550 lines
25 KiB
Plaintext
550 lines
25 KiB
Plaintext
Volume 5, Number 35 29 August 1988
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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 Dale Lovell
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Editor Emeritus: Thom Henderson
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Chief Procrastinator Emeritus: Tom Jennings
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Contributing Editors: Al Arango
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FidoNews is published weekly by the International FidoNet
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Association as its official newsletter. You are encouraged to
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submit articles for publication in FidoNews. Article submission
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standards are contained in the file ARTSPEC.DOC, available from
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node 1:1/1.
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Copyright 1988 by the International FidoNet Association. All
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rights reserved. Duplication and/or distribution permitted for
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noncommercial purposes only. For use in other circumstances,
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please contact IFNA at (314) 576-4067. IFNA may also be contacted
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at PO Box 41143, St. Louis, MO 63141.
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Fido and FidoNet are registered trademarks of Tom Jennings of
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Fido Software, 164 Shipley Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94107 and
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are used with permission.
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The contents of the articles contained here are not our
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responsibility, nor do we necessarily agree with them.
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Everything here is subject to debate. We publish EVERYTHING
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received.
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Table of Contents
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1. ARTICLES ................................................. 1
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KeyChek -- "Agents" for OPUS? ............................ 1
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Universal Mayhem(c) A real killer! ....................... 2
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MENSA Echo Conference Grows Onto The Backbone ............ 6
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2. COLUMNS .................................................. 7
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Let's YACK about Getting Back Into FidoNet ............... 7
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3. NOTICES .................................................. 9
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The Interrupt Stack ...................................... 9
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International Medical Software Exchange .................. 9
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NEW Region 18 REC! ....................................... 9
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Latest Software Versions ................................. 10
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FidoNews 5-35 Page 1 29 Aug 1988
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=================================================================
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ARTICLES
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=================================================================
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KeyChek -- "Agents" for OPUS?
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Bernard Aboba
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Fido 204/444
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One of the biggest additions to my OPUS BBS was a mail checking
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program. Although I've gone through several of these by now,
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and am not satisfied with any one of them, it still strikes me as
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wonderful that upon logging in, I get a message telling which of
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the hundreds of messages OPUS receives every night are meant for
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me.
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Ok, so I'm easily satisifed. Not quite. I've been thinking of
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how to improve on mail checkers, and have come upon an idea that
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I think is both simple and powerful. It's the concept of a
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keyword checker.
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With KeyCheck, each user would have a set of keywords, say up to
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10 or so. Every night, KeyCheck would go through the message
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base, and search for the presence of the keywords in the To:,
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and Subject: fields, or if specified, in the text of the
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messages.
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With the proliferation of gateway programs like UFGATE and
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GATEWAY, the Fido To: field is now often used as a gateway
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keyword, rendering conventional mailcheckers useless. With
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KeyCheck, users would still be able to check for their mail, by
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looking for references in the text of the message.
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I have thought about this, and it seems to me that KeyCheck
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ought to be feasible on an ordinary XT PC receiving say, 500
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messages a day. With the advent of gateways, and the steadily
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increasing FidoNet traffic, it's time we started thinking about
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creating "agents" as part of FidoNet BBS's.
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I am posting this article in order to get a dialog going on the
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features that a KeyCheck program should have, and the
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enhancement of Fido systems with text search in general.
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-----------------------------------------------------------------
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FidoNews 5-35 Page 2 29 Aug 1988
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Universal Mayhem(c) A real killer!
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Fredric L. Rice
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(103/503.1)
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Universal Mayhem is finally available for general Network
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consumption. There are only a few SysOps who know what
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Universal Mayhem, (UM), is so I'll give a very brief run-
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down on it here.
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Universal Mayhem is a Doors (tm) or Outside (tm) program
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which is basically a shoot-em-up type game in that those
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players with accounts constantly maintain a space ship in a
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universe and hunt and fight other ships, maintained by other
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players. Enemy ships are automated to fight back such that
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they are not "sitting ducks."
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Planetary commerce, subspace communication between users,
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the Galactic Police, black holes, remote robot sensors;
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these are some of the things that the current version of UM
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has to offer. Alliances between ships may be forged in that
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the two allied ships may not fire at each other If an
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alliance is broken, the Galactic Police get involved.
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If you attack an enemy ship, it will return fire with its
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torpedoes until they run out, (if they ever do). When no
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more torpedoes exist, the automated ship switches to
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phasers. While the battle is going on, the automated ship
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will attempt evasive which may result in the running battle
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from one side of the universe to the other, with the
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possible destruction of any planets that happen to be in the
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line of fire, (sorry, guys, happens all the time). When
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destruction seems to be unavoidable, the automated ship will
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attempt a random jump in any direction for the distance its
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class warp drive will permit, (you must buy higher classes
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of warp drives and even sell them to make profits to buy
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other items).
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A top-ten list is maintained, showing the top ten strongest
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ships and the top ten killers. You may name the planets, (a
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universe that is 8000 by 8000 sectors will have 64000
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planets).
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It's considered unfriendly to battle a ship into submission,
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board it, then leave it drifting. It is much nicer to
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simply back off a sector and send them one last torpedo to
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finish them off.
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Subspace messages are sent to the FidoNet BBS system as one
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of the mail areas. This can be an echo mail area and will
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be used in the future to exchange subspaces messages across
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"universes." AREA:MAYHEM as a matter of fact...
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BUGS - - -
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Well, there are a few of these. They are NOT going to be
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FidoNews 5-35 Page 3 29 Aug 1988
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fixed, partly because they are not destructive faults, and
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most importantly because the C version is soon to be
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released. The C version allows the maintenance of command
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files which tell a players ship how to act when various
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other ships are active. 'Run-From' this ship if he gets too
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close, 'Attack' this ship if he signs in, 'Assist' this ship
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if he attacks someone, 'Defend' this ship if he gets
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attacked. These are the various commands that the C version
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has. The C version also has corresponding white holes for
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the black holes in the universe. Entry into a black hole
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causes the exit at a known space in the universe where
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reentry into the nearest black hole will return a ship back
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to its point of departure.
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DISADVANTAGES - - -
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Universal Mayhem the current version requires a lot of disk
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space to run. Some 1 meg or 1.2 meg of disk space to have a
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universe some 8000 by 8000 sectors. The C version, which is
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soon to be released, will allow a universe of 32000 by 32000
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sectors using 1 meg. Testing has shown that a universe of
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64000 by 64000 is easily possible if space is available.
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WHERE, WHAT, WHEN - - -
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If you are interested in Universal Mayhem, The BASIC
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version, it is downloadable from Astro-Net (103/503), at
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714-662-2294. If you wish, send me network mail along with
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a FidoNet address and I will upload it to your board so long
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as it is in the mainland United States. If you require
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configuration information, send me network mail.
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If you run Universal Mayhem, let me know through network
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mail so that I may mail you the C version when it hits its
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initial release. I'll mail a floppy free of charge.
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MAYHEM.ARC - (Downloadable)
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Universal Mayhem, the BASIC version
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Contains everything you need, including
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GATEWAY.ARC for the console redirection
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required. A sample config file is
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enclosed for a universe of 8000 by 8000.
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The allowable time to play and systems
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password is stored in the config file and
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will need modification.
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CUM.ARC - (Downloadable) C Version of
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Universal Mayhem (Document only) This
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file contains the documentation for the C
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version of Universal Mayhem. It details
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the functions in the source code and
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describes what they do. At the function
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level documentation, a complete
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description of the game is available.
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FidoNews 5-35 Page 4 29 Aug 1988
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CUMCARD.ARC - (Downloadable) Business
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cards will be mailed to SysOps who run
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the C version of Universal Mayhem. This
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file describes the business cards and how
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to ask for them. I will mail cards free
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of charge to all SysOps so that they are
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distributed to their users also free of
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charge. The cards sport a really neat
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planet with a sword plunged into it
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surrounded with wheat stocks. The
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symbolism is described in this file.
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Cards are used by players to identify
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them as Mayhemites and will entitle them
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to nothing.
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UMSOURCE.ARC - (By mail only) The source
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code, congesting of two files, is not
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made available for general release. This
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is because of the FidoNet message
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interface function which can be miss-
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used. Also, Universal Mayhem represents
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a LOT of work which I want to sell. If
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you would like to obtain the source code,
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send me ten bucks in a check or something
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and I'll mail a floppy. The source is in
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Digital Researches Compiler BASIC and is
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some 200K or so due to the HEAVY use of
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in-line documentation. The code was
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originally intended for release into the
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Public Domain and as such was documented
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because of the need to allow
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modifications easily. The source is
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copyrighted and may not be redistributed.
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CUMSOURCE.ARC - (By mail only at a later
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date) The C version, written in C, uses
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linked-list structures and contains the
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kernel of a psudomulti- tasking
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environment. This is intended to
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automate the ships via command files that
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the players maintain. Because of the
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technology involved in the development of
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the C version, the source is not to be
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made available to the Public Domain, (the
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ships can even be made to move as a timed
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event from the FidoNet software). If you
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are interested in obtaining the source
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for the C version, I require fifty
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dollars for it as a check or something.
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I will require a written agreement,
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however, acknowledging copyright holding
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if you want the source to the C version.
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Eventually, C Universal Mayhem will allow the running of and
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the destruction of other ships sitting in other universes.
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The way this is to work is through network mail. A captain
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FidoNews 5-35 Page 5 29 Aug 1988
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on Astro-Net may destroy a ship which is captained by a
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player on another node. At night the data differences are
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transmitted and both systems are updated to reflect the
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destruction. This can, of course, be turned off to seclude
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game play to one universe.
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- - -
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Universal Mayhem is, and as was intended, solely for the use
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of FidoNet people for the propagation of honest
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bloodletting. Beta testing has been underway for the last
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eight months and is available for evaluation at Astro-Net.
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This enables you, the SysOp and user alike, to run the game
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before spending the time of downloading it.
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-----------------------------------------------------------------
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FidoNews 5-35 Page 6 29 Aug 1988
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MENSA Echo Conference Grows Onto The Backbone
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by George Falcon, 1:109/648
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Moderator, MENSA Echo Conference
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For about six months now, I've been keeping the FidoNet
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community aware of the growth of the MENSA Echo Conference
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since I assumed responsibility for it back in February. I've
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posted the list of systems carrying the conference in the hope
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that those of you interested in participating could find an easy
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link to the conference.
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An easy link is even easier now. A few weeks ago the MENSA
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Echo Conference went onto the national "backbone" of echomail
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distribution. At last count, there were 81 systems
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participating, far too many to list here. The conference is NOT
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restricted to member sysops or users, but is completely open, and
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serves as an interface between the organization and the FidoNet
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community.
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What is MENSA?
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Mensa is an international organization with only one
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requirement for membership - a performance on a standardized
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I.Q. test (or certain alternative tests, such as the CEEB, SAT,
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GRE, LSAT, etc.) in the top 2% of the general population.
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MENSA membership
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American Mensa has over 53,000 members, and another
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15,000 members belong to national Mensas in many countries.
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There are Mensans in 98 countries throughout the world.
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MENSA's purposes
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1) to identify and foster human intelligence for the benefit
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of humanity
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2) to encourage research in the nature, characteristics, and
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uses of intelligence
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3) to provide a stimulating intellectual and social
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environment for its members
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"MENSA" defined
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Mensa is Latin for "table." We are a round-table society
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that makes no distinctions as to race, color, creed, national
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origin, age, or eco-nomic, educational, or social status. Only
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intelligence matters.
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MENSA organization
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American Mensa has about 130 Local Groups, located in all
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50 states, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. Chances are
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there's a local group nearby.
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For more information, write to American Mensa, Ltd.
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2626 East 14th Street
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Brooklyn, NY 11235-3992
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-----------------------------------------------------------------
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FidoNews 5-35 Page 7 29 Aug 1988
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=================================================================
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COLUMNS
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=================================================================
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YACK
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Yet Another Complicated Komment
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by Steven K. Hoskin
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( STEVE HOSKIN at 1:128/31 )
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Episode 7: Getting Back Into FidoNet
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Hello, friends of old and new. I'm back. I was on
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vacation for awhile (There are those who would say that I've been
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on vacation for a LONG while), but that doesn't account for the
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length of time I've been away. My last column was, of course, in
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FidoNews 5-15, way back in April. Here I am, over four months
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later, trying to pick up where I left off. Well, I guess I have
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some explaining to do.
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I'm sorry for abandoning the newsletter when I was just
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getting started on a regular column; I'm sorry for the MASS of
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EchoMail I generated in response to the 'Disincorporate IFNA'
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campaign; I'm sorry I allowed Node 128/31 to die this summer; and
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I'm sorry I can't attend FidoCon. Most of all, I'm sorry I
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didn't get my ballots off in time; I have not contributed well to
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FidoNet this year.
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However, EagleTech BBS is up again, with me as its new SysOp
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and such, though at time of writing I'm still waiting on Node
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reassignment.
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Thank you, FidoNet SysOps, for the times past when I was a
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user; thanks again for the short time I was a co-sysop and
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columnist for FidoNews; and thanks in advance for the fun times
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to come.
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Yes, FidoNet is fun; chatting with the users, and our local
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GENERAL echo in town gets loads of users from time to time when a
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discussion gets underway about copyright laws or the size of the
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sign outside of town; and direct overnight communications with
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both old friends and new ones found here in FidoNet is always a
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treat. (Hi Geof! I should be back in the NodeList soon.)
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With the fun comes the responsibility, however, to run the
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node with care; respecting other SysOps' needs in FidoNet;
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working out tech problems with them; helping new users get
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'smart' on telecommunications basics; keeping the file and
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message areas clean; and contributing wherever there is a lack of
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true communication in FidoNet. I haven't gotten involved enough
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with FidoNet to say I've been a help. I guess it's time for a
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change.
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Well, I didn't vote, so whatever happens this year, like it
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or not, I have to face up to the fact that I did nothing to avert
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FidoNews 5-35 Page 8 29 Aug 1988
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it. I guess the Net is in y'alls' hands, now. See ya' next week.
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-----------------------------------------------------------------
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FidoNews 5-35 Page 9 29 Aug 1988
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=================================================================
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NOTICES
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=================================================================
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The Interrupt Stack
|
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24 Aug 1989
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Voyager 2 passes Neptune.
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5 Oct 1989
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20th Anniversary of "Monty Python's Flying Circus"
|
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If you have something which you would like to see on this
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calendar, please send a message to FidoNet node 1:1/1.
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-----------------------------------------------------------------
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Richard Kaplan
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Medical Software Exchange
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1:135/3 (1-305-325-8709)
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Software Trade: International Medical Software Exchange
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As sysop of a PC-Pursuitable medically related BBS, I'm
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interested in exchanging public domain medical software with
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||
computer users throughout the U.S. and in other countries as
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well. I currently have 5 meg of medically related software on-
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line and FREQ-able (contact me via netmail during NMH for my
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||
operating hours, which are variable).
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I'd be interested in trading software through U.S. mail with
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anyone who has interests similar to mine. Please contact me via
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||
netmail to work out the logistics of such a trade.
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-----------------------------------------------------------------
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Christopher Baker
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Region 18 Coordinator
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135/14 (18/0)
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24 Aug 88
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NOTICE: Region 18 has a NEW Region Echomail Coordinator.
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Jon Hall at 123/12 has taken over the duties of
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REC for Region 18. This change was not noted in
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||
this week's Nodelist due to late notice and the
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occurance of FidoCon V. The listing for 1/218
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is NOT correct since it reflects the information
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for the previous REC 18, Jerry Cole at 123/2.
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Please update your system accordingly. The change
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FidoNews 5-35 Page 10 29 Aug 1988
|
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in 1/218 should be reflected in Nodelist.246.
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123/12 is set up will ALL of the Echo control
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files from 123/2. The Alternate Hubs in Region 18
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are unaffected as of this writing.
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Thank you.
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-----------------------------------------------------------------
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Latest Software Versions
|
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|
||
BBS Systems Node List Other
|
||
& Mailers Version Utilities Version Utilities Version
|
||
|
||
Dutchie 2.90* EditNL 4.00* ARC 5.22*
|
||
Fido 12h MakeNL 2.12* ARCmail 1.1
|
||
Opus 1.03b Prune 1.40 ConfMail 3.31
|
||
SEAdog 4.10 XlatList 2.86 EchoMail 1.31
|
||
TBBS 2.0M XlaxNode 2.10* MGM 1.1
|
||
BinkleyTerm 1.50 XlaxDiff 2.10*
|
||
QuickBBS 2.01 ParseList 1.10
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||
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||
* Recently changed
|
||
|
||
Utility authors: Please help keep this list up to date by
|
||
reporting new versions to 1:1/1. It is not our intent to list
|
||
all utilities here, only those which verge on necessity.
|
||
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||
-----------------------------------------------------------------
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|
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FidoNews 5-35 Page 11 29 Aug 1988
|
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|
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|
||
OFFICERS OF THE INTERNATIONAL FIDONET ASSOCIATION
|
||
|
||
Hal DuPrie 101/106 Chairman of the Board
|
||
Bob Rudolph 261/628 President
|
||
Matt Whelan 3:3/1 Vice President
|
||
Ray Gwinn 109/650 Vice President - Technical Coordinator
|
||
David Garrett 103/501 Secretary
|
||
Steve Bonine 115/777 Treasurer
|
||
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||
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||
|
||
IFNA BOARD OF DIRECTORS
|
||
|
||
DIVISION AT-LARGE
|
||
|
||
10 Courtney Harris 102/732? Don Daniels 107/210
|
||
11 Bill Allbritten 11/301 Hal DuPrie 101/106
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||
12 Bill Bolton 3:54/61 Mark Grennan 147/1
|
||
13 Rick Siegel 107/27 Steve Bonine 115/777
|
||
14 Ken Kaplan 100/22 Ted Polczyinski 154/5
|
||
15 Larry Kayser 104/739? Matt Whelan 3:3/1
|
||
16 Vince Perriello 141/491 Robert Rudolph 261/628
|
||
17 Rob Barker 138/34 Steve Jordan 102/2871
|
||
18 Christopher Baker 135/14 Bob Swift 140/24
|
||
19 David Drexler 19/1 Larry Wall 15/18
|
||
2 Henk Wevers 2:500/1 David Melnik 107/233
|
||
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||
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