1155 lines
51 KiB
Plaintext
1155 lines
51 KiB
Plaintext
Volume 3, Number 25 30 June 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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FidoNet Business Meeting
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View from the Top - ECHOMAIL
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2. ARTICLES
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An Introduction to ASCII
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A Warning about PC's Limited
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"C"
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TROJAN HORSE ALERT
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3. COLUMNS
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Hard Disk Usage and Management Tips, Part 1
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4. FOR SALE
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Entertainment Software for your PC!
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Public Domain Software Library Sale!!
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5. NOTICES
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The Interrupt Stack
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Starting a conference for the Mindset PC
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Faculty Position Available - Computer Science
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Fidonews Page 2 30 Jun 1986
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=================================================================
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EDITORIAL
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=================================================================
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This week's guest editorial is by Ken Kaplan, the International
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FidoNet Coordinator.
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FidoNet Business Meeting
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We're finally getting IFNA set up as a non-profit corporation.
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This has several benefits, the main one being that we can now go
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hit some of the major corporations for grants. With any luck,
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this will provide for most of our operating expenses one day.
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Meanwhile, thanks to all of you who have donated. Without your
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help, we wouldn't have the seed money to get this thing going.
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But a corporation needs to do certain things. One of the things
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we need to do is have an annual business meeting, to do things
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like report on finances, vote on officers, and such. The first
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IFNA business meeting will be held during the upcoming
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International FidoNet conference in Colorado Springs.
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One of the things we'll have to discuss is how to organize these
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meetings. For now, we are assigning one vote to each network and
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region. So if you're a network host or a regional coordinator,
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please try to make it. If you can't make it, then please find
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someone in your net or region who IS going, and make them your
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representative. Please send a message to me at 1/0 letting me
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know if you'll be there, or who you've picked to represent you.
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If there's anything in particular you'd like to see discussed,
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then send me a note about it. All suggestions are welcome.
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Please try to make it to Colorado in August. Sally and I will be
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there, and we're looking forward to meeting you at last.
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-----------------------------------------------------------------
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View from the Top
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ECHOMAIL
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by Ben Baker - Fido 100/76
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Much has been said in the past few weeks, in these pages and
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elsewhere, about EchoMail. Packed in the archive with this
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newsletter is a file, POLICY2.DOC, an update of the prior policy
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document. It sets forth the "official" IFNA view on EchoMail.
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I'd like to set down some of my own views and to perhaps
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shed some light on the thought processes underlying the
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formulation of the new policy document.
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I consider EchoMail to be a very good thing for FidoNet,
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which is, after all, a communications network. Many of us have
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beaten our heads against the wall trying to get our users to
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communicate via FidoNet with, at best, only limited success.
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Fidonews Page 3 30 Jun 1986
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EchoMail seems to be succeeding where pleading and coercion
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failed, probably because many don't realize they are using the
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network when they enter a message in an EchoMail conference area.
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It's no different than entering a message in any other "normal"
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message area.
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But EchoMail can be both a blessing and a curse. It has
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raised the level of traffic considerably. In and of itself, this
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is not bad. FidoNet is nowhere near saturation, but there are
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choke points.
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FidoNet's original intent was, and it remains, to provide
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fast, economical point-to-point electronic communications. Our
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standard of service goal is over-night delivery of point-to-point
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messages. Many things beyond our control can prevent the
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achievement of this goal. But EchoMail is (or should be) within
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the scope of our control. It must not be permitted to interfere
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with point-to-point communications.
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Just how does EchoMail interfere? The biggest burden is
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placed on the network hosts, and they have two different kinds of
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problems with EchoMail; communications saturation and disk
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storage problems.
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Consider the plight of the bi-directional host, the guy who
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both receives and sends mail for his network. Since he must
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listen for incomming calls between his outgoing calls, he can
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make at most twenty to thirty call attempts during the FidoNet
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one-hour mail window. If he has a (very good) 75% success rate,
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he can expect to send out about eighteen to twenty-two packets a
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night. An already busy host can easily be swamped by two or
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three locals, each engaged in two or three different EchoMail
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conferences.
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But what of the out-bound host who doesn't have to worry
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about incomming calls. He can operate in a send-only mode and
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make rapid fire calls. Fido 100/10 has successfully sent as many
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as forty packets in a single night, and averages twenty or more.
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It takes a lot to saturate his ability to communicate, but he has
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another problem with EchoMail. He operates on the thin edge of
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poverty where free disk space is concerned!
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When you do a DIR in a message area and see all those tiny
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two to three hundred byte message files, you tend to think your
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capacity to hold them must be nearly infinite, but not so! DOS
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allocates a minimum of one full cluster (that's four kilobytes,
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folks) to every message!
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Worse yet, point-to-point messages tend to be short and
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concise. Usually they are are four or five liners stating a
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single point of information. On the other hand, the nature of
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EchoMail tends to encourage long messages. When you expound on a
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philosophy or support an opinion with convincing argument, you
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tend to use a lot of words.
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Now consider a hypothetical situation. You're a host and on
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Fidonews Page 4 30 Jun 1986
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a particular night two of you locals each have six new messages
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in some conference area for which they each mail to five other
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participants. They each send you a packet of thirty messages.
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In packet form the messages average say 4K, so you need 240K to
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store the two packets. At the end of the collection schedule you
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unpack the packets, and the messages expand to an average of 6K
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because DOS only allocates space in 4K chunks. So you have to
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find room for 320K worth of messages. Of course you delete the
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first packet before you unpack the second, so your high water
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mark so far is only 540K. But now comes the FidoNet schedule,
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and you must packetize all those messages without deleting any of
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them! You build ten outgoing packets of 28K each (allocation
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granularity) and you now have 600K tied up in EchoMail to handle
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ten innocent messages! Oops! You only had 580K when the night
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began, so you got the "Disk Full!" message when building packets,
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and YOU DIDN'T SEND ANYBODY ANY MAIL AT ALL!!!
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A similar scenario would illustrate that the in-bound host
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is succeptible to exactly the same problem!
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So here's the IFNA point of view. The network host has an
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obligation to strive for the standard of service of over-night
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delivery of point-to-point mail. He should attempt to support
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EchoMail so long as it doesn't interfere with his first priority.
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When it does, he has the right, nay the duty, to impose
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restrictions on the EchoMail users. Imposed restrictions are not
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punitive, but merely the ordering of priorities, and EchoMailers
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are expected to cooperate. The degree of restriction will depend
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on the severity of the specific problem and will be entirely up
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to the affected host. We want to encourage EchoMail and see it
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work, but not to the detriment of FidoNet.
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That would have been all I had to say, but here's a new
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wrinkle not covered by POLICY2.DOC (because we didn't think of it
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until a situation was brought to our attention). What are the
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special responsibilities of a network host who participates in
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one or more EchoMail conferences? How do you resolve the issue
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when his activities begin to impact his locals who don't
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themselves participate? I'd like to hear your ideas on this.
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-----------------------------------------------------------------
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Fidonews Page 5 30 Jun 1986
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=================================================================
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ARTICLES
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=================================================================
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An Introduction to ASCII
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The proper and correct names for all those funny characters on
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your keyboard, and in computer related text. Here is the correct
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explanation. Ignore all others; this is of course the absolute
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truth.
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ASCII characters sometimes use parity; parity is a method of
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confusing your computer into thinking that the characters sent
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are something that they are not. Parity has no practical use in
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real life; large computers use parity as part of their religion.
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Space. You can't see it there.
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! Surprise mark; dammit; Incorrectly called "exclamation
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point" by foolish grade school teachers. Usually you will
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find either none or too many; every! other! word! will!
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have! one! or! more!!!
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" Quote; double quote. Usually put around words the author is
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afraid he doesn't understand; for computer programs, it is
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the latter.
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# pound; sharp; it must be called either pound or sharp, even
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though it never means either. This is a secret password
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into computer priesthood.
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$ bucks; or, as originated by Digital Research, "the end".
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Actually, as far as DRI goes, its pretty prophetic ...
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% percent; Used in drawing ugly boxes around useless text, as
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in bulletin boards and the like.
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& and, in logical expressions; ampersand elsewhere. It looks
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nice and is hard to draw by hand. Let your printer do it.
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' little quote; single quote; apostrophe to ignoramuses.
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Since it is very small and hard to see, some computer
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languages use it as an important operator.
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( paren; left paren; open paren; or parenthesis, which is way
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too long a word. Used to correct compiler bugs in operator
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precedence, or by incompetents who cannot memorize a few
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hundred simple rules.
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) paren; right paren; close paren; parenthesis. See above.
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* star; blob; blatz; asterisk. Yet another horrible character
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used to draw boxes. Like most of these, it is used far too
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often to be of any use.
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Fidonews Page 6 30 Jun 1986
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+ plus; "and" if you're sloppy. Connects things together, and
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is sometimes used by people who want to draw boxes but can't
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afford graphics.
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, comma; what can I say?
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- minus if near a number; dash otherwise. Some word
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processors try to fool you that a bunch of these in a row
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is really the end of a page; we know better than that.
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. point if near a number; dot otherwise. Three dots together
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(like ...) can be called "dotdotdot", but it is really an
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ellipsis. This is another test for computer priesthood.
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/ slash; divided by; a good compiler will find many
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different, conflicting uses for this in different contexts.
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0-9 You know these. 0 is not "oh", it's zero, and is greater
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than 9, as we all know.
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: colon; I have heard that human colons do not resemble this
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in the slightest.
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; semicolon. (Actually, its more than a colon, not part of
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one, it has a tail, but alas ...)
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< angle bracket; less than. Can be put to great use when
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attempting to define the syntax for a computer program,
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like so:
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PROGRAM ARGUMENT [optional { ...<required> } ]
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= equals
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> angle bracket; greater than
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? question mark; what; denotes confusion.
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@ blob; at; bang. Usually what your terminal displays just
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before going south with all your days work.
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A-Z If I have to tell you ...
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[ bracket; square bracket
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\ backslash. There is usually a slash (regular style) to be
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found near by to check that you are paying attention.
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] bracket; square bracket
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^ hat; incorrectly called caret. Sometimes means "Control-",
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as in "Control-C", syntactically similar to "Shift-A". ^A
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is to a as A is to a. Sometimes used to cause arithmetic
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overflows; as in 100^5000.
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_ Underscore; incorrectly called underline. This is a
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Fidonews Page 7 30 Jun 1986
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wonderful character, because you really can't underscore
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another character without writing a long letter to your
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word processor, requesting it do do so.
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a-z See note above on A - Z
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` accent; backwards quote (sic). Not used in any computer
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worth anything. These are meant to be deleted when found.
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{ wiggly bracket; squiggly bracket; incorrectly called brace.
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While you may think it is like angle brackets and square
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brackets, it most definitely is not.
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| bar; vertical line. Why does it have that little piece
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missing?
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} wiggly bracket; squiggly bracket; incorrectly called brace.
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~ wiggle; squiggle; traditionally called a tilde, which is
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obscure enough to continue using. Only very good languages
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find a use for this. It is extremely hard to see,
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especially when near a dash, little quote or back quote.
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Aha! Can't see that either! Its a delete!
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-----------------------------------------------------------------
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Fidonews Page 8 30 Jun 1986
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Robert Briggs, 15/464
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WARNING WARNING WARNING WARNING WARNING WARNING
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I've been ripped off to the tune of $700 by PC's Limited, 7801 N.
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Lamar, Suite E-200, Austin, TX.
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This whole situation started on the 27th of March, 1985 when I
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originally ordered the drive. I used the drive to bring up Fido
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node 15/464, and used it for about 5 weeks. Unfortunately, the
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drive that I originally obtained from PC's Limited was faulty, it
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crashed almost weekly, and each time it was re-formatted, it had
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more and more bad sectors show up. It was returned to them for
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repair. It came back "Dead On Arrival" - the person responsible
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for Quality Controlling the drive failed to retract the heads,
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this resulted in a bad track 0 which made the drive unusable. I
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had since purchased a larger drive, and had made arrangements to
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sell the drive to someone else. Needless to say, the buyer was
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no longer interested in buying a hard disk from me.
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The drive was once again shipped back to them on June 7th, 1985,
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accompanied by a letter requesting a refund. (it is interesting
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to note that the RMA number issued the second time was 3436, the
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first RMA was 2973 - that means that in a period of roughly 2
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weeks, PC's Limited had 493 defective products shipped back to
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them!)
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There was no response to my letter, nor any repaired drive
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returned. I was unable to contact the person who was responsible
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for handling refunds. Two months later, I sent the following
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letter addressed to the Chief Executive Officer of PC's Limited:
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Robert S. Briggs
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P.O. Box 7175
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Murray, UTAH 84107-0175
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08 August, 1985
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Dear Sir:
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It has now been over 60 days since I returned my disk
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drive to your company for a refund, and nearly six months
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sine I originally purchased the drive, (which has never
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worked correctly). While I (am) normally quite patient, this
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situation is causing me to become angry enough to take some
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rather strong measures to recover my money. Unless I receive
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my $695.00 refund check by the 21st of August, 1985, I intend
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||
to do the following:
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1. Send a copy of this letter and a formal letter of
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||
complaint to Byte magazine, PC magazine, and any other major
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magazine that I can find one of your advertisements in.
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||
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2. Publish a copy of this letter in the public domain, and a
|
||
Fidonews Page 9 30 Jun 1986
|
||
|
||
|
||
warning about both the type of service and equipment that you
|
||
seem to be providing. In addition, I will request that
|
||
anyone reading that warning distribute it to any other
|
||
bulletin boards that they use. I expect that such a warning
|
||
would be distributed to well over 2000 bulletin boards in a
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||
matter of several weeks, making this letter available to well
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||
over 200,000 readers by the middle of September. This could
|
||
have a great impact on your sales...
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The situation is becoming ludicrous; I have been unable to
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||
contact the mysterious Tammy (the person handling refunds) in
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||
nearly two months of calling two days a week. A typical days
|
||
worth of calls (my local time) goes something like this:
|
||
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9:00 a.m. Not in yet 10:00 a.m. Not in yet
|
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10:30 a.m. Not in yet 11:00 a.m. Out to lunch
|
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12:00 p.m. Out to lunch 12:30 p.m. Out to lunch
|
||
1:00 p.m. Out to lunch 1:30 P.m. Out to lunch
|
||
2:30 p.m. Out on break
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||
3:30 p.m. Left for the day - try tomorrow
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||
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I have enclosed a copy of my invoice; my original copy of
|
||
the charge slip was sent in the last time I returned the
|
||
drive for repair. The last return of the drive was under RMA
|
||
#3436, the drive was "DEAD ON ARRIVAL" when returned from RMA
|
||
#2973 repair (due to the heads not being retracted when the
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||
drive was shipped back to me).
|
||
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I would appreciate your prompt attention to this matter,
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||
and hope that this whole situation can be settled swiftly and
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||
in a friendly manner.
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||
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||
Sincerely,
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||
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||
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Robert S. Briggs
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After another month with no reply from PC's Limited, in
|
||
frustration, I sent the following letter to the advertising
|
||
editors of several magazines, PC-TECH, PC WORLD, etc.
|
||
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||
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||
Robert Briggs
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||
P.O. Box 7175
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Murray, UT 84107-0175
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(801) xxx-xxxx
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XXXXX Magazine
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||
Advertising Manager
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xxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxs xxx
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xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
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xxxxxxxxxxxx, xx xxxxx
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||
Fidonews Page 10 30 Jun 1986
|
||
|
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|
||
August 29th, 1985
|
||
|
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||
Dear Advertising Editor,
|
||
|
||
I would like to make a formal complaint against one of
|
||
the companies that advertises in your magazine. It has been
|
||
nearly six months since I first ordered a 20 megabyte drive
|
||
from PCS Ltd., (the drive was originally ordered in March of
|
||
1985), and in that time they have failed to deliver me a
|
||
either a functional disk drive, or the refund that I have
|
||
been requesting for over two months now.
|
||
|
||
Enclosed please find a copy of a letter that I sent to
|
||
the Chief Executive Officer of PCS Ltd. on August 8, 1985.
|
||
There has been no response to this letter. As nearly as I
|
||
can tell, I have simply been "ripped-off" for the sum of
|
||
$695.00. If there is any way that you can assist me in
|
||
recovering the original sum, I would be pleased, I have
|
||
already "written off" the money spent in long distance phone
|
||
calls and shipping.
|
||
|
||
Unless I can recover my money in the near future, I am
|
||
going to place a description of what I have been through and
|
||
copies of the correspondence into the public domain with a
|
||
request that it be distributed as widely as possible. It is
|
||
a last resort and a one way step - once done it can not
|
||
easily be undone - but maybe I can get some satisfaction out
|
||
of keeping other people from making the same mistake. I am
|
||
not vindictive and would be more than happy to let the whole
|
||
matter drop upon receipt of a check for what I am owed.
|
||
|
||
I would certainly appreciate any help that you could
|
||
give me in this matter.
|
||
|
||
Sincerely,
|
||
Robert S. Briggs
|
||
|
||
|
||
On September 13th, 1985, I received the following letter from
|
||
Byte magazine. It is nice to know that at least one of the
|
||
magazines was interested and courteous enough to reply. Looks
|
||
like I will have to re subscribe to BYTE magazine....
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
September 10, 1985
|
||
|
||
Mr. Robert Briggs
|
||
P.O. Box 7175
|
||
Murray, UT 84107-0175
|
||
|
||
Dear Mr. Briggs:
|
||
|
||
This is in response to your letter of August 29, a copy of
|
||
which we are forwarding to PC's Limited. Rest assured that
|
||
Fidonews Page 11 30 Jun 1986
|
||
|
||
|
||
we shall use whatever influence we have to get them to
|
||
satisfactorily respond to your complaint. Please also try to
|
||
understand that it is impossible, both logistically and
|
||
legally for us to try to resolve all disputes between
|
||
advertisers in BYTE and their customers.
|
||
|
||
The best we can do is to provide a conduit to start
|
||
communication between the advertiser and the customer, and to
|
||
cease offering advertising space in our magazine to an
|
||
advertiser when a clear pattern of unresolved customer
|
||
problems appear. With your complaint, we are sincerely
|
||
attempting to facilitate discussion between the parties which
|
||
could lead to an appropriate resolution.
|
||
|
||
We are asking both you and PC's Limited to keep us posted on
|
||
any results obtained from our transactions. Thanks you very
|
||
much for your patience and information.
|
||
|
||
|
||
Sincerely,
|
||
|
||
xxxxx x. xxxxxxx
|
||
Customer Relations
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
Here is my reply to the Byte Magazine letter:
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
Robert Briggs
|
||
P.O. Box 7175
|
||
Murray, UT 84107-0175
|
||
(801) xxx-xxxx
|
||
|
||
BYTE MAGAZINE
|
||
Attn: xxxxxx x. xxxxxxx
|
||
70 Main Street
|
||
Peterborough, NH 03458
|
||
|
||
October 7, 1985
|
||
|
||
|
||
Dear xx. xxxxxxx,
|
||
|
||
This is in reply to your letter of September 10, 1985,
|
||
concerning PC's Limited. I believe that I have allowed a
|
||
sufficient time for PC's Limited to reply, so I must
|
||
regretfully state that I have received absolutely no
|
||
correspondence from them. I must also assume that they have
|
||
chosen to not reply because they have no intention of issuing
|
||
me a refund - they have simply "ripped me off" to the tune of
|
||
$700.
|
||
|
||
I hope that there is some pressure that you can exert on
|
||
Fidonews Page 12 30 Jun 1986
|
||
|
||
|
||
them as advertisers in your magazine. I am also going to
|
||
correspond with the Attorney Generals Office, consumer
|
||
complaint division, and the Better Business Bureau of Austin
|
||
Texas, in hopes of getting some response (i.e. a refund) from
|
||
them.
|
||
|
||
I am preparing to distribute all of the correspondence
|
||
to date to each of the nodes in the FIDO network (watch your
|
||
BYTE bulletin board, all of this information will be
|
||
distributed under the file name RIPOFF$.700 or pc-ltd.rip or
|
||
something similar) and will request that it be passed along
|
||
to any bulletin board that the users know of, and I hope to
|
||
have copies of all of this correspondence published in
|
||
several IBM-PC specific newsletters. This action should make
|
||
this whole situation available to approximately 200,000
|
||
readers in a matter of roughly two weeks, and could reach a
|
||
million PC users, by word of mouth, in roughly a month.
|
||
|
||
I do not understand why PC's Limited is forcing me to
|
||
pursue such an unfriendly course of action. I am not
|
||
alleging mail fraud, but I think that anyone is entitled to a
|
||
refund and a letter of explanation after attempting to obtain
|
||
a working product or refund for over six months.
|
||
|
||
Thank you for your time and the help that you and Byte
|
||
Magazine have given me.
|
||
|
||
|
||
Sincerely,
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
Robert S. Briggs
|
||
SYSOP of FIDO 15/464
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
A copy of the original letter to the advertising managers
|
||
suitably modified, (below) has been sent to the Austin Texas
|
||
Attorneys office, and the Austin Better Business Bureau.
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
Robert Briggs
|
||
P.O. Box 7175
|
||
Murray, UT 84107-0175
|
||
(801) xxx-xxxx
|
||
|
||
City Government Building
|
||
Attorney Generals Office
|
||
Consumer Complaint Division
|
||
Austin, TX 78752
|
||
|
||
|
||
Fidonews Page 13 30 Jun 1986
|
||
|
||
|
||
October 7th, 1985
|
||
|
||
|
||
Dear Sir,
|
||
|
||
I would like to make a formal complaint against a
|
||
company doing mail order sales based in your city. It has
|
||
been nearly six months since I first ordered a 20 megabyte
|
||
drive (some computer equipment) from PC's Limited, 7801 N.
|
||
Lamar, Suite E-200, Austin 78752, (the equipment was
|
||
originally ordered in March of 1985), and in that time they
|
||
have failed to deliver me a either a functional disk drive,
|
||
or the refund that I have been requesting for over three
|
||
months now.
|
||
|
||
Enclosed please find a copy of a letter that I sent to
|
||
the Chief Executive Officer of PCS Ltd. on August 8, 1985,
|
||
and copies of other correspondence with various magazines
|
||
that they advertise in. There has been no response
|
||
whatsoever from PC's Limited, and, as nearly as I can tell, I
|
||
have simply been "ripped-off" for the sum of $695.00. If
|
||
there is any way that you can assist me in recovering the
|
||
original sum, I would be pleased, I have already "written
|
||
off" the money spent in long distance phone calls and
|
||
shipping.
|
||
|
||
|
||
I would certainly appreciate any help that you could
|
||
give me in this matter. I am not alleging mail fraud, but
|
||
the whole situation has dragged on for over 7 months now, and
|
||
I feel that a refund should have been forthcoming long before
|
||
now, from an honest company.
|
||
|
||
Sincerely,
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
Robert S. Briggs
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
As yet, there have been no replies to the latest round of
|
||
correspondence.
|
||
|
||
I guess that I have to leave it up to you, the reader to decide
|
||
whether I have been too harsh on a company that failed to deliver
|
||
me a working product after more than 6 months, and who seems to
|
||
refuse to issue me a refund.
|
||
|
||
If you can, give this file the widest distribution that you have
|
||
available. Maybe someone else will avoid getting ripped off by
|
||
this company. Maybe even you...
|
||
|
||
|
||
If you are really into such things, how about sending a letter to
|
||
PC's Limited telling them that you have read this article, and
|
||
Fidonews Page 14 30 Jun 1986
|
||
|
||
|
||
have no intention of purchasing anything from them because of it.
|
||
Anyone having similar problems with this company might drop a
|
||
letter to the BYTE Magazine Customer relations department, urging
|
||
them to remove PC's Limited from their advertising.
|
||
|
||
|
||
You can keep current on the situation and get any further
|
||
bulletins from my board at (801) 264-8290.
|
||
|
||
Robert S. Briggs SYSOP FIDO 15/464 (801) 264-8290
|
||
|
||
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
|
||
Fidonews Page 15 30 Jun 1986
|
||
|
||
|
||
"C"
|
||
|
||
Peeple have bin noan to objekt to my spelling. I am going to take
|
||
this oportunity to fite bak.
|
||
|
||
The problem is not with my spelling, it is with written English.
|
||
As an example, the letter "c" serves no purpose in written
|
||
English. For the hard "c" as in "cat", a "k" works perfektly
|
||
well. For a soft "c" as in "city", a "s" kan be used. The only
|
||
other "c" is the "ch" sutsh as is found in "such".
|
||
|
||
In fakt the only exkuse for the letter "c" in the English
|
||
language is for proper names (peeple, plases, and things).
|
||
"California", "Charles", and "Chineese" (refering to the
|
||
language) should probably be spelt the obsolete way, at least
|
||
till there is an oportuinity to tshange them on maps and other
|
||
rekords. Of koarse I see no reason they kould not be refered to
|
||
as "Kalifornia", "Tsharles", and "Tshineese" but there may be a
|
||
some unnessessary konfushun.
|
||
|
||
One interesting example is the "Programming Language C". "C"
|
||
kould be redefined to treat the symbols "c" or "C" as speshul
|
||
reserved operators. The statement "c name" kould be defined to
|
||
run "name" where "name" is a string with the name of a "c"
|
||
program. Identifiers and reserved words kould be denied the
|
||
alfabetik use of "c".
|
||
|
||
There are many other problems I find with written English. I will
|
||
leave solutions to them to the reader. I have purposly not made
|
||
an attempt here to korrekt all of the follies of our language
|
||
(nor have I made any partikular effort to follow them).
|
||
|
||
Lloyd Miller
|
||
"Calgary" (Kalgary), Alberta
|
||
Fidonet 134/1
|
||
|
||
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
|
||
Fidonews Page 16 30 Jun 1986
|
||
|
||
|
||
*** W A R N I N G ***
|
||
|
||
TROJAN HORSE ALERT
|
||
|
||
FIDOPROM.COM
|
||
|
||
Well, we have a new one. This program claims to be written by
|
||
Tom Jennings:
|
||
|
||
Welcome to the Fido prompt writer
|
||
Written by: Tom Jennings
|
||
Intended for use with Fido Versions 11v - 11w ONLY
|
||
Copyright 1986, Tom Jennings
|
||
|
||
I just got off the phone with Tom, and HE DID NOT WRITE IT! The
|
||
first clue was that it is written in TURBO PASCAL. Tom only
|
||
writes in C or ASM. Next, the cute dialog in the file is
|
||
atypical of what Tom does. From looking at the strings in the
|
||
program (using CHK4BOMB), I guess that it will either delete your
|
||
USER.BBS file, or copy it to another file (REPORTS.PAS), where it
|
||
could be downloaded at some later date. Interestingly enough,
|
||
another "new user" was on the next day, searching all the file
|
||
areas for files of the type indicated in the program.
|
||
|
||
It was uploaded to both 109/74 and 109/483 within 1 hour of each
|
||
other. If you have received a copy of this "gift", I would
|
||
appreciate getting any information you might have on the fool who
|
||
uploaded it.
|
||
|
||
And, if you have run it, I would like to know what happened.
|
||
|
||
SYSOP
|
||
109/74 - The Bear's Den
|
||
109/483 - Wash-A-RUG
|
||
|
||
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
|
||
Fidonews Page 17 30 Jun 1986
|
||
|
||
|
||
=================================================================
|
||
COLUMNS
|
||
=================================================================
|
||
|
||
Taking Advantage of Your PC's Hard Disk:
|
||
Part I, File Management
|
||
|
||
Barry Gordon
|
||
New York Personal Computer, Inc.
|
||
|
||
This article is about organizing files on any hard disk attached
|
||
to a member of the IBM PC family, including the PC with an
|
||
Expansion Unit, and certainly, the PC AT. The following
|
||
suggestions have evolved from several months of using the IBM PC
|
||
XT as a follow-on system to the IBM PC. I hope these thoughts
|
||
prove useful to those who work with hard disks on the IBM PC,
|
||
particularly those who are new to it.
|
||
|
||
File Management
|
||
|
||
The hard disk is not merely an overgrown diskette. It can be
|
||
used that way, but you would be inviting serious file management
|
||
problems in doing so. The hard disk has other capabilities you
|
||
should utilize, and there is no reason not to take full advantage
|
||
of the hard disk's potential.
|
||
|
||
About the last thing you want to deal with is a ten megabyte hard
|
||
disk containing all its files in one directory. (There is a limit
|
||
of how many files the root directory can contain, so the disk may
|
||
give you an error message even though much of the disk is not
|
||
filled.) With intelligent organization, the hard disk retains its
|
||
speed advantage over the diskette, and you are better able to
|
||
keep track of your files as well. The name of each file should
|
||
use filename and the three-letter extension. Sooner or later you
|
||
will need all the help you can get in remembering what each file
|
||
contains. Most importantly, though, your files should be
|
||
organized among several directories.
|
||
|
||
The Root Directory
|
||
|
||
Each DOS volume (diskette or hard disk) has a root directory
|
||
which DOS creates when it formats the disk. The root directory
|
||
on your hard disk should contain a minimum of files, reserving
|
||
the space for sub-directory names.
|
||
|
||
Nonetheless, a few files are essential in the root directory.
|
||
When you format the hard disk, use the /S parameter: FORMAT C:/S
|
||
which copies three .COM files to your hard disk:
|
||
|
||
(IBMBIO.COM)
|
||
(IBMDOS.COM)
|
||
COMMAND.COM
|
||
|
||
Notice that the first two are hidden files. You won't see them
|
||
in any DIRectory listing, but the CHKDSK command will tell you
|
||
they are there.
|
||
Fidonews Page 18 30 Jun 1986
|
||
|
||
|
||
You should store the various DOS external command files and all
|
||
data files in other sub-directories.
|
||
|
||
Sub-directories for Executable Files
|
||
|
||
Now let's consider locating your various executable program
|
||
files--the .EXE, .COM, and .BAT files. You'll want to separate
|
||
related programs into sub-directories of their own. For example,
|
||
you may want one sub-directory containing all of the external DOS
|
||
commands, another sub-directory with your word processing .COM
|
||
and .EXE files, another with your accounting .COM and .EXE files,
|
||
etc. until you have stored all of your executable programs into
|
||
sub-directories. They are much easier to remember this way.
|
||
|
||
The root directory has no user-assigned name, but all sub-
|
||
directories are specifically created and named using the MKDIR
|
||
command, MD for short:
|
||
|
||
MD anyname
|
||
|
||
You can create as many levels of sub-directories as you like, but
|
||
generally, the fewer levels you have to create, the simpler your
|
||
directory structure will be. There will be times when a second-
|
||
or third-level sub-directory is needed (a directory created
|
||
within another sub-directory), but multi-leveled sub-directories
|
||
create a more complex path structure for both you and DOS to sort
|
||
through.
|
||
|
||
Directory Sizes
|
||
|
||
You can fill a sub-directory with as many bytes as the disk will
|
||
allow, but it is often convenient to limit the size of those sub-
|
||
directories into which you regularly store data to the capacity
|
||
of a single diskette, 320-360 KB. This allows you to back up a
|
||
directory using the COPY command:
|
||
|
||
COPY C:*.* A:
|
||
|
||
The COPYable directory size offers an alternative to the BACKUP
|
||
and RESTORE commands, an alternative that many find easier to
|
||
use. It offers portability as well as backup. If you want to
|
||
verify the copy with its original, you can follow the COPY
|
||
command with this:
|
||
|
||
COMP C: A:
|
||
|
||
However, if you feel confident using the BACKUP and RESTORE
|
||
commands, the contents of a single sub-directory can be as many
|
||
bytes as you like. The bigger it is, the more time consuming the
|
||
backup process becomes.
|
||
|
||
Another suggestion is to give each backup diskette a volume
|
||
label. This is especially useful if you use the COPY command to
|
||
back up your sub-directories. By using the /V parameter when you
|
||
format the diskette, you can label your diskette with the same
|
||
name as the directory it backs up.
|
||
Fidonews Page 19 30 Jun 1986
|
||
|
||
|
||
It is rarely necessary to back up the entire hard disk.
|
||
Typically, you store data changes in the files of a few sub-
|
||
directories, those few being the only sub-directories you need to
|
||
back up regularly. Many sub-directories never change, and need
|
||
backing up only once.
|
||
|
||
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
|
||
Fidonews Page 20 30 Jun 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 21 30 Jun 1986
|
||
|
||
|
||
Now available from Micro Consulting Associates!!
|
||
|
||
Public Domain collection - 550+ "ARC" archives - 20+ megs of
|
||
software and other goodies, and that's "archived" size! When
|
||
unpacked, you get approximately 28 megabytes worth of all kinds
|
||
of software, from text editors to games to unprotection schemes
|
||
to communications programs, compilers, interpreters, etc... Over
|
||
55 DS/DD diskettes!!
|
||
|
||
This collection is the result of more than 15 months of intensive
|
||
downloads from just about 150 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
|
||
- ACS INTRCPT 720k format
|
||
- Plain ol' files (add $50)
|
||
|
||
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 22 30 Jun 1986
|
||
|
||
|
||
=================================================================
|
||
NOTICES
|
||
=================================================================
|
||
|
||
The Interrupt Stack
|
||
|
||
|
||
20 Jul 1986
|
||
St. Louis Area Sysops Meeting, to be held at Baker's Acre.
|
||
Net 100 sysops please contact Ben Baker at 100/76 for details
|
||
and directions.
|
||
|
||
14 Aug 1986
|
||
Start of the International FidoNet Conference, Colorado
|
||
Springs, Colorado. Contact George Wing at node 1/10 for
|
||
details. Get your reservations in NOW! We'll see you there!
|
||
|
||
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.
|
||
|
||
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
|
||
James Pallack, 16/635
|
||
|
||
MINDSET Conference using EchoMail
|
||
|
||
I am looking for Fido's around the U.S. that are willing to
|
||
participate in a conference for the MINDSET computer. This would
|
||
be using the EchoMail software and dedicating a message section
|
||
to the conference.
|
||
|
||
If you are interested or am willing to have this conference on
|
||
your BBS. Please contact me via FidoNet at 16/635. If you are
|
||
interested in participating, but don't have the funds for the
|
||
service, please contact me anyway. Arrangements can be worked
|
||
out (e.g. I'll pick up the mail).
|
||
|
||
Currently I have locations in Sunnyvale, CA (143/20) and New York
|
||
City (107/102).
|
||
|
||
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
|
||
Faculty Position Available - Computer Science
|
||
|
||
Position Description: Full-time, tenure track position to teach
|
||
various computer science core courses
|
||
which emphasize programming languages and
|
||
data structures. Will also teach upper
|
||
division courses in Operating Systems,
|
||
Compilers and Formal Language Theory.
|
||
|
||
Salary and Rank: Assistant Professor of Computer Science,
|
||
Fidonews Page 23 30 Jun 1986
|
||
|
||
|
||
salary dependant upon qualifications and
|
||
experience.
|
||
|
||
Qualifications: M.S. or Ph.D. in computer science. Strong
|
||
interest in undergraduate teaching and
|
||
developing a computer science program in a
|
||
liberal arts setting. Classroom teaching
|
||
experience and a working knowledge of UNIX
|
||
are preferred.
|
||
|
||
Appointment Date: August 25, 1986
|
||
|
||
Closing Date: Open until filled, immediate applications
|
||
accepted.
|
||
|
||
The University: Pacific University is a small, independant
|
||
liberal arts institution with an
|
||
enrollment of about 1100 students. The
|
||
university is composed of the College of
|
||
Arts and Sciences and the College of
|
||
Optometry. The computer science offerings
|
||
are within the Department of Mathematical
|
||
Sciences. The Department of Mathematical
|
||
Sciences offers a major and a minor in
|
||
Computer Science, a cooperative BS/MS
|
||
program in Computer Science with the
|
||
Oregon Graduate Center, and a major and a
|
||
minor in Mathematics.
|
||
|
||
The Community: The city of Forest Grove has a population
|
||
of about 14,000. It is located 25 miles
|
||
west of Portland, within an hour's drive
|
||
to the Oregon coast, and two hours to the
|
||
Cascade Mountains.
|
||
|
||
Hiring Policy: Pacific is an affirmative action, equal
|
||
opportunity employer.
|
||
|
||
To Apply: Send letter of application, vita, three
|
||
letters of recommendation and official
|
||
transcripts to:
|
||
|
||
Douglas J. Ryan
|
||
Department of Mathematical Sciences
|
||
Pacific University
|
||
Forest Grove, OR 97116
|
||
|
||
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
|
||
|