727 lines
23 KiB
Plaintext
727 lines
23 KiB
Plaintext
FIDONEWS -- 10 Jun 85 00:00:30 Page 1
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Volume 2, Number 17 10 June 1985
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+----------------------------------------------------------+
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| / \ |
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| - FidoNews - /|oo \ |
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| Fido and FidoNet _`@/_ \ _ |
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| Users Group | | \ \\ |
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| Newsletter | (*) | \ )) |
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| ______ |__U__| / \// |
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| / FIDO \ _//|| _\ / |
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| (________) (_/(_|(____/ |
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| (jm) |
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Publisher: Fido 107/375
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Chief Procrastinator: Thom Henderson
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Fidonews is published weekly by SEAboard, Fido 107/375. You
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are encouraged to submit articles for publication in
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Fidonews. Article submission standards are contained in the
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file FIDONEWS.DOC, available from Fido 107/375.
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Disclaimer or don't-blame-us:
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The contents of the articles contained here are not our
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responsibility, nor do we necessarily agree with them;
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everything here is subject to debate. We publish EVERYTHING
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received.
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This Is It!
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This is the week we've all been waiting for! On Wednesday,
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12 June 1985, we switch over to regional nets. Stay on net
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one until Wednesday, then set your net and node numbers to
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the new system before the Thursday morning national mail
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hour. Also, pick up a copy of the new node list (136), and
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install it on your system Wednesday.
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I'd also advise everybody to set their alternate net and
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node numbers to their old node in net one, just in case
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someone sends you mail at your old address. Keep it like
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that for a week, maybe two, then the heck with it. Anybody
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who hasn't converted by then, too bad.
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It's taken awhile to get here, and I know it's going to
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cause some confusion, but I really believe it'll be worth it
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in the long run (say, a month or two).
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The latest word I have is that John Warren isn't going to
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have the new LISTGEN program (which replaces NODELIST and
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ROUTEGEN) ready by Wednesday, so the guys in St. Louis won't
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be distributing the new format nodelist after all. Instead,
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FIDONEWS -- 10 Jun 85 00:00:32 Page 2
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they are going to run the new format list through a program
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that'll use it to create an old format list, which they'll
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then pass around.
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This means that network hosts and regional coordinators
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should send in new format lists to St. Louis, but St. Louis
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is going to send out old format lists.
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This may seem a little confusing, because it IS a little
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confusing. But if this is the worst we have to contend
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with, then we have it made.
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FIDONEWS -- 10 Jun 85 00:00:32 Page 3
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============================================================
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NEWS
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============================================================
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Coordinators List
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by Ben Baker -- Fido 76
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There has been some confusion about the difference
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between a "network" and a "region." Let me try to shed some
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light.
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The network, as we use the term here, is merely a
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formalization of an informal concept that has been around
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since Fido version 7. Fido has known since then that when
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told to do so, he should send mail addressed to node A to
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node B instead. The advent of "routing" permitted the
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formation of informal structures known variously as
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"regional nets" or "area nets" or simply "nets." They vary a
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great deal in form and complexity, but they share one thing
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in common. They each have one node defined as "in-bound
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host" who receives the mail for all members.
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We have now given these networks a formal identity.
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When the node list appears in the new format, Fido will know
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about all the networks, who the host of each is, and which
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nodes are members. Without being told he will automatically
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send mail for any member to the network host. The network
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number will be part of the identity of every member node.
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This was done for several reasons. Many nodes were not
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taking advantage of routing. Now it'll be automatic. It
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will make it easier for private networks (there are several)
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to interface with the public net. Perhaps most important,
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it permits us to decentralize control of FidoNet's only
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official document, the node list. Because, in the past,
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node numbers had to be unique, one person had to be
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responsible for node list maintenance, a task which has
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become too big for one unpaid volunteer. Now numbers need
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only be unique within a network. Different networks may use
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the same numbers with no ill effects.
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Thus, network hosts may administer their own node lists
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and the national coordinator merely collects and assembles
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the pieces into a complete node list.
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But what of the more than 100 independant nodes around
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the country? The region allows us to divide them into ten
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geographic groupings called Regions. A region is a numbered
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entity much like a network, with a coordinator to manage its
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node list. The only difference is that a region has no
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in-bound host. Mail to all members is sent direct, without
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routing.
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The following table is a list of all regions and
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networks and their assigned coordinators. Also included is
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their current Fido node numbers, and the net/node address to
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which mail should be sent AFTER the cut-over to the new
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scheme.
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FIDONEWS -- 10 Jun 85 00:00:35 Page 4
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From now on, all requests for node numbers should
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contain the same information as before, but should be sent
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via FidoNet mail to the appropriate coordinator.
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_____________
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Region/Net# Location Coordinator Fido New Id
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____________________________________________________________
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Region 1 National -- Ken Kaplan 22 1/0
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Region 10 Calif_Nevada -- Ezra Shapiro 371 10/0
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Region 11 Central -- Bob Fairbairn 500 11/0
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Region 12 Hawaii -- Gene Clayton 373 12/0
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Region 13 Mid_Atlantic -- Thom Henderson 375 13/0
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Region 14 Mid_West -- John Prichard 61 14/0
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Region 15 Mountain -- Robert Briggs 464 15/0
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Region 16 New_England -- Kevin Porter 14 16/0
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Region 17 North_West -- Steve Butler 300 17/0
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Region 18 South_East -- Ken Shackelford 53 18/0
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Region 19 Texarkana -- Mike Johnson 329 19/0
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Network 100 St_Louis_Area -- Ken Kaplan 51 100/0
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Network 101 MassNet -- Dave Rene 27 101/0
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Network 102 SoCalNet -- Don Brauns 36 102/0
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Network 103 Austin_Area -- Scott Ashcroft 50 103/0
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Network 104 Denver_Area -- Oscar Barlow 56 104/0
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Network 105 Portland_Area -- Jim Deibele 59 105/0
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Network 106 Houston_Area -- Justin Marquez 60 106/0
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Network 107 NYC_Metro -- Matt Kanter 79 107/0
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Network 108 Cincinnati_Ar -- Allen Miller 85 108/0
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Network 109 Wash_DC_Metro -- Kurt Reisler 115 109/0
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Network 110 Connecticut -- Geoff Hickey 207 110/0
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Network 111 CanadaRemote -- Jud Newell 327 111/0
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Network 112 Jacksonville -- Pete Cascio 344 112/0
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Network 113 Oahu -- Dennis Washburn 347 113/0
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Network 114 Phoenix_Area -- John Kerr 389 114/0
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Network 115 Chicago_Metro -- Rob Elliot 393 115/0
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Network 116 NashvilleArea -- Rick Steele 400 116/0
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Network 117 Bryan_Area -- Mike Ferguson 437 117/0
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Network 118 HuntsvilleAre -- Tim Meyers 442 118/0
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Network 119 ChicoNet -- Loren Aldrin 447 119/0
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FIDONEWS -- 10 Jun 85 00:00:37 Page 5
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GO! GO! GO! -- June 12 is IT
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by Ben Baker -- Fido 76
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Notice to all. Sometime during Wednesday, June 12,
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each of us will install his edited copy of the new node list
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and use the '4' command to set his new net or region number.
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If you don't know how to do this, use '4?' for help. On
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Thursday, June 13 at mail time, we will be using the new
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network scheme.
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John Warren has been wearing his fingers down to nubs
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on the keyboard, but the new program LISTGEN is not ready
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yet. As a stop-gap measure, Thom Henderson wrote a program
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(named STOPGAP!) which we in St. Louis will be using to
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translate the new node list format back to the traditional
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format, digestable by Fido. For a (hopfully short) time we
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will be maintaining the new fromat, but distributing the
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result in the old format.
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There's a catch. Because of the Host and Region
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statements, neither NODELIST.EXE nor ROUTEGEN.EXE will be
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able to handle this new format. That means we go back to
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the old method of editing the node list by hand. For most
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of us, this means stripping area codes from the local
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numbers, and maybe a global edit of the cost column. Since
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local numbers will now be grouped together, this shouldn't
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be too tough.
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Routing files will also have to be generated by hand,
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but except for hosts of large networks, that shouldn't be
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too dificult either. To begin with, independant nodes, that
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is all region members, won't need any routing files at all.
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Neither will members of networks that don't have out-bound
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hosts. Locals of most the rest of the networks can use a
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ROUTE.BBS that looks like this:
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SCHEDULE B <outbound host nbr>
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ROUTE-TO <outbound host nbr> ALL
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SCHEDULE C ALL
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SCHEDULE D
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where schedules are executed in B-C-D order.
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Most hosts have enough experience with routing by now
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to be able to figure out a workable set of routing files.
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Remember, you no longer have to worry about national
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routing, only routing within your network. Make sure to
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remember to include appropriate ACCEPT-FROM statements.
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Careful examination of your present routing files, those
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created by ROUTEGEN will help.
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A note to all coordinators. Please try to help spread
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this information around in your network or region. And make
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sure your people know that if they don't already have V10i
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or higher, they MUST get V10j by Wednesday.
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So let's do it guys, and get back to normal FidoNet
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FIDONEWS -- 10 Jun 85 00:00:39 Page 6
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business!
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FIDONEWS -- 10 Jun 85 00:00:39 Page 7
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******* WARNING ABOUT DOWNLOADING EXECPCT4.LBR/LQR *********
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It has been brought to our attention that there are bogus
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programs floating around bulletin boards all over the
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country. They are as follows:
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EXECPCT4.LBR or EXECPCT4.LQR
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A PLAGIARIST has changed the name on EXECPC2.x to
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EXECPCT4. It is NOT an upgrade to the popular
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communications program. The lastest version is EXECPC26
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(ver. 2.6).
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Do not waste your valuable time downloading this file!!
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If you are a sysop and someone has uploaded one of these
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files to you, find out who it is and try to find out what
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bulletin board the user downloaded it from. Then tell the
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user to notify the sysop of the board he downloaded it from
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about the bogus version. To keep the bbs world free of
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plagiarism, please request that the user deletes this file
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and make sure it is not uploaded to any board.
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Included in the library is a doc file that gives a phone
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number 516-...-.... as The Multi-User Exec-PC BBS! Everyone
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knows that the Exec-PC Bbs is in Wisconsin (414-964-5160) or
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should know it, since it has 6 phone lines, 240 meg of
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storage and over 3000 files). The number listed above is an
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RBBS (numerous version old) where Exec-PC uses its own bbs
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software. A fellow sysop called just to check out the
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number and saw several other files that have had their names
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changed to appear as an upgrade. A user spent over 10
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minutes (at 2400 baud) of long distance time getting this
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file!!
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Also, if you are a sysop, do not delete EXECPC26. Just
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delete the so called version 4. If you have deleted, it is
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available on this board.
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It seems that this is becoming a habit with someone... It
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apparently has also been done to John Friel's program
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(Qmodem 1.05). The PLAGIARIST changed the code to give a
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phone number that is not John's in the welcome screen! This
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one I have not seen yet. John would like to know if anyone
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sees this version floating around.
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We need to keep track of who is uploading this junk. If
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you find one of these bogus files, let the authors know and
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publish their names.
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The bulletin boards around the country are designed for
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computer hobbiest. To keep this growing network going it is
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imperative that all programs are legitamite. What seems to
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be happening is that people are not respecting the authors
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copywrights. As you know plagerism is illegal and
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punishable by law.
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FIDONEWS -- 10 Jun 85 00:00:43 Page 8
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To combat this problem and to protect the generoisty of
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public domain authors all sysops should be doing the
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following:
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- Set up a verification network
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- Keep an accurate log of all users and their uploads
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- Inform all sysops of any and all bogus programs put on
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to their system.
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- If you note a person is invloved in bogus activites,
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give a stern warning which will ultimately lock them
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out of every system.
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Thanks for all your help.
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Mark
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FIDONEWS -- 10 Jun 85 00:00:44 Page 9
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Chris Rowley
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Co-Sysop, Fido 359
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Pay? You must be kidding!
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"Please enter your first name:" How many times have we
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ssen this prompt in a variety of forms. I've seen it quite
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a lot, on all sorts of computers, big and small. I've seen
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about 10 variations on the IBM PC as well. But alas, not
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everyone has the right to ask this question, at least not
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able to choose which way. Sure, you may be able to choose a
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different route but not without shelling out the bucks at
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first. Then what you got might turn out to be not what you
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wanted despite a semming pleasant appearance from the
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outside.
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If you haven't guessed it by now, I'm referring to those
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dreadful pay-to-play BBS programs such as HOSTCOMM, PC-HOST,
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FoReM-PC, TCOMM, TBBS and a host (no pun) of others. Prices
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from $100 to $300 dollars for a disk or two, a manual, and a
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program that compares as well with Fido or even RBBS as does
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VisiCalc to Lotus 1-2-3. There are some nice features
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there, but for power, flexibility and options the latter is
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a clear winner.
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Fido provides an advanced feature of national net-
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working, plus standard bbs features and a host of transfer
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protocols. It's price: FREE. RBBS provides local net-
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working, conferences and doors capability. It's price:
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FREE. These others really contain nothing outstanding as do
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the two free, standardized board software pacakges I
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mentioned. You have two to try out for free. And if you
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feel it worth your while you can always contribute what you
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feel the value of the package is.
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The others may claim support or speed or something, but
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their ludicrous prices and lack of strong, unique features
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makes their purchase almost unreal. We are operating in a
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public forum, a public service. We've already put down a
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couple thousand for the computer in the first place, why
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more to allow us to share our PC with others.
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We must continue to promote the free communications
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society. Get people out there to hear about our wonderful
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toys before they plunk down more cash. They most likely
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won't be happy, and I won't be either.
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Chris
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FIDONEWS -- 10 Jun 85 00:00:46 Page 10
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============================================================
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WANTED
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============================================================
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============================================================
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== HELP WANTED ==
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============================================================
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Chris Rowley
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Co-Sysop Fido #359
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I know you all love your beloved Fido, but there's a new
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bbs program coming on the market soon. The name: MILO. It
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is NOT an acronym and does NOT contain the letters bbs in
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it. About all I can tell you now is that it is unlike
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anything available for the PC or any other personal computer
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now available.
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Why am I telling you this in the Fido newletter. Well,
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I'm looking for some more beta-testers. My work site and
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another board will be running it soon. But I would like
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reactions from sysops and users across the country with no
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knowledge of its capabilities and workings.
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At the moment it is not FidoNet compatible (I'm working
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on it and will greedily take volunteers). Full source code
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is provided. It is written in BetterBASIC (I began work
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LONG before the article 3 issues ago which mentioned this
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language and got me upset that someone was 'stealing' my
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idea. Can't win 'em all). Our Fido will be beta-testing
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the program during the day, and revert to fido when I'm not
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at work.
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I hope to have the RBBS-->MILO and Fido-->MILO utilities
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ready soon, to translate user lists and message areas.
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Also, MILO is 100% fido questionaire compatible, will
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support your sub-directories (and RBBS' non-sub-
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directories). It is designed so that either an RBBS or Fido
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sysop can change quickly without doing a lot of re-
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organization.
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So if you're interested in beta-testing the product
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(which will be public-domain, of course) or have questions,
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send some mail to 359 or give me a call at work: (301) 340-
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1376. Hope to hear from you. When we're fidonet
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compatible, the net will spread, which is what we all want.
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This is just an alternative to the fido style. I think
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you'll be pleased.
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Chris
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FIDONEWS -- 10 Jun 85 00:00:48 Page 11
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============================================================
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NOTICES
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============================================================
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*** Calendar of Events ***
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12 Jun 85 Start of Multinet Fido; Make sure you have Fido
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version 10i. Stay in net 1 until this date, then
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switch over to your new net number.
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16 Jun 85 Submissions deadline for next issue of Fidonews.
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If you have any event you want listed in this calendar,
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please send a note to node 107/375.
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------------------------------------------------------------
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The First FidoBaby
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Ken Kaplan (Fido 51) and his wife Sally now have the first
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official FidoBaby, named Eric Samuel Kaplan. Sally wants to
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wait for awhile before she'll let Ken assign him a node
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number.
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We'd like to welcome Eric as the newest and youngest member
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of the growing Fido family, and offer him our best wishes.
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We'd also like to extend our congratulations to Ken and
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Sally.
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