F I D O N E W S -- | Vol. 9 No. 51 (21 December 1992) A newsletter of the | FidoNet BBS community | Published by: _ | / \ | "FidoNews" BBS /|oo \ | +1-415-863-2739 (_| /_) | NEW!--> 1:1/23@FidoNet _`@/_ \ _ | editor@fidonews.fidonet.org | | \ \\ | | (*) | \ )) | Editors: |__U__| / \// | Tom Jennings _//|| _\ / | Tim Pozar (_/(_|(____/ | (jm) | Newspapers should have no friends. | -- JOSEPH PULITZER ----------------------------+--------------------------------------- /********************************************************************* * IMPORTANT NOTE: The FidoNet address for FidoNews has been changed. * * The new address is: * * * * FidoNews = 1:1/23 * * * * Starting January 1993 email sent to the old address will not be * * forwarded! You were warned! * *********************************************************************/ For information, copyrights, article submissions, obtaining copies and other boring but important details, please refer to the end of this file. Table of Contents 1. EDITORIAL ..................................................... 1 Editorial: Retry, Ignore, Abort ............................... 1 2. ARTICLES ...................................................... 3 Akron BBS trial update: Dangerous precedents .................. 3 The nodelist flags ............................................ 6 Voting for Users? ............................................. 19 My fourth mistake ............................................. 19 Hypocrites? In Fidonet? ....................................... 20 History summation for Front Door *.HIS files .................. 21 Announcing the PowerBASIC Echo! (POWER_BASIC) ................. 22 3. FIDONEWS INFORMATION .......................................... 23 FidoNews 9-51 Page 1 21 Dec 1992 ====================================================================== EDITORIAL ====================================================================== Editorial: Retry, Ignore, Abort by Tom Jennings (1:1/23) Wow! Only two more weeks, and I'll pull the plug on godd old 1:1/1 in favor of the new 1:1/23. (See, I just got another echotoss to "1:1/1" plugging up my netmail area. They came as netmail messages...) Ring in the new year! And also note the next FidoNews volumne will be FNEWSAxx.NWS, where xx is the issue Number 1 - 52, and A the volume. The current volume is 9; this is year 9 of FidoNews, the next will be A and not 10 because I said so. Well, OK. Because 10 won't fit in the filename (FNEWS1001.NWS would be too long), and most importantly, I want to preserve the FidoNews naming FORMAT more than our perceived need of arithmetic continuity. (FidoNews volume names are searched as TEXT STRINGS rather than NUMBERS; A filename search using DOSisms for the string "FNEWS???.NWS" will continue to match FidoNews, new and old.) There's more rumblings about the nodelist flags. I'm personally glad for it. It's worth spending effor on cleaning up. It's really amzing to me, how reliable and well pruned it is. If you were to add up every possible incorrect, unused, misspelled, extraneous etc flag, and removed them all, the nodelist wouldn't shrink much. It's just not that much dead weight. What it is though is incorrect information, which is more harmful. Though let's keep things in perspective; an incorrect flag will not kill anyone, though it will cause needless aggravation and occasional extra cost. Thanks to everyone putting effort into this! Just think about how much dreck could be cleaned up if every sysop in the nodelist would take a look at their entry and update their flag(s) as needed. (It would probably be best to use a text editor and look at the raw nodelist file; many programs process the gunk "for you" and will ignore things that don't make sense; that's how that lint collects in the first place!) Since I'm in pomposity mode, let me put my two cents in on this voting business. Specifically having users of FidoNet systems vote as peers to sysops. FidoNews 9-51 Page 2 21 Dec 1992 Sorry, it's not the same. Though it seems very logical to have users vote, logic will get you anywhere you want. The arguments re: sysops buying all the hardware and paying the bills are obvious and specious (and not strictly true for for-pay systems). The real issue is the relationship itself. Users just don't have the same relationship to sysops as sysops ahve to users; to the telco service providers; to the law, both liability and obligation; and to other users. Any sysop who doesn't consult very heavily with their users is a fool, that much is obvious. But it's hardly mass-murder if "your" sysop treats you like dirt. If you have enough hardware to call a BBS and download files, you almost certainly have enough hardware and money to run your own BBS. THAT is where the "democracy" comes in, in your ability to communicate as a peer, not in controlling someone elses trip (yes, even if they are an asshole). Support yourself through your own actions, and don't rely on others for everything. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- FidoNews 9-51 Page 3 21 Dec 1992 ====================================================================== ARTICLES ====================================================================== Akron BBS trial update: Dangerous precedents in sysop prosecution ================================================================= You may already know about the BBS 'sting' six months ago in Munroe Falls, OH for "disseminating matter harmful to juveniles." Those charges were dropped for lack of evidence. Now a trial date of 1/4/93 has been set after new felony charges were filed, although the pretrial hearing revealed no proof that *any* illegal content ever went out over the BBS, nor was *any* found on it. For those unfamiliar with the case, here's a brief summary to date: In May 1992 someone told Munroe Falls police they *thought* minors could have been getting access to adult materials over the AKRON ANOMALY BBS. Police began a 2-month investigation. They found a small number of adult files in the non-adult area. The sysop says he made a clerical error, causing those files to be overlooked. Normally adult files were moved to a limited-access area with proof of age required (i.e. photostat of a drivers license). Police had no proof that any minor had actually accessed those files so police logged onto the BBS using a fictitious account, started a download, and borrowed a 15-year old boy just long enough to press the return key. The boy had no knowledge of what was going on. Police then obtained a search warrant and seized Lehrer's BBS system. Eleven days later police arrested and charged sysop Mark Lehrer with "disseminating matter harmful to juveniles," a misdemeanor usually used on bookstore owners who sell the wrong book to a minor. However, since the case involved a computer, police added a *felony* charge of "possession of criminal tools" (i.e. "one computer system"). Note that "criminal tool" statutes were originally intended for specialized tools such as burglar's tools or hacking paraphenalia used by criminal 'specialists'. The word "tool" implies deliberate use to commit a crime, whereas the evidence shows (at most) an oversight. This raises the Constitutional issue of equal protection under the law (14'th Amendment). Why should a computer hobbyist be charged with a felony when anyone else would be charged with a misdemeanor? At the pretrial hearing, the judge warned the prosecutor that they'd need "a lot more evidence than this" to convict. However the judge allowed the case to be referred to a Summit County grand jury, though there was no proof the sysop had actually "disseminated", or even intended to disseminate any adult material "recklessly, with knowledge of its character or content", as the statute requires. Indeed, the sysop had a long history of *removing* such content from the non-adult area whenever he became FidoNews 9-51 Page 4 21 Dec 1992 aware of it. This came out at the hearing. The prosecution then went on a fishing expedition. According to the Cleveland Plain Dealer (7/21/92) "[Police chief] Stahl said computer experts with the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation are reviewing the hundreds of computer files seized from Lehrer's home. Stahl said it's possible that some of the games and movies are being accessed in violation of copyright laws." Obviously the police believe they have carte blanche to search unrelated personal files, simply by lumping all the floppies and files in with the computer as a "criminal tool." That raises Constitutional issues of whether the search and seizure was legal. That's a precedent which, if not challenged, has far-reaching implications for *every* computer owner. Also, BBS access was *not* sold for money, as the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports. The BBS wasn't a business, but rather a free community service, running on Lehrer's own computer, although extra time on the system could be had for a donation to help offset some of the operating costs. 98% of data on the BBS consists of shareware programs, utilities, E-mail, etc. The police chief also stated: "I'm not saying it's obscene because I'm not getting into that battle, but it's certainly not appropriate for kids, especially without parental permission," Stahl said. Note the police chief's admission that obscenity wasn't an issue at the time the warrant was issued. =================================================================== Here the case *radically* changes direction. The charges above were dropped. However, while searching the 600 floppy disks seized along with the BBS, police found five picture files they think *could* be depictions of borderline underage women; although poor picture quality makes it difficult to tell. The sysop had *removed* these unsolicited files from the BBS hard drive after a user uploaded them. However the sysop didn't think to destroy the floppy disk backup, which was tossed into a cardboard box with hundreds of others. This backup was made before he erased the files off the hard drive. The prosecution, lacking any other charges that would stick, is using these several floppy disks to charge the sysop with two new second-degree felonies, "Pandering Obscenity Involving A Minor", and "Pandering Sexually Oriented Matter Involving A Minor" (i.e. kiddie porn, prison sentence of up to 25 years). FidoNews 9-51 Page 5 21 Dec 1992 The prosecution produced no evidence the files were ever "pandered". There's no solid expert testimony that the pictures depict minors. All they've got is the opinion of a local pediatrician. All five pictures have such poor resolution that there's no way to tell for sure to what extent makeup or retouching was used. A digitized image doesn't have the fine shadings or dot density of a photograph, which means there's very little detail on which to base an expert opinion. The digitization process also modifies and distorts the image during compression. ------------------------------------------------------------------ The prosecutor offered to plea-bargain these charges down to mere "possession" of child porn--a 4'th degree felony sex crime punishable by one year in prison--to avoid a trial. Mark Lehrer *refuses* to plead guilty to a sex crime, and rightfully so. Mark Lehrer had discarded the images for which the City of Munroe Falls *adamantly* demands "at least a felony conviction." This means the first "pandering" case involving a BBS is going to trial in *one* month, Jan 4th, in Akron, Ohio. ------------------------------------------------------------------ The child porn statutes named in the charges contain a special exemption for libraries, as does the original "dissemination to juveniles" statute (ORC # 2907.321 & 2). The exemption presumably includes public and privately owned libraries available to the public, and their disk collections. This protects library owners when an adult item is misplaced or loaned to a minor. (i.e. 8 year olds can rent R-rated movies from a public library). Yet although this sysop was running a file library larger than a small public library, he did not receive equal protection under the law, as guaranteed by the 14'th Amendment. Neither will any other BBS, if this becomes precedent. The 'library defense' was allowed for large systems in Cubby versus CompuServe, based on a previous obscenity case (Smith vs. California), in which the Supreme Court ruled it generally unconstitutional to hold bookstore owners liable for content, because that would place an undue burden on bookstores to review every book they carry, thereby 'chilling' the distribution of books and infringing the First Amendment. If the sysop beats the bogus "pandering" charge, there's still "possession", even though he was *totally unaware* of what was on an old backup floppy, unsolicited in the first place, found unused in a cardboard box. "Possession" does not require knowledge that the person depicted is underage. The law presumes anyone in possession of such files must be a pedophile. The framers of the law never anticipated sysops, or that a sysop would routinely be receiving over 10,000 files from over 1,000 users. The case could set a far ranging statewide and nationwide precedent, whether or not the sysop is innocent or guilty, since he and his family might lack the funds to fight this--after battling to get this far. FidoNews 9-51 Page 6 21 Dec 1992 These kinds of issues are normally resolved in the higher courts-- and *need* to be resolved, lest this becomes commonplace anytime the police or a prosecutor want to intimidate a BBS, snoop through users' electronic mail, or "just appropriate someone's computer for their own use." You, the reader, probably know a sysop like Mark Lehrer. You and your family have probably enjoyed the benefits of BBS'ing. You may even have put one over on a busy sysop now and then. In this case; the sysop is a sober and responsible college student, studying computer science and working to put himself through school. He kept his board a lot cleaner than could be reasonably expected, so much so that the prosecution can find very little to fault him for. ================================================================== *Important* Please consider a small contribution to ensure a fair trial and precedent, with standards of evidence upheld, so that mere possession of a computer is not grounds for a witch hunt. These issues must not be decided by the tactics of a 'war of attrition'; *however far* in the court system this needs to go. For this reason, an independent, legal defense trust fund has been set up by concerned area computer users, CPA's, attorneys,etc. Mark Lehrer First Amendment Legal Defense Fund (or just: MLFALDF) Lockbox No. 901287 Cleveland, OH 44190-1287 *All* unused defense funds go to the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a nonprofit, 501c3 organization, to defend BBS's and First Amendment rights. Help get the word out. If you're not sure about all this, ask your local sysops what this precedent could mean, who the EFF is--and ask them to keep you informed of further developments in this case. Please copy this file and send it to whoever may be interested. This case *needs* to be watchdogged. ------------------------------------------------------------------ Please send any questions, ideas or comments directly to the sysop: Mark Lehrer CompuServe: 71756,2116 InterNet: 71756.2116@compuserve.com Modem: (216) 688-6383 USPO: P.O. Box 275 Munroe Falls, OH 44262 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- The nodelist flags. =================== By: Nils Hammar 2:205/601@fidonet.org 4341@msg.abc.se FidoNews 9-51 Page 7 21 Dec 1992 A while ago there was a discussion about which modem type that was the most common in fidonet, and due to that I wrote a little program that analyzed the nodelist regarding the most common flags (HST,V32,V32B) and found out that V32B was the most growing flag. In the latest nodelist I have (Nodelist 353/1992) V32B is now the biggest modem standard with 7597 nodes covering this standard. However, since there are a lot of flags in fidonet, I thought that it would be funny to rewrite the program to analyze all flags. That was my first mistake today! When I ran the program the first time, it got stuck in Germany (the Z2 nodelist begins with Z2/R20 and germany is Z2/R24.) At this time, I have allocated space for 40 flags. This was my second mistake. However after rewriting the program so it supported 600 flags, I got it up and running. This time it spat out a list for me with a lot of flags. The total number of different lags was.... 335!!! At that time I decided to write this article to spread the information about what I have discovered, and this is probably my third mistake. Why did I decide to write in FidoNews then? I write here, since this is a medium that is spread to a lot of different nodes without being too regional. I think that almost every region in the world receives fidonews. And I think that it will be enough if only one or two in each region reads this and forwards this information to the NC or RC of that region. This would at least solve the problem with the misspellings in the nodelist, which only are resulting in useless flags. It is harder to catch up with the other flags that are useless, but mostly harmless. There are however more than 200 flags that are a complete waste of space, and that isn't good. If anyone would like to flame me for this, then do it! I think that I'm in a flameproof mood today... I also think that the ZC:s should see this as a hint to filter the nodelist before exporting it. I included the tail information from the Z2 nodelist as an appendix for your information. The editor may remove it if it seems to be useless. Below comes the statistic information from the nodelist. Mostly useful for the nodelist maintainers. -------------------------- Coordinator flags. ================== I feel that those flags are misused sometimes... FidoNews 9-51 Page 8 21 Dec 1992 258 "UNEC" Wouldn't it be nice to use this for all NEC:s? 27 "NEC" 21 "UREC" 11 "UHUB" Is this really necessary? The first field is the same thing... 7 "UNC" Huh? It seems to me that the NC usually holds 7 "NC" HOST position in the network, but this might have some use in some networks. 1 "U_NEC" Why not "UNEC"? 1 "UZEC" 1 "HUB" See above... Additional ZMH flags. ===================== Not much to say about these flags. 19 "#02" 12 "!01!02" 12 "#18" 7 "#09" 6 "#00" 3 "!01" 3 "!02" 3 "#03#09" 3 "#08" 2 "#02#09" 2 "#04#09" 2 "#07" 2 "#2" 1 "!02!11" 1 "!09" 1 "#00#09" 1 "#00#12" 1 "#02#10" 1 "#03#10" 1 "#06#14" 1 "#07#09" 1 "#17#22" 1 "#23#11" Speed flags. ============ 13271 "9600" 4980 "2400" 40 "1200" 19 "300" 1 "4800" Modem technical flags. ====================== FidoNews 9-51 Page 9 21 Dec 1992 9188 "V42B" 7597 "V32B" 5995 "HST" 3316 "V32" 1913 "MNP" 901 "V42" 656 "ZYX" 530 "V22" 404 "H14" 220 "CSP" 215 "V21" 214 "PEP" 116 "H16" 100 "H96" 22 "V23" 31 "V22B" 18 "V29" 16 "V33" 15 "UISDNB" 8 "MAX" 2 "UISDNA" 2 "ISDNB" Mailer techincal flags. ======================= 15555 "CM" 11980 "XA" 3231 "XX" 1586 "MO" 380 "XW" 238 "LO" 222 "XR" 189 "XP" 185 "XC" 143 "XB" 51 "MN" Failed modem technical flags. ============================= A lot of mistypings in the nodelist! 16 "V32BIS" 9 "V42BIS" 8 "MNP5" 4 "V3B2" 5 "42B" 3 "V32V" 3 "32B" 2 "V3B" 2 "V42V" FidoNews 9-51 Page 10 21 Dec 1992 2 "V43B" 2 "UHST168" 2 "H168" 2 " V42B" 2 "FAX" 2 "UFAX" 1 " V32B" 1 "LAPM" 1 "V.32" 1 "V32:MO" 1 "V32B.MNP" 1 "V32MNP" 1 "V4" 1 "V422B" 1 "V42B." 1 "V42B1" 1 "V42B;" 1 "V42B;X" 1 "V42BMO" 1 "V42V42B" 1 "X42B" 1 "MNP.CM" 1 "MNP.MO" 1 "MNP.MO.LO" 1 "16K8" 1 "HST/DS" 1 "HST168" 1 "4V2" Failed mailer technical flags. ============================== More mistypings. 5 "U" What? 3 "XM" Isn't specified in the nodelist documentation. (See below) 2 " XX" 1 "CM.MO" 1 "CM.XA" 1 "CM;" 1 "MO.XX" 1 "MO:" 1 "XA.CM" 1 "XU" 1 "XX CM" Time flags in military format. ============================== Wouldn't it be nice to use this format only, and let it be according to GMT. I can't tell which timezone node 1:234/576 is in... FidoNews 9-51 Page 11 21 Dec 1992 1 "0000-1800" 1 "0200-0300" 1 "1800-0700" 1 "1600-0900" Different known and unknown time formats. ========================================= 1 "12AM-12PM" 1 "8PM-8AM" 1 "DA:00-08" 1 "DA:02-06" 1 "DA:20-24" 1 "DA5P-8A" 1 "U000-0300" 1 "U10PM-5PM" 1 "U23-06" 2 "U08-11GMT" Gateways to other nets & other network information. =================================================== Seems like it's time to work with this. 62 "GUUCP" 13 "UGAY" 2 "UGIFNET" 2 "UGUUCP" 1 "DVNET" 1 "GINTLNET" 1 "UUCP" 1 "WINNET" 1 "OS2NET" Operating system flags. (Totally uninteresting.) ================================================ I don't care if the BBS is running under OS/2, VM/CMS or anything else. 1 "OS/2" 1 "OS2" 1 "UOS2" Serial numbers of some sort. (Why this in the nodelist????) =========================================================== Who needs this? I don't need it. I think that if a program requires this information, it's something very wrong with it. 2 "UPN1024" 2 "UPN13000" 2 "PN:1036" 2 "PN:30197" FidoNews 9-51 Page 12 21 Dec 1992 1 "PN1037" 1 "PN1099" 1 "PN30044" 1 "PN30073" 1 "PN30114" 1 "PN30134" 1 "PN30152" 1 "PN30178" 1 "PN30223" 1 "PN30245" 1 "PN30311" 1 "PN30318" 1 "PN30416" 1 "PN30425" 1 "PN30467" 1 "PN30491" 1 "PN30730" 1 "PN9191" 1 "PN:1016" 1 "PN:1064" 1 "PN:1083" 1 "PN:22000" 1 "PN:30157" 1 "PN:30222" 1 "PN:30367" 1 "PN:30655" 1 "UPN1009" 1 "UPN1011" 1 "UPN1015" 1 "UPN1090" 1 "UPN12500" 1 "UPN1720" 1 "UPN2001" 1 "UPN2400" 1 "UPN25200" 1 "UPN27554" 1 "UPN28322" 1 "UPN3000" 1 "UPN30010" 1 "UPN30043" 1 "UPN30061" 1 "UPN30081" 1 "UPN30089" 1 "UPN30185" 1 "UPN30192" 1 "UPN30193" 1 "UPN30219" 1 "UPN30220" 1 "UPN30243" 1 "UPN30258" 1 "UPN30278" FidoNews 9-51 Page 13 21 Dec 1992 1 "UPN30288" 1 "UPN30296" 1 "UPN30297" 1 "UPN30301" 1 "UPN30312" 1 "UPN30324" 1 "UPN30438" 1 "UPN30444" 1 "UPN30497" 1 "UPN30517" 1 "UPN30522" 1 "UPN30626" 1 "UPN30648" 1 "UPN30674" 1 "UPN30697" 1 "UPN30731" 1 "UPN30746" 1 "UPN30761" 1 "UPN30769" 1 "UPN30880" 1 "UPN30903" 1 "UPN30912" 1 "UPN31492" 1 "UPN32508" 1 "UPN6212" 1 "UPN7222" 1 "UPN:1003" 1 "UPN:30039" 1 "UPN:30109" 1 "UPN:30368" 1 "UPN:30371" 1 "UPN:30497" 1 "UPN:30803" SDS/SDN/PDN etc. ================ How many programs are using this info? 55 "SDS" 50 "SDN" 40 "PDN" 36 "DDS" 33 "DVN" 14 "GSDS" 2 "UDSDS" 2 "UWDN" 5 "UFDN" 7 "UMDN" 8 "UCDN" 17 "UPDN" 34 "UGSDS" FidoNews 9-51 Page 14 21 Dec 1992 36 "UDVN" 38 "UDDS" 65 "USDN" 94 "USDS" Various flags that makes no sense. ================================== This flags make no sense to me, but some of those flags may be classed in another cathegory. 1 "ADA" 1 "ADS" 1 "APOGEE" 1 "ASP" 1 "BEZY" 1 "CL" 1 "DBSOFT" 1 "DFN" 1 "DV" 1 "FDN" 1 "HAM" 1 "MOD" 1 "NABW" 1 "PODS" 1 "RA" 1 "RAD" 1 "RE" 1 "REC" 1 "RSMH" 1 "SCN" 1 "TDS" 1 "UAFDN" 1 "UANS" 1 "UASA" 1 "UASP" 1 "UBMA-24HR" 1 "UCAD" 1 "UDDLG" 1 "UDVM" 1 "UELC" 1 "UENC" 1 "UFTDN:1" 1 "UGTI" 1 "UICDM" 1 "UIDC" 1 "UISA:2066" 1 "UJVAS" 1 "UML" 1 "UMSDN" 1 "UMWS" 1 "UNI" FidoNews 9-51 Page 15 21 Dec 1992 1 "UNPC" 1 "UNSMH" 1 "URSMH" 1 "USAN" 1 "USDSZC" 1 "UT" 1 "UTDN" 1 "UUTN" 1 "UZIP" 1 "U_DVN" 1 "W18C" 1 "WNT" 1 "XXXX" 1 "XYZ" 1 "ZXY" 2 "CA" 2 "DS" 2 "DTP" 2 "ENC" 2 "HDN" 2 "LEDS" 2 "MDN" 2 "PGP" 2 "TL" 2 "UHEC" 2 "ULNX" 2 "UPODS" 2 "USDSRC" 2 "UTFDN:1" 2 "WDN" 3 "HEC" 3 "LAN" 3 "UANI" 3 "UMOD" 3 "WE24" 4 "CDN" 4 "TDN" 5 "CLN" 5 "UPGP" 5 "UWIN" 6 "K12" 10 "UUTL" 16 "UTL" 19 "WIN" 29 "UK12" -------------------------- Appendix. Contents from the nodelist in Z2. ================================= (I cut it down a little to save space. Any modifications that I made is marked with an exclamation mark in the beginning of the modified line.) FidoNews 9-51 Page 16 21 Dec 1992 The following flags define special operating conditions: Flag Meaning CM Node accepts mail 24 hours a day MO Node does not accept human callers LO Node accepts calls Only from Listed FidoNet addresses The following flags define modem capabilities supported: Flag Meaning V21 CCITT V21 300 bps full duplex V22 CCITT V22 1200 bps full duplex V29 CCITT V29 9600 bps half duplex V32 CCITT V32 9600 bps full duplex V32B CCITT V32bis 14400 bps full duplex V33 CCITT V33 V34 CCITT V34 V42 LAP-M error correction w/fallback to MNP 1-4 V42B LAP-M error correction w/fallback to MNP 1-5 MNP Microcom Networking Protocol error corr H96 Hayes V9600 HST USR Courier HST H14 USR Courier HST up to 14.4Kbps H16 USR Courier HST up to 16.8Kbps MAX Microcom AX/96xx series PEP Packet Ensemble Protocol CSP Compucom Speedmodem ZYX Zyxel (implies V.32Bis & V.42Bis) NOTE: Many V22 modems also support Bell 212A. ! MN No ARCMail 0.6 compression supported The following software is qualified to use the appropriate file request flag: |---------------------------------------| | File Req Flag Software Package | |---------------------------------------| | XA Frontdoor <1.99b | | Frontdoor 2.01+ | | Dutchie 2.90c | | Binkleyterm >2.1 | | D'Bridge <1.3 | | TIMS | |---------------------------------------| FidoNews 9-51 Page 17 21 Dec 1992 | XB Binkleyterm 2.0 | | Dutchie 2.90b | |---------------------------------------| | XC Opus 1.1 | |---------------------------------------| | XP Seadog | |---------------------------------------| | XR Opus 1.03 | |---------------------------------------| | XW Fido >12M | | Tabby | |---------------------------------------| | XX D'Bridge 1.30 | | Frontdoor 1.99b | | InterMail 2.01 | |---------------------------------------| | None QMM | |---------------------------------------| The following flag defines gateways to other domains (networks). Flag Meaning Gx..x Gateway to domain 'x..x', where 'x..x` is a string of alphanumeric characters. Valid values for 'x..x' are assigned by the FidoNet International Coordinator. This flag is not authorized for use by any node unless specifically authorized by the IC or FidoNet Inter-Network Coordinator. Registered domain gateways include: uucp to be used only by nodes in a list of authorized fidonet.org sites available at 1:1/31. Flag Meaning #01 Zone 5 mail hour (01:00 - 02:00 UTC) #02 Zone 2 mail hour (02:30 - 03:30 UTC) #08 Zone 4 mail hour (08:00 - 09:00 UTC) #09 Zone 1 mail hour (09:00 - 10:00 UTC) #18 Zone 3 mail hour (18:00 - 19:00 UTC) #20 Zone 6 mail hour (20:00 - 21:00 UTC) Field Meaning ! Ux..x A user-specified string. FidoNews 9-51 Page 18 21 Dec 1992 This field may not be used, in zone 2, without ZC2 authorisation. Zone 2 authorised 'user' flags:- EchoMail Coordination: ZEC Zone EchoMail Coordinator. Not more than one entry in the zone 2 segment may carry this flag and that must be the current Zone EchoMail Coordinator. REC Regional EchoMail Coordinator. Not more than one entry in any region may carry this flag and that must be the current Regional EchoMail Coordinator. NEC Network EchoMail coordinator. Not more than one entry in any net may carry this flag and that must be the current Network EchoMail Coordinator of that Net. This flag will be authorised by the relevant Regional EchoMail Coordinator. Note: Redundant AKAs used to indicate EchoMail Coordination functions are no longer permitted. ISDN connected nodes: ISDNA 19200 N 8 1, CCITT V.110/ECMA 102, Hayes compatible, ISDN only ISDNB 38400 N 8 1, CCITT V.110/ECMA 102, Hayes compatible, ISDN only ISDNC 64000, ISDN Common API, german specific, ISDN only Technical restrictions: CCITT V.110 is a Modem emulation with implementation of connect requests via Hayes command set or V.25.bis. As the Hayes AT command set is used on analog connections, it is recommended for use on ISDN connections as well. ISDN Common API is (at this moment) a German specific interface. It is under discussion by the CCITT and ETSI for international standardization. For ALL 3 flags, the following restrictions apply: ONLY nodes with the SAME FLAG may CONNECT with each other. This is due to the fact that under ISDN, auto-baud detect is not possible and CAPI applications currently cannot connect using V.110 modem emulation. FidoNews 9-51 Page 19 21 Dec 1992 Nodes using these flags should use a modem "speed" of 300 baud. This is due to limitations imposed by nodelist processing software. nodelist entries would look (perhaps) like this: ,34,Deti's_BBS,Dortmund,Detlef_Koester,99-999-1234567,300,UISDNA ,34,Deti's_BBS,Dortmund,Detlef_Koester,99-999-2345678,300,UISDNB ,34,Deti's_BBS,Dortmund,Detlef_Koester,99-999-3456789,300,UISDNC ---------------------------------------------------------------------- by Richard Ratledge Sysop Madman BBS (1:119/88) Through all of the concern about the "unfair" election process in Fidonet I have heard nothing about letting the users of the individual systems vote. It is as though everyone believes that the smallest unit in Fidonet is the Sysop and that users do not count. I propose that everyone who uses the net be allowed to vote! How difficult can it be to model our little network after a democratic model in which everyone registers and then votes? I can certainly see an argument to exclude users from voting. Many will say that users do not have the financial or emotional involvement that the average sysop has tied up in her/his system. This is a valid argument, but I have users who contribute to my costs and if given the opportunity would probably like to participate in an election. The requirement of pre-registering before voting would help shake out those who are concerned from those who do not care. At least then no one could say they did not have the opportunity to vote. But no, this is too complicated and us sysops would never be able to put together anything as technical as a democratic voting mechanism. We all like the "Good Ol' Boy Network." Right? ---------------------------------------------------------------------- My fourth mistake. ================== By: Nils Hammar 2:205/601@fidonet.org 4341@msg.abc.se FidoNews 9-51 Page 20 21 Dec 1992 If somebody did read the issue of FidoNews Week 50, they probably saw another article on the theme "nodelist flags". And I assure you that I didn't have one idea about that until after I sent my article. I didn't got hold on the fidonews file until a few hours after I wrote and sent my article. It must have been the mental waves that spread around the world that made me writing such an article. However, this isn't the first time in history that two different people are inventing the same thing. This has happened before. The problem in that case is that there would only be one patent, and that would render the other person in a painful situation. But to all of you from me here in the snow of Sweden I wish you a merry cristmas! ---------------------------------------------------------------------- By Mike Catchpole of 1:267/113.15 Hypocrites? In Fidonet? Over the past weeks we've seen the zone one sysops talk on these pages about the ZC <> RC circle, with one picking the other and vice versa, as well as complaints about the exclusion of anyone who does not now, or never did, hold the slot of RC, from selection. Well, they do have a point. For some reason, of the 12,315 nodes in zone one, only the RC's will be voting. And the sysops are complaining. Now, those exact same sysops are currently debating policy 5. Making a conservative estimate of 15 users per system, this document will effect more than 271,000 USERS, as well as the 18,106 sysops that are debating it. Now, the logic of these sysops is that their 6.6% is uniquely qualified to talk about policy, and that the thoughts, opinions, and anyone who isn't in their little club should not be allowed to even present his opinion for consideration. In other words, they want to go with their first impulse and not think at all about how their decisions will affect the other 93.4% of the people who will be affected by this policy. I think this is hypocrisy at it's highest. After getting done yelling about the "Home Boy's Email Club" ( RC <> ZC power pool ), they switch conferences and start "The Home Boy's Email Alliance." (Policy5) For example... FidoNews 9-51 Page 21 21 Dec 1992 From: Ira Davis 1:375/44 TO : Mike Catchpole > until you do become a > member of Fidonet, you really don't have any rights > to be voicing your opinions > about policy that will affect me. Even though the policy will affect me, as a user, as well as every other user. But even though it affects us we aren't allowed to voice our opinion. Nazi Germany worked on these lines. The way I see it, one of two things will happen. First, it is possible that the sysops will end up making policy 5 work, despite their insistence on ignoring 93.4% of the persons to be affected by it. More likely, however, policy 5 will end up just like policy 4 - made by a tiny group of people, not well thought out, and ignored totally by some nodes. Why is it that one part of fidonet never listens to any other? The ZC is picked by the RC's, who were appointed by the ZC. The sysops ignore the users wishes. Mind you, I'm not saying they should do exactly what the users want, but they don't even want to listen to what the users have to say! ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Fredric L. Rice, The Skeptic Tank, Geldora, CA FidoNet 1:102/890.0 (818) 914-9551 If you ever wanted something to do with those INBOUND.HIS and INBOUND.HIS files that your Front Door system maintains, here is a utility wihch will perform two things. history inbound.his /sum Gets a summary of all systems which have called your system within the duration of your history file. Counts how many times each system has called your system and gives percent. history inbound.his /list Gives a list of all systems which have ever called your system. history inbound.his /list /sum Does both. You can replace 'inbound.his' with 'outbound.his' to see who you call. ---- FidoNews 9-51 Page 22 21 Dec 1992 Sample bit of my inbound history. ---- There are 209 records from 07/Jun/94 to 13/Dec/92 75 different network addresses were found -=- 1:103/355 [Star Tech Diamond Bar] [Diamond Bar, CA] [44 times] (21.05%) 1:271/207 [The Sysabend BBS] [Gloucester VA] [21 times] (10.05%) 1:102/753 [Edo's BBS * A New Experience] [Los Angeles, CA] [3 times] (1.44%) 1:102/128 [Ursa Major BBS] [Manhattan Beach, CA USA] [6 times] (2.87%) 1:157/603 [The Incontrovertible Point] [Akron, OH] [2 times] 1:19/141 [Void Where Prohibited] [Ada, OK, USA] [1 time] ---- File: HISTORY.LZH, 20997 bytes. Source code and make files included. FidoNet 1:102/890.0 (818) 914-9551 Packet: kc6efh@wb6ymh.#socal.usa.ca Internet: fredric.rice@f102.n890.z1.fidonet.org ---------------------------------------------------------------------- by Eddie Rowe of 1:380/14@fidonet Announcing the PowerBASIC Echo! (POWER_BASIC) Looking for a place to rub elbows with fellow PowerBASIC programmers to exchange creative ideas and source code? Well come on over to the POWER_BASIC echo and enjoy the company of individuals fond of one of the most powerful and well supported BASIC compilers around! Not only is the echo a friendly place to learn how to best harness the power of PowerBASIC, but is also frequented by Spectra Publishing Technical Support! (Note: PowerBASIC is formerly TurboBASIC) Links into the POWER_BASIC echo are available from 1:380/14@fidonet at v.32bis speeds and extend to any Fidonet Technology Domain. The echo will hopefully be migrating towards the Backbone with the help and support of PowerBASIC users. Additionally callers may use my BBS's QWK mail door to access the echo (callback validation is required) or callers can be supported as 4D Points if necessary. PowerBASIC is BASICally Better! ---------------------------------------------------------------------- FidoNews 9-51 Page 23 21 Dec 1992 ====================================================================== FIDONEWS INFORMATION ====================================================================== ------- FIDONEWS MASTHEAD AND CONTACT INFORMATION ---------------- Editors: Tom Jennings, Tim Pozar Editors Emeritii: Thom Henderson, Dale Lovell, Vince Perriello IMPORTANT NOTE: The FidoNet address of the FidoNews BBS has been changed!!! Please make a note of this. "FidoNews" BBS FidoNet 1:1/23 <---- NEW ADDRESS!!!! Internet fidonews@fidosw.fidonet.org BBS +1-415-863-2739, 300/1200/2400/16800/V.32bis/Zyxel (Postal Service mailing address) (have extreme patience) FidoNews c/o World Power Systems <---- don't forget this 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. Authors retain copyright on individual works; otherwise FidoNews is copyright 1992 Tom Jennings. All rights reserved. Duplication and/or distribution permitted for noncommercial purposes only. For use in other circumstances, please contact the original authors, or FidoNews (we're easy). The following is the PGP 2.x public key block for the FidoNews public key, key ID "FidoNews ", also requestable from the FidoNews BBS as FREQ magicname PGPKEY. 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BACK ISSUES: Available from FidoNet nodes 1:102/138, 1:216/21, 1:125/1212, 1:107/519.1 (and probably others), via filerequest or download (consult a recent nodelist for phone numbers). A very nice index to the Tables of Contents to all FidoNews volumes can be filerequested from 1:396/1. The name(s) to request are FNEWSxTC.ZIP, where 'x' is the volume number; 1=1984, 2=1985... through 8=1991. INTERNET USERS: FidoNews is available via FTP from ftp.ieee.org, in directory ~ftp/pub/fidonet/fidonews. If you have questions regarding FidoNet, please direct them to deitch@gisatl.fidonet.org, not the FidoNews BBS. (Be kind and patient; David Deitch is generously volunteering to handle FidoNet/Internet questions.) 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 1:1/23 as file "ARTSPEC.DOC". Please read it. "Fido", "FidoNet" and the dog-with-diskette are U.S. registered trademarks of Tom Jennings, Box 77731, San Francisco CA 94107, USA and are used with permission. Asked what he thought of Western civilization, M.K. Gandhi said, "I think it would be an excellent idea". -- END ----------------------------------------------------------------------