F I D O N E W S -- | Vol. 8 No. 29 (22 July 1991) The newsletter of the | FidoNet BBS community | Published by: _ | / \ | "FidoNews" BBS /|oo \ | (415)-863-2739 (_| /_) | FidoNet 1:1/1 _`@/_ \ _ | Internet: | | \ \\ | fidonews@fidonews.fidonet.org | (*) | \ )) | |__U__| / \// | Editors: _//|| _\ / | Tom Jennings (_/(_|(____/ | Tim Pozar (jm) | ----------------------------+--------------------------------------- Published weekly by and for the Members of the FidoNet international amateur network. Copyright 1991, Fido Software. All rights reserved. Duplication and/or distribution permitted for noncommercial purposes only. For use in other circumstances, please contact FidoNews. Paper price: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $5.00US Electronic Price: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . free! For more information about FidoNews refer to the end of this file. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Table of Contents 1. EDITORIAL ..................................................... 1 The Editor is back, hide your silverware ...................... 1 2. FIDONET NEWS .................................................. 4 (No FidoNetNews this week) .................................... 4 3. ARTICLES ...................................................... 5 Nodelist Problems and Suggestions ............................. 5 Will 80x86-based computers soon be obsolete? .................. 6 NET 231 "NC" ELECTION HELD .................................... 14 RSA's MailSafe ................................................ 15 4. RANTS AND FLAMES .............................................. 16 Journey to The Banana Republic ................................ 16 Putting a Sock in it .......................................... 20 Televangelist, Bread and Circuses ............................. 22 5. CLASSIFIEDS ................................................... 26 6. NOTICES ....................................................... 27 The Interrupt Stack ........................................... 27 7. LATEST VERSIONS ............................................... 30 Latest Software Versions ...................................... 30 FidoNews 8-29 Page 1 22 Jul 1991 ====================================================================== EDITORIAL ====================================================================== The Editor is back, hide your silverware by Tom Jennings OK, I'm back. I know I said 1 August, but that was simply my upper bound. I got back a few days ago (whatever that means in an electronic newsletter) and I'm typing this mere hours before it has to go out, so it's a bit rushed this week. Apologies. * * * * * I had a great time on my road trip! Mainly I drove around in New Mexico and Utah. Car ran fine, one breakdown: the LPG tank filler check valve, which had been giving me trouble since last October, finally stuck, luckily, 15 miles from an LPG vehicle specialist (and friendly nut), Randall's Repair in Farmington NM. He replaced the errant part in under an hour, and solved my long-term problem at the same time. I guess I'm assuming you know I have this weird propane powered Rambler I built as an alternative-energy construction project last year, and wrote a small booklet, "Do-It-Yourself Automotive LPG Conversion" ($5 from World Power Systems, Box 77731, San Francisco CA 94107). I gathered lots of great info on this trip, which I'll eventually revise the book with. More on this later. Back to FidoNews. * * * * * FIDONEWS STUFF: I received an article named LOGICWAR.ART. It has no author or node address. While that's not required for inclusion in FidoNews, it is when I need to contact the author regarding changes. Which this needs. Whoever you are: please shorten it, or serialize it. 17K is too long! Also, please take out all the WordStar-style fake "justification" spaces -- it fills up the disk and is hard to read! I will not have the utility-versions section up-to-date in this issue. I found a volunteer mere hours before I left in June, and he wasn't fully informed before I left. David French (1:103/950) will be doing update duties, though you can continue to send update requests to 1:1/1 until we work out something. If you do not see your changes, chances are I lost your update request. Please send it again. And truly, thank you to all the volunteers. There were dozens! Some "old- timers", some relatively new sysops. I picked someone relatively new, the more people involved the better! FidoNews 8-29 Page 2 22 Jul 1991 I will indeed honor requests for printed copies of FidoNews. Please read the back-matter in this issue. Prepaid only, I will not bill you! * * * * * POLICY STUFF: (Not critical hard info) When I took over editorship of FidoNews six weeks or so ago, I started some changes which were interrupted by my road trip. By no means have I forgotten them. To reiterate, my intent is to have the "official" written policy be wide-open, but the socially-endorsed one be: let's stick to communications-related subjects. There is a lesson with the subtlety of a brick in this tempest-in-a-teapot regarding "inappropriate" articles in FidoNews, which I will spell out because so seem to be missing it. ---> That the "responses" and last-word-in's are far, far larger, and ultimately more embarrassing to their authors, than the original so-called problem(s). In other words, let 'em lie. In case no one noticed 8/28, or this one, doesn't have one! And 22,203+ bytes in this issue alone are last-word-in's/rants/flames! Why the written vs. social policy above? I have been accused of having "agendas" for FidoNews. Oh horrors! Damn right, and it is this: that everyone -- everyone -- have access to this communications tool we are building. When the narrow-minded see things they dislike or don't or won't understand, they want it removed, to maintain some sort of TV-like even blandness. In fact, they would remove everything not to their personal liking. This is a communications medium, and you may see things you may not like. Believe me, so do I. But the world isn't a TV-set, and the suburban/professional/drive to work/mall/TV/new car, life/reality filter is as artificial and as valid as any other world view, and no more or less. (Before you consider that an insult, you should know I consider those things to be in my reality filter, too.) Too many things are excluded routinely, without thought. I would rather initially make the *opposite* mistake, for it is more easily fixed, and less harmful. Also keep in mind that things are changing greatly here, and yelling only makes things worse. Write or get others to write the kind of things you *want* to see in FidoNews, rather than complaining. It's more interesting and unusual, and people will love you for it. (Me included.) Don't forget this is an expirimental amateur network -- not a commercial venture! * * * * * So long for now -- I have to go format this disk-filler we call a newsletter. FidoNews 8-29 Page 3 22 Jul 1991 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- FidoNews 8-29 Page 4 22 Jul 1991 ====================================================================== FIDONET NEWS ====================================================================== ################################################################ FidoNetNews -- a weekly section devoted to technical and factual issues within the FidoNet -- FidoNet Technical Standards Committee reports, *C reports, information on FidoNet standards documents and the like. ################################################################ ---------------------------------------------------------------------- There were no FidoNetNews submissions this week. Tune again in next week! ---------------------------------------------------------------------- FidoNews 8-29 Page 5 22 Jul 1991 ====================================================================== ARTICLES ====================================================================== NODELIST PROBLEMS AND SUGGESTIONS by Richard Bash - 161/357; Castro Valley, California There have been many comments, both locally and within FidoNews, about the Fido nodelist. I would like to throw out a couple of ideas for the numerous Fido SysOps and "management" to consider. The current nodelist version I have is NODELIST.193 and it now takes up a mere 986,116 bytes of otherwise valuable disk space. "No problem," you sophisticated SysOps say. "Merely run it through the XYZ nodelist trimmer and you're in business!" Friend, that solution begs the question. The problem is that the nodelist is too darn big and when compressed with PKZIP will no longer even fit on a 360K disk. Countless hours (and dollars) are spent transmitting entire copies of the nodelist (crazy but true) and DIFF files around the world. For what possible reason? "So that the SysOp may have a complete nodelist," is the usual response I hear. It is time to reconsider that. I submit that the vast majority of entries in the nodelist are those of nodes within the United States. It makes sense at this juncture to create a separate United States nodelist. That would necessitate having Canada become a different zone (currently they are in Zone 1) but that is merely a minor annoyance. After all, Mexico butts up against the United States and they are not in Zone 1. Canada's nodes are growing in number and they should be separate in any event. Thus I suggest that two nodelists be created, designated however the powers that be see fit. One nodelist would contain nothing but the nodes within the 50 American states and the second nodelist would contain all other nodes. I am not xenophobic (fear of foreigners), by any means. The nodelist has now simply grown far larger than Tom Jennings and his colleagues ever expected to see it. The vast majority of U.S. nodes have no need for a nodelist containing all the nodes in Hong Kong or Sweden. Nor, to continue the example, do many of our Swedish or Hong Kong brothers and sisters have any reason to have a nodelist containing the ever growing number of California and Texas nodes. Immediately there will be hell to pay for sounding this idea. There are several Canadian nodes listed for Michigan hubs who won't like this proposal (life is unfair), there are surely old duffs (I qualify for that title as well) who will say that it's kind of nice to have the "family" together (the "family" has outgrown the house; surely these objectors do not have a Manhattan and Los Angeles phone book as well as their local one) and there will be those who say it is a lot of work (maintaining the current size of the nodelist is a lot of FidoNews 8-29 Page 6 22 Jul 1991 work). I hope that, in addition to seriously partying, those powers that be within Fido will spend some of their time at the Colorado FidoNet Convention discussing ways to separate this nodelist and arrive at an amenable solution. It has to happen sooner or later. The nodelist will continue to grow (hopefully). As any obstetrician knows, if circumcision must be performed, it is far better to perform it early than later. Thus it is time to get out the scalpel and start surgery on this nodelist. Your constructive ideas are welcome via netmail, letter or as follow- up articles in FidoNews. Thank you for your attention. Respectfully submitted, Richard Bash - 1:161/357 Combat Arms BBS SysOp 2869 Grove Way Castro Valley, CA 94546 Voice: (415) 538-6544 BBS: (415) 537-1777 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Dave Appel just a user on 1:231/30 WILL 80x86 MS-DOS-BASED COMPUTERS SOON BE OBSOLETE? Copyright (c), 1991 by Dave Appel. INTRO (Quick answer: "no.") An associate and I were having a conversation about upgrading our computers. We both have 80286 (AT clone) computers. I was saying that the 80386 computer chip is the basis for all future MS-DOS computers and will not be obsolete in the near future. I recommended to him that he buy an 80386/33 as his next computer after giving the 80486 time to push down 80386 prices. He previously had a Commodore 64 computer and he remarked how that computer has more-or-less fallen by the wayside. It was followed by the C-128, but it has not been updated since then. He wanted to know how long it would be before the 80386 computer will be made obsolete like his C-64 was. He was afraid to invest in an upgrade for fear that the 80386 and 80486 will go the way of his C-64, not just in terms of price/performance but made incompatible by a newer computer standard. FidoNews 8-29 Page 7 22 Jul 1991 There are several reasons I don't think that will happen in the near term: 1) The CPU hardware is at a plateau right now in terms of functionality. 2) There is no demand for increased CPU functionality because: a) We're waiting on the software to catch up. b) Functional needs are satisfied. c) We're waiting on the I/O bus and peripherals to catch up. 3) There is too much inertia in the software investment. In other words, it's a de-facto standard. 4) The existence of multiple sources for hardware/software indicate the current hardware standard will continue. 5) Proven growth/upgrade path is available now. 6) MS-DOS 80x86 world is "software rich." Don't get me wrong while I sing the praises of the 80x86. The 80x86 is not the be-all and end-all of computers. There are other good computer lines like the Macintosh. RISC workstations and mini-computers are more powerful than the 80x86 line, and are also needed in business. And, there will always be a need for mainframes. In the future I will discuss an alternative "desktop" type computer, the RISC workstation, that is starting to compete with the high end of the 80x86 line. PLATEAU The 80386 is what the 80286 should have been, and the 80486 has not added any new features or instructions beyond the 80386. The 80486 has a built-in floating point processor (math co- processor) and a built-in cache. These are not new features, but were merely external chips to the 80386. The 80486 moved them "on board" the same chip package as the CPU. In other words, the 80486 can't do anything that the 80386, plus a few other chips, can't do. The 80486 only does it faster. I think that this is an important fact. It indicates that the Intel 80x86 line is mature and stable, but not a dead end. It means that we are at the beginning of a plateau not at the end of one. The 80486 SX chip has just been announced as I write this. It is just an 80486 without the built-in math co-processor. This will cause the prices of 80386 systems and their price/performance ratios to fall. AMD's recent release of a 386 clone chip will also cause prices to fall. A stable computer architecture is important. IBM learned this decades ago with their mainframe System 370. The System 370 was their first computer series that was "backward compatible" with the previous generation, the 360. They were pretty much forced to be backward compatible because their customers were balking at having to convert everything to upgrade to each new generation of computer. FidoNews 8-29 Page 8 22 Jul 1991 Every generation of mainframes that IBM has produced since then can run System 370 programs. Their 303X series, 4300 series, 308X series, 309X series, and their new ES/9000 can all run operating systems that were run on the old 370 series. This doesn't hold true for their System 34/36/38 series, which could be why they aren't making any S34/36/38 compatible machines anymore. The new generations of mainframes have added extra capabilities that new software can take advantage of. But it's the "backward compatibility" that counts. This is analogous to the Intel 80x86 series of computer chips. An 8088 can run 8086 software. An 80286 can run 8086, and 8088 software. An 80386 can run 80286, 8086 and 8088 software. And an 80486 can run 80386, 80286, 8086 and 8088 software. The same holds true for Motorola's 68000, 68010, 68020, 68030 and 68040 CPU chips. But here is an important fact: At every step, major functionality was added EXCEPT for the 80486. The 80486 only added speed and efficiency. Therefore, the 80486 does NOT obsolete the 80386, it's merely faster, not different. BREATHING ROOM, PART 1 We're waiting on the system software. Here's an important observation: The hardware is now 2 generations ahead of the operating system software. OS/2 does not yet take advantage of the 32 bit instructions of the 80386. Windows 3.0 does, but Windows really isn't an operating system per se, it still relies on the underlying DOS. OS/2 version 2.0 is due later this year, 1991. (Yeah, sure.) OS/2 version 2.0 will be the first true 32-bit DOS-compatible operating system for the 80x86 series. Unix for the 80386 is available but is a minor player at this point. You can run several "Dos under Unix/386" packages, but it's still hobbling a 32-bit computer with 16-bit programs. I say that OS/2 2.0 will be "Dos-compatible" because it will allegedly allow multiple Dos programs to run simultaneously with 32-bit and 16-bit OS/2 programs. You won't be limited to only one Dos program in the "Dos compatibility box" as you are now with version 1.2 and 1.3. The current OS/2 versions are all designed to run on an 80286 computer. You can run it on an 80386 but it won't take advantage of the 80386's additional functionality. Remember, the AT came out in 1984, and OS/2, which was promised to "take advantage of the AT," didn't ship until the end of 1987, AFTER the 80386 was already shipping. The tardiness of the software gives Intel breathing room as far as pressure for more functionality. Intel has provided more functionality in the 80386 instruction set than the software makers have yet to fully utilize. Until the software makers catch up, don't look for more functionality in the CPU's instruction set. FidoNews 8-29 Page 9 22 Jul 1991 Therefore, there is little market pressure for a new computer standard in terms of software needs. If OS/2 version 2.0 and Windows 3.1 allow multiple character- based DOS sessions, we won't be forced to upgrade our applications to Windows or OS/2 versions. If you ADD a NEW application to your system, you can get it in the new OS/2 version or Windows version, but you still will be able to run your OLD MS-DOS character based apps at the same time. This capability of running old and new software is built into the 80386 chip. We are waiting for software to fully utilize this capability. BREATHING ROOM, PART 2 Our "functional" hardware needs are satisfied. Another reason that we are at a plateau and why the 80386 instruction set will stay with us for a while is that the 80386 chip offers near mainframe performance and features. The 486/33 has the raw CPU performance power that IBM's top of the line mainframe had back in 1981. This is CPU performance only. In terms of I/O (disks and terminals) the mainframe of 10 years ago would blow away today's best desktop. It only took desktop computers about 10 years to do what mainframes had done in over 20 (again in terms of CPU-only and not total system.) Let me again point out the difference between functionality and speed. I wrote earlier in this article that the 80486 provides no new functionality over the 80386, only speed. There will always be the need for more speed. The point I'm trying to make here is that the need for more functionality in the CPU chip itself is minimal right now. Therefore, there is no market pressure for a new computer standard in terms of functional needs. BREATHING ROOM, PART 3 We're waiting on the expansion bus and peripherals to catch up. Another reason why Intel has "breathing room" or lack of demand for more CPU functionality is that the CPU has advanced far beyond the rest of the desktop computer's components. In a 386/33 based system with cache, the system is I/O bound. You are constantly waiting for things like the screen to catch up with its drawing, or the disk drive to finish transferring data. We've got 33 Megahertz CPU's (40 Mhz are coming soon) but we are still limited to an 8 Mhz to 12 Mhz bus. CPU functionality and performance has outstripped the performance of the rest of the system. EISA and Microchannel buses offer faster bus (I/O) speeds, but they have been slow to catch on. Relatively few video and disk controllers are being made for EISA and Microchannel, and those that are being made don't take advantage of the new features that EISA and Microchannel offer over the older ISA (AT bus) features. FidoNews 8-29 Page 10 22 Jul 1991 The good news about the new buses, EISA and Microchannel, is that they won't obsolete your application software if you upgrade to one of them. This is because application programs don't care what expansion bus is used. INERTIA This is the biggest reason that MS-DOS (80x86) computers will not be going away very soon. Businesses have invested billions and billions of dollars in MS-DOS application programs. That is billions and billions of dollars in programs that require an 80x86 chip to run. I would guess that home users have invested a billion or so over the last 10 years, too. The only way a competing computer architecture can ever hope to replace even a fraction of the tens of millions of desktop computers in the US is to be "backward compatible" with the 80386, thereby protecting your software investment. The investment/inertia is in 5 areas: 1) Hardware, "iron." 2) Software in the form of standard application programs like word processing, database, spreadsheet. 3) More software in the form of customized programs that represent millions of man hours of development time. 4) Training in the use of the software. 5) Mental inertia. Remember how long it took, and how hard it was to convince so-and-so at the office to switch from DisplayWrite 3 to Word Perfect? Being able to take your expansion boards (modem, disk controller, video controller, etc.) from an 8 Mhz AT clone (80286) and having the ability to put them in a new 20 Mhz 80386SX, with an 8 Mhz bus, is a VERY good selling point, and an incentive to stay with MS-DOS computers. A current example of software inertia is the fact that Windows 3.0 is not running on every computer. People are still running character based applications both at home and at work. A recent show of hands at a user meeting showed that less than 10% of people who had bought Windows 3.0 were actually using it on a day-to-day basis. People just don't want to have to buy new versions of everything. No software maker I know of offers free upgrades to the Windows version of their product. And not all upgrade fees are small. Some don't even have an upgrade fee; you have to buy a whole new package. All this inertia provides "market resistance" to any new incompatible computer. MULTIPLE SOURCES Another major indication of the 80x86 series being a standard and a staying power are the number of its sources. At the chip level Intel, AMD, Harris, and NEC make 8088/8086 CPU chips. Intel, AMD and Harris make the 80286. Intel and AMD make 80386 chips. Now that AMD won the court battle to make an 80386 clone chip, other companies will probably follow. FidoNews 8-29 Page 11 22 Jul 1991 I'd be willing to bet that IBM has some sort of agreement with Intel to make 80x86 CPU chips if for some reason Intel were unable to supply all that IBM needed. IBM is not the kind of company to put all their eggs in one basket. They would not let such a portion of their revenue depend on the continuance of just one other corporation. On the systems level there are more manufacturers than I care to count. I counted 18 clone manufacturers off the top of my head once. Why is the number of sources important? How many companies made the C-64? How many companies made the TRS-80? How many companies make Apple II? How many companies made the Sinclair/Timex? How many companies make the Amiga? How many companies made the TI 99/4A? How many companies make the Atari? How many companies make the Macintosh? All those other computers are called "proprietary." If the maker goes out of business, or if the one company decides to stop making that computer, the computer becomes a dead end. In other words, with so many companies on the 80x86/MS-DOS bandwagon, it must be a pretty good bandwagon. And, lots of companies are working to KEEP it a good bandwagon. The competition is good for everyone. UPGRADE PATH Another trademark of a successful computer line is the existence of an upgrade path WITHIN the computer line, or within the current series. This means a wide range of businesses and home users give the manufacturers a bigger potential market. It also means you don't have to wait for a new generation to upgrade. You can get a faster more powerful model RIGHT NOW, assuming you haven't already reached the top of the line. Digital Equipment did the same with their PDP/11 and VAX series. Data General did it with their entire line of computers. You could go from the smallest model to the biggest without having to change software. IBM did this with all their mainframe series since the 360. The 80x86 series of MS-DOS computers offers this "right now" style of upgrade ability. In the 80286 line you can get 6, 8, 10, 12, 16 and 20 Mhz models. In the 80386SX line you can get 16, 20, and 25 Mhz models. In the 80386 line you can get 16, 20, 25 and 33 Mhz models. In the 80486 line you can get 25, 33, and soon 40 and 50 Mhz models. With any of the above listed speeds of CPU's you can also get your disk drives in a wide variety of speeds and capacities. You can get a wide range of main memory, too, from 640K to 16 megabytes and more. The theoretical main memory limit to the 80386 and 80486 is 4 gigabytes, or 4,096 megabytes. Networks also provide a way to expand your computer's power, share expensive printers, hard disks, modems, and communicate with others. If your 80486 computer isn't powerful enough to run several important tasks simultaneously, get another one, network the two together and split the tasks between the two machines. FidoNews 8-29 Page 12 22 Jul 1991 You can upgrade to a faster CPU, faster/bigger disks, add more main memory, and add a network "RIGHT NOW" without having to toss out your software investment. Therefore, why would Mr. Businessman upgrade to an incompatible computer which would wipe out his software investment, when he can upgrade to a similar computer and keep his software and training investments? The answers are: a) when he is "maxed out" and needs the power of a mini- computer or a mainframe. b) when the software he needs is only available on the other computer. c) he needs to link his computer users together, but a network isn't the solution to his needs. Think back to the micro-computers that have been obsoleted. Sure, you could expand them to certain degrees. But, how many speeds/models/hard-disks did the C-64, TI 99/4A, Sinclair/Timex, TRS-80-1/2/3/4, CoCo and Apple II line offer? Did your TRS-80, Commodore or Apple II sales-person offer you speed options? Did they ask you how fast or how big your disk drives needed to be? I can point to a few shining exceptions. Radio Shack did provide a small upgrade path for the TRS-80 for a while. Apple Computer upgraded the Apple II very slowly from the II, II+, IIe to the IIGS and IIc, but its hard disk capacity remained small. Neither line was extended upward to handle even medium sized business needs. Apple has done very well with its Macintosh line which provides a wide range of CPU power and disk capacities. Would Apple have retained its loyal followers if it had left them "maxed out" by not constantly upgrading and expanding its Macintosh line? Apple learned that expandability is important and finally put more than one expansion slot in when they designed their Mac II line. Previous models only had one expansion slot if any. SOFTWARE RICH Another reason why there is little incentive to switch to another standard is the plethora of software available for 80x86 computers. I wish to repeat that the 80x86 is not the be-all and end-all. There are some applications that are only available on the Mac, or a mini-computer, or a RISC workstation, or a specialized computer, or a mainframe. The smart user will first choose the software that is needed and then buy the computer that is needed to run it. I'd be willing to bet that there are more applications and more offerings of each application available for MS-DOS than for any other computer in existence. Your business needs must be very specialized or very large in order to require something beyond the offerings of the MS-DOS 80x86 world. RECAP FidoNews 8-29 Page 13 22 Jul 1991 These are the reasons your investment in an 80386 won't be wasted in the near future: a) We are at the beginning of a hardware plateau in terms of the CPU, not at the end of one. b) There is little market pressure for more CPU functionality. c) The huge business and personal investment in software almost guarantees no quick shifts to any new hardware standards. d) Scores of huge corporations, including many of the Fortune 500, have jumped on this bandwagon and have stakes in it. e) A large growth path gives businesses and home users plenty of room to expand. Only those businesses that reach the top of the line would need to switch to something else. f) Thousands of software companies are working to keep MS-DOS computers satisfying your needs at work and at home. Send any comments, positive or negative, to: Fidonet: Dave Appel at 1:231/30 I X.400 mail: Internet: dappel@ehsnet.fidonet.org I COUNTRY = US US Mail: POBox 24802,INDY,IN,46224 I ADMD = WESTERN UNION Relaynet: Dave Appel at ICC I ORG = DAVID APPEL GEnie: DAVE.APPEL I DDA.ELN=62877725 Western Union: ESL 6287-7725 I ---------------------------------------------------------------------- * Las Vegas Gambler by Nick Hard New EchoListing! Las Vegas Gambler. Something NEW has hit the FidoNetwork! Its the Las Vegas Gambler! News and reviews of Major, and many times, not so Major Hotels and Casinos. Get the 'inside' scoop from locals on where the really good deals are in Las Vegas. Where to go, and most importantly, where NOT to go! Just about every FidoNet board here in Las Vegas carries this echo, so you are sure to find someone that can answer your particular question. If your planning on coming out, or making that 1000th trip, we are on hand to let you know what is really going on! I have also found that with Las Vegas being a number 1 growth city for a few years now, that we needed a National Echo to just keep in touch with one another. You would be surprised how many people know one another that have moved to the area, looking for a lifestyle change, new employment, or just for the weather and the gambling town itself. FidoNews 8-29 Page 14 22 Jul 1991 Also included when there are tired times, are daily gambling tips, HOT games in sports, Las Vegas Lines, and BEST BETS! Gearing up for Football, get the inside Line Moves from the major hotels. Opening and Closing lines. LV_GAMBLER is a new echo. recently added to the #107 Echolisting. Tell your NEC or REC that you need that vacation to Las Vegas, and pick up LV_GAMBLER today! Hope to see you soon! ---------------------------------------------------------------------- by Richard Holler 1:231/290.0 NET 231 "Network Coordinator" Election Held In a rather surprising move, on May 29, 1991, the existing NC of Net 231 called for an election to appoint a new NC. The NC at the time, Brian Murrey, stated "Policy4 says I can just appoint someone, but that's no fun". Brian said that while he could have simply appointed himself again, he would rather be "elected" by the members of his network. So, away we went. I volunteered to "count votes" and wound up handling the entire election, from drafting the rules to receiving and counting the ballots. We only had a couple of "rocky" times, one of which involved a debate over eligibility based on the nodelist. One member claimed that even though her "husband's" name was the only one listed in the nodelist, that she was just as much a full sysop as he was......and she shouldn't be ineligible to vote just because her name wasn't listed. Well, after *MUCH* debate, our quick-thinking NC solved the problem.......he just modified the listing in the nodelist to show both names! Simple. After that, everything went pretty smooth. We wound up with 3 nominated candidates, and they all conducted themselves with nothing but respect for each other. It was a good, clean, flame-less campaign. After it all came down to a vote...........the winner is: ddddddddrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr BRIAN MURREY! The existing NC did in fact get "elected" to the position, just as he had hoped. I'm sure that it is much more gratifying to be elected by the members of your network, than to just appoint yourself to another term. FidoNews 8-29 Page 15 22 Jul 1991 Through this election process, we determined that an election for the position of NC should take place every 2 years. Previously, there was no real policy concerning this. As a matter of fact, the first official act of the new term will be for Brian to tackle the task of revising the current NET231 policy, which is outdated and obsolete. I wish to publicly thank all of the members of NET 231 for allowing this election to take place so smoothly. There was no name-calling, no flaming, and no mud-slinging! Thanks to all that participated! ---------------------------------------------------------------------- RSA's MailSafe From: wet!well!nagle (John Nagle) To: hoptoad!f111.n125.z1.FIDONET.ORG!tom.jennings Date: Fri, 21 Jun 91 00:50:57 pdt In comp.org.eff.talk you write: >is available for FidoNet Wazoo filerequest (or manual dialup download) >from my BBS, at 415-863-2739, 24 hrs 'cept ZMH (2a - 3a). filerequest >magicname PGP. Or download two files: Or you can get the real thing, RSA's MailSafe. It hasn't sold well, because standalone mail encryption programs are a pain, but RSA has offered it since 1986. I had lunch with Bidzos of RSA a few days ago, and he's even willing to offer a big discount, down to $50, to WELL subscribers. A similar deal might be made available for FidoNet users. Bidzos is at "jim@RSA.COM", and he seems OK. He does, though, want people to stop ripping off the RSA technology. They do have a patent (#4,405,829) on the idea, which is a real innovation. You might get a letter from RSA's lawyers, although if you don't make too much noise about having it around, they may not care too much. Bidzos's problem is that when he's negotiating with, say, Microsoft, to charge them lots of money to licence the technology, he doesn't want them saying "But we can just get it free from this BBS." That's why the legal threats. John Nagle ---------------------------------------------------------------------- FidoNews 8-29 Page 16 22 Jul 1991 ====================================================================== RANTS AND FLAMES ====================================================================== _(*#$_(*@#(* (*^$+)#(%&+| #$)%(&*#_$ @_#( @$ ^@#+)(#&%$*+)$%&*+$*%&#@(@#_|)*%|)#%&)#*%&+(@#&*_+(@#*^&@### *&#_($*&#$_(*#&$_(#*$&$ _(#$*#$+)#($&*+#)$ &#+$*&# ()*&#$_(&^#$_(#*$_#($^&#_$(^&#_$(&^#$_(&#^ damn right _(#^&$_(#^& $*&#$_+(* #)$&(%($%+)($%*+$)%($* it's ugly _#&%^# & #($_*#$_ FidoNet (*$&%_@#_(*&@#_(@*#&_ @#_(*&@#_(* )*&#$ Flames *^$+)#(% (not for the timid) @_#( (*#$_(*^@#+) and #_|)*% &+(@#&*_+(@#*^&@### (#$*&#_($*&#$_(*#&$_(#* Rants *&+#$*&#+$*&# )*&#$_(a regular feature)^&#_$(&^#$_ $^&#$_(#^ (*^#$_*#^&$)*#&$^%)#*$&^_#($*^&#_($ Section #&%^_ _(*#&$_(#* #($*& #$* _(*&@#_(@*# *&@#_(*& )&*+_)*&+)*&+))&*(*& (*&_(*&_(*& ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Journey to THE BANANA REPUBLIC A candid interview with Fight-O-Net Minister of Propaganda Fritz Banana By Robert J. Moscovich and Alain Boritznikoff with Ryan DeBush After many months of trying to track him down for an interview, we finally succeeded in pinning down the elusive Fritz Banana. We waded through a sea of echos, a jungle of bizarre zone numbers, and finally penetrated the Iron Oxide Curtain to arrive at the Imperial Palace of the Banana Republic. The Imperial Palace was quite a sight! A seemingly impenetrable fortress guarded by soldiers of the Imperial Empire. These cadets defend the borders of the Banana Republic and receive their orders directly from the Palace, although we still are not certain from whom. They are a carefully selected group, and they've undergone intense training to learn to speak only the party line, crush dissent, and keep the citizens of the Banana Republic in line. Their credo is "Freedom Actually Belongs In Another Net". This is more commonly known as the F.A.B.I.A.N. edict. As we approached the Palace, we were spotted by the guards. In seconds, they recognized us and the plastic smiles on their faces quickly evaporated. They loaded their grenade launchers with innuendo and accusation cartridges and trained them on us. We feared that it was all over for us. That we were going to be victims of a bombing run right then and there, for you see, two of us had succeeded in defecting from the Imperial Empire several months earlier. FidoNews 8-29 Page 17 22 Jul 1991 But we stood our ground in the face of the soldiers. Then one of the guards spoke in a voice not unlike that of a "Toy Violin": TV> What is your business here? RJM> We wanna tlak to Fritz Banana. TV> Banana eh? What do want from him? RJM> We just wanna aks him a few qestions. TV> Are you willing to accept Fritz Banana as the Lord thy God and communicate with him using the Holy Goofmail Method? RJM> Noep. TV> Why do you spell so bad? RJM> (There must be a policy compliant in that statment somwheres ...) At that point, we were ushered into the Great Hall of the Loyal. A large portrait of the founder of the Empire, Thompson Hendersmith, glared down at us. We were led down a dark hallway with several messages scrawled on the walls, (but there were no seen-by's), and it appeared that some of the writings had been erased. At the end of the hall was a large room with a single light bulb hanging from the ceiling. We could hear the faint cries of oppression wafting mysteriously through the air. We were seated in three wooden chairs in front of a massive desk that was on sort of an elevated floor, or pedestal as it were. A portrait of Emperor Gordinski the Terrible hung on the wall behind the desk, and off to the corner was what appeared to be a large American Flag on stand. Kinda looked like a courtroom. Closer inspection of the flag however, revealed that it had 107 stars on it. Weird. A door off to the side and behind the desk opened up and a large man with pounds of gold chains hanging around his neck (there were 107 of them) walked in. He had a full, bushy beard, and cold, mean look about him. He dressed in battle fatigues and an olive green cap. The disgusting remnants of a cigar were clenched tightly in his teeth. It was him. It HAD to be him. He slammed his large frame into the overly padded chair with a grunt. FB> WHAT. (We looked at each other) AB> We just want to interview you for Fight-O-Nooz. FB> FINE. WHAT. RD> Ummm. FB> DON'T WASTE MY TIME. YOU'RE LUCKY I'M EVENT TALKING TO RADICAL SCUM LIKE YOU. YOU ANTI-AMERICAN COMMUNIST PIGS DON'T EVEN DESERVE TO BE IN THE SAME ROOM WITH 'OL GLORY OVER THERE. AB> Well, ok your Obeseness, let's talk about GoofMail. FB> Ahh! My favorite subject. Besides me. FidoNews 8-29 Page 18 22 Jul 1991 AB> Good. Some people, mostly those outside the Banana Republic and those that wish they were, claim that GoofMail is nothing more than a means to provide the moderator of an echo absolute control and makes it very easy, even INVITINGLY so, for that person to censor messages. After looking at it, we tend to agree and we think that maybe it should be banned or at least not officially recognized. We'd like to hear YOUR side of the story. FB> If you REALLY knew what you were talking about, you'd be trying to cause problems, which can lead to policy complaints, which can lead to your being dropped from FIDOnet. RJM> Now, now Fritz, let's not get our kidneys in a sweat here. You're a reasonable man, no need to get all worked up. You can carry on a civil conversation with the best of 'em can't you? You ARE, after all a REALLY NICE GUY deep down! FB> Since you obviously DON'T know what the fuck you're talking about, may I suggest that you keep your mouth shut until you DO? AB> Quite a while back, you sent us a message telling us that you were going to try to have one of our people executed, er.. excommunicated. I went into an echo and told a few people about what you had said, and asked for their opinion. It was apparent to ALL that you're on a power trip, and even though you have no legit authority, you DO think you're some kind of powerful force to be reckoned with. Is that not so? FB> You've gotta have the biggest pair of brass balls going to quote my PRIVATE NETMAIL to YOU in a PUBLIC ECHOMAIL CONFERENCE. I made the fucking effort to move my comments to you to private netmail so as not to embarrass you in the conference since you're new to the network, and you've got the GALL to quote me publicly? RD> Whether our not our genitalia are molded from some metallic substance is immaterial. But how ELSE were we to let the masses know where your head's REALLY at? FB> PHUCK THE MASSES. The masses will know what they are told to know. nothing more. The Empire must remain rigid and consistent! What you have done is not only a major violation of network policy, it's a fucking federal offence against the Electronic Communications and Privacy Act of 1986, which, by the way, comes with a MANDATORY fine of $10,000 per count. RJM> (mumbles) Or excommunication at the very least. FB> WHAT WAS THAT MOSCOVICH?? RJM> Nothing Fritz. Put the flag back in the stand and calm down. FidoNews 8-29 Page 19 22 Jul 1991 AB> Fritz, the people must know that you are what you are. We have told as many people as we could about viciously abusive you are. We've shown them proof. We've even sent copies to Warren Peace! I'm sorry. It had to be done! FB> ACCUSING *ME* of being abusive???? I want a fucking PUBLIC apology from YOU, NOW, or I'll file the fastest policy complaint against you anyone's ever seen, and get your fucking ass thrown out of the network! AB> RJM A Policy Complaint! I KNEW we could work one in here SOMEWHERE! RD> They already LEFT the network Fritz. FB> LIKE HELL THEY DID! WE KICKED THEIR BENEDICT-ARNOLD ASSES OUT!!! THEN THEY WENT CRYING TO THAT WIMP WARREN PEACE FOR HIM TO GIVE THEM A PLACE TO STAY. WE *EXILED* THEM. EXPUNGED THE VIRUS. AND NOW THEY ARE TRYING TO INFECT US ONCE AGAIN. WE CAN'T ALLOW THIS TO HAPPEN IN AMERICA. MAYBE THIS SHIT IS OK IN COMMODORE-64 LAND, BUT NOT IN THIS NETWORK PAL! GOD BLESS OUR VETERANS AND IMPERIAL WARRIORS! MANY GOOD MEN IN THIS REPUBLIC MADE THE SUPREME SACRIFICE, LAID DOWN THEIR *LIVES* SO THAT THE MAIL COULD GET OUT! DEFENDING 'OL GLORY 'TILL THEIR LAST BREATH! FOUR SCORE AND SEVEN ... At this point, we deemed it a good idea to get the hell out of there. As we tried to leave the Palace, we noticed that all the doors were bolted shut. So we had to slip through one the holes in the Goofmail Processor. As we exited through the courtyard, we ran into a skinny man with glasses who was carrying a stack of paperwork and shaking like a leaf from fear. RJM> What's the matter with YOU? Skinny Guy> Nnnnnothing ... AB> What's those papers all about? Skinny Guy> T..t..these are the B..b.b.banana P..Papers. It's a transcript of everything you guys said to the Great One in there. RJM> Where r u gong with them (Pardon my spelling) ? Skinny Guy> I'm taking them to the Ministry of Propaganda for processing. FidoNews 8-29 Page 20 22 Jul 1991 AB> Processing? SG> Yeah. They strip off all the words, rewrite the whole thing, send a copy to all the coordinators in the land, post it in REGION13, then they use it as evidence to execute, I mean, excommunicate you. We left the poor soul and headed toward the Promised Land off on the horizon. It was a long journey. And as we walked, we muttered to ourselves, "We'll NEVER go back there again. Never." Geez, we musta repeated it 269 times. -0- ---------------------------------------------------------------------- "Stuffing Sock In Mouth," Or "Removing Tit For Tat" By David Rice, a user of 102/901 DDDDD uring the past two months, give or take a little, FidoNews DD DD suffered a barrage of articles that most readers, who DD DD expressed an opinion about them, found offensive and DD DD insulting. These articles had to do with one person's DD DD occultism, which few readers, if any, felt the need to DD DD read about. They were quickly followed by counteroffensive DDDDD material, of which one such article I wrote had the equivocal honor of creating the "Rants and Flames" column of our beloved FidoNews. It was refreshing to see that the author of these weekly diatribes found enough restraint to voluntarily put a sock it it, and refrain from posting more such pornography. Regrettably, someone felt the need to offer her or his opinion on "Satanism," and now we are off and running again. Even more regrettable is the fact that this original article, which was factually inaccurate, was followed by an opinion in the next weeks' installment which was even more erroneous. Most readers don't give a crap about what "Satan" does for a living. Several readers, however, =DO= care when someone hints in an internationally distributed newsletter that their religion "isn't a religion" (which it is) and that Christianity isn't a cult (all religions are cults; look the word up). All this propaganda, lies, opinions, free-for-all cult bashings may be amusing for some, "spleen-venting" for others, but hardly edifying for most. FidoNews 8-29 Page 21 22 Jul 1991 Some facts are in order, to head off at the pass the future articles in Fidonews that may be posted out of ignorance. SSSS atanism is a religion. Several denominations have tax-exempt SS SS status in the United States of North America. Uncle Sam says SSS it is a religion, and that's good enough for me to respect SSS it as such. It is illegal to discriminate or oppress someone SSS just because she or he is a Satanist. It is no ones' business SS SS what anothers' religion is. SSSS There may be as many as five thousand Satanists in America [See Lyon's "Satanism in America"]. There are more people worshiping Elvis and flying saucers than there are Satanists. All secular groups looking for vast hoards of Satanists fail to find when, while Christian occultists find one or two under every bed. There is some evidence that the estimate of 5,000 Satanists is too high, as all churches tend to exaggerate their membership. Satanists do not worship "Satan." They worship self-determinism, responsibility, knowledge, and accountability. In this they place themselves opposite most totalitarian, authoritarian, fascist religions (such as, but not exclusively, Christianity) which tend to teach members to defer to the judgement of others such as their leaders, instill a group identity which is almost always elitist and often racist, accents faith and unsupported belief over knowledge and information, and teaches the negation of sin and wrong doing through magic, thus avoiding responsibility. Satanists are witches, but Witches are not Satanists. The two words are NOT interchangeable. They are two distinct religions. Satanists use the word "witch" to rattle the brains of the straights, because the word has associations attributed to it they wish to convey. Witches use the word because they are Witches, and wish to hell (pardon the expression) that Satanists would find another word. In general, Satanists do not like Witches and find them contemptible and too "lilly-white." Satanists are law-abiding, peace-loving people. They do not commit crimes based on their religion--- there is no evidence that says they do. There is a great deal of bad information, almost exclusively generated by competitive ($$$) religions (most notably the "fundamentalist" Christian cults) which say they do, but the writers and speakers and producers of this information refuse to produce their evidence. One is more likely to be hit by lightening than be a victim of a Satanist, of ANY crime--- one is more likely to win the State lottery! Satanism is decreasing in America. There have been proposed laws that will make it illegal to be a "Satanist" here in America. (The proponents of laws like this should be aware that their cults will soon follow. May Jesse Helms and the tyrant George Walker Bush rot in hell.) FidoNews 8-29 Page 22 22 Jul 1991 Satanism had a slight increase in Germany a year or two ago. The novelty soon wore off. In The United Kingdom Satanism is flourishing in isolated spots. It resembles a club more than a religion, however. The religion is persecuted and oppressed in the UK, even worse than it is in the United States, because ignorant people (in this case, Christians imported from America) claim Satanism is dangerous (which it is not). FFFFFFF inally, if anyone wants good information, or to check my FF F facts here, I urge one to call the Federal Bureau of FF F Investigation's department in charge of religion-based FFFF crime. The following data will allow one to get the facts. FF F FF FFFF Kenneth V. Lanning Supervisory Special Agent Behavioral Science Instruction and Research Unit FBI Academy Quantico, Virginia 22135 Robert Hicks Criminal Justice Analyst/Law Enforcement Section Department of Criminal Justice Services 805 E. Broad Street Richmond, Virginia 23219 1-804-786-8421 Rowan Moonstone CultWatch Response, Inc. Post Office Box 1842 Colorado Springs, CO 80901-1842 California Office of Criminal Justice Planning 1130 K Street, Suite 300 Sacramento, California, 95814 1-714-324-9100 Write to the California Office of Criminal Justice Planning and request "Research Update, Special Edition, Winter 1989-1990, Volume 1, Number 6." This report covers the use of animals in religious practices, including "sacrifice." Better yet, phone and talk to Gayle Olson-Raymer, Joan Kawada Chan, Plauche F. Villere, Jr., or G. Albert Howenstein, Jr. (number is above). ---------------------------------------------------------------------- If you're one of those unfortunate people who can sit down on Sunday afternoon, or late at night, and tolerate almost any program that happens to come across your television screen, whether it be the telephone auction or a weight loss seminar, you may have already come to the conclusion that there isn't much difference between televangelism and professional wrestling. FidoNews 8-29 Page 23 22 Jul 1991 The similarity became obvious during the early days of the PTL scandal, when most intelligent people found themselves wondering, "is this real, or is it all just part of the act." The startling revelation of Jimmy Swaggart's disgraceful mortal sins has to be the most astonishing turn of events since Andre the Giant became a villain. Swaggart was once the ultimate fundamentalist, preaching out against the evils of our modern society. Jimmy was always so frighteningly believable that people who didn't believe in what he was preaching still took him seriously because he seemed so committed to his cause -- however fascistic it may have been. When Jimmy Swaggart turns out to be an adulterer, you've got to start wondering what's going on. What follows is a brief comparative list of a few of the many traits televangelism and pro wrestling share. Coincidence, or more? You be the judge. 1. Like pro wrestlers, evangelists are not nearly as scary as the people who believe in them. Sure, Tammy Faye is frightening, but we all know she's not real. The people who send Tammy money for mascara are the frightening ones. 2. Despite claims to the contrary, there appear to be no rules. Pro wrestling is the ultimate anything goes sport. The referee affects the final outcome of the match about as much as a pro football cheerleader might influence the final score of the Super Bowl. Evangelists heal people, stop hurricanes and claim God is holding them hostage for $8 million ransom. There's nothing to stop any of these people from testing the outer limits of acceptable conduct in their professions. 3. Both have their own special languages. From body slams and back sliders, to pile drivers and the rapture. They even share some common jargon, like the classic, but meaningless, phrase "believe you me." 4. Good guys are subject to become bad guys overnight, without prior warning. According to this theory we can expect to see the return of Jim and Tammy sometime in the near future. As all wrestling fans know, once you've changed from good to bad, the cycle isn't complete unless you come back into favor before the end of your career. 5. Both attract large T.V. audiences of non-believers who, despite their doubts, are still fascinated by the unbelievable spectacle of the whole thing. 6. Long a part of wrestling, costumes and outlandish FidoNews 8-29 Page 24 22 Jul 1991 outfits have become a recent fixture for many of the more flamboyant televangelists. In fact, there are even a few Tammy Faye clones around the country. It may not be long before we see evangelists in those ridiculous wrestling masks. 7. The participants are prone to becoming instant media celebrities no matter what horrible events they may have recently perpetrated. Breaking legs, embezzlement, adultery -- it doesn't really matter. Regardless of your past criminal record, success awaits you in these chosen fields. 8. Outlandish claims and lies. Treachery of the first degree and slanderous name calling. It's all there in abundance in both of these sports. The ultimate proof, however, is that Oral Roberts, Jim and Tammy, Jimmy Swaggart, and all the rest, wouldn't seem out of place if they suddenly showed up as managers in the World Wrestling Federation. Could we possible be witnessing the strange plot development of the next Wrestlemania? -30- ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Clean up the Snooze ------------------- I'm not finding this easy to write, because it is supporting a point of view that I'm usually not comfortable with advocating; censorship. Or at least, something like it. I just read Fidonews 827. I haven't read the snooze for about 6 weeks or so, but I decided to peruse 827 to see what was in there. And there I saw some religious and cult diatribe. This stuff simply does not belong in Fidonews. I mean, enough is enough. I'm aware of Fidonews' policy of printing anything it receives, and in some respects, that's commendable. But when it comes right down to it, we really shouldn't be 'printing' stuff that has nothing to do with this hobby, computers, communcations, Fidonet, email networks, etc. Ordinarily, it might not be a bad thing. But I think its time the editors woke up and realized that people have to PAY for this. The coordinator structure moves this newsletter around. They are REQUIRED to do so. It costs them MONEY. It think its rather preposterous to require a net coordinator to make a long distance phone call, pick up a text file espousing the virtues of praising Jesus, and sending downstream. FidoNews 8-29 Page 25 22 Jul 1991 WHY does Fidonews have to print this stuff? WHY can't it be a vehicle for information related to this realm? WHY do we need this 'other' stuff? We can all pick up a NEWSPAPER and read about 'other things', Fidonews is not the New York Times, and shouldn't try to be. The is NOTHING wrong with Fidonews being a publication dedicated to the hobby and its periphery. There's nothing wrong with that. The editorial policy needs to change. And if its not going to change, then coordinators should be let off the hook . If Fidonews is going to publish diatribes about how Jesus is going to save the world, or how Satanism is running rampant, then no coordinator in Fidonet should be required to get it and distribute it. It should be purely optional. Fidonews is anot an appropriate vehicle for the dissemination of religious information. It doesn't belong here. And if the editors won't stop it, we shouldn't have to pick it up. Period. Glen Johnson 1:269/101 /* I ran this article in spite of it not meeting the requirements of ARTSPEC.DOC. Please read the format requirements! -- tj */ ---------------------------------------------------------------------- FidoNews 8-29 Page 26 22 Jul 1991 ====================================================================== CLASSIFIEDS ====================================================================== ADVERTISEMENT POLICY: Submissions must be 20 lines or less each, maximum two ads per advertiser, 70 characters per line maximum. No control codes except CR and LF. (Refer to contact info at the end of this newsletter for details.) Please notify us if you have any trouble with an advertiser. FidoNews does not endorse any products or services advertised here. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- FidoNews 8-29 Page 27 22 Jul 1991 ====================================================================== NOTICES ====================================================================== Aronson Consulting Enterprises 218 N. Howard Street Voice: 703-370-6508 Suite 402 Data: 703-370-7054 Alexandria, VA 22304 (Fidonet 1:109/120) Robert Heinlein once wrote that "Specialization is for insects." We agree. Our main strength is custom software design and development, but we perform many other services as well, with a wide variety of platforms, packages, fields, languages, etc. Download or f'req' BROCHURE.ARC for more details. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- The Interrupt Stack 26 Jul 1991 WORLDCON '91 -- July 26-28 -- The First Global Fidonet Conference - London England. Details From 2:25/102 or 1:103/158 freq magic name WORLDCON. 15 Aug 1991 8 Sep 1991 7 Oct 1991 Area code 415 fragments. Alameda and Contra Costa Counties will begin using area code 510. This includes Oakland, Concord, Berkeley and Hayward. San Francisco, San Mateo, Marin, parts of Santa Clara County, and the San Francisco Bay Islands will retain area code 415. 1 Nov 1991 Area code 301 will split. Area code 410 will consist of the northeastern part of Maryland, as well as the eastern shore. This will include Baltimore and the surrounding area. Area 301 will include southern and western parts of the state, including the areas around Washington DC. Area 410 phones will answer to calls to area 301 until November, 1992. 1 Feb 1992 Area code 213 fragments. Western, coastal, southern and eastern portions of Los Angeles County will begin using area code 310. This includes Los Angeles International Airport, West Los Angeles, San Pedro and Whittier. Downtown Los Angeles and surrounding communities (such as Hollywood and Montebello) will retain area code 213. 1 Dec 1993 Tenth anniversary of Fido Version 1 release. FidoNews 8-29 Page 28 22 Jul 1991 5 Jun 1997 David Dodell's 40th Birthday If you have something which you would like to see on this calendar, please send a message to FidoNet node 1:1/1. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Tomas Hood, ZC, ICDM Net 1:352/777 77:1/0 Notice: Invitation to Carry ICDM Net Because of the great success in sharing the news of the ICDM Network's inception, I wish again to inform you that we're here! There has begun a new, auxiliary network, which has as a purpose the linking of persons interested in religion. This is a specialized Network, aimed at bridging cultures, and enlightening participants on the faiths of others. It is "Christian" in the sense that the creator of the Network hopes to propagate the original Christian message. But, it deviates from some of the stereotype, modern "Christian" traditions. One of the ways this is done is to allow anyone to express his/her views on the topics discussed. No one is flamed, cursed, attacked, for holding views contrary to others on the echoes in the Network. It is open to any board that is FidoNet compatible. It is compiled as a separate Zone (77), so your software must be Zone aware. It is open to any faith, any person, regardless of sex, creed, color, etc. etc. Since the network started, we have grown in a healthy rate. The echoes are beginning to pick up interest and people are becoming active in them. You and the board you are associated with would benefit from having such a forum for religious dialog. Some of the echoes contained: Six Questions--A conf on the basic questions of life, like: "If there is a loving God, why is there so much pain in the world?" Round Table--A conf for general religious dialog (includes discussions of World Peace, Ecology, etc...). Cults--A look at the faiths, cults, religions that exist in the world. Disciple--A "Christian" echo dealing with the Disciple of Christ, the walk of the Christian. The ZC is Tomas Hood, 1:352/777. There may be connections close to you, and as we grow, there will surely be! (We now have 15 nodes, from Arkansas/Ohio (Eastern) to California (Western). Three Regions now set up.). FidoNews 8-29 Page 29 22 Jul 1991 For more information, send netmail to 1:352/777, and request ICDM, which is an information packet. Thanks for your interest and we look forward to hearing from you. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Tomas Hood FidoNet 1:352/777 ICDM Network 77:77/1 NOTICE: HERBAL ECHO NOW AVAILABLE! HERBS-N-SUCH is a conference for anyone who enjoys growing, buying, and using herbs. Covering any legal herb, this conference allows the discussion of medicinal, culinary, aromatic, and aesthetic usage of herbs. If you are a user only, or a gardener, you are welcome. Do you make your own tea blends, hair rinses, or salads? Join in! It is, at present, a Regional Echo Hosted and Moderated by Tomas Hood [1:352/777]. It is on the Region 17 Backbone. 1/217, 352/777 and others are available for linking it in. We hope to go national backbone soon. Make a request to those in your region. A sample of the first few messages and the statement of purpose of the Echo is available as HERBS (majyk name for HERBS.ARJ) from this system, anytime, if you wish to get an idea of whether to commit disk space to the Echo. The ARJ archive utility is also available as "ARJ." I hope you will join us or ask your Sysop to request a link via Netmail to 1:352/777. Cheers! Tomas Hood ---------------------------------------------------------------------- FidoNews 8-29 Page 30 22 Jul 1991 ====================================================================== LATEST VERSIONS ====================================================================== Latest Software Versions MS-DOS Systems -------------- Bulletin Board Software Name Version Name Version Name Version DMG 2.93 Phoenix 1.3 TAG 2.5g Fido 12u+ QuickBBS 2.66 TBBS 2.1 GSBBS 3.02 RBBS 17.3B TComm/TCommNet 3.4 Lynx 1.30 RBBSmail 17.3B Telegard 2.5 Kitten 2.16 RemoteAccess 1.01* TPBoard 6.1 Maximus 1.02 SLBBS 1.77A Wildcat! 2.55 Opus 1.14+ Socrates 1.10 WWIV 4.12 PCBoard 14.5a SuperBBS 1.10 XBBS 1.17 Network Node List Other Mailers Version Utilities Version Utilities Version BinkleyTerm 2.40 EditNL 4.00 ARC 7.0 D'Bridge 1.30 MakeNL 2.31 ARCAsim 2.31 Dutchie 2.90C ParseList 1.30 ARCmail 2.07 FrontDoor 2.00 Prune 1.40 ConfMail 4.00 InterMail 2.01* SysNL 3.14 Crossnet v1.5 PRENM 1.47 XlatList 2.90 DOMAIN 1.42 SEAdog 4.60* XlaxDiff 2.40* EMM 2.02 TIMS 1.0(Mod8) XlaxNode 2.40* 4Dog/4DMatrix 1.18 Gmail 2.05 GROUP 2.16 GUS 1.40 HeadEdit 1.18 IMAIL 1.10 InterPCB 1.31 LHARC 1.13 MSG 4.1 MSGED 2.06 MSGTOSS 1.3 Oliver 1.0a PK[UN]ZIP 1.10 PolyXarc 2.1a* QM 1.0 QSORT 4.03 ScanToss 1.28 Sirius 1.0x SLMAIL 1.36 StarLink 1.01 FidoNews 8-29 Page 31 22 Jul 1991 TagMail 2.41 TCOMMail 2.2 Telemail 1.27 TMail 1.21 TPBNetEd 3.2 TosScan 1.00 UFGATE 1.03 XRS 4.50* XST 2.3e ZmailH 1.14 OS/2 Systems ------------ Bulletin Board Software Network Mailers Other Utilities Name Version Name Version Name Version Maximus-CBCS 1.02 BinkleyTerm 2.40 Parselst 1.32 ConfMail 4.00 EchoStat 6.0 oMMM 1.52 Omail 3.1 MsgEd 2.06 MsgLink 1.0C MsgNum 4.14 LH2 0.50 PK[UN]ZIP 1.02 ARC2 6.00 PolyXarc 2.1a* Qsort 2.1 Raid 1.0 Remapper 1.2 Tick 2.0 VPurge 2.07 Xenix/Unix 386 -------------- BBS Software Mailers Other Utilities Name Version Name Version Name Version BinkleyTerm 2.32B Unzip 3.10 ARC 5.21 ParseLst 1.32 Vpurge 4.08 [Contact: Jon Hogan-Duran 3:711/909, Ommm 1.42 Willy Paine 1:343/15, Eddy van Loo Msged 2.06 2:285/406] Zoo 2.01 FidoNews 8-29 Page 32 22 Jul 1991 C-Lharc 1.00 Omail 1.00 MSGREN MSGLNK 1.01 Apple II ---------- Bulletin Board Software Network Mailers Other Utilities Name Version Name Version Name Version GBBS Pro 2.1 Fruity Dog 2.0* ShrinkIt 3.23 DDBBS + 7.4* ShrinkIt GS 1.04 deARC2e 2.1 ProSel 8.69* Apple CP/M ---------- Bulletin Board Software Network Mailers Other Utilities Name Version Name Version Name Version Daisy v2j Daisy Mailer 0.38 Nodecomp 0.37 MsgUtil 2.5 PackUser v4 Filer v2-D UNARC.COM 1.20 Macintosh --------- Bulletin Board Software Network Mailers Other Utilities Name Version Name Version Name Version Red Ryder Host 2.1 Tabby 2.2 MacArc 0.04 Mansion 7.15 Copernicus 1.0 ArcMac 1.3 WWIV (Mac) 3.0 LHArc 0.41 Hermes 1.5 StuffIt Classic 1.6 FBBS 0.91 Compact Pro 1.30 Precision Systems 0.95b* TImport 1.92 TeleFinder Host 2.12T10 TExport 1.92 Timestamp 1.6 Tset 1.3 Import 3.2 Export 3.21 Point System Software Sundial 3.2 FidoNews 8-29 Page 33 22 Jul 1991 PreStamp 3.2 Name Version OriginatorII 2.0 AreaFix 1.6 Copernicus 1.0 Mantissa 3.21 CounterPoint 1.09 Zenith 1.5 Eventmeister 1.0 TSort 1.0 Mehitable 2.0 UNZIP 1.02c Zip Extract 0.10 Amiga ----- Bulletin Board Software Network Mailers Other Utilities Name Version Name Version Name Version Falcon CBBS 0.45 BinkleyTerm 1.00 AmigArc 0.23 Paragon 2.082+ TrapDoor 1.50 AReceipt 1.5 TransAmiga 1.07 WelMat 0.44 booz 1.01 ConfMail 1.12 ChameleonEdit 0.10 ElectricHerald1.66 Lharc 1.30 Login 0.18 MessageFilter 1.52 oMMM 1.49b ParseLst 1.64 PkAX 1.00 PolyxAmy 2.02 RMB 1.30 Roof 44.03 RoboWriter 1.02 Rsh 4.06 Skyparse 2.30 Tick 0.75 TrapList 1.12 UNZIP 1.31 Yuck! 1.61 Zippy (Unzip) 1.25 Zoo 2.01 Atari ST/TT ----------- Bulletin Board Network Node List Software Version Mailer Version Utilities Version FIDOdoor/ST 2.3.2* BinkleyTerm 2.40l ParseList 1.30 QuickBBS/ST 1.02 The BOX 1.20 Xlist 1.12 Pandora BBS 2.41c EchoFix 1.20 GS Point 0.61 sTICK/Hatch 5.50 LED ST 1.00 MSGED 1.96S FidoNews 8-29 Page 34 22 Jul 1991 Archiver Msg Format Other Utilities Version Converters Version Utilities Version LHARC 0.60 TB2BINK 1.00 ConfMail 4.03 LHARC2 3.18 BINK2TB 1.00 ComScan 1.02 ARC 6.02 FiFo 2.1n* Import 1.14 PKUNZIP 1.10 OMMM 1.40 Pack 1.00 FastPack 1.20 FDrenum 2.2.7 Trenum 0.10 Archimedes ---------- BBS Software Mailers Utilities Name Version Name Version Name Version ARCbbs 1.44 BinkleyTerm 2.03 Unzip 2.1TH ARC 1.03 !Spark 2.00d ParseLst 1.30 BatchPacker 1.00 + Netmail capable (does not require additional mailer software) * 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 8-29 Page 35 22 Jul 1991 ------- FIDONEWS MASTHEAD AND CONTACT INFORMATION ---------------- Editors: Tom Jennings, Tim Pozar Editors Emeritii: Thom Henderson, Dale Lovell, Vince Periello Special thanks to Ken Kaplan, 1:100/22, aka Fido #22 "FidoNews" BBS FidoNet 1:1/1 Internet fidonews@fidonews.fidonet.org BBS (415)-863-2739 (9600 HST/V32) (Postal Service mailing address) FidoNews Box 77731 San Francisco CA 94107 USA Published weekly by and for the Members of the FidoNet international amateur electronic mail system. It is a compilation of individual articles contributed by their authors or their authorized agents. The contribution of articles to this compilation does not diminish the rights of the authors. Opinions expressed in these articles are those of the authors and not necessarily those of FidoNews. FidoNews is copyright 1991 Fido Software. All rights reserved. Duplication and/or distribution permitted for noncommercial purposes only. For use in other circumstances, please contact FidoNews (we're easy). OBTAINING COPIES: FidoNews in electronic form may be obtained from the FidoNews BBS via manual download or Wazoo FileRequest, or from various sites in the FidoNet and via uucp. PRINTED COPIES mailed may be obtained from Fido Software for $5.00US each PostPaid First Class within North America, or $7.00US elsewhere, mailed Air Mail. (US funds drawn upon a US bank only.) Periodic subscriptions are not available at this time; if enough people request it I will implement it. SUBMISSIONS: You are encouraged to submit articles for publication in FidoNews. Article submission requirements are contained in the file ARTSPEC.DOC, available from the FidoNews BBS, or Wazoo filerequestable from 1:1/1 as file "ARTSPEC.DOC". FidoNews 8-29 Page 36 22 Jul 1991 "Fido", "FidoNet" and the dog-with-diskette are U.S. registered trademarks of Tom Jennings of Fido Software, Box 77731, San Francisco CA 94107, USA and are used with permission. -- END ----------------------------------------------------------------------