1284 lines
61 KiB
Plaintext
1284 lines
61 KiB
Plaintext
Volume 3, Number 47 8 December 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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Table of Contents
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1. EDITORIAL
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Alternate Networks
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2. ARTICLES
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The Australian FidoNet Association
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An Alternate Proposal for IFNA Bylaws
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Automatically Compile the Nodelist
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Doug's Column
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3. COLUMNS
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Notes from the distributor
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Nautical View Part 4: A Review of GEOS
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The World of Computing: Ram-Resident programs
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4. FOR SALE
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The Structured Programming Language for PC/MS DOS Dennis Baer
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5. NOTICES
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The Interrupt Stack
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Net/Node # for WORD.DBF Project
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Fidonews Page 2 8 Dec 1986
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=================================================================
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EDITORIAL
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=================================================================
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Alternate Networks
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Did you know that we are not alone? FidoNet isn't the only
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amateur mail network in the world anymore. There's a group
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called RamNet that's using a whole different approach to this
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sort of thing. But we needn't go far afield to find other
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amateur mail networks.
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There's CollieNet, of course. That's the net the Collie crowd
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has set up. Last I'd heard, they were trying to make their
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software compatible with FidoNet so that they could exchange mail
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on FidoNet. Great! The more the merrier. Tom Jennings himself
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has stated publicly several times over the last couple of years
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that he wants other vendors to get out there. That's a large
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part of why he helped the FidoNet Technical Standards Committee
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so much. Wynn Wagner grabbed the technical specs and ran with
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them, and now has his Opus program in gamma test and very near
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general release. TBBS and RBBS are also joining our ranks as
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fully FidoNet compatible systems.
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But all of that, as good as it is to hear, is still beside the
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point. Opus, TBBS, and RBBS are becoming compatible with
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FidoNet, and many sysops are eagerly awaiting the new software so
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that they can participate in FidoNet itself. But there's also
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another group forming a FidoNet compatible network competing with
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FidoNet. They call it "TechNet", which may be a better term in
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general than "FidoNet" is. After all, we aren't just Fidos
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anymore.
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This, too, is a healthy development. Nothing grows well that
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grows in a vacuum. Healthy competition is good for all
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concerned. And there is always the chance that if FidoNet takes
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a wrong turn somewhere, TechNet will turn out to have done it
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right.
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For the real concerns here are ones of organization and control.
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FidoNet has grown quite large, and quite a bureaucracy has grown
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up to control it. Maybe we've done it wrong. How can we know?
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We'll know for sure later, if it all falls apart. But that's a
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bit too late. It's good to know that there's an alternative
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waiting in the wings.
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-----------------------------------------------------------------
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Fidonews Page 3 8 Dec 1986
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=================================================================
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ARTICLES
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=================================================================
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Bill Bolton
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155/219
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The Australian FidoNet Association
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----------------------------------
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The flow of information about IFNA to Australia has been poor.
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We have been unable to plug into the IFNA conference despite
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offers to pickup the conference from US boards and have had to
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live what information we could gleam from occasional captures
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of the conference from whenever I could log onto Ken Kaplan's
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Fido.
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The arrival of Fido News 344 which was totally devoted to IFNA
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matters was awaited with great interest. We had become a little
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alarmed at what we had seen in our snippets from the IFNA
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conference and the contents of Fido News 344 only served to
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increase that alarm. It seemed quite clear to a number of
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sysops in Net 155 that the "I" in IFNA was a misnomer and the
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only way to effectively represent the interests of Australian
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Fido sysops and users would be to form an Australian FidoNet
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Association.
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From a purely local point of view we needed to associate to
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be able to successfully lobby various arms of the Australian
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Government who have recently taken an interest in Bulletin Board
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systems. There is also a need to liaise with our local PTT,
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Telecom Australia, on various technical aspect of Fido net
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operation. So the AFNA will serve both a domestic purpose and
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an international purpose for Australian Fido sysops and users
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Fido is now spreading quickly Australia, from a small start in
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Melbourne during 1985, with 19 active public systems on Nodelist
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325 (plus one in Papua New Guinea). There are approximately 20
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new Fido systems due to join the network in Australia in the
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next few months. The geographical spread is also increasing
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with a new network in Western Australia about to come on line.
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Papua New Guinea is also adding new systems and should soon have
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its own net and FidoNet Association.
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It is AFNAs aim to work closely and co-operatively with other
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FidoNet Associations to encourage the formation of an
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International FidoNet Association made up of independent
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national associations. AFNA will also maintain and enhance
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FidoNet network standards in this part of the world.
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A motion to form the Australian Fido-Net Association was passed
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unanimously at the Network 155 sysop's meeting on November 23,
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1986. A motion to adopt the following interim constitution was
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passed unanimously at the same meeting.
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The following sysops were elected unopposed to form the First
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Fidonews Page 4 8 Dec 1986
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Committee of the Australian Fido-Net Association.
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John Blackett-Smith 155/301 [601/301]
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Trev Roydhouse 155/213 [600/303]
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Mike Hurst-Meyers 155/218 [600/402]
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Brian Gatenby 155/201 [600/101]
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Bill Bolton 155/219 [600/106]
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Special thanks to Trev Roydhouse and Mike Hurst-Meyers for their
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efforts in drafting this interim constitution.
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THE INTERIM CONSTITUTION OF THE AUSTRALIAN FIDONET ASSOCIATION
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1. Name: The Association shall be known as the Australian
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FidoNet Association.
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2. Purpose: The Association shall represent the interests of
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the members.
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3. Members: The Sysop Members of the Association shall be
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those Fido Sysops resident in Australia who are
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operational in the Australian FidoNet network
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and have registered with the Association.
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Associate members of the Association are those
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persons who intend to be Fido Sysops, but are
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not operational within the FidoNet network. On
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becoming operational, they shall be
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automatically be registered as Sysop Members.
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4. Voting: Only Sysop Members have the right to vote on
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matters within the Association. Associate
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members may attend meetings but do not have a
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right to vote.
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5. Fees: All classes of membership of the Association
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shall pay a joining fee of One Dollar. The
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joining fee to be collected by the First
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Committee when and if it deems it necessary.
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The First Committee to be empowered to deal with
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any joining fees in whatever manner it sees fit.
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6. Liability: The liability of a member of the Association to
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contribute towards the payment of the debts and
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liabilities of the Association is limited to the
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amount, if any, unpaid by the member in accordance
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with Rule 5.
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7. Prime Meeting:
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There shall be a Prime meeting to be held not later
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than 31 January 1987 to determine the Constitution
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for the Association. All members must receive 21 days
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notice by mail detailing the time, place, agenda and
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draft Constitution. Members shall be deemed to have
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received such notice by the posting for transmission
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Fidonews Page 5 8 Dec 1986
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by Australia Post of a notice in writing addressed to
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the members last notified postal address. Such
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posting to occur not less than 21 days before the
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meeting date.
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8. Committee: The business of the Association shall be
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conducted by the First Committee until the
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conclusion of Elections at the Prime Meeting.
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The First Committee shall comprise of five
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members. In the event of a committee member
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retiring, that member shall nominate a
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replacement. If the replacement is not nominated
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within a reasonable time, the First Committee
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shall determine how the vacancy is to be filled.
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9. Elections: An election of office bearers of the Association
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shall be held at the Prime meeting in accordance
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with the terms of the draft Constitution when
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that Constitution has been adopted by a three
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quarters majority of Sysop Members voting in
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person or by proxy.
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10. Quorums: Any three members of the First Committee shall
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constitute a quorum of that Committee. The
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members of the First Committee shall elect a
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chairman from among their number.
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11. Definitions:
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"Operational" To have installed a Fido
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Bulletin Board Service in
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accordance with the FidoNet
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document POLICY3.DOC, and have
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requested and been assigned a
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Node number in accordance with
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that document.
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12. Election of the First Committee:
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The members of the First Committee shall be
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elected from amongst the Sysop Members of the
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Association who are included on the FidoNet
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Nodelist for day 325 of 1986 and are present in
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person. That election shall take place on the
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adoption of this Constitution by a simple
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majority of those Sysop Members present in
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person.
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13. Proxy Vote:
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A proxy vote shall be in writing and signed by
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the person concerned, with or without voting
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directions, and shall be tendered at the
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commencement of a meeting.
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-----------------------------------------------------------------
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Fidonews Page 6 8 Dec 1986
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NOTE: These proposed bylaws are NOT a joke! They are presented
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in all seriousness as an alternative to the previously proposed
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IFNA bylaws.
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PROPOSED BYLAWS
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for the
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INTERGALACTIC FIDONET ALLIANCE
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This document contains the proposed bylaws of an organization to
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be known as the Intergalactic FidoNet Alliance, herein referred
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to as IFNA.
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1. IFNA shall exist solely to serve the Knights of IFNA, and
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such others as the Knights shall desire served.
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2. The following orders of Knights are established:
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A. The Order of the Golden Dawn. To be eligible, an
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applicant must be the system operator in good standing of
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a PUBLIC ACCESS node, and must have paid any tithes
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required. A Knight of the Order of the Golden Dawn is
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entitled to one vote.
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B. The Order of Mercantile Grammarie. Any entity which
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profits by the existence or operation of the Intergalactic
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FidoNet Alliance shall be eligible to join the Order of
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Mercantile Grammarie by paying the required tithes. If
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said entity would otherwise be eligible for the Order of
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the Golden Dawn, then it shall be entitled to one vote.
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C. The Order of the Rose and Cross. The Peers of the Realm
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may award membership in the Order of the Rose and Cross to
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any being which they feel worthy. Knights of the Order of
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the Rose and Cross are exempt from paying tithes, but are
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not permitted to vote.
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D. The Order of the Garter. Any being wishing to be a
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Knight, but not qualifying for any other order, may join
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the ranks of the Order of the Garter by submitting an
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appropriate contribution to the Keeper of the Exchequer.
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A Knight of the Order of the Garter is not entitled to
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vote.
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3. Applications for knighthood shall be submitted to the Mundane
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Interface. In the case of any applicant whose character,
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reputation or conduct are such that knighting them may be
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questionable, the Mundane Interface shall refer the
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application to the Peers of the Realm. In all other cases,
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the Mundane Interface shall have the power to knight the
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applicant.
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4. Tithes shall be set by the Peers of the Realm, and be payable
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in advance. For members outside the United States territorial
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zone of the planet Earth, the Peers of the Realm shall assess
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Fidonews Page 7 8 Dec 1986
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such additional costs as may be required.
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5. The Mundane Interface shall notify all Knights of any tithes
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required to keep their peerage not less than thirty days
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prior to the date the tithes are required. Any Knight who
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submits his tithe within thirty days of the deadline shall
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not be regarded as having lapsed.
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6. No entity shall be a Peer of the Realm or hold any other
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position within the Intergalactic FidoNet Alliance unless
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they qualify under all applicable statutes.
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7. The Peers of the Realm shall be five in number, and shall be
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elected annually by the Knights. Each Knight may cast one
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vote, consisting of five choices for Peers of the Realm.
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8. The Peers of the Realm shall be elected by ballot cast at a
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time selected by the previous Peers of the Realm, save that
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they may not wait longer than eighteen months between
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ballots.
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9. The Mundane Interface shall notify the Knights of an
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impending ballot not less than three months before the ballot
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is scheduled to take place. The Mundane Interface shall also
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take nominations for Peers of the Realm up to one month
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before the ballot. Any Knight may be nominated for Peer of
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the Realm by submitting a petition endorsed by ten other
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Knights.
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10. The Mundane Interface shall close nominations and post the
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list of candidates one month before the scheduled ballot. If
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less than six Knights are nominated for Peer of the Realm,
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then the Mundane Interface shall consider them elected
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without a formal ballot.
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11. The Mundane Interface shall arrange for the counting of all
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votes received, and shall post the result. Votes received by
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the Mundane Interface after the close of balloting shall not
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be counted.
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12. At the first meeting of the Peers of the Realm each year they
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shall elect one of their number to be the Royal Figurehead,
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who will preside over all meetings of the Peers of the Realm.
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They shall also appoint the following officers:
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A. The Lord Chancellor
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B. The Chief Executioner
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C. The Grand Wizard
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D. The Mundane Interface
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E. The Keeper of the Excequer
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13. The Peers of the Realm shall meet when and as they please,
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and shall conduct their business as they see fit.
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14. A majority of the Peers of the Realm or of any Squad shall
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constitute a quorum at any meeting.
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Fidonews Page 8 8 Dec 1986
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15. Questions of order and procedure not otherwise determined by
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these By-Laws or by the parties involved shall be settled by
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private duel, or by Trial by Combat.
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16. The Lord Chancellor shall, subject to instruction from the
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Peers of the Realm and with the assistance of the Chief
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Executioner, represent IFNA in its relationships with the
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public and the various governments, governmental agencies and
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officials with which IFNA may be concerned and shall be the
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official spokesperson of IFNA in regard to all matters of
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IFNA policy.
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17. In the absence or disability of the Lord Chancellor, the
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Chief Executioner shall assume the duties of the Lord
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Chancellor.
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18. The Mundane Interface shall:
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A. Record the proceedings of all meetings of the Peers of the
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Realm and of the Royal Kibitzers, and publish such minutes
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in FidoNews.
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B. Be responsible for the maintenance of the corporate status
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of IFNA and the filing of all reports and certificates
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which may be required of IFNA under the corporation laws
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of the State of Missouri.
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C. Maintain the corporate membership and voting records of
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IFNA.
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D. Perform other duties as described in applicable By-Laws,
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of which there are plenty to keep any mortal occupied.
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||
E. To the extent that may from time to time be required by
|
||
law, it shall act as agent for the service of process, but
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||
only while present in the State of Missouri. It is not
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||
authorized to accept service of process elsewhere.
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19. The Keeper of the Exchequer shall:
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A. Be the recipient of all monies of IFNA and shall deposit
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||
the same in the name of IFNA in a depository of his own
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choosing.
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B. Sign checks drawn by the Lord Chancellor in payment of
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||
obligations known by him to be proper and authorized.
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||
C. Submit a report to the annual meeting of the Peers of the
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Realm.
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||
D. Post an annual finance report in FidoNews.
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||
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20. The Grand Wizard shall:
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A. Be responsible for maintenance of the master NODELIST, and
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||
the distribution of the weekly update file thereof.
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||
B. Ensure the smooth operation of the IFNA NETWORK as
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||
prescribed by the Peers of the Realm.
|
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C. Serve as a member of the Designing Loft.
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||
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21. Perpetual Squads
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A. The following perpetual squads are established:
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1. Royal Kibitzers
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2. Designing Loft
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3. Rumor Mongers
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||
Fidonews Page 9 8 Dec 1986
|
||
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||
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4. Graft and Vice
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|
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B. Appointments of all perpetual squads shall be made by the
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Peers of the Realm, and may be rescinded by the Peers at
|
||
any time. The Royal Figurehead shall designate the Squad
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Leader of each perpetual squad. Squads may originate
|
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studies in their fields and may generate recommendations
|
||
to the Peers of the Realm on their own initiative.
|
||
|
||
C. The Graft and Vice Squad performs studies and makes
|
||
recommendations to the Peers of the Realm, and acts as
|
||
advisor to the Lord Chancellor, with regard to services
|
||
provided to individual Knights, other than publications
|
||
and including, but not limited to the ANNUAL MEETING.
|
||
|
||
D. The Rumor Mongers perform studies and make recommendations
|
||
to the Peers of the Realm, and act as advisors to the Lord
|
||
Chancellor, with regard to IFNA's publications, including
|
||
FidoNews.
|
||
|
||
E. The Designing Loft shall be responsible for:
|
||
1. Providing a rigorous definition of FidoNet and all
|
||
FidoNet protocols sufficient to implement a compatible
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||
electronic mail system.
|
||
2. Producing and enhancing standards for:
|
||
a) Data Transmitted
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||
b) Connection
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c) Protocols
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d) Nodelist
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e) Routing
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||
F. The Royal Kibitzers shall be responsible for:
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||
1. Monitoring progress of the Peers actions and
|
||
recommendations in order to see that they are
|
||
expeditiously accomplished.
|
||
2. Monitoring expenditures for legal assistance.
|
||
3. Providing assistance to the staff and general counsel
|
||
in connection with recommendations by the Peers of the
|
||
Realm for petitions to the Federal Communications
|
||
Commission and other governmental agencies.
|
||
4. Evaluating for the Peers of the Realm proposed rules
|
||
and regulatory changes.
|
||
|
||
22. The Peers of the Realm, and other officers of IFNA, may
|
||
appoint additional squads to perform additional tasks on
|
||
their own initiative as the work demands and as willing
|
||
Knights are located.
|
||
|
||
23. There shall be an official publication maintained by IFNA, in
|
||
the form of a weekly journal, the name of which shall be
|
||
FidoNews. A copy of this journal shall be available each week
|
||
to every Knight in good standing. The general management of
|
||
this journal shall be in the hands of the Lord Chancellor.
|
||
The policy of the journal shall be determined by the Peers of
|
||
the Realm.
|
||
|
||
Fidonews Page 10 8 Dec 1986
|
||
|
||
|
||
24. These bylaws may be amended by a majority of the Knights who
|
||
are empowered to weild a vote.
|
||
|
||
25. Without changing their import, the Mundane Interface may from
|
||
time to time, on notice to the Peers of the Realm, renumber
|
||
these By-Laws so as to serve the purpose of ready reference.
|
||
References in these By-Laws to Articles shall be corrected,
|
||
when necessary, by the Mundane Interface to conform to the
|
||
renumbered Articles.
|
||
|
||
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
|
||
Fidonews Page 11 8 Dec 1986
|
||
|
||
|
||
Roger Smith, Jr.
|
||
RSBBS - Fido 18/14
|
||
904-682-3232
|
||
300/1200/2400, 24 hours
|
||
|
||
|
||
Automatically Compiling the Fido Nodelist
|
||
|
||
I've got my Fido trained to do many things without my intervention
|
||
(he even fetches the paper). But I had a problem getting Fido to
|
||
compile the Nodelist then exit back to my batch file after receiving
|
||
the Nodediff file each week.
|
||
|
||
After trying many complex methods (even patching Fido) that all
|
||
failed to work the way I wished, I discovered that the solution is
|
||
incredibly simple. I just created a text file (CONTROLC.TXT)
|
||
containing a control-C (^C), then I executed Fido with the following
|
||
command:
|
||
FIDO_IBM <CONTROLC.TXT
|
||
|
||
Fido compiles the Nodelist, then exits to DOS.
|
||
|
||
You can create CONTROLC.TXT using the following Basic program:
|
||
|
||
10 OPEN "O",1,"CONTROLC.TXT"
|
||
20 PRINT #1, STRING$(10,3)
|
||
30 CLOSE
|
||
40 END
|
||
|
||
This program creates a text file containing 10 control-C's in the
|
||
current directory.
|
||
|
||
Make sure CONTROLC.TXT is in the current directory when you execute
|
||
Fido_IBM and Fido will compile the Nodelist if necessary then will
|
||
exit back to DOS or a batch file.
|
||
|
||
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
|
||
Fidonews Page 12 8 Dec 1986
|
||
|
||
|
||
Doug Mohney
|
||
Fido 109/74 "The Bear's Den"
|
||
|
||
Doug's Column
|
||
|
||
WHY I LIKE ATARI: Sig Hartmann called me up on Sunday and
|
||
wanted to know how Computerfest went. Since I'm an u-grad,
|
||
and have no spending power at all, why should Sig care about
|
||
a small user group like mine? He's of the opinion that U. of
|
||
MD is important and he would like my advice. Plus any contacts
|
||
I can give him in high-tech land.
|
||
|
||
The 520ST is the first under-$500 machine which has enough
|
||
ports & firepower to be worth the hassle to buy. The 1040 gives
|
||
you a meg of RAM for under $1,000 (street price with mono
|
||
monitor right now is $800). And the ST family is being backed
|
||
by some good public domain software; Atari has put a decent
|
||
word processor into the public domain.
|
||
|
||
WHY I AM MAD AT ATARI: Built-in VT-52 emulation in the ST
|
||
family. Like putting a Volkswagon Beetle in a Ferrari parking
|
||
lot. VT-100 would be the min, and VT-220 desirable. Someone
|
||
wasn't thinking very clearl.
|
||
|
||
Neil Harris may be more arrogant than the Apple sales
|
||
reps at U. of MD. We wanted to get a
|
||
single speaker at Computerfest. Uno. After making at least
|
||
3 phone calls on separate occasions, he FINALLY calls me back
|
||
with the big brush-off.
|
||
|
||
"You need to have at least 25-30 Atari-related vendors
|
||
there, 12,000 square feet of exhibit space, 3,000-5,000
|
||
guaranteed attendence and then we'll send a squad of 7
|
||
people with lots of hardware to demo, and products to blab
|
||
about". Uh huh. "We can't support small events all the time,
|
||
because if we did we'd lose money and never get anything done."
|
||
|
||
I've gotta have a f#$#ing Comdex/Maryland before Atari
|
||
will send ANYONE out. But wait, there's more....
|
||
|
||
"Now, I'll have our user group representative, Cathy
|
||
Austin, call you up and she'll make arrangements to send
|
||
out lots of trinkets". She never did. Even after I called back.
|
||
Thanks Neil.
|
||
|
||
APPLE ISN'T MUCH BETTER: PCA has been at Uni. of MD for
|
||
nearly 3 years. We've have Mac & Apple // SIGs for over a year.
|
||
So just what motivates the local Apple sales reps to try and
|
||
create their own user groups at College Park? Despite the fact
|
||
they know we exist (they demo'ed products at a meeting!), they
|
||
decided we weren't good enough and started making noise about
|
||
starting their own user group. Now they're just ignoring us.
|
||
|
||
GOOD PD SOFTWARE: AS-EASY-AS is a shareware clone which
|
||
looks/acts like the Lotus 1A spreadsheet (ONLY the spreadsheet,
|
||
however; you don't get DATA functions). The distribution copy
|
||
Fidonews Page 13 8 Dec 1986
|
||
|
||
|
||
I have has lots of advanced features (printing graphics, @ATAN2
|
||
function, Macros, use of Scroll key) which don't work as per
|
||
1-2-3, but I suspect if I send in $30 and register my product,
|
||
all those "bugs" will disappear.
|
||
|
||
Cavat: I haven't done a lot of heavy work with it yet, and
|
||
will share my experience as it grows. However, I am
|
||
*very* excited because this seems like the first truly useful
|
||
PD/shareware spreadsheet program; it dances rings around
|
||
PC-Calc. Interested? Write to: TRIUS, Inc., 15 Atkinson Str.,
|
||
Lynn, Mass. 01905.
|
||
|
||
NICE SOFTWARE: Was at a "junk fair" at the old Sheridon
|
||
a week ago, when a company from Harrisburg, PA caught my eye
|
||
(I wuz born in Harrisburg, mind you). Genesis Data Systems
|
||
was showing off this screen design program called "Screen
|
||
Master", creating objects, moving objects around, animating
|
||
them, and capturing screens from other programs. "Big woopie",
|
||
I muttered to myself, "I can do dat with the Mac or with
|
||
Dan Bricklin's Demo Program".
|
||
|
||
But then the salesman/demoer said "And you can call these
|
||
routines from a Quick BASIC compiler or Turbo Pascal
|
||
program". THAT got my attention. You can call up screens, save
|
||
them, move them or parts of 'em without writing lines and lines
|
||
of code. Nifty. Call 'em at (717) 652-1200 for literature.
|
||
|
||
A REASONABLE LAPTOP?: Datavue Corp. to ship a $995 PC
|
||
compatible lap-top in January. Nine pounds, 1 3 1/2" floppy,
|
||
384K RAM, and a "highly readable" (according to PC Week)
|
||
super-twist LCD. To expand to 640K of RAM, insert $99 memory
|
||
card. Standard serial, parallel, 8 hour battery pack, and
|
||
external video. Runs at either 4.77 or 9.54Hz clock.
|
||
|
||
I confess. I hope Datavue sends me one in the mail to
|
||
review. You can also get it without an LCD screen for $750.
|
||
Maybe if I get enough cash, I'll buy one; it does sound
|
||
a LOT more desirable the IBM PC Convertable.
|
||
|
||
DISCLAIMER: I make no official blessing or endorsement of
|
||
the aforementioned products, nor am I an employee, stockholder,
|
||
friend, or second cousin to the president of
|
||
any of the mentioned companies. Simply giving my opinions
|
||
and gut instincts.
|
||
|
||
IBM vs AT&T: Round 1 winner: IBM. Better marketing and
|
||
friendly salespeople. Plus the advantage of being a trend-
|
||
setter. Comparative Advantage: AT&T. They make some great
|
||
hardware; the TARGA video boards, for one thing.
|
||
|
||
PROMISES, PROMISES: Both Apple and IBM are going to
|
||
release hot hardware over the next 12 months, Apple with
|
||
the Open Mac, Mac-Workstation and interactive video and
|
||
IBM to show a "clone killer", faster/cheaper AT machine, and
|
||
a '386 machine which will have hi-res (1024 x 980) graphics,
|
||
hellfire speed, and plug-in connectivity to mainframes.
|
||
Fidonews Page 14 8 Dec 1986
|
||
|
||
|
||
I better make sure my subscription to BYTE is paid up.
|
||
|
||
DOPY IDEA IF I HAVEN'T SAID IT ALREADY: '386 accelerator
|
||
boards. $2,000 for a board which may or may not increase
|
||
your calculation speed. And is stuck with an I/O bottleneck
|
||
by going through the AT 16-bit slots. Save your money and
|
||
get a '386 AT clone instead.
|
||
|
||
OK, YOUR TURN: If you want to reach me, send me
|
||
FidoMail to Doug Mohney at 109/74. Or call me at
|
||
(301) 350-1437. Good gossip or demo copies of anything
|
||
welcome. Money not refused (although if I get real
|
||
successful, I may have to give a cut to my SYSOP at
|
||
109/74).
|
||
|
||
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
|
||
Fidonews Page 15 8 Dec 1986
|
||
|
||
|
||
=================================================================
|
||
COLUMNS
|
||
=================================================================
|
||
|
||
|
||
Jerry Hindle
|
||
123/6 123/0
|
||
MemphisNet
|
||
2400 baud MAX
|
||
901-353-4563
|
||
|
||
I would like to request that anyone sending messages to me
|
||
requesting that I send them particular files via fidomail, read the
|
||
following.
|
||
|
||
To the requestors:
|
||
|
||
I would very much like to be able to personally respond to each
|
||
and every one of the file requests that I receive daily, however due
|
||
in part to my sever lack of free funds to give to MA BELL, I must in
|
||
all fairness request that you arrange to either POLL my system (upon
|
||
receipt of a confirming file from myself to you) for any files you
|
||
may want. You may also call anytime of the day or night (except
|
||
during netmail time) and simply download whatever you may find. I do
|
||
not at the present time have SEAdog (although if someone were to
|
||
donate it to me for the system I would graciously ACCEPT !) and thus
|
||
am not able to respond to file requests via SEAdog.
|
||
|
||
Also in order for me to be able to properly respond to your
|
||
requests I would appreciate it if you would address any REQUESTS to
|
||
the "DISTRIBUTOR". This will cause my system to scan the message and
|
||
construct a return message to you telling you how to POLL me for the
|
||
files you requested. If you are sending a file to me for distribution
|
||
or inclusion in the distribution area please address the message to
|
||
the "FILE HANDLER". This will in turn trigger the process whereby
|
||
your submission will be added to the list automatically by the
|
||
system. By your co-operation I hope to be able to make the response
|
||
time drop from 2 or 3 days to SAME DAY response !!!!! Yes you will
|
||
receive a response the same day you send the message! Amazing but
|
||
true. Thus if you are requesting a file the actual time from sending
|
||
the request to being able to poll for the file will be 24 hours.
|
||
|
||
At the present time I have over 140 files in the distribution
|
||
area covering all facets of Fido operations. These files have taken
|
||
a great deal of time and money to amass and sort into some sort of
|
||
order. I would like to thank everyone who has sent me files for the
|
||
distribution area. I would also like to thank all of those who have
|
||
called requesting files. I would appreciate it if you would help me
|
||
to keep the cost of running this system for you somewhere below the
|
||
NATIONAL DEBT. I think that by following this simple outline of
|
||
operation, everyone should be a lot happier.
|
||
|
||
Please remember to send all file requests to the "DISTRIBUTOR"
|
||
and all files you send to me please address to the "FILE HANDLER". I
|
||
also have a file in area #1 of the "station" called ALLFILES.*(ARC or
|
||
TXT). This is a complete list of every file on my system showing d/l
|
||
Fidonews Page 16 8 Dec 1986
|
||
|
||
|
||
times and descriptions. This file in ARC format alone is over 34k and
|
||
un-arced is over 64k should you decide to d/l it, it will greatly
|
||
help you to decide which files you should get.
|
||
|
||
If you request that I send you the files on disk then please
|
||
send me AT LEAST a box of disks to copy the files onto (in FASTBACK
|
||
format alone it takes 10 disks) along with a self-addressed STAMPED
|
||
carton to mail them back in (BE SURE TO HAVE ENOUGH POSTAGE ON THE
|
||
CARTON). I will copy the distribution area in it entirety over to
|
||
your disks and send them RIGHT BACK. At present I am able to copy
|
||
files over in the following formats ONLY:
|
||
|
||
a) FASTBACK 360k DSDD
|
||
b) DOS BACKUP utility again 360k DSDD
|
||
c) PLAIN FILES in ARC format (requires at least 15 disks at
|
||
present.
|
||
|
||
There is NO CHARGE for copying the files. Send disks and etc to:
|
||
Jerry Hindle
|
||
P.O.Box 16223
|
||
Memphis, TN 38186-0223
|
||
|
||
Jerry Hindle
|
||
123/6 123/0
|
||
MemphisNet
|
||
2400 baud MAX
|
||
901-353-4563
|
||
|
||
|
||
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
|
||
Fidonews Page 17 8 Dec 1986
|
||
|
||
|
||
Joe Lindstrom
|
||
TC-Link Fido (134/7)
|
||
Calgary, AB
|
||
|
||
+-------------------+
|
||
! The Nautical View !
|
||
+-------------------+
|
||
|
||
Part 4: Review of GEOS (By Berkeley Softworks)
|
||
|
||
Welcome back to "The Nautical View", boys and girls! Well!
|
||
I've been getting quite the favorable response, at least here in
|
||
Calgary, to my articles in this FINE PUBLICATION (it never hurts
|
||
to get in good with the publishers). Despite a complete lack of
|
||
writing style induced by ingesting large quantities of
|
||
uncontrolled substances (namely 7-11 Super Big Gulps), I managed
|
||
to attract some attention. Unfortunately, I still haven't
|
||
attracted ANY response to my request for questions, suggestions,
|
||
etc. Does this mean you folks all know everything and therefore
|
||
this column isn't needed? Nah.... hell, I don't profess to know
|
||
everything, but I take care to surround myself with those that
|
||
do. Anyways, on to the topic at hand: GEOS!
|
||
|
||
What is GEOS? Surely you've heard of GEOS by now! GEOS is
|
||
the "Graphic Environment Operating System", currently being
|
||
bundled with the new 64C computer (redesigned keyboard, same old
|
||
64). GEOS gives your worn out 64 new life by giving it something
|
||
machines like the MAC, Amiga, and Atari ST have had all their
|
||
lives: a graphics-oriented OS. The OS is booted from disk, but
|
||
"switches out" the resident OS and uses the memory space for
|
||
itself. It's all here folks: pop up windows, on-screen mouse,
|
||
etc. It is of course different in many ways to the operating
|
||
systems of the MAC and Amiga, but the similarities are striking.
|
||
|
||
To boot a program under GEOS, simply move the on-screen arrow
|
||
onto the "icon" of the file in question. Press the button twice,
|
||
and up she boots! Talk about easy! Other operations, such as
|
||
copying files (or whole disks), selecting printers and input
|
||
devices (currently only joystick is supported: a mouse driver
|
||
will be supplied later), setting the time, or setting other
|
||
system preferences are similarly easy. In fact, the hardest part
|
||
about running GEOS is typing the LOAD"*",8,1 to boot the system
|
||
up. Not too shabby...
|
||
|
||
What we have so far is an 8-bit computer with 1MHz chip
|
||
running a sophisticated graphics-oriented system. Wow. But
|
||
wait: that's not all. Did I mention that all (ALL, ALL, repeat
|
||
ALL) disk operations are intensely speeded up? No, guess I
|
||
didn't. Your 1541 need no longer be the "lumbering hippo" it
|
||
once was, and now you don't even need an Epyx Fastload Cartridge
|
||
to do it! Incidentally, the FastLoad cartridge IS compatible
|
||
with GEOS. Anyways, you also have the following:
|
||
|
||
- Preference Manager
|
||
- Built-in System Clock (uses TOD clock)
|
||
- Photo Manager
|
||
Fidonews Page 18 8 Dec 1986
|
||
|
||
|
||
- Text Manager
|
||
- Many other DOS thingies
|
||
|
||
- And -
|
||
|
||
- geoWrite
|
||
- geoPaint
|
||
|
||
Yes, Virginia, this system even has it's own software.
|
||
geoWrite is a "WYSIWYG" word processor, meaning "what you see is
|
||
what you get". Text is formatted on-screen, in your choice of
|
||
fonts and fontstyles. Graphic "scraps" from geoPaint can also be
|
||
inserted into your text for the professional touch.
|
||
|
||
geoPaint is yet another graphics program for the 64, but with
|
||
a MAJOR difference: it allows you to compose your picture on a
|
||
pixel-by-pixel basis using an entire sheet of paper as your
|
||
canvas. Consequently, you can only see a small chunk of it at a
|
||
time, but this is seldom a problem, especially if you make
|
||
liberal use of the "preview" option, which gives you a rough idea
|
||
of what the printed page will look like.
|
||
|
||
So far I've been quite liberal in my praise for GEOS. It IS a
|
||
nice program, and a boon to 64 users everywhere. However, like
|
||
most things, there are some drawbacks, some quite serious.
|
||
|
||
First, and most serious, is a complete lack of GEOS-compatible
|
||
software. Berkeley Softworks has added one feature that helps:
|
||
GEOS will boot any program that loads into the BASIC workspace
|
||
(and starts with the RUN command), be it BASIC or machine
|
||
language. However, this reduces GEOS to a quite sophisticated
|
||
boot program, and that is NOT what it was meant to be. If
|
||
Berkeley or any other third parties start making programs that
|
||
run under the GEOS environment, then GEOS will be a good
|
||
investment. At $80 Canadian, that's a hefty price for a graphics
|
||
program and a word processor...
|
||
|
||
Secondly, while geoWrite and geoPaint are QUITE user friendly,
|
||
they have drawbacks. geoWrite can be quite slow and cumbersome.
|
||
You cannot see the whole page width at one time, and when it
|
||
redraws the screen (once you hit the edge), it can lose
|
||
keystrokes while you type blindly on. This problem becomes quite
|
||
severe when using the "OUTLINE" fontstyle and/or any of the
|
||
larger fonts. It is not a word processor for the serious user:
|
||
there are no features for moving text, spell-checking, or any of
|
||
the myriad other features that word processor users have come to
|
||
expect in a good package. If you want to re-arrange a paragraph,
|
||
you delete it and re-type it. Fun, huh? As for geoPaint, it's
|
||
nice, but it REFUSES to support the multi-color hi-res mode on
|
||
the 64. True, the resolution is not as great, but YOU try mixing
|
||
lots of colors in hi-res mode! It just doesn't work out too
|
||
well, and your geoPaint picture starts looking like gibbled bits.
|
||
Additionally, it isn't "intuitive" enough (God, I HATE that word,
|
||
but it fits): while most GEOS functions can be figured out easily
|
||
and painlessly without leafing through a 500-page manual (no,
|
||
that is NOT the real size of it), some of the geoPaint functions
|
||
Fidonews Page 19 8 Dec 1986
|
||
|
||
|
||
must be studied via the manual before you'll have any hope of
|
||
making use of them.
|
||
|
||
GEOS was a long time coming. It isn't perfect, but it's a
|
||
step in the right direction. From most accounts, Berkeley seems
|
||
to be listening to the 'geoUsers' in making changes to the
|
||
program where necessary, and this is to be commended. However, a
|
||
lot of improvement needs to be made. The designers at Berkeley
|
||
have a goal, which is almost realized. If they hope to realize
|
||
it to its fullest, then a lot of work must still be done.
|
||
|
||
I'm interested in answering any of your questions about either
|
||
the C-64 or C-128. If you are having a problem, please address
|
||
your mail to Joe Lindstrom via TC-Link Fido (Calgary, Net 134
|
||
Node 7), and I'll address it in an upcoming article.
|
||
|
||
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
|
||
Fidonews Page 20 8 Dec 1986
|
||
|
||
|
||
The World of Computing
|
||
|
||
by Reuven M. Lerner
|
||
FidoMail 107/233
|
||
|
||
Hello, and welcome to yet another edition of The World of
|
||
Computing! There have been many new product announcements
|
||
since the last time this column appeared, as well as some
|
||
new books and other items of interest which I'd like to
|
||
share with you. Of course, there won't be time for me to do
|
||
it all this week, but I hope that with luck, I'll be able to
|
||
do this column on a semi-regular basis, and give you a
|
||
different perspective on the computer industry. So without
|
||
further ado, let's go to the news.
|
||
|
||
One of the biggest announcements in a long time was
|
||
Ashton-Tate's decision to remove copy-protection from its
|
||
products, including Framework II and dBase III.
|
||
Unfortunately, the trade-off is a steep price for service,
|
||
paid on a yearly basis. However, there are some user groups
|
||
and corporations working on this issue. At this point, that
|
||
leaves Lotus (makers of 1-2-3, Symphony, and several other
|
||
best-sellers) as the only company selling its products with
|
||
copy-protection.
|
||
|
||
Speaking of Lotus, by the time you read this, there
|
||
should be yet another word processor on the market.
|
||
Manuscript, a technical word processor, was previewed in
|
||
this month's BYTE magazine, and promises to be yet another
|
||
best-selling product from the people at Lotus. Due out soon
|
||
from the giant is HAL, a natural-language interface which
|
||
should increase 1-2-3's popularity amongst non-programmers
|
||
and business users.
|
||
|
||
InfoWorld reported something recently (about two or three
|
||
weeks ago as I write this, probably four to six as you read
|
||
it) about how CompuServe wrote a letter to a Sysop demanding
|
||
that he not offer programs for downloading which he himself
|
||
downloaded off of CompuServe. As any of you know, the way
|
||
that Bulletin Boards work is that people are constantly
|
||
uploading files to one that they downloaded off of another.
|
||
What happens when someone tries to break that chain, as
|
||
CompuServe did?
|
||
They found out. The Sysop is absolutely correct to
|
||
protest the complaint, and that's not only from a legal
|
||
standpoint, but from a moral one at that. If I write a
|
||
program and put it into the public domain (or even copyright
|
||
it as "Shareware", and distribute it through bulletin
|
||
boards), no one has the right to say that it's wrong to
|
||
download it. (If you agree with me, read an article by Mark
|
||
Whelch on Shareware in FidoNews several weeks ago -- he says
|
||
it much more eloquently, and goes into detail about it.)
|
||
As far as I know, there is only one (count 'em, one) BBS
|
||
that restricts the use of their programs for downloading.
|
||
The PC-IRS Board, run by PC Magazine, has warnings (just
|
||
like in the magazine itself) that tell you not to upload it
|
||
Fidonews Page 21 8 Dec 1986
|
||
|
||
|
||
to a BBS as you would another program. Although I disagree,
|
||
I respect their position, and was horrified to see their
|
||
programs (in the identical file name, size, date, etc.) on a
|
||
local BBS.
|
||
To make a long "news bulletin" short (as if this really
|
||
will), we must respect the authors of programs in how they
|
||
want their programs distributed. However, companies such as
|
||
CompuServe have no right to say how you can use other
|
||
people's work.
|
||
|
||
|
||
Memory-Resident Programs
|
||
------------------------
|
||
|
||
Although I am by far no expert on assembly language
|
||
(although I just bought several books on it today, and
|
||
should be experimenting in a few weeks), I do know about the
|
||
famed "TSR" call in MS-DOS. For those of you who don't
|
||
know, this allows programs to terminate, but not become
|
||
erased from the computers memory. That is to say, they're
|
||
available at the touch of a key (and thus "un-terminate", at
|
||
least for a while).
|
||
TSR's (Terminate and Stay Resident; a new way to describe
|
||
memory-resident programs) have only been out in full force
|
||
for two or three years. For a while, it was only companies
|
||
such as Borland who knew how to implement this machine call,
|
||
now there are literally hundreds of these programs either in
|
||
the public domain or on the market.
|
||
The newest things are "super-TSR's." These TSR's help
|
||
manage smaller TSR's, so you can drop them from memory, and
|
||
regain precious kilobytes that you may have lost. Such
|
||
programs are supposed to fill a need for programs that
|
||
already fill a need.
|
||
Where will it stop?
|
||
Ah, that's the question that no one really wants to face.
|
||
You see, TSR's are only a frail substitute for that
|
||
wonderful thing called "multitasking" that we don't want
|
||
Microsoft to implement for fear that our IBM's won't be
|
||
compatible with themselves. The so-called "protected mode"
|
||
on the 80286 and 80386 are wonderful things unto themselves,
|
||
but won't do anything until we accept the fact that we can't
|
||
remain an IBM-compatible community forever.
|
||
Once we become truly multitasking (and the technology's
|
||
not hard to implement; we've seen that already -- it's just
|
||
that it would make our existing programs so obsolete that we
|
||
would have to buy new ones, and no one wants that), like
|
||
some other operating systems, we won't have this need for
|
||
TSR's. Instead of typing Control-Alt to get our SideKick
|
||
notepad, we'll just type Alt-1 for our super-duper 100-digit
|
||
calculator (with memory, of course), and Alt-2 for the most
|
||
incredible address book you'd ever want, and...well, you get
|
||
the picture.
|
||
In fact, given the right operating system and software,
|
||
the change from one partition to the other would be faster
|
||
than switching over to a TSR is nowadays -- without loss of
|
||
your screen or anything else.
|
||
Fidonews Page 22 8 Dec 1986
|
||
|
||
|
||
However,I do have to admit it: I'm just as guilty of it
|
||
as anyone else. Between two PC Magazine utilties that I
|
||
couldn't live without (Pop-cal, and PR-Swap), as well as
|
||
Re-View, a 100-line virtual screen for long directories and
|
||
such, and two or three other toys, I'm hooked on TSR's as
|
||
much as the next guy.
|
||
I guess I do understand the problem that everyone else is
|
||
facing.
|
||
|
||
|
||
Working Together
|
||
----------------
|
||
|
||
I've understood for a while now the problems involved in
|
||
getting more than one microprocessor to work in a computer.
|
||
However, I didn't quite get the picture until about a month
|
||
ago, when I went to lunch at a restaurant near my school.
|
||
Usually, there are two people in the entire store: One
|
||
stands behind the counter, getting the orders, and one does
|
||
the actual cooking and "packaging" of the hamburgers. As
|
||
luck would have it, the day I went in, there were no fewer
|
||
than six people working in the entire place.
|
||
Under most circumstances, that would be no problem; it
|
||
would help the efficiency by at least three times the norm.
|
||
These people, though, obviously had never put their minds to
|
||
thinking about statistics, and it took me three times as
|
||
long as I usually wait to get my meal.
|
||
All I'm trying to say is that it may not be easy to get
|
||
more than one processor to work inside of a computer. Just
|
||
make sure when you finally put it together that you know
|
||
it's going to be faster than, say, the original that you're
|
||
trying to improve.
|
||
|
||
|
||
------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
(C) 1986 by Reuven M. Lerner. All Rights Reserved.
|
||
Permission is granted to copy this article so long as it is
|
||
for non-profit use, and this copyright notice appears at the
|
||
bottom. Should you wish to publish the article for profit,
|
||
contact the author at 21 Old Westbury Road, Old Westbury,
|
||
New York 11568, or through FidoMail at Node 107/233.
|
||
------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
|
||
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
|
||
Fidonews Page 23 8 Dec 1986
|
||
|
||
|
||
=================================================================
|
||
FOR SALE
|
||
=================================================================
|
||
|
||
The Structured Programming Language is a SHARE WARE free format
|
||
block structured programming language that runs on MSDOS and
|
||
PCDOS computer systems. It may be obtained by having the system
|
||
operator of your fido system reverse file attach the file
|
||
SPLLIB.ARC from fido nodes 150/1 or 1/11. It is also available
|
||
from PC BLUE in New York City.
|
||
If you like the software I strongly recommend that you REGISTER
|
||
and PAY for the software because I would like to make an honest
|
||
living just like you do. For software support call Electronic
|
||
Digital Computer Systems at 516 694 5872. Look for the language
|
||
on net.micro.pc conference on USENET.
|
||
|
||
Some major features and advantages of SPL
|
||
|
||
o SPL is an alternative to the PASCAL and C languages
|
||
o SPL programs can be run on MACINTOSH,AMIGA,ATARI ST,CP/M
|
||
o The SPL processor will run on MSDOS emulators on MACINTOSH,
|
||
AMIGA,ATARI ST
|
||
o PROCEDURES
|
||
o WHILE loops
|
||
o FOR loops with REAL and INTEGER indicies and increments
|
||
o REPEAT loops
|
||
o Powerful IF THEN ELSE constructs
|
||
o Powerful RANDOM and SEQUENTIAL INPUT/OUTPUT including
|
||
formatted OUTPUT
|
||
o GRAPHICS statements PSET DRAW LINE CIRCLE PRESET SCREEN .....
|
||
o BEGIN END blocks
|
||
o ERROR trapping
|
||
o Statement labels (multiple labels supported)
|
||
o Strong data types INTEGER REAL STRING scalars and arrays
|
||
o Names of variables and labels up to 40 characters upper and
|
||
lower case
|
||
o Supports mathematical functions SIN COS TAN LOG EXP .....
|
||
o STRING functions MID$ LEFT$ RIGHT$ STR$ VAL$ ASC$ .....
|
||
o Your compiled BASIC programs do not become obsolete link
|
||
them together
|
||
o SPL programs run faster than PASCAL programs
|
||
o SPL programs can take advantage of an entire 640k IBM PC
|
||
o The SPL processor will work on an IBM PCjr with 128k and
|
||
1 drive
|
||
|
||
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
|
||
Fidonews Page 24 8 Dec 1986
|
||
|
||
|
||
=================================================================
|
||
NOTICES
|
||
=================================================================
|
||
|
||
ANNOUNCEMENT:
|
||
|
||
New Echomail conference is now available. If you are interested
|
||
in discussions of peace and the prevention of nuclear war, and
|
||
wish to have your fido included in an echomail conference on
|
||
these issues, please contact Andy Kanter (sysop) of 101/301.
|
||
Current members of this echo include 119/13 <--> 101/301 <-->
|
||
101/302. The direct data line for the BeyondWar/IPPNW BBS is
|
||
(617) 731-1575. Many text files relating to this issue are also
|
||
available for download or FIDONET mail.
|
||
|
||
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
|
||
The Interrupt Stack
|
||
|
||
|
||
16 May 1987
|
||
Metro-Fire Fido's Second Birthday BlowOut! All Fido Sysops
|
||
and Families Invited! Contact Christopher Baker at 135/14 for
|
||
more information.
|
||
|
||
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.
|
||
|
||
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
|
||
Ken McVay
|
||
1BHex Fido, 340/20
|
||
(Voice) 604-758-4137
|
||
(Data) 604-758-3072
|
||
|
||
Note to those misled folks who have been trying to reach me via
|
||
Fido 138/45, in regard to my Bible project article...I am now a
|
||
part of NET 340 (CanWest), as NODE 20. My apologies to those of
|
||
you who had to phone me (especially Dana Montgomery, in Mass.).
|
||
|
||
For those of you who wish to download WORD.ARC: Please let me
|
||
know through 340/20 in advance; just send me a message contain-
|
||
ing your log-on name, password, and WORD.ARC. Upon receipt, I
|
||
will clear access and add a call to your record to avoid the 1st
|
||
caller limit (20 minutes.) The file requires about 35 minutes,
|
||
at 1200 baud. It would be less expensive if you would send me a
|
||
disk, in a disk mailer, and $1.00 for return postage. I will
|
||
copy the file onto the disk and return it the same day via 1st.
|
||
Class Mail. If you would rather call my board, be advised that
|
||
it is best to do so immediately after an event - particularly at
|
||
23:02 hours or 07:01 hours, PST.
|
||
|
||
Fidonews Page 25 8 Dec 1986
|
||
|
||
|
||
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
|
||
Fidonews Page 26 8 Dec 1986
|
||
|
||
|
||
__
|
||
The World's First / \
|
||
BBS Network /|oo \
|
||
* FidoNet * (_| /_)
|
||
_`@/_ \ _
|
||
| | \ \\
|
||
| (*) | \ ))
|
||
______ |__U__| / \//
|
||
/ Fido \ _//|| _\ /
|
||
(________) (_/(_|(____/ (jm)
|
||
|
||
Charter Membership for the International FidoNet Association
|
||
|
||
Membership in IFNA is open to any individual or organization that
|
||
pays an annual specified membership fee. IFNA serves the
|
||
international FidoNet-compatible electronic mail community to
|
||
increase worldwide communications.**
|
||
|
||
|
||
Name _________________________________ Date ________
|
||
Address ______________________________
|
||
City & State _________________________
|
||
Country_______________________________
|
||
Phone (Voice) ________________________
|
||
|
||
Net/Node Number ______________________
|
||
Board Name____________________________
|
||
Phone (Data) _________________________
|
||
Baud Rate Supported___________________
|
||
Board Restrictions____________________
|
||
Special Interests_____________________
|
||
______________________________________
|
||
______________________________________
|
||
Is there some area where you would be
|
||
willing to help out in FidoNet?_______
|
||
______________________________________
|
||
______________________________________
|
||
|
||
|
||
Send your membership form and a check or money order for $25 to:
|
||
|
||
International FidoNet Association
|
||
P. O. Box 41143
|
||
St Louis, Missouri 63141, USA
|
||
|
||
Thank you for your membership! Your participation will help to
|
||
insure the future of FidoNet.
|
||
|
||
** Please NOTE that IFNA is a general not-for-profit organization
|
||
in formation and BYLAWS are presently being prepared by an
|
||
International Rules Committee. Membership requirements and fees
|
||
are subject to approval of this Committee. An IFNA Echomail
|
||
Conference has been established on FidoNet to assist the BYLAWS
|
||
Committee. We welcome your input on this Conference.
|
||
|
||
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
|