974 lines
44 KiB
Plaintext
974 lines
44 KiB
Plaintext
Volume 3, Number 19 12 May 1986
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+---------------------------------------------------------------+
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| _ |
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| / \ |
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| - FidoNews - /|oo \ |
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| (_| /_) |
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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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| (C) Copyright 1986 by IFNA (________) (_/(_|(____/ |
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| (jm) |
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+---------------------------------------------------------------+
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Editor in Chief: Thom Henderson
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Chief Procrastinator Emeritus: Tom Jennings
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FidoNews is the official newsletter of the International FidoNet
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Association, and is published weekly by SEAdog Leader, node 1/1.
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You are encouraged to submit articles for publication in
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FidoNews. Article submission standards are contained in the file
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FNEWSART.DOC, available from node 1/1.
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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.
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Table of Contents
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1. EDITORIAL
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Avoiding Computer Chauvinism
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2. ARTICLES
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Hayes Bell/CCITT compatible modems
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LOGMSG - A new Utility to log Sysop comments to MAILER.LOG
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New Version of SYSREPT for FIDO 11v
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3. COLUMNS
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ADVENTURE Revisted
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FIDO Bug Reports (Killing Fido's Fleas)
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Notes from Abroad
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4. WANTED
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ECHOMAIL Information
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5. FOR SALE
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Entertainment Software for your PC!
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Public Domain Software Library Sale!!
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Special Offer to FidoNet Sysops
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6. NOTICES
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Trojan Horse Warning!
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The Interrupt Stack
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CARTOON: Gruesome George, by Bruce White
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FidoMail Diplomacy
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Metro-Fire Fido Celebrates First Birthday
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Notice of Renumbering - Net 124
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Sysops Passwords In Use
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Fidonews Page 2 12 May 1986
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=================================================================
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EDITORIAL
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=================================================================
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WHICH BRAND IS BEST?
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AVOIDING COMPUTER CHAUVINISM
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Mike Guffey
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In the process of adding to our stable of electronic
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paraphernalia, it is sometimes easy to forget just what our
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computers are: collections of switches that turn on or off. Yes,
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some are much fancier and faster and sleeker than others, but
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there is a price to be paid for more buttons, knobs and gizmos.
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It is easy to forget just how useful smaller, slower, less
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expensive machines are for some people and perhaps once were for
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us as well. To paraphrase Peter McWilliams, computers don't
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become obsolete, they just become last year's models.
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So, in searching for (or even recommending) a new computer, we
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must not forget just what we should be looking for: greater
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utility. And if that utility is measured in speed, color
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graphics, storage capacity, and the like, then fine. But, if
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instead, we fall victim to marketing hype and spend more than we
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should or need to we are likely be seduced by each expensive new
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bell or whistle and never be satisfied with what we buy. It is
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fundamental that the more expensive the basic computer, the more
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expensive the cost of upgrading. Knowing when to stop spending
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money may be =the= hardest computing lesson to learn. It's an
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undocumented lesson.
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We must never forget that the best selling computing device on
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the face of this earth is still the ancient abacus. It suffers
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neither from power failures nor complicated and undecipherable
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documentation. It's just slower.
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-----------------------------------------------------------------
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Fidonews Page 3 12 May 1986
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=================================================================
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ARTICLES
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=================================================================
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Dave O'Shea, 107/35
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Hayes Bell/CCITT compatible modems
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For some reason or another, overseas communications have come to
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be much more common than they once were. Maybe all of us modem
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addicts have run out of new BBS's to call within the US, or maybe
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we've just made a subconscious decision to make Ma Bell rich.
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Anyhow, There seems to be a major bottleneck with the problem of
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incompatible modems. Bell has one standard, CCITT another.
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Hayes microcomputer products, of Smartmodem fame, has just redone
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their smartmodem line again.All new Hayes modems have builtin
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Bell/CCITT compatability. All you have to do is flip a switch. I
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also understand that the user can select Bell or CCITT through
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software, but I'm not sure what the command is. I'm sure it's
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referenced somewhere in their manual.
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I am production manager for a PC distributor in Manhattan, and I
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can tell you that Hayes puts out a quality product. It costs a
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little extra, but it's well worth the expense. Very rarely will I
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see a Hayes box in the returns pile.
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Any feedback on these modems is welcome, and may be directed to
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Fido 107/35.
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-----------------------------------------------------------------
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Fidonews Page 4 12 May 1986
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Don Daniels, 107/211
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LOGMSG
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A new Utility to log Sysop comments to MAILER.LOG
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As more and more BBS support processes become automated, it
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becomes more difficult to monitor just what worked correctly and
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what may have failed. In order to provide a consolidated record
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of just what does go on, LOGMSG was created to simply append
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comments to MAILER.LOG. It is expected to usually be executed
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from inside an automated batch file.
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The format of the execution command for LOGMSG is:
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LOGMSG comment
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where "comment" is a 1 to 120 character string of any ASCII
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characters that the user wishes to add to the end of MAILER.LOG.
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All blanks immediately following "LOGMSG" are ignored as
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"comment" is assumed to start with the first non-blank character.
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It may contain as many embedded blanks as desired, however.
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By default, LOGMSG will append the given comment to the file:
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D:\FIDO\MAILER.LOG
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If you wish to change this default it is necessary to run the
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program LMSETUP. This is done by entering the command:
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LMSETUP
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Note that it is required that LOGMSG.EXE be located in the
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default directory when this command is entered. LMSETUP will
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display the current default FILESPEC and allow you to enter a
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replacement. Any valid DOS filespec, complete with full path,
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may be entered as long as the total length does not exceed 44
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bytes. In the event that you do not wish to change the current
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default, just hit enter instead of entering a new filespec.
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LOGMSG.ARC, which includes LOGMSG.EXE, LMSETUP.EXE and an
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expanded version of this file, LOGMSG.DOC, is available for
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downloading from:
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D2-FIDO (107/211) 516-682-8525 evenings or weekends at 1200 bps
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DANIELS-FIDO (107/211) 516-367-9626 most any time/day 2400-300
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It is distributed under the Shareware concept and may be used for
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free by all users other than those with direct commercial
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application.
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-----------------------------------------------------------------
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Fidonews Page 5 12 May 1986
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Alfred Anderson, 14/61
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SYSREPT
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=======
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A new version of SYSREPT is now available. Version 1.52 was
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released April 28, 1986. This version now correctly interprets
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the upload/download logs of FIDO Version 11v. It is not
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compatible with pre-version 11v releases of FIDO. If the format
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of the SYSOP.LOG file remains constant, this new release of
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SYSREPT will be around for a while.
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For those not familiar with SYSREPT, this is a utility that
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provides management data to FIDO SYSOPS. The reports are too
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comprehensive to be included in this article (they also require a
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full 80 columns). However, a few partial examples might be of
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interest:
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The Compressed Console Log Report provides a daily listing of all
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callers showing the time they called, baud rate, length of
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connection, name, incorrect password attempts, file uploads, file
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downloads, and identifies first time callers.
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The Download Log Report shows, during the analysis period, how
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many times various files have been downloaded. Arranged
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alphabetically, this helps a SYSOP determine when certain files
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should be removed.
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The Upload Log Report lists files uploaded as well as the names,
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dates, and times the uploads took place. This is an excellent
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means of determining who uploaded selected files.
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However, the real power if SYSREPT is in the Utilization Report.
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The entire report cannot be contained in a FidoNews article due
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to column width limitations. However, this should give you a
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good idea as to how it looks:
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Fidonews Page 6 12 May 1986
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FIDO UTILIZATION REPORT FOR
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RAMS - Node 14/61
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From 20 Apr 86 to 26 Apr 86
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Percentages Averaged over this 7 day period
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Report Printed on: 5/03/1986 at 23:29
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Data From: SYSOP.LOG
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100%-| | - | |
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| | | - - | |
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90%-| | | | | | |
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| | - - - | | | | |
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80%-| | | - | | | | - | | |
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| | | | | | | | | | | *
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70%-| | | | | | | | | | * | -
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| * | | | * | | | * | | |
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60%-| | | | | | * | | | | | |
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| | | * * | | * - | | | | |
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50%-| | - * | | | | | | * | | | *
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| | | | | | | | | * | | | | |
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40%-| | - | | | | - | | | | | | | |
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| | * * | | | | | | | - | | |
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30%-| | | | | - | | | - | | | |
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| | - - | | | - | | | | -
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20%-| - - | - - - - | - - -
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| | | | -
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10%-| * * *
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0% |---------------------------------------------------------
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0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
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Midnight Noon
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Calling Baud Rates Utilization Statistics
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------------------ ----------------------
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300 Baud - 52 ( 18%) Total Up-Time- 10080 Min
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1200 Baud - 178 ( 61%) In-Use-Time- 5042 Min
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2400 Baud - 60 ( 21%) FIDONET (est)- 420 Min
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------------------ Avg Utilization- 52.2%
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Total Calls This Period - 290 (about 41 calls per day)
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Incomplete Logins - 23 (about 3 per day)
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Average Call Duration - 17.4 (+/- 15.6) min.
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FidoNet active from 3:00am to 4:00am.
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File Upload/Download Activity
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-----------------------------
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Transfer Type Total this period Avg/Day
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------------- ----------------- -------
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Uploads 28 4.0
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Downloads 255 36.4
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Fidonews Page 7 12 May 1986
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SYSREPT may be downloaded from several nodes. The most current
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version is always available from FIDO 14/61 (507-289-8452, 2400
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baud/ 23hrs ) in File Area #1 (Fido Software). You could also
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check 100/22 or other nodes in St. Louis. They have an early
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copy because without Ben Baker's help, the new version of SYSREPT
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would only be a gleam in my eye. Ben offered many excellent
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suggestions and provides considerable quantities of test data.
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Although SYSREPT will now handle the SYSOP.LOG file, there are
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still a few anomolies that are difficult to interpret. Since we
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humans cannot figure out what the .LOG file means in all
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circumstances, SYSREPT will err on the side of being
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conservative. It will not report a file as being downloaded
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unless it can prove that the download was successful.
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Please feel free to forward comments/criticisms etc, to:
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Alfred Anderson
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FIDO 14/61
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(Note: SYSREPT is available to any FIDO Sysop free of charge. It
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is made available to help others. No request for "donations" is
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being made. Just enjoy using the software.)
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-----------------------------------------------------------------
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Fidonews Page 8 12 May 1986
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=================================================================
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COLUMNS
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=================================================================
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ADVENTURE Revisted
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By
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Jim Butterfield
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Adventures are good for you. The increase literacy and
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exercise your mind. They can be fun to create, and fun to solve.
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And (don't quote me on this) they're fun to cheat on, too --
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sneaking answers out of the program when you can't figure out
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what to do next.
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It's worth making comments on the "sneaking" part. When
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I'm asked "How do you get past the snake?" or some other question
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spawned from utter frustration, I tend to have a standard reply:
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"Ask me again, and I'll tell you the answer ... but first, think
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and be sure you really WANT it." It's annoying to be told
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something that you would have thought of yourself... any moment
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now.
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Similarly, in anticipation of clever adverturers listing
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the program and browsing through my files, I carefully encrypted
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the command list. This is particularly Machiavellian on my part,
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I think. An experienced programmer can find out what might
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happen, but still not how to make it happen.
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I'm talking, of course, about the original Adventure,
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which was written by Crowther and Woods. It grew -- in organic
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manner -- at M.I.T., and quickly spread to all Digital Equipment
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Corporation (DEC) computer systems, worldwide. Many big computer
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users didn't even know they had it, but file advent was there,
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all right. It took up a huge amount of memory. The architecture
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of large systems allowed such programs to be restricted to quiet
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times, so that the command HOURS would list -- from the system
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log -- the non-priority hours during which Adventure could be
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played.
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When micros started to gain attention, Adventure became a
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common case in point for computer users. Many users said: "These
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small computers are all very well, but I can tell you one problem
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which will never fit..." -- meaning the original Adventure. And
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when 8K machines expanded to 16K and then 32K, I decided I needed
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to take a shot at it. I viewed the game as a "classic"; I didn't
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want to change it or put in my own cute things. For memory and
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run time considerations, I abbreviated a few small parts of the
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game.
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Let me tell you a little about Adventure, if you've never
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been there. You begin by finding yourself at the end of a road
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before a small brick building. A stream runs out of the
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building. From that point on, you're on your own -- except for a
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rumour that somewhere nearby is supposed to be a Colossal Cave,
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filled with fabulous wealth.
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Fidonews Page 9 12 May 1986
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When you find the cave, you're confronted by dozens of
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events. The cave is populated by dwarves, a troll, a dragon, a
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giant clam, a tiny bird, a shadowy figure off in the distance,
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something that rustles as it follows you, a little plant that
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whispers "water," a fierce green snake, and a bear. Some of the
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treasures seem to have special problems: a delicate Ming vase can
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be picked up, but breaks when it's dropped; a gold nugget makes
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the exit stairway vanish if you pick it up; and a platinum
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pyramid is not only invisible in a dark room, but won't fit
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through the tiny exit hole. But -- as is often said -- there are
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no problems, there are only challenges.
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Even in the early days, Adventure inspired a host of
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emulators. TPUG President Michael Bonnycastle wrote Caves and
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Stygian Tombs, so as to devise an interesting adventure that
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would fit within 8K of memory. As a response, I wrote an "array"
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adventure called Explore to demonstrate how to fit the maximum
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number of rooms within limited memory.
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As systems grew in memory size and general capability,
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even the classic Adventure was overtaken by successors. The Zork
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series allows much more flexible syntax: where Adventure permits
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permits only two words, a verb and a noun, Zork will deal with a
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sentence such as: "Put the cake on the table."
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A few words of caution: it's very easy to make adventure
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writing an ego trip: putting in clues that nobody will be able to
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solve if they aren't "in." Players tire very quickly of a game if
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they feel that it's not a challenge, just an exercise to show how
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||
clever the writer is. On the other hand, an adventure shouldn't
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||
be a dull recital. Nothing is more booring than proceeding along
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and killing everything in sight. Maybe your strength will give
|
||
out, or maybe you'll make it through, but there's little exercise
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||
for the mind here.
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||
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I recall having a discussion with an adventure-writer
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about non-violent adventures. The idea was that you couldn't get
|
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killed or hurt, and couldn't lose the game. The thought was
|
||
laudable, but the game was a little dull; if you knew you
|
||
couldn't fail, you didn't have the same motivation. In contrast,
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a preschool game called Thirsty Nellan offers challenge and a
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good interest level.
|
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Educators have told me that adventure games make a major
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contribution to reading skills. Kids who are almost illiterate
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||
will learn to read better in order to understand the adventure
|
||
situations ... and will learn to spell better. After all, if you
|
||
want to take the necklace and type TAKE NECKLISS, the computer
|
||
won't give you the booty.
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(c) Copyright 1985 Jim Butterfield. Permission to reprint is
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||
hereby granted provided this notice is included in the reprinted
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||
material.
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||
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-----------------------------------------------------------------
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Fidonews Page 10 12 May 1986
|
||
|
||
|
||
David Dodell, Fido Bugs West, 1/98
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||
Marvin Shelton, Fido Bugs East, 1/99
|
||
|
||
FIDO Bug Reports
|
||
Killing Fido's Fleas
|
||
|
||
|
||
The amount of reports has steadily been increasing, however most
|
||
reports are due to sysop error or some type of set-up problem.
|
||
However, this week a serious problem was detected, but the report
|
||
reached me in a round-about fashion - delaying getting the report
|
||
to Tom Jennings. If you find a problem with FIDO, please send it
|
||
direct to either 1/98 or 1/99 - do not send it to 1/0 or any of
|
||
the help nodes - this just delays the process of getting the
|
||
reports to the correct source.
|
||
|
||
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||
Problem: You can attach FILES.BBS as a netfile and it overwrites
|
||
the present FILES.BBS; Tom's response:
|
||
|
||
|
||
File attach of FILES.BBS: yes, that does happen. I don't consider
|
||
it a bug, per se. File attach is sysop only, for tons of
|
||
reasons, such as accountability, legal file limit checks, etc
|
||
etc. This is one of those; the whole philosophy of Fido's design
|
||
is that the sysop has complete power, and only users are limited
|
||
in what they can do. Moral: with power comes responsibility.
|
||
|
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|
||
Problem: File Transfer name was described incorrectly, mixup with
|
||
MODEM7 and BATCH; Tom's response:
|
||
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||
FILEXFER.HLP: yes, that's an oversight, I had not thought of
|
||
that. I would suggest the easiest solution is for sysop's to
|
||
edit. I'll change my distribution copy here also.
|
||
|
||
|
||
Problem: Problem with specific modems; Tom's response:
|
||
|
||
My position on modems is: if its not specifically listed in the
|
||
manual as supported, problems with it are not my responsibility.
|
||
This is a classic example why. Supposed "Hayes compatible" modems
|
||
aren't , I warned against this heavily in the manual. It is
|
||
unfortunate, but I can't do anything about it. Obviously it is
|
||
returning a funny result code. I bet there is a simple work
|
||
around, maybe an ATXn command, to eliminate the funny result
|
||
code. Put them into the usual FIDOMDM.BBS. The Hayes 1200 returns
|
||
only 1 CONNECT, 2 RING, 3 NO CARRIER or 5 CONNECT 1200. Others
|
||
return BUSY, VOICE, etc, so this modem is returning non- standard
|
||
result codes, and hence is NOT Hayes compatible. I will repeat
|
||
my standard blab, which you can pass on: "AT commands do not make
|
||
a Hayes compatible modem."
|
||
|
||
|
||
Problem: The scheduler is not starting up at event #1 and
|
||
scanning the list down; Tom's response:
|
||
Fidonews Page 11 12 May 1986
|
||
|
||
|
||
I'm not sure what is happening with the event stuff. It was my
|
||
understanding as well that it should find the first runable one
|
||
in the list, ie. the lowest numbered event. Unless there is some
|
||
bug, it's probably operator error. Make sure the event is not 0
|
||
length, etc. OH YES, there is a bug .... it has to do with
|
||
midnight. Events over the midnights edge (00 o'clock) aren't
|
||
noticed until after midnights. i.e. a user calling in at 11 pm
|
||
wont be notified of an event running at 12:01 am. The scheduler
|
||
will have the same limitation. Ahh ... the control flow used to
|
||
select the next runable event is NOT straightforward ... it is
|
||
extremely complex, and even worse, undocumented. It makes sense
|
||
most of the time, and was chosen (ie. it grew) to cover 99.99% of
|
||
all cases, and except for the midnight bug, works well. With a
|
||
few exceptions. My advice: fiddle it until it works. I hate to
|
||
say! The scheduler has some subtle problems to get around, such
|
||
as the aforementioned overlapping events, and tries to do things
|
||
in the order a person would do them, not necessarily in the order
|
||
you think a dumb machine would do them in. Oh well, if its not
|
||
one thing its another ...
|
||
|
||
Problem: Kermit Transfer continued:
|
||
|
||
KERMIT BUG: If 8 bit quoting is enabled, and exactly two
|
||
successive 7e hexes are found in the data, uploading to Fido will
|
||
treat them as a repeat count prefix and wreck the data. There is
|
||
a fixup file by a sysop or user called FIDOKFIX, but I have
|
||
repaired the code and the next revision will have it working
|
||
correctly.
|
||
|
||
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
|
||
Fidonews Page 12 12 May 1986
|
||
|
||
|
||
Notes from Abroad
|
||
|
||
The Never Ending Story
|
||
by
|
||
Helge Vindenes
|
||
|
||
I have just read what Frank wrote about the Dataflex Modem, and
|
||
being the one who jumped on a plane to London to pick up the
|
||
modem, I feel I have to share some of my experience with the
|
||
modem with you.
|
||
|
||
The Dataflex Modem is everything that it claims to be, and when
|
||
it says that it is totally Hayes compatible, then it is true.
|
||
But there is one BIG bug and that bug means that the modem is
|
||
useless outside UK.
|
||
|
||
The reason is that when someone calls my Fido and then hangs up
|
||
the phone before they are logged in to the Fido or if they log
|
||
off before my modem has disconnected them, then the modem takes
|
||
hold of the dial tone and believes that the tone is a carrier.
|
||
It can then hang on the dial tone for years. Perhaps it is not
|
||
correct to call it a bug, it is rather an error because of the
|
||
difference in British telephone system and the one we have in
|
||
Norway and most other places in Europe.
|
||
|
||
In UK you can pick up the phone and if you don't start dialing
|
||
within 30 seconds the dialing tone will disappear and telephone
|
||
will be dead. And then the problem is over for the English. The
|
||
modem will disconnect and everything is ok. But in Norway and
|
||
Holland, if you don't start dialing after 30 or 40 seconds then
|
||
you will have the occupied tone from the phone and Dataflex takes
|
||
that one for a carrier as well. And then there is only one thing
|
||
to do: switch the computer off and then on again. And if it is a
|
||
lucky day then you have to repeat this operation ten or twenty
|
||
times.
|
||
|
||
I have talked with Bob Manekshaw about this problem and he is
|
||
working on it. I hope to hear from him soon. But until this
|
||
thing has been fixed I think you should wait if you are thinking
|
||
about buying a Dataflex modem.
|
||
|
||
Conclusion: As soon as the above mentioned problem is solved I
|
||
will strongly advise you to order a Dataflex modem. It is well
|
||
designed and the documentation is good. And I wouldn't be
|
||
surprised if Dataflex would come with a 1200 2400 FD modem before
|
||
next summer. If not, I guess I have to buy a ticket to USA and
|
||
get a US Robotic.
|
||
|
||
|
||
* I'm afraid many of us in the UK have the same problem, me
|
||
included. I too have to reset the modem when this problem
|
||
occurs. When I spoke to British Telecom about this problem
|
||
they suggested that I have my lines changed to ones that cannot
|
||
make outgoing calls......
|
||
|
||
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
Fidonews Page 13 12 May 1986
|
||
|
||
|
||
=================================================================
|
||
WANTED
|
||
=================================================================
|
||
|
||
Thomas Kenny, 107/316
|
||
|
||
I'm very interested in ECHOMAIL networking. I know this is a can
|
||
of worms, since some (many?) think ECHOMAIL may (will?) ruin
|
||
FidoNet. Well I'm open minded and think it just might work out.
|
||
|
||
Now to finally get to the point. I've been on a few different
|
||
FIDOs across the country and have discovered that the use of
|
||
ECHOMAIL is much more widespread then I originally thought! I've
|
||
seen several interesting topics being networked, but would have
|
||
never known about them. Since there is nobody (as far as I know)
|
||
acting as an ECHOMAIL coordinator I'd like to volunteer. I'd
|
||
like to do two things. 1 Find out which Sysops are running
|
||
ECHOMAIL and for what topic. 2 Create a wishlist registry. This
|
||
way if a Sysop wants to network an ECHOMAIL topic or generate
|
||
interest in a new ECHOMAIL topic there will be a clearing house
|
||
for such an activity!
|
||
|
||
I ask everybody that is reading this to please send me FidoNet
|
||
mail if you:
|
||
|
||
1 Are a sysop running ECHOMAIL (what topic & routing),
|
||
|
||
2 know of a system running ECHOMAIL (what net/node & topic),
|
||
|
||
3 wish there was somebody else that shared a common interest
|
||
(what topic).
|
||
|
||
Thank you very much, Thomas Kenny, Metatek FIDO, 107/316.
|
||
|
||
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
|
||
Fidonews Page 14 12 May 1986
|
||
|
||
|
||
=================================================================
|
||
FOR SALE
|
||
=================================================================
|
||
|
||
ENTERTAINMENT SOFTWARE FOR YOUR PC!
|
||
|
||
SUPERDOTS! KALAH!
|
||
|
||
Professional quality games include PASCAL source! From the
|
||
author of KALAH Version 1.6, SuperDots, a variation of the
|
||
popular pencil/paper DOTS game, has MAGIC and HIDDEN DOT
|
||
options. KALAH 1.7 is an African strategy game requiring
|
||
skill to manipulate pegs around a playing board. Both games
|
||
use the ANSI Escape sequences provided with the ANSI.SYS
|
||
device driver for the IBM-PC, or built into the firmware on
|
||
the DEC Rainbow. Only $19.95 each or $39.95 for both
|
||
exciting games! Please specify version and disk format.
|
||
These games have been written in standard TURBO-PASCAL and
|
||
run on the IBM-PC, DEC Rainbow 100 (MSDOS and CPM), CPM/80,
|
||
CPM/86, and PDP-11. Other disk formats are available, but
|
||
minor customization may be required.
|
||
|
||
BSS Software
|
||
P.O. Box 3827
|
||
Cherry Hill, NJ 08034
|
||
|
||
|
||
For every order placed, a donation will be made to the Fido
|
||
coordinators! Also, if you have a previous version of KALAH
|
||
and send me a donation, a portion of that donation will also
|
||
be sent to the coordinators. When you place an order, BE
|
||
CERTAIN TO MENTION WHERE YOU SAW THE AD since it also
|
||
appears in PC Magazine and Digital Review.
|
||
|
||
Questions and comments can be sent to:
|
||
|
||
Brian Sietz at Fido 107/17
|
||
(609) 429-6630 300/1200/2400 baud
|
||
|
||
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
|
||
Fidonews Page 15 12 May 1986
|
||
|
||
|
||
Now available from Micro Consulting Associates!!
|
||
|
||
Public Domain collection - 300+ "ARC" archives - 10 megs of
|
||
software and other goodies, and that's "archived" size! When
|
||
unpacked, you get approximately 17 megabytes worth of all kinds
|
||
of software, from text editors to games to unprotection schemes
|
||
to communications programs, compilers, interpreters, etc...
|
||
|
||
This collection is the result of more than 10 months of intensive
|
||
downloads from just about 100 or more BBS's and other sources,
|
||
all of which have been examined, indexed and archived for your
|
||
convenience. Starting a Bulletin Board System? Want to add on
|
||
to your software base without spending thousands of dollars? This
|
||
is the answer!!!
|
||
|
||
To order the library, send $100 (personal or company check,
|
||
postal money order or company purchase order) to:
|
||
|
||
Micro Consulting Associates, Fido 103/511
|
||
Post Office Box 4296
|
||
200-1/2 E. Balboa Boulevard
|
||
Balboa, Ca. 92661-4296
|
||
|
||
Please allow 3 weeks for delivery of your order.
|
||
|
||
Note: No profit is made from the sale of the Public Domain
|
||
software in this collection. The price is applied entirely to
|
||
the cost of downloading the software over the phone lines,
|
||
running a BBS to receive file submissions, and inspecting,
|
||
cataloguing, archiving and maintaining the files. Obtaining this
|
||
software yourself through the use of a computer with a modem
|
||
using commercial phone access would cost you much more than what
|
||
we charge for the service...
|
||
|
||
Please specify what type of format you would like the disks to be
|
||
prepared on. The following choices are available:
|
||
|
||
IBM PC-DOS Backup utility
|
||
Zenith MS-DOS 2.11 Backup Utility
|
||
DSBackup
|
||
Fastback
|
||
Plain ol' files (add $50, though, it's a lot of
|
||
work and takes more diskettes...)
|
||
|
||
Add $30 if you want the library on 1.2 meg AT disks (more
|
||
expensive disks). There are no shipping or handling charges.
|
||
California residents add 6% tax.
|
||
|
||
For each sale, $10 will go to the FidoNet Administrators.
|
||
|
||
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
|
||
Fidonews Page 16 12 May 1986
|
||
|
||
|
||
SEAdog Electronic Mail System
|
||
Special Offer for FidoNet Sysops
|
||
|
||
|
||
System Enhancement Associates, the makers of the popular ARC file
|
||
archive utility, are proud to announce the release of the SEAdog
|
||
electronic mail system.
|
||
|
||
SEAdog is a PC-based electronic mail system which is fully
|
||
FidoNet compatible. In addition to all the functionality of
|
||
FidoNet mail, SEAdog adds the following:
|
||
|
||
o User directory support, for automatic lookup of node numbers
|
||
|
||
o Return receipts
|
||
|
||
o Audit trails
|
||
|
||
o Message forwarding, with or without a retained copy
|
||
|
||
o Twenty four hour mail reception
|
||
|
||
o High priority mail for immediate delivery
|
||
|
||
o The ability to request files and updates of files from other
|
||
SEAdog systems.
|
||
|
||
o No route files needed!
|
||
|
||
o A full screen user interface that our beta test sites fell in
|
||
love with!
|
||
|
||
SEAdog is NOT a bulletin board system, but it can be used as a
|
||
"front end" for Fido (version 11q or later), allowing you to add
|
||
the full functionality of SEAdog to your existing system.
|
||
|
||
SEAdog normally sells for $100/node, but for a limited time only
|
||
we are offering SEAdog to registered FidoNet sysops for only $50!
|
||
Orders may be placed by sending a check or money order to:
|
||
|
||
System Enhancement Associates
|
||
21 New Street, Wayne NJ 07470
|
||
|
||
Or by calling (201) 473-5153 (VISA and MasterCard accepted).
|
||
|
||
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
|
||
Fidonews Page 17 12 May 1986
|
||
|
||
|
||
=================================================================
|
||
NOTICES
|
||
=================================================================
|
||
|
||
**** WARNING *** WARNING *** WARNING *** WARNING *** WARNING ****
|
||
|
||
There is a program called ARC513.COM floating around, which many
|
||
well meaning users are uploading to a number of boards. This is
|
||
NOT an authorized release of ARC! The latest version of ARC is
|
||
still version 5.12. ARC513.COM appears to be a hacked version of
|
||
5.12, and has been reported to trash the boot sector of the
|
||
current drive.
|
||
|
||
If this file is on your board, please delete it. If you see this
|
||
file on any board, please advise the sysop of its true nature.
|
||
|
||
**** WARNING *** WARNING *** WARNING *** WARNING *** WARNING ****
|
||
|
||
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
|
||
The Interrupt Stack
|
||
|
||
|
||
19 May 1986
|
||
Steve Lemke's next birthday.
|
||
|
||
24 Aug 1989
|
||
Voyager 2 passes Neptune.
|
||
|
||
|
||
If you have something which you would like to see on this
|
||
calendar, please send a message to FidoNet node 1/1.
|
||
|
||
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
|
||
Bruce White, 109/612
|
||
|
||
Gruesome George by Bruce White
|
||
+-------------------------------------------------+
|
||
|_ |
|
||
| \ |
|
||
| \ |
|
||
| Now, George, I AAARRRGGGHHH!!! |
|
||
| think you're | |
|
||
| overreacting. | ____\__ |
|
||
| One mistake FATAL ERROR | |_| \ |
|
||
| in four hours \ _____ |\ |
|
||
| is no reason \_| _ | | |
|
||
| to get so upset. ______ | |_| | | |
|
||
| __(______)_|_____|___ | |
|
||
| ||-----------------|| | |
|
||
| ______ || || | |
|
||
| \ {} / || || | |
|
||
|(c) 1986 bw \__/ ||_________________||__|__|
|
||
+-------------------------------------------------+
|
||
|
||
Fidonews Page 18 12 May 1986
|
||
|
||
|
||
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
|
||
Robert Eskridge, 124/109
|
||
|
||
As an answer to the difficulties of playing Avalon Hills premier
|
||
board game, Diplomacy, either over a table or by US Mail, a Fido
|
||
board dedicated to the game is now in operation.
|
||
|
||
|
||
- THE DIPLOMAT -
|
||
|
||
Fido 124/109
|
||
(214) 242-9399
|
||
2400 baud
|
||
|
||
In the interests of learning from others, we are soliciting any
|
||
information on previous games played by electronic mail. Items
|
||
of particular interest are:
|
||
|
||
- Where was the game (City, board, network)?
|
||
|
||
- Who played?
|
||
|
||
- Who judged the game? (a program?)
|
||
|
||
- What kind of time table did was used?
|
||
|
||
- What did you like most (and least) about the game?
|
||
|
||
If you have any information at all, or if you would like to apply
|
||
to play in the first game (tentative start 5/21/86), please send
|
||
FidoMail to BRYNY at Net 124/109.
|
||
|
||
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
|
||
Metro-Fire Fido, 135/14, will be celebrating its First Birthday
|
||
with a Birthday Bash Picnic Extravaganza and Floppy Throwing
|
||
Contest. This momentous event will take place on Sunday, 18 May
|
||
1986, at the East Everglades estate of Liz Pittenger from 1100-
|
||
1900. All users of Metro-Fire Fido and their families and guests
|
||
are invited to attend. A further invitation is extended to all
|
||
FidoNews readers wherever you may be. If you are going to be in
|
||
Miami, Florida on the 18th of May, come on over and have a Hot
|
||
Fido (dog) and a Classic Coke. Details are on the BBS. Call 305-
|
||
596-8611 for Fido or 305-596-8576 for me.
|
||
|
||
See you there!
|
||
Christopher Baker, Sysop, 135/14.
|
||
|
||
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
|
||
Chuck Lawson, 124/102
|
||
|
||
Notice of Renumbering of Net 124
|
||
|
||
|
||
Fidonews Page 19 12 May 1986
|
||
|
||
|
||
Effective with the May 2nd Nodelist, Net 124 (Dallas Metroplex
|
||
Net) has been renumbered. The following is a conversion table:
|
||
|
||
New Number Name Old Number
|
||
---------------------------------------------------
|
||
124/100......Dallas Inbound (Hub).........Unchanged
|
||
124/101.....Schnee's Friendly Fido...........124/7
|
||
124/102.....Inside Track Edition............124/12
|
||
124/103.....Micro Fido......................124/14
|
||
124/104.....WARBLE2.........................124/16
|
||
124/105.....Night City.......................124/6
|
||
124/106.....Star's End.......................124/5
|
||
124/107.....The Computer Shoppe.............124/19
|
||
124/108.....The P.O.L.E. ...................124/20
|
||
124/109.....The Diplomat....................124/21
|
||
124/110.....Flying Dutchman #1..............124/22
|
||
124/111.....Pink World Fido................124/101
|
||
124/200......Dallas Outbound (Hub)........Unchanged
|
||
124/201.....Fido Daltex......................124/1
|
||
124/3.......Dodge City...................Unchanged
|
||
124/203.....Tri-C............................124/8
|
||
124/10......Big D Fido...................Unchanged
|
||
124/205.....Video Bar BBS...................124/11
|
||
124/206.....Rising Star.....................124/16
|
||
124/207.....ComputerCraft Supportlink.......124/17
|
||
124/208.....Arlington Fido...................124/4
|
||
124/210.....SCA Inc.........................124/18
|
||
124/211.....Flying Dutchman # 2.............124/23
|
||
|
||
If you are sending mail to Dallas, please be sure to update your
|
||
nodelist.
|
||
|
||
If you maintain any lists of specialty Fidos, echomail to, or
|
||
send robot mail to any nodes in 124, please note any changes.
|
||
|
||
Thanks One and All, and thanks to all the sysops in Net-124 for
|
||
putting up with the reorganization!
|
||
|
||
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
|
||
Mike Hamilton, 103/510
|
||
|
||
Due to several occurrences of violation of privileges here on the
|
||
West Coast it has become necessary to request the following help
|
||
from our fellow SYSOPS. On several occasions my name and the
|
||
name of Glenn Bowes have been used in attempts to break in to
|
||
other systems or used as the logging in names to leave obscene
|
||
files or messages on other boards.
|
||
|
||
In an attempt to protect us all we make the following request.
|
||
|
||
Please remove the following two occurrences of users from any and
|
||
all boards on which it occurs:
|
||
|
||
NAME Password City
|
||
Mike Hamilton MIKE Garden Grove,CA or
|
||
Fidonews Page 20 12 May 1986
|
||
|
||
|
||
Anaheim,CA
|
||
|
||
Glenn Bowes DELTA Torrance,CA or
|
||
Anaheim,CA
|
||
|
||
If you feel this is too drastic a measure for your board then
|
||
please advise us individually where we are logged in by net mail
|
||
direct to our boards. Mine is 103/501. Glenn's is 102/104.
|
||
|
||
I apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused but we can
|
||
put the blame directly on other sysops for making this necessary.
|
||
|
||
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
|
||
|