F I D O N E W S -- Volume 13, Number 30 22 July 1996 +----------------------------+-----------------------------------------+ | The newsletter of the | ISSN 1198-4589 Published by: | | FidoNet BBS community | "FidoNews" | | _ | 1-407-383-1372 [1:1/23] | | / \ | | | /|oo \ | | | (_| /_) | | | _`@/_ \ _ | | | | | \ \\ | Editor: | | | (*) | \ )) | Christopher Baker 1:374/14 | | |__U__| / \// | | | _//|| _\ / | | | (_/(_|(____/ | | | (jm) | Newspapers should have no friends. | | | -- JOSEPH PULITZER | +----------------------------+-----------------------------------------+ | Submission address: FidoNews Editor 1:1/23 | +----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | MORE addresses: | | | | submissions=> cbaker84@digital.net | +----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | For information, copyrights, article submissions, | | obtaining copies of FidoNews or the internet gateway FAQ | | please refer to the end of this file. | +----------------------------------------------------------------------+ THREE WEEKS IN A ROW - IS IT A TREND? Table of Contents 1. EDITORIAL ................................................ 1 Who is this upstart anyway? .............................. 1 2. ARTICLES ................................................. 2 Dropping like flies? (Part 1 of ?) ....................... 2 Grand Prix Pages on Fidonet .............................. 9 Please welcome the Middle East ........................... 10 3. FIDONET BIOGRAPHIES ...................................... 11 Christopher Baker - more info than you wanted? ........... 11 4. FIDONET HISTORY .......................................... 15 FidoNet History and Operation - 8 Feb 85 ................. 15 5. COORDINATORS CORNER ...................................... 23 Nodelist-statistics as seen from Zone-2 for day 201 ...... 23 ZEC-Election in Zone-2 ................................... 23 6. ECHOING .................................................. 26 Backbone Echo Changes [Mar-Apr] .......................... 26 7. NET HUMOR ................................................ 28 This ain't the Psychic Friends version ................... 28 8. COMIX IN ASCII ........................................... 30 Fido's got Cats, too? .................................... 30 9. QUESTION OF THE WEEK ..................................... 31 How do the Backbones outside Zone 1 work? ................ 31 10. NOTICES ................................................. 32 Calendar of Events ....................................... 32 11. FIDONEWS PUBLIC-KEY ..................................... 33 And more! FIDONEWS 13-30 Page 1 22 Jul 1996 ================================================================= EDITORIAL ================================================================= Q: Hey! How did this guy get to be Editor of the FidoNews? What kind of new conspiracy is at work here? Just who does he think he is? A: Me? I'm just your humble FidoNews Editor. I have volunteered for this post every time it has become available. The latest offer was made to Donald Tees before he unceremoniously disappeared from here and from FidoNet completely. After five weeks of no FidoNews, I volunteered again to ZC1 who maintains the administrative listing for the FidoNews Editor slot at 1:1/23. ZC1, being familiar with my previous volunteerings and my general capabilities to string cogent sentences together, said, "Thanks, and you've got it." It's no big mystery or conspiracy. There was a job to be done that wasn't getting done and now it is. [grin] Who am I, you ask? I am a longtime FidoNet Node and former NC and RC. I have written many articles for FidoNews in the past. I have watched FidoNet grow and change since I first picked up a copy of the software that started it all - Fido [9c was my first version] in 1984. I host and moderate many international Echos and several fileechos. I have attended FidoCon when it was a FidoNet event and broken bread with many of the ancient ones. In some circles, even I am considered one of the ancient ones. [grin] Judge for yourself whether the stewardship of FidoNews is in good hands or not by the content and distribution of the latest issues. If you have any other questions, feel free to send me Netmail to 1:374/14, or email to cbaker84@digital.net, or join me in the FIDONEWS Echo which is now available on the Zone 1 Backbone. I answer all mail within 24 hours, as a rule, and often within minutes of its receipt. NOTE: There are two new sections in FidoNews this week. [The old FidoNet Software listing will be reactivated in the next issue.] FidoNet History [.HIS] and FidoNet Biographies [.BIO] appear in this issue. Everyone is encouraged to tell their stories of FidoNet in these new sections. ARTSPEC.DOC has been updated with the new section extensions and ARTSPEC is enclosed in this Issue's archive. ----------------------------------------------------------------- FIDONEWS 13-30 Page 2 22 Jul 1996 ================================================================= ARTICLES ================================================================= Dropping like flies? (Part 1 of ?) Shawn K. Quinn (1:106/4301 or skquinn@brokersys.com) It had been several months since I had read FidoNews until fairly recently. I grab the first 20 issues of the year and it seems like every week there's some kind of article about the lack of growth, or the outright decrease of the number of nodes in the nodelist. What kind of surprised me was a recent article showing that zone 2 now has more nodes than zone 1 by ~3000 or so. Given British Telecom's well- intended but rather out-of-date goal of making a national data network that runs at the positively blinding speed (yeah right) of 2400 bps, and the general lack of Internet connectivity abroad compared to the US (at least from what I read a few months ago), it kind of makes sense. But the real surprise, is that there is obviously still a place for the hobbyist BBS medium. The problem is, that the Internet is starting to be where the action is. On the Internet you can "call" places with telnet anywhere you wish, without any long-distance fees. It kind of blows the idea of "local" BBSes out of the water, which has historically been a strong feature of BBSes. Kind of hard to have a local BBS on the Internet, when already you have people cross-posting something to every "local" *.general Usenet newsgroup in sight. The advantage, though, is wider exposure. However, this blows even more old paradigms out of the water. Voice or callback validation? Maybe, replace it with e-mail validation (at least on one BBS I've logged onto via telnet, this has been done). And what about spam that has already pretty much ruined Usenet? It's bad enough when we get BBS ads in local general chat echos. What about pay BBSes? I mean, you have IRC, so chat boards will probably not do very well on the Internet. Any type of adult board will probably not last long either, as there are already tons of free adult-oriented web sites and newsgroups. Is the entire BBS paradigm outdated? Or is it possible to run a BBS for the purpose of providing limited Internet access to those who can't afford a commercial provider? Is it feasible to offer free Internet e-mail via the FidoNet gateway as an alternative to Juno and Freemark? The shutdown of the default Internet gateway at 1:1/31 was, admittedly, something of a step backward. But given the reasons it happened, I can't blame Burt for doing it. For an alarmingly similar reason, I have been very tempted to shut down my BBS and concentrate completely on the Internet. But now that local FidoNet politics have appeared to die down somewhat (or at least involve others) I kind of like what FidoNet has become. My concern is Policy 4. It's (IMHO) seriously outdated. There are things in it that were based on paradigms that were valid when FidoNet FIDONEWS 13-30 Page 3 22 Jul 1996 was less than one-sixth the size it is now. One such example is the fact that a sysop is responsible for all traffic that passes through his/her node. This is a problem because of the potential for legal liability by monitoring everything that passes through. The opinions I have read are that unless one does indeed monitor everything passing through one's system, there is no legal liability incurred. The annoying ECPA disclaimer is one of them. I got so tired of seeing it that I hung up on boards as soon as I saw it. I have run Polar Bear Hotel with completely private mail (not monitored) for the past year and a half. SecureMail has been in operation at least that long and thankfully has not suffered an untimely demise due to policy complaints. Another is geographic restrictions on nets, regions, and zones. I think that this is more of a problem than a solution to whatever problems existed 5+ years ago. I think if one's willing to pay the long distance charges to join another net, then by all means one should be able to. With the Internet, geography won't be an issue any longer anyway. Well, this rant has already reached the better part of 4K in length, so I'll leave off here for now. I labeled this part 1, because I may write again on this subject in a couple of weeks. Best of luck to all of you who enjoy the hobby of running a BBS and FidoNet node. ----------------------------------------------------------------- The Church of Elvis --=== THE CHURCH OF ELVIS ===-- Preface and Preamble: "If there is any fixed star in our constitutional constellation, it is that NO official, high or petty, can prescribe what shall be orthodox in politics, nationalism, religion or other matters of opinion or force citizens to confess by word or act their faith therein. If there ARE any circumstances which permit an exception, they do not now occur to us." Ref: U.S.Supreme Court (1943) West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette, 319 US 624. XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX "XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXV,,. "/XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX", ,"XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXX", ,"XXXX// /X/ //////XXXXXXXXXXX", ,"XXXXXXX XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX"", XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX", XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX", FIDONEWS 13-30 Page 4 22 Jul 1996 /XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXV, /"XXXXXXXXXXX X X XXXXX XX XX XXXXXXXXXXXXXV, /"XXX X X X XXX X X XXX X XX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXV, /"XXX X X X XXX X XX X XX XXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXV, /"XXX XX XX XXXX XXXX XX XX XXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXV, /,XXXX XX X XX X X X XXX XX XXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXV, //XXX XXX X XXXX XX X XX X XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXV, //XXX XXX X XXXXX XX XXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXV, /XX XXX X XXXXXX XX XXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXV /XX XXXXX XXX X XXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXV /XX XXXXX XXX XXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXV, //XX XXXXX XX XX XXXXXXXXXXXXXV, //XX XXXX XX X XXXXXXXXXXXXV, //X XXX X XXXXXXXXXXXXXV /X XX XXXXXXXXXXXXV /X ,,,,,XXXXXXX,, XXXXXXXXXXXV /XXXXXXXXXX, "XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXV /X" "" "" XXXXX XXV H ,""""""""",, ,"""""""""",, XXXX XXX " "" """ / "" "" XXXX / XX " " // XXX // XX " // XXX / XX " // /XXX / XX " // /XXX XX " /// /XXX / XXX " /// ,, /XXXXXXXXX " // / /XXXXXXXXXX " """ "" /XXXXXXXXX/ " ", ,,,, ,,,, , " ""IIII IIIIIIII"", // / / " " """""""""""" " // / " " , ," // / // " " "IIIWWIII" // // / / / ", " """" /// / / / / / ", // " //// // / / // " // " //// / / // / "", // / ", "// / / / // " // / ", ////// / // // " // / ", // // // // """ // / "" " " ""/// / // " " // // "" "" "/ / / // " // ", ","", "," / // // "" ELVIS thinks you're NEAT! %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% %%% %%% %%% U N I V E R S A L L I F E C H U R C H %%% %%% International Headquarters * Modesto California %%% %%% %%% %%% %%% FIDONEWS 13-30 Page 5 22 Jul 1996 %%% It is hereby declared that ELVIS ARON PRESLEY %%% %%% %%% %%% has been named S A I N T of the %%% %%% %%% %%% Universal Life Church this day of November 8, 1988 %%% %%% %%% %%% %%% %%% U L C %%% %%% S E A L Signed: Kirby J. Hensley, D.D. %%% %%% I H Q President %%% %%% %%% %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% Upon duly submitted and approved petition to the International Headquarters of the Universal Life Church, Inc., Elvis Aron Presley was named Saint of the Universal Life Church in November, 1988. The petition to the church read as follows: Elvis exhibited faith and hope when, as a youngster, he pursued his talent as an entertainer despite the odds against rising from his humble beginnings. He exhibited charity by his obvious and documented generosity. All of these attributes of character are believed to have been present to an extraordinary degree by his followers. ***************************************************************** ECCLESIASTICAL PROCLAMATION WHEREAS the beliefs on matters of death and resurrection are especially promulgated during the weekend of the First Sunday after the first full moon after the Vernal Equinox, and WHEREAS these concepts are so closely tied by many in many churches to ancient ceremonies of fertility and symbolized by Bunnies and Eggs and other esoteric symbols of rebirth and new life, and WHEREAS the promise of eternal life was extended to everyone as far back as 1939 (or even earlier, to hear some tell it) and that possibility is recognized by lots of folks, and WHEREAS the Saturday prior to the Sunday mentioned above has heretofore remained generally unclaimed, unnamed, and uncelebrated, now, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Saturday before the First FIDONEWS 13-30 Page 6 22 Jul 1996 Sunday after the first full moon after the Vernal Equinox be proclaimed and known as ELVIS SATURDAY from this day forward, and be celebrated by the faithful in joyous recognition of all Spring Festivals associated with rebirth and fertility with the eternal melodies of St. Elvis Aron Presley, who lives forever in the eternal present. Wherefore I have set my mark and caused to be affixed the seal of the Church of Elvis ULC on this 14th day of April, 1990. Signed by the Bishop . Saturday, April 14, 1990 ---------------------------------------------------------------- THERE's MORE!!! The CHURCH OF ELVIS is a sect of the Universal Life Church and is looking for new ministers. ABOUT MINISTERHOOD -- Is This For Real? Yes, it is. The Universal Life Church will ordain anyone, for life, no questions asked, and at no cost. The ordination is legally valid, and, after registering with local authorities, ULC Ministers can legally perform weddings, funerals, baptisms, etc. -- But I Have To Believe In Something Silly, Right? Nope. The ULC doesn't impose ANY beliefs on it's Ministers or their congregations. Your god is OK. Period. -- Am I Making Any Promises? Only one. A ULC Minister agrees to do what's "right". You get to interpret "right" to your satisfaction. No one will call to ask for money. You're not joining a "cult." You're welcome (encouraged!) to continue practicing whatever faith you like. FIDONEWS 13-30 Page 7 22 Jul 1996 ULC Ministers are also Catholics, Episcopalians, Methodists, ELVIS Worshippers... you name it. -- So How Do I Become Ordained? Easy. Just fill out the simple form below, or call CompuChurch (tm) and go to the Santuary then to the Altar Your info will be processed by CompuChurch (tm) International Headquarters. CompuChurch will file your request with the ULC, and you'll receive your credentials within a coupla weeks. It's free, but we could use a stamp! Canadian Pilgrims could send 2 stamps! -- Still A Little Wary? There's more information on the ULC at any CompuChurch (tm) Chartered BBS, from The Church of Elvis or from CompuChurch (tm) International Headquarters, 1:3800/6 or call direct at (504) 927- 4509. BBSes are filled with ULC Ministers from all walks of life. Join us! ----------------------------------------------------------------- * MAKE ME A MINISTER! Yes, this all sounds wonderful. I want to be a minister, fully ordained and authorized to do anything ministers usually do, and entitled to the privileges and benefits extended to the clergy. Name: ---------------------------------------------- Address: ---------------------------------------------- City State Zip: ---------------------------------------------- I am enclosing a postage stamp or two to make life easier for you! SEND TO: Church of Elvis Diocese of Baton Rouge Universal Life Church P.O.Box 64575 Baton Rouge, LA 70896 ----------------------------------------------------------------- A Certified True Copy of the original certificate of Sainthood issued under the seal of the Church of Elvis ULC, and signed by the Pastor and the Prophet of Elvis is FIDONEWS 13-30 Page 8 22 Jul 1996 available, along with a copy of the Proclamation of Elvis Saturday, if requested, for a $5 donation payable to Universal Life Church sent to the address above. ----------------------------------------------------------------- * SPECIAL TITLES Special Titles are offered for a minimum donation of $5.00. Below is a list of special titles currently being offered: Bishop Magus Monsignor Healing Minister Missionary Pastor General Cardinal Elder Lama Apostle of Humility Right Reverend Guru Deacon Flying Missionary Archpriest Preceptor Colonel Missionary Doctor Sister Soul Therapist Archbishop Evangelist Friar Metropolitan Abbot Thanatologist Reverend Mother Free Thinker Arch Deacon Hadji Brahman High Priest Rabbi Abbess Parochial Educator Scribe Monk Priest Religious Preacher Cure Universal Rabbi Most Reverend Preacher Swami Angel Ascetic Gnostic Dervish Universal Rabbi Brother Mother Superior Father Chaplain Anada Abbe Lay Sister Archcardinal Rector Orthodox Monk Druid Starets Reverend Father Missionary of Music The Very Esteemed Prophet High Priestess Minister of Music Iman Shaman Righteous Brother Messenger Mystical Philosopher Universal Religious Philosopher Universal Philosopher of Absolute Reality If you do not see the title you want, write us. New titles are approved every day! ----------------------------------------------------------------- Special Title of Sainthood Do you know a "Saint" personally? Do you know someone who has exercised the three theological virtues - faith, hope, and charity - to an extraordinary degree? If so you may bestow "Sainthood" within the ULC upon this beloved person. Merely write with your reasons for bestowing Sainthood upon the individual and include a donation of $5.00. The handsome certificate of Sainthood will be sent directly to you, or you may have the degree sent to the recipient. ----------------------------------------------------------------- FIDONEWS 13-30 Page 9 22 Jul 1996 Distributed by The Church of Elvis and CompuChurch (tm) International Headquarters 504-927-4509 FidoNet 1:3800/6 For Information, send S.A.S.E to: The Church of Elvis c/o The Episcopal Offices of the Archdiocese of Cyberspace Attention Archbishop C.A.Jennings, D.D. P.O.Box 64575 Baton Rouge, LA 70896-4575 --=== THE CHURCH OF ELVIS ===-- ----------------------------------------------------------------- Grand Prix Pages on Fidonet Damian Walker, 2:2502/666 So often we hear about the death of Fidonet, and about what can be done about it. To my mind, the answer is to provide something accessible to Fidonet nodes, points and users, which will keep their interest, and therefore, their presence in the network. In this short article I intend to tell you about just such a thing. Formula 1 motor racing is a popular sport across the world. The Grand Prix season consists of races held at tracks throughout the world, making it a truly international sport. One of my points, John Suffill, has had the idea of making information about Formula 1 motor racing available via Fidonet. Those of you with a better memory than the average fish will recall that I submitted an article about my program InfoMail to Fidonews recently. John has chosen the installation of InfoMail at my own system to make his Formula 1 information available, and the results are much like a small electronic magazine. The document includes a timetable for this year's Grand Prix season, showing the dates for each race. A similar proposed timetable for next year is also included. In addition to this, news and gossip about the drivers and teams is included, as is an editorial 'rant' (as John puts it). John updates the document after each race, and includes a run-down of the latest race, which includes the finishing positions of all the drivers. The driver and team championship positions are updated at this time, so you can keep tabs on how your favourite driver and team are doing. I found the document very interesting, and on a more general note, I'd like to see more of this sort of thing being offered to Fidonet users on a variety of subjects. To obtain the GrandPrix document via routed netmail, send a message to FIDONEWS 13-30 Page 10 22 Jul 1996 INFOMAIL at 2:2502/666 with the subject GRANDPRIX. For a more immediate response you can file request GRANDPRIX from the same system (it's a magic name). John Suffill can be contacted at his point address, 2:2502/666.1. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Please welcome the Middle East By Ward Dossche ZC/2 As of day-201 a new region has been added in the zone-2 portion of the world nodelist. I'm talking about Saudi-Arabia which will henceforth be known as region-54. The region is just starting-up and networking in that part of the world is a novel thing ... something like the early years of Fido revisited. Personally I am very excited about this. The region starts rather modest but already now is it certain that there will be a rapid initial growth. There will be 2 nets in the start-up phase, 2:541 for Riadh and 2:542 for Jeddah. Other nets will be added when necessary. The first nodes are crashmail-capable. Who says Fidonet is dying? There are areas in the world where Fidonet is the only way for reasonable and affordable networking. -o=O=o- ----------------------------------------------------------------- FIDONEWS 13-30 Page 11 22 Jul 1996 ================================================================= FIDONET BIOGRAPHIES ================================================================= [This is another NEW section for FidoNet Biographies] [The file extension for a submission to this section is .BIO] Date: 19 Oct 92 01:40:23 From: Christopher Baker on 1:374/14 Rights On! in Titusville FL To: Ted Rolle on 1:105/36 Acacia in Portland OR Subj: info _____________________________________________________________________ got your numbers without any intervention. just wrote it out from here to an ASCII file and ran PGP on that output. here's my info: Christopher Baker P.O. Box 5921 Titusville_FL_USA 32783-5921 voice: 407-264-2994; 1200-2100 ET [1600-0000 UTC/GMT] bbs: 407-383-1372; anytime except 0100-0130 ET fax: ditto; not on automatic; must be set before receive work: retired on disability Fido since Dec 84, FidoNet since May 85. Started MANY Echos, still run most of those started. NC135 85-89; RC18 87-89; running for RC18 again [gave it up when originally disabled]. here is a canned blurb i send when asked: Date: 17 Jul 91 15:01:35 From: Christopher Baker To: Robert Thurlow Subj: Re: What's your story? _____________________________________________________________________ > I was wondering who our readers are on this echo. > So who else do we have here? time to renew our vows. eh? [grin] here's my canned text from this Echo many moons ago: i was run down by a 73 y/o drunk in 1975. i was on my motorcycle going home from work at Randle-Eastern Ambulance in Miami, Florida and made it to S.W. 8th Street and almost 67 Ave. when this geriatric pinhead got to the intersection, he decided he needed to make a U-turn more than i needed to get home. he did and i was struck broadside. my leg was crushed from mid-calf, my foot nearly severed on the scene and the bike and me thrown across the street. FIDONEWS 13-30 Page 12 22 Jul 1996 i hit and crushed a bus bench and the bike landed next to me with the frame twisted to ruin. i ended up with a post-knee amputation of the left leg, several fractured ribs, a concussion, and a comminuted fracture of the left ulna which had a 12" pin in it from elbow to mid-arm for two years. my helmet was cracked and had i not been wearing it, so would have been my head. [grin] i was out of work for two years and on Social Security Disability until i got the dispatching job with Dade County Fire & Rescue. now, i'm disabled again with a herniated disk at L5/S1 that i got courtesy of poor maintenance in the disabled stall of the bathroom at work. [sigh] i already couldn't stand and now i can't sit. kinda limits one's work options? [grin] i finally won my latest Social Security disability appeal. they called this morning to tell me my first check would come in Aug. that's a relief. [grin] i'm an expert on prothesis technology that doesn't work. [sigh] TTFN. Chris -30- you got it all, now. [grin] TTFN. Chris Date: 05 Nov 92 00:57:09 From: Christopher Baker To: All Subj: he's baaacckk [grin] _____________________________________________________________________ [cross-posted by way of introduction from Z1REGCON] well, i recognize a couple of the names from other venues but don't see any from my old RC18 days. [grin] "Who am I? What am I doing here?" Admiral Stockdale, weird VP candidate on the Vaporware ticket and why do i send SO many cc:s to poor Bob Davis? [evil grin] just in case you never read FidoNews or Echomail, i've been agitating and propagating FidoNet since the dim dawn of Net/Node installation many moons ago. before that all we had were plain sequential numbers and stone axes. [grin] i found Fido 9c on my console at work one day in 1984. i don't know where it came from but i know i was hooked from that day forward. FIDONEWS 13-30 Page 13 22 Jul 1996 after the shakeup to Net/Nodes [what a threat that was to many change haters], i was 18/14 in May of 1985. i started a Net [1:135] shortly after that and bullied a lot of the local, Miami Sysops who never heard of FidoNet into abandoning their old, non-network BBSes for Fido, and Opus and SEAdog. [grin] several years later, i was appointed RC18 by David Dodell who was anxious to get some movement going in Region 18. new Nets sprang up like weeds. i did that for about 18 months till an injury forced me to retire. Dodell appointed Ben Mann to replace me. [that was in the old days when appointments were the rule - although not very popular.] my injury put me on the disabled rolls and i was forced to drop out of Net 135 and move up here to Titusville [Space Shuttle ring a bell?]. i became a private Node in Net 374 until my lawsuit against my previous employer [maybe you remember Metro Fire, 1:135/14?] was settled and i could relocate and setup a full system. i've been here for a couple of years. i'm still disabled but have plenty of time to devote to the pursuits of Coordination and when Ben decided to retire, i was drafted and ran for the post. i moderate and/or host several Backbone Echos and a couple private ones. i co-moderate several others. i'm no neophyte. [grin] i've done my share of Policy complaint arbitration and Echo delinking. i've never been reversed but then i don't make it a habit. election is over. here i am. that's the short form. for those truly fascinated by such mundane trivia, freq MYSTORY for the long version. [snicker] i appear as 1:18/0 in Nodelist.311. here we go again. [grin] TTFN. Chris Date: 10 Feb 94 23:54:23 From: Christopher Baker To: Bob Satti Subj: so long fellow Coords and Sysops _____________________________________________________________________ [NCs please pass this along to your Nodes] [Independent Nodes please link to the new RC18] [cross-posted in HOST18, R18ELECT, and SYSOP18 Echos] the new diff is here and will be routed out shortly. the transition is complete. ALL connected here for files and/or Echos should advise via Netmail if they wish to continue any of these connects. HOST18 Echo will not be FIDONEWS 13-30 Page 14 22 Jul 1996 available from here shortly. the R18 stuff will still be around. weekly files are something i've always done for myself and anyone else who wants them. this will continue although it make take a little longer to get distributed. ALL passwords are still intact for all system previously having one with this system. i don't kill passwords ever without specific Netmail request for same from the password holder. i will be removing the 1:18/0 from my AKA list before compiling the new Nodelist. everyone using that instead of my real Node number MUST compile a new Nodelist to avoid sending me your various RC-related traffic. set all segment sends and other stuff to 1:3620/2. i will forward them for a week for those slow to transition but save a dime and send them to the new guy directly the first time. i have truly enjoyed my years as a scheming despot. [Muppet's Frog Prince] i'm not going away, just shifting gears. i'll still be here and in FidoNet if you need me again or just want to chat. [grin] please adjust all your configs. it's the new guy's turn in the barrel. thanks. TTFN. Chris RC18 -30- [this saga has always been available as ABOUT to anyone who freqed that magicname. i guess it will need updating with FidoNews now.] ----------------------------------------------------------------- FIDONEWS 13-30 Page 15 22 Jul 1996 ================================================================= FIDONET HISTORY ================================================================= FidoNet History and Operation 8 Feb 85 Tom Jennings and many authors Part 1 of 3 This is a long and convoluted document; it has been sorely needed for months now, and it finally got done. FidoNet is growing at a tremendous rate, and newer sysops don't have the information that us oldies (pre Sept 84 sysops) assume everyone knows; hence the history section here. There is a lot of extremely important material covered here that was assumed to be known by all; we are finding out otherwise. This also covers some of the dark mysterious secrets about the magical node numbers, and how the magical node lists appear from nowhere. Those of you that have been FidoNet nodes since way back when, spring and summer of 1984, and watched all this develop (such as it was) in full Technicolor, will know most of this; if you are a relatively new sysop, much of this may come as a suprise. Everyone should read this, experienced sysops, new sysops, and all Fido and FidoNet users. FidoNet is no longer just a piece of software; it has become complex organism. There are about 160 Fidos in FidoNet right now; this does not include Fidos being run as Bulletin Board only systems, just ones that you can converse with over the net. If the average number of users on each system is 300 people, you can start to guess at the scale of things today. HISTORY: When FidoNet was first tested, there were two nodes: myself here at Fido #1 in San Francisco, and John Madill at Fido #2 in Baltimore. John and I did all of the testing and development for the first pass at FidoNet. Its purpose: to see if it could be done, merely for the fun of it, like ham radio. It quickly became useful; instead of trying to call each others' boards up to leave messages, or expensive voice phone calls, Fidonet messages became more or less routine. This was version 7 of Fido sometime in June 84 or so; it did not have routing, file attach, retry control, error handling, cost accounting, log files, or any of the niceties since added. A packet was made, a call placed, the packet transferred, that was it. This was adequate for a month or two, when there were less than 20 nodes. In August of 84, the number of nodes was approaching FIDONEWS 13-30 Page 16 22 Jul 1996 30; the net was becoming clogged, believe it or not. FidoNet wasn't too smart about making calls then. With 30 systems, coordination became difficult; instead of a simple voice phone call to the (very few!) sysops to straighten out problems like modems not answering, wrong numbers, clock problems, etc, it took days to get the slightest problem repaired. There were by now six nodes in St. Louis, and Fido #1 was making seperate phone calls for each, when obviously one could be made. Enter the beginnings of routing. The "original" FidoNet was very simple and friendly; you told me at Fido #1 that you had a FidoNet node ready, I put you in the list, with your phone number, and people called up and downloaded the list; done! Well ... at first, "everyone knew each other"; we were in more or less constant contact. However, when the node numbers got into the twenties, there were people bringing up FidoNodes who none of us knew. This was good, but it meant we were not in close contact anymore. The Net started to deteriorate; every single week without fail there was at least one wrong number, usually two. To impress on you the seriousness of wrong numbers in the node list, imagine you are a poor old lady, who every single night is getting phone calls EVERY TWO MINUTES AT 4:00AM, no one says anything, then hangs up. This actually happened; I would sit up and watch when there was mail that didn't go out for a week or two, and I'd pick up the phone after dialing, and was left in the embarrasing position of having to explain bulletin boards to an extremely tired, extremely annoyed person. There were also cases where the new node really wasn't up yet, and the number given was a home phone to be used temporarily, but I'd forget that, and include it in the list anyways. Or the new node wasn't really up yet, and we'd all make calls to it and it would not answer, or worse, the modem would answer but the software wasn't running, and we'd get charged for the call. This obviously could not go on. We had to have some way to make sure that at least the phone numbers were correct! I started a new policy; before giving out a node number and putting it in the list, I had to receive a FidoNet message from the new node, directly. This verified that at least the new Fido was half way running. At the time, Fido had a provision whereby Fido #1 could set the node number remotely; I'd send a message back, and presto! a new node was up. Well, this didn't work properly either; at the same time, the Fido software was changing so rapidly, to accomodate all the changes (literally a version a day for a few weeks there) that I was losing new node requests, wrong numbers caused by illegible handwriting, all sorts of FIDONEWS 13-30 Page 17 22 Jul 1996 problems. Out of laziness I would still assign nodes "word of mouth", and got in the same trouble as before. The people in St. Louis (Tony Clark, Ben Baker, Ken Kaplan, Jon Wichman, Mike Mellinger) had their local Fidos going strong, and understood what FidoNet did, how it worked, and what it was about. They volunteered to take over the node list, handle new node requests, and leave me with the software. They tightened up on the FidoNet message requirement, and in a few months, had the "error rate" (wrong numbers, etc) down to practically zero, where it is today. Though I did the programming, Ken Kaplan, Ben Baker, and the crowd in St. Louis did much of the design and most of the testing of routing, forwarding, and local nets. They still remain the experts on the intricacies of routing, and help sysops set up local nets. Please keep in mind the entire process, from two nodes to over 50, took only three months! Fifty nodes is more than it sounds; at that level it becomes a large scale project. FidoNet went from about 50 nodes in Sept 84 or so, to the current 160+ in Jan/Feb of 85. FidoNet today is a network quickly approaching the levels of complexity of commercial networks, and has many more capabilities than many "mini" networks, such as USENET, which has no routing or hosts. Only ARPAnet has some of the features of FidoNet. The southern California local network is three levels deep, with hosts in Orange, LA, Ventura, San Berdino and San Diego counties. FidoNet is just too large today to run as an informal club. The potential for error is just too high to include numbers at random within the node list. I imagine we are in a predicament today what the radio ameteur operators had a number of years ago. The requirements for new FidoNet nodes are pretty minimal, and they appear to be arbitrary and harsh if you aren't aware of what's going on. This is to spell them out in detail, so everyone will understand the process. FidoNet'S PURPOSE: Very simple; it is a hobby, a non-commercial network of computer hobbiests ("hackers", in the older, original meaning) who want to play with, and find uses for, packet switch networking. It is not a commercial venture in any way; FidoNet is totally supported by it's users and sysops, and in many ways is similar to ham radio, in that other than a few "stiff" rules, each sysop runs their system in any way they please, for any reason they want. THE STIFF RULES: FIDONEWS 13-30 Page 18 22 Jul 1996 Actually, not as bad as it sounds; basically, politeness as a rule: 1. New nodes, see below. 2. If your system is going to be down for a week or more, please let Fido 51 know. They can take you out of the list while you are gone, so other FidoNet sysops won't be wasting phone calls. 3. If you change your phone number, or decide to stop running Fido, let them know, so other FidoNet sysops won't be wasting phone calls. The thing to keep in mind is that FidoNet's telephone calls to send mail are costing someone money; if you are down just for a night or so, don't worry about it, just make sure your modem doesn't answer. THE NODE LIST Obviously (if you are a FidoNet sysop that is) the node list is a text file containing all the names, phone numbers and other things on each node, and as distributed by Fido 51, routing information for the many local networks. It is a very compact list, and so there is no clue as to how that list is made. Here is the current process for new nodes to obtain a node number, and get into the node list. This assumes you want to run a public access Fido; specialized systems are covered seperately, below. SET UP FIDO Of course, you should get your Fido running first; no sense in trying to run mail if your Fido doesn't run! In your FidoNet area, enter a message for Fido #51, and include the following information: 1. Your boards name 2. City and state 3. Sysops name 4. Board phone number 5. Maximum baud rate; 1200 assumed otherwise 6. Hours of operation; 24 hrs assumed otherwise 7. Way to contact the sysop during the day. This is not absolutely necessary, but it makes it easier if there is some problem. Most of this is pretty obvious. The sysops voice phone number will be kept secret; it will not be given out. It is only used if there is some problem, and a FidoNet message can't be sent for some reason. FIDONEWS 13-30 Page 19 22 Jul 1996 For Fidos that want to run with an unlisted phone number, a few other things are needed: 8. A public FidoNet to act as mail host 9. The systems actual phone number A host is required for an unlisted number, so that you can receive mail. (If you don't want to receive mail, then there is no reason for you to be part of FidoNet!) The host system will have to have the unlisted phone number, of course. Fido 51 needs to have the phone number also, but it will be kept secret. This is so that they can contact you directly if there is any problem, such as a known bug or a question, or if your host drops out of the network, so there is some way to contact the local nodes. GETTING A NODE NUMBER This is the part that seems so arbitrary if you aren't aware of what's happening. What happens is: you send Fido 51 the message described above. When they receive it, they put the stuff into the node list and fido list, pick you a node number, and mail a copy of it to you the next weekend. This tests your system at the same time; you have to be able to sucessfully send and receive mail in order to get the node number. Out of it, you get a copy of the latest lists. NOTE: Fido 51 does not mail out copies of the lists to everyone on a regular basis; it would mean too many phone calls ($$$ ...). You can get the new node list Friday evening at Fidos 10 and 51, or Fidos 1 and 2 later that weekend or early the next week, and usually most any other busy Fido. If it all works, then 1) you know your system is working 2) Fido 51, the node list keepers, knows it's working 3) the other 160 or so Fido sysops know that your system was working at least as recently as the last node list. Print out the last few weeks nodelists; compare all the changes, not just the additions. This is why node numbers aren't given out "word of mouth", or at other sysops request. It has to be done directly, as a test. WHAT FIDO 51 REALLY DOES Making the node list is more than just typing in the information; they make sure that the information in the list is accurate as possible. This frequently means voice phone FIDONEWS 13-30 Page 20 22 Jul 1996 calls to double check, or calls to the new system to see what the problem is; sometimes it is as simple as the wrong baud rate, the time wrong on the new system, so that it is not running FidoNet at the right time. Ken Kaplan and Ben Baker do the node list work when they have "spare time"; please be patient! As the number of new nodes increases every week, response time goes up. Currently, the node list is done once a week; new node requests must be received in Wednesday nights mail (by Thursday morning) so that they can work on it Thursday night, and send it out on Friday night, so that you will have it over the weekend. The volume of mail is such that it may take a few days to get out. (Please note that Fido 51 is an unattended node; there is no one there to answer Y)ells unless someone happens to walk by. The machine is located at Data Research Associates, who kindly donated the phone line, and runs on a DEC Rainbow 100+, donated by Digital Equipment Corp.) Fido 51 is an extremely busy system; they receive 125 messages a week through FidoNet alone, so please be patient. CHANGES, MISTAKES AND UPDATES If you ever find wrong information in the node list, please send the information to Fido 51; they will include it in the next list. If you become part of a local net, ie. you have an incoming host, notify them, and it will be included in the node list also. Other changes might be baud rate (got a new modem!) hours of operation, board name or sysop, etc. SOME OTHER THINGS ... If you have questions or problems with any part of Fido or FidoNet, please ask. Here's where to go for problems: HARDWARE, SOFTWARE, PERFORMANCE OR INSTALLATION TROUBLES Call or FidoNet to Fido #1, me, Tom Jennings. FidoNet is best, if possible; that way, I have your "address and phone" handy. If not, then call Fido #1 and leave a message. If you leave it at G)oodbye, when you call back looking for a reply, remember to check in the ANSWERS area; Fido will NOT tell you if there is mail for you, you have to search for it. Fido #1 always has the latest versions of Fido for all hardware supported, available for download. Fido #1 ALWAYS runs one revision later than the released version; it FIDONEWS 13-30 Page 21 22 Jul 1996 is used to test new features or bug fixes, so that when released they will be working. Check the FIDO download area for the current Fido version. I have nothing to do anymore with maintaining the node list, nor do I hand out node numbers. ROUTING, NODE LIST, LOCAL NET QUESTIONS AND PROBLEMS Fido 51. Since they keep the list, they're the ones to contact for node list problems. If you want advice on how to set up a local net in your area, they can offer help and advice. SPECIALIZED SYSTEMS If you are setting up a private network, and it is to be truly private, what you do with it is your own business. If, however, there is any possiblility that members of your private network may wish to communicate with any members of the public network, you should contact Fido 51 for the allocation of a block of node numbers to be assigned by you to the nodes in your network. This is to avoid node number conflicts upon receipt of FidoNet mail in the public network. LOCAL NETS Neither I nor Ken Kaplan nor Ben Baker "run" FidoNet; local networks such as the one in Southern California and Massachusetts are entirely the responsibility of the sysops in the area; the only thing we ask is that the designated "incoming host" for that area be somewhat reliable, for the obvious reason that it will be receiving lots of phone calls from across the country. As a matter of fact, you are encouraged to form local networks, or join one that exists locally. IT makes it cheaper for other systems to send you mail, and generally streamlines FidoNet operation. Other than that, local nets are totally standalone; that is what they are for! For instance, SoCal can run their net anyway they please; it is their hardware, their phone lines, and their phone bills. It is their investment in work, and they should reap the benefits. If there is a "FidoNet policy", this is it. AND SO ON ... I hope FidoNet is a bit clearer now; if you have any suggestions, or want to volunteer to help, please let us know. Our only interest is in keeping the node list correct and up to date; this simple list is what ties the entire net FIDONEWS 13-30 Page 22 22 Jul 1996 together. Ken Kaplan Fido #51 314/432-4129 Tom Jennings Fido #1 415/864-1418 Ben Baker Fido #10 314/234-1462 [End of Part 1 of 3] ----------------------------------------------------------------- FIDONEWS 13-30 Page 23 22 Jul 1996 ================================================================= COORDINATORS CORNER ================================================================= Nodelist-statistics as seen from Zone-2 for day 201 By Ward Dossche, 2:292/854 ZC/2 The table below depicts the growth of the world nodelist as seen through the eyes of someone in Zone-2. Delays in pro- cessing inbound zone-segments are possible. Administrative entries as well as Pvt, Hold and Down are ommitted. Percentages have been rounded. This article is produced by auto cut-and-paste of outputs from T-NSTAT by Bo Bendtsen, ROBO 0.37 by Tom Kashuba and GW-BASIC 3.20 (C) Microsoft 1986 and MS-DOS 6.22 (C) MicroSoft 1994. It will automatically be produced on a weekly basis. +----+------+------------+------------+------------+------------+--+ |Zone|Nl.173|Nodelist.180|Nodelist.187|Nodelist.194|Nodelist.201|%%| +----+------+------------+------------+------------+------------+--+ | 1 | 13540| 13286 -254| 13177 -109| 13105 -72| 12910 -195|40| | 2 | 16487| 16539 52| 16497 -42| 16551 54| 16536 -15|51| | 3 | 1069| 1066 -3| 1066 0| 1046 -20| 1029 -17| 3| | 4 | 572| 648 76| 648 0| 656 8| 643 -13| 2| | 5 | 116| 112 -4| 112 0| 112 0| 112 0| 0| | 6 | 1228| 1228 0| 1228 0| 1228 0| 1228 0| 4| +----+------+------------+------------+------------+------------+--+ | 33012| 32879 -133| 32728 -151| 32698 -30| 32458 -240| +------+------------+------------+------------+------------+ ----------------------------------------------------------------- ZEC-Election in Zone-2 By Ward Dossche ZC/2 If you happen to have the misfortune to be either an RC, a REC, an NC or a NEC in Zone-2, then this is meant for you. All others may skip this article. The first round in the ZEC-election is just over and I'm amazed by the unusual high turn-out of votes. Let nobody say any more that Fido-guys 'n gals are apathetic. Of course, Bill Birrell's effort to get all eligible voters to vote was tremendous. A "thank you" is already owed now to him and his team of verifiers Frank Ellerman and David Rance. And "thank you" also to Anton Kuznetsov for the tremendous help in spreading election announ- cements etc. FIDONEWS 13-30 Page 24 22 Jul 1996 As might be expected a second round is needed in which Steve Woodmore of 2:440/410 and Dieter Soltau of 2:2448/69 will be the sole candida- tes. To be eligible as a voter in this run-off election one must be pro- perly listed in NODELIST.194. Properly means not Hold, Down nor Pvt. The voters will be identified as follows : * ZC/2 : the person holding the 2:2/0-AKA; * RC : the people occupying the "2:region/0"-AKA; * REC : the people flying the "U,REC"-flag. Only 1 REC per region is permitted and he/she _MUST_ fly this flag. Any local arran- gement of identification by system-name or a special node- number will be void. * NC : the people occupying the "2:net/0"-AKA unless someone other than the host flies the "U,NC"-flag. Any other local arran- gement of identification by system-name or a special node- number will not be accepted. * NEC : the people flying the "U,NEC"-flag. Only 1 NEC per net is permitted and he/she _MUST_ fly this flag. Any local arran- gement of identification by system-name or a special node- number will be void. The returning-officer will be Bill Birrel of 2:2504/200 again. He will be assisted by 2 verifiers of his choice, I understand that one of the previous verifiers is not available. The time-table from now on is : 16.07.96-15.08.96 : Run-off election! 00:00:00 23:59:59 16.08.96 : Pre-announcement of election result by the Retur- 00:00:00 ning Officer 16.08.96-31.08.96 : Period for adjustments (wrong counted votes, lost 00:00:00 23:59:59 votes etc...) 01.09.96 : Appointment of ZEC/2 by ZC/2. 00:00:00 Although Echopol1 mentions nothing about individual sysops I hereby urge all elligible voters to poll their lower levels and respect this when casting a vote. At the end of this election-period the RO will publish an extensive list with results indicating in-extenso who voted for whom. This is done to make certain that sysops'-wishes are being followed. All other rules from round-1 remain unchanged. ********** Begin Voting form ********** You are eligible to vote in the ZEC run-off election. The candidates are:- FIDONEWS 13-30 Page 25 22 Jul 1996 Dieter Soltau, Steve Woodmore Password: ____________ Please place a cross against one of the candidates' names, fill in a password, and return the ballot paper to 2:2504/200 by midnight, 16th Aug, 1996. ^^^^^^^^^^ Voting Commences 16th July, 1996 Only one vote per coordinator is allowed, however many hats that coordinator may wear. Good luck, Bill Birrell [Returning Officer ZEC2 Election.] ********** End Voting form ********** ----------------------------------------------------------------- FIDONEWS 13-30 Page 26 22 Jul 1996 ================================================================= ECHOING ================================================================= [originally lost during FidoNews Editor disappearance] Backbone Echo Changes [Mar-Apr] by Lisa Gronke, 1:105/16 lisa@psg.com Summary of backbone & quasi-backbone echo changes during Mar & Apr. Brought to you courtesy of (unix) diff. diff (backbone.na + backbone.no) 03-Mar-96 ditto 05-May-96 [edited]. Echotag change -------------- < MCSOFT McSoft - Motor City Software [old echotag] > SOFTNET McSoft - Motor City Software [new echotag] Added to the backbone --------------------- > CASINO Casino News > CASINO.GAMBLING Casino Games-Poker-Slots-Craps-Blackjack, ect. > CB_RADIO_2 REAL CB Radio Chatter > CB_RADIO_4SALE (low traffic since 5/1/96) > CB_RADIO_C4SALE (low traffic since 5/1/96) > DW_GAMER (low traffic since 5/1/96) > FREE_BIBLE FREE BIBLE DISCUSSION AREA > GAMEDEV Game Development Echo > GIGO Support for GIGO Gateway Software > GUN_CONTROL Gun Control and Crime Control in the USA > MBBS-WG Major BBS/Worldgroup Sysops' Conference > MCMOO_SUPPORT (low traffic since 5/1/96) > MOD_ROCKETRY Sport Rocketry Forum > MUSICIAN MUSICIAN > NANFE North America Native Fish Echo. > ONEFOS ONEFOSsil Support Echo > OS2REXX The FidoNet OS2REXX Echo > PCBPPL Clark Developments PPL Discussion [See ELIST] > RAUSW RemoteAccess Ultra-Software > RPG_GENERAL General role-playing games discussion and info > SALVATION_ARMY SALVATION ARMY > T-MAIL.SUPPORT T-MAIL FTN Frontend Mailer International Support > TREK_CREATIVE Star Trek Creative Echo > WNFOSSIL WinFossil Support Echo > Z1_CHAT Zone 1 General Chat Removed from the backbone or quasi-backbone -------------------------- < CHIROPRACTIC (low traffic since 2/1/96) < DISK_CACHE (low traffic since 2/1/96) < NIGHT_SHIFT_BASH_POLI (not in EchoList since 1/1/96) FIDONEWS 13-30 Page 27 22 Jul 1996 < SRA Survivors of Ritual Abuse < TREMOR_DISORDERS (low traffic since 2/1/96) o There are 797 echos in backbone.na [05-May-95] (up 6) o There are 68 echos in backbone.no [05-May-95] (up 14) o for a total of 866 backbone & quasi-backbone echos (up 20) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------- FIDONEWS 13-30 Page 28 22 Jul 1996 ================================================================= NET HUMOR ================================================================= From: "Mike Riddle" To: "Baker, Christopher" Date: Fri, 19 Jul 96 13:59:27 -0500 Reply-To: "Mike Riddle" Subject: Fwd: Horoscope ==================BEGIN FORWARDED MESSAGE================== Subject: Horoscope With advance apologies to anyone born under any sign of the Zodiac HOROSCOPE AQAURIUS: (Jan 20 - Feb 18) You have an inventive mind and are inclined to be progressive. You lie a great deal. On the other hand, you are inclined to be careless and impractical, causing you to make the same mistakes over and over again. People think you are stupid. PISCES: (Feb 19 - Mar 20) You have a vivid imagination and often think you are being followed by the FBI or CIA. You have minor influence over your associates and people resent you for flaunting your power. You lack confidence and are generally a coward. Pisces people do terrible things to small animals. ARIES: (Mar 21 - Apr 19) You are the pioneer type and hold most people in contempt. You are quick tempered, impatient, and scornful of advice. You are not very nice. TAURUS: (Apr 20 - May 20) You are practical and persistent. You have a dogged determination and work like hell. Most people think you are stubborn and bull-headed. Taurus people have B.O. and fart alot. GEMINI: (May 21 - Jun 20) You are a quick and intelligent thinker. People like you because you are bi-sexual. However, you are inclined to expect too much for too little. This means you are cheap. Gemini's are known for committing incest. CANCER: (Jun 21 - Jul 22) You are sympathetic and understanding of other people's problems. They think you are a sucker. You are always putting things off. That's why you will never make anything of yourself. Most welfare recipients are Cancer people. LEO: (Jul 23 - Aug 22) FIDONEWS 13-30 Page 29 22 Jul 1996 You consider yourself a born leader. Others think you are pushy. Most Leo people are bullies. You are vain and dislike honest criticism. Your arrogance is disgusting. Leo people are thieves. VIRGO: (Aug 23 - Sept 22) You're the logical type and hate disorder. This is nit- picking and is sickening to your friends. You are cold and unemotional and sometimes fall asleep while making love. Virgo's make good bus drivers. LIBRA: (Sept 23 - Oct 22) You are the artistic type and have a difficult time with reality. If you are a man, you are more than likely a pedophile. Most Libra women are prostitutes. Chances for employment and monetary gains are excellent. All Libra's have venereal diseases. SCORPIO: (Oct 23 - Nov 21) You are shrewd in business and cannot be trusted. You will achieve the pinnacle of success because of your total lack of ethics. Most Scorpio's are murderers. SAGGITARIUS: (Nov 22 - Dec 21) You are optimistic and enthusiastic. You have a reckless tendency to rely on luck because of your total lack of talent. The majority of Sagittarians are drunks or dope fiends. People laugh at you a great deal. CAPRICORN: (Dec 22 - Jan 19) You are conservative and afraid of taking risks. You don't do much of anything and are lazy. There has never been a Capricorn of any importance. Capricorn's should avoid standing still too long as a dog might think you are a tree and piss on you. ----------End of Original Message---------- ===================END FORWARDED MESSAGE=================== ----------------------------------------------------------------- FIDONEWS 13-30 Page 30 22 Jul 1996 ================================================================= COMIX IN ASCII ================================================================= Date: 27 Aug 95 17:15:01 From: George Vandervort on 1:382/8 Lounge Lizard's Retreat in San Marcos TX To: Christopher Baker on 1:374/14 Rights On! in Titusville FL Subj: T-shirt ____________________________________________________________________ I created it years ago.. you are welcome to use it however you like.. but the name "Lounge Lizard's Retreat" is _ _ /| \'o.O' Hic! Pffft! Meow! =(___)= // | U | \ \\ My MS/Dos Disk ---> | (*) | \ >> |__U__| / \// _// || _\ / (_/ (_| (___/ as for a Name?? "Splat the Cat" \ _ / - (*) - / U \ \|/ |\_________/| \|/ SPLAT! \ \ \ x.X / / / \ \>===( )===