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1288 lines
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* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
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T E L E C O M P U T I N G M A G A Z I N E
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Electronic Edition
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October/November 1990
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(C) 1990 Galaxy Telecomm Corporation
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800-477-1788
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* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
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1 ... Superdemocracy - Tim Stryker
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2 ... Joining the Online World - Victor Baron
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3 ... The FBI Comes Rapping, Rapping at Your BBS -
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Brock N. Meeks
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4 ... What's New in ZMODEM - Chuck Forsberg
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5 ... Under the Boardwalk - Dean Kerl
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6 ... Requirements To Display Telecomputing Magazine
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On Electronic Bulletin Board Systems
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7 ... Table Of Contents From Our Printed Edition
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(What's Missing From The Electronic Edition!)
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CALL 800-477-1788 AND REQUEST A FREE COPY OF OUR LATEST ISSUE!
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Telecomputing Magazine, The Online Authority
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SUPERDEMOCRACY
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by Tim Stryker
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Online technology offers the promise of a fundamentally new form of
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government: a government truly of the people, by the people, for the people.
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The form of government under which we now live is technically known as
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a "representative democracy". This means that we the people do not directly
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act as the government... we democratically elect representatives who act on
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our behalf to create laws, enforce them, and resolve disputes. These three
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functions correspond to the hallowed "separation of powers" everyone knows
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from grade school: the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of
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government.
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The shortcomings of this system are many. It is generally acknowledged
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that although it is the best system yet developed for government on a large
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scale (and I for one agree), it fails in several key respects, among them:
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1. Vulnerability to special interests. Any economic group, such as
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real estate developers or tobacco companies, has a much higher stake in the
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passage of legislation favorable to the group than the average citizen has
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in its defeat. The proposal to re-zone a property outside a five-mile
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radius from your house, for example, is something that you personally can
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only get incensed about in the abstract, whereas the real estate agents,
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lawyers, and developers involved stand to make or lose millions of dollars
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on the outcome. Therefore they have an enormously higher incentive than you
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do to put pressure on the city or county commisioners making the decision.
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2. Domination by busybodies. Politics tends to take into account to a
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disproportionate extent the opinions of those with nothing better to do, and
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single-issue constituencies. The mechanisms for candidate identification,
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conducting public hearings, jury selection and so forth are all so
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cumbersome and time-consuming that the average citizen has little motivation
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to participate. The result is often that the outputs of these processes
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suffer from the Milquetoast Effect. In particular, the only candidates
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presented to the general public for voting are those that have not been
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winnowed out by offending a single one of a host of highly vocal
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sub-minorities.
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3. Getting involved is too much work for the average person. You are
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unusual if you even know the names of your representatives to the U.S.
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Congress, much less the names of your state congresspersons, much much less
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the qualifications of each of the hordes of local judges you may be asked to
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vote on every few years. The reason is that, although you know exactly how
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you feel about each specific issue, it would take vast research for you to
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find out how each candidate feels or has voted on each of the issues
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important to you, and to form, for each post, a weighted probability of the
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likelihood that each candidate will perform as you wish them to. (On top of
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this, if you register to vote, you are penalized with jury duty!) The
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result is widespread voter "apathy", especially at the state and local
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levels. This isn't really a lack of caring, it's just a sense among the
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populace that voting as it stands is too indirect and requires research on
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each individual's part far out of proportion to the benefit that they will
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individually derive from it.
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4. Corruption. This is just a more extreme form of vulnerability to
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special interests. The incentive to influence legislation or enforcement is
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often high enough that a lobby will succeed in "stocking" elective posts
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with its own hirelings. The amount of money needed for a campaign,
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especially lately, is huge, and it can only be expected that a successful
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candidate will look more favorably on the concerns of his or her big
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contributors. There is a continuum of possibilities between this state of
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affairs and outright payoffs for votes or favors. All of this flies in the
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face of the ideal that elected officials and representatives are supposed to
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act in the best interests of the community that elected them, as a whole.
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5. Capriciousness of justice. This concern applies mainly to the
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judicial branch of government. The fact that diverse individuals are
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elected or appointed to positions of coequal power means that a case may be
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decided very differently, depending on which particular judge you happen to
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get. The use of juries for the more serious cases is an attempt in the
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right direction, but an awful lot still depends on the particular jury,
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judge, prosecutor, and defense attorney you happen to wind up with.
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6. Horse trading and smoke-filled rooms. So much of the actual
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mechanics of government takes place outside public knowledge or control that
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a lot of the decisions made have nothing to do with what is best for the
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community at large, but only what is best for the personal agendas of the
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participants. The fact that the participants are subject to removal from
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office at the next election keeps them from getting too outrageously
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flagrant, but the continuous on-going exchange of favors among lawmakers in
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service of their personal ambitions does not exactly constitute government
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of the people, by the people, for the people.
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There Must Be A Better Way
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--------------------------
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Suppose that society could decide every issue by simple majority vote.
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This tends to work well on a small scale. For example, in the city-states
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of ancient Greece, the entire populace got together from time to time and
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enacted the "will of the people" into law, with no man's voice given any
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more authority than any other. Another example would be the "town meetings"
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of early New England, at which the townspeople got together and formulated
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the laws by which they regulated themselves. Today, small non-governmental
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organizations such as professional societies often decide policy by direct
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vote of the members.
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The reason this works well (on a small scale) is that it eliminates the
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role of the "representative". You no longer have a fallible human being,
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with his or her own agenda, ambitions, and preconceptions acting on behalf
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of the group. The group votes directly on the issues before it, not on a
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personality or a suit.
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The reasons this hasn't worked before on a larger scale are mostly
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practical. The entire populace cannot physically gather in continuous
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session, deciding every detail of policy and law... nothing else in the
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world would get done!
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What you *could* have, though, is a continuous networked hierarchy of
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online referenda, open to all. The idea would be to create an environment
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in which any citizen is free to propose new laws, amend old ones, and to
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vote or contribute to ongoing discussions on proposals or amendments
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introduced by others at any time. I call this "Superdemocracy".
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Superdemocracy would be continuous in the sense that anyone could tap
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into the system any time, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. It would be
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networked in the sense that anything posted about any issue, anywhere in the
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system, would be accessible to anyone else. It would be a hierarchy in the
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sense that each citizen could access his or her own local, county,
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statewide, or national referenda through a single mechanism: a "tree" of
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nodes able to collate discussion and voting at all appropriate levels.
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The sorts of things that people could vote on includes everything
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currently decided by our legislative and judicial branches, city councils,
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policy-forming bodies in the executive branch, and so on. The
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implementational portion of each of these branches would be retained, and
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all aspects of national life requiring instant decisions would continue to
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operate under the control of executive branch personnel. The military would
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retain full autonomy under civilian oversight, just as it does now, and
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there would still be a President, a Cabinet, police forces, an FBI and a
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CIA, and so on.
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But the broad, strategic decision-making power would be vested in the
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people directly: the making of new laws, resolutions, and policies, the
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amendment or repeal of old ones, the selection of the necessary executive
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personnel, and the resolution of conflicts and disagreements. Let's call
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these things, in general, "measures". Some key provisions of Superdemocracy
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would be:
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1. Constitutional priority. All measures passed would still be
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subject to a consistency test against a statement of underlying principles.
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The statement of underlying principles would require much broader levels of
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support to modify or overturn. This would help to keep us from wildly
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gyrating about the legal landscape as current events shape public opinion.
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2. Instant delegation and revocation of proxy powers. Each citizen
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would have the option to delegate his or her voting powers to other people
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(their "representatives", if you will) in various ways, and to override or
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revoke these powers at any time. This would provide for a healthy
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proportion of the public's voting power to be present in even the smallest
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decisions of government, without paralyzing the country in an orgy of
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continuous individual voting. The flexibility of these proxy powers would
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give each citizen the ability to say to a representative, "I trust your
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judgement, overall, on matters within a given area that I personally don't
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have enough interest in to bother with the details; however I reserve the
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right to change my mind about you at any time or to override your judgement
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on occasions when my opinion happens to differ from yours."
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3. Minimum quorum requirements on every measure. By requiring a
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minimum proportion of the overall voting power available to be active in
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each vote, we help ensure that happenstantial distortion of the people's
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will, due to low participation in a low-profile issue, will not occur. If
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quorum requirements are not met in a given vote, it means that not enough
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people (or their proxies) feel strongly enough about it one way or the other
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to be worth their time.
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4. Minimum debate-time requirements on every measure. After a measure
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reaches quorum, there needs to be sufficient time, around 30 days or so, for
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everyone to talk it over and think about it before finalizing the vote.
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Each person could continue to update his or her vote status throughout this
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period, and only the tally of votes at the end of this period would be
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decisive.
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5. Minimum hold-time requirements on every measure. Further
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protection against wild gyrations about the legal landscape can be provided
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by establishing a minimum time period, after a measure is passed, before it
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can take effect. This would be on the order of 30 days. During this time,
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opponents of the measure could try to repeal it or amend it, which, if
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successful, would yield another 30-day period for the population to be
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really sure that *this* is what it wants, and so on. Any oscillations would
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quickly die down, and the true "will of the people" would then take effect.
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Several practical considerations arise. Everyone would have to have
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access to a communications link and the knowledge of how to use it, just as
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now everyone must have eyes, hands, and a basic ability to read and punch
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holes in order to vote (special provisions for the handicapped would of
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course apply). Airtight protection against fraud and invasion of privacy
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would have to be developed. And, the cost of creating and maintaining this
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colossal network of computers would be high.
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Historic Trends
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---------------
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Technology, strangely enough, has always driven the development of
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democracy. Think about it. Democracy has only existed when the overall
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level of affluence in a population permitted a significant number of people
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to take nose from grindstone long enough to consider the larger issues.
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During the Dark Ages, there were no large-scale democracies,
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representative or otherwise, because travel over distances of more than a
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few tens of miles was too arduous to make practical the congregation of
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representatives from widely separated regions for purposes of timely
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decision-making. Also, before Gutenberg, communications technology was so
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poorly developed that the knowledgeability of the average villager about
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anything outside a ten-mile radius from home was effectively zero.
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Our current model of representative democracy derives from conditions
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in the 1700's. At that time, the technology of physical transport had
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reached the point at which it was practical for representatives from
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communities across the nation to commute to and from a central meeting
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place. The entire communities themselves couldn't travel, of course, but at
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least their elected representatives could. Similarly, the entire community
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couldn't sit in on every 2-bit larceny trial, but they could elect a judge
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to oversee the process for them (or, they could elect a governor who would
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appoint a judge, etc.).
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As technology has improved, so has the demand for wider and more direct
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participation in the democratic process. As created by our Founding
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Fathers, it was not possible to vote in most states in the late 1700's
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unless you were white, free, male, *and* owned a certain amount of property.
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The property requirement fell away in the early 1800's, as technological
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advancement brought the affluence of the average freeman -- and thus his
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perceived awareness and ability to be informed about political issues --
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above a certain threshold. The race requirement was theoretically
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eliminated in 1870 with the Fifteenth Amendment, once the pre-technological
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abomination of slavery was forever buried... but further technological
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advancements in communications and education were necessary before the poll
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tax, which had been used to prevent many blacks from voting, was banned by
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the Twenty-Fourth Amendment in 1964. Meanwhile, women gained the vote in
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1920, after great agitation and improvements in technology sufficient to
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emancipate them from the continuous servitude of housework.
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The particulars of *what* we have been able to vote about has evolved,
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too. Originally, the public (as restrictively as the term was defined!) was
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not considered competent to elect the President of the United States
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directly. It was not even entitled to elect the electors directly! The
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public elected the members of the State legislatures, among whose duties it
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was to elect the members of the "Electoral College", which elected the
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President.
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In this century, a growing tide of "direct democracy" has been sweeping
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the nation. This movement, an outgrowth of the Populist and Progressive
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movements around the turn of the century, has empowered citizens in most
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states with the tools of the "initiative", the "referendum", and the
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"recall". An "initiative" is a citizen-sponsored piece of legislation; a
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"referendum" refers a proposed or existing law to voters for their approval
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or rejection; a "recall" vote is an attempt to remove an elected official
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from office prematurely.
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All developments up to this point, though, have centered around the
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same cumbersome, bureaucratic methods of vote-gathering that were used in
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the 1700's. Voters must first register, months in advance. Then, on the
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appointed day, tens of thousands of polling places open in every village and
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city neighborhood. Voters then walk or drive, typically several miles, to
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their particular polling place, and wait in line while dedicated public
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servants pore through mountains of paper, checking off names and handing out
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ballots which are voted upon and then reverently placed in the sacred Ballot
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Box. It is actually a wonderful thing, and vastly preferable to the
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despotic and corrupt systems it replaced.
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An Example of Operation
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-----------------------
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Wouldn't it be incredible, though, if the people's participation in
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government were to operate something like this:
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You come home from the office after a hard day's work, kick your shoes
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off, and, flipping on the tube, decide to take a quick glance at the city's
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pending resolutions. You notice that today is the last day to vote on the
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street-repair proposal, the referendum on funding low-income housing on the
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north side of town, and the decision whether or not to permit someone named
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John Hosiger to operate a liquor store downtown. The display shows you the
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votes that your proxy, Sharon Imeld, will cast for you if you don't do
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anything. Sharon's already fine on the street-repair thing, but she's way
|
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off base on the low-income housing issue, so you override her there. You
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never heard of John Hosiger so you figure Sharon probably looked into his
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background for you and you leave that one alone.
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You flip over to the "coming-up" screen and find that the next week
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contains votes on school bus purchases, giving the "Key to the City" to a
|
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certain Mark Havrelman, a proposal to re-zone a tract of farmland nearby to
|
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commercial, the firemen's annual contract renewal, and scores of other
|
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items. Cosby's on in 5 minutes, but you feel intrigued by the school bus
|
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thing, so you select that for a moment. Up on your screen comes a listing
|
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of messages on this topic from neighbors, school administrators, and bus
|
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manufacturers. Selecting one of the latter, you are drawn into a discussion
|
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of the impact of different transaxle designs on fuel economy. You read
|
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several messages containing claims and rebuttals, and you leave a
|
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sharply-worded message of your own to one of the bus companies, contesting
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one of their statements.
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Next, you pop out to the statewide level and glance through the issues
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there: a debate on introducing a new form of Lottery, a proposal to reduce
|
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state sales tax, another proposal to increase it, a new regulation on
|
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offshore oil platforms, and many more. You've already registered your votes
|
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on most of these, and your statewide proxy, Irwin Marsh, seems to have the
|
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others under control.
|
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Next, you pop over to Trials and note with satisfaction that the 3-time
|
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|
murderer and child molester, Ted Goondy, has been voted into the electric
|
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chair. Up for decision statewide today are Blanche Newald, accused of grand
|
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larceny, and Abe Newman, 2nd-degree manslaughter. You select Abe's case and
|
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begin poring through the state's evidence and the defense's counterpoints.
|
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It's a complex issue, and you decide after a few minutes' review to make a
|
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snap decision. Whoops, the box reminds you, in capital cases a review of at
|
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least 3 hours of the evidence is required in order to vote.
|
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Cosby's already started and you don't have the time, so you figure that
|
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wiser minds will prevail on Abe's case and you pop out to National for a
|
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|
quick look. Under debate are sanctions against Irate, confirmation of the
|
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|
new ambassador to France, funding for fusion research, and a proposal to
|
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eliminate the penny, among other things. You happen to feel strongly about
|
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fusion research, so you select it and jump into the ongoing discussion.
|
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And ongoing it is! At the national level, with new messages coming in
|
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at a rate of thousands every second, it is nothing like your relatively
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|
tranquil school bus debate! You select a keyword search on "pellet", which
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|
responds saying that 7,455 messages are on file with that word. You specify
|
|||
|
an additional keyword of "comparison", which cuts the number down to 104.
|
|||
|
Scrolling through these quickly, you see a number of diagrams flash by which
|
|||
|
you recognize as comparing the pellet-implosion method to the magnetic
|
|||
|
containment method. Examining one of these closely, you realize that one of
|
|||
|
your previous assumptions about fusion technology is untrue! You begin a
|
|||
|
series of hypertext jumps through the database, winding up at last in the
|
|||
|
quaintly named Library of Congress CD-ROM archives, gleaning more
|
|||
|
information with which to make your decision.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Finally, sated with information and power, you indicate your vote on
|
|||
|
the tally-screen and head for bed. You've missed Cosby but you've gained
|
|||
|
something immeasurably greater: a sense of control over your own destiny.
|
|||
|
Maybe tomorrow you'll write up that proposal for a new school gym you've
|
|||
|
been thinking about, and send it up on the local node... who knows, maybe
|
|||
|
others have been thinking about it too, and you'll hit quorum!
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Objections
|
|||
|
----------
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
A proposal like this is sure to stir up a hornet's nest of resistance,
|
|||
|
if seriously considered. Some of the more likely objections are:
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
1. The "tyranny of the majority": the contention that minority rights
|
|||
|
will be trampled in the mad lust of majority rule. This objection has been
|
|||
|
applied to democracies throughout history, and is no more valid now than it
|
|||
|
was before. If anything, the wider the empowerment, the less likely the
|
|||
|
elite are to be able to force their effete and/or status-quo-oriented ideas
|
|||
|
upon the rest of us. The lesson of small-scale democracies, and the trend
|
|||
|
of history, is that the more a given decision can partake of the joint
|
|||
|
common sense of everyday people, as opposed to their charismatic or
|
|||
|
power-crazed leaders, the fairer and more equitable the decision is likely
|
|||
|
to be.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
2. Incompetence and/or apathy of the public. This is another
|
|||
|
hold-over from bygone eras in which the aristocracy had an innate distrust
|
|||
|
of the "lower classes". Another way this objection might be stated is that
|
|||
|
Superdemocracy violates the Principle of Representation. This is a fancy
|
|||
|
way of saying that people are better at deciding who should decide things
|
|||
|
for them, than they are at deciding things themselves. This is false,
|
|||
|
because the decision to elect a given politician can only be based on an
|
|||
|
imperfect projection of the probabilities that the politician will act in
|
|||
|
accordance with one's future desires. As for "apathy", the apathy that
|
|||
|
currently exists is directly engendered by our hidebound mechanisms for
|
|||
|
participation in government on the part of the populace.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
3. Greater bamboozlement by special interests. Columnist George Will
|
|||
|
recently denounced a proposal to allow nationwide "initiatives" to be voted
|
|||
|
by the public directly into law: "Any national initiative would be dominated
|
|||
|
by an intense, unelected minority using direct mail, television commercials,
|
|||
|
and other techniques of mass persuasion." This is of course exactly how
|
|||
|
modern-day election campaigns work, except that what is being voted upon is
|
|||
|
not a policy or law, but a fallible human being who, once elected,
|
|||
|
personally becomes the focus of a whole procession of "intense, unelected
|
|||
|
minorities", behind closed doors, for the duration of his or her term in
|
|||
|
office.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
4. Fragility of high-tech underpinnings. It might be argued that the
|
|||
|
country could be thrown into permanent confusion by a single well-placed
|
|||
|
bomb or computer virus, if it has no other means of governing itself than
|
|||
|
this consensual one. The solution is of course a manual "backup"
|
|||
|
government, voted into being in the standard way, which would take over in
|
|||
|
the event of a catastrophe.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
5. Fickleness of public sentiment. Episodes of McCarthyism and the
|
|||
|
recent "flag-burning amendment" furor make us wonder if the laws under
|
|||
|
Superdemocracy would not change chaotically. I think that the dual measures
|
|||
|
of adherence to a Constitution and the "30-day rules" would damp out any
|
|||
|
wild oscillations. Those it doesn't can be regarded as the natural
|
|||
|
consequence of a body governing itself, correcting imbalances as feedback is
|
|||
|
obtained. They would at least not be due to a small minority of its leading
|
|||
|
citizens behaving erratically, as is often the case now.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
6. Greater divisiveness. This is a criticism more aptly aimed at the
|
|||
|
proponents of "direct democracy", not Superdemocracy. By bringing complex
|
|||
|
issues down to a simple yes/no vote, existing methods of initiative and
|
|||
|
referendum can polarize communities, whereas due legislative process
|
|||
|
encourages discussion, moderation, compromise, and consensus.
|
|||
|
Superdemocracy would preserve and enhance this moderating,
|
|||
|
consensus-building aspect of the legislative process by extending it to all
|
|||
|
the people. Topical message bases are only one possible tool for doing
|
|||
|
this -- to be sure, a much higher level of overall political awareness and
|
|||
|
discussion would exist under Superdemocracy, and new tools and techniques
|
|||
|
would inevitably spring into being. In the future, bidirectional recorded
|
|||
|
video or other more exotic technologies could come into play.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
7. Proxy battles: the fight for control of large delegated blocs of
|
|||
|
votes, granted by proxy, may loom ominously large in some people's eyes.
|
|||
|
This is a laudable objection, because it demonstrates a perceptiveness and
|
|||
|
an ability to extrapolate into uncharted territory. Certainly, there will
|
|||
|
be proxy battles, and individuals will seek to enhance their social status
|
|||
|
by garnering "authority" over large numbers of votes. But the saving grace
|
|||
|
here is the instant revocability of proxy powers, and their entirely
|
|||
|
voluntary nature. It would be vital to have laws in place prohibiting abuse
|
|||
|
of the proxy relationship, such as the sale of powers, or the commitment of
|
|||
|
one's votes to another for a fixed time period, etc. If each voter is free
|
|||
|
to change his or her mind about the attractiveness of a given proxy at any
|
|||
|
time for any reason, then proxy abuse cannot occur.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
8. Difficulty of reaching quorum. This is another excellent
|
|||
|
objection, since it demonstrates insight into the process. The contention
|
|||
|
is that many important or urgent measures will languish below quorum
|
|||
|
indefinitely, due to insufficient voter interest or energy, thus clogging up
|
|||
|
the wheels of government. The reason this would not be a problem is that
|
|||
|
large proxy-holders would naturally tend to spend more time than the average
|
|||
|
voter in the sub-quorum "pool", since their influence may be decisive there
|
|||
|
(this pool, by the way, is expected to be *huge*). By definition, truly
|
|||
|
important issues could not help but be significant to large numbers of
|
|||
|
voters, so if the proxies were not doing their jobs, the public would take
|
|||
|
charge directly. Both within the message databases and outside, in the
|
|||
|
public media, commentary and exchange of opinions could not help but bring
|
|||
|
all genuinely important measures into widespread play, with exactly the
|
|||
|
speed and to exactly the extent that each in some sense "deserves".
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
9. Dominance by technocrats. A valid concern is that the high-tech
|
|||
|
nature of the process will scare away computerphobes, or create barriers for
|
|||
|
the less technically adept, which would lead to disproportionately high
|
|||
|
representation of the technocracy in the voting tallies. It is an absolute
|
|||
|
requirement that the designers of the system eliminate this concern by
|
|||
|
making it as easy to use as a bank auto-teller. Also, a network of human
|
|||
|
"facilitators" and manual-interaction "pavilions" should be established
|
|||
|
nationwide to service the needs of those for whom the proficiency barrier is
|
|||
|
insuperable. No system of voting can ever be perfect in this regard (the
|
|||
|
current system requires at least a modicum of intelligence and initiative),
|
|||
|
but Superdemocracy can and should be made as simple to deal with as a
|
|||
|
banking machine, or simpler. Touch screens, voice recognition, and
|
|||
|
progressively more advanced AI technologies can be harnessed for this
|
|||
|
purpose as time goes by.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
10. High cost. Certainly, to install and maintain all of the computers
|
|||
|
and networks we are talking about would be expensive. There would also be a
|
|||
|
need to provide communications link equipment (presumably terminals and
|
|||
|
modems at first) to those unable to afford them, or perhaps to everybody.
|
|||
|
The high cost is beyond dispute. But we need to weigh this against the not
|
|||
|
insignificant costs of the current system, with its state and national
|
|||
|
capitol buildings, representative's salaries and perks, staffers, and
|
|||
|
colossal infrastructure. Some of those smoke-filled rooms are pretty big!
|
|||
|
And computer and communications costs are dropping day by day, with no end
|
|||
|
in sight.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Conclusions
|
|||
|
-----------
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Superdemocracy is defined as a continuous networked hierarchy of online
|
|||
|
referenda, open to all.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Special interests would be able to sway the decisions of a group run
|
|||
|
this way only by catering to the interests of a majority of the group -- in
|
|||
|
which case they would no longer, by definition, be special interests.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Busybodies would be able to sway the decisions of a group run this way
|
|||
|
only by making themselves the "proxies" of large blocs of people. Even so,
|
|||
|
they would merely be performing a public service by voting on those people's
|
|||
|
behalf exactly as those people would, themselves, have voted anyhow -- or
|
|||
|
the busybody would find him- or herself quickly out of votes.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Citizen participation and morale would be dramatically improved because
|
|||
|
each citizen would be voting on the issues that are important to that
|
|||
|
citizen, directly. The guessing game of figuring out what somebody else is
|
|||
|
going to do over a multi-year period, on the basis of schmoozy campaign ads
|
|||
|
and zoot suits, is eliminated.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Corruption would be limited to the tactical, implementational end of
|
|||
|
government. Never again would we have to worry about corruption on the
|
|||
|
grand scale of Teapot Dome or the S&L scandal.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Justice would be less capricious because the same group of human beings
|
|||
|
would review evidence and deliver a verdict in each case. This group,
|
|||
|
instead of being just 12 people who could all happen to misconstrue a fact
|
|||
|
the same wrong way, would be thousands or millions of everyday people, the
|
|||
|
very people whose welfare depends on the right decisions being made in the
|
|||
|
courtroom.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
And finally, the expense, waste, and mismanagement of smoke-filled
|
|||
|
rooms and their seedy inhabitants would be laid to rest for once and for
|
|||
|
all. People would begin to have some reason for optimism about the future,
|
|||
|
and some sense of control over their own destinies.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
I don't expect any of this to happen anytime soon, but if you know
|
|||
|
anyone who is thinking of setting up a new country, please show him or her a
|
|||
|
copy of this article. It's certainly worth a try.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
The World Online...
|
|||
|
Copyright 1990 Victor Baron
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Through the years, computers have been a tremendous source of
|
|||
|
enjoyment for me, starting with playing StarTrek on a *printer*
|
|||
|
terminal for many hours at a time, continuing with the building of a
|
|||
|
kit IMSAI 8080 with it's seemingly hundreds of LED's on to writing and
|
|||
|
marketing my own programs. I can't recall anything that gave me more
|
|||
|
enjoyment, however, than the first time I went online and connected
|
|||
|
with another computer in the city. There are still many of you out
|
|||
|
there who lurk in the background, afraid to make the step, possibly
|
|||
|
fearing that the experience is way beyond your level of expertise.
|
|||
|
Hopefully, this little article can alleviate some of those fears and
|
|||
|
open up a new world online.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
There are a *few* things to learn and some equipment to acquire but
|
|||
|
nothing exceptionally complicated nor expensive. Depending upon your
|
|||
|
budget, you can go from a few hundred dollars to a few thousand with
|
|||
|
plenty of steps in between. I will try to alleviate the frustrations
|
|||
|
that usually accompany the first attempts and computer communication.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Since this will be your first trek into the world of computer
|
|||
|
communications, you'll need some minimal equipment in addition to your
|
|||
|
computer. You'll need a modem, some communication software, possibly a
|
|||
|
serial cable and a telephone extension cord. Your computer essentially
|
|||
|
telephones another computer and talks to it over your regular
|
|||
|
telephone lines. The modem is the go-between. It converts the signals
|
|||
|
from your computer to a form the telephone can understand and
|
|||
|
vice-versa. Your standard telephone line should suffice (unless you
|
|||
|
have a teenage daughter) with a little cooperation from other members
|
|||
|
of your household. It is difficult to describe the visual and
|
|||
|
emotional impact you receive when someone picks up the telephone while
|
|||
|
you are online.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Looking at the specifications of the many modems on the market can
|
|||
|
cause your eyeballs to spin violently but when all the frills are
|
|||
|
removed, you initially start with 2 types, Internal and external. The
|
|||
|
internal modem requires only a connection to the telephone line and an
|
|||
|
available slot in your computer. The external requires an external
|
|||
|
source of power, a connection to the telephone line and a serial cable
|
|||
|
that you may have to purchase separately. As in automobiles, the
|
|||
|
features vary widely but the basics are fairly standardized.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
The final piece in your online travel kit is the communications or
|
|||
|
terminal software. There is a wide choice of available packages
|
|||
|
ranging from some of the more popular and inexpensive shareware
|
|||
|
packages to the more expensive commercial packages. This remains
|
|||
|
largely a matter of choice but it would be wise to start with one of
|
|||
|
the simpler shareware packages until your skills develop. Simply put,
|
|||
|
the terminal software controls what is sent and received by your
|
|||
|
system.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Now that you've acquired the proper equipment and software, the
|
|||
|
next step is to install your modem. Whether internal or external, this
|
|||
|
procedure is relatively simple and most manufacturers provide ample
|
|||
|
guidance in their documentation. The serial cable is connected between
|
|||
|
the modem and the serial port on your computer, the telephone cord is
|
|||
|
connected between the modem and the telephone outlet and the modem is
|
|||
|
plugged in. An internal modem requires only the telephone connection,
|
|||
|
all other needs are supplied by the system.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Before you try out your new modem you must set a few parameters
|
|||
|
from within your communication program that will make your system
|
|||
|
compatible with the computer you'll be calling. Most communication
|
|||
|
programs have a 'Setup' area or a 'Port Parameter' area. This will be
|
|||
|
your first stop.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
COM1 or COM2-- Although there is increasing support for
|
|||
|
additional COM ports, COM1 and COM2 are the most used. Generally your
|
|||
|
computer documentation will indicate the available ports on your
|
|||
|
system. Start by selecting COM1, you can always go back and change it
|
|||
|
later if needed.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
BPS or BAUD--Bits per Second is the rate of speed of data
|
|||
|
transmission and reception through the selected com port.
|
|||
|
Although incorrect in this instance, baudrate or baud are
|
|||
|
generally used interchangeably with bps. The most common rate is 2400
|
|||
|
bps, although the decreasing cost of higher speed modems has resulted in
|
|||
|
many non commercial systems communicating at 9600 bps and higher.
|
|||
|
Slower speeds of 1200 bps are still generally available on some
|
|||
|
systems and you might still find an occasional 300 bps system out
|
|||
|
there. The main function of the 'setup' area is to assure that both
|
|||
|
systems are communicating at the same rate. Therefore if the system
|
|||
|
you are calling will be at 2400 bps, then your system must be set the
|
|||
|
same or you will be unable to establish decent communications. The
|
|||
|
most common cause of communication problems is improper parameter
|
|||
|
setup. It's much like speaking Greek to an Italian over a long
|
|||
|
distance telephone line, no communication is possible.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
DATA BITS--This setting determines the number of bits that make up
|
|||
|
each byte of information. Sometimes referred to as word length.
|
|||
|
Most BBS (Bulletin Board System) normally use a setting of 8 bits while
|
|||
|
most commercial systems use a setting of 7 bits.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
PARITY is an error detection method used to check the validity of a
|
|||
|
transmitted character. If the computer is using 8 *data* bits, the
|
|||
|
parity is usually *none*, indicated by an 'N' while systems using 7
|
|||
|
data bits usually use *even*, indicated by an 'E'.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
STOP BITS are signaling bits attached to a character before it is
|
|||
|
transmitted which indicate when the character ends. Each character
|
|||
|
transmitted is preceded by one start bit and followed by one or two
|
|||
|
stop bits and possibly a parity bit. The most common setting is to
|
|||
|
use 1 stop bit. Therefore, your most common settings for a PC based BBS
|
|||
|
would be 8 data bits - No parity - 1 stop bit (8N1) and for
|
|||
|
commercial systems, 7 data bits - Even parity - 1 Stop bit (7E1).
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
FULL/HALF DUPLEX also called local/remote echo is the setting that
|
|||
|
determines which system (local/remote) is responsible for displaying
|
|||
|
characters on the screen. Most BBS systems supply the remote echo so
|
|||
|
the usual setting for your system should be remote echo (no local
|
|||
|
echo). If you can't see what you type on your screen when you are
|
|||
|
connected to another system, then you should turn your local echo on.
|
|||
|
If your screen should ddiissppllaayy cchhaarraacctteerrss lliikkee
|
|||
|
tthhiiss, then you know that both the local and remote systems are
|
|||
|
echoing the characters and you should turn your local echo off (remote
|
|||
|
on).
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Now you should be ready to give this thing a try. Your modem is
|
|||
|
connected and your communication program is loaded. Following the
|
|||
|
documentation for your specific program, enter the dialing directory
|
|||
|
and select the number you wish to dial. At this point, if you press
|
|||
|
return, most programs will dial the selected number. If your modem has
|
|||
|
a speaker you should hear phone go off hook, dial the number and start
|
|||
|
ringing. When the remote system answers, you will hear the modems try
|
|||
|
to establish a connection with appropriate squealing and hissing. When
|
|||
|
connected, you will see a message that says CONNECT or CONNECT 2400.
|
|||
|
Congratulations! You are online! Depending on the type of system you
|
|||
|
have called, you may have to press the carriage return a few times to
|
|||
|
'wake up' the BBS or it may start 'talking' to you automatically.
|
|||
|
Online etiquette is beyond the scope of this article but remember,
|
|||
|
you are essentially a guest in someone's home. Please act as you would
|
|||
|
have a guest act in your home. Profane language is a no-no. Finally,
|
|||
|
when the time comes to leave the BBS, there is usually a command
|
|||
|
similar to GO or BYE or EXIT or OFF that will take care of some
|
|||
|
housekeeping and politely let you leave the system and hang up. Only
|
|||
|
in an extreme case should you just HANG UP without signing off the
|
|||
|
BBS. Doing that is similar to walking out and slamming the door
|
|||
|
without even a goodbye. Extremely rude! On some of the old time
|
|||
|
systems, this could hang a system thus preventing other callers from
|
|||
|
calling in. The newer systems don't have a problem with this any
|
|||
|
longer but it's still tacky.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
This should give you enough information to get you started
|
|||
|
exploring the world online. The majority of the people you meet are
|
|||
|
very friendly and helpful. When you log on to a new BBS, I recommend
|
|||
|
that you go directly to the message base and read some of the
|
|||
|
messages. You can get a lot of initial questions answered this way.
|
|||
|
If you have a specific question, most BBS's will allow you to leave a
|
|||
|
comment to the sysop (SYStem OPerator) on your first call.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Remember, you can't hurt anything and the people you contact all
|
|||
|
started the same way as you, so relax, happy calling and enjoy the
|
|||
|
world online.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
The FBI Comes Rapping, Rapping At Your BBS
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Brock N. Meeks
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
The dog-eared manila envelope spilled a coffee stained report onto
|
|||
|
my cluttered desk. The title, "The FBI and Your BBS" sounded a little
|
|||
|
too nefarious, even for this curmudgeon of the information age. But I
|
|||
|
figured the report was worth at least a quick read. After all,
|
|||
|
somebody had gone to the effort to track down my address and forward a
|
|||
|
copy of the report to me. That someone turns out to be the report's
|
|||
|
author, Glen L. Roberts, director of The FBI Project an organization
|
|||
|
which publishes a newsletter, Full Disclosure, under the self-defined
|
|||
|
category "privacy/surveillance.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
The report is chilling, almost paranoid. And if more people had
|
|||
|
known about its existence, a lot of grief might have been saved. As
|
|||
|
I read I remembered an old, coffee-ringed file folder I'd squirreled
|
|||
|
away. I remembered something about it's containing information on
|
|||
|
what I'd off-handedly labeled "FBI Computer Hit Squad." When I found
|
|||
|
the file, Roberts' report didn't seem so paranoid and knew I was in
|
|||
|
for a long night of research and bunch of early morning wake up
|
|||
|
interviews.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
If you dig, you hit dirt
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
In 1984 a short series of discreet advertisements, placed by the
|
|||
|
FBI, appeared in a few computer trade publications and in The Wall
|
|||
|
Street Journal. The message was simple, and went something like:
|
|||
|
"We're looking for computer literate persons to join the Bureau."
|
|||
|
There was no mention of any special task force; however, it was clear
|
|||
|
that the Bureau wanted to upgrade their high-tech prowess.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Although the FBI won't confirm the existence of a computerized "hit
|
|||
|
squad," an FBI public relations officer did confirm that they "have
|
|||
|
made an extraordinary effort to recruit more technically oriented
|
|||
|
personnel" since 1984.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
If you dig hard enough, you'll find substantial evidence that the
|
|||
|
FBI is most definitely working overtime in its efforts to monitor the
|
|||
|
electronic community. "They are desperately wary of the way
|
|||
|
information flows so freely in this medium," says Roberts.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Indeed, one has only to recall this past May when some 150 Secret
|
|||
|
Service agents, assisted by local police (backed up with electronic
|
|||
|
"intelligence gathered and provided by the FBI) served some 27 search
|
|||
|
warrants in a dozen cities across the U.S.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
The bust, code-named Operation Sun Devil, was patterned after the
|
|||
|
tactics used to take down suspected drug rings: simultaneous busts,
|
|||
|
synchronized arrests. All in an effort to preclude any "early
|
|||
|
warnings" reaching the West via grapevine information moving from the
|
|||
|
East.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
I was curious about all these high tech hit tactics and armed with
|
|||
|
my file folder and Roberts' report I called a number scrawled on the
|
|||
|
inside flap of my file folder. It was annotated "Former agent;
|
|||
|
possible source." I called the number, and got a story.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
"I was recruited in 1983 by the FBI for my computer skills."
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
"I was recruited in 1983 by the FBI for my computer skills," the
|
|||
|
former agent told me. Because he still does some consulting for the
|
|||
|
Bureau, he asked not to be identified, but he laid out a very
|
|||
|
specific plan by the FBI to increase their knowledge of the electronic
|
|||
|
communications world. He confided, "During my time the Bureau's
|
|||
|
monitoring of BBSs was extremely limited; we just didn't know how." In
|
|||
|
those days, he said, the FBI drew on the expertise of a small band of
|
|||
|
high-tech freelance snoops to augment their staff, "while we all honed
|
|||
|
our own skills."
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Tradition
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Certainly the FBI has a tradition of "investigating" groups of
|
|||
|
people it deems "unsavory" or threatening.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
In Roberts' The FBI and Your BBS, there's a brief history of the
|
|||
|
FBI's willingness to gather all known information on a target group.
|
|||
|
Pulling from the Final Report of the Select (Senate) Committee to
|
|||
|
Study Governmental Operations with respect to Intelligence Activities,
|
|||
|
Book IV, Supplementary Reports on Intelligence Activities, Roberts
|
|||
|
includes this excerpt:
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
"Detectives were sent to local radical publishing houses to take their
|
|||
|
books. In addition, they were to find every private collection or
|
|||
|
library in the possession of any radical, and to make the arrangements
|
|||
|
for obtaining them in their entirety. Thus, when the GID (General
|
|||
|
Intelligence Division) discovered an obscure Italian born philosopher
|
|||
|
who had a unique collection of books on the theory of anarchism, his
|
|||
|
lodgings were raided by the Bureau and his valuable collection become
|
|||
|
one more involuntary contribution to the huge and ever-growing library
|
|||
|
of the GID. [pages 87-88]."
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Change "any radical" to "any BBS" and "book" to "disk" and quite
|
|||
|
suddenly the electronic landscape turns into a winter still-life.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Data collection
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Roberts, quoting from his report, says, "Unlike other
|
|||
|
communications media, information on a BBS does not get read by anyone
|
|||
|
before its instantaneous publication. Therefore, the FBI has much
|
|||
|
less of a possibility of intimidating the owner of a BBS into not
|
|||
|
publishing certain information. The FBI also acts as if BBSs have a
|
|||
|
monopoly on the distribution of so-called 'illegal information.' The
|
|||
|
FBI often uses this 'danger' as justification to monitor the
|
|||
|
activities on these systems. In reality, however, BBSs transfer much
|
|||
|
less 'illegal information' than the phone system."
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Roberts statements are worth noting in light of the government's
|
|||
|
increased interest in the marriage of criminal activity and electronic
|
|||
|
communications.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Crime has moved into the high-tech arena.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
A 455-page report issued by the President's Commission on Organized
|
|||
|
Crime, dealing with drug abuse and trafficking cites that fact that
|
|||
|
crime has moved into the high-tech arena. The report states "To the
|
|||
|
extent that law enforcement agencies' capabilities and equipment are
|
|||
|
inferior to those of drug traffickers, immediate steps should be taken
|
|||
|
to rectify the situation." The report then recommends that
|
|||
|
data-gathering efforts of several agencies (including the FBI) should
|
|||
|
be tied together in one "all-source intelligence and operations
|
|||
|
center."
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Any problem here?
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
There are no laws prohibiting the FBI (or other agencies) from
|
|||
|
monitoring the public message traffic on a BBS; the Electronic
|
|||
|
Communications Privacy Act of 1986 protects private messages and
|
|||
|
privately stored files only. But what about an FBI agent monitoring a
|
|||
|
BBS solely for the purpose of gathering information on the board's
|
|||
|
users? Any problem here?
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
The former FBI agent I spoke with raised the concern that such
|
|||
|
casual monitoring might be a violation of the 1968 Wiretap Act. "In
|
|||
|
order for a wire tap, you have to get a court order. Now if an FBI
|
|||
|
agent is monitoring a BBS to gather information, that becomes an
|
|||
|
interesting question, because there are very specific federal rules
|
|||
|
about a wire tap. My question to you about a BBS [being monitored]
|
|||
|
is: "At what point does monitoring turn into a wiretap-like act?"
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Good point. The reality is, however, that there are no rules.
|
|||
|
Unless that agent is asking for private message traffic, he can,
|
|||
|
without impunity, monitor, store, and otherwise manipulate your public
|
|||
|
messages as he sees fit.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Roberts points out that a BBS with public access is fair game for
|
|||
|
any kind of governmental snooping. But there is a way to make such
|
|||
|
casual snooping by a federal agent a crime.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
"If you want your BBS readily accessible to the public but want to
|
|||
|
protect against unwarranted monitoring, you have to provide a warning
|
|||
|
to prospective users," says Roberts. "It should read: 'This BBS is a
|
|||
|
private system. Only private citizens who are not involved in
|
|||
|
government or law enforcement activities are authorized to use it. The
|
|||
|
users are not authorized to divulge any information gained from this
|
|||
|
system to any government or law enforcement agency or employee.'"
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
This does two things. It makes the entire board "private." Second,
|
|||
|
it makes any kind of monitoring by the FBI (or other agencies, such as
|
|||
|
the Secret Service) a criminal offense (because they are would be
|
|||
|
guilty of unauthorized access; it also forces them to use the
|
|||
|
established guidelines of gaining information via a court ordered
|
|||
|
search warrant. The warning also protects you in another way: it
|
|||
|
stops "freelancers" from doing the Bureau's work.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Get real
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
How real is the possibility of the FBI monitoring your BBS? Much
|
|||
|
more than I'd like to believe. Although details of Operation Sun
|
|||
|
Devil are still sketchy, it's clear that the FBI, working in tandem
|
|||
|
with the Secret Service, is monitoring several hundred "suspected"
|
|||
|
boards across the electronic landscape. What kind of board is a
|
|||
|
potential monitoring target? "Any board that advocates hacking," said
|
|||
|
a Secret Service spokesman. Yet when I asked for a definition of
|
|||
|
hacking, all I was told was "illegal activity."
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Are the "good guys" getting caught up with the bad?
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
The information provided here bears out, if nothing else, an
|
|||
|
increased interest by the FBI in the hardball practice of going after
|
|||
|
electronic criminals. But are the "good guys" getting caught up with
|
|||
|
the bad?
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
How extensive is the FBI's actual fact gathering by monitoring
|
|||
|
BBSs? No one knows really knows. However, given the history of
|
|||
|
Bureau, and the hard facts that crime in the information age makes
|
|||
|
full use of all the technology it can get its hands on, it's a small
|
|||
|
leap to believe that at least specific monitoring, of certain target
|
|||
|
groups, is taking place.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Where does that leave you and me in all this? Back to square one,
|
|||
|
watching carefully what we say online. If you're a member of a
|
|||
|
"controversial" BBS, you might pass the concerns of Roberts on to your
|
|||
|
sysop. If you are a sysop, you might want to consider adding a bit of
|
|||
|
protection to the board . . . for the rest of us.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Brock Meeks is a Washington, D.C.-based columnist whose articles have
|
|||
|
appeared in several publications including Byte Magazine. His
|
|||
|
favorite radical BBS is . . . well . . . private.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
What's NEW in ZMODEM
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
by Chuck Forsberg
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
In early 1986, Telenet funded a project to develop a new file
|
|||
|
transfer protocol to alleviate the throughput problems network
|
|||
|
customers were experiencing with XMODEM and Kermit file transfers.
|
|||
|
Designing ZMODEM from scratch allowed me to use the best ideas from
|
|||
|
X.PC, HDLC, BISYNC, Kermit, and dozens of other protocols, while
|
|||
|
avoiding many of their shortcomings.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Since then ZMODEM has been incorporated into hundreds of programs.
|
|||
|
ZMODEM's speed, reliability, and ease of use has made it the protocol
|
|||
|
of choice for thousands of bulletin boards, GEnie, BIX, Portal,
|
|||
|
Delphi, and other information utilities.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
From the beginning, ZMODEM was designed to be extended. Important
|
|||
|
reliability, performance and compatibility extensions have been
|
|||
|
developed since the Telenet project. These extensions accelerate
|
|||
|
downloads by 5 to 30 percent in many applications, with some files
|
|||
|
downloading many times faster.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
New programs can exploit these extensions without sacrificing
|
|||
|
downward compatibility with older programs. This article summarizes
|
|||
|
the most important of these ZMODEM extensions.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
CRC-32
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Ease of implementation was one of ZMODEM's original design goals.
|
|||
|
XMODEM CRC technology was used because XMODEM routines were widely
|
|||
|
available in many programming languages.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
XMODEM's CRC polynomial is many times less reliable than good 16
|
|||
|
bit CRC's. This wasn't an issue with XMODEM because XMODEM itself was
|
|||
|
inherently unreliable under stress. When ZMODEM's speed and
|
|||
|
"bullet-proof" robustness soon found use in applications too harsh for
|
|||
|
XMODEM, ZMODEM's robustness revealed XMODEM CRC to be too inaccurate.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
The first major extension to ZMODEM was the adoption of 32 bit CRC.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
ZMODEM uses the 32-bit CRC specified by ANSI X3.66, FIPS PUB 71,
|
|||
|
and FED-STD-1003. A table driven calculation keeps processing
|
|||
|
overhead low. ZMODEM CRC-32 is five orders of magnitude more accurate
|
|||
|
than XMODEM CRC, and billions of times more sensitive than 1 byte
|
|||
|
XMODEM and Kermit checksums. The extra protection of CRC-32 is vital
|
|||
|
in high speed applications.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
ZMODEM retains XMODEM CRC capability to accommodate old programs.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Compression
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Compression techniques compact the redundant information in data
|
|||
|
files to reduce storage and transmission time. ZMODEM-90(TM)
|
|||
|
extensions include "on the fly" compression that boosts throughput on
|
|||
|
listings and other suitable files. Compression percentages range from
|
|||
|
-1% on already compressed files to more than 1000 percent (10 times
|
|||
|
speedup) on the Personal Computing Magazine text file benchmark.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Moby Turbo(tm) Accelerator
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Many files downloaded from bulletin boards are already compressed
|
|||
|
with PKZIP or other compression programs.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
ZMODEM was developed to operate over packet switched networks that
|
|||
|
use control characters for network control. When one of these
|
|||
|
characters appears in the data, ZMODEM protects the network by
|
|||
|
replacing the offending character with a two character sequence
|
|||
|
(quoting). Standard ZMODEM quoting increases overhead on compressed
|
|||
|
files by about 3 percent.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
The protection of control character quoting and its overhead are
|
|||
|
not needed in many applications. ZMODEM-90(TM) offers MobyTurbo(TM)
|
|||
|
to close the speed gap between ZMODEM and less reliable protocols
|
|||
|
without sacrificing ZMODEM's historical robustness and reliability.
|
|||
|
MobyTurbo reduces the character quoting overhead on compressed files
|
|||
|
to 0.5%. In comparison tests the speed difference between YMODEM-g
|
|||
|
and MobyTurbo(TM) is less than 1 percent. Many users feel 1% is a low
|
|||
|
price to pay to get Crash Recovery, automatic downloads, and the
|
|||
|
safety of 32 bit CRC error checking,
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
______________________________
|
|||
|
| OVERHEAD FACTORS |
|
|||
|
| (Compressed Files) |
|
|||
|
------------------------------
|
|||
|
|1024 Byte Subpackets | .5% |
|
|||
|
|Character Quoting | 3% |
|
|||
|
|MobyTurbo Quoting | .5% |
|
|||
|
------------------------------
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Reduced Overhead
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Some networks and modem concentrators reserve control characters
|
|||
|
not protected by ZMODEM defaults. Previously the solution was to
|
|||
|
protect all control characters, resulting in protocol overhead
|
|||
|
approaching that of Kermit.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
ZMODEM-90(TM) extensions provide individual control of the
|
|||
|
protected control characters, avoiding the high overhead of quoting
|
|||
|
all control characters.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Window Management
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Many information utilities are accessed via complex packet switched
|
|||
|
networks. These networks may behave more like a balloon than a pipe
|
|||
|
as they pass data from a fast mainframe to a relatively slow modem.
|
|||
|
Undelivered kilobytes swell the network's memory banks, and error
|
|||
|
correction is impaired.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
ZMODEM allows the sender to limit this ballooning by regulating the
|
|||
|
rate of transmission to accommodate the slowest segment of the
|
|||
|
network. ZMODEM accomplishes this by commanding the receiver to
|
|||
|
acknowledge data sub-blocks as they are received, and waiting for more
|
|||
|
acknowledgements when the receiver is too far behind (window too
|
|||
|
large).
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
The optimum window size depends on the network characteristics and
|
|||
|
modem error rate. With ZMODEM-90 the receiver can override the
|
|||
|
sender's window size according to local conditions. Users with error
|
|||
|
correcting modems can increase throughput by increasing the window
|
|||
|
size.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
These ZMODEM-90 extensions give GEnie downloads 5 to 30 percent
|
|||
|
faster than public domain ZMODEM.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
7-Bit Environments
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
A pair of ZMODEM-90 programs with 7-bit support will automatically
|
|||
|
detect a 7-bit environment and switch to one of two 7-bit path
|
|||
|
compatible encodings.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
The default 7-bit ZMODEM uses RLE compression and 8th bit quoting.
|
|||
|
This mode resembles Kermit encoding, but is more efficient because the
|
|||
|
RLE encoding is optimized and fewer control characters are quoted.
|
|||
|
This default is well suited for text files.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
ZMODEM Pack-7 packs 4 bytes into 5 printing characters. This is
|
|||
|
more efficient than quoting for sending compressed files. ZMODEM
|
|||
|
Pack-7 is efficient enough to beat Kermit on ZIP files, even when
|
|||
|
Kermit is allowed to use all 8 bits.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
A 75136 byte ZIP file was sent between two adjacent machines
|
|||
|
directly connected at 2400 bps. These tests demonstrate the difference
|
|||
|
in protocol performance under ideal conditions.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Kermit transfers used one byte checksum and 2000 byte packets.
|
|||
|
ZMODEM used 32 Bit (four byte) CRC.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
______________________________
|
|||
|
| 7-BIT LINE |
|
|||
|
------------------------------
|
|||
|
|CPS| Protocol |
|
|||
|
|156| Kermit long packet=2000|
|
|||
|
|190| ZMODEM-90tm PACK-7 |
|
|||
|
------------------------------
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Intelligent Crash Recovery
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Crash Recovery allows an interrupted file transfer to be completed
|
|||
|
without throwing away the portion transferred before the interruption.
|
|||
|
Crash Recovery has been a favorite ZMODEM feature since 1986.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Accurate crash recovery requires that the receiver's copy of the
|
|||
|
file match the sender's copy up to the point where the transfer was
|
|||
|
cut off. If you don't call back instantly the file may change, and
|
|||
|
simply resuming the transfer will corrupt the file. If this is a
|
|||
|
concern, choose a program that verifies the accuracy of Crash
|
|||
|
Recovery.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Intelligent Crash Recovery(TM) (-rr option) allows files to be
|
|||
|
compared without transmitting the actual file contents. The sender and
|
|||
|
receiver take a 32 bit CRC on the files and compare those numbers. The
|
|||
|
"zmodem R" parameter controls how much of the files to compare. The
|
|||
|
default of 0 compares the entire file. The chance of different files
|
|||
|
producing the same 32 bit CRC is small; an independent comparison of
|
|||
|
another segment further enhances reliability.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Currently, ASCII file translation (Unix to DOS format, etc.) does
|
|||
|
not allow Crash Recovery.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
A future extension should remove this restriction.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Total Transfer Display
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
ZMODEM and YMODEM now support a count of the files remaining and
|
|||
|
their total size to the receiver. This allows the receiver to
|
|||
|
estimate remaining transfer time, updated as conditions change. This
|
|||
|
information is optional and may not be provided when its collection
|
|||
|
would cause an unacceptable delay starting a transfer.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
VAX/VMS Specific Programs
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Previous versions of the RZ (Receive ZMODEM) and SZ (Send ZMODEM)
|
|||
|
file transfer programs were poorly adapted for Digital Equipment's
|
|||
|
VAX/VMS minicomputer operating system.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
A new VMS RZ writes variable length CR terminated records for ASCII
|
|||
|
files and fixed 512 byte records for binary files. These record
|
|||
|
formats are better suited for standard VMS utilities.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
A -i option may be given to the sender or receiver to force VMS
|
|||
|
Stream_LF record format. Stream_LF format preserves the exact data
|
|||
|
and file length. Stream_LF is suitable for C programs and PC oriented
|
|||
|
file server and archive applications.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
VMS SZ now supports wild cards and subdirectories.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
These programs are available from Omen Technology Incorporated.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
ZMODEM-90(TM), MobyTurbo(TM), and Intelligent Crash Recovery(TM)
|
|||
|
are Omen Technology trademarks.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
UNDER THE BOARDWALK
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
"Hello, Dean speaking."
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
"I'm going to quit my job, start a BBS, make a fortune and live
|
|||
|
happily ever after."
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
"Excuse me? That's impossible!"
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
"No really, I'm going to make my living running a BBS."
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
I never thought I'd have phone conversations like this a year ago, now it
|
|||
|
happens once a week. One enthusiastic caller was dead serious when he told
|
|||
|
me "I'm going to put CompuServe out of business." As ridiculous as these
|
|||
|
statements sound, it should. It tells me that the BBS world is starting to
|
|||
|
evolve in a big way.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
A schism is forming between the FREE and the PAY BBS systems. The hardcore
|
|||
|
sysop of the past will tell you "Until they pry my cold dead fingers from
|
|||
|
my keyboard, my system will always have free access." The enterprising
|
|||
|
sysop of today will tell you "I'm offering a service that my customers
|
|||
|
enjoy, and I'm not embarrassed to be compensated for it." I hope there will
|
|||
|
always be a place for the FREE BBS. However, the pay as you go BBS system
|
|||
|
is todays item of interest. What does it take to make real money running a
|
|||
|
BBS?
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
As an example, we'll start a fictitious BBS called OPERATION OVERKILL, or
|
|||
|
OK BBS for short. We're going to charge $45 per year, run 4 lines at 9600
|
|||
|
Bps and use PCBoard on a 386 Novell Network. Congratulations, OK BBS just
|
|||
|
consumed $10,000 like it was light beer, and nobody calls.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Across town, HUMBLE BEGINNINGS BBS (HB BBS for short) starts up using a
|
|||
|
spare XT, 1 phone line at 2400 Bps, runs the shareware version of PCBoard
|
|||
|
and charges NOTHING. The new sysop of HB BBS, Horatio A., has been calling
|
|||
|
BBS's for years and finally decides to give it a try. Six months later HB
|
|||
|
BBS has 500 steady callers, but they complain that the BBS is busier than
|
|||
|
the men's room at Joe's Bar on Saturday night.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
After many sleepless nights and countless cans of Jolt Cola, Horatio
|
|||
|
asks for $20 donations to add another phone line, get a 386, buy the
|
|||
|
multinode version of PCBoard and increase the hard drive storage.
|
|||
|
Enough money comes in to cover half of the upgrade. Horatio digs
|
|||
|
into his pockets for the rest and HUMBLE BEGINNINGS is now running 2
|
|||
|
nodes under Desqview on the new 386. He adds more file areas, throws
|
|||
|
in some DOORS, and answers the mail from his users 3 times a day.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
In order to recoup the investment in the upgrade, Horatio adds
|
|||
|
an Adult file section available to paying users only. He imposes
|
|||
|
a 20:1 download/upload ratio for non-paying callers. As a bonus,
|
|||
|
he allows callers with a 5:1 download/upload ratio full
|
|||
|
privileges. His file area becomes inundated with new uploads as
|
|||
|
his non-paying callers realize the cheapest way to use the system
|
|||
|
is to upload new files. There's even a few long distance callers
|
|||
|
which he gives full access for no charge. Heck, they're already paying
|
|||
|
good money to our favorite charity THE PHONE COMPANY, so why not?
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
HUMBLE BEGINNINGS is now busy all the time! The free callers keep
|
|||
|
the file library bursting with new software while the paying
|
|||
|
callers are happy to rape this fantastic software resource for
|
|||
|
only $20 per year. In fact, HUMBLE BEGINNINGS is making a little more
|
|||
|
money each month. A third phone line is added to keep up with the
|
|||
|
demand.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Horatio decides to attempt to make some real money with his BBS.
|
|||
|
HUMBLE BEGINNINGS has been online for 2 years, pays the phone bill,
|
|||
|
and even makes more of a profit each month. He borrows $5,000 from his
|
|||
|
brother Donald to bring his system to 6 lines running on a Novell
|
|||
|
network. He figures 6 lines will keep everyone happy for at least a
|
|||
|
year. He raises the price to $45 per year, but still allows callers
|
|||
|
with a 5:1 download/upload ratio full access.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
HUMBLE BEGINNINGS is now on it's way to possibly becoming a very
|
|||
|
large system. Who knows, maybe in another year Horatio will be
|
|||
|
able to quit his real job to devote 24 hours a day to his BBS. More
|
|||
|
likely, HB BBS will become a mildly profitable small business. Is
|
|||
|
there a moral to this story? Not really, but all the would be
|
|||
|
entrepreneurs out there might want to memorize the countless cliches
|
|||
|
related to starting your own business.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
BBS's must do the same as any successful small business, provide a
|
|||
|
needed product or service, provide excellent customer service, price
|
|||
|
it reasonably, and continue to improve while keeping one eye on the
|
|||
|
competition.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
|
|||
|
T E L E C O M P U T I N G M A G A Z I N E
|
|||
|
Electronic Edition
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Summer 1990
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
(C) 1990 Galaxy Telecomm Corporation
|
|||
|
All Rights Reserved
|
|||
|
800-477-1788, 505-881-6988 - Voice
|
|||
|
505-881-6964 - BBS - 64 Lines
|
|||
|
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Requirements To Display Telecomputing Magazine
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
No Nonsense Copyright Statement
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Telecomputing Magazine is copyrighted material and must be treated as
|
|||
|
such. Telecomputing Magazine's Electronic Edition may be transmitted
|
|||
|
and displayed on Electronic Bulletin Board Systems. Alterations,
|
|||
|
additions, or ommissions of material will be considered a copyright
|
|||
|
violation.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
DON'T CHANGE ANY OF THE FILES! IF YOU DISPLAY ONE FILE, YOU MUST
|
|||
|
DISPLAY THEM ALL.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Feel free to pass this Electronic Edition of our magazine along to
|
|||
|
your friends and favorite BBS's. For a free copy of our 4 color glossy
|
|||
|
magazine, give us a call at 800-477-1788 and request a copy!
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
|
|||
|
T E L E C O M P U T I N G M A G A Z I N E
|
|||
|
Electronic Edition
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
October/November 1990
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
(C) 1990 Galaxy Telecomm Corporation
|
|||
|
All Rights Reserved
|
|||
|
800-477-1788
|
|||
|
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
TABLE OF CONTENTS OF TELECOMPUTING MAGAZINE'S PRINTED EDITION
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
COVER STORY - Tim Stryker
|
|||
|
Superdemocracy
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
FEATURES
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
News from the Online World - Nia Bennett
|
|||
|
Where Is Everybody? - Jerry Pournelle/Mike Banks
|
|||
|
The FBI Comes Rapping, Rapping at Your BBS - Brock N. Meeks
|
|||
|
Electronic Government - Michael E. Marotta
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
TUTORIAL
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
What's New in ZMODEM - Chuck Forsberg
|
|||
|
Worried About Viruses? - William Minus
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
PRODUCT REVIEW
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Intel Goes After 9600 BPS Market - Tom Scott
|
|||
|
TDBS: The Comfortable Revolution - Phil Becker
|
|||
|
Telecommand System 100 by JDS Technologies - Tom Scott
|
|||
|
The Metro BBS System P.D. and Plenty of Power - Jim Reyna
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
I*N*F*O
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Aladdin - Genie's Magic Lamp - Dennis Fowler
|
|||
|
The BBSers Guide to COMDEX - Tom Scott
|
|||
|
Joining the Online World - Victor Baron
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
SOFTWARE REVIEW
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
BGFT: Background File Transfer System
|
|||
|
Falcon F-16 by Mark Hiatt
|
|||
|
Weight Loss Software by Nia Bennett
|
|||
|
News from Oracomm - Running a Successful BBS by Gary Young
|
|||
|
Wildcat! BBS News - Dawn of the Information Society
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
BOOK REVIEW
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
"Using Computer Bulletin Boards" by John V. Hedtke
|
|||
|
- Review by Charles Stuart Klingman
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
COMMENTARY
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Software Mania - John C. Dvorak
|
|||
|
Power Suits and Pretty Dresses For BBSing on the Edge
|
|||
|
- Bob Mahoney
|
|||
|
Under The Boardwalk/Commentary - Dean Kerl
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
DEPARTMENTS
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
From The Editor
|
|||
|
Letters To The Editor
|
|||
|
EXEC-PC Top 20 Downloads
|
|||
|
telecomputing's BBS Listings (classifieds)
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
|