1689 lines
78 KiB
Plaintext
1689 lines
78 KiB
Plaintext
Volume 4, Number 47 21 December 1987
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+---------------------------------------------------------------+
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| /|oo \ |
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| - FidoNews - (_| /_) |
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| _`@/_ \ _ |
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| International | | \ \\ |
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| FidoNet Association | (*) | \ )) |
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| Newsletter ______ |__U__| / \// |
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| / FIDO \ _//|| _\ / |
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| (________) (_/(_|(____/ |
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| (jm) |
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+---------------------------------------------------------------+
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Editor in Chief: Thom Henderson
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Chief Procrastinator Emeritus: Tom Jennings
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Contributing Editors: Dale Lovell, Al Arango
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FidoNews is published weekly by the International FidoNet
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Association as its official newsletter. You are encouraged to
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submit articles for publication in FidoNews. Article submission
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standards are contained in the file ARTSPEC.DOC, available from
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node 1:1/1.
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Copyright 1987 by the International FidoNet Association. All
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rights reserved. Duplication and/or distribution permitted for
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noncommercial purposes only. For use in other circumstances,
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please contact IFNA at (314) 576-4067.
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The contents of the articles contained here are not our
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responsibility, nor do we necessarily agree with them.
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Everything here is subject to debate. We publish EVERYTHING
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received.
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Table of Contents
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1. EDITORIAL ................................................ 1
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My Apologies ............................................. 1
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2. ARTICLES ................................................. 3
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An Old Frog Bids Adieu ................................... 3
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The Intergalactic Sysop Alliance ......................... 6
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QT/2 - A New Computer at a Low Cost ...................... 13
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Info-68K Anyone? ......................................... 15
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KXP1092 - A Printer Utility For Panasonic's KXP1092 Pri .. 16
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How Many People Really Read Fidonews? .................... 17
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SEA Letter: XlatList and RouteGen ........................ 18
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SECURITY MAIL SERVICE .................................... 21
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Software Distribution nodes wanted ....................... 24
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WARNING - A TROJAN IN COPIES OF COMMAND.COM! ............. 25
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3. COLUMNS .................................................. 26
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The Regular Irregular Column ............................. 26
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4. NOTICES .................................................. 31
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The Interrupt Stack ...................................... 31
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EchoList News ............................................ 31
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Opening for Region 13 Regional Coordinator ............... 31
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And more!
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FidoNews 4-47 Page 1 21 Dec 1987
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=================================================================
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EDITORIAL
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=================================================================
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My Apologies
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When I first heard of IFNA, it sounded like a good idea. So I
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put in a lot of effort towards making it work, and was even
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volunteered to help run it until it got off the ground.
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I've since come to realize that I may have made a big mistake.
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I think I got the first hint at the Colorado Springs conference.
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But at the time I thought it was just that we hadn't done a good
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job of managing the business meeting.
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Then we got flamed at for months and months after that, all
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through the bylaws and the Board elections. But at the time I
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thought it was just that we hadn't done a good job of explaining
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it.
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Then the new Board was seated, and the flames continued. But at
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the time I thought that it was just that several hotheads had
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decided to be unhappy no matter what.
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All of the above may even be correct. That's not the real
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problem. The real problem is that IFNA, as currently organized,
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seems totally unable to actually accomplish anything. That may
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even be a good thing, as from what they are talking about we are
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in grave danger that they may actually figure out how to get
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things done, because they will then do FAR too much!
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Meanwhile several of the original objectives remain unfulfilled.
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Almost nobody is covered by the corporate veil and there is no
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legal defense fund, to name just two.
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Beset from all quarters, IFNA has been practically emasculated.
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It has only two real assets, the node list and the newsletter.
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But it's ownership of the node list is virtually nil. Try
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reading the copyright notices -- IFNA "owns" the node list just
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barely enough to assemble it each week, and not one whit more.
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As for owning the newsletter, enough of a hue and cry has been
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raised over that that nobody in their right mind would ever
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consider trying to actually DO anything with it!
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Like do what, you ask? Like how about an easy way to raise a few
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bucks for the common good? We're putting together this stuff
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anyway, so why not sell it to a few folks if we can talk them
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into it? The node list (with a little judicious and easily
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automated editing) makes a dandy BBS listing. And please don't
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yell about how it should never be sold because it belongs to all
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of us. If it belongs to "all of us" in the sense that it did
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before IFNA was formed, then anybody who wants to can do anything
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they want with it for free, so nobody in the net would lose
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anything if IFNA sold rights to a few folks. This is yet another
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FidoNews 4-47 Page 2 21 Dec 1987
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non-issue.
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In hindsight, I think that the real shortcoming with IFNA is that
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it has a political structure that does not bear any relationship
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to the actual administrative structure of the network. Hence we
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get into arguments over whether or not IFNA runs the net and
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similar fog. Going for non-profit status was probably a mistake,
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because we're then required to organize in a way other than how
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we actually run things.
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We also tried to do too much. For example:
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Why "International"? It's really a North American
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organization with little understanding of the conditions in
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other zones.
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Why worry about membership discounts? That should be icing
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on the cake if it happens at all, NOT the prime reason for
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joining!
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Why worry about public relations? To try and improve the
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public impression of sysops, maybe, but why try to promote
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the network itself? One of the current problems is that it's
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getting too big, so why make things worse?
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So back to the title of this editorial. It seemed like a good
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idea at the time, but so far IFNA isn't turning out very well.
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I'm sorry.
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-----------------------------------------------------------------
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FidoNews 4-47 Page 3 21 Dec 1987
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=================================================================
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ARTICLES
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=================================================================
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Ryugen Fisher, 220/1
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"The time has come, the walrus said, to speak of many things,
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of shoes and ships and sealing wax, of cabbages and kings..."
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That quote (from Lewis Carroll for those that only saw the movie)
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expresses the mood of the moment. Or to put it another way:
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Friends, Romans, Sysops, lend me your ear. I come to praise
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IFNA, not to bury it.
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Most of you will remember that I am and have been one of the more
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stalwart, if not abusively so, supporters of IFNA. I was privy to
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the initial discussions regarding forming the organization, and
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while my memory might be a bit dusty it seems to me that it was I
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who pointed Ken and Ben and Thom in the direction of a "not-for-
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profit" corporation to legitimize and provide structure for the
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then growing (still at it) FidoNet. I was one of the first to pay
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my dues, (I will also pay them again this year for 1988) and when
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I was asked to serve as the chairman of the FidoNet Technical
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Standards Committee, I was glad of the opportunity to serve. I
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was also proud to be the elected representative for Region 11. I
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argued long and hard for and spent many a restless night over how
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this network can best serve the community and its users in a
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democratic fashion. I was opposed to the "benevolent
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dictatorship" that was in place and hoped for real changes from
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the "new order".
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You will note that I speak in the past tense. A few weeks ago, a
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fellow sysop asked me, "Why are we doing this??" He had been up
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to 4AM in the morning after working all weekend re-formatting his
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hard disk so that his system could go back on line, only to
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receive as his first inbound messages flames from other sysops
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about his not getting the mail out to them on time. Rather than
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give him a snappy and meaningless answer, I stopped and thought
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about it. I read the Policy3 document, I read the IFNA charter, I
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read the SYSOP and IFNA and IFNABOD and FTSC Echo conferences;
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and the more I read, the sadder I became. I talked to a few
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folks and discovered that many of the people I respected most
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were "one more flame" away from pulling the plug on their
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systems. So I talked to a few more folks and I came up with an
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idea. Several of them:
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1) The democratic process isn't working...not because the people
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involved are "bad" or "incapable" but because the thing that
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they are trying to do is essentially undoable and as part of
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that, the MAIN REASONS for having a net in the first place
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seem to have been lost, hopefully not forever. What are
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those reasons?
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a) To have fun (and it once was fun, remember?)
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b) To provide a public service for the computer using
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FidoNews 4-47 Page 4 21 Dec 1987
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community, including, programs, information, mail and a
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congenial atmosphere.
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c) To work with other programmers to create and evolve a
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standard for interfacing these systems.
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2) If I and the other folks that I talked to were to continue in
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active BBS-ing it would be IF and ONLY if it were in an
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environment where those reasons were again paramount, and
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what's more, were paramount IN THAT ORDER!
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3) That the way it worked BEFORE the "democracy" was better than
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it is now, and that there were not nearly as much
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recriminations and flames then as there are now, in SPITE of
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the wonderful work by Don Daniels and Ken Kaplan and even
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Dave Dodell.
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4) That it was said, over and over, back in the "old days", "If
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you don't like the way things are going, you are free to
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start your own net."
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Well, I don't like the way things are going. I don't like a
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network where the one who makes the first accusation is the one
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that is "right", where people do or don't do things, not because
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of the essential "correctness" of the decision, but because of
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politics, ego enrichment or just not wanting to create another
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round of flames. Where is the politeness, the reasoned
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consideration, the essential trust in our "brother and sister
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sysops" that was ONCE the stock-in-trade of our network? They
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are gone, but they are NOT forgotten and, while it may well be
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DOOMED from the start, I believe I owe it to myself and to those
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with whom I once made common cause to try something different.
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Call it a network of "burnouts" or those that are "sadder and
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wiser" than before. I call it "AlterNet" and the SECOND rule is
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that those joining do so KNOWING that flames and politics are NOT
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welcome here. That there is NO VOTE and NO ELECTIONS, but there
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is a dedication to serving the community of users and having fun.
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I do not expect that Alternet will be large, but we DO intend to
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try to interface with the IFNA network. We have asked the
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International Coordinator for one of several means to accomplish
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this, but at the time of this writing, he has yet to decide upon
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how he wants to handle this. Some of the folks in the "big" net
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will be coming over to AlterNet completely, others will maintain
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a dual identity. Every effort is being made to see to it that
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AlterNet does NOT interfere with the "big" net, because none of
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us wish to be "excessively annoying." I will be sending notice to
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the IFNA Board of Directors that I will be resigning my seat in
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favor of my alternate, Bill Allbritten, whom I believe will serve
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well and honestly. I do not plan to resign as Chairman of the
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FTSC because that position does not require IFNA membership or
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BOD membership and I believe that my continued participation
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there may help BOTH networks. Of course, I may get "fired"
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because not everyone will think that what I am doing is honorable
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or correct. For that I must apologize in advance.
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FidoNews 4-47 Page 5 21 Dec 1987
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It is not a decision that comes lightly, nor without some doubts.
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What is NOT in doubt is that something needs to change or the
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network will not survive the coming years. I do not think of this
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action as abandoning the net, but as providing a viable
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alternative WITHIN the "greater net" for those who want to do
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something different. For the first time, there will be a choice.
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And I, for one, hope that all of us are mature enough as people
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and that the net is mature enough as an entity that we can
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respect the idea that there needs to BE a choice.
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My sincere wishes for the best of the Holiday Season to you, your
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families and your users.
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That " ...au revior..... " Old Frog
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-----------------------------------------------------------------
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FidoNews 4-47 Page 6 21 Dec 1987
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Several people have become dissatisfied with the conditions now
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prevailing in FidoNet, and have decided to strike out on our own
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and form a new network in which the original goals of mutual
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defense, the free flow of information, and service to the public
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can once again flourish. The following is the present working
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draft of what will be our primary governing document. It is
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presented here for your amusement and edification.
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--- Ryugen Fisher, Lord Frog of the Northern Marshes
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The Code of Honor
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for
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Chivalry in the Electronic Age
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INTRODUCTION
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In this modern age of electronic communications, there has arisen
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a hearty band of volunteers dedicated to the principle of the
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free exchange of information. Not merely for themselves, but for
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all those around them as well. This group is known as the
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Intergalactic Sysop Alliance, and to further their goals they
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have established the Alliance Local Telephone Exchange Relay
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Network, also known as AlterNet.
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The purpose of this document is to describe the Alliance and the
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network they operate, and to establish the principles under which
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they are managed.
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Glossary of terms
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Following are the terms used in this document to describe the
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Alliance and its operations:
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Alliance
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The Intergalactic Sysop Alliance.
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AlterNet
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The Alliance Local Telephone Exchange Relay Network, which is
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the free public mail network operated by the Alliance, and
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its primary purpose for existing.
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Commoner
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Anyone who is not a member of the Alliance, but who benefits
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by its activities. The Alliance operates AlterNet for the
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purpose of supplying free communication to commoners. All
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other goals are secondary to this.
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FidoNews 4-47 Page 7 21 Dec 1987
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Knight
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Any member of the Alliance, in any capacity.
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Noble
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A member of the Alliance who has undertaken certain
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administrative tasks related to coordinating the actions of
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Knights. The various ranks of nobles and their duties will
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be described later.
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Lord
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A Noble who directly coordinates the actions of Knights and
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other Nobles. Specifically, every Knight serves under a
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Noble who is his Lord. Lords are distinguished from other
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Nobles in that only they may grant Knighthood.
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These terms are basic to an understanding of the Alliance. Other
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terms are used as well, and will be defined in context.
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KNIGHTHOOD
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It is the responsibility of every Knight to operate his own
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system in accordance with the technical requirements of AlterNet
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and with the Code of Honor of the Knights of the Alliance. The
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Code of Honor is a living tradition of the Alliance. This means
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that you are not expected to follow a rote set of procedures as
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such, but to live and act in the grand tradition of your fellow
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Knights. But some of the more salient points can be summed up as
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follows:
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o A Knight exists to serve the commoners, using AlterNet as his
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means. Usually this means running a public access bulletin
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board that provides free electronic communication to the
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community. It could also mean supporting your fellow knights
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in the furthurance of the operation of their bulletin boards.
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For example, you might help to coordinate the activities of
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your fellow knights, or you might procure or distribute
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conferences for your fellow knights to post on their bulletin
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boards.
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But service to the public is the key. A Knight who does not
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directly serve the public, or who does not assist his fellow
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Knights in serving the public, is assumed to be awaiting the
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proper chance to do so. But a Knight who refuses to assist
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in this prime goal of the Alliance is without Honor.
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o A Knight should be tolerant of his fellow Knights, willing to
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overlook occasional lapses from grace in the furtherance of
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our prime goal.
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o A Knight should be helpful to fellow Knights in need,
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assisting them when they falter or are troubled.
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o A Knight should be soft spoken. It is unseemly for a Knight
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to engage in public displays of temper or ill will.
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FidoNews 4-47 Page 8 21 Dec 1987
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o A Knight should at all times observe the Laws of the Land, as
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established by such mundane authorities as may exist. A
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Knight who knowingly engages in illegal activities, or who
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supports others in doing so, is without Honor and a disgrace
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to the Alliance.
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o A Knight should endeavour to stay current on all tithes.
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o A Knight should avoid acting in such a way as to interfere
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with another Knight in the performance of his duties.
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o A Knight must always observe National Mail Hour and keep it
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Holy, banning all commoners from his system during this
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period. In a Fief, the local Count or Baron may decree
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additional mail periods, which must also be honored. Failure
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to do so is sufficient grounds for immediate excommunication
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without warning, as warning is normally given by network
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mail.
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o A Knight must always use the most recent node list as is
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practical, lest an out of date node list cause him to annoy
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commonors by dialing wrong numbers.
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A Knight which has been dropped from the network is said to be
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excommunicated (i.e. unable to communicate). The most common
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cause of excommunication is failure to honor National Mail Hour.
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If you find that you have been excommunicated without warning,
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then that means that your Noble was unable to contact you. You
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should rectify the problem and report back.
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National Mail Hour is observed from 0900 to 1000 GMT every day,
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weekends included. In each of the United States time zones, this
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would be as follows:
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||
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Eastern Standard Time 4 AM to 5 AM
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Central Standard Time 3 AM to 4 AM
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Mountain Standard Time 2 AM to 3 AM
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Pacific Standard Time 1 AM to 2 AM
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Hawaii Standard Time 11 PM to Midnight
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AlterNet does not observe daylight savings time. In areas which
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||
observe daylight savings time the AlterNet mail schedules must be
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adjusted in the same direction as the clock change.
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Alternatively, you can simply leave your system on standard time.
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How to become a Knight
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All Knights are identified by their AlterNet address. To become
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a Knight, you must get your system operating properly, and then
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request a network address from your local Lord.
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||
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You must first obtain a current node list so that you can send
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||
mail. You do not need an AlterNet address to send mail, but you
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FidoNews 4-47 Page 9 21 Dec 1987
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must have one in order for others to send mail to you.
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The first step in obtaining a current node list is to locate an
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AlterNet bulletin board. No help there; you're on your own. But
|
||
you might try looking on the system you got this document from.
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If the Knight of any AlterNet system does not have a node list
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available for downloading, then he can probably tell you where to
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get one.
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Once you have a node list, you must determine which Lord to apply
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to. Counts and Dukes are always "node zero" of their domain, and
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Barons are always indicated by a "HUB" prefix in the node list.
|
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The Lord you should apply to is the one with the smallest domain
|
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that includes your location. For example, if you are located
|
||
within a local fief, then you would apply to the Count of that
|
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fief. If there is no fief in your area, then you would apply to
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the nearest Duke. All of AlterNet is divided into dukedoms, so
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you will always have a Duke even if you are not in a fief.
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|
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Your application for knighthood must be sent to the Noble by
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AlterNet mail, and must include at least the following:
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||
1) Your name.
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||
2) The name of your system.
|
||
3) The city and state where your system is located.
|
||
4) The phone number to be used when calling your system.
|
||
5) Your hours of operation.
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||
6) The maximum baud rate you can support.
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7) A telephone number at which you can be reached by voice.
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||
|
||
|
||
Your Lord may want additional information. If so, he will
|
||
contact you. Please allow at least two to three weeks for a
|
||
knighthood request to be processed.
|
||
|
||
Note that Knighthood is an honor, not a right. It will be up to
|
||
your Lord to decide if you are ready to be dubbed a Knight of the
|
||
Alliance.
|
||
|
||
|
||
If you are going down
|
||
|
||
If your system will be down for an extended period (more than a
|
||
day or two), then you should inform your Lord as soon as
|
||
possible. If you do not do this, then other Knights will still
|
||
try to reach you while you are down, much to the annoyance of
|
||
everyone. Do not under any circumstances put an answering
|
||
machine or similar device on your phone line while you are down.
|
||
If you do, then calling systems will get the machine repeatedly,
|
||
racking up large phone bills, which is very annoying.
|
||
|
||
If you will be leaving your system unattended for an extended
|
||
period of time (such as while you are on vacation), you should
|
||
notify your Lord. Systems do have a tendency to "crash" now and
|
||
then, so you will probably want your Lord to know that it is a
|
||
temporary condition if it happens while you are away.
|
||
FidoNews 4-47 Page 10 21 Dec 1987
|
||
|
||
|
||
How to form a fief
|
||
|
||
If there are several Knights in your area, but no local Count,
|
||
then you may wish to form your own fief. You may also be
|
||
requested to form a fief by your Duke.
|
||
|
||
Your first step is to contact the other Knights in your area.
|
||
You must decide which Knights will comprise the fief, and which
|
||
of those Knights is going to be your local Count. Your next step
|
||
is to contact your Duke to request the granting of a fief. With
|
||
the request you must include a copy of the proposed fief's node
|
||
list.
|
||
|
||
Granting of a fief is not automatic. Your Duke will review your
|
||
application and inform you of his decision. Do not request
|
||
anyone other than your Duke to grant you a fief.
|
||
|
||
|
||
NOBILITY
|
||
|
||
The Nobility consists of all those Knights who have volunteered
|
||
to help coordinate the actions of their fellow knights. All
|
||
Nobles serve at the pleasure of their superiors.
|
||
|
||
Certain Nobles are styled Lords, because they coordinate network
|
||
activities over a geographic area which is their Domain. This
|
||
includes maintaining that portion of the node list which covers
|
||
his domain, and assisting in the distribution of the AlterNet
|
||
node list and the Alliance newsletter. A Lord is also
|
||
responsible for establishing such local policy as may be required
|
||
within his domain, so long as that policy does not conflict with
|
||
this document or with the policy established by a superior Lord.
|
||
|
||
There are the following types of Lords within the Alliance:
|
||
|
||
The Archduke
|
||
His Majesty the Archduke is the supreme authority within the
|
||
Alliance. He has, as is main concern, the day to day
|
||
operation of AlterNet and the weekly publication of the
|
||
AlterNet node list. He also acts as chief spokesman for the
|
||
Alliance.
|
||
|
||
The Viceroys
|
||
His Majesty is assisted by two Viceroys, the Junior Viceroy
|
||
and the Senior Viceroy. Together, all three comprise the
|
||
Ruling Troika, which is the supreme decision making body of
|
||
the Alliance.
|
||
|
||
The Dukes
|
||
AlterNet is divided into ten dukedoms, each of which is
|
||
presided over by a Duke. There is no location within the
|
||
Alliance that is not within the domain of some Duke.
|
||
|
||
The ten Dukes together comprise the Council of Dukes. This
|
||
council is charged with establishing long range goals and
|
||
plans, and with appointing Knights to the Ruling Troika.
|
||
FidoNews 4-47 Page 11 21 Dec 1987
|
||
|
||
|
||
Every six months the Council of Dukes must appoint a new
|
||
Junior Viceroy. At this time the preceeding Junior Viceroy
|
||
becomes Senior Viceroy, the preceeding Senior Viceroy becomes
|
||
Archduke, and the preceeding Archduke retires.
|
||
|
||
The Council of Dukes also sets the tithes for Knighthood. It
|
||
is understood that the tithes are to be used primarily for
|
||
establishing and maintaining a legal defense fund to help
|
||
defend Knights in any conflicts that may arise with mundane
|
||
authorities related to the pursuit of a Knight's mission. In
|
||
any event, the annual budget must be approved by the Council
|
||
of Dukes.
|
||
|
||
The Counts
|
||
Where several Knights reside within a reasonably compact
|
||
geographic area, the local Duke may grant a Fief to those
|
||
Knights. The fief is then presided over by a Count, who is
|
||
then responsible for its smooth operation. In addition to
|
||
such other duties as all Nobles must share, a Count is also
|
||
responsible for receiving mail destined for Knights within
|
||
his fief and for seeing that it is properly routed to its
|
||
destination.
|
||
|
||
A Count may wish to provide outbound mail service to his
|
||
Knights as well. This is not required, but is considered
|
||
highly desireable. It is acknowledged that the Count may
|
||
need to seek outside sponsorship in this endeavour or to lay
|
||
and collect local taxes. But in no case shall a Count claim
|
||
to provide outbound mail service to his Knights unless it can
|
||
be accomplished in a timely, reliable manner.
|
||
|
||
It would be dishonorable for a Count to trespass on the
|
||
territory of another Count, or on the territory of any Duke
|
||
other than his own. Any special cases which may arise must
|
||
be settled by a treaty negotiated between the affected Counts
|
||
and ratified by the Dukes concerned.
|
||
|
||
The Barons
|
||
In a large fief the local Count may wish to appoint one or
|
||
more Barons to assist him. Each Baron will then be assigned
|
||
a geographic area to preside over, and will perform the
|
||
duties required of the Count for those Knights within his
|
||
domain.
|
||
|
||
The primary responsibility of any Lord is technical management of
|
||
network operations. Decisions should be made strictly on
|
||
technical grounds as far as possible.
|
||
|
||
In addition to the Lords, there exist these other Nobles:
|
||
|
||
The Grand Wizard
|
||
The Grand Wizard is appointed by the Council of Dukes to act
|
||
as the final arbiter of technical issues relating to network
|
||
operations. The Grand Wizard may then in turn appoint a
|
||
Council of Wizards to act as his advisors and assistants.
|
||
|
||
FidoNews 4-47 Page 12 21 Dec 1987
|
||
|
||
|
||
In no case may a developer of AlterNet compatible network
|
||
mail software be appointed as Grand Wizard. If the existing
|
||
Grand Wizard should descend to such ignomy, then he shall
|
||
immediately forfeit his position.
|
||
|
||
The Rumor Monger
|
||
The Rumor Monger is not exactly a Noble, being engaged in a
|
||
trade that is ignoble by definition. The Rumor Monger is
|
||
appointed by the Council of Dukes to assemble and publish the
|
||
Alliance newsletter, which shall be known as AlterNews.
|
||
|
||
One of the duties of any Noble is to, as soon as possible,
|
||
appoint a successor. He must then inform his superior of his
|
||
selection so that his choice may be confirmed. If a Noble leaves
|
||
his post for any reason, his successor immediately steps in. If
|
||
a Noble leaves his post without having an acceptible successor
|
||
appointed, then it will be up to his superior to appoint a
|
||
successor.
|
||
|
||
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
|
||
FidoNews 4-47 Page 13 21 Dec 1987
|
||
|
||
|
||
Gene Coppola 107/246
|
||
|
||
QT/2
|
||
A New Computer at a Low Cost
|
||
|
||
|
||
Recently I went to a local computer show run by Ken Gordon.
|
||
The show was in Hempstead, New York at one of the local hotels.
|
||
If you remember, I had sent in an article to Fidonews that a new
|
||
PS/2 clone would be released at that particular computer show.
|
||
|
||
Well, after much examination and testing, I can now report on
|
||
the QT/2-6 computer, which I purchased 2 days after the show. The
|
||
QT/2-6 is a PS/60 clone. The machine is enclosed in a metal case,
|
||
that opens very easily. It is about the size of a standard IBM PC
|
||
type computer. A key lock is provided on the front of the case to
|
||
lock the keyboard in the on or off position. An led for power and
|
||
hard drive access are visible on the front of the case.
|
||
|
||
Opening the case reveals a carefully thought out motherboard
|
||
with no apparent last minute jumpers soldered in or traces cut.
|
||
The power supply is a hefty 350 watts and has two very quiet fans
|
||
for ample cooling.
|
||
|
||
On the motherboard there are a total of eight (8) expansion
|
||
slots. Six slots are PS/2 MCA compatible and two slots are for
|
||
PC/XT expansion boards. Eight expansion slots did not seem to be
|
||
very generous. Then I realized that the serial, parallel, floppy
|
||
disk controller and CGA/EGA/VGA functions are built into the
|
||
motherboard.
|
||
|
||
No expansion slot is taken for additional memory either. The
|
||
motherboard comes populated with twelve Megabytes of 60ns Ram.
|
||
You can divide the Ram in various ways to suit your needs.
|
||
Depending upon your start up configuration, the Ram can be
|
||
divided into Extended, Expanded, or a combination of both.
|
||
|
||
The QT/2-6 uses an 80386 is the main processor. An 80387 NDP
|
||
comes with the system. The clock is speed is 20Mhz.
|
||
|
||
Under PC-DOS 3.3 the system performed very well. All major
|
||
software (Lotus, dBase III+, Paradox, Wordstar, Professional
|
||
Write, Flight Simulator, SEAdog, QBBS) loaded and ran with no
|
||
problems. I have not been able to find any software that would
|
||
not run.
|
||
|
||
OS/2 was a different story however. I chalk up the problems I
|
||
encountered to the fact that OS/2 is not yet the polished product
|
||
it should be. All programs loaded but several encountered
|
||
problems during operation. Using the compatibility box made
|
||
things easier, however if one program crashed, then the whole
|
||
system would hang.
|
||
|
||
The designers of the QT/2 are to be commended for the time
|
||
and detail that went into the Rom chip set they developed for
|
||
this machine. I might be wrong, but this is the only machine that
|
||
FidoNews 4-47 Page 14 21 Dec 1987
|
||
|
||
|
||
I am aware of, that will run PC-DOS 3.3 and still allow you all
|
||
the features that a PS/2 type computer needs OS/2 to access.
|
||
|
||
Several different MCA boards were loaned to me for testing
|
||
purposes and they performed as advertised, with no problems to
|
||
report.
|
||
|
||
The machine comes with two 360k floppy disk drives, and one 3
|
||
1/2 inch disk drive. All the drives were made by Toshiba and
|
||
perform quite well. The QT/2 recognizes which format (720k or
|
||
1.2Mb) is in the 3 1/2 inch drive and reads and writes both
|
||
formats with no problems.
|
||
|
||
I installed my Seagate ST-251 hard drive and was relieved to
|
||
see that I did not have to use Disk Manager to partition the
|
||
drive. So I now have a 42 Mb drive instead of two 21 Mb logical
|
||
drives. This allows the ST-251 to perform at its rated speed of
|
||
21ms instead of 80ms under Disk Manager.
|
||
|
||
I now run my bulletin board (QBBS EAST) on this machine and
|
||
have no problems. SEAdog runs as a front end for QuickBBS and
|
||
performs as expected.
|
||
|
||
All in all I would say the QT/2-6 is a fine machine for the
|
||
money. The base price for the machine is only $2450 which
|
||
includes everything mentioned above except the hard drive.
|
||
|
||
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
|
||
FidoNews 4-47 Page 15 21 Dec 1987
|
||
|
||
|
||
Robert Heller @ 1:321/148
|
||
|
||
I am interested in setting up a new EchoMail conference on the
|
||
subject of generic 680x0-based systems. I am one of those people
|
||
who has an "oddball" computer system: a Stride 440 (10Mhz 68000
|
||
CPU), running CP/M-68K. It is not one of the "common" 68K
|
||
systems (Mac, Atari ST, or Amiga). Are there other people like
|
||
me out there in FidoNet land? If you are interested in carrying
|
||
a generic 680x0 conference send me netmail. Also, I would be
|
||
interested in the posibility of gatewaying such a conference with
|
||
the comp.sys.m68k* newsgroups (aka Info-68K@ucbvax.berkeley.edu
|
||
on ARPANet). My home machine is not on USENET (does not run UNIX
|
||
or any sort of uucp clone), so I can't do the gatewaying on my
|
||
machine. Oh, I'd like to name this proposed EchoMail conference
|
||
INFO_68K.
|
||
|
||
|
||
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
|
||
FidoNews 4-47 Page 16 21 Dec 1987
|
||
|
||
|
||
To run KXP1092 is very simple. Just unarc the file and type
|
||
the following command:
|
||
|
||
KXP1092 /p
|
||
|
||
The /p designates the port the printer is connected to. Valid
|
||
numbers are from 1 to 3. If you desire you may leave off the /p
|
||
and the program will default to port 1.
|
||
|
||
KXP1092 allows you to set many of the features that are available
|
||
and gives you an immediate printed confirmation of the results.
|
||
|
||
EGA and CGA modes are supported in this version. You must have a
|
||
printer connected and turned on or the program will remind you
|
||
to do so.
|
||
|
||
Available from 107/246 (516)-328-7064 by SEAdog request or by
|
||
normal download methods. Request filename "KXP1092" (without the
|
||
quotes please) to receive this file.
|
||
|
||
|
||
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
|
||
FidoNews 4-47 Page 17 21 Dec 1987
|
||
|
||
|
||
In an effort to ascertain how many people really
|
||
read Fidonews, I would like to propose a little
|
||
experiment.
|
||
|
||
If everyone who reads this article would send me a
|
||
postcard, with their, city, state, and country written on
|
||
it, I will be happy to tabulate the results and report
|
||
them in a future issue.
|
||
|
||
It might be very interesting to see the results from
|
||
this little experiment. Some people claim "No One Reads
|
||
Fidonews", (God forbid) and some people have claimed a
|
||
readership of 6 million people.
|
||
|
||
Well, if you are willing to take the time to send me
|
||
a postcard, I will take the time to keep track of the
|
||
results, even if I get 6 million postcards.
|
||
|
||
I will collect postcards for this experiment from
|
||
the day this article is published, until January 31,
|
||
1988. This will give everyone a month to reply.
|
||
|
||
Send your postcard to:
|
||
|
||
Fidonews Survey
|
||
2nd Floor
|
||
110 Hillsboro Avenue
|
||
Elmont, Ny 11003 USA
|
||
|
||
Remember, just your city, state, and country on the
|
||
postcard.
|
||
|
||
|
||
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
|
||
FidoNews 4-47 Page 18 21 Dec 1987
|
||
|
||
|
||
Kilgore Trout, 1:107/6
|
||
|
||
|
||
What's Happening at SEA?
|
||
|
||
We've been making some changes to XlatList and RouteGen, mainly
|
||
to support the proposed node list changes, but also to improve
|
||
international mail and to add a few generally desired features.
|
||
|
||
First, in XlatList:
|
||
|
||
o There has been some confusion over just what kind of output
|
||
XlatList should generate in OPUS mode. In particular,
|
||
version 2.84 added the node list comment flags to the
|
||
NODELIST.BBS file, but the Opus node list compiler couldn't
|
||
handle it. But now we're told that Opus will soon have its
|
||
own node list translator, so XlatList's OPUS mode now
|
||
produces the older style output like Fido 11w expects.
|
||
|
||
o It is now possible to set a maximum baud rate based on node
|
||
list flags. This is done with the MAXBAUD statement, which
|
||
can now look something like this:
|
||
|
||
maxbaud 2400 PEP 9600
|
||
|
||
This means set a max baud rate of 2400 baud, except that
|
||
entries with the string "PEP" in the comments field can go to
|
||
9600 baud.
|
||
|
||
o It is now much easier to refer to overseas nets. Previously,
|
||
you had to maintain your own private node list for the
|
||
overseas nodes you wanted to call. Now you can have XlatList
|
||
automate that for you.
|
||
|
||
For example, supposed you wish to exchange files with nodes
|
||
in net 630 of zone 3. In your XLATLIST.CTL file you can now
|
||
have the statement:
|
||
|
||
ozone 3:630
|
||
|
||
This tells XlatList to pull in net 630 of zone 3 as a private
|
||
net in your own node list.
|
||
|
||
But remember that net numbers might be duplicated across
|
||
zones. There might already be a net 630 in your own zone.
|
||
In this case, you'd have to use a private net number. If you
|
||
wanted to use private net number 1999, then the correct
|
||
statement would be:
|
||
|
||
ozone 3:630 1999
|
||
|
||
This would case, for example, node 3:630/613 to appear in
|
||
your own node list as node 1999/613 in your own zone.
|
||
|
||
Is this confusing enough yet? Unless you want to send files
|
||
or crash mail to nodes in another zone, don't worry about it.
|
||
FidoNews 4-47 Page 19 21 Dec 1987
|
||
|
||
|
||
For normal netmail just go on as before and let the zone
|
||
gates handle it.
|
||
|
||
o It is now possible to pull in point net gateway listings.
|
||
This would be helpful for some net outbound gates, but again
|
||
few people need to bother with it.
|
||
|
||
o XlatList can now be told to automatically clean up its work
|
||
area. Ever notice how old node lists seem to build up
|
||
forever? Now if you put a CLEANUP statement in your
|
||
XLATLIST.CTL file, XlatList will automatically delete
|
||
difference files as they are applied, and delete old node
|
||
lists as new ones are generated.
|
||
|
||
|
||
And now, in RouteGen:
|
||
|
||
o We've added an OPUS mode that should be useful in creating
|
||
Opus routing control files.
|
||
|
||
o We've added a new conditional, "FLAG", to test if your own
|
||
node list entry has a given comment flag. A possible use for
|
||
this might be:
|
||
|
||
if flag XP
|
||
Give-to ALL
|
||
Pickup ALL
|
||
endif
|
||
|
||
This would probably be most useful for network "routing
|
||
mavens" who maintain a master ROUTEGEN.CTL file for use by
|
||
all nodes in a given network.
|
||
|
||
o We've added quoted literals. Literals are not evaluated by
|
||
RouteGen, but are passed through unchanged. For example, you
|
||
could say:
|
||
|
||
Send-to 107/312 "Bill Bertholf" 107/16
|
||
|
||
We're not quite sure what good this is, but it's there if you
|
||
need it.
|
||
|
||
o We've added a new macro for address aliasing. This keys off
|
||
of the "AKA:" node list flag. For example, suppose that
|
||
107/300 has a comment flag of "AKA:312". You could then say:
|
||
|
||
Send-to aka-107/300
|
||
|
||
and RouteGen would change it to:
|
||
|
||
Send-to 107/312
|
||
|
||
This is especially useful for holding mail for pickup by a
|
||
hub, since the hub will be calling under his "real" address
|
||
instead of his hub address.
|
||
|
||
FidoNews 4-47 Page 20 21 Dec 1987
|
||
|
||
|
||
Products mentioned in this article may be file requested from
|
||
1:107/6 at any time outside of National Mail Hour, or may be
|
||
downloaded from the SEA customer support board at (201) 473-1991.
|
||
|
||
Product Filename to request
|
||
|
||
XlatList and RouteGen XLATRGEN.ARC
|
||
|
||
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
|
||
FidoNews 4-47 Page 21 21 Dec 1987
|
||
|
||
|
||
Thank you for your recent request for information regarding our
|
||
REMAIL and FORWARDING service.
|
||
|
||
SMS provides our customers with highly confidential, trustworthy,
|
||
prompt receiving and forwarding of mail.
|
||
|
||
The enclosed information explains our services and the costs of
|
||
our services.
|
||
|
||
If you have a service requirement that is not covered by our
|
||
regular service as explained, we will be happy to discuss your
|
||
needs and provide you with a customized solution.
|
||
|
||
Unlike other services of this type, our customer records are kept
|
||
encrypted in our IBM computer system. Your name will never be
|
||
sold or leased to a mailing list company. Security is of prime
|
||
concern to SMS.
|
||
|
||
SECURITY MAIL SERVICE REMAIL SERVICE
|
||
|
||
If you have a NEED TO SEND MAIL in a confidential manner, we
|
||
provide that prompt, trustworthy service at a minimal cost.
|
||
|
||
Per Item Description Of Item To Be Remailed
|
||
|
||
$ 0.50 - Each small stamped addressed single envelope.
|
||
|
||
$ 0.50 - Each large stamped addressed single envelope.
|
||
|
||
$ 0.25 - Ten or more stamped addressed envelopes banded
|
||
together by a rubber band.
|
||
|
||
|
||
All you need to do is send your stamped addressed REMAIL items in
|
||
a large manila envelope addressed to
|
||
|
||
SMS
|
||
2nd Floor
|
||
110 Hillsboro Avenue
|
||
Elmont, New York 11003
|
||
|
||
Please be sure to enclose the proper payment based on the charges
|
||
listed above. Complete the form below and enclose it in the
|
||
envelope.
|
||
|
||
Your items will be in the U.S. mail service WITHIN 1 HOUR from
|
||
the time we receive them! We GUARANTEE this fast service or you
|
||
get double your money back!
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
REMAIL SERVICE ORDER FORM
|
||
|
||
|
||
SMS
|
||
FidoNews 4-47 Page 22 21 Dec 1987
|
||
|
||
|
||
2nd Floor
|
||
110 Hillsboro Avenue
|
||
Elmont, Ny 11003
|
||
|
||
________________________________________Date
|
||
|
||
|
||
________________________________________Number Of Items
|
||
|
||
|
||
$_______________________________________Amount Enclosed
|
||
|
||
|
||
SECURITY MAIL SERVICE FORWARDING SERVICE
|
||
|
||
If you have a NEED TO RECEIVE MAIL in a confidential manner, we
|
||
provide that prompt, trustworthy service at a minimal cost. You
|
||
use OUR address with a designated letter code. All items we
|
||
receive for you, are forwarded the same day.
|
||
|
||
Here Is The Cost For Our Forwarding Service
|
||
|
||
SMS Forwarding With Letter Code Address $ 10.00
|
||
Postage Fund $ 10.00
|
||
|
||
The postage fund covers the postage to forward items we receive
|
||
addressed to your letter code. You will be notified when the
|
||
postage fund drops below five (5) dollars.
|
||
|
||
========================================================
|
||
|
||
FORWARDING SERVICE ORDER FORM
|
||
|
||
SMS
|
||
2nd Floor
|
||
110 Hillsboro Avenue
|
||
Elmont, Ny 11003
|
||
|
||
|
||
____FORWARDING SERVICE FOR 12 MONTHS $ 70.00
|
||
|
||
____FORWARDING SERVICE FOR 6 MONTHS $ 30.00
|
||
|
||
____FORWARDING SERVICE FOR 1 MONTH $ 10.00
|
||
|
||
POSTAGE FUND $ 10.00
|
||
|
||
TOTAL ENCLOSED $______
|
||
|
||
NAME______________________________________________________
|
||
_
|
||
ADDRESS___________________________________________________
|
||
_
|
||
|
||
CITY__________________________ STATE___________
|
||
ZIP________
|
||
FidoNews 4-47 Page 23 21 Dec 1987
|
||
|
||
|
||
Should we sign for Registered Or Certified Mail?
|
||
__________
|
||
|
||
Should we forward magazines, newspapers, etc;?
|
||
__________
|
||
|
||
Special
|
||
Instructions_______________________________________
|
||
|
||
_________________________________________________
|
||
Signature
|
||
|
||
|
||
Upon receipt a letter code will be mailed to you. Please
|
||
allow 7 days to receive this letter code.
|
||
|
||
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
|
||
FidoNews 4-47 Page 24 21 Dec 1987
|
||
|
||
|
||
Jerry Hindle
|
||
123/6 (aka 1/300)
|
||
Memphis Tn (901)-353-4563 9600bps HST
|
||
|
||
|
||
I am in need of a node in each of the following regions to
|
||
serve as a distribution point for that region for neww sofftware
|
||
coming out for use in Fidonet.
|
||
|
||
What I would like is prefferably a node that is able to be
|
||
called via PC Pursuit <tm> and allows access to the file areas
|
||
for new or un-registered callers. They should also have a high
|
||
speed modem although this is not really necessary. These nodes
|
||
(once they are all set up will become part of the distribution
|
||
chain, in that they may designate other nodes within their
|
||
regions to act as "local distribution nodes". Only one node from
|
||
each region is able to be listed in Zone 1 so I will take the
|
||
best qualified node (based on system size, accessibility, modem
|
||
speed, and whether they are PCPable or not) from each region. The
|
||
node should also be a low traffic node, since we want to make it
|
||
as easy as possible for callers to gain access to the system
|
||
without running up against a busy signal too much.
|
||
|
||
If you are interested please send me a note via netmail with
|
||
a phone number where you can be reached during the evenings
|
||
(voice).
|
||
|
||
I need nodes in the following regions:
|
||
|
||
Region 10
|
||
Region 12
|
||
Region 14
|
||
Region 15
|
||
|
||
I would also like to here from you if you wish to possibly
|
||
become one of the local distribution nodes within ANY region. I
|
||
will put you in contact with the region distribution node for
|
||
your region.
|
||
|
||
Thx
|
||
Jerry Hindle
|
||
123/6 (aka 1/300)
|
||
SoftWare Coordinator
|
||
(901) 353-4563 9600bps HST
|
||
|
||
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
|
||
FidoNews 4-47 Page 25 21 Dec 1987
|
||
|
||
|
||
Last week, some of our student consultants discovered
|
||
a virus program that's been spreading rapidly throughout
|
||
Lehigh University. I thought I'd take a few minutes and
|
||
warn as many of you as possible about this program since
|
||
it has the chance of spreading much farther than just
|
||
our University. We have no idea where the virus
|
||
started, but some users have told me that other
|
||
universities have recently had similar problems.
|
||
|
||
The virus: the virus itself is contained in the stack
|
||
space of COMMAND.COM. When a pc is booted from an
|
||
infected disk, all a user need do to spread the virus
|
||
is to access another disk via TYPE, COPY, DIR, etc. If
|
||
the other disk contains COMMAND.COM, the virus code is
|
||
copied to the other disk. Then, a counter is incremented
|
||
on the parent.
|
||
|
||
When this counter reaches a value of 4, any and every
|
||
disk in the PC is erased thoroughly. The boot tracks are
|
||
nulled, as are the FAT tables, etc. All Norton's
|
||
horses couldn't put it back together again... This
|
||
affects both floppy and hard disks. Meanwhile, the four
|
||
children that were created go on to tell four friends,
|
||
and then they tell four friends, and so on, and so on.
|
||
|
||
Detection: while this virus appears to be very well
|
||
written, the author did leave behind a couple
|
||
footprints. First, the write date of the command.com
|
||
changes. Second, if there's a write protect tab on an
|
||
uninfected disk, you will get a WRITE PROTECT ERROR...
|
||
|
||
So, boot up from a suspected virus'd disk and access a
|
||
write protected disk - if an error comes up, then you're
|
||
sure. Note that the length of command.com does not get
|
||
altered.
|
||
|
||
I urge anyone who comes in contact with publicly
|
||
accessible (sp?) disks to periodically check their own
|
||
disks. Also, exercise safe computing - always wear a
|
||
write protect tab.
|
||
|
||
This is not a joke. A large percentage of our public
|
||
site disks has been infected by this virus in the last
|
||
couple of days.
|
||
|
||
BEWARE - I SPEAK FROM EXPERIENCE...NOT EVEN MACE CAN
|
||
RECOVER THIS ONE. HE WENT AFTER ALL THE MACE FILES AS
|
||
WELL. THEY ARE COMPLETELY OVERWRITTEN MAKING THEM
|
||
USELESS FOR RECOVERY PURPOSES !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
|
||
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
|
||
FidoNews 4-47 Page 26 21 Dec 1987
|
||
|
||
|
||
=================================================================
|
||
COLUMNS
|
||
=================================================================
|
||
|
||
|
||
-- The Regular Irregular Column --
|
||
Dale Lovell
|
||
157/504
|
||
|
||
I'm still trying to get things back on an even keel so this
|
||
may go out a week late, ruining my two week prefect record. Maybe
|
||
after this holiday season is over things will get better, at
|
||
least I don't see how they could get any worse. For those of you
|
||
who enjoy my pseudo-reviews, I've got some bad news. I
|
||
unfortunately feel the need to do some editorializing on some of
|
||
the recent events and trends I've noticed. So if you aren't
|
||
interested in my viewpoint, drop down to the winding down section
|
||
where I look at a recent improvement in one of my favorite
|
||
utilities.
|
||
|
||
-- FidoNet, IFNA and other random thoughts --
|
||
|
||
It seems old habits are hard to break. After several months
|
||
of seeing people actually work together, everyone seems to be
|
||
trying to break the net apart again. Some of this is probably due
|
||
to the severe growing pains the net is going through. When I
|
||
first joined FidoNet 2 years ago, I kept a close watch on the
|
||
size of the nodelist. I watched the number of nodes very closely
|
||
until it stabilized at over 1,000 nodes, and we now have over
|
||
2,100 nodes! This type of expansion in such a short time has
|
||
created its share of problems. Not only does the net have to deal
|
||
with several hundred neophyte sysops, but there are the
|
||
operational difficulties as well.
|
||
|
||
A good example of operational difficulties are zones and
|
||
their gateways. Only recently has the number of international
|
||
nodes (Overseas sysops please excuse me as I write with a North
|
||
America bias) become such a significant part of the nodelist.
|
||
When the zone based nodelist was introduced many people
|
||
complained at the switch and how they weren't prepared for it.
|
||
This was despite the fact the it had been announced several weeks
|
||
earlier. I don't know how many times I read about how this showed
|
||
IFNA trying to take control of the net. IFNA wasn't (and isn't)
|
||
trying to take control of the net, it was merely trying to make
|
||
it easier to manage and use. The complications involved with the
|
||
non-zone based nodelist were becoming unmanageable to many people
|
||
and there was software that could handle a zone based nodelist.
|
||
With the gateways in place, it even helps cut down on the cost of
|
||
overseas netmail. While zones will help out everyone in the long
|
||
run, it can make it difficult in the short run while everyone
|
||
learns how to use zones and their gateways.
|
||
|
||
Educating new sysops and users is another task that needs to
|
||
be done. Many of these new sysops (and their board's users) have
|
||
never heard of Echomail, and many don't seem to be aware that
|
||
every message entered is echoed across the world and to many
|
||
FidoNews 4-47 Page 27 21 Dec 1987
|
||
|
||
|
||
different types of bulletin boards. When the echomail programs
|
||
are properly set up, a message should never go out addressed to
|
||
"Sysop." Despite this, I've seen dozens of such messages over the
|
||
past few weeks. This is a matter where the network has to help
|
||
educate new sysops. All sysops in turn should work to help
|
||
educate their users. What should they be "teaching?" How about
|
||
posting messages in a relevant area, especially in echomail.
|
||
Telling someone that the file they're interested in is available
|
||
by downloading it from this board doesn't help anyone. The person
|
||
looking for it could very easily be across the country. Right now
|
||
I don't even feel like going into the number of messages that
|
||
have no purpose being in an echomail area ("Are you going to be
|
||
home Friday night Joe?"). When events like this occur regularly,
|
||
it only serves to give FidoNet a bad impression. IFNA is a group
|
||
that could do a lot in this area. Not by controlling new nodes,
|
||
but by helping to educate new sysops and users. The file
|
||
NEWSYSOP.ARC (available by SEAdog file request from 157/1 among
|
||
others) is a good example of how this could be done. It attempts
|
||
to explain many of things we old hands take for granted. What is
|
||
echomail? What software can I run? How do I apply for a net/node
|
||
number? Why are there zones, regions, nets, etc. and what is
|
||
routing? These are all things a new sysop needs to know, and IFNA
|
||
is working to help these people out.
|
||
|
||
Another problem in FidoNet today is that many people seem to
|
||
be trying to tear the net apart. The first of these symptoms I
|
||
noticed was that no one was a FidoNet sysop, they were Fido
|
||
sysops, or Opus sysops or SEAdog users. Up until a year ago, the
|
||
only software available was Fido and SEAdog. While many of us
|
||
used SEAdog as a front-end, we still associated ourselves with
|
||
FidoNet. Now if you ask someone what type of BBS they're running
|
||
they won't say they're a FidoNet sysop, instead they'll first
|
||
identify themselves as an Opus, Fido, TBBS, etc. sysop. This is
|
||
also beginning to show itself in the newsletters circulating or
|
||
starting up. In the past FidoNews was one of the few things that
|
||
linked us together (along with the nodelist and National Mail
|
||
Hour). Since echomail hadn't really started up, many of us knew
|
||
almost nothing about anyone in FidoNet. FidoNews gave us a sense
|
||
being part of a community. While echomail does some of this, the
|
||
feeling of camaraderie isn't there. With the influx of
|
||
newsletters, no one realizes how much we need to work together to
|
||
stay together. Instead of everyone contributing to one newsletter
|
||
that contains information for everyone in FidoNet, everyone
|
||
suddenly seems to want a newsletter that only contains
|
||
information that pertains to them. While this may sound nice,
|
||
think about how much it can fragment FidoNet before you get so
|
||
gung ho on the idea. If you aren't willing to communicate with
|
||
other sysops, why did you join FidoNet in the first place? Also,
|
||
if you aren't willing to keep an open mind, how can you
|
||
communicate?
|
||
|
||
Software incompatibilities are another cause of
|
||
fragmentation within FidoNet. Part of this is also caused by the
|
||
influx of new software in the net. When everyone was using the
|
||
same software, there was no chance for incompatibilities. Now,
|
||
many of the network mailers are putting in their own advanced
|
||
FidoNews 4-47 Page 28 21 Dec 1987
|
||
|
||
|
||
features before they are compatible with the software that is out
|
||
there and has been out there for some time. This standard I refer
|
||
to has been documented for over a year in the FTSC (FidoNet
|
||
Technical Standards Committee) documents. While I haven't
|
||
obtained a new set of documents recently, I hope they aren't
|
||
trying to keep the documents up to date with every new piece of
|
||
software. This could quickly turn a hard to accomplish task into
|
||
an impossible one. I'm not saying that I'm against new features,
|
||
I just think that new software should be compatible with the old
|
||
software as well. SEAdog was an excellent example of how this
|
||
should be done. System Enhancement Associates has always done
|
||
everything possible to be compatible with existing software
|
||
BEFORE expanding on it. While there were a few problems, they
|
||
were fixed as quickly as possible. Some of them were even due to
|
||
documentation being incorrect or incomplete in some ways. While
|
||
some of the new network mailers are having these same
|
||
difficulties, some seem determined to see how far they can get
|
||
from these established standards. This again is something that
|
||
could quickly destroy FidoNet and all that goes along with it.
|
||
|
||
Many of you may take all this to mean that I am pro-IFNA.
|
||
Well, I'm not. I am however, pro-FidoNet. IFNA is not trying to
|
||
control FidoNet, it's merely an organization trying to assure
|
||
everyone that FidoNet will be here tomorrow. If some of you think
|
||
that certain IFNA positions have a great deal of power inside
|
||
FidoNet, they do. However, in the past some individual has had
|
||
the same power and with no way of replacing them if something
|
||
happened or they abused their power. The International Technical
|
||
Coordinator is such a position. In the past Ben Baker saw to it
|
||
that a nodelist (and nodediff) was published every week (he took
|
||
over the job from Tom Jennings). In spite of quite a deal of
|
||
trouble, Ben always got it out. When he was hospitalized for
|
||
surgery, the nodelist still went out. For many years, he would
|
||
correct many mistakes in the nodelist submissions. If something
|
||
had happened to Ben, the net would have fallen apart in weeks.
|
||
IFNA assures us that this can never happen. There will always be
|
||
someone to handle this job, as recently happened when Ben
|
||
resigned from this position. I believe that these choices will be
|
||
good, honest people like Ben. There will not be any childish
|
||
behavior tolerated by IFNA. Things like leaving people out of the
|
||
nodelist for personal reasons would only result in IFNA finding a
|
||
new coordinator. This brings stability to FidoNet, and stability
|
||
helps everyone in the long run.
|
||
|
||
One item that I find particularly distressing is the rumors
|
||
that only IFNA members will be listed in future nodelists. I
|
||
thought the net was past this nonsense already. You will NEVER
|
||
have to join or pay IFNA anything to be listed in the nodelist.
|
||
All you will have to do is abide by the POLICYx.DOC, which
|
||
basically means don't be excessively annoying and observe
|
||
National Mail Hour. IFNA is not trying to become FidoNet, it is
|
||
merely trying to assure that FidoNet continues to exist. If
|
||
another organization appears in the future with this same goal, I
|
||
will support it as much as I support IFNA. If we keep on going on
|
||
the present track, we're going to end up destroying the net that
|
||
so many of us enjoy. We have to learn to work together, or else
|
||
FidoNews 4-47 Page 29 21 Dec 1987
|
||
|
||
|
||
we shall surely be torn apart.
|
||
|
||
After the Alexandria FidoCon, I thought things were finally
|
||
going to start working out. For awhile this was true, but old
|
||
habits seem hard to break. Many of us have already forgotten the
|
||
spirit that pervaded FidoCon, one of everyone working together
|
||
for the good of FidoNet. I'd like to propose the idea of mini-
|
||
FidoCons to help keep this spirit alive. If you'd be interested
|
||
in one of these mini-cons, drop me a line. If there really seems
|
||
to be the interest, maybe we'll try one out over a weekend. In
|
||
the meantime, let's try and work together a little.
|
||
|
||
-- Winding down... --
|
||
|
||
I got an "update" to an old favorite this past week. Ever
|
||
since I came across Xtree I've found it to be a useful program.
|
||
As the number of echomail conferences increased, I began to find
|
||
it less and less useful. The original Xtree could only handle
|
||
about 2,200 files, and with each message being a file it didn't
|
||
take long to reach Xtree's limits. Xtree Pro (Executive Systems,
|
||
list $129.00) solves many of the shortcomings of Xtree. It
|
||
demolishes the old file limit (The default file limit is 18,000
|
||
files and can be increased!). Since many of us have more than one
|
||
logical drive, Xtree Pro allows you to log up to sixteen
|
||
different drives. This should hold even a backbone echomail node
|
||
for a few weeks and it can always be increased. In addition it
|
||
allows for multiple file specs. It's easy to see all the BAT,
|
||
EXE, and COM files on all your drives. Another handy feature of
|
||
this is that you can check for file duplications across several
|
||
drives. If this wasn't enough, they've put in a small ASCII
|
||
editor. I've been using Xtree Pro to handle my directories for
|
||
echomail. Not only can I create the directories I need, but I can
|
||
edit the areas.bbs and configuration files as well. Xtree Pro
|
||
also has the option for quick disk logging. While it isn't as
|
||
fast as some of the other file managers, it also doesn't keep
|
||
track of everything in a file. Xtree Pro actually looks at the
|
||
disk every time you start it up. While I was pleased with Xtree,
|
||
I am even more pleased with the improvements made in Xtree Pro.
|
||
|
||
I welcome your comments and suggestions to anything I've
|
||
written about, or something you think I should write about. Down
|
||
below, you'll find several addresses for me. Included is my US
|
||
mail address, FidoNet address, and Usenet address (with several
|
||
paths). If you're sending me a message through FidoNet, please
|
||
mention to your sysop that mail to me must be routed through
|
||
157/1 since I'm a private node.
|
||
|
||
|
||
Dale Lovell
|
||
3266 Vezber Drive
|
||
Seven Hills, OH 44131
|
||
|
||
FidoNet 1:157/504.1
|
||
uucp:
|
||
|
||
decvax\
|
||
FidoNews 4-47 Page 30 21 Dec 1987
|
||
|
||
|
||
>!cwruecmp!hal\
|
||
cbosgd/ \
|
||
>!ncoast!lovell
|
||
ames\ /
|
||
talcott \ /
|
||
>!necntc/
|
||
harvard /
|
||
sri-nic/
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
|
||
FidoNews 4-47 Page 31 21 Dec 1987
|
||
|
||
|
||
=================================================================
|
||
NOTICES
|
||
=================================================================
|
||
|
||
The Interrupt Stack
|
||
|
||
|
||
1 Jan 1988
|
||
Genesis of the Intergalactic Sysop Alliance, and publication
|
||
of the first AlterNet node list.
|
||
|
||
9 Jan 1988
|
||
The next net 104 FidoNet Sysop Meeting. Contact Oscar Barlow
|
||
at 104/0 for information.
|
||
|
||
25 Aug 1988
|
||
(pending BoD approval) Start of the Fifth International
|
||
FidoNet Conference, to be held at the Drawbridge Inn in
|
||
Cincinnatti, OH. Contact Tim Sullivan at 108/62 for more
|
||
information. This is FidoNet's big annual get-together, and
|
||
is your chance to meet all the people you've been talking with
|
||
all this time. We're hoping to see you there!
|
||
|
||
24 Aug 1989
|
||
Voyager 2 passes Neptune.
|
||
|
||
|
||
If you have something which you would like to see on this
|
||
calendar, please send a message to FidoNet node 1:1/1.
|
||
|
||
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
|
||
Thomas Kenny
|
||
Metatron's Opus 1:1/201 (1:107/316)
|
||
|
||
|
||
Echomail Conference List Notice
|
||
|
||
Happy Holidays! I know it has been a long time since the
|
||
last EchoList (issue 102) but issue 103 will finally be
|
||
released on Christmas Day (12/25/87)! Since I'm running
|
||
bare Opus v1.03a I should be able to entertain file
|
||
requests from both Opus and SEAdoggies at 2400 baud
|
||
with MNP3. The name of the file will be ELST103.ARC,
|
||
please don't try to request it before Christmas day as it
|
||
won't be available. You see it actually is Santa that has
|
||
been slaving over the EchoList up in the North Pole :-)
|
||
For some strange reason I got issue 103 and it has a note
|
||
attached to it that say "Don't open til Christmas". Well
|
||
nobody will know if I take this floppy out of its holder
|
||
and put it into the drive to read it, right? <<PUFF>>
|
||
|
||
|
||
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
|
||
David Dodell
|
||
FidoNews 4-47 Page 32 21 Dec 1987
|
||
|
||
|
||
Zone 1 Coordinator
|
||
Node: 1:1/0 or 1:114/15
|
||
|
||
|
||
Thom Henderson, 107/6 has informed me that he will be stepping
|
||
down as the Regional Coordinator for Region 13. I am therefore
|
||
requesting all individuals who have an interest in applying for
|
||
the position to send me a short resume to be received no later
|
||
than 1800 MST, Friday December 25th.
|
||
|
||
Please place in your resume a short description of your network
|
||
experience (i.e. Net Coordinator, Echomail Coordinator, etc.)
|
||
plus any other personal details that will help me select the most
|
||
qualified individual for the position.
|
||
|
||
I look forward to hearing from all interested.
|
||
|
||
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
|
||
Latest Software Versions
|
||
|
||
BBS Systems Node List Other
|
||
& Mailers Version Utilities Version Utilities Version
|
||
|
||
Dutchie 2.80* EditNL 3.3 ARC 5.21
|
||
Fido 12e* MakeNL 1.10 ARCmail 1.1
|
||
Opus 1.03a Prune 1.40 ConfMail 3.3*
|
||
SEAdog 4.10 XlatList 2.84 EchoMail 1.31
|
||
TBBS 2.0M MGM 1.1
|
||
|
||
* 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 4-47 Page 33 21 Dec 1987
|
||
|
||
|
||
__
|
||
The World's First / \
|
||
BBS Network /|oo \
|
||
* FidoNet * (_| /_)
|
||
_`@/_ \ _
|
||
| | \ \\
|
||
| (*) | \ ))
|
||
______ |__U__| / \//
|
||
/ Fido \ _//|| _\ /
|
||
(________) (_/(_|(____/ (tm)
|
||
|
||
Membership for the International FidoNet Association
|
||
|
||
Membership in IFNA is open to any individual or organization that
|
||
pays a specified annual membership fee. IFNA serves the
|
||
international FidoNet-compatible electronic mail community to
|
||
increase worldwide communications.
|
||
|
||
Member Name _______________________________ Date _______________
|
||
Address _________________________________________________________
|
||
City ____________________________________________________________
|
||
State ________________________________ Zip _____________________
|
||
Country _________________________________________________________
|
||
Home Phone (Voice) ______________________________________________
|
||
Work Phone (Voice) ______________________________________________
|
||
Zone:Net/Node Number ____________________________________________
|
||
BBS Name ________________________________________________________
|
||
BBS Phone Number ________________________________________________
|
||
Baud Rates Supported ____________________________________________
|
||
Board Restrictions ______________________________________________
|
||
Your Special Interests __________________________________________
|
||
_________________________________________________________________
|
||
_________________________________________________________________
|
||
In what areas would you be willing to help in FidoNet? __________
|
||
_________________________________________________________________
|
||
_________________________________________________________________
|
||
Send this membership form and a check or money order for $25 in
|
||
US Funds to:
|
||
International FidoNet Association
|
||
c/o Leonard Mednick, MBA, CPA
|
||
700 Bishop Street, #1014
|
||
Honolulu, Hawaii 96813-4112
|
||
USA
|
||
|
||
Thank you for your membership! Your participation will help to
|
||
insure the future of FidoNet.
|
||
|
||
Please NOTE that IFNA is a general not-for-profit organization
|
||
and Articles of Association and By-Laws were adopted by the
|
||
membership in January 1987. The first elected Board of Directors
|
||
was filled in August 1987. The IFNA Echomail Conference has been
|
||
established on FidoNet to assist the Board. We welcome your
|
||
input to this Conference.
|
||
|
||
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
|
||
FidoNews 4-47 Page 34 21 Dec 1987
|
||
|
||
|
||
INTERNATIONAL FIDONET ASSOCIATION
|
||
ORDER FORM
|
||
|
||
Publications
|
||
|
||
The IFNA publications can be obtained by downloading from Fido
|
||
1:1/10 or other FidoNet compatible systems, or by purchasing
|
||
them directly from IFNA. We ask that all our IFNA Committee
|
||
Chairmen provide us with the latest versions of each
|
||
publication, but we can make no written guarantees.
|
||
|
||
Hardcopy prices as of October 1, 1986
|
||
|
||
IFNA Fido BBS listing $15.00 _____
|
||
IFNA Administrative Policy DOCs $10.00 _____
|
||
IFNA FidoNet Standards Committee DOCs $10.00 _____
|
||
|
||
SUBTOTAL _____
|
||
|
||
IFNA Member ONLY Special Offers
|
||
|
||
System Enhancement Associates SEAdog $60.00 _____
|
||
SEAdog price as of March 1, 1987
|
||
ONLY 1 copy SEAdog per IFNA Member
|
||
|
||
Fido Software's Fido/FidoNet $100.00 _____
|
||
Fido/FidoNet price as of November 1, 1987
|
||
ONLY 1 copy Fido/FidoNet per IFNA Member
|
||
|
||
International orders include $10.00 for
|
||
surface shipping or $20.00 for air shipping _____
|
||
|
||
SUBTOTAL _____
|
||
|
||
HI. Residents add 4.0 % Sales tax _____
|
||
|
||
TOTAL _____
|
||
|
||
SEND CHECK OR MONEY ORDER IN US FUNDS:
|
||
International FidoNet Association
|
||
c/o Leonard Mednick, MBA, CPA
|
||
700 Bishop Street, #1014
|
||
Honolulu, HI. 96813-4112
|
||
USA
|
||
|
||
Name________________________________
|
||
Zone:Net/Node____:____/____
|
||
Company_____________________________
|
||
Address_____________________________
|
||
City____________________ State____________ Zip_____
|
||
Voice Phone_________________________
|
||
|
||
Signature___________________________
|
||
|
||
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
|
||
|