Volume 5, Number 46 14 November 1988 +---------------------------------------------------------------+ | _ | | / \ | | /|oo \ | | - FidoNews - (_| /_) | | _`@/_ \ _ | | International | | \ \\ | | FidoNet Association | (*) | \ )) | | Newsletter ______ |__U__| / \// | | / FIDO \ _//|| _\ / | | (________) (_/(_|(____/ | | (jm) | +---------------------------------------------------------------+ Editor in Chief Dale Lovell Editor Emeritus: Thom Henderson Chief Procrastinator Emeritus: Tom Jennings Contributing Editors: Al Arango FidoNews is published weekly by the International FidoNet Association as its official newsletter. You are encouraged to submit articles for publication in FidoNews. Article submission standards are contained in the file ARTSPEC.DOC, available from node 1:1/1. Copyright 1988 by the International FidoNet Association. All rights reserved. Duplication and/or distribution permitted for noncommercial purposes only. For use in other circumstances, please contact IFNA at (314) 576-4067. IFNA may also be contacted at PO Box 41143, St. Louis, MO 63141. Fido and FidoNet are registered trademarks of Tom Jennings of Fido Software, 164 Shipley Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94107 and are used with permission. The contents of the articles contained here are not our responsibility, nor do we necessarily agree with them. Everything here is subject to debate. We publish EVERYTHING received. Table of Contents 1. EDITORIAL ................................................ 1 IMPORTANT NOTICE ON FIDONEWS DISTRIBUTION ................ 1 2. ARTICLES ................................................. 2 A Study of NetMail Traffic ............................... 2 I finally get 'em right! ................................. 4 Take an Echo Breather .................................... 5 Why me, Goddess? ......................................... 7 The ChessLine System: .................................... 18 Improve Your Programs with Named Notation ................ 21 The BIG Picture? Common sense plea on echomail ........... 23 My Daddy is a Veteran .................................... 26 3. COLUMNS .................................................. 29 Bodies Behind the BBS: Bob Swift ........................ 29 And more! FidoNews 5-46 Page 1 14 Nov 1988 ================================================================= EDITORIAL ================================================================= IMPORTANT NEWS ITEM!!!! I am going to be upgrading 1:157/504 to multiline over the next few weeks. Since 1:157/504 is also 1:1/1, this will be of major significance to everyone who file requests FidoNews from me. I am currently running TBBS 2.0S (Single line) and am going to be upgrading to TBBS 2.1M (Multi line) in order to help satisfy my user base. File requests will only be accepted from one hour before National Mail Hour to one hour after National Mail Hour (08:00-10:00 GMT). The standard distribution chain on FidoNews is that I send it directly to the Regional Coordinators. The RCs then forward FidoNews to the NCs, who distribute it to their own nodes. FidoNews should reach the RC's no later than the end of National Mail Hour. FidoNews is also sent to 1:1/0, the international coordinator. If you are interested in obtaining the absolute latest edition of FidoNews direct, your best bet is to file request it just after National Mail Hour on Monday morning. It will also be available for downloading on 1:157/504 as soon as it comes back up from mail processing (around 10:15 GMT). While I regret the inconvenience this will cause some of you, I have to put my users first in this matter. Thank you for your consideration in this matter. Dale Lovell 1:157/504, 1:1/1 FidoNews Editor ----------------------------------------------------------------- FidoNews 5-46 Page 2 14 Nov 1988 ================================================================= ARTICLES ================================================================= A Study of NetMail Traffic David Schuetz 1:109/716.101 Hello. I am a Junior Computer Science major at the University of Maryland. I am currently working on a proposal/study to develop the most effective routing for national and, if the method developed is transferrable, international net mail traffic. "Most effective" means "least cost and minimal hassle to the end user." My ultimate goal is to propose a simple method of routing that will be incorporated into general FidoNet policy, or, at the least, generally accepted by all for the good of all, much as our efficient EchoMail distribution system had developed. This system, ideally, will allow anyone in the nation to enter a message to anywhere else, without needing to establish credit with the Sysop of the originating board, and to be able to have it on good faith that the message will arrive within a reasonable period of time. In order to proceed with my study, I need to know as much as possible about net traffic in FidoNet. For this reason, I would like you to answer these questions and send me a response at 1:109/716, as soon as possible. The survey is intended to give me an idea of how much NetMail traffic is actually *out there*, how much there *could be* (if the method for sending mail were a bit easier), and what most people seem to think the best method for moving this mail is. Thank you very much for your cooperation. Sincerely, David Schuetz 1:109/716.101 8135 Easton Hall College Park, MD 20742 (301) 985-9366 (301) 454-3787 (dorm hall phone, leave message) P.S. I have no connection with IFNA. I am not even currently running a board. This really is being done for a class. If the results to my study are promising, then not only will I have completed a class requirement, but FidoNet as a whole may benefit. ---------------------------------------- What is your.... 1) ...Node address? 2) ...Modem speed? FidoNews 5-46 Page 3 14 Nov 1988 3) Do you have Continuous Mail capability? 4) Do you use PC-Pursuit, Reach Out America, or a similar long distance plan? 5) Do you or your company "eat the cost" of long distance calls? 6) What is your typical number of net-mail messages over a given period of time? (see also #10) 7) How many of these are within your local net? 8) Within your zone, but outside your net? 9) Outside your zone? 10) What period of time is this data based on (day, week, month)? 11) How do you route Net-mail? 12) How does your net handle net-mail? 13) Echomail? 14) Do you have an outbound host? 15) An inbound host? 16) Do they have backups? 17) Do you have any objections to a routing standard being dictated to the net if it would mean minimum cost to a maximum number of users? 18) Do you have any suggestions as to how, if at all, Net-Mail routing could be improved? 19) What would you be willing to do to improve routing? (Cost eating, high-speed links, dedicated mail node, etc...) 20) How, in your opinion, *should* (ideally) Net-Mail traffic work? Any other comments: ---------------------------------------- Results of this study will be posted in FidoNews, and should appear in late December/early January. Again, thank you very much for all your help, it is much appreciated. ----------------------------------------------------------------- FidoNews 5-46 Page 4 14 Nov 1988 Don Dawson OPUS 141/730 I finally get 'em right! Subtitle: I love those utilities, but.........! Have you ever noticed that most of those neat utilities that you use to keep OPUS humming along seem to require a control file of some kind? And often the control file requires some information that's spread across your hard disk in some other control file that's used with some other program, maybe even a file that OPUS uses. Maybe one day, all of the utility program authors will be able to agree on ONE PLACE to put all the information that these programs need. But until they do, enter........ Area Manager by Tom Kashuba (167/1) Kash, as he's called by many, has created a dandy little program that actually creates all those little pesky control files. Yup, his program requires a control file too, but the information you put in it is used to build the control files used by those neat utilities. Sound like a ho-hummer? Read on. When you last added a new echomail area did you remember all the control files into which it had to be added?..starting with the ECHO.CTL file, maybe an AREAS.BBS, then the control file that your message reader uses and RASMAM and RENUM, and, and... the list goes on. Of course, I could never get every file correct and EXACTLY as they needed to be for each. Some of them use the Area number, some use the Area Name, some need the complete path. Well, with AM (Area Manager) you build a control file that has all of this information in it, then, using powerful commands that Kash has built into AM, it will generate all of those pesky control files. AM will even put them on the correct disk drive into the correct directory. If you haven't tried it, you should....it's a another fine piece of programming by the author of OOPS and others. It's File Requestable from 141/730, 24hrs as: AM_102.ARC...just in case a newer version shows up here before you do...you might want to file request AM_*.ARC One last comment....Kash asks that after you try it, if you continue to use it, that you register it. The price is small but the value is BIG! B-) Don ----------------------------------------------------------------- FidoNews 5-46 Page 5 14 Nov 1988 Take an Echo Breather Glen Jackson REC for Region 14. or...slow down the eyestrain when reading echomail! I finally installed a larger drive, so I felt I was deserving of a few more echos to read. I've changed my mind. I'd like everyone to know that this article is not written in ANY kind of "official" capacity, but merely my own observations. Things that aggravate me in echomail: 1. Questions like "where can I get that whatever.arc" ? These questions get answered by multitudes. If it is a piece of network software, I have a solution to keep the message flow down: a. read the origin line, and do a file request. b. look in your nodelist for your closest Software Distribution node. c. check in your net to see if someone else has it. d. as a last resort, netmail the author, and ask him about it. 2. Answering Twits in echomail. Someone posts a message that says something like "I think so and so's mother wears army boots". We are then subjected to many messages that look like this: TWIT> I think so and so's mother wears army boots. TWIT> TWIT> * origin The Twit calls here (nnn/nnn) Hey TWIT! who let THIS guy on?????? Again, I have some helpful hints: a. ignore him. b. net-mail the sysop of the originating system and complain. (if the guy is out of line) 3. Help! What init string do I use for the goofyblatz modem with Binkley? Again, the question may have been answered many times before. We all want to be helpful, but... Would it be out of line for the moderator to step in and say, "This has been discussed before". Here is what we came up with. (Don't flog me, please. I see a moderator as one that keeps track of what goes on with his conference.) If the moderator can't help, open it up for everyone. 4. Finally, 7 screens (on one message), from one person, repeated by however many people he has decided to answer. Clear cut FidoNews 5-46 Page 6 14 Nov 1988 answers can usually be taken care of in a few sentences. And to all of you others out there that can't stand this, why not send the guy a netmail message with your complaint? I don't like to have to keep hitting the [N]ext key whenever I see a message by a certain author. Those messages cost SOMEONE (or maybe lots of someones) money to send. If you feel the need to write a book, either: a. send it via netmail on your nickle, or b. write an article for Fido_news. I did. :-) Glen Jackson REC for Region 14. ----------------------------------------------------------------- FidoNews 5-46 Page 7 14 Nov 1988 Why me, Goddess? David Rice (1:103/503.0) I'm guilty. I freely admit the fact. I deserve to hang, and to be left swinging from the highest spreader on the ship. Yep! Guilty: That's me. Let me begin at the, er, beginning, and you'll agree, too. I run an Astrology BBS, with it's related astrology files, message base STARGAZE Echo, and I provide answers to astrology students free of any and all charges, if they have the courage to ask (as if the question is not well thought out I can be somewhat acerbic with the replies), and if I know the answers. I therefore get more than my share of, shall we say, interesting callers. I get (and don't really welcome) threats, demands, offers, and law suits thrown at me for being "that Godless pagan SysOp." As astrologers are used to being considered somewhat, well, odd, this is not very annoying. Until one day. My brother in Christ who was assigned, presumably, to "monitor" my BBS, often calls once a week to screen capture the user list, check out the new subversive material (files) available, and hang up. (I say "hang up" and not "log off," as that's exactly what he does.) One may only guess at what he plans on doing with my BBS's user list, but visions of Jihad come to mind. . . . But I digress. Until one day, I continue, I got the Holy Bible from a very kind SysOp in San Jose, and posted it available for downloading. The Holy righteousness hit the fan. Answering an incessant YELL from a user, I was asked (well, demanded seems to fit better): "Isn't this a New Age Board!" I answered truthfully. "No, it is not. If it was 'New Age' I would have charged you $5.00 a minute for the first ten minutes, and $2.50 for each additional minute, and a dime for each character I'm typing at you now." As we all know, the only thing that "New Age" is good for is to make a great deal of money from ignorant fools. "Yes it is!" the reply came back. "What's the Word of God doing on a Satanist's BBS!" Hummm. Why me, Goddess? I thought. I don't eat Your animals. I don't drink, smoke, or screw. I'm a good witch. Why, then, pick on me? The best answer I could think of came to me, then, like a revelation, like a prophecy. FidoNews 5-46 Page 8 14 Nov 1988 "Because my Witch's Coven in San Diego has subtly altered it in misleading, deceiving ways, to trap the innocent, and to further our own, evil, unguessed of ends." I don't much like being called a "Satanist." Click! the modem went. "Caller Vanished!" OPUS went. "Sigh," I went. So you see, I am guilty. I didn't expect any more trouble after that, but I suppose I should have. Two weeks later, someone was yelling at me unremittingly again. It was a new caller, and being a nice guy I answered the yell. "GO VOICE!" it demanded. Sure, I thought, why not? I picked up my phone, and typed: "Pick up your phone and log off." "Hi," I said cheerfully, in my best SysOply voice. "How may I serve you?" Six words, but he only waiting for the first three before ranting: "Take the Bible off your BBS!" He raved. I envisioned some short, scrawny twit spitting in his receiver, acne-scared of face, wearing a ratty sweater over a Perma-Press dackron shirt, and three sets of underwear in case of an "accident." "Ahumm, what?" I am slow at times. He repeated the demand, and added for my enlightenment: "You can't have astrology and The Word of God on the same BBS!" He said "astrology" like you or I might say "Richard Nixon" or "Jane Fonda." Many years ago I learned the art of Not Listening. Most American kids learn this by age 14, taught by their parents when they rail against them. One learns to just say "Uhm, yes" and "Uhm, no" now and then (it doesn't matter which), to appear that one is listening. He started on a long, drawn-out, dry, rambling spill that seemed to begin nowhere, and seemed just as endless as his capacity for ignorance. "Uhm, yes," I said over to the phone. I paused. "Uhm, no," I added next. After the witnessing was over, I was shocked to find he was waiting for my reply. Gee, I wondered, what did he said? I only heard the first demand. "Sure, I'll delete those files. Anything else?" And off he went again. He mentioned something about killing the STARGAZE echo and all my astrology programs before I tuned him out again. FidoNews 5-46 Page 9 14 Nov 1988 "Uhm, yes. . . Uhm, no. . . Uhm, yes. . . ." He finally hung up after assuring me that he would pray for my soul. The next day I added three more Bible related files, and an area of "Christian" related text files. Gee, I hope he doesn't mind. The whole point of this sad story? Well, I mistreated a user, slapping him silly with my prankish wit, just because he was ignorant enough to call me a "Satanist." And he really didn't deserve it. So It's my fault, and I'm guilty as, er, Hell, and I'm real sorry. I have since disabled the YELL option of OPUS for those under PRIVILEGE level. This isn't fair to other NORMAL level users, but some had to die. ----------------------------------------------------------------- FidoNews 5-46 Page 10 14 Nov 1988 October 19, 1988 Editor FidoNews "Letters to the Editor" Sir: I am attaching selected items from both the Articles of Association and the By-Laws of The International FidoNet Association which were filed with the State of Missouri for the expressed purpose of Incorporating the entity known as IFNA. I am providing a edited version of these documents along with comments on each so that I can support the claims that I have or will be making in this letter: Excepts from: ARTICLES OF ASSOCIATION for the INTERNATIONAL FIDONET ASSOCIATION Be it known that we, the suscribers, do hereby associate ourselves as a body politic and corporate pursuant to the statute laws of the State of Missouri regulating the formation and organization of corporations without capital stock and the following are our Articles of Association: I. The name of our corporation shall be the International [Text deleted for Space Reasons] II. The period of duration of the corporation is perpetual. III. The address of its initial Registered Office in the State of Missouri is: 120 S. Central, Suite 1400, St. Louis, Missouri [Text deleted for Space Reasons] IV. The purposes for which our corporation is formed are the following: A) the promotion of interest in telecommunications and experimentation; Comment: Ok, if this is true, then why are Networks other than FidoNet excluded from the promotion of Telecommunications and experimentation? Why are there limits placed upon other International Networks who wish to communicate with FidoNet? B) the establishment of telecommunication networks to provide publicly accessable and publicly available electronic communications; FidoNews 5-46 Page 11 14 Nov 1988 Comment: Is this true in today's environment? Can it be that a person holding a position of authority within IFNA's structure is denying access and electronic communications? I think someone should look at this one real close! C) the furtherance of the public welfare; Comment: Keeping people from diverse backgrounds from free and easy access to the IFNA regulated Nodelist (via Zone Gates) is not in the interest of "public welfare" in my eyes. D) the advancement of telecommunications art the fostering of education in the field of electronic communication; E) the promotion and conduct of research and development to further the development of electronic communication; Comment: This is the one which really gets me, you expect a lot when IFNA does not even live up to the "promotion" of Inter-Network development. Promotion and development occur when two parties (ne Networks) try to develop a new technology when the old one doesn't fit any more. To establish a link and then take it away, because of a non-delivered piece of paper is really pushing it to the maximum. F) the dissemination of technical, educational, and scientific information relating to electronic communication; G) the printing and publishing of documents, books, magazines, newspapers and pamphlets necessary or incidental to any of the above purposes. H) No part of the assets or income of our corporation shall inure to the benefit of or be distributable to the members, the officers, or any of them, or to other private persons except that our corporation shall be authorized and empowered to pay reasonable compensation for services rendered and to make payments and distributions in furtherance of the purposes set forth herein. V. The affairs of the Corporation shall be governed by a Board consisting of Directors as defined in the By-Laws. Each Director shall be elected for terms of two years by the members eligible to vote. Half of the Directors shall be elected for terms beginning on even numbered years and half shall be elected for terms beginning on odd-numbered years. [Text Deleted for space concerns] VI. During the intervals between meetings of the Board of Directors, the affairs of the Corporation shall be administered by an Executive Committee consisting of the [Text deleted for Space] FidoNews 5-46 Page 12 14 Nov 1988 VII. A vacancy in the Board of Directors shall be deemed to occur upon the death, resignation, recall, move of permanent [Text Deleted for Space] VIII. The officers of the Corporation shall be a President, a Vice President, Vice President - Technical Coordinator, a Secretary, and a Treasurer, who shall be elected by a majority of the Directors at the Annual Meeting. Comment: What No International Coordination positon defined within the limits of the Articles? IX. These articles may be amended by the three-fourths vote of all directors, or, provided due notice of the proposed amendment shall have been sent to each director at least thirty days in advance, by a two-thirds vote of all directors. X. The membership of IFNA shall consist members as defined in [Text deleted for Space] XI. No person shall be eligible to serve in any of the positions or offices of Director, Alternate, President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, or Vice President - Technical Coordinator, whose service in any such capacity would: A. Violate any applicable law, statute, ruling or regulation of the State of Missouri or the United States of America, or of the country of domicile of such person; or B. Jeopardize the non-profit or tax-exempt status of IFNA, as defined by the laws, statutes, rulings or regulations of the State of Missouri or the United States of America; or Comment: Are not, given the above items, the actions of Mr. David Dodell, about to jeapardize the Non-Profit/Tax-Exempt status of IFNA? This providing that the above points are intrepreted to mean that David's actions are not in the best interest of IFNA and the IRS's view on furthuring public interest/telecommunications on an international basis. (AlterNet is an international fraternal organization) incorporated in the State of Delaware. C. Amount to, create or continue a conflict of interest between the activities, aims or purposes of IFNA and such person's private financial interests or such interests of any of such person's employer, family or relations. Each person nominated or elected [Text deleted for space] Comment: Has Mr. Dodell obtained the BOD's permission to react the way that he has? Since the BOD has not attempted to either restrain Mr. Dodell in the FidoNews 5-46 Page 13 14 Nov 1988 performance of his duties (which are not defined in the By-Laws) does this mean that the BOD approves of his actions? Does his attitude and apparent disregard for agreements constitute a conflict of interest when considering the purpose of IFNA and IFNA's stated aims and Activities? XII. Upon the dissolution of our corporation, the Board of Directors shall, after paying or making provision for the payment of all of the liabilities of our corporation, [Text Deleted for space] The following from: BY-LAWS for the INTERNATIONAL FIDONET ASSOCIATION DEFINITIONS: The following terms have meanings as follows for all purposes of these By-Laws and Articles of Association: IFNA: International FidoNet Association. IFNA NETWORK: The current set of systems which have been certified as FidoNet compatible and conform to policies established by the Board of Directors. Comment: Alternate Networks have met and continued to remain within the operating invironment of FidoNet compatible, and for the most part have taken the Network Accepted Policy3.doc as the basis for their own networks. This being a given, then Alternate networks should not be withheld from Zone Gating. There are after all only 7 Major Continents and I believe that the software currently provides for up to 13 Zones. IFNA NODELIST: The list of nodes active in the IFNA NETWORK, prepared by the IFNA Vice President - Technical Coordinator. Comment: The IFNA Vice President - Technical Coordinator does not produce the IFNA Nodelist, David Dodell does not hold this position although at one time he did hold the position within IFNA. At FidoCon '88, Ray Gwinn gave the position of International Coordinator to Mr. Dodell. PUBLIC ACCESS: A system that has a telephone number FidoNews 5-46 Page 14 14 Nov 1988 published in the IFNA Nodelist, and in addition provides services to the public. ANNUAL MEETING: A yearly meeting of all members of IFNA with [Text deleted] BY-LAWS: 1. The following membership categories are established: a) Regular Member. To be eligible, an applicant: must be the system operator in good standing of a PUBLIC ACCESS node; must have paid any dues required; is entitled to one vote. b) Associate Member. Any person who is not eligible to be a Regular Member, but who is interested in electronic communications, is eligible to be an Associate Member by paying required dues. Associate Members have all of the rights of a Regular Member except the right to vote. c) Commercial Member. Any entity using the IFNA NETWORK for the conduct of any business is eligible to be a Commercial Member by paying required dues. Any Commercial Member also satisfying the requirements to be a Regular Member shall be entitled to vote. d) Honorary Member. The Board of Directors may award Honorary Member status to any entity. Honorary Members have all of the rights of a Regular Member except the right to vote. e) Life Member. Any member may become a Life Member by paying the required dues. 7. No person shall be an officer or director unless they qualify under all applicable statutes. 29. The Vice President - Technical Coordinator shall: a) be responsible for maintenance and distribution of the master NODELIST; Comment: Ok, please inform me as to why the IC's position is still being held by Mr. Dodell and why it is not a part of Mr. Gwinn's job. Additionally, Mr. Gwinn is not provided with the power to delegate his authority on this one to anyone. b) creation and distribution of the weekly update file for the master NODELIST; See comment above. c) ensuring the smooth operation of the IFNA NETWORK as FidoNews 5-46 Page 15 14 Nov 1988 prescribed by the Board of Directors; d) serve as a member of the Technical Standards Committee. 30. Standing committees: a) The following standing committees are established: - Administration and Finance - Executive Committee - Nominations and Elections - By-Laws and Rules - Technical Standards - Publications - International Affairs - Membership Services b) Each standing committee shall include among its members at least one director. Additionally, the Treasurer shall serve as a member of the Administration and Finance Committee. Appointments of all standing committee members shall be made by the President at the Annual Meeting and shall be for a term of one year. The Chair of the Board shall designate the chair of each committee. Standing committees shall make written reports at least 30 days prior to each regular meeting of the Board of Directors. Standing committees may originate studies in their fields and may generate recommendations to the Board on their own initiative. 36. The Technical Standards Committee shall be responsible for: a) Providing a rigorous definition of FidoNet and all FidoNet protocols sufficient to implement a compatible electronic mail system. b) Providing IFNA the means to determine whether a system is compatible with FidoNet. This will allow IFNA to list compatible systems so Sysops may decide which system to install. c) Producing and enhancing standards for: - Data Transmitted - Connection - Protocols - Nodelist - Routing Comment: From this one, since the SysOps in the Alternate networks are using much the same software as is being used by the SysOps of FidoNet/IFNA Network there should be no "Technical" reasons for not allowing Zone Gates into the IFNA/FidoNet Nodelist. In fact, the Alternate networks have kept the same schedules for a "Common" Mail Hour a "Common" Nodelist Format, a "Common" policy complaint handling procedure, a "Common" technical Standard for protocols and have gone to the trouble of "Dual Identies" in order to maintain a close relationship with the people they know and wish to communicate with within the FidoNet Network. FidoNews 5-46 Page 16 14 Nov 1988 37. The International Affairs Committee shall monitor the conduct of international liaison by IFNA staff. They shall initiate recommendations for IFNA representation at international meetings. They shall encourage the growth and strengthening of IFNA, its member societies and telecommunications worldwide. They shall coordinate and monitor planning and strategy for improving international telecommunications. Comment: IFNA's International Affairs Committee is charged with the "of telecommunications worldwide", the last time I looked at a map, the United States, Canada, Europe, Australia, Asia and Africa were still part of the world. Therefore, are not networks which are located anywhere in the world something which IFNA should be working in a positive manner to promote connectivity with? Fido and FidoNet are trademarks of Fido Software. I appologize for the length of this article, but hope that it will be printed (which I will be surprized if it is), as the reader will note, IFNA appears free to augment the positions which it is chartered to have at the drop of the hat. It also appears as though they are willing to forsake some of their own By-Laws and Articles of Association to get things done the way that they want them done. They also have people who delegate job functions as they see fit without regard for the fact that they are still responsible for the actions of someone who is in the delegated job function. If you intrepret what I have written to be a slam at IFNA, it is just that. IFNA is supposed to promote communications on an International basis, they are not doing that, they are busy playing games with the United Nations, which is not all bad, but they are unwilling to deal with Alternative Networks within Zone 1, so why would a "Reasonable Person" believe that they would treat a network from Siberia any differently? Many of you know me, I was a FidoNet Sysop for over four years, having joined FidoNet just after the mighty Multi-Net implementation. I have served IFNA and FidoNet in many job functions, I wanted (initially) to see IFNA succeed. I spent my own money to go to New Hamster to help the committee understand exactly what a "Grunt Sysop" wanted from them. I have seen the By-Laws read the way that people wanted them read, namely to the benifit of those currently in power. I have also seen many changes in attitude especially from those who were elected by the people in IFNA to rule over FidoNet. I have seen you the people who make up FidoNet, let it be taken over by a few of the "Elected Representatives" of the people who paid $25.00 to join IFNA. I have been known to look for Cemetary Plots all over the place, I am not saying FidoNews 5-46 Page 17 14 Nov 1988 that this is a Plot, I am saying that the IC is the VP-TC and that the person "Elected" to that position was not elected by the people who elected their representatives. Many who will read this, will say that I am simply speaking "Sour Grapes", but take a look at what has happened since FidoCon'87, the Network has grown by over 150%, IFNA membership is still less than 10% of the total Network, the attempts of the people who grew tired of the garbage which IFNA was attempting to push down their throats and left to form their own Networks are not sour grapes. At this time the Alternate networks have a total membership which is equal to or slightly greater than the network when I joined it. The Alternate Networks have taken the things that worked from FidoNet, the RC structure, the Policy Documents, the Dictator style of management and created something which works. They have applied for Zone Gate Numbers following prescribed procedures, namely asking for one, and were told "NO". How do you think that the United States was formed, just by the same type of actions by England! There is a revolution, now that the die has been cast, as to which network(s) will be the one to win is unclear, but in one corner you have FidoNet, represented by IFNA, which is supposed to be a democracy telling the Alternate Networks you have to be so large and in place for so long etc.. In the other corners are the people within the Alternative networks who don't need an organization to speak for them, and who for the most part use to want to see IFNA succeed. If they have lost faith in IFNA/FidoNet then what do you think is going to happen after all the "Zone Wars"? In general, the whole idea that Tom Jennings started with Fido/FidoNet is going to disappear. Bob Morris SysOp, 1:141/305.42, 7:46/2 ----------------------------------------------------------------- FidoNews 5-46 Page 18 14 Nov 1988 Edward Hawes Fast-BBS I wanted to let all sysops know about our new CHESSLINE system available for bbs operations. The ChessLine will give your BBS that extra feature which will attract the kind of users you want. Do you ever get tired of seeing users call in, skim the message base, then go to the files section? The ChessLine makes your board more interesting by giving them something else to do. Chess has been around for centuries, and unlike other past times, has not been harmed by the computer age. In fact, have you ever noticed that of the people you know who are interested in computers, probably more of them play chess than do not? While the game does not require a genius to play, it does attract people who are at least interested in exercising their intellectual dexterity. This is a prerequisite to personal computing and goes hand in hand with the users of a bulletin board system. The ChessLine operates in a fashion similar to 'postal chess'. A user will call your BBS, enter The ChessLine, make his move, and exit. His opponent will call later, enter The ChessLine, make his move, and then exit. What makes The ChessLine more interesting than postal chess is that you don't have to wait on the US mail. The ChessLine will store all moves and when your user calls, will set up an on-screen chessboard with the last played position shown. All moves entered are checked for their legality, as The ChessLine will permit no illegal moves. All legal moves including castling, enpassents, and pawn promotions are allowed. The ChessLine will terminate the game as soon as one player check-mates the other or if the game becomes stalemated or a player resigns. We have also added some other options to Chesline for you and your users enjoyment : 1.. The ability to leave short comments to the other player 2.. Sysop chat mode (with auto word-wrap) 3.. Sysop online play with user 4.. Netmail play (see Netmail doc's) 5.. List of all moves 6.. The ability to take back moves 7.. View other games in progress 8.. Online Help FUTURE ADDITIONS (Already under developement) 1.. U.S. CHESS Federation ranking system.. 2.. Node to Node interactive play.. CLMAIL.EXE This utility is the most exciting aspect of Chesline.. Clmail is the Net-mail utility that will send moves to any board in the E-Mail Network that has ChessLine installed. Let me explain. You see Clmail creates a outbound message with the record enclosed.. So if you wanted to play a game with a user in Washington D.C.,you make your move and clmail will send it across the wire to the Node in Washington then the FidoNews 5-46 Page 19 14 Nov 1988 move applied to chesline on that board.. The next day the user in Washington would send his move to your board through Clmail and so on and so on... Now that i have you confuzed lets make it worse... Say you have 20 games going on and 3 of them are network games to 3 different nodes, Clmail will automatically create the outbound messages with the node numbers there going to. (Have I got your attention?) This is a great concept because you can now play National Chess without having to call another board with procomm or whatever and sign on and go through lond distance networks just to make a move.. Now with CLmail you make all your moves locally and your mail system handles the rest..(NEAT HUH?) We are presently working on a player list utility that will list all Chessline players nationally and rank them according to U.S. Chess Federation rules and regulations then create a listing that will be distributed to all Chesline nodes so the users can select by player and ranking!! (Exciting HUH?) Well Im sure you can see how this could grow into a Chess Net! We are very excited about the possibilities this could bring... The program Clmail was written by James Brown at Brown BBS in Houston. Many Thanks to his hard work and dedication to the expansion of Chesline and the idea for the Net-Mail application. This concept has broken new ground in the E-mail Network and blazed a new path for bbs games.. THANKS James Brown.. WE APPRECIATE THE WORK!! ATTN: This program is still being tested and has not been distributed yet.. The netmail system will be sent to you free of charge if you purchase chesline... Notes: Chesline is a very high quality program designed with the sysop in mind. It is written in assembler and uses ansi graphics for the display. It also uses RAM for file processing so the speed is kept to a maximum. It monitors the carrier and has it's own ansi interpreter so you don't have to load ansi.sys and you can still see everything on your screen that the user sees. It will allow a max of 200 games and is set up to run under multiple nodes. It will automatically get the user's name and will run at 2400/1200/300 even 9600 baud. Thise version will have the ability for the sysop to play online with user and has a chat mode as well. This program was specifically designed for opus but will run on PCBoard,Quik-BBS,GTPowercomm,RBBS. If you would like to place an order then feel free to call 106/12 The SoundingBoard and fill out the order form.. Mastercard, Visa and American Express accepted. You can also call my board in Orlando to order! For more information on Chesline call Edward V. Hawes voice= 407 774-2511 data=407 660-0005 5pm-9am 7 days a week! BHC SOFTWARE 3120 SOUTHWEST FRW #400 FidoNews 5-46 Page 20 14 Nov 1988 Houston Texas 77098 PLEASE SUPPORT THIS PRODUCT SO WE CAN GROW THE CHESS-NET!!! ----------------------------------------------------------------- FidoNews 5-46 Page 21 14 Nov 1988 John Herro 1:363/6 IMPROVE YOUR PROGRAMS WITH NAMED NOTATION In the article "THE VERY BEST PROGRAMMING LANGUAGE " in FidoNews 533 (15 August 1988), I said that Ada has new features, not found in earlier languages, that make programs easier to understand. I also said that I'd try to give examples in future articles. When the first high-level programming language (Fortran) was in- vented in the 1950's, computer time was expensive and programming time was relatively cheap. Therefore, early languages were de- signed to generate code that's as efficient as possible, even at the expense of program readability. Today the situation is re- versed. Computer time is cheap, but program maintenance is ex- pensive. (Program maintenance refers to debugging, as well as making changes to the software and adding enhancements.) There- fore, the most important consideration today is to make programs as easy to understand as possible. Thanks to modern software en- gineering, we've learned to improve program readability without sacrificing efficiency. One of the language features new to Ada makes calls to subpro- grams (procedures and functions) much easier to understand, with- out affecting efficiency. It's called NAMED NOTATION or NAMED PARAMETER ASSOCIATION. Suppose, for example, that we write a procedure (or "subroutine") that computes the volume and surface area of a cylinder, given its radius and height. In Ada, the procedure specification might look like this: procedure COMPUTE_VOL_AND_AREA(RADIUS, HEIGHT : in FLOAT; VOLUME, AREA : out FLOAT); Note that the procedure specification tells us the names of the parameters (or "dummy arguments"), their types, and their modes. The mode can be "in," "out," or "in out." In this example, all four parameters are of type FLOAT. RADIUS and HEIGHT are of mode "in," while VOLUME and AREA are of mode "out." Except for specifying the modes explicitly, Ada subprogram speci- fications aren't much different from other languages. For exam- ple, in Fortran the first line of a subroutine, similar to our Ada procedure specification, might be: SUBROUTINE VAREA(RADIUS, HEIGHT, VOLUME, AREA) Here the subroutine name, VAREA, is a bit cryptic, but standard Fortran limits us to names of at most six characters. (Many ver- sions of Fortran allow names longer than the standard.) In Ada, the names are limited only by the maximum length of a line, and all characters of a name are significant. The real advantage of Ada can be seen in the CALL to the subpro- FidoNews 5-46 Page 22 14 Nov 1988 gram, rather than in the subprogram specification. In all other languages, the names of the subprogram parameters (or "dummy ar- guments") aren't known in the calling program. For example, in Fortran, a call might be CALL VAREA(1.5, 3.7, VOL, A) This is called POSITIONAL NOTATION, because the arguments in the call must appear in the same order as they do in the subprogram, and there's no reference to the names of the dummy arguments in the call. When the call occurs in this example, 1.5 in the call- ing program is associated with RADIUS in the subprogram, 3.7 with HEIGHT, VOL with VOLUME, and A with AREA. This association is done by position. We can use positional notation in Ada, too. In Ada (as in Pas- cal) the word CALL is omitted and we simply name the subprogram, but the call otherwise looks about the same as in Fortran: COMPUTE_VOL_AND_AREA(1.5, 3.7, VOL, A); However, in Ada the call can be made much easier to read by using NAMED NOTATION: COMPUTE_VOL_AND_AREA(RADIUS => 1.5, HEIGHT => 3.7, VOLUME => VOL, AREA => A); The symbol => is read "arrow," and the name of the dummy argument precedes it. With Named Notation, the reader doesn't have to keep flipping between the page containing the call and the page containing the subprogram specification to understand what's go- ing on. Also, the programmer need not remember the order in which the arguments appear, because with Named Notation, the ar- guments in the call may appear in any order: COMPUTE_VOL_AND_AREA(HEIGHT => 3.7, RADIUS => 1.5, AREA => A, VOLUME => VOL); As you can see, Named Notation is one feature of Ada that really improves program readability. In future articles, we'll cover other Ada features that will improve your programs. For example, closely related to Named Notation are Default Parameters, which we'll discuss next time. If you're not programming in Ada, learn the language and go first class! There are now several inexpensive Ada compilers available for the PC. And I've written a Shareware Interactive Ada Tutor program ADA-TUTR.ARC, available on 363/6. FidoNews 533 contains a list of many other boards that also have ADA-TUTR.ARC. The Tutor stresses good program design, not just syntax, so that you'll learn to take advantage of the special language features new to Ada. As always, I welcome your comments and suggestions. ----------------------------------------------------------------- FidoNews 5-46 Page 23 14 Nov 1988 Joe Taibi FidoNet 280/302 Reach out and FLAME someone? You know the symptoms as well as the multitude of causes behind the obvious loss of focus evident in our echo areas. Sadly enough it does not seem there's much likelyhood of things becoming any better in the near future unless something positive is undertaken to achieve such a goal. There are a wealth of moderations and coordinations and watchdog efforts being made and I feel it time to at least state my own simple case regarding the effectivity of this approach. The eventual outcome that can be expected from a moderators efforts to control the behavior of so many individuals in the situation as it stands today, is burn out, or worse, the same irresponsible insensitive behavior that they are in the position of policing. This is in no way to be interpreted as an attack on any of these individuals, it is just an observation and an opinion as is the remainder of this note. What is needed is a movement lead by those who are already practicing a common sense method of control and have all along. We must effect a shift towards a more reasonable approach to the problem. I am quite certain that there are a great many users and sysops alike who are already practicing this very method of control and I take heart in the unsung and unrewarded efforts of these individuals for they are the reason that FidoNet does not collapse in a fit of childishness. The method of which I babble, is the only one that ever actually works! It is called " SELF " control. It is patently obvious to any casual observer that we in Fidonet hold our individuality and freedom to do our own thing in high regard. It is not however, a reciprocal arrangement by any stretch of the imagination. What do I mean by this? Glad you asked! I only mean that while we are so quick to jump up and down at every hint of an attempt to curb the childish inappropriate and just plain ignorant misuse of echomail through moderation and such, we are slow to do anything in the way of suggesting alternative actions! The part that I am truly amazed at is the majority of those who abuse echomail are the system operators themselves and not the users! So we have people who try to do something about it and they are met with screams and howls from every corner of the globe. I know that I am merely mirroring the disgust felt by the majority of those in the Network who wake up daily and sit bleary eyed at the monitor with mouth agape at the wonderously idiotic verbeage that spews forth from nearly every echo and I'm hoping we can try to educate the responsible parties. The abuses are far too common and all too often perpetrated by FidoNews 5-46 Page 24 14 Nov 1988 the very people who are most aware of the infractions. The vast majority are directly attributable to hasty responses. This is a demonstration of a lack of self control. I fear it is also indicative of the state of affairs in society as a whole. It is not necessary to irritate others in order to be an individual, and adhering to 'mandates of consideration' is not a loss of freedom. In point of fact it is one of the only ways to preserve it. Use it or lose it also relates to CONTROL! So from those of us who practice self control at least most of the time ( we all have our moments ) here are a few helpful ways to detect an attack of inappropri-echo-itis or in-flame-o-gramia idiosys... You should log off and get some fresh air if at any time you find yourself typing these words in a message: " This type of message does not belong in this area " Or words to that affect, yes there are a myriad of variations... Please note, this includes all moderators and coordinators etc. Your control, as necessary as it has become, should be visible within your given area only to the extent that there are regular postings of policy or normal related Q&A. There is no excuse whatsoever for anyone to use an echo to respond to an improperly posted message no matter what the intent. Anyone who does so is as guilty of the infraction as the person to whom they are responding. I know I am not alone in being absolutely sick of reading the unending debates over the applicability of a thread to a message base but let's be calm and think about it a little before reacting. Then react in a manner such that your need to communicate does not cost anyone else! Granted there are many times the message content could not be any less related but the place to deal with it is the MATRIX. There is also something to be said for tolerance since after all, we can't create and support an echo for each and every facet of the human mind. o Therapeutic excercise I too, have felt the urge to reach out and flame someone! On such occasions I find the following method of response to be quite therapeutic and I only wish I could recall the name of the sysop from whom I got the idea. I call it the ZEN FLAME. The process is simple to implement and takes only fractionally more time than its present day counterpart. You go right ahead and blast away, do it, jump up and down and scream! After you are finished and save your message, read it... Out loud if you so desire, now comes the ingenious part of the procedure, you DELETE it before you log off! Very simple, very easy. You get the benefit of releasing the pent up frustration and telling the no good so and so what you think and then seeing it in print without burdening all other sysops and users with even more irritation than their lives already afford them! FidoNews 5-46 Page 25 14 Nov 1988 All this babbling boils down to a simple plea from myself and the others who may share my point of view. Stop and think of the BIG PICTURE each time you begin to post mail in any echomail area and above all, excercise self control so that others will not feel the need to impose it upon you! It has been said that " Freedom is the right to do your best. " The only true protection of your rights and freedoms lies in your willingness to govern yourself now before it's too late. Common sense dictates a network is not a place for selfish behavior. To become involved in it one must become aware of the rights of others who are affected. ----------------------------------------------------------------- FidoNews 5-46 Page 26 14 Nov 1988 Brandy Witherspoon Fido 1:100/525 The Alamo and the Mexican War "Remember the Alamo", is still a famous saying in Texas which dates back to the middle 1800's during the time of the Mexican War. The war was between Texas and Mexico. Texas, fighting for it's Independance. Mexico, fighting to keep and rule Texas as part of it's country. Once, Texas was part of Mexico, and during the time when the South was depressed and people had depts to pay, they would move to Texas in order to form a new life. At the time, Mexico was offering 640 acres of untaxed land to any family who would turn thier back on America, pledge alliegence to Mexico and change thier religion to Roman Catholic. But, soon Mexico began to get worried because too many Americans were moving to Texas. Within ten years after Stephen F. Austin established his colony, thirty thousand settlers had moved. In 1830 the Mexican government passed strict laws saying, immigrants were no longer allowed to come to Texas. Mexico patrolled the border very carefully but, were unable to patroll the long border between Louisiana and Texas. Stephen Austin, for whom Texas's capitol is named after arrived in July 1833 to discuss with Mexico the fact that Texas wanted to secede and form thier own country with thier own government. Austin sent a letter to the Texans, advising them to form themselves as a separate state if his appeal failed. However, he was found out, and arrested in Saltillo on a charge of treason on January 3, 1834. Austin was jailed for 18 months before his release. But, by this time almost all power over the Mexican Government had been siezed by President Antonia Lo'pez de Santa Anna, who was elected in late 1833. In the fall of 1835, Santa Anna sent his brother-in-law, General Martin Cos in charge of a band of mexican troops into Texas to patrol the border. On September 21st, Austin announced that Cos had landed at Copano and Texas prepared. The Mexican Government was positive that the Texans were on the verge of rebellion from it's country. Cos's orders were to sieze the cannon kept there. The Texans refused to give up the cannon which they had put a flag on reading, "come and take it". Suddenly, hundreds of Texans came from the countryside and startled the mexican army into retreating to San Antonio. On March 2, 1836, 59 Texas leaders gathered in the tiny village of Washington, Texas. Together, they wrote the Texas Declaration of Independance and the Texas Constitution. The republic of Texas now existed, but the war to keep it was FidoNews 5-46 Page 27 14 Nov 1988 yet to come. On February 23, 1836 Santa Anna's army of 6,000 tried to take on 200 Texans at the Alamo in San Antonio. Over a period of ten days the brave Texans killed over 1,500 mexicans. The Texans drove them back twice, before the mexicans finally killed all the defenders of the Alamo on the third try. By then, the Texans had put together an army. Led by Sam Houston they attacked Santa Anna's army during the night, during there time of slumber, on April 21, 1836, in San Jacinto. The left flank of the Texan line was comanded by a thirty year old Kentucky businessman who came to Texas with fifty-two volunteers he had found by himself. Colonel Sidney Sherman was more direct than Houston and rather irritated and impatient with his commander's Zen-like strategy. When they were a few hundred yards from the mexican lines he loudly shouted, "Remember the Alamo!!". Which set imeasurable fury in the minds of the Texans. Remembering the Alamo, the Texans were filled with slaughter. Attacking the enemy with bowie knives, tomahawks, rifle butts, and what little amunition they had left they brutally killed those who begged for mercy. Santa Anna then signed a treaty declaring Texas's independance from Mexico. And as the carnage of that day receded into history and Texas became a tamer place, The phrase "Remember the Alamo", began to stand more for rememberance than vengence. Seguaro Bulletin Board Home of KidsNews! Fido 1:100/525 (618) 656-5447 From the desk of the KidsNews Editor: Veterans Day is a special time. As Americans gather at cemeteries and memorials throughout this great land, we are reminded that fundamentally we are a family. We pause this day to reflect on the love and commitment of nearly 40 million living veterans who have served that family. We acknowledge that none have given fuller expression to that love than those who have died or been disabled in defense of our nation. We demonstrate today through our ceremonies and in our private thoughts and prayers America's lasting gratitude and admiration for those who have allowed us to prosper in peace and freedom. We reflect that such blessings are not universally enjoyed; that tyranny, aggression, and cruel terrorism challenge what so many Americans have fought and died to protect. We honor our veterans in a manner that befits the American family. Our nation might have chosen the anniversary of a FidoNews 5-46 Page 28 14 Nov 1988 great battle. Instead, we chose the anniversary od a great silence; the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month when the guns of World War I at last were still. We celebrate not war, but the end of war. We are a people of peace. As we look with hope toward the day when the guns are forever silent, let us once again express appreciation to those whose splended heritage lives on in a new generation of servicemen and women who have taken their places on the battlements of American freedom. ----------------------------------------------------------------- FidoNews 5-46 Page 29 14 Nov 1988 ================================================================= COLUMNS ================================================================= Steve Bonine 115/777 An Introduction of Bob Swift (140/24) Most of you probably know Bob Swift from his postings of IFNA news in the IFNA national echo. Bob is an IFNA Director at large who has been saddled with the job of keeping the membership informed of what is happening, as well as trying to keep the Board in line in the Board of Directors' echos. He generates the formal motions (based on netmail from members of the Board), collects the votes, posts the results, and generally brings organization to the whole process. Bob's "real job" is as a registered Professional Mechanical Engineer in a coal-fired electrical generating station. He's my first international personality in this column, living in the small Saskatchewan city of Estevan. I got out my atlas, and it's just north of the North Dakota line. Bob's relative isolation was one of the contributing factors to getting him going as a BBS sysop. There were no systems operating in his city of 10,000 people, so he had to cut his teeth on the BBS scene as a user by calling long distance. To save others from having to go through this expensive experience, "Bob's Border BBS" was born. (No, I had never heard of the original name of Bob's system when I named this column.) That system lasted for about three years, through two Commodore 64's and three power supplies. When Bob found that he had to compete with his users to use the computer, he bought an XT clone with a 10-meg hard disk and a 1200-baud modem. How could anyone ever need more than that? Bob joined FidoNet in the Fido 11w days, at about the same time that echomail was coming on the scene. "Bob's Border BBS" became "The Power Station", and has grown to 60 megs of disk and 9600 baud, with more expansion planned. Bob became the coordinator of net 140, and was one of the first elected members of IFNA's Board. When he's not watching sysops butt heads, Bob enjoys watching football, especially the Canadian game. He's a long-time ticket holder for the Saskatchewan Roughriders. He also enjoys reading, music, and photography. I hope you've enjoyed this short glimpse of Bob Swift. Next week, Bill Albritton is "on tap". If there is anyone you want to get to know, let me know. If you're a "FidoNet personality", send me some dirt on yourself! FidoNews 5-46 Page 30 14 Nov 1988 ----------------------------------------------------------------- FidoNews 5-46 Page 31 14 Nov 1988 YACK Yet Another Complicated Komment by Steven K. Hoskin ( STEVE HOSKIN at 1:128/31 ) Episode 16: Network Mail FidoNet Network Mail is such a neat thing. The ability to cheaply use this electronic mail media to hold private conversations, or send letters that are readable and get there right away is just fascinating. Oh, sure, it doesn't hold a candle to the glamour of EchoMail. In EchoMail you get to start, or more likely join, in electronic mail conversations with people you don't know. Eventually, if you stick with it, you get to sorta' know some of the regulars out there, start to feel at home in the conference, and maybe eventually meet them on vacation or at FidoCon. But once you know somebody, that NetMail is SO neat for direct communications. Cheap as SnailMail, fast as FedExpress. But getting people to recognize this is like pulling teeth. I am the editor of a NewsLetter that keeps people I worked with in the Air Force on a special project in touch with each other. I offered multiple avenues; I'll make the current NewsLetters available for viewing online, downloading (normal or archived), NetMail attachments, messages, local messages...whatever. And I'd continue to mail it to those not taking advantage of the barrage of electronic alternatives. I explained for several issues how to use FidoNet to their advantage. Step by step. Volunteered to send the part of the NodeList that applied to their area so they could pick a node. Volunteered to log onto their chosen board and find specific keystrokes to get at the proper areas. To contact the SysOp and set up the NetMail account. In short, do everything but send the money, that massive $5 most SysOps will start an account with. These are computer folk, too, by the way. Not computer illiterate. One called my board and we CHATted about it for 45 minutes about it before he said, "Now that we've talked about it I can't wait. Get me that list!". Geesh! What do I have to do, network their voice lines into their local Net Hosts' boards? ----------------------------------------------------------------- FidoNews 5-46 Page 32 14 Nov 1988 ================================================================= NOTICES ================================================================= The Interrupt Stack 23 Nov 1988 25th Anniversary of "Dr. Who" - and still going strong 24 Aug 1989 Voyager 2 passes Neptune. 5 Oct 1989 20th Anniversary of "Monty Python's Flying Circus" If you have something which you would like to see on this calendar, please send a message to FidoNet node 1:1/1. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Election Notice for Zone 1 Echomail Coordinator David Dodell, 1:1/0 As most of you know, Butch Walker has resigned as Zone 1 Echomail Coordinator. It is Butch's desire to have an election for the new Z1EC, and I will be assisting by conducting those elections. The plan is as follows: (1) Applications for the position need to reach my system by Monday, November 14th. Any applications for the position should include a statement from the candidate. This statement can contain anything the candidate wishes, but I recommend that the candidate express why he/she would be good for the position, why he/she should be voted to the position, and/or his/her policy on echomail. This statement should be no longer then 80 x 24 (i.e. one screen). (2) On the 14th of November, I will mail to the REC a copy of all of the candidate statements. These should be disseminated to the NEC's in your region. (3) Voting will be done by the REC/NEC structure only. It will be the responsibility of all NEC to get their votes into the REC by November 30th. The REC's will then get the sub-totals for their Regions into me by December 4th. Announcment and notification of the new Z1EC will be done on December 5th. FidoNews 5-46 Page 33 14 Nov 1988 ----------------------------------------------------------------- Don Daniels 1:107/200 & 210 Notice Regarding Gene Coppola of 107/131 To: All of you who have responded to Gene Coppola at 107/200 regarding ram chips or his FidoNews survey Please be advised that Gene's system, which is 1:107/131, is apparently down. My understanding is that it is in the process of being removed from the Nodelist due to Policy violations. Therefore, you should expect no replies to your messages as they are undeliverable and are being deleted here. Sorry. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Latest Software Versions BBS Systems Node List Other & Mailers Version Utilities Version Utilities Version Dutchie 2.90b EditNL 4.00 ARC 5.32* Fido 12i MakeNL 2.12 ARCmail 1.1 Opus 1.03b Prune 1.40 ConfMail 4.00 SEAdog 4.10 XlatList 2.86 EchoMail 1.31 TBBS 2.0M XlaxNode 2.22 MGM 1.1 BinkleyTerm 2.00 XlaxDiff 2.22 TPB Editor 1.21* QuickBBS 2.03 ParseList 1.20 TCOMMail 1.1* TPBoard 4.2* TMail 8810 TComm/TCommNet 3.2* UFGATE 1.0 Lynx 1.10* D'Bridge 1.10 FrontDoor 2.0 * Recently changed Utility authors: Please help keep this list up to date by reporting new versions to 1:1/1. It is not our intent to list all utilities here, only those which verge on necessity. ----------------------------------------------------------------- FidoNews 5-46 Page 34 14 Nov 1988 ================================================================= COMMITTEE REPORTS ================================================================= IFNA Treasurer's Report October, 1988 Steve Bonine 115/777 This will be a short report. As the saying goes, I have some good news and some bad news. The good news is that the new IFNA checking account in Chicago is now open and usable. The bad news is that the funds are not yet transferred into it from the Hawaii account. Thus, I am not in a position to provide real numbers, and that isn't a great problem because (by definition) they haven't changed from last month. As soon as I recieve the records and the funds from the previous treasurer, I will provide a status report here in FidoNews. Steve Bonine IFNA Treasurer ----------------------------------------------------------------- FidoNews 5-46 Page 35 14 Nov 1988 OFFICERS OF THE INTERNATIONAL FIDONET ASSOCIATION Hal DuPrie 1:101/106 Chairman of the Board Bob Rudolph 1:261/628 President Matt Whelan 3:3/1 Vice President Ray Gwinn 1:109/639 Vice President - Technical Coordinator David Garrett 1:103/501 Secretary Steve Bonine 1:115/777 Treasurer IFNA BOARD OF DIRECTORS DIVISION AT-LARGE 10 Courtney Harris 1:102/732? Don Daniels 1:107/210 11 Bill Allbritten 1:11/301 Hal DuPrie 1:101/106 12 Bill Bolton 3:54/61 Mark Grennan 1:147/1 13 Rick Siegel 1:107/27 Steve Bonine 1:115/777 14 Ken Kaplan 1:100/22 Ted Polczyinski 1:154/5 15 Larry Kayser 1:104/739? Matt Whelan 3:3/1 16 Vince Perriello 1:141/491 Robert Rudolph 1:261/628 17 Rob Barker 1:138/34 Steve Jordan 1:102/2871 18 Christopher Baker 1:135/14 Bob Swift 1:140/24 19 David Drexler 1:19/1 Larry Wall 1:15/18 2 Henk Wevers 2:500/1 David Melnik 1:107/233 ----------------------------------------------------------------- FidoNews 5-46 Page 36 14 Nov 1988 __ The World's First / \ BBS Network /|oo \ * FidoNet * (_| /_) _`@/_ \ _ | | \ \\ | (*) | \ )) ______ |__U__| / \// / Fido \ _//|| _\ / (________) (_/(_|(____/ (tm) Membership for the International FidoNet Association Membership in IFNA is open to any individual or organization that pays a specified annual membership fee. IFNA serves the international FidoNet-compatible electronic mail community to increase worldwide communications. Member Name _______________________________ Date _______________ Address _________________________________________________________ City ____________________________________________________________ State ________________________________ Zip _____________________ Country _________________________________________________________ Home Phone (Voice) ______________________________________________ Work Phone (Voice) ______________________________________________ Zone:Net/Node Number ____________________________________________ BBS Name ________________________________________________________ BBS Phone Number ________________________________________________ Baud Rates Supported ____________________________________________ Board Restrictions ______________________________________________ Your Special Interests __________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ In what areas would you be willing to help in FidoNet? __________ _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ Send this membership form and a check or money order for $25 in US Funds to: International FidoNet Association PO Box 41143 St Louis, Missouri 63141 USA Thank you for your membership! Your participation will help to insure the future of FidoNet. Please NOTE that IFNA is a general not-for-profit organization and Articles of Association and By-Laws were adopted by the membership in January 1987. The second elected Board of Directors was filled in August 1988. The IFNA Echomail Conference has been established on FidoNet to assist the Board. We welcome your input to this Conference. ----------------------------------------------------------------- FidoNews 5-46 Page 37 14 Nov 1988 INTERNATIONAL FIDONET ASSOCIATION ORDER FORM Publications The IFNA publications can be obtained by downloading from Fido 1:1/10 or other FidoNet compatible systems, or by purchasing them directly from IFNA. We ask that all our IFNA Committee Chairmen provide us with the latest versions of each publication, but we can make no written guarantees. Hardcopy prices as of October 1, 1986 IFNA Fido BBS listing $15.00 _____ IFNA Administrative Policy DOCs $10.00 _____ IFNA FidoNet Standards Committee DOCs $10.00 _____ SUBTOTAL _____ IFNA Member ONLY Special Offers System Enhancement Associates SEAdog $60.00 _____ SEAdog price as of March 1, 1987 ONLY 1 copy SEAdog per IFNA Member Fido Software's Fido/FidoNet $100.00 _____ Fido/FidoNet price as of November 1, 1987 ONLY 1 copy Fido/FidoNet per IFNA Member International orders include $10.00 for surface shipping or $20.00 for air shipping _____ SUBTOTAL _____ MO. Residents add 5.725% Sales Tax _____ TOTAL _____ SEND CHECK OR MONEY ORDER IN US FUNDS: International FidoNet Association PO Box 41143 St Louis, Mo. 63141 USA Name________________________________ Zone:Net/Node____:____/____ Company_____________________________ Address_____________________________ City____________________ State____________ Zip_____ Voice Phone_________________________ Signature___________________________ -----------------------------------------------------------------