F I D O N E W S -- Volume 15, Number 17 27 April 1998 +----------------------------+-----------------------------------------+ | The newsletter of the | ISSN 1198-4589 Published by: | | FidoNet community | "FidoNews" | | _ | 1-209-251-7529 [1:1/23] | | / \ | | | /|oo \ | | | (_| /_) | | | _`@/_ \ _ | | | | | \ \\ | Editor: | | | (*) | \ )) | Zorch Frezberg 1:205/1701 | | |__U__| / \// | | | _//|| _\ / | | | (_/(_|(____/ | | | (jm) | Newspapers should have no friends. | | | -- JOSEPH PULITZER | +----------------------------+-----------------------------------------+ | Submission address: FidoNews Editor 1:1/23 | +----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | MORE addresses: | | | | submissions=> editor@fidonews.org | | | +----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | For information, copyrights, article submissions, | | obtaining copies of FidoNews or the internet gateway FAQ | | please refer to the end of this file. | +----------------------------------------------------------------------+ And still it burns... Table of Contents 1. EDITORIAL ................................................ 1 2. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR .................................... 3 3. ARTICLES ................................................. 4 ARCH - Virtual Museum Symposium .......................... 4 4. COLUMNS .................................................. 6 Whale Music for *Cs ...................................... 6 Interim Poll Results ..................................... 8 5. NET HUMOR ................................................ 16 DOS Users Anonymous ...................................... 16 6. ADVERTISE YOUR FREE SERVICE/EVENT ........................ 18 BOB KOHL is an ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE !!!! .............. 18 InterMail 2.50 Released! ................................. 18 7. NOTICES .................................................. 20 Future History ........................................... 20 8. FIDONEWS PUBLIC-KEY ...................................... 21 FidoNews PGP Public-Key Listing .......................... 21 9. FIDONET BY INTERNET ...................................... 22 10. FIDONEWS INFORMATION .................................... 24 FIDONEWS 15-17 Page 1 27 Apr 1998 ================================================================= EDITORIAL ================================================================= During the past week, having re-obtained transportation under the new emissions standards in California, I sought a bit of diversion in a bit of travel...and I took along the well-worn and dog-eared copy of Ayn Rand's ATLAS SHRUGGED to pass the non-travel time. I'm more and more amazed at the parallels between FidoNet and the opus of individualistic logic. What form of government is FidoNet composed of? A democracy? A democracy is one in which the people function as their own government...yet many crying for a democracy are the same ones who are crying about the lack of action by our leaders. A democracy is one in which people have a set of rules or guidelines to function under, so no one can trample on the rights of others... yet many of those crying about the trampling of these rights are the same who refuse to recognize the Policy which we operate under. A democracy is one in which all can participate in matters which can affect them...yet many of those crying about the need to be involved are not affected in the least by the discussions that they are moving in upon. A democracy is one in which a majority of persons involved have the ability to enforce and cause changes...and yet a small minority of less than a dozen individuals is claiming that they should control the future of a region, without a single claim to ability than that they "have been wronged" by "those in charge". Not really a claim to ability or a indicator of qualification, no? If you haven't read ATLAS SHRUGGED, please do so...do not let the 1100+ pages daunt you, as it may change your ideas on what is the real meaning of being "liberal" or "conservative" truly means... ...as well as who is _really_ "working" for _your_ benefit. An interesting thing, this week, and I note it here so that no one can go back and point it out incorrectly. Doc Logger submitted his LOGGER45.COL this week, after his LOGGER43.COL last week. I point this out so that no one can accuse me of having censored or deleted a column. More interesting is the poll that Doc has submitted...I know that I need not point out to others that statistics can be made to say whatever one wants; especially when subjective influences are brought into the mix. I'm presuming that the poll is LOGGER44.COL. Also, from last week's submission is the news release on the ARCH Virtual Museum...an interesting concept that members in Zone 2 may be better able to take advantage of in person than others. FIDONEWS 15-17 Page 2 27 Apr 1998 Beyond that, the Fido Wars continue... Has anyone in Zone 2, other than the Regional Coordinators, been asked about the intention of Ward Dossche when he stated that "Zone 2 would go its own way" since he was not elected as the International Coordinator? Just a question. -zf- ### 30 ### ----------------------------------------------------------------- FIDONEWS 15-17 Page 3 27 Apr 1998 ================================================================= LETTERS TO THE EDITOR ================================================================= Subject: fidonet Date: Mon, 20 Apr 1998 10:43:22 -0400 From: Tees To: "'editor@fidonews.org'" Is there still a fidonet? -- ----------------------------------------------------------------- FIDONEWS 15-17 Page 4 27 Apr 1998 ================================================================= ARTICLES ================================================================= ARCH - Virtual Museum Symposium Definition of the Virtual Museum Legal Aspects Technical Parameters and Future Development Content Art in the Digital Age Thursday, May 7, 1998 Dinner at Schloss Leopoldskron Friday, May 8, 1998 Morning: opening remarks by Francesca von Habsburg (Austria) 1) Definition of the Virtual Museum Afternoon: 2) Legal Aspects Dinner hosted by the mayor of Salzburg Saturday, May 9, 1998 Morning: 3) Technical Parameters and Future Development Afternoon: 4) Content Dinner hosted by the governor of Salzburg Sunday, May 10, 1998 Morning: 5) Art in the Digital Age Press Conference Following the symposium, a press conference will be held, at which the most important points will be recapitulated and the results presented. The symposium is open to the press. For your accreditation please contact: Pierre Collet Executive Director Verein der Freunde der Stiftung ARCH Gstuttengasse 29 FIDONEWS 15-17 Page 5 27 Apr 1998 A-5020 Salzburg Austria Tel: +43 662 84 26 16 29 Fax: +43 662 84 26 15 mobile: +43 664 412 21 02 e-mail: pc@arch.co.at Francesca von Habsburg, Founder and Chairman, ARCH (Austria) Alonzo C. Addison, Project Director, University of California at Berkeley (US) Peter A. Bruck, Managing Director, Techno-Z R&D (Austria) Graham Defries, Attorney, Bird & Bird (UK) Matthew Drutt, Curator, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum (US) Volker Grassmuck, Sociologist, Media Researcher (Germany) John Hanhardt, Curator, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum (US) Lynn Hershman, Media Artist and Professor for Electronic Art at the University of Califonia, Davis (US) Thomas Krens, Director, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum (US) Robbin Murphy, Artist and Co-founder, artnetweb (US) Michael Naimark, Media Artist, Interval Research Corporation, Palo Alto (US) Hans-Peter Schwarz, Director, ZKM Media Museum (Germany) Jeffrey Shaw, Director, ZKM Institute for Visual Media (Germany) Charles Simonyi, Chief Architect, Microsoft Corporation (US) Peter Weibel, Media Artist and Curator (Austria) John Wyver, Chairman, Illuminations (UK) ----------------------------------------------------------------- FIDONEWS 15-17 Page 6 27 Apr 1998 ================================================================= COLUMNS ================================================================= Dear Editorbeing, This article is submitted by Doc Logger (163/100 or cherriot@magmacom.com) whose eyes carried that same sort of glazed look that Dean Rusk had when he was busy bombing the world for peace & democracy. Logger's confused state had everything to do with reading hundreds of survey answers... Roll da flic, Zorch.... Dear Reverend Visage, Thank you for thoughtfully sending 30,000 cute baby Harp seals to the offices of Swamp Swine Magazine. I know, I know...you assured me that it would be a perfect gift for Bridgit Bardot but do you have any idea what Harp seals eat? Can you fathom how they smell after processing several tons of oily fish? The only things that I've experienced which even come close to the stench were the sugar refineries in Fiji and the Democratic Convention in '68. I immediately shipped them off to the Easter Seals campaign and told 'em that they were really Jerry's kids. Since we seem to be exchanging gifts, I had several truckloads of sheep manure delivered to your driveway. Prunella will be so pleased when she emerges from the garage at full throttle. I would have attended to your urgent plea for more cash had I not been devoting my energies to building a Theremin for my son's excremental rock band. I figure that since the band has only learned three notes, that they might as well have an instrument which sounds suspiciously like aborting whales on Methedrine. The neighbours and the noise by-law enforcement officers have agreed that the sound exceeds new thresholds in the sonic insult department. (This probably explains why women are still throwing goldfish at my bedroom window late at night.) My son tells me that I am being unkind by characterizing his music as "Skunk rock" (music that truly stinks) but at least they don't do any John Denver covers. I think I have figured out the entire skill set needed by a ZC. Apparently, all you have to do is program a function key so that it quotes a whole message and appends the word "noted" to the end. Since Bob Satti carefully shepherds the 42 words he writes each week, this leaves ample room to get really expansive on the larger issues. For example, when he was asked what qualities or platform did he advance which gained the support of the other ZCs to elect Satti as the IC, in a positively verbose display of literary genius he wrote:"Why don't you ask them?" Hint for Blondes: Yo Bob, I just asked you. In point of fact I did ask the other ZCs who FIDONEWS 15-17 Page 7 27 Apr 1998 were equally sparing with the text. When asked, one ZC told me: "because Bob Satti got a majority of votes." Okay so logic wasn't one of those subjects that kept me awake at university but answering a question about a platform with a statement that the election is complete strikes me as a tadge absurd. I suspect that some of the ZCs aren't playing with a full set of disciples at the supper table. Our prayers and our edible underwear should go out to them in their hour of need. I think also that the *Cs haven't taken seriously the radish problem that has been developing in the miscellaneous elflord echos. As a professional trendmonger, I tend to spot these things in their larval stages so it is best to get them lashed down before they larvate into another Netwar. Did you notice that it is getting hotter on Zorch's planet. He keeps mentioning the "scorched earth policy" without elaborating on exactly what he means. I also spotted what looked like a statement that Ward was so bored that he played with his business card GIF. Gawd, when his Zorchness has to do that much deep-sea diving to come up with a new conspiracy theory then I think it is time he added more tinfoil to his windows to keep out the Venutian thought control radio waves. I also noted that last week's Snooz was full of vulture effluvia from RanD whose reading material seems to be dedicated to the nodelist. As the good and decent people that we are, we should send him a copy of "Bromiliads of the Antarctic Plateau" so that RanD's fudge-like mind can be improved. For this week's Chautauqua I'll start with an amusing quote from the book "The Demonic Comedy" by Paul William Roberts. Roberts spent time in Iraq working as a correspondent for Saturday Night Magazine. The exchange quoted here occurred between Roberts and an Iraqui factotum named Omar: " 'We have democracy here,' Omar assured me, 'Although people saying we are not. Why are they saying that?' 'The reason they are saying that, Omar, is because your president wasn't elected, and you have no official opposition parties. It may seem a quibble, I know, but we Westerners are a spoiled lot.' 'Saddam he is *elected*!!' His voice soared into a warbling treble. 'What is this bull's sheet, not *elected*?' 'Who elected him?' 'Revolutionary Council is electing him.' 'How is the Revolutionary Council elected?' 'Saddam he is personally choosing them,' replied Omar , with pride. FIDONEWS 15-17 Page 8 27 Apr 1998 'Oh well, sorry then: that sounds pretty democratic to me.' He grunted satisfaction. 'Yes. People they not understanding Iraqui way. They too much jealous that we now have the most advanced nation on earth.' " Poor Omar. If only he'd known that Fidonet had achieved the same "democratic" zenith he would have been cowed for sure. Or perhaps Omar was the consultant hired to create Policy4 because it is hard to imagine the document being written by anyone with less than his keen grasp of political philosophy. The fact that the elflords are still hiding behind the skirts of policy in the face of rather overwhelming sentiment suggesting a different course of action is a true monument to the ZC/RCCs. Included in a separate article in this week's Snooz are the results of a survey I conducted. If the results are accurate which I believe them to be, then it is time for the elflords to clamber down from their respective perches and change the operating procedures which have dismayed the sysop peasantry for so long. One of the grievous omissions in my survey report is that I forgot to thank all those who took the time to respond. A thousand thank-yous to you all for helping me cast a little light into the darkness of the elflords' lair. I must go, Visage, my son just fired up the Theremin and the house is surrounded by lawyers in heat. It seems that they don't believe that simulating the fall of Jericho is an appropriate activity here in the Pink Flamingo Paradise. The first vibrant chords of the Theremin at a mere 800 watts only leveled three city blocks so I don't know what they're whining about. As the good and decent people that we are, I suggest that the lawyers be re-trained to become productive members of society... as sociologists. Regards, Doc Logger Furlang Island, South Pacific ----------------------------------------------------------------- Interim Poll Results Completed surveys are still trickling in but there have been enough responses to clearly indicate trends. Using nodelist.100, I processed the list for duplicate phone numbers which carried the same sysop name. The duplicates were removed from the list, as were occurrences of the same FIDONEWS 15-17 Page 9 27 Apr 1998 name under different telephone numbers. While this didn't eliminate all of the duplicates since a number of net function addresses were identified by title, it did set a upper maximum number of sysops in Zone 1 at 4,755. Taking 20% of that number, a second list was compiled to select the 951 addresses who would receive the survey. Each of 342 NCs were automatically put on the survey list, and an additional 609 sysops were chosen. The selected sysops were chosen by counting the nodes in each net, taking 20% of that number, and then randomly selecting the appropriate number of nodes. A minimum of 1 sysop in addition to the NC was selected from each net. To adjust for the rounding up that resulted from taking at least one sysop, the number of surveys sent to net163 was reduced. Commencing April 12 and ending April 19th, attempts were made to send the survey to all 951 sysops by crashmail. Part of the list was sent by Malcolm Campbell (163/307) and the balance was sent directly from my system. Routed netmail was not used to send the surveys. Of those where an attempt was made, 86 nodes could not be sent the survey either because their line was answered with a voice, an answering machine, a fax machine, or my system could not initiate a successful mail session once a connection was made to a working modem. The survey was therefore sent to 865 sysops which is 18% of Zone 1. The survey was also posted in various echos with an open invitation to submit responses. (Only 4 responses were generated as a result of posting in echomail conferences.) As of April 22, 1998 at 3:30pm, I have received 273 responses which represents a return rate of 31% and represents 5.74% of the nodelisted sysops in Zone 1. (My goal was to get surveys from at least 5% of the Zone's sysops.) I feel that the sample was large enough to be representative and reflective of sysop opinion. The survey consisted on 12 questions. For a number of the questions the answers that were tendered were a simple "yes" or "no" response. For some of the questions, many respondents wrote at least several sentences and some wrote a great deal more than that. For example, the text file where I captured the answers to Question 10 is 165 pages long! In addition, a number of respondents wrote on other issues which they felt hadn't been addressed in the survey. Results: Question 1: From your perspective, what is the greatest challenge facing Fidonet? (ie. what is broken, what should be fixed, and how would you fix it?) A poor leadership 39% B internet 31% FIDONEWS 15-17 Page 10 27 Apr 1998 C lack of users 15% D lack of good BBS interface 13% E nothing wrong 11% F poor echomail content 5% G over-regulation 1% H sysop apathy 1% I lack of fun 1% Note: Results total to more than 100% because many sysops gave multiple reasons. Of those who expressed a variant of poor leadership, commentary ranged from: "Poor to no sysop representation at the higher levels. Too much administration in a hobby network. Power mongering!" to "The greatest challenge facing Fido is that the upper *C structure thinks they own Fido. Their total disregard for what grunt sysops want is driving systems away daily." to "Get rid of Satti and that ridiculous system of appointing RCs who then vote for the ZC. Banana republics would be ashamed of this nonsense." Of the sysops who cited the Internet, most characterized its graphics and global accessibility as something which Fido could not compete. A number of sysops suggested creating a good GUI for BBS access and widely distributing it. Conclusion: The natives are restless and would like the upper *C structure to tune in as opposed to "ruling." The anecdotal commentary suggested that upper *Cs are viewed as unresponsive and often capricious, particularly the R10C and the R11C. On the plus side, good things were said about Ken Tuley and Jerry Schwartz. Results: Question 2: Do you read Fidonews? A: Always 37% B: Sometimes 34% C: Often 6% D: Never 23% Of those sysops who indicated that they never read Fidonews, 47% said they would read it if they could get it from their NC/NEC but that it simply wasn't available or distributed in their net. Best unintended humour came from a sysop who "never read Fidonews" but who also suggested that I ought to write an FIDONEWS 15-17 Page 11 27 Apr 1998 article commenting on the behaviour of *Cs. Conclusion: If Fidonews is the "glue that binds Fidonet together" then perhaps an attempt should be made to distribute it to all sysops. Whether sysops read it or not is a matter of their own choice but Fidonews could certainly be made more meaningful if the ZC/RCs used it to announce administrative matters. Results: Question 3: Were you (or your NC) elected by sysop level vote? A: Yes 78% B: No 20% C: Don't know 2% Of the reasons cited by people who answered "no", 76% said that there was no vote because only one candidate was willing to take the job. Conclusion: At the NC level, sysop level voting for NCs is common place with only parts of Regions 10 & 11 still having RCs appoint NCs. Results: Question 3b: Was your RC elected by sysop level vote? If not, what mechanism was used to select your RC? A: Sysop level vote 68% B: Appointed 15% C: NC level vote 7% D: Don't know 10% Conclusion: Sysop level votes are commonplace within Zone1 with Regions 10 & 11 being exceptions. Results: Question 4: Were you consulted by your NC or RC with respect to the recent election of a new International Coordinator? A: No 89% B: Yes 11% Of those who answered "yes", 87% said that they'd read about the election in either the Z1C or the ZCC-PUBLIC echo, or read it in a Fidonews column. Conclusion: The sysops were not consulted, and therefore the Z1C had no mandate to cast a vote on behalf of Zone 1. Results: Question 5: If you were not consulted, would you prefer to have been given the opportunity to do so? A: Yes 67% B: No 16% FIDONEWS 15-17 Page 12 27 Apr 1998 C: Not applicable, don't care 17% Conclusion: The ZC should improve efforts to communicate with sysops on significant issues. Results: Question 6: If policy could be amended(or ignored) would you prefer that NCs, RCs, and ZCs be elected? If so, would you prefer a sysop level vote? (if you favour elections and have another suggested mechanism, then please indicate what it is.) A: sysop level votes for all *C positions 57% B: sysops vote for NCs,NCs vote for RCs,RCs vote for ZC 27% C: current P4 system of appointments 11% D: don't know, don't care 5% Conclusions: Taken in context with the answers given in 3 & 3B, sysop votes are already in practice and 84% of sysops would prefer election procedures for all *Cs. Results: Question 7: Have you ever filed a policy complaint? A: No 84% B: Yes 16% Of the respondents who answered "yes", 94% were either NCs or RCs. Results: Question 8: Have you ever had a policy complaint filed against you? A: No 79% B: Yes 21% Of the people who answered "no", 67% said that while a complaint was never filed against them, they were threatened with one at least once. Conclusion: Either 21% of the Zone sysops are Fidocriminals, or policy complaints are being filed for frivolous reasons. Question 9: Are there issues in Echomail which you feel need more rules to regulate, control, or illuminate? A: No 79% B: Yes, with respect to moderator duties 11% C: Yes, with respect to other issues 5% D: No opinion 3% E: Yes (no elaboration) 2% Conclusion: It is unlikely that a new Echopol document will FIDONEWS 15-17 Page 13 27 Apr 1998 receive support or ratification by the Zone 1 sysops. Result: Question 10: The nodelist in Zone 1 is shrinking because sysops are leaving Fidonet. What is your best guess about why they are leaving and what could be done to encourage them to stay? It was this question which produced the longest and most thoughtful responses. Almost all respondents cited the Internet as being a competitive force against which Fidonet can't compete. The vast publicity that attends the Internet makes it the first choice of new modem/computer users when they want to link to a communication network. The existence of Fidonet is a well-kept secret in most municipalities. As a matter of historical perspective, in 1990 I surveyed a wide variety of Region 12 sysops. Using the definition for an "active user" as someone who had called the BBS more than 50 times, 100% of the BBS systems had over 20 active users. Some had as many as 800. A similar mini-poll today indicates that a BBS would be lucky to have 5 active users and more than half exist with the sysop as the only participant on the BBS. One respondent summed up what turned out to be the majority opinion when he said "Attractiveness of the Internet without immature and illiterate power-mongers setting policy, making rules, making irreversible arbitrary decisions..." There is a deeply felt anger and frustration with the upper *C structure where it is felt that creative leadership has been replaced with entrenched non-responsiveness. One respondent asked "How did we get from Tom Jennings' noble dream to the likes of Bob Kohl?" Of those who tendered positive suggestions, the most frequent suggestion was to develop a GUI for BBS access and get it widely distributed. Several respondents suggested bundling a GUI interface with new computers as a result of a cooperative effort with retailers. A small minority (of which I count myself a member) believe that part of the problem is in the intrinsic lack of energy devoted to writing messages in echomail conferences. One respondent said "What do you expect when the 'breaker breaker' CB radio idiots sat in front of a keyboard? A higher level of communication? Serious conversation? Forget it." Recommendations: To Bob Satti: 1) Encourage the RCs and NCs to re-establish the distribution of Fidonews so that it is available to leaf node sysops. FIDONEWS 15-17 Page 14 27 Apr 1998 2) Use Fidonews to disseminate your administrative positions and to inform the sysops of significant matters. 3) Use the "exception" powers granted to the IC to ask the other ZCs for their approval to launch a policy change initiative. Specifically, ask for assent to create Zone-specific changes to policy with respect to selection/election of *Cs. Announce your intention to seek this assent in Fidonews and ask your RCs to collect a consensus opinion on the issue from sysops in their regions. 4) Whether you obtain assent from the ZCC or not, put to a sysop vote a selection of choices for the mechanisms by which *Cs obtain office in Zone 1. Announce the process in Fidonews along with an anticipated time frame for the results of the vote to become effective. To ZC/RCs: 5) Create/appoint/call for volunteers - for a working group to devise a GUI interface which can be put into the public domain and freely distributed. (If it weren't for the efforts of a similar group that created the miscellaneous early software, Fidonet wouldn't exist.) 6) Step back a pace or two and ask the question: Who do you serve? Then ask if your present mode of operation is constructive or destructive. Ask the sysops how you're doing. 7) Help - not force - the echomail distribution system to become fully functional. Most of the work has already been done by the Stars and RECs but at the net level there are significant logjams. To NCs: 8) Establish in your net a group of capable people who are willing to assist sysops to either set up a BBS, or get it smoothly functioning. One of the foundations that built Fidonet was the willingness of sysops to help each other. Some of that tradition has been lost when a sysop who encounters difficulty receives not an offer of assistance, but a threat of expulsion. 9) Advise the sysops in your net that if they wish to be informed about administrative matters, that they ought to at least glance through Fidonews which you make available for file request from your system. 10) Repeat as often as is necessary: "I'm a nodelist clerk. I'm a nodelist clerk" until all thoughts of exercising power over sysops is gone from your mind. To moderators: FIDONEWS 15-17 Page 15 27 Apr 1998 11) Common practice grants extraordinary powers to moderators. Use it judiciously and sparingly. Educate rather than dictate, illuminate rather than invoke closure, and create rather than curtail. Look up the word "moderation" in the dictionary and be guided by what you read there. Perhaps as a pleasant change, post a set of "echo goals" as opposed to "echo rules." To sysops: 12) A lot of people devote a lot of hardware, time and energy to bringing mail to your modem. Thank 'em every once in awhile and let them know that you appreciate it. (Thanks Ken) The Stars, the RECs & NECs make Fidonet happen and most of them are damned good at it. 13) Ask yourself if communication is the whole point of Fidonet. If so, consider your actions and decisions based upon fostering that goal. To everyone: 14) Fidonet, with or without formal rules relies upon the goodwill and cooperation of sysops. View with skepticism any rule which intrudes on that simple premise. Fidonet does not have to be an organization where common sense, cooperation and simple justice are brushed aside because a higher value is put on a policy document. 15) Get rid of the lame macros, the emoticons, the screenfuls of quoted text, and engage the subjects of your conversation with pride and energy. The soul of Fidonet is in the messages you write. 16) And finally, eschew yogurt. Regards, Doc ----------------------------------------------------------------- FIDONEWS 15-17 Page 16 27 Apr 1998 ================================================================= NET HUMOR ================================================================= DOS Users Anonymous by Mike Riddle, mriddle@monarch.papillon.ne.us Subject: DOS users anonymous DOS Users Anonymous 12 Step Program The heart of the DUA's suggested program of personal recovery is contained in Twelve Steps describing the experience of the earliest recovering DOS users: 1. We admitted we were powerless over upgrades - that our computers had become unmanageable. 2. Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves - Microsoft - could restore us to sanity. 3. Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of Bill Gates as we understood Him. 4. Made a searching and fearless Defrag and Scandisk of our hard drive. 5. Admitted to Bill Gates to ourselves and to our list server the exact version of our current operating system. 6. Were entirely ready to have Windows 95 remove all these accustomed benefits of convenience, reliability, and productivity. 7. Humbly asked him to remove our current operating system's simplicity. 8. Made a list of all files (hidden or system) we had accidentally deleted and became willing to commit to the Window's 95 recycling feature. 9. Made direct payment to Microsoft or its agent wherever possible, except when to do so would require us to use the MS Network. 10. Continued to struggle with the Win 95 installation program and when we were finally out of time and patience promptly admitted it to Microsoft product support. 11. Sought through the Microsoft home page to improve our conscious contact with Bill Gates as we understood Him, asking only for knowledge of His will for us and software (conforming to the Active Accessibility standard) to carry that out. 12. Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to disabled computer users FIDONEWS 15-17 Page 17 27 Apr 1998 everywhere and to use Windows 95 (or higher) applications in all our computing. Newcomers are not asked to accept or follow these Twelve Steps in their entirety if they feel unwilling or unable to do so. ----------------------------------------------------------------- FIDONEWS 15-17 Page 18 27 Apr 1998 ================================================================= ADVERTISE YOUR FREE SERVICE/EVENT ================================================================= BOB KOHL is an ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE ... written by two U.C.L.A. undergrads! NOT REALLY. Just kidding. BUT.... now that I have your attention, why don't you try some of these fine echos today: the HOMESCHL echo: Parent-to-parent support, help, and discussion of home-based and other alternative education. the PCBPPL echo: Discussion and support of Clark Development's PCBoard Programming Language (PPL). the AUDIO echo: Audio, sound, acoustics, techniques, recording, processing, applications, home stereos, theatres; plus professinal concert/sound reinforcement, recording and brodcast; audio's role in the emerging medias, help for equipment use, selection... Anything AUDIO, that's the echo's name. All of the above available on the North American Backbone and distributed by the FidoSpine distribution system. -- Ronnie L. Grant, 1:3603/140 or ronnie.grant@global.dyn.ml.org ----------------------------------------------------------------- InterMail 2.50 Released! FURTHER DEVELOPMENT RELEASES INTERMAIL 2.50! April 20, 1998 1:369/35 (Coconut Creek, Fla.) Further Development, Inc. (FDI), announced today the release of the long-awaited InterMail v2.50. When asked why development of the new InterMail has taken so long, Peter Stewart, FDI President and author of the popular Fidonet-style, front-end mailer said, "We honestly thought it would only take a few weeks to complete... Still, we believe we beat out the "other guys" when compared to their estimates." Michele Stewart, FDI COO and wife of the author, provided additional details regarding the company's latest release. "We just won't FIDONEWS 15-17 Page 19 27 Apr 1998 release a product we feel isn't stable or complete," she said. "A program released on time with major bugs left in is just not our style. We'd rather wait and provide our customers with a solid, reliable product." The new release also allows sysops to keep a demo on their systems which will run for 60 days from install without having to download a new time-limited demo every month or so as required in the past. "As for our existing customers," she added, "we'd really like to thank them for their patience and loyalty. Such has gone a long way in keeping us working on the product despite opposition which would have had us rolling over and giving up long before this." All customers entitled to disks (i.e., those who paid for shipping in the past) will receive them shortly. FDI requests that 6-8 weeks be allowed for receipt since all addresses apparently have to be manually re-input after a hard drive crash last year wiped out their database. Some of the new features include being able to sync your system clock to Caller-ID or to another mailer, user-defined semaphores, 80 aka's, a brand new configuration program with extensive hypertext help, Editor support of several BBS message formats including *.msg, Hudson, Goldbase, WildCat 4.x, PCBoard 15.x and more. A nodediff processor is now also included. Further Development, Inc. can be reached for voice support and orders at 954-418-9400. The hours are Monday thru Friday, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Eastern. The company's Internet E-mail address is fdi@furtherdev.com and its Web page is accessible at http://www.furtherdev.com. The release version can be file requested as INTERMAIL or IMDEMO from their Mailer at 1:369/35 at 954-418-8110 or downloaded from their FTP site at ftp://www.furtherdev.com/pub (/demo). The company can also be reached by writing to: Further Development, Inc., P.O. Box 821864, South Florida, FL 33082-1864. InterMail is a trademark of Further Development, Inc. All other trademarks used herein are the property of their respective owners. -30- ----------------------------------------------------------------- FIDONEWS 15-17 Page 20 27 Apr 1998 ================================================================= NOTICES ================================================================= Future History 30 Apr 1998 Queens Day, Holland. 17 May 1998 Independence Day, Norway. 22 May 1998 Expo '98 World Exposition in Lisbon (Portugal) opens. 14 Sep 1998 Start of International BBS Week [thru 20 Sep 98]. 22 Sep 1998 First anniversary of the FidoNews domain of www.fidonews.org. 1 Dec 1998 Fifteenth Anniversary of release of Fido version 1 by Tom Jennings. 24 Jul 1999 XIII Pan American Games [through 8 Aug 99]. 31 Dec 1999 Hogmanay, Scotland. The New Year that can't be missed. 1 Jan 2000 The 20th Century, C.E., is still taking place thru 31 Dec. 1 Jun 2000 EXPO 2000 World Exposition in Hannover (Germany) opens. 15 Sep 2000 Sydney (Australia) Summer Olympiad opens. 1 Jan 2001 This is the actual start of the new millennium, C.E. -- If YOU have something which you would like to see in this Future History, please send a note to the FidoNews Editor. ----------------------------------------------------------------- FIDONEWS 15-17 Page 21 27 Apr 1998 ================================================================= FIDONEWS PUBLIC-KEY ================================================================= FidoNews PGP Public-Key Listing [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: Democracy Requires A Free And Uncensored Press. mQENAzUDQfgAAAEH/2cZjrzKxinfyk1NRYy2D78JEU8jFx6fvGyisnN2SX+QwRrA AxBbsMuseM3x60SFhHV7r93CxKWJylPCBJKvDazmWwy+vgBr+ZJvl7Ypj/IB4pWS Apngg8cmDH1h5d0VeYNORsuJ2udHZYRezkZ0eeJlaOsJCj5Xu0QImSp++VU/0oB1 6XRoNPy548xq8Qles1pLC8Kw7HU7Vff1WeaU3mPPQeaGZqn2qSAu5t6Z0Bhm27Pq zNaJ+JWNHaLCHlwrRHV+p9bCdfl3u303OxKPne0cSpxfe+gQBTlVta7B14ssgnzQ mnBFhvKWgM7LT105YD3EcWW9IJE1ByNHwo25a3EABRG0D0ZpZG9OZXdzIEVkaXRv cokAlQMFEDUKMDDrSgiY3KJNQQEB16YD/2tYVRC+dxghA/OwIWNH20GvQXw1zgfv cB6r8gYHcczTCqGu5qbjDOTftoBXY9vI3/CZNsSbvp0ibQinpN6zSgyy2+4wwPbu db/VnjXwBByq7ygTpNwQBMsYjs+iyndwTnR90dH3FewsveBCzeqjmP0Y/PJliElw zEmGKxoFr1SM =G82W -----END PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK----- File-request FNEWSKEY from 1:1/23 [1:205/1701] or download it from IKVHFoT! BBS at 1-209-251-7529 anytime Zone 1 ZMH at 300-9600+ V34. The FidoNews key is also available on the FidoNews homepage listed in the Masthead information. ----------------------------------------------------------------- FIDONEWS 15-17 Page 22 27 Apr 1998 ================================================================= FIDONET BY INTERNET ================================================================= This is a list of all FidoNet-related sites reported to the Editor as of this appearance. NOTE: I am looking for a comprehensive list of Telnet, VMODEM, BinkP, Argus and other TCP/IP based nodes operating FidoNet on the InterNet, either by Zone or worldwide, to post here as well. - Ye Editor ============ FidoNet: Homepage http://www.fidonet.org FidoNews http://www.fidonews.org [HTML] http://209.77.228.66/fidonews.html [ASCII] WWW sources http://www.scms.rgu.ac.uk/students/cs_yr94/lk/fido.html FTSC page http://www.goldware.dk/ftsc Echomail http://www.portal.ca/~awalker/index.html WebRing http://ddi.digital.net/~cbaker84/fnetring.html [TFN] General Info http://owls.com/~jerrys/fidonet.html ============ Zone 1: http://www.z1.fidonet.org Region 10: http://www.psnw.com/~net205/region10.html Region 11: http://oeonline.com/~garyg/region11/ Region 13: http://www.smalltalkband.com/st01000.htm Region 14: Region 15: Region 16: http://www.tiac.net/users/satins/region16.htm Region 17: http://www.portal.ca/~awalker/region17.htm REC17: http://www.westsound.com/ptmudge/ Region 18: http://techstop.pdn.net/fido/ Region 19: http://www.compconn.net ============ Zone 2: http://www.z2.fidonet.org ZEC2: Zone 2 Elist: http://www.fbone.ch/z2_elist/ FIDONEWS 15-17 Page 23 27 Apr 1998 Region 20: http://www.fidonet.pp.se (in Swedish) Region 23: http://www.fido.dk (in Danish) Region 24: http://www.swb.de/personal/flop/gatebau.html (in German) Region 25: http://www.trak-one.co.uk/net254 Region 27: http://telematique.org/ft/r27.htm Region 29: http://www.rtfm.be/fidonet/ (in French) Region 30: http://www.fidonet.ch (in Swiss?) Region 33: http://www.fidoitalia.net (in Italian) Region 34: http://www.pobox.com/cnb/r34.htm (in Spanish) REC34: http://pobox.com/~chr Region 36: http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/7207/ Region 38: http://public.st.carnet.hr/~blagi/bbs/adriam.html Region 41: http://www.fidonet.gr (in Greek and English) Region 48: http://www.fidonet.org.pl ============ Zone 3: http://www.z3.fidonet.org ============ Zone 4: (not yet listed) Region 90: Net 904: http://members.tripod.com/~net904 (in Spanish) ============ Zone 5: http://w3.eastcape.co.za/fidonet/index.htm ============ Zone 6: http://www.z6.fidonet.org Region 65: http://www.cfido.com/fidonet/cfidochina.html (China) ============ ----------------------------------------------------------------- FIDONEWS 15-17 Page 24 27 Apr 1998 ================================================================= FIDONEWS INFORMATION ================================================================= ------- FIDONEWS MASTHEAD AND CONTACT INFORMATION ------- Editor: Zorch Frezberg Editors Emeritii: Tom Jennings, Thom Henderson, Dale Lovell, Vince Perriello, Tim Pozar, Sylvia Maxwell, Donald Tees, Christopher Baker "FidoNews Editor" FidoNet 1:1/23 BBS 1-209-251-7529, 300/1200/2400/9600/V.34/V.90 more addresses: Zorch Frezberg -- 1:205/1701, zorch@repairnet.com zorch@fidonews.org zorch@qnis.net zorch@eiv.com zorch@kumr.lns.com (Postal Service mailing address) FidoNews Editor P.O. Box 642 Fresno, CA 93709-0642 U.S.A. voice: 1-209-446-9038 [voice mail = 'blind' numbers not returned] ------------------------------------------------------ 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 1998 Zorch Frezberg. 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 FNEWS for the current month in one archive. Or file-request specific FIDONEWS 15-17 Page 25 27 Apr 1998 back Issue filenames in distribution format [FNEWSFnn.ZIP] 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 [8], i.e., FNWSJAN8.ZIP for all the Issues from Jan 98. Annual volumes are available as FNEWSn.ZIP where n = the Volume number 1 - 15 for 1984 - 1998, respectively. Annual Volume archives range in size from 48K to 1.4M. INTERNET USERS: FidoNews is available via: http://www.fidonews.org http://www.fidonet.org/fidonews.htm ftp://ftp.fidonet.org/pub/fidonet/fidonews/ ftp://ftp.aminet.org/pub/aminet/comm/fido/ ftp://ftp.irvbbs.com/fidonews/ *=*=* You may obtain an email subscription to FidoNews by sending email to: jbarchuk@worldnet.att.net with a Subject line of: subscribe fnews-edist and no message in the message body. To remove your name from the email distribution use a Subject line of: unsubscribe fnews-edist with no message to the same address above. * You may retrieve current and previous Issues of FidoNews via FTPMail by sending email to: ftpmail@fidonews.org with a Subject line of: help and FTPMail will immediately send a reply containing details and instructions. When you actually make a file request, FTPMail will respond in three stages. You find a link for this process on www.fidonews.org. *=*=* You can read the current FidoNews Issue in HTML format at: http://www.fidonews.org 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 FIDONEWS 15-17 Page 26 27 Apr 1998 for that year's issues. The total set is currently about 13 Megs. =*=*=*= The current week's FidoNews and the FidoNews public-key are now also available almost immediately after publication on the FidoNews Editor homepage on the World Wide Web at: http://209.77.228.66/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 [1:205/1701] by file-request for FNEWSKEY or by download from IKVHFoT! BBS at 1-209-251-7529 as FIDONEWS.ASC in File Area X. 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 [1:205/1701] as file "ARTSPEC.DOC". ALL Zone Coordinators also have copies of ARTSPEC.DOC. Please read it. "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- ### --------------------------------------------------------------------- -----------------------------------------------------------------