1603 lines
76 KiB
Plaintext
1603 lines
76 KiB
Plaintext
Volume 8, Number 14 8 April 1991
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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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| FidoNet (r) | | \ \\ |
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| International BBS Network | (*) | \ )) |
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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: Thom Henderson, Dale Lovell
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Chief Procrastinator Emeritus: Tom Jennings
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Copyright 1991, Fido Software. All rights reserved. Duplication
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and/or distribution permitted for noncommercial purposes only.
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For use in other circumstances, please contact Fido Software.
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FidoNews is published weekly by and for the Members of the
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FidoNet (r) International Amateur Electronic Mail System. It is
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a compilation of individual articles contributed by their authors
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or authorized agents of the authors. The contribution of articles
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to this compilation does not diminish the rights of the authors.
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You are encouraged to submit articles for publication in
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FidoNews. Article submission standards are contained in the file
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ARTSPEC.DOC, available from node 1:1/1. 1:1/1 is a Continuous
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Mail system, available for network mail 24 hours a day.
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Fido and FidoNet are registered trademarks of Tom Jennings of
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Fido Software, Box 77731, San Francisco CA 94107, USA and are
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used with permission.
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Opinions expressed in FidoNews articles are those of the authors
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and are not necessarily those of the Editor or of Fido Software.
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Most articles are unsolicited. Our policy is to publish every
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responsible submission received.
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Table of Contents
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1. EDITORIAL ................................................ 1
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WorldPol ... A good excuse to start on Policy6 ........... 1
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2. ARTICLES ................................................. 5
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WorldPol is no nonsense .................................. 5
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WorldPol: Not Perfect, but the Best so Far ............... 11
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Zone 1 Echomail Coordinator Election ..................... 12
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R U Canajan Eh? The CanaChatter Echo .................... 13
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Zone 1 FidoCon '91 Update ................................ 15
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The Unfulfilled Promise of Fidonet ....................... 22
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3. LATEST VERSIONS .......................................... 27
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Latest Software Versions ................................. 27
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And more!
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FidoNews 8-14 Page 1 8 Apr 1991
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=================================================================
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EDITORIAL
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=================================================================
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For the past two weeks I have been trying to figure out just how
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to tell you what I think about the new Policy proposal. The exact
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method that would best serve my need to get it all off my chest,
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and your need to figure out whether my comments were best ignored
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or heeded.
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Before I push you to the point of making that decision regarding
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my words, please at least heed this advice: read the proposed
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Policy carefully, read the Policy it replaces, and do some "what
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if" scenarios. Consider some situations where someone was kept
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from doing something by present Policy; determine whether you
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feel that person should be able to do that thing; see if the new
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Policy addresses it. Consider the additional freedom of action
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offered by the new Policy. Good or Bad? Look at what effect the
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changes will have on the day-by-day operation of the net. Do
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they seem to be positive or negative? Discuss it with others.
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Pass on your advice to your NC. Be a part of this process.
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OK. Thanks. Now I'll cut to the chase.
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Worldpol seems to me to be a well-intentioned effort to correct
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a few perceived flaws in Policy 4. For some reason, the
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resultant document seems to have basically started from a blank
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sheet of paper, without considering the reason for any of those
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sections of Policy 4 which demonstated those perceived flaws.
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Without going completely Luddite on you, let me still point out
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that Policy1-Policy4 seem to have been a fairly good set of
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rules. After all, they got us here. I don't see why all of a
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sudden the entire fabric needed to be torn out in favor of a new
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one. Perhaps I'm just not farsighted enough. Hell, some mornings
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I can't even remember the name of the kid who played Pugsley.
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Right up front, let me tell you what the biggest problem with
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this document is. There are a lot of noises swirling around
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these days with words like "liability" and "punitive damages" in
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them. This document blows enough of the structure of FidoNet
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away to make a number of lawyers very rich and send a few
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coordinators to a new home in a cardboard box. The fact that it
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was written by a person for whom English is a second language
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(although his command of it is better than many Americans of my
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acquaintance) really doesn't hold a single drop of water in a
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court of law. To add to this problem, the disclaimer stating
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that fact is in a section that will be deleted should the vote
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be in favor of ratification. Sic transit NC's.
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FidoNews 8-14 Page 2 8 Apr 1991
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Next problem: the concept of "areas" is diluted to the point of
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being meaningless. This works great in combination with another
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feature which I'll address in a minute. But for now, consider
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this: there is nothing in Worldpol to keep someone from being RC
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of every region in a Zone. All that person has to do is maintain
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a node in every region, which is perfectly allowable under the
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new Policy -- and that makes him/her part of the "area" which
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she/he would be coordinating, and eligible for election. Yeah,
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sure, that could never happen. And O-rings never burn through and
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the Libyans are only manufacturing pharmaceuticals.
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How about the local net policies? Did anyone notice that local
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net policy is not subordinate to regional policy? But the RC
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has to deal with policy disputes. Now that's fair, isn't it?
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Harry has already mentioned a number of the things that bother
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me most about this one. I'll bet anyone five dollars that there
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will be at least one white-only net in North America by the end
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of the year if this policy passes. I'll bet anyone ten dollars
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that Zone 4 will have communists-not-allowed nets and regions in
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less time than that.
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Would the Z4C care to comment on whether Cubans should be
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allowed in FidoNet? And how convenient it will be to have a
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policy that lets you tell them where to stick their modems?
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Has anyone heard from Russia recently, and will prospective
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members of FidoNet have to show a prison tattoo or a burned-up
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party card to join?
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What is a Western-style democracy for the purposes of Worldpol?
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The United States? Let's put that to the test. I'll send in a
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voter registration form to Duluth, Minnesota. I'll say that while
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I actually live and work in New Hampshire, I like Minnesota best
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and I want to vote and pay taxes there. I bet New Hampshire will
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go along with it, too.
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Here's another thing: There is a substantial body of legislation
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and judicial action which helps to dampen the "tyranny of the
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majority" in the United States. This takes the form of
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representation in local governments by the minority party,
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affirmative action quotas, and many other things which if just
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left to a popular vote would probably fail resoundingly. Ask the
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people of Boston or Yonkers if they favor busing. If the United
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States worked like Worldpol, there would be no such thing.
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If not the United States, then perhaps El Salvador? Haiti? Cuba?
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(Forget I said Cuba, I just remembered that Communists live
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there) This is an important point. You can't just say "Western
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standards" and expect that to suffice.
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FidoNews 8-14 Page 3 8 Apr 1991
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Worldpol says that FidoNews is the official newsletter. It says
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that members of an area (whatever that is) can vote not to
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receive it. Did anyone mention that since FidoNews is the
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official newsletter, the *C is liable in any case involving
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prior notice, if FidoNews was not provided? If the person who
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did not receive that prior notice (and because of the "official
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newsletter" clause, FidoNews is the only place that has any
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legal standing) in FidoNews wasn't in favor of dropping it, the
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*C loses and some lawyer gets rich.
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Why didn't the authors didn't put something in Worldpol saying
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that I didn't have to accept FidoNews submissions from an area
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that has voted not to receive it? After all, why should the rest
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of the net have to pay to move, or to read, something submitted
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by someone who never intends to read it her/himself?
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Most of my other objections have been voiced equally well or
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better by others. I'm glad to be able to say that. I'm not a
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lone voice in the wilderness. Perhaps I'm one of a few hundred
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such voices, but I suspect the real numbers are very different.
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Hello, Jack? Jack Decker? I have an answer to your question from
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last week. Why weren't people such as myself involved in the
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effort to pull Worldpol from the ashes of Policy4? Perhaps
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because unlike yourself, we saw no ashes.
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There is some need for improvement in the document, but it
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neither needs nor deserves to be discarded just because you and
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a few dozen others don't understand why it is the way it is.
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Discussions leading to corrective surgery would have garnered a
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great deal more interest from myself and others than what we
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observed to be the case: the proposition that the basis of
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FidoNet's "new world order" was the scrapping of previous
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documents and a fresh start with fresh minds, unencumbered by
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outmoded views. In other words, smart young turks at work, old
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fogies stay out!
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So many of us did (BTW, Harry asks me to note that he sent
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comments after each published revision to his NC, RC and ZC).
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Since the net continued to work all the time you guys were
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plugging away at this, we figured there was no need to fix
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anything right away. I still feel that way. Almost. I think that
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Worldpol needs a LOT of fixing before it should be adopted.
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Democracy in FidoNet is a great idea. But just like every great
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thing, it's best in moderation. Worldpol proposes too much of
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that good thing. We'll all get tummy aches if we have it.
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Worldpol is not a keeper. Throw it back and let it mature a bit.
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FidoNews 8-14 Page 4 8 Apr 1991
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-----------------------------------------------------------------
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FidoNews 8-14 Page 5 8 Apr 1991
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=================================================================
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ARTICLES
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=================================================================
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Folks Who Oppose Democracy In FidoNet Are Nervous But...
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WORLDPOL IS NO NONSENSE
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A lot has been said about WorldPol. Both recently and before.
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WorldPol was first released in October of 1989 and published
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on FidoNews. Since then, all comments by anyone interested
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were happily received and considered. The document was
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re-released in 7 other opportunities as changes were been
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proposed and critics were made. All versions have been
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published on FidoNews.
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It is the first time in FidoNet history that a policy document
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is written by the network's sysops and not just by coordinators.
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The first time that anybody interested was able to
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participate and actually invited to do so.
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It is the first time that democracy is proposed for FidoNet.
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In an article by Harry Lee on a past number of FidoNews, he
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says that WorldPol changes too many things at one time. Whereas
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it's a fact that many things are changed, I can well sit and
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argue if it's really "too many things". I would rather say
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"many", but never "too many".
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The comparison of WorldPol and Policy4 as two mailers with
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different codes and different protocols does only to the purpose
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of creating a bigger confusion. Things are not really like that.
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And the contradiction comes later in the same text: the author
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subsequently claims that WorldPol uses a lot of Policy4 wording,
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which is true.
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Policy4 besides being an evolution of Policy3 as Harry likes to
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say, is also a degeneration of the latter.
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How did the authors know that FidoNet (and by that I refer to
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"the sysops members of FidoNet") wanted a system of elections
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analogous of the most popularly known dictatorial regimes in the
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world?
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Yes, that's what Policy4 proposes: John ZC elects Jim RC, Peter
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RC and Paul RC. And then Jim RC, Peter RC and Paul RC elect John
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ZC! Added to this is the fact that then Jim RC, Peter RC and
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Paul RC go and choose their respective regions' NCs.
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In between, where are the FidoNet sysops? They are right there:
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forgotten and ignored. But according to those that defend
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Policy4, the poor sysops like to be forgotten and ignored!
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Excusez-moi, but I simply don't buy that.
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Democracy is probably the point that, along with "geography",
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doesn't let WorldPol's most staunch opponents sleep at night.
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So let's talk about "geography:"
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I am not a supporter of non-geographic nets and never was. In
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Zone-4, where I belong, there aren't any non-geographic networks
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at all.
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FidoNews 8-14 Page 6 8 Apr 1991
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But I know very well that across the Ocean, in Europe, things
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are different. The two biggest regions there: Holland and
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Germany, have non-geographic nets.
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Should I, from Buenos Aires, tell the guys in Antwerpen and
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Hamburg that what they do is wrong? I rather chose to sit and
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watch. It is their experience and if they do it that way, it's
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maybe because that is the best for them. It does not and will not
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in any way, harm the rest of FidoNet... So why should I complain?
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Why should anyone complain?
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I will probably support establishing geographic restrictions
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in Zone-4, when we write our Zone policy. I believe it will be
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better that way for us but why in the world should I pretend
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to indicate somebody thousands of miles away what to do?
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Telling many strangers what to do is it precisely what Policy4
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intends to do, and unquestionably fails. Policy4 is not enforced
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in many parts around the world because it is unenforceable!
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And this does not only refer to smallZone-4, it also refers to
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Zone-2, Zone-5 and Zone-6.
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Not aiming at describing all the reasons why Policy4 is not fully
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enforced worldwide, let me just mention a few assorted examples:
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. Zone-2: overlapping nets, according to geography, in several
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regions.
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. Zone-4: we don't use English for any of our 'official stuff'
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as we use instead Spanish and Portuguese. All the
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coordinators are elected by the common sysops, not
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appointed as Policy4 establishes.
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. Zone-5: single-node regions because of political motivations.
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. Zone-6: at least one region officially charges a fee to member
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sysops according to its regional policy document.
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One thing particularly annoying on the text by Harry Lee is when
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it says that "the problems with WorldPol are rooted in an
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absolute lack of understanding of history." I see it as a token
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of the arrogance used throughout the article to attack this
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independently-written policy proposal.
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As painful as it is to me, it gives those around me yet another
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reason to say that the fact that WorldPol emerges from the
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Third World goes along with the fact that Policy4 is yet
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another example of "imperialismo yanqui". No, I don't coincide
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with that point of view and will not. But it is sad that some
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people think that it is correct to impose procedures on others
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without bothering to inform themselves about what are the
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necessities of those others.
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Policy4 was written in North America by North Americans, and
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while Europeans did not participate or support it, we Latin
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Americans were denied a say. And Zone-4 did exist even before
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Policy4 was approved.
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FidoNews 8-14 Page 7 8 Apr 1991
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I will refer quickly to the list of credits: ALL the persons
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that in one way or another -including Bill Bolton- contributed
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to the document, usually by questioning it and proposing
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changes, were listed.
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The reason why Thom Henderson, Harry Lee and maybe others were
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not included regards to the fact that the parts WorldPol have
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in common with Policy4 were extracted from "FidoNet's current
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policy document" and not from an article written by either of
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them. Policy4 does not indicate who wrote it and one is not
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supposed to know the list by heart.
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Let me now refer to a few other points made by Lee:
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- Different Social Orientation
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It is NOT true that WorldPol was written by a fundamentally
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different society, Zone-4. WorldPol contains input from people
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from all over the world. And that is surely more appropriate for
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an international network than a group just from North America.
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It is not a problem of "Zone sizes" as Europe played a big
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role on WorldPol development too. And there isn't a zone around
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the world containing so many countries and different languages
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as Zone-2.
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When Harry Lee says that Zone-4 is the writer of WorldPol he is
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just helping to confuse, because the statement is anything but
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reality.
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- A case of tail wagging the dog?
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Again, this is not a case of minority (Zone-4) trying to impose
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a document on the majority (Zone-1). Since the sysops without
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a coordinator title were never consulted in Zone-1 with regard
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to Policy, is he referring to a voteless majority?
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On the other hand and again I say it, even Zone-1 and Zone-3 are
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represented on WorldPol. And there is probably more from Zone-2
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on WorldPol than from myself or others in Zone-4.
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FidoNet Latin America hasn't been around since the times of
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TJ's Fido version 8 but it has for almost four years. And Zone-4
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has existed within FidoNet since before Policy4 was adopted.
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Now: is sustaining democratic values a symptom of adolescence?
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- Mediator Insanity
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The above referred title Mr. Lee has used is already prejudice.
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The mediation mechanisms proposed in WorldPol simply state that
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the natural mediator should be the coordinator of the smallest
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structure that contains accuser and accused. Is that so insane?
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Antidemocratic? Give me a break!
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FidoNews 8-14 Page 8 8 Apr 1991
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- Coordinator Requirements
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Harry Lee poses a very significative question when referring to
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a supposed problem here: "what happens if a net sets up
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requirements that cannot be attained or sustained?"
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This simply shows how much he trusts the criteria of the common
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FidoNet sysop member. If a net's policy is written by the members
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of a net, would they self-impose unattainable or unsustainable
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requirements?
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Do you really believe this is likely to happen?
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- Elimination of FidoNews Requirement
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"The tyranny of the majority strikes again" he said, and I agree.
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Official notices, to my understanding, are published on the
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nodelist itself (on the nodediffs), which is mandatory.
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Problem with FidoNews: while it costs $0.30 a week to a sysop
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(*C) in Anytown,USA to get it, it costs $30 a week to a sysop
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in Lima,Peru, where international communication prices are now
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skyrocketing, and costs around $10 a week to a sysop (*C) in my
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own country or Brazil.
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I believe that in some countries in Eastern Europe, they don't
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even have direct-dial to the United States to be able to file
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request FidoNews if they wanted to. Some other sysop around there
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mentioned once that though he could dial direct to the United
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States, the telco bills him $30 for each minute.
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How can we dictate that every net in the world should spend that
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money for something apart from technical operation of the
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network? What happens if -like happened to us under
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hyperinflation a number of times- we simply can't afford it? Are
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we violating policy? Are we out?
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- Unanimous Election of IC
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Here's the requested explanation:
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The IC should be someone 'okay for all zones'. That's the purpose
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of the unanimous vote and the majority for removal. The ZCC acts
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as a council of Zone Coordinators. If there is no agreement,
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there is no IC and the ZCC is in charge.
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Having the IC as executive allows the possibility of not having
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to vote each decision that reaches the top of the coordinator
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structure. But he who decides must be an 'okay figure' to all the
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zones he represents.
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Remember that the ZCC members are the ones that process the
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nodelist and ultimately the network's highest authority. The IC
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coordinates ZCC work and executes what is decided at the top
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level, but -I hope it doesn't happen- if the ZCC decides to have
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no IC, it will have to determine how things work at that level
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and probably vote on each decision instead of letting an IC
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decide.
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FidoNews 8-14 Page 9 8 Apr 1991
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- Transitional Problems
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I don't agree with Harry's claim that it created contradiction.
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WorldPol reads clearly:
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---start of quote---
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7.3 Transition to a 'Worldwide Policy environment'
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After the approval of this Worldwide Policy, the previously
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||
existing policy will still be in effect for the Zone level until
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the approval of a new Zone policy, according to the methods
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provided in this document.
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All the procedures introduced by this Worldwide Policy document
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adjourn the procedures existing in the previous policy document.
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---end of quote---
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|
||
... it says ALL the procedures ADJOURN the existing in the
|
||
previous policy document. Clear as water.
|
||
|
||
- Not Final And Yet We're Voting On It?
|
||
|
||
You are voting on what you are reading. That leaves no doubts.
|
||
|
||
This document is something concrete and, if approved, will
|
||
probably be modified by the network's sysops in the future, as
|
||
FidoNet progresses. This, according to the prescriptions on the
|
||
document itself for updating.
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
As final words, I would like to remind some, explain to others,
|
||
that WorldPol is an independent effort originated in the need of
|
||
a worldwide enforceable policy.
|
||
This fact has been disregarded and ignored by much of the past
|
||
and current individuals rejecting it nowadays.
|
||
|
||
I don't know what will come up from the vote, but in one way
|
||
or another, they know there is a group on FidoNet that advocates
|
||
to democracy and the rights of every sysop in the network.
|
||
These rights include the possibility of the groups of sysops
|
||
in different parts of the world to organize and operate
|
||
according to their customs and not to which some intend to
|
||
dictate from some faraway place.
|
||
|
||
This ideal, today expressed by the current policy proposal
|
||
WorldPol, is likely to win. Sooner or later. The sooner, the
|
||
better for FidoNet.
|
||
|
||
Pablo Kleinman
|
||
Democratically Elected Zone-4 Coordinator
|
||
April 5, 1991
|
||
|
||
FidoNews 8-14 Page 10 8 Apr 1991
|
||
|
||
|
||
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
FidoNews 8-14 Page 11 8 Apr 1991
|
||
|
||
|
||
Alejandro Hopkins
|
||
FidoNet 4:900/211.0
|
||
|
||
|
||
WORLDPOL: NOT PERFECT, BUT THE BEST SO FAR
|
||
|
||
|
||
A very important discovery seems to have been made in FidoNet,
|
||
and we have read a lot about it in the last three issues of
|
||
FidoNews: WORLDPOL ISN'T PERFECT. Gee, you don't need to be
|
||
Stephen Hawking to find that out: I could have told you.
|
||
WorldPol is far from perfect, but it's also far better than
|
||
Policy 4, and that's what counts in the current situation. It
|
||
was written to change the aspects of the Policy 4
|
||
administration that require immediate solution, not to be THE
|
||
policy document until the end of times.
|
||
|
||
That's why it makes it much easier for the ones proposing new
|
||
policy documents to get them voted. It was very tough to get
|
||
WorldPol voted: we had to beat the whole boureaucracy intalled
|
||
by Policy 4. If WorldPol doesen't become Policy 5, people
|
||
proposing other documents will have the same trouble that we
|
||
overcame. And they might not be that lucky.
|
||
|
||
There are some things in WorldPol that may need changing. The
|
||
language IS vague, granted. It's a pity that nobody pointed that
|
||
out before the final version was released for vote. Maybe point
|
||
operators should be considered different from other users, and
|
||
maybe there's no such thing as a "Western Democracy". What
|
||
won't change in OUR Policy 6 project is the base of WorldPol:
|
||
democratic and universal vote. But that might not be so in
|
||
other Policy 6 proposals. If the majority of the network
|
||
doesen't want to vote, then be it. Some say it will be
|
||
difficult to count the votes of the whole network. That is (at
|
||
least) a silly argument. I remember having voted on the IFNA
|
||
affair, and no big problems arised.
|
||
|
||
Democracy should be the next step in the evolution of FidoNet. It's
|
||
strange that it will come so late in an organization that was born in
|
||
America. Maybe that's because people there are so used to democracy,
|
||
that they fail to understand how vital it is. You have to lose it to
|
||
really know how much it's worth. I lived in a non-democratic regime
|
||
for too long, and now that we regained democracy in our country, I'd
|
||
like to have it in FidoNet, too. Let's give it a shot, OK?
|
||
|
||
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
FidoNews 8-14 Page 12 8 Apr 1991
|
||
|
||
|
||
Zone 1 Echomail Coordinator Election Final Results
|
||
George Peace
|
||
1:1/0
|
||
|
||
We finally made it to the end of the Z1EC election. I learned
|
||
a little more about "democracy" in FidoNet. I certainly hope the
|
||
experience was one of growth. Here are the final votes by region:
|
||
|
||
Davis Nissan None Other
|
||
Region ----- ----- ----- -----
|
||
|
||
10 11 2 1 -
|
||
11 36 - - -
|
||
12 - 2 - -
|
||
13 11 2 3 -
|
||
14 3 4 - 1
|
||
15 3 2 - -
|
||
16 11 - - -
|
||
17 4 - - -
|
||
18 3 71 - -
|
||
19 50 4 - -
|
||
|
||
total 132 87 4 1
|
||
|
||
|
||
Congratulations to Tony Davis, our new Zone 1 EchoMail
|
||
Coordinator.
|
||
|
||
I once again extend my sincere Thanks to all Z1EC candidates for
|
||
your continuing efforts on all our behalf.
|
||
|
||
Rick McWilliams, outgoing Z1EC, deserves credit and praise for
|
||
all that he accomplished behind the scenes as Z1EC. Thanks!
|
||
|
||
|
||
Peace to All,
|
||
George
|
||
|
||
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
FidoNews 8-14 Page 13 8 Apr 1991
|
||
|
||
|
||
Joe Lindstrom
|
||
1:134/55 @FidoNet
|
||
99:9305/55 @EggNet
|
||
201:5500/55 @MetroNet
|
||
|
||
The CanaChatter Echo
|
||
====================
|
||
|
||
Some time ago, we began an echo conference with the tagname
|
||
CANACHAT. The idea was a general-discussion echo, but with a
|
||
topic of "Canada" (you know, that wasteland to the north?).
|
||
Pretty much anything is acceptable, just so long as it has
|
||
something to do with the Great White North. Conversations have
|
||
ranged from the Gulf War (and Canada's rather limited partici-
|
||
pation in it) to capital punishment to Star Trek. Barring the
|
||
latter topic, the signal-to-noise ratio is quite high and I
|
||
think you will find it an excellent forum to air your views and
|
||
to debate others on theirs.
|
||
|
||
This echo, up until now, has been essentially a private echo
|
||
with my system as the top-star. A few systems have been
|
||
polling me regularly for this and other echoes, and we have
|
||
managed to build quite a following. However, as traffic levels
|
||
increased, so did phone bills for the systems pulling it in
|
||
directly from my system. I have in mind, specifically, Russell
|
||
McOrmond of 1:163/109 and Richard Hatfield of 1:342/16, who
|
||
have spent some hard-earned CanuckBucks so that they and their
|
||
Nets could participate. In Russell's case, he was in turn
|
||
feeding other nets, so he was sending traffic two ways.
|
||
|
||
So we decided to go to the backbone. My primary concern
|
||
here was the fact that FidoNet isn't the only network that is
|
||
carrying this echo. After speaking with John Souvestre, the
|
||
REC for Region 19, about this at length, we now feel that the
|
||
time is right. With John's help, we've managed to jump through
|
||
all the required hoops, including listing the echo in ELIST and
|
||
getting the support of two REC's. In short, the echo may be on
|
||
the backbone by the time you read this.
|
||
|
||
I've had several sysops in the U.S. netmail me in regards to
|
||
getting a connection to CanaChatter. I'm sorry to all of you
|
||
that wrote and didn't get a reply back from me: had I done so,
|
||
my local phone company would probably have sent me a letter of
|
||
sincere thanks! They'd address it to the poorhouse... anyways,
|
||
the response has been rather overwhelming. I've had letters
|
||
from Canadians who are now living in the U.S. and want CANACHAT
|
||
on their systems, sort of as a link "back home". One fella who
|
||
wrote me was doing so on behalf of a couple of users of his,
|
||
and goodness knows how they found out about the echo. They
|
||
wanted it, he couldn't care less but could I connect him?
|
||
|
||
FidoNews 8-14 Page 14 8 Apr 1991
|
||
|
||
|
||
Hopefully this new backbone linkup will solve all of these
|
||
problems, and alleviate some rather expensive weekly
|
||
connections for Richard and Russell. A tip of the toque to you
|
||
both for making CANACHAT what it is today!
|
||
|
||
I should also point out that CANACHAT will be available to
|
||
you folks in OtherNets (TM) via authorized zonegates. Systems
|
||
in either EggNet or MetroNet may optionally come straight to my
|
||
system (if they can handle the expensive of 20-40 messages a
|
||
day), I am "zone-gating" the echo to these two nets already and
|
||
adding you will be a simple matter. It will, however, be
|
||
cheaper for you and technically simpler if you can get the echo
|
||
via a closer echo hub.
|
||
|
||
A final few words on the echo itself: although I was the
|
||
original moderator of the echo, I've passed that duty on to
|
||
those better able to monitor it on a daily basis. Since Canada
|
||
has two official languages, English and French, CANACHAT has
|
||
two official moderators, one for each language. Messages in
|
||
either language are ACCEPTABLE (note that this is one of the
|
||
few backbone echoes where this holds true). Your CANACHAT
|
||
moderators are:
|
||
|
||
English/Anglais: Racey Sealock of/du 1:134/42
|
||
99:9305/42
|
||
201:5500/42
|
||
French/Francais: Peter Donald of/du 1:249/126
|
||
|
||
We hope to see you there!
|
||
|
||
[~] Sarek [~]
|
||
|
||
|
||
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
FidoNews 8-14 Page 15 8 Apr 1991
|
||
|
||
|
||
FidoCon '91 Committee
|
||
@Fidonet 1:1/91
|
||
|
||
FidoCon '91
|
||
August 16th through 18th, 1991
|
||
1:1/91@Fidonet {or something like that}
|
||
|
||
FidoCon '91 Membership
|
||
P.O. Box 486
|
||
Louisville, CO 80027
|
||
Contact telephone (303) 426-1847
|
||
|
||
FidoCon '91 VIP Membership $104 US*
|
||
Banquet 25 US
|
||
===
|
||
$94 US
|
||
|
||
* After July 15, $169
|
||
*NEW*
|
||
A "No Frills", good from 9am to 6pm, for Seminar and
|
||
Dealers Rooms ONLY membership (no Convention Hospitality
|
||
Suite access or ticket for the SuperSystem Drawing) is
|
||
available for $45 US for the three days or $20 US per day.
|
||
Full credit can be applied to a VIP membership if you elect
|
||
to upgrade.
|
||
*NEW*
|
||
A "Supporting Membership" for those unable to attend, is
|
||
available for $25 US. Supporting members Will receive the
|
||
progress reports and program book.
|
||
|
||
Hotel: Sheraton Lakewood
|
||
690 Union Blvd
|
||
Lakewood, CO
|
||
(303) 987-2000
|
||
|
||
Rooms:
|
||
|
||
Single/Double $59 US per night
|
||
Adjoining Rooms (Pseudo-Suite) 118 US
|
||
Triple/Quad 78 US
|
||
Adjoining Rooms (Pseudo-Suite) 156 US
|
||
Suites from 450 US
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
FidoCon '91 is a limited attendance event.
|
||
|
||
Guests of Honor:
|
||
|
||
Tom Jennings -- FidoCon '91 Guest of Honor
|
||
Tim Pozar -- Gateway Guru
|
||
FidoNews 8-14 Page 16 8 Apr 1991
|
||
|
||
|
||
Ray Gwinn -- The Fossil master his self
|
||
Vince Perriello -- President of Bit Bucket Software &
|
||
publisher of FidoNews.
|
||
Alan Applegate -- VICE-President of Bit Bucket, Writer of
|
||
the infamous Binkley Docs & Technical
|
||
Support for eSoft.
|
||
Bob Hartman -- From Bloom County to you.
|
||
Phil Becker -- CEO of eSoft .. publisher of TBBS/TDBS/TIMS
|
||
Steve Jackson -- CEO of Steve Jackson Games .. Publisher of
|
||
GURPS CYBERPUNK and center of Secret
|
||
Service attention for over 8 months.
|
||
John Perry Barlow -- Internet Guru, one of the founders of the
|
||
Electronic Frontier Foundation.
|
||
|
||
Guests of Dishonor:
|
||
|
||
Terry Travis -- Vince and Alan's prime target in the SYSOP
|
||
Mud pie Fight
|
||
|
||
Those indicating they will be attending:
|
||
|
||
Tom Tcimpids
|
||
Several notable writers of computer columns
|
||
Several popular Science fiction authors
|
||
Mitch Kapor Founder of the Electronic Frontier Foundation
|
||
|
||
Invited and not yet committed:
|
||
|
||
Steve Wozniack The WOZ, one of the founders of Apple
|
||
|
||
Convention Hospitality Suite by:
|
||
|
||
Kevin "DOC" McNeil and the FidoNet COOKING echo {newsgroup}
|
||
|
||
Featuring: Seadog Casserole, Zip-Tarts, Pak-Man Cookies,
|
||
Roast Opus
|
||
|
||
Paid Memberships:
|
||
|
||
George Peace & Steve Jackson
|
||
Christine Keefer Charlie Bass
|
||
Eric L. Smith & Rodney A. Aloia
|
||
Diane B. Smith Girard Westerberg
|
||
Marshall Barry & Daniel D. Segard
|
||
Michelle Weisblat Russell Anderson
|
||
Jim Burt & Brian P. Bartee
|
||
Karen Burt Tom Jennings
|
||
Scott Munhollon & Ray Gwinn
|
||
Tammy Munhollon Tim Pozar
|
||
Peter N. White & Terry Travis
|
||
Cheryl Gordon Phil Becker
|
||
FidoNews 8-14 Page 17 8 Apr 1991
|
||
|
||
|
||
Thomas Pat Nefos & Bob Hartman
|
||
Judy Nefos Alan Applegate
|
||
Peter Stewart & Chris Anderson
|
||
Michele Hamilton Jeff P. Brothers
|
||
Daniel L. Bonner & Andrew Milner
|
||
Linda L. Bonner James F. Smith
|
||
Terry N. Rune' & Joaquim Homrighausen
|
||
Wayne A. Rune' Joe Dehn
|
||
James H. Dunmyer & Bruce H. Kirschner
|
||
Janice L. Dunmyer Ken Zen
|
||
Mike Ratledge & Ben Cunningham
|
||
Donna Ratledge John P. Roberts Jr.
|
||
Michael Kanavy & Chris Rand
|
||
Elizabeth Kanavy Norman B. Henke
|
||
Bob Whiston & Stanley A. Hirschman
|
||
Cheryl Whiston John R. Souvestre
|
||
William M. Van Glahn & Steven L. Rusboldt
|
||
Janet Van Glahn Emmitt W. A. Dove
|
||
Sam Saulys
|
||
George R. Cornell
|
||
Bill Bacon
|
||
Zhahai Stewart
|
||
Michael Pratt
|
||
John Johnson
|
||
Brenda Donovan
|
||
Ed Moore
|
||
Mike Eckles
|
||
Don Marquart
|
||
Jeff Tensly
|
||
Thomas Lange
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
Attending Banquet
|
||
|
||
Jim Burt & Charlie Bass
|
||
Karen Burt Rodney A. Aloia
|
||
Peter N. White & Girard Westerberg
|
||
Cheryl Gordon Daniel D. Segard
|
||
Daniel L. Bonner & Russell Anderson
|
||
Linda L. Bonner Brian P. Bartee
|
||
James H. Dunmyer & Jeff P. Brothers
|
||
Janice L. Dunmyer Andrew Milner
|
||
Mike Ratledge & James F. Smith
|
||
Donna Ratledge Joaquim Homrighausen
|
||
Michael Kanavy & Ben Cunningham
|
||
Elizabeth Kanavy John P. Roberts Jr.
|
||
William M. Van Glahn & Norman B. Henke
|
||
Janet Van Glahn Tom Jennings
|
||
FidoNews 8-14 Page 18 8 Apr 1991
|
||
|
||
|
||
Marshall Barry & Phil Becker
|
||
Michelle Weisblat Bob Hartman
|
||
John R. Souvestre
|
||
John Johnson
|
||
Brenda Donovan
|
||
Ed Moore
|
||
Don Marquart
|
||
Alan Applegate
|
||
Tim Pozar
|
||
Ray Gwinn
|
||
|
||
Seminars:
|
||
|
||
Surviving Government Scrutiny The Ultimate BBS/BBSing
|
||
in the future. Network
|
||
evolution
|
||
|
||
TBBS\TDBS\TIMS Getting the most from
|
||
BinkleyTerm
|
||
|
||
AMAX made easy Gateways - the
|
||
internetwork connection
|
||
|
||
Dealing with SYSOP burnout BBSing in the 90's and beyond
|
||
|
||
The Ethical Software Hacker For this I gave up my
|
||
Love Life?
|
||
|
||
How to moderate an Echo Copyrights demystified
|
||
|
||
Software Development Roundtable DOS 4/5, Windows
|
||
|
||
Developers Roundtable Modem Roundtable
|
||
|
||
file your own copyrights for $10 XRS/RAX/QMX/SeX/XOR/OREO
|
||
/MORE
|
||
|
||
Association of Shareware XRS (the Universal Off-Line
|
||
Reader Editor
|
||
Professionals
|
||
|
||
BBS Role Playing Gaming Forum Promoting your BBS
|
||
|
||
BBS Business Sense Network Ethics
|
||
|
||
BBS Users Groups Activities:
|
||
|
||
TBBS Users Group will be convening as FidoTUG '91 during the
|
||
convention.
|
||
|
||
AlterCon will be sharing the facilities.
|
||
FidoNews 8-14 Page 19 8 Apr 1991
|
||
|
||
|
||
AlterNet Costume Banquet Royal Court
|
||
Meeting of the Dukes
|
||
|
||
Fun Activities:
|
||
|
||
Traditional Hard Diskus Throw Floppy Fling
|
||
The Big Three Brewery Bash National SYSOP Mud Pie Fight
|
||
Air Force Academy Tour Garden of the Gods
|
||
Psychic and Physical Tours Golfing Tours of
|
||
of Colorful Colorado Colorado
|
||
|
||
We are scheduling additional seminars and social activities.
|
||
Fire off a message letting us know what you'd like to see and
|
||
do. If you would like to see someone special, let us know as
|
||
well.
|
||
|
||
*** FidoCon '91 Dealers Room will be open from 9:00 am to 6:00 pm
|
||
*** Friday and Saturday, 9:00 am to 3:00 pm Sunday
|
||
|
||
Manufacturers Invited:
|
||
|
||
AAC Telecomm Adaptec, Inc.
|
||
Alloy Computer Products, Inc. American MiTAC Corporation
|
||
Anchor Automation Artisoft
|
||
AST Research, Inc. ATI Technologies Inc.
|
||
Bit Bucket Software BIX
|
||
Borland Chesterfield Financial Corp.
|
||
Clark Development Company, Inc Coconut Computing, Inc.
|
||
Compucom Connect Tech, Inc
|
||
DigiBoard Everex Systems, Inc.
|
||
Fujitsu Galacticomm, Inc.
|
||
Gates Distributing GVC Technologies Inc.
|
||
GW Associates Hayes Microcomputer Products
|
||
Hitachi Microcom, Inc.
|
||
Microsoft Motorola Computer Group
|
||
Multi-Tech Systems, Inc. Online Communications, Inc.
|
||
Practical Peripherals Prodigy Services
|
||
Quarterdeck Office Systems Searchlight Software
|
||
Supra Corporation Surf Computer Services
|
||
System Enhancement Associates Telebit Corporation
|
||
U.S. Robotics, Inc. VSI Telecommunications, Inc.
|
||
Western Digital Zoom Telephonics, Inc.
|
||
|
||
Confirmed dealers
|
||
|
||
Bit Bucket Software CDB Systems eSoft
|
||
Mustang Software, Inc.
|
||
|
||
Drawings & Prizes
|
||
|
||
Including:
|
||
FidoNews 8-14 Page 20 8 Apr 1991
|
||
|
||
|
||
16 Line TBBS/TDBS/TIMS Sysop Dream SYSTEM CPU with a 486 or a
|
||
386, at least 3/4 Gig disk, 16 ports and several modems ..
|
||
depending on number of attendees. A portion of the
|
||
memberships go to purchasing this system.
|
||
|
||
Autographed copies of the books that made Steve Jackson a
|
||
household name, GURPS CYBERPUNK.
|
||
|
||
For the SYSOP that has everything
|
||
300 baud acoustic Sysop Nightmare System
|
||
|
||
All kinds of donated equipment and software, some even working.
|
||
|
||
Hospitality Suites
|
||
|
||
eSoft Bit Bucket Software
|
||
|
||
More as it comes to being. Subscribe to the FIDOCON_91 Echo.
|
||
|
||
This will be THE BBSing Event of '91, BE THERE.
|
||
|
||
================== FidoCon '91 Registration Form ================
|
||
|
||
Name: ___________________________________________________________
|
||
|
||
Street Address: _________________________________________________
|
||
|
||
City: ________________________ State/Province: __________________
|
||
|
||
Postal Code: ________________________ Country: __________________
|
||
|
||
Voice #: ___________ Data #: ______________ Net Address: ________
|
||
|
||
Name: ______________________ Membership Type: _____ Amount: _____
|
||
|
||
Name: ______________________ Membership Type: _____ Amount: _____
|
||
|
||
No. of T-Shirts: ___ Sizes(S/M/L/XL): _______ @ $15/ea = _____
|
||
|
||
Complaints (Print): ______ Banquet Tickets: ___ @ $25/ea = _____
|
||
|
||
TOTAL $ _____
|
||
|
||
Visa/Mastercard Number _____________________ Expire Date: _______
|
||
|
||
Signature: _______________________ Date: ________
|
||
|
||
Please make checks payable (in U.S.A. Dollars) to FIDOCON '91
|
||
and Mail To: FidoCon '91, P.O. Box 486, Louisville, CO 80027-0486
|
||
|
||
|
||
FidoNews 8-14 Page 21 8 Apr 1991
|
||
|
||
|
||
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
FidoNews 8-14 Page 22 8 Apr 1991
|
||
|
||
|
||
Jack Decker
|
||
1:154/8 Fidonet
|
||
|
||
The Unfulfilled Promise of Fidonet
|
||
|
||
I guess in some ways this article is my "one last attempt" to
|
||
try and explain some things about Fidonet that have bothered me
|
||
for a long time. I've been in Fidonet for a few years now, and
|
||
have observed certain things that continue to happen even
|
||
though, in my opinion, they are destructive to our hobby.
|
||
|
||
This is not my "farewell to Fidonet" but in some ways it comes
|
||
close. My role in Fidonet henceforth will be much lower key,
|
||
unless something happens to cause me to take much greater
|
||
interest.
|
||
|
||
One thing I have noticed is that from time to time we quietly
|
||
lose some good people. They just can't put up will all the
|
||
B.S. anymore so they either leave Fidonet or quietly retire to
|
||
the sidelines. Nobody seems to care.
|
||
|
||
I can understand why these people leave. You can only beat
|
||
your head against a stone wall for so long before you decide
|
||
that the wall isn't going to move, and you might as well get on
|
||
with more profitable (and less painless!) pursuits.
|
||
|
||
Unfortunately, there are also those people who, in my opinion,
|
||
do things that are more destructive than helpful for Fidonet.
|
||
I won't name names, but some of them seem to have been around
|
||
nearly forever, and haven't changed their opinions much in that
|
||
time.
|
||
|
||
What bugs me is that Fidonet has so much potential, but in most
|
||
cases it's underutilized. Take a look at the echo conferences.
|
||
In many of them, you have at least a 50% signal to noise ratio
|
||
(for every on-topic, well-thought-out, valuable message,
|
||
there's at least one that is of no real use to anyone).
|
||
|
||
Also, development of truly NEW technology in the net seems to
|
||
have come to a standstill. I feel this is partly due to the
|
||
proliferation of various software from different authors,
|
||
coupled with a lack of clear, enforceable standards. It's no
|
||
longer possible to pick a node from the nodelist at random,
|
||
dial it with your mailer, and expect that 99.5% of the time
|
||
you'll make a good connect. Three years ago, if you couldn't
|
||
complete a mail session, it was most likely due to bad phone
|
||
lines. Now many of the phone companies use all digital
|
||
circuitry that has almost totally eliminated static and noise
|
||
in many areas, but now our mailers have their little quirks
|
||
that may keep them from talking to each other, unless the guy
|
||
on the other end is running the exact same software you are.
|
||
|
||
FidoNews 8-14 Page 23 8 Apr 1991
|
||
|
||
|
||
And once you've exchanged mail, the echomail scanners/tossers
|
||
don't view it all the same way. Various software has its own
|
||
little quirks that in many cases cause perfectly valid messages
|
||
to be discarded as dupes.
|
||
|
||
So, there is (in my opinion) an unacceptably high error rate in
|
||
the system, mostly again because of a lack of any will to
|
||
adhere to standards. You could blame the software developers
|
||
for this, and in a few cases it is their fault (one author
|
||
blatently refuses to even look at SEEN-BY lines when processing
|
||
echomail, except to add a node to them, in violation of every
|
||
accepted practice of echomail handling. Unfortunately, this
|
||
author's software is used a lot in Fidonet). BUT, in most
|
||
cases it's because we don't have a viable mechanism for
|
||
reviewing and officially sanctioning new standards. In most
|
||
cases the authors are doing things far ahead of existing
|
||
standards, and each is doing their own thing, and it's just a
|
||
happy coincidence if two pieces of software from different
|
||
author happen to work together at anything more than the most
|
||
basic level. In the meantime, mail is being lost, but it's no
|
||
big deal, right?!
|
||
|
||
And, our present technological level (that everyone accepts)
|
||
still has plenty of limitations, many of which were originally
|
||
due to political decisions rather than technical ones. In my
|
||
opinion, political decisions should be enforced by the
|
||
political types, and not by software. For example, in Fidonet
|
||
there's no easy way to attach a file to a message and forward
|
||
it through an intermediate system, NOT because software can't
|
||
be written to do it (in fact we've developed much more kludgey
|
||
ways to move files around) but because "way back when" some
|
||
political types decided that files should not be forwarded...
|
||
never mind that in certain instances (such as a local net or a
|
||
private net), someone might actually be willing to allow
|
||
forwarded files to pass through their system.
|
||
|
||
And will we ever be able to use character sets other than
|
||
English, or send graphics or even audio data as part of a
|
||
message? I'll bet that some folks would love to have the
|
||
capability to run BBS's that could actually support voice
|
||
messaging in addition to written messages, especially within a
|
||
local calling area, but the current Fidonet message formats
|
||
won't accept such extensions and I see little hope of getting
|
||
any real agreement on any new standards.
|
||
|
||
How about interfacing Fidonet with FAX machines? During the
|
||
recent experiment in sending messages to the troops in Saudi
|
||
Arabia (which, you may note, had to be carried out in a private
|
||
Fidonet-technology network due to Fidonet politics), only those
|
||
with computer modems could participate. Wouldn't it have been
|
||
nice if those with FAX machines could have dialed up a system
|
||
and the Fidonet mailer would have recognized an incoming FAX
|
||
transmission and accepted it, stored it, digitized and
|
||
compressed it (possibly even using OCR techniques to convert
|
||
typewritten documents to ASCII, and extract addressing
|
||
information), and then sent it on to its destination, with
|
||
FidoNews 8-14 Page 24 8 Apr 1991
|
||
|
||
|
||
minimal or no human intervention? Or maybe the reverse is
|
||
possible - receive a message off the net and automatically
|
||
forward it to a FAX machine in the local calling area. These
|
||
types of challenges (designing the hardware and software to
|
||
allow such things) would really excite some folks, but when you
|
||
keep getting told "we don't do things that way and if you
|
||
design such a system, nobody will use it, and you're some sort
|
||
of real lowlife for even suggesting it", you soon figure out
|
||
that there's better ways to spend your time.
|
||
|
||
If you need an example of this, take a look at GroupMail. It
|
||
really IS a superior system (to Echomail) for handling
|
||
conferences (with one exception, that being a relatively low
|
||
message size limit of 8K, but that could be gotten around,
|
||
too). Between the folks who haven't looked at GroupMail since
|
||
version 1.01 and therefore haven't the slightest notion of the
|
||
current capabilities (but think they do), and those who had a
|
||
grudge of some sort against the author, and the political types
|
||
who didn't like it because geographic restrictions on where one
|
||
obtained conferences couldn't be enforced, and those who simply
|
||
didn't want to bother with it, it all but died in Fidonet. And
|
||
we are all the poorer for it.
|
||
|
||
Let me digress just a moment: Some people didn't like
|
||
GroupMail because they felt it could be used for "censorship"
|
||
by a conference moderator. Well, in the first place, there are
|
||
times when removing one message from the message stream can
|
||
save a whole lot of off-topic or flame messages that everyone
|
||
has to pay for. Everyone (well, almost everyone) accepts the
|
||
notion that a sysop can selectively remove messages from a
|
||
local conference area on his BBS, but a good sysop rarely uses
|
||
that ability. What is the difference if a conference moderator
|
||
has that same ability, as long as they don't use it too often?
|
||
|
||
And in the second place, censorship is alive and well in
|
||
Fidonet. I hate to tell you folks this, but if you have
|
||
opinions that are not "politically correct", you WILL be
|
||
removed (or your speech severely restricted) from certain
|
||
conferences. Don't believe it? Try espousing a politically
|
||
conservative viewpoint in many conferences, and folks will be
|
||
trying to get rid of you almost immediately. Or if you REALLY
|
||
want to draw fire, just try explaining (not even necessarily
|
||
advocating) the Biblical (fundamentalist) viewpoint on feminism
|
||
or homosexuality. Unless you happen to follow your message
|
||
with a strong denial ("this is what THEY believe and I totally
|
||
reject it"), you'll have people calling for your head! The
|
||
concept of "Freedom of Speech" in Fidonet is very, very sick...
|
||
if you say the RIGHT (or, I should say, the left) things,
|
||
you'll have folks defending your freedom of speech against all
|
||
comers. Express an unpopular viewpoint, and suddenly an
|
||
entirely different standard is applied ("this is a private
|
||
echo, you have no freedom of speech here"). My point is that
|
||
TRUE freedom of speech is a myth in Fidonet anyway, and it is
|
||
less than honest to say that we shouldn't use certain software
|
||
because it might make a conference moderator's job a bit
|
||
easier. Once again, this is a political consideration and
|
||
FidoNews 8-14 Page 25 8 Apr 1991
|
||
|
||
|
||
should be handled by political means, not by crippling the
|
||
software we use.
|
||
|
||
The whole real problem with Fidonet is that the politicians are
|
||
making technical specs, and the software people are writing
|
||
political considerations into the software. Let me give you
|
||
just one example: Suppose that you are running a BBS, but for
|
||
whatever reason you want to get your echo feeds from out of
|
||
town and, as it happens, a different geographic reason. Now,
|
||
if you are willing to be a point off of the system that feeds
|
||
you, you can do that, but then you can't be listed in the
|
||
nodelist. Or, if you are listed in the nodelist, your freedom
|
||
to get echoes from wherever you want is restricted by policy.
|
||
This is absolutely NUTS... in most cases, the folks making such
|
||
decisions are not paying your phone bill, YOU are... and yet
|
||
they come up with some of the stupidest reasons I've ever heard
|
||
for maintaining geographic restrictions. If I were some of
|
||
these folks, I'd be ashamed to show my ignorance in making some
|
||
of the statements they've made in support of continued
|
||
geographic restrictions.
|
||
|
||
The most idiotic one I've heard goes something like this: If I
|
||
have a system one block away from you, but for some reason I'm
|
||
in a net from across the country (so my net host is a long
|
||
distance call to you), then you have to make a long distance
|
||
call to send me netmail. Now in the first place, who says you
|
||
have a God-given right to send me netmail in the first place?
|
||
But the fact is that any technically competent sysop can figure
|
||
out how to bypass host routing and send mail direct, where it
|
||
is less expensive to do so (and some of the folks making these
|
||
statements definitely have been around long enough to know how
|
||
to set up such routing), and besides, if I opt to be a point
|
||
rather than a full node, not only will you have the same
|
||
problem but you won't have the convenience of finding me in the
|
||
nodelist. But what you are really saying to those in this
|
||
situation is this: "You have no right to get your echomail
|
||
from the most cost-effective source for you because I *MIGHT* -
|
||
just *MIGHT*, mind you - decide to send you some netmail
|
||
someday." How arrogant and selfish can you get?
|
||
|
||
I just wish that those folks who were so defensive of freedom
|
||
of speech were as concerned about freedom of association - that
|
||
is, the right to sysops to associate with each other based on
|
||
their wants and needs, and particularly on least-cost-routing
|
||
concerns, and not because of the desires of some coordinator
|
||
structure that can't understand topology unless it follows
|
||
lines on a map (again, if I were that mentally incompetent, I'd
|
||
be ashamed to admit it!).
|
||
|
||
So what do we have? A network of several thousand nodes, but
|
||
few high quality conferences. A network where certain
|
||
political viewpoints are actively suppressed. A network where
|
||
technology is stagnating because the politicians are trying to
|
||
set technical restrictions, and the technically astute are
|
||
given little say in setting new technical standards, which
|
||
aren't enforced anyway.
|
||
FidoNews 8-14 Page 26 8 Apr 1991
|
||
|
||
|
||
It seems as though there is a lack of balance in Fidonet. I
|
||
would like to close with a thought adapted from a writer named
|
||
Larry Johnson in a business publication I received recently.
|
||
Mr. Johnson states that he believes in guidelines, standards,
|
||
and accountability to authority, but he also believes in
|
||
personal initiative, creativity, and resourcefulness. He then
|
||
goes on to say: "These two basic aspects must be KEPT IN
|
||
BALANCE. Lack of balance in either direction IS THE MARK OF
|
||
IMMATURITY. Neither anarchy, nor dictatorship has been proven
|
||
useful in the human endeavors OF ANY FIELD. That is true in
|
||
religion, government, social fields, medicine,..." and, I
|
||
might add, it certainly applies to Fidonet! Mr. Johnson then
|
||
gives the following advice:
|
||
|
||
"AVOID LIKE THE PLAGUE people in any walk of life who encourage
|
||
a state of either anarchy or dictatorship. I don't care how
|
||
good their intentions seem to be. Anarchy is an absence of law
|
||
and structure. Dictatorship is when law and authority is
|
||
presented for its own sake."
|
||
|
||
In Fidonet we have many who advocate total anarchy, and others
|
||
who want to impose a particular structure for its own sake (or
|
||
worse yet, because they feel it will empower them or their
|
||
little group in some way). I hope that neither of these
|
||
extremes will gain (or stay in) control, because if that
|
||
happens, Fidonet will never reach its full potential. It will
|
||
remain an unfulfilled promise, a technology that could have
|
||
benefited many but that was misused and abused by those with
|
||
their own particular special interests, while the voice of the
|
||
common sysop was all but ignored. I want to quickly add that I
|
||
do NOT advocate another IFNA type structure (may it Rest In
|
||
Peace!) because that just attracts "control freaks", but just
|
||
because we don't have that structure does not mean we should
|
||
accept total anarchy, or "government by who can scream the
|
||
loudest, longest, and make the biggest pain of themselves."
|
||
|
||
I apologize for the negative tone of this article, but I hope
|
||
it will cause some of you to think about what's been happening
|
||
(or not happening, as the case may be). If you feel that
|
||
Fidonet isn't quite what you expected or hoped for when you got
|
||
into it, maybe the answer is here somewhere. I leave it to the
|
||
reader to judge whether there's and validity in these comments.
|
||
|
||
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
FidoNews 8-14 Page 27 8 Apr 1991
|
||
|
||
|
||
=================================================================
|
||
LATEST VERSIONS
|
||
=================================================================
|
||
|
||
Latest Software Versions
|
||
|
||
MS-DOS Systems
|
||
--------------
|
||
|
||
Bulletin Board Software
|
||
Name Version Name Version Name Version
|
||
|
||
DMG 2.93 Phoenix 1.3 TAG 2.5g
|
||
Fido 12s+ QuickBBS 2.66 TBBS 2.1
|
||
GSBBS 3.02 RBBS 17.3B TComm/TCommNet 3.4
|
||
Lynx 1.30 RBBSmail 17.3B Telegard 2.5
|
||
Kitten 2.16 RemoteAccess 1.00* TPBoard 6.1
|
||
Maximus 1.02 SLBBS 1.77A Wildcat! 2.55
|
||
Opus 1.14+ Socrates 1.10 WWIV 4.12
|
||
PCBoard 14.5 XBBS 1.15
|
||
|
||
Network Node List Other
|
||
Mailers Version Utilities Version Utilities Version
|
||
|
||
BinkleyTerm 2.40 EditNL 4.00 ARC 7.0
|
||
D'Bridge 1.30 MakeNL 2.31 ARCAsim 2.30
|
||
Dutchie 2.90C ParseList 1.30 ARCmail 2.07
|
||
FrontDoor 1.99c Prune 1.40 ConfMail 4.00
|
||
PRENM 1.47 SysNL 3.14 Crossnet v1.5
|
||
SEAdog 4.60* XlatList 2.90 DOMAIN 1.42
|
||
TIMS 1.0(Mod8) XlaxDiff 2.35 EMM 2.02
|
||
XlaxNode 2.35 4Dog/4DMatrix 1.18
|
||
Gmail 2.05
|
||
GROUP 2.16
|
||
GUS 1.30
|
||
HeadEdit 1.15
|
||
InterPCB 1.31
|
||
LHARC 2.10
|
||
MSG 4.1
|
||
MSGED 2.06
|
||
MSGTOSS 1.3
|
||
Oliver 1.0a
|
||
PK[UN]ZIP 1.20
|
||
QM 1.0
|
||
QSORT 4.03
|
||
Sirius 1.0x
|
||
SLMAIL 1.36
|
||
StarLink 1.01
|
||
TagMail 2.41
|
||
TCOMMail 2.2
|
||
Telemail 1.27
|
||
FidoNews 8-14 Page 28 8 Apr 1991
|
||
|
||
|
||
TMail 1.15
|
||
TPBNetEd 3.2
|
||
TosScan 1.00
|
||
UFGATE 1.03
|
||
XRS 4.10*
|
||
XST 2.2
|
||
ZmailH 1.14
|
||
|
||
|
||
OS/2 Systems
|
||
------------
|
||
|
||
Bulletin Board Software Network Mailers Other Utilities
|
||
|
||
Name Version Name Version Name Version
|
||
|
||
Maximus-CBCS 1.02 BinkleyTerm 2.40 Parselst 1.32
|
||
ConfMail 4.00
|
||
EchoStat 6.0
|
||
oMMM 1.52
|
||
Omail 3.1
|
||
MsgEd 2.06
|
||
MsgLink 1.0C
|
||
MsgNum 4.14
|
||
LH2 0.50
|
||
PK[UN]ZIP 1.02
|
||
ARC2 6.00
|
||
PolyXARC 2.00
|
||
Qsort 2.1
|
||
Raid 1.0
|
||
Remapper 1.2
|
||
Tick 2.0
|
||
VPurge 2.07
|
||
|
||
|
||
Xenix/Unix
|
||
----------
|
||
|
||
BBS Software Mailers Other Utilities
|
||
Name Version Name Version Name Version
|
||
|
||
BinkleyTerm 2.30b Unzip 3.10
|
||
ARC 5.21
|
||
ParseLst 1.30b
|
||
ConfMail 3.31b
|
||
Ommm 1.40b
|
||
Msged 1.99b
|
||
Zoo 2.01
|
||
C-Lharc 1.00
|
||
Omail 1.00b
|
||
|
||
FidoNews 8-14 Page 29 8 Apr 1991
|
||
|
||
|
||
Apple II
|
||
----------
|
||
|
||
Bulletin Board Software Network Mailers Other Utilities
|
||
|
||
Name Version Name Version Name Version
|
||
|
||
GBBS Pro 2.1 Fruity Dog 1.0 ShrinkIt 3.2
|
||
DDBBS + 4.0 ShrinkIt GS 1.04
|
||
deARC2e 2.1
|
||
ProSel 8.65
|
||
|
||
|
||
Apple CP/M
|
||
----------
|
||
|
||
Bulletin Board Software Network Mailers Other Utilities
|
||
|
||
Name Version Name Version Name Version
|
||
|
||
Daisy v2j Daisy Mailer 0.38 Nodecomp 0.37
|
||
MsgUtil 2.5
|
||
PackUser v4
|
||
Filer v2-D
|
||
UNARC.COM 1.20
|
||
|
||
|
||
Macintosh
|
||
---------
|
||
|
||
Bulletin Board Software Network Mailers Other Utilities
|
||
|
||
Name Version Name Version Name Version
|
||
|
||
Red Ryder Host 2.1 Tabby 2.2 MacArc 0.04
|
||
Mansion 7.15 Copernicus 1.0 ArcMac 1.3
|
||
WWIV (Mac) 3.0 LHArc 0.33
|
||
Hermes 1.01 StuffIt Classic 1.6
|
||
FBBS 0.91 Compactor 1.21
|
||
TImport 1.92
|
||
TExport 1.92
|
||
Timestamp 1.6
|
||
Tset 1.3
|
||
Import 3.2
|
||
Export 3.21
|
||
Sundial 3.2
|
||
PreStamp 3.2
|
||
OriginatorII 2.0
|
||
AreaFix 1.6
|
||
Mantissa 3.21
|
||
Zenith 1.5
|
||
FidoNews 8-14 Page 30 8 Apr 1991
|
||
|
||
|
||
Eventmeister 1.0
|
||
TSort 1.0
|
||
Mehitable 2.0
|
||
UNZIP 1.02c
|
||
|
||
Amiga
|
||
-----
|
||
|
||
Bulletin Board Software Network Mailers Other Utilities
|
||
|
||
Name Version Name Version Name Version
|
||
|
||
Paragon 2.082+ BinkleyTerm 1.00 AmigArc 0.23
|
||
TransAmiga 1.05 TrapDoor 1.50 AReceipt 1.5
|
||
WelMat 0.42 booz 1.01
|
||
ConfMail 1.10
|
||
ChameleonEdit 0.10
|
||
ElectricHerald1.66
|
||
Lharc 1.30
|
||
MessageFilter 1.52
|
||
oMMM 1.49b
|
||
ParseLst 1.30
|
||
PkAX 1.00
|
||
PK[UN]ZIP 1.01
|
||
PolyxAmy 2.02
|
||
RMB 1.30
|
||
RoboWriter 1.02
|
||
Skyparse 2.30
|
||
TrapList 1.12
|
||
Yuck! 1.61
|
||
Zippy (Unzip) 1.25
|
||
Zoo 2.01
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
Atari ST/TT
|
||
-----------
|
||
|
||
Bulletin Board Network Node List
|
||
Software Version Mailer Version Utilities Version
|
||
|
||
FIDOdoor/ST 2.12* BinkleyTerm 2.40l* ParseList 1.30
|
||
QuickBBS/ST 1.02 The BOX 1.20 Xlist 1.12
|
||
Pandora BBS 2.41c EchoFix 1.20
|
||
GS Point 0.61 sTICk/Hatch 5.10*
|
||
LED ST 1.00
|
||
MSGED 1.96S
|
||
|
||
Archiver Msg Format Other
|
||
Utilities Version Converters Version Utilities Version
|
||
|
||
FidoNews 8-14 Page 31 8 Apr 1991
|
||
|
||
|
||
LHARC 0.60 TB2BINK 1.00 ConfMail 4.03
|
||
ARC 6.02 BINK2TB 1.00 ComScan 1.02
|
||
PKUNZIP 1.10 FiFo 2.1j* Import 1.14
|
||
OMMM 1.40
|
||
Pack 1.00
|
||
FastPack 1.20
|
||
FDsysgen 2.16
|
||
FDrenum 2.10
|
||
Trenum 0.10
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
Archimedes
|
||
----------
|
||
|
||
BBS Software Mailers Utilities
|
||
Name Version Name Version Name Version
|
||
|
||
ARCbbs 1.44 BinkleyTerm 2.03 Unzip 2.1TH
|
||
ARC 1.03
|
||
!Spark 2.00d
|
||
|
||
ParseLst 1.30
|
||
BatchPacker 1.00
|
||
|
||
|
||
+ Netmail capable (does not require additional mailer software)
|
||
* 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 8-14 Page 32 8 Apr 1991
|
||
|
||
|
||
=================================================================
|
||
NOTICES
|
||
=================================================================
|
||
|
||
The Interrupt Stack
|
||
|
||
|
||
12 May 1991
|
||
Fourth anniversary of FidoNet operations in Latin America and
|
||
second anniversary of the creation of Zone-4.
|
||
|
||
15 Aug 1991
|
||
5th annual Z1 Fido Convention - FidoCon '91 "A New Beginning"
|
||
Sheraton Denver West August 15 through August 18 1991.
|
||
|
||
8 Sep 1991
|
||
25th anniversary of first airing of Star Trek on NBC!
|
||
|
||
7 Oct 1991
|
||
Area code 415 fragments. Alameda and Contra Costa Counties
|
||
will begin using area code 510. This includes Oakland,
|
||
Concord, Berkeley and Hayward. San Francisco, San Mateo,
|
||
Marin, parts of Santa Clara County, and the San Francisco Bay
|
||
Islands will retain area code 415.
|
||
|
||
1 Feb 1992
|
||
Area code 213 fragments. Western, coastal, southern and
|
||
eastern portions of Los Angeles County will begin using area
|
||
code 310. This includes Los Angeles International Airport,
|
||
West Los Angeles, San Pedro and Whittier. Downtown Los
|
||
Angeles and surrounding communities (such as Hollywood and
|
||
Montebello) will retain area code 213.
|
||
|
||
1 Dec 1993
|
||
Tenth anniversary of Fido Version 1 release.
|
||
|
||
5 Jun 1997
|
||
David Dodell's 40th Birthday
|
||
|
||
|
||
If you have something which you would like to see on this
|
||
calendar, please send a message to FidoNet node 1:1/1.
|
||
|
||
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
|
||
|