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...................................................... 2 Make Hoaxes Fast............................................ 2 A Few Words of Wisdom....................................... 7 Rising Above It All......................................... 8 REENACT - The Living History Echo........................... 9 ECSTASY now available from 1:163/328........................ 9 INTERNATIONAL CONNECTIVITY.................................. 10 General news................................................ 15 Small Article about swiscon/eurocon......................... 18 V34? WHERE!?!?.............................................. 18 Fidonet, Fight'o'Net ?...................................... 20 More on privacy............................................. 21 3. Fidonews Information.......................................... 22 FidoNews 11-09 Page: 2 28 Feb 1994 ======================================================================== Editorial ======================================================================== Here is a good sized snooze for you, with lots of interesting articles. The mexican article forwarded by Tom, got me to thinking though. I am a programmer, and I sit here at my terminal in a smallish city up here in Canada, working for a living. Nothing special, just a two person firm doing okay. Not rich, not poor. Just folks. Yet I talk each day to people all over the world. My neighbours are down in the states, over in germany, a fellow from Korea that drops a note every once in a while, and a few mad englishmen. Then I read my "newspaper". It is all government fighting with government: government this, and government that. They have even turned sport into a fight between governments. I am tired of governments. I am 47 years old, and have been a staunch Canadian all my life. But these damned boundaries are getting me down. I want to live with my neighbours, have fun, take care of the mess the world is in, and get on with life. If the net is international, what the hell do we need boundaries for? Lets start using this net thing we have created. Lets stop fighting, and be civilized. ======================================================================== Articles ======================================================================== Make Hoaxes Fast From the Canadian Hoax Interception Project (CHIP) @ 1:250/730 Electronic networks such as Fidonet are frequently prone to such things are urban fictions, chain letters and hoaxes. These are referred to as "modem tax", "Dave Rhodes" or "Craig Shergold" stories. Fidonet and other nets do well to warn users of the many false or illegal documents that circulate. What do these documents look like? This article will give some examples of what is meant by a pirate posting. These types of messages are in effect text viruses (virii?), since these propagate from system to system as a program virus might. Such distribution depends on users and sysops who pass along on without checking for trouble. After the following listing some of the various pirate postings (not a complete listing, but hopefully enough to give the idea), some general rules can be applied to combat such bogus babblings. === Pirate Posting Examples === These are descriptions of actual messages that have appeared in one FidoNews 11-09 Page: 3 28 Feb 1994 form or other on Fidonet, Usenet, or some other-net. << Modem tax mania >> A "modem tax" message is an unfounded warning of an alleged tax on modems or other data communications services as to be imposed by regulators, telephone companies or whatever. One notorious message is a lengthy wonder which looks like a press release or other news article. This announces extra revenue generation schemes (why... don't call it a "modem tax") that are supposedly for funding the information superhighway. Names such as J.R. Dobbs and Roger Carasso are included to give the appearance of legitimacy. Now try looking up such folks in the U.S. government and see how far you get. Needless to say, this story is a figment of someone's wild imagination. A recent work of Canadian pirate fiction tells the tale of a planned Bell Canada $50 per line charge for using a modem or fax machine of 4800 bps or higher. Of course, no references to public or tariff notices are given, just the dire warnings of disaster. Never mind that big business (and little business) is not interested in having big league charges on all their fax and modem lines. Whoever wrote this up originally just wanted to get a big charge out of the masses. What folks might want to watch out for are moves directed at BBSes that collect fees, in effect running as businesses. There are valid concerns regarding uses which could be construed as business purposes. Meanwhile, it's always helpful to keep a direct eye on the regulators rather than reacting to any story that comes from uncertain sources. << Bogus BBS licencing blarney >> Another tall tale being passed around regards alleged threats from governments to licence BBSes. The most recent appearance of this involved the Canadian BBS scene, where the message warned of imminent danger with the looming BBS licencing regime. Well, many folks have contacted the Canadian regulator, the CRTC, and the story is thoroughly denied. Not only that, the trend is towards less regulation in telecommunications, with the CRTC being given powers to abandon aspects of their regulation where competitive factors warrant. They're getting a bit tired of not only the BBS licencing calls, but also the "modem tax" calls, the results of those who who uncritically accept and distribute misinformation. << Craig Shergold needs your cards ... NOT!!! >> Once upon a time, there was really a boy named Craig Shergold. He really was stricken with leukemia and didn't have much of a life expectancy. He really did appeal to the world to send him cards so that he could make the Guinness Book of Records. Craig went on to actually win the world record of received cards. This event was true history. But wait, that wasn't the end of it... Craig received good medical FidoNews 11-09 Page: 4 28 Feb 1994 treatment and he's been quite healthy for some time, a remarkable recovery indeed. Unfortunately, some sick puppies in computer land decided to perpetuate the now-outdated request for cards. So Craig got even vaster quantities of get-well cards even though he already got well. Craig's improved fortunes have been documented in news reports such as in the Detroit News, or other newspapers (check out how to use newspaper indexes in libraries). The false continuation of these appeals, on the other hand, no longer has a substantiable basis. But behold, some ultra-sick prankster puppie out there saw that this was not good enough. So the request was modified so that Craig's age was changed - without his permission - from twelve to seven, and then this hoax generator proceeded to fabricate a request from Craig for a world record *business* card collection. Never mind that the addresses listed on such pseudo-appeals were now obsolete. Ever since then, variations of the Craig Shergold theme have circulated wherever distribution means can be found. The Craig craze has now devolved to messages bearing different names, different ages, different whatever. Any such warning messages are probably hoaxes intended to cause trouble. << Dave Rhodes - working on the chain letter gang >> MAKE MONEY FAST! How? Well, the story starts out like this: "Dear Friend, My name is Dave Rhodes. In September 1988 my car was reposessed and the bill collectors were hounding me like you wouldn't believe.... This January 1989 my family and I went on a ten day cruise to the tropics. I bought a Lincoln Town Car for CASH in Feburary [sic] 1989." This "Dave Rhodes" would have us believe that each of us can rack up a mere $50 000 in cash, in 20 to 60 days just by following the simple instructions he gives. Just get into the "mailing list" business (the euphemism for "chain letter scheme") and send $1 to each of the ten names listed at the end of the message. Get into the business yourself and get those $1 payments coming in to you. Never mind that such postings likely violate a variety of national and perhaps international laws and never mind that chain schemes implode when the mathematics of exponential chain growth are calculated. So you think you, too, can make Ross Perot look like a hobo? << Religious Broadcasting to be Banned? >> Have you seen the one about the warnings of the FCC plans to ban religious broadcasting in the U.S.A.? You know, the actions that Madalyn Murray O'Hair and her fellow atheists are doing? Well, that's one of the better-known works of fiction we'll discuss here. This one normally comes with an FCC docket number which turns out to be an invalid one. The FCC has not - and will not - restrict broadcast licencing on the basis of religious affiliation or lack thereof. Thus religious broadcasters will not be subject to laws any more restrictive FidoNews 11-09 Page: 5 28 Feb 1994 than those applied to broadcasters in general. The FCC's main information line in Washington even has a message devoted to exposing what's wrong with this message. So... Praise the Lord and pass this false alarm to the garbage can. U.S. taxpayers' money has already been squandered enough as the FCC already dealt with untold thousands of letters on this matter. A side note for Canada, where there are definitely restrictions on religious broadcasting: the CRTC (Canadian broadcast regulator) completed a proceeding last year to review religious broadcasting. Having done that, and sorted through thousands of submissions on that topic, there is a somewhat less restrictive policy in place. If anyone sees the U.S. hoax adapted for the Canadian audience, it can safely be tossed out, too, as there won't be another review any time soon. === Fighting Fraudulent Fabrications === To Broadcast Or Not To Broadcast? - Whether to respond to pirate postings in the same public echo as they were posted is a controversial concept. Some moderators will reserve the right to deal with such matters themselves, asking others along the way to hold their fire. Yet, there needs to be a followup to indicate to others in a conference of how such posts are a many kilobaud short of a v.32. Ask the conference moderators for their policies on how to handle hoax posts; those moderators who don't have a pirate post policy should be encouraged to establish one and periodically send it throughout their echo. Getting Off Topic? - Too many of these hoaxes start off with the poster going "Sorry this is off-topic, but..." then proceed to do a bang-up Craig Shergold tale on the Amiga and Maximus echoes. Such users admit, then, that they are in deliberate violation of the conference topic. Flaming net-mail not only to the node originating such messages, but also to that node's hub, NC and perhaps ZC is a good prescription for such ailments. Moderators, too, should be quick to denounce any such posts appearing in their jurisdiction. Demand Evidence! - If a regulator, government body or telephone company were to introduce any action that affects BBSes or telecommunications, there would be verifiable sources of evidence for such actions. It's not good enough for someone to say "well it was a file that was on the Jolly Roger EliteWarez System". For instance, a docket or public notice number associated with a regulatory body could be used to confirm or deny claims. Many hoax authors are too lazy to think of even inventing an imaginary reference number, or other document reference. The pirate posts just blab on about the impending apocalypse at hand. Check For References - Some of these messages contain names, references, document numbers and other things that could be used to confirm or deny the information at hand. Is a docket or public notice number included? Call the appropriate regulator and ask about it. Are there individuals mentioned as government officials? Are they listed in directories or do the agencies they supposedly represent acknowledge their existence and the comments they are listed as making? What is the source of the FidoNews 11-09 Page: 6 28 Feb 1994 message? Track them down and demand where their information came from. Laying Down The Law - Check for laws and regulations that may pertain to the hoax texts. The Canadian Criminal Code, for instance, has sections dealing with false messages and counterfeit proclamations (sections 181, 370, 372). This is not to suggest the army be called each time a user unwittingly pulls off a classic Dave Rhodeser, but reminders of the potential illegalities of hoax messages can't hurt. Monitor Governments - Agencies that can affect telecommunications normally have procedures for tariffs and notices. These are often published in gazettes and records of some form or other. It is helpful to have a few eagle eyes check over tariff notices and other pronouncements just in case there is something of substance. Getting the information from the source, getting reference publications and numbers and verifying matters with staff will help sort the fact from the fiction. Hit Lists - Current pirate postings and rumour mongerings can be identified and warnings about these distributed to sysops. The Usenet group alt.urban.folklore is a discussion group dedicated to myth-information such as the Craig Shergold or Dave Rhodes tales. Just as lists of program viruses and trojans have been compiled, one could envision the distribution of bogus message hot lists. Such information should be distributed not only among sysops, but users who might otherwise be potential messengers of hoaxes. User And Sysop Education - Users must be warned not to upload or post any old suspicious tale they feel the public must know by yesterday. Sysops need to warn their users not to just splash any old modem tax or other story; an alternative would be encourage the private mail discussion of such messages with a sysop or *C first. On the Usenet, those spreading such messages are faced with vicious reaction, and incite threats that fall just short of closing entire seaboards of the network involved. The epidemic of pirate posts can be controlled by sysops setting forth rules of the board about such messages; also, it helps to exercise a bit of caution and to discuss alleged threats in private mailings first. = = = = = = = = = There you have it, an introduction to the wild world of imaginary rumours, money-making schemes, and outright balderdash. With the application of some critical thought, and spreading awareness of the sorts of scams that circulate, the pirate posts can be put to pasture. FidoNews 11-09 Page: 7 28 Feb 1994 A Few Words of Wisdom By Martin Pollard (1:120/187.0) My various friends and net.acquaintances know that I am a fan of the Star Trek phenomenon. Part of my love for Star Trek is that, at its core, it addresses many of the issues we face today (presented in a science fiction setting). War, poverty, racism, terrorism, abortion, the death penalty, the plight of endangered species... all are issues that have, at one time or another, been addressed by Star Trek movies or episodes (and not always with a happy ending). The recent article by Tom Jennings ("Protest Made Easy" / "Privacy As Roadkill", FidoNews #11-08) reminded me strongly of an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation from about three years ago. The plot of the episode in question -- "The Drumhead" -- is very much relevant to the issues addressed in the article (the right to privacy, and how current government proposals threaten to take that right and flush it down the toilet), and contains some words of wisdom that many of us should strive to keep in mind. A synopsis of the episode follows (those of you who are Trekkies can obviously skip this part ): The Enterprise has suffered an explosion that, on the surface, appears to be an act of sabotage. A Starfleet admiral, Norah Satie, arrives to take part in the investigation. It is later discovered that a Klingon exchange officer has been smuggling classified information to the Romulans, but claims he was not involved with the explosion; this is later borne out by analysis of the debris (the explosion was caused by a manufacturing defect). Satie, however, is convinced there is a ring of spies and saboteurs aboard the Enterprise, and much to Captain Picard's dismay, widens her investigations. The hearings take on a tone akin to the McCarthy hearings (or, as Picard puts it, a "drumhead trial"), trampling on the rights and freedoms of several people until Picard is able to use Satie's paranoid, distrustful nature against her. He provokes her into an enraged diatribe against him, thus revealing to all what she really is. As I indicated in the synopsis, "The Drumhead" is, on the surface, an allegory of the 1950s hearings, led by Senator Joseph McCarthy, on Communist activities in America (a disgraceful period in our history, where rights and freedoms were thrown out the window in the name of "the common good"; what claimed to be hearings were actually little more than witch-hunts). However, I see a much deeper meaning: A warning to all of us that our rights and freedoms are precious and cannot be given up on a whim because, in the end, we'll have given up a LOT more than we bargained for. Admiral Satie's actions demonstrated that evil often cloaks itself in good intentions; we must be forever vigilant if we are to keep the freedoms we've fought to maintain all these years. To close, I leave these words of wisdom. These words were spoken by Captain Picard, and were what led to Admiral Satie's revealing outburst (since they were originally spoken by her father, Judge Aaron Satie); the characters and words may be fictional, but the meaning they convey is very, very real: FidoNews 11-09 Page: 8 28 Feb 1994 "With the first link, the chain is forged. The first speech censured, the first thought forbidden, the first freedom denied, chains us all irrevocably." ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Rising Above It All by James Paulson 1:134/3004.0 jpaulson@orion.uumh.ab.ca Last December marked my first year into the brave new world of networking. So far, what I've learned is that no matter how high of regard one holds for networking and the power it offers, there's always at least one idiot out there who's willing to try and spoil things for everyone. It seems that there are constant discussions on how to avoid this problem and just how to handle it. Issues like censorship refuse to die; the battle continues. Recently the idea of how Planet Connect will interface with current FidoNet policy has come to issue, and it is one which needs to be looked at closely. After all, FidoNet policy preceeded Planet Connect by several years, and therefore should dictate it's method of operation as opposed to allowing anarchy to prevail. We need to send a strong message to anyone wishing to join an organized network that has run fairly well for several years. FidoNet policy basically dicates three options, I believe. These options are 1)You agree, 2)You disagree and remove yourself, or 3)You find yourself removed subject to policy. If a Planet Connect based system refuses to follow policy, the option to control it resides with the HUB system. If the HUB contravenes that policy, then the HUB system should find its feed disconnected. Ultimately that choice resides with Planet Connect itself. The glue that binds a network as anarchistic as FidoNet can be at times is its policy. While we may not all agree with policy, we must respect that these are requirements for improving our network and should be viewed as such. When capitalistic ventures impede and may change the establishment, then those ventures should not be allowed to over rule existing policy unless those changes represent the wishes of those who ulitmately make the decisions on policy, and this issue has been hashed over enough allready. The concept of Planet Connect is a great idea, and one which I am all in favor of, but it must also viewed as simply another FidoNet system, and as such is but a small fish in a big ocean. It is up to all of us to ensure that we maintain the proper network standards. After all, our network is spreading into countries where it has never been, and for many FidoNet users, this will be their only network option available for many years to come. I hope we can and will all do "the right thing." FidoNews 11-09 Page: 9 28 Feb 1994 REENACT - The Living History Echo by Gerald Todd 1:261/1151 Across the country, men and women portray for us a little bit of what life was like "back then." In museums, forts, ships, parks, schools, and many other places, these people take us back in time to meet Johnny Reb or Billy Yank, to meet one of Roger's Rangers, or a family from the prarie. These people show us where we came from, and the way we lived. They show us the tools, the food, the weapons, and they show us the beliefs, the traditions, and the songs of our heritage. These people are "Living Historians." Tagname: REENACT Area Key: REENACT Title: Reenacting & Living History Echo Description: A conference devoted to the hobby of Reenacting, Living History, First-Person Impression, from ancient times to Desert Storm. All aspects and facets of the hobby discussed, including: research, equipment sources, want-ads, events, movies, recruitment, museum and park service work, preservation, and more. Origin: 1:261/1151 Distribution: Private Links Gateways: # Nodes: 5 Volume: Rule File: REENACT.RUL, 1:261/1151 Flags: Moderators: Gerald Todd, 1:261/1151@Fidonet.org Gerald Todd, 8:936/125@Rbbsnet.org Seen by: 1:261/1151@Fidonet.org 112/3001 363/69 391/1040 3620/14 Paths: Date added: 18-Feb-94 - EList #403 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ECSTASY now available from 1:163/328 by Rick Pali An echo is born, and it's called ECSTACY. The topic is the music of Sarah McLachlan, Tori Amos, Kate Bush, Jane Siberry and similar non-commercial female artists. Any discussion, debate, news questions about these performers are welcome. If you've visited the Usenet group rec.music.gaffa, you'll feel right at home in ECSTASY. The echo is less than a month old and isn't backboned so distribution is private. Traffic now is less than 20 messages a week but that will increase as more systems link in. If you're interested in a feed, or more information please feel free to drop me a netmail message. Rick Pali ECSTASY Moderator 1:163/328 FidoNews 11-09 Page: 10 28 Feb 1994 INTERNATIONAL CONNECTIVITY PS Five days after this was published, Peru joined the Internet. - -------------------------- Version 10 - February 15, 1994 Please send corrections, information and/or comments to: Larry Landweber Computer Sciences Dept. University of Wisconsin - Madison 1210 W. Dayton St. Madison, WI 53706 lhl@cs.wisc.edu FAX 1-608-265-2635 Include details, e.g., on connections, sites, contacts, protocols, etc. Thanks to the many people from around the world who have provided information. This version (postscript, ditroff, text forms), maps in postscript, and earlier versions may also be obtained by anonymous ftp from ftp.cs.wisc.edu in the connectivity_table directory. In the following, "BITNET" is used generically to refer to BITNET plus similar networks around the world (e.g., EARN, NETNORTH, GULFNET, etc.). SUMMARY NUMBER OF ENTITIES WITH INTERNATIONAL NETWORK CONNECTIVITY = 146 NUMBER OF ENTITIES WITHOUT INTERNATIONAL NETWORK CONNECTIVITY = 91 BITNET Col. 2 (Entities with international BITNET links.) b: minimal, one to five domestic BITNET sites, 19 entities B: widespread, more than five domestic BITNET sites, 32 entities IP INTERNET Col. 3 (Entities with international IP Internet links.) I: = operational, accessible from entire open IP Internet, 62 entities UUCP Col. 4 (Entities with domestic UUCP sites which are connected to the Global Multiprotocol Open Internet.) u: minimal, one to five domestic UUCP sites, 57 entities U: widespread, more than five domestic UUCP sites, 68 entities FIDONET Col. 5 (Entities with domestic FIDONET sites which are connected to the Global Multiprotocol Open Internet) f: minimal, one to five domestic FIDONET sites, 29 entities F: widespread, more than five domestic FIDONET sites, 59 entities FidoNews 11-09 Page: 11 28 Feb 1994 OSI Col. 6 (Entities with international X.400 links to domestic sites which are connected to the Global Multiprotocol Open Internet). o: minimal, one to five domestic X.400 sites, 8 entities O: widespread, more than five domestic X.400 sites, 23 entities ISO 3166 country codes are included in the Table for each entity. Note that these do not always agree with the top level DNS code(s) used for a particular country. Network connections to Algeria and Lebanon will soon be operational. Testing of network connections to Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Guyana, St. Vincent and the Grenadines is underway. ----- AF Afghanistan (Islamic Republic of) ----- AL Albania (Republic of) ----- DZ Algeria (People's Democratic Republic of) ----- AS American Samoa ----- AD Andorra (Principality of) ----- AO Angola (People's Republic of) ----- AI Anguilla -I--- AQ Antarctica ----- AG Antigua and Barbuda BIUF- AR Argentina (Argentine Republic) --U-- AM Armenia ---f- AW Aruba -IUFo AU Australia BIUFO AT Austria (Republic of) --U-- AZ Azerbaijan ----- BS Bahamas (Commonwealth of the) b---- BH Bahrain (State of) ----- BD Bangladesh (People's Republic of) --u-- BB Barbados --UF- BY Belarus BIUFO BE Belgium (Kingdom of) --u-- BZ Belize ----- BJ Benin (People's Republic of) --Uf- BM Bermuda ----- BT Bhutan (Kingdom of) --U-- BO Bolivia (Republic of) ----- BA Bosnia-Herzegovina --uf- BW Botswana (Republic of) ----- BV Bouvet Island BIUFO BR Brazil (Federative Republic of) ----- IO British Indian Ocean Territory ----- BN Brunei Darussalam bIUF- BG Bulgaria (Republic of) --U-- BF Burkina Faso (formerly Upper Volta) ----- BI Burundi (Republic of) ----- KH Cambodia --u-- CM Cameroon (Republic of) BIUFO CA Canada ----- CV Cape Verde (Republic of) ----- KY Cayman Islands FidoNews 11-09 Page: 12 28 Feb 1994 ----- CF Central African Republic ----- TD Chad (Republic of) BIUF- CL Chile (Republic of) --u-O CN China (People's Republic of) ----- CX Christmas Island (Indian Ocean) ----- CC Cocos (Keeling) Islands B-u-- CO Colombia (Republic of) ----- KM Comoros (Islamic Federal Republic of the) --u-- CG Congo (Republic of the) --u-- CK Cook Islands bIuf- CR Costa Rica (Republic of) --uf- CI Cote d'Ivoire (Republic of) -IuFo HR Croatia --U-- CU Cuba (Republic of) bI--- CY Cyprus (Republic of) BIUF- CZ Czech Republic bIUFO DK Denmark (Kingdom of) ----- DJ Djibouti (Republic of) ----- DM Dominica (Commonwealth of) --Uf- DO Dominican Republic ----- TP East Timor bIu-- EC Ecuador (Republic of) bIU-- EG Egypt (Arab Republic of) ----- SV El Salvador (Republic of) ----- GQ Equatorial Guinea (Republic of) -IUF- EE Estonia (Republic of) ---f- ET Ethiopia (People's Democratic Republic of) ----- FK Falkland Islands (Malvinas) --u-- FO Faroe Islands -Iu-- FJ Fiji (Republic of) BIUFO FI Finland (Republic of) BIUFO FR France (French Republic) --u-- GF French Guiana --u-- PF French Polynesia ----- TF French Southern Territories ----- GA Gabon (Gabonese Republic) ----- GM Gambia (Republic of the) --UF- GE Georgia (Republic of) BIUFO DE Germany (Federal Republic of) --uF- GH Ghana (Republic of ) ----- GI Gibraltar BIUFO GR Greece (Hellenic Republic) -I-f- GL Greenland --u-- GD Grenada b-uf- GP Guadeloupe (French Department of) -I-F- GU Guam --u-- GT Guatemala (Republic of) ----- GN Guinea (Republic of) ----- GW Guinea-Bissau (Republic of) ----- GY Guyana (Republic of) ----- HT Haiti (Republic of) ----- HM Heard and McDonald Islands ----- HN Honduras (Republic of) BI-F- HK Hong Kong BIUFo HU Hungary (Republic of) FidoNews 11-09 Page: 13 28 Feb 1994 -IUFo IS Iceland (Republic of) bIUfO IN India (Republic of) --u-- ID Indonesia (Republic of) b---- IR Iran (Islamic Republic of) ----- IQ Iraq (Republic of) BIUFO IE Ireland BIUF- IL Israel (State of) BIUFO IT Italy (Italian Republic) --u-- JM Jamaica BIUF- JP Japan ----- JO Jordan (Hashemite Kingdom of) --Uf- KZ Kazakhstan ---f- KE Kenya (Republic of) --u-- KI Kiribati (Republic of) ----- KP Korea (Democratic People's Republic of) BIUFO KR Korea (Republic of ) -I--- KW Kuwait (State of) --U-- KG Kyrgyz Republic ----- LA Lao People's Democratic Republic -IUF- LV Latvia (Republic of) ----- LB Lebanon (Lebanese Republic) --u-- LS Lesotho (Kingdom of) ----- LR Liberia (Republic of) ----- LY Libyan Arab Jamahiriya -I-f- LI Liechtenstein (Principality of) --UFo LT Lithuania bIUFo LU Luxembourg (Grand Duchy of) ---F- MO Macau (Ao-me'n) --u-- MK Macedonia (Former Yugoslav Republic of) --u-- MG Madagascar (Democratic Republic of) ---f- MW Malawi (Republic of) bIUF- MY Malaysia ----- MV Maldives (Republic of) --U-- ML Mali (Republic of) --u-- MT Malta (Republic of) ----- MH Marshall Islands (Republic of the) ----- MQ Martinique (French Department of) ----- MR Mauritania (Islamic Republic of) --uf- MU Mauritius ----- YT Mayotte BIuF- MX Mexico (United Mexican States) ----- FM Micronesia (Federated States of) --uF- MD Moldova (Republic of) ----- MC Monaco (Principality of) ----- MN Mongolia ----- MS Montserrat ----- MA Morocco (Kingdom of) --Uf- MZ Mozambique (People's Republic of) ----- MM Myanmar (Union of) --Uf- NA Namibia (Republic of) ----- NR Nauru (Republic of) ----- NP Nepal (Kingdom of) BIUFO NL Netherlands (Kingdom of the) --u-- AN Netherlands Antilles ----- NT Neutral Zone (between Saudi Arabia and Iraq) FidoNews 11-09 Page: 14 28 Feb 1994 --U-- NC New Caledonia -IUF- NZ New Zealand --u-- NI Nicaragua (Republic of) --u-- NE Niger (Republic of the) ---f- NG Nigeria (Federal Republic of) --u-- NU Niue ----- NF Norfolk Island ----- MP Northern Mariana Islands (Commonwealth of the) BIUFO NO Norway (Kingdom of) ----- OM Oman (Sultanate of) --U-- PK Pakistan (Islamic Republic of) ----- PW Palau (Republic of) b-uF- PA Panama (Republic of) --u-- PG Papua New Guinea --u-- PY Paraguay (Republic of) --Uf- PE Peru (Republic of) --uF- PH Philippines (Republic of the) ----- PN Pitcairn BIUF- PL Poland (Republic of) bIUFO PT Portugal (Portuguese Republic) bIUF- PR Puerto Rico ----- QA Qatar (State of) --u-- RE Re'union (French Department of) BIuf- RO Romania BIUF- RU Russian Federation ----- RW Rwanda (Rwandese Republic) ----- SH Saint Helena ----- KN Saint Kitts and Nevis --u-- LC Saint Lucia ----- PM Saint Pierre and Miquelon (French Department of) ----- VC Saint Vincent and the Grenadines --u-- WS Samoa (Independent State of) ----- SM San Marino (Republic of) ----- ST Sao Tome and Principe (Democratic Republic of) B---- SA Saudi Arabia (Kingdom of) --Uf- SN Senegal (Republic of) --u-- SC Seychelles (Republic of) ----- SL Sierra Leone (Republic of) bIuF- SG Singapore (Republic of) bIUF- SK Slovakia -IUFO SI Slovenia --u-- SB Solomon Islands ----- SO Somalia (Somali Democratic Republic) -IUFO ZA South Africa (Republic of) BIUFO ES Spain (Kingdom of) --U-- LK Sri Lanka (Democratic Socialist Republic of) ----- SD Sudan (Democratic Republic of the) --u-- SR Suriname (Republic of) ----- SJ Svalbard and Jan Mayen Islands --u-- SZ Swaziland (Kingdom of) BIUFo SE Sweden (Kingdom of) BIUFO CH Switzerland (Swiss Confederation) ----- SY Syria (Syrian Arab Republic) BIuF- TW Taiwan, Province of China --uf- TJ Tajikistan FidoNews 11-09 Page: 15 28 Feb 1994 ---f- TZ Tanzania (United Republic of) -IUF- TH Thailand (Kingdom of) --u-- TG Togo (Togolese Republic) ----- TK Tokelau --u-- TO Tonga (Kingdom of) --u-- TT Trinidad and Tobago (Republic of) bIUfo TN Tunisia BI-F- TR Turkey (Republic of) --u-- TM Turkmenistan ----- TC Turks and Caicos Islands ----- TV Tuvalu ---f- UG Uganda (Republic of) -IUF- UA Ukraine ----- AE United Arab Emirates bIUFO GB United Kingdom (United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland) BIUFO US United States (United States of America) ----- UM United States Minor Outlying Islands --UF- UY Uruguay (Eastern Republic of) --UF- UZ Uzbekistan --u-- VU Vanuatu (Republic of, formerly New Hebrides) ----- VA Vatican City State (Holy See) -IU-- VE Venezuela (Republic of) --u-- VN Vietnam (Socialist Republic of) ----- VG Virgin Islands (British) ---f- VI Virgin Islands (U.S.) ----- WF Wallis and Futuna Islands ----- EH Western Sahara ----- YE Yemen (Republic of) --uf- YU Yugoslavia (Socialist Federal Republic of) ----- ZR Zaire (Republic of) ---f- ZM Zambia (Republic of) --uf- ZW Zimbabwe (Republic of) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- General news. Max, is this FidoNet worthy? It's a shit stirrer at least. And points out the need for more damned comm. to Mexico! Why isn't there more! (partly rhetorical, I am dimly aware of the power/phone situation in rural Mexico). My fear is that any Mexican BBSs would be owned by well off/propertied types, and might not be very supportive of the Chiapa rebellion. Forwarded message: Date: Tue, 22 Feb 94 15:45:34 EST From: dmandl@lehman.com (David Mandl) To: tomj@wps.com Subject: Zapatismo Reply-To: dmandl@panix.com Oh, yeah...Peter [Lamborn Wilson] asked me to send you a copy of this. (You may have already seen it by now.) FidoNews 11-09 Page: 16 28 Feb 1994 ZAPATISMO --------- 1. The Zapatista uprising in Chiapas has suddenly taken on a certain importance. Despite its small scale it has not yet been crushed, apparently because the PRI fears public outrage. Moreover, municipalities in various places in Mexico have been taken over by various groups in sympathy with the Zapatistas. This news has been blacked out of U.S. media, doubtless for reasons connected with NAFTA. If the PRI begins to totter, U.S. involvement becomes probable. 2. A reading of Zapatista communiques and manifestos (as translated by the RESIST! group in California) reveals a program completely in keeping with the principles of E. Zapata himself--modified for contemporary relevance but basically anarcho-agrarian--"Tierra y Libertad." As anarchists we should remember that Zapata's goals were supported by the Flores Magon brothers, who worked behind the front organization of the "Mexican Liberal Party," but were in fact out-&- out revolutionary anarchists. In 1911, European and N. American anarchists ranging from individualists to wobblies participated in the short-lived Republic of Tiajuana. The revolt in Chiapas which began last New Year's Eve would appear to be the first non-authoritarian movement with real revolutionary potential since Paris '68 or Italy in the early '70s. We should not let marxist-leninist groups in the U.S. "monopolize" the Zapatistas. We should demonstrate our support, and we should make it clear that we offer this support _as anarchists_. 3. Moreover, it seems possible for ALL tendencies within the anarchist movement to join in offering this support. Anarcho-communists, anarcho-syndicalists, wobblies, and others with historical reasons to welcome a rebirth of Zapatismo, will need no convincing. As for the individualists, post-Situ's, "Type 3's," etc., we should consider that the Chiapas uprising is a courageous adventure in the spirit of human freedom. The Zapatistas themselves have evoked the romanticism of revolt by choosing their name. "Romanticism" is a value despised only by those too cynical or too tired to remember that--from an "existential" p.o.v.--revolt is an end in itself. 4. It's important to note that Chiapas seems to be the first real "post-1989" radical uprising. The involvement of the USSR helped change the Sandinista movement (also named after an anarchist) into an authoritarian government. But this time there is no USSR to get involved. Zapatista documents make no reference to marxist-leninist forms of organization. (The NY Times even went so far as to call the Zapatistas "post-modern"!) For the first time since 1916 we don't have to watch our backs or protect our flank against leninism--or stalinism. Anarchism is _free to act_. 5. Some anarchists may dislike the involvement of "Liberation Theology" in the Zapatista movement. But since 1989 the meaning of Liberation Theology has also changed or shifted. The Vatican, which tacitly encouraged Lib. Theol. as a wedge into marxism in Latin America, now no longer needs it and has virtually reduced it to the status of a near-heresy. In theory, Lib. Theol. must by now be purged of its "jesuit" wing and its "marxist" wing, leaving only the sincere FidoNews 11-09 Page: 17 28 Feb 1994 radicals. The religious situation in Chiapas is very complex, involving Mayan/Christian syncretistic cults, and other churches beside the Roman Catholics. As yet the presence of organized religions in Chiapas seems to offer no real obstacle to anarchist enthusiasm for Zapatismo. 6. The Stirnerite anarchist Ret Marut adopted the "existential" position (see para. 3 above) when he joined the Bavarian Soviet of 1919 with Gustav Landauer and other anarchists. Escaping a death sentence in Munich, Marut fled to Mexico and changed his name to B. Traven. In the early '20s he lived for a while in Chiapas and wrote a book about it (unfortunately never translated). Traven went on to write the best of all anarchist adventure novels--_The Deathship_, _The Wobbly_, _Treasure of the Sierra Madre_, and above all his _Mahogony_ series, set in Chipas during the Mexican Revolution. When Traven died he was buried in San Cristobal--where the Zapatista revolt broke out last New Year's Eve. Traven is someone we might remember, not only because he was a "gringo" who loved Chiapas and supported the Revolution, but also because he transcended all limited "ideological" anarchist tendencies to embrace a grand vision of human tragedy, endurance, and freedom. 7. As of this writing the Zapatistas have called on radicals outside Mexico for support but have not yet specified what form they'd like it to take. Obviously, in light of the media black-out, _spreading the word_ has top priority. Sending medicine and supplies, etc., may soon become both necessary and possible. Given the very great chance of U.S. involvement to protect the PRI and NAFTA, we should begin the organization of domestic resistance networkds _now_, so as not to be caught napping again. The anarchist press should remain closely informed, and should provide background as well as news (one of our numbers is in Mexico now, looking for real info). The authors of this letter are prepared to join with any responsible non-authoritarian support group which might emerge. If you are organizing or would like to help organize on behalf of Zapatismo, or if you have information for broadcast, please contact us. Tierra y Libertad! Feb. 14, 1994 Moorish Orthodox Radio Crusade Box 113 WBAI-Pacifica 505 Eighth Ave. NYC, NY 10018 (email: dmandl@panix.com) Please distribute widely. Tom Jennings -- tomj@wps.com World Power Systems -- San Francisco, Calif. FidoNews 11-09 Page: 18 28 Feb 1994 Small Article about swiscon/eurocon Dear Fidonetter, as you migth know, the next CON will be held in Switzerland, therefore called SWISSCON/EUROCON. The same procedure as every year, we are looking for speakers. We are interested to have speakers, that can tell us something about new technologies that could be implemented whithin FidoNet. We think, that a lot of fellow sysop are interested in knowing how the future could be. That can be: How does Usenet News transport work, would it be a benefit for FidoNet, to use that method of transfering and distributing huge Echomailpackets. Any other not yet known Method, how to transfer and distribute huge mailtraffic. New packetproposals, that solves all outstanding problems in one stroke. New transferprotocols that uses both channels for ISDN connections or any kind of TCP/IP over seriallines or any other brandnew invention. If you have special knowledge in such technologies and are willing to be speaker, please send a netmail to Ruedi Kneubuehler 2:301/520 or pingu@chg.imp.com, describing your topic. Any other question concerning SWISSCON/EUROCON, can be routed to 2:2/1994. Hope to see a lot of you in switzerland joining the SWISSCON, we will have a lot of fun... :-)) Thanks for taking time and reading this Mail. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- V34? WHERE!?!? A Study of the Abuse of Nodelist Flags by Derek Balling @ 1:236/48 Did ya know that there are 10 nodes in the entire world who know something you don't? They have the ITU-T (formerly CCITT) v.34 modems.... Shhhhh, it's a big secret you're not supposed to know. What? You say... ITU-T hasn't approved that yet!?!? It hasn't, you're right, or at least I thought you were... but GOSH... look at all these systems FidoNews 11-09 Page: 19 28 Feb 1994 flying that "V34" flag before a single v34 modem has been released to the market... 1:2000/13 1:227/0 1:227/3 1:104/918 1:330/0 1:330/175 1:133/231 1:3619/28 6:700/395 6:700/652 They all know something you don't.... (Heck, the guy at 1:3619/28 even flies the H14 flag... not only does he have a really new v34 modem on that line, but he also has a really old HST modem on it, too....) And let's talk about the HST flags... Gosh aren't they getting confusing? For the idiots out there (you NC's know who you are, or ... ok, well, maybe you DON'T know who you are, but you will in a minute) Important tips... The "HST" flag does not apply to every HST product... It applies to the 9600 HST protocol. There is NOT (at least, not LISTED at the bottom) a V32T flag (now yes, I'm guilty of this, but at least my modem is in production unlike the V34's out there)... Now according to what my NC says the R11C told him, V32T is approved... V32T, if approved, is NOT the USR 21.6 protocol.... It is the AT&T protocol which is only up to 19.2, there should be a seperate flag for that. (ASL is my suggestion). Why not H21 as others have suggested? Because there is plenty of room to tweak the HST side up past 16.8 and make that 21.6 at some point, and then you'd have REAL confusion... leave the Hxx numbers just for HST Don't ignore your nodelist flags... Be nice... I, and a lot of people, my modem set up to call different systems differently, depending on what speed connect I can get... If I _CAN_ connect to you at 21.6, but because your "highest" flag setting is H16, I turn on "HST-only" protocols, I miss out on speed. It's not that we can't do it, it is just that because you couldn't be bothered to jot a note off to your NC (or your NC couldn't be bothered to dally with those insignificant flags)... folks, if they're insignificant they wouldn't be there now would they? I know of a couple systems still listed as 2400 baud nodes even though they have now upgraded to Dual Standards... Things like this shouldn't be happening.... AT&T is scheduled to announce their new modem soon... the one they are touting as "V34"... even though it is far from approved. I think it is important that we make a conscious effort _NOT_ to approve the V34 flag to these nodes... Why? Because down the road, if the ITU-T changes the protocol even the slightest (which is entirely possible knowing the way they work), we'll have to create ANOTHER flag (like TV34, for TRUE V34, or something stupid like that), because what those AT&T customers have isn't the same, and might not work... FidoNews 11-09 Page: 20 28 Feb 1994 Comments? (Flames to \dev\nul) Derek Balling 1:236/48 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Fidonet, Fight'o'Net ? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Konrad H. Knauer, 2:2410/401@fidonet German would be my language of choice, but as most of you might not understand it, I'll give English a try. If you cannot find me in your Nodelist, well, ask ZC2, its not my job to distribute the zone list. Good, I managed to find a jumping point , this article deals with ZC2, some other Cs and Region 2:24, Germany. Regular readers of the Snooze might remember what happened in Fidonet Germany, it did split last summer. The good story was, Germany was on its way reuniting. It *was*, unfortunately it isn't anymore. Last June a small group of people (GCC - German Complaint Comitee) thought they could reorder the Region and place themself on top of the new structure; without telling or even asking the Nodes. They were supported by ZC2 Ron Dwight. He controls the Nodelist, so he controls the zone. As a result the Region split, Fido Classic and Fido Lite. First was bigger and unlisted, latter was the official Region (GCC). Finally the Lite GCC RC and some other *Cs had to resign, the new RC was a trustworthy man, the region started to reunite. Until now more than 50% are reunited, RC elections were planned for March. One candidate was a GCC member, but had only a very small chance to win. This year, elections of ZC2 are planned too. You might know that the RCs elect the ZC. Current ZC2 has caused too much trouble in Europe, so he is probably afraid to loose. Maybe you already guess what happened, no RC elections, but the ZC has replaced the current RC with the GCC candidate, Toni Gerhard. There will be no RC elections. Advantage for ZC is, he will have one more vote when running for ZC again - just in case he fails becoming IC. Of course, many Nodes in Germany don't accept this brute violence. Reunification is endangered and even worse, the new RC thinks about turning the clock backwards - breaking some of the new nets where Nodes from both parts are united. The Nodes will be forced to move into one of the nets GCC established and does still control, or join Fido Classic (the unlisted part) again. You see, how much harm dirty politics, people seeking for influence and power, can do to our hobby. In the many years, since I did fall in love with Fido , it happened often, but never in such an amount as it does now. I'm pretty shure this "games" do happen in other parts of the Fidonet world, too. Maybe hidden or unnoticeable by most, but look out, it can soon become the same disaster as in Germany and other European countries. The problem is, Fidonet has no means to prevent this, so it does and FidoNews 11-09 Page: 21 28 Feb 1994 will happen again. Only one man, in the right position, can prevent Fidonet from being fun, impose his will, high costs and many trouble on Nodes. Sorry, I have no solution for this situation. Worldpol, the last attempt to establish more democracy and rights for Nodes, failed. So I can just warn, keep your eyes open, watch out ! Regards from Berlin \ > Konrad ---------------------------------------------------------------------- More on privacy. Shawn McMahon 1:19/34 A Few More Thoughts on Privacy, Clipper, and You. Reading Fidonews Volume 11, Issue, 8, I saw some great thoughts on privacy and how it relates to the net at large. However, I thought a more down-to-earth representation of the issues involved might be in order. Clipper: This is a chip that incorporates a government-designed encryption algorithm, called "Skipjack." The chip is to be included in telephones and other equipment, to provide on-the-fly encryption. No more listening to your neighbor's cellular calls with a scanner. (BTW, listening to cellular calls is illegal in the US. Betcha didn't know that.) The problems with Clipper are primarily related to two things: 1) Nobody knows the encryption algorithm except the NSA and a couple experts hired to shill for it. This is a big no-no in the encryption world. A strong algorithm, such as the RSA public-key system, is not weakened much by knowing how it works. However, a weak algorithm is discovered faster if everybody can look at it and test it. We can't do that with Skipjack, because it's classified. This means we don't have any idea how strong it is; maybe it's better than RSA, maybe it could be cracked in 30 minutes with an Apple ][+. We don't know. 2) The government has a sort of "back door" built in to the Clipper system, meaning that they can decrypt any Clipper-encrypted messages at will. This is supposedly done so that law enforcement types can decrypt the conversations of drug dealers, mafiosos, and terrorists without spending jillions of dollars on computer time. This has the following problems: 2a) The government gets to decide who gets access to this information. 2b) If this information is stolen, ANYBODY can access it. 2c) Big business won't stand for it, meaning that instead of buying FidoNews 11-09 Page: 22 28 Feb 1994 US-made Clipper equipment, they'll buy cheap Taiwanese junk that uses RSA or IDEA or another algorithm that isn't pre-compromised. Americans out of work, thanks to Uncle Sam. 2d) Drug dealers, mafiosos, and terrorists won't be stupid enough to use the Clipper equipment, anyway; meaning that the ONLY people the government will be able to spy on are you and me. What it all comes down to is this; a technology that pushes more jobs out of the US, puts us further behind on encryption technology, and has *NO POSSIBLE USE* except spying on Americans. Write your congressman; Clipper isn't just a bad idea, it's a fundamental attack on your rights. Just when we were starting to make progress on ensuring our civil rights were carried over into cyberspace, the NSA took this last-ditch chance to keep their thumb in the illegal domestic surveillance pie. You don't have to do much to safeguard your rights here; just a letter to your congressman will help. If you want to know more about privacy issues, Clipper, and alternatives to Clipper such as PGP, pick up the PUBLIC_KEYS echo. It's on the Zone 1 Backbone. (Unless the forces of darkness manage to get it removed by the time you read this. ) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ======================================================================== 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 FidoNews 11-09 Page: 23 28 Feb 1994 (Postal Service mailing address) (have extreme patience) FidoNews 128 Church St. Kitchener, Ontario Canada N2H 2S4 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 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- FidoNews 11-09 Page: 24 28 Feb 1994