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47 KiB
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1038 lines
47 KiB
Plaintext
Volume 3, Number 39 13 October 1986
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+---------------------------------------------------------------+
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| _ |
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| / \ |
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| /|oo \ |
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| - FidoNews - (_| /_) |
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| _`@/_ \ _ |
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| International | | \ \\ |
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| FidoNet Association | (*) | \ )) |
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| Newsletter ______ |__U__| / \// |
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| / FIDO \ _//|| _\ / |
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| (________) (_/(_|(____/ |
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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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ARTSPEC.DOC, available from node 1/1.
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Copyright (C) 1986, by the International FidoNet Association.
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All rights reserved. Duplication and/or distribution permitted
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for noncommercial purposes only. For use in other circumstances,
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please contact IFNA.
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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. ARTICLES
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Ham Radio Oriented EchoMail Conference
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MAGICK EchoMail Conference Profile
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MAILCOST Review: A Reply from the Author
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On the Commercial Exploitation of FidoNet
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2. COLUMNS
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dBASE Tips - Remember these basics
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FidoUtil revisited
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3. WANTED
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Wanted: "Touchstone" software
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4. FOR SALE
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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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Fidonews Page 2 13 Oct 1986
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=================================================================
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ARTICLES
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=================================================================
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John Dashner, WA4CYB
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Fido 133/10
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Ham Radio EchoMail Conference
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With the increasing overlap of bulletin board interest and those
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with interest in Ham Radio, it is passing strange to me that
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someone has not started this conference long ago, but alas, as
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Thom Henderson has said before, it's almost always left up to
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someone taking the bull by the horns and giving it a tug, so here
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goes...
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Many of you presently run boards that specialize in some
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particular aspect of the Amateur Radio hobby such as Packet
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Radio, Contesting, VHF/UHF, etc. The greatest service you could
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do is to disseminate the great ideas, yes, even groundbreaking
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ideas that originate with your users. In turn, you would receive
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a like service funnelled into your board from all over the
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country and perhaps the world. Moreover, there probably isn't a
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problem you are experiencing that hasn't been solved by some
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fellow ham somewhere. If I can judge by the responsiveness of
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the National Technical Conference, I have seen multiple fixes for
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problems submitted there returned in as little as two days. You
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just can't ask for better service than that! Compare that to
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submitting it to "QST" or "Ham Radio" and awaiting some future
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issue for your answer. (You guys up there in Newington listening?
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Hope "QST" will sign up as a conference node quickly).
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To this end, I have established a National Ham Radio Conference
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anchored in the north woods of Atlanta, Georgia with the hope
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that I won't be left on my own to make it interesting, lively,
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informative and factual. The name of the conference is simply:
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HAM and as of this moment, -I- am the only official node in the
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conference. Although, very soon, I hope to have Marv Shelton,
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WA2BFW at 107/319 and Rene Champagne, VE2RI at 167/101, as
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additional distribution nodes (and, yes, Rene, you'll need to get
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EchoMail up to do this). This would take care of the southeast,
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mid-Atlantic and eastern Canada as a start. What is needed, is
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about 10 to 15 other nodes about the country (and the WORLD!) to
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step up to the bar and volunteer; what say you guys?
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To review what is needed, without going into an exhaustive
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EchoMail tutorial, is to:
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1. Set up an appropriate directory to contain
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your conference.
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2. Place a DIR.BBS in the directory identifying
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what the conference or message area is all
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about. Mine reads:
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National Amateur Radio Conference
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Fidonews Page 3 13 Oct 1986
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3. Add an entry in your AREAS.BBS file something
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like the following:
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9 HAM 107/319 167/101
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_ \_/ \___________/
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| | |
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| | +----> Nodes TO WHICH you
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| | distribute.
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| |
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| +--------------> The EchoMail Name.
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+-----------------> The number of the
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SYSTEMnn.BBS file
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associated with
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your message or
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conference area.
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One important reminder. Since you can always
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receive EchoMail, unless you expect to
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distribute EchoMail to other nodes than your
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pickup node, do not list any other nodes.
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4. If this is your first EchoMail conference, you
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will need to create a special event prior to
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and immediately after the National Mail Hour
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to run the EchoMail utilities, Scanmail and
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Tossmail respectively. Mine are:
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4 ALL 03:55 1 X 4
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5 ALL 05:30 1 X 5
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Which instructs Fido to schedule an eXternal
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event of one minute duration at 03:55 with
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return code 4 and another one at 05:30 with
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return code 5 every day.
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5. Add to your RUNBBS.BAT the following:
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if errorlevel 5 goto postmail
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if errorlevel 4 goto premail
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.
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.
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:premail *** EchoMail Preparation
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scanmail run >>echomail.log
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arcmail to 133/10 (pickup node)
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runbbs
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:postmail *** EchoMail Distribution
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arcmail from 133/10
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tossmail run >>echomail.log
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runbbs
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Two matters I should note: If you haven't
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discovered it already, the errorlevel test is
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equivilent to "equal to or greater than" and
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as illustrated above, you must test in
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DESCENDING order to assure correct operation;
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Fidonews Page 4 13 Oct 1986
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and, the ARCMAIL step in the batch file
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fragment above is optional but since -I- will
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be distributing it that way, you will at least
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have to unARC the stuff I send you and it does
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significantly reduce transmission times and
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thus LD moneys. I will leave it as an
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exercise for the reader to decipher the
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options used above by reading each utility's
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documentation.
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6. Unless your daddy left you a sizeable fortune
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or your company installed a WATS line at your
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house, you probably wouldn't want to foot the
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bill for distribution to the nodes that you
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serve long distance. Also, since I too am
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poor, those of you picking up from my node
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will have to POLL 133/10 in order to get your
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nitely fare. In the ROUTE.? file that kicks
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off your nitely National NetMail period, you
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will have to insert the following (assumes
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that you are calling me for pickup and you are
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distributing to 999/100 and 998/2):
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NO-ROUTE 999/100, 998/2
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SEND-TO ALL
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HOLD 999/100, 998/2
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POLL 133/10
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An analogous operation would be coded up by
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each of your distribution nodes substituting
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your node number for mine and less the NO-
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ROUTE and HOLD stuff if they in turn do not
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distribute.
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To quote from the EchoMail Manual: "...the
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best way to tie things together ... boards
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always POLL upstream and HOLD downstream."
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(If I err here or there is a simpler way to
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accomplish this, I humbly await the onrush of
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help that I am sure to receive [:-)} ).
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7. Finally, after you're all set up, contact me
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or the nearest node to you by NetMail or phone
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and let us know when to hook you in and
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whether you want all messages then currently
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in the conference or just those originating
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thereafter.
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I started out by saying that I wasn't going to write an
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exhaustive tutorial on EchoMail but from the looks of it I waxed
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somewhat lengthy *grin* and I trust I haven't made it sound
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tougher than it is.
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As the topology of the conference develops, I will NetMail a
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Conference Directory to major distribution nodes and publish it
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Fidonews Page 5 13 Oct 1986
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here from time to time. In this respect, I would appreciate
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NetMail anytime you make a new connection or one is dropped so
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that the directory can be kept accurate.
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You may contact me, John Dashner WA4CYB:
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via NetMail at 133/10 (404) 476-7970
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via OldMail at 2792 Kenwood Dr., Duluth, Ga. 30136
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via LandLine at (404) 476-1797
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via 20 meters whenever I get my rig back from Kenwood!
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(Note the street address - doesn't do any good)
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In conclusion, I would like to thank Jeff Rush of the Rising Star
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Fido (124/206) for conceiving of and implementing EchoMail. He
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should be remembered by the networking historians for developing
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a utility that gives you just about everything that UseNet does
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without half the hassle. Without needing Jeff's permission, I am
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sure that I can speak for him in saying that the best way to
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remember him is to make shareware work by contributing $25.00 to
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him so that he will be encouraged to further shorten the gap
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between the EchoMail and UseNet functionallity. (Uh, Jeff, the
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check's in the mail!)
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-----------------------------------------------------------------
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Fidonews Page 6 13 Oct 1986
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M A G I C K
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The FidoNet Neopagan Witchcraft and Magick Conference
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An Echomail Conference Profile
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by J. Brad Hicks, Sysop WeirdBase (100/523)
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MAGICK Conference Coordinator
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In November of 1985, several U.S. Senators and Congressmen began
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to introduce legislation which would have swept away nearly all
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of the Neopagan churches, and which could have been used as a
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weapon against any alternative religion. To combat these bills,
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Circle Sanctuary (in Madison, Wisconsin) mailed out thousands of
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flyers (all first-class mail) to everyone they knew of. The
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expense was incredible, but worth it--all three bills died in
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their respective committees (though the third one, HR 3389, was
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an uphill fight all the way to the end of the session). In order
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to reduce the expense, should the need arise again, the folks at
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Circle suggested something they called the Pagan Strength Web.
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It would be a mailing list designed to hit as many cities as pos-
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sible as quickly as possible, where each contact would be respon-
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sible for spreading the word within his or her city by phone and
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personal contact. As a Pagan Strength Web contact myself, I saw
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at once how FidoNet mail could be used to spread word quickly to
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many cities, and so I buried notices in my next few articles for
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FidoNews asking for fellow Crafters who use FidoNet to contact me
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at 100/523.
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About that time, Jeff Rush released Echomail. When my PSW FidoNet
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mailing list and Echomail came together, the MAGICK Echomail con-
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ference was born. Originally, the conference was built by
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merging message areas from three boards: my Neopagan Witchcraft
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area (on 100/523), Josh Gordon's introductory and miscellaneous
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area (125/93, now 161/93), Mizmoon's astrology area (101/27). In
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addition, Gene Clayton (12/4) expressed interest in polling for
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it, and was followed almost immediately by Tom Kenny (107/316).
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The growth of the MAGICK conference parallels the growth (and the
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growing pains) of Echomail itself. In the beginning, our message
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traffic was 2-4 messages per night (not per board per night, mind
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you), and so I encouraged people to use host-routing and to route
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all messages to all boards. This lasted for almost a month be-
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fore rioting broke out. Nets 125 and 107 refused to host-route
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Echomail, no matter how low the volume. Josh Gordon refused to
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send mail to some of the boards. Each new sysop has made
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d/e/m/a/n/d/s/ suggestions for what they wanted the topology to
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look like. This led us through a series of patch-work topologies
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to something approximating our current form. Then WeirdBase moved
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to new hardware and SEAdog came out with a new version, and lo
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and behold they weren't compatible, which meant we had to re-
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design the topology all over again.
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But in that same span of time, we settled down into a topology
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that works, more or less, and expanded beyond my wildest fanta-
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sies. The MAGICK conference now shuttles an estimated 430 mes-
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sages per month between 13 boards in 11 cities (in the US and
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Fidonews Page 7 13 Oct 1986
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Canada), with no round-trip longer than 5 days. The topics have
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ranged from Discordian pranks to Thelemite texts, from distingui-
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shing ourselves from Satanism to (in)tolerance of Christianity,
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from Aleister Crowley to Laurie Cabot, from shamanism to UFOs and
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the pyramids. The conversation is occasionally thought provoking,
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often very funny, and almost without exception a Good Read for
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folk interested in any aspect of Neopaganism, Wicca, magick,
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Thelema, Discordianism, or any other aspect of New Age religion
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and philosophy.
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TECHNICAL SPECS: The MAGICK conference uses a stars-on-a-string
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topology, with 100/523 and 161/93 as the major hubs, and 163/5 as
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a secondary hub for Canada. All boards are using Echomail ver-
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sion 1.31 (1.30 with the no-? patch by Josh Gordon). Most boards
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are using ARCmail version 0.37 or 0.40. If you wish to connect
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to the Magick conference, send a note to Brad Hicks at 100/523.
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If you are not local to an existing MAGICK board, you will be
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expected to POLL either 100/523 or 161/93 for it every night.
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A nearly complete text of all of the discussions is available on
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WeirdBase (100/523) in file area 1, as MAGICKON.01 to 29.
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TOPOLOGY AS OF OCTOBER 2nd, 1986:
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107/293 103/602 14/341
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\ / /
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v v v
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12/4 <-> 12/14 --> 161/93 --> 100/523* --> 163/5 <-> 163/7
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^ / \
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/ v \
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107/7 <-> 107/316 150/900 101/27
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(The arrow-head shows which direction the call is made. If a
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link has arrow-heads on both ends, then it's a local call and is
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made both before and after--or should be. If a link has NO
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arrow-heads, then mail is currently host-routed.)
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AN OVERVIEW OF THE BOARDS IN THE CONFERENCE:
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100/523 WEIRDBASE (St. Louis, Missouri) 1-314-389-9973 300/
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1200 baud. Hours: 24 hrs/day. Does not support SEAdog.
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Sysop: Brad Hicks. Magick Conference Coordinator.
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Magick conference may be read by any caller, including
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first-time. Only validated callers may enter messages.
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One of the largest magickal file collections in the
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country; mildly Discordian BBS.
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161/93 THELEMANET (Berkeley, California) 1-415-548-0163 300/
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1200/2400 baud. Hours: 24 hrs/day. Supports SEAdog.
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Sysop: Josh Gordon. All callers may read and enter mes-
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sages in the Magick conference. "Official" BBS of the
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Ordo Templar Orientis (OTO), Boulaq Encampment. Many
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files on Crowley and thelemic topics.
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Fidonews Page 8 13 Oct 1986
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100/27 DAVE'S FIDO (Gardner, Massachusetts) 1-617-632-1861
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300/1200/2400 baud. Hours: 24 hrs/day. Supports
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SEAdog. Sysop: Dave Rene (MAGICK area sysop: Mizmoon).
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All callers may read and enter messages in the Magick
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conference. File area also features monthly horoscopes
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by Mizmoon.
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12/4 MEGA-KAUAI (Kauai, Hawaii) 1-808-245-2080 300/1200
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baud. Hours: 24 hrs/day. Does not support SEAdog.
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Sysop: Gene Clayton. All callers may read and enter
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messages in the Magick conference. Files include much
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of the contents of WeirdBase's magick area.
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12/14 MEGA-KAUAI 2 (Kauai, Hawaii) 1-808-337-9280 300/1200/
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2400 baud. Hours: 6pm-7am. Does not support SEAdog.
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Sysop: Gene Clayton. Access only on request to 12/4.
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Repeater board for the above, used by Gene to move mail
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at 2400 baud.
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107/293 BAPHONET-BY-THE-SEA (Brooklyn, New York) 1-718-499-9277
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300/1200 baud (local callers may only be able to get
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through at 300 baud). Hours: 24 hrs/day. Does not
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support SEAdog. Sysop: Tony Iannoti. Access to the
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Magick conference only by request to the sysop. Also a
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Thelemic/OTO BBS, in conjunction with 161/93 above.
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107/316 METATEK FIDO (Toms River, New Jersey) 1-201-286-2567
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300/1200 baud. Hours: 24 hrs/day. Supports SEAdog.
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Sysop: Thomas Kenny. Access to the Magick conference
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only by request to the sysop.
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14/341 TERRABOARD (Minneapolis, Minnesota) 1-612-721-8967
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300/1200/2400 baud. Hours: 24 hrs/day. Does not sup-
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port SEAdog. Sysop: David Dyer-Bennett. All callers
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may read and enter messages into the Magick conference.
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Semi-official BBS of Minn-StF, a science-fiction club.
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107/7 SEABOARD (Clifton, NJ) 1-201-472-8065 300/1200/2400
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baud. Hours: 24 hrs/day. Supports SEAdog. Sysop:
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Kilgore Trout. Access to the Magick conference only by
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request to the sysop.
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103/602 HOUSE ATREIDES (Rowland Heights, California) 1-818-965-
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7220 300/1200 baud. Hours: 24 hrs/day. Does not sup-
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port SEAdog. Sysops: George Clayton and Jammer B. All
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callers may read and enter messages into the Magick
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conference.
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163/5 DATA/SFNET (Ottawa, Ontario) 1-613-726-1100 300/1200
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baud. Hours: 8pm-8am, Tuesday thru Friday. Does not
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support SEAdog. Sysop: Farrell McGovern. All callers
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may read and enter messages in the MAGICK conference.
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163/7 ELECTRIC BLUE (Ottawa, Ontario) 1-613-737-7994 300/
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1200 baud. Hours: 24 hrs/day. Does not support SEAdog.
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Sysops: Harry and Kathy. All callers may read messages
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Fidonews Page 9 13 Oct 1986
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from the Magick conference, but only validated users may
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enter messages.
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150/900 K-9 & COMPANY (Newark, Delaware) 1-302-738-1170 300/
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1200 baud. Hours: 24 hrs/day. Does not support SEAdog.
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Sysop: Mike Jacobs. All callers may read and enter
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messages in the Magick conference.
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-----------------------------------------------------------------
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Fidonews Page 10 13 Oct 1986
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Tim Evans
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Fido 114/1
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I would first like to thank Jerry Hindle of 123/6 for his
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comments on my program, MAILCOST. The lack of comments I have
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received (either good or bad) has been the most disappointing
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thing about writing the program.
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The major point Jerry makes is that mailcost accounting needs to
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be consistent with Fido's accounting. Why? Fido's accounting is
|
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inconsistent with the actual telephone bill accounting, even if a
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markup is considered to cover additional costs. (In Phoenix, a
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message to California costs the same as a message to New York).
|
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There was never any intent for the host or sysop to credit the
|
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individual users with the savings, but hopefully to lower the
|
||
average cost per message for all users to all destinations.
|
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Whether this savings was passed on or is used to cover additional
|
||
costs or even to make a profit was none of my concern.
|
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|
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Regarding your repair shop example, the cost (if different from
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the original estimate) will always be at least half the estimate
|
||
- never more! I don't think that will cause too many complaints.
|
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|
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The other issue I see is whether MAILCOST should deal with
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||
individual user costs or not. I could be wrong on this, but my
|
||
feelings are as follows: Fido handles all individual cost
|
||
accounting between the users and the sysops. MAILCOST was
|
||
designed to handle cost accounting between the host and the
|
||
sysops (nodes). While the host may also be the sysop or the user,
|
||
I think the 2 functions should be kept seperated. I don't think
|
||
the host needs to be concerned about the individual user's costs
|
||
- that is the sysop's job.
|
||
|
||
I could be wrong on my impressions on how the host accounting
|
||
should work. I will be writing an article for Fidonews to attempt
|
||
to generate some discussion on this issue. Thanks again for your
|
||
comments.
|
||
|
||
|
||
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
|
||
Fidonews Page 11 13 Oct 1986
|
||
|
||
|
||
Kilgore Trout, 107/7
|
||
FidoNet Study Group
|
||
|
||
A Modest Proposal
|
||
for
|
||
The Commercial Exploitation of FidoNet
|
||
|
||
|
||
(Well it got your attention, didn't it?)
|
||
|
||
|
||
Various people are now coming to realize the enormous potential
|
||
in an electronic mail system based on PC's and autodial modems,
|
||
and are attempting to cash in on it. Given that this is already
|
||
happening, why don't we see what WE can do?
|
||
|
||
In FidoNet we have a large and sophisticated mail network already
|
||
in place which is capable of handling a large volume of mail
|
||
traffic with a good success rate for overnight delivery. The key
|
||
problem is how to take advantage of it, while not offending
|
||
anyone. Certain criteria must be met:
|
||
|
||
1) We must not offend the amateurs who comprise the net.
|
||
|
||
2) It must be possible for any given Fido operator to choose not
|
||
to participate.
|
||
|
||
3) Participating Fido operators must be compensated for their
|
||
efforts and for the commercial use of their systems.
|
||
|
||
4) It must remain possible for amateur Fido operators to join the
|
||
net and to operate without additional cost.
|
||
|
||
5) It must be possible to bill commercial users without depending
|
||
on accounting data supplied by the local Fido operators.
|
||
|
||
6) In general, accounting and billing must be humanly possible in
|
||
some way, preferably with a minimum of effort.
|
||
|
||
|
||
I believe I have come up with an approach which will satisfy all
|
||
of these goals. Implementing my method will call for certain
|
||
changes in how Fido operates, along with certain changes in the
|
||
FidoNet packet format. I will detail the required changes first,
|
||
and then show what they can accomplish. Please bear with me.
|
||
|
||
The most difficult part operationally is altering the FidoNet
|
||
packet format. I anticipate a period of near total chaos while
|
||
some Fidos are sending packets that other Fidos cannot unpack.
|
||
This confusion may be unavoidable anyway, in view of Tom
|
||
Jenning's avowed intention of implementing country support.
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
Required Changes:
|
||
|
||
Fidonews Page 12 13 Oct 1986
|
||
|
||
|
||
FidoNet currently understands two levels: nets and nodes.
|
||
Implementing country support will require another level, zones,
|
||
higher than the net number. To support commercial mail traffic,
|
||
Fido should also have yet a fourth level added under nodes. This
|
||
lowest level would consist of "subnodes" under a given node. I
|
||
somehow ended up calling them "points", so I will continue to do
|
||
so for lack of a better word.
|
||
|
||
The final hierarchy would look something like this:
|
||
|
||
Country 1
|
||
Net 100
|
||
Node 51
|
||
Point 8
|
||
|
||
A full net address specifying all four levels might look like this:
|
||
|
||
1:100/51.8
|
||
|
||
|
||
Each existing node would double as "point zero". If no point is
|
||
specified in an address, then the message would go to the node.
|
||
|
||
One major aspect of points is that they are optional. A node
|
||
does not have to have any points under it, and in fact does not
|
||
even have to know that there is such a thing. All nodes would
|
||
ignore points belonging to other nodes, and points would not be
|
||
listed in the node list.
|
||
|
||
A point would communicate only with its own node. It does not
|
||
need (and should not have) phone numbers for any nodes other than
|
||
its own. One may suppose that operators of points may swap phone
|
||
numbers so that they may exchange files, but this need not
|
||
concern us as far as operation of the net is concerned.
|
||
|
||
The phone number for any given point would be needed only by the
|
||
node which "owns" the point. No other nodes would need or should
|
||
have it.
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
Commercial Users:
|
||
|
||
Commercial users of FidoNet would be set up as points.
|
||
Accounting would be handled as a flat subscription fee per month
|
||
for unlimited use of the network. The subscription fee would be
|
||
split out among the participating nodes on a percentage basis.
|
||
One possible way of doing this would be:
|
||
|
||
60% to the node which handles the point.
|
||
30% to the host which serves that node.
|
||
5% to the regional coordinator who handles that area.
|
||
5% to the national office.
|
||
|
||
As one moves up the hierarchy the percentages get smaller, but
|
||
the number of points covered increases, so total revenues should
|
||
Fidonews Page 13 13 Oct 1986
|
||
|
||
|
||
increase as well. Per point returns are high for the local node,
|
||
which should compensate him for dealing with the points on
|
||
occasion as well as providing him with incentive to obtain more
|
||
points. But as one moves up the ladder and becomes more involved
|
||
with network operation, ones compensation increases accordingly.
|
||
|
||
|
||
I envision the operation as working something like this:
|
||
|
||
1) A commercial user decides to sign up for FidoNet, either as a
|
||
result of advertising, or from being canvassed by a node. He
|
||
fills out an application and sends it to St. Louis.
|
||
|
||
2) The central office verifies his credit card number and informs
|
||
the participating node closest to him (or the node who
|
||
canvassed him).
|
||
|
||
3) The node handling the new user adds him to his "point list"
|
||
and helps him get started.
|
||
|
||
4) Each month the central office charges a subscription fee to
|
||
his credit card, calculates the payments to each participating
|
||
node, and mails out the checks.
|
||
|
||
5) Whenever the point decides to leave, the central office stops
|
||
charging his card and notifies his point that he has left.
|
||
The node then drops him from his point list and no longer
|
||
handles mail for him.
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
Ramifications:
|
||
|
||
With this system, all network and regional coordinators must be
|
||
willing to participate. This may be a disadvantage, but may also
|
||
result in a higher level of dedication among the coordinators.
|
||
|
||
Local nodes, however, need not participate if they do now want
|
||
to. In fact, it would be a mistake to involve any node who was
|
||
not actively willing to join.
|
||
|
||
The amateur network is preserved. Amateur Fido operators may
|
||
still join at the node level, and may send mail without charge
|
||
(other than phone bills). Commercial users may attempt to form
|
||
their own nodes for this purpose. Participating nodes can be
|
||
alerted to watch for this, providing us with policing at the
|
||
local level. It is obviously in the interests of a participating
|
||
node to do this. A commercial node in his area should rightly be
|
||
a point under his node, so he is losing revenue.
|
||
|
||
Since points will not be listed in the node list, we may want to
|
||
publish a "point list" (sort of a phone book). This should
|
||
probably be covered by the cost of a subscription. We should
|
||
probably ask on the application form whether or not a commercial
|
||
user wishes to appear in the point list. I have no idea how
|
||
often such a thing should be published.
|
||
Fidonews Page 14 13 Oct 1986
|
||
|
||
|
||
Selling It:
|
||
|
||
This obviously won't work unless we can sell it to the present
|
||
sysops. We don't have to get everyone to participate, but we
|
||
don't want to get too many people upset, either. Fortunately, we
|
||
have two recent examples to guide us.
|
||
|
||
1) US Robotics is selling us 2400 baud modems at a reduced price
|
||
(comfortably above distributor cost), and is seen as a hero.
|
||
|
||
2) GTE is selling us long distance telecommunications at a
|
||
reduced price (during their slack time), and is seen as a
|
||
villain.
|
||
|
||
Why is one a hero and the other a villain? Both are exploiting
|
||
the BBS community.
|
||
|
||
I believe that the reason is because USR is seen as practicing
|
||
favoritism. They are singling out the sysop for special
|
||
treatment, while GTE is not. (Indeed, a user might see the roles
|
||
of hero and villain the other way around!)
|
||
|
||
I believe that this approach will be palatable to Fido sysops
|
||
because it is rank favoritism of the worst (best) sort. We are
|
||
singling out Fido sysops and telling them, "We won't bother you
|
||
in any way, but you can make some bucks if you want to."
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
Conclusion:
|
||
|
||
I like it. It gives us all a chance to make a buck, and gives
|
||
something back to the dedicated amateur. I can envision people
|
||
setting up nodes just to make money handling commercial mail, but
|
||
the backbone of the idea is the dedicated amateur sysop. It's
|
||
high time a sysop got something for his efforts.
|
||
|
||
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
|
||
Fidonews Page 15 13 Oct 1986
|
||
|
||
|
||
=================================================================
|
||
COLUMNS
|
||
=================================================================
|
||
|
||
DBASEII: CURES FOR SOME COMMON FRUSTRATIONS
|
||
|
||
By G. R. Realmuto
|
||
|
||
dBASE is noted for being a very powerful yet difficult program to
|
||
learn. I love it for this very reason. Like a person who
|
||
collects rare objects, I enjoy learning and mastering skills
|
||
others choose to avoid. I've been frustrated many times. Error
|
||
messages, syntax errors, and losing control of the keyboard can
|
||
make you crazy. Below are a number of frustrations and how I
|
||
cured them. Enjoy!
|
||
|
||
Frustration 1: Don't forget to enclose print statements in
|
||
quotes: "SUCCESS."
|
||
|
||
Frustration 2: IF statements can be nested but must end with as
|
||
many ENDIF's as there are IF's.
|
||
|
||
Frustration 3: DO WHILE statements cannot be nested. Very
|
||
important!
|
||
|
||
Frustration 4: DO WHILE statements may have IF then ELSE nested,
|
||
but remember to end with ENDIF then ENDDO.
|
||
|
||
Frustration 5: You cannot TRIM numerical fields or memory
|
||
variables.
|
||
|
||
Frustration 6: You cannot add numerical data to character fields,
|
||
etc. Use STORE VAL (string) to MVAR.
|
||
|
||
Frustration 7: You lose control of the keyboard. Type SET
|
||
CONSOLE ON.
|
||
|
||
Frustration 8: ACCEPT TO statements with following IF's are
|
||
character variables and need quotes.
|
||
|
||
Frustration 9: INPUT TO statements with following IF's are
|
||
numerical and of course do not require quotes. e.g.:
|
||
|
||
ACCEPT "WHAT COMMAND WOULD YOU LIKE" TO CHOICE
|
||
IF CHOICE = "QVB"
|
||
QUIT to "vdo," "dbase menu"
|
||
ELSE
|
||
IF CHOICE = "DFA"
|
||
DISPLAY files on A like *.*
|
||
|
||
ENDIF
|
||
ENDIF
|
||
|
||
Or:
|
||
|
||
INPUT "-1- END POSTCARD -2- NO CARD" TO CARD
|
||
Fidonews Page 16 13 Oct 1986
|
||
|
||
|
||
IF CARD = 1
|
||
DO POST
|
||
ELSE
|
||
IF CARD = 2
|
||
RETURN
|
||
ENDIF
|
||
ENDIF
|
||
|
||
Frustration 10: don't forget to put EJECT's at the end of
|
||
REPORT's, etc.
|
||
|
||
Frustration 11: SET EJECT OFF if you don't want one before a
|
||
REPORT.
|
||
|
||
Frustration 12: Don't forget ENDCASE statement with DO CASE!
|
||
Computer goes to infinity.
|
||
|
||
Frustration 13: Don't forget to write 'SET ESCAPE ON" at the
|
||
beginning of your program so you can abort a "buggy" program with
|
||
<ESC>.
|
||
|
||
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
|
||
Fidonews Page 17 13 Oct 1986
|
||
|
||
|
||
Jerry Hindle
|
||
123/6 123/0
|
||
MemphisNet
|
||
901-353-4563
|
||
300/1200/2400
|
||
|
||
Hello again.....
|
||
|
||
I bet your getting tired of seeing all these articles from me
|
||
now, aren't you? Well guess what you got more coming your way.
|
||
|
||
In this weeks installment I would like to share a few things
|
||
with you that I have noticed since I wrote the FidoUtil article in
|
||
Fnews 336.
|
||
|
||
First and foremost, I (and the authors of FidoUtil) have had a
|
||
pretty good response from that one, more so then the Mailcost review.
|
||
The authors do request from both you and I that ALL BUG reports for
|
||
FidoUtil be sent to 151/3 not 151/2 as I originally told you. For
|
||
this I apologize.
|
||
|
||
Now on to better things. The version I reviewed for Fnews was
|
||
1.10 and I have since (actually within hours of sending the article
|
||
in) acquired version 1.20 of this tremendous program. In this version
|
||
the authors have ADDED the following utilities:
|
||
|
||
DTR TASK LOG SPACE DATEFILE & JULIAN
|
||
NODEDATA
|
||
|
||
They have also added an environment setting to it so you may
|
||
configure FidoUtil to boot up the way you want it. They have also
|
||
UPDATED the following utilities from version 1.10:
|
||
|
||
LASTUSER RICOCHET USERLIST TWIX SCHED
|
||
|
||
Now you may ask, just what did they do to update these
|
||
utilities, well I'll tell ya ! THEY LISTENED to a user (ME) and made
|
||
almost all the changes I requested in the original article, plus some
|
||
I hadn't even thought about. While they were at it they added the
|
||
utilities shown above. I will attempt to give you a brief rundown of
|
||
what the NEW stuff does;
|
||
|
||
DTR: This little utility will allow you to control the modems
|
||
DTR from DOS. You may either turn DTR on (ie enable the modem) or OFF
|
||
(ie disable the modem).
|
||
|
||
TASK: This one is adds the ability to have a BAT file ask for
|
||
user input and act on this input OR LACK OF INPUT. This will give you
|
||
the ability to have a bat file branch on user input or continue or
|
||
halt if no input. It is extremely flexible in use and configuration
|
||
depending on the BAT file itself.
|
||
|
||
LOG: Keeps a separate LOG file for use with either OUTSIDE or
|
||
any other program once outside FIDO environment. You specify what
|
||
goes into the log file as far as text goes. It will add the date
|
||
stamp and time stamp to what you specify.
|
||
Fidonews Page 18 13 Oct 1986
|
||
|
||
|
||
SPACE: This will do one of two things...either show you how much
|
||
space is left in the default dir of the default drive in 100k blocks
|
||
or if you add a number after the command on the command line it will
|
||
return an errorlevel based on how much space is left OVER the amount
|
||
specified. If no amount is specified it will return an errorlevel
|
||
based on the amount in 100k blocks (ie 7.2 meg would return an
|
||
errorlevel of 72, since there are 72 100k blocks available on the
|
||
drive)
|
||
|
||
DATEFILE & JULIAN: These two will rename any file based either
|
||
on the JULIAN date or the SYSTEM date. If you use system date then
|
||
you must add a new extension for the filename. If you use the JULIAN
|
||
then you need to specify a new filename.
|
||
|
||
NODEDATA: This is the best of the additions. If you want to know
|
||
the information on an entry in the NODELIST.BBS file then you simply
|
||
type in the net/node number and it will present you with the
|
||
information on that entry in the nodelist. A HANDY ITEM !!!
|
||
|
||
ENVIRONMENT SETTINGS: In this version of FidoUtil the authors
|
||
have added the ability to customize the environment to your liking.
|
||
While this is GREAT I can't go into detail here since there is simply
|
||
to much info to present here.
|
||
|
||
I would recommend you get this utility since it will make life
|
||
vastly easier for any Fido sysop around.
|
||
|
||
As a note to other shareware authors out there who may be
|
||
reading this. The authors MARSHALL PRESNELL & BEN MANN have BOTH been
|
||
in voice contact with me since I wrote the original article. This is
|
||
a FIRST for me since I started writing articles along these lines. I
|
||
have written articles on a few other utilities and in all fairness I
|
||
must say that although some of them contacted me (via fidomail) NONE
|
||
except BEN and MARSHALL offered to discuss in detail on VOICE
|
||
connection their programs. Both of these authors have given me their
|
||
voice numbers as they are genuinely interested in producing a QUALITY
|
||
program. They have listened to my suggestions as well as my
|
||
complaints. They have made corrections where needed and where
|
||
corrections were not easily possible they have stated they will make
|
||
the needed additions or corrections or suggestions as soon as
|
||
possible. This is a first !!!!!! Every other author that even
|
||
bothered to contact me has simply said they intend to keep it the way
|
||
it is (not in so many words but that was the general idea from the
|
||
message sent to me). MARSHALL has also stated that he will be
|
||
releasing soon as a COMMERCIAL PROGRAM ONLY an AUTOMATIC SYSOP ! I
|
||
have seen what this program can do and if you have gotten a version
|
||
of FidoUtil version 1.1 from 151/2 then you too have seen just a
|
||
minute sampling of its capabilities. I am testing a DEMO version of
|
||
this little GEM even as I type. I will let you know what I think as
|
||
soon as I have given it a fair trial.
|
||
|
||
To other shareware authors.....KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK ! If I have
|
||
written about your "baby" and given it a terrible review then please
|
||
contact me with an update...who knows maybe I will like it, BUT in
|
||
ANY EVENT I will make it available for downloading here in the exact
|
||
same state I receive it (barring transmission errors or bad file
|
||
Fidonews Page 19 13 Oct 1986
|
||
|
||
|
||
transfers). If you would like to add you "baby" to the growing list
|
||
of FIDO support software available here, simply let me know and we
|
||
can work out a means for me to get it from you.
|
||
|
||
Well I guess I have rambled on long enough for this week..
|
||
|
||
Stay tuned to this station next week same time (except on the
|
||
south coast where it will be later) for more on the utilities as I
|
||
find them.
|
||
|
||
Jerry Hindle
|
||
123/6 123/0
|
||
MemphisNet
|
||
901-353-4563
|
||
300/1200/2400
|
||
24hrs daily
|
||
|
||
|
||
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
|
||
Fidonews Page 20 13 Oct 1986
|
||
|
||
|
||
=================================================================
|
||
WANTED
|
||
=================================================================
|
||
|
||
|
||
Kent Leonard
|
||
Boulder Fido 104/77
|
||
|
||
Wanted: information and a source for a microstrip design
|
||
program called "Touchstone". Rumored to be for IBM PCs and
|
||
VAX/VMS, either would be acceptable. Unknown if Shareware or
|
||
commercial. Please address Sysop, Fido 104/77.
|
||
|
||
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
|
||
Fidonews Page 21 13 Oct 1986
|
||
|
||
|
||
=================================================================
|
||
FOR SALE
|
||
=================================================================
|
||
|
||
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 66 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 166/1
|
||
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...
|
||
|
||
The following format choices are available:
|
||
|
||
- IBM PC-DOS Backup utility
|
||
- Zenith MS-DOS 2.11 Backup Utility
|
||
- DSBackup
|
||
- Fastback
|
||
- ACS INTRCPT 720k format (Requires a 1.2m floppy
|
||
drive and PC-DOS 3.2)
|
||
- 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.
|
||
|
||
-----------------------------------------------------------------
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||
|
||
Fidonews Page 22 13 Oct 1986
|
||
|
||
|
||
=================================================================
|
||
NOTICES
|
||
=================================================================
|
||
|
||
The Interrupt Stack
|
||
|
||
|
||
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.
|
||
|
||
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|
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|
||
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