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Volume 6, Number 35 28 August 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. EDITORIAL ................................................ 1
READ THIS -- IT COULD BE IMPORTANT! ...................... 1
2. ARTICLES ................................................. 3
FidoCon Message from Zone 1 RC's ......................... 3
Zone Council Selects New International Coordinator ....... 7
What is CLF & NCLM? ...................................... 8
Some first impressions of FidoCon ........................ 10
Contest for Students ..................................... 12
An Event of Galactic Importance .......................... 13
3. LATEST VERSIONS .......................................... 15
Latest Software Versions ................................. 15
And more!
FIDONEWS 6-35 Page 1 28 Aug 1989
=================================================================
EDITORIAL
=================================================================
I'm typing this on my laptop at FidoCon, about two hours after
the adjournment of the IFNA Board of Directors meeting. It was
an experience that I'm just too tired to be able to communicate
to you at the moment. But that won't save you from having to
read something that was passed in the meeting.
The reason I feel it necessary to put what is basically a news
item into this Editorial is because I feel very strongly that you
need to read this and to think about it. IFNA has thrown down
the gauntlet of Democracy in FidoNet and at the same time
addressed the claims that it no longer deserves to exist. You
have been enfranchised in a process that can result in a complete
change in the way FidoNet is administered, as well as correcting
any problems that you may have observed in IFNA, or to dissolve
IFNA and proceed from there.
The text of the specific Board of Directors resolution 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 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.
FIDONEWS 6-35 Page 2 28 Aug 1989
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 IFNA BoD resolution]
So, folks, here it is. A shot at Democracy. Tell your friends.
Read it carefully. Discuss it with the rest of your Net.
There's an important vote coming up, and you need to decide
whether you want to be enfranchised in it or not. I'd recommend
that you take this opportunity to make your voice heard. You've
never had a better chance.
IFNA has finally determined that the 1986 plebiscite needs to be
re-held. They've done so at a very propitious moment for both
IFNA and FidoNet. What you need to decide here is whether you
want to vote for a "re-design" of IFNA (which is what a "YES"
vote would imply) or the dissolution of IFNA (which is what a
"NO" vote or an abstention would imply). You also need to state,
in no uncertain terms, that you either want or do not want to
take charge of your own destiny, by VOTING on the issue! Please
consider the issues carefully and use the mechanism provided.
This is not just about whether to empower or not to empower IFNA
to run the Network. We have an ideal opportunity to create a
stirring precedent here. Don't pass it up.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
FIDONEWS 6-35 Page 3 28 Aug 1989
=================================================================
ARTICLES
=================================================================
MESSAGE TO FIDOCON FROM ZONE 1 REGIONAL COORDINATORS
This message was delivered by Marv Carson and David Garrett to
FidoCon attendees on behalf of the zone-1 Regional Coordinators.
It is reproduced here in the form distributed at FidoCon.
GENERAL REMARKS
The Zone 1 Regional Coordinators wish to extend our best wishes
to the Hosts and attendees for an enjoyable and successful
FidoCon. Further we wish to thank the FidoCon Committee for
giving us the opportunity present this message to you.
Please hold your questions and comments until this entire message
is read. This message is a joint statement of the individuals who
serve as your Zone 1 Regional Coordinators, however, the Regional
Coordinators here at FidoCon welcome your questions, comments and
suggestions and will respond to them the best we can. But
keep in mind that we can only share our individual opinions on
subjects not presented here.
It is a brief statement covering only nine items, but with it, we
want to clarify some issues and share our position with you all
on some others. Primarily, the items presented here are in no
way intended to impede the current progress of Democracy and
Policy 5 activities. Nor are they intended to circumvent Policy
4. They merely represent our true opinions, some proposals, and
our unified position regarding our procedures on issues until a
new policy is formally approved.
1 -FIDONET & COORDINATORS
First we want to give assurance that we believe the so called
"grunt sysop" is the essence of FidoNet. In fact, we as coordi-
nators also see ourselves as "grunt sysops", but who have taken
additional responsibility by volunteering time and expenses to
help make FidoNet work for us by assisting other sysops and
providing nodelist services. We truly wish that was all that
was required and no written policy or policy enforcement was
necessary by us or anyone. But without some adherence to guide-
lines, the inconsistency of human nature has proven to reduce our
enjoyment of this hobby. Your job AND ours is to help set those
guidelines so that the "guidelines" themselves do not reduce our
enjoyment of this hobby. Policy 4 gives us the opportunity to do
that.
2 -EXCOMMUNICATIONS
This is a sensitive subject. Some inaccurate perceptions exist
regarding how *C's have handled this sometimes necessary, yet
infrequent and unpleasant task. Perhaps the word "excommunica-
tion" is inappropriate here. No node should be "excommunicated".
A more appropriate word might be "removal". Here's how it should
FIDONEWS 6-35 Page 4 28 Aug 1989
work when a serious problem occurs. A formal policy complaint is
issued to both the node and the next level *C. Normally the node
is granted a period of time to make corrections. If he refuses,
his original node number is removed. A temporary node number may
be granted a removed node to provide communications in resolving
an appeal. Removals should not be for "eternity", because a
"cooling off" period can sometimes help get corrections com-
pleted. Then, when corrections are made, a node number should be
permitted reinstatement. Further, we've seen the "recovered"
sysop frequently makes a better FidoNet member than some sysops
who seldom participate at all. We do not condone a removed
node's external participation in FidoNet Mail. Further, his
future reinstatement may be delayed if his "unauthorized" partic-
ipation includes messages that demonstrate he has no intention of
making the required corrections. Ultimately, perhaps a new
policy will provide for an independent and unbiased panel of
regular FidoNet sysops to make these judgments.
3 -DEMOCRACY
There are many issues to resolve when formulating an election
process for the *C's at all levels that will win acceptance in a
new policy document. Meanwhile, we agree that some sort of
democratic process should be and eventually will be implemented.
To assist this process, the Regional Coordinators endorse a
democratic process and are now actively participating in develop-
ing democratic methods and procedures. Input from all sysops is
welcomed and especially from those where elections have already
been held. Their experience would help us by sharing their
successes and failures to assist the development of a unified
election policy item.
4 -ECHOMAIL
We view the roles of *C's and *EC's as completely separate from
one another. We believe that an echo mail conference is the respon-
sibility of its conference moderator. Echomail coordinators
should formulate their own policy as an associated document with
FidoNet policy. The NC's and RC's should assist them in their
efforts however possible.
5 -IFNA
The concepts of IFNA are useful and appropriate when its elected
leaders pursue the responsibilities of their positions and
fulfill IFNA's statement of purpose. If and/or when this DOES
NOT occur, there will be no and should be no impact on FidoNet or
its Coordinators. However, if and/when it DOES occur, FidoNet
coordinators should cooperate with IFNA however possible. In
essence, FidoNet will continue regardless of the fate of IFNA.
6 -LAWSUITS
FidoNet is still and will remain an amateur (as in Non-Commer-
cial) electronic network. As such, it is a hobby, and membership
in it requires responsible conduct of its members. Lawsuits or
threats of lawsuits are not considered responsible conduct. Such
actions (related to Fidonet) against a another member or *C
should be condemned by all members. Regardless of the foolish-
ness of such a threat or action, they simply should not occur.
FIDONEWS 6-35 Page 5 28 Aug 1989
Soon to be elected coordinators who help bind this net together
would drop out instantly if legal litigation began proving that
"No good deed goes unpunished".
7 -NODELIST
In addition to the IFNA copyright, the FidoNet nodelist may be
individually copyrighted by the creator/editor of each of its
segments. Under no circumstances should a combined nodelist be
renamed or appended into another list for subsequent distribu-
tion, without the express written approval of creator of each
segment involved. This process is analogous to a software
utility author's requirements that their archive file maintain
its original contents.
8 -BIX
There are many reasons for FidoNet policy to adhere to its "Non-
Commercial" position, primarily if some commercial enterprise
attempts to exploit the network and return nothing to its mem-
bers. Many fine FidoNet members currently rely on the support of
their own businesses to subsidize their operating costs. In so
doing, those business make a contribution to FidoNet members who
rely on them for echomail and other services. They manage do to
this and for the most part avoid complaints regarding their
"commercial status" from other FidoNet members. The BIX proposal
issue is different from these examples. As we stated in our
DEMOCRACY comments, some things may have to be worked out after
we've learned more. But for the most part, as we understand it,
the BIX proposal would return some benefits for participating
FidoNet members by reducing their costs for echomail. We feel we
should not unduly interfere with what may be beneficial to some
sysops and should permit this experiment. We will assist in the
arrangements involved to the extent that both sides will have a
clear understanding of them. We'll just have to await the
outcome from the FidoNet members who use this BIX service and in
so doing, let the them help decide rather it should continue or
not.
9 -IC SELECTION
The ZC Council has unanimously agreed that Matt Whelan, of
Australia, should be the next IC. None of the four current ZC's
were willing to take the IC job. That left them in a situation
not covered by Policy 4. Under normal circumstances, the IC
could interpret policy to handle this. Since there was no IC to
make such a ruling, logic dictated that in this situation the ZC
Council should make the ruling. The ZC Council decided unani-
mously that in the in the absence of a current ZC willing to take
the IC job, that past ZC's should be considered the next best
thing. Matt Whelan was a past ZC and by unanimous vote of the ZC
council, is now the current IC. The Zone 1 Regional Coordinators
are pleased with that selection and feel that Matt will do an
excellent job.
FIDONEWS 6-35 Page 6 28 Aug 1989
CLOSING
Thank you for giving us this opportunity to share our thoughts
with you.
Sincerely,
Zone 1 - Regional Coordinators
-----------------------------------------------------------------
FIDONEWS 6-35 Page 7 28 Aug 1989
FidoNet Zone Council:
Bill Bolton, 3:3/0
Steve Bonine, 1:1/0
Ron Dwight, 2:2/0
Pablo Kleinman, 4:4/0
Current FidoNet policy gives the responsibility of selection of
the International Coordinator to the Zone Council, which is made
up of the Zone Coordinators. The Zone Council has reached a
unanimous choice of Matt Whelan, 3:712/627, as FidoNet's new
International Coordinator.
This selection was not a straightforward procedure, as none of
the current Zone Coordinators was willing to accept the IC
position. Policy4 states that the IC is the "first among equals
ZC" and states that it is the responsibility of the ZC's to
select the IC "from among their ranks." Thus, the Zone Council
was faced with a situation not covered explicitly by Policy4.
Policy4 gives the IC the power to interpret policy in this type
of situation. However, David Dodell stated in his resignation
notice in the NodeDiff that he was unwilling to rule on policy
issues. This left the responsibility with the Zone Council.
After extensive discussion, the Zone Council reached a unanimous
decision that in this case of no current ZC being willing to
accept election as IC, then persons who had held the position of
ZC in the past should be considered. Further, the Zone Council
reached a unanimous decision that Matt Whelan should be elected.
Matt will be officially installed in the nodelist on September 1,
NODELIST.244. The address of n/1000 will be placed in each zone
segment (1:1/1000, 2:2/1000, 3:3/1000, 4:4/1000). Sysops outside
zone 3 are warned that the actual international telephone number
will be placed into these nodelist entries; to route mail through
the zonegate the message should be sent to Matt's "real" address
of 3:712/627.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
FIDONEWS 6-35 Page 8 28 Aug 1989
Butch Witherspoon
Fido 1:288/525
WHAT IS THE COMPUTER LEARNING FOUNDATION & WHY A COMPUTER
LEARNING MONTH?
Developing computer competency among our youth is critical to the
future of Canada, the united States and our children. It can
play a major role in maintaining our competitive edge and in
addressing major concerns of literacy ,school dropouts and job
training. Technology also offers powerful benefits to children
today and thier futures. Increasingly, people are being required
to use computers and software at work. By the year 2010, when our
children are in the prime of thier careers, experts predict all
jobs will require somme use of technology.
Millions of children, however, are not yet recieving the full
benefits of technology, as confirmed by a recent study by the
National Assessment of Educational Progress, funded by the U.S.
Department of Education. While many children are being exposed to
computers in school,in most cases,the depth of thier experiences
is severely limited. On average, there is only one computer to
every 30 students, and often there are far less. A recent study
by the Office of Technology Assessment,Power On, also revealed
that almost 2/3 of our teachers have recieved less than ten hours
of training about computers. As our teachers and parents did not
grow up with computers, they both need help understanding the
benefits computers and software offer children and ways to
provide them with meaningful computer experiences.
The Computer Learning Foundation is a non-profit educational
foundation serving the United States and Canada. While our
overall goal is to increase the number of people recieving the
benefits of technology, our primary focus is on developing
computer competency among our youth. To achieve our goal, we
provide numerous programs and materials that provise parents and
teachers with the information and resources they need to assist
our children.
The computer competency the Computer Learning Foundation is
striving for is of far greater signifigance than learning to
program. Computers and Software are means to an end, not ends in
themselves. We encourage parents and teachers to consider
computers and software as tools for assisting children, just like
a dictionary, a pencil or a calculator, and not as an isolated
activity. We need to integrate children's experiences with
computers into other activities in thier lives--writing papers,
learning history or math, creating pictures, doing home projects
and the like.
Every October, the Computer Learning Foundation hosts Computer
Learning Month, a monthlong focus of events and activities for
learning new uses of computers and software, sharing ideas and
helping others gain the benefits of computers and software. While
Computer Learning foundation materials are available all year,
new ones are released each year for computer learning month. We
FIDONEWS 6-35 Page 9 28 Aug 1989
offer numerous books and programs to help parents and teachers
gain the information they need. For parents, we offer three
books. For teachers, we offer numerous lesson plan materials,
teacher training workshops at major educational conferences and a
weekly television series, School Vision, on public broadcasting
stations. We also offer materials to assist people hosting local
computer learning events. In addition, we host numerous contests
to recognize students, educators and parents to thier inovative
ideas. Thousands of dollars worth of computers
and software are awarded to winning entries. These ideas and
innovative programs are disseminated to the public the following
year.
You're not alone if gaining the benefits of technology for
yourself and your children seems overwhelming and you don't know
where to begin. You're not alone if you are using a computer, yet
feel like you're not recieving it's full benefits. Millions of
people are just like you. That's why the computer learning
foundation exists and what computer learning month is all about.
We invite you to participate in computer learning month this
year. Experience the benefits of computers for yourself, and
share these experiences with your children. Together, discover
the magic of computers and software as tools--for research,
creativity, communications, productivity, learning and
entertainment. As you help your kids key into computers, You
Won't Believe What You'll Achieve!
For additional information please write to NCLM, P.O. Box 8045,
Granite City, IL 62040-8045 or NetMail via Fido 1:288/525.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
FIDONEWS 6-35 Page 10 28 Aug 1989
Some first impressions of FidoCon
By several occupants of the WOC Inn
San Jose, California
Hi, this is Vince. While sitting here in the WOC Inn right after
the 'Con, it occurred to us that it might be nice to enter some
of our most immediate impressions, before we (probably correctly)
started forgetting them. So a few of us will enter some thoughts
here for you to hopefully get the idea of just what was happening
in beautiful San Jose, while you had to WORK for a living...
For me, the most significant development was the successful
deployment of the F-37 Stealth Cookie. Government Security
regulations prevent me from going into any significant details of
its operation, but believe me, the Pentagon will get plenty of
value for its 3 billion dollars of development costs!
The pizza party in the WOC Inn wasn't as much fun as at Cincy.
But that's because so many of us were in the IFNA BoD meeting,
which ran until almost 3 AM. Now I remember why I didn't want to
be on the Board. See if they can talk me into being someone's
proxy NEXT year...
I finally met Alan Applegate. And it was about time. I don't
regret for a minute the decision to work with him. The kind of
folks you meet through this medium are just the greatest.
John Dvorak was really funny. Worth every drop of sweat that Les
had to pay (he helped him with a communications book) to get him.
Finally, IFNA's meetings were a lot more interesting than I
expected. Only time will tell how important.
Enough from me, here's Les Kooyman:
Wow. Really. I hardly know what to say at this point. The Con
was more of a success than I dared expect... several of the
vendors in attendance became philanthropic on the spot just in
time to allow me to give away their stuff... a USR Dual Standard
HST modem, multi-line copies of both TBBS and Wildcat, lots of
software from SEA including Qsort and the ARC compression
library... if I forgot anyone, please forgive me, I'll make it
up to you. As for my involvement with IFNA, I am not sure what
prompted me to run for a highly visible office, other than that
strange Australian beer and Peppermint Schnapps from the Woc
Inn.... seriously, I look forward to the opportunity to work
vigorously for the realization of FidoNet's yearning for
democracy as President of IFNA. I hope to be worthy of your
trust, because TRUST is the most important component of the new
FidoNet (hey, If Lee Iacocca can use it, so can I) we are
creating. I don't know if Carl Linden suspected how prophetic
his phrase "FidoCon... a New Beginning" really was.
FIDONEWS 6-35 Page 11 28 Aug 1989
On the followup side, all the speakers showed, we made some money
rather than lost any, and we all had fun. Sysops just wanna have
fun.... now hand me another one of those cookie bombs.
Here's something from Jim Deputy:
Like Les, I don't know quite where to start. There is a definite
change in the wind. It can be considered a "New Beginning" or
the end of something we know, and the beginning of something
totally new.
Personally, I would like to go with the least amount of change.
The proposals that I have seen, and as I understand at this point
seem to be both somewhat radical, and also present interesting
options.
The IFNA "Mandate Vote" sounds interesting. The re-write of the
IFNA by-laws sounds even more interesting. The idea of using
IFNA as an in-place organization, and "pushing" them into
recognizing the options of being a truely representative group,
for us, the "grunt Sysops", and giving us the democratic
representation that we have been demanding, and spending big
buck$ with the phone companies to discuss is now here.
At this point, and until I can see some concrete proposals, I am
still undecided which way I will go with the "new IFNA". As
always the SYSOP ECHO is a neat place to discuss it, and also,
the Conference will be moving back into FidoNet's Domain
effective before the first of the month the announcement will be
there.
Vince again:
OK, enough for first thoughts. I'm glad that the Con was a
success and I hope that more of you will be able to share the fun
with us next year. By the way, I think that IFNA is still
looking for a site for next year. If your area is interested,
you should contact the Site Selection Committee, c/o IFNA. Use
node 1:1/10 as an address.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
FIDONEWS 6-35 Page 12 28 Aug 1989
Butch Witherspoon
Fido 1:288/525
National Computer Learning Month
1989 CONTESTS FOR STUDENTS
1. Storybook on Using Computers & Software as Tools.
10 Grand Prizes: One grand prize winner in each category. The
winner and his/her school or organization will both recieve a
computer system.
40 Second Prizes: Four second prizes in each category. Each
winner and his/her school or organization will be awarded
software programs.
40 Third Prizes: Honorable mention certificates for winning
students.
Categories:
Elementary (Kindergarten- grade 5)
Middle (grades 6-8)
Secondary (grades 9-12)
Primary Special Education (Kindergarten-grade 6)
Secondary Special Education (grades 7-12)
Description: This year's writing contest focuses on the use of
computers and software as tools. The storybook may be fiction or
non-fiction. The book might be a collection of students' stories
about how computers and software are used as tools at home,
school and work, or a fiction story on how children discover the
value of a computer as a tool or how it changed thier lives.
Rules: To enter this contest, submit one copy of your original
storybook. The storybook may be created with a computer or using
any other materials; however, the storybook should include both
words and pictures and the theme must be the use of computers and
software as tools. If created with a computer, you may use any
software you choose, for example, word processor, desktop
publishing or graphics program. Entries will be judged on
originality, contene, writing skills, design, illustration,
layout and overall attention to detail.
For additional information please write to NCLM, P.O. Box 8045,
Granite City, IL 62040-8045 or NetMail Fido 1:288/525.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
FIDONEWS 6-35 Page 13 28 Aug 1989
An Event of Galactic Importance
Voyager 2 Passes Neptune!
by Phil Buonomo, 1:107/583, 7:520/583, 9:807/1
It's been there for years, at the end of FidoNews. How well we
all know it by now:
24 Aug 1989
Voyager 2 passes Neptune
Well, this is the last newsletter you'll ever see the above in.
This week, after 12 years, and billions of miles, Voyager 2 is
about to complete its mission in our solar system. This friday,
at 12:00am EDT, Voyager will pass over Neptune's north pole,
only 3,000 miles from its surface.
This remarkable event culminates a journey which began with a
launch on August 21, 1977. Since then, Voyager 2 has visited
and photographed Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and now Neptune, dis-
covering fascinating information along the way. These discover-
ies have given us insights into the formation of our solar sys-
tem, and its place in the cosmos. At Jupiter, Voyager discovered
atmospheric motions, faint rings, studied the geology of major
moons (including discovery of volcanic action on one!), and
three new moons.
At Saturn, its beautiful rings were studied, with remarkable
results. "Spokes" were discovered, and even a "braided" ring,
an explanation for which scientists are still searching, was
found! Additionally, three new moons were also discovered.
At Uranus, two new rings were found around the planet, along
with a unique "tilted" magnetic field. Ten new moons were also
discovered, and their geology studied.
Now, Voyager is about to visit its last planet before it moves
on into interstellar space. It has already discovered a large
spot in Neptune's atmosphere, not unlike the "great red spot" of
Jupiter (thought to be a permanent hurricane big enough to swal-
low our own planet several times over), and four new moons. The
most remarkable discovery to date, however, is the presense of
"ring arcs", partially formed rings surrounding the planet, like
the fully formed rings circling Saturn and Uranus. These par-
tially completed rings have stirred major discussion amongst
NASA scientists to explain their origin.
This entire journey is made all the more remarkable by the fact
that it was planned that Voyager would only visit Jupiter and
Saturn. Along the way, Voyager has lost its main radio receiver
and suffered damage to its backup, computer memory and televi-
sion camera platform. But like the Volkswagon Beetle of a past
decade, the spacecraft keeps plugging along on 22 watts, about
enough for a good flashlight.
FIDONEWS 6-35 Page 14 28 Aug 1989
The best is yet to come, however. After passing above Neptune's
north pole, Voyager 2 will disappear behind the planet for 49
minutes. About four hours later, it will cruise by Triton, the
only discovered moon in our solar system to have an atmosphere.
Some scientists believe Triton to be covered by seas of liquid
nitrogen. Others predict a rocky surface. Soon, we may know
the truth.
Once it passes Triton, Voyager may continue to transmit data for
up to 25 years. It will move into interstellar space, taking it
outside the known limits of our solar system on a course that
will not take it within one light-year of any known star for the
next 958,000 years.
Will Voyager's journey outlast man's existence in the universe?
We may never know. But the information it has provided us with
in its short lifespan has been invaluable. Voyager carries with
it greetings from planet Earth to any far flung civilizations in
the cosmos it may one day come across. In the meantime, it has
brought to life the words of science fiction we all know so
well; "...to explore strange new worlds..." and "...to go where
no man has gone before!" Except that in this case, we are not
seeing fiction. We are living our childhood dreams and seeing
them come true. My friends, the future is HERE!
Let us not forget that space IS the "final frontier", or that
the Voyager mission was drastically cut back for lack of funds.
Let us continue our quest for knowlege in the great void, to
continue to advance our space program. Let us continue to try
to make those dream of our childhood become reality. Let us
build that moonbase, the space station. Let us GO to Mars and
beyond. Let us not forget the dream because our pockets are too
shallow. Let us move FORWARD!
So many years ago, Thom Henderson put the Voyager message in the
calendar of FidoNews. Perhaps it was half-joke, half-necessity
(to make the calendar work), perhaps not (I know that Thom is a
big supporter of space exploration). But what was once a trivial
line in a newsletter month after month, has taken on a rare sig-
nificance: the discovery of a new planet. Let us not forget the
importance of the Voyager mission as we move towards the new
Millenium.
With that, we bid adieu to Voyager. She was a great experiment,
one which paid off handsomely, beyond any of her designer's
wildest dreams. Perhaps someday we may meet up with her again,
and who knows? Perhaps she wil have some new secrets to tell us.
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FIDONEWS 6-35 Page 15 28 Aug 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
Opus 1.03b+ RBBS 17.2A TPBoard 5.2
Network Node List Other
Mailers Version Utilities Version Utilities Version
BinkleyTerm 2.20 EditNL 4.00 ARC 6.02
D'Bridge 1.21* MakeNL 2.12 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 2.10
SEAdog 4.51A* XlaxDiff 2.32 LHARC 1.13*
XlaxNode 2.32 MSG 3.3
MSGED 1.99
PK[UN]ZIP 0.92*
QM 1.0*
TCOMMail 2.2
TMail 1.11
TPBNetEd 3.2
UFGATE 1.03
XRS 2.3*
ZmailQ 1.09*
Apple Macintosh
---------------
Bulletin Board Software Network Mailers Other Utilities
Name Version Name Version Name Version
Red Ryder Host v2.1b3 Tabby 2.0* MacArc 0.03
Mansion 7.0 ArcMac 1.3
StuffIt 1.51
TImport 1.0
TExport 1.0
Timestamp 1.6
Tset 1.0.2
FIDONEWS 6-35 Page 16 28 Aug 1989
Timestart 1.1
Tally 1.1
Mehitabel 1.2
Archie 1.60
Numberizer 1.5c
MessageEdit 1.0
Commodore Amiga
---------------
Bulletin Board Software Network Mailers Other Utilities
Name Version Name Version Name Version
Paragon 1.00+* BinkleyTerm 1.50 ConfMail 1.00
ChameleonEdit 0.10
+ 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.
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FIDONEWS 6-35 Page 17 28 Aug 1989
=================================================================
NOTICES
=================================================================
The Interrupt Stack
5 Oct 1989
20th Anniversary of "Monty Python's Flying Circus"
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.
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FIDONEWS 6-35 Page 18 28 Aug 1989
OFFICERS OF THE INTERNATIONAL FIDONET ASSOCIATION
Mort Sternheim 1:321/109 Chairman of the Board
Bob Rudolph 1:261/628 President
Matt Whelan 3:3/1 Vice President
Bill Bolton 3:711/403 Vice President-Technical Coordinator
Linda Grennan 1:147/1 Secretary
Kris Veitch 1:147/30 Treasurer
IFNA COMMITTEE AND BOARD CHAIRS
Administration and Finance Mark Grennan 1:147/1
Board of Directors Mort Sternheim 1:321/109
Bylaws Don Daniels 1:107/210
Ethics Vic Hill 1:147/4
Executive Committee Bob Rudolph 1:261/628
International Affairs Rob Gonsalves 2:500/1
Membership Services David Drexler 1:147/47
Nominations & Elections David Melnick 1:107/233
Public Affairs David Drexler 1:147/47
Publications Rick Siegel 1:107/27
Security & Individual Rights Jim Cannell 1:143/21
Technical Standards Rick Moore 1:115/333
IFNA BOARD OF DIRECTORS
DIVISION AT-LARGE
10 Courtney Harris 1:102/732 Don Daniels 1:107/210
11 Bill Allbritten 1:11/301 Mort Sternheim 1:321/109
12 Bill Bolton 3:711/403 Mark Grennan 1:147/1
13 Irene Henderson 1:107/9 (vacant)
14 Ken Kaplan 1:100/22 Ted Polczyinski 1:154/5
15 Scott Miller 1:128/12 Matt Whelan 3:3/1
16 Ivan Schaffel 1:141/390 Robert Rudolph 1:261/628
17 Neal Curtin 1:343/1 Steve Jordan 1:206/2871
18 Andrew Adler 1:135/47 Kris Veitch 1:147/30
19 David Drexler 1:147/47 (vacant)
2 Henk Wevers 2:500/1 David Melnik 1:107/233
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FIDONEWS 6-35 Page 19 28 Aug 1989
__
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/ 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) ______________________________________________
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BBS Name ________________________________________________________
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Baud Rates Supported ____________________________________________
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Your Special Interests __________________________________________
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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 6-35 Page 20 28 Aug 1989
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