F I D O N E W S -- Vol.12 No.39 (25-Sep-1995) +----------------------------+-----------------------------------------+ | A newsletter of the | ISSN 1198-4589 Published by: | | FidoNet BBS community | "FidoNews" BBS | | _ | +1-519-570-4176 | | / \ | | | /|oo \ | | | (_| /_) | | | _`@/_ \ _ | | | | | \ \\ | Editors: | | | (*) | \ )) | Donald Tees 1:221/192 | | |__U__| / \// | Sylvia 1:221/194 | | _//|| _\ / | | | (_/(_|(____/ | | | (jm) | Newspapers should have no friends. | | | -- JOSEPH PULITZER | +----------------------------+-----------------------------------------+ | Submission address: editors 1:1/23 | +----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | MORE addresses: | | | | submissions=> editor@exlibris.tdkcs.waterloo.on.ca | | Don -- don@exlibris.tdkcs.waterloo.on.ca | | Sylvia max@exlibris.tdkcs.waterloo.on.ca | +----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | For information, copyrights, article submissions, | | obtaining copies of fidonews or the internet gateway faq | | please refer to the end of this file. | +----------------------------------------------------------------------+ ======================================================================== Table of Contents ======================================================================== 1. Editorial..................................................... 1 2. Articles...................................................... 2 This and That............................................... 2 Reenacting & Living History................................. 3 Simulations & Wargames...................................... 3 99 places to visit, part deux............................... 3 3. Fidonews Information.......................................... 7 ======================================================================== Editorial ======================================================================== FidoNews 12-39 Page: 2 25 Sep 1995 Here is the snooze ... ======================================================================== Articles ======================================================================== This and That Scott James (1:340/54) There's been a lot of whining about the hype surrounding Microsoft Windows 95. Hype? So what? GM delivers far more hype about its new cars every year. Have the whiners whined about GM? No. If a Boeing B52 had attempted to take off carrying all the hype the Coca-Cola company produced about New Coke, it would have run smack into that little red bunker at the end of the runway. Have the whiners whined about Coke? No. And don't get me started about the hype surrounding the Internet. Hype is nothing new, and the hype surrounding Windows 95 is nothing new. What it _is_, though, is a great excuse for those who are afraid of Microsoft/unsure of the benefits of their own products/etc. to rant and rave endlessly about nothing in particular, for no other reason than their bitterness, jealousy and mistrust. Folks, if you're gonna whine about something, tell us the _real_ reason for the whining, and we'll respect you much, much more. Thank you kindly. If we don't like hype, we don't have to listen to it. We don't have to read it. We don't have to watch it. Yes, we have the power to tell Microsoft and Bill Gates and anyone else for whom we don't have time to just go get sotted, simply by ignoring them. What a concept. And while we're at it, how about if we knock off all of this ridiculous "mine's better than yours" BS? What's good for you may be crap for me, and that should be the end of it. I think OS/2's interface is from hell; millions don't. I don't use it. Millions do. I applaud them if they are able to benefit from its technically superior construction. After countless futile attempts to get OS/2 working, I am now immensely more productive using Windows 95; this situation is no doubt duplicated and mirrored all over the world. So be it. I don't think you're an idiot for using your software, and I'll thank you for extending me the same courtesy. Don't waste precious bandwidth on software debate: use your chosen software to advance the state of the nation. Do something notable. Take the high road. In short: shut the hell up, get some work done, and let the rest of us get some work done. Thank you kindly. NO CARRIER --skj scott@vicnet.com FidoNews 12-39 Page: 3 25 Sep 1995 Reenacting & Living History From: Gerald Todd (1:261/1151) Across the country, men and women portray for us a little bit of what life was like "back then." In museums, forts, ships, parks, schools, and many other places, these people take us back in time to meet Johnny Reb or Billy Yank, to meet one of Roger's Rangers, or a family from the prarie. These people show us where we came from, and the way we lived. They show us the tools, the food, the weapons, and they show us the beliefs, the traditions, and the songs of our heritage. These people are "Living Historians." REENACT is a "backboned" echo whose focus is the discussion of topics relating to reenacting and living history of all periods right up to modern day. Such topics include, but are not limited to, events, planning, recruiting, sources, research, and more. REENACT is open to any and all that participate, watch, or are simply curious. Available wherever fine echos are served, ask your sysop to connect to REENACT: The Reenacting & Living History Echo ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Simulations & Wargames From: Gerald Todd (1:261/1151) Fans of strategy games by companies like SPI, Avalon Hill, and GDW take note! There is a Fidonet echo that want's you! SIM: The Simulation & Wargaming echo is a "backboned," internationally distributed message area who's topics include; Board Wargaming, PBM and PBEM gaming, computer and non-computer simulation, miniatures, game design and research, play-testing, games for sale, trade, and wanted, new product reviews, source information, and much more. What you won't find on SIM is Doom, doors, D&D, chess, Clue, or any of the stuff that the echos that don't allow wargames are full of! So, if 'Tiger's on the Prowl' or 'Stonewall Jackson's Way' hold more interest for you than the latest Doom wad, check into SIM; The Simulation & Wargaming echo! ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 99 places to visit, part deux.... From: RanD (1:141/1030) Best place for replays: Delphi's Sports Connection Online SIG (at the system prompt type Sports Connection) includes a database of sports audio clips that you can download and play on just about any PC or Mac. Check out Game Four of the 1947 World Series between the Yankees and the Brooklyn Dodgers. . . . FidoNews 12-39 Page: 4 25 Sep 1995 Best place for a pickup game: CompuServe's Sports Forum (go sports) has Fantasy Sports simulation forums that let you play everything from baseball to hockey to football with other online jocks. Best place to argue about Jimmy Johnson's hair: America Online's Grandstand (keyword: grandstand) was founded in 1985 as a place for sports fans to talk, write, and heatedly dis- cuss happenings both on and off the field, court, or rink. Best place to wrestle: The Online Sports BBS of Toronto [(416) 928-3339] has its own professional wrestling league, where members can role-play a career as Hulk Hogan (or Hulk Hogan's manager). The Online Sports BBS also provides 24-hour sports news and stats. A little bit of Culture When it comes to high culture, Dylan Tweney, author of The Traveler's Guide to the Information Highway (Ziff-Davis Press, 1994) knows what he's talking about. He regularly hangs around CompuServe's Lit forum and rec.arts.books. Assisting him in picking the best of online pop-culture hot spots is Jason Snell, the founding editor of the online magazine InterText (to subscribe, send e-mail to intertext@etext.org). His recently completed master's thesis was about Internet addicts. Best place for groupies (1): Serious fans of popular music groups should find out if there's a Musical Mailing List (Internet e-mail) for their favorite groups. These are e-mail missives circulated among an intimate group of fans who talk about concerts, new recordings, and such. Some artists are on their own mailing lists, and others are acutely aware of the list's existence. "They're worse than critics," guitarist Richard Thompson is alleged to have said about his mailing list. "They're amateur critics." You can get a list of the mailing lists in the Usenet newsgroup rec.music.misc by selecting Search for Topic and entering mailing list. Best place for groupies (2): Need to know when the latest CD from your favorite musician is going to hit the record stores? The NEW-RELEASES Internet e-mail list, compiled with help from all sorts of music industry watchers around the world, gives you an updated listing every week. To subscribe, send a message with the text subscribe new-releases in the body text to new-releases-request@cs.uwp.edu. Best place to bone up on the classics: Project Gutenberg on the Internet is converting public-domain literature into electronic form and distributing it as far and wide as possible, for free. In addition to all of Shakespeare and the King James Bible, there are dozens of other classics of literature, history, and philosophy. Use FTP to connect to mrcnext. cso.uiuc.edu, log in as "anonymous," and change to the directory /pub/etext. You can also send e- mail with the message sub gutnberg your name to FidoNews 12-39 Page: 5 25 Sep 1995 listserv@ uiucvmd.bitnet. Best place for cartoons: Two comic strips are available only online: "Doctor Fun," by David Farley, a "Far Side"-style one-panel strip, and "NetBoy," by Stafford Huyler, a "Life in Hell"-style multipanel strip. Both are best viewed via the World Wide Web. Also available in digital format, to users of America Online (keyword: dilbert) is Scott Adams's syndicated cartoon, "Dilbert." Adams, who has an account on AOL, also writes a periodic e-mail newsletter about the comic strip. ("Doctor Fun" is on the World Wide Web at ttp://sunsite.unc.edu/ Dave/drfun.html or ftp://sunsite.unc.edu/pub/ electronic-publications/Dr-Fun. "NetBoy" is on the Web at http://www.interaccess.com/netboy.html. Scott Adams is at scottadams@aol.com. Best place for the literati: CompuServe's Literary Forum (go litforum) is the hangout for aspiring and published writers, book lovers, and reading addicts. Its most active sections include Poetry & Lyrics, Mystery & Suspense, and Romance/Historical. It also sports a dedicated online writing work- shop. Every avid reader and/or writer should hang out here. Best place for Cyber-Sleaze: Once upon a time, an MTV personality named Adam Curry created mtv .com. When he quit MTV, the network sued to strip him of the site's name. Although at press time the suit was still pending, Curry has moved all his material to a new site: Metaverse (on the World Wide Web at http:// metaverse.com/). What's on Metaverse? A gossip column called Cyber- Sleaze, movie and music reviews, the latest pop charts, and more. Best places for alternative reading material: E-mail has made it possible to distribute magazines around the world almost effortlessly. Dozens of electronic magazines--some lasting only a few issues, others publishing for several years--are available online. They range from short stories to political satire to historical research, with a whole lot of intriguing topics in between. You'll find them on the Internet at ftp: //ftp.etext.org/pub/Zines/; on CompuServe's Electronic Frontier Forum at go effsig, in the Zines from the Net library; and on America Online (keyword: pda), in the Software Libraries-Palmtop Paperbacks/Ezine libraries. Best place to find a good bookstore: The atmosphere is definitely highbrow in the Usenet newsgroup rec.arts.books, but it's not at all inaccessible--what binds together the people in this group is a love of literature and books. The FAQs (frequently asked questions) alone are worth a visit to this newsgroup--and while you're there, check out the bookstore lists--there's sure to be a good one near you. Religious Retreats There are plenty of places to go online for some quiet thought, FidoNews 12-39 Page: 6 25 Sep 1995 prayer, reflection, or a damned good argument about religion and spirituality. Computer Life editor Chris Shipley (a preacher's daughter) has picked a few of the most interesting religious retreats: Best place for choir practice: AOL's The Front Porch Room (keyword: religion) is a virtual church social. Here, sheep from every religion are welcome to graze and share their beliefs in a "heated but polite" manner. Even Pagans gather on the porch (each Thursday at 10 p.m., Eastern time). The choir practices the first Sunday of the month for two hours beginning at 8:30 p.m. (Eastern time). Best place to argue about evolution: Section 8 of CompuServe's Religion Forum (go religion) is home to an interfaith dialogue where the intelligentsia and charismatic meet to debate everything from the divinity of Christ and the context of Paul's writings to the authenticity of speaking in tongues and the right- or wrong-headedness of evolutionism. If you love a good debate, stop by. Best place to pray: Think of Prodigy's Religion Concourse (Jump: religion concourse) as an online prayer circle. A small group gathers in the Prayer Line subject area to request others' prayers for themselves and their families and friends. Each request is met with support, concern, and hope for speedy answers to these community prayers. Best place to spread the gospel of the Internet: Come worship the almighty microprocessor in the Internet newsgroup alt.religion.computers. The group often splits between fundamentalist Windows users and born-again Mac disciples. If you find using a PC a religious experience, you have to be here. Best place to meet a goddess: If your religion is goddess centered, or if you find truth in the stories of the ancients, share your enlightenment with the members of the Internet newsgroup alt.mythology. This fascinating group discusses everything from the Descent of Ishtar to the Nether World to the influence of the goddess(es) on modern religions. After Hours Computer Life Contributing Editor Nancy Tamosaitis has dedicated much of her online life to disproving the popular contention that online services are inhabited only by perverts and porn peddlers. She knows of lots of places you can go for some good, clean fun (or good, risqu_ fun, if it comes to that) with other intelligent adults. Best gay and lesbian hangout: GLIB is a nonprofit, community-supported information and communications resource serving the lesbian, gay, and bisexual community. It's like a gay-oriented CompuServe or Delphi with information on health, law, social events, community groups, the arts, and local and FidoNews 12-39 Page: 7 25 Sep 1995 national news of interest to the gay community. For more information, call (703) 379-4568 or have your modem call (703) 578-4542. Best place to find ROMEOs: AOL's SeniorNet (keyword: senior) is the place to go to find Retired Older Men Eating Out and other seniors who are into computers and online socializing. SeniorNet is a rest and refueling station that provides technical help, social activities, and interesting, lively discussions. Best small-town atmosphere: If you're looking for the feel of a small-town BBS combined with the benefits of a national forum, check out the Rhode Island-based Meeting House BBS [modem (401) 848-2200]. With local access numbers in more than 500 cities nationwide, the Meeting House offers the opportunity to make the entire United States seem like one small, friendly, talkative town. Best place to get tied up: If you're into pastimes like bondage and discipline or sadomasochism, but you're turned off by the blatant hostility of the Internet Usenet newsgroup alt.sex.bondage, a BBS called The English Palace [(908) 739-1755], founded by Master Charles, may be your digital dungeon of choice. Women represent 40 percent of the bulletin board's total membership, possibly due to the good master's vigilance against male callers who might abuse female members. The English Palace is the largest fetish bulletin board on the East Coast. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ======================================================================== Fidonews Information ======================================================================== ------- FIDONEWS MASTHEAD AND CONTACT INFORMATION ---------------- Editors: Donald Tees, Sylvia Maxwell Editors Emeritii: Thom Henderson, Dale Lovell, Vince Perriello, Tim Pozar Tom Jennings "FidoNews" BBS FidoNet 1:1/23 BBS +1-519-570-4176, 300/1200/2400/14400/V.32bis/HST(DS) more addresses: Don -- 1:221/192, don@exlibris.tdkcs.waterloo.on.ca Sylvia- 1:221/194, max@exlibris.tdkcs.waterloo.on.ca (Postal Service mailing address) FidoNews 128 Church St. Kitchener, Ontario Canada N2H 2S4 FidoNews 12-39 Page: 8 25 Sep 1995 voice: (519) 570-3137 sylvia: (519) 579-8029 Fidonews is published weekly by and for the members of the FIDONET INTERNATIONAL AMATEUR ELECTRONIC MAIL system. It is a compilation of individual articles contributed by their authors or their authorized agents. The contribution of articles to this compilation does not diminish the rights of the authors. Opinions expressed in these articles are those of the authors and not necessarily those of FidoNews. Authors retain copyright on individual works; otherwise FidoNews is Copyright 1995 Donald Tees. All rights reserved. Duplication and/or distribution permitted for noncommercial purposes only. For use in other circumstances, please contact the original authors, or the eds. OBTAINING COPIES: The most recent issue of 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 Internet. PRINTED COPIES may be obtained by sending SASE to the above paper-mail address. INTERNET USERS: FidoNews is available via FTP from ftp.fidonet.org, in directory ~ftp/pub/fidonet/fidonews. Anyone interested in getting a copy of the INTERNET GATEWAY FAQ may freq GISFAQ.ZIP from 1:133/411.0, or send an internet message to fidofaq@gisatl.fidonet.org. No message or text or subject is necessary. The address is a keyword that will trigger the automated response. People wishing to send inquiries directly to David Deitch should now mail to fidonet@gisatl.fidonet.org rather than the previously listed address. 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, and are used with permission. ' ' disgreement is actually necessary, or we'd all have to get in fights or semethin to amuse ourselves,, and create the requisite chaos." -Tom Jennings -- END ------------------------------------------------------------------- FidoNews 12-39 Page: 9 25 Sep 1995