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Volume 6, Number 41 9 October 1989
+---------------------------------------------------------------+
| _ |
| / \ |
| /|oo \ |
| - FidoNews - (_| /_) |
| _`@/_ \ _ |
| International | | \ \\ |
| FidoNet Association | (*) | \ )) |
| Newsletter ______ |__U__| / \// |
| / FIDO \ _//|| _\ / |
| (________) (_/(_|(____/ |
| (jm) |
+---------------------------------------------------------------+
Editor in Chief: Vince Perriello
Editors Emeritii: Dale Lovell
Thom Henderson
Chief Procrastinator Emeritus: Tom Jennings
FidoNews is published weekly by the International FidoNet
Association as its official newsletter. You are encouraged to
submit articles for publication in FidoNews. Article submission
standards are contained in the file ARTSPEC.DOC, available from
node 1:1/1. 1:1/1 is a Continuous Mail system, available for
network mail 24 hours a day.
Copyright 1989 by the International FidoNet Association. All
rights reserved. Duplication and/or distribution permitted for
noncommercial purposes only. For use in other circumstances,
please contact IFNA at (314) 576-4067. IFNA may also be contacted
at PO Box 41143, St. Louis, MO 63141.
Fido and FidoNet are registered trademarks of Tom Jennings of
Fido Software, 164 Shipley Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94107 and
are used with permission.
We don't necessarily agree with the contents of every article
published here. Most of these materials are unsolicited. No
article submitted by a FidoNet SysOp will be rejected if it is
properly attributed and legally acceptable. We will publish
every responsible submission received.
Table of Contents
1. ARTICLES ................................................. 1
Make Your SEAdog Do Tricks ............................... 1
BinkleyTerm-SEAdog Accord Reached ........................ 3
SEAdog 4.51b To Ship Soon ................................ 7
On FidoNet Standards, SEAdog and BinkleyTerm ............. 8
Standards: The D'Bridge/FrontDoor perspective ............ 10
Code-Free Packet Radio (act NOW) ......................... 11
IFNA Plebescite, EchoMail, and Other Stuff ............... 13
Preliminary Draft of Rules for IFNA Vote ................. 15
2. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR .................................... 20
MakeNL bug found and corrected in Release 2.20 ........... 20
And more!
FidoNews 6-41 Page 1 9 Oct 1989
=================================================================
ARTICLES
=================================================================
System Enhancement Associates, Inc.
1:107/509@FidoNet, 520/1015@AlterNet
Make Your SEAdog Do Tricks
System Enhancement Associates, Inc. is pleased to announce the
release of the SEAdog Option Package, a set of utilities that
will enhance your mail system and expand the capabilities of your
SEAdog in directions you never imagined. Here's a sample of the
programs that are included:
SECURE1 At last you have a way to ensure the integrity and
privacy of your network mail! Secure1 provides
complete message authentication and encryption. We are
offering a $1000 REWARD to the first person who can
crack Secure1!
USNO Set your system clock to the correct time by calling
the U.S. Naval Observatory or the National Institute
of Standards and Technology. USNO can also be used to
let a SEAdog system set its clock from another SEAdog.
BOUNCE Are you tired of running up unneccesary phone bills
trying to send mail to people who just aren't
deliverable? Are you being deluged by mail for
conferences that you don't carry? BOUNCE can cure your
headache by sending undeliverable mail back to its
originator. BOUNCE is a must for any host, hub, or
conference mail system.
KITTEN A full-featured, script-driven BBS system for use with
or without SEAdog. Because of its powerful script
language, KITTEN is the most flexible BBS program
available, allowing you to do what you want the way you
want to do it. Three sample scripts are included in
the package, ranging from the simple to the ludicrous.
LANDOG At last! The power, flexibility, and ease of use of
SEAdog electronic mail on local area networks! LANDOG
replaces the SEAdog MAILER to send and receive mail on
ANY local area network. Multiple networks can be
linked with SEAdog to send mail from any point to any
point.
FidoNews 6-41 Page 2 9 Oct 1989
ENCLOSE Allows file attaches to be routed, allowing you to send
and receive files from laptops, private nodes, point
systems, and other systems which cannot be dialed
directly.
SLAVE Allows for offline remote control of distant systems.
SLAVE turns the text of a message into a batch file,
executes it, captures the output, and reports back with
the results. Many security features are provided,
including Secure1 authentication of orders before they
are executed.
The SEAdog Option Package includes over a dozen other utilities
to make your system do even more tricks. The list price for the
SEAdog Option Package is $125, but it's being offered for a
limited time at the introductory price of $75.
To order, send your check or money order for $75 to:
System Enhancement Associates, Inc.
21 New Street, Wayne, NJ 07470
or call us at 201-473-5153. We accept MasterCard and VISA.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
FidoNews 6-41 Page 3 9 Oct 1989
Jack Rickard, 1:104/555
The following article will be published in the November issue of
Boardwatch Magazine. It is reprinted here by permission of the
publisher.
BINKLEYTERM-SEADOG ACCORD REACHED
A brewing imbroglio between various vendors of mailer software
used by most amateur BBS mail networks, including the
international Fidonet, was avoided early in October as the
proponents of two competing mailer programs reached an historic
agreement to share information on the SEAlink file transfer
protocol.
For nearly a year, BBS system operators had reported subtle but
vigorously annoying difficulties in passing files and echomail
between systems using the SEAdog mail program developed by System
Enhancement Associates of Wayne New Jersey and the BinkleyTerm
program developed by Bit Bucket Software Co. of Nashua New
Hampshire. It is estimated that over 90% of the International
Fidonet BBS systems use one or the other of these two programs
with BinkleyTerm, a free shareware program comprising the vast
majority of those systems. SEAdog, a $99 commercial program,
served many of the larger multiline TBBS- based systems and had
been in use for several years.
Normally, the two mailer programs pass files using what is known
as a BARK request and the SEAlink file transfer protocol. Two
basic problems arose in passing files between the two programs
when using high-speed modems such as the US Robotics HST 9600 and
14,400 models. In passing files from a SEAdog system to a
BinkleyTerm system, the BinkleyTerm would respond with a Negative
AcKnowledge (NAK) character repeatedly to the very first block of
the file sent. After about ten tries, the systems would give up
and disconnect the call but the calling party was still billed by
the telephone company despite the fact that the transfer had
failed.
The second problem involved file transfers from BinkleyTerm
systems to SEAdog systems. The entire transfer would proceed
normally until the final block of the file. The SEAdog system
would never detect the End Of Text (EOT) character ostensibly
sent by BinkleyTerm to end the transfer. Although the file would
be intact and onboard, SEAdog assumes it failed and deletes the
file from the drive. The BinkleyTerm shows the file as
successfully sent, while SEAdog recorded it as a failure.
Telephone charges could be quite large since the entire file was
transferred before the failure. Worse, operators would get into
disagreements as to whether the file was ever sent.
FidoNews 6-41 Page 4 9 Oct 1989
The actual causes for these communication difficulties were
probably due to some rather subtle timing incompatibilities
that the authors of both programs wrestled with for many months
with mixed success. BBS system operators, incurring increasing
expenses and network difficulties were growing increasingly
aggressive in complaints to both companies. The matter was
brought to a head when a Fidonet sysop filed a policy complaint
with Fidonet authorities over his inability to get mail from
another system. Everyone seemed to have a bit different view of
"whose fault it was" while in truth, the technical vagaries of
advanced protocols preclude such easy answers and authors of both
programs, when pressed, admitted they were not sure precisely
what caused the problems. Additionally, communications between
the two companies was not particularly noteworthy.
Unable to "reverse engineer" a solution from the scant
information available on the SEAlink protocol, the BinkleyTerm
team of Vince Perriello, Bob Hartman, and Alan Applegate
announced during the first week in October their intention to
drop support for SEAlink in an October 12 release of BinkleyTerm
Version 2.40. This would have the effect of forcing BinkleyTerm
and SEAdog transfers to use the Fidonet Technical Standard (FTS)
001 communications method. While this would cure the problem, it
essentially meant dropping back to a now archaic XMODEM file
transfer algorithm which slows down transfers markedly. A 9600
bps transfer would effectively be forced back to an effective
transfer rate of perhaps 2500 bps. This is somewhat akin to
cleaning a baby's bottom with Comet Cleanser and a wire brush -
very effective, but a bit shy of an ideal solution and likely to
cause problems later on.
Thom Henderson, of System Enhancement Associates, is currently
releasing a maintenance update to SEAdog in an attempt to address
some of the problems. The new version 4.51B should be available
by the time you read this. Existing SEAdog users can obtain this
update by mailing in their original SEAdog diskette, a
self-addressed mailing label, and $1 to cover postage. According
to Henderson, this should cure most of the problems between
SEAdog 4.51 and BinkleyTerm 2.30.
But neither solution fully addresses the lingering difficulty in
engineering protocols in mail software. This is complicated by a
host of both technical and economic issues that are very real to
the parties involved and for which there simply are no easy
answers. Given the growing number of mailer protocols, coupled
with the use of ever higher modem speeds, and ever more exotic
protocol algorithms, writing a program to efficiently communicate
with someone else's proprietary protocol becomes virtually an
impossible task. And universal communications capability is not
only desireable in communications software, it is crucial. At the
same time, most authors are understandably reluctant to release
the source code to a program that may have taken years to
develop.
FidoNews 6-41 Page 5 9 Oct 1989
Fortunately, in this particular case the parties involved all
appear to have recognized the impact on the community as a whole
and taken some fairly dramatic steps to not only address the
current problem, but in a sense to set a model for the future. In
an unusual move, Thom Henderson provided source code for the
SEAdog mailer program to an unnamed third party who
volunteered to develop some general state-table documentation on
the SEAlink protocol and SEAdog session negotiation. In theory
any author will be able to use this forthcoming specification to
develop a SEAlink/BARK implementation in any programming
language.
And the BinkleyTerm team, who had already publicly announced the
October 12 release date of BinkleyTerm 2.40 and who in reality
"owns" the lion's share of the Fidonet market, recalled their
beta test copies and committed to support the SEAlink protocol in
Binkley in all future versions - an awkward and perhaps expensive
change in direction for a relatively young software company such
as Bit Bucket Software - and based on an as yet unseen
specification.
Chris Irwin, author of the commercial D'Bridge software, and
Joaquim Homrighausen, author of Front Door, took a more neutral
stance on the issue but also agreed to support SEAlink in future
releases "once the specification was completed and signed off by
both Henderson and the Fidonet Technical Standards Committee."
Squabbles in Fidonet have become so common that many poignantly
refer to it as the "International Fight-O-Net". The death of
Fidonet has been knelled so many times by so many pundits that
its very survival is widely considered a mystery. To outside
observers, the sometimes rabid infighting over what often amount
to scant pennies is both humorous and alarming.
Against that backdrop, it is encouraging to find gentlemen in
Fidonet who face very real and very substantial economic and
technical issues, but can still find a creative way to meet on
some common ground to the greater good of such a community. It is
no small task in itself to try to eek a living from such niche
products in the software world and we feel obligated to point out
that neither Henderson nor the BinkleyTerm team derives a
significant portion of their income from the Fidonet market. We
applaud the notable, and in some sense heroic efforts of Vince
Perriello, Bob Hartman, Alan Applegate, and Thom Henderson to
rise above their personal interests and view the landscape from a
higher vantage point. We would offer it as a model worthy of
emulation by the Fidonet as a whole.
BinkleyTerm 2.30, Bit Bucket Software, Co., 427-3 Amherst St.,
Suite 232, Nashua, NH 03063.
FidoNews 6-41 Page 6 9 Oct 1989
SEAdog 4.51B, System Enhancement Associates, 21 New Street,
Wayne, NJ 07470; (201)473-5153 voice; (201)473-1991 data.
Jack Rickard is Editor of Boardwatch Magazine, a $28 per year
monthly print publication covering online information services
and electronic bulletin board systems. Boardwatch Magazine, 5970
South Vivian Street, Littleton, CO 80127; (303)973-6038 voice;
(303)973-4222 data; Fidonet 104/555.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
FidoNews 6-41 Page 7 9 Oct 1989
System Enhancement Associates, Inc.
1:107/509@FidoNet, 520/1015@AlterNet
SEAdog 4.51b To Ship Soon
It has been brought to our attention that there exists a minor
discrepancy between FTS-0001 and how SEAdog handles a mail
session. Accordingly, we will be releasing a new version of
SEAdog in the near future. While we're at it, this version of
SEAdog will also take steps to work around the bugs in
BinkleyTerm 2.30 relating to SEAdog requesting files from BT and
to SEAdog=>BT file transmission.
Shipment may be delayed if any problems are found in beta test,
but we expect to begin shipping sometime in October. FidoNet
sysops with SEAdog versions 4.50, 4.51, or 4.51a may obtain a
free upgrade by sending their disk with a self-addressed return
mailer or a self-addressed address label plus one dollar to cover
postage and handling to:
System Enhancement Associates, Inc.
21 New Street, Wayne NJ, 07470
Normal upgrade policies apply to earlier versions of SEAdog.
FidoNet sysops with maintenance contracts will receive this
upgrade automatically as soon as it is available.
This is a maintenance release related to SEAdog operation within
the FidoNet amateur electronic mail system. Hence, SEAdog users
within corporate mail networks do NOT need this version.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
FidoNews 6-41 Page 8 9 Oct 1989
Vince Perriello, 1:141/491
Alan Applegate, 1:104/36
Bob Hartman, 1:132/101
On FidoNet Standards, SEAdog and BinkleyTerm
In Fidonews issue 640, we told you about problems we were having
in "enhanced" mail sessions with other mailer software. At the
time we told you that on October 12, 1989 we were going to
release new software which adhered directly to established
specifications in order to alleviate those problems. We also
stated that we would not implement the "enhancements" that were
causing most of the problems until there were established
standards describing them accurately.
Well, now we are here to tell you that the documentation we (and
others) have asked for is going to be written! It has been a
long time in coming, but it looks like it is going to happen.
All of us are really pleased at this turn of events. What did
it take to make this come about? It has involved a lot of
talking, and some give and take from several parties.
What we, the BinkleyTerm developers, have agreed to is to forgo
releasing our strict FTS-0001 implementation for a short time.
What the authors of SEAlink and "bark" have agreed is to support
a documentation effort which will result in an FTSC standard.
This effort has in fact already begun. When the standard is
complete and agreed to by SEA and by the FTSC, it will be
implemented in BinkleyTerm and released as part of our
highly-compliant update. Provided that this effort proceeds at a
reasonable pace, we will not release a version of BinkleyTerm
without SEAlink and "bark" support.
This is probably the best possible solution to what had become a
really serious problem. We fervently hope we will never find
ourselves in a situation like this again. In this case, our
expectation is that the FidoNet Technical Standards Committee
will have suitable documentation to act on well before year's
end.
That was the good news. Now for more good news. At the same
time, several implementation problems with SEAlink sessions have
been tracked down. System Enhancement Associates will be
releasing a new version of SEAdog for FidoNet sysops that will
solve many of the problems with SEAdog talking to BinkleyTerm.
In general, these are workarounds in SEAdog for problems with
BinkleyTerm's reverse-engineered software. However, the changes
will probably also improve reliability with other systems also.
This combination of occurrences lends even more support to the
proposition that FidoNet standards must be carefully documented
and vigorously enforced. This singular issue has managed to
unite network mailer authors to an extent never before seen.
The authors of Fido, BinkleyTerm, D'Bridge, FrontDoor, Isis and
QMM have all agreed that having a proper implementation of
FTS-0001 standard is something that we should all strive for.
FidoNews 6-41 Page 9 9 Oct 1989
Each of these programs is capable of communicating with the
others using other protocols (be it WaZOO or SEAlink or
whatever), but that is not helping other authors wishing to join
FidoNet with their programs. Someone currently implementing to
FTS-0001 would have serious problems talking to some of our
implementations, and that is a situation we all agree should be
quickly addressed.
Hopefully, with the software writers' new insistence that
standards should be adhered to, the FTSC will now be able to get
actively involved in compatibility issues which have troubled us
for years. In one united voice, we have declared that not only
are these standards the only thread that keeps us together, but
they are so critical to our continued existence that
non-compatible mailers cannot be allowed in FidoNet.
We're excited about what has happened here. It has been one heck
of a week.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
FidoNews 6-41 Page 10 9 Oct 1989
Chris Irwin, 1:18/68
Joaquim Homrighausen, 1:135/20
Last week, the authors of BinkleyTerm, FrontDoor and D'Bridge
told you about a problem with the undocumented extensions that
are commonly used in Fidonet. We are, of course, referring to
those extensions to FTS-0001 created by System Enhancement
Associates and used in the SEAdog EMAIL package. Much has
happened over the last week; compromises and agreements have
been made by several parties. We are not directly a part of
such agreements, thus we have a slightly different point-of-view
than Bob and Vince.
Much has been accomplished by the stand that we have taken.
It appears that the SEAlink and "Bark" standards will be clearly
documented and approved by their creator. When this happens,
we will support them in our software. Unfortunately, until such
documentation exists, we are forced to remove all undocumented
extensions for the sake of reliability. Because of all that has
happened, we have decided to delay the release of our software
until October 31st. We would wait until the standards have been
established, but frankly our marketplace demands a new release
sooner than we anticipate that happening.
We wish to assure you that we truly have the best interests of
Fidonet in mind as we make this decision. We think that the
reliability of a mailer is more important that the speed at
which it communicates with the systems that use undocumented
extensions. We hope you agree.
The bottom line is that until both SEA and the FTSC give their
official endorsement to the standards documents, we can not
continue to support these extensions. In fact, we can assure
you that in the future, FrontDoor and D'Bridge will not use any
internal transport mechanisms that are not documented clearly.
We hope you understand our point-of-view. We're not trying to
be the "Bad guys," but we have to listen to our customers'
comments and make rational decisions about what is best for our
marketplace. We sincerely hope that the FTSC documents that we
require will be written and approved quickly.
"The ball is no longer in our court."
-----------------------------------------------------------------
FidoNews 6-41 Page 11 9 Oct 1989
Jack Decker 154/8
CODE-FREE PACKET RADIO
(NOW IS THE TIME TO ACT)
If you are a modem user, you may have wished at times that you
could "cut the cord" and use the radio waves instead. Amateur
radio users do this regularly, using what is known as "packet
radio." Instead of modems and phone lines, you use
transceivers, radio waves, and devices known as "Terminal Node
Controllers." It's more fun and quite often much less expensive
than using the phone lines. The only problem is that you have
to be a licensed amateur (ham) radio operator to do this, and
at present, in order to get an amateur license you have to
demonstrate proficiency in Morse Code! This is a requirement
that seems to discourage many potential amateurs from getting a
license (some have commented that it reminds one of having to
pass a test on proper buggy whip technique before being issued
an automobile operator's license).
According to The W5YI Report (an amateur radio newsletter), the
Federal Communications Commission is taking steps toward
restructuring the Amateur Radio Service in such a manner that
it would be possible to obtain an amateur radio license without
the necessity of passing a test in Morse Code. No less than
twelve different proposals have been submitted to the FCC, all
of which propose the creation of a no-code amateur radio
license to a greater or lesser degree.
"On September 14th, the FCC Secretary's office circulated a
Public Notice (Report No. 1794) entitled 'Petitions for
Rulemaking Filed' asking the public whether the Commission
should further proceed toward amateur restructuring.....
Interested parties should now file a statement in support of or
in opposition to the further consideration of the issue." The
W5YI Report also points out that at this stage of the
proceedings it is not yet appropriate to debate the relative
merits of the various proposals. That will come later, but for
now the FCC is simply looking for a for a show of support to
their going forward on the proposals to restructure the Amateur
Radio Service to include a code-free license.
If you would like to see a code-free license become a reality,
you should file a declaration with the FCC as follows. Include
your name, address, and the date, and if you are already an
Amateur Radio operator, you should include your call sign (and
club affiliation if applicable). You may also include a short
(*not to exceed one paragraph*) statement as to why you feel
the petitions should be further considered. The W5YI Report
again emphasizes that now is not the time to get into a debate
on the details of the various proposals. All you are
indicating now is that the petitions should go forth and a
"Notice of Proposed Rule Making" (the next step in the process)
should be issued. Please note that the FCC must receive your
declaration ON OR BEFORE OCTOBER 14! That means time is *VERY*
short!
FidoNews 6-41 Page 12 9 Oct 1989
Your declaration should read as follows. The heading should be
copied verbatim, but you may vary the text in the body a bit if
you wish. Please consider sending this in today if you are at
all interested in a code free Amateur Radio license.
Before the
FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20554
In the Matter of )
)
A Class of Operator License )
In the Amateur Radio Service ) RM 6984 through 6995
That Does Not Require a )
Demonstration of Proficiency )
in Morse Telegraphy )
DECLARATION OF SUPPORT
On September 14, 1989, the Federal Communications
Commission gave public notice to the filing of RM-6984 through
6995, Petitions for Rule Making. These petitions contain
various proposals for restructuring either the classes of
operator licenses in the Amateur Radio Service or the
qualifying requirements for such licenses or both.
We believe that continued growth in the Amateur Radio Service
would be promoted by the modification or creation of a class of
operator license that does not require a demonstration of Morse
code proficiency as a qualifying element. To the extent that
the captioned petitions propose such an Amateur Radio operator
license, we submit this declaration of support, pursuant to
Section 1.405(a) of the Commissions's Rules.
Signed: _______________________________________________________
-----------------------------------------------------------------
FidoNews 6-41 Page 13 9 Oct 1989
Steve Bonine, 115/777
Zone 1 Coordinator
I apologize for my absence from FidoNews. In a sense, no news is
good news. However, there are several important issues which I
wish to address in this short article.
IFNA Plebescite
---- ----------
If you're a reader of FidoNews, you know that the IFNA Board of
Directors decided at the annual meeting in San Jose to hold a
netwide vote to decide the future of IFNA. The basic idea is
that if IFNA does not receive a majority approval from the nodes
in FidoNet, it will dissolve.
Matt Whelan, the IC, pledged the support of the FidoNet coordina-
tor structure for this effort. Last week, I agreed to serve as
the chair of the IFNA Nominations and Elections committee for the
purpose of conducting the election. Plans are under way.
Details will be available soon. Current plans, subject to
change, are to open the polls in early November and close them on
December 1. Voting will be done through the coordinator struc-
ture; local nodes will vote to their NC and the vote totals will
be passed up through RC to ZC to IC. In addition to tallying the
vote, NC's will be requested to provide a total for eligible
voters in the local net, which will be used to calculate the 50%
requirement.
An important aspect of this project is that the FidoNet coordina-
tors have responsibility for CONDUCTING the vote. They do not
have any responsibility for explaining the issue, defending IFNA,
or answering questions on which way to vote. They are collectors
of votes; nothing more. This does not preclude individual
coordinators from expressing their opinions, but they are just
that -- opinions. Coordinators are not empowered to speak for
IFNA, and should not be asked for official opinions.
Full details will be available by the end of October.
EchoMail and Excommunicated Sysops
-------- --- -------------- ------
Some months ago, David Dodell issued a policy ruling which stated
that excommunicated sysops are not allowed to participate in any
echomail conferences. Policy4 states that such interpretations
may be changed, and the zone-1 ruling will be as follows.
The content of echomail conferences is the responsibility of the
moderator of the specific conference. In some cases (for exam-
ple, the national SYSOP conference), membership in FidoNet is not
a requirement for participation in the conference. I am unwill-
ing for the *C structure to become "echomail police". The
establishment and enforcement of rules for conferences should be
FidoNews 6-41 Page 14 9 Oct 1989
done by the moderators and by the *EC structure.
The *C structure will act on any formal policy complaint.
Policy4 treats echomail as a special case of netmail, thus it IS
possible to be annoying in echomail. If the moderator of a
specific conference does not wish participation by non-FidoNet
nodes, then that should be a part of the rules for the confer-
ence. Persons who violate that rule should be handled using the
same mechanism as is used for anyone who violates the rules for
any echomail conference. If it becomes necessary to file a
formal Policy4 complaint, then the *C structure will become
involved. Until that point, this is the responsibility of the
*EC structure.
This does NOT mean that I condone the participation in echomail
by systems which have been removed from the FidoNet nodelist. In
my OPINION, if the FidoNet backbone is being used to distribute a
conference, that conference should be populated by FidoNet
sysops. But I do not spend my money to move this traffic, and if
those individuals who DO spend their money choose to subsidize
other networks, then that is their decision.
In short, I will support the *EC structure when requested, but I
will not put the *C structure in the position of doing their job
for them.
Other Stuff
----- -----
Work continues on a document to formalize gateways between
FidoNet and other networks, both those which use FidoNet (FTS-
0001) technology and those which do not.
At least four groups are working on revisions to Policy4, not
counting IFNA. It promises to be an interesting Winter. Or
Summer, depending upon your hemisphere.
The October 12 release of D'Bridge, FrontDoor, and BinkleyTerm
has been cancelled, pending the establishment of an FTSC standard
for the protocols used by SEAdog. This we call "progress".
Rick Moore tells me that FTSC is moving towards a certification
program for software. This is something we have needed for
years.
A first in zone 1: A Regional Coordinator was elected by vote of
the sysops. Welcome to Tony Davis, new RC for region 19.
One last note. I have always prided myself on answering 100% of
my netmail. I still do a pretty good job of that, but I've been
rather busy lately, so if your response is delayed, please
understand. But one way to insure that you will NOT get a
response is to send me mail from a non-FidoNet address. I do not
respond to those. Please be sure your mail has a FidoNet address
if you expect a response.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
FidoNews 6-41 Page 15 9 Oct 1989
Steve Bonine, 1:115/777
Election Rules Version 0.10
FidoNet Plebescite Oct. 7, 1989
***** DRAFT ******
Please be aware that this is a draft document. I wanted to share
it with the entire sysop community in this early stage of its
development to solicit your input and to show you that progress
is, indeed, being made.
I will be surprised if this doesn't change in some pretty
important ways by the end of October. If you have questions or
input, feel free to send them to 1:1/11, and I will move them
into the temporary echomail conference that has been set up to
handle the discussions. Or direct your comments to a member of
the discussion group, which includes myself, Bill Bolton, Phil
Buonomo, Randy Bush, Jim Deputy, Fabian Gordon, Jim Grubs, Thom
Henderson, Les Kooyman, Harry Lee, George Peace, John Summers,
and Matt Whelan. And probably someone I've forgotten, since I
just made up that list from my AREAS.BBS, and I don't feed
everyone direct.
Now, on to the actual document:
1. What we're voting on.
The International FidoNet Association Board of Directors, at the
1989 annual meeting at FidoCon in San Jose, passed a resolution
which calls for a vote to be conducted throughout the entire
FidoNet network to decide the future of IFNA. The text of this
resolution is as follows:
We, the representatives of the International FidoNet
Association, have heard a cry for democracy in the
administration of the network. As IFNA is supposed to
represent the interests of the sysops, and as such
representation is deemed to have failed, be it hereby
resolved that:
Without a mandate from the sysops of FidoNet, IFNA has no
purpose or reason for existence.
THEREFORE, the board proposes the following action, of which
failure to pass will mean the dissolution of IFNA:
It is hereby resolved that a special election be held
for consideration by the Sysops of FidoNet of the
following:
IFNA shall be empowered to re-draft the bylaws of IFNA
and to draft a Policy document for FidoNet. Such
FidoNews 6-41 Page 16 9 Oct 1989
documents are to include:
1. An independent judicial system.
2. A reduced size Board of Directors, to be
completely reseated in an election on or before
FidoCon 1990.
3. Better representation from outside the United
States.
4. Make each sysop in FidoNet a member in IFNA
with all rights and privileges of membership.
Voting for referendum of this document shall be completed on
or before December 1, 1989. The rules of the election shall
make it clear that failure of the election to approve the
questions presented shall result in the current Board of
Directors acting under Article XII to dissolve the
corporation.
In addition, it shall be made clear that approval must be
gained from a majority of the eligible nodes in the nodelist
in effect at the time of the election.
(End of resolution.)
2.0 Eligibility.
The sysop of each node in the FidoNet nodelist issued on October
27 (NODELIST.300) is eligible to vote.
2.1 Definition of "sysop".
Each person receives only one vote, regardless of how many
systems he or she runs, and what names are used in the nodelist.
For example, Steve Bonine runs two separate FidoNet systems,
115/444 and 115/777, with slightly different sysop names, but
this entitles Steve Bonine to only one vote.
Network Coordinators (Regional Coordinators for independent
nodes) will, to the best of their ability, enforce the one-
person-one-vote rule. These are the individuals at the best
level to know the sysops.
2.2 Definition of "nodelist".
For purposes of determining eligibility, the nodelist segment
from a given zone will be used. In other words, NODELIST.300 as
it exists in zone 1 is used to determine whether a given sysop in
zone 1 is eligible; NODELIST.300 as it exists in zone 2 is used
to determine eligibility for a zone-2 sysop, and so on. This
negates any effects of non-synchronization of nodelists for that
particular edition.
FidoNews 6-41 Page 17 9 Oct 1989
2.3 Definition of "sysop of record".
Only the sysop listed in the nodelist is eligible to vote. No
co-sysops or point sysops associated with the system may vote.
The voting right is not transferable; the person listed in the
nodelist may vote but may not transfer the right to another
person.
3.0 Voting procedure.
3.1 Ballot
The official ballot will be published in the nodelist difference
file (and thus will appear in the nodelist) for NODELIST.300.
The ballot will contain the official text of the resolution in
question. The ballot and resolution will also be published in
the October 30 FidoNews.
3.1 Collection of votes.
Network Coordinators will collect votes from their nets.
Regional Coordinators will collect votes from independent nodes
in their region. Sysops vote by sending netmail to their NC
(independents to the RC) with a CLEAR INDICATION of a vote of YES
or NO. The voter will also provide a password (8 characters or
less) to be used in a public list of votes. See sections 3.4 and
7.0.
3.2 Acknowledgement of votes.
The coordinator will acknowledge the votes received using
netmail. Network Coordinators will handle this netmail in the
same manner as if it had been received as normal host-routed
mail, that is, if the sysop normally polls to pick up host-routed
mail then that is how it will be delivered. Regional
Coordinators will send an acknowledgement to independents unless
prior arrangements are already in place for the independent to
poll the RC (for example, an arrangement to pick up the
NodeDiff).
Any sysop who votes and does not receive an acknowledgement
within 48 hours should follow up with the coordinator to be sure
that the vote was not lost. (Note: Coordinators take vacations,
usually with the knowledge of the systems in the local net. This
may explain a delay in acknowledgement.)
3.3 Responsibility of coordinators.
The responsibility of the coordinator structure is to conduct the
election. Coordinators answer questions on voting procedure, but
are not authorized to speak for IFNA on policy questions.
Coordinators are free to state their opinion, but may not
pressure the sysop to vote in a particular way (YES or NO).
FidoNews 6-41 Page 18 9 Oct 1989
Coordinators have a responsibility to inform the nodes in their
net (or independents) of the election. In fact, this is an
excellent opportunity to make sure that all nodes in the net (or
independents) are still capable of receiving netmail. However,
voting cannot be imposed as a condition of being in FidoNet. If
an individual prefers not to vote, that is their right.
3.4 Public posting of votes.
At the end of the voting period, each coordinator is to make
available the results of the vote in their jurisdiction. The
normal method of doing this is to publish the information in a
local echomail conference. If no such local conference exists,
the coordinator should include in the acknowledgement message for
votes the method to obtain the results.
In addition, the coordinator must respond to any netmail
requesting the results. Coordinators are encouraged to provide
the information in a file-requestable file named VOTEnnnn.TXT
where nnnn is the net or region number.
The results to be posted are:
(a) A list, by node number, of who voted.
(b) A list, by password (see item 3.1) of the individual
votes.
(c) A count of the number of eligible voters in the net, or
for RC's a count of the number of eligible votes from regional
independent nodes.
4.0 Tabulation.
Using the schedule in item 5, results will be reported up the
coordinator structure. The three items in 3.4 will be reported.
5.0 Schedule.
October 27: NODELIST.300 is published. Coordinators begin
accepting votes.
December 1: Polls close at midnight local time at the collection
point. NO LATE VOTES WILL BE ACCEPTED.
December 4: Coordinators post final vote detail (see 3.4).
Note: Coordinators are encouraged to post interim lists of which
nodes have voted each week during the voting period, but should
not post actual vote counts until the polls close.
FidoNews 6-41 Page 19 9 Oct 1989
December 11: Deadline for challenges. Any questions based upon
the public posting of votes must be received by the collection
system no later December 11 at midnight local time.
December 15: Deadline for NC's to report their totals to RC's.
December 18: Deadline for RC's to report their totals to ZC's.
December 22: Results published in NODELIST.356.
6.0 Miscellaneous.
6.1 Changing votes
Changing votes is NOT ALLOWED. Tabulating each vote once is
enough work for the *C structure.
6.2 Cheating
An attempt by any individual to cast more than one vote will
disqualify that individual from this election.
6.2 Appeals
The decision of the NC or RC can be appealed to the IFNA Election
and Nomination Committee by sending netmail to 1:1/11.
6.3 Irregularities and Difficulties
Any problems with the voting process should be reported to
1:1/11. Please report problems as early in the voting process as
possible, so that they can be addressed while the polls are still
open.
7.0 Sample Ballot
My vote on the IFNA resolution published via NODEDIFF.300 is:
_____ YES _____ NO
Post this vote using the following password: _______________
-----------------------------------------------------------------
FidoNews 6-41 Page 20 9 Oct 1989
=================================================================
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
=================================================================
From: Ben Baker of 7:44/76@Alternet
To: FidoNews Editor of 1:1/0@Fidonet
Subj: New MakeNL
Please publish a notice at your earliest convenience that a
serious bug in MakeNL has been discovered and fixed. The new
version is 2.20. It is important for ZCs and RCs to upgrade
ASAP. The bug probably doesn't affect NCs. It can be obtained
from 1:1/0, 7:7/0 and 7:44/76 (the latter supports bark at 14.4
KB).
Ben
-----------------------------------------------------------------
FidoNews 6-41 Page 21 9 Oct 1989
=================================================================
LATEST VERSIONS
=================================================================
Latest Software Versions
MS-DOS Systems
--------------
Bulletin Board Software
Name Version Name Version Name Version
Fido 12n+ Phoenix 1.3 TBBS 2.1
Lynx 1.30 QuickBBS 2.04 TComm/TCommNet 3.4
Kitten 2.15* RBBS 17.2A TPBoard 5.2
Opus 1.03b+ Wildcat! 2.00P
Network Node List Other
Mailers Version Utilities Version Utilities Version
BinkleyTerm 2.30* EditNL 4.00 ARC 6.02
D'Bridge 1.21 MakeNL 2.20* ARCmail 2.0
Dutchie 2.90C ParseList 1.30 ConfMail 4.00
FrontDoor 2.0 Prune 1.40 EMM 2.02
PRENM 1.47 XlatList 2.90 GROUP 2.15*
SEAdog 4.51A XlaxDiff 2.32 LHARC 1.13
XlaxNode 2.32 MSG 3.3
MSGED 1.99
PK[UN]ZIP 1.01*
QM 1.0
QSORT 4.03*
TCOMMail 2.2
TMail 1.11
TPBNetEd 3.2
UFGATE 1.03
XRS 3.0*
ZmailQ 1.09
Macintosh
---------
Bulletin Board Software Network Mailers Other Utilities
Name Version Name Version Name Version
Red Ryder Host v2.1b3 Tabby 2.1 MacArc 0.04
Mansion 7.12 ArcMac 1.3
WWIV (Mac) 3.0 StuffIt 1.51
TImport 1.331
TExport 1.32
FidoNews 6-41 Page 22 9 Oct 1989
Timestamp 1.6
Tset 1.3
Timestart 1.1
Tally 1.1
Mehitabel 1.2
Archie 1.60
Jennifer 0.25b2g
Numberizer 1.5c
MessageEdit 1.0
Mantissa 1.0
PreStamp 2.01
R.PreStamp 2.01
Saphire 2.1t
Epistle II 1.01
Import 2.52
Export 2.54
Sundial 2.1
AreaFix 1.1
Probe 0.052
Terminator 1.1
TMM 4.0b
Amiga
-----
Bulletin Board Software Network Mailers Other Utilities
Name Version Name Version Name Version
Paragon 1.00+* BinkleyTerm 1.00 ConfMail 1.10*
ChameleonEdit 0.10
RMB 1.30
Atari ST
--------
Bulletin Board Software Network Mailer Other Utilities
Name Version Name Version Name Version
Star-Net 2.00 BinkleyTerm 1.03g ConfMail 1.00
EchoDoor 0.11 ParseList 1.30
GS Point 0.61 ARC 5.21
FoReM Door 1.00 TurboArc 1.1
LHARC 0.40
PKUNZIP 1.00
MSGED 1.96S
SRENUM 6.2
OMMM 1.30
Timestop 1.00
FidoNews 6-41 Page 23 9 Oct 1989
+ Netmail capable (does not require additional mailer software)
* Recently changed
Utility authors: Please help keep this list up to date by
reporting new versions to 1:1/1. It is not our intent to list
all utilities here, only those which verge on necessity.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
FidoNews 6-41 Page 24 9 Oct 1989
=================================================================
NOTICES
=================================================================
The Interrupt Stack
11 Oct 1989
First International Modula-2 Conference at Bled, Yugoslavia
hosting Niklaus Wirth and the British Standards Institution.
Contact 1:106/8422 for more information.
11 Nov 1989
A new area code forms in northern Illinois at 12:01 am.
Chicago proper will remain area code 312; suburban areas
formerly served with that code will become area code 708.
23 Nov 1989
26th Anniversary of "Dr. Who" - and still going strong
30 Dec 1989
Telephone area codes (5, 3 and 0) are abolished in Hong Kong
If you have something which you would like to see on this
calendar, please send a message to FidoNet node 1:1/1.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
FidoNews 6-41 Page 25 9 Oct 1989
OFFICERS OF THE INTERNATIONAL FIDONET ASSOCIATION
Thom Henderson 1:107/583 Chairman of the Board
Les Kooyman 1:204/501 President
Fabian Gordon 1:107/323 Vice President
Bill Bolton 3:3/0 Vice President-Technical Coordinator
Kris Veitch 1:147/30 Secretary
Kris Veitch 1:147/30 Treasurer
IFNA COMMITTEE AND BOARD CHAIRS
Administration and Finance *
Board of Directors (CoB) Thom Henderson 1:107/583
By-laws and Rules John Roberts 1:385/49
Executive Committee (Pres) Les Kooyman 1:204/501
International Affairs *
Membership Services *
Nominations and Elections Steve Bonine 1:1/0
Public Affairs *
Publications Irene Henderson 1:107/9
Technical Standards Rick Moore 1:115/333
Ethics *
Security and Privacy *
Grievances *
* Position awaiting confirmation by appointee.
IFNA BOARD OF DIRECTORS
DIVISION AT-LARGE
10 Courtney Harris 1:102/732 Don Daniels 1:107/210
11 John Rafuse 1:12/700 Phil Buonomo 1:107/583
12 Bill Bolton 3:711/403 Mark Hawthorne 1:107/238
13 Fabian Gordon 1:107/323 Tom Jennings 1:125/111
14 Ken Kaplan 1:100/22 Irene Henderson 1:107/509
15 Scott Miller 1:128/12 Steve Jordan 1:206/2871
16 Ivan Schaffel 1:141/390 Robert Rudolph 1:261/628
17 Kathi Crockett 1:134/30 Dave Melnik 1:107/233
18 Andrew Adler 1:135/47 Jim Hruby 1:107/536
19 Kris Veitch 1:147/30 Burt Juda 1:107/528
2 Henk Wevers 2:500/1 Karl Schinke 1:107/516
3 Matt Whelan 3:54/99 John Roberts 1:147/14
-----------------------------------------------------------------
FidoNews 6-41 Page 26 9 Oct 1989
__
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 6-41 Page 27 9 Oct 1989
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