Volume 4, Number 7 16 February 1987 +---------------------------------------------------------------+ | _ | | / \ | | /|oo \ | | - FidoNews - (_| /_) | | _`@/_ \ _ | | International | | \ \\ | | FidoNet Association | (*) | \ )) | | Newsletter ______ |__U__| / \// | | / FIDO \ _//|| _\ / | | (________) (_/(_|(____/ | | (jm) | +---------------------------------------------------------------+ Editor in Chief: Thom Henderson Chief Procrastinator Emeritus: Tom Jennings FidoNews is the official newsletter of the International FidoNet Association, and is published weekly by SEAdog Leader, node 1/1. You are encouraged to submit articles for publication in FidoNews. Article submission standards are contained in the file ARTSPEC.DOC, available from node 1/1. Copyright (C) 1987, by the International FidoNet Association. All rights reserved. Duplication and/or distribution permitted for noncommercial purposes only. For use in other circumstances, please contact IFNA. Table of Contents 1. EDITORIAL FidoNews versus EchoMail 2. ARTICLES EchoMail Censorship IFNA Board of Director Elections Fido on the air My Reply to Mark Welch, Re: Shareware Expenses 3. FOR SALE Magazine on Disk for IBM PC and Compatibles 4. NOTICES The Interrupt Stack Fidonews Page 2 16 Feb 1987 ================================================================= EDITORIAL ================================================================= FidoNews versus EchoMail An excerpt from a recently overheard conversation: "I have an idea for a FidoNews article." "Don't send it to FidoNews, put it in EchoMail! Everyone will get it faster that way." This brings up an interesting question. Is this true? Well, partly. It's true that EchoMail is usually faster. Not always by any means, but usually. But does everyone read EchoMail? Is there any one given EchoMail conference that is more widely read than FidoNews? I think not. One of the EchoMail backbone hubs recently told me the results of some studies he's done. He analyzed the "seen-by" lists of all of the message traffic on the "big four" conferences (SYSOP, IFNA, TECH, and ECPROG), plus several other popular conferences he carries, and he's found that only about a hundred nodes show up in all conferences combined. Even if twice as many nodes see those conferences than ever show up at his node, that's still much less than a quarter of all sysops. I might be biased, but I think that FidoNews is still an important channel of communication between sysops, and I think those numbers back me up. On a more subjective level, I feel that FidoNews articles tend to be more considered, more thought out, while EchoMail tends more to reflexive, off-the-cuff reactions. This in turn makes FidoNews more valuable for reference and for historical reasons. Not too many people keep histories of EchoMail conferences, but quite a few people keep full back-issue sets of FidoNews. So why am I banging your ear(eye) about this? It's become a matter of some concern to me lately. As you may have noticed, the last couple of issues of FidoNews have been a bit shorter than usual. This is because submissions have been dropping off. It's been going on longer than you may have realized. I've had a supply of "filler" on hand to take care of the occasional slow issue, but recently I've had to dip into it more and more, and recently I ran out. I can probably dig up some more, but what I'd really rather have is something from YOU! ----------------------------------------------------------------- Fidonews Page 3 16 Feb 1987 ================================================================= ARTICLES ================================================================= Karl Andrews, 138/241 An Essay Supporting Censorship of EchoMail Conferences. NetMail has some similarities with the service provided by the Post Office, and like that Mail, should NOT be subject to censorship, short of the standard requirement that it not be illegal. EchoMail, on the other hand, can be thought of as a group of magazines that we subscribe to, because we are interested in the known subject matter and/or editorial policy. Just as you, as a subscriber to Byte, would be upset to find the current issue full of articles about the mating habits of the Bolivian Field Cricket, so too are the readers of a given conference perturbed to find it full of irrelevant material. Magazines can avoid the inclusion of inappropriate articles and the printing of offensive correspondence by the exercise of editorial control at the point of origin. Because of the distributed origin of EchoMail, no single person can control the content of any given conference; therefore the only way to insure that a given conference sticks to its stated subject matter is for each of us to control its input. If an author who submitted an article on microprocessor architecture to Better Homes and Gardens were to complain about its rejection, who of us would be upset? Wouldn't we say that the author should have known better and should have addressed the article to the appropriate audience? Would we condemn the magazine for refusing to accept the article, or in the unlikely event of the article being published, be surprised when the subscribers complained? A large proportion of us are subscribers to various EchoMail conferences, in that it costs us real money for the service. Should we have any less rights than the subscribers to a printed magazine? Unfortunately, we have no single editor or publisher to complain to. We as sysops are simultaneously subscribers, publishers and editors, and in effect we comprise a distributed editorial board. We subscribe to a given conference because we are interested in the subject matter, and have a right to expect that the preponderance of material in that conference pertain to the stated subject. The only way this state of affairs may be attained is for each of us to control the input to the various areas, and not allow the introduction of extraneous material. The position of Moderator is titular; there is no effective way for that person to exercise any sort of control over the rest of the participants in a conference. Some people (I can predict who many of them will be) will flame about this being unethical, immoral, and illegal, but we are not talking about censoring NetMail, only EchoMail. Fidonews Page 4 16 Feb 1987 We have the right and obligation to restrict the introduction of non-pertinent material (even a rose in the midst of a bed of marigolds is a weed) into our Echo conferences to prevent their degeneration into general chatter areas. If we don't exercise this right, eventually the sysops who pay for the distribution will drop out of the conference, and then nobody will get it, including those who would complain about the censorship, as well as those who corrupt the conferences with irrelevancies and inanities. I can justify the expense of using my work machine, my company phone, and my time to keep this board running only if the results remain beneficial. As long as I can reasonably say this exercise in frustration contributes to my professional expertise, I have the support of my manager, but when the conferences become little more than chit-chat, I won't be here anymore, and my nine downstream nodes will be the losers. May I remind those of you on List 23 (knee-jerk flamers) that IFNA does NOT have anything to do with EchoMail, so don't even bother beating that horse. We are not talking about NetMail, only EchoMail. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Fidonews Page 5 16 Feb 1987 Bob Morris Opus 141/300 IFNA Board of Directors Elections Having been appointed, based on my response to the question about working for IFNA, by Ken Kaplan to headup the Nominations and Elections Committee. I have been joined by Phil Ardussi and we are in the process of composing the letters which will be going out to all IFNA Members requesting self-nomination to the position of Director within IFNA. As established within the By-Laws which outlines the procedure Directors will be asked to send in their Declaration of Intention to run, along with the support of ten (10) IFNA Sysops to the address which will be attached to the Ballot. Furthur details will be forthcomming. This procedure will be a lengthy process and with that in mind, I have recommended to the existing Board of Directors (Ken Kaplan, Ben Baker and Thom Henderson) that they appoint a person from each voting Division, to act as a Director until the ballots are printed in FidoNews during the week of April 13th. This recommendation was made based upon the fact that we would need to hold two elections this year, the first for a period of six (6) months and the second for the normal full-term assignments. Rather than attempting to do this thing twice and tick everyone off, I have gained the approval of the BoD for the recommendation to take effect immediately. Now before everyone starts sending FLAME Mail to 141/300, let me tell you that this procedure effects approximately 200 people throught the known FIDO/OPUS/SEADog Community and does not effect any other Sysop in any manner. I will be asking the backbone Echomail Hubs to initiate an area called "NOM", which will be utilized by those affected to send in their nominations to Phil Ardussi and myself. This will be a sysop only area, therefore, the existing BoD will see these ballots and the supporting documentation, and those who would also like to see these things will be able to do so as well. If anyone has comments concerning this matter, they may contact me via FidoMail at 141/300 or 141/333. Bob Morris, Chairman Nominations and Elections Committee ----------------------------------------------------------------- Fidonews Page 6 16 Feb 1987 Andy Bakkers, 500/100 FIDO ON THE AIR During the Hobby Computer Fair last november in Utrecht The Netherlands, Fido was connected to a radio amateur receiver/transmitter via a packet radio modem called TNC-1. In the Fido code all AT type instructions were deleted and replaced with TNC-1 equivalents. A swith in Fido to allow the use of a packet radio modem TNC-1 would be better. The following PR TNC-1 settings were required: ABAUD 300 This is because the Fido handshake with the PR modem did not work. Packet Radio transmissions were at 1200 Baud so the 300 Baud between the Fido computer and the TNC-1 did eleminate the need for handshaking. Recommendations: Implement the handshake in Fido! CANLINE $00 CANPAC $00 CPACKTIME ON CR OFF DELETE OFF ECHO OFF FLOW OFF MALL OFF MONITOR OFF MTO NONE MYVADR $00 PACTIME AFTER 3 PASS $00 REDISPLAY $00 RETRY 3 :TO PRVENT NEEDLESS RETRIES SENPAC $0A XFLOW OFF All other parameters default value. The only other problem encountered was the inability of Fido to turn the Fido echo OFF. This would avoid redundant echoing via the air, because the echoing was already done between the PR modems en the computers. In order to have more efficient transmission of the menus, I suggest the possibility to limit the Menus to 128 characters (one maximum packet length) end use a special end of menu character so that this character may be used as a SENPAC character in the TNC- 1 allowing efficient menu transmission within one packet. The result was a very workable setup. With the above mentioned changes the Fido will be a perfect match to amateur radio. Fidonews Page 7 16 Feb 1987 (The flow control mentioned by Andy is essentially the CTS handshake. As I understand it OPUS and Fido generic use special serial drivers. The OPUS!Comm driver from Bob Hartman is capable of CTR handshake if initialized this way. A switch in OPUS's control file ? HEY WYNN are you listening ? -henk wevers) ----------------------------------------------------------------- Fidonews Page 8 16 Feb 1987 Jeff Sheese Sysop, THUD BBS (Opus), 110/10 Data: 513-890-0422 Usenet: ihnp4!itivax!m-net!jeffery M-Net: 313-994-6333 My Reply to Mark Welch, Re: Shareware Expenses This editorial is in response to the article written by Mark Welch published in the Fido Newsletter Volume 4, Number 2, dated 12 January 1987. Now personally I agree with the sharware concept, provided that it does in fact work. But let me start out explaining my position in this matter before making any comments directly concerning the reference made on the previous articles published concerning shareware. I've been involved in telecommunications both as a hobby and as a vocation since 1981. In my experience I've seen a lot of both good and bad bulletin boards. I've also seen my share of both good and bad public domain software distributed on these boards. Telecommunications originally peaked my interest due to the user interaction achieved as well as the distribution and sharing of public domain software. But as a whole I probably saw 10 bad programs for every one good program. This in no way reflected the expertise of the author, because good programs result in hard work and dedication to the final purpose, not to mention a lot of time. But as the industry progressed so did the users. As more advances were made in the computer industry the caliber and expertise of the average user increased as well. Better programs were resulting from not only upgrades of older versions of software, but also the combination of new ideas from other available software that were shared. Users of bulletin boards were able to share ideas and techniques, as well as offer a helping hand to the newer members of this fascinating hobby. Never to my knowledge did anyone ask for anything in return for a few good words or helpful tips to put someone else on the right track to using their computer more productively. Then came the concept of shareware and freeware. The authors asked that if their software were used on a consistant basis that it be registered by sending the author a certain amount of money to help cover development costs. This is a fine method for distributing good software, since many programs using this concept are much better and more professional than most proprietary software sold over the counter. Also donations such as this help to 'push' the authors into upgrading and expanding current software. So it seems only fair that the author of a well written program should expect remuneration for his/her time and expense. But due to human nature, there will always be a few people that Fidonews Page 9 16 Feb 1987 download shareware and use it consistantly without registration. I can't name names since my mother always told me that whenever you point your finger at someone else you always have the other three pointing right back at you. This leads me to believe that shareware authors are not rightfully compensated for their trouble. I know if I released software using the shareware concept that I would probably not receive enough contributions to reimburse me for my expenses. I'd be lucky to come close to breaking even. Therefore, once the authors of shareware products allow the users to help them debug their products, they should consider taking them out of shareware distribution and placing the polished versions on the open market. But all of this is one sided and purely my own speculation. But now, to make my point. As I read Mr. Welch's financial report concerning his gains and losses on the development and distribution of GAGS (Generic Adventure Game System) I was first led to believe that he had incurred great loss. But thanks to the figures that he provided in his article it comes to my attention that he really made MORE money from his software than he actually reported. Again these are strictly my own opinions, and I'd like to share them with everyone that read his article in Fido Newsletter #402. Following are the figures that he provided breaking down all expenses, gains, and losses in the development and distribution of GAGS: Table 1: GAGS Expenses to Date: December 31, 1986 -------- Books $69.12 (reference works, etc.) Cost of goods sold 470.30 (disks, etc.) Computer equip. 2,397.40 (computer, printers, etc.) Development sw 284.29 (compilers, toolkits, etc.) Misc. 204.51 (magazines, memberships) Phone 834.03 (includes BBS) Postage 296.98 (includes ALL postage!) Software 440.20 (VP-Planner, PC-Write, etc.) Supplies 396.70 (paper, ribbons, envelopes) --------- Total: $5,393.53 1985 total: $3,364.11 1986 total: 2,029.42 Table 2: Sales Total 1986 -------------- ------ ------ Disks $ 857.60 $ 721.05 (at about $10 each) Registrations 949.44 827.12 (at about $15 each) Source code 868.90 745.54 (at about $25 each) Other 266.13 266.13 (upgrades, resold goods) --------- --------- Total $2,942.07 $2,559.84 Table 3: Profit/Loss Total 1986 only ----------------------- ---------- ---------- GAGS Sales $2,942.07 $2,559.84 GAGS Expenses (5,393.53) (2,029.42) ---------- ---------- Fidonews Page 10 16 Feb 1987 Net GAGS Profit (Loss): (2,833.69) $530.42 Let me stress again that these are only my opinions. First of all I'd like to examine table 1 a bit closer. Here are my opinions line by line. * Books $69.12 (reference works, etc.) * Provided that Mr. Welch purchased these references ONLY for the expressed purpose of developing the one software package, then these expenses are viable. However, I'd like to see a more complete list of these references. My question is, were these references placed back on the shelf until the next release of GAGS, or were they ALSO used for other purposes not related to GAGS. In my opinion this is not a viable expense for GAGS based on the fact that these references were purchased for the purpose of self education. Therefore the author received benifit from these references not only in the development of GAGS, but also in the development and use of other software and hardware not associated with GAGS. Now providing that these references were originally purchased for the development of GAGS, I'll give him half of this figure on my own expense sheet to reflect: ** Books $34.56 (reference works, etc.) * Cost of goods sold 470.30 (disks, etc.) Please explain 'etc.'? A wild guess will tell me that documentation, source code, work disks for compilers and toolkits number really no more than 30. That would be enough diskettes to back up a 20 meg hard disk about 3/4 full. Considering that 90 disks were sold (as in Table 2) this would number to 120. Twelve boxes of the best floppies at about $18 apiece would be about $216. Providing for extra mailers, lables, and 'etc.' and I would guess: ** Cost of goods sold 300.00 (disks, etc.) * Computer equip. 2,397.40 (computer, printers, etc.) How did this one slip by? Does he use this for personal work such as word processing, database, spreadsheets? Is this machine set aside for the expressed purpose of GAGS development or is it used only for occasional debugging and updates of GAGS? I would guess that this system is used for GAGS on an occasional basis, and does not qualify as an expense for GAGS. Now considering the wear and tear in the development process, as well as the amount of utilities expended (not to mention coffee) I would agree to: ** Computer equip. 400.00 (computer, printers, etc.) * Development sw 284.29 (compilers, toolkits, etc.) Again, this rates with the reference works. Based on the above paragraph regarding my opinion on reference works, I'll give him half. ** Development sw 142.15 (compilers, toolkits, etc.) * Misc. 204.51 (magazines, memberships) Rates with reference works as above. So to be fair, I'll give him half. This also assumes that he uses this as an income tax deduction. ** Misc. 102.26 (magazines, memberships) Fidonews Page 11 16 Feb 1987 * Phone 834.03 (includes BBS) Does his BBS only stock GAGS and no other files available for download? Does his message base talk about nothing but GAGS? Assuming he had lot of Fidomail both sent and received concerning GAGS, I can only agree to: ** Phone 200.00 (includes BBS) * Postage 296.98 (includes ALL postage!) I agree, because this would not only show the expense incurred in sending the actual disks, but also the time and trouble of making sure that timely updates and announcements would arrive at the distribution sources. Also including technical support and bug reports, I think he might have short changed himself in this one. In all fairness I give him: ** Postage 400.00 (includes ALL postage AND time!) * Software 440.20 (VP-Planner, PC-Write, etc.) Reference works again, unless these packages are used exclusively for the updating and reporting of GAGS and associated expenses. I'll give him half. ** Software 220.10 (VP-Planner, PC-Write, etc.) * Supplies 396.70 (paper, ribbons, envelopes) This I will agree with since he has kept accurate records reflecting other expenses. Is this the 'etc.'? ** Supplies 396.70 (paper, ribbons, envelopes) Therefore I figure total expenses to be: ** Books $34.56 (reference works, etc.) ** Cost of goods sold 300.00 (disks, etc.) ** Computer equip. 400.00 (computer, printers, etc.) ** Development sw 142.15 (compilers, toolkits, etc.) ** Misc. 102.26 (magazines, memberships) ** Phone 200.00 (includes BBS) ** Postage 400.00 (includes ALL postage AND time!) ** Software 220.10 (VP-Planner, PC-Write, etc.) ** Supplies 396.70 (paper, ribbons, envelopes) --------- Total: $2195.77 So, for Table 3, I compute: ** GAGS Sales (Table 2 above) $2942.07 ** GAGS Expenses (My figures) $2195.77 ------------------------------------------- Total Profit (Loss) $746.30 I'm not questioning Mr. Welch's figures, but how he arrives at these figures. I'm not a tax lawyer and do not profess to be. But it seems to me that after all these expenses he should consider himself lucky to break even. My question is, did he learn how to use a computer for personal benefit of the hobby, or to make money? I can only answer that question for myself. I never really Fidonews Page 12 16 Feb 1987 planned on making money on distributing shareware software when I purchased my computer. I've taught electronics as well as computer programming, interfacing, and design for 6 years. I consider myself very lucky to enjoy computers, electronics, and communications as both a hobby and a vocation. What has happened to the hobbiests of today? Do they expect to distribute a few programs and get rich? In 1981, I wrote a program called EM.COM for CP/M version 1.4 in 8080 assembly language. It is an 8080 mnemonic emulator. The purpose of this program was to allow a person to enter a machine language instruction directly into the computer and watch how it affects both the registers and the flags. Sort of an extension of DDT. With it, you had a machine language 'immediate' mode similar to BASIC. After you enter the command as a mnemonic, you see immediately how the registers and flags are affected. I wrote the program originally to learn both the CP/M operating system and 8080 assembly language. It took me about 4 months to complete, and was still ridden with bugs. After it was working to the point that it was useable, I uploaded it to to remote CP/M board here in Dayton. That was in 1981. I forgot about it after that. When I moved to Detroit in the summer of 1984, I was suprised beyond belief to see the SAME program on Royal Oak RCP/M. I downloaded it, worked out a few bugs, and uploaded it again under the name of EM200.LBR. After making even more extensive bug fixes and upgrades, I uploaded EM220.LBR to the same board in 1985. Just this past summer (1986) I saw it on an RCP/M board in California. The latest version, EM300.ARC, is available on my board. I upgraded and fixed it on an IBM XT clone using a V20 processor and V20-80.ARC, and now has even more extensive documentation, source code, and RESOURCE data files. I'm not comparing EM300 with GAGS. My point is this: I have gotten more enjoyment and experience in writing and repairing the program and documentation than any amount of money could have given me. I feel very honored to recieve both complaints and laudations concerning this program. It gives me a warm feeling inside whenever I can do anything to help another learn about computers. As a part of my own copyright notice, I even allow both public and private institutions to use EM300 provided they make a copy of the original documentation available to their students. Am I a dying breed? Am I a dinosaur that is quickly becoming extinct? Time will tell... ----------------------------------------------------------------- Fidonews Page 13 16 Feb 1987 ================================================================= FOR SALE ================================================================= MAGAZINE ON DISK FOR IBM PC AND COMPATIBLES BIG BLUE DISK, the magazine on disk for the IBM PC and compatibles, is currently available at Waldenbooks stores and many other retail locations, as well as by mail subscription. It is contained entirely on a floppy disk. Each issue contains programs, articles, feedback from subscribers, program reviews and demos, and more. For example, issue 5, which should be on the stands by the time you read this, contains 2 disks full of features, including: - Disk Indexer: Index your hard disk or floppy disk collection. This handy program can alphabetize thousands of files. - SuperDots: A challenging version of a traditional strategy game. - Periodic Table: A tutorial for beginning chemistry students. - * BLUE PLATE SPECIAL * Power Reading: An interactive demo showing how you can increase your reading speed. - The CP Command: An enhanced file copy command. - Monsters and Microchips: An in-depth interview with Richard Garriott, the author of Ultima. In addition, there are other programs, articles, and regular features, including feedback from our readers. You can order this issue by direct mail by sending $9.95 (check, money order, or Visa/Mastercard/American Express accepted) to: BIG BLUE DISK, DEPT F2, PO BOX 30008, SHREVEPORT, LA 71130-0008. Mail subscriptions are also available: One year (12 monthly issues) costs only $69.95. (A 41% savings over newsstand price.) A six-month subscription is available for $39.95. Lots of interesting stuff is coming up; issue 6 contains our April Spool Foof... er, I mean April Fool Spoof, taking a peek (and a poke) at PC-STRIFE, the ONLY magazine on disk. Subscribe now and don't miss anything! BIG BLUE DISK requires an IBM PC or compatible, with at least 256K and MS-DOS 2.0 or later. Color graphics is recommended. Send questions/comments to Daniel Tobias on FIDO 380/2. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Fidonews Page 14 16 Feb 1987 ================================================================= NOTICES ================================================================= The Interrupt Stack 21 Feb 1987 The Next Occasional MetroNet Sysop Meeting, to be held at the SEA office in Clifton NJ. Spouses and POSSLQs welcome. Contact Irene Henderson at 107/9 for details and directions. 17 May 1987 Metro-Fire Fido's Second Birthday BlowOut and Floppy Disk Throwing Tournament! All Fido Sysops and Families Invited! Contact Christopher Baker at 135/14 for more information. 24 Aug 1989 Voyager 2 passes Neptune. If you have something which you would like to see on this calendar, please send a message to FidoNet node 1/1. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Metatek Fido (107/316) is the home of the Echomail Scribe. I created the original Echomail Conference List, and I published it around Jan 15th (1987). I planned on doing monthly updates but the second issue will be delayed. The list is available on my system 1-201-286-2567. I'm running SEAdog so you can file request it, otherwise first time callers can download it. If you have any updates or corrections please let me know. Thank you very much, your Humble Echomail Scribe, Thomas Kenny. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Fidonews Page 15 16 Feb 1987 __ The World's First / \ BBS Network /|oo \ * FidoNet * (_| /_) _`@/_ \ _ | | \ \\ | (*) | \ )) ______ |__U__| / \// / Fido \ _//|| _\ / (________) (_/(_|(____/ (jm) Membership for the International FidoNet Association Membership in IFNA is open to any individual or organization that pays an annual specified membership fee. IFNA serves the international FidoNet-compatible electronic mail community to increase worldwide communications. ** Name _________________________________ Date ________ Address ______________________________ City & State _________________________ Country_______________________________ Phone (Voice) ________________________ Net/Node Number ______________________ Board Name____________________________ Phone (Data) _________________________ Baud Rate Supported___________________ Board Restrictions____________________ Special Interests_____________________ ______________________________________ ______________________________________ Is there some area where you would be willing to help out in FidoNet?_______ ______________________________________ ______________________________________ Send your membership form and a check or money order for $25 to: International FidoNet Association P. O. Box 41143 St Louis, Missouri 63141 USA Thank you for your membership! Your participation will help to insure the future of FidoNet. ** Please NOTE that IFNA is a general not-for-profit organization in formation and Articles of Association and By-Laws were adopted by the membership in January 1987. An Elections Committee has been established to fill positions outlined in the By-Laws for the Board of Directors. An IFNA Echomail Conference has been established on FidoNet to assist the Elections Committee. We welcome your input on this Conference. -----------------------------------------------------------------