F I D O N E W S -- Volume 13, Number 52 23 December 1996 +----------------------------+-----------------------------------------+ | The newsletter of the | ISSN 1198-4589 Published by: | | FidoNet community | "FidoNews" | | _ | 1-904-409-7040 [1:1/23] | | / \ | | | /|oo \ | | | (_| /_) | | | _`@/_ \ _ | | | | | \ \\ | Editor: | | | (*) | \ )) | Christopher Baker 1:18/14 | | |__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. | +----------------------------------------------------------------------+ MERRY CHRISTMAS! Table of Contents 1. EDITORIAL ................................................ 1 Happy Holidays to All! ................................... 1 2. ARTICLES ................................................. 2 Privacy for Routed NetMail ............................... 2 3. GETTING TECHNICAL ........................................ 4 FidoNet Technical Proposals - FSC-0003 - Route Files ..... 4 4. COORDINATORS CORNER ...................................... 16 Nodelist-statistics as seen from Zone-2 for day 355 ...... 16 5. WE GET EMAIL ............................................. 17 Where is FidoNet going? .................................. 17 Goodbye Carl Sagan ....................................... 18 Merry Christmas fellow Sysops [hic]? ..................... 20 6. NET HUMOR ................................................ 22 Who put the X in Xmas? ................................... 22 7. COMIX IN ASCII ........................................... 25 The 12 Days of Christmas in ASCII ........................ 25 This Christmas tree sez it all? .......................... 28 A master collection of Christmas ASCII? .................. 29 8. NOTICES .................................................. 37 Future History ........................................... 37 9. FIDONET SOFTWARE LISTING ................................. 38 Latest Greatest Software Versions ........................ 38 10. FIDONEWS PUBLIC-KEY ..................................... 45 This Space intentionally left blank? ..................... 45 And more! FIDONEWS 13-52 Page 1 23 Dec 1996 ================================================================= EDITORIAL ================================================================= Merry Christmas to those of that persuasion. There are several seasonal features in this Issue. I had a .BIO of Santa but it mysteriously disappeared. There were suspicious tracks leading up to this keyboard but no exit trail. I suspect elves trying to suppress information. Pinky and the Brain are trying to take over the North Pole on the WB as I compose this editorial. Does the name Noodlenoggin mean anything to you? [grin] I hope all of you get what you wish for this year. I hope the rest of you get what you deserve. [snicker] And to all a good night! C.B. ----------------------------------------------------------------- FIDONEWS 13-52 Page 2 23 Dec 1996 ================================================================= ARTICLES ================================================================= PRIVACY FOR ROUTED NETMAIL Jim Cannell 1:216/21 Since its humble beginnings in 1984, FidoNet has enabled people over the entire world to communicate inexpensively and reliably. One very important element is missing from standard FidoNet communications --- privacy. A copy of each NetMail message exists on each and every system that the message is routed through, available for the sysop and possibly others to read. Are you unwilling to share your private mail with all these other people, but yet do not want to pay the high price of direct NetMail? Now, you can have the best of both worlds -- the privacy of direct mail coupled with the low or zero cost of routed NetMail. The SecureMail system is a group of FidoNet sysops dedicated to preserving the privacy of your NetMail. The SecureMail hosts promise to neither monitor nor censor any intransit NetMail on their systems. All enroute traffic is erased as soon as processed by SecureMail hosts. There are no restrictions on the content of mail passed through the SecureMail system other than it not be illegal or commerical. The message content is of concern only to the sender and recipient. For those that want even more privacy, the SecureMail system not only accepts and delivers encrypted messages, but encourages the use of encryption to prevent anyone but the intended recipient to read your private mail. SecureMail hosts are mail movers -- not censors nor voyeurs. SecureMail is a part of FidoNet; it is not a separate network. It exists in the original spirit of FidoNet to provide communications among widely separated people without adding layers of bureaucratic control. It is a totally voluntary and cooperative effort to move mail efficiently while maintaining the privacy of the correspondents. The SecureMail hosts are dedicating their own time and resources to accomplish this goal. To use the SecureMail system, identify your local Net SecureMail host by looking in the nodelist for the U?SMH flag. These hosts will forward your private NetMail into the SecureMail system for quick, reliable, and private delivery. All you have to do to is route your outbound NetMail through this SecureMail host. Wouldn't you rather entrust your private NetMail to those that care about your privacy than to just dump it into a distribution system where it can be delayed and read while enroute? SecureMail is a rapidly growing international mail system. If there is not a ?SMH in your net or close by, we encourage you to volunteer for the post. As long as you are willing to forward mail without monitoring or censoring, you will be welcomed. You can obtain a full information package by freqing SECUREML from 1:216/21, 1:18/14, FIDONEWS 13-52 Page 3 23 Dec 1996 2:51/2, 2:5100/8, or any of the ?SMH systems located near you. This package contains details on the operation of SecureMail, guidelines, and general philosophy of SecureMail. It also contains the latest SecureMail routing map. Since not all SecureMail hosts are allowed to fly the U?SMH flag in the nodelist, you may find a closer ?SMH to you by reviewing the map rather than the nodelist. ----------------------------------------------------------------- FIDONEWS 13-52 Page 4 23 Dec 1996 ================================================================= GETTING TECHNICAL ================================================================= [This is the first of the FidoNet Technical Proposals. FSC-0001 and FSC-0002 were obsoleted by FTS-0001 and FTS-0005, respectively. The difference between FidoNet Standards [FTS] and FidoNet Proposals for standards [FSC] is that FTS files are required to be followed to the letter where used by software developers and FSC files are merely suggestions not yet in wide use or not yet moved to FTS status. Some of the FSCs are explanatory and some are actual code to be used in FidoNet software. There are over 90 FSCs at this writing. All of them will appear in these pages over the next year if they are still active. This is also part of our continuing FidoNet History series. This document has been reformatted where required to meet the 70 column limit. As always, the unadulterated files are available here or at the various locations listed in the Masthead information.] Ed. FSC-0003 FidoNet Route Files Explained Part 1 -- The Many Faces of FidoNet by Ben Baker, Fido 100/76 There is no aspect of FidoNet more universally mis- understood than routing. It is the intent of this foru- part series to clear some of the fog. The justification for nets and routing has been discussed many times and will NOT be discussed again here. Given that routing is good, how is it done? What's the meaning of the various statements that go into route files? Indeed, what's the meaning of route files? Let's first take a look at "the network." But how do we do that? In reality, there is no "the network." FidoNet is a different thing when viewed by each different Fido! The only formal definition of FidoNet is the node list, and it serves as an adaquate view of "the network" for most independent Fidos but only the members of some nets. Consider the hypothetical node, Fido 21/7. He's an independent member of a "Region." To him, "the network" is a couple of hundred other independent nodes to whom he sends messages directly and another couple of hundred to which he has access through 36 defined "Hosts." If he receives a message not addressed to his node, his Fido "orphans" it. He has no intention of forwarding someone else's mail. They can pay their own phone bills! When he sends a message to 18/3, Fido knows (from the node list) that is another independent and sends the message direct. When he sends a message to 100/76, Fido knows (from the node list) that is a member of net 100 and sends it to 100/0. Fido 21/7 executes FIDONEWS 13-52 Page 5 23 Dec 1996 only schedule A during the national mail window. He has no use for ANY route files. Another hypothetical node, Fido 201/4 is a member of an "inbound only" net. Since the sysop has used the '4' command properly, Fido knows he is a member of net 201 and will treat other members of that net as though they were independent nodes. When he sends a message to 201/5, Fido will send it direct and not to 201/0. Messages headed out- side net 201 will be handled for 201/4 just as they were for 21/7. Fido 201/4 executes two schedules, A during the national window followed immediatly by B when he just sits quietly and waits for 201/0 to send him any mail he received. He has no use for ANY route files. Everyone else has a view of "the network" more complicated than Fido can discover from just the node list. If you're a Southern California Hub, or a local node in the New York Megalopolis, or maybe the host of a modest network in Memphis "the network" looks different to you than to other sysops. It is the function of route files to modify Fido's view of "the network" to conform to yours. If your Fido is executing any mail event and any other Fido calls it up and offers it a mail packet, your Fido will graciously receive that packet and at the end of the mail event, he will unpack it into messages. These actions have nothing whatever to do with route files! Reread that last paragraph two or three times until it sinks in. It is a very important, very misunderstood point. Route files do not and cannot control the way you receive mail. ROUTE FILES CONTROL ONLY THE WAY YOU SEND MAIL!!! After all, that's when you're paying the phone bill. Furthermore, what you say in ROUTE.B has absolutely nothing to do with how Fido behaves in schedule C. I will come back to this point later. Ever since we first began routing FidoNet messages to places other than their final destination, route files have used three basic commands to mold Fido's view of FidoNet to correspond with your view. In part 2 we will look at SCHEDULE, ROUTE-TO and ACCEPT-FROM and see just how they influence Fido. Part 3 will examine a bevy of new routing commands available with Fido V11 and see how they have made automatic distribution at last possible. LISTGEN V2 is capable of generating route files auto- matically. Part 4 will discuss how ROUTE.CTL statements map to route file commands. Stay with me for the next few weeks and maybe we can burn off the fog and find a bright sky, a calm sea and clear FIDONEWS 13-52 Page 6 23 Dec 1996 sailing. (And don't throw away your newsletters, you'll want to refer back from time to time.) ------------------------------------------------------------ FidoNet Route Files Explained Part 2 -- In the Beginning by Ben Baker, Fido 100/76 From the time he first began "routing" messages, Fido has used "route files" to tell him what messages to send where when. Three basic route file commands do this; SCHEDULE aka SEND-TO, ROUTE-TO and ACCEPT-FROM. This week, we'll look at these commands in depth. Before going farther, I need to define a couple of terms. A "target" is a node to which your Fido will connect and directly send a message. An "addressee" is the ultimate destination node for a message. This is an important distinction. Because of routing, the addressee and the target for a particular message are often different nodes. A "packet" is a collection of messages all to be sent to a single target (though perhaps several addressees). At the beginning of each schedule Fido builds all the packets he will be permitted to send during that schedule. Now, let's take a look at the three basic commands that may appear in a route file, and see how each of them can modify Fido's behavior. SCHEDULE or SEND-TO These commands are equivalent. They tell Fido "During this schedule, you may build packets for any target in . Include all messages to different addressees which may be routed to these targets. Do not consider any outgoing messages which cannot be sent to one of these targets." Unless there is an ACCEPT-FROM statement (see below) only messages originating on your Fido qualify to go into packets. If is empty (and this is NOT schedule A), Fido will not build any packets. If he doesn't build any packets he will not send any mail, even if he is POLLed (see next week). ROUTE-TO This command will override any node list implied routing affecting these nodes. It tells Fido "If is in and there are outgoing messages for any nodes in , put them in 's packet." If is not in you blew it. It's FIDONEWS 13-52 Page 7 23 Dec 1996 almost, but not quite a "no operation." No packets will be built for nodes in , even if they are in ! Don't route messages to a that's not in the for this schedule. By the way, a bug in an earlier version of Fido pre- vented messages to from being sent unless he was also in . I don't know if that has been corrected, but it's still good general practice to put in . ACCEPT-FROM Normally, Fido only sends mail originating on your board. If you receive a message originating on A and addressed to B, without this statement, your Fido will not attempt to send it along to B. Instead, he will mark it "orphan" to give you an indication that he had a problem with it and otherwise ignore it. This statement in a route file tells Fido "When you build packets, if you find any messages from any nodes in , treat them as if they originated here. In other words FORWARD any messages from the nodes in that you can get into packets FOR THIS SCHEDULE's ." I actually suggested this verb for this action and have regretted it ever since! It's a misnomer. A better verb might be "FORWARD-FOR" but hindsight is always 20-20. It really means "Accept, for forwarding, only messages from these guys." It's designed to prevent you from paying someone else's phone costs without prior arrangement. So where do you put this statement? Remember two important points I've mentioned before. 1) Route files affect how you SEND mail, not how you receive it. 2) A particular route file affects only the schedule with the matching . Consider Fido 202/0, a hypothetical bi- directional host. He executes three schedules each night. During schedule B, before the national window, he collects outgoing mail from his locals. During schedule C he sends mail from himself and his locals to "the network" and receives mail for himself and his locals from it. Then in schedule D, after the national window, he distributes the mail he received for his locals. ROUTE.B needs neither a nor an ACCEPT- FROM statement. Indeed, he doesn't really need any ROUTE.B file at all because HE ISN'T SENDING ANY MAIL DURING SCHEDULE B. ROUTE.C has the national net excluding 202/0's locals in its . It also has "ACCEPT-FROM 1, 2, 3, (all locals)." Now let's say that 202/3 received a message from 125/1 last night, but it wasn't delivered because 202/3 was down. The message is still here. Won't it be "orphaned" because 125/1 isn't in the ACCEPT-FROM list? NO! FIDONEWS 13-52 Page 8 23 Dec 1996 Because 202/3 isn't in the , the message won't even be considered DURING THIS SCHEDULE. ROUTE.D has all the nodes in net 202 in the , and an "ACCEPT-FROM ALL" statement. Now the fore- going message will be processed correctly and forwarded to 202/3. Now let's say that 100/76 tries to forward a message to Jakarta through 202/0. 202/0 cannot refuse delivery of the offending message, so there it sits in his mail area. During schedule B, he ignores all outgoing mail because he doesn't have a . During schedule C Jakarta is in his , but 100/76 is not in his , so the message is orphaned. During schedule D 100/76 IS in the , but Jakarta is not in the so the message is again ignored. Make no mistake, if Jakarta had been in the in schedule D, the message would have been sent, even though it had been marked an orphan during schedule C (provided, of course that a connection could be made and Jakarta happened to be in a mail schedule at that time). This means that if messages are orphaned because of errors in your routing files, the routing files can be corrected and the messages can still be sent. The orphan flag is NOT a dead end! A similar kind of bug existed (and may still; I don't know) with ACCEPT-FROM as with ROUTE-TO (above). If a route file contains an ACCEPT-FROM statement, make sure your own node is in the . (The first time I used this statement, I forwarded a lot of messages, but "orphaned" my own messages!) Well, that's how routing is achieved. Remember, all these statements control out-going mail. You can receive mail even if you don't have any route files! A final point on routing. If a message says it has a file attached (even if the file doesn't exist) all bets are off. Routing is suspended and the message will be sent direct from the originator to the addressee. Fido has several built-in safeguards to prevent you from forwarding someone else's files, or forwarding your files through someone else for that matter. Next week we'll take a close look at the goodies TJ has provided in version 11 and see how they are making automatic node list distribution at long last a reality. ------------------------------------------------------------ FidoNet Route Files Explained FIDONEWS 13-52 Page 9 23 Dec 1996 Part 3 -- Keep the Old, Ring In the New by Ben Baker, Fido 100/76 Last week we looked at the basic routing statements that have been with us since version 7 or so. Now let's look at what's been added in version 11. Please refer back to last weeks definitions. I con- tinue to use them as defined. RECV-ONLY This tells Fido "Go ahead and build packets for any targets in the SCHEDULE command's , but DON'T ATTEMPT TO CALL ANYBODY. If any targets happen to call in for any reason, try to give them their packets before they get away." There MUST be a for this statement to mean anything. It is not intended for normally "receive only" schedules like 202/0's collection schedule (see last week). Instead, it prevents you from originating calls during schedules when you are trying to SEND mail. (Route files control how you send mail, not how you receive it.) You are really trying to send mail on the other guy's nickel, but as you will see, he has to cooperate in that venture. This statement might be used by the locals during the collection schedule in a large, busy net. Collisions are avoided because there's only one node, the outbound host, placing calls. He POLLs (see below) the locals for their outgoing traffic. HOLD "OK, Fido, build packets for targets in the , but don't attempt to actually call any targets in ." This is a limited "RECV-ONLY" command. Any packets for targets not in will be sent normally (if they haven't been picked up), but packets for have to be "picked up." There's a hidden gimmick here that bears further exploration. Ken Kaplan (Fido 100/22 AKA 1/0) is the original source in the national nodelist distribution system. Regional coordinators call his Fido each week to pick up copies of the latest nodelist. The route file for his national window contains the statement "HOLD ." Fido will not attempt to send any packets targetted for a regional coordinator. Does this mean that he can't send "normal" messages to the coordinators? Not at all. Because he is a member of net 100, all his "normal" messages, including those addressed to the coordinators, wind up in a packet targetted for 100/10, FIDONEWS 13-52 Page 10 23 Dec 1996 the outbound host. Since 100/10 is not in the , that packet is sent and the messages go out. HOLD APPLIES TO THE TARGETS OF PACKETS, NOT TO THE ADDRESSEES OF MESSAGES! It is only when Ken sends messages to the coordinators with the nodelist (or other files) attached to them that Fido builds packets targetted for them instead of 100/10. Does that mean that Ken can't send the coordinators other files without waiting for them to pick them up? Well, yes and no. Because of the HOLD statement, he can't say send FIDO_IBM.EXE to 14/61 (see PICK-UP below for why 14/61 and not 14/0). But he can use another gimmick. The coordinators have dual identities (set by the '4' command of Fido) and he can certainly send a file to 14/0. Fido is smart, but so smart he'll notice that 14/0 and 14/61 happen to have the same phone number. He'll send the packet for 14/0 and hold the one for 14/61. By the same token, if both packets are still present when 14/61 calls in, he'll only pick up the the nodelist targetted for 14/61 and not the new Fido targetted for 14/0. (You can't have your cake and eat it too.) PICKUP Whenever any other Fido calls your Fido for any reason, your Fido looks to see if there is a packet targetted for him. If there is, your Fido will try to deliver it then and there and avoid making the phone call which you have to pay for. Without this statement (or the next one) in his route file, the other Fido will simply hang up on you, leaving you with a phone call to make in order to deliver your packet. This statement says to Fido "If you happen to call any target in , hang around to see if he has mail for me." This is a two-edged sword. It can speed up mail exchange, but the Fido that places the call pays for it. It works best within a local net where the calls are all toll free anyway. In fact, it won't work at all between larger nets supported by distinct inbound and outbound hosts. Specifying "PICKUP 100/0" in your national window schedule would only get you messages originating on 100/0 (or 100/51 actually) with files attached. Any other mail for you might be in a packet addressed to you, but on 100/10, the outbound host, and that's not who you called. Even worse, let's say Tom Jennings is sending a file to 100/10 and wants to pick up any mail from St. Louis for San Francisco while he's at it. He's the host of net 125, and that's perfectly legitimate, right? Wrong! His primary identity (the '4' command again) is 125/1 and 100/10 may have a packet for 125/0, but he won't have a packet for 125/1. This command deals at the packet/target level just as the HOLD command does. Furthermore, it deals with real identities, not alternate identities. FIDONEWS 13-52 Page 11 23 Dec 1996 As I said, this is most useful within a local net, and that's where it probably should be applied. POLL This tells Fido "Even if I don't have any mail for the targets in generate empty packets addressed to them so you have an excuse to call them. Then when you do call them, pick anything they have for me." "POLL " implies "PICKUP " which need not be specified. This is the statement an outbound host might use to poll his locals or hubs for outgoing traffic prior to national mail time. Together with the next statement, this method can be very efficient. The regional coordinators run a special schedule each Saturday morning during the national mail window. It's route file is identical to their normal national schedule route file except that it contains the statement "POLL 1/0." That's how they get the nodelist for subsequent redis- tribution. As I see it, POLL has a lot more uses than PICKUP. SEND-ONLY This one is mainly for outbound hosts. It says "I'm not expecting any mail during this schedule, so don't wait the normal one or two minutes for incomming calls after making an outgoing call. As soon as you finish one, dial another until all packets have been sent." As I said above, this can be very efficient, but there's a problem you need to be aware of. Fido will make a maximum of 30 attempts without connect to send a packet to a particular target. If you have only one packet addressed to a busy target, Fido would normally take about an hour to use up 30 attempts, but in SEND-ONLY mode he can attempt 30 calls in about 20 minutes! If you have a Courier and are running it in "X4" response code mode, he'll make 30 attempts in 10 to 15 minutes. (The Courier doesn't waste a lot of time in "fast-dial, busy-detect" mode.) If you're an outbound host and want to try SEND-ONLY during the national window, you risk using up your call attempts while your target is busiest, then when he's quieted down and you could get through, you've given up! I suggest you break your national time into two schedules, and only use SEND-ONLY during the last 20 minutes or so of the national window. On the other hand, polling your locals or hubs is a different matter. They should be in RECV-ONLY mode and you can expect every call to connect the first try. The call attempt limit doesn't apply to this situation and the SEND- FIDONEWS 13-52 Page 12 23 Dec 1996 ONLY command should be used to shorten the time needed to POLL everyone. NO-ROUTE This command tells Fido "Do not send messages addressed to these nodes anywhere but to the addressed nodes. Treat them as though they have files attached, whether they do or not." This lets you say things like Fido 100/76 (in Illinois) might: SEND-TO 100/10 ; Outbound Host (in Missouri) ROUTE-TO 100/10 ALL ; Send everything to accross the river NO-ROUTE 100/482 ; Except other Illinois traffic The only other way to achieve this end is to list in the ROUTE-TO command all 500 odd nodes whose messages should be routed to 100/10, and that list changes every week! Now you should have a good handle on how the commands used in ROUTE. control how Fido SENDS files during schedule . But sometimes these commands require very long lists of node numbers which change from week to week as the node list changes. LISTGEN 2 will generate the route files automatically and let you specify the long lists symbolically in terms of nets, area codes, etc.. Next week in the last part of this series, we'll see how the statements in LISTGEN's ROUTE.CTL file correspond to the commands in ROUTE.. ------------------------------------------------------------ FidoNet Route Files Explained Part 4 -- LISTGEN and ROUTE.CTL by Ben Baker, Fido 100/76 LISTGEN Version 2 will automatically generate route files for you if you desire. The advantage is that LISTGEN is driven by a control file, ROUTE.CTL, in which you specify the statements necessary with symbolic parameters that you define in terms of nets, area codes, etc.. A properly designed ROUTE.CTL need only change when your routing needs change. LISTGEN will continue to create correct route files week after week as the nodelist changes. Before I begin, I'd like to do a quick review of the route file commands and their effect. SCHEDULE or SEND-TO Determines which nodes may have FIDONEWS 13-52 Page 13 23 Dec 1996 packets build to SEND mail to. ROUTE-TO Directs that messages to par- ticular addressees be SENT in packets to another node. ACCEPT-FROM Specifies which oritinators' messages may be SENT. RECV-ONLY States that packets may only be SENT by being picked up. HOLD States that packets to part- icular nodes may only be SENT by being picked up. PICK-UP States that it is OK to receive mail from particular nodes when we originate calls to SEND them packets. POLL Directs that packets (empty if necessary) be generated and SENT to particular nodes in order to pick up mail. SEND-ONLY States that calls may be made rapid-fire to SEND as many packets as possible. Note that each definition above includes the verb SEND or SENT. I did that deliberately to emphasize that these commands all control some aspect of sending mail. LISTGEN has been adaquately documented and I do not intend to re-document it here, but I would like to show you how ROUTE.CTL commands map to the ROUTE. commands covered above. SCHEDULE When LISTGEN encounters this command in ROUTE.CTL it does two things. First it closes any route file it may be working on and creates a new ROUTE. file for the new . Then it generates a SCHEDULE statement from the specifications in this one for the new ROUTE., expanding any symbolic parameters to lists of nodes from the nodelist. In other words, it begins a new route file as you would expect it to by defining the . FROM This phrase, when encountered, generates an ACCEPT-FROM statement. TO [ VIA ] If the VIA clause is present, this statement generates a "ROUTE-TO ." Successive TO phrases without VIA clauses accumulate to make a larger until a VIA clause IS found. Then the entire list is routed to the . (I'm not entirely happy with this "feature," but that's the way it works.) If FIDONEWS 13-52 Page 14 23 Dec 1996 no VIA clause is ever found, the TO phrase generates no output at all! It does serve as documentation in your ROUTE.CTL file, saying "I expect to be sending mail TO these nodes in this schedule." All of the other route file commands discussed above map one-for-one in the same format from ROUTE.CTL to ROUTE.. The big advantage in using LISTGEN is to be able to use simple symbols which it will translate into long lists of nodes. To illustrate, net 100 spans two area codes, 314 in Missouri and 618 in Illinois. To minimize the number of toll calls placed accross the Mississippi, I serve as "Metro East" hub to concentrate the Illinois traffic. I have the following statements (among others) in my ROUTE.CTL file: define Metro-East as Net-100 except Area-314 ; Area 618 define Outbound as 100/10 define World as all except Metro-East * * * FROM Metro-East TO World VIA Outbound Nodes may come and go, both in our net and across the country, and these statements need not change. LISTGEN interprets them week after week and builds the right route files every time. And in several months, if our outbound host should change making it necessary to change ROUTE.CTL, I can look at this and not have to say to myself "What on earth was I trying to do here?" It's all pretty obvious. Before I wrap it up, there are two important exceptions to the things I have said. First, schedule A is special in that the always is the entire nodelist, no matter what ROUTE.A says. For that reason, if you do any routing not defined by the node list, I recommend that you DO NOT USE SCHEDULE A. For all other schedules, Fido does exactly what ROUTE. tells it to do and nothing more. And second, ROUTE.BBS is a special route file that affects all schedules for which there are no ROUTE. files. For that reason, I recommend that you FORGET YOU EVER HEARD OF ROUTE.BBS. It'll cause more problems than it'll ever solve! So, routing can get pretty complex (just ask 'em in Southern California), but it doesn't need to be complicated once you know what the objective of each schedule is from your point of view, and what your Fido needs to do to meet those objectives. In fact, it's pretty easy if you just remember the two points I have been hammering at you since we began: 1) Route files control the way you send messages, not the way you receive them. Every command we discussed above controls some aspect of sending messages. And. . . FIDONEWS 13-52 Page 15 23 Dec 1996 2) A particular route file only affects the schedule with the matching . What you say in ROUTE.B has no bearing whatever on schedule C. Each schedule must be separately spelled out. -30- ----------------------------------------------------------------- FIDONEWS 13-52 Page 16 23 Dec 1996 ================================================================= COORDINATORS CORNER ================================================================= Nodelist-statistics as seen from Zone-2 for day 355 By Ward Dossche, 2:292/854 ZC/2 +----+------+------------+------------+------------+------------+--+ |Zone|Nl-327|Nodelist-334|Nodelist-341|Nodelist-348|Nodelist-355|%%| +----+------+------------+------------+------------+------------+--+ | 1 | 11127|10931 -196 |10931 0 |10737 -194 |10564 -173 |36| | 2 | 16291|16240 -51 |16185 -55 |16150 -35 |16127 -23 |55| | 3 | 905| 886 -19 | 882 -4 | 882 0 | 878 -4 | 3| | 4 | 589| 584 -5 | 578 -6 | 572 -6 | 413 -159 | 1| | 5 | 94| 94 0 | 94 0 | 94 0 | 93 -1 | 0| | 6 | 1008| 1008 0 | 1006 -2 | 1003 -3 | 1003 0 | 3| +----+------+------------+------------+------------+------------+--+ | 30014|29743 -271 |29676 -67 |29438 -238 |29078 -360 | +------+------------+------------+------------+------------+ ----------------------------------------------------------------- FIDONEWS 13-52 Page 17 23 Dec 1996 ================================================================= WE GET EMAIL ================================================================= --- Following message extracted from FIDONEWS @ 1:18/14 --- By Christopher Baker on Sat Dec 21 17:52:05 1996 From: Harry Bush To: Dana Marshall Date: 16 Dec 96 00:54:10 Subj: FidoNews 1350 is in the can! Hello Dana! (My apologies to Moderator if this is going slightly off-topic... that is, if Future of FidoNet can be off-topic ;-))) Saturday December 14 1996 from DANA MARSHALL 1:343/311 to HARRY BUSH: HB>> There certainly are decent Net users among them but I cannot say HB>> this for AOL majority. Do we want this kind of people in Fido? HB>> Personally, I don't. DM> Yeah, but I notice from the nodelist that the number of nodes is DM> dropping. Do we want to keep quality sysops, or have a lot of DM> nodes? This is really The Question of todays FidoNet, IMHO. Thanks God and Jennings, :-) unlike commercial providers we do not need evergrowing net. It's inevitable that those people who just needed cheap kind of E-mail will switch to Internet now when it's becoming cheaper every day. We all do, to some degree. Many of us (maybe majority ;) do use Internet in everydays work, much like library, shop and consulting info source. Nevertheless, there are people like me (and probably you) who stay in FidoNet too. Why? ;-) Because I like to do computer network (well, part of it) myself instead of being just "user of a black/grey box". It's great to know _how_ it works, and to try new things (wish there were more principially new developments in Fido). I like also the feeling of being able and free to connect (well, at least theoretically) to any other node in the network, if I want, without asking anybodies permission and without anything capturing my letters in message bases keeping every word you have ever sent to any newsgroup - and I do not believe that E-mail is not captured in the same way. I like also that in Fido we all are SysOps - well, some are *CS ;-) but nevertheless everybody - be it young teenee using old Amiga, or rich "silver wings" running big Hub just for phun, or somebody with health problems dictating all his mail to VoiceType in his Warped computer, - we all are equal as SysOps. Besides of shrinking of nodelist, there is another tendency going on in Europe for a long time: many nodes, even CM ones, have no BBS'es at all. Seems to me that role of kinda network provider (BBS Keeper) has calmly separated from that of being part of Global Fidonet. With FIDONEWS 13-52 Page 18 23 Dec 1996 computers becoming cheaper one can set up his home node just for fun, just to have his mail/files/whatever collected and sent automatically, to participate in echoes, to keep good contacts with nice people etc. No necessity to expand node into a BBS, it's whole another business with it's own problems (lots of them). Comparing to history of radio amateurs we can predict that Fido community may shrink a bit but probably will remain as community of people who _know_ how things work in computer networks. Many leading computer and electronic developers have HAM background, and many specialists in network area are, or have been in Fido, some of them had their own Fido-Technology based networks (using Zone numbers like 92, he he ;-) In some aspects Fido is still leading compared to "big Net world". My mailer (Xenia, by Arjen Lentz) can and do use cryptographic methods to authentificate connecting nodes - this is not yet a common practice. There are routing subsets of Fido (SecureMail) allowing routed encrypted private netmail. Only recently in Internet http protocol so called "reget" was introduced, allowing to continue receiving of some information if connection was lost - something we are absolutely used to assume in Fido for years ;-) etc.etc. One thing that effectively _can_ kill Fido is sticking too much to old standards and refusing new technologies. For example I wonder why there still are no Fido message editors capable of writing/interpreting HTML... Oh yes, there is no Fido standard for it... so what... ;)) Best wishes, Harry Monday December 16 1996 00:54 Origin: Hi, gang! This is getting real sociable, isn't it? (2:51/2) -30- ----------------------------------------------------------------- [From Internet email] To: cbaker84@digital.net Date: Sat, 21 Dec 1996 11:25:39 EST Subject: AUFORA News Update : AUFORA - Carl Sagan From: surak@juno.com (Rob A Shinn) Could you run this in FidoNews? I think it might be of some interest to Fido SysOps.., --------- Begin forwarded message ---------- From: AUFORA News Update To: watanabe@acs.ucalgary.ca Subject: AUFORA - Carl Sagan Date: Sat, 21 Dec 1996 02:33:18 -0700 FIDONEWS 13-52 Page 19 23 Dec 1996 AUFORA News Update Friday, December 20th, 1996 ___________________________ *** We at AUFORA would like to express our most profound sympathies over the loss of such an influential and great man. *** STATEMENT BY NASA ADMINISTRATOR DAN GOLDIN ON THE PASSING OF ASTRONOMER CARL SAGAN "All of us at NASA are saddened by the passing of Carl Sagan. For more than three decades, Dr. Sagan was an eloquent, passionate voice for the sciences that he so ably advanced. As much as any scientific figure of our time, Carl described for an entire generation -- the generation of the Space Age -- the true wonders of the Universe around us. His unbelievable ability to explain the complexities of space and space exploration inspired people to look up into the night sky in wonder. Through such efforts as the television series 'Cosmos' and his recent book, 'Pale Blue Dot,' Carl reached -- and touched --millions around the world. He was a pioneer of the idea that life could exist on Mars, years before NASA was able to uncover evidence of potential early life on the Red Planet, and he was an important voice in our Mars science programs for many years. He was an early champion of the idea that the two leading spacefaring powers, America and Russia, should work together in the exploration of space. He also was at the forefront of constructing humanity's first messages to the stars, which even now are hurtling out of our Solar System aboard the Pioneer and Voyager spacecraft. Carl himself likened the effort to the launching of a message in a bottle on the interstellar ocean. We will remember his vision, his eloquence, and his intellect, and we will miss him." __________________ AUFORA News Update News, Information, Facts from the world of UFOlogy To subscribe send e-mail to: dwatanab@acs.ucalgary.ca AUFORA Web: http://www.aufora.org/ AUFORA News: http://www.aufora.org/news/ Helios Science News: http://www.helios.org/ ___________________________________________________ Distributed by The Alberta UFO Research Association --------- End forwarded message ---------- [ Rob ] -=- Deus ex Machina -=- ----------------------------------------------------------------- FIDONEWS 13-52 Page 20 23 Dec 1996 --- Following message extracted from 374SYSOP @ 1:18/14 --- By Christopher Baker on Sun Dec 22 18:32:12 1996 From: Jim Chiravalle To: All Date: 22 Dec 96 10:30:00 Subj: X-mas Time... 2 Remember this one Walt? Date: 24 Dec 94 21:57:00 From: Walt Young To: All Subj: Merry Christmas A CHRISTMAS LETTER TO MY FRIENDS by Your Fellow Sysop Dear Fellow 374 Sysops, Now that Christmas time is here I generally like to take time to write a message to all my friends who have been so kind during the year. I'd like to say thanks for all the support, the messages, the files you've put on this board and for the technical stuff. Writing this kins of message is a swell habit, I think. Tonight is a blustery evening, but I feel cozy and snug as I sit here typing this message, watching the fire in the fireplace, listening to some good music, and sipping on a double martini .. I only wish you were here to join me in one, but since you are not - the least I can do is to toast your health and happiness ... So, I shall take time out and bend my elbow to you in a little toast. I also took time out to mix another martini and while I was out in the kitchen I thought I might as well drink it out there, mix another and bring it in here to save getting up again to go mix another out there and in doing so I feel like I,m beginning to feel a littl hih. It,s funny how a cold dring can warm up your stomahe and inspire your thoughts, inn,nt?I must have been sitting to close to thefire vor I startew feel a littlet dizzy so i muxed another martini and now my head feels a clear as a bellagin? Oo youa can9t beart the comnation of good gin vermooth and stiffed olives. beer ansqotch and bouban are allrigh but you can7t beat gin ermouth even with picled onoions. Now i like allittet dring now anthen and I have tak a fourth and or maybe afifthf and I am more than evew concicse that any man who does8t is stupif and not inth pr'er 1993?) icould dring martinis alday and nefer wqubber an etelash and so no worse a citzeb that I was befor. this country is good FIDONEWS 13-52 Page 21 23 Dec 1996 as it evew wax. We al nkow taxes are highrt, but still we arewell of in Isa... There ujst inn8t a bettercountry1 SSay tese martinis isal righr, when wev need stimulanzwe sure do even if some people don9t like ti who blunooses and its pretty kinf of a kettle-fish is i can! drink a taost to old frens. O i coulf drink martinis by fthe quart to yourr health all nihgt and stil pass anu sibruty tets sos herees again to yor heltj!!!!! N merra Chrutmiss y yOUR fELL oWL sYSOPE....... .. Christmas Spirit is what you GIVE...not what you GET! Origin:**Jim In Motion BBS*Palm Bay, Fl*(407)952-8089 ** (1:374/32) ----------------------------------------------------------------- FIDONEWS 13-52 Page 22 23 Dec 1996 ================================================================= NET HUMOR ================================================================= From: "Mike Riddle" To: "Baker, Christopher" Subject: Fwd: x-masfile ==================BEGIN FORWARDED MESSAGE================== >From the Dec 16, 1996 edition of the _New Yorker_ The Xmas Files by Frank Cammuso and Hart Seely The Place: 37 ELM STREET BETHLEHEM, PA. The Time: 11:51 PM, DECEMBER 24TH Fox Mulder: We're too late! It's already been here. Dana Scully: Mulder, I hope you know what you're doing. M: Look Scully, just like the other homes: Douglas fir, truncated, mounted, transfromed into a shrine; halls decked with boughs of holly; stockings hung by the chimney, with care. S: You really think someone's been here? M: Someone, or SOMETHING. S: Mulder, over here, it's fruitcake. M: Don't touch it! Those things can be lethal. S: It's OK. There's a note attached: "Gonna find out who's naughty and nice." M: It's judging them, Scully. It's making a list. S: Who? What are you talking about? M: Ancient mythology tells of an obese humanoid entity who could travel at great speed in a craft powered by antlered servants. Once each year, near the winter solstice, this creature is said to descend from the heavens to reward its followers and punish disbelievers with jagged chunks of anthracite. S: But that's legend, Mulder--a story told by parents to frighten children. Surely you don't believe it? M: Something was here tonight, Scully. Check out the bite marks FIDONEWS 13-52 Page 23 23 Dec 1996 on this gingerbread man. Whaterver tore through this plate of cookies was massive --and in a hurry. S: It left crumbs everywhere. And look, Mulder, this milk glass has been completely drained. M: It gorged itself, Scully. It fed without remorse. S: But why would they leave it milk and cookies? M: Appeasement. Tonight is the Eve, and nothing can stop its wilding. S: But if this thing does exist, how did it get in? The doors and windows were locked. There's no sign of forced entry. M: Unless I miss my guess, it came in through the fireplace. S: Wait a minute, Mulder. If you're saying some huge creature landd on the roof and came down this chimney, you're crazy. The flue is barely six inches wide. Nothing could get down there. M: But what if it could alter its shape, move in all directions at once? S: You mean like a bowl full of jelly? M: Exactly, Scully. I've never told anyone this, but when I was a child my home was visited. I saw the creature. It had long white shanks of fur surrounding its ruddy, misshapen head. Its bloated torso was red and white. I'll never forget the horror. I turned away, and when I looked back it somehow took on the facial features of my father. S: Impossible. M: I know what I saw. And that night it read my mind. It brought me a Mr. Potato Head, Scully. IT KNEW THAT I WANTED A MR. POTATO HEAD! S: I'm sorry, Mulder, but you're asking me to disregard the laws of physics. You want me to believe in some supernatural being who soars across the skies and brings gifts to good little girls and boys. Listen to what you're saying. Do you understand the reprecussions? If this gets out, they'll close the X-files. M: Scully, listen to me: It knows when you're sleeping. It knows when you're awake. S: But we have no proof. M: Last year, on this exact date, SETI radio telescops detected bogeys in the airspace over twenty-seven states. The White House ordered a Condition Red. FIDONEWS 13-52 Page 24 23 Dec 1996 S: But that was a meteor shower. M: Officially. Two days ago, eight prized Scandanavian reindeer vanished from the National Zoo, in Washington, DC. Nobody-- not even the zookeeper--was told about it. The government dosn't want people to know about Project Kringle. They fear that if this thing is proved to exist the public will stop spending half its annual incom in a holiday shopping frenzy. Retail markets will collapse. Scully, they cannot let the world believe this creature lives. There's too much at stake. They'll do whatever it takes to ensure another silent night. S: Mulder, I-- M: Sh-h-h. Do you hear what I hear? On the roof. It sounds like...a clatter. The truth is up there. Let's see what's the matter. ===================END FORWARDED MESSAGE=================== ----------------------------------------------------------------- FIDONEWS 13-52 Page 25 23 Dec 1996 ================================================================= COMIX IN ASCII ================================================================= [Forwarded by Walter Tietjen at 1:151/114] From: In:cron@pixie.co.za To: ** All ** Subj: ASCII Christmas Story +---------------------------------------------------------------+ On the Twelfth Day of Christmas, my true love gave to me: Twelve Drummers Drumming .-} .-} .-} |_| |_| |_| (_) (_) __ (_) .---. | \ .--. | \.' '. | \/ \ |\_|--o ) |\_|--o ; |\_|--o | |:| '--' |:|'.__.' |:|\ / |:| |:| |:| `---` |:|_ |:|_ |:|_ ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ .-. .-. .-. .-. .-. .-. .-. .-. .-. |M| |E| |R| |R| |Y| |X| |M| |A| |S| (_) (_) (_) (_) (_) (_) (_) (_) (_) /\Y/\ /\Y/\ /\Y/\ /\Y/\ /\Y/\ /\Y/\ /\Y/\ /\Y/\ /\Y/\ [XXX] [XXX] [XXX] [XXX] [XXX] [XXX] [XXX] [XXX] [XXX] ||| ||| ||| ||| ||| ||| ||| ||| ||| ||| ||| ||| ||| ||| ||| ||| ||| ||| _|||_ _|||_ _|||_ _|||_ _|||_ _|||_ _|||_ _|||_ _|||_ ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Eleven Pipers Piping _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ,/_) ,/_) ,/_) ,/_) ,/_) ,/_) ,/_) ,/_) ,/_) ,/_) ,/_) (") (") (") (") (") (") (") (") (") (") (") /I\ /I\ /I\ /I\ /I\ /I\ /I\ /I\ /I\ /I\ /I\ (/^\) (/^\) (/^\) (/^\) (/^\) (/^\) (/^\) (/^\) (/^\) (/^\) (/^\) ||| ||| ||| ||| ||| ||| ||| ||| ||| ||| ||| ||| ||| ||| ||| ||| ||| ||| ||| ||| ||| ||| _|||_ _|||_ _|||_ _|||_ _|||_ _|||_ _|||_ _|||_ _|||_ _|||_ _|||_ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Ten Lords A-Leaping w w w 0__ \0__ \0__ w /|_ w /_ FIDONEWS 13-52 Page 26 23 Dec 1996 /_ __0/ '\/ / \0_ '\/ / w '\/ / /_ ` /_ ` __0/ ` `\/ \, _\ \, /_ w ` `\/ \, \0__ w w /_ 0__ w \0__ _\ \, /|_ __0/ |_ ` `\/ \, /_ _\ \, `\/ /, ` Nine Ladies Dancing |~ () () 0` |~ () _/)(\_ () _/)(\_ 0` _/)(\_ /^^\ () _/)(\_ /""\ /~~\ /____\ _/)(\_ /``\ /____\ /____\ /""\ /____\ () () /____\ _/)(\_ () |~ _/)(\_ () /^^\ _/)(\_ 0` |~ /``\ _/)(\_ /____\ /~~\ 0` /____\ /~~\ /____\ /____\ Eight Maids A-Milking __.----. __.----. __.----. __.----.___ (\(__)/)-' (\(__)/)-' (\(__)/)-' (\(__)/)-' ;--` `(uu)' _ `(dd)' _ `(gg)' _ `(vv)' _ | ) ( (|) ) ( (|) ) ( (|) ) ( (|) | (o o) 8~8 (o o) 8~8 (o o) 8~8 (o o) 8~8 ,/ `--'\_ (__).`--'\_ (__).'`--'\_ (__).'`--'\_ _(__)| `|||~~/\|| `|||~~/\|| `|||~~/\|| `||~|| /\|| ^`^`^`^`^`^`^`^`^`^`^`^`^`^`^`^`^`^`^`^`^`^`^`^`^`^`^`^`^`^`^`^`^ __.----. __.----. __.----. __.----.___ (\(__)/)-' (\(__)/)-' (\(__)/)-' (\(__)/)-' ;--` `(99)' _ `(66)' _ `(aa)' _ `(ee)' _ | ) ( (|) ) ( (|) ) ( (|) ) ( (|) | (o o) 8~8 (o o) 8~8 (o o) 8~8 (o o) 8~8,/ `--'\_ (__).'`--'\_ (__).`--'\_ (__).`--'\_ _(__)| `|||~~/\|| `|||~~/\|| `|||~~/\|| `||~|| /\|| ^`^`^`^`^`^`^`^`^`^`^`^`^`^`^`^`^`^`^`^`^`^`^`^`^`^`^`^`^`^`^`^`^ Seven swans A-Swimming ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ /,_ \ /,_ \ /,_ \ /,_ \ /,_ \ /,_ \ /,_ \ _, |/ )/ |/ )/ |/ )/ |/ )/ |/ )/ |/ )/ |/ )/ / | // _/ |// _/ // _/ // _/ // _/ // _/ // _/ | FIDONEWS 13-52 Page 27 23 Dec 1996 / (_/ / (_/ / (_/ / (_/ / (_/ / (_/ / (_/ _) / ` / ` / ` / ` / ` / ` / ` _/) \ ~=- \ ~=- \ ~=- \ ~=- \ ~=- \ ~=- \ ~=- / ~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~ Six Geese A-Laying __ __ __ __ __ __ >(' ) >(' ) >(' ) >(' ) >(' ) >(' ) )/ , )/ , )/ , )/ , )/ , )/ , /(____/\ /(____/\ /(____/\ /(____/\ /(____/\ /(____/\ / ) / ) / ) / ) / ) / ) \ ` =~~/ \ ` =~~/ \ ` =~~/ \ ` =~~/ \ ` =~~/ \ ` =~~/ `---Y-' __ `---Y-' __ `---Y-' __ `---Y-' __ `---Y-' __ `---Y-' __ ~~' (__) ~~' (__) ~~' (__) ~~' (__) ~~' (__) ~~' (__) Five Golden Rings .-. .-. .-. .-. .-. ((_)) ((_)) ((_)) ((_)) ((_)) '-' '-' '-' '-' '-' Four Calling Birds ___ ___ ___ ___ ('v') ('v') ('v') ('v') (( )) (( )) (( )) (( )) -/-"---"---/-"---"---/-"---"---/-"---"-- Three French Hens (\ }\ (\ }\ (\ }\ ( \_('> ( \_('> ( \_('> (__(=_) (__(=_) (__(=_) -"= -"= -"= Two Turtle Doves _ _ <')_,/ <') ,/ (_==/ (_==/ ='- ='- And a Partridge in a Pear Tree _ ('> /))@@@@@ FIDONEWS 13-52 Page 28 23 Dec 1996 /@"@@@@@()@ @@()@@()@@@@ @@@O@@@@()@@@ @()@@\@@@()@@ @()@||@@@@@ @@||@@@ || ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ +--------------------------------------------------------+ Take care! Anne McReary mcreary@oz.net Origin: Point and Counter Point*Ft Lewis, WA 1-206-912-1922(8:7720/0) ----------------------------------------------------------------- Date: 15 Dec 96 10:51:35 From: Paulette Boudreault-Gilbert To: Everyone Subj: Season Greetings..:) ______________________________________________________________________ Hi Everyone! + "X" "XXX" "XXXXX" "GOD JUL" "BUON ANNO" "FELIZ NATAL" "JOYEUX NOEL" "VESELE VANOCE" "MELE KALIKIMAKA" "NODLAG SONA DHUIT" "BLWYDDYN NEWYDD DDA" """""""BOAS FESTAS""""""" "FELIZ NAVIDAD" "MERRY CHRISTMAS" "KALA CHRISTOUGENA" "VROLIJK KERSTFEEST" "FROHLICHE WEIHNACHTEN" "BUON NATALE-GODT NYTAR" "HUAN YING SHENG TAN CHIEH" "WESOLYCH SWIAT-SRETAN BOZIC" "MOADIM LESIMHA-LINKSMU KALEDU" "HAUSKAA JOULUA-AID SAID MOUBARK" """""""'N PRETTIG KERSTMIS""""""" "ONNZLLISTA UUTTA VUOTTA" "Z ROZHDESTYOM KHRYSTOVYM" "NADOLIG LLAWEN-GOTT NYTTSAR" FIDONEWS 13-52 Page 29 23 Dec 1996 "FELIC NADAL-GOJAN KRISTNASKON" "S NOVYM GODOM-FELIZ ANO NUEVO" "GLEDILEG JOL-NOELINIZ KUTLU OLSUM" "EEN GELUKKIG NIEUWJAAR-SRETAN BOSIC" "KRIHSTLINDJA GEZUAR-KALA CHRISTOUGENA" "SELAMAT HARI NATAL - LAHNINGU NAJU METU" """""""SARBATORI FERICITE-BUON ANNO""""""" "ZORIONEKO GABON-HRISTOS SE RODI" "BOLDOG KARACSONNY-VESELE VIANOCE " "MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR" "ROOMSAID JOULU PUHI -KUNG HO SHENG TEN" "FELICES PASUAS - EIN GLUCKICHES NEUJAHR" "PRIECIGUS ZIEMAN SVETKUS SARBATORI VESLLE" "BONNE ANNEBLWYDDYN NEWYDD DDADRFELIZ NATAL" """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" XXXXX XXXXX XXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXX From one friend to another....pass it on...Happy Hollidays! Paulette pbg@alive.ampr.ab.ca http://www.geocities.com/Athens/9631 Origin: AB_NET's Private BBS (403) 963-6385 (1:342/510) ----------------------------------------------------------------- Date: 24 Dec 91 02:41:31 From: Arthur Greenberg To: All D'bridge Folks Subj: Season's Greetings !! ______________________________________________________________________ *********************************************** * =========================================== * * =========================================== * * | | . . . | . . . | | * * | | . . . | . . . . | | * * | | Season's Greetings! . . . /| | * * | |. . . . . | . . . / | | * * | |\. . . . . | . /\ /. | | * * | | \ . /\ . . |. /\. / \/. | | * * | | \. /. \ ./\ | ./ \ ./ . \ . | | * * | | . \/. \/\/ \ | / . \/ . . | | * * | |=====================================| | * * | | . .\ /*\ \ .|\/ . . .\ . .. | | * * | | . \. /***\ . | \. . . \. .*| | * * | | . . /*****\ | .\ . ! \ / | | * * | | . . /*******\ | . . ./*\ \. / | | * * | | . ./*********\| . /***\ . /__| | * * | | . . * . | . /*****\ . | | * FIDONEWS 13-52 Page 30 23 Dec 1996 * | | . . . | . /*******\. . | | * * | | . @______(. . | ./*********\ . | | * * | | ._+___+_ . | ./***********\. | | * * | | . . . . . | . * . | | * * | |_________________|___________________| | * * =========================================== * *********************************************** ** From D'Bridge Help/Information 1:1/168.0 **** All the D'Bridge Sales/Support Sites WorldWide ****** We wish you the best for this Holiday Season ******** Have a Merry, Safe, Happy, and Healthy Holiday ********** Arthur Greenberg * D'Bridge Help/Information * Origin: D'Bridge Help/Information * It's Almost Time... !! (1:3601/14) Date: 13 Dec 92 17:41:00 From: Patrick Browne To: ALL Subj: XMAS CARD ______________________________________________________________________ | -XXX- # ### ###*# * * * * * * * * * * * * * #*#*### * WISHING YOU ALL * * #*#####*# * A MERRY CHRISTMAS * * ######*#### * AND A GREAT NEW YEAR * * ###*######*## * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ######*####*### * * * * * * * * * * * * * ###*##*##*####### ###############*### ###*###*####*#####*## ##############*######*# #####*####*#*#####*###### #*######*###*#####*#####*## +----+ ### +--V--++--| ### +-----+---+ From Patrick Browne, Sysop - "THE GAIJIN GROTTO" - Kobe, Japan. Kind Regards, Patrick FIDONEWS 13-52 Page 31 23 Dec 1996 CIS: 73570,2740 NifftyServe: QFHO2740 Origin: D'Bridge - Sales & Support, Japan (6:732/1) Date: 17 Dec 92 15:47:00 From: James Waldron To: ALL Subj: Happy Holidays ______________________________________________________________________ _ , _ , _ ' ) / ' ) / // / /--/ __. _ _ __ , /--/ __|/ o __/ __. __ , _ / (_(_/|_/_)_/_)_/ (_/ / (_(_) \_<_(_/_(_/|_/ (_/_/_)_ / / / / ' ' ' ' and _ _ _ __ ' ) ) ) / ) / _/_ / / / _ __ __ __ , / /_ __ o _ / ______ __. _ / ' (_ United Nations Information Network (1:2604/401) From: Frits Spieker To: All Date: 18 Dec 94 10:54:00 Subj: Happy New Year! . . . . . . _+_ . . . /|\ . * . . . . i/|\i . . . // \\* Merry Christmas and a Happy */( )\\ . and Good New Year 1995 . . i/*/ \ \i from BrainPark3, Holland . / /* *\+\ ....... ... . */// + \*\\* . ... ...... . i/ /^ ^\ \i . ... . ... . . / /+/ ()^ *\ \ ........ . i//*/_^- - \*\i ... .. .. . . / // * ^ \ * \ \ .. i/ /* ^ * ^ + \ \i .. ___ _________ / / // / | \ \ \ *\ >U___^_[[_]| ______ |_|_|_|_|_| ____(|)____ ||| [__________|=|______|=|_|_|_|_|_|= FIDONEWS 13-52 Page 32 23 Dec 1996 |_____|_____| ||| oo OOOO oo oo oo o-o o-o -| | |-.-|||.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.- |_____|_____| ^^^^^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ This one is for me ... ,-)) Talk to you later, // Frits // ... Mother will wait up until you get in... Origin: BrainPark3. Rotterdam, the Netherlands. (2:286/115) Date: 15 Dec 96 16:08:47 From: RanD To: All Sysops Subj: Seasons Greetings ______________________________________________________________________ ...and best wishes for a healthy and prosperous New Year. (I sure hope that this is allowed in here... :-) ) The Merriest of Christmas is wished to all!!! ..,,;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;,,. .,::::;;;;aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa;;,,. .,;;,:::a@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@a, ,;;;;.,a@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@a ,;;;;%;.,@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@a, ,;%;;;;%%;,@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ ,;;%%;;;;;%%;;@@@@@@@@@@@@@@'%v%v%v%v%v%v%v%v%v%v%v%v`@@@@@@@@@ ,;;%%;;;;:;;;%;;@@@@@@@@@'%vvvvvvvvvnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnvvvvvv%`@@@@' ,;%%;;;;;:;;;;;;;;@@@@@'%vvva@@@@@@@@avvnnnnnnnnnnvva@@@@@@@OOov, ,;%;;;;;;:::;;;;;;;@@'OO%vva@@@@@@@@@@@@vvnnnnnnnnvv@@@@@@@@@@@Oov ;%;;;;;;;:::;;;;;;;;'oO%vvn@@%nvvvvvvvv%nnnnnnnnnnnnn%vvvvvvnn%@Ov ;;;;;;;;;:::;;;;;;::;oO%vvnnnn>>nn. `nnnnnnnnnnnn>>nn. `nnnvv' ;;;;;;;;;:::;;;;;;::;oO%vvnnvvmmmmmmmmmmvvvnnnnnn;%mmmmmmmmmmmmvv, ;;;;;;;;;:::;;;;;;::;oO%vvmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmvvnnnv;%mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmv, ;;;;;;;;;;:;;;;;;::;;oO%vmmmmnnnnnnnnnnnnmmvvnnnvmm;%vvnnnnnnnnnmmmv `;%;;;;;;;:;;;;::;;o@@%vvmmnnnnnnnnnnnvnnnnnnnnnnmmm;%vvvnnnnnnmmmv `;;%%;;;;;:;;;::;.oO@@%vmmnnnnnnnnnvv%;nnnnnnnnnmmm;%vvvnnnnnnmmv' `;;;%%;;;:;;;::;.o@@%vvnnnnnnnnnnnvv%;nnnnnnnmm;%vvvnnnnnnnv%'@a. a`;;;%%;;:;;;::;.o@@%vvvvvvvvvvvvvaa@@@@@@@@@@@@aa%%vvv%%@@@@o. .@@o`;;;%;;;;;;::;,o@@@%vvvva@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@avvvva@@@@@%O, .@@@@@Oo`;;;;;;;;::;o@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@"""""""@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@OO@a .@@@@@@@@@OOo`;;;;;;:;o@@@@@@@@@@@@@" "@@@@@@@@@@@@@oOO@@@, .@@@@o@@@@@@@OOo`;;;;:;o,@@@@@@@%vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv%%@@@@@@@oOOO@@@@@, @@@@o@@@@@@@@@OOo ;::;'oOOoooooOOOo%vvvvvvvvvvvvvv%oOOoooooOOO@@@O@@@, @@@oO@@@@@@@@@OO a@@@@@a,oOOOOOOOOOOOoooooooooooooOOOOOOOOOOO@@@@Oo@@@ @@@oO@@@@@@@OO a@@@@@@@@Oo,oO@@@@@@@OOOOOOOOOOOOOO@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@Oo@@@ @@@oO@@@@@@OO @@@@@@@@@@@OO,o@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@Oo@@@ @@@@o@@@@@@OO @@@@@@@@@@OOO,o@@@@@@@O@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@o@@@@@@@@@O@@@@ @@@@@o@@@@@OOo @@@@@@@OOOO'oO@@@@@@Oo@@@@@@@@@@@@O@@@@@Oo@@@@@@@@@@@@a FIDONEWS 13-52 Page 33 23 Dec 1996 `@@@@@@@O@@@OOOo`OOOOOOO'oOO@@@@@@O@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@O@@@@@Oo@@@@@@@@@@@@ `@@@@@OO@@@@@OOOooooooooOO@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@O@@@@@Oo@@@@@@oO@@@@ `@@@OO@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@O@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@Oo@@@@O@@@@@@@oO@@@' `@@`O@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@Oo@@@@@@@@@@@@O@@@' `@ @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@O@@@@@@@@@@@@'@@' `@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@O@@@@@@@@@@@@ a' `@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@Oo@@@@@@@' `@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@Oo@@@@' `@@@@@@O@@O@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@'o@@' `@@@@@oO@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ a' @@@oO@@@@@@@@@@@@@@' ' @@@o'`@@@@@@@@' @' .@@@@' @@' @' RanD Origin: The Brookfield Community BBS (203) 775-6198 (1:141/1030) Date: 17 Dec 96 19:40 From: Rich Woods To: All Subj: Merry Christmas! ______________________________________________________________________ *M*E*R*R*Y* *C*H*R*I*S*T*M*A*S* $f dF , .,,,... :$L ;$ ,dP ,!!!!!!!',cd$$$$$e, q 4$f,$$,z$" ,!!!!!!!',c$$$$$$$$$$$$c `$o`$$kuC3$$ .zf ,!!!!!!!',c$$$$$$P**""**?$c R$beeF?$$$$$" ;!!!!!!! c$$$$$$",eed$$F"?t" "$$$$bd$$$" ;!!!!!!!.d$$$$$F j"j$3$bf""?b?e, '$$$$$$P" !!!!!!: $$$$$$P J,f ,d$$b?$bde`$c .$k'$b !!!!!!!> $$$$F".$$".u$$??P}"""^ ?$$c. d$$$$$dd$$$$$> `!!!!! ?L e$$ $$$$$P'zee^"$$$$boc"$$, R$$$$$$$$$$$$ '!!! z$$$$$c,"$P'd$$F'zdbeereee$$$$$eu "??$$$$PF" Mn !! d$$$$$$$$ee z$P",d$$$$$$c?$$$$$$$$C '!!!::::!!!> MMM ,cec, '^$$$$$$$$$c,",e$$C?$$$$$$bc?$$$$$$$k !!!!!!!!!!!! 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""???"" !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!: !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!' !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!.> `!!!!!!!!!'''!!!!' :i !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!> .``''`.,uu,,.```. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!~` d$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$> c.`~~~~~!!!!!:.. $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ $$$$$eeeeeeeuuuee$ $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$" $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ """"........... ?$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$P" '!!!!!!!!!!!!!! .."""""""""".: !!!!!!!!!!!!! :!!!!!!!!!!!!!! `!!!!!!!!!!!' i!!!!!!!!!!!!!' !!!!!!!!!!!':: :!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!:!!:. !!!!!!!!!!'!!! . `!!!!!!!!!!!!`... `!!!!!!!! -'`` !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:: !!!!!!!!!i!!!: `~~~~~```~~~~~~~~~~~~` !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!. ```'!!!!!!!'``::.. `!!!!!!!!!!!' ````` Origin: If you have whoedown with hoes, what do you have with a crackdown?(1:209/245) Date: 21 Dec 96 06:04:00 From: Genie Bohn To: All Subj: Greetings ______________________________________________________________________ SEASON GREETINGS FROM THE FLAMINGO GANG: $$b d$$ $$$b d$$$ ,$$$$$$$$$ __ d$$ $$$ $$ d$$b $$' `Y' $$ d$$$b $$$$$$'`$$$$$$' $$ $$ d$'dP d$P Y$b t$__$$ $$ $$ $$ $$ $$ $$ $$ d$P `Y$b d$""' $$ $$ $$ $$ $$ $$ Y$$$$$P `$$bd$$b..,d$$ 4$.,$$ $$.,d$$bd$$ d$) FIDONEWS 13-52 Page 35 23 Dec 1996 `4$P' `Y$P'"Y$$$$P' `$$$P' `$$$P'`""$$$$P d$$P d$$$ $$ $$ $$ $$ d$$b `$W$' d$P""Y$b d$$b ~ $$' $P ,d$""$$. d$' $b dY' d$' $$b $$ ,d$$$b $$ Y$P' $$ ,d$P $$ ,$$'~`$$ $$ $$ d$Y' $$ H$$$$H $$' $$ $$$$b. . $$ $$b $$ d$$' $$ $$$$$ $$ d$b $$ d$b d$b,$b ,d$$b $$b Y$b ,$P$$ $$ $$ $$ $$ d$^Yb ,$$ ,$$$$$"$$$$$ d$'`$b `$$b Y$b ,d$P'$$ Y$bd$P $$bd$$b_$$' $)$$$.$Y $$' $$ $$. $$.,$$b `$$. `$$$$$P' $$ "$$' "$$P'`Y$P d$P `$$$$' $$ $$ `$$$$"$$$'"$$) $$) d$P' _.d$P' d$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$P' $$P _____ _,---' `-,_ * `-,_ `-, `-,@@@@@@@@@@ _ @@@@@@@@@@@ (( )) (\_ ;;### ###;; {} \ // {} _*__ (\_c\ ;; O ( O ;; \---\/,-{=\ /= /\ \ \ \ ( ) ;;, (_) ;; Ho Ho Ho .... ~~\//~~ \ // \ \ \ \ @@@@@ ;;//~\;;; (\_(\ {{=\//=} ___\_\_\__| \ \ __ ;;;;;;;;_ / (o \// [==='`____`__ \ / /\ ;;;;; \ \_ ) ) \ <`--'> |_ :~|~~~~~~|__/ /\ \ `, `-,_ ; (`~; ) ('\ |##-,_|@@@@@@| \ \/\ |_ @-,. __ .&' \ ; ; (/~ |######-,_,__|_,-,\ *\ \=====@) `-,_@,-c).(_(,-'' \&....| ; :; |#########`-----,_`-,\/_______\::::::-,_ ; ) |_ \ |_&-. ..( |####{}#######|!!!`-,__________):::::::::`-,; @) .{ },-...\& `) |##{ __}}#####|!!!!!!!!!-,_ `-,::::::::::_//| /(_)( || ; |#{ }##{ }####|!!!!!!!!!!!!`-,_ \::::--,:/!!!/ / \ //,--|: |#{ }###{}####|!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!`---'!!!!!!!!!!| : ^ ) ;~/ // |##{ }#{ }####|!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!} \ / \ \; / _// |###{_~_}#####|!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!,-:: /_/ \ \ C_/ |#############|!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!,-`X (( // __// |#############|!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!,-`X / \_,-'~ c__/ |#############|!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!,-`X / \/,-` `;############|!!!!!!!!!!!!,-X / \/,-`~ X`-;########|!!!!!!!!,-'X / \ /,-'~ /_\,-``-;####|!!!!!-'X / \_,-'~ `-' `-;|,-'X / \',-' /,-/,-'~ ooooo ooooo `888' `888' 888 888 .oooo. oo.ooooo. oo.ooooo. oooo ooo 888ooooo888 `P )88b 888' `88b 888' `88b `88. .8' 888 888 .oP"888 888 888 888 888 `88..8' FIDONEWS 13-52 Page 36 23 Dec 1996 888 888 d8( 888 888 888 888 888 `888' o888o o888o `Y888""8o 888bod8P' 888bod8P' .8' 888 888 .o..P' o888o o888o `Y8P' ooooo ooo oooooo oooo `888b. `8' `888. .8' 8 `88b. 8 .oooo. ooo oooo ooo `888. .8'.ooooo. .oooo. oooo oo 8 d8b 8 88 88 88 88 8 88888 88 88 ( 888 888( o 8 `88b. 8 d88'`88b `88. `88. .8' `888 d88' `88b )88 888 8 `88b 8 d8P 888 88 88 8 888 888 888 888 888 8 `88b.8 888oo888 `88..]88.8' `888' 888ooo888 .oP888 888 8 `888 888 .o `888'`888' 888 888 .o d8 88 .888o8o `8 `Y8bod8P' `8'..8' o88o `Y8bod8P' `Y888""8 od888b .o .ooooo. .ooooo. .oooooooo. o888 888' `Y88. 888' `Y88. o88 888 888 888 888 888 o88 888 `Vbood888 `Vbood888 o88 888 888' 888' o88 888 .88P' .88P' o88 o888o .oP' .oP' o8 Origin: Flamingo BBS, Melbourne, FL V34+ (407)242-8184 (1:374/46) ----------------------------------------------------------------- FIDONEWS 13-52 Page 37 23 Dec 1996 ================================================================= NOTICES ================================================================= Future History 26 Jan 1997 Australia Day, Australia. 6 Feb 1997 Waitangi Day, New Zealand. 16 Feb 1997 Eleventh Anniversary of invention of Echomail by Jeff Rush. 29 Feb 1997 Nothing will happen on this day. 25 May 1997 Independence Day, Argentina 11 Jun 1997 Independence Day, Russia 1 Dec 1998 Fifteenth Anniversary of release of Fido version 1 by Tom Jennings. 31 Dec 1999 Hogmanay, Scotland. The New Year that can't be missed. 15 Sep 2000 Sydney (Australia) Summer Olympiad opens. -- If YOU have something which you would like to see in this Future History, please send a note to the FidoNews Editor. ----------------------------------------------------------------- FIDONEWS 13-52 Page 38 23 Dec 1996 ================================================================= FIDONET SOFTWARE LISTING ================================================================= Latest Greatest Software Versions by Peter E. Popovich, 1:363/264 -Still- in the process of catching up. Ugh. Phased out this week: ProBoard 1.20, QuickBBS 2.75, PCBoard 14.5a, and Phoenix 1.07. Phase-out highlights: This week: SimplexBBS 1.05 and SLBBS 2.15C Deadline for info: 03 Jan 1997. Last week: RBBS 17.3b and RemoteAccess 1.11 Deadline for info: 27 Dec 1996. -=- Snip -=- Submission form for the Latest Greatest Software Versions column OS Platform : Software package name : Version : Function(s) - BBS, Mailer, Tosser, etc. : Freeware / Shareware / Commercial? : Author / Support staff contact name : Author / Support staff contact node : Magic name (at the above-listed node) : Please include a sentence describing what the package does. Please send updates and suggestions to: Peter Popovich, 1:363/264 -=- Snip -=- MS-DOS: Program Name Version F C Contact Name Node Magic Name ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Act-Up 4.6 G D Chris Gunn 1:15/55 ACT-UP ALLFIX 4.33 T S Harald Harms 2:281/415 ALLFIX Announcer 1.1 O S Peter Karlsson 2:206/221 ANNOUNCE BGFAX 1.60 O S B.J. Guillot 1:106/400 BGFAX CheckPnt 0.5 beta O F Michiel van der Vlist 2:500/9 CHECKPNT FidoBBS (tm) 12u B S Ray Brown 1:1/117 FILES FrontDoor 2.12 M S JoHo 2:201/330 FD FrontDoor 2.20c M C JoHo 2:201/330 FDINFO GIGO 07-14-96 G S Jason Fesler 1:1/141 INFO Imail 1.75 T S Michael McCabe 1:297/11 IMAIL ImCrypt 1.04 O F Michiel van der Vlist 2:500/9 IMCRYPT InfoMail 1.11 O F Damian Walker 2:2502/666 INFOMAIL InfoMail/386 1.20 O F Damian Walker 2:2502/666 INFO386 FIDONEWS 13-52 Page 39 23 Dec 1996 InterEcho 1.19 T C Peter Stewart 1:369/35 IEDEMO InterMail 2.29k M C Peter Stewart 1:369/35 IMDEMO InterPCB 1.52 O S Peter Stewart 1:369/35 INTERPCB IPNet 1.11 O S Michele Stewart 1:369/21 IPNET Jelly-Bean 1.01 T S Rowan Crowe 3:635/727 JELLY Jelly-Bean/386 1.01 T S Rowan Crowe 3:635/727 JELLY386 MakePl 1.8 N F Michiel van der Vlist 2:500/9 MAKEPL Marena 1.1 beta O F Michiel van der Vlist 2:500/9 MARENA Maximus 3.01 B P Tech 1:249/106 MAX McMail 1.0g5 M S Michael McCabe 1:1/148 MCMAIL MDNDP 1.18 N S Bill Doyle 1:388/7 MDNDP MsgEd 4.00 O G Paul Edwards 3:711/934 MSGED Opus CBCS 1.73a B P Christopher Baker 1:374/14 OPUS O/T-Track 2.63a O S Peter Hampf 2:241/1090 OT PcMerge 2.7 N F Michiel van der Vlist 2:500/9 PCMERGE PlatinumXpress 1.1 M C Gary Petersen 1:290/111 PX11TD.ZIP RAR 2.00 C S Ron Dwight 2:220/22 RAR RemoteAccess 2.50 B S Mark Lewis 1:3634/12 RA Silver Xpress Door 5.4 O S Gary Petersen 1:290/111 FILES Reader 4.3 O S Gary Petersen 1:290/111 SXR43.ZIP Squish 1.11 T P Tech 1:249/106 SQUISH StealTag UK 1.c... O F Fred Schenk 2:284/412 STEAL_UK StealTag NL 1.c... O F Fred Schenk 2:284/412 STEAL_NL T-Mail 2.599I M S Ron Dwight 2:220/22 TMAIL Terminate 4.00 O S Bo Bendtsen 2:254/261 TERMINATE Tobruk 0.33 T G Paul Edwards 3:711/934 TOBRUK TriBBS 10.0 B S Patrick Driscoll 1:372/19 TRIBBS TriDog 10.0 M S Patrick Driscoll 1:372/19 TRIDOG TriToss 10.0 T S Patrick Driscoll 1:372/19 TRITOSS WWIV 4.24a B S Craig Dooley 1:376/126 WWIV WWIVTOSS 1.30 T S Craig Dooley 1:376/126 WWIVTOSS xMail 2.00 T S Thorsten Franke 2:2448/53 XMAIL XRobot 3.01 O S JoHo 2:201/330 XRDOS OS/2: Program Name Version F C Contact Name Node Magic Name ---------------------------------------------------------------------- BGFAX 1.60 O S B.J. Guillot 1:106/400 BGFAX FleetStreet 1.18 O S Michael Hohner 2:2490/2520 FLEET GIGO 07-14-96 G S Jason Fesler 1:1/141 INFO ImCrypt 1.04 O F Michiel van der Vlist 2:500/9 IMCRYPT Maximus 3.01 B P Tech 1:249/106 MAXP MsgEd 4.00 O G Paul Edwards 3:711/934 MSGED PcMerge 2.3 N F Michiel van der Vlist 2:500/9 PCMERGE RAR 2.00 C S Ron Dwight 2:220/22 RAR2 Squish 1.11 T P Tech 1:249/106 SQUISHP T-Mail 2.599I M S Ron Dwight 2:220/22 TMAIL2 Tobruk 0.33 T G Paul Edwards 3:711/934 TOBRUK XRobot 3.01 O S JoHo 2:201/330 XROS2 FIDONEWS 13-52 Page 40 23 Dec 1996 Windows (16-bit apps): Program Name Version F C Contact Name Node Magic Name ---------------------------------------------------------------------- BeeMail 1.0 M C Andrius Cepaitis 2:470/1 BEEMAIL Windows (32-bit apps): Program Name Version F C Contact Name Node Magic Name ---------------------------------------------------------------------- BeeMail 1.0 M C Andrius Cepaitis 2:470/1 BEEMAIL Maximus 3.01 B P Tech 1:249/106 MAXN PlatinumXpress 2.00 M C Gary Petersen 1:290/111 PXW-INFO T-Mail 2.599I M S Ron Dwight 2:220/22 TMAILNT Unix: Program Name Version F C Contact Name Node Magic Name ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ifmail 2.8g M G Eugene Crosser 2:293/2219 IFMAIL ifmail-tx 2.8g-tx7.8 M G Pablo Saratxaga 2:293/2219 IFMAILTX MsgEd 4.00 O G Paul Edwards 3:711/934 MSGED Tobruk 0.33 T G Paul Edwards 3:711/934 TOBRUK Amiga: Program Name Version F C Contact Name Node Magic Name ---------------------------------------------------------------------- CrashMail 1.23 T X Fredrik Bennison 2:205/324 CRASHMAIL CrashTick 1.1 O F Fredrik Bennison 2:205/324 CRASHTICK MsgEd 4.00 O G Paul Edwards 3:711/934 MSGED Tobruk 0.33 T G Paul Edwards 3:711/934 TOBRUK Function: B-BBS, M-Mailer, N-Nodelist, G-Gateway, T-Tosser, C-Compression, O-Other. Note: Multifunction will be listed by the first match. Cost: P-Free for personal use, F-Freeware, S-Shareware, C-Commercial, X-Crippleware, D-Demoware, G-Free w/ Source Old info from: 01/27/92 --------------------------------------------------------------------- MS-DOS Systems -------------- BBS Software Other Utilities Other Utilities Name Version Name Version Name Version -------------------- -------------------- -------------------- RBBS 17.3b 2DAPoint 1.50* Netsex 2.00b RemoteAccess 1.11* 4Dog/4DMatrix 1.18 OFFLINE 1.35 SimplexBBS 1.05 ARCAsim 2.31 Oliver 1.0a SLBBS 2.15C* ARCmail 3.00* OSIRIS CBIS 3.02 Socrates 1.11 Areafix 1.20 PKInsert 7.10 SuperBBS 1.12* ConfMail 4.00 PolyXarc 2.1a SuperComm 0.99 Crossnet 1.5 QM 1.00a TAG 2.5g DOMAIN 1.42 QSort 4.04 TBBS 2.1 DEMM 1.06 RAD Plus 2.11 TComm/TCommNet 3.4 DGMM 1.06 Raid 1.00 FIDONEWS 13-52 Page 41 23 Dec 1996 Telegard 2.7* DOMAIN 1.42 RBBSMail 18.0 TPBoard 6.1 EEngine 0.32 ScanToss 1.28 WildCat! 3.02* EMM 2.11* ScMail 1.00 XBBS 1.77 EZPoint 2.1 ScEdit 1.12 FGroup 1.00 Sirius 1.0x Network Mailers FidoPCB 1.0s@ SLMail 2.15C Name Version FNPGate 2.70 StarLink 1.01 -------------------- GateWorks 3.06e TagMail 2.41 BinkleyTerm 2.50 GMail 2.05 TCOMMail 2.2 D'Bridge 1.30 GMD 3.10 Telemail 1.5* Dreamer 1.06 GMM 1.21 TGroup 1.13 Dutchie 2.90c GoldEd 2.31p TIRES 3.11 Milqtoast 1.00 GROUP 2.23 TMail 1.21 PreNM 1.48 GUS 1.40 TosScan 1.00 SEAdog 4.60 Harvey's Robot 4.10 UFGATE 1.03 SEAmail 1.01 HeadEdit 1.18 VPurge 4.09e TIMS 1.0(mod8) HLIST 1.09 WEdit 2.0@ ISIS 5.12@ WildMail 2.00 Compression Lola 1.01d WMail 2.2 Utilities Mosaic 1.00b WNode 2.1 Name Version MailBase 4.11a@ XRS 4.99 -------------------- MSG 4.5* XST 2.3e ARC 7.12 MsgLnk 1.0c YUPPIE! 2.00 ARJ 2.20 MsgMstr 2.03a ZmailH 1.25 LHA 2.13 MsgNum 4.16d ZSX 2.40 PAK 2.51 MSGTOSS 1.3 PKPak 3.61 PKZip 1.10 NodeList Utilities Name Version -------------------- EditNL 4.00 FDND 1.10 MakeNL 2.31 Parselst 1.33 Prune 1.40 SysNL 3.14 XlatList 2.90 XlaxNode/Diff 2.53 OS/2 Systems ------------ BBS Software Other Utilities(A-M Other Utilities(N-Z) Name Version Name Version Name Version -------------------- -------------------- -------------------- Kitten 1.01 ARC 7.12 oMMM 1.52 SimplexBBS 1.04.02+ ARC2 6.01 Omail 3.1 ConfMail 4.00 Parselst 1.33 EchoStat 6.0 PKZip 1.02 Network Mailers EZPoint 2.1 PMSnoop 1.30 Name Version FGroup 1.00 PolyXOS2 2.1a -------------------- GROUP 2.23 QSort 2.1 BinkleyTerm 2.50 LH2 2.11 Raid 1.0 FIDONEWS 13-52 Page 42 23 Dec 1996 BinkleyTerm(S) 2.50 MSG 4.2 Remapper 1.2 BinkleyTerm/2-MT MsgLink 1.0c Tick 2.0 1.40.02 MsgNum 4.16d VPurge 4.09e SEAmail 1.01 Xenix/Unix 386 -------------- BBS Software Network Mailers Other Utilities Name Version Name Version Name Version -------------------- -------------------- -------------------- ARC 5.21 C-LHARC 1.00 |Contact: Willy Paine 1:343/15,| MSGLINK 1.01 |or Eddy van Loo 2:285/406 | oMMM 1.42 Omail 1.00 ParseLst 1.32 Unzip 3.10 VPurge 4.08 Zoo 2.01 Macintosh --------- BBS Software Network Mailers Other Software Name Version Name Version Name Version -------------------- -------------------- -------------------- FBBS 0.91 Copernicus 1.0 ArcMac 1.3 Hermes 1.6.1 Tabby 2.2 AreaFix 1.6 Mansion 7.15 Compact Pro 1.30 Precision Sys. 0.95b EventMeister 1.0 Red Ryder Host 2.1 Export 3.21 Telefinder Host Import 3.2 2.12T10 LHARC 0.41 MacArd 0.04 Mantissa 3.21 Point System Mehitable 2.0 Software OriginatorII 2.0 Name Version PreStamp 3.2 -------------------- StuffIt Classic 1.6 Copernicus 1.00 SunDial 3.2 CounterPoint 1.09 TExport 1.92 MacWoof 1.1 TimeStamp 1.6 TImport 1.92 Tset 1.3 TSort 1.0 UNZIP 1.02c Zenith 1.5 Zip Extract 0.10 Amiga ----- FIDONEWS 13-52 Page 43 23 Dec 1996 BBS Software Network Mailers Other Software Name Version Name Version Name Version -------------------- -------------------- -------------------- 4D-BBS 1.65 BinkleyTerm 1.00 Areafix 1.48 DLG Pro. 0.96b TrapDoor 1.80 AReceipt 1.5 Falcon CBCS 1.00 WelMat 0.44 ChameleonEdit 0.11 Starnet 1.0q@ ConfMail 1.12 TransAmiga 1.07 ElectricHerald 1.66 XenoLink 1.0 Compression FFRS 1.0@ Utilities FileMgr 2.08 Name Version Fozzle 1.0@ NodeList Utilities -------------------- Login 0.18 Name Version AmigArc 0.23 MessageFilter 1.52 -------------------- booz 1.01 Message View 1.12 ParseLst 1.66 LHARC 1.30 oMMM 1.50 Skyparse 2.30 LhA 1.10 PolyXAmy 2.02 TrapList 1.40 LZ 1.92 RMB 1.30 PkAX 1.00 Roof 46.15 UnZip 4.1 RoboWriter 1.02 Zippy (Unzip) 1.25 Rsh 4.07a Zoo 2.01 Tick 0.75 TrapToss 1.20 |Contact: Maximilian Hantsch 2:310/6| Yuck! 2.02 Atari ST/TT ----------- BBS Software Network Mailers Other Utilities Name Version Name Version Name Version -------------------- -------------------- -------------------- FIDOdoor/ST 2.5.1 BinkleyTerm 2.40n9 ApplyList 1.00@ FiFo 2.1v The Box 1.95* Burep 1.1 LED ST 1.00 ComScan 1.04 QuickBBS/ST 1.06* ConfMail 4.10 NodeList Utilities Echoscan 1.10 Name Version FDrenum 2.5.2 Compression -------------------- FastPack 1.20 Utilities ParseList 1.30 Import 1.14 Name Version EchoFix 1.20 oMMM 1.40 -------------------- sTICK/Hatch 5.50 Pack 1.00 ARC 6.02 Trenum 0.10 LHARC 2.01i PackConvert STZip 1.1* UnJARST 2.00 WhatArc 2.02 Tandy Color Computer 3 (OS-9 Level II) -------------------------------------- BBS Software Compression Utility Other Utilities Name Version Name Version Name Version -------------------- -------------------- -------------------- RiBBS 2.02+ Ar 1.3 Ascan 1.2 FIDONEWS 13-52 Page 44 23 Dec 1996 DeArc 5.12 AutoFRL 2.0 OS9Arc 1.0 Bundle 2.2 UnZip 3.10 CKARC 1.1 UnLZH 3.0 EchoCheck 1.01 FReq 2.5a LookNode 2.00 ParseLST PReq 2.2 RList 1.03 RTick 2.00 UnBundle 1.4 UnSeen 1.1 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- Key to old info: + - Netmail Capable (Doesn't Require Additional Mailer Software) * - Recently Updated Version @ - New Addition -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- Please send updates and suggestions to: Peter Popovich, 1:363/264 ----------------------------------------------------------------- FIDONEWS 13-52 Page 45 23 Dec 1996 ================================================================= FIDONEWS PUBLIC-KEY ================================================================= [this must be copied out to a file starting at column 1 or it won't process under PGP as a valid public-key] -----BEGIN PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK----- Version: 2.6.2 Comment: Clear-signing is Electronic Digital Authenticity! -----END PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK----- Pending a formal decision about including 'encrypted' material inside FidoNews from the Zone Coordinator Council, the guts of the FidoNews public-key have been removed from this listing. File-request FNEWSKEY from 1:1/23 [1:18/14] or download it from the Rights On! BBS at 1-904-409-7040 anytime except 0100-0130 ET and Zone 1 ZMH at 1200-9600+ HST/V32B. This section will contain only this disclaimer and instructions until a ZCC decision is forwarded to the Editor. Sorry for any inconvenience. ----------------------------------------------------------------- FIDONEWS 13-52 Page 46 23 Dec 1996 ================================================================= FIDONEWS INFORMATION ================================================================= ------- FIDONEWS MASTHEAD AND CONTACT INFORMATION ------- Editor: Christopher Baker Editors Emeritii: Thom Henderson, Dale Lovell, Vince Perriello, Tim Pozar, Tom Jennings, Sylvia Maxwell, Donald Tees "FidoNews Editor" FidoNet 1:1/23 BBS 1-904-409-7040, 300/1200/2400/14400/V.32bis/HST(ds) more addresses: Christopher Baker -- 1:18/14, cbaker84@digital.net cbaker84@aol.com cbaker84@msn.com cbak.rights@opus.global.org (Postal Service mailing address) FidoNews Editor P.O. Box 471 Edgewater, FL 32132-0471 U.S.A. voice: 1-904-409-3040 [1400-2100 ET only, please] [1800-0100 UTC/GMT] ------------------------------------------------------ FidoNews is published weekly by and for the members of the FIDONET INTERNATIONAL AMATEUR ELECTRONIC MAIL system. It is a compilation of individual articles contributed by their authors or their authorized agents. The contribution of articles to this compilation does not diminish the rights of the authors. OPINIONS EXPRESSED in these articles ARE THOSE OF THE AUTHORS and not necessarily those of FidoNews. Authors retain copyright on individual works; otherwise FidoNews is Copyright 1996 Christopher Baker. All rights reserved. Duplication and/or distribution permitted for noncommercial purposes only. For use in other circumstances, please contact the original authors, or the Editor. =*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*= OBTAINING COPIES: The most recent issue of FidoNews in electronic form may be obtained from the FidoNews Editor via manual download or file-request, or from various sites in the FidoNet and Internet. PRINTED COPIES may be obtained by sending SASE to the above postal address. File-request FIDONEWS for the current Issue. File-request FIDONEWS 13-52 Page 47 23 Dec 1996 FNEWS for the current month in one archive. Or file-request specific back Issue filenames in distribution format [FNEWSDnn.LZH] for a particular Issue. Monthly Volumes are available as FNWSmmmy.ZIP where mmm = three letter month [JAN - DEC] and y = last digit of the current year [6], i.e., FNWSMAY6.ZIP for all the Issues from May 96. Annual volumes are available as FNEWSn.ZIP where n = the Volume number 1 - 12 for 1984 - 1995, respectively. Annual Volume archives range in size from 48K to 1.2M. INTERNET USERS: FidoNews is available via: http://www.fidonet.org/fidonews.htm ftp://ftp.fidonet.org/pub/fidonet/fidonews/ ftp://ftp.aminet.org/pub/aminet/comm/fido/ You can read the current FidoNews Issue in HTML format at: http://www.geocities.com/athens/6894/ STAR SOURCE for ALL Past Issues via FTP and file-request - Available for FReq from 1:396/1 or by anonymous FTP from: ftp://ftp.sstar.com/fidonet/fnews/ Each yearly archive also contains a listing of the Table-of-Contents for that year's issues. The total set is currently about 11 Megs. =*=*=*= The current week's FidoNews and the FidoNews public-key are now also available almost immediately after publication on the Editor's new homepage on the World Wide Web at: http://ddi.digital.net/~cbaker84/fidonews.html There are also links there to jim barchuk's HTML FidoNews source and to John Souvestre's FTP site for the archives. There is also an email link for sending in an article as message text. Drop on over. =*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*= A PGP generated public-key is available for the FidoNews Editor from 1:1/23 [1:18/14] by file-request for FNEWSKEY or by download from Rights On! BBS at 1-904-409-7040 as FIDONEWS.ASC in File Area 18. It is also posted twice a month into the PKEY_DROP Echo available on the Zone 1 Echomail Backbone. *=*=*=*=* SUBMISSIONS: You are encouraged to submit articles for publication in FidoNews. Article submission requirements are contained in the file ARTSPEC.DOC, available from the FidoNews Editor, or file-requestable from 1:1/23 [1:18/14] as file "ARTSPEC.DOC". ALL Zone Coordinators also have copies of ARTSPEC.DOC. Please read it. FIDONEWS 13-52 Page 48 23 Dec 1996 "Fido", "FidoNet" and the dog-with-diskette are U.S. registered trademarks of Tom Jennings, P.O. Box 410923, San Francisco, CA 94141, and are used with permission. "Disagreement is actually necessary, or we'd all have to get in fights or something to amuse ourselves and create the requisite chaos." -Tom Jennings -30- -----------------------------------------------------------------