Volume 6, Number 30 24 July 1989 +---------------------------------------------------------------+ | _ | | / \ | | /|oo \ | | - FidoNews - (_| /_) | | _`@/_ \ _ | | International | | \ \\ | | FidoNet Association | (*) | \ )) | | Newsletter ______ |__U__| / \// | | / FIDO \ _//|| _\ / | | (________) (_/(_|(____/ | | (jm) | +---------------------------------------------------------------+ Editor in Chief: Vince Perriello Editors Emeritii: Dale Lovell Thom Henderson Chief Procrastinator Emeritus: Tom Jennings 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. 1:1/1 is a Continuous Mail system, available for network mail 24 hours a day. Copyright 1989 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. We don't necessarily agree with the contents of every article published here. Most of these materials are unsolicited. No article will be rejected which is properly attributed and legally acceptable. We will publish every responsible submission received. Table of Contents 1. EDITORIAL ................................................ 1 The Resignation of David Dodell .......................... 1 2. ARTICLES ................................................. 3 Thoughts ................................................. 3 A Response to Doug Thompson & jim nutt ................... 7 Democracy...Is it for you? ............................... 11 Democracy in Fidonet? Ramblings of a madman .............. 14 An open letter from Dan Steurer .......................... 16 3. WANTED ................................................... 17 Investment Echo .......................................... 17 4. LATEST VERSIONS .......................................... 18 And more! FidoNews 6-30 Page 1 24 Jul 1989 ================================================================= EDITORIAL ================================================================= Here's something you might not have seen yet, if you don't read the comments published in the weekly nodediff: [start of quote] This is perhaps one of the saddest notices I have written in the nodediff. I have tended my resignation as the International Coordinator of Fidonet to the FidoNet Zone Council. I will be staying on in the position to facilitate the smooth transistion to the next IC, however I will not be hearing any policy complaints at this time. In other words, I will stay as long as it takes to get a successor in place, and will do what is necessary to keep the network technically operational, anything else will need to wait until the next IC is installed. For the reasons why, this will be expounded in an article in FidoNews sometime in the next month. Ignore the rumors that I'm sure that will start up as soon as word starts spreading. Nobody is authorized to claim that a certain event, individual or anything else caused my resignation. I was not forced or asked by anyone to resign. I did this because I needed a break from the administrative workings of the network, and wanted to start devoting my time and energy into some of my favorite projects. [end of quote] That's right, folks. David Dodell has stepped down from his position as International Coordinator. Friends of David, don't weep for him. He's done his best. Now it's time for someone else to do the job. And it's time for David to devote some time to his personal interests, which have been neglected far too long. That includes his lovely wife, Amy. Enemies of David, don't rejoice over some apparent victory. You've won NOTHING. Until we all recognize that we're in the middle of wars that will result in total unity or total destruction, and we're all pointed towards unity, nothing can be gained through anyone's arrival or departure from the stage. I personally wanted David to resign some time ago. But it had nothing to do with power trips or anything. I thought that he had had enough. That he should take up his life again. Let someone else deal with this stuff. At one point, he was very close to doing just that. I still think it unfortunate that he decided to continue then. Just as I am happy for him now. FidoNews 6-30 Page 2 24 Jul 1989 This job I have as FidoNews editor can often be very painful. The worst part, however, has been printing articles accusing David of being on some kind of "power trip". Nothing could be further from the truth. David is just not that kind of person. What has been true, throughout, is that David has a vision of what he has wanted FidoNet to be. It's a nice vision. One that we could all share. What also has been true is that David has a vision of how that needs to be accomplished. I don't completely share that vision. Many don't share it at all. It has to do with centralized authority and unquestioned leadership. But what that meant was that as long as David held power, he had to exercise it. Hence the apparent "power trip". Sorry if this disillusions some of you folks, but David only used the power because he thought he had to, not because he was drunk with it. I can't say that FidoNet will be a better place because of David. Right now it looks like the jury is out on what it will be. But whether you want to believe it or not, it would almost certainly would have been a worse place without David. The next person to hold this job has my sympathy in advance. Best of luck, David. And THANKS!! ----------------------------------------------------------------- FidoNews 6-30 Page 3 24 Jul 1989 ================================================================= ARTICLES ================================================================= Thoughts By Butch Walker, 161/2 As August draws near, I wanted to give you some thoughts, and some history. What follows will not become an epic, nor will it be repeated around campfires, but maybe will give you some perspective. My first experience with Computer Tele-communications was in 1978. I had formed a Pension Administration company with an Attorney and a CPA. We needed to communicate with a mainframe, so we purchased a Dec LA36. Basically a dumb terminal (keyboard, line printer, and 300 baud modem with an acoustic coupler). That was okay for a while but it was slow and expensive. Everything was entered on line, real time. In 1979 I personally spent $20,000 for a CPT 8000, which consisted of a 48k 8080, 2 8" floppies, keyboard, monitor, internal 300 baud modem, special Diablo letter quality printer, dual sheet feeders, etc. Man all that power in one location. [grin] In 1980, I sold my agency, my share in the PA firm, and my share in a partnership and took a position that brought me to California. With me came my CPT. Late 1980 or early 1981, CPT released a CP/M disk for the machine and it became a data processor. I and a couple of others started writing programs in CBasic for our company. The CPT was in Oakland and I lived in Clayton, so I decided to get a micro for the house. After months of shopping I purchased mail order an S100 machine with 64k, two 1.2mb 8" floppies, CRT, and a 300 baud modem card. All for the amazingly low price of $3,800. At night I'd put BYE.COM up on the CPT and if I needed something I'd pull it off. I also called a few CP/M boards both locally and back in Michigan. Boy, what a deal! By 1984 it was obvious that IBM and the clones were here to stay. Also, the S100 machine was on it's last legs. Parts were impossible to find, nothing was standardized, and I was tired of trying to do the repair work myself, so I bought a Leading Edge Model M, plus an expansion chassis, a 10mb hrad drive and a 5mb Syquest removable cartridge drive. Boy I was in heaven, 640k of ram, two 360k floppies, and 15mb of hard disk storage all for only $6,500. I also bought a Hayes 1200 internal modem. It was now the big time folks. [grin] In the fall of 1985 I needed to set up a bulletin board for a users group. I looked at RBBS, PC-Board, and several others. Mike Kelleher was running Fido. After talking to Mike, reading the docs, it seemed that Fido provided the answer to the problem. In October of 1985 I brought up a one line Fido at 1200 baud. At that time only Nets 125 & 143 existed in the Bay Area. I applied for a node number, but was told I'd have to apply as a regional FidoNews 6-30 Page 4 24 Jul 1989 independant as I was too far away from from either net. So 10/625 TBLUG came up in November of 1985. By January of '86 I went to two lines. My company bought an IBM AT, which I took up to 8mhz, I added a JRam AT card and brought up Multilink, put on two Courier 2400's and away we went. Well, some of the time anyway. Multilink loved to hang. Sometimes I thought the system was down more than it was up. My wife used to hate it when I tried to loggon from home only to discover the system was hung. Away I'd go to the office, regardless of the time of day or night. In February, Mike Kelleher told me to log on to Harv's board and check out something called echomail. At that time echomail involved a few boards in Dallas and Harv in San Francisco. Mike and I both jumped on the bandwagon. Ah the early days. Mucho bugs in scanmail and tossmail. Thousands of dupes, processing mail by hand using Fido's external mail event. Arcing it ourselves, manually uploading it, unarcing it and processing manually. Detroit (my brother Don) coming on line, then Tampa (Wes Cowley), Atlanta (Ken Shackleford), New York/New Jersey (Gee Wong), New Hampshire (Bob Hartman), Cleveland (Phil Ardussi). Aha, the first echomail backbone. In the spring of '86 it was apparent that there were quite a few regional independants in the East Bay, and the valley that might want to form a net. I decided to see what could be done, and Net 161 came into being. Due to geography it made a great deal of sense to set up hubs from the beginning, so Mike Kelleher wrote another WalkBro & Kelleher almost useful utility to create hub routing files. Mike and I set up the routing and a few of the pioneers met in Fairfield to organize the net. In September of '86 the echomail backbone was formalized. We had a meeting in Chicago specifically for that purpose. My brother Don and Mike Bader came over from Detroit, Phil Ardussi from Cleveland, Jon Sabol from Dallas, Bob Hartman from New Hampshire, Gee Wong and Thom Henderson from New Jersey. Topology was mapped, the idea of an echomail policy was discussed, 84 commercials for SeaDog were listened too [grin], Arcmail was fine tuned, and Opus was discussed (we were already beta testing it at the time). Heck I even paid Hartman for Renum. It was about the same time that we took the Net161 echo regional for all NorCal nets. Probably the first ever. It was a fun and exciting time. The net was growing by leaps and bounds, Fidonet was growing, echomail was booming, other than mikey, IFNA, and a few other things fun times were had by all. The Dobyns Award was created and handed out with vigor. FidoNews 6-30 Page 5 24 Jul 1989 In the summer of '87 my office burnt to the ground, taking the echomail distribution machine with it. Four hours later, my home system was moving the echomail once again. Only a handful of messages were never disributed. A few months later, due to an error in judgement, I got appointed Zone 1 Echomail Coordinator. Boy, I really had no idea what I was getting into, but someone needed to do it. In the early summer of '88 I decided it was time to let someone else have the fun of being net host, and conned Diane Smith into taking over. Again Net 161 made Fidonet history as Diane was the first female host ever. August of '88 brought Fidocon, and I had been conned by my other brother Mark into speaking. For a while it looked as if I wasn't going to make it. But finally I took a redeye into Cinci and arrived there early in the morning. Heck I can't even remember if it was Thursday or Friday. That night we went until 5:00am working on compromises on an echomail policy, maybe I only made it until 3am, shoot I don't remember. All I know is that I was one tired camper. I gave two talks, one on Multitasking and BBS's, and one on Echomail. Last winter enough was enough, and I resigned as ZEC. I decided it was time for someone else to wear the target on their back, and I would retire to being a normal (if there is such a thing) sysop. Late December through late January brought more changes in my personal life, and now I prepare to move to Cleveland Ohio and return to school after a 20 year absence. While I still plan on being in Fidonet (I'm already in the nodelist in Net 157), my role will be a very minor one. I'd like to think I accomplished some good. Net 161 has spun off three nets (203, 205 & 208) and helped start a fourth (204). I think Net 161 has helped set an example of how a net can function without problems, personality conflicts, or turmoil. We helped bring echomail & Opus to Fidonet. We've beta tested Opus, Lynx, SeaDog, Binkley, Confmail, the original echomail utilities, and multitudes of Fidonet related utilities. We've written utilities for Fidonet. We started a Net Newsletter that almost had more readership internationally than Fidonews at one time. 161/2 has feed Region 10, 17, 19, 14, Malaysia, England, and others echomail over the years. In fact 161/2 has probably pumped out millions of echomail messages since February of '86. Heck I have the failed hard drives to prove it. [grin] I've had fun, I've experienced frustration, I've been praised and been called many unprintable names. I've made some good friends around the world, and probably some enemies as well. I just hope that over time I'll be remembered as someone who cared and contributed what he could. Thanks for the memories. FidoNews 6-30 Page 6 24 Jul 1989 ----------------------------------------------------------------- FidoNews 6-30 Page 7 24 Jul 1989 A Response to Doug Thompson by Phil Buonomo (1:107/583, 7:520/583, 9:807/1) I would like to thank Doug Thompson for his insightful article of last week's FidoNews. It is obvious that Doug was taken by David Dodell and believed everything DD said. This is not meant to imply anything about the veracity of DD, or Doug's perception of what was said. What I intend to do is to merely point out that the claims of Mr. Dodell do not seem to fit the facts. In his article, Doug said: 1) David assured me that no one would be removed from the nodelist for any opinion or statement about policy 4, including an expressed refusal to comply with it. The only grounds for excommunication remain technical and *repeated* violations of policy must occur before an excommunication would occur. That is to say a violation will get you a warning, repeat violations can get you excommunicated. Refusing the acknowledge the legitimacy of policy 4 can't get you either. In fidonet it continues to be "legal" to speak your mind and say darned near anything you want without fear of direct punishment. Our coordinators will not be taking a cue from the Ayatollah and issuing death-warrants for calling Mohammed a devil, cursing Tom Jennings' mother or even, presumably, cursing their coordinator. Unfortunately, Doug apparently either did not see, or forgot the following message that was printed, right here in FidoNews, between Jim Grubs and Steve Bonine, Jim's RC, and the recent secretly elected new Zone 1 ZC: >JG> The question which remains unanswered is the legitimacy of >JG> Policy 4. You can neither excommunicate nor canonize >JG> under a policy document that was not legally adopted. >JG> The rules under which it was adopted were made up >JG> unilaterally as the process went along. Furthermore, I was >JG> not a part of the process. The *C's can enter into all >JG> the agreements among themselves they want to. They can't >JG> force people who were not a party to that agreement to >JG> comply with it. I could organize a bunch of sysops and >JG> 'pass' Policy 7-requiring the *C's to wear mirrored >JG> eyeshades and carry nerf bats, too. So, what? Do as you >JG> wish. You will anyway. >JG> 73 de Jim Grubs, W8GRT SB> I am accepting the above message as an affirmation of your SB> desire to terminate your relationship with FidoNet since SB> you do not wish to observe FidoNet policy. I will remove SB> your nodelist entry, effective immediately. Thank you for FidoNews 6-30 Page 8 24 Jul 1989 SB> your past contributions to FidoNet, many of which have been SB> positive. Should you have a change of heart and decide that SB> you are willing to be bound by FidoNet policy, please SB> re-apply for a node number. Those are Steve Bonine's exact words, friends. This is the man whom David Dodell wishes to be the new ZC1 of FidoNet, YOUR ZC! Of course, when Jim Grubs appealed this action to David Dodell himself, his appeal was rejected and he was removed from the nodelist, supposedly for ONE bombing run! That doesn't sound like REPEATED technical violations to me. How about YOU? Next, Doug raises the following point: 2) David expressed surprise at the result of the p4 vote. He had expected it to be defeated. So had I. Understandably this intensifies my concern that the room allowed for electoral abuses actually might well have been used more than once or twice. It is interesting that he should say this. David Dodell 'repealed' the ECHOPOL1 doc that was put in place via a voting mechanism similar to that which passed POLICY4, due to claimed 'irregularities' in the voting. If that is so, and he's 'surprised' at the vote for Policy 4, and considering the 'irregularities' that have come to light in the meantime, why has Mr. Dodell not 'repealed' Policy 4? Another point: Excommunicating a node if it is at all possible not to is directly equivalent to a bank burning hundred dollar bills because they cause some annoyance. It is an attack on the very fundamental basics of the whole operation. Then why has Steve Bonine so cavalierly thrown sysops and whole NETS out of the nodelist, only to have said actions confirmed by David Dodell? Hell, he's been REWARDED for those actions by being made the next ZC! 5) So we agree we have lots of problems with policy 4, and we agree that the best bet is to forge ahead with a policy 5 process that will aim at learning from our mistakes. I would suggest that the IFNA BoD be allowed to vote on accepting Policy 4 (as the precedent was set with adoption of the last policy) before we 'forge ahead' with a Policy 5. In 3 weeks we may be back operating under Policy 3! ;-) Policy 4 bans the use of encryption which I find slightly bewildering since it is being so rapidly embraced by the FidoNews 6-30 Page 9 24 Jul 1989 rest of the world, and enhances the value of e-mail so much. That is the sort of decision which is wholly political since the "technology" would be mostly unaffected. Since Policy 4 does this, it is in direct violation of the Electronic Communications and Privacy Act of 1986, which makes it illegal to tamper with electronic communications. No matter how many times Mr. Dodell claims that FidoNet is an 'amateur' operation in his Policy document, it STILL falls under this law. It is for that reason, and those like it that I wrote this article. Plainly, SOMEONE's getting a snow job here, be it Doug, myself, or ALL of us! Phil P.S. Some quick answers to jim nutt's questions: Have any of these people who are complaining actually taken a look at the work it takes to be an *C? Lots of work, but then again, so does being a fireman. Does that give him the right to say whether you can have a telephone number listed in the phone book? What power does a *C REALLY have? I mean, there isn't really anything there to get on a power trip over, now, is there? Depends. He has the power to say whether your friends can send you mail or not. If there's no 'power' to protect, why did the RC's write a policy document electing the *C structure for life? Do the vast majority of sysops even care about the petty bickering that is going on over Policy4? Funny. I don't see any petty bickering. But if you're asking if they're concerned over the discussion going on, I don't know. But they SHOULD be. It affects them directly. Are alternative networks the solution? (I say no, if anything, they are in worse shape than Fidonet) From my own experience, I can name two that are in much BETTER shape than FidoNet. I don't think they're the solution to FidoNet's problems though. If I did, I'd quit FidoNet. Is the main reason for all the complaining about policy simply a case of too much free time and too little real work? FidoNews 6-30 Page 10 24 Jul 1989 Not in my case. I have a two month old son I've been sitting up with every night. I've 2 other small children that have to be cared for. I've been trying to hold down the fort in a 3 person programming department with one employee (me) for a major food distribution firm. I've been trying to set up a national GroupMail Distribution system for EVERYONE to enjoy, and I've been writing like crazy for FidoNews about the injustices of the system. Why? Because I CARE. Why in the world would anybody WANT to be a *C?!?!? Some people do it for all the right reasons. Many (several RC's and a ZC/IC come to mind) do it for the feeling of 'authority' they get out of the job. Why else are people liquidated for refusing to 'cowtow' to the powers that be? Why are networks eliminated for 'the good of FidoNet'? What good did it do me to have Net 154 removed? Now I can't talk to 'em! (I guess some people just think that its for my own good... ;-) ----------------------------------------------------------------- FidoNews 6-30 Page 11 24 Jul 1989 Steve Boyd 104/421 Democracy...is it for YOU? I may or may not represent the average sysop. I received my first computer in 1983, a Texas Instruments TI99/4A. I was immediately taken by what this simple machine could do for me. Soon I realized that the TI99/4A was destined for demise, and purchased a Commodore 64 (with my pay as an E-2 in the Air Force, and a wife and two kids, it was almost more than I could bear financially), which was surprisingly similar in operation. Soon, I took the plunge, and bought my first modem, a 300 bauder that I had to manually dial out with my phone, and flip a switch to pass control of the call to the modem. What I found on the telephone lines astounded me! to be able to connect my computer with another and exchange information, be it programs or messages, was the end to my means. I could consult my gurus (sysops) with a simple phone call, and ask for, and receive, any information and assistance I was in need of. Soon the addiction took over, and I was hooked into my computer for good. I moved to Denver in 1987, and had already decided that I would be setting up a BBS. Once I had acquired the proper equipment for my C-64 (no small task...try setting up a Commodore with 11 megs on-line!), I started my first, and VERY successful, attempt at a BBS, The Dark Crystal. The users were enthusiastic, as was I, and we quickly grew to 250+ users. I decided then that in order to speed up my message base, I would have to upgrade the computer to an IBM compatible, and chose QuickBBS for my BBS. The Dark Crystal has taken many turns, and has changed and adapted to those changes, but nothing so rudely changed my attitude towards being a SysOp as did my induction to FiDoNet. I make no bones about it...I joined FidoNet to get the CBM and Amiga echos...I, to this day, have both users online here regularly, as well as the Tandy CoCo crowd. Policy 3 was in effect, and until I specifically asked for a copy of this policy, I had little idea of what it said, let alone how it was adopted. Sheer ignorance, and perhaps the burning desire to furnish my users with the best BBS I could offer, allowed me to join FidoNet under the existing circumstances. I knew nothing about the net as a whole, and found, much to my elation, that the sysops here were the same as the sysops i had grown to appreciate...helpful, courteous, and friendly. With the help of a few Denverites, I was up and running and learning about the technical side of operating as a node in FidoNet. Soon, I was acting as a hub for echomail, and generally accepted in the local net as, at least, a person that could be counted on. But a funny thing happened on the way to that point...I found that certain sysops (and that is all we are, no?) took pleasure in IMPOSING their will upon the whole of FidoNet. At first, I realized that with a structure as big as this, controls were neccesary, and certain things could not be tolerated. Exposing SysOps to unnecceasry costs, causing technical snafus, etc., were FidoNews 6-30 Page 12 24 Jul 1989 all reasonable requests...but I sensed that perhaps those in power (imposing term, no?) were quietly slipping beyond the line of helping us to stay in step, and were starting to mold the individuals into what *THEY* thought we should be. I started to go through policy a bit more thouroughly, as before it was but a mere inconvienience to follow, and found that I, the individual node in FidoNet, could do little to prevent this from proprogating into a full-fledged dictatorship, in which the *C structure mandated everything, and I would be compelled to comply if I desired a node number in this "hobbyist" network. Policy 4 was brought into being, and that which I had feared the most was brought into being, though in a way that even I had not imagined. The NCs were cut out of the process altogether! The RC and ZC structure took it upon themselves to install themselves as judge, jury, and executioner as far as policy was concerned. The RCs are appointed by the ZCs, who in turn are appointed by the RCs. Once you are able to clarify this, and the dizzying effect it has could cause you to stop and ponder for a while, you realize that the upper-echelon of FidoNet is untouchable by you and I, the individual sysop that FidoNet is based on. Is this a problem? Are you directly affected by this? Has FidoNet grown beyond the point that it is ineffective in administering to the needs of the individual sysop? All questions are personal in nature, and until YOU decide to look into the way things are currently being handled will YOU come to a decision. I have made that assesment, and have come to the following conclusions: 1. I, as a lowly sysop in this network, have no say in the administration of it. 2. I, as a lowly sysop in this network, MUST conform or risk the ultimate penalty...excommunication! 3. I, as a lowly sysop in this network, do not matter in the large scheme of things, but rather, am a pawn to be toyed with. 4. I, am a lowly sysop in this network, am VERY dissatisfied with the power brokers, AS A WHOLE, of FidoNet. It matters not who is in charge...it matters not how fair and impartial they are...it matters not what their intentions. The fact of the matter is the RC/ZC totally control FidoNet, and are under no obligation to consult anyone out of their circle to make changes. This is conceptually unacceptable, and steps are being taken to erradicate the situation. Policy 5.XX is being developed by sysops at large, and being coordinated by Jason Steck at 104/424. A large part of the developement process is taking place in both the DEMOCRACY echo and the SYSOP echo, and POL5_DEM is *CLOSE* to being on the backbone. This is a policy that falls back a few steps, and places he importance of the individual node back into the limelight, where it always should have been. Though Policy 4 is FidoNews 6-30 Page 13 24 Jul 1989 in effect, and we, by default, are bound by it, we are by no means left without recourse. The *C structure is not the demon some will believe; in fact, the *C structure has offered more encouragement and support than the general populace. I urge YOU, the lowly sysop in the huge net, to at least familiarize yourself with this proposed policy, and take whatever action YOU deem neccesary. After all, to demand that you see my point in this would be hypocritical, no? All I ask is that YOU look into the matter, whether it is FIDONEWS, the DEMOCRACY, SYSOP, or POL5_DEM echoes, or simply ask your NC what he/she feels about the situation. Form your own opinion, see what Policy 4 actually says, see what we are trying to implement, and, if you feel motovated by your findings, act accordingly. Too many of us are sitting on our hands, willing to accept what is thrown at us. At least form an opinion of what is going on, as WE may be wrong about the feelings of the net as a whole...the silent majority (VERY silent, and VERY large) is being claimed by both sides in this arguement. ----------------------------------------------------------------- FidoNews 6-30 Page 14 24 Jul 1989 Ravings, Cravings, and Mush Thoughts. I feel like I'm getting sucked into the swirl of the discussion for which probably much to much has already been said. But like most humans I have an opion and the genetic flaws in my brain make me feel like I owe it to the world to espouse them. The editors comments, to this reader, in Fidonews 628 show a lack of understanding of the perspective for the guys who are on the "outside" of any dictatorship looking in. It does not matter whether the dictators are good guys or bad guys...they have set themselves up as targets. The fundamental problem is one of the "outsiders" versus the "insiders".....or I'm in the "club" or not. Thats just basic human psychology. Let me relate a story from my past that may be similar to whats happening in the net right now. I was put in charge as the systems programmer of our labs VAX 11/780. And did my best to do all the right things to insure security and uptime to the max extent possible. In my quest to make sure I didn't allow anything to go haywire I did not allow anyone to have system privileges except by direct appeal to me. In other words I had the keys to the kingdom and I was the gate master. Well this to me seemed to be a good arrangement since I would know when anyone was doing anything "funny" on the system. Well this one guy was given DIRIO...which means he could do unrestricted calls to the device drivers of the operating system. His reason for having it...over my objections...had been for speeding up his I/O for a government contact the lab was working on. Well about 9 o'clock on a Friday I get this call that the system is down and would I come in to see what the problem was. I did and found 3 packs wiped and the system pack trashed. Needless to say I found the problem after taking all weekend to reset the system up and promptly locked Mr. DIRIOs account out until I could get a chance to talk(and beat up) to him. On Monday....all hell broke lose...I was called in before the lab director and told that I was being a tyrant and that I was to let his people have whatever they needed to do their work or I would be relieved! So I wrote a memo that afternoon that stated as the syspgmer I would no longer restrict privileges and would only require a letter stating what and why the access would be required and it would be granted. This lasted about 2 weeks before users got tired of the unacceptable system performance and numerous crashes or hangs. I was called in again....but this time I had the upperhand and made the lab director setup a board of user representatives to consider how and who would be given access and at what level. AMAZING all of a sudden I became everyones friend and no longer the tyrant systems programmer that everyone had to beg to get access. Also the system ran just as well and I didn't have the hassle of playing "he's a good guy/he's not a good guy". FidoNews 6-30 Page 15 24 Jul 1989 Please take note of this experience. I learned the hard way what being the gatemaster can be like. Also if we setup a democratic system then when they start to complain then there will be a body that they can address their complaints to. This will relieve the *Cs from playing judge and jury and let them do what they do best and not having people throw mud in their faces. I for one wouldn't want to be in their position as long as the current situation remains...I out grew that with that VAX back in 1982. FIDONET NEEDS TO GET ON WITH THE BUSINESS OF BETTER NETWORKING NOT BICKERING!!!!!!!! David I Winters "The Rambling Sysop" MCI: 328-8890 FAX: 9503288890 CIS: 73327,1075 ARPA: sac.23bms-do@e.isi.edu Fido: 281/10(route to 777/1) ----------------------------------------------------------------- FidoNews 6-30 Page 16 24 Jul 1989 An OPEN letter from Dan Steurer, sysop, 1:170/405: To all RC, NC, Hubs, Nodes and Points of FidoNet, Zone 1: Last month, our node, VSSI Tech Support BBS, 1:170/405, issued a mass mailing. It was our intent to make a direct call to each node. We, due to a misunderstanding of what the "Crash Mail" flag meant to our mailer, did this "Bombing Run" via host routing. This aspect of the operation was an error and a violation of Policy 4. I can assure that a similar event will not occur again. Several NCs responded to this mailing, informing us of our error. We responded via net mail to all that we knew of. At this time we would like to repeat our offer of payment for any long distance bills caused by our actions. This offer is open to NC and Hubs alike. Please send via US Mail a copy of your phone bill (with charges highlighted) to: V.S.S.I One Technology Center Mannford OK 74044 Attn: FidoNet Again I wish to offer my apologies for this error and my assurance that it will not happen again. ----------------------------------------------------------------- FidoNews 6-30 Page 17 24 Jul 1989 ================================================================= WANTED ================================================================= Revis Smith 1:120/110 Investment Echo =============== I want to start a new investment echo. This echo would cover the following topics: NYSE, AMEX, and OTC markets. As well as Stock Options, futures, bonds, CD's, T-bills, mutual funds, and the like. We will also have a weekly stock market game to see who can pick the best stock for the week. That is if there is enough interest, and this all gets going. I would also like to talk about how our economy effects the stock market, and how the various markets aroud the world affect the global economy. So if all this sounds interesting to you drop me a line at 1:120/110. Revis Smith ----------------------------------------------------------------- FidoNews 6-30 Page 18 24 Jul 1989 ================================================================= LATEST VERSIONS ================================================================= Latest Software Versions MS-DOS Systems -------------- Bulletin Board Software Name Version Name Version Name Version Fido 12n+* Phoenix 1.3 TBBS 2.1 Lynx 1.30 QuickBBS 2.03 TComm/TCommNet 3.4 Opus 1.03b+ RBBS 17.2A TPBoard 5.2 Network Node List Other Mailers Version Utilities Version Utilities Version BinkleyTerm 2.20 EditNL 4.00 ARC 6.02 D'Bridge 1.21* MakeNL 2.12 ARCmail 2.0 Dutchie 2.90C ParseList 1.30 ConfMail 4.00 FrontDoor 2.0 Prune 1.40 EMM 2.02 PRENM 1.47 XlatList 2.90 GROUP 2.10 SEAdog 4.51A* XlaxDiff 2.32 LHARC 1.13* XlaxNode 2.32 MSG 3.3 MSGED 1.99 PK[UN]ZIP 0.92* QM 1.0* TCOMMail 2.2 TMail 1.11 TPBNetEd 3.2 UFGATE 1.03 XRS 2.3* ZmailQ 1.09* Apple Macintosh --------------- Bulletin Board Software Network Mailers Other Utilities Name Version Name Version Name Version Red Ryder Host v2.1b3 Tabby 2.0* MacArc 0.03 Mansion 7.0 ArcMac 1.3 StuffIt 1.51 TImport 1.0 TExport 1.0 Timestamp 1.6 Tset 1.0.2 FidoNews 6-30 Page 19 24 Jul 1989 Timestart 1.1 Tally 1.1 Mehitabel 1.2 Archie 1.60 Numberizer 1.5c MessageEdit 1.0 Commodore Amiga --------------- Bulletin Board Software Network Mailers Other Utilities Name Version Name Version Name Version Paragon 1.00+* BinkleyTerm 1.50 ConfMail 1.00 ChameleonEdit 0.10 + Netmail capable (does not require additional mailer software) * 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 6-30 Page 20 24 Jul 1989 ================================================================= NOTICES ================================================================= The Interrupt Stack 2 Aug 1989 Start of Galactic Hacker Party in Amsterdam, Holland. Contact Rop Gonggrijp at 2:280/1 for details. 24 Aug 1989 Voyager 2 passes Neptune. 24 Aug 1989 FidoCon '89 starts at the Holiday Inn in San Jose, California. Trade show, seminars, etc. Contact 1:1/89 for info. 5 Oct 1989 20th Anniversary of "Monty Python's Flying Circus" 11 Oct 1989 First International Modula-2 Conference at Bled, Yugoslavia hosting Niklaus Wirth and the British Standards Institution. Contact 1:106/8422 for more information. 11 Nov 1989 A new area code forms in northern Illinois at 12:01 am. Chicago proper will remain area code 312; suburban areas formerly served with that code will become area code 708. ----------------------------------------------------------------- FidoNews 6-30 Page 21 24 Jul 1989 ================================================================= REPORTS ================================================================= Nominations and Elections Committee 1:107/233 Report from Nominations and Elections Committee As indicated in a previous report, the committee is presenting statements from those individuals who have expressed interest in serving FidoNet as Directors of IFNA. The committee has not validated any of the material in these reports. If your are interested in serving on the BoD but your statement does not appear herein, please forward it to 1:107/210 immediately. ================================================================ STEVEN BARNES - has withdrawn for personal reasons. ================================================================ ROB LERMAN I have been a Fidonet SysOp now for about 2 years and have enjoyed every bit of it. I joined IFNA last May for the first time when a friend of mine sent me the application for membership. I have been in a national level position in a International Star Trek Fan club now for about 3 years and now the number 5 person who runs the 4100 plus International Club. I have really enjoyed working at a International Level and would like the opportunity to be able to help out in Fidonet/IFNA in anyway I can possibility can. I would if elected listen to the members of Fidonet/IFNA and recommend things that are important to them to the board, would help in any way I can possibility help in (Committees, I am currently on the IFNA Ethics Committee) Fidocon or whatever. As I did state, I am a new comer to this, but at times a new comer might be able to bring in fresh new ideas and/or revise old ideas to help mak the system work even better than before. If anyone has any questions, feel free to ask me via netmail or any other communications link. I will get back to you within 24 hours of when I get your message. Rob Lerman, 1:203/57 FidoNews 6-30 Page 22 24 Jul 1989 ================================================================ JOHN ROBERTS I'd say that my most important qualifications for the position of Director would be belief in the potential of FidoNet compatible mail systems and a sincere desire to help realize that potential. I believe that IFNA has an important role to play in this future due to its unique position to act for the furtherance of the technology without being hindered by the task of the day to day management of network operations and politics. One role that I see for IFNA is as a public representative of FidoNet technology and its potential to the media and regulatory agencies. Another is the creation of agreements for communication between various networks using FidoNet and other technologies. I also believe that it's important for IFNA to enhance its image among its constituency by being responsive to the will of its members and insofar as possible to that of the operators of all FidoNet compatible mail systems. If you share any of these beliefs, I'd appreciate you giving me the opportunity to help by your support with your vote in the coming election. John Roberts, FidoNet (1:147/14) ================================================================ KRIS A. VEITCH I am presently a member of the BoD having replaced a Director as his Alternate. I serve in many capacities within IFNA. I am the Treasurer/Secretary, Membership Database and Correspondence Manager. Many of you know me through NetMail conversations concerning your membership and others through SnailMail with renewal letters , Certificates of Membership and the IFNANet.PVT list. I thoroughly enjoy the work I perform. However, I am not just a good "paperwork" person. I believe that IFNA has a goal, a goal to bring the knowledge of FIdoNet Technology to the common masses. Yes, this may sound idealistic, it may sound completely irrelevant (or irreverent) to most Sysops, but the day is at hand that our "world for Sysops" is waning. Telecommunications and FidoNet are become more accessible by the "non-techie" persons. I see IFNA separating itself completely from the Net Political Scene and becoming a Public Relations/United Nets Organization geared to promoting (Fido)Net Technology (ie:FidoNet, AlterNet, EggNet, FleetNet, RRNet, This Net and that) to the public. Additionally, I feel that IFNA would best serve all Nets by being the liaison between Nets. Assist each entity in obtaining Gateway Agreements and the like. Help all Network entities in finding a point of common agreement to continue the spread of knowledge through our technology. Again, these are my ideas for IFNA, to assist and help, not control or politicize our world. All of this can be FidoNews 6-30 Page 23 24 Jul 1989 accomplished, and is being accomplished slowly, but surely. One last note, my personal qualifications in the world follow: Member FidoNet 1:147/10 and 1:147/30 South Community Hospital HAL-9000 Member AlterNet 7:770/2023 and 7:770/0 House Dawyck Member FleetNet 23:2412/9000 StarFleet Ranger HQ Member RRNet 23:2450/1979 USS Devonshire Member Usenet kveitch@metnet.FIDONET.ORG Member IFNAnet 25:25/0 IFNA Membership Database Member of Data Processing Management Association Member Board of Directors Data Processing Management Assoc. OKC Publisher of Global Village News - Local Net 147 Information Rag ================================================================ ----------------------------------------------------------------- FidoNews 6-30 Page 24 24 Jul 1989 OFFICERS OF THE INTERNATIONAL FIDONET ASSOCIATION Mort Sternheim 1:321/109 Chairman of the Board Bob Rudolph 1:261/628 President Matt Whelan 3:3/1 Vice President Bill Bolton 3:711/403 Vice President-Technical Coordinator Linda Grennan 1:147/1 Secretary Kris Veitch 1:147/30 Treasurer IFNA COMMITTEE AND BOARD CHAIRS Administration and Finance Mark Grennan 1:147/1 Board of Directors Mort Sternheim 1:321/109 Bylaws Don Daniels 1:107/210 Ethics Vic Hill 1:147/4 Executive Committee Bob Rudolph 1:261/628 International Affairs Rob Gonsalves 2:500/1 Membership Services David Drexler 1:147/47 Nominations & Elections David Melnick 1:107/233 Public Affairs David Drexler 1:147/47 Publications Rick Siegel 1:107/27 Security & Individual Rights Jim Cannell 1:143/21 Technical Standards Rick Moore 1:115/333 IFNA BOARD OF DIRECTORS DIVISION AT-LARGE 10 Courtney Harris 1:102/732 Don Daniels 1:107/210 11 Bill Allbritten 1:11/301 Mort Sternheim 1:321/109 12 Bill Bolton 3:711/403 Mark Grennan 1:147/1 13 Irene Henderson 1:107/9 (vacant) 14 Ken Kaplan 1:100/22 Ted Polczyinski 1:154/5 15 Scott Miller 1:128/12 Matt Whelan 3:3/1 16 Ivan Schaffel 1:141/390 Robert Rudolph 1:261/628 17 Neal Curtin 1:343/1 Steve Jordan 1:206/2871 18 Andrew Adler 1:135/47 Kris Veitch 1:147/30 19 David Drexler 1:147/47 (vacant) 2 Henk Wevers 2:500/1 David Melnik 1:107/233 ----------------------------------------------------------------- FidoNews 6-30 Page 25 24 Jul 1989 __ The World's First / \ BBS Network /|oo \ * FidoNet * (_| /_) FidoCon '89 in San Jose, California _`@/_ \ _ at The Holiday Inn Park Plaza | | \ \\ August 24-27, 1989 | (*) | \ )) ______ |__U__| / \// / Fido \ _//|| _\ / (________) (_/(_|(____/ (tm) R E G I S T R A T I O N F O R M Name: _______________________________________________________ Address: ____________________________________________________ City: _______________________ State: ____ Zip: ______________ Country: ____________________________________________________ Phone Numbers: Day: ________________________________________________________ Evening: ____________________________________________________ Data: _______________________________________________________ Zone:Net/ Node.Point: ___________________________________________________ Your BBS Name: ________________________________________________ BBS Software: _____________________ Mailer: ___________________ Modem Brand: _____________________ Speed: ____________________ At what hotel will you be staying: ____________________________ Do you want an in room point? (Holiday Inn only) ______________ Are you a Sysop? _____________ Are you an IFNA Member? ______ FidoNews 6-30 Page 26 24 Jul 1989 Additional Guests: __________ (not attending conferences) Do you have any special requirements? (Sign Language translation, handicapped, etc.) ______________________________________________________ Comments: ______________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________ Costs How Many? Cost --------------------------- -------- ------- Conference fee $60 .................... ________ _______ ($75.00 after July 15) Friday Banquet $30.00 ................ ________ _______ ======== ======= Totals ................................ ________ _______ You may pay by Check, Money Order, or Credit Card. Please send no cash. All monies must be in U.S. Funds. Checks should be made out to: "FidoCon '89" This form should be completed and mailed to: Silicon Valley FidoCon '89 PO Box 390770 Mountain View, CA 94039 You may register by Netmailing this completed form to 1:1/89 for processing. Rename it to ZNNNXXXX.REG where Z is your Zone number, N is your Net number, and X is your Node number. US Mail confirmation is required within 72 hours to confirm your registration. If you are paying by credit card, please include the following information. For your own security, do not route any message with your credit card number on it. Crash it directly to 1:1/89. FidoNews 6-30 Page 27 24 Jul 1989 Master Card _______ Visa ________ Credit Card Number _____________________________________________ Expiration Date ________________________________________________ Signature ______________________________________________________ No credit card registrations will be accepted without a valid signature. Rooms at the Holiday Inn may be reserved by calling the Hotel at 408-998-0400, and mentioning that you are with FidoCon. Rooms are $60.00 per night double occupancy. Additional rollaways are available for $10.00 per night. To obtain these rates you must register before July 15. The official FidoCon '89 airline is American Airlines. You can receive either a 5% reduction in supersaver fares or a 40% reduction in the regular day coach fare. San Jose is an American Airlines hub with direct flights to most major cities. When making reservations, you must call American's reservation number, 800-433-1790, and reference Star number S0289VM. The official FidoCon '89 automobile rental agency is Alamo Rent a Car. Rates are as described below. All rates include automatic transmission, air conditioning, radio, and unlimited mileage. Economy car (example: Geo Metro) $32 day/$109 week. Compact car (example: Chevy Cavalier) $34 day/$120 week. Midsize car (example: Pontiac Grand Am) $36 day/$135 week. Standard car (example: Buick Regal) $38 day/$165 week. Luxury car (example: Buick LeSabre) $40 day/$239 week. To take advantage of this rate, call Alamo at 1-800-327-9633 and request the convention rate. Mention FidoCon '89, the location and dates. ----------------------------------------------------------------- FidoNews 6-30 Page 28 24 Jul 1989 __ The World's First / \ BBS Network /|oo \ * FidoNet * (_| /_) _`@/_ \ _ | | \ \\ | (*) | \ )) ______ |__U__| / \// / Fido \ _//|| _\ / (________) (_/(_|(____/ (tm) Membership for the International FidoNet Association Membership in IFNA is open to any individual or organization that pays a specified annual membership fee. IFNA serves the international FidoNet-compatible electronic mail community to increase worldwide communications. Member Name _______________________________ Date _______________ Address _________________________________________________________ City ____________________________________________________________ State ________________________________ Zip _____________________ Country _________________________________________________________ Home Phone (Voice) ______________________________________________ Work Phone (Voice) ______________________________________________ Zone:Net/Node Number ____________________________________________ BBS Name ________________________________________________________ BBS Phone Number ________________________________________________ Baud Rates Supported ____________________________________________ Board Restrictions ______________________________________________ Your Special Interests __________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ In what areas would you be willing to help in FidoNet? __________ _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ Send this membership form and a check or money order for $25 in US Funds to: International FidoNet Association PO 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 and Articles of Association and By-Laws were adopted by the membership in January 1987. The second elected Board of Directors was filled in August 1988. The IFNA Echomail Conference has been established on FidoNet to assist the Board. We welcome your input to this Conference. FidoNews 6-30 Page 29 24 Jul 1989 -----------------------------------------------------------------