F I D O N E W S -- Vol.12 No.24 (12-Jun-1995) +----------------------------+-----------------------------------------+ | A newsletter of the | ISSN 1198-4589 Published by: | | FidoNet BBS community | "FidoNews" BBS | | _ | +1-519-570-4176 | | / \ | | | /|oo \ | | | (_| /_) | | | _`@/_ \ _ | | | | | \ \\ | Editors: | | | (*) | \ )) | Donald Tees 1:221/192 | | |__U__| / \// | Sylvia 1:221/194 | | _//|| _\ / | | | (_/(_|(____/ | | | (jm) | Newspapers should have no friends. | | | -- JOSEPH PULITZER | +----------------------------+-----------------------------------------+ | Submission address: editors 1:1/23 | +----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | MORE addresses: | | | | submissions=> editor@exlibris.tdkcs.waterloo.on.ca | | Don -- don@exlibris.tdkcs.waterloo.on.ca | | Sylvia max@exlibris.tdkcs.waterloo.on.ca | +----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | For information, copyrights, article submissions, | | obtaining copies of fidonews or the internet gateway faq | | please refer to the end of this file. | +----------------------------------------------------------------------+ ======================================================================== Table of Contents ======================================================================== 1. Editorial..................................................... 2 2. Articles...................................................... 2 THE FIDONET SYSOP MANIFESTO................................. 2 Infestation of manifests.................................... 4 Subject: Libelous Article In Fidonews....................... 5 NOT FAMILYNET............................................... 8 Subject: VModem............................................. 8 Wagon's Ho!................................................. 10 Where in the world is Carmen San...errr...George Peace?..... 10 Callers: don't you love 'em? :-)............................ 13 Subject: Echoes............................................. 15 The DEF CON Voice System.................................... 16 EXON INTERNET BILL.......................................... 16 Subject:Searching Tools on the Web.......................... 17 Where is our FIDO going?.................................... 18 An Editorial on Fidonet and its future...................... 19 3. Fidonews Information.......................................... 21 FidoNews 12-24 Page: 2 12 Jun 1995 ======================================================================== Editorial ======================================================================== The first article (the sysop manifesto) in this week's snooze appeared from no less than 4 separate sources. Only one seemed to support it. It is this weeks issue with no credit to the author, as all four submissions credited it to "found on the net". Following it is a reply by Tom Jennings. Thanks to all who sent it in. I woke up at six yesterday morning to the telephone ringing. That is, six in the morning, not the evening. It was saturday, and I had been jamming until 4 on the friday night. Now normally, I am pretty calm with regards to people yelling at me over the phone. I simply wait for them to wind down, and then attempt to reason with them. In this case, I uttered a polite word or two, and when it was apparent that quiet reason was out of the question, I simply replaced the phone on the hook and went back to bed. I am sorry about that, but I am not at my best until after my first coffee. Fortunately, the caller followed through with email. It follows Tom's article. Here is the snooze. ======================================================================== Articles ======================================================================== THE FIDONET SYSOP MANIFESTO Whereas Tom Jennings and associates created a system of organized anarchy for the purpose of communication first, last and foremost; and, Whereas that system was known as FIDONET, and from its humble beginnings in 1984 to date has grown to be the largest network of computer hobbyists, enthusiasts and experts without governmental or corporate support or control; and, Whereas the governance of FIDONET was established as a top-down organizational structure who are to be selected through an elective procedure based upon the advice and consent of participating FIDONET member sysops; and, Whereas this governance has, over the years; developed into a system which fails to respond to its members in a timely fashion, if any response is made at all, whether by automatic or robot response, or by personal message; developed into a governance of perpetutation and stagnation, and no longer encourages the growth and development of new technologies or programming by its membership and instead FidoNews 12-24 Page: 3 12 Jun 1995 promotes solely for the acquisition of more nodes and sysops; allowed the use of the governance of FIDONET as a means to collect payment from and punish member sysops who refuse to be collected from for a commercial enterprise, instead of normal and legal collection procedures available to any commercial enterprise of good repute; allowed the corruption of the FIDONET nodelist by failing to insure updates are processed in a timely fashion, as well as a general failure to meet the minimum guidelines for the processing of Policy Complaints, Appeals and Actions under FIDONET Policy 4.07; promoted and allowed a 'rule of fear' through local network and regional policies which wholly conflict with the general and specific FIDONET policies, specifically FIDONET Policy 4.07 which is in effect at this time; failed to publish actions and activities in the FIDONEWS, the official repository of actions taken by the governance of FIDONET, and have thus conducted a campaign of secrecy and conspiracy to disallow either input or comment on actions by that governance, often claiming 'sysop apathy' when a hue and cry is raised over the results of unpublished, secret and conspiratorial actions; maintained a specific pool of individuals to exercise any review of the faults listed within this manifesto, engendering an incestuous relationship which further serves to underscore the isolation from the membership which the governance of FIDONET has taken as its standing policy, rather than asking for and utilizing interested volunteers from within the general membership; and, has failed to act in the best interests of its membership on multiple occasions within the structure of the general FIDONET policy, which is Policy 4.07 at this time. Whereas the future of computer communications and freedom of speech is murky at best, and access to the InterNet is ultimately at the whim of the government, both in terms of technology as well as expression of ideas and opinions; and, Whereas FIDONET, for all its problems and troubles, has no direct governmental controls and stands second only to the InterNet for access, service, capacity and the freedom to speak, think and express our individual and collective thoughts; and, Whereas the present governance of FIDONET is, through its lack of response, secrecy and failure to inform its membership of its actions, working in direct contravention of the original principles of FIDONET as espoused by Tom Jennings and sysops since the very creation of FIDONET, has failed to uphold the principle of communication, first, last and foremost; and, FidoNews 12-24 Page: 4 12 Jun 1995 Whereas this failure in governance denies the membership of communication as well as growth, development, promotion and advancement of FIDONET through a series of "band-aid approaches" which do nothing to solve the basic and underlying problems and instead serve to insulate the governance from complaints, problems and criticism which that governance does not wish to hear, let alone act upon... THEREFORE...We, the member sysops of FIDONET, request: that TOM JENNINGS tentatively revoke the copyright and permissions of FIDONET from the governance of the communications network that bear its name, including all technologies involved in the processing of links and nodes; that said copyrights be granted to a provisional governing board which contains none of the present members of the governance of FIDONET at the Regional level and higher, nor any sysop who has served in such a capacity within the previous five years, with such a body drawn by a majority vote of participating sysops in each Region in accordance with present FIDONET Policy 4.07, and Zone officials to be drawn as well with the same restrictions as listed herein; that said revocation by TOM JENNINGS be scheduled for October 1, 1995, unless and until TOM JENNINGS is satisfied that actions taken by the present governance meet or surpass the spirit of the FIDONET structure, and answer to the eight specific problems stated herein. We post this notice publicly on the 15th of June, 1995. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Infestation of manifests by Tom Jennings tomj@wps.com > The FidoNet SysOp Manifesto > > Whereas Tom Jennings and associates created a system of organized > anarchy for the purpose of communication first, last and foremost; > and, blah blah blah I keep getting phone calls and cc:'s about this silly thing. I mean, has everyone in FidoNet lost their mind? Is this thing not obvious nonsense on it's face?! Sigh: * Enough bloated language (whereas'es, heretofores, etc) to choke an army of arm-chair FidoNet lawyers; * Anonymous to avoid: embarrassment? Responses and critism? Is this person afraid they won't get dates if word gets out? I'm all FidoNews 12-24 Page: 5 12 Jun 1995 for the availability of anonymity, but really, it's just a tool. If the author won't stand behind this, who else would? (Well, this *is* FidoNet... "quick! everyone flock to the loudest noise!") * Not thought out at all (I'd originally wrote: poorly thought out) * Using my name like a bludgeon usually backfires (I really doubt the author, or even most FidoNet denizens these days, would understand my (apparently arcane) Discordian-weirdo ideas that FidoNet was, indeed, founded upon. (I used to be an anarchist, but they've all become too humorless and bureaucratic for me.) * Ego substituted for concise thought. * Nice idea, though. PS: I had nothing to do with the Regional Coordinator structure, that's your own (collective) invention. Don't blame me. PPS: If I sound increasingly cynical about FidoNet over the years, it's true. PPPS: Is 2000 a leap year? ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Subject: Libelous Article In Fidonews From: Bob Germer (8:950/10) * Original to: Donald Tees at 1:221/192 CC'd to: Sylvia Maxwell Mr. Tees and Ms. Maxwell: An article appeared in the 6/6/95 issue of Fidonews which contains at least four absolute lies and which also refers to me as a fool. Here are the specific lies contained in the article. The words from the Fidonews are preceeded by the initials FN for easy reference. FN> Lot's has happened this week... A particular sysop who isn't FN> even part of FIDO anymore, (he resigned in disgrace).... has I did not resign in disgrace. This is an absolute lie and libelous. FN> made a living hell for the real sysops of FIDO. Who is this FN> sysop you may ask? Bob Germer of Region 8. (I believe this is FN> family net). This is another lie. I am not and never was a member of anything called Family Net. FidoNews 12-24 Page: 6 12 Jun 1995 FN> This week he threatened Mike Fuchs with a lawsuit FN> for allowing Z1_GERMER to be elisted, Mike Fuchs got tired of FN> putting up with shitheads like germinator that are so cowardly I am not a shithead. This is a lie and libelous. I am not a coward. As a decorated veteran, this is a most serious libel. FN> The threats of lawsuits are uncalled for in FIDO... The FN> first scum to do it was winter (lowercase intentional), now FN> germinator. What has happened to FIDO? The *C structure refuses I am not scum. This is a lie and libelous. FN> about lawsuits and other legal actions. Hell, Planet Connect FN> dumped germer's point status and is probably dumping his entire FN> service. Planet Connect should be commended on not backing down FN> from threats. While not everyone has the money that PC has that This is another lie. Planet Connect is not "dumping his entire service". This is likewise libelous. FN> should not be a prerequisate(sic?) to backing down... We should FN> stand up to fools such as the germer's and teh winter's and make I categorically state that I am not a fool. Unless one can prove I am a fool, one has libeled me. One who protects his or her rights as I have done and as I will continue to do is not a fool; such a person is a wise and responsible citizen. FN> So basicly we need to impeach everyone & start from FN> scratch as well as make provisions to keep scum who threaten FN> lawsuits out of FIDO. Everyone has the right to be an asshole FN> and voice their opinions, but the threats of frivilous lawsuits FN> needs to be abolished. Also anyone making multiple PC's that are FN> constantly rejected need to be ousted as well. Let's all make Again I am libeled by being called scum and further libeled again by being called an asshole. While one may categorize a suit to protect one's rights "frivilous", that does not make it so. Using the law to protect one's name and reputation when libelously attacked is not frivilous. As Shakespeare (or at least I recall it being the Bard of Avon) had one of his characters say "He who steals my purse steals that which is worthless. He who steals my good name steals that which enriches him not but which empoverishes me absolutely." Under the laws of the United States, one cannot call others such names without facing sanctions. One cannot lie about another without placing the author him or herself in jeopardy of FidoNews 12-24 Page: 7 12 Jun 1995 criminal and/or civil penalties. The right of free speech does is not absolute. As Chief Justice John Marshall stated in one of the Supreme Court's earliest "landmark" decisions, "The right of free speech does not give one the right to yell 'FIRE' in a crowded theater." Moreover, our laws protect ordinary citizens to a much greater degree than recognized public figures. Persons whose names, pictures, etc. are widely disseminated in the public press DUE TO THEIR OWN ACTIONS SUCH AS RUNNING FOR POLITICAL OFFICE, APPEARING IN MOVIES OR TELEVISION SHOWS, APPEARING REGULARLY ON THE RADIO, etc. must prove malice when bringing suit for libel. Others do not have the burden to prove malice, they only need prove the statement untrue. And, in fact, the burden of proving the truth falls on the author and publisher of the lies. For example, newspapers have been found guilty of libel for stating that someone committed a crime for which the person was not convicted. Newspapers have been held accountable for claiming a person was a member of one group or another when in fact that was not the case. I don't know what the law is in Canada, but I am sure that spreading lies about someone is not a permissible action. I am also sure that the publisher of a newspaper, newsletter, etc. is not immune from suit for doing so. You have two options: 1. You can publish an apology in each of the next five issues and refrain from publishing anything which contains any untrue statement about me, contains any article which labels me a fool, scum, or any other derogatory term, etc.; or, 2. You can continue to publish articles which libel me and meet me in person in a court of competent jurisdiction. Your expressed claim that you are not responsible because it is your practice to publish anything submitted is NOT a defense. In point of fact and law, it is an absolute admission of guilt. Mr. Tees not only expressed this verbally, I know I have read it in the Fidonews in times past. I have every issue since you took over and am sure I can produce it in court if necessary. A copy of this letter is being sent to Mr. Tees via Certified Mail, Return Receipt Requested. A copy will also be sent to the appropriate ministry in Canada when I find the proper name and address. I am unable at this time to send Ms. Maxwell a copy via Certified Mail because I do not have her address. As the author pointed out in one of the few factual statements made in the article, I am not a member of Fidonet. I can be reached via the Internet at BGermer@IBM.NET or at 8:950/10@RBBSnet from 6PM Eastern prevailing time until 8AM the FidoNews 12-24 Page: 8 12 Jun 1995 following day Eastern Prevailing Time Monday evening through and including Friday and from Friday 6PM Eastern Prevailing time until 8AM Eastern Prevailing Time Monday morning. On weekdays from 8AM until 6PM, again both are Eastern Prevailing Time, the same number can be used to send a facsimile transmission. Robert L. (Bob) Germer ---------------------------------------------------------------------- NOT FAMILYNET From: Dana Bell (1:3801/6) I noticed your FidoNews article about Germer, and that he was in zone 8 (FamilyNet). I'm not the official voice, but Germer isn't working from FamilyNet. He's working within one of the other zone 8 networks. I won't make a guess since it might create more of the same confusion. :-) Last week he had a (old unused) FamilyNet address. This week it's gone, just as a nodelist cleanup procedure. FamilyNet doesn't tolerate such threats of lawsuits. In fact, I think the FamilyNet/FidoNet work-together (writer's block hit me) is a good one. Dana ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Subject: VModem From: Christian Brandt (2:2480/604) Would you please consider placing my answer concerning the VModem-idea into the next FidoNews? Thanks in advance. > Proposed VModem Nodelist Flag > Proposed VModem Nodelist Flag > by Bob Quinlan, 1:143/240 (bquinlan@october.com) > VModem is an OS/2 utility that is part of Ray Gwinn's SIO serial port > driver package. VModem creates virtual modem ports that act just like a > conventional serial port connected to a modem. I know other programs like VModem, for example telser.device or telnet.device for Amiga Computers or just a exported Device on a Unix-system. Yes, agreed, its a great piece of Fun and I think, it will make traditional BBS-Systems survive longer while internet is prospering. > First, I realize that there are already utilities other than VModem > provide similar capabilities via the telnet protocol. Any system using > such a utility should use the same VM flag and format. As long as all > systems using the VM flag can communicate with each other over the > Internet it does not matter what utilities are actually used. FidoNews 12-24 Page: 9 12 Jun 1995 Let me formalize this a bit more: First we need a method to include InterNet-Adresses - or to be more precize, the usenet-adress - into the Nodelist, like eg. my BBS can sometimes be contacted at vv1.informatik.tu-muenchen.de and an own IP-Address. The Flag should also state if the site is internet (leased line using an IP-Address) or usenet (uucp, much like emsi,dial-and-exchange) Second we need a way to clarify, which services are available, for example, VModem or telnet.device or telnet or others. Therefore I basicly agree with your proposed new flag, but better use two instead. For Example: WEBINTER.vv1.informatik.tu-muenchen.de for a real IP-Addressable site WEBUSE.vv1.informatik.tu-muenchen.de for a email-only-site WEBMICROSOFT... WEB... etcpp and additionally for IP-Addressable-Sites: VMODEMxy (xy for releaseversion of VModem) TELNETxy (xy for releaseversion of Telnet/Telser.device) etcpp... My own site would look like this: ,604,Spelunke_Line#1,Germering,Christian_Brandt,49-89- 8948095,9600,H16,V32T,VFC ,V34,WEBINTER.vv1.informatik.tu- muenchen.de,TELNET42,CM,XA Well, now we are into something... Should also non-Fido-Services included into the File? I think not. The Nodelist is now around 3,5MB, when I started in 1991 it was just around 600k. Including non-Fido-Information would shurelly blow the system within a few years. Please let me know if this topic is going to be discussed in an international echo, because I am not able to have a look at fido as a whole :- ) FidoNews 12-24 Page: 10 12 Jun 1995 Wagon's Ho! RanD@f16.n16.z1.fidonet.org Wagon's Ho! Has the time come, ladies and gentlemen, for we in fidonet to break camp and continue on our journey through time and cyberspace? Look at the address above. It shows and internet address, so we can share with all who are interconnected on this spaceship Earth. Have we forgotten that this, our hobby, is a means of communication amongst the travelers? In today's world we have hundreds of languages/dialects to effect our communications. I suggest to you, today, June 10, 1995 that we embark on a bold experiment. This is one in which all Fidonetters can help contribute to/become part of/partake. In the early days of fidonet, this was the feeling, exploring the unfolding design of new technology, vast as we did not know. I propose that we develope BBS software/mailers/utilities and add-ons to exisitng ones so that the information contained in HTML documents can be shared/displayed and handled without the need of any operator intervention/formating. This is offered up without the up-play or down-play of any particular operating system, brand of modem, type of PC or any and all other strings attached. It's simply this. Let's make it happen. We can. There is no need to send me a message. There is no committee, no structure, no anything. It's a blank board. You can make it happen (write), help to make it happen (test) and insure it's success (incorporate it into your set-up). You decide who to do it with, who to write to have it done in commerical packages, etc. But let's make it, and the resulting additional communications a legacy for those that follow us on this, our Santa Fe Trail. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Where in the world is Carmen San...errr...George Peace? by Don Dawson 1:150/730 * Original to: Bruce Bodger at 1:1/200 CC'd to: Adrian Walker, David Garrett, Rick Ashworth, Ken Wilson, Jerry Seward, John Johnson, Marty Escarcega, Chris Griffin, Dave Anderson, Roger Morris, George Peace, Mike Fuchs Is it merely a coincidence that George Peace resigned around the time I was arrested by the New Castle County (Delaware) Police Department? FidoNews 12-24 Page: 11 12 Jun 1995 Last Friday, June 2nd, I was arrested on a complaint signed by NC150, Joseph R. Chamberlain. My arraignment is scheduled for Friday, June 16, 1995 in the New Castle County Court of Common Pleas Court House, 2nd Floor, 1000 N. King St., Wilmington, DE 19801. Need details? Freq (23hrs, 28.8) one or all of these SMALL files: NET150NC.ZIP 37K 5-25-95+ Welcome to FidoNet! New Castle County, Delaware! NET150PP.ZIP 6K 11-28-94+ FidoNet 150 Policy and Procecures Guide v2.03, 11/94 HOWTO.ZIP 8K 6-07-95* See "How it's done in Net 150", The First State A simple netmail message from a few sysops to Bob Satti at 153/6 with a CC: (COURTESY COPY) to Michael Walsh at 13/0 *might* help return 150/730 to the fidonet phonebook. I'm still able to communicate with anyone in the nodelist but it's sure difficult for folks to communicate to me because my phone number is unlisted in the fidonet phonebook. How's this sound, short and to the point? You can use your own words of course: _ _ _ O_/_ _C_U_T_ _H_E_R_E_ _ _ _ _ _ _ O \ "I'm outraged that a FidoNet NC, specifically 150/0, would have a grunt sysop arrested on criminal charges for communicating. FidoNet is not a Club. FidoNet is a COMMUNICATIONS network. Isn't it? Please return 150/730 to the fidonet phone book. Respectfully, " _ _ _ O_/_ _C_U_T_ _H_E_R_E_ _ _ _ _ _ _ O \ On the lighter side (you may not know me that well). This too shall pass. I thinking about going fishing...often. I sincerely love what you guys do and you probably get little thanks. In case I never return to the phone book, please accept my very sincere thank you for all you do and all you've done. In particular, Bruce Bodger and Marge have been most kind to me. They've both been gentle to me in an echo they happen to co-moderate where I often easily get off topic. Thanks again Bruce and Marge. Adrian: I'm pleased to see your name closer to the top of the nodelist. I'm saddened by what I can only imagine were the circumstances that brought it about. Mike Fuchs is another one of many fidonet casualties. I'm saddened to see him abandon all the fine work he's done with the FidoNews 12-24 Page: 12 12 Jun 1995 ELIST. Mike: Damn! I moved from Connecticut to Delaware to be closer to THE ELIST person! It's going to take months for thousands of fidonet sysops to reset everything because the elist is going to travel west to east instead of east to west, 3 times zones you know, like it ALWAYS has. Toms River is very close to my favorite fishing spot. How are the flounder? I have plenty of time on my hands. Want to go fishing? George: I've "known" you for years and years, almost as long as I was in phonebook (8+ years). Like Mike, your OUTSTANDING work has gone unrecognized and unappreciated. Let me again say to you: THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart. Let me say thank you on BEHALF of the 30,000 (and shrinking) sysops in the phonebook all around the globe. Your wisdom, talent, skill in every coordinator role you've had is a major loss to FidoNet. I'm sincerely saddened. Fidonet *might* have been a GLOBAL hobbiest communications network with your continued steady hand at the helm. Oh well...such great possibilities, so little time, so many Internet Service providers. Chris: You are the perfect role model for an REC. You let everyone and anyone "do a little so no one needs to do a lot". I've *never* know you to be "in someones (echomail) face. God Bless you. Besides, I'm sure RC16 wouldn't mess in R16 echomail, I trained him well. BTW...talk to Adrian will you? :-) David: I believe you've contributed much to FidoNet too. You're spread too thin. Your eyes are covered over by all those hats you wear. Take a lesson (probably free) from Chris Griffin. He's organized! He has a life too. I'm certain of the 2,000 people in Region 10 there must be ONE that can wear either the RC or the REC hat. Remember: C hats are "one size fits all". :-) This *is* a hobby, really. Steve: Aren't you pleased we're in the good ole U. S. of A? It's still The Home of the Free and the Land of the Brave...isn't it? Have a happy 4th of July wherever you are. Ohhh...Canada...it's a fine country too. I didn't have anything to say about moving from Toronto to "The States". My mother and father dragged me here screaming and yelling when I was only 6 years old. It's their fault I'm here . God rest their souls. All: Oh yes...about George resigning...I don't have a clue as to why he resigned. However, I have an 8 year old Farmers Almanac in my lap. If I've made the proper adjustments...on the day George resigned there was a full moon. Certain personalities are often known to do very silly things when there is a full moon. George, what do you have to say for yourself? Do you have any funny stories you'd like to share with us? You must have plenty of time on your hands now. You can send any mail addressed to the IC to Bob Satti's secretary. For years some *C's (NC's and RC's) have kept their inbox spotless by using this technique . BTW, my long distance service provider has very, very low rates late at night. It's amazing to me too how fast calls occur with 3 idle 28.8 FidoNews 12-24 Page: 13 12 Jun 1995 USRs and an idle 14.4 USR. These little files are sent in no time, V42 compression you know. It's cheaper than Snail postage. God Bless each of you. For your private nodelist: Host,150,First_State_Net,New_Castle_DE,Joe_Chamberlain, 1-302-323-0176,9600,CM ,730,Treasure_Island,Bear_DE,Don_Dawson,1-302-832-1970,9600,CM,H16, V32b,V34,V42b,VFC,XA or Host,30073,Private_Net,Bear_DE,Don_Dawson,1-302-832-1970,9600,CM ,730,Treasure_Island,Bear_DE,Don_Dawson,1-302-832-1970,9600,CM,H16, V32b,V34,V42b,VFC,XA B-) Don ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Callers: don't you love 'em? :-) by Don Dawson 1:150/730 Callers: don't you love 'em? :-) Callers? Who needs 'em? Yes, Saturday (a week ago) I pulled the plug here. First the modem phone jacks (4) on the wall were pulled. As my fear and anger increased, I next shutdown OS/2. A short time later I powered off the 486, the BBS. It got very, very, quiet here in my computer room. On Sunday, TraC called me. I forget why she called. She caught me during the period when I was lower than whale feces. I was too humiliated from the experience of having my mug shot, being finger printed, going with the Police Officer to the Justice of the Peace Court and waiting, waiting, waiting, for the wife abusers, drunks and others to see the magistrate first to tell TraC much more than "I've pulled the plug. My hobby isn't fun any more." My youngest brother was kind enough to leave his channel surfing to be with me during the whole ordeal. I had no idea what to expect. I've *never* seen this side of the law except on Television. What was my crime? The charge is a criminal misdemeanor: harassment. Mr. Chamberlain says I sent him too many messages. Mr. Chamberlain is NC150. Mr. Chamberlain wrote to me: JC> I find your constant questioning of the way we do things to be FidoNews 12-24 Page: 14 12 Jun 1995 JC> excessively annonying. In my position as NC, I assign node JC> number and subhub feeds. This authority also allows me to cut JC> subhub feeds and remove nodes. [Note: a "subhub feed" is Net150 talk for a CRP echomail and file feed.] P4 requires I communicate with the NC. The NC required I communicate with him about file (including mail) feeds. Does this sound like Catch 22? I'm damned if I don't and removed from the FidoNet phonebook if I do. I felt compelled to call a few people to explain my sudden decision. To a person, you were all wonderful. You provided encouragement, suggestions, and most of all, love. I grew up in a FidoNet "neighborhood" (8+ years) of caring, helping, sharing and loving. Certainly there was and is occasional disagreement in my FidoNet family. What family doesn't "have words" once in a while? However, after the issues were aired, we all went back to what we enjoy so much about this hobby: helping, sharing and loving our callers and each other. I am not accustomed to being *told* by anyone in FidoNet where to get files, when and how to get mail, who to poll and who not to poll, etc, etc. I never, knowingly, was rude to a new sysop. New sysops are FidoNet children regardless of their age. If our FidoNet family doesn't guide, teach and encourage the children of the world what kind of people will the next FidoNet generation be? I am not ready to be assimilated by the Borg a.k.a the Internet. I like FidoNet. I like FidoNet sysops and callers. Most of them are wonderful, kind, sharing people. YES, PEOPLE! They almost always appear to us as pixels on the monitor but they are all PEOPLE. They're people of all ages, interest, ethnic origin, sex, religious affiliation, technical competence. Most of them are WONDERFUL. Without them, there is no need for FidoNet, there is no need for the InterNet. It was too quiet in my computer room. I missed the noise of the hard disk spinning, the blinking of the modem lights, checking to see if any files arrived, struggling to tweek that *.bat file just one more time. But most of all I missed *you*, the people of FidoNet. Late Sunday evening I turned on the computer. A short time later I configured BinkleyTerm to operate in "stealth mode" so I could watch the modem lights blink. On Tuesday or Wednesday, I configured BinkleyTerm to answer the phone, no outbound calling. After receiving many calls and messages of encouragement from the people of FidoNet, I'm back. I missed you. I love you. Am I EA? Guilty as charged! I sometimes Excessively Ask. It started as a young child with my mother and father: Why is the sky FidoNews 12-24 Page: 15 12 Jun 1995 blue? Where do babies come from? This continued into my early adulthood: Will you go out with me on Saturday night? Do you love me? Will you marry me? It carried over to my FidoNet life: Why can't this modem get better thruput? How can I configure ___(fill_in_the_blank)___ to do this? Where can I get a feed for _____? Why can't I call out of the net to get echomail and other files? Ohhh...callers...yes, I need 'em. If your callers constantly get busy on your system (as mine did when I was in Connecticut) please suggest they call 302-832-1970. Tell them there are 3 lines, no waiting. God Bless you all. God Bless FidoNet and this wonderful World Class Global communications network we are *privileged* to have. I like our well paved, well maintained back road. I don't need no stinking Information Highway where every message is addressed to "All". All is too impersonal, I like people. I'm not an All, I'm Don Dawson. This is long overdue: Welcome back RanD. It's great to "see" you again. Take care. B-) Don * Origin: Treasure Island ---> Our new home: 302-832-1970 (1:150/730) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Subject: Echoes From: Ken Waugh(1:374/142) Something I've had floating around for the past several years, and haven't found anything like it anywhere in FIDO. Can't say what it'd be worth, but it's something I'd like to see. It's for travelers that do travel, and those that either can't or don't but wish they could. I'd like to see echoes based on states, countries, and sights to see, and locals descriptions of what can be found the average tourist is almost guaranteed to miss. On boards that have areas, these echoes would appear under the area for vacations, then under each would be the US_AREAS,EURO_AREAS, then states ie:FL_VACATION, VA_VACATION, RI_VACATION, CA_VACATION, etc... IE:under california vacations a description of the Burpee seed factory in Lompoc california by locals that either work there or see it every day, Lompoc, not a high priority for vacation plans... But interesting to hear about the acres of gardens just for seed growing. Old Home week for changes to areas that have occurred for those outside the country that can't visit home as often as wanted.. etc... Not a whole lot of room for flaming in those kind of discussions... Eh ? FidoNews 12-24 Page: 16 12 Jun 1995 The DEF CON Voice System [< The DEF CON Voice System is now up at (801) 855-3326 <] Voice Bridge / Voice BBS / Voice Mailboxes / Private Chat The Voice system has beed changed all around to now support a fast Voice BBS, VMBs and multiple 8 port conferences. Anyone can create their own VMB, etc. This voice bridge has been set up for people of like interestes to meet and discuss computers or whatever they want. Running on borrowed equiptment the systems is still under construction, but working fully. This is the same bridge that will be used for DEF CON III, a computer conference in Las Vegas this August. People who can not attend can call in and listen to the speakers during the day, or talk with other people at the convention. Oh, some people wondered about the cost.. it's whatever you pay to call this number, normal long distance. [> 24 hours at (801) 855-3326, all are welcome to call <] PGP Key (2.3a & 2.6) Available on key servers. Voice (AT&T) 0-700-TANGENT DEF CON FTP: ftp.fc.net /pub/defcon http://www.defcon.org FAX: 206-453-9567 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- EXON INTERNET BILL SOME FACTUAL REASONS WHY THE EXON INTERNET BILL IS BAD AND SHOULD BE DEFEATED by Carl McCaskey Fidonet -- 1:3605/75 & 1:3605/316 Internet -- mccaskey@symnet.net & mccaskey@freenet.fsu.edu I listened to James Exon, congresscritter from Nebraska, try to explain his telecommunications bill on the senate floor today (June 9, 1995). All I can say is that it is very scary when congresscritters try to make laws on subjects they are totally ignorant about. Such is the case with this telecommunications bill of James Exon. As you may or may not know, Mr. Exon's bill is an attempt to regulate Internet to limit and possibly eliminate pornography on the Internet. During Mr. Exon's 30+ minute monologue, several points of ignorance were revealed. Among the many errors were the following: 1) Mr. Exon never once pointed out that Internet links the world and it is possible for people in other countries to make objectionable materials available via Internet. Many of these countries not only do not recognize U.S. law, but also have no extradition treaties as well. As a result posts from those countries are untouchable by U.S. law. This shows an ignorance FidoNews 12-24 Page: 17 12 Jun 1995 of the scope of Internet as well as an ignorance of the reach of U.S. law in relationship to the Internet. 2) Mr. Exon presented a list of "bulletin boards" in a blue ring binder which he referred to as his "blue book." This "blue book" listed "bulletin boards" that contained pornography. However when Mr. Exon read a portion of his list, it became obvious that he was referring to newsgroups from Usenet which are _NOT_ bulletin boards, but discussion groups. This shows a clear ignorance of the workings of Internet as well as what _is_ available. 3) Mr. Exon kept referring to Internet as a place where pornographic materials are placed for children to obtain free of charge. Mr. Exon apparently is either ignorant of or doesn't realize that Internet is a carrier, not a physical BBS or storage system. Apparently Mr. Exon does not understand that Internet is a way of traveling electronically from a person's PC to numerous computer systems across the world (hence the nickname "information superhighway"). This shows a clear ignorance of how Internet works as well as an ignorance of how to use it. These are only three examples of many of why Mr. James Exon is not qualified to make law restricting the Internet and needs to thoroughly make himself familiar with the system so he may understand it better. Mr. Exon's bill, in its current form, is unenforceable and would create yet another unnecessary drain upon the Federal government's coffers. If you are for or against the intent of this bill is irrelevant for this bill is so poorly worded and Mr. Exon shows such a lack of understanding of Internet that the passage of such a bill would be creating bad law and would not serve the public interest at all. In fact, due to its author's lack of understanding, this bill, if it becomes law, would only be a detriment to society. -=(0)=- ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Subject:Searching Tools on the Web From: Ari Pollak (1:107/302) I know most of my articles have been about the Web, but I don't know what else people would be interested in. I need your suggestions! In this article, I will write about some comprehensive search tools on the WWW, incase you cannot find what you are looking for and need a more comprehensive search. I will review briefly these search tools and directoroes and their URLs (addresses): Webcrawler, Open Market, Monster FTP List, Yahoo, Einet Galaxy, WWW Worm, and GNN. WebCrawler- Webcrawler is very comprehensive, but does not have FidoNews 12-24 Page: 18 12 Jun 1995 as many links as a couple of other search tools, and is also a little confusing. Webcrawler is a robot, which goes out, trying new links out, and recording the main screen. When you search, it searches through the actual text, not just titles. URL: http://www.biotech.washington.edu/WebCrawler/WebQuery.html Open Market- Open Market's Commercial Sites Index lists specigiv services, products, and buisnesses, usually with the .com ending. URL: http://www.directory.net/ Monster FTP List- If you can FTP it, it's probably here. URL: http://hoohoo.ncsa.uiuc.edu:80/ftp-interface.html Yahoo- Case-Sensitive comrehensive Boolean searches for many sites, plus an indexed directory of all sites on file. Also includes links to many other search engines. URL: http://www.yahoo.com/ EINET GALAXY- Search for Keywords by Topic. URL: http://www.einet.net/galaxy.html WWW Worm(W4)- Very comprehensive searching, like WebCrawler. Winner of 1994's best searching tool. URL: http://www.cs.colorado.edu/home/mcbryan/WWWW.html Global Network Navigator (GNN)- Published by O'Reily & Associates (the publisher of The Mosaic handbook & The Whole Internet Catalog), this includes links to great directories and sources, like the Whole Internet Catalog online, another great directory, and buisness pages. http://gnn.com/gnn/gnn.html If you have an idea about an article I can write, something that would be of interest to the general public, or about a problem that many people should know about, just e-mail me at: Ari Pollak, 1:107/302 or Ari.Pollak@ari.metronj.org Coming next week: I need suggestions! P.S., If you like my articles, please nominate them for the Article Contest. If you would like to request a copy of one of my articles, please feel free to do so. Via QM 1:107/301, Wed May 31 17:50 (v1.31) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Where is our FIDO going? by:Glen Rushing 1:3673/0 WHERE IS OUR FIDO GOING? FidoNews 12-24 Page: 19 12 Jun 1995 I have only been active in FidoNet for about a year now. Mostly, I have been in the background, looking around. I am now wondering what is going to happen to FIDO. It seems now that no matter which Echo I go into, it is FULL of people Flaming people! When I first heard about FidoNet, I heard that it was a good place to find/meet new friends, and a good place to practice the hobby of computing. Now, all I see is HATE! I fully agree with the right of free speech, but sometimes there are people that go overboard with it. (Don't worry winters and germer, this article isn't written to flame you.) I just wish that FidoNet could return to what it was meant to be. A place for computer enthusists to exchange ideas, FOR FUN! I just read the recent article by Rick Lithgow, and I FULLY agree with him. ALL of the higher echlon Fido biggies should voluntarily impeach themselves, TEMPORARILY, and invite their ZONE or NET have an election NOW and see if they can be re-elected, based on the service they are providing to FIDO. I MUST clarify myself by saying that I DO realize that there are hundreds or thousands of Fido Highers that may be doing an excellent job, but it's those FEW Highers that really make FIDO what it is. I can also say that it is a crying shame that GOOD people are resigning their positions, because some CRACK-POT threatens them with a lawsuit over something that is probably trivial to start with. WELL, for you that are SO anxious to sue, I hope FIDO, as a whole, will someday elect ME to one of those positions, just so you can threaten to sue ME. I will MORE than welcome a law suit from one of you SUERS! About all ya gonna get from me is my cheap computer! BUT, I am sure that someone in FIDO would buy me another one so I can continue the EXCELLENT job that I wish others were still doing but had to resign under threats of lawsuit.. SO, why did I write this article? Because, I am very worried that a small handful of SUERS are gonna keep going till they wreck FIDO. Well, if I can keep you from threatening to sue those who are trying to do a good job but have to resign, then I will have accomplished what I meant to do with this article.. HELL, sue me! I got nothing to lose but my computer.. You can't take my ARMY retirement, so I will just KEEP using FIDO as a hobby! Anybody need help in their positions in Fido? Be glad to help and if someone wants so sue ya for doing a volunteer job then send them to me. I will let them sue me for all I have(nothing but a CPU) while you can continue to do the excellent job you are trying to do....... by: Glen Rushing 1:3673/0 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- An Editorial on Fidonet and its future By Damian Stamm 1:273/406 A View From the Average Sysop Fidonet. What a wonderful thing we have here. 50,000+ people connected all over the world communicating together and enjoying FidoNews 12-24 Page: 20 12 Jun 1995 conversations, discussions, and meeting people from different areas, backgrounds, and opinions. Together, they form to my knowledge the second largest net of its kind behind the Internet. People can discuss various topics from politics to sports to technical support to general discussion. It is a hobby which we all enjoy very much, otherwise we would not be here. Together as a net, we put out mail daily, and hope that it arrives. No one expects it to be a guarentee that it gets there, but we all place faith in those handling our mail that they will do thier best to send out that mail, so that others may be permitted to enjoy our piece of writing. So what is happening? Ego trips and lawsuit-happy individuals are now attempting (and could possibly) ruin Fidonet as we know it, preventing the flow of exchanges and ideas we hoped to enjoy when we joined Fidonet in the first place. At first, the most famous "christian" in Fidonet threatened a law-suit against Fidonet's Bruce Bodger if he did not comply with his demands that his echo be restored. Now, he has asked another member in Fidonet if he "has retained counsel" yet. Of course, this would be followed by Bob Germer, who followed him like a disciple and threatened a lawsuit against Mike Fuchs, former maintainer of the Elist, insisting that he make sure the elist was clean of offensive material, or he would sue Fuchs and Fidonet as well. There are two things that need to be done if Fidonet is to survive. First off, we must put a provision in the Fidonet application relinquishing any liability to the content in Fidonet, and that you become a member "at your own risk," so to speak. In addition, there seems to be a problem with the very structure of Fidonet itself. Those "in control," i.e. Bob Satti, Mike Walsh, and others, are not responsible to anyone except the person above him/her. According to Policy 4.07, the *C's are appointed, not elected. The elections, therefore, are a moot point. In my opinion, every copy of Policy 4 should be put on a hard drive, accompanied by any virus strains MacAfee has ever encountered, and then activate a batch file running every program on the drive. What we need is a totally new constitution for the net. A document where we are protected from lawsuits by individuals who wish to restrict our freedom of speech, and where as an organization we ELECT the very people who volunteer their services. With people such as Bob Satti and Mike Walsh running Fidonet, they can do whatever their ego pleases. However, if FidoNews 12-24 Page: 21 12 Jun 1995 they were elected by us, the people who are the actual writers of the messages in the net, then I doubt they would be in power very long. If we allow things to remain as they do now, then Fidonet will be seperated into those who have lawyers willing to sue, those in power whose purpose in life is for people to know who they are (good OR bad), and the average Joe SysOp. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ======================================================================== Fidonews Information ======================================================================== ------- FIDONEWS MASTHEAD AND CONTACT INFORMATION ---------------- Editors: Donald Tees, Sylvia Maxwell Editors Emeritii: Thom Henderson, Dale Lovell, Vince Perriello, Tim Pozar Tom Jennings "FidoNews" BBS FidoNet 1:1/23 BBS +1-519-570-4176, 300/1200/2400/14400/V.32bis/HST(DS) more addresses: Don -- 1:221/192, don@exlibris.tdkcs.waterloo.on.ca Sylvia- 1:221/194, max@exlibris.tdkcs.waterloo.on.ca (Postal Service mailing address) FidoNews 128 Church St. Kitchener, Ontario Canada N2H 2S4 voice: (519) 570-3137 Fidonews is 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 1995 Donald Tees. All rights reserved. Duplication and/or distribution permitted for noncommercial purposes only. For use in other circumstances, please contact the original authors, or the eds. OBTAINING COPIES: The most recent issue 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. FidoNews 12-24 Page: 22 12 Jun 1995 PRINTED COPIES may be obtained by sending SASE to the above paper-mail address. INTERNET USERS: FidoNews is available via FTP from ftp.fidonet.org, in directory ~ftp/pub/fidonet/fidonews. Anyone interested in getting a copy of the INTERNET GATEWAY FAQ may freq GISFAQ.ZIP from 1:133/411.0, or send an internet message to fidofaq@gisatl.fidonet.org. No message or text or subject is necessary. The address is a keyword that will trigger the automated response. People wishing to send inquiries directly to David Deitch should now mail to fidonet@gisatl.fidonet.org rather than the previously listed address. 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. "the pulse of the cursor is the heartbeat of fidonet"... -- END ----------------------------------------------------------------------