F I D O N E W S Volume 18, Number 04 22 Jan 2001 +----------------------------+---------------------------------------+ | The newsletter of the | ISSN 1198-4589 Published by: | | FidoNet community | "FidoNews" | | _ | 1-714-639-0377 1:1/23 | | / \ | 1-714-532-1586 1:103/301 | | /|oo \ | BinkD supported both above | | (_| /_) | | | _`@/_ \ _ | | | | | \ \\ | Editor: Warren Bonner | | | (*) | \ )) | editor@fidonews.org | | |__U__| / \// | wdbonner@pacbell.net | | _//|| _\ / | | | (_/(_|(____/ | | | (jm) | Newspapers should have no friends. | | | -- JOSEPH PULITZER | +----------------------------+---------------------------------------+ Table of Contents 1. HEADLINE ................................................. 1 ........................................................... 1 2. EDITOR'S BELIEFS ......................................... 2 3. GUEST EDITORIAL .......................................... 4 *Guest Editorial* ........................................ 4 4. ARTICLES ................................................. 7 +++Noteworthy Article+++ ................................. 7 5. OL'WDB'S COLUMN .......................................... 9 ***Canada's Mooses*** .................................... 9 6. RECIPES .................................................. 10 *This weeks FLAVORITE Recipe* ............................ 10 7. POET'S CORNER ............................................ 11 -=+Poet's Corner+=- ...................................... 11 8. HUMOR .................................................... 12 ===+Humor+=== ............................................ 12 9. QUESTION OF THE WEEK ..................................... 14 Question of the Week ..................................... 14 10. ANSWERS OF THE WEEK ..................................... 15 Answers Received ......................................... 15 11. NOTICES ................................................. 19 FIDONEWS INFORMATION ..................................... 19 12. FIDONET BY INTERNET ..................................... 21 13. FIDONEWS INFORMATION .................................... 26 ***FIDONEWS INFORMATION*** ............................... 26 FIDONEWS 18-04 Page 1 22 Jan 2001 ================================================================= HEADLINE ================================================================= +++Extra, Extra, Read all about it in ANSWERS secton! ----------------------------------------------------------------- FIDONEWS 18-04 Page 2 22 Jan 2001 ================================================================= EDITOR'S BELIEFS ================================================================= Editor's BBS Belief! for Fido Sysops I believe- that we don't have to change friends if we understand that friends change. I believe- they're going to hurt you every once in a while and you must forgive them for that. I believe- that true friendship continues to grow, even over the longest distance. Same goes for true love. I believe- that you can do something in an instant that will give you heartache for life. I believe- that it's taking me a long time to become the person I want to be. I believe- that you should always leave loved ones with loving words. It may be the last time you see them. I believe- that you can keep going long after you can't. I believe- that we are responsible for what we do, no matter how we feel. I believe- that either you control your attitude or it controls you. I believe- that regardless of how hot and steamy a relationship is at first, the passion fades and there had better be something else to take its place. I believe- that heroes are the people who do what has to be done when it needs to be done, regardless of the consequences. I believe- that money is a lousy way of keeping score. I believe- that my best friend and I can do anything or nothing and have the best time. I believe- that sometimes the people you expect to kick you when you're down, will be the ones to help you get back up. I believe- that sometimes when I'm angry I have the right to be angry, but that doesn't give me the right to be cruel. I believe- that just because someone doesn't love you the way you want them to doesn't mean they don't love you with all they have. I believe- that maturity has more to do with what types of experiences you've had and what you've learned from them and less to do with how many birthdays you've celebrated. FIDONEWS 18-04 Page 3 22 Jan 2001 I believe- that it isn't always enough to be forgiven by others. Sometimes you have to learn to forgive yourself. I believe- that no matter how bad your heart is broken the world doesn't stop for your grief. I believe- that our background and circumstances may have influenced who we are, but we are responsible for who we become. I believe- that just because two people argue, it doesn't mean they don't love each other and just because they don't argue, it doesn't mean they do. I believe- that you shouldn't be so eager to find out a secret. It could change your life forever. I believe- that two people can look at the exact same thing and see something totally different. I believe- that your life can be changed in a matter of hours by people who don't even know you. I believe- that even when you think you have no more to give, when a friend cries out to you you will find the strength to help. I believe- that credentials on the wall do not make you a decent human being. I believe- that the people you care about most in life are taken from you too soon. Send this to all the people YOU BELIEVE In... I just did. ----------------------------------------------------------------- FIDONEWS 18-04 Page 4 22 Jan 2001 ================================================================= GUEST EDITORIAL ================================================================= by Preferred Anonymous The Death of the Dog, Maybe Now, this is just my opinion, so take the shots you desire at it. We have a dog here named Fido. It's getting old and is, in many ways, not able to keep up with the new dogs in town. Some, many, have abandoned the dog thinking "I don't want to be around for the death.", "The new dogs can do so much more, why mess with this old dog?" and other reasons. Some want to "teach the old dog new tricks". Some just ignore the dog and just let it lay there. Others, thought sad at the sight of this old dog that, while willing, just can't keep up, wonder what they can do. Some just stand around and watch the old dog grow weaker and wait. Let's look at this a little. Those that have abandoned the old dog? Well, there's hope that they might discover that they miss this old dog and will come back around. Teach the old dog new tricks? It's being done. Many, myself included, are discovering that this old dog can still do new tricks. Think about it. Ignore the dog? Stand around and watch it grow weaker? Wonder what you can do? NOW YOU'VE HIT THE SPOT! I've seen thoughts that the dog needs to be replaced with a new dog. I've read that if we don't change, we'll die. It's been suggested that the dog learn HTML. Some think that the dog should have a new set of rules. Others want other things. While these ideas are not bad, in my humble opinion, they are not the major problem with this old dog. !! Do Something !! Yes! DO SOMETHING!! This dog is ignored! Pet it!! When you walk by your BBS machine on your way to the new dog, stop and check on the old dog. Pet it for a minute. Read some messages. Play a few of the door games. This old dog needs love just as much now as it did when it was young. Don't stand around and watch this old dog grow weaker. Feed it! The dog is hungry!! Write a message. Fix that configuration problem. Add a new game. Take care of this dog. It's got some problems. They can be doctored. Give it some medicine. Put in that program to help this old dog get active with the new dogs. If you're going to leave this old dog in the basement, all alone, starving for love and food and let it die, maybe, along with being FIDONEWS 18-04 Page 5 22 Jan 2001 very ashamed of yourself, you should give this old dog to someone that will love it and take care of it. With a little care, food and some medicine, this old dog might just fool you and show you some things. !! Stop and think !! Remember when this old dog sat in your living room and gave you back more love than you could ever give it? You'd put the keyboard on your lap and this old dog would show you things that amazed you. Tell you things that you wondered about. Answer questions that you asked. Play games with you. Do tricks for you. It still can... It's up to you. ?? So, What are you saying ?? Just this. Get off your behind and do something! This dog will die if you don't! A BBS that is ignored is worse than one that leaves. I'd rather see a Node leave Fidonet than see a BBS that is left in the basement, ignored, with half the games messed up and most of the echos outdated because some sorry Sysop is too damn lazy, bored, infatuated with the Internet or whatever, to take a few minutes to fix things. You can argue all you want about what the problems are with BBS and Fidonet, but the BIGGEST problem is the Sysop. Rules, policy, software, who did what, the Internet, *Cs and anything else is pure BS and nothing but an excuse! We need to get new Nodes in operation? That's true, but, that's easy. Start with Point systems. Make them Nodes. You'll see the Nodelist increase a lot. What will that do for Fidonet? Not much. It'll look good, but it won't get more messages flowing. We need more BBS in operation. True, but if they are going to be put online and then ignored, why?!? Will that get more people participating in the message areas? No! It'll drive people to the Internet and away from this old dog. We need new rules, policies or software? Bull! We need Sysops that will take the time to maintain their BBS, run their BBS, be more than just a "Mail Only" system. Interact with people that do call. Talk to people that they meet about their BBS. Mention Fidonet during a conversation with someone about the Internet. Do something! Think about this. If the Internet was ignored by it's operators like many BBS system are ignored by their operators, what would happen?? Would you use an ISP that was up half the time, never responded to you, didn't want to fix problems or other such?? Hell no! You'd drop them in a minute. Yet you expect a User to call your BBS when half the games don't work, the message areas are messed up and they can't get a response from the Sysop. Good grief! Final Shot This old dog will die if Sysops don't do something about it. True, this old dog won't keep up with the new dogs, but it can still give a FIDONEWS 18-04 Page 6 22 Jan 2001 lot to you. It will love you more than you love it. It will do tricks if you teach it how. It will teach you if you're willing to learn. It will play with you and the new dogs and even teach them some tricks. It will do these things and more if it is cared for, loved, given food and some doctoring. Otherwise, It *WILL* die. I'm sure this old dog will die in time. All things do, but it will die faster if the Sysops starve it, ignore it and don't take care of it... and you, the Sysops, will have killed it as sure as if you had put a gun to it's head and squeezed the trigger. I don't really know how this hobby got the name Fidonet and came to be known as Fido, but I have to wonder if it was by accident ----------------------------------------------------------------- FIDONEWS 18-04 Page 7 22 Jan 2001 ================================================================= ARTICLES ================================================================= By: Joe Bruchis To: FidoNews Robot Re: FidoNews 18:3 [00/03] Editorial St: ---------------------------------------------------------------------- FidoNews Robot wrote in a message to All: FR> When are we going to take the giant step from ASCII only, to HTML? Done! However, ASCII, ANSI, AVATAR, RIP, and HTML are co-existing in parallel forms rather than as existing as one primary format to the exclusion of the others. FR> When are we going to branch out to two publications, one for ASCII and one for HTML.? That's probably also done. Merely use a text to html utility and post the news as a web page if some users wish to read it that way. It's up to the Sysop and the users. FR> Let me bounce this off you, if I may: mirrored systems. The concept was already known and implemented back in the early '60s when only the Pentagon could afford such luxury. For those who don't know what I am talking about, "mirrored systems" and "disk mirroring or duplexing" I think this is a good idea and is used throughout the internet. Why not have two or more nodes act as mirrors of north/south stars, and others as mirrors of hubs, similar to WAN backup domain controllers which are geographically located in different cities? If one is down, traffic gets redirected to the backup? These major points of traffic are already on the internet (as far as I can tell). Or if not, at least utilize the ones that are on the internet in this manner. As backup, they would handle the primary system's routing, as well as their normal routing. The switch mechanism from primary to backup could merely be handled by the sending system's monitoring of a non-responding ping directed to the receiving system during a specific period of time. This would alert the sending system that the receiver is "down" and redirect to the mirror. The mirror, having a continuously updated duplicate (mirror) of the primary system, would assume primary duties during the interval that there is a lapse in service. Upon returning on-line, the primary would poll its catch-up mail from its back-up and resume its primary role. The primary and backup then returns to their normal processing. If you get my drift, this would only be feasible with mail movers at the very top of the hierarchy (no lower than hubs). FR> I suggest that the Cs call upon the creative talents of the membership to bring the Net into the 21st century. You might like to set up a committee to examine the ways of modernizing FidoNet. Surely Tom Jennings and company, who created this Net from scratch, did not hold a monopoly on creativity. FIDONEWS 18-04 Page 8 22 Jan 2001 Tom Jennings was creative, but my suggestion is very similar to networking concepts for Wide Area Networks, which is all Fidonet is. FR> long-distance phone call. I much prefer e-mail attachments. Works great if everyone you try to reach has email FR> Telnet is another noteworthy and valuable development. It enables those of us with Internet connections and with poor or no local FidoNet service to log onto distant BBSs at no extra cost. It also creates competition among sysops. The good ones become widely known and flourish, and those providing poor service and having attitude problems fall by the wayside--as they should. The problem with BBS's is they have nothing to offer except messages, games and files. The files are widely available on the internet. The games are fun but don't come close to the Accelerated 3d SVGA games that can be played with and against opponents (in real time) on internet game servers. The messages...well a few of us are still interested but the largest part of information seekers are not. In summary, BBSing, whether POTS or IP is a hobby for *Sysops* rather than users. Kinda like singing in the shower without an audience. Most of those frequenting BBS's are playing games or are Sysops looking for a file. So if you want a bunch of teens (possibly all the same person) playing BRE, LORD and TW2002, a BBS is a great thing. FR> I think we can breathe new life into Fido. It will never match the Internet in scope and versatility, but there is no need for it to wither on the vine. It can fill a well-deserved niche. But wither it surely will without modernization as the Internet becomes more affordable all around the world. I would really hate to see this happen. So let's get off our duffs and do something about it! Match the internet?? Fido is part of what's available on the internet and that's as far in matching the internet as it will ever be. The internet is merely a more efficient packet transport method than what we currently have in place. We should not mandate that everyone in Fido have internet access (as you didn't). I think a huge portion of the world's population does not have internet access, and that's the main reason we still have the number of nodes we have. FR> These are my two cents worth I am submitting for your consideration. If they generate some creative action, they will have been worth the effort. I enjoyed discussing it!! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ----------------------------------------------------------------- FIDONEWS 18-04 Page 9 22 Jan 2001 ================================================================= OL'WDB'S COLUMN ================================================================= by Carl Austin Bennett Here in the north country, mOOse have been loyally posting to FiDoeNet for many years now, despite being swamped with work running a profitable Moose Factory or important businesses like Bullmoose Mines or Moose Jaw Times. Why? Perhaps it's because FiDoe has always been friendly to four-legged critters. It is with horrour then that followers of the loyal order of mOOse open a dog-eared copy of the recent FidoeNews 18:3 to find none less than one of our illustrious FiDoe RC's promoting her recipe for four pounds of roast venison - Canadian elk, moose or deer. Like, take off, eh? The typical mOOse would much rather be safely home in Moose Creek with a comfortable pair of antler warmers and a case of cold Moosehead Beer than find themselves on someone's dinner table. At least there's refuge for mOOse who would rather migrate northward than become Carol's supper: MOOSECHAT, a Canadian humour echo for noble mOOse! MOOSECHAT is dedicated to equality for mOOse everywhere, including chocolate mOOse, as well as liberty and justice for all. MOOSECHAT is a shining beacon of freedom for mOOse everywhere, as well as a handy way to contact key world leaders like Vlad-on-Mir Poutine from Russia, Jean Cretin from the Great White North eh?, Saddam Insane from Iraq and Chad from Florida. It gives mOOse time away from the rat race. It also provides valuable moose-related investment info from organisations like Moose River Gold Mines, Elk Resources and John Deere as well as sports coverage of key Senators players like Alexi Ya$hin and Hillary Clinton. In short, it allows the Canadian mOOse to, like, gronk farther and louder. Beauty, eh? ----------------------------------------------------------------- FIDONEWS 18-04 Page 10 22 Jan 2001 ================================================================= RECIPES ================================================================= PORK BACKBONE STEW Qty Measurement Ingredient 5 lbs pork backbone, cut into 2-in squares 1/2 tsp garlic powder 1 tsp onion powder salt (to taste) red pepper (to taste) white pepper (to taste) black pepper (to taste) 1 cup cooking oil 1/2 cup flour 2 onions, chopped 2 green bell pepper, cored, seeded, and chopped 3 ribs celery, chopped 7 cups chicken broth 1 can (10 ozs) Rotel tomatoes 2 pieces lemon peel (2-1/2- x 2-1/2-in) In a small bowl, combine the dry seasonings. Sprinkle the seasonings over the meat. Add and leftover seasonings to flour. In a skillet, heat the oil and brown the meat on all sides. Remove the browned meat and pour off all but a 1/2 cup of the cooking oli. Add the seasoned flour, a third at a time, to make a golden brown roux. Add onions, bell peppers, and celery and let wilt. In a large pot, heat in chicken broth. Add the meat and boil until it begins to be tender. Add the roux, tomatoes, and lemon peels. Simmer for about 1 hour, stirring occasionally. If the stew becomes to thick add 1 cup of water. Serve over Louisiana rice. Recipe from: "Roger's Cajun Cookbook" by Vernon Roger, published 1987 * Origin: The World Within (1:106/4725) ~~~~~~~~~~~~end~~~~~~~~~~~ ----------------------------------------------------------------- FIDONEWS 18-04 Page 11 22 Jan 2001 ================================================================= POET'S CORNER ================================================================= My forgetter's getting better, But my rememberer is broke, to you that may seem funny... but, to me, that is no joke! For when I'm "here" I'm wondering, If I really should be "there"... And, when I try to think it through, I haven't got a prayer! Oft times I walk into a room, Say "what am I here for?" I wrack my brain, but all in vain, A zero, is my score. At times I put something away, Where it is safe, but, Gee! The person it is safest from, Is, generally, me! When shopping I may see someone, Say "Hi" and have a chat, Then, when the person walks away... I ask myself, "who's that?" Yes, my forgetter's getting better, While my rememberer is broke, And it's driving me plumb crazy, And that isn't any joke. Author unknown ----------------------------------------------------------------- FIDONEWS 18-04 Page 12 22 Jan 2001 ================================================================= HUMOR ================================================================= SAD NEWS: Please join me in remembering a great icon - the veteran Pillsbury spokesman. The Pillsbury Doughboy died yesterday of a yeast infection and complications from repeated pokes in the belly. He was 71. Doughboy was buried in a lightly greased coffin. Dozens of celebrities turned out to pay their respects, including Mrs. Butterworth, Hungry Jack, the California Raisins, Betty Crocker, the Hostess Twinkies, and Captain Crunch. The gravesite was piled high with flours. As longtime friend, Aunt Jemima delivered the eulogy, describing Doughboy as a man who never knew how much he was kneaded. Doughboy rose quickly in show business, but his later life was filled with turnovers. He was not considered a very "smart"cookie, wasting much of his dough on half-baked schemes. Despite being a little flaky at times, he even still, as a crusty old man, was considered a roll model for millions. Toward the end it was thought he would rise again, but alas, he was no tart. Doughboy is survived by his wife, Play Dough; two children, John Dough and Jane Dough; plus they had one in the oven. He is also survived by his elderly father, Pop Tart. The funeral was held at 3:50 for about twenty minutes. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ MORE THAN A JOKE Sometimes, we wonder why friends keep forwarding jokes to us without writing a word, maybe this could explain: When you are very busy, but still want to keep in touch, guess what you do- you forward jokes. When you have nothing to say, but still want to keep contact, you forward jokes. When you have something to say, but don't know what, and don't know how, You forward jokes. To let you know that: you are still remembered, you are still important, you are still loved, you are still cared for, you are still wanted, FIDONEWS 18-04 Page 13 22 Jan 2001 guess what you get? A forwarded joke from me. So my friend, next time if you get a joke, don't think that I have sent you just a joke, but that I have thought of you today and wanted to send you a smile. ~~~~~~~~~~end~~~~~~~~~~ ----------------------------------------------------------------- FIDONEWS 18-04 Page 14 22 Jan 2001 ================================================================= QUESTION OF THE WEEK ================================================================= When are we going to take the giant step from ASCII only, to HTML with photo and graphics? Should the weekly fidonews be a BI-Monthly newsletter, as proposed by some readers? Should it be alternately ASCII and HTML? Or ASCII weekly, HTML monthly? Should all sysops have the choice of which edition and format? ~~~~~~~~~~end~~~~~~~~~~ ----------------------------------------------------------------- FIDONEWS 18-04 Page 15 22 Jan 2001 ================================================================= ANSWERS OF THE WEEK ================================================================= by many From: "Richard Webb" To: Subject: ascii or html, one vote for ascii Date: Monday, January 15, 2001 6:08 AM HI there, My preference is straight ascii. THought I'm on the internet, I use an older machine, read and reply to my email offline, and don't have a web browser on at least two out of three machines around here. The only machine with a browser around here spends more time burning audio cds or for my lady love's work. Though some would like to tell you differently, ascii is still the equivalent of a universal document format. Lots of folks are still using older computers and for them html isn't a viable option. One thing I enjoy about fidonet and the snooze is the fact that people must actually say it with words, cute pictures and graphics aren't allowed. I'm a blind man, and your cute graphic doesn't do anything to make your point. Once we go down the html road people will want fancy pictures and the whole nine yards. SHould I ever return to a larger community you can bet I'll be pointing again, and should money permit I'll again have a mailer up and be a cm node, offering point access to those who want it, and maybe even a dial-up bbs as I once did. REgards, and keep up the good work. Richard Webb Electric Spider Productions If you put garbage in a computer nothing comes out but garbage. But this garbage, having passed through a very expensive machine, is somehow ennobled and none dare criticize it. By: Anne Page To: Warren Bonner Re: FidoNews 18:3 [00/03] Ed ---------------------------------------------------------------------- In reply to some of the questions posed by the Fidonews editor: ED> When are we going to take the giant step from ASCII only, to HTML? AP> I hope that it will be NEVER if it means giving up ASCII. I am using a circa 1993 PC (486/33 with a slow modem) using WIN 3.1 and DOS 6.22 and do not have web access. ED> Should the weekly fidonews be a BI-Monthly newsletter? FIDONEWS 18-04 Page 16 22 Jan 2001 AP> No, it shouldn't. Even on a weekly basis, some of the news or opinion pieces are stale when published. When something is happening, the situation doesn't cease escalating until just before the deadline for the next issue. And, in the case of opinion pieces, many rebuttals are written in the echoes before the issue containing the beginning of the discussion thread reaches the readers. ED> Should it be alternately ASCII and HTML? Or ASCII weekly, HTML ED> monthly? AP> No, it shouldn't. People who can only read ASCII will miss half of every year's issues. ED> Should all sysops have the choice of which edition and format? AP> No. All issues should be in ASCII and those sysops who want to offer it to their users in HTML should convert it to that format themselves. Anne Page An everyday BBS user and Echo co-moderator * Origin: The Underground (1:106/1234) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ By: Bob Seaborn To: FidoNews Robot Re: FidoNews 18:3 Editorial ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Hi FidoNews, FR> When are we going to take the giant step from ASCII only, to HTML? Never! :) Who really needs HTML-Stuff? BS> Second the motion! * Origin: http://www.nwstar.com (1:140/12) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ By: mtaylor@gipps.com.au To: All Re: Re: FidoNews 18:3 Edito ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: "Martin Taylor" Tony Campbell said.. TC> I have to agree here also. And from an html BBS sysop. Fidonews should be ASCII, it is the lowest common denominator. Which is why we use the ASCII, not the html in the fidonews archives. Not only that, people think that they're artists. So, they fiddle with FIDONEWS 18-04 Page 17 22 Jan 2001 the way that HTML can generate different effects. They end up posting a message with little content, but lots of effects. Not only does this mean that the rest of us have to download extraneous data, it can be unreadable, or unattractive to read, and generally pisses people off. I see this all the time in email mailing lists. People use that Microsoft thing, Outlook Express. They post emails with fonts that look like crap, are too small to read, or too blocky (bold font, small point size) and so on. Now, if a person can't get a message across without having to tart it up, then it's not worth reading. I'm trying to figure out how to get Eudora Lite to shove such messages straight into the trash... ---------------------------------------------------------------------- By: mtaylor@gipps.com.au To: All Re: Re: FidoNews 18:3 [00/03] Ed ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: "Martin Taylor" Anne Page said.. AP> No. All issues should be in ASCII and those sysops who want to offer it to their users in HTML should convert it to that format themselves. Excellent advice. Fidonet, the last time that I looked (and that was some 5 years now), was a text medium. Fast forward to the present. Usenet and email on the internet is a text based medium. Yet, because of some Microsoft agenda, they are increasingly being hijacked by the HTML brigade? Why, I don't know. HTML does nothing to enhance a message, unless you're fixated by colors or flashing letters. Plain text means less overheads for those who have to pay to transfer it. It means that everyone can read it without problems. In Usenet, I do not read html posted messages. When someone sends me an 'enhanced' email, I respond requesting that they set Outlook Express (which is the culprit 99% of the time) to send in "plain text". It's not hard to do. And it makes the other, grumpy folk like me, happier. Plus they get the privilege of me (and like minded folk) reading their messages. * Origin: Usenet:MJT Ink (3:633/262) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Thu 18 Jan 01 12:29a By: Dan Ceppa Re: FidoNews 18:3 [00/03] Editorial --------------------------------------------------------------------- (Editors question: ASCII only or HTML w/photos or both? --------------------------------------------------------------------- GP> investing my money or time in a modern convience I ask myself FIDONEWS 18-04 Page 18 22 Jan 2001 "what is it going to do for me *that I would want done* that the old stuff isn't doing" In other words, when it comes to conveying messages in an organized(?) forum what would html do that ASCII doesn't do? DC> Make it look pretty? DC>Trust me: I have to work with catalogs written by people that like "fancy things". I need catalogs that are easy to use, not look spiffy. DC> Those may work for end-users to buy a particular product. But, they don't work for those that need to easily find the correct product to sell them. I want the donw-and-dirty info, not the glitz that not just hides what I'm looking for but often hurts my eyes. * Origin: Soundly on the Fault Line (1:393/9005.30) ~~~~~~~~~end~~~~~~~~~ ----------------------------------------------------------------- FIDONEWS 18-04 Page 19 22 Jan 2001 ================================================================= NOTICES ================================================================= FidoNews Article Submission (January 2001) FidoNews, founded in early 1984, is the newsletter of the FidoNet computer network, for both its Sysops and users. It is passed to its readers electronically via the FidoNet and other computer networks and to non-network readers as well as to the InterNet. Fidonews welcomes articles, editorials, and features of interest to the Fidonet Community. To have your article included in Fidonews, simply send it via netmail to 1:1/23 or 1:103/301, editor@fidonews.org, fidonews@netscape.net, wdbonner@pacbell.net In the past, this article submission document outlined the many technical details involved in processing Fidonews articles. The assumption in the past seems to have been that articles would be automatically processed from the editor's inbound mail directly into Fidonews. However, the current editor does no automatic inbound processing; rather, each article is examined before publication and technical details are handled by the editor rather than imposed on the person submitting the article. It works better that way - it means that you are free to just concentrate on what you want to say. It's perfectly acceptable to simply write your article the same way you would write netmail or email. Don't worry about the stuff added by software along the way... I edit that out anyway. All I need at this end is a text message which I can read with standard software and which I can import into a standard text editor to format for the Fidonews software. Alternatively, you can file attach an ASCII text copy of your article. Here are some guidelines you can use to help me make it easier to format your article for Fidonews: 1. Use standard ASCII text. Most word processor formats can't be used by the Fidonews software. In addition, the Fidonews software won't accept most ASCII control characters nor any characters above ASCII 127 (this, unfortunately, includes all those neat box drawing characters). 2. Start your lines at the left of your screen when typing. The software puts in a left margin automatically, and I have to manually remove any left margin appearing in your document. 3. Keep your line length to under 70 columns for tables or charts (or if you include an ASCII illustration). Regular paragraphs exceeding this 70 column limit can be reformatted during the editing process, but tables and charts are normally distorted beyond recognition by a simple reformatting. 4. Separate paragraphs with a blank line. This is how my text editor FIDONEWS 18-04 Page 20 22 Jan 2001 recognizes paragraph endings, so I have to add blank lines manually if you don't. 5. Title your article as you'd like to see it in the Table of Contents. If you don't, I'll make up a title for you, but I'd rather have the article appear as you wish. 6. Include your name and node number (or internet address) under the title. I'll grab it from your message, if necessary... but, again, I'd rather have the article appear as you wish. 7. Check your own spelling and wording. Though I feel free to reformat your article so it conforms to technical requirements, I generally leave the wording (and spelling) alone as I don't want to distort what you have to say. 8. Send your article before Saturday midnight in order to see it in that Monday's edition. Normally I put the newsletter together Sunday and send it out... and I normally check email and netmail before I finalize the edition. So if I get your article to me before Saturday midnight, I'll include it... but send it by Saturday to be safe :) 9. If you're not sure whether you should write or send in your article, I would encourage you to send it anyway. Chances are, if you write of something of interest to yourself, it'll be of interest to others. Besides, Fidonews is a better publication when it's written by a variety of people :) Warren D. Bonner Fidonews Editor ----------------------------------------------------------------- FIDONEWS 18-04 Page 21 22 Jan 2001 ================================================================= FIDONET BY INTERNET ================================================================= ------------------------------------------------------ *Fidonet-related sites . -- -- -- -- --- -- -- -- -- . | FIDONET-RELATED SITES | ` -- -- -- -- --- -- -- -- -- ' Last update: December 30, 2000 FidoNet Homepage: http://www.fidonet.org FidoNews: http://www.fidonews.org [HTML] ftp://ftp.nwstar.com/fidonet/fidonews/ ftp://ftp.sstar.com/fidonet/fnews/ Echolist: http://www.baltimoremd.com/echolist/ Echomail links: http://www.osirusoft.com/fidonet/fidoip.html SDS Files: http://fidobbs.dk/download (Web Access to SDS) FTSC page: http://www.ftsc.org/ General: http://www.writebynight.com/fidonet.html Zone 1: http://www.z1.fidonet.org Region 10: http://www.r10.org Net 102 http://home.earthlink.net/~kayshapero/net102.htm Net 103: http://www.webworldinc.com/club103/ Net 203: http://www.geocities.com/Area51/8687/net203index.html Region 11: http://oeonline.com/~garyg/region11/ Net 2410: http://www.vector.11.com/net2410/ Region 12: http://sparkys.dyndns.org Region 13: http://www.net264.org/r13.htm Net 264: http://www.net264.org/ Net 275: http://www.homershut.net/~mahoover/net275/ Region 14: http://www.ouijabrd.com/region14 Net 282: http://www.rxn.com/~net282/ Region 15: Region 16: Region 17: http://www.region17.net Net 140: http://www.nwstar.com/~net140 Region 18: http://techshop.pdn.net/fido/ Region 19: http://bise.tzo.com/r19 Net 124: http://www.dallasinet.com/net124 http://texoma.net/~flv Net 130: http://www.startext.net/homes/net130 Net 393: http://www.chatter.com/~wb/ Zone 2: http://www.z2.fidonet.org ftp://ftp.sstar.com/fidonet/zone2 (Z2 nodelists etc.) 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 (German) http://www.was-ist-fido.de/ Fido-IP: http://home.nrh.de/fido/ (English/German) FIDONEWS 18-04 Page 22 22 Jan 2001 Region 25: http://www.literary.freeserve.co.uk/net2502/ Region 26: http://www.nemesis.ie REC 26: http://www.nrgsys.com/orb Region 27: http://telematique.org/ft/r27.htm Region 29: http://www.rtfm.be/fidonet/ (French) http://Welcome.to/skynetbbs/ Region 30: http://www.fidonet.ch (German) ? Region 33: http://www.fidoitalia.net (Italian) Region 34: http://www.pobox.com/cnb/r34.htm (Spanish) REC34: http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/4552/ 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 (Greek/English) Region 42: http://www.fido.cz ! Net422: http://www.fido.sk (Slovak/English) Region 50: http://www.fido7.com/ (Russian) Net 5010: http://fido.tu-chel.ac.ru/ (Russian) Net 5015: http://www.fido.nnov.ru/ (Russian) Net 5028: HTTP://5028.nordnet.ru/ Net 5030: http://kenga.ru/fido/ (Russian & English) Net 5049: http://www.n5049.z2.fidonet.org (English/Russian) Net 5074: http://www.z2.n5074.fidonet.net ?? Net 5085: http://www.fidonet.uz/ (Russian) Zone 3: http://www.z3.fidonet.org Zone 4: Region 80: http://fidobrasil.8m.com (Portuguese) Region 90: Net 904: http://members.tripod.com/~net904 (Spanish) Zone 5: http://www.eastcape.co.za/fidonet/ Zone 6: http://www.z6.fidonet.org Region 65: http://www.cfido.com/fidonet/cfidochina.html (Chinese) Fidonet Via Internet Hubs See also: http://www.osirusoft.com/fidoip.html a @ preceding an individual's name implies a virtual email address. The email is translated as follows firstlast@osirusoft.com will automatically route to the appropriate individual's email. Anyone in this list will also receive routed notice of this feature. In my case, it would still be joejared@osirusoft.com, but you get the idea. Also, as information is provided to me, I will be adding a latency field to each node, which is defined as the maximum time between when the message is received, and when it is sent on to other nodes, or available to be sent onward, defined in minutes. A latency of ! implies that there is an immediate response, and an attempt to deliver immediately after processing, or a "MinuteMail System", as it were. FIDONEWS 18-04 Page 23 22 Jan 2001 v-email flag firstnamelastname@osirusoft.com | email address or Node# | Operator | Facilities (*) | Speed,| Basic Rate | | |latency| -----------+-------------------+----------------+-------+------------ Zone 1 | | | | 10/3 | Brenda Donovan | FTP,UUE,BinkP | 384K,30| n/c 10/345 @ Todd Cochrane | FTP,BinkP,VMOT | T1,! | n/c 13/25 @ Jim Balcom | FTP | 56k | $20mo. 18/500 @ Ross Cassell | FTP, BinkP |128K+,!| n/c 19/68 | Ben Ritchey | UUE:BFDS | 33.6k | n/c 103/5 @ Mark Luetger | BinkP | 384k,!| n/c 103/153 @ Michael Box | BinkP | aDSL,!| n/c 103/301 @ Joe Jared | BinkP,FTP,NFS | 384k,!| n/c 103/401 @ Warren Bonner | BinkP | aDSL,!| n/c 105/8 | Russ Johnson | FTP,BinkP,VMoT | 384k | n/c 105/72 @ Larry James | FTP, BinkP | aDSL | $50/yr 106/1 @ Steve Loupe | BinkP, FTP | 128k | ??? 106/6018 | Lawrence Garvin | FTP, VMoT | aDSL,60| n/c 107/453 @ Jeffrey Estevez| FTP,BinkP,VMoT,UUE| 56k,60| $10 mo. 140/1 @ Bob Seaborn | FTP,BinkP | T3,30 | $5/$16 167/133 | Stephen Monteith | BinkP | 128k+ | n/c 211/417 @ Korombos | BinkP,UUE,FTP | T1 | n/c 220/10 | groberts@nexusbbs.net |BinkP,FTP,UUE|1.5M+ | n/c 218/109 @ Matt Munson | BinkP,UUE | 33.6k | n/c 246/160 @ Mason Vye | FTP, UUE | 56K | n/c 249/116 | Carl Austin Bennett | FTP, UUE |ADSL,60 | n/c 280/169 | Brian Greenstreet | FTP | 33.6 | $2mo. 342/3 @ Richard Dodsworth | BinkP,FTP | 128K+ | n/c 395/670 | Arthur Stark | BinkD,FTP | CABLE | n/c 379/1 @ Dale Ross | FTP, BinkP,UUE | 256K+,! n/c 396/1 @ John Souvestre | FTP,VMoT | T1,10 | $5/mo 396/45 | Marc Lewis | UUE | 33.6 | $26/yr 2604/104 @ Jim Mclaughlin | FTP,VMoT,UUE | 33.6 | $1mo 2613/404 @ David Moufarrege | BinkP,FTP,VMoT | 128k+,!| n/c 2624/306 | David Calafrancesco | VMoT | 33.6 | n/c 3407/4 @ jyates@bsdi.ldl.net | UUE,FTP | 28.8 | n/c 3632/84 | Robert Todd |FTP,VMoT,UUE,BinkP | 57.6k | n/c 3651/9 @ Jerry Gause | FTP,VMoT | 33.6 | $3/$6 -------------------------------------------------------------- Zone 2 | 20/11 | Henrik Lindhe | BinkP | ??? | n/c 31/1 | Gabriel Plutzar | BinkP | T1+ | n/c 203/600 | Mikael Karlsson | UUE | 64k | n/c 221/360 @ Tommi Koivula | BinkP,UUE | ??? | n/c 236/205 @ Michael Kaaber | BinkP | ??? | n/c 246/2098 | Volker Imre | BinkP | ??? | n/c 280/1601 @ Jeroen VanDeLeur | FTP,UUE | 64k | n/c 292/620 | Eddy Missoul | VMoT, UUE,BinkP| 64k |N/C 292/624 | Steven Leeman | UUE | 64k | N/C 292/907 | Bart Verhaeghe | BinkP,VMoT,UUE | 64K | n/c 292/2003 | Eric Vaneberck | BinkP | 768k | n/c 301/1 | Peter Witschi | BinkP | 768k | n/c 332/807 | Roberto Mascolo | BinkP | ??? | n/c 335/535 @ Mario Mure | BinkP,VMot,UUE | 64k | n/c 335/610 | Gino Lucrezi | UUE | 33.6 | n/c FIDONEWS 18-04 Page 24 22 Jan 2001 344/201 | Julio Garcia | BinkP | ??? | n/c 346/3 @ Carlos Navarro | UUE | ??? | n/c 382/100 | Sinisa Burina | BinkP,ifcico | ??? | n/c 406/555 | Ofir Michaeli & | BinkP | ??? | n/c 406/555 | Marius Kaizerman | BinkP | ??? | n/c 423/81 | Milos Bajer | BinkP | ??? | n/c 465/204 | Va Milushnikov | BinkP | 33.6k | n/c 469/84 | Max Masyutin | VMoT | 256k | n/c 480/112 | Adam Sarapata| FTP, VMoT, UUE,BinkP| 128k | n/c 550/4077 | Serguei Trouchelle| UUE | ----- | n/c 2411/413 @ Dennis Dittrich | UUE,BinkP | 64k | n/c 2446/301 @ Lothar Behet | BinkP,VMoT,UUE,FTP | 64K | n/c 2474/275 | Christian Emig | UUE | 64k | unkn 5030/115 | Andrey Podkolzin | BinkP | ??? | n/c 5100/8 | Egons Bush | BinkP | ??? | n/c 5020/1159 | Gennady Kudryashoff | UUE | 33.6 | n/c -------------------------------------------------------------- Zone 3 633/260 @ Malcolm Miles | FTP,BinkP | 64K | n/c 640/954 | Rick Van Ruth | FTP,VMot,UUE,BinkP| 56K| n/c 774/605 @ Barry Blackford|BinkP,VMoT:10023,ifcico,FTP |33.6| n/c -------------------------------------------------------------- Zone 4 801/161 @ Renato Zambon | UUE | 33.6 |n/c 905/100 | Fabian Gervan | VMoT,UUE,BinkP | 128k | n/c 902/18 | Javier Tejedor | UUE | 33,6 | n/c -- * FTP = Internet File Transfer Protocol * VMoT = Virtual Mailer over Telnet (various) * UUE = uuencode<->email type transfers * BinkP = front end mailer for TCPIP networks * NFS = Linux Networking ---------------------------------------------- Fidonet oriented news servers news.osirusoft.com news.tardis.net Fidonet oriented chat rooms. room #fidonet 5PM (PDT 11AM GMT) Sundays irc.osirusoft.com (Peers wanted) ---------------------------------------------- Please send updates, corrections and suggestions to Joe Jared, 1:103/301, joejared@osirusoft.com. All email addresses here for purpose of corresponding with fidonet members about obtaining a feed. Improper use of the virtual email addresses, and most especially, email addressed to blockme@relays.osirusoft.com will be considered a request to be blocked by my open relay spam stopper at http://relays.osirusoft.com FIDONEWS 18-04 Page 25 22 Jan 2001 ----------------------------------------------------------------- FIDONEWS 18-04 Page 26 22 Jan 2001 ================================================================= FIDONEWS INFORMATION ================================================================= + -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- FIDONEWS STAFF - -- -- -- -- -- -- + | | | Editor: Warren D. Bonner, 1:1/23, editor@fidonews.org | | Webmaster: Jim Barchuk, jb@fidonews.org | | Columnist: Joe Jared, 1:103/0, joejared@osirusoft.com | | (Fido Via Internet Hubs column) | | Columnist: Ol' WDB, 1:103/401, fidonews@netscape.net | | Humor: Chuckles & Grins, emailed to editor | | Sites Bio: Frank Vest, 1:124/6308.1 | | (The best site of the week) | + -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- + + -- -- -- -- -- -- -- - EDITORS EMERITI - -- -- -- -- -- -- + | | | Tom Jennings, Thom Henderson, Dale Lovell, Vince | | Perriello, Tim Pozar, Sylvia Maxwell, Donald Tees, | | Christopher Baker, Zorch Frezberg, Henk Wolsink, | | Doug Meyers | | | + -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- + "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. Fidonews is published weekly by and for the members of Fidonet. Fidonews is Copyright (C) 2000 by Warren Bonner, though authors retain rights to their contributed articles. Opinions expressed by theauthors is strictly their own. Noncommercial duplication and distribution within Fidonet is encouraged. Authors are encouraged to send their articles in ASCII text to: Warren Bonner at one of his addresses above. The weekly edition of Fidonews is distributed through the file area FIDONEWS, and is published as echomail in the echo FIDONEWS. These sources are normally available through your Network Coordinator. The current and past issues are also available from the following sources: + -- -- -- -- -- -- - FIDONEWS AVAILABILITY - -- -- -- -- -- -- + | | | Freq FIDONEWS @ 1:140/1, or 1:396/1 | | ftp://ftp.sstar.com/fidonet/fnews/ | | ftp://ftp.nwstar.com/fidonet/fidonews/ | | http://www.fidonews.org | | email subscription: majordomo@fidonews.org | | (subject: help body: list) | | ftp mail: ftpmail@fidonews.org (subject: help) | | | + -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- + FIDONEWS 18-04 Page 27 22 Jan 2001 -----------------------------------------------------------------