F I D O N E W S Volume 16, Number 52 27 Dec 1999 +----------------------------+---------------------------------------+ | The newsletter of the | ISSN 1198-4589 Published by: | | FidoNet community | "FidoNews" | | _ | 1-717-732-6820 1:270/720 | | / \ | | | /|oo \ | | | (_| /_) | | | _`@/_ \ _ | | | | | \ \\ | Editor: Douglas Myers, 1:270/720 | | | (*) | \ )) | DougM@paonline.com | | |__U__| / \// | | | _//|| _\ / | | | (_/(_|(____/ | | | (jm) | Newspapers should have no friends. | | | -- JOSEPH PULITZER | +----------------------------+---------------------------------------+ Table of Contents 1. HEADLINES ................................................ 1 Not in this issue ........................................ 1 2. EDITORIAL ................................................ 2 Internationally Challenged ............................... 2 3. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR .................................... 3 New Zone 3 Coordinator ................................... 3 4. ARTICLES ................................................. 4 A Y2K nodelist ........................................... 4 ECHO TALK - U.S. Chauvanist .............................. 5 5. COLUMNS .................................................. 7 Old Grandfather's Table .................................. 7 Fidonet-related sites .................................... 8 6. COORDINATORS CORNER ...................................... 12 The figures ... on a plate ............................... 12 7. NET HUMOR ................................................ 14 The Night Before Y2K ..................................... 14 The Y2K Song ............................................. 16 8. COMIX IN ASCII ........................................... 17 O! TannenCow! ............................................ 17 9. FIDONEWS INFORMATION ..................................... 18 Masthead ................................................. 18 FIDONEWS 16-52 Page 1 27 Dec 1999 ================================================================= HEADLINES ================================================================= Not in this issue You can check out the Table of Contents to see what's in this issue... but there are some important stories which didn't make this issue. Maybe next millenium... Lesley-Dee Dylan, Fido's reigning Super-bitch, is preparing yet another article exposing past corruption and wrong-doing in her region. Though she sent me a preview, she wants to research her facts and get them right. "It takes a lot of homework for a good bitch," she tells me. I was going to report that Jackson Harding, the down Zone 3 Coordinator, had yet to be replaced. However, netmail received this week (in this issue) informs me otherwise :) The word from Zone 2 is that Ward Dossche has offered his resignation as Z2C so that a new election may be held. Ward is expected to run again. Details and times are not known here yet. Speaking of Ward - his article this week arrived here in plenty of time for publication last week. When I saved it from my email to my Fidonews directory, however, I lost the article. That makes it the first ever I've lost (and hopefully the last). My apologies to Ward, and my thanks for his backup copy. ----------------------------------------------------------------- FIDONEWS 16-52 Page 2 27 Dec 1999 ================================================================= EDITORIAL ================================================================= Internationally Challenged Doug Myers My apologies to those whose expectations I seem to have disappointed with last week's editorial. Some feel that it's best if I put any trace of nationalism aside when striving to write for the international community. This was most eloquently expressed by Rachael Veraa (of my own country), whose argument is featured in the Echotalk article in this issue. It's certainly true that I've been trying to encourage greater international participation in Fidonews (as well as participation in general), so I guess I'm striving to write for an international community. The question is: what's the best way to go about it? Should I proclaim "I'm the Editor of Fidonews and I'll try to write what you want to hear?" Should I then avoid talking about American hot dogs because they offend some in the world? Should I avoid mentioning American baseball because soccer is more accepted internationally? Or should I proclaim "I'm the Editor of Fidonews and I'd like to print what you want to write about?" May I then listen intently as Andrei Besedin from Kiev describes how Fido prospers in the Ukraine, or as Ward Dossche comments on the view from Zone 2? May I chuckle as Alexander Dovnar and David Pratt from Zone 2 share some Y2K humor? My choice is the latter. The folks I actually correspond with in the international community don't seem especially put off by a little friendly nationalism. In fact, they unabashedly display it themselves, and talk about it. It flavors the conversation agreeably and, in my opinion, brings about a true internationalism which is only possible by understanding. ----------------------------------------------------------------- FIDONEWS 16-52 Page 3 27 Dec 1999 ================================================================= LETTERS TO THE EDITOR ================================================================= * Forwarded (from: ZONE3_SYSOP) by Steve Asher (3:804/432) * Originally from Stephen Gibbs (3:690/682) to All. * Original dated: Sat Dec 18, 00:09 Hello All, Malcolm Miles has been elected as the new Z3C by a clear majority of the Regional Coordinators. Congratulations Malcolm and good luck. Cheers, Stephen ----------------------------------------------------------------- FIDONEWS 16-52 Page 4 27 Dec 1999 ================================================================= ARTICLES ================================================================= A Y2K nodelist, by Carol Shenkenberger With Y2K looming upon us all, I'd like to take a moment to show one technical fix that many need to apply. See, the nodelist is generated by a program and that program may need some assistance. Most today generate the nodelist segments with a program called Makenl. There is a date schema problem in the PKT file created by Makenl. This isnt the end of the world though. There is a fix file for it. Below is a sample makenl control file, simplest type: ----------makenl.ctl-------- c: cd \makenl makenl mnfix c:\makenl\makenl.ctl log:c:\makenl\r13.log ; Make Nodelist Control File For makenl.exe ; NC275 - Mark Hoover ; ------------------------------------------------ ; make network 275 outfile net275 submit 1:13/0 netaddress 1:275/0 messages c:\fd\mail BAUDRATE 300,1200,2400,4800,9600,14400,16800,19200,28800,33600 files Net 275 275SEG -----------------end makenl.ctl----- Now, this assumes one has the data for net275 in a file called 275SEG. To process it, 'Makenl /P' and off it flies. It makes a netmail attach in your mailer and that attachment, needs a little help. The fix? MNFIX02.ZIP. Place this in your main makenl directory and unpack it. Then, make a bat file like this: ----upd_275.bat---- c: cd \makenl makenl /p mnfix c:\makenl\makenl.ctl log:c:\makenl\mknl275.log -----end upd_275.bat---- FIDONEWS 16-52 Page 5 27 Dec 1999 Now, shift to use the batch file to process your nodelist. All is well! If you dont find MNFIX02.ZIP locally, it is available for FREQ from 1:275/100. Author of MNFIX is Colin Birch, 2:442/618 (bless you Colin!) ------------------- Editor's Note: MNFIX02.ZIP is included in this week's Fidonews archive, FNEWSG52.ZIP. Author's Note: Carol writes that the control files above apply to MAKDNL version 2.51 and not necessarily earlier versions. Specifically, earlier versions will not support the baud rates allowed by version 2.51. ----------------------------------------------------------------- . -- -- -- -- -- ECHO TALK -- -- -- -- -- . | Food for thought from Fido's echomail. | | Purloined without permission by D Myers | ` -- -- -- -- -- -- - -- -- -- -- -- -- ' The FIDONEWS echo provides readers with an opportunity to interact with the Fidonews staff. In this excerpt, Rachael Veraa eloquently takes me to task for US Chauvanism displayed in my last editorial. --------------- DM> if you don't mind, I'll still honer the icons. There's no DM> greater pastime than a major league baseball game, no more DM> perfect meal than a hot dog topped off by a piece of Mom's DM> apple pie, no vehicle that can outperform the ol' 57 Chevy DM> (once it's properly tuned, of course), and no greater hero than DM> the American fighting man who has risked his life that the rest DM> of us can take our freedom for granted. RV> Doug, I think you've missed the point entirely. This would be a RV> lovely sentiment in a publication called "FIDONEWS, The RV> newsletter of the FidoNet community in the United States." But RV> this isn't that publication; it's "FIDONEWS, The newsletter of RV> the FidoNet community EVERYWHERE." And there are lots of places RV> in the world where US chauvinism like this is quite uncomfortable RV> -- as well as places where these sentiments are downright RV> offensive. Iraqui families, Serbian families in Kosovo, North RV> Korean and Vietnamese families who lost loved ones to those RV> soldiers you praise have a different view. Baseball is honored in RV> the Americas and Japan; in the rest of the world it's an RV> incomprehensible eccentricity. To my mother's relatives in RV> France, the hot dog is an abomination. In most RV> autmobile-producing countries, the '57 Chevy is an oversized RV> overpowered low-tech gas guzzler. Even our closest allies, the RV> Canadians, are often uncomfortable with chest-beating RV> declarations of US superiority (though they're too polite to FIDONEWS 16-52 Page 6 27 Dec 1999 RV> complain about it). This is an _international_ publication. It RV> should eschew nationalism and enthnocentrism. It should speak RV> for _all_ of FidoNet. Before respectfully disagreeing with some of this, I should qualify myself. I've only been to two or three major league baseball games in my life (I'm not in a city where there's a team, so I have to travel). Hot Dogs are okay, but I prefer hamburgers. I don't recall my Mom ever making apple pie, though I sampled Mrs. Smith's wares at $.15 a piece when I was younger. I never owned a 57 Chevy, and I wouldn't have joined the US Army back in the sixties if they weren't going to draft my rear end anyway. Nonetheless, I'm a product of the culture which adopted the icons, and I'm proud of that culture. I don't think I should be presenting myself differently if Fidonews is an international newsletter than if it's a US newsletter. I'm still the same person in either circumstance, so to act differently would be hypocrisy. Nor do I think it's fair that you criticize my pride in my culture as a form of chauvinism. As that term is popularly used today, chauvinism implies that I think that other cultures are inferior. Just because I enjoy an American Mulligan Stew doesn't mean I can't enjoy a Chinese Chopped Suey, does it? Come to think of it, Mulligan Stew sounds Irish, and I'm told that Chopped Suey is a creation of America... When you warn me to suppress the things of my culture which have affected me, I feel you are urging the path of "policical correctness" rather than a path of international understanding. If I hide these things of which I am a product, and influence others to do the same, then they'll never be discussed so that understanding is possible. How, then, does one become this person who speaks for all of Fidonet which you wish in charge here? In the immortal words of another spinach-toting American icon, "I y'am what I y'am..." ----------------------------------------------------------------- FIDONEWS 16-52 Page 7 27 Dec 1999 ================================================================= COLUMNS ================================================================= Old Grandfather's Table Thanks to Ol'WDB A frail old man went to live with his son, daughter-in-law, and four-year-old grandson. The old man's hands trembled, his eyesight was blurred, and his step faltered. The family ate together at the table. But, the elderly grandfather's shaky hands and failing sight made eating difficult. Peas rolled off his spoon onto the floor. When he grasped the glass, milk spilled on the tablecloth. The son and daughter-in-law became irritated with the mess. "We must do something about Grandfather," said the son. "I've had enough of the spilled milk, noisy eating and food on the floor." So, the husband and wife set a small table in the corner. There Grandfather ate alone, while the rest of the family enjoyed dinner. Since, Grandfather had broken a dish or two, his food was served in a wooden bowl. When the family glanced in Grandfather's direction, sometimes he had a tear in his eye, as he sat alone. Still, the only words the couple had for him were sharp admonitions, when he dropped a fork or spilled food. The four-year-old watched it all in silence. One evening, before supper, the father noticed his son playing with wood scraps on the floor. He asked the child sweetly, "What are you making?" Just as sweetly, the boy responded, "Oh, I am making a little bowl for Papa and Mama to eat their food in when I growup." The four-year-old smiled and went back to work. The words so struck the parents that they were speechless. Then tears started to stream down their cheeks. Though, no word was spoken, both knew what must be done. That evening, the husband took Grandfather's hand and gently led him back to the family table. For the remainder of his days, he ate every meal with the family. And, for some reason, neither husband nor wife seemed to care any longer when a fork was dropped, milk spilled or the tablecloth soiled. Children are remarkably perceptive. Their eyes ever observe, their ears ever listen, and their minds ever process the messages they absorb. If they see us patiently provide a happy home atmosphere for family members, they will imitate that attitude for the rest of their lives. The wise parent realizes that every day the building blocks are being laid for the child's future. FIDONEWS 16-52 Page 8 27 Dec 1999 Let's be wise builders. ----------------------------------------------------------------- ! = New entries this week ? = not responding ?? = unknown content, doesn't look like fidonet . -- -- -- -- --- -- -- -- -- . | FIDONET-RELATED SITES | ` -- -- -- -- --- -- -- -- -- ' Last update: Dec 26, 1999 FidoNet Homepage: http://www.fidonet.org FidoNews: http://www.fidonews.org [HTML] ftp://ftp.nwstar.com/fidonet/fidonews/ ftp://ftp.sstar.com/fidonet/fnews/ !Echomail links: http://www.osirusoft.com/fidoip.html SDS Files: http://fidobbs.dk/download (Web Access to SDS) FTSC page: http://www.ftsc.org/ General: http://owls.com/~jerrys/fidonet.html List server: http://www.onelist.com/subscribe.cgi/fidonet-discussion Zone 1: http://www.z1.fidonet.org Region 10: http://www.psnw.com/~net205/region10.html http://www.tnl-online.com/andy/rgn10.htm Net 103: http://www.webworldinc.com/club103/ Net 203: http://www.geocities.com/Area51/8687/net203index.html Region 11: http://oeonline.com/~garyg/region11/ Net 2410: http://oeonline.com/~garyg/net2410/ Region 12: http://sparkys.dyndns.org Region 13: http://www.net264.org/r13.htm Net 264: http://www.net264.org/ Net 275: http://www.homershut.net/~mahoover/net275/ Region 14: Net 282: http://www.rxn.com/~net282/ Region 17: http://www.nwstar.com/~region17/ Region 18: http://techshop.pdn.net/fido/ Region 19: http://members.home.net/hbh3/r19 Net 124: http://www.startext.net/np/net124 http://texoma.net/~flv Net 130: http://www.startext.net/homes/net130 Net 393: http://www.chatter.com/~wb/ Zone 1 Elist http://members.xoom.com/echolist/ Zone 2: http://www.z2.fidonet.org ftp://ftp.sstar.com/fidonet/zone2 (Z2 nodelists etc.) 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 (German) Fido-IP: http://home.nrh.de/fido/ (English/German) FIDONEWS 16-52 Page 9 27 Dec 1999 Region 25: http://www.literary.freeserve.co.uk/net2502/ Region 26: http://www.nemesis.ie REC 26: http://www.nrgsys.com/orb Region 27: http://telematique.org/ft/r27.htm Region 29: http://www.rtfm.be/fidonet/ (French) Region 30: http://www.fidonet.ch (German) ? Region 33: http://www.fidoitalia.net (Italian) Region 34: http://www.pobox.com/cnb/r34.htm (Spanish) REC34: http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/4552/ 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 (Greek/English) Region 42: http://www.fido.cz Region 50: http://www.fido7.com/ (Russian) Net 5010: http://fido.tu-chel.ac.ru/ (Russian) Net 5015: http://www.fido.nnov.ru/ (Russian) Net 5030: http://kenga.ru/fido/ (Russian & English) Net 5049: http://www.n5049.z2.fidonet.org (English/Russian) ?? Net 5085: http://www.fidonet.uz/ (Russian) Zone 3: http://www.z3.fidonet.org Zone 4: Region 80: http://fidobrasil.8m.com (Portuguese) Region 90: Net 904: http://members.tripod.com/~net904 (Spanish) Zone 5: http://www.eastcape.co.za/fidonet/ Zone 6: http://www.z6.fidonet.org Region 65: http://www.cfido.com/fidonet/cfidochina.html (Chinese) Fidonet Via Internet Hubs See also: http://www.osirusoft.com/fidoip.html a @ preceding an individual's name implies a virtual email address. The email is translated as follows firstlast@osirusoft.com will automatically route to the appropriate individual's email. Anyone in this list will also receive routed notice of this feature. In my case, it would still be joejared@osirusoft.com, but you get the idea. Also, as information is provided to me, I will be adding a latency field to each node, which is defined as the maximum time between when the message is received, and when it is sent on to other nodes, or available to be sent onward, defined in minutes. A latency of ! implies that there is an immediate response, and an attempt to deliver immediately after processing, or a "MinuteMail System", as it were. v-email flag firstnamelastname@osirusoft.com | email address or Node# | Operator | Facilities (*) | Speed,| Basic Rate FIDONEWS 16-52 Page 10 27 Dec 1999 | | |latency| -----------+-------------------+----------------+-------+------------ Zone 1 | | | | 10/3 @ Brenda Donovan | FTP,UUE,BinkP | 384K,30| $??/$10 10/345 @ Todd Cochrane | FTP,BinkP | T1,! | n/c 12/12 @ Ken Wilson | FTP | T1 | $24mo. 13/25 @ Jim Balcom | FTP | 56k | $20mo. 103/5 @ Mark Luetger | BinkP | 384k,!| n/c 103/153 @ Michael Box | BinkP | aDSL,!| n/c 103/301 @ Joe Jared | BinkP,FTP | aDSL,!| n/c 103/401 @ Warren Bonner | BinkP | aDSL,!| n/c 105/8 | Russ Johnson | FTP,BinkP,VMoT | 384k | n/c 105/72 @ Larry James | FTP | aDSL | $5/$15 mo 106/1 @ Matt Bedynek | BinkP, FTP | DS-3,5| $5/$15 mo 106/6018 | Lawrence Garvin | FTP, VMoT | aDSL,60| n/c 107/453 @ Jeffrey Estevez| FTP,BinkP,VMoT,UUE| 56k,60| $10 mo. 140/1 @ Bob Seaborn | FTP | T3,30 | $5/$16 167/133 | Stephen Monteith | BinkP | 128k+ | n/c 211/417 @ Korombos | BinkP,UUE,FTP | T1 | n/c 218/109 @ Matt Munson | BinkP,UUE | 33.6k | n/c 244/2 | Kari Suomela | FTP,VMoT,BinkP,UUE| T1,! | $25.00/mo 246/160 @ Mason Vye | FTP, UUE | 56K | n/c 271/140 @ Tom Barstow | UUE,FTP | T1 | n/c 280/169 | Brian Greenstreet | FTP | 33.6 | $2mo. 342/3 @ Richard Dodsworth | BinkP,FTP | 128K+ | n/c 395/670 | Arthur Stark | BinkD,FTP | 128k | n/c 396/1 @ John Souvestre | FTP,VMoT | T1,10 | $5/mo 396/45 | Marc Lewis | UUE | 33.6 | $26/yr 2604/104 @ Jim Mclaughlin | FTP,VMoT,UUE | 33.6 | $1mo 2613/404 @ David Moufarrege | BinkP,FTP,VMoT | 128k+,!| n/c 2624/306 @ David Calafrancesco | VMoT | 33.6 | n/c 3613/2 @ jyates@bsdi.ldl.net | UUE | 28.8 | n/c 3632/84 | Robert Todd |FTP,VMoT,UUE,BinkP | 57.6k | n/c 3639/93 @ Ross Cassell | FTP, BinkP |128K+,!| n/c 3651/9 @ Jerry Gause | FTP,VMoT | 33.6 | $3/$6 -------------------------------------------------------------- Zone 2 | 20/11 | Henrik Lindhe | BinkP | ??? | n/c 31/1 | Gabriel Plutzar | BinkP | T1+ | n/c 203/600 | Mikael Karlsson | UUE | 64k | n/c 221/360 @ Tommi Koivula | BinkP,UUE | ??? | n/c 236/205 @ Michael Kaaber | BinkP | ??? | n/c 246/2098 | Volker Imre | BinkP | ??? | n/c 284/800 @ Jeroen VanDeLeur | FTP,UUE | 64k | n/c 292/626 | Filip Ruymen | Binkp, UUE | 128K+ | n/c 292/2003 | Eric Vaneberck | BinkP | 768k | n/c 301/1 | Peter Witschi | BinkP | 768k | n/c 332/807 | Roberto Mascolo | BinkP | ??? | n/c 335/535 @ Mario Mure | BinkP,VMot,UUE | 64k | n/c 335/610 | Gino Lucrezi | UUE | 33.6 | n/c 344/201 | Julio Garcia | BinkP | ??? | n/c 346/3 @ Carlos Navarro | UUE | ??? | n/c 382/100 | Sinisa Burina | BinkP | ??? | n/c 406/555 | Ofir Michaeli & | BinkP | ??? | n/c 406/555 | Marius Kaizerman | BinkP | ??? | n/c 423/81 | Milos Bajer | BinkP | ??? | n/c FIDONEWS 16-52 Page 11 27 Dec 1999 464/4077 | Serguei Trouchelle| UUE | 19.2 | n/c 465/204 | Va Milushnikov | BinkP | 33.6k | n/c 469/84 | Max Masyutin | VMoT | 256k | n/c 480/112 | Adam Sarapata| FTP, VMoT, UUE,BinkP| 128k | n/c 2411/413 @ Dennis Dittrich | UUE,BinkP | 64k | n/c 2446/301 | Lothar Behet | BinkP,VMoT,UUE,FTP | 64K | n/c 2474/275 | Christian Emig | UUE | 64k | unkn 5030/115 | Andrey Podkolzin | BinkP | ??? | n/c 5100/8 | Egons Bush | BinkP | ??? | n/c 5020/1159 | Gennady Kudryashoff | UUE | 33.6 | n/c -------------------------------------------------------------- Zone 3 633/260 @ Malcolm Miles | FTP,BinkP | 64K | n/c 640/954 | Rick Van Ruth | FTP,VMot,UUE,BinkP| 56K| n/c 774/605 @ Barry Blackford|BinkP,VMoT:10023,ifcico,FTP |33.6| n/c -------------------------------------------------------------- Zone 4 905/100 | Fabian Gervan | VMoT,UUE,BinkP | 128k | n/c 902/18 | Javier Tejedor | UUE | 33,6 | n/c -- * FTP = Internet File Transfer Protocol * VMoT = Virtual Mailer over Telnet (various) * UUE = uuencode<->email type transfers * BinkP = front end mailer for TCPIP networks ---------------------------------------------- Fidonet oriented news servers news.osirusoft.com news.tardis.net Fidonet oriented chat rooms. room #fidonet 5PM (PDT 11AM GMT) Sundays irc.isonline.com irc.killaz-r-us.com irc.korombos.org ---------------------------------------------- Please send updates, corrections and suggestions to Joe Jared, 1:103/301, joejared@osirusoft.com, and complaints to jarhead@osirusoft.com . ----------------------------------------------------------------- FIDONEWS 16-52 Page 12 27 Dec 1999 ================================================================= COORDINATORS CORNER ================================================================= The figures ... on a plate ... By Ward Dossche 2:292/854 Dear Editor, Just read a recent editorial and I got the writing-itch. I'll quickly entrust the ideas to paper before I get the writing-cramp. > What's happening on the backbones after George Peace announced that > he'll be shutting down? I'm getting mixed signals, myself. Boy, are you right ... Apart from the loss that the departure of George means it equally showed that there is a sparkle of the old Fidonet alive. "Whattayamean?" I hear you asking ... Well, within 24/48 hours of the news about George's departure hitting the wires I started getting all kinds of unsollicited offers to com- mercially pick-up mail elsewhere. It made me feel alright about Fidonet that the vulture-approach is still very much alive. George isn't gone yet and some people are already picking the skeleton ... > What's it going to be for the new Millennium? Are the 'bones going > to settle down to the business of moving mail, or are we going to > see more of the pointless bickering punctuated by power plays? This > editor finds prognostication very difficult... especially now that > the future is getting involved. Interesting subject too ... lemme see ... "Moving mail" is one thing ... "where to" is another. I don't know if the weekly statistics about nodelist-evolution reaches many people but I may have to start publishing it again. Here are today's (Dec.17) figures anyway ... +--------+-------+----------+----------+----------+----------+--+ !Zone/Jul!Ndl-323!Nodel.-330!Nodel.-337!Nodel.-344!Nodel.-351!%%! +--------+-------+----------+----------+----------+----------+--+ ! 1/351 ! 2359 ! 2359 0! 2359 0! 2302 -57! 2280 -22!15! ! 2/351 ! 12038 !12057 19!12078 21!12019 -59!12002 -17!77! ! 3/344 ! 208 ! 206 -2! 206 0! 197 -9! 197 0! 1! ! 4/351 ! 213 ! 215 2! 215 0! 215 0! 208 -7! 1! ! 5/344 ! 53 ! 53 0! 53 0! 53 0! 53 0! 0! ! 6/225 ! 916 ! 916 0! 916 0! 916 0! 916 0! 6! FIDONEWS 16-52 Page 13 27 Dec 1999 +--------+-------+----------+----------+----------+----------+--+ ! 15787 !15806 19!15827 21!15702 -125!15656 -46! +-------+----------+----------+----------+----------+ .... so people can generate their own thoughts. What these figures don't tell us for example is that Russia (R50) with its 5427 is about 2.5 times as large as zone-1 ... and growing too ... +--------+-------+----------+----------+----------+----------+ !Reg./Jul!Ndl-323!Nodel.-330!Nodel.-337!Nodel.-344!Nodel.-351! +--------+-------+----------+----------+----------+----------+ ! 50/351 ! 5354 ! 5387 +33! 5387 0! 5397 +10! 5427 +30! +--------+-------+----------+----------+----------+----------+ It also means that the true decline in zone-2, ex.R50, is steeper than shown by the figures. My intention is not to spark a doomsday-discussion about Fidonet but its participants need to realise that until something dramatical- ly new happens, any politicking and power-games about backbones is a rather silly concept for continuation. Ward ----------------------------------------------------------------- FIDONEWS 16-52 Page 14 27 Dec 1999 ================================================================= NET HUMOR ================================================================= The Night Before Y2K Thanks to Alexander Dovnar 2:450/154.3 'Twas the night before Y2K, And all through the nation We awaited The Bug, The Millennium sensation. The chips were replaced In computers with care, In hopes that ol' Bugsy Wouldn't stop there. While some folks could think They were snug in their beds Others had visions Of dread in their heads. And Ma with her PC, And I with my Mac Had just logged on the Net And kicked back with a snack. When over the server, There arose such a clatter I called Mister Gates To see what was the matter. But he was away, So I flew like a flash Off to my bank To withdraw all my cash. When what with my wandering eyes Should I see? My good old Mac Looked sick to me. The hack of all hackers Was looking so smug, I knew that it must be The Y2K Bug! His image downloaded In no time at all, He whistled and shouted, Let all systems fall! Go Intel! Go Gateway! FIDONEWS 16-52 Page 15 27 Dec 1999 Now HP! Big Blue! Everything Compaq, And Pentium too! All processors big, All processors small, Crash away! Crash away! Crash away all! As I drew in my breath And was turning around, Out through the modem, He came with a bound. He was covered with fur, And slung on his back Was a sack full of virus's, Set for attack. His eyes-how they twinkled! His dimples-how merry! As midnight approached, though Things soon became scary. He was chubby and plump, Perpetually grinning, And I laughed when I saw him Though my hard drive stopped spinning. A wink of his eye, And a twist of his head, Soon gave me to know A new feeling of dread. He spoke not a word, But went straight to his work, He changed all the clocks, Then turned with a jerk. With a twitch of his nose, And a quick little wink, All things electronic Soon went on the blink. He zoomed from my system, To the next folks on line, He caused such a disruption, Could this be a sign? Then I heard him exclaim, With a loud, hearty cry, Happy Y2K to all, Kiss your PC's goodbye!!!!! ----------------------------------------------------------------- FIDONEWS 16-52 Page 16 27 Dec 1999 The Y2K Song Thanks to David Pratt 2:250/355 (with apologies to "Santa Claus is Coming to Town") You better watch out, The lights might go out, The TV shuts off, Then everyone shouts Y2K is coming to town They say that we'll be Safe as can be But don't drink the water, naturally Y2K is coming to town If everyone is ready Why do we hold our breath They're telling us to hoard water And it's scaring folks to death! So you'd better prepare Your grab-and-go kit If everything fails guys Looks like we're it Get those batteries charged! Y2K is looming! SysOps are ready for Y2K! --Kim Paquette, N8YWX ----------------------------------------------------------------- FIDONEWS 16-52 Page 17 27 Dec 1999 ================================================================= COMIX IN ASCII ================================================================= /\ / O\ O! TannenCow! / , \ O! TannenCow! / O \ -/ , \- / O \ /, , \ / O O \ -/ , \- / O , \ / , O ,\ (__) / O , O \ (oo) / O \-\/ ------------------|| ||/ ||----|| || ~~ ~~ ----------------------------------------------------------------- FIDONEWS 16-52 Page 18 27 Dec 1999 ================================================================= FIDONEWS INFORMATION ================================================================= Masthead + -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- FIDONEWS STAFF - -- -- -- -- -- -- -- + | | | Editor: Douglas Myers, 1:270/720, DougM@paonline.com | | Webmaster: Jim Barchuk, jb@fidonews.org | | Columnist: Joe Jared, 1:103/0, jarhead@osirusoft.com | | (Fido Via Internet Hubs column) | | Columnist: Warren D. Bonner, 1:103/401, wdbonner@pacbell.net | | (Warren uses the pen name "Ol'WDB") | | Humor: Roy Reed, rcreed@juno.com | | | + -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- + + -- -- -- -- -- -- -- - EDITORS EMERITI - -- -- -- -- -- -- -- + | | | Tom Jennings, Thom Henderson, Dale Lovell, Vince | | Perriello, Tim Pozar, Sylvia Maxwell, Donald Tees, | | Christopher Baker, Zorch Frezberg, Henk Wolsink | | | + -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- + "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. Fidonews is published weekly by and for the members of Fidonet. Fidonews is Copyright (C) 1999 by Douglas Myers, though authors retain rights to their contributed articles. Opinion expressed by the authors is strictly their own. Noncommercial duplication and distribution within Fidonet is encouraged. Authors are encouraged to send their articles in ASCII text to Douglas Myers at one of his addresses above. The weekly edition of Fidonews is distributed through the file area FIDONEWS, and is published as echomail in the echo FIDONEWS. These sources are normally available through your Network Coordinator. The current and past issues are also available from the following sources: + -- -- -- -- -- -- - FIDONEWS AVAILABILITY - -- -- -- -- -- -- + | | | Freq FIDONEWS @ 1:270/720, 1:140/1, or 1:396/1 | | ftp://ftp.sstar.com/fidonet/fnews/ | | ftp://ftp.nwstar.com/fidonet/fidonews/ | | http://www.fidonews.org | | email subscription: majordomo@fidonews.org | | (subject: help body: list) | | ftp mail: ftpmail@fidonews.org (subject: help) | | | + -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- + FIDONEWS 16-52 Page 19 27 Dec 1999 -----------------------------------------------------------------