1156 lines
54 KiB
Plaintext
1156 lines
54 KiB
Plaintext
Volume 6, Number 24 12 June 1989
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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: Vince Perriello
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Editors Emeritii: Dale Lovell
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Thom Henderson
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Chief Procrastinator Emeritus: Tom Jennings
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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. 1:1/1 is a Continuous Mail system, available for
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network mail 24 hours a day.
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Copyright 1989 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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We don't necessarily agree with the contents of every article
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published here. Most of these materials are unsolicited. No
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article will be rejected which is properly attributed and legally
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acceptable. We will publish every responsible submission
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received.
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Table of Contents
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1. ARTICLES ................................................. 1
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Policy4 Passes ........................................... 1
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Improve Your Programs with Default Parameters ............ 2
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Words from Under the Basement Steps ...................... 5
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Miscellaneous Musings .................................... 9
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What is the spirit of UseNet? ............................ 14
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2. LATEST VERSIONS .......................................... 16
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Latest Software Versions ................................. 16
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3. NOTICES .................................................. 17
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The Interrupt Stack ...................................... 17
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FidoNews 6-24 Page 1 12 Jun 1989
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=================================================================
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ARTICLES
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=================================================================
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From NodeList.160:
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I am pleased to announce the passing of POLICY4.06
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as the new governing policy document for FidoNet.
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The vote was YES=152, NO=75. POLICY4.06 will
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be known as POLICY4 and will be in effect immediately.
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-----------------------------------------------------------------
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FidoNews 6-24 Page 2 12 Jun 1989
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John Herro
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1:363/6
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IMPROVE YOUR PROGRAMS WITH DEFAULT PARAMETERS
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In my previous article on improving your programs, we learned how
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Named Notation (or Named Parameter Association) in Ada can make
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your programs easier to read. One reader asked me if Named Nota-
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tion can also be used with records. The answer is yes. For ex-
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ample, in Ada we can write
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type MONTH_TYPE is
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(JAN, FEB, MAR, APR, MAY, JUN, JUL, AUG, SEP, OCT, NOV, DEC);
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type DATE is
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record
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DAY : INTEGER;
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MONTH : MONTH_TYPE;
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YEAR : INTEGER;
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end record;
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USA : DATE;
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Since USA is declared to be of type DATE, it has three "fields":
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USA.DAY, USA.MONTH, and USA.YEAR. These fields can be referred
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to individually, as in USA.DAY := 4; or the entire record can be
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referred to at once, as in
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USA := (4, JUL, 1776);
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Here's where Named Notation comes in. If we prefer to write the
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month first, we can write
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USA := (MONTH => JUL, DAY => 4, YEAR => 1776);
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similar to the way we used Named Notation in subprogram calls.
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Also, having the names of the fields right there in the assign-
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ment often makes the code easier to read.
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Closely associated with Named Notation is the concept of Default
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Parameters. They allow your Ada subprograms to be both FLEXIBLE
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and EASY TO USE, where in other languages you would have to
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choose between these two features.
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For example, suppose you want to write a procedure DISPLAY to
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display an integer on some special device, perhaps an array of
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lights. To make DISPLAY as easy to use as possible, you might
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give it only one argument: the integer being displayed. However,
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to make it flexible, you might want to give it two additional ar-
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guments: the base and the width, so that the user can specify any
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reasonable base, and allow extra space for the integer if he
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wants to. The problem is that in most languages the procedure
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would no longer be easy to use, because the base and the width
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would have to be specified in every call. For example, in For-
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tran we could write
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FidoNews 6-24 Page 3 12 Jun 1989
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SUBROUTINE DISPLA (ITEM)
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which would be easy to use but not flexible, or we could write
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SUBROUTINE DISPLA (ITEM, IBASE, IWIDTH)
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which would be flexible but clumsy to use, because the base and
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width would have to be specified in every call. However, in Ada
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we can write
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procedure DISPLAY(ITEM : in INTEGER; BASE : in INTEGER := 10;
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WIDTH : in INTEGER := 6);
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If the BASE isn't specified in a call to DISPLAY, it's assumed to
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be 10, and if the WIDTH isn't specified, it's assumed to be 6.
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(We chose 6 because the longest integer in 16-bit two's comple-
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ment representation is -32768.) If the BASE and WIDTH are speci-
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fied, they overwrite the default values in the procedure specifi-
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cation. ITEM must be specified in every call, because there's no
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default value for that parameter.
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We now have a procedure that's both flexible and easy to use.
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With most calls to DISPLAY, we need specify only the integer be-
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ing displayed. For example, if N is an integer, we could write
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DISPLAY(N);
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If we need to display N in hex, we could write
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DISPLAY(N, BASE => 16);
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If we want to display N with extra space, we could write, for ex-
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ample,
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DISPLAY(N, WIDTH => 9);
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Finally, if we want to specify both the BASE and the WIDTH, we
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can do so, and we don't need to remember which of these two argu-
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ments came first in the procedure specification:
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DISPLAY(N, WIDTH => 9, BASE => 16);
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In these examples, we could have written ITEM => N in place of N
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if we wanted to use Named Notation even with the first argument.
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Ada comes with a procedure PUT that's very similar to the DISPLAY
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procedure we've been discussing, writing integers to the screen
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rather than to an array of lights. However, before we can make
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use of that procedure, we have to learn a little about Generics,
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and that's a topic for a future article.
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Default values can be assigned in records as well as subprogram
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specifications. For example, if we write
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FidoNews 6-24 Page 4 12 Jun 1989
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type DATE is
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record
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DAY : INTEGER;
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MONTH : MONTH_TYPE;
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YEAR : INTEGER := 1776;
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end record;
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then every object that we create of type DATE will automatically
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have its YEAR field initialized to 1776 when it's created. How-
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ever, the similarity to default parameters in subprogram specifi-
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cations is limited. Although subprogram calls can omit arguments
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that have default values, we must specify all three fields when
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we assign objects of type DATE. For example, if we declare USA
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to be of type DATE, we may NOT write USA := (4, JUL); because all
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three fields must be specified. We'll show the real usefulness
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of default values in record types when we discuss Ada STRINGs and
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type TEXT in a later article.
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As you can see from this and earlier articles, Ada has many ad-
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vantages over earlier programming languages, that make your pro-
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grams easier to read and easier to maintain. Ada is no longer
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for large programs only; it's an ideal language for general pur-
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pose programming on a PC. (There are now several inexpensive Ada
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compilers available for the PC.) You can find my shareware pro-
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gram "ADA-TUTR, the Interactive Ada Tutor" as ADA-TUTR.ARC (or
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.ZIP, etc.) on many boards, but 1:363/6 (407-773-2831) always has
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the latest version. ADA-TUTR doesn't require an Ada compiler,
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but a list of Ada compilers available for the PC is included in
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the documentation. If you have an Ada compiler, ADA-TUTR can au-
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tomatically check your "homework."
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Since my last article on Ada, ADA-TUTR has been updated to ver-
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sion 1.21. This version automatically remembers your place be-
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tween learning sessions, without your having to write anything
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down. It lets you choose colors while still remaining compatible
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with monochrome machines. At any time, it can tell you how far
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you are through the course, and let you go back to the last ques-
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tion or to the last "homework" assignment. The documentation on
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how to install the program on mainframes and workstations has
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been expanded.
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I welcome your comments and suggestions, and wish you success
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with Ada!
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-----------------------------------------------------------------
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FidoNews 6-24 Page 5 12 Jun 1989
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Bob Rudolph, 261/628
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President, IFNA
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A good number of folks have taken me to task recently, both
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publicly and privately for hiding here under the steps in my
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basement, where my PC's live, and not "communicating" with the
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general public.
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There may be some justification for the castigation I have
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received. In any event, it is long past time that I said a few
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words about IFNA, and the relationship of IFNA to FidoNet -
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and, incidentally, why IFNA should not be buried prematurely.
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By way of a little background, IFNA was started (perhaps
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formed is a little imprecise) to assist in the management of
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FidoNet and the nodelist, and to make it possible to get some
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of the volunteer expenses reduced or funded. That particular
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aspiration has not changed, although everything else (not only
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in IFNA but in FidoNet at large) has changed.
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Nobody ever anticipated that FidoNet would grow so fast.
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Nobody ever anticipated the coming of EchoMail and what
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effects it would have on what appears to be our (OUR is used
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rather loosely to reflect everything associated with any
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FidoNet-compliant network) world and mission.
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Nobody anticipated the paranoia and acrimony that would
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result from the attempt to found IFNA.
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Nobody (myself included) anticipated the great personal
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time and sacrifice that an organization such as IFNA would
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demand of its people.
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Nobody had the vaguest notion how thankless and demanding
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the tasks to be done would grow to be.
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And NOBODY anticipated that the great network of FidoNet
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would so soon become populated by non-technical folks.
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However, IFNA still manages to do a few things, and to do
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at least some of them somewhat well.
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IFNA maintains a telephone and U.S. Mail address for the
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sole purpose of answering questions about FidoNet technology
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and its uses, for folks that have no way otherwise to find out
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about it. The DAK catalog supplied us with literally thousands
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of phone calls, many of which I personally answered (to the tune
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of more than $1000 in long distance charges from my personal
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pocket, not reimbursed).
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IFNA sponsors the FTSC. Please note sponsors - IFNA does not
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"run" the FTSC - it isn't necessary that IFNA run it, and it
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seems to work better when not interfered with.
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IFNA helps allay some of the international costs of the
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FidoNews 6-24 Page 6 12 Jun 1989
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FidoNet International Coordinator.
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IFNA represents FidoNet in the Electronic Mail Association
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which is an organization of professionals involved with the
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various types of electronic mail mechanisms.
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IFNA supplies seed money for FidoCon, if asked. IFNA also
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through Membership Services attempts to find areas of need and
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bring either resources to bear, or to direct to appropriate
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places the people or organizations in need.
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IFNA DOES NOT RUN FIDONET. IFNA never DID run FidoNet -
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and couldn't if it wanted to, which it does not. IFNA does not
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meddle in FidoNet day-to-day operations, in spite of what some
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folks would have you to believe. FidoNet does pretty well on
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its own without our interference.
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I can hear the questions forming now - "Why do we need an
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organization like IFNA anyhow?" If you'll bear with me a few
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more minutes, I'll try to tell you from my perspective why we
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need IFNA.
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As an information source IFNA is needed - a central place
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to go to get information for those not already affiliated with
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some network or another. If you heard about FidoNet, who would
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you call to find out about it? If you read about it in the
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paper or in a catalog, you'd probably see our P.O. Box. We
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have the information, and would supply it.
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The proliferation of networks, and the flame wars that have
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raged have pointed out the need for some "United Nations" sort
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of body to hear disputes and to work out agreements between the
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OtherNets and FidoNet. The players in both places at the upper
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levels are very close the the frictions - an arbitration group
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could help there.
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FidoNet is an organization that functions but has no legal
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existence. IFNA supplies that legitimacy, by supplying the
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information clearinghouse and a corporate existence with some
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responsibility. IFNA, through the work of some concerned members
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of various committees has been active with telephone company
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concerns, and with several social projects. Maybe they're not
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important to the Average Sysop, but they're important to someone
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somewhere, or these hard working folks would not be taking their
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time and resources to involve themselves in these projects. IFNA
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supplies a FidoNet-wide view, as opposed to a local-net view -
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something that is occasionally badly needed.
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IFNA, because it is classified as a charitable organization
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COULD (capitalized because MakeNews doesn't like italics) be
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used as a source for operational funds for various areas in both
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FidoNet and the OtherNets - much as it currently funds part of
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the IC's phone costs. It puts IFNA in a position to solicit
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funds for operations from commercial organizations, provided
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that some common good benefit accrues.
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FidoNews 6-24 Page 7 12 Jun 1989
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Difficult as it may be to believe, the continued operation
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of FidoNet is all the common good that is needed - FidoNet,
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through its sysops is supplying to the modem-owning public all
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kinds of useful information, programs, files, and conversation.
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FidoNet-technology users, regardless of net affiliation perform
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a public service by permitting access to their systems.
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The spread of FidoNet Technology and assistance where
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needed or asked in the implementation, organization, operation,
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and education as regards the uses of this technology is the
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reason for IFNA to continue to exist. IFNA supplies the
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"figurehead" (I don't like that term, but no better term comes
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to mind at present) upon which questions may be focussed, and
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through which funding may be attained, resources brought to
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bear, and agreements brought to fruition.
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These things may be done without interference in day-to-day
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operations of the various networks.
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IFNA is also charged to protect the trademarks of Tom
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Jennings and Fido Software. The license to do so is part of our
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responsibility. IFNA could be the arbiter that resulted in more
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peace and quiet between or among the various networks. IFNA
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should be the source of funding and hardware for the FTSC to let
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realistic software test suites be developed to assure that the
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standards promulgated by that organization were adhered to in a
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meaningful and reasonable manner.
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IFNA was formed for a lot of reasons. Along the way, most
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of them got to be obsolete or less interesting. Along the way,
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lots of us buried friends. After several years of struggle, IFNA
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has the coveted 501(c)(3) from the IRS which permits us to seek
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funding of industry. This funding could help FidoNet and all the
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OtherNets - if we were to go after it - if we were convinced
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that it was wanted.
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I don't know why so many FidoNet folks feel that IFNA wants
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to RUN FidoNet on a day-to-day basis - I sure don't want to do
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that, and as IFNA President I can state that that is not the
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aim, wish, or intent of the organization.
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IFNA has the potential to do a lot of good - to remove
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some of the costs of doing business that currently plague
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FidoNet, to act as a dispute resolver, to assist in the formation
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of policy, to assist in the definition and testing of standards,
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and to operate for the benefit of the public at large whilst
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doing these things.
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So someone please tell me why these are "bad" ideals? Why
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is there rampant paranoia in FidoNet and other places? What have
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I done to any of you to deserve the vilification that is being
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heaped on the corporate head of IFNA?
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IFNA is not perfect. I can assure you that I am likewise
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not perfect. IFNA is, however, the one small voice that has the
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potential to "bring the word" about FidoNet technology to the
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FidoNews 6-24 Page 8 12 Jun 1989
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balance of the known universe in a coordinated and global manner
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as is needed, and it is the one organization in the realm of
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||
FidoNet that has the corporate recognition and the tax exempt
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status that will be so valuable as a source of funding, provided
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the organization is not summarily executed.
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Lots of good people have worked within IFNA, burned out and
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dropped out. Lots more have stood on the outside throwing rocks.
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Personalities have played a major role where they should have
|
||
had no role whatever to play. We are FINALLY rising above some
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||
of that. We aren't perfect, but we do try - and we still have
|
||
the potential to be the seed of democracy for FidoNet.
|
||
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I am not asking you to LET us do these things. I am asking
|
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you to put aside paranoia and bad feelings and HELP us to do
|
||
these things. IFNA isn't Bob Rudolph and the rest of the guys
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||
on the BoD, regardless how capable they may be on selected days.
|
||
IFNA should be all of the world of FidoNet technology, and it
|
||
isn't - and one of the reasons it isn't is that in the process
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||
of listening to everyone, we ended up not able to do much of
|
||
anything without getting shot at - and getting shot at is not
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||
much fun. A plea for a little reserve here - help educate us;
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||
don't tell us we're wrong all the time, for we already KNOW it -
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||
instead, help us to do it right.
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But I'm warning you - it takes commitment.
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-----------------------------------------------------------------
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FidoNews 6-24 Page 9 12 Jun 1989
|
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Miscellaneous Musings
|
||
about FidoNet policy and other things
|
||
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by Daniel Tobias
|
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1:380/7
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|
||
Much discussion about the proposed (and maybe enacted by the
|
||
time this sees print) POLICY4, and other ramifications of
|
||
FidoNet policy, has been going on in recent FidoNews issues.
|
||
I put in my own two cents in FidoNews 623, regarding the
|
||
European rejection of POLICY3 and POLICY4 in favor of their
|
||
own policy which they claim supersedes the overall net
|
||
policy.
|
||
|
||
(By the way, that article saw print just hours after I wrote
|
||
and submitted it. Has FidoNews eliminated the former three
|
||
week lead time, or did the editor just consider my article
|
||
to be sufficiently timely to suspend it? Whatever, I like
|
||
this timely publication, and hope it continues. It's nice
|
||
to carry on discussion about FidoNet issues before they
|
||
become stale.)
|
||
|
||
Here are a few more comments regarding directions in which
|
||
FidoNet policy might evolve.
|
||
|
||
First of all, let me state up front that I'm not a *C, *EC,
|
||
IFNA BoD member, or any other elected or appointed position
|
||
within FidoNet or any related organization. For that
|
||
matter, I have never had a major dispute or quarrel with any
|
||
*C, *EC, IFNA BoD member, or other officer of FidoNet-
|
||
related organizations. I am not part of any faction,
|
||
clique, in-group, good-old-boy-network, or power-seeking
|
||
cabal. Rather, I'm just a sysop who has been fascinated by
|
||
the concept of FidoNet ever since I first discovered it in
|
||
September, 1985. All ideas expressed here are my own,
|
||
presented in the spirit of seeking common-sense solutions to
|
||
the various problems of net policy. I have no axes to
|
||
grind or vested interests to promote or tear down; I'm
|
||
willing to change any opinions upon being presented with
|
||
sufficient evidence to back opposing viewpoints. All I ask
|
||
in return is that whatever ideas I present be evaluated and
|
||
allowed to stand or fall on their own merits rather than
|
||
becoming the subject of personal attacks, innuendos, or
|
||
accusations of power-monging.
|
||
|
||
As I stated last time, I'm opposed to the European nodes
|
||
claiming to be exempt from POLICYx. This, however, does not
|
||
mean I'm a centralist opposed to the devolution of power to
|
||
more grass-roots levels. Actually, I'm very much in favor
|
||
of making FidoNet a grass-roots network with the ultimate
|
||
power residing at the lowest level. This, however, should
|
||
be within a framework of overall POLICY applying to all and
|
||
setting the very basic ground rules by which the network is
|
||
to operate. Much latitude should be given to local
|
||
subsections of FidoNet to adjust to their own particular
|
||
conditions, so long as the basic principles of FidoNet are
|
||
FidoNews 6-24 Page 10 12 Jun 1989
|
||
|
||
|
||
not subverted. Exactly what these basic principles are is
|
||
something the whole net must somehow come to agreement on;
|
||
this should preferably be a fairly minimal set of standards
|
||
so that individual freedom is not stifled.
|
||
|
||
Much in the European policy (which I haven't actually seen,
|
||
so I just know what was written about it in FidoNews) would
|
||
be reasonable to emulate in a new netwide policy. For
|
||
instance, a switch to a bottom-up system of selecting
|
||
coordinators would be a practical way of introducing a
|
||
measure of democracy. NCs ought to be elected by their
|
||
constituent sysops, RCs by their NCs, ZCs by their RCs, and
|
||
the IC by the ZCs. The latter two are done in POLICY4, but
|
||
I think it would be reasonable to extend democracy all the
|
||
way down. (One reservation about this: it could result in
|
||
politicising coordinator positions which are really intended
|
||
to be technical; however, this isn't really a significant
|
||
objection given that these positions have already been
|
||
irreversably politicized, and are granted legislative,
|
||
executive, and judicial powers by POLICY and precedent;
|
||
hence, making them subject to democratic election only
|
||
provides the grunt sysops with some power over net politics
|
||
that they don't presently have.)
|
||
|
||
Other proposals for democracy are more problematic; any
|
||
attempt to have the whole net vote on anyone or anything
|
||
is a major logistical problem with the 5000+ nodes, added to
|
||
the fact that most sysops don't seem to give a damn about
|
||
net politics (and why should they? If only the squabbles
|
||
can stop, maybe all of us can turn our energies to
|
||
productive labor enhancing the technical aspects of the net,
|
||
and "politics" will be a forgotten vestige of the past), and
|
||
hence all such votes (e.g., the vote to ratify the IFNA
|
||
bylaws a few years ago) will end up with an underwhelming
|
||
turnout, and any number of militant factions claiming to
|
||
speak for the silent majority. Hence, we may have to stick
|
||
with the POLICY4 means of ratification of policy changes by
|
||
*C voting. Perhaps, though, the coordinators should be
|
||
required to disclose their votes to their constituents
|
||
rather than using a secret ballot, so any sysops who care to
|
||
be involved in net policy can judge whether they are fairly
|
||
represented.
|
||
|
||
One democratic reform that should be adopted is a means for
|
||
sysops to place POLICY amendments on the table for
|
||
consideration, besides submission by a majority of RCs as
|
||
provided in section 8.1 of the POLICY4 proposal. Just as
|
||
U.S. Constitutional amendments may be proposed either by
|
||
Congress or by a convention called by state legislatures,
|
||
there should be two alternate methods of proposing POLICY
|
||
amendments, to prevent any one group from squelching all
|
||
consideration of change. A good second method would be by
|
||
petition from at least n sysops, where n is set sufficiently
|
||
large to discourage frivolous proposals, but small enough to
|
||
allow for proposals emerging from a grass-roots level.
|
||
Reasonable values might range from 50 to 250, or
|
||
FidoNews 6-24 Page 11 12 Jun 1989
|
||
|
||
|
||
alternatively, a percentage of the nodelist size between 1%
|
||
and 5%.
|
||
|
||
Other matters: At least one sysop is up in arms about all
|
||
references to geography in the POLICY document. He's got a
|
||
point; some coordinators have been fairly tyrannical in
|
||
their rigorous enforcement of net and region boundaries, in
|
||
cases where there are rational reasons to disregard the
|
||
arbitrary boundaries and place nodes where it makes the most
|
||
sense to the sysops and NCs involved. On the other hand, I
|
||
can see the rationale behind the strict maintenance of
|
||
geographical boundaries; it is intended to prevent nets
|
||
being created and organized for political purposes, such as
|
||
to include the friends and exclude the enemies of the local
|
||
coordinator. Much of this was alleged to be taking place in
|
||
Australia at the time of the infamous Communet affair. This
|
||
situation can be very confusing to newcomers who are
|
||
presented not with a simple hierarchical nodelist pointing
|
||
them to their local coordinator, but a bizarre tangle of net
|
||
interconnections based more on personal rivalries than
|
||
technical sense. Also, should any sort of bottom-up
|
||
democracy be instituted as I advocate above, an incentive
|
||
might arise for coordinators to pack their nodelist with
|
||
supporters who can be counted on to maintain the
|
||
coordinator's power, and exclude opponents, through
|
||
judicious ignoring of geographic boundaries.
|
||
|
||
Trying to balance these concerns is a feat of tightrope-
|
||
walking, but perhaps the best way is to preserve most
|
||
geographical language of POLICY4, but soften the strictness
|
||
a little. How about allowing a NC to admit a node even if
|
||
it's out of its geographical region, without requiring
|
||
explicit approval of any other coordinators. Instead,
|
||
others may challenge such non-geographical admission, but
|
||
the burden of proof would be on the challenger to show that
|
||
such a state of affairs lacks technical necessity and would
|
||
be harmful in some way to FidoNet. Blatant political
|
||
tactics could be successfully challenged, but generally,
|
||
exceptions to geography which have some justifiable
|
||
technical reason should be allowed to stand unless direct
|
||
harm can be proven. Some time limit should be placed on
|
||
challenges so that an excepted node is not constantly
|
||
fearful of having its node number altered at the whim of
|
||
future coordinators. Later challenges would have the even
|
||
more difficult burden of proving new harm as a result of the
|
||
exception that didn't exist (or didn't come to light) at the
|
||
time it was first granted.
|
||
|
||
The converse situation, a NC refusing to admit a node in its
|
||
geographical area, should be much more strictly regulated;
|
||
the only justifiable reasons should be when the node engages
|
||
in bulk commercial traffic (and hence should be an
|
||
independent in its region) or when the node violates policy
|
||
in some manner making it ineligible for admission to the
|
||
nodelist. Discrimination by political viewpoint, race,
|
||
creed, nationality, or any other such criteria unrelated to
|
||
FidoNews 6-24 Page 12 12 Jun 1989
|
||
|
||
|
||
technical necessity or POLICY violation, should be
|
||
prohibited; all qualifying nodes have the right to be
|
||
admitted to their geographically-appropriate network should
|
||
they desire to do so. Hence, the geographic boundaries
|
||
would serve more as an entitlement of all systems in that
|
||
area to be part of the given net, region, or zone, rather
|
||
than an absolute requirement that they do so even if a
|
||
different location would be advantageous for some reason.
|
||
|
||
At any rate, in order to be constructive rather than
|
||
destructive, I'm seriously thinking of putting together a
|
||
proposed POLICY5 (assuming POLICY4 passes; POLICY4 if not)
|
||
incorporating these ideas. If any of you have any
|
||
constructive suggestions (e.g., things in POLICY3 or 4 that
|
||
you'd like to see changed, and what you want to change them
|
||
to and why), I'll take them into account in writing my
|
||
proposal. When it's done, I'll circulate it for the rest of
|
||
the net to read/ignore/adopt/reject/consider/amend/defeat/
|
||
flame/line-their-birdcage-with/etc. At least (I hope), I
|
||
won't be accused of promoting some power structure or other,
|
||
given that I'm not part of any such thing, and maybe
|
||
whatever ideas are incorporated into the proposal will be
|
||
given a fair hearing and make a start toward bringing to an
|
||
end the disgusting factionalism that's paralyzed the net for
|
||
the last few years.
|
||
|
||
Send all comments by netmail to 1:380/2. Try to give
|
||
rational reasons for your ideas, rather than raving about
|
||
evil conspiracies to undermine FidoNet.
|
||
|
||
|
||
- While I'm At It Department -
|
||
|
||
A few more comments about FidoNews 623's articles:
|
||
|
||
I think Jamie MacDonald doth protest too much when he
|
||
laments all the "fake" users. Sure, there are some abusive
|
||
users; every sysop encounters them. Other users are
|
||
innocent but stupid; there's not much one can do about them;
|
||
while I'd prefer smarter users, it's not really fair to
|
||
punish people for an attribute they are born with. Just
|
||
grin and bear these people, and hope others of a higher
|
||
caliber choose to grace your system with their presence as
|
||
well.
|
||
|
||
But you reserve the epithet "the worst class of users" to
|
||
those who aren't really doing anything wrong: those who call
|
||
from elsewhere than their own home for any of a number of
|
||
reasons, such as their modem being broken, etc. I've been
|
||
in that category myself; for a while I didn't have a
|
||
functional computer myself, and had to use computers at work
|
||
to telecommunicate. What's wrong with that, other than a
|
||
little difficulty for the sysop to verify this status? The
|
||
user isn't trying to make things difficult for you; show
|
||
some tolerance and understanding.
|
||
|
||
FidoNews 6-24 Page 13 12 Jun 1989
|
||
|
||
|
||
Perhaps you prefer to impose strict control on your users,
|
||
but I'm much more tolerant. I'm willing to put up with
|
||
occasional minor abuse in order to avoid the complications
|
||
imposed on both sysop and user by complex validation
|
||
procedures. In three years of running BBSs with no pre-
|
||
registration requirement (my previous board was wide open
|
||
without even a mandatory questionnaire; my current board
|
||
requires new users to fill out a questionnaire and read a
|
||
policy document, but I don't voice-verify) I haven't had any
|
||
major system abuse; I've had a few twits log in under
|
||
multiple names to get more online time, but they generally
|
||
stopped when I informed them I knew what they were doing.
|
||
The vast majority of my users have been responsible, and
|
||
they appreciate my tolerance of the wide variety of
|
||
circumstances they are under (e.g., when line noise hampers
|
||
their access at 1200 baud, they can step down to 300; I
|
||
don't discriminate against 300 baud callers like some
|
||
elitist sysops). I'm not quick to judge a user as a "loser"
|
||
because of his situation which he perhaps is unable to help.
|
||
|
||
|
||
About the FidoNet archives: That's very interesting
|
||
reading, though I've seen most of these documents already in
|
||
my copious perusal of FidoNet materials throughout my long
|
||
involvement with the net. Regarding Richard Wilkes'
|
||
document, it is simultaneously overcritical and prophetic.
|
||
He attempted to "rain on Fido's parade" by shooting down the
|
||
idea of FidoNet as impractical given the level of PC
|
||
technology of the day. He had fairly elitist expectations
|
||
due to his involvement in UUCP/UseNet, and didn't see much
|
||
value in a BBS network of much lower functionality.
|
||
Fortunately, others were willing to work with what they had,
|
||
and accomplished a lot with a network at not quite as lofty
|
||
a level as Wilkes would have liked.
|
||
|
||
However, Wilkes' minimum standards for an ideal FidoNet
|
||
system (e.g., a large hard drive, multiple lines, and a fast
|
||
processor) have ultimately become a necessity for echomail
|
||
hubs, so it seems the net has finally caught up to him.
|
||
|
||
(I'd like to know what he means by XMODEM not being a "real"
|
||
file transfer protocol, though.)
|
||
|
||
|
||
- That's all, folks! -
|
||
|
||
|
||
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
FidoNews 6-24 Page 14 12 Jun 1989
|
||
|
||
|
||
What is the spirit of UseNet?
|
||
From a posting in Usenet submitted by Randy Bush, 1:105/6
|
||
|
||
From: brad@looking.UUCP (Brad Templeton)
|
||
Subject: What is the Spirit of Usenet?
|
||
Date: 14 Mar 89 19:26:48 GMT
|
||
|
||
(This discussion belongs in news.misc)
|
||
|
||
Many people recently have talked about something they call the
|
||
"Spirit of Usenet." What does this mean, other than, "The way I
|
||
think USENET should be run"?
|
||
|
||
Some talk as though there are some stone tablets in a golden ark
|
||
that describe the spirit of usenet. Some have picked a
|
||
philosophical principle which they feel should guide not just
|
||
their own actions, but the actions of everybody else on the
|
||
network.
|
||
|
||
But the Spirit of Usenet is not what Denninger says it is, not
|
||
what Crawford says it is and not even what I say it is. The
|
||
spirit of usenet is, quite simply, what usenet readers and site
|
||
admins wish to read, transmit and pay for.
|
||
|
||
How do you learn just what that is? You watch, you talk, you
|
||
survey. If there's no precedent, you *act* and see whether
|
||
people like it or not. This is how the "spirit of usenet"
|
||
develops.
|
||
|
||
I have observed this net for a very long time. I was on my first
|
||
arpanet digest mailing list before there even was a usenet. I
|
||
started reading news with A news before there even was a B news.
|
||
That experience tells me certain things, and they are my opinions
|
||
of the spirit of usenet.
|
||
|
||
First of all, the net is not a commune. People own and control
|
||
property, both physical and intellectual. This comes from
|
||
outside the net, not within it. Because the net is subject to
|
||
outside rules it is also not an anarchy, not strictly speaking.
|
||
It is a propertarian minarchy, to get technical.
|
||
|
||
People often write that commercial use of usenet is against the
|
||
spirit of usenet. They haven't watched the net. The real rule,
|
||
I think, is that commercial *abuse* of usenet is what people
|
||
don't want.
|
||
|
||
In general what this means is that commercial traffic is
|
||
accepted, even encouraged, when it's a win/win situation -- where
|
||
netters and vendors benefit. There is nothing wrong with mutual
|
||
profit, and I'm surprised that I have to say this in the western
|
||
world.
|
||
|
||
The proof of this is everwhere. Comp.newprod is both advertising
|
||
and news -- win/win. Software support from vendors like MKS,
|
||
SCO, Microport, Telebit, Telenet, Microsoft, Sun, Apple, Atari,
|
||
Commodore and many others benefits both those companies and the
|
||
FidoNews 6-24 Page 15 12 Jun 1989
|
||
|
||
|
||
readers -- win/win. The OtherRealms fanzine gets submissions and
|
||
promotion and usenauts read it for free. A book of net material
|
||
gets announced that netters clearly enjoy and demand -- they
|
||
spent their money on it, not just their words.
|
||
|
||
The examples are countless. If net readers want it, it's in the
|
||
spirit of usenet. To run a stream of ads for something net
|
||
people aren't interested it -- that would be abuse. To post a 1
|
||
meg demo people aren't interested in, that would be abuse.
|
||
|
||
Is shareware abuse? Not if people want it. People can even FTP
|
||
shareware from sites on the highly regulated MILNET -- the net
|
||
people take as their model of non-commercial operation.
|
||
|
||
Usenet is built by people who *do*, not by people who argue
|
||
endlessly about undoing. In this case, I was going to do
|
||
something fairly new. So I asked netters to give me their
|
||
opinions. They did, and they were overwhelmingly in favour. I
|
||
tried to guage the spirit of usenet not by dictating what I think
|
||
it is, but by trying to find out what it is. Those who dictate
|
||
what others should do are the ones violating the spirit of usenet
|
||
-- that much I do know.
|
||
|
||
Brad Templeton, Looking Glass Software Ltd. - Waterloo, Ontario
|
||
|
||
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
FidoNews 6-24 Page 16 12 Jun 1989
|
||
|
||
|
||
=================================================================
|
||
LATEST VERSIONS
|
||
=================================================================
|
||
|
||
Latest Software Versions
|
||
|
||
Bulletin Board Software
|
||
Name Version Name Version Name Version
|
||
|
||
Fido 12m+* Phoenix 1.3 TBBS 2.1
|
||
Lynx 1.30 QuickBBS 2.03 TComm/TCommNet 3.4
|
||
Opus 1.03b+ RBBS 17.1D TPBoard 5.2*
|
||
|
||
+ Netmail capable (does not require additional mailer software)
|
||
|
||
|
||
Network Node List Other
|
||
Mailers Version Utilities Version Utilities Version
|
||
|
||
BinkleyTerm 2.20 EditNL 4.00 ARC 6.02*
|
||
D'Bridge 1.18 MakeNL 2.12 ARCmail 2.0
|
||
Dutchie 2.90C ParseList 1.30 ConfMail 4.00
|
||
FrontDoor 2.0 Prune 1.40 EMM 2.02*
|
||
PRENM 1.47* XlatList 2.90 GROUP 2.10*
|
||
SEAdog 4.51* XlaxDiff 2.32 MSG 3.3*
|
||
XlaxNode 2.32 MSGED 1.99
|
||
TCOMMail 2.2*
|
||
TMail 1.11*
|
||
TPBNetEd 3.2*
|
||
UFGATE 1.03
|
||
XRS 2.2
|
||
* 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.
|
||
|
||
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
FidoNews 6-24 Page 17 12 Jun 1989
|
||
|
||
|
||
=================================================================
|
||
NOTICES
|
||
=================================================================
|
||
|
||
The Interrupt Stack
|
||
|
||
|
||
15 Jul 1989
|
||
Start of the SAPMFC&LP (Second Annual Poor Man's FidoCon and
|
||
Lake Party) to be held at Silver Lake Park on Grapevine Lake
|
||
in Arlington, Texas. This started as an R19-only thing last
|
||
year, but we had so much fun, we decided to invite everybody!
|
||
We'll have beer, food, beer, waterskiing, beer, horseshoes,
|
||
beer, volleyball, and of course beer. It's an overnighter,
|
||
so bring your sleeping bag and plan to camp out. Contact one
|
||
of the Furriers (Ron Bemis at 1:124/1113 or Dewey Thiessen at
|
||
1:130/24) for details and a fantastic ASCII map.
|
||
|
||
2 Aug 1989
|
||
Start of Galactic Hacker Party in Amsterdam, Holland. Contact
|
||
Rop Gonggrijp at 2:280/1 for details.
|
||
|
||
24 Aug 1989
|
||
Voyager 2 passes Neptune.
|
||
|
||
24 Aug 1989
|
||
FidoCon '89 starts at the Holiday Inn in San Jose,
|
||
California. Trade show, seminars, etc. Contact 1:1/89
|
||
for info.
|
||
|
||
5 Oct 1989
|
||
20th Anniversary of "Monty Python's Flying Circus"
|
||
|
||
11 Oct 1989
|
||
First International Modula-2 Conference at Bled, Yugoslavia
|
||
hosting Niklaus Wirth and the British Standards Institution.
|
||
Contact 1:106/8422 for more information.
|
||
|
||
11 Nov 1989
|
||
A new area code forms in northern Illinois at 12:01 am.
|
||
Chicago proper will remain area code 312; suburban areas
|
||
formerly served with that code will become area code 708.
|
||
|
||
|
||
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
|
||
FidoNews 6-24 Page 18 12 Jun 1989
|
||
|
||
|
||
OFFICERS OF THE INTERNATIONAL FIDONET ASSOCIATION
|
||
|
||
Mort Sternheim 1:321/109 Chairman of the Board
|
||
Bob Rudolph 1:261/628 President
|
||
Matt Whelan 3:3/1 Vice President
|
||
Bill Bolton 3:711/403 Vice President-Technical Coordinator
|
||
Linda Grennan 1:147/1 Secretary
|
||
Kris Veitch 1:147/30 Treasurer
|
||
|
||
|
||
IFNA COMMITTEE AND BOARD CHAIRS
|
||
|
||
Administration and Finance Mark Grennan 1:147/1
|
||
Board of Directors Mort Sternheim 1:321/109
|
||
Bylaws Don Daniels 1:107/210
|
||
Ethics Vic Hill 1:147/4
|
||
Executive Committee Bob Rudolph 1:261/628
|
||
International Affairs Rob Gonsalves 2:500/1
|
||
Membership Services David Drexler 1:147/1
|
||
Nominations & Elections David Melnick 1:107/233
|
||
Public Affairs David Drexler 1:147/1
|
||
Publications Rick Siegel 1:107/27
|
||
Security & Individual Rights Jim Cannell 1:143/21
|
||
Technical Standards Rick Moore 1:115/333
|
||
|
||
|
||
IFNA BOARD OF DIRECTORS
|
||
|
||
DIVISION AT-LARGE
|
||
|
||
10 Courtney Harris 1:102/732 Don Daniels 1:107/210
|
||
11 Bill Allbritten 1:11/301 Mort Sternheim 1:321/109
|
||
12 Bill Bolton 3:711/403 Mark Grennan 1:147/1
|
||
13 Irene Henderson 1:107/9 (vacant)
|
||
14 Ken Kaplan 1:100/22 Ted Polczyinski 1:154/5
|
||
15 Scott Miller 1:128/12 Matt Whelan 3:3/1
|
||
16 Ivan Schaffel 1:141/390 Robert Rudolph 1:261/628
|
||
17 Neal Curtin 1:343/1 Steve Jordan 1:206/2871
|
||
18 Andrew Adler 1:135/47 Kris Veitch 1:147/30
|
||
19 David Drexler 1:147/1 (vacant)
|
||
2 Henk Wevers 2:500/1 David Melnik 1:107/233
|
||
|
||
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
FidoNews 6-24 Page 19 12 Jun 1989
|
||
|
||
|
||
__
|
||
The World's First / \
|
||
BBS Network /|oo \
|
||
* FidoNet * (_| /_)
|
||
FidoCon '89 in San Jose, California _`@/_ \ _
|
||
at The Holiday Inn Park Plaza | | \ \\
|
||
August 24-27, 1989 | (*) | \ ))
|
||
______ |__U__| / \//
|
||
/ Fido \ _//|| _\ /
|
||
(________) (_/(_|(____/ (tm)
|
||
|
||
|
||
R E G I S T R A T I O N F O R M
|
||
|
||
|
||
Name: _______________________________________________________
|
||
|
||
Address: ____________________________________________________
|
||
|
||
City: _______________________ State: ____ Zip: ______________
|
||
|
||
Country: ____________________________________________________
|
||
|
||
|
||
Phone Numbers:
|
||
|
||
Day: ________________________________________________________
|
||
|
||
Evening: ____________________________________________________
|
||
|
||
Data: _______________________________________________________
|
||
|
||
|
||
Zone:Net/
|
||
Node.Point: ___________________________________________________
|
||
|
||
Your BBS Name: ________________________________________________
|
||
|
||
|
||
BBS Software: _____________________ Mailer: ___________________
|
||
|
||
Modem Brand: _____________________ Speed: ____________________
|
||
|
||
What Hotel will you be Staying at: ____________________________
|
||
|
||
Do you want an in room point? (Holiday Inn only) ______________
|
||
|
||
Are you a Sysop? _____________
|
||
|
||
Are you an IFNA Member? ______
|
||
|
||
Additional Guests: __________
|
||
(not attending conferences)
|
||
|
||
Do you have any special requirements? (Sign Language translation,
|
||
handicapped, etc.)
|
||
FidoNews 6-24 Page 20 12 Jun 1989
|
||
|
||
|
||
______________________________________________________
|
||
|
||
|
||
Comments: ______________________________________________________
|
||
|
||
______________________________________________________
|
||
|
||
______________________________________________________
|
||
|
||
|
||
Costs How Many? Cost
|
||
--------------------------- -------- -------
|
||
|
||
Conference fee $60 .................... ________ _______
|
||
($75.00 after July 15)
|
||
|
||
Friday Banquet $30.00 ................ ________ _______
|
||
|
||
======== =======
|
||
|
||
Totals ................................ ________ _______
|
||
|
||
You may pay by Check, Money Order, or Credit Card. Please send
|
||
no cash. All monies must be in U.S. Funds. Checks should be
|
||
made out to: "FidoCon '89"
|
||
|
||
|
||
This form should be completed and mailed to:
|
||
|
||
Silicon Valley FidoCon '89
|
||
PO Box 390770
|
||
Mountain View, CA 94039
|
||
|
||
|
||
You may register by Netmailing this completed form to 1:1/89 for
|
||
processing. Rename it to ZNNNXXXX.REG where Z is your Zone
|
||
number, N is your Net number, and X is your Node number. US Mail
|
||
confirmation is required within 72 hours to confirm your
|
||
registration.
|
||
|
||
If you are paying by credit card, please include the following
|
||
information. For your own security, do not route any message
|
||
with your credit card number on it. Crash it directly to 1:1/89.
|
||
|
||
|
||
Master Card _______ Visa ________
|
||
|
||
|
||
Credit Card Number _____________________________________________
|
||
|
||
|
||
Expiration Date ________________________________________________
|
||
|
||
|
||
Signature ______________________________________________________
|
||
|
||
FidoNews 6-24 Page 21 12 Jun 1989
|
||
|
||
|
||
No credit card registrations will be accepted without a valid
|
||
signature.
|
||
|
||
|
||
Rooms at the Holiday Inn may be reserved by calling the Hotel at
|
||
408-998-0400, and mentioning that you are with FidoCon. Rooms
|
||
are $60.00 per night double occupancy. Additional rollaways are
|
||
available for $10.00 per night. To obtain these rates you must
|
||
register before July 15.
|
||
|
||
The official FidoCon '89 airline is American Airlines. You can
|
||
receive either a 5% reduction in supersaver fares or a 40%
|
||
reduction in the regular day coach fare. San Jose is an American
|
||
Airlines hub with direct flights to most major cities. When
|
||
making reservations, you must call American's reservation number,
|
||
800-433-1790, and reference Star number S0289VM.
|
||
|
||
|
||
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
FidoNews 6-24 Page 22 12 Jun 1989
|
||
|
||
|
||
__
|
||
The World's First / \
|
||
BBS Network /|oo \
|
||
* FidoNet * (_| /_)
|
||
_`@/_ \ _
|
||
| | \ \\
|
||
| (*) | \ ))
|
||
______ |__U__| / \//
|
||
/ Fido \ _//|| _\ /
|
||
(________) (_/(_|(____/ (tm)
|
||
|
||
Membership for the International FidoNet Association
|
||
|
||
Membership in IFNA is open to any individual or organization that
|
||
pays a specified annual membership fee. IFNA serves the
|
||
international FidoNet-compatible electronic mail community to
|
||
increase worldwide communications.
|
||
|
||
Member Name _______________________________ Date _______________
|
||
Address _________________________________________________________
|
||
City ____________________________________________________________
|
||
State ________________________________ Zip _____________________
|
||
Country _________________________________________________________
|
||
Home Phone (Voice) ______________________________________________
|
||
Work Phone (Voice) ______________________________________________
|
||
|
||
Zone:Net/Node Number ____________________________________________
|
||
BBS Name ________________________________________________________
|
||
BBS Phone Number ________________________________________________
|
||
Baud Rates Supported ____________________________________________
|
||
Board Restrictions ______________________________________________
|
||
|
||
Your Special Interests __________________________________________
|
||
_________________________________________________________________
|
||
_________________________________________________________________
|
||
In what areas would you be willing to help in FidoNet? __________
|
||
_________________________________________________________________
|
||
_________________________________________________________________
|
||
Send this membership form and a check or money order for $25 in
|
||
US Funds to:
|
||
International FidoNet Association
|
||
PO 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
|
||
and Articles of Association and By-Laws were adopted by the
|
||
membership in January 1987. The second elected Board of Directors
|
||
was filled in August 1988. The IFNA Echomail Conference has been
|
||
established on FidoNet to assist the Board. We welcome your
|
||
input to this Conference.
|
||
|
||
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
|