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F I D O N E W S -- Volume 15, Number 12 23 March 1998
+----------------------------+-----------------------------------------+
| The newsletter of the | ISSN 1198-4589 Published by: |
| FidoNet community | "FidoNews" |
| _ | 1-209-251-7529 [1:1/23] |
| / \ | |
| /|oo \ | |
| (_| /_) | |
| _`@/_ \ _ | |
| | | \ \\ | Editor: |
| | (*) | \ )) | Zorch Frezberg 1:205/1701 |
| |__U__| / \// | |
| _//|| _\ / | |
| (_/(_|(____/ | |
| (jm) | Newspapers should have no friends. |
| | -- JOSEPH PULITZER |
+----------------------------+-----------------------------------------+
| Submission address: FidoNews Editor 1:1/23 |
+----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| MORE addresses: |
| |
| submissions=> editor@fidonews.org |
| |
+----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| For information, copyrights, article submissions, |
| obtaining copies of FidoNews or the internet gateway FAQ |
| please refer to the end of this file. |
+----------------------------------------------------------------------+
Business, as Usual...with Alterations
Table of Contents
1. EDITORIAL ................................................ 1
2. ARTICLES ................................................. 3
Passing thoughts ......................................... 3
New URL For WWW-FidoResource ............................. 4
3. COLUMNS .................................................. 5
Cry Havoc, and Let Loose The Puppies of War .............. 5
4. FIDONET HISTORY .......................................... 7
5. WE GET EMAIL ............................................. 12
6. NOTICES .................................................. 13
Future History ........................................... 13
7. FIDONEWS PUBLIC-KEY ...................................... 14
FidoNews PGP Public-Key Listing .......................... 14
8. FIDONET BY INTERNET ...................................... 15
9. FIDONEWS INFORMATION ..................................... 17
FIDONEWS 15-12 Page 1 23 Mar 1998
=================================================================
EDITORIAL
=================================================================
Due to a program error that didn't appear in the test runs, but then
decided to appear on publication, there was no Editorial last week.
Given some of the things that happened within 24 hours of the issue
being published, it gave some time to reflect a bit more on these.
Scary news out there...and no one seems to want to talk about it.
There comes a point in any organization where the future is
determined by either the goals of the group as a whole, or by a small
cadre of people who have a 'vision' of the way things should be.
Too often, however, the two factions clash, and it is the helpless
villagers, or sysops in this case, who will end up bearing the brunt
of the struggle.
The Z2C has openly challenged the process of "One Zone, One Vote" in
the coming IC Election, more than casually mentioning that the fact
of Zone 2 being in control of 65% of FidoNet, and insinuating, from
what is said, that Zone 2 should have a 'larger' role in choosing the
IC if not actually controlling that choice.
I would also point out why the lessons of history in this regard
should be more apparent to Zone 2 than most...but I think I will
refrain.
Already, there is a 'complaint' that Zone 1 members are "ruining" the
access to the ZCC-PUBLIC echo...but it would seem that this is more
geared at the "lack of respect" tone of the messages. That, and the
point that no rules have been posted for that echo, either.
If you can't get access to ZCC-PUBLIC, ask "Why not?"
Notably absent is the Z2C's weekly "doomsday countdown" for the
nodelist for which I have received a complaint from him. While he
admits to having posted it publicly in many echoes worldwide,
it appears that the FidoNews was not to post it unless he himself
sent it in, with his specific permissions and consent.
As of publication time the past two weeks, he has not sent it, either
by NetMail or by E-Mail; thus, it will not be included per his
objections.
So much for 'open communications'. Strange, also, that the issue of
copyrights comes in so conveniently for him now, no?
In any event, and in response to a number of complaints I have
received both long before I became Editor and since that time, I have
chosen to now use a PGP-signature to insure the integrity of each
issue of FidoNews.
The complaints were that several Region and Net level coordinators
seem to be removing articles that did not "fit in" with a particular
FIDONEWS 15-12 Page 2 23 Mar 1998
view that they held. Copies were sent to me that indicated anything
from removal of the printer breaks to whole articles being removed.
Think of it as a 'certified uncensored issue' seal of approval.
To properly check the signature, remove five (5) spaces from the
beginnings of the PGP-signature lines. This is due to a formatting
matter in the publishing program that can't be presently modified.
Last issue's article by Jim Cannell, the administrator of the
SecureMail services in FidoNet, was intended to 'de-mystify' the use
of PGP encryption and make it more accessible to the general public.
As always, there is the issue posting at http://www.fidonews.org, or
at my personal site at http://209.77.228.66/fidonet.html .
Would that we could all live in a world where this was unnecessary,
but there are those who live to turn our hobby into their existance.
Other than the usual, this issue of the FidoNews is remarkably light.
Some updates to the InterNet sites, and a few more articles.
...and an interesting E-Mail from Romania.
Remember, the FidoNews is what _you_ make of it.
-zf-
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FIDONEWS 15-12 Page 3 23 Mar 1998
=================================================================
ARTICLES
=================================================================
Passing thoughts
by David Hallford
As I take a well deserved vacation my mind started to dwell on how I
would do things in Fidonet. These aren't the best ways or the
smartest ways, or even the correct ways. Just the way I would do it.
ELECTIONS: Hmmm, a good thought on the surface but what is the
real consensus within Fidonet. No one knows. Each side of the
dispute is so busy arguing for their view point that no one has
taken the time to check with the SysOps. Why not have the ZC's
task the RC's to task the NC's to poll their networks and report
back by node number who wants or doesn't want elections to be the
standard. If elections win the vote of the Sysops then use the
same procedure to determine if it should be by popular vote or
representation (ie the Sysop's elect the NC/NEC, the NC/NEC elect
the RC/REC, the RC/REC elect the ZC/ZEC) and what the length of
each term should be. If the Sysops want the appointment route to
be the standard, then let it. This will end a lot of the bickering
current within Fidonet.
ECHOPOL: Why? It seems to be working to me. It's now a cooperative
effort between moderators, routers, and SysOps. A bad moderator
gets ignored, a bad router gets routed around, and a bad SysOp
gets a feed cut. No rules or regulations to fight over. Let's face
it, we have been arguing over Policy 4.07 for 10 years or so.
There are still folks who interpret it their way even in the face
of rulings by the ZC. Why add more regulations to argue over? At
the most I would have a policy that defined the positions and
terms used but granted no additional power to anyone.
ECHOMAIL DISTRIBUTION SYSTEMS: The more the merrier, I say. Those
that serve the folks will survive. Those that don't - won't.
I can't think of a better way to regulate them!
EXCESSIVELY ANNOYING BEHAVIOR (in echomail): Why not? A lie is a
lie if it's in echomail or netmail. Character assassination can be
worse in an echo than it can be in netmail. I would like it to be
possible to file a Policy 4 complaint against folks who accuse
others of being someone elses puppet (or clone) without proof.
Most of us think for ourselves, so why do we think others don't?
Just because they agree with someone on an issue doesn't make them
puppets. I agreed with some things that Ho Chi Minh said. That
sure doesn't make me his puppet since I would have gladly put a
bullet in his brain had the opportunity ever presented itself.
NICE FOLKS (and those not so nice): Some people cause me to stop
and think over a position or stance I have taken. Some nicely and
some not so nicely. It doesn't matter because I owe them thanks
for causing me to think. Bob Satti was the nicest and Tom Cole was
FIDONEWS 15-12 Page 4 23 Mar 1998
the least nicest, but I owe them both my thanks. I will not say
who I feel are nice or not nice, but I would like to thank the
following for a fun 11 years:
Bob Satti, Bob Kohl, Bob Moravsik, Bob Seaborn (geez how many
Bobs are there?) Martin Belcke, Brenda Donovan, Russ Edwards,
David Bowerman, Bruce Bodger, John Souvestre, Mike Murray,
Ruth Argust, Zorch Frezberg (as if I would forget him <g>),
Andy Brown (in fact all of the NECs past and present in R10),
Tom Cole, Joe Jared, George Peace, Ken Wilson, Adrian Walker,
John Pfieffer, Dennis Travis, Gerry Calhoun, the dwarves in
Mindless Chatter and Drivel, and all the folks who take the
time to read the Fidonews and participate in Fidonet on a
vocal level (whether I agreed with you or not).
As the man said "Goodbye and thanks for the fish". I liked that one
and think Fidonet should adopt it as the 'official' goodbye.
Goodbye, and thanks for the fish!
###30###
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New URL for the World-Wide-Web Fidonet Resource
by Lee Kindness, wangi@earthling.net
Just a short announcement - The World-Wide-Web Fidonet Resource
is now at the URL below:
http://travel.to/fidonet
This location will redirect you to the current 'real' home
of the WWWFR, which is currently is still
http://www.scms.rgu.ac.uk/students/cs_yr94/lk/fido.html
but is likely to change in the future. If you use the new
URL the change will not be noticed...
I'm also planning a number of changes to the site, I
fancy getting my hands dirty with a bit of Perl. If I want
to add cgi-bin enhancements then i'll be looking for a
new home for the page - anyone care to offer a UNIX
account with telnet/ftp access? ;)
Cheers,
--
- Lee Kindness ------------------ wangi@earthling.net -
- http://come.to/kindness -- http://travel.to/fidonet -
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FIDONEWS 15-12 Page 5 23 Mar 1998
=================================================================
COLUMNS
=================================================================
Dear Editorbeing,
This article is submitted by Charles Herriot (163/110) who
managed to rescue Doc Logger from a pack of ravening Echopol
police. Apparently, Logger's penchant for BBSing to the
accompaniment of bagpipe music was not only in bad taste,
but was also a serious Fidocrime.
Roll da' flic Zorch....
Dear Reverend Visage,
The fact that you have been ignoring your flock in their
hour of need has been made more obvious in recent days.
Despite the hopes that Echopol evangelists could be
eradicated shortly after Smallpox, the usual suspects are at
it again. It seems that a new version of Echopol is being
bruited by Bob Kohl. He doesn't seem to understand that
arming small intellects with more policy is certain to
engender many unhappy years of "Policy complaints" with the
document being used to torture unsuspecting Fidoserfs. A
tadge more alarming is the fact that Bob has expressed
concerns about the content of echos which he feels need to
be controlled by policy.
As the good and decent people that we are, all appropriate
energy should be devoted to teaching Mr. Kohl where to find
the <RETURN> button on his keyboard so that he can skip past
the messages that would otherwise make him cry. It boggles
the mind to imagine what the socially maladroit will do with
a new blunt instrument in the form of Echopol. If a fellow
like Gary Gilmore can screech from his perch in New Zealand
about a nodelisting in North America, think of what fun his
ilk will have if given a chance to whine about what is
written in the echos. I wish Bob no joy at all in his
Echopol endeavours and may the farce be with him.
All six loyal readers of the Snooz might have noticed the
ominous heading last week: 'The Coming Civil War" and been
mightily puzzled that it was followed by a puff piece
lauding the sainthood of our ZC, Bob Satti. Only the unkind
will snicker at the irony that the same gushy accolades were
contained in a letter wherein the author says good-bye to
Fidoland.
I think perhaps what was being hinted at in the Civil War
reference was the ongoing debate among the ZC elflords about
who should be kicked upstairs to the IC position. Ward
Dossche, the ZC2, has apparently asserted that the ZC's
should be granted weighted voting according to how many
Fidoserfs they "rule" in their fiefdoms. I haven't noticed
FIDONEWS 15-12 Page 6 23 Mar 1998
that Ward is insisting that he go whole hog with his
democratic sedition and have *all* Fidoserfs actually vote,
but he gets at least half marks for effort.
Mr. Dossche's excitable detractors are predicting ruin and
damnation should his concepts prevail. Naturally, the Z1C,
Bob Satti has expressed grave concerns about conducting the
debate in public. Evidently, Satti is not the least bit fond
of having his machinations scrutinized by those he presumes
to rule.
On that cheery note, I'll segue into my Chautauqua which is
as much addressed to Satti as it is to all five of the other
regular Snooz readers. I'd like to lead off with a quote
from Walter Lippmann in an essay entitled "The Indispensable
Opposition."
"The opposition is indispensable. A good statesman, like any
other sensible human being, always learns more from his
opponents than from his fervent supporters. For his
supporters push him to disaster unless his opponents show
him where the dangers are. So if he is wise he will often
pray to be delivered from his friends, because they will
ruin him. But, though it hurts, he ought also to pray never
to be without opponents; for they keep him on the path of
reason and good sense."
So, as one of Mr. Satti's most fervent opponents, might I
tender some advice with respect to the creation of Echopol?
If the policy document is created, and if the framers are
permitted to presume authority for it or vested by it, there
will be less than a year elapsed before another *C vs. *EC
battle erupts. There will also be legions of trolls who
attempt to use the document for reasons which have nothing
to do with the smooth flow of mail. The ZC's netmail will
runneth over with new policy complaints, and if Satti
remains true to his past decisions, he'll amaze the
Fidoserfs with more amazingly dumb decisions.
I must go Visage. Your secretary is in grim shape. She
claims that Bill Clinton didn't try to hug her. "Am I the
only one?" she bleats, over and over. As a gesture of our
concern for her, I suggest we send her on a skiing holiday
with either the Kennedy or the Bono families.
Regards,
Furlang Island Academy of Squid Ballet,
Furlang Island, South Pacific
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FIDONEWS 15-12 Page 7 23 Mar 1998
=================================================================
FIDONET HISTORY
=================================================================
Originally published Vol.11 No.26 (27-Jun-1994)
(with some '98 revisions by the author)
POLICY 33.5 - THE FINAL INSULT
Charles Herriot (1:163/110)
(this had to be done, Doc, now where's my Ibogaine?)
1. TITLE: (amateur policymongers probably don't realize the
importance of leading off with at least one "tit"... capture
their imaginations and their hearts and minds will follow)
The title of this document shall be:
"Policy 33.5 - The Final Insult,
otherwise known as:
"Mom! Mom! He/she dissed me and I'm gonna whump his/her
sorry ass with this policy document until he/she either
apologizes or else gets locked in a room and is forced to
listen to John Denver singin' 'Rocky Mountain High' until
her/his ears bleed."
2. PURPOSE: The purpose of this policy is to create more
policy. The Region has recognized quite clearly that if more
policy were created then, incredibly, we'd have more policy.
If we had more policy, then we would definitely need even
more of it to expand upon the previously created policy.
Hell, in no time at all, this policy stuff would be breeding
on its own and provide sustenance to unemployed cod
fisherman.
3. DEFINITIONS:
AcetyleneMail: The polite staple of inter-sysop
communication which must include, at a minimum, at least one
demand that the recipient engage in an act of
self-replicating his/herself. It is entirely appropriate to
substitute the preceding with a suggestion to the recipient
that they engage in an act of procreation with anyone having
the surname: "Off."
Cod: Humiliated trout. Not to be confused with the
traditionally refrain of grunt sysops to *C-beings which
loosely paraphrases into: "Who named you Cod?"
Beer: The official sysop monetary unit. Debts can be
satisfied upon payment of these units, and *C-beings are
obligated to buy grunt sysops copious quantities of this
particular resource.
FIDONEWS 15-12 Page 8 23 Mar 1998
CRPs: Mistakenly identified as "Cost Recovery Plans", these
are really guileless attempts to extort money from Grunt
Sysops. The money is expended on fast women and loose cars.
Echomail: A system of distributing the latest gnarly-rad
path lines, and logoff macros, by "K00L D00DZ" which are
rivaled by Sea Slugs for their intrinsic wit. Also, any
quote of the preceding is considered "echomail" and the high
fibre content helps to improve echomail regularity.
Humungous amounts of megabytes of this stuff are
sporadically sent throughout the Region. All of this
echomail was spawned by one message which was entered in
1985 and everyone has been quoting the hell out of it ever
since.
EchoPol: Any policy document which is written by confused
and bored trolls who don't realize that putting policy into
the hands of children will almost always lead to
self-inflicted injuries.
Grunt Sysops: A strange infestation which has plagued
Fidonet for years. No one has figured out what sort of toxic
spray would be effective in eliminating them. The freshly
hatched sysop-beings, shortly before mastering the basic
skills of mailers and echomail distribution, plaster
messages all over the known universe announcing yet another
new net.. one that promises some feature so outstanding that
it probably isn't replicated in more than 500 of the
existing 600 Fidonet echomail areas.
Hubs: Dwarf-like creatures who live in tinfoil lined,
darkened caves, where their multi-node, Lan-based, 69
gazillion baud modems, poot forth echomail. Hubs are
recognizable from the fact that their plastic pocket pen
protector mounted pagers beep whenever they receive an
inbound mail packet. Hubs secretly dream about bringing the
entire Sports Illustrated Swimsuit modeling group to gaze at
the diode arrays winking from every corner of their
kleenex-piled rooms.
NECs: Pituitary challenged Hubs who can often run a mailer
for almost a whole day without having the system crash. NECs
spend hours explaining batch files to bored and miserable
people everywhere. NECs have LAN work-stations in their
bathrooms where they do their best work.
Nets: Nets are largish containment devices used to bag
various *Cs who have run amok. These are not to be confused
with "Network" which is also herein defined.
Netwar: An exchange of pleasantries between sysops
culminating in at least a dozen threats of policy
complaints, filled diapers, and about 20 megs of brainlessly
quoted text.
FIDONEWS 15-12 Page 9 23 Mar 1998
Networks: Are collections of nodes who have mastered the
incredible mentation powers to remember the same sequence of
digits. Networks are loosely centred on geographic areas
within easy mortar range of each other.
Network Coordinators: (see also "Mazola & Bondage") Network
Coordinators are selfless individuals who are reluctantly
railroaded into wearing a large bullseye on their foreheads
for the amusement of grunt sysops who are bored and have
already painted the cat.
Region: Regions are hard-fought geographic fiefdoms ruled
by RCs who are renowned for exchanging grapeshot whenever
they fell that their turf is being poached by an adjacent
region. Regions are defined in a manner akin to the
following (which happens to be Region 12):
The region shall encompass that area in Canada lying
to the east of the Manitoba border (unless they lower their
taxes and sell cheaper beer) and continuing past the welfare
states in the Atlantic provinces to whichever dead cod
happen to wash up on the beaches of Sable Island. The Region
shall also include the Free Republic of Quebec, but only
insofar as it does not impinge upon their God-given right to
rant endlessly about their contused and paranoid cultural
identity. The region shall extend as far northward as the
North Pole and proceed to a depth (drilling straight
downwards) that includes selected parts of Malaysia.
Regional Coordinators: The larval stage of Small Animal
Psychologists. These beings are to be humoured and indulged
since their are obligated to buy rounds of beer for all
sysops at social gatherings. Regional Coordinators can be
identified by the horrible sucking noises they make while
applying Vulcan lip-locks to the ZC's nether bits. After
weeks of sheep and sleep deprivation, these poor souls can
be spotted, buck naked in the moonlight, howling for more
policy.
Technical Standards: A basepoint for launching into some
sort of penis-envy type message comparing baud rates, how
many terrabytes of online GIFS can be shot through the phone
lines, or how some moron has pissed away a small fortune on
a Pentium chip so that they can display messages at 14
million times their visual comprehension rate. I mean, let's
face it, if you happen to have cute blossooms, nobody is
going to give a damn whether your mailer works... in an
ideal world, your mail would get hand-delivered.
Users: Like, get serious wouldja? Screw 'em if they can't
take a joke.
ZCs: Self-idolatrous Fido elflords who wake up each morning
imbued with the erroneous belief that they know what's good
for the network. Other than tossing them a few slabs of raw
meat, these individuals should be given adult supervision
if they attempt anything more complicated than waking up in
the morning.
FIDONEWS 15-12 Page 10 23 Mar 1998
4. Official Titles:
In this Region, a group of sick minds will choose some
relatively innocent soul and propel the poor sucker into the
job of Regional Co-ordinator. The Regional Coordinator shall
have all the powers biologically granted to bread mold, but
otherwise can be safely ignored.
The Region shall be hacked up into small fiefdoms, called
"Networks" which shall elect mascots, order pizza in bulk
quantities, and participate in the annual Node Draft to
choose the players for the upcoming Netwar season. Nets will
dragoon someone into being the Network Coordinator who will
be obliged to either undergo spontaneous human combustion
before a full term is served, or else stand for re-election
to the particular purgatory for which they are ideally
maladapted.
Network Coordinators will not be surprised to discover that
they commune directly with either God or if they want to
sink right to the bottom; to Bob Satti.
Network Coordinators are entitled to screech that "they need
a really big net." Judging from their post electoral
behaviour, most grunt sysops would agree with their
appraisal, and might further suggest a cell of the padded
variety as well.
Any grunt sysop who has stood in the blinding white light of
their own ego too long is entitled to pile nine or ten
listings of their own number into the nodelist and appoint
themselves as Net Coordinator. They will be entitled to
exhibit multiple-personality disorderly conduct and
pontificate about "what their net wants." Spray misting
these lost souls with regular doses of crystal-meth is
advised.
5. Elections: Anyone who actually wants a title in Fidonet
should be put in a bottle and sent out into the Japanese
current. If their lives are so incomplete without the fame
of a Fidonet title, then they should be encouraged to get
their pictures on milk cartons, but don't elect the poor
bastards because they'll inflict bad grammar on you until
you lie in a pool of drool, clutching your "I Adore My 64"
button, babbling about the good old days when men were men
and sheep were not particular.
6. The Netwar Season: The netwar season shall commence
nanoseconds after the election of each new Regional
Coordinator. A season can be kick-started to a promising
beginning by any Regional Coordinator who campaigns on some
sort of "peace" platform. Like, nudge nudge, wink wink, we
all *deplore* the fights in hockey games, so we'll be sure
to take these kind of lame promises just as seriously.
(snicker)
FIDONEWS 15-12 Page 11 23 Mar 1998
(Incidentally, don't trust any candidate who quotes Arlo
Guthrie in "Alices Restaraunt" and says "I wanna kill. I
wanna kill. I mean, I wanna see blood and guts and veins in
my teeth. I wanna kill. KILL! KILL!" because these are the
kind of milquetoasts that probably brake for whales and will
screw up a perfectly good netwar season with their puerile
sniveling for calm. C'mon, fess up... you tryna tell me that
you forked out five grand for a BBS system that was just
gonna bring in the DOGTALK echo?
At the beginning of each season, grunt sysops will make
irrational decisions about who they hate at the moment, and
will bounce up and down in their cribs, asking to be picked
by their most favoured Network Coordinator. Top draft
choices will always be those sysops who are prepared to
nitpick the hell out of issue that occurred way back in the
late fifties.
Network Coordinators should not ignore the "specialty teams"
that make netwars so fascinating. Getting one of those
tight-assed weenies who quotes every obscenity that comes
down the turnpike and then appends some cloacally-challenged
moralizing, should be counted as almost as important as the
wankers who brag that they are the very first to be running
the "new" Fido Version 1.01 software. The latter can be be
guaranteed to smoke out some peckerwood who counter-brags
that he/she has been running that version for three
nanoseconds longer.... under Windows, no less.
A truly successful Netwar season can be measured by the
logarithmic expansion of new nets, and the number of
excitable, intrigue-filled, messages that Zorch and
John write.
7. The Stirring Conclusion: Just as this policy document was
about to end. Just as Luke in his X-wing fighter was about
to drop the Neutron bomb down the exhaust shaft and put this
puppy out of it's misery. Just as the Bikersluts were about
to perform peculiar ablutions in the lap of the good Rev.
Visage. Just as your RETURN button was begging for mercy
like some spaghetti flogged, Jesse Hollington -type
combination fax machine and gratification device... just at
that moment... a rock fungus will burst it's spore pod and
some flatlined-on-the-EEG sysop will suggest that "we really
oughta have lots more policy."
###30###
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FIDONEWS 15-12 Page 12 23 Mar 1998
=================================================================
WE GET EMAIL
=================================================================
Subject: hello
Date: Sun, 15 Mar 1998 19:40:06 +0200
From: "Radu Malica" <tzeapa@usa.net>
To: <zorch@fidonews.org>
hello
i want to get in contact with somebody that can provide me the
FidoNet backbone for free, because here in the Region 53 (2:53*/*) we
are isolated from the outer Fido. I wish that you post my request in
a FidoNews article, or Letter to the Editor, and please, i want to
inform you that i can provide the 2:53*/* backbone to romanian people
in USA, through Fido2Int and/or e-mail.
Thank You.
PS: if somebody offers the fidonet backbone for free, please tell
him/her to contact me at
jokerul@psi.lbi.ro
tzeapa@usa.net
fidonet@maxutils.com
radu.malica@contact.pcnet.ro
or at 2:530/139 on the Fidonet.
Thank you again
Radu Malica, SysOp @ PRODiGY BBS
+40-1-627-5454
2:530/139@fidonet.org
###30###
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FIDONEWS 15-12 Page 13 23 Mar 1998
=================================================================
NOTICES
=================================================================
Future History
30 Apr 1998
Queens Day, Holland.
17 May 1998
Independence Day, Norway.
22 May 1998
Expo '98 World Exposition in Lisbon (Portugal) opens.
14 Sep 1998
Start of International BBS Week [thru 20 Sep 98].
22 Sep 1998
First anniversary of the FidoNews domain of www.fidonews.org.
1 Dec 1998
Fifteenth Anniversary of release of Fido version 1 by
Tom Jennings.
24 Jul 1999
XIII Pan American Games [through 8 Aug 99].
31 Dec 1999
Hogmanay, Scotland. The New Year that can't be missed.
1 Jan 2000
The 20th Century, C.E., is still taking place thru 31 Dec.
1 Jun 2000
EXPO 2000 World Exposition in Hannover (Germany) opens.
15 Sep 2000
Sydney (Australia) Summer Olympiad opens.
1 Jan 2001
This is the actual start of the new millennium, C.E.
-- If YOU have something which you would like to see in this
Future History, please send a note to the FidoNews Editor.
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FIDONEWS 15-12 Page 14 23 Mar 1998
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FIDONEWS PUBLIC-KEY
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FidoNews PGP Public-Key Listing
This must be copied out to a file starting at column 1 or
it won't process under PGP as a valid public-key. The
same holds true for checking the validity of this issue.
-----BEGIN PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK-----
Version: 2.6.2
Comment: Democracy Requires A Free And Uncensored Press.
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To verify the content of this issue has not been tampered with,
remove the five (5) spaces located at the beginning of each
PGP-generated lines on the top and bottom of each issue. Do not
remove the spaces from any other lines.
File-request FNEWSKEY from 1:1/23 [1:205/1701] or download it from
IKVHFoT! BBS at 1-209-251-7529 anytime Zone 1 ZMH at 300-9600+ V34.
The FidoNews key is also available on the FidoNews homepage listed
in the Masthead information.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
FIDONEWS 15-12 Page 15 23 Mar 1998
=================================================================
FIDONET BY INTERNET
=================================================================
This is a list of all FidoNet-related sites reported to the Editor as
of this appearance.
NOTE: I am looking for a comprehensive list of Telnet, VMODEM, BinkP,
Argus and other TCP/IP based nodes operating FidoNet on the
InterNet, either by Zone or worldwide, to post here as well.
- Ye Editor
============
FidoNet:
Homepage http://www.fidonet.org
FidoNews http://www.fidonews.org [HTML]
http://209.77.228.66/fidonews.html [ASCII]
WWW sources http://www.scms.rgu.ac.uk/students/cs_yr94/lk/fido.html
FTSC page http://www.portal.ca/~awalker/ftsc.htm
Echomail http://www.portal.ca/~awalker/index.html
WebRing http://ddi.digital.net/~cbaker84/fnetring.html [TFN]
General Info http://owls.com/~jerrys/fidonet.html
============
Zone 1: http://www.z1.fidonet.org
Region 10: http://www.psnw.com/~net205/region10.html
Region 11: http://oeonline.com/~garyg/region11/
Region 13: http://www.smalltalkband.com/st01000.htm
Region 14:
Region 15:
Region 16: http://www.tiac.net/users/satins/region16.htm
Region 17: http://www.portal.ca/~awalker/region17.htm
REC17: http://www.westsound.com/ptmudge/
Region 18: http://techstop.pdn.net/fido/
Region 19: http://www.compconn.net
============
FIDONEWS 15-12 Page 16 23 Mar 1998
Zone 2: http://www.z2.fidonet.org
ZEC2: http://www.proteus.demon.co.uk/zec.htm
Zone 2 Elist: http://www.fbone.ch/z2_elist/
Region 20: http://www.fidonet.pp.se (in Swedish)
Region 23: http://www.fido.dk (in Danish)
Region 24: http://www.swb.de/personal/flop/gatebau.html (in German)
Region 25:
http://www.trak-one.co.uk/net254
Region 27: http://telematique.org/ft/r27.htm
Region 29: http://www.rtfm.be/fidonet/ (in French)
Region 30: http://www.fidonet.ch (in Swiss?)
Region 33: http://www.fidoitalia.net (in Italian)
Region 34: http://www.pobox.com/cnb/r34.htm (in Spanish)
REC34: http://pobox.com/~chr
Region 36: http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/7207/
Region 38: http://public.st.carnet.hr/~blagi/bbs/adriam.html
Region 41: http://www.fidonet.gr (in Greek and English)
Region 48: http://www.fidonet.org.pl
============
Zone 3: http://www.z3.fidonet.org
============
Zone 4: (not yet listed)
Region 90:
Net 904: http://members.tripod.com/~net904 (in Spanish)
============
Zone 5: http://w3.eastcape.co.za/fidonet/index.htm
============
Zone 6: http://www.z6.fidonet.org
Region 65: http://www.cfido.com/fidonet/cfidochina.html (China)
============
-----------------------------------------------------------------
FIDONEWS 15-12 Page 17 23 Mar 1998
=================================================================
FIDONEWS INFORMATION
=================================================================
------- FIDONEWS MASTHEAD AND CONTACT INFORMATION -------
Editor: Zorch Frezberg
Editors Emeritii: Tom Jennings, Thom Henderson, Dale Lovell,
Vince Perriello, Tim Pozar, Sylvia Maxwell,
Donald Tees, Christopher Baker
"FidoNews Editor"
FidoNet 1:1/23
BBS 1-209-251-7529, 300/1200/2400/9600/V.34/V.34+
more addresses:
Zorch Frezberg -- 1:205/1701, zorch@repairnet.com
zorch@fidonews.org
zorch@qnis.net
zorch@eiv.com
zorch@kumr.lns.com
(Postal Service mailing address)
FidoNews Editor
P.O. Box 642
Fresno, CA 93709-0642
U.S.A.
voice: 1-209-446-9038 [voice mail = 'blind' numbers not returned]
------------------------------------------------------
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 1998 Zorch Frezberg. All rights reserved. Duplication
and/or distribution permitted for noncommercial purposes only. For
use in other circumstances, please contact the original authors, or
the Editor.
=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=
FIDONEWS 15-12 Page 18 23 Mar 1998
OBTAINING COPIES: The most recent issue of FidoNews in electronic
form may be obtained from the FidoNews Editor via manual download or
file-request, or from various sites in the FidoNet and Internet.
PRINTED COPIES may be obtained by sending SASE to the above postal
address. File-request FIDONEWS for the current Issue. File-request
FNEWS for the current month in one archive. Or file-request specific
back Issue filenames in distribution format [FNEWSFnn.ZIP] for a
particular Issue. Monthly Volumes are available as FNWSmmmy.ZIP
where mmm = three letter month [JAN - DEC] and y = last digit of the
current year [8], i.e., FNWSJAN8.ZIP for all the Issues from Jan 98.
Annual volumes are available as FNEWSn.ZIP where n = the Volume number
1 - 15 for 1984 - 1998, respectively. Annual Volume archives range in
size from 48K to 1.4M.
INTERNET USERS: FidoNews is available via:
http://www.fidonews.org
http://www.fidonet.org/fidonews.htm
ftp://ftp.fidonet.org/pub/fidonet/fidonews/
ftp://ftp.aminet.org/pub/aminet/comm/fido/
ftp://ftp.irvbbs.com/fidonews/
*=*=*
You may obtain an email subscription to FidoNews by sending email to:
jbarchuk@worldnet.att.net
with a Subject line of: subscribe fnews-edist
and no message in the message body. To remove your name from the email
distribution use a Subject line of: unsubscribe fnews-edist with no
message to the same address above.
*
You may retrieve current and previous Issues of FidoNews via FTPMail
by sending email to:
ftpmail@fidonews.org
with a Subject line of: help
and FTPMail will immediately send a reply containing details and
instructions. When you actually make a file request, FTPMail will
respond in three stages. You find a link for this process on
www.fidonews.org.
*=*=*
You can read the current FidoNews Issue in HTML format at:
http://www.fidonews.org
STAR SOURCE for ALL Past Issues via FTP and file-request -
Available for FReq from 1:396/1 or by anonymous FTP from:
ftp://ftp.sstar.com/fidonet/fnews/
Each yearly archive also contains a listing of the Table-of-Contents
for that year's issues. The total set is currently about 13 Megs.
=*=*=*=
FIDONEWS 15-12 Page 19 23 Mar 1998
The current week's FidoNews and the FidoNews public-key are now also
available almost immediately after publication on the FidoNews Editor
homepage on the World Wide Web at:
http://209.77.228.66/fidonews.html
There are also links there to jim barchuk's HTML FidoNews source and
to John Souvestre's FTP site for the archives. There is also an email
link for sending in an article as message text. Drop on over.
=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=
A PGP generated public-key is available for the FidoNews Editor from
1:1/23 [1:205/1701] by file-request for FNEWSKEY or by download from
IKVHFoT! BBS at 1-209-251-7529 as FIDONEWS.ASC in File Area X. It
is also posted twice a month into the PKEY_DROP Echo available on the
Zone 1 Echomail Backbone.
*=*=*=*=*
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 Editor, or file-requestable
from 1:1/23 [1:205/1701] as file "ARTSPEC.DOC". ALL Zone
Coordinators also have copies of ARTSPEC.DOC. Please read it.
"Fido", "FidoNet" and the dog-with-diskette are U.S. registered
trademarks of Tom Jennings, P.O. Box 410923, San Francisco, CA 94141,
and are used with permission.
"Disagreement is actually necessary,
or we'd all have to get in fights
or something to amuse ourselves
and create the requisite chaos."
-Tom Jennings
### -30- ###
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