1000 lines
45 KiB
Plaintext
1000 lines
45 KiB
Plaintext
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Volume 5, Number 49 5 December 1988
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+---------------------------------------------------------------+
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| / \ |
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| /|oo \ |
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| - FidoNews - (_| /_) |
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| _`@/_ \ _ |
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| International | | \ \\ |
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| FidoNet Association | (*) | \ )) |
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| Newsletter ______ |__U__| / \// |
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| / FIDO \ _//|| _\ / |
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| (________) (_/(_|(____/ |
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| (jm) |
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+---------------------------------------------------------------+
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Editor in Chief Dale Lovell
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Editor Emeritus: Thom Henderson
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Chief Procrastinator Emeritus: Tom Jennings
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Contributing Editors: Al Arango
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FidoNews is published weekly by the International FidoNet
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Association as its official newsletter. You are encouraged to
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submit articles for publication in FidoNews. Article submission
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standards are contained in the file ARTSPEC.DOC, available from
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node 1:1/1.
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Copyright 1988 by the International FidoNet Association. All
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rights reserved. Duplication and/or distribution permitted for
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noncommercial purposes only. For use in other circumstances,
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please contact IFNA at (314) 576-4067. IFNA may also be contacted
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at PO Box 41143, St. Louis, MO 63141.
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Fido and FidoNet are registered trademarks of Tom Jennings of
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Fido Software, 164 Shipley Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94107 and
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are used with permission.
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The contents of the articles contained here are not our
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responsibility, nor do we necessarily agree with them.
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Everything here is subject to debate. We publish EVERYTHING
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received.
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Table of Contents
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1. ARTICLES ................................................. 1
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FSC-0027 - Proposed Nodelist Flags Update ................ 1
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2. COLUMNS .................................................. 10
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Bodies Behind the BBS: Don Daniels ...................... 10
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RegComm - Communications From RegCon ..................... 12
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3. NOTICES .................................................. 14
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The Interrupt Stack ...................................... 14
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New Medical Echo: MEDLIT -- Medical Literature Discussi .. 14
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Latest Software Versions ................................. 14
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4. COMMITTEE REPORTS ........................................ 16
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IFNA Treasurer's Report .................................. 16
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FidoNews 5-49 Page 1 5 Dec 1988
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=================================================================
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ARTICLES
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=================================================================
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Below you will find the proposed update to the nodelist flags.
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This proposal will be open to public comment for a period of
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fourteen days from the date it appears in FidoNews. Please
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direct all constructive comments to Rick Moore, 1:115/333.
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Please don't waste your time and effort with complete rewrites of
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this document. What I am looking for is small detail revisions
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that will make it a better document, not a complete rewrite.
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While I am sure this document will not please anyone completely,
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it represents the sum of several months of discussion by the
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FTSC, followed by several rounds of revision by myself and the
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FidoNet International Coordinator.
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A few words concerning the objectives in this update are in
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order. First, there was a concerted effort to minimize the size
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of the nodelist, which is growing at a very rapid rate.
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Second, there was a clear concensus in the FTSC to limit the
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content in the nodelist to that needed by FidoNet nodes, rather
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than a humanly readable BBS list. Third, there was great demand
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to include modem data, expand the data concerning types of
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file-request/update supported, provide a flag to denote gateways
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to other network domains, and provide a mechanism by which
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nonstandard data could be included into a nodelist entry. Last,
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and this was my own desire, I tried to make these flags upwardly
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compatible with the flags used in the AlterNet nodelist, where
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possible.
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A machine readable version of this document is available at
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1:115/333 as FSC-0027.ARC. Special machine readable versions in
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either MultiMate or DCA/RFT (Document Content Architecture /
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Revised Form Text) format are available upon special request.
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==========
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FSC-0027
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The Distribution Nodelist
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by Ben Baker, 1:100/76
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updated by Rick Moore, 1:115/333
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December 3, 1988
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Copyright 1986, 1987, 1988 International FidoNet Association. All
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rights reserved. Duplication and or distribution permitted for
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non-commercial purposes only.
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This document is a proposed update for the document known under
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the names of FSC002-4, FSC-0002, and FTS-0002.
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This document defines the format and content of the nodelist for
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FidoNews 5-49 Page 2 5 Dec 1988
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the Public FidoNet Network (PFN) as published each Friday.
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The PFN is an international network of independently owned
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electronic mail systems, most with interlocking electronic
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bulletin board systems. The distribution nodelist, or simply
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"nodelist," is the glue which holds the network together. It is
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the PFN's "phone book" and it defines the top-level network
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structure.
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The nodelist is published as an ASCII text file named
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NODELIST.nnn, where nnn is the day-of-year of the Friday
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publication date. This file is packed into an archive file (by
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System Enhancement Associates' ARC utility) named NODELIST.Ann,
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where nn are the last two digits of day-of-year.
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A companion file, COORD.nnn, lists the coordinators of the
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various regions and local networks which constitute the PFN. This
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file may be created from NODELIST.nnn by the program COORD.EXE,
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distributed by many PFN bulletin boards.
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As stated above, NODELIST.nnn is an ASCII text file. It contains
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two kinds of lines, comment lines and data lines. Each line is
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terminated with an ASCII carriage return and line feed character
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sequence, and contains no trailing white-space (spaces, tabs,
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etc.). The file is terminated with an end-of-file character (EOF
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= decimal character value 26).
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Comments lines contain a semicolon (;) in the first character
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position followed by zero or more alphabetic characters called
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"interest flags." A program which processes the nodelist may use
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comment interest flags to determine the disposition of a comment
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line. The remainder of a comment line (with one exception,
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treated below) is free-form ASCII text. There are five interest
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flags defined as follows:
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;S This comment is of particular interest to Sysops.
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;U This comment is of particular interest to BBS users.
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;F This comment should appear in any formatted "Fido List."
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;A This comment is of general interest (shorthand for ;SUF).
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;E This comment is an error message inserted by the nodelist
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generating program MakeNL.
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; This comment may be ignored by a nodelist processor.
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The first line of a nodelist is a special comment line containing
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identification data for the particular edition of the nodelist.
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The following is an example of the first line of a nodelist:
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;A FidoNet Nodelist for Friday, July 3, 1987 --
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Day number 184 : 15943
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This line contains the general interest flag, the day, date,
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FidoNews 5-49 Page 3 5 Dec 1988
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and day-of-year number of publication, and ends with a 5-digit
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decimal number with leading zeros, if necessary. This number is
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the decimal representation of a check value derived as follows:
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Beginning with the first character of the second line, a
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16-bit cyclic redundancy check (CRC) is calculated for the
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entire file, including carriage return and line feed
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characters, but not including the terminating EOF
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character. The check polynomial used is the same one used
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for many file transfer protocols:
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2**16 + 2**12 + 2**5 + 2**0
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The CRC may be used to verify that the file has not been edited.
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The importance of this will become evident in the discussion of
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NODEDIFF, below. CRC calculation techniques are well documented
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in the literature, and will not be treated further here.
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The content of the remaining comments in the nodelist are
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intended to be informative. Beyond the use of interest flags for
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distribution, a processing program need not have any interest in
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them.
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A nodelist data line contains eight variable length "fields"
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separated by commas (,). No space characters are allowed in a
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data line, and underscore characters are used in lieu of spaces.
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The following discussion defines the contents of each field in a
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data line.
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Field 1: Keyword
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The keyword field may be empty, or may contain one of the
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following:
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Zone --
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Begins the definition of a geographic zone and define
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its coordinator. All the data lines following a line
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with the "Zone" keyword down to, but not including the
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next occurrence of a "Zone" keyword, are regions,
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nets and nodes within the defined zone.
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Region --
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Begins the definition of a geographic region and
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defines its coordinator. All the data lines following
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a line with the "Region" keyword down to, but not
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including the next occurrence of a "Region" or "Host"
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keyword, are independent nodes within the defined
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region.
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Host --
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Begins the definition of a local network and defines
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its host. All the data lines following a line with the
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"Host" keyword down to, but not including the next
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occurrence of a "Region" or "Host" keyword, are local
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FidoNews 5-49 Page 4 5 Dec 1988
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nodes, members of the defined local network. The
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difference between a region and a local network is in
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the routing of messages. A message addressed to a
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member of a region is sent direct to the addressee,
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while a message to a member of a local network is sent
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to the network host.
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Hub --
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Begins the definition of a routing subunit within a
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multilevel local network. The hub is the routing
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focal point for nodes listed below it until the next
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occurrence of a "Hub", "Region", "Host", or "Zone"
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keyword. The hub entry MUST be a redundant entry,
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with a unique number, for one of the nodes listed
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below it. This is necessary because some nodelist
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processors eliminate these entries in all but the local
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network.
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Pvt --
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Defines a private node with unlisted number. Private
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nodes are only allowed as members of local networks.
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Hold --
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Defines a node which is temporarily down. Mail may
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be sent to it and is held by its host or coordinator.
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Down --
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Defines a node which is not operational. Mail may NOT
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be sent to it. This keyword may not be used for
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longer than two weeks on any single node, at which
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point the "down" node is to be removed from the
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nodelist.
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<empty> --
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Defines a normal node entry.
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Field 2 - Net/Node number
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This field contains only numeric digits and is a number in
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the range of 0 to 32767. If the line had the "Zone",
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"Region", or "Host" keyword, the number is the zone,
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net, or region number, and the node has an implied node
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number of 0. Otherwise, the number is the node number.
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The zone number, region or net number, and the node
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number, taken together, constitutes a node's FidoNet
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address.
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Zone numbers must be unique. Region or net numbers must be
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unique within their zone. Other numbers must be unique
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within their respective units.
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Field 3 - Node name
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This field may contain any characters except commas and
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spaces. Underscores are used to represent spaces. This is
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the name by which the node is known.
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FidoNews 5-49 Page 5 5 Dec 1988
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Field 4 - Location
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This field may contain any characters except commas and
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spaces. Underscores are used to represent spaces. This
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field contains the location of the node. In the USA it is
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typically "City_ST where ST is the standard two-letter
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abbreviation for the state.
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Field 5 - Sysop name
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This field may contain any characters except commas and
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spaces. Underscores are used to represent spaces. This is
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the name of the system operator.
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Field 6 - Phone number
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This field contains at least three and usually four numeric
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subfields separated by dashes (-). The fields are country
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code (1 for USA and Canada), city or area code, exchange
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code, and number. The various parts of the phone number
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are frequently used to derive cost and routing information,
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as well as what number is to be dialed. A typical example
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of the data in a phone number field is 1-800-555-1212,
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corresponding to country 1 (USA), area 800 (inbound
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WATS), exchange 555, and number 1212.
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Alternatively, this field may contain the notation
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"-Unpublished-" in the case of a private node. In this
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case, the keyword "Pvt" must appear on the line.
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Field 7 - Baud rate
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This field contains one of the values: 300, 1200, 2400,
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or 9600, and defines the maximum baud rate supported by the
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node.
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Field 8 - Flags
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This optional field contains data about the specific
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operation of the node, such as file requests, modem
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protocol supported, etc. Any text following the sixth
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comma on a data line is taken collectively to be the flags
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field. The required format is zero or more subfields,
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separated by commas, consisting of a flag, possibly
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followed by a value.
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The following flags define special operating conditions:
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Flag Meaning
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CM Node accepts mail 24 hours a day
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MO Node does not accept human callers
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The following flags define modem protocols supported:
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FidoNews 5-49 Page 6 5 Dec 1988
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Flag Meaning
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CT1 CCITT V21 300 bps
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CT2 CCITT V23 1200/75 split bps rate
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CT3 CCITT V22 1200 bps full duplex
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HAY Hayes V9600
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HST USR Courier HST
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MAX Microcom AX/96xx series
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PEP Telebit TrailBlazer
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V32 CCITT V32
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V33 CCITT V33
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V34 CCITT V34
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NOTE: Many V22 modems also support Bell 212A.
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If no modem flag is given, Bell 212A is assumed for
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1200 bps systems, CCITT V22bis is assumed for 2400 bps
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systems.
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The following flags define type of error correction
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available. A separate error correction flag should not be
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used when the error correction type can be determined by the
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modem flag. For instance, a modem flag of HST implies MNP.
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Flag Meaning
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MNP Microcom Networking Protocol error correction
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V42 LAP-M error correction w/fallback to MNP
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The following flags define the type(s) of compression of
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mail packets supported.
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Flag Meaning
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MN No compression supported
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NOTE: The only compression method supported
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by FidoNet at this time is SEA's ARC, as
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defined by the specs for ARCMail 0.6. When
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other types of mail compression are adopted,
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indicators for them will be added. For now,
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the absence of a compression flag indicates
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that ARCMail 0.6 compression is supported.
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The following flags indicate the types of file/update
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requests supported.
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Flag Meaning
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XA Bark and WaZOO file/update requests
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XB Bark file/update requests, WaZOO file
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requests
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XP Bark file/update requests
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FidoNews 5-49 Page 7 5 Dec 1988
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XR Bark and WaZOO file requests
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XW WaZOO file requests
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The following flag defines gateways to other domains
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(networks).
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Flag Meaning
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Gx Gateway to domain 'x' where 'x` is a value
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from 'A' to 'Z` or `1' to '9'.
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NOTE: Valid values of 'x' are assigned by
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the FidoNet International Coordinator.
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Current valid values of 'x' may be found in
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|||
|
the notes at the end of the current FidoNet
|
|||
|
nodelist.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
The following flags define the dedicated mail periods
|
|||
|
supported. They have the form "#nn" or !nn where nn is the
|
|||
|
UTC hour the mail period begins, # indicates Bell 212A
|
|||
|
compatibility and ! indicates incompatibility with Bell
|
|||
|
212A.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Flag Meaning
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
#02 Zone 2 mail hour (02:30 - 03:30 UTC)
|
|||
|
#09 Zone 1 mail hour (09:00 - 10:00 UTC)
|
|||
|
#18 Zone 3 mail hour (18:00 - 19:00 UTC)
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
NOTE: When applicable, the mail period
|
|||
|
flags may be strung together with no
|
|||
|
intervening commas, eg. "#02#09". Only
|
|||
|
mail hours other than that standard within a
|
|||
|
node's zone should be given. Since
|
|||
|
observance of mail hour within one's zone is
|
|||
|
mandatory, it should not be indicated.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
The following flag defines user-specific values. If
|
|||
|
present, this flag MUST be the last flag present in a
|
|||
|
nodelist entry.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Flag Meaning
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Ux..x A user-specified string, which may contain
|
|||
|
any character except blanks. This string may
|
|||
|
contain one to thirty-two characters of
|
|||
|
information that may be used to add
|
|||
|
user-defined data to a specific nodelist
|
|||
|
entry. This string may not contain any flags
|
|||
|
already defined in this document. FTSC makes
|
|||
|
no guarantee that it will not assign an
|
|||
|
unused letter/number to new flags. Certain
|
|||
|
unused flags are already reserved - see the
|
|||
|
FidoNews 5-49 Page 8 5 Dec 1988
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
list below.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
The following flags are reserved for future planned
|
|||
|
expansion of existing flags: Mx and Px (where 'x' is any
|
|||
|
valid character). This is not meant to imply that FTSC will
|
|||
|
not use any to use any other character sequences, and FTSC
|
|||
|
reserves the right to assign any flag deemed necessary.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
The FTSC recognizes that the FidoNet International
|
|||
|
Coordinator is the ultimate authority over what appears in
|
|||
|
the FidoNet nodelist. Also, the FTSC is by definition a
|
|||
|
deliberative body, and adding or changing a flag may take a
|
|||
|
considerable amount of time. Therefore, the FidoNet
|
|||
|
International Coordinator may temporarily make changes or
|
|||
|
additions to the flags as defined in this document. The
|
|||
|
FidoNet International Coordinator will then consult with
|
|||
|
the FTSC over the changes needed to this document to reflect
|
|||
|
these temporary changes.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
The following are examples of nodelist data lines:
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Host,102,SOCALNET,Los_Angeles_CA,John_Doe,1-213-874-9484,2400,XP
|
|||
|
,101,Rainbow_Data,Culver_City_CA,Don_Brauns,1-213-204-2996,2400,
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
With more than a thousand nodes, the nodelist, even in archive
|
|||
|
form, is a substantial document (or file). Since distribution
|
|||
|
is via electronic file transfer, this file is NOT routinely
|
|||
|
distributed. Instead, when a new nodelist is prepared, it is
|
|||
|
compared with the previous week's nodelist, and a file
|
|||
|
containing only the differences is created and distributed.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
The distribution file, called NODEDIFF.nnn, where nnn is the
|
|||
|
day-of-year of publication, is actually an editing script which
|
|||
|
will transform the previous week's nodelist into the current
|
|||
|
nodelist. A definition of its format follows:
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
The first line of NODEDIFF.nnn is an exact copy of the first line
|
|||
|
of LAST WEEK'S nodelist. This is used as a first-level
|
|||
|
confidence check to insure that the right file is being edited.
|
|||
|
The second and subsequent lines are editing commands and editing
|
|||
|
data.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
There are three editing commands and all have the same format:
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
<command><number>
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
<command> is a 1-letter command; A, C, or D. <number> is
|
|||
|
a decimal number greater than zero, and defines the number
|
|||
|
of lines to be operated on by the command. Each command
|
|||
|
appears on a line by itself. The commands have the
|
|||
|
FidoNews 5-49 Page 9 5 Dec 1988
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
following meanings:
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Ann - Add the following nn lines to the output file.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Cnn - Copy nn unchanged lines from the input to the output
|
|||
|
file.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Dnn - Delete (or skip) nn lines from the input file.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
The following illustrate how the first few lines of NODEDIFF.213
|
|||
|
might look:
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
;A Friday, July 25, 1986 -- Day number 206 : 27712
|
|||
|
D2
|
|||
|
A2
|
|||
|
;A Friday, August 1, 1986 -- Day number 213 : 05060
|
|||
|
;A
|
|||
|
C5
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
This fragment illustrates all three editing commands. The first
|
|||
|
line is the first line from NODELIST.206. The next line says
|
|||
|
"delete the first two lines" from NODELIST.206. These are the
|
|||
|
identification line and the line following it. The next command
|
|||
|
says "add the next two lines" to NODELIST.213. The two data
|
|||
|
lines are followed by a command which says "copy five unchanged
|
|||
|
lines" from NODELIST.206 to NODELIST.213. Notice that the first
|
|||
|
line added will ALWAYS contain the new nodelist's CRC.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Since only the differences will be distributed, it is important
|
|||
|
to insure the accuracy of the newly created nodelist. This is
|
|||
|
the function of the CRC mentioned above. It is sufficient for a
|
|||
|
program designed to perform the above edits to pick the CRC
|
|||
|
value from the first line added to the output file, then compute
|
|||
|
the CRC of the rest of the output file. If the two CRCs do not
|
|||
|
agree, one of the input files has been corrupted. If they do
|
|||
|
agree, the probability is very high (but not 100%) that the
|
|||
|
output file is accurate.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
For actual distribution, NODEDIFF.nnn is packed into an archive
|
|||
|
file named NODEDIFF.Ann, where nn are the last two digits of
|
|||
|
day-of-year.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
FidoNews 5-49 Page 10 5 Dec 1988
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
=================================================================
|
|||
|
COLUMNS
|
|||
|
=================================================================
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Steve Bonine
|
|||
|
115/777
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
An Introduction of Don Daniels (107/210)
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Don Daniels was last year's IFNA President, thus his name should
|
|||
|
be the FidoNet equivalent of a "household word". (A "network
|
|||
|
word"? A "system word"? A "dirty word"?) In spite of what some
|
|||
|
might think, neither "Don" nor "Daniels" is a four-letter word.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Don started Fido 86 at Grumman Data Systems in October, 1984. He
|
|||
|
selected Fido software because of the potential benefits of the
|
|||
|
network support for a company distributed in so many locations.
|
|||
|
The Grumman system is still running, plus two at Don's home.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Then there's the train. Don commutes to New York City via the
|
|||
|
Long Island Railroad, and uses his laptop during those two hours
|
|||
|
each day to access his mail. He has written a utility named
|
|||
|
xOVER which he uses to keep straight the file attaches, special
|
|||
|
files, and two independent messages bases (one on the laptop and
|
|||
|
one on the home BBS). Don reports that his biggest fear is
|
|||
|
getting so involved in what he's doing that he works right past
|
|||
|
his stop.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Don's history in FidoNet began as an independent for quite a
|
|||
|
while, finally joining net 107 in 1986. He was NC for a year or
|
|||
|
so, during which time he operated as the Long Island Hub, a
|
|||
|
position he still maintains. After surviving last year's stint
|
|||
|
as President of IFNA, Don is still quite active in the organiza-
|
|||
|
tion as a Director and member of the Executive Committee.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
The year as President took its toll on time for traditional sysop
|
|||
|
tasks, and everything else. Both of Don's BBS's have a general
|
|||
|
PC-DOS flavor, the IEEE LI one being slanted toward users in the
|
|||
|
IEEE community. Experimenting with a "life outside FidoNet", Don
|
|||
|
has just re-started on a volleyball team, and is even looking
|
|||
|
forward to possible time playing softball in the Spring! When
|
|||
|
you spend 25 hours a day working as IFNA President, it does
|
|||
|
impact almost everything else.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
If we need a mascot for FidoNet, I'm happy to report that Don is
|
|||
|
the owner of a black lab, named (what else?) Fido. The other
|
|||
|
dog, a viszla named Rexx, is named after the IBM Real-time
|
|||
|
Executive Language. A nice touch.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Since leaving Grumman, Don has been an independent computer
|
|||
|
consultant, and he's presently on contract with the Jacob Javits
|
|||
|
Convention Center in NYC, providing technical support for their
|
|||
|
PC, Wang VS, and IBM mainframe systems. Having travelled a bit
|
|||
|
in his younger days -- circling the world twice while working
|
|||
|
overseas for seven years out a ten year span -- Don is currently
|
|||
|
FidoNews 5-49 Page 11 5 Dec 1988
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
negotiating with the UN for a possible computer consultancy
|
|||
|
contract in Kenya. Look for a new zone opening soon, near you!
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
-------------------
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
I want to add just a short author's comment. Response to this
|
|||
|
column has been underwhelming, at best. Not that I expected
|
|||
|
anything else, but sometimes it is nice to be surprised. I plan
|
|||
|
to keep going for at least a few more weeks -- after all, I owe
|
|||
|
it to the folks who went to the not-inconsiderable trouble to
|
|||
|
send me information on themselves -- but when the material stops
|
|||
|
coming in, the columns will stop going out. After all, this
|
|||
|
ain't fiction. . .
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
FidoNews 5-49 Page 12 5 Dec 1988
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
RegComm - Communications From RegCon.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
All of the Regional Cordinators of FidoNet meet in a private echo
|
|||
|
named RegCon. It is here that we discuss what needs to be done to
|
|||
|
enhance FidoNet and help it grow, and to discuss our problems and
|
|||
|
solutions to those problems. Very recently David Dodell was
|
|||
|
placed in a position that allowed outside interference to affect
|
|||
|
his actions and a few errors in judgement were the result. But
|
|||
|
from those errors came a new intensity in communications within
|
|||
|
RegCon and the development of an entirely new team concept.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
There will be those who will immediately attempt to convince you
|
|||
|
this can't possibly work because of the politics involved. We can
|
|||
|
assure you the only politics involved will be from those who
|
|||
|
accuse us of it.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
RegCon will, as a team, endeavor to keep all FidoNet SysOps fully
|
|||
|
informed of our work. We will do this via messages in a few of
|
|||
|
the echoconferences and by a column in FidoNews. We ask that any
|
|||
|
of our fellow SysOps feel free to communicate with your local Net
|
|||
|
Coordinator and your Regional Coordinator at any time you feel it
|
|||
|
necessary. We hope you will all keep your Net Coordinators fully
|
|||
|
informed of your feelings and help your Net Coordinators to keep
|
|||
|
us informed. If, at any time, you feel that chain of communi-
|
|||
|
cations is failing we welcome your direct input with a request
|
|||
|
for your concerns to be forwarded to RegCon. Please excuse us for
|
|||
|
not responding to messages in any of the echoconferences, as less
|
|||
|
than five percent of the net is represented in these areas and it
|
|||
|
is not good time management for us to do so. If there is any
|
|||
|
problem with this please let us know and we will restrict our
|
|||
|
information flow to FidoNews only.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
As our first effort to clear our communications channels we would
|
|||
|
like to address the subject of the mandated technical require-
|
|||
|
ments that were originally to take effect on January 1. That
|
|||
|
mandate was rescinded weeks back and it appears we had an almost
|
|||
|
total failure in communications when that took place. That
|
|||
|
failure was within the RegCon team as it was our responsibility
|
|||
|
to deliver the original mandate and our responsibility to commun-
|
|||
|
icate to you that it had been rescinded. We are in the process of
|
|||
|
informing all of the Net Coordinators and Regional Echo Coordin-
|
|||
|
ators of the change to make sure all are aware and we apologize
|
|||
|
if we failed to make it perfectly clear.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
The Fidonet Technical Specifications Committee is presently
|
|||
|
working on new specifications for the software used within the
|
|||
|
net. When these specifications are available we will know what
|
|||
|
capabilities we will have and will address the uses of those cap-
|
|||
|
abilities. We all agree to the need for gating between FidoNet
|
|||
|
and the other nets, and the need for good software to make this a
|
|||
|
positive move and a move that will be of benefit to all. Trying
|
|||
|
to make any decisions before the necessary software is available
|
|||
|
was our error and we will do our best to avoid any reoccurances
|
|||
|
of "putting the cart before the horse". You can be sure that
|
|||
|
RegCon is fully supportive of the work being done by the FTSC and
|
|||
|
we hope to see new specifications in the near future.
|
|||
|
FidoNews 5-49 Page 13 5 Dec 1988
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Remember, if you have any concerns we would appreciate it if you
|
|||
|
would address them via NetMail so that we may respond quickly and
|
|||
|
directly. We do want your input and we're working very hard to
|
|||
|
assure a clear channel for communications for all.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
("RegComm" will be a weekly column in FidoNews and your comments
|
|||
|
are welcome. Please address your concerns and comments via
|
|||
|
NetMail to your Net or Regional Coordinator, you should receive
|
|||
|
an answer within a few days. It's your net and we are in need of
|
|||
|
your input in order for us to fairly represent you.)
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
FidoNews 5-49 Page 14 5 Dec 1988
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
=================================================================
|
|||
|
NOTICES
|
|||
|
=================================================================
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
The Interrupt Stack
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
24 Aug 1989
|
|||
|
Voyager 2 passes Neptune.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
5 Oct 1989
|
|||
|
20th Anniversary of "Monty Python's Flying Circus"
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
If you have something which you would like to see on this
|
|||
|
calendar, please send a message to FidoNet node 1:1/1.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
New Medical Echo: MEDLIT -- Medical Literature Discussions
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Richard Kaplan
|
|||
|
Medical Software Exchange
|
|||
|
1:135/3
|
|||
|
(305) 325-8709
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
I am organizing a new echo (MEDLIT) which will include
|
|||
|
discussions of current papers in popular medical journals such as
|
|||
|
JAMA and NEJM. I think electronic publishing ultimately could
|
|||
|
revolutionize the way medical information is disseminated by
|
|||
|
minimizing publication delays and providing for efficient
|
|||
|
discussion of controversial theories, including direct
|
|||
|
communication with authors. Perhaps FidoNet can in some way
|
|||
|
contribute to this vision.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Think of MEDLIT as an electronic letters-to-the-editor section of
|
|||
|
your favorite medical journal. If the echo is of high enough
|
|||
|
quality and has enough participation, I would be willing to
|
|||
|
compile the messages periodically and submit them to the editors
|
|||
|
of the appropriate journals, similar to the publication of the
|
|||
|
"Best of Bix" in Byte magazine at one time.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Let me know if you would like to link into this echo or if you
|
|||
|
have any suggestions about organizing it. I am PC-PURSUITABLE,
|
|||
|
but if you do not use PC PURSUIT then I will try to link you in
|
|||
|
locally as the distribution list grows.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Latest Software Versions
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
BBS Systems Node List Other
|
|||
|
& Mailers Version Utilities Version Utilities Version
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
FidoNews 5-49 Page 15 5 Dec 1988
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Dutchie 2.90b EditNL 4.00 ARC 5.32*
|
|||
|
Fido 12i MakeNL 2.12 ARCmail 1.1
|
|||
|
Opus 1.03b Prune 1.40 ConfMail 4.00
|
|||
|
SEAdog 4.10 XlatList 2.86 EchoMail 1.31
|
|||
|
TBBS 2.1* XlaxNode 2.22 MGM 1.1
|
|||
|
BinkleyTerm 2.00 XlaxDiff 2.22 TPB Editor 1.21
|
|||
|
QuickBBS 2.03 ParseList 1.20 TCOMMail 1.1
|
|||
|
TPBoard 4.2 TMail 8812*
|
|||
|
TComm/TCommNet 3.2 UFGATE 1.0
|
|||
|
Lynx 1.10 GROUP 2.0*
|
|||
|
D'Bridge 1.10
|
|||
|
FrontDoor 2.0
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
* Recently changed
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Utility authors: Please help keep this list up to date by
|
|||
|
reporting new versions to 1:1/1. It is not our intent to list
|
|||
|
all utilities here, only those which verge on necessity.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
FidoNews 5-49 Page 16 5 Dec 1988
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
=================================================================
|
|||
|
COMMITTEE REPORTS
|
|||
|
=================================================================
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
IFNA Treasurer's Report
|
|||
|
November, 1988
|
|||
|
Steve Bonine 115/777
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
IFNA Treasurer's report for November, 1988
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
RECIEPTS & DEPOSITS
|
|||
|
Membership fees 300.00
|
|||
|
Sales 100.00
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
TOTAL RECEIPTS $400.00
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
DISBURSEMENTS
|
|||
|
Postage 41.40
|
|||
|
Phone expense 202.89
|
|||
|
Copies 2.47
|
|||
|
Professional services (Marc Rubin) 299.50
|
|||
|
IFNA board meeting at FidoCon 33.09
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
TOTAL DISBURSEMENTS 579.05
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
EXCESS RECEIPTS OVER DISBURSEMENTS (179.05)
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
ADD BEGINNING BALANCE 6220.40
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
BALANCE IN ACCOUNT 6041.35
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Full year-to-date IFNA financial data is available for file-
|
|||
|
request from 1/11 using the name of IFNA$.
|
|||
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|
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|
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|
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|
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|
FidoNews 5-49 Page 17 5 Dec 1988
|
|||
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|
|||
|
|
|||
|
OFFICERS OF THE INTERNATIONAL FIDONET ASSOCIATION
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Hal DuPrie 1:101/106 Chairman of the Board
|
|||
|
Bob Rudolph 1:261/628 President
|
|||
|
Matt Whelan 3:3/1 Vice President
|
|||
|
Ray Gwinn 1:109/639 Vice President - Technical Coordinator
|
|||
|
David Garrett 1:103/501 Secretary
|
|||
|
Steve Bonine 1:115/777 Treasurer
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
IFNA BOARD OF DIRECTORS
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
DIVISION AT-LARGE
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
10 Courtney Harris 1:102/732? Don Daniels 1:107/210
|
|||
|
11 Bill Allbritten 1:11/301 Hal DuPrie 1:101/106
|
|||
|
12 Bill Bolton 3:711/403 Mark Grennan 1:147/1
|
|||
|
13 Rick Siegel 1:107/27 Steve Bonine 1:115/777
|
|||
|
14 Ken Kaplan 1:100/22 Ted Polczyinski 1:154/5
|
|||
|
15 Larry Kayser 1:104/739? Matt Whelan 3:3/1
|
|||
|
16 Vince Perriello 1:141/491 Robert Rudolph 1:261/628
|
|||
|
17 Rob Barker 1:138/34 Steve Jordan 1:102/2871
|
|||
|
18 Christopher Baker 1:135/14 Bob Swift 1:140/24
|
|||
|
19 David Drexler 1:19/1 Larry Wall 1:15/18
|
|||
|
2 Henk Wevers 2:500/1 David Melnik 1:107/233
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
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|
|||
|
|
|||
|
FidoNews 5-49 Page 18 5 Dec 1988
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
__
|
|||
|
The World's First / \
|
|||
|
BBS Network /|oo \
|
|||
|
* FidoNet * (_| /_)
|
|||
|
_`@/_ \ _
|
|||
|
| | \ \\
|
|||
|
| (*) | \ ))
|
|||
|
______ |__U__| / \//
|
|||
|
/ Fido \ _//|| _\ /
|
|||
|
(________) (_/(_|(____/ (tm)
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Membership for the International FidoNet Association
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Membership in IFNA is open to any individual or organization that
|
|||
|
pays a specified annual membership fee. IFNA serves the
|
|||
|
international FidoNet-compatible electronic mail community to
|
|||
|
increase worldwide communications.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Member Name _______________________________ Date _______________
|
|||
|
Address _________________________________________________________
|
|||
|
City ____________________________________________________________
|
|||
|
State ________________________________ Zip _____________________
|
|||
|
Country _________________________________________________________
|
|||
|
Home Phone (Voice) ______________________________________________
|
|||
|
Work Phone (Voice) ______________________________________________
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Zone:Net/Node Number ____________________________________________
|
|||
|
BBS Name ________________________________________________________
|
|||
|
BBS Phone Number ________________________________________________
|
|||
|
Baud Rates Supported ____________________________________________
|
|||
|
Board Restrictions ______________________________________________
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Your Special Interests __________________________________________
|
|||
|
_________________________________________________________________
|
|||
|
_________________________________________________________________
|
|||
|
In what areas would you be willing to help in FidoNet? __________
|
|||
|
_________________________________________________________________
|
|||
|
_________________________________________________________________
|
|||
|
Send this membership form and a check or money order for $25 in
|
|||
|
US Funds to:
|
|||
|
International FidoNet Association
|
|||
|
PO Box 41143
|
|||
|
St Louis, Missouri 63141
|
|||
|
USA
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Thank you for your membership! Your participation will help to
|
|||
|
insure the future of FidoNet.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Please NOTE that IFNA is a general not-for-profit organization
|
|||
|
and Articles of Association and By-Laws were adopted by the
|
|||
|
membership in January 1987. The second elected Board of Directors
|
|||
|
was filled in August 1988. The IFNA Echomail Conference has been
|
|||
|
established on FidoNet to assist the Board. We welcome your
|
|||
|
input to this Conference.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|
|||
|
FidoNews 5-49 Page 19 5 Dec 1988
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
INTERNATIONAL FIDONET ASSOCIATION
|
|||
|
ORDER FORM
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Publications
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
The IFNA publications can be obtained by downloading from Fido
|
|||
|
1:1/10 or other FidoNet compatible systems, or by purchasing
|
|||
|
them directly from IFNA. We ask that all our IFNA Committee
|
|||
|
Chairmen provide us with the latest versions of each
|
|||
|
publication, but we can make no written guarantees.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Hardcopy prices as of October 1, 1986
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
IFNA Fido BBS listing $15.00 _____
|
|||
|
IFNA Administrative Policy DOCs $10.00 _____
|
|||
|
IFNA FidoNet Standards Committee DOCs $10.00 _____
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
SUBTOTAL _____
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
IFNA Member ONLY Special Offers
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
System Enhancement Associates SEAdog $60.00 _____
|
|||
|
SEAdog price as of March 1, 1987
|
|||
|
ONLY 1 copy SEAdog per IFNA Member
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Fido Software's Fido/FidoNet $100.00 _____
|
|||
|
Fido/FidoNet price as of November 1, 1987
|
|||
|
ONLY 1 copy Fido/FidoNet per IFNA Member
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
International orders include $10.00 for
|
|||
|
surface shipping or $20.00 for air shipping _____
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
SUBTOTAL _____
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
MO. Residents add 5.725% Sales Tax _____
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
TOTAL _____
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
SEND CHECK OR MONEY ORDER IN US FUNDS:
|
|||
|
International FidoNet Association
|
|||
|
PO Box 41143
|
|||
|
St Louis, Mo. 63141
|
|||
|
USA
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Name________________________________
|
|||
|
Zone:Net/Node____:____/____
|
|||
|
Company_____________________________
|
|||
|
Address_____________________________
|
|||
|
City____________________ State____________ Zip_____
|
|||
|
Voice Phone_________________________
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Signature___________________________
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
|