500 lines
24 KiB
Plaintext
500 lines
24 KiB
Plaintext
F I D O N E W S -- Vol.12 No.10 (06-Mar-1995)
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+----------------------------+-----------------------------------------+
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| A newsletter of the | ISSN 1198-4589 Published by: |
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| FidoNet BBS community | "FidoNews" BBS |
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| _ | +1-519-570-4176 |
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| / \ | |
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| /|oo \ | Sheep affairs desk: |
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| (_| /_) | Doc Logger 1:163/110 |
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| _`@/_ \ _ | Rev. Richard Visage 1:163/409 |
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| | | \ \\ | |
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| | (*) | \ )) | Editors: |
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| |__U__| / \// | Donald Tees 1:221/192 |
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| _//|| _\ / | Sylvia Maxwell 1:221/194 |
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| (_/(_|(____/ | |
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| (jm) | Newspapers should have no friends. |
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| | -- JOSEPH PULITZER |
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+----------------------------+-----------------------------------------+
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| Submission address: editors 1:1/23 |
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+----------------------------------------------------------------------+
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| MORE addresses: |
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| |
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| submissions=> editor@exlibris.tdkcs.waterloo.on.ca |
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| Don -- don@exlibris.tdkcs.waterloo.on.ca |
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| Max -- max@exlibris.tdkcs.waterloo.on.ca |
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| Tim Pozar -- pozar@kumr.lns.com |
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+----------------------------------------------------------------------+
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| For information, copyrights, article submissions, |
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| obtaining copies of fidonews or the internet gateway faq |
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| please refer to the end of this file. |
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+----------------------------------------------------------------------+
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========================================================================
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Table of Contents
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========================================================================
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1. Editorial..................................................... 1
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2. Articles...................................................... 3
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Clues, present and absent................................... 3
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Snoop Project - Is anyone interested?....................... 4
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The FREEBONE................................................ 5
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Non-official Echos using Fidonet node system................ 7
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3. Fidonews Information.......................................... 8
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========================================================================
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Editorial
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========================================================================
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FidoNews 12-10 Page: 2 06 Mar 1995
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The new Bell directory arrived a couple of days ago and
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it's got all kinds of politically correct stuff in the front
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pages, like where to get help in emergencies, but there are
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no listings for some countries. There are two pages of "codes for
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frequently called countries". What does "frequently called
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countries" mean? Why isn't the listing of country codes complete?
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You know how it is always good to have a back up plan if the
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currrent route mapping is somehow impeded? The back up plan
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isn't just computers. It is radio, small press, community
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theatre, gatherings, any form of free exchange of ideas. It only
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works if there's no censorship, though. Ideas scrunge and
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become flopsided if their wings are clipped.
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Sometimes i'm appalled at things i see and hear, and i wish
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everything was _nice_, but when i think about how imposed
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limitations of my senses wall me in, and how all i can ever
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truly have is my own mind, it becomes clear that for anyone else
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to tell me what i can and can not learn is for them to rip me
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off of everything.
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i'm suspicious of bandwagons and do-goodies. It's too
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easy to fall, frail, in a trail grooved out by fashion. For
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example, i was in an audience listening to Otis Clay and the
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Fire. I was sort of there by myself, becuase no-one i knew
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was going but i wanted to go becuase i used to listen to live
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blues and dance myself better, so it's almost a spiritual-type
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thing for me to go to blues shows.
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Wierd how bodies of people merge. I thought i was alone
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but i recognized lots of people there from being in other crowds
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with them. Groups are better when they happen accidentally.
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They tend to be more eclectic and subject-oriented rather than
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factious.
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The difference between Albert Speer in Nuremberg, and Bob Geldof
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in 'The Wall', is that Albert Speer constructed spectacles to suck
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people in and dry with glitz, while Bob Geldof made a movie to
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document and warn of the compelling thrill of mob psychology.
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Anyone who could watch The Wall and be inspired towards following
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Nazism is a total loser who wouldn't recognize a political slogan
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until it choked them while being rammed down their throat.
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ooops. i shouldn't have said "choked them and...total
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loser". That was violent imagery. Sorry about that. Maybe
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there lots of nice people who could let themselves believe
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ridiculous things because they are trying too hard to fit in
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with the crowd. I challenge anyone to describe to me how
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following groups could be more intellectually stimulating than
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being individual and interacting with lots of other individuals.
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I was listening to the CBC while driving to Toronto last
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week, and heard the news that the internet is being flooded with
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anti-semitic hate literature which must be stopped. I thought,
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FidoNews 12-10 Page: 3 06 Mar 1995
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wow, there's yet another example of people getting hyped clueless
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about computer networks. I was reading a files list recently,
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and it included some examples of nazi-type hate literature [i guess
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it was that, from the file names]. The ik ilk was listed as
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"hate literature...paranoia reaches new heights". It does not
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bother me that these files exist, especially when they are
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appropriately named. I suspect they are there to keep the idiots
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out in the open, where we can watch them with skepticism.
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========================================================================
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Articles
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========================================================================
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Clues, present and absent
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by Kay Shapero (1:102/524)
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Well, if Mikhail Ramendik wasn't sure that the snooze was athiest-only
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before, I'll bet the reaction has convinced him of it by now. Did
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anybody actually READ his message, or is everyone still reacting to
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Steve Winter's sporadic diatribes? So he objected a single word
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meaning "to have sex" (or sometimes "to do bad things to"). This can
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be attributed to culture shock - not everybody's been desensitized to
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that term, and there are places even in the US where it still has the
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shock value it had in the US in general about 40 years ago. For a
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comparison, each of who who objected to his being upset please pick
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one of the current "unmentionable" terms of racial or sexual invective
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that might apply to you personally, and consider how you'd feel if
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someone you didn't even know used it on or around you. You may get a
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closer feel for what the problem was.)
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If you're still reading this after all the recent horsehocky, Mikhail,
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most of the stuff you objected to was not directed at Christianity
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per se, but at an individual who for years has been doing his level
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best to make of Christianity a hissing and a byword while posing as
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a representative of same. (Whether or not he's doing it on purpose
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I'm still not sure - but in practice this has been the result.)
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However, judging by all the hoopla, it would appear some folks have
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been so sensitized to this that they're seeing censors in every corner,
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and defending where they have not been attacked. That and I think
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some people manage tolerance of things in general by picking one
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religion, culture or whatever to dump on exclusively.
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But in answer to your questions, yes there are Christians in FIDOnet
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and yes some of us read the snooze and no, there is no Official
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FIDOnet religion or anti-religion. For which we can all be grateful.
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FidoNews 12-10 Page: 4 06 Mar 1995
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Snoop Project - Is anyone interested?
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Fredric L. Rice
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The Skeptic Tank 1:102/890
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25/Jan/95
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Greetings, one and all.
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It might come as no surprise to you that some systems in FidoNet
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do not get all of the Echo Mail messages intended for them. The
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causes are many, ranging from technical malfunctions, through
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operator stupidity, to willful destruction. There is no solid
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way to determine if a system has not seen a batch of mail unless
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an Echo Mail participant makes comments alluding to messages
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which were never seen. Even at that there is no way to determine
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how many messages were not seen and from which originating
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systems they came from.
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The Snoop Project seeks to provide statistical information on the
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messages which are not seen by a system. While that might seem
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to be a metaphysical problem better suited for philosophers to
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contemplate, the mundane solution is to simply ask other systems
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about the Echo Mail messages they have seen and for the two
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systems to compare notes, reporting on messages the other did not
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see.
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Snoop doesn't exist yet so I'm wondering if I should expend the
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week or so required to hack it up. I'm solicing input from the
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boys and girls in the network who might be interested in finding
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out if they have a problem and if they do, how extensive it is.
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How Snoop would work is pretty simple.
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1) After inbound message packets have been tossed, Snoop
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is run, looking into *.MSG message directories which
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contain Echo Mail messages, compiling a list of the
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MSGID's and origination network addresses of all of the
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messages.
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2) Snoop would also check the inbound network subdirectory
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for Snoop Report messages addressed to it and, if finding
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any, would look for the requesting system's log history file
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specified as a FileAttach in the message addressed to it,
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unzip the file, and then compare the MSGIDs in the file
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against those it knows about in its own local history file.
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A report on the differences would be generated and a copy
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would be sent to back to the requesting system and another
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copy would be sent to the SysOp of the local system. The
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requesting system's FileAttach files (zipped and unzipped)
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would be deleted.
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3) Using a command-line argument, Snoop would create a
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Snoop Report Request message addressed to another system,
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zipping-up its local history file and setting it up for
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FidoNews 12-10 Page: 5 06 Mar 1995
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FileAttach.
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So from the perspective of the systems employing Snoop,
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maintaining a history of seen messages and offering reports to
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systems which want to compare notes is fully automatic and doesn't
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cost anything. Snoop is run from the batch process which still
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automates most FidoNet systems.
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Requesting a report from a system would consist of running Snoop
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to request the report, sending the Snoop Report Request off to
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the target system, and then polling the target system later to get
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the resulting report.
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If a HUB were to employ Snoop, there are obvious advantages in
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being able to compare notes against it.
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-=- The project has already started. -=-
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I'm soliciting input from everyone who might be interested in using
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the program.
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----------------------------------------------------------------------
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The FREEBONE
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An alternate concept in Echo distribution
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By: Radical Notions- comments to (1:106/207)
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Free thinkers are disturbed with FIDOnet. I hear it buzzing on my
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netmail channels and in many echos I see movements to"clean up FIDO"
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or even make all echos "suitable for children's/minors eyes". This is
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perfectly normal from a sociological standpoint. Inclusion of the
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massses means accomodation of the most common denominators. Good
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standard structure for development to be honest. It seems T Jennings
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might have a little of that sociology majik in his blood as well,
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judging from his past articles to FIDOnews. If not, he at least
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recognizes that diversity (snicker) exists and must be accomodated.
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Kudos to the early geeks who fought the software battles and then
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endevoured to include the entire world in on their secret (bless
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their little mis-guided hearts) via the net. You guys did a great job
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and now the nodelist is so big that you wouldn't even be able to hold
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it on a typical 1984 vintage hard drive......but, it isn't just the
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Parselst compilers that are choking in FIDOland.
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We now seem to have a steady movement to take the FIDOnet away
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from the diversity that was enjoyed in the past and supplant it with
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a sort of "Universal Code of Conduct" that will be acceptable to the
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common masses and thereby avoid undefined and sometimes
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wholly-percieved problems that may or may not come to pass. Yes, the
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legislation of FIDO is here and congress is in full swing, passing
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backbone policies, making rulings that have the bearing of precedent
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and with even it's own Supreme Court. Yes, we Americans in FIDO made
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damned sure that eventually that this mess would get ORGANIZED and
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that it would be controlled to rigid standards of conformity and we
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have the POWER to do it...damn it! That is because we are right and
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FidoNews 12-10 Page: 6 06 Mar 1995
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the rest of the world is full of crap. If the sysops in any zone with
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a number larger than 1 is involved, they had better write their
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complaint in ENGLISH or they will be excommunicated for violating
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POLICY and they will recieve 4 lashes with a Singapore cane before we
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will let them back in again.
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Right..... Well, almost. The fact is we aren't there _quite_
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yet but it looms over us at every corner. Fido is getting too big for
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the echo concept unless some sort of division comes about. That
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division will have to be more than just a duplication of echos time
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and time again to accomodate the warring factions or our conference
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list might exceed the meggage of our nodelist at some point.....but,
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since every Tom, Dick and Martha in the world is now getting a spiffy
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14,400 modem packaged in their computer as standard equipment, we are
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literally being flooded as a net. Not only do we have a heck of a lot
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of nodes participating...but those nodes are racking up userlists
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that a few years ago would have been unheard of....the individual
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boards are being flooded on the bottom layer. Reorganization and
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re-accomodation is coming and we either will accomplish it or
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eventually dissolve in chaos.
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I propose _adding_ a new backbone to the fido distribution
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heirarchy. This backbone would carry and distribute it's own mail and
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do it's own cost recovery as well as develop media-control philosophy
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without regard to the BACKBONE or FILEBONE setups. This is where
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echos that don't meet the starched-shirt standards of the BACKBONE
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(where children have a right to see it all) are placed. This would be
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where "offensive" echos could be placed and then we can let the
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marketplace decide if a conference floats or boats. No sysop would
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ever again be able to say that they expected "goodie nice" language
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in a controversy area and got trashy smut....if they are on the
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FREEBONE they have no standing and if they are on the backbone they
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can file a smut-PC or something. Since all nodenumbers would be FIDO
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numbers issued by the plain-ole ZC weekly, some power is given to the
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backbone people to enforce persons who stray into the BACKBONE from
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the FREEBONE areas that refuse to leave. Notify the sysop...nuke the
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number. Simple. In return, BACKBONE would be expected to remand
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complaints that originate on the FREEBONE _back_ to FREEBONE control
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heirarchy for disposition. Co-operative division with structured
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"national boundaries".
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Some will probably find a lot of fault in this, some will find
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merit. I see it as the only way to adequately control the _type_ of
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information delivered to each point and squelch the whines of the
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Starched-Shirt crowd. I suppose a lot of them will want to fight such
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a division, because it wrests control from their hands and negates
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the opportunity to force people into compliance with The Agenda. To
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them, I say too bad. Power is as power was.....tell it to Hitler.
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FIDO has traditionally "grown" to reasonably accomodate all of
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the multiple people-types out there in the digital void. I think FIDO
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can evolve again and accomodate those of sensitive mentalities
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without squelching those of radical mentality.
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Persons interested in the FREEBONE Project can write to me at
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FidoNews 12-10 Page: 7 06 Mar 1995
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1:106/207 and express your pleasure or displeasure with the FREEBONE
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concept. Or, you can just snip out the following shorty and patch it
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to me netmail here to voice your view:
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---------------------------------------------------------------------
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My vote on the FREEBONE issue is: (Multiple answers are acceptable)
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[ ] I think the FREEBONE is a big crock of crap and you should be
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shot for subversive and treasonist action against FIDOnet.
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[ ] Sure, the idea needs tweaking but I think the FREEBONE could work.
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[ ] You personally disgust me, you Cat-murdering loudmouth.
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----------------------------------------------------------------------
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Non-official Echos using Fidonet node system
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by S. C. Martin Wong
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Hong Cong an Macau users can now use these 9 special echos using
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Fidonet, YO!net and the Hong Cong net node system.
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1. Discussion on Vivian Lai echo
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Moderator: Makoto Wong 6:700/663.12
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Aim: Give a place to every Vivian Lai fan to discuss their
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idol.
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Node System: Fidonet
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Connection agents: 6:700/663.0, 6:701/3.0, 6:700/760.0
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enews@hkmhbr.mhbrgrp.hk
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Newsgroup: ALT.FAN.CHINESE.BIG5.VIVIANLAI
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2. Discussion on Winnie Lau echo
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Moderator: Benny Tsang 6:700/61.8, BENNY.Tsang@HK.SUPER.NET
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Aim: Give a place to every Winnie Lau fan to discuss their
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idol.
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Node System: Fidonet
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Connection agents: 6:700/663.0, 6:701/3.0, 6:700/760.0
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enews@hkmhbr.mhbrgrp.hk
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Newsgroup: ALT.FAN.CHINESE.BIG5.WINNIELAU
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3. Discussion on Tacry So
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Moderator: none
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Aim: Give a place to every Tacry So fan to discuss their
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idol.
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Node System: Fidonet
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Connection agents: 6:700/663.0, 6:700/760.0
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enews@hkmhbr.mhbrgrp.hk
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Newsgroup: ALT.FAN.CHINESE.BIG5.TACRYSO
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4. Discussion on Linda Wong echo
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Moderator: Kevin Cheung 6:700/660.3
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Aim: Give a place to every Linda Wong fan to discuss their
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idol.
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Node System: Hong Kong net, Fidonet, YO!Net
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Connection agents: 6:700/663.0, 6:700/760.0
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FidoNews 12-10 Page: 8 06 Mar 1995
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5. Discussion on Hacken Lee echo
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Moderator: under vote
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Aim: Give a place to every Hacken Lee fan to discuss their
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idol.
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Node System: Hong Kong net, Fidonet, YO!Net
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Connection agents: 6:700/760.0
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6. Discussion on Cass Pang echo
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Moderator: under vote
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Aim: Give a place to every Cass Pang fan to discuss their
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idol.
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Node System: Hong Kong net, Fidonet, YO!Net
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Connection agents: 6:700/760.0
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7. Discussion on Priscilla Chan echo
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Moderator: Chiu Ka Chun 6:700/90.5
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Aim: Give a place to every Priscilla Chan fan to discuss their
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idol.
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Node System: Hong Kong net, Fidonet
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Connection agents: 6:700/760.0
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8. Cross Fire Echo
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Moderator: none
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Aim: Give a place to user for political problems
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Node System: Hong Kong net, Fidonet, YO!Net
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Connection agents: 6:700/760.0
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9. Heart-Link
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Moderator: none
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Aim: This is a general purpose area to discuss everything!
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Node System: Fidonet
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Connection agents: 6:700/663.0, 6:700/760.0
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If you are a system operator outside Hong Kong and Macua, but
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you hope to connect to these 9 non-official echoes, you can send
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Email to postmaster@hkmhbr.mhbrgrp.hk or send netmail via
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Fidonet or YO!net to Martin Wong (6:700/760.0 or 6:1010/569.0).
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If you need additional information or advice, send email or
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netmail by the same route.
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* editors note: This arrived by snail mail, and was typed in
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by us. Please excuse any mistypes.
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----------------------------------------------------------------------
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========================================================================
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Fidonews Information
|
||
========================================================================
|
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------- FIDONEWS MASTHEAD AND CONTACT INFORMATION ----------------
|
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Editors: Donald Tees, Sylvia Maxwell
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Editors Emeritii: Thom Henderson, Dale Lovell,
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Vince Perriello, Tim Pozar
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FidoNews 12-10 Page: 9 06 Mar 1995
|
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|
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Tom Jennings
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"FidoNews" BBS
|
||
FidoNet 1:1/23
|
||
BBS +1-519-570-4176, 300/1200/2400/14400/V.32bis/HST(DS)
|
||
|
||
more addresses:
|
||
Rev. Richard Visage -- 1:163/409
|
||
Don -- 1:221/192, don@exlibris.tdkcs.waterloo.on.ca
|
||
Sylvia -- 1:221/194, max@exlibris.tdkcs.waterloo.on.ca
|
||
Tim -- pozar@kumr.lns.com
|
||
|
||
(Postal Service mailing address)
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||
FidoNews
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128 Church St.
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Kitchener, Ontario
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Canada
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N2H 2S4
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voice: (519) 570-3137
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Fidonews is published weekly by and for the members of the FIDONET
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INTERNATIONAL AMATEUR ELECTRONIC MAIL system. It is a compilation
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of individual articles contributed by their authors or their
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authorized agents. The contribution of articles to this compilation
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does not diminish the rights of the authors. Opinions expressed in
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these articles are those of the authors and not necessarily those of
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FidoNews.
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Authors retain copyright on individual works; otherwise FidoNews is
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Copyright 1995 Donald Tees. All rights reserved. Duplication
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and/or distribution permitted for noncommercial purposes only. For use
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in other circumstances, please contact the original authors, or the eds.
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Articles by Madam emilia may be retransmitted freely through
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cyber-space.
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OBTAINING COPIES: The most recent issue of FidoNews in electronic
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form may be obtained from the FidoNews BBS via manual download or
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Wazoo FileRequest, or from various sites in the FidoNet and Internet.
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PRINTED COPIES may be obtained by sending SASE to the above paper-mail
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address, or trade for copy of your 'zine.
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INTERNET USERS: FidoNews is available via FTP from ftp.fidonet.org,
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in directory ~ftp/pub/fidonet/fidonews.
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Anyone interested in getting a copy of the INTERNET GATEWAY FAQ may
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freq GISFAQ.ZIP from 1:133/411.0, or send an internet message to
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fidofaq@gisatl.fidonet.org. No message or text or subject is
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necessary. The address is a keyword that will trigger the automated
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response. People wishing to send inquiries directly to David Deitch
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should now mail to fidonet@gisatl.fidonet.org rather than the
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previously listed address.
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SUBMISSIONS: You are encouraged to submit articles for publication in
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FidoNews. Article submission requirements are contained in the file
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ARTSPEC.DOC, available from the FidoNews BBS, or Wazoo filerequestable
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FidoNews 12-10 Page: 10 06 Mar 1995
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from 1:1/23 as file "ARTSPEC.DOC". Please read it.
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"Fido", "FidoNet" and the dog-with-diskette are U.S. registered
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trademarks of Tom Jennings, and are used with permission.
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"the pulse of the cursor is the heartbeat of fidonet"...
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-- END
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