F I D O N E W S -- Vol.13 No. 6 (05-Feb-1996) +----------------------------+-----------------------------------------+ | 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__| / \// | | | _//|| _\ / | | | (_/(_|(____/ | | | (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 | +----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | 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 Greetings Editor!........................................... 2 Greetings Editor!........................................... 3 FidoNet.... Commentary...................................... 3 Dirt Cheap Software Available............................... 4 CaveNet -- for Cave-Related Conferences..................... 7 Gateways, Fido and Life..................................... 8 Backbone Echo Changes [Nov-Dec]............................. 9 Free Listings in the Telecommunications Directory........... 10 Mr Juda..................................................... 10 3. Fidonews Information.......................................... 11 ======================================================================== Editorial ======================================================================== FidoNews 13-06 Page: 2 05 Feb 1996 I apparently got the node address of Mr CIA wrong last week. The article had been sent via a bombing run to some 15 or twenty people, and contained the entire article written by Mr. Juda as a quotation at the begining. I editid out the 20 or 30 kludge lines, etc., that resulted, and seem to have gotten the wrong node number on the article. For that, I apologize. For calling Mr. CIA a paranoid idiot in this week's issue, I will not. Perhaps the readers of this can read his note, and decide on that themselves. I cannot be bothered. ======================================================================== Articles ======================================================================== Greetings Editor! From: C I A (1:2623/71) You needn't feel embarrassed on my behalf. I just wanted to point out, however, that I don't even have an echomail feed, so I don't know how I would be well-known. My apologies if the word "anal" was taken as foul-mouthed. Also, I think you may be mistaken about Mr. Juda paying for his gateway on his own nickle, his message said the IEEE had paid for the resources and bandwidth (hence my comment about leeching).. The purpose of my letter was to express my disgust at the way the gateway was run - twit filtering, improper bouncing, etc.. I did not ask for a chance to run my own gate - I stated that I could, very simply and cheaply, do so, and intend to do so, but not with FTS gating programs. Mr. Juda wanted to go out the door making us all feel guilty that a few people were abusing his service - it wasn't me, I used the gateway perhaps three times, and found it unreliable, and didn't continue trying. My message offered a few reasons not to feel guilty about Burt quitting, that we're not loosing a gatekeeper, we're gaining an open door :) (BTW, my real name is in the nodelist, if you would like to look up my node, CIA are my initials ;p ) CiA FidoNews 13-06 Page: 3 05 Feb 1996 Greetings Editor! From: C I A (1:2623/71) Sir, I have just noticed an error in the letter you published from me. ** The Free Ride is Over! *** BY C.I.A. CASINO NETWORK (1:2623/58) [snip] Why does it say Casino Network (1:2623/58) when I sent it to you crash from my own node, which was in the origin or kludge line? (I wonder, Is that a subtle attempt to frame me of forgery, for later reprisals, for sending my msg about Mr. Juda?? Yes, I'm paranoid ;p ) --------------------------------------------- EDITOR'S NOTE: It arrived with 4 pages of quotations at the beginning. Those contained several different addresses of various systems, and it was unclear where it came from. I cleaned it up (apparently erroneously) before printing it. If that gives rise to rampant paranoia, I apologize. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- FidoNet.... Commentary by Fran Clodomar 1:278/109 No Place Like . . . My name is Fran and I'm a sysop of oh, say, uh, 9 years. I have been a user when I got my first computer, which was (blush, shudder) Tandy 1K TX. That was also my first bbs computer. Along the way, I met some really wonderful folks and some not so wonderful folks. I also met users face to face as well as online. At the time I begun, I was living in Texas, in a small city and started modeming. I still have fond memories of Net 386. (Hi guys, hope you're reading this little drivel). You know, the image you have in mind sometimes doesn't jab with reality. (I'd confess, I had this image of a God-like persona when I finally met the sysop of one of the bbs that I had frequented.) It was a relief and a let-down. A relief because the sysop was a normal person like myself and a let-down because of the image that I had so carefully crafted from a few cyber-chat that I had with him was blown to smithereens. Now why am I writing this?? First, I've got nothing better to do than to sit at my computer all day and wait for the echoes to come in. I know what you are thinking, "Yeah, right ", a sly grin on your faces. Okay so that didn't work. Okay. How about this one, "I've been meaning to write to Fidonews for a long time now and this is a good a chance as any." No??? Humph! You are a tough audience, you know. The jokes are deader than a ..... Can't say that word. This is a family type audience. Young folks might be reading this and get the wrong impression. I know I just did, reading the last issue (13-05). What a horrible way to end the tome. Insult flying, crude manners showing, and a no-gut way of bragging. NO-GUT??!!?? you say. Yes, no guts. The writer didn't FidoNews 13-06 Page: 4 05 Feb 1996 bother to use his real name on the article. Instead he/she used an alias of C.I.A. Kind of make you wonder if perhaps he/she (got to be PC here) was the terrorist behind the successful bombing of the Fidonet/Internet Gateway. Let's give this person a round of applause, shall we? [applause sign light up] It is this kind of mentality that causes others to question their sanity about doing FUN things that helps connect and bring people together. It's this kind of mental attitude that causes echoes to dry up. And it is this kind of attitude that causes net to stagnant and died. DIED??!!?? You asked incrediously. Yes died. At least the Fidonet that I once knew is dying. I never did get the chance to meet Tom Jennings or any of the founding members but I did get a chance to meet the wonderful folks who followed after them. We must not let a few mean-spirited individuals try to spoil the camaderie and spirit that was once Fidonet. Fidonet set the trends for other nets. It is the standard by which othernets judged themselves. There is not a day that goes by when this net isn't mention whether in a derogatory manner or in a neutral tone. I don't have the answers on how to make this net better. But I do have some thought on how to treat people. Just because it's a few pixels that lights up the phosphor dots on a cathode ray tube, it doesn't mean we can hide behind it and act boorish. It doesn't mean that we can take our intelligence down 100 point below and act like complete jerks or idiots. Come on, now. The words were written by a human being, flesh and blood, with intelligence, wits, sensitivity, and heart. I've read some of the posting in some of the echoes and some of them are so down right cruel and crude even from the moderators themselves. Shouldn't such one be a model for the users in the echoes? You may not care, but I do. And I aim to stick with Fidonet til the bitter end. Thank you for your attention to my long-winded drivel. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Dirt Cheap Software Available by Bruce Bowman 1:231/710 Dirt Cheap Software Products I was a little suprised to see that ads were allowed in the last snooze. I thought I'd take advantage of that, if it's allowed. If not...simply don't publish this message. PRODUCTS IN THE DIRT CHEAP SOFTWARE LINE! ========================================= The following products are all available from the H.O.M.E. BBS on your first call (317)539-6579 or may be file requested from FidoNet 1:231/710 or DoorNet 75:7317/71. They are also available at several anonymous FTP sites on the Internet and the QFN file distribution system. FidoNews 13-06 Page: 5 05 Feb 1996 DIRT CHEAP DOORS have been successfully configured and run on RemoteAccess systems, QuickBBS, Renegade, GAP, TriBBS, GTPower, PowerBBS, Searchlight, Spitfire, Synchronet, ProBoard, PCBoard, Maximus, RBBS, and more! Surely they will run on your system, too! The H.O.M.E. BBS uses a VFast modem that may have difficulty handshaking with some V.34 modems. Send email to BEB@lilly.com and we'll find a way to get them to you! BCheckers --------- The flagship of the Dirt Cheap line. Many features, the best CHECKERS DOOR on the market! Have to see to believe. FidoNet "magic name" of BCHECK. Play the sysop, online rules and door instructions, hall of fame and game status bulletins, non- standard COM ports, with or without a FOSSIL, simple configuration. $12 registration. *Coming soon -- play the computer! * Buzz ---- The original role-playing DOOR of drug abuse. Try to reach the ozone layer before burning out all your brain cells. Go to jail, grow your hair, jump out the window if you take too many hallu- cinogens. MUCH more! Ratings are assigned at the end of the game, includes an online "Hall of Burnouts." *DISCLAIMER* Buzz is for fun, and is not meant to condone the activities mentioned within it. Please place the door in a restricted area so children cannot access it. Carrier ------- A FREEWARE utility for QuickBBS and close clones, CARRIER allows you to detect users who often drop carrier and take appropriate action to warn or punish them. Configurable file names and warn/punish levels. Use it in conjunction with the PACK_IT utility below. DoItAll ------- MUST-HAVE Swiss army knife specifically for QuickBBS sysops! Completely manage and sort your file area listings, remove missing files or add orphans. Create best user bulletins, prune log files, make allfiles lists. Even includes a generator for user's birthdays this month! MUCH MORE PLANNED - free upgrades. Shareware: $10 registration. Pack_It ------- Convert MULTIPLE text files into a SINGLE FidoNet type 2 packet. Makes both netmail or echomail -- at the same time, if you want -- and can be used for gating mail in some applications. Notify yourself of uploads or post log files to yourself, rather than FidoNews 13-06 Page: 6 05 Feb 1996 reading them from DOS. Can be run from any directory. Converts multiple files in a SINGLE PASS...option to delete the files once posted. Uses your tosser to route the resulting mail according to your existing configuration. Shareware -- only $5. KaBoom! ------ Excellent clone DOOR of the Minesweeper game. Full configuration, Hall of Fame, TUTORIAL MODE, and MORE! FidoNet "magic name" of KABOOM. $10 registration. Towers of Hanoi --------------- Yet another DOOR of the classic puzzler. Move the stacked disks from one peg to the other without ever placing a large disk on top of a smaller one. You're being timed! Select number of disks, with separate Hall of Fame for each level of difficulty. Much more! $8 registration...FidoNet "magic name" of HANOI. Toilet Stall ------------ Another great DOOR from DIRT CHEAP SOFTWARE! This is a grafitti wall door with a twist...the grafitti appears in the bowl of a toilet! As you read each post, the previous post is flushed. Hilarious! Many configuration options, $5 registration. FidoNet "magic name" of TOILET. Tic-Tac-Time ------------ More fun than it sounds! Play Tic-Tac-Toe against the computer and WIN CONNECT TIME! Great graphics. Configurable "computer error" levels, and much more. FidoNet "magic name" of TICTAC. $5 registration. FREAKOUT! --------- A program that's sure to throw a scare into your co-workers. When executed, FREAKOUT's sirens wail, a huge WARNING flashes, and a notice is displayed that their hard drive will be erased if they don't type a ridiculous key combination within 15 SECONDS. It appears to carry out this threat, but really does nothing and stops in a couple of minutes. FREEWARE! FileSort -------- Simple QuickBBS utility to sort your file areas alphabetically. "Magic name" of FILESORT. FREEWARE! LogPrune -------- Simple command-line utility to prune log files before they get out of hand. FREEWARE! "Magic name" of LOGPRUNE. ExitBug ------- FidoNews 13-06 Page: 7 05 Feb 1996 FREEWARE! Fixes doors running under QuickBBS that expect a RemoteAccess style of EXITINFO.BBS. "Magic name" of EXITBUG. Dirt Cheap doors are available at two anonymous FTP sites on the Internet. Check out one of these sites for the latest version: ftp.ldl.net ftp.uniserve.com /pub/bbs_doors/dirt_cheap wuarchive.wustl.edu /pub/MSDOS_UPLOADS/bbsdoors File names are: BCHECK15.ZIP KABOOM22.ZIP BUZZ11.ZIP TICTAC11.ZIP TOILET10.ZIP HANOI10.ZIP PACK_IT and DOITALL are available at any SimTel mirror site in the /simtel/msdos/fido and /simtel/msdos/bbs directories, respectively. Try the wuarchive site above, oak.oakland.edu, or ftp.cdrom.com. There are MANY other simtel sites as well. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- CaveNet -- for Cave-Related Conferences by Bruce Bowman 1:231/710 CaveNet Echoes Available I'm not going to waste a lot of hard drive space here -- if you are interested in some cave-related echoes, consider connecting with the CaveNet conferences. CaveNet is gated into Fido by me (Bruce Bowman) at 1:231/710. There is no distribution system, nor is it on the backbone. Until traffic increases, you will have to poll me for mail. Several of the echoes are gated to Internet mailing lists, as indicated by the * below. If interested, send me netmail giving me a session password and what echoes you want to carry. There are currently no file echoes. ADMIN (required for all nodes) NATIONAL SPELEOLOGICAL SOCIETY CAVERS DIGEST* CONSERVATION BATLINE* GENERAL MISSOURI VALLEY OZARK REGION* OHIO VALLEY REGION* TENNESSEE-ALABAMA-GEORGIA REGION* SURVEYING AND MAPPING* VERTICAL (ropework) DIVING (scuba caving) FidoNews 13-06 Page: 8 05 Feb 1996 Roolz ----- 1) I do NOT have areafix or an equivalent set up, so if you send me a message of this nature it will be ignored. I can do a rescan for you if you ask me to. 2) I currently make a mail run every Saturday, so it would be best to poll me on Sunday -- your mail will be waiting on hold for you. 3) Please poll at least once a week. 4) Do not hub the mail to others without prior approval. 5) Don't be a jerk -- flamefests are mercilessly stifled. If traffic increases, so will the frequency of mail exchanges, and we might even get on the backbone. See the latest echolist in the CN_* section for more information. That is all... ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Gateways, Fido and Life by Bruce Bowman 1:231/710 Time to Talk of Many Things... Re: Internet Killed the Fidonet Star Ronald, you hit the target. The only reason people call here anymore is because I offer free email access so friends can leave each other messages -- or to play a door or hog a file. Even now, I have a caller online who didn't even read my system news and instead made a beeline for Trade Wars. But I think you may have overlooked other reasons for why FidoNet may be crumbling. I believe that Planet Connect was the beginning of the end for FidoNet. Before PC, we had an interwoven *C and *EC structure that HAD TO cooperate to survive. Suddenly, every net was an island, and my own was no exception. NECs just downloaded off the bird, and the NCs started refusing to perform what I consider to be a duty of the position -- routing netmail. Many wouldn't even pick up FidoNews, and now there are times when even nodediffs lie musty and forgotten. The link was broken. FidoNet was once a community that stretched across the planet, dedicated to INFORMATION EXCHANGE, and populated by sysops who were primarily a bunch of techies. But with the advent of the "BBS-in-a-box," everyone could become a sysop. We grew beyond sustainability, and the camaraderie was suddenly gone. Sharing of information turned to flamefests. Internet or no internet, I believe we need to place the blame for the downfall of FidoNet squarely on ourselves. How to fix it? I have no idea, but I will tell you this...I put a Linux partition on my hard drive last night. Re: No more fidonet.org FidoNews 13-06 Page: 9 05 Feb 1996 As usual, someone has performed a thankless job for years, performed it well, and had to get out of the business because a few people refused to follow some simple rules. Even worse, we have a [name deleted after thinking better of it] trying to kick him when he's down. Mr. Juda, thank you for putting up with us for all these years. I have never corresponded with you, but I appreciate what you have done. Be assured that the majority of us feel the same way, and will not lower ourselves to crying like a child just because we can no longer conveniently suckle at the tit of your generosity. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Backbone Echo Changes [Nov-Dec] by Lisa Gronke, 1:105/16 lisa@psg.com Summary of backbone & quasi-backbone echo changes during Nov & Dec. Brought to you courtesy of (unix) diff. diff (backbone.na + backbone.no) 05-Nov-95 ditto 31-Dec-95 [edited] Added to the backbone --------------------- > 10TH_AMD 10th Amend., rights of the people and the states > APWORKS Support for Programs by Alberto Pasquale > BBS_DOORS Discussions of all types of BBS Doors > BEATLES BEATLES CONFERENCE > BOOKEM Book 'Em - Juveniles and the Law > CANADIAN_POLITICS A forum for discussion of Canadian Politics > CRAFTING_BAZAAR Crafting Bazaar > DOS_INTERNET DOS/BBS Internet Applications: KA9Q, SLIP_IT, Etc. > FOSTER Foster Care Issues > GRASSROOTS Grassroots Political Echo > HOBBIES Hobbies Discussion > HOCKEY_CARDS Hockey Card Collectors Echo > INTRACTABLE_PAIN Discussion of Intractable Pain > MOD_COUNCIL Discussions concerning the Moderator Council > NAT_FLEA_MKT National Flea Market > NEW Discussions regarding Army Specialist Michael New > NEW_WORLD_ORDER Talk of the 'New World Order' and the 'World Gov't' > PAUL_REVERE The Paul Revere 2AM Grassroots Conference > RANMA_1/2 Ranma 1/2 Discussion > RA_32BIT 32Bit RemoteAccess Discussion Echo > SIP_AABUS SIP_AA Business Discussion > TOTT_ROCK Rock Talk - Christian Discussion > TOTT_SOS Survivors of Suicide Loss > TREMOR_DISORDERS Tremor and Other Movement Disorders > VIA_SOFT Via Software Support and Discussion > XENIA Xenia Mailer Support FidoNews 13-06 Page: 10 05 Feb 1996 Removed from the backbone or quasi-backbone ------------------------------------------- < CNET (not in EchoList since 11/1/95) < TWIT Discuss policy as it relates to Network Twits o There are 801 echos in backbone.na [31-Dec-95] (up 43) o There are 44 echos in backbone.no [31-Dec-95] (down 19) o for a total of 845 backbone & quasi-backbone echos (up 24) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Free Listings in the Telecommunications Directory by Nigel Allen (1:250/438) Free Listings in the Telecommunications Directory A Detroit publishing company, Gale Research Inc., is preparing a new edition of its {Telecommunications Directory}, which it describes as "an international descriptive guide to telecommunications companies, services, systems, and related organizations in the field." If you provide telecommunications services (data communications, cellular, teleconferencing, electronic mail, etc.) or provide telecommunications-related serices such as telecommunications- oriented consulting or legal services, you may want to get your company listed in the directory. There is no charge to be listed. Internet service providers are especially encouraged to get themselves listed. Associations and labor unions in the telecommunications field are also eligible to be listed. I will be glad to send a questionnaire for the directory to anyone who requests one, or you can obtain one by going to the Web page http://www.io.org/~ndallen/tdq.txt Nigel Allen, Toronto, Ontario, Canada ndallen@io.org http://www.io.org/~ndallen/ ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Mr Juda Jerry Hindle 1:123/4 This article is aimed directly at the "so-called" mr cia....(notice the small letters there small man) You rant and rave about Bert Juda shutting down the internet gateway and say it is about time he "got out of the way"... This brings to mind 2 points right off the bat. POINT 1: Bert was never "in the way" to begin with. He provided (at FidoNews 13-06 Page: 11 05 Feb 1996 his own expense) a service used by many in fidonet. This makes him an order of magnatude better then you could ever hope to be. You're not even man enough to use your real name....but then again I keep forgeting the fact that you are a "little man" POINT2: The fact that Bert had a gate up and running in no way stopped you from doing the same. There were/are gates all over fidonet into the internet. If you are so "good" at running a gate maybe you should have already set yours up. In reality, you are probably a 12 year old "cereal-box-sysop" with a lot of free time on your hands, a big mouth, small brain, and an inferiority complex that is so big you have to use four letter words to feel wanted. I think Bert Juda (and I "have" met the man) and a lot of other sysops in this net would be just delighted to see you set up your "gate". I can bet you won't and it won't be because you can't get an ISP that is not anal retentive (like yourself), but because you lack the know-how, funds and your parents permission.... Think this one question over long and hard kid....... If you set up your "gateway", are you capable of defending yourself against all the lawsuits, gate crashers, assorted low lifes (like yourself) and general abusers. I doubt it. I tend to believe that your parents (you remember them....the folks that pay your bills) would snatch the plug on you so fast your brain wouldn't stop spinning for at least a month. Tell ya what......set up your gate....I'll be more then happy to bring your petty ego crashing down (along with your hardware) around your ears. Then, after you have had a taste of your own medicine, I'll give you time to lick your wounds (along with your balls) and when you come back for more .......you'll get it! Sign me Jerry Hindle 1:123/4 (look it up in your nodelist...at least it is my "real name") ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ======================================================================== Fidonews Information ======================================================================== ------- FIDONEWS MASTHEAD AND CONTACT INFORMATION ---------------- Editor: Donald Tees Editors Emeritii: Thom Henderson, Dale Lovell, Vince Perriello, Tim Pozar Tom Jennings, Sylvia Maxwell "FidoNews" BBS FidoNet 1:1/23 FidoNews 13-06 Page: 12 05 Feb 1996 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 (Postal Service mailing address) FidoNews 154 Victoria St. S. Kitchener, Ontario Canada N2H 2b5 voice: (519) 570-4899 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 1996 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,, FidoNews 13-06 Page: 13 05 Feb 1996 and create the requisite chaos." -Tom Jennings -- END -------------------------------------------------------------------