226 lines
8.9 KiB
Plaintext
226 lines
8.9 KiB
Plaintext
* Schematic FIDONET ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION
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by Tom Jennings, 1:125/111
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Yes, in some ways this is "yet anothre policy proposal", but I'm not
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really pushing to make them official. It is only meant to show what I
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think is possible, and a far more viable direction than some goddamn
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piece of legalese boilerplate that would-be bureaucrats want to foist
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upon us.
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This thing's main feature is that it is SHORT and UNDERSTANDABLE. It
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purposely does NOT cover operational details. It covers only things
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that seemed to me (me, not "Everyone") to be the things of
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international interest outside of operational details.
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Think of it as a schematic. I also apologize for it's length. I
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really tried to make it less than 66 lines, one American A-size page.
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You will note that it does not even mention ZCs. I can think of no
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useful function a ZC does, as far as sysops rights and such goes.
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I've been working on this thing for about a year. There are some
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notes-to-myself before the actual text begins.
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-------------------------------------
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NOTES:
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The vote process requiring 2/3rds "yes" kinda forces sysop
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participation, or if no one cares (low voter turnout), expediency.
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IMCOMPLETE AREAS:
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--- Commercialism: how to word. "Prohibited" is too strong and
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impossible. "Purely commercial"? "Strongly discouraged"?
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--- I'd really like to define "overthrow". It would mean putting
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nodelist generation details in here. Yuck. How's this:
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OVERTHROW:
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Since a net or region determines who it's /0 is, it gets to say "Joe
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Schmoe is now our host, signed, <n> sysops" everyone would be required
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to honor the change.
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Stability is the norm because of the coordinated effort required to
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get <n> sysops in a net or region to agree to anything; the more
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overwhelmingly painful the problem, the more easily concensus will be
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reached.
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----------------------------------------------------------------
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FIDONET ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION
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PURPOSE:
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The purpose of FidoNet is unimpeded communication between individuals.
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No person or group has any more or less right to communicate than any
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other. No one moral or ethical code has precedence over any other.
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When conflicts arise, weight shall be given to solutions that favor
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freer, broader or expanded communications. Justice takes precedence
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over expediency.
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INFORMAL GUIDELINES:
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o No person shall impede the flow of traffic.
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o Reading other peoples' mail is extremely rude.
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o Tampering with mail for any reason is the most serious breach
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possible.
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o Meddling that affects the operation of another members system is
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only slightly less awful.
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o Thou shalt not annoy.
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o Thou shalt not be easily annoyed.
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DEFINITIONS:
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FidoNet addressing is logically heirarchical: zone, net, node, and
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point. (Points are treated as human callers and therefore are not
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otherwise part of FidoNet.) Zone:net/node.point addressing heirarchy
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in no way implies a social or organizational heirarchy, beyond
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net/region host responsibilities, defined below.
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A NODE is the atomic component of FidoNet. It is capable of receiving
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FidoNet mail as defined in applicable protocol documents, within the
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requirements in this document.
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A NET is an autonomous cluster of nodes within a limited geographical
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area. Criteria for forming nets include: host-routing of mail for
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inter-node effeciency and better sysop relations. It is generally
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desirable for nodes to be part of nets.
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A REGION is an arbitrary physical area for the sole purpose of
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providing a logical "net/node" address for nodes not within a net. A
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region host performs for netless nodes the same function as a net
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host, except they are not required to forward mail to nodes within
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their region. Region hosts have traditionally taken on other FidoNet
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responsibilities, such as compiling the nodelist, though this is not
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part of the definition of Region Host.
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REGION and NET hosts are otherwise equivelant, and are called HOSTS in
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this document.
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A ZONE is a generally-large physical area designed to handle the
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realities of global, inter-national FidoNet networking, including:
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alien telcos and protocols, disparate time schedules; and to increase
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network autonomy.
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Zone, net, region and node numbers are positive integers, starting
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with 1. 0 is a "magic value", and designates the "host" for that
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level; net/0 is NET HOST (aka Net Coordinator, NC), region/0 is REGION
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HOST (aka Region Coordinator, RC), and zone/0 (zone/0:0) is ZONE HOST
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(aka Zone Coordinator, ZC).
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Each zone shall designate one hour per day as "Zone Mail Hour", or
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ZMH, during which all members' systems shall be technically able to
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receive incoming FidoNet mail and files. Though it is not required to
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be "FidoNet only" during ZMH, the intent is to allow the receipt of
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otherwise-unscheduled mail from any other FidoNet node. Please refer
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to SYSOP RESPONSIBILITIES.
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SYSOPS RIGHTS
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Sysops have the right to choose their host via popular vote.
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A candidate is considered "elected" when s/he receives 2/3rds of the
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votes counted. If no candidate receives 2/3rds of the votes, elections
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must be repeated until a candidate receives 2/3rds of the counted
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votes. This explicitly allows for "none of the above", forcing new
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candidates to be found, as opposed to merely choosing "the lesser of N
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evils". Fairness and justice should prevail over efficiency or
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convenience; lives will not be lost in the meantime.
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Each net/region shall determine the length of an elected persons term.
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Under no circumstances shall it be more than one year.
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The voting method chosen must be auditable and verifyable, such that
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each net member can verify that their vote was recorded as intended.
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Voting parameters (term duration, voting method, etc) shall not be
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changed by an elected person.
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Net "membership" shall be determined by an having an entry in the
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nodelist for at two least previous and sequential revisions of the
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list. Each individual human sysop, one per physical node maximum, is
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granted one vote each.
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A vote can be called at any time 1/2 of the members declare it.
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This enumeration of rights in no way denies or limits any other rights
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sysops have.
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RESPONSIBILITIES AND LIMITATIONS
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Each net/region has three main tasks:
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1. Maintain their nodelist fragment.
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2. For nets only, route incoming mail for nodes within the net.
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3. Help new sysops get "online".
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Each net/region has a 0th node, the "host". By definition, net hosts
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are required to accept mail for all nodes within that net, and arrange
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for that mail to be received by the addressed node, with emphasis put
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upon lowest cost. Net and region hosts act as an informal "clearing
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house" for information regarding that net or region. It is up to the
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net or region how it handles all other tasks.
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No node shall interfere with the flow of mail traffic in their net,
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regardless of content. (Carrier status.) Illegalities are to be
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handled by the legal system(s) applicable in your area. Morality and
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ethics are exclusively the realm of the communicating part(y)(ies).
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Each member is responsible for paying any expenses involved in their
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own mail delivery.
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If a net host would incur expense in delivering mail to other members
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of their net, then arrangement may be made for member(s) to receive
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their mail at their own expense (note that expense-incurring
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distribution of mail within a net is sometimes at odds with the
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intended definition of a "net", though sysops may in general organize
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in any fashion that pleases them but meets the other mimimum
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requirements.)
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Each member is responsible for maintaining an "operable" system, the
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parameters of which are to be determined by each net, with the
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exception of TECHNICAL ISSUES mentioned earlier. If a member cannot be
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contacted via FidoNet for an extended period of time, s/he may be
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dropped from the net.
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"Bombing runs" are highly discouraged -- generating large number of
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messages that clog the net. If you must "bomb" all nodes within a net,
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you are required to deliver each message individually, and not use
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host routing. (And take responsibility for the result.)
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EXCOMMUNICATION (ie. the Death Penalty)
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A member shall be removed from the net/region without that member
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sysops' consent only by the following process, which emphasizes
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fairness, process and justice over expediency:
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Three attempts are made to reach consensus within the group. Consensus
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means: no member (except the person in question) of the net/region
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blocks (objects) to the removal of the person. Any single member
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objecting prevents the removal. It is acceptable to stand aside (ie.
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no opinion).
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If consensus fails three times, at least 48 hours apart, a popular
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vote may taken. If 7/8ths of the voting members agree, the member may
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be removed from the net.
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Excommunication shall be for no longer than one month the first time;
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three months the second time; six months for each additional
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excommunication.
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The member in question is to be informed that an excommunication is
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under way. Once the member in question is informed, all
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excommunication processes and communications are to be made public.
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--- END
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