Volume 5, Number 27 4 July 1988 +---------------------------------------------------------------+ | _ | | / \ | | /|oo \ | | - FidoNews - (_| /_) | | _`@/_ \ _ | | International | | \ \\ | | FidoNet Association | (*) | \ )) | | Newsletter ______ |__U__| / \// | | / FIDO \ _//|| _\ / | | (________) (_/(_|(____/ | | (jm) | +---------------------------------------------------------------+ Editor in Chief Dale Lovell Editor Emeritus: Thom Henderson Chief Procrastinator Emeritus: Tom Jennings Contributing Editors: Al Arango FidoNews is published weekly by the International FidoNet Association as its official newsletter. You are encouraged to submit articles for publication in FidoNews. Article submission standards are contained in the file ARTSPEC.DOC, available from node 1:1/1. Copyright 1988 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 at (314) 576-4067. IFNA may also be contacted at PO Box 41143, St. Louis, MO 63141. Fido and FidoNet are registered trademarks of Tom Jennings of Fido Software, 164 Shipley Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94107 and are used with permission. The contents of the articles contained here are not our responsibility, nor do we necessarily agree with them. Everything here is subject to debate. We publish EVERYTHING received. Table of Contents 1. ARTICLES ................................................. 1 IFNA By-Laws Amendments .................................. 1 Revised E-Mail Gateway Supports More Systems ............. 7 Mensa Echo Conference Continues To Grow .................. 10 SEA vs PKWare -- What's It About? ........................ 13 Back to the Bush! ........................................ 16 A New Echo: ZYMURGY ...................................... 20 2. NOTICES .................................................. 21 The Interrupt Stack ...................................... 21 Latest Software Versions ................................. 21 FidoCon '88 Registration Form ............................ 23 FidoNews 5-27 Page 1 4 Jul 1988 ================================================================= ARTICLES ================================================================= Submitted by Harold J. DuPrie 101/0 Member Board of Directors 21 June 1988 PROPOSED AMENDMENTS Introduction: As a member at large on the Board of Directors of IFNA I am proposing this set of amendments in response to requests from my constituents and observations on the growth of FidoNet. The growth of IFNA and proliferation of amateur networking in general requires that IFNA accommodate a larger set of Networks then was originally anticipated. The set of amendments presented here resolves current and anticipated organizational difficulties, and removes IFNA from direct control of individual nodes or networks in a zone Representation and voting rights of individuals in the IFNA networks is expanded and clarified in the set of amendments under IFNA MEMBERSHIP. The method for resolving disputes within the zones is modified in the GRIEVANCE set of amendments, to better represent the rights of IFNA members. The ZONE amendment represents the old "FidoNet in North America" returning to a non-political (perhaps anarchistic) network, and expands IFNA to allow "other nets" to join. When the Constitution of the United States of America was being prepared the problem of how to govern a group of independent States while at the same time allowing the States to rule themselves was addressed. The resulting constitution seems to have been reasonably workable. These amendments draw heavily on the concepts used in the Constitution. IFNA currently faces a similar set of problems: Networks which would like to be able to communicate but can't accept the detailed polices of IFNA (similar to States rights in the original Union); Individuals who feel that they are not represented by IFNA but are in the IFNA Nodelist (Voting Rights); A grievance procedure which does not permit individual Sysops to vote, or in any way select, the Judicial system they operate under (Federal vs State law). The attached amendments attempt to resolve these areas of dispute. Overview: The proposed amendments expand IFNA organization into the FidoNews 5-27 Page 2 4 Jul 1988 equivalent of a high level governing body in a way which does not interfere with the freedom of the Zones being governed. Essentially it sets the rules which allow diverse networks to coexist and communicate. Zones are treated similar to individual states with independent governments and laws, but which accept a basic set of rules for coexistence and retain all rights not explicitly granted to IFNA. That is, IFNA governs ONLY by rights granted to it by the Zones. The proposed structure places IFNA at the top of a confederation of Zones, with each Zone representing a unique Network or set of Networks. The Zones may be geographical, political (including network politics) or organizational. Each Zone is free to establish any set of operating procedures which it chooses, as long as it meets a fixed set of IFNA requirements for IFNA representation, publication of it's Nodelist, and adherence to technical constraints for interfacing with other Zones. The IFNA MEMBERSHIP set of amendments defines the criteria for individual membership in IFNA (not membership in a ZONE), and specifies an individuals voting rights at the IFNA (not ZONE) level. The GRIEVANCE set of amendments describe the grievance procedure for ZONE level grievances. The ZONES set of "amendments" represent a set of rules for current ZONES in the net, and other networks wishing to join IFNA. IFNA MEMBERSHIP AMENDMENT summary: This amendment modifies the criteria for an individual to become a member of IFNA. The germane points here are that anyone wishing to support IFNA may become a member. It is not necessary to be an operator of a system to be a full voting member of IFNA. Dues are waived for those contributing significantly to IFNA. AMENDMENT: In BY-LAW 1.(b) -- change the definition of associate member. Old wording: "(b) Associate Member. Any person who is not eligible to be a Regular Member, but who is interested in electronic communications, is eligible to be an Associate Member by paying required dues. Associate Members have all of the rights of a Regular Member except the right to vote. Amended wording: (b) Associate Member. Any person who is not eligible to be a Regular Member, but who is interested in electronic communications, is eligible to be an Associate Member by FidoNews 5-27 Page 3 4 Jul 1988 paying required dues. Associate Members have all of the rights of a Regular Member. The membership committee will establish a set of criteria to recognize significant contributions to IFNA. Any person meeting these criteria is exempt from the dues requirement for the period established by the Membership Committee. GRIEVANCE AMENDMENT summary: This amendment assumes that the methods of grievance resolution within a ZONE have been tried and has not been resolved in a manner satisfactory to the IFNA member. The rights of an IFNA member in this context are limited to matters involving IFNA. When the Zone joined IFNA it agreed to a set of rules and procedures. Only those rules and procedures agreed to between the Zone and IFNA may be the basis of a grievance to IFNA. AMENDMENT, new BY-LAW N2: N2. A Grievance Committee is hereby established. Membership consists of one member (1) from each Zone in IFNA, and one member from the Board of Directors. Each Zone member will serve for a term defined by that Zone, but not to exceed five (5) years. The member from the Board of directors will have a term of 1 year, and will be elected by the Board of Directors. The Grievance Committee will hear and resolve all grievances involving IFNA and IFNA members within a Zone which have not been resolved within thirty (30) days to the satisfaction of the IFNA member. The Grievance Committee will resolve the grievance within 30 days. The resolution will be binding on the person filing the grievance and on the Zone. Resolution will be based upon the then current articles of association of IFNA and the agreement between IFNA and the Zone. ZONES AMENDMENT summary: This amendment represents the agreement between Zones and IFNA. It limits the power of IFNA to the administration of the interactions of Zones (networks), while at the same time returning IFNA to a central position of acting as a distributor publisher of a set of Nodelists which are available to ALL Zones in IFNA. It will likely result in a large amount of flames, but essentially it "pulls IFNA back" to the administrative role, leaving the operation and policies of the Network(s) to the Network(s). It also allows for a large political structure which can supply a lot of service without getting into the Network itself. This should surely please a large amount of people. FidoNews 5-27 Page 4 4 Jul 1988 AMENDMENT: IFNA recognizes the need to expand the method by which Networks may join IFNA. IFNA also recognizes that telecommunications is rapidly advancing, and different networks with different organizations, policies, and telecommunications mechanisms will arise. DEFINITIONS: ZONE: An autonomous network which has joined IFNA. NODELIST: The set of documents which define a Network at the ZONE level. Each Zone must file an agreement which defines the set of interactions it will allow IFNA to have with the Zone, this set of interactions must be acceptable to IFNA and defines the jurisdiction IFNA has over the Zone. Zones 1, 2, and 3 will operate under the current set of rules, regulations and policies of IFNA for a period not to exceed six (6) months from the adoption of this amendment, or until an agreement between IFNA and the Zone is reached which is agreeable to both, whichever comes sooner. If the Zone and IFNA do not reach agreement within the allotted time, the Zone will be removed from the IFNA nodelist, but all IFNA members in the Zone will retain membership voting rights. A Zone applying for IFNA membership must meet the following criteria: 1. Be an operational Network with over fifty (50) nodes. 2. Be a Network which is not operated for profit, and which allows public access as defined by IFNA. 3. Establish a grievance procedure within the Network for IFNA members to follow for resolving any grievances involving IFNA. 4. Present to IFNA a set of individuals from within the Network to fill the required IFNA organizational positions. The method of selecting these individuals is determined by the Network. 5. Have an existing Nodelist, Network Map or other set of documents which define the Network. Deliver this document to the Vice-President of Technical Operations, and deliver updates periodically as agreed to by IFNA. This document will be referred to as the Nodelist. This Nodelist need not conform to the current nodelist format(s) in use by IFNA at the time of application (IFNA realizes that not all networks use the current format) but it must contain enough information to allow telecommunications between the FidoNews 5-27 Page 5 4 Jul 1988 Network and other Zones. The Vice-President Technical Operations will determine if the Nodelist is sufficient. 6. Establish an operational gateway for telecommunications between the Network and other IFNA Zones. 7. Agree to abide by the policies, procedures, rules and regulations of IFNA for all matters pertaining to IFNA. That is, actually be a Zone in IFNA while retaining all rights not in the agreement with IFNA. The Board of Directors will establish a "ZONE COMMITTEE" for including all changes to current operating procedures, and modifications to the current set of BY-LAWS, such as BY-LAW 24 which defines the voting divisions, to accommodate this expansion of IFNA. The Vice-President Technical Operations, the chairman of the FidoNet Technical Standards committee, the current ZoneGate operator for Zones 1, 2 and 3, and four (4) additional members appointed by the Board of Directors will be the initial members of the ZONE COMMITTEE. The ZONE COMMITTEE will have no more then three (3) months to prepare these changes. Upon completion of the changes the Election committee will prepare ballots to be mailed to all IFNA members for voting on the changes. The ballot will contain the full text of the changes and a single choice -- "accept or reject". If the vote of the IFNA membership is reject, then: 1. Each Zone in the IFNA nodelist will revert to operation under "FidoNet policy 3" published by Tom Jennings, and IFNA will stop all operations involving the zones, regions, networks and nodes except for preparation and distribution of FidoNews, the Nodelist, and the Nodediff. 2. The duties of the Region Coordinators will be restricted to distribution of the Nodelist, Nodediff, and FidoNews and processing of updates to the nodelist. ALL updates from the individual networks will be accepted and processed. 3. The Network Coordinators will operate their Networks as they choose within the constraints of Policy 3. 4. Individual nodes will operate their nodes as they choose within the constraints of Policy 3. ----------------------------------------------------------------- FidoNews 5-27 Page 6 4 Jul 1988 Edward Hawes Fast-BBS 106/132 BBS Games: Well i guess you all know that online games can be a real drag.. They eat up disk space and memory. You have to use a front end to generate the pcboard or rbbs files for the name and baud. They are sometimes hard to set up and most of them have bugs in them that causes your system to hang up.. ^ | HAS THIS HAPPENED TO YOU? Well i have just the thing for you opus sysop's! ChessLine (CHESS-NET) James Brown and myself have developed one of the best online games around.. It's called CHESLINE and i just wanted to tell you a little about it. ChessLine was developed for the sysop who has everything.. This system has everything we could think of .. here is a list of a few of the options: 1.SYSOP ONLINE (REAL-TIME) PLAY WITH USER 2.NETMAIL FEATURE FOR NATIONAL CHESSMAIL 3.USER AGAINST USER 4.CHAT WHILE ONLINE PLAY IS RUNNING This system is written in assembler and uses no more than 64k and has doubledos and deskview conventions already in it for multi-tasking games. It has its own ansi-interpreter so you dont have to load ansi.sys. ----------------------------------------------------------------- FidoNews 5-27 Page 7 4 Jul 1988 REVISED E-MAIL GATEWAY SUPPORTS MORE SYSTEMS by Daniel Tobias 1:380/2 A couple of months ago, I released a program called GATEWAY to allow FidoNet sysops to exchange mail with online services. Now, this program has been taken over by my employer, Softdisk, Inc. (the publisher of diskmagazines SOFTDISK, LOADSTAR, and BIG BLUE DISK, and the upcoming MacDISKWORLD) as an official product. The latest release (1.10) has many enhancements over the earlier one. The major new feature: In addition to CompuServe and The Source, gatewaying to GEnie is also supported. There was much demand from users for this feature, due to the much lower cost of using GEnie as compared to the others. GEnie gatewaying supports mail and forums as with the other two, with the added feature of allowing both inbound and outbound file attaches via GEnie's "XMODEM" file attach capability. In addition, the CompuServe script file has been modified to work with the revised forum software that went into effect this May, and some other changes, improvements, and bug fixes have been made. The way GATEWAY works is by finding messages in your netmail area that are properly addressed ("Genie D.TOBIAS" for GEnie ID "D.TOBIAS" for instance), and writing them to text files in a standardized format; then, a script file (requiring Datastorm's PROCOMM-PLUS to run) logs in to the remote system, sends the outbound mail and fetches anything inbound; and then GATEWAY takes over again and sticks the incoming messages into the netmail area. Forums work similarly; all new messages on a given SIG that you wish to follow are posted in a message area on your board, and any messages you enter are sent out to the SIG. Due to copyright considerations, it is not recommended you make commercial SIGs accessible to your users; but this feature can be helpful in your own personal perusal of SIG messages, which you can now do offline in a sysop-only message area from your console rather than "while the meter's running" on a commercial service. Where private E-Mail is concerned, though, there should be no legal problems to setting your board up as a gateway to let your users send mail to friends on commercial systems, and get replies back; the online services don't really have any claim to the copyright of private messages, since E-mail privacy laws prohibit their disclosure to anyone other than the sender, recipient, or sysop, hence the services would have no way to register a copyright (which would require submission of the text of the message to the U.S. Copyright Office). At any rate, others (DASnet and Mnematics, for instance) have gatewayed E-Mail into CompuServe and The Source just like GATEWAY does, and the services haven't complained yet. Why should they; they make money on the deal, since you've got to log in at their normal rates to transfer the messages. (You still save, since you don't FidoNews 5-27 Page 8 4 Jul 1988 have to pay online rates while you're composing or reading messages. But they can't complain about that; most online services are full of messages advocating and supporting the use of automated scripts for offline message handling.) Provisions exist to charge the cost of sending and receiving E-mail messages against the Fido/Opus "credit" value in the user's record, to allow accounting and charging for usage. One more change: The previous versions of GATEWAY were strict shareware, with a payment requested if you like them. Lots of people downloaded or requested the program, but to date nobody has paid for it. This is suitable to me as a private hobbyist, but since GATEWAY is now an official Softdisk product, they understandably would like to see some money come in for it. However, I absolutely hate booby-trapping programs; I've seen some programs around the net that do ugly things like generate long distance netmail messages to the program author, disable themselves after a given system date, and arbitrarily cripple their capabilities in various manners. I don't like that; I'd prefer to distribute my programs in their fully-functional form to let users give them a complete workout, without fear of bizarre side effects from the built-in traps. But on the other hand, it seems unrestricted shareware doesn't really work in the Fido world. The result is a compromise. GATEWAY 1.10 has been released in its fully functional form, except that, as distributed, it includes a brief note in all messages it transfers stating that an unregistered copy of GATEWAY is being used, and the sysop is expected to register it if he or she continues to use it beyond a trial period. A similar note shows on the sysop console when the program is run. On payment of a $50 registration fee, you will receive an encrypted "Key" file. Put it in the default directory from which you will run GATEWAY, and the program will recognize that you're a registered user (with a unique registration serial number), and it won't give any of the "Unregistered" messages. Registered users will also be informed of updates and other news through a GATEWAY newsletter I intend to publish, and can use upgraded versions with the same "key" file. (If we make an upgrade major enough to change the units digit of the version, as from 1.00 to 2.00, we reserve the right to charge an added upgrade fee to registered users, but then again we might not. All lesser upgrades can always be used free of additional registration charges.) What's coming up in later versions? I've had a request to add more flexible custom gatewaying capability. As it is, you can set up gateways for systems other than the three supported by writing your own scripts to exchange messages in a generic file format the system defaults to. However, the capability of using a "template" file to define custom file formats to suit the needs of other systems would be desirable, and might allow GATEWAY to be set up for exchanges with all sorts of systems, like university and corporate networks, etc. I didn't get a chance to implement this now, but I'll be working on it, so you can expect FidoNews 5-27 Page 9 4 Jul 1988 it to be added to an upcoming version. GATEWAY is downloadable in the file GATE???.ARC (the last three digits will change to reflect the version number) from SOFT FIDO at (318) 222-3503; it's in file area 6. Bark and WaZoo file requests (to node 1:380/2) will work as well. I'm making plans to attend the FidoCon in Cincinnati, and will be available there to discuss remote system internetworking, distribute copies of the latest version of GATEWAY, and take suggestions for future improvements. Be There! ----------------------------------------------------------------- FidoNews 5-27 Page 10 4 Jul 1988 George Falcon MENSA & MWM Echo Host Opus 1:109/648 9314 Cherry Hill Road College Park, MD. 20740-1249 17:11 hrs., 23 June 1988 Mensa Echo Conference Continues To Grow The three echo conferences related to Mensa have shown continued growth over the past two years, and since I've been hosting two of them for several months now, I thought some of you might like to know how they're doing. The three conferences are MENSA, MWM, and MENSANS_ONLY. The last is hosted by Christopher Baker at 135/14, and is restricted... please contact Chris if you're a Mensan and are interested in hooking into that conference. The first two are international and local conferences, respectively. One needn't be a Mensa member to link into either of these echo conferences, but you'll have to find your own link... right now I haven't the time to learn another software package, and we're already trying to figure out how to handle distribution of the MENSA echo to 33 systems. I'm sure that if you make arrangements with one of the systems already participating, they can advise you on how to link in. Many of you have heard about Mensa, but, for those who haven't, a short explanation of the organization's purpose is appropriate here. Mensa is an international organization with only one requirement for membership--a performance on a standardized I.Q. test (or certain alternative tests, such as the CEEB, SAT, GRE, LSAT, etc.) which puts a person in the top 2% of the general population. American Mensa has over 53,000 members, and there are another 15,000 members in other countries. There are Mensans in 98 countries throughout the world. MENSA's purposes 1) to identify and foster human intelligence for the benefit of humanity 2) to encourage research in the nature, characteristics, and uses of intelligence 3) to provide a stimulating intellectual and social environment for its members "MENSA" defined Mensa is Latin for "table." We are a round-table society that makes no distinctions as to race, color, creed, national origin, age, or eco-nomic, educational, or social status. Only intelligence matters. Joining MENSA For more information, write to American Mensa, Ltd. 2626 East 14th Street Brooklyn, NY 11235-3992 FidoNews 5-27 Page 11 4 Jul 1988 Here's the latest list of systems that I've been able to compile from messages over the past few months. Please keep in mind, though, that some sysops have varying restrictions: our board, for instance, requires a $10/yr. maintenance donation in addition to proof of Mensa membership. I did not seek the prior permission of any of the sysops of these boards to post this list, so if there are any problems with the list, they're not to blame... I am. The list was compiled 19 June 1988. 12/700 FCAU IBM NET HST Ajax ON Bill Freads 416-427-0682 13/18 Freedom Network Honesdale PA Sherwood Tucker 717-253-4354 14/627 FOG LINE BBS Des Moines IA Dan Buda 515-964-7937 15/6 JJ's Fido Las Cruces NM Jim Johnson 505-522-7081 106/504 OilPatch OPUS Houston TX Joe Dougharty 713-859-4443 106/506 Fulcrum's Edge Spring TX Roy Browning 713-350-6284 107/210 D2 Systems BBS Melville NY Don Daniels 516-367-6387 107/211 IEEE Long Island Melville NY Bill Wilkes 516-367-9626 109/648 The Falcon's Rock College Park MD George/Dot Falcon 301- 345-7459 109/711 No Place Like Home University Park MD Mark Oberg 301- 454-0360 109/728 TIDMADT Alexandria VA Dave Aronson 703-370-7054 109/733 The Ophiuchi Hotline Lanham MD Mike Bartman 301-731-0263 114/9 Judicial Net Gilbert AZ Steve Ventre 602-926-9733 114/13 Corwin's Keep Tempe AZ Paul Coppinger 602-894-1470 114/26 The Corner Phoenix AZ Ted Malone 602-264-0750 115/729 Spectrum MACInfo Glenview IL Steve Levinthal 312-729-8768 119/5 Lazarus Chico CA Doug Boone 916-893-9019 119/13 LINKS.BBS Chico CA Tom Baughman 916-343-4422 135/14 MetroFire Miami FL Christopher Baker 305-596-8611 135/20 FrontDoor Headquarters Miami FL Joaquim Homrighausen 305-387-1135 138/37 Mac's Revenge Tacoma WA Mark Gregory 206-272-6343 138/52 Burrell's Ballpark Tacoma WA Jeff Burrell 206-752-4672 141/488 Alice's Restaurant Branford CT Sam Saulys 203-488-1115 147/14 DarkStar TBBS Oklahoma City John Roberts 405-691-0863 147/25 METRO OKC OPUS Oklahoma City Grady Hawkins 405-677-6800 153/4 PSG Vancouver Vancouver BC Ted Powell 604-228-9706 203/7 Eagle's Nest Shingle Springs CA Keith Chatterton 916-676-1132 203/42 Time Traveler Sacramento CA Ralph Scowden 916-739-8386 223/128 The Back Room II Oakville ON Dave Freeman 416-844-7578 223/202 Programmer's Resource Toronto ON Simon Ewins 416-967-5745 223/228 EGS/Philo Toronto ON Don O'Shaughnessy 416-286-6191 223/8088 DLJ Toronto ON David Lloyd-Jones 416-421-0938 345/1 Aura Net Honolulu HI Leonard Mednick 808-533-0190 The conference was founded by my friend and mentor in BBSing, Jim Kay, who decided to retire from sysopping to pursue professional goals, as well as assume the responsibility of the position of Programs Officer for Metropolitan Washington Mensa. Since my wife Dot and I (we met through Mensa) joined the MENSA conference almost two years ago, it has grown slowly from less than 20 nodes to well over 33. I hope to see it continue to grow. FidoNews 5-27 Page 12 4 Jul 1988 George Falcon Coordinator, Telecomputing SIG 9314 Cherry Hill Road College Park, MD. 20740-1249 ----------------------------------------------------------------- FidoNews 5-27 Page 13 4 Jul 1988 SEA vs PKWare -- What's It About? by Ben Baker -- 44/76 I suppose most of you know by now know that System Enhance- ment Associates (SEA) is suing Phil Katz and PKWare. There has bee a lot of comment (I hesitate to call it discussion) on the suit in conferences in FidoNet and the commercial services. Most of what I have read gave me the impression that the writer thought about it for at least 30 milliseconds, then flamed! So what's it really about? First, a little history. In CP/M days, there were a number of utilities for compressing and decompressing files, based on the Huffman coding technique. The most popular were called SQ and USQ, but there were several variations. There was at least one utility called LIB, which did not do compression (remember the total memory space was only 64K, and CP/M used at least 4K of that), but it did collect files, "squeezed" or otherwise, into a single file so that they could be treated as a unit. When MS-DOS came along, many of the old CP/M utilities were ported. Among them were several (often incompatible) variations of SQ/USQ. Our own Tom Jennings ported LIB to DOS. DOS BBS op- erators then had all the functionality they had in CP/M; they could compress files, and they could pack them into "library" files, in separate steps of course. But DOS wasn't memory poor like CP/M. The climate was right for something "new." Enter Thom Henderson. Henderson, one of SEA's principals, borrowing from concepts developed by Brian Kernigan, wrote a "library" utility which overcame a limitation of LIB by using a distributed directory in- stead of a fixed-length directory at the front of the file. It also had built-in Huffman code compression, eliminating the need for SQ/USQ. He called it ARC. Almost overnight, it became a standard among bulletin board operators. As ARC developed, it acquired a number of useful features, encryption and LZ compression, for example, stirring interest in the commercial marketplace. Thus ARC became one of those prod- ucts marketed both commercially and as shareware. In an effort to encourage porting ARC to other systems such as Unix, SEA made the sources for ARC available for download on its bulletin board. These files bear the SEA copyright notice, and before people may legally do anything with them other than study them, they need SEA's permission. When someone asks per- mission to port, it is granted with three restrictions on the re- sulting program: it may not be sold, it may not be used commer- cially and a copy must be submitted to SEA for redistribution (under the same restrictions). Someone may also use the sources in a commercial product, but in this case, a source license fee is charged and the resulting program may NOT be a general purpose file-archiving utility. FidoNews 5-27 Page 14 4 Jul 1988 A short time later PKXARC appeared on the scene, followed quickly by PKARC. Katz hadn't followed the rules, but then, ARC wasn't making anybody rich as shareware, and Katz wasn't address- ing the much more lucrative commercial market SEA had developed for ARC, so SEA overlooked it. Then, last year, an ad for PKARC and PKXARC appeared in "PC Tech Journal" on the page facing SEA's ad for ARC. Katz' ad priced the product a dollar and a half less than ARC, and even went so far as to make comparisons to "the other archive utility." SEA then sent a "cease and desist" letter to PKWare, propos- ing the following agreement: PKWare would withdraw all commer- cial advertising and cease attempts at commercial distribution, and SEA would forgive past violations and grant PKWare an unlim- ited cost-free license to market its derivative products as shareware with a non-commercial restriction. Katz refused. I suspect, though I don't know, that there were additional exchanges between SEA and PKWare. Were it me, I would have de- manded a source license fee and royalties on sales to date. In any event, no agreement was reached, so SEA filed suit. As I understand it, there are four counts in the complaint (not necessarily in this order): 1) "look-and-feel" violation, 2) copyright violation, 3) trademark violation, and 4) unfair trade practice. Let's look at them one at a time. I placed "look-and-feel" first because it's fairly easy to dismiss. I personally don't think SEA has a prayer on this one. "Look-and-feel" is the current legal buzz-word so SEA's lawyer tossed it in, but I can't imagine it applying in this case. A concept or idea cannot be copyrighted, but the expression of a concept or idea sure can, and a program is the expression of one or more concepts or ideas. If the development of PKXARC and PKARC were entirely independent of ARC, merely employing the con- cepts used there, then the second count cannot be sustained. If it can be shown that Katz obtained or had access to the sources for ARC, then he probably infringed on SEA's copyright. If it can be shown that he actually used them in developing his pro- grams, then he IS guilty of copyright infringement. Even if he translated them to assembly language, he violated the copyright. Translating a novel from English to German without the permission of the author and/or publisher is prohibited by copyright laws world-wide. Same principle. Is ARC a trademark? As relating to archiving or compression utilities, you bet. Does the name "PKARC" violate that trade- mark? Suppose I developed a new soft drink and began marketing it under the name "BBCOKE." How quickly would I find myself in court? And isn't there a network developer using the name "ARC," and are they in jeopardy? No! If I were a fuel dealer, I could sell all the "Coke" (a coal derivative) I wanted and the Coca Cola Co. couldn't care less. This one will be tough for Katz to beat. FidoNews 5-27 Page 15 4 Jul 1988 Why is a trademark important, anyway? A company spends con- siderable effort, not to mention money, establishing a trademark. I mentioned Coke in the previous paragraph. Did anyone have any doubt what company I was referring to? This is called "product recognition" and it is an extremely valuable asset. SEA has it with "ARC," but that didn't just happen. They worked at it. My "BBCOKE" would be trading on product recognition it didn't earn on its own. If I then sought out advertisements for Coca Cola, and placed ads of my own, claiming (whether right or not) "BBCOKE is better than the other cola" next to all I could find, would I be engaging in fair trade? Do you think I could argue that I was not trying to deliberately undermine the effect of their adver- tising and take advantage of their recognition? Do you suppose that Coca Cola would give me the courtesy of a letter before they fell on me like a ton of bricks? If any of the first three counts can be sustained, then the fourth probably should be also. A recent "PC Week" article has caused considerable comment on this issue. One mentioned a "fact" cited in the article that PKWare was a four-employee company operating out of Katz' home, and implied this was a Goliath attacking a David. The "facts" may or may not be true. The article was so badly written and so poorly researched as to call into question all of its "facts." The fact is that SEA is a four-employee (counting the principals) company. The Wayne (not Fort Wayne) NJ corporate address is Andy Foray's home. These are TWO small companies. Neither has the resources to pursue a protracted legal battle. I think we can expect a reasonably quick resolution. So how does it all affect you? Will you still be allowed to use a Unix port of ARC? Of course. Most ports have been made with permission, and even those which have not are not encroach- ing on SEA's commercial market. Will you still be able to use PKARC or PKXARC copies you obtained through shareware? You did so in good faith and SEA has neither the resources nor the in- clination to search you out and persecute you. In fact, should Katz lose the suit, he might still be granted a license to market his programs as shareware. For that, we'll have to await the fi- nal resolution. SEA is NOT being vindictive. They are trying to protect what they regard as a valuable commercial asset. If you are a shareware software developer, as I am, it may affect you in a different way. The lawyers have been telling us for several years that the copyright laws do in fact protect products marketed as "shareware." But so far, no court has said so, and the courts of the land are the final arbiters of the law. A win for SEA, particularly on the second count above, would place all, big or small, on notice! Shareware is NOT public do- main! A win for Katz, on the other hand, is a signal to share- ware authors, and a source of inexpensive, quality software might well dry up. If that happened, it would hurt developers and users alike. Think about it. ----------------------------------------------------------------- FidoNews 5-27 Page 16 4 Jul 1988 BACK TO THE BUSH! By Todd Looney, Sysop Vietnam Veterans' Valhalla 143/27, San Jose, CA. The Vietnam Veterans' Valhalla in San Jose, California has been working to put together a trip for interested parties back to Vietnam. We've really been pleased with the responses we've received since our last article announcing this once-in-a- lifetime trip back to Vietnam. You don't necessarily have to be a Vietnam veteran to go with us, everyone is invited! We expect to have a group of about fifty people. We are now accepting deposits for those who want to get their reservations in early. We have scheduled this event to depart from San Francisco, California on Saturday, January 21, 1989. We will be gone fourteen days and return on Saturday, February 4, 1989. The itinerary has been established already as listed below, but there is still room for change so if you have an idea, let us know, we'll try to work it in if it is at all possible. Things are starting to really look up for the "Back to the Bush" trip to back to Vietnam! All the amenities are includes as follows: Round trip air fare All hotels and lodging Three meals per day All transportation (Rail/Bus/Boat/Plane) Daily sightseeing tours of your choice (there are many tours available in every city, or you are free to go off on your own!) Cultural performances sponsored by the Vietnamese government Vietnamese and Cambodian visas (yes, you can take a sightseeing tour into Cambodia!) English-speaking tour guides and interpreters in every city All you have to furnish is your body, your international passport, and have your inoculations up to date (ouch!). Here's what we have planned for you: Day 1 Depart San Francisco via Japan Airlines Day 2 Arrive Hong Kong (Overnight stay because we will arrive too late to depart for SE Asia that evening. There will be a breakfast in Hong Kong before we leave) Day 3 Depart Hong Kong for Bangkok, Thailand (We will need to stay two nights in Bangkok to get all of our visas issued so you will have plenty of time for a little R&R!) Day 5 Depart Bangkok, Thailand for Hanoi, Vietnam FidoNews 5-27 Page 17 4 Jul 1988 (We will stay two days in Hanoi) Day 7 Depart Hanoi for Hue City (We will stay two days in Hue City) Day 9 Depart Hue City for Da Nang (We will stay two days in Da Nang) Day 11 Depart Da Nag for Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) (We will stay two days in Ho Chi Minh City) Day 13 Depart Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam for Bangkok, Thailand (We must stay overnight in Bangkok again to "check out") Day 14 Depart Bangkok, Thailand for Hong Kong and San Francisco, California, USA! (Itinerary subject to change) That's what We have so far! We will keep everyone apprised of any changes as they become available. The whole trip, everything listed above (all transportation, lodging, food, and daily entertainment) will only cost $2,000.00 each (try and do that on your own, we are getting some great group discounts!) We are still making every attempt to get this price cut down even more. The more tickets sold, the less the price will be for everyone so don't wait until the last minute! Start saving now, sign-ups are starting this month! All deposits are refundable, but certain restrictions will apply with regard to withdrawal less than 30 days prior scheduled departure date. Don't put off saving . This is a trip of a lifetime! To do this by yourself would bankrupt you so take advantage of this group discount! For further information contact: Vietnam Veterans' Valhalla 28 Cecil Avenue, Suite 179 San Jose, California 95128 Attn: Todd Looney or E-Mail to 143/27, 24 hours a day! ALL DEPOSITS SHOULD BE IN THE FORM OF PERSONAL OR CASHIERS' CHECK, OR MONEY ORDER PAYABLE TO "VIETNAM VETERANS' VALHALLA". You can also keep in contact with what is going on in the world of Vietnam veterans, their friends and family by participating in the International Vietnam Veterans' EchoConference. If you are not sure where the local node in your area is, I have listed several of them below. We look forward to having you aboard, and again, this is not just for veterans, *anyone* can participate! NODE_# BAUD BBS_NAME PHONE_# City/State/Country FidoNews 5-27 Page 18 4 Jul 1988 ================================================================= 632/350 1200 Yarra Valley BBS 61-3-848-331 Melbourne, Australia 153/123 9600 DAETECH 1-604-420-2641 Burnaby, BC 10/215 2400 Silver BBS 1-619-226-4502 San Diego CA 143/27 2400 Vietnam Vets'Valhalla 1-408-293-7894 San Jose, CA 161/943 9600 Eagle's Nest 1-916-334-2822 Sacramento, CA 104/28 2400 Pinecliff BBS 1-303-444-7073 Boulder, CO 141/250 9600 Wilton Woods 1-203=762-8481 Wilton, CT 366/38 9600 Jolly Green Giant 1-904-651-3875 Shalimar, FL 18/43 9600 Athens Echo 1-404-546-7857 Athens, GA 12/1 2400 Aura Net 1-808-533-0190 Honolulu, HI 115/20 2400 North Shore BBS 1-312-491-2611 Evanston, IL 11/202 1200 The SouthSide BBS 1-317-882-9330 Indianapolis, IN 108/50 2400 The ZOO BBS 1-606-283-2040 Independence, KY 321/203 2400 VETLink #1 1-413-443-6313 Pittsfield, MA 109/648 2400 Falcon's Rock 1-301-345-7459 College Park, MD 282/1 9600 Midwest Echo Star 1-612-377-3469 Minneapolis, MN 151/1000 2400 REDCON 1-919-859-3353 Raleigh, NC 143/27.1 2400 Friend's BBS 1-402-896-2669 Omaha, NE 132/101 2400 BBS Source Archive 1-603-888-8179 Nashua, NH 150/803 2400 Jersey Vertex 1-609-869-0139 Moorestown, NJ 15/4 2400 NASW New Mexico 1-505-646-2868 Las Cruces, NM 107/105 2400 NY Transfer 1-718-442-1056 Staten Island, NY 108/105 2400 Global Time Systems 1-606-341-7910 Cincinnati, OH 147/14 9600 Dark Star TBBS 1-405-691-0863 Oklahoma City, OK 221/156 9600 Waterloo CBCS PUBLIC 1-519-746-5020 Waterloo, ON 105/61 2400 Shotgun OPUS 1-503-760-4521 Portland, OR 157/506 2400 Beacon Hill OPUS 1-412-962-9514 Transfer, PA FidoNews 5-27 Page 19 4 Jul 1988 18/6 2400 The Burnout Board 1-901-353-4563 Memphis, TN 106/108 9600 Stormy Weather I 1-713-644-4345 Houston, TX 124/106 9600 CHAI Way II 1-214-250-3323 Dallas, TX 109/604 2400 ShanErin 1-703-941-8291 Alexandria, VA 138/35 2400 US HDS Human Service 1-206-442-8127 Seattle, WA 139/640 2400 Fox Valley Tech 1-414-735-2513 Appleton, WI G'day, and show a vet you care! ----------------------------------------------------------------- FidoNews 5-27 Page 20 4 Jul 1988 Tim Sullivan 108/62 I have started a new echo called: ZYMURGY. For those of you who are interested, ZYMURGY is the art of Beer Making. Since 1979 homebrewing beer has been legal in most states. In Ohio you can brew 100 gallons of beer per year for personal use. If you are married or there are multiple adults living in your household, you can brew up to 200 gallons per year. (That's a lot of homebrew!) You cannot sell your homebrew, but you can give away as much as you like. With the equipment and ingredients available today home brewing is easy, inexpensive, and good! The motto of the American Homebrewers Association (of which I am a member) is: Relax, Don't worry, Have a homebrew! I could very easily write a book about homebrewing but there are already several good books available and why re-invent the wheel. One of the best books available is: "The Complete Joy of Home Brewing" by Charlie Papazian. This book can be found/ordered at your favorite local bookshop. Since last September, I have brewed over 40 gallons of high quality beer. Just ask my friends! Everyone was a skeptic until the first sip.... Then it was WOW! you really made this! I started this echo in the hopes that I could find other homebrewers out there and we could swap techniques and recipes. I also started this echo for the new homebrewer that wants to learn about homebrewing. If you are interested in obtaining the 'ZYMURGY' echo, drop me a note at 108/62. Well the ball is in your court. Remember: Relax, Don't worry, have a homebrew! ----------------------------------------------------------------- FidoNews 5-27 Page 21 4 Jul 1988 ================================================================= NOTICES ================================================================= The Interrupt Stack 16 Jul 1988 A new areacode, 508, will form in eastern Massachusetts and will be effective on this date. The new area code will be formed from the current areacode 617. Greater Boston will remain areacode 617 while the rest of eastern Massachusetts will form the new areacode 508. 25 Aug 1988 Start of the Fifth International FidoNet Conference, to be held at the Drawbridge Inn in Cincinnati, OH. Contact Tim Sullivan at 108/62 for more information. This is FidoNet's big annual get-together, and is your chance to meet all the people you've been talking with all this time. We're hoping to see you there! 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 1:1/1. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Latest Software Versions BBS Systems Node List Other & Mailers Version Utilities Version Utilities Version Dutchie 2.90* EditNL 4.00* ARC 5.21 Fido 12h MakeNL 2.12* ARCmail 1.1 Opus 1.03b Prune 1.40 ConfMail 3.31 SEAdog 4.10 XlatList 2.86 EchoMail 1.31 TBBS 2.0M XlaxNode 1.02 MGM 1.1 BinkleyTerm 1.50 XlaxDiff 1.02 QuickBBS 2.01 ParseList 1.10 * Recently changed Utility authors: Please help keep this list up to date by reporting new versions to 1:1/1. It is not our intent to list all utilities here, only those which verge on necessity. ----------------------------------------------------------------- FidoNews 5-27 Page 22 4 Jul 1988 OFFICERS OF THE INTERNATIONAL FIDONET ASSOCIATION Ken Kaplan 100/22 Chairman of the Board Don Daniels 107/210 President Mark Grennan 147/1 Vice President Dave Dodell 114/15 Vice President - Technical Coordinator David Garrett 103/501 Secretary Leonard Mednick 345/1 Treasurer IFNA BOARD OF DIRECTORS DIVISION AT-LARGE 10 Steve Jordan 102/2871 Don Daniels 107/210 11 Bill Allbritten 11/301 Hal DuPrie 101/106 12 Leonard Mednick 345/1 Mark Grennan 147/1 13 Rick Siegel 107/27 Brad Hicks 100/523 14 Ken Kaplan 100/22 Ted Polczyinski 154/5 15 Jim Cannell 128/13 Kurt Reisler 109/74 16 Vince Perriello 141/491 Robert Rudolph 261/628 17 Rob Barker 138/34 Greg Small 148/122 18 Christopher Baker 135/14 Bob Swift 140/24 19 Vernon Six 19/0 Larry Wall 15/18 2 Henk Wevers 2:500/1 Gee Wong 107/312 ----------------------------------------------------------------- FidoNews 5-27 Page 23 4 Jul 1988 FidoCon '88 - Cincinnati, Ohio At The Drawbridge Inn and Convention Center August 25-28, 1988 Attendee Registration Form Name: ____________________________________________________ Address: ____________________________________________________ Address: ____________________________________________________ City: _______________________ State: ____ Zip: ___________ Country: ____________________________________________________ Phone Numbers: Day: ____________________________________________________ Evening: ____________________________________________________ Data: ____________________________________________________ Zone:Net/ Node.Point: _______________________________________________ Your BBS Name: _______________________________________________ BBS Software: _____________________ Mailer: _________________ Modem Brand: _____________________ Speed: _________________ What Hotel will you be Staying at: ____________________________ Do you want to share a room? ______ Are you a non-smoker? ______ Do you want an in room point? ______ (Tower rooms at Drawbridge only) Do you need special accommodations? ______ (If so, please explain) ____________________________ ____________________________ FidoNews 5-27 Page 24 4 Jul 1988 Are you a non-Sysop? ______ Are you an IFNA Member? ______ If so, will you be attending the Sunday IFNA brunch/BoD meeting? ______ Additional Guests: ______ (not attending conferences) Comments: ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ Costs How Many? Cost --------------------------- -------- ------- Conference fee $60..................... ________ _______ ($75.00 after 7/31) Thursday Lunch $10.95 .............. ________ _______ Thursday Dinner $18.95 .............. ________ _______ Friday Lunch $10.95 .............. ________ _______ Friday Banquet $24.95 .............. ________ _______ Saturday Lunch $10.95 .............. ________ _______ ======== ======= Totals ................................ ________ _______ You may pay by Check, Money Order or Visa/MC Please send no cash. All monies must be in U.S. Funds. Checks should be made out to: "FidoCon '88" This form should be completed and mailed to: FidoCon '88 Registration P.O. Box 9294 Cincinnati, OH 45209 If you pay by Credit Card you may also register by Netmailing this completed form to 108/62 or 1/88 for processing. Please complete the information below and be sure to include a voice phone number above so that we can contact you for Credit Card FidoNews 5-27 Page 25 4 Jul 1988 verification. Rename this file ZNNNXXXX.REG where Z is your Zone number, N is your Net number, and X is your Node number. [ ] Visa [ ] MasterCard Name as it appears on credit card: ___________________________________________ Credit Card Number: ___________________________________________ Expiration Date: ___________________________________________ Signature: ___________________________________________ (If you mail in registration) ----------------------------------------------------------------- FidoNews 5-27 Page 26 4 Jul 1988 INTERNATIONAL FIDONET ASSOCIATION ORDER FORM Publications The IFNA publications can be obtained by downloading from Fido 1:1/10 or other FidoNet compatible systems, or by purchasing them directly from IFNA. We ask that all our IFNA Committee Chairmen provide us with the latest versions of each publication, but we can make no written guarantees. Hardcopy prices as of October 1, 1986 IFNA Fido BBS listing $15.00 _____ IFNA Administrative Policy DOCs $10.00 _____ IFNA FidoNet Standards Committee DOCs $10.00 _____ SUBTOTAL _____ IFNA Member ONLY Special Offers System Enhancement Associates SEAdog $60.00 _____ SEAdog price as of March 1, 1987 ONLY 1 copy SEAdog per IFNA Member Fido Software's Fido/FidoNet $100.00 _____ Fido/FidoNet price as of November 1, 1987 ONLY 1 copy Fido/FidoNet per IFNA Member International orders include $10.00 for surface shipping or $20.00 for air shipping _____ SUBTOTAL _____ HI. Residents add 4.0 % Sales tax _____ TOTAL _____ SEND CHECK OR MONEY ORDER IN US FUNDS: International FidoNet Association c/o Leonard Mednick, MBA, CPA 700 Bishop Street, #1014 Honolulu, HI. 96813-4112 USA Name________________________________ Zone:Net/Node____:____/____ Company_____________________________ Address_____________________________ City____________________ State____________ Zip_____ Voice Phone_________________________ Signature___________________________ -----------------------------------------------------------------