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Volume 5, Number 31 1 August 1988
+---------------------------------------------------------------+
| _ |
| / \ |
| /|oo \ |
| - FidoNews - (_| /_) |
| _`@/_ \ _ |
| International | | \ \\ |
| FidoNet Association | (*) | \ )) |
| Newsletter ______ |__U__| / \// |
| / FIDO \ _//|| _\ / |
| (________) (_/(_|(____/ |
| (jm) |
+---------------------------------------------------------------+
Editor in Chief Dale Lovell
Editor Emeritus: Thom Henderson
Chief Procrastinator Emeritus: Tom Jennings
Contributing Editors: Al Arango
FidoNews is published weekly by the International FidoNet
Association as its official newsletter. You are encouraged to
submit articles for publication in FidoNews. Article submission
standards are contained in the file ARTSPEC.DOC, available from
node 1:1/1.
Copyright 1988 by the International FidoNet Association. All
rights reserved. Duplication and/or distribution permitted for
noncommercial purposes only. For use in other circumstances,
please contact IFNA at (314) 576-4067. IFNA may also be contacted
at PO Box 41143, St. Louis, MO 63141.
Fido and FidoNet are registered trademarks of Tom Jennings of
Fido Software, 164 Shipley Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94107 and
are used with permission.
The contents of the articles contained here are not our
responsibility, nor do we necessarily agree with them.
Everything here is subject to debate. We publish EVERYTHING
received.
Table of Contents
1. ARTICLES ................................................. 1
DATELINE: EUROPE ......................................... 1
Coping with Rapid Growth - Part 2 ........................ 3
New Echo Area Established! ............................... 13
2. NOTICES .................................................. 14
The Interrupt Stack ...................................... 14
New Net Coordinator in Net 151! .......................... 16
Latest Software Versions ................................. 16
3. COMMITTEE REPORTS ........................................ 18
FidoNews 5-31 Page 1 1 Aug 1988
=================================================================
ARTICLES
=================================================================
Don Daniels, President
International FidoNet Association
1:107/210
DATELINE: EUROPE
Well, EuroCon II is now over and everyone here feels that it has
been an unqualified success. I'm sure many join me in my
personal thanks to the Dutch and the Holland Computer Club for
all their efforts and hospitality.
My understanding is that the news of the conference will be
reported on in full by one of the Dutch Sysops, so I will just
provide a few of my personal impressions.
First of all, I was very impressed with the spirit of cooperation
shown by the approximately 150 Sysops who attended the convention
from a dozen countries. Europeans have come to face many of the
same issues that confront us in North America, although their
situation is compounded by, not only the long distance from the
U.S., but also a combination of national influences, including
the imposition by the various PTTs (national telephone
monopolies) of various concerns which have made BBSing a far more
expensive proposition for the typical individual.
Meetings and discussions were held on Regional and international
levels which led to the agreement that the various Regions
(nations) will return to their countries to begin the process of
creating such local organizations as seems reasonable in each
instance, along with joining together in an international
organization that can represent the interests of the entire area.
The latter is especially needed to try to get the local PTTs to
develop consistent regulations across borders and to prepare for
the future integration of Europe telecommunications under the
coming political and economic unification.
One of the areas that I personally learned much more about was
the special problems faced by the deaf and the various needs
which they have toward better communications. As an example, the
use of simpler words and abbreviations is necessary in menus
because the typical reading level of the deaf may only be
equivalent to a ten year old. Expressing their wish to be
involved themselves, one of them, sysop David Jackson of England,
challenged the developers and sysops present (and throughout
FidoNet) to work with the deaf to create the necessary interfaces
to meet their needs. A show of hands indicated a strong
willingness on the part of the sysops in attendance to
participate in support for the deaf and the blind (at least one
blind sysop attended the conference).
FidoNews 5-31 Page 2 1 Aug 1988
Also attending the conference were representatives of HANDYNET,
an ECC-supported Network dedicated to support of the disabled,
and the European Space Agency who provide them with Network
resources. Future developments between them and FidoNet are
awaiting the official creation of the European FidoNet
organization.
Although we indicated that the Europeans' primary concern, due to
the various problems and lack of resources we presently face in
North America, is that they concentrate on organizing and solving
their own problems in Europe, many nonetheless requested to join
IFNA as an expression of their desire to support FidoNet on a
truly international basis. My thanks to all who joined and also
to those who expressed their support on other levels.
Other areas which we have been tasked to follow through on back
in North America are the legal use of the names "Fido" and
"FidoNet" by the various organizations here, the rights of the
countries to translate FidoNews (and other material) into local
languages, and, most challenging of all, the revamping of the
current structures of IFNA to provide greater represention and
support (on a per capita basis) for the international groups.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
FidoNews 5-31 Page 3 1 Aug 1988
Lee Kemp, Communet 1:221/162.14
16 June 1988
C O P I N G W I T H R A P I D G R O W T H Part 2
Last week I promised technical details of an alternative method
for administering the nodelist that would overcome the problem of
excessive size while maintaining a "fully coupled" network,
through automatic updates directly between nodes via NetMail and
EchoMail.
Actually, I'll get back to the technical details next week. This
week I'll present some background information on why its
essential to decentralize and automate the nodelist to prevent
its abuse by *Cs.
Today is the first anniversary of Communet's original appeal
against having our incoming NetMail killed by our net host, who
was also the Australian Regional Coordinator of FidoNet, because
he did not like the "Political Overtones" of files in our
internal file areas. This occurred about 2 weeks after we joined
FidoNet.
That appeal resulted in our being removed from the Australian
Region nodelist a couple of weeks later, instead of being allowed
to pickup incoming NetMail. In the 12 months since, NOTHING has
been done about that, by either the Zone or International
Coordinators, despite appeals through all the proper channels.
Our experience shows that the existing administration of FidoNet
will tolerate ANY abuse of power over nodelist entries, no matter
how flagrant. Whether this is due to ignorance, stupidity,
overwork or paralysis from constant petty disputes, the fact is
that IFNA is incapable of administering FidoNet as it is supposed
to be administered according to POLICY3. Its important for other
SysOps to know that when considering future structures.
After successive polite efforts by Ross Lazarus, Peter Green and
Darce Cassidy, I am the one stuck with the correspondence now and
have gained a reputation for "belligerence" as a result. I'm not
prepared to waste my time on further private correspondence or
discussions in the IFNA or POLICY4 echos. I think that after 12
months, its now time to start telling all SysOps all about it.
Here's Peter Green's attempt to persuade the Australian Regional
Coordinator to implement POLICY3, and the Australian Regional
Coordinator's response. Over the next few week's I'll be
publishing details of how the Zone and International Coordinators
dealt with the problem.
I hope that software developers and SysOps will think about the
implications of this carefully when designing future structures
for nodelist administration.
I also hope that Tom Jennings will think about it carefully when
FidoNews 5-31 Page 4 1 Aug 1988
deciding what to do with IFNA's licence to use the "FidoNet"
trademark. The "FidoNet" trademark is NOT currently being used in
Australia for the purposes intended - a public amateur Email
network for the free exchange of information. BLATANT political
criteria are being imposed for a nodelisting and that has been
accepted at the highest levels.
vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv
AREA: AUST_SYSOP
{Removed from the echo by John Blackett-Smith - Lee}
To: John Blackett-Smith
Tuesday 16 June, 1987
I understand you are now the FidoNet Coordinator for Region 50.
As President of Communet I have taken over from Ross Lazarus as
Sysop in charge of relations with FidoNet and am writing to
formally appeal against our exclusion from FidoNet. Attached for
your background information is an article we had prepared to send
to other boards introducing ourselves. {See "Hello from Communet"
in part 1, last week. - Lee}
Below is the full text of the message excluding us from FidoNet.
vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv
Message #78 (CRASH) (PRIVATE)
Date: Fri 12 Jun 87 21:02
From: Daryl Clayton on 50/0, Coordinator of AUSTRALIA
To: Sysop(s) on 631/326, Communet of VIC OPUS NET,
Subj: Communet
To All sysops in communet:
Hello all, tonite I logged onto Communet for the first & last
time..
Also I have stopped the scanning and passage of mail to and from
your board for a number of reasons being.
A) The Political Overtones in the News Contributions (File area
2)
B) The Statement concerning the charging for Aust wide mail
(assumed to be fido-net mail as you are a fido node.)
C) The asking for Money for Access & Other sevices on the bbs
which contravenes the whole concept of OPUS (read the manual for
more).
D) Also you are taking a fair share of Echomail that is not
available to Users but is listed as a later development, I do not
intend to waste my time and money proccessing a substantial
FidoNews 5-31 Page 5 1 Aug 1988
ammount of mail for 2 or 3 Sysops ONLY..
Daryl Clayton. Region 50 Co-Ordinator & Net 631 Host..
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Our response to these reasons is:
A) We examined our verbose Opus logs to determine which files
from our file area 2 Daryl had looked at so we could see what he
meant by "Political Overtones". During the 10 minute call no
files were either displayed or downloaded.
B) and C) We have not charged any users for anything and do not
intend to charge for FidoNet mail or for access. We will be
charging only for actual costs of services like typesetting
uploaded files.
D) We do not give access to Echomail areas to twits on their
first call. When new users are validated we upgrade their status
from twit and give them access. As Daryl's call was his "first &
last", we were unable to upgrade his status from twit.
Ross Lazarus was unable to establish voice contact with Daryl
over the weekend but informed me yesterday evening that he has
done so and that Daryl no longer believes reasons B), C) or D)
are grounds for excluding us from Fidonet.
But we are still excluded for reason A) and that is the SOLE
reason. We have now been told that the "Political Overtones"
referred to in file area 2 were the EXISTENCE of draft papers for
an election campaign, in files named DONTVOTE.TXT and DONTVOTE.2
and that we cannot remain a node of FidoNet if such files appear
on our board. In the opinion of a friend of Daryl's who works for
the Electoral Office, they could be illegal, and our association
with FidoNet could therefore be damaging.
A natural response for any newcomer to FidoNet, on being treated
like that, would be to just not bother further. Most people would
not be interested in going through the appeals procedures of an
organization whose regional coordinator for Australia could
behave in this way. They would simply not want to be in it.
For our part, we seriously considered just not bothering. We
could just setup our own Email network for community groups
without any hassles. However we have been in FidoNet long enough
to know that there are a lot of friendly and helpful people out
there, who do not operate in this way, and that it is an
extremely valuable international effort that ought to be
supported and not allowed to degenerate.
We are determined to ensure that no other nodes are lost to
FidoNet in Australia from this kind of behaviour.
We run a very tightly controlled board and will not be permitting
users to upload anything illegal. We do not require advice from
FidoNews 5-31 Page 6 1 Aug 1988
any other Sysops in implementing that policy, even if they take
the trouble to read the material they think they might object
to.
We are fully aware that FidoNet coordinators put a lot of time
and effort into the job, while we as a new node have not yet
contributed anything. We have no wish to buy into a fight with
anybody about anything. But we doubt that any newspaper, or any
bulletin board in Australia would even CONSIDER submitting
material with "Political Overtones" for inspection by some
outside authority before publication.
Even apart from internal file areas, the latest official US
Echomail list (102) shows several Echomail conferences with
"Political Overtones". If US Sysops can run Echomail conferences
on subjects from Feminism to Politics to Sado-Masochism without
this being considered damaging to FidoNet, we cannot see how
anybody could object to discussions internal to our board
concerning alternative voting options during an election
campaign.
Discussions with "Political Overtones" only require official
approval in certain countries in places like Eastern Europe and
Latin America, that have political systems very different from
Australia's.
According to the FidoNet Policy and Procedures Guide "each Sysop
formulates his own policy for running his board and dealing with
his users" (p2) and "can pretty much do as he pleases, as long as
he observes the mail events, is not excessively annoying to other
nodes on FidoNet, and does not promote the distribution of
pirated copyright software" (p3).
Since we will not permit illegal material on our board we will
not permit its transmission from our board through FidoNet
either. But if we did do anything on FidoNet that excessively
annoys others, it only needs to be explained to us what we are
doing wrong for us to rectify the situation immediately.
We have an urgent need to resume interrupted communications as we
are a private node with an unpublished phone number and have
already been apparently ignoring incoming messages for 4 days. We
would appreciate it if you could act promptly to restore the
proper functioning of net 631. But if this will cause any delays
at all, it is essential that we not remain unreachable. In that
case please act promptly as follows:
A) Please list us for the time being as an independent node of
Region 50 from the next nodelist. Whether in net 631 or as an
independent, our listing should now read as follows: Name
"Communet", Sysop, "Peter Green", Address "Melbourne AUSTRALIA",
Phone "61-3-482-1718". We run Opus 0.0 under SEAdog 4.00 24
hours, 7 days with a Netcomm 1234A modem so baud rate is 2400
with flags for Continuous Mail, Extended Protocol and all CCITT
V21, V22, V22bis, V23 and corresponding Bell standards both
answer and originate mode.
FidoNews 5-31 Page 7 1 Aug 1988
Also please inform us what polling arrangements we should make to
pickup Fidonews and nodediffs etc each week.
Although it is now necessary to publish our phone number in the
nodelist, we are still a private board not ready for calls from
the general public. As our number could become public knowledge
through the nodelist, we are now restricting access to
pre-registered users until we are ready to go public. This may
also help to avoid unduly alarming Daryl's friend at the
electoral office.
B) Please assist us to arrange an alternative Echomail feed, if
necessary, either from your board or by suggesting who we should
approach. We will poll for pickup to pay the direct cost
ourselves and would of course be happy to contribute our share
towards any other costs. As we were in the middle of several
technical discussions with US and other nodes when suddenly cut
off, this is very urgent and it is important for us to catch up
on any messages that have been missed, by scanning out all items
since last Wednesday or Thursday. A copy of our areas.bbs file is
attached.
C) Please ask Daryl to at least permit us to pickup our incoming
mail until the nodelist is changed, including any outstanding
items that can be recovered.
According to the FidoNet Policy and Procedures Guide, FidoNet has
a philosophy for resolving disputes based on two simple rules:
1) Thou shalt not excessively annoy others.
2) Thou shalt not be too easily annoyed.
Any network host, even if it happens to be a regional
coordinator, is obliged to allow nodes in their net to pickup
incoming messages. Nodes can only be removed from a net by
amending the international nodelist, not by refusing to implement
it.
Points A), B) and C) above represent all that can be done
immediately to temporarily resolve the situation. Once we are
back in communication we would then appreciate your assistance to
help us join another local net as soon as possible, if that is
necessary.
However we hope it is not necessary. We do not believe the long
term solution should be to require a node to become independent
or form its own net or even join another net because of a dispute
like this.
That would have serious consequences for the whole nature of
Fidonet, at least in Australia. It would lead to networks being
based on approval of each others' internal operations instead of
being components of an international public amateur Email network
to facilitate communications.
FidoNews 5-31 Page 8 1 Aug 1988
We anticipate being in a position to act as a host ourselves
before long and will be assisting a number of other community
groups to establish nodes, especially public radio stations
around Australia. We believe that networks should be organized on
a purely technical basis for the most efficient flow of message
traffic. It would be quite wrong for us to refuse to host a board
that we did not agree with, or one that was not interested in the
same topics as others in our net, but had no other convenient
link to national Echomail traffic etc.
Agreement about "Political Overtones" is not necessary for the
technical coordination of Email traffic. The International
Telecommunications Union and Universal Postal Union are
reasonable examples of the possibility of even Governments with
great hostility towards each other coordinating in the interests
of communications efficiency.
We found Daryl to be very friendly and helpful until he
discovered that our users were discussing political topics (among
many others incidentally). Once this incident is resolved, we
would be perfectly happy to forget it ever occurred and rejoin
Daryl's net.
Yours sincerely,
Peter Green for Communet
PS
1) Though not easily annoyed, we are EXTREMELY annoyed that
Daryl's action may have resulted in other nodes who rely on the
published FidoNet nodelist thinking their replies to recent
messages and Echomail from us have been ignored.
We will forward copies of this message to other regional nodes to
inform them that net 631 is violating the currently published
nodelist by not forwarding inwards mail to 631/326. They need to
know that the only way that messages can reach Communet until the
nodelist is amended is through crashmail or special direct
routing. Since we have an unpublished phone number, any node
wanting to correspond with us will need to recompile the current
nodelist with the following line added to XLATLIST.CTL or
equivalent:
PHONE 631/326 61-3-482-1718
Please note that you need to do this yourself to reply.
To reduce costs, we would appreciate your assistance in
forwarding copies of this message, and the accompanying article,
through the AUST_SYSOP Echomail immediately - without of course
implying your agreement to anything we have said. We are unable
to use our normal Echomail route through 631/320 for obvious
reasons, however we will of course forward a copy to Daryl
directly to give him an opportunity to reconsider.
FidoNews 5-31 Page 9 1 Aug 1988
2) We will also forward a copy of this to the international
coordinator. That is not by way of appeal of course, but to
introduce the following remarks in support of criticisms we have
read in Fidonews, of proposals to separate FidoNet into
independent zones.
Our excommunication message was signed by the then Regional
Coordinator for Australia as well as our network host. Though
there are many regional coordinators to keep an eye on each other
in zone 1, Australia is the major region in its zone. If each
zone was independent with no responsibility to an international
coordinator, that message could easily have been signed by the
same person as "Zone coordinator and network host". What could a
node do if it received a message like that?
Lets have one set of policy and procedures for the whole network,
so it remains one network.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
The response to that polite and reasonable message from Peter
Green was an attempt to pretend we had lost any right to appeal,
followed by a string of abuse and threats from John
Blackett-Smith, culminating in a formal decision upholding our
excommunication for "Political Overtones":
vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv
Date: Wed 17 Jun 87 15:19
From: John Blackett-smith on 630/301, The National of VIC NET,
To: Peter Green on 631/326, Communet of VIC OPUS NET,
Subj: Communet
Peter, Ireceived your standard verbose message a few minutes ago
and wish to advised as follows:
I am prepared to consider your case in the light of Policy 3 and
after discussing the matter with Daryl Clayton.
I am most unhappy with your attempts to pressure me into a
decision on your terms by threatening to circulate the two
messages you sent to me to all Regions. I am adamant that this is
a Region 50 matter and the messages should have been treated as
such and placed in the RG50_SYSOP conference.
If the messages have gone out as you threatened, then you leave
me no alternative but to accept that the matter has gone beyond
Region 50 and that it now becomes the province of the Zone
Co-Ordinator or even the International Co-Ordinator. In that case
you may feel free to appeal to either. As you are so keen to
quote Policy 3 when it suits your case (and to decry it when it
doesn't) another read of that will give you a good idea of what
the attitudes will be when it is discovered you are not following
the normal appeal protocols.
[...]
FidoNews 5-31 Page 10 1 Aug 1988
{Peter's message merely ASKED John to place our message in
AUST_SYSOP so other nodes would be able to bypass the net host
that was killing our incoming NetMail. We foolishly went along
with John's belligerent demands that we not publicize the
situation while he made up his mind. John and Daryl took
advantage of that to organize a smear campaign about us being a
"nest" of "commies" while we were cut off from EchoMail and
incoming NetMail and therefore unable to reply. Nor have we ever
been able to publicly reply since, until now in FidoNews, as
EchoMail in zone 3 is censored - Lee}
Date: Thu 18 Jun 87 20:16
From: John Blackett-smith on 630/301, The National of VIC NET
To: Communet on 631/326, Communet of VIC OPUS NET,
Subj: Re: Communet
[...]
> We have received a message from Daryl Clayton 631/0
> dated 10:49 this morning saying that as from this week
> we will not be listed as a working node of net 631. This
> is news to us.
As Daryl is/was your Net Co-Ordinator, he is at liberty to make
that decision, providing it is done so on reasonablew grounds.
Your court of appeal is to me...
[...]
> As you are responsible for forwarding the nodelist to
> the international coordinator we can only conclude that
> you have informed Daryl Clayton that you will not be
> acting on our request to publish our phone number in the
> nodelist, as a working node, either of net 631 or as an
> independent.
As with many of your messages, Lee, you demonstrate an incredible
ignorance... an ignorance of FidoNet, Policy 3, the structure of
the system. You appear to have a propensity to tell far more
experienced and knowledgable people "how to suck their own eggs"
and only succeed in demonstrating how much of a newcomer you are.
I am responsible for forwarding the NODEDIFFs to the ZONEGATE who
forwards them on to the International Co-Ordinator.
[...]
{Needless to say, John was then responsible for forwarding the
Region 50 nodeLIST to the IC as I had stated in my incredible
ignorance. He received nodeDIFFs FROM the IC via the zonegate
despite his great experience and knowledge. John had in fact
agreed to remove us from the nodelist AFTER we appealed to him
about our NetMail being killed and BEFORE his final decision. I
am confident however that he is quite good at sucking his own
eggs. - Lee}
> You are solely responsible for the affairs
FidoNews 5-31 Page 11 1 Aug 1988
> of region 50 and you are responsible upwards, not to the
> Sysops of region 50.
Again.... more of your arrant, ignorant, nonsense. I will give
you the benefit of the doubt and assume you can't be so stupid as
to believe the above three lines. Without the nodes... no
region!
{Well I guess we WERE pretty stupid to believe what we read in
POLICY3. The actual reality is that the IC will NOT intervene in
any decision taken outside the USA no matter how absurd. He
apparently believes that the SysOps of other zones have some
mechanism that would allow them to remove an RC who censors any
mail critical of him and excommunicates anybody that might want
him replaced. - Lee}
[...]
> Please note that no messages sent to or from us
> concerning our exclusion from FidoNet should be regarded
> as confidential.
Well, Lee, there you go again..... as a novice SysOp of a very
new node, your effrontery in telling others what will happen
astounds me.
As your Regional Co-Ordinator I am telling you, that any
discussions between you and I are to remain confidential until a
resolution has been reached.
{In view of our experiences of being silenced by a demand for
confidentiality while the person making the demand organized a
smear campaign, we have since adopted a policy of NEVER agreeing
to confidentiality for any correspondence whatsoever. - Lee}
[...]
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
On 22 June 1987 John confirmed our excommunication from the
Australian Region of FidoNet, giving the following reasons:
3. A file list in Area #2 wherein two of
the file names could lead the average person
to believe that they were instructions on
how to avoid voting in elections requiring
compulsory voting and other file names and
descriptions could easily be construed to
be political in nature and to be promoting
actions and/or responses and/or ideas
beyond the acceptable limits of the normal
political spectrum.
He based his decision on:
what I consider to be normal societal values of
FidoNews 5-31 Page 12 1 Aug 1988
Australia in general and Melbourne in particular,...
John also reported us to the telephone company, the Electoral
Commission, his Solicitor and the Police. None of them have been
in touch so we presume that our understanding of normal societal
values of Australia is closer to the mark than John's.
Unfortunately its equally clear that John's understanding of the
realities of his position as Regional Coordinator responsible to
nobody was accurate. We were never re-instated to the Australian
Region and have since been excommunicated from FidoNet altogether
for complaining about that through the appeals procedures set
down in POLICY3.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
FidoNews 5-31 Page 13 1 Aug 1988
Jake Hargrove
Fido 301/1
High Mesa Ranger's
Treasure Hunter's & Coin Collectors
After searching high and low for a connection to an echo area
called COINS, boy was I disappointed. It is not an area for coin
collectors or the like it is something totally different. An
like most things when I find that what I am looking for is not
available I take it on myself to make one. Effective 1 Aug 1988
the Echo Area TH_ING will be avaialbe for connection from 301/1.
Anyone interested in Coin collecting, Treasure Hunting, or
Collection of any kind are welcome to join. If your Sysop does
not carry the area and you would like for him to leave him a
message and he can contact me.
The disappointment of not finding an area where collection of
coins was being discussed left me a little out of sorts because I
had been looking for almost 3 months and I was told by a reliable
source ( I thought) that the COINS echo was just that. The
establishment of the New Echo TH_ING, which stands for Treasure
Hunting is prompted partly in fact I am not an avid coin
collector but I have several hundered coins which are several
years older than a lot of us and I am interested in finding out
the value of these things.
The guidelines for the Echo Conference will be very simple.
It will be used for the discussion of Collection of Things, no
matter what they might be. BaseBall Cards, comics or so forth.
An the location of possible buyers of said items, or sellers of
said items. I will act as the Echo Moderator, and the Echo will
be controlled here at 301/1. If the echo achieves a
participation level of 20 or more nodes I will at that time
consider placing it on the BACKBONE for better distribution. No
node who connects to the echo my distribute it to another node
without first ensuring the node does not route it to another node
already participating. I will call this a streight line
distribution system. I will act as the center hub.
I am sitting here awaiting the start of the month of August,
so if there are any of you out there who want to make the
connections please do so and if you read a copy of this prior to
the 1 Aug date you may ask your sysop to connect or if you are a
sysop just drop a line and I will add you.
LET'S GO TH_ING.
TH_ING ECHO
NET 301/1
JAKE HARGROVE, MODERATOR
-----------------------------------------------------------------
FidoNews 5-31 Page 14 1 Aug 1988
=================================================================
NOTICES
=================================================================
The Interrupt Stack
25 Aug 1988
Start of the Fifth International FidoNet Conference, to be
held at the Drawbridge Inn in Cincinnati, 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.
5 Oct 1989
20th Anniversary of "Monty Python's Flying Circus"
If you have something which you would like to see on this
calendar, please send a message to FidoNet node 1:1/1.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Rob Barker 138/34
Chairman, Elections and Nominations Committee
RULES AND PROCEDURES
The next two pages are your Official ballot for the Election of
the IFNA Board of Directors. The following are the few rules
which must prevail in this election:
1. You must send a legible copy of this ballot to the address
listed on the ballot or cast your vote in person at the
conference prior to the closing of the election Polls. It must
be signed and bear your current net/node number.
2. You may vote for any person in your Division for the position
of Divisional Director. This vote is to be cast in the LEFT
column of the ballot.
3. You may vote for any six people for the position of Director
at Large. These votes are to be cast in the RIGHT column of the
ballot.
4. Voting will continue until the end of the Conference
registration on the 25th of August, 1988. Ballots which are
mailed must reach the address listed below prior to Wednesday,
24 August 1988. The results will be read during the opening of
business meeting on the first day of the conference.
5. Write-in votes will be accepted and are requested during this
FidoNews 5-31 Page 15 1 Aug 1988
election.
IFNA Board Of Directors
Ballot
Candidate Net/Node Divisional At-Large
Vote Vote
------------------ --------- ---------- --------
DIVISION 2:
Henk Weavers 500/1 (1)
DIVISION 10:
Jim Bacon 103/507 _____ _____
Courtney Harris 102/732 _____ _____
Steve Jordan 102/2871 _____ _____
DIVISION 12:
Bill Bolton 711/403 _____ _____
Leonard Mednick 345/1 _____ _____
DIVISION 14:
Glen Jackson 100/517 _____ _____
Ken Kaplan 100/22 _____ _____
DIVISION 16:
Vince Perriello 141/491 (1)
DIVISION 18:
Chris Baker 18/14 (1)
ADDITIONAL AT-LARGE
Steve Bonine 115/777 _____
Don Daniels 107/210 _____
Dave Melnik 107/233 _____
Robert Rudolph 261/628 _____
Greg Small 148/122 _____
________________ _________ _____
________________ _________ _____
________________ _________ _____
(1) This candidate has been elected to the office of Divisional
Director with no further voting procedure necessary as per By
Law #11.
"The Nominations and Elections Committee shall delet the name of
any nominee who mayt be ineligible for election and the name of
any who may withdraw by written communications. The remaining
names shall be listed on a ballot, in alphabetical order. IF
THERE BE BUT ONE ELIGIBLE NOMINEE, THE NOMINATIONS AND ELECTION
FidoNews 5-31 Page 16 1 Aug 1988
COMMITTEE SHALL DECLARE HIM ELECTED WITHOUT BALLOTING BY THE
MEMBERSHIP. (Emphasis added. -rb) If there be more than one
eligible nominee, then at least 45 days prior to the Annual
Meeting the Secretary shall send by mail to every voting member,
and publish in FidoNews, a bollot listing the candidates for
director. The ballor shall contain a copy of the current voting
rules."
Name ______________________________ Net/Node ___________
Signature______________________________ Date ___________
Please complete this and mail it to:
Rob Barker
IFNA Elections Committee
7406 - 27th Street West
Suite #7, Plaza West
Tacoma, Wa 98466
or bring it with you when you come to the conference in August.
Thank You
Rob Barker
Elections and Nominations Committee
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Net Coordinator Change in North Carolina.
Please Note: As of Nodelist.190, the Net Coordinator of Net 151
in North Carolina is now Richard Epson at 151/201
(0) in Charlotte, NC.
Please update to Nodelist.190 as soon as possible to avoid
confusion in Host routing to Net 151.
Thank you.
Christopher Baker, 135/14
Region 18 Coordinator
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Latest Software Versions
BBS Systems Node List Other
& Mailers Version Utilities Version Utilities Version
Dutchie 2.90* EditNL 4.00* ARC 5.22*
Fido 12h MakeNL 2.12* ARCmail 1.1
FidoNews 5-31 Page 17 1 Aug 1988
Opus 1.03b Prune 1.40 ConfMail 3.31
SEAdog 4.10 XlatList 2.86 EchoMail 1.31
TBBS 2.0M XlaxNode 2.10* MGM 1.1
BinkleyTerm 1.50 XlaxDiff 2.10*
QuickBBS 2.01 ParseList 1.10
* 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 5-31 Page 18 1 Aug 1988
=================================================================
COMMITTEE REPORTS
=================================================================
International FidoNet Association
1988 By-Law Amendments Ballot
---------------------------------
Docket Number BLA-88-0001 (Definitions)
A _____ B _____ None _____
Docket Number BLA-88-0002 (Membership)
A _____ B _____ C _____ D _____ E _____ None _____
Docket Number BLA-88-0003 (Application and Notification)
A _____ B _____ None _____
Docket Number BLA-88-0004 (Annual Fees)
Yea _____ Nay _____
Docket Number BLA-88-0005 (Directors' Successors)
Yea _____ Nay _____
Docket Number BLA-88-0006 (Compensation)
Yea _____ Nay _____
Docket Number BLA-88-0007 (Qualification)
Yea _____ Nay _____
Docket Number BLA-88-0008 (Representation)
Yea _____ Nay _____
Docket Number BLA-88-0009 (Nomination Deadline)
Yea _____ Nay _____
Docket Number BLA-88-0010 (Nominations)
Yea _____ Nay _____
Docket Number BLA-88-0011 (Ballots)
Yea _____ Nay _____
Docket Number BLA-88-0012 (Vacant Position)
Yea _____ Nay _____
FidoNews 5-31 Page 19 1 Aug 1988
Docket Number BLA-88-0013 (Alternates)
Yea _____ Nay _____
Docket Number BLA-88-0014 (Elections)
Yea _____ Nay _____
Docket Number BLA-88-0015 (Recall Petition)
Yea _____ Nay _____
Docket Number BLA-88-0016 (Annual Business Meeting)
Yea _____ Nay _____
Docket Number BLA-88-0017 (Agenda)
Yea _____ Nay _____
Docket Number BLA-88-0018 (Voting Divisions)
A _____ B _____ None _____
Docket Number BLA-88-0019 (Secretary Responsibilities)
Yea _____ Nay _____
Docket Number BLA-88-0020 (VP-TC Responsibilities)
A _____ B _____ None _____
Docket Number BLA-88-0021 (Standing Committees)
Yea _____ Nay _____
Docket Number BLA-88-0022 (Administration and Finance Committee)
Yea _____ Nay _____
Docket Number BLA-88-0023 (By-Laws and Rules Committee)
Yea _____ Nay _____
Docket Number BLA-88-0024 (Fidonews)
Yea _____ Nay _____
Docket Number BLA-88-0025 (By-Law Amendments)
A _____ B _____ None _____
Docket Number BLA-88-0026 (Non-Compliance)
Yea _____ Nay _____
FidoNews 5-31 Page 20 1 Aug 1988
Docket Number BLA-88-0027 (Financial Audit)
Yea _____ Nay _____
Docket Number BLA-88-0028 (Trademarks)
Yea _____ Nay _____
Docket Number BLA-88-0029 (Conduct of Business)
Yea _____ Nay _____
Docket Number BLA-88-0030 (Meeting Precedence)
Yea _____ Nay _____
Docket Number BLA-88-0031 (Zones)
Yea _____ Nay _____
Docket Number BLA-88-0032 (Grievance Committee)
Yea _____ Nay _____
-----------------------------------------------------------------
FidoNews 5-31 Page 21 1 Aug 1988
International FidoNet Association
Proposed By-Law Amendments
---------------------------------
For the purpose of voting on these By-Law amendments, all
amendments have been grouped into sections and have been assigned
a Docket Number. The Ballot will show each amendment by Docket
Number along with the choices FOR or AGAINST to be marked
appropriately. Where there is more than one proposed amendment
to the same By-Law, the Ballot will show multiple choices for the
Docket, only one of which is to be marked.
The proposals will be shown as follows: (1) present wording; (2)
proposed wording; (3) comments submitted with the proposal. The
order of the Dockets will follow the order of the existing
By-Laws, with all proposed additional By-Laws following.
--------------------
Docket Number BLA-88-0001 (Definitions)
Present Wording:
---------------
DEFINITIONS:
The following terms have meanings as follows for all purposes of
these By-Laws and Articles of Association:
IFNA NETWORK: The current set of systems which have been
certified as FidoNet compatible and conform to policies
established by the Board of Directors.
IFNA NODELIST: The list of nodes active in the IFNA NETWORK,
prepared by the IFNA Vice President - Technical Coordinator.
PUBLIC ACCESS: A system that has a telephone number published in
the IFNA Nodelist, and in addition provides services to the
public.
ANNUAL MEETING: A yearly meeting of all members of IFNA with the
expressed purpose of conducting business requiring the membership
to vote. The Vice President, in conjunction with the Membership
Services Committee, shall arrange for and coordinate all
activities leading up to and the conduct of this meeting.
ENDORSED: A physical, hand-written, verifiable signature of a
member or such equivalent as shall be specified by the Board of
Directors.
BALLOT: A paper listing of all candidates for office and issues
requiring a vote, or such equivalent as shall be specified by the
Board of Directors.
FidoNews 5-31 Page 22 1 Aug 1988
ALTERNATE: A member of IFNA who is designated by a director. The
responsibilities of the ALTERNATE include, but are not limited to
acting as a replacement for the director in any instance of the
director's absence.
CHAIR: The person elected by the members of the Board of
Directors, or a committee, to be responsible for the overall
conduct of meetings of the body that elected the CHAIR.
Proposed Wording (A):
--------------------
DEFINITIONS:
The following terms have meanings as follows for all purposes of
these By-Laws and Articles of Association:
IFNA: International FidoNet Association.
NETWORK: The current set of systems which have been certified as
FidoNet compatible, and conform to the policies established by
their respective Net, Region, and Zone.
NODELIST: The list, prepared by the various Zone Coordinators, of
active nodes within their Zone and on file with the International
Coordinator.
PUBLIC ACCESS: A system that has a telephone number published in
the Nodelist, and in addition provides services to the public.
ANNUAL MEETING: A yearly meeting of all members of IFNA with the
expressed purpose of conducting business requiring the membership
to vote. The Vice President, in conjunction with the Membership
Services Committee, shall arrange for and coordinate all
activities leading up to and the conduct of this meeting.
ENDORSED: A physical, hand-written, verifiable signature of a
member or such equivalent as shall be specified by the Board of
Directors.
BALLOT: A paper listing of all candidates for office and issues
requiring a vote, or such equivalent as shall be specified by the
Board of Directors.
ALTERNATE: A member of IFNA who is designated by a director. The
responsibilities of the ALTERNATE include, but are not limited to
acting as a replacement for the director in any instance of the
director's absence.
CHAIR: The person elected by the members of the Board of
Directors, or a committee, to be responsible for the overall
conduct of meetings of the body that elected the CHAIR.
INTERNATIONAL COORDINATOR: The individual elected by the various
Zones and Regional Coordinators to arbitrate and rule on Inter-
FidoNews 5-31 Page 23 1 Aug 1988
Zonal disputes. In addition, the International Coordinator is
the person responsible for establishing new zones as the case may
arise.
Comments (A):
------------
These changes are proposed to eliminate the implication, real or
perceived, that the Association owns, controls, or manipulates
the FidoNet network.
Proposed Wording (B):
--------------------
DEFINITIONS:
The following terms have meanings as follows for all purposes of
these By-Laws and Articles of Association:
IFNA: International FidoNet Association.
FIDONET NETWORK: The current set of systems which have been
certified as FidoNet compatible, conform to policies established
by the Board of Directors, and appear in the current FIDONET
NODELIST.
FIDONET NODELIST: The list of nodes active in the FIDONET
NETWORK, and the responsibility of the IFNA Vice President -
Technical Coordinator.
PUBLIC ACCESS NODE: A system that has a telephone number
published in the FIDONET Nodelist, and in addition provides
services to the public.
ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING: A yearly meeting open to all members
of IFNA with the expressed purpose of conducting business
requiring the membership to vote. The Vice President, in
conjunction with the Membership Services Committee, shall arrange
for and coordinate all activities leading up to and the conduct
of this meeting.
ANNUAL BUSINESS MEETING: A yearly meeting of the Directors and
Officers of IFNA with the expressed purpose of conducting
business in accordance with the laws of Missouri.
ENDORSED: A physical, hand-written, verifiable signature of a
member or such equivalent as shall be specified by the Board of
Directors.
BALLOT: A paper listing of all candidates for office and issues
requiring a vote, or such equivalent as shall be specified by the
Board of Directors.
ALTERNATE: A member of IFNA who is designated by a director. The
responsibilities of the ALTERNATE include, but are not limited to
FidoNews 5-31 Page 24 1 Aug 1988
acting as a replacement for the director in any instance of the
director's absence.
CHAIR: The person elected by the members of the Board of
Directors, or a committee, to be responsible for the overall
conduct of meetings of the body that elected the CHAIR.
DIRECTOR: One of twenty-two individuals or appointed through due
process to the office of Director of IFNA. To be eligible to
become and remain a Director an individual must:
- Be a current Member of IFNA in good standing.
- Be able and willing to perform the duties of the position as
established herein through the entire term of office.
- Conform to such additional regulations and directives as may
from time to time be established by the Board of Directors.
Comments (B):
------------
To conform with license agreements with Tom Jennings. Minor
clarification, conform with contract. Missing definition. These
particulars could be changed, but this is what they appear to be
now and it needs to be stated in a better manner in one place.
--------------------
Docket Number BLA-88-0002 (Membership)
Present Wording:
---------------
The following membership categories are established:
a) Regular Member. To be eligible, an applicant: must be the
system operator in good standing of a PUBLIC ACCESS node;
must have paid any dues required; is entitled to one vote.
b) Associate Member. Any person who is not eligible to be a
Regular Member, but who is interested in electronic
communications, is eligible to be an Associate Member by
paying required dues. Associate Members have all of the
rights of a Regular Member except the right to vote.
c) Commercial Member. Any entity using the IFNA NETWORK for
the conduct of any business is eligible to be a Commercial
Member by paying required dues. Any Commercial Member also
satisfying the requirements to be a Regular Member shall be
entitled to vote.
d) Honorary Member. The Board of Directors may award Honorary
Member status to any entity. Honorary Members have all of
the rights of a Regular Member except the right to vote.
FidoNews 5-31 Page 25 1 Aug 1988
e) Life Member. Any member may become a Life Member by paying
the required dues.
Proposed Wording (A):
--------------------
The following membership categories are established:
a) Regular Member. To be eligible, an applicant: must be the
system operator in good standing of a PUBLIC ACCESS node;
must be listed in a nodelist; must have paid any dues
required; is entitled to one vote.
b) Associate Member. Any person who is listed in a nodelist,
or who is interested in electronic communications, is
eligible to be an Associate Member by making application for
membership. Associate Members have all of the rights of a
Regular Member except the right to vote.
c) Commercial Member. Any entity using the IFNA NETWORK for
the conduct of any business is eligible to be a Commercial
Member by paying required dues. Any Commercial Member also
satisfying the requirements to be a Regular Member shall be
entitled to vote.
d) Honorary Member. The Board of Directors may award Honorary
Member status to any entity. Honorary Members have all of
the rights of a Regular Member except the right to vote.
e) Life Member. Any member may become a Life Member by paying
the required dues.
Comments (A):
------------
These changes are designed to broaden the scope of eligibility,
and include all sysops who are listed in a FidoNet Compatible
nodelist.
Proposed Wording (B):
--------------------
The following membership categories are established:
a) Regular Member. To be eligible, an applicant: must be the
system operator in good standing of a PUBLIC ACCESS node;
must have paid any dues required; is entitled to one vote.
b) Associate Member. Any person who is not eligible to be a
Regular Member, but who is interested in electronic
communications, is eligible to be an Associate Member by
paying required dues. Associate Members have all of the
rights of a Regular Member except the right to vote.
FidoNews 5-31 Page 26 1 Aug 1988
c) Commercial Member. Any entity using the IFNA NETWORK for
the conduct of any business is eligible to be a Commercial
Member by paying required dues. Any Commercial Member also
satisfying the requirements to be a Regular Member shall be
entitled to vote.
d) Honorary Member. The Board of Directors may award Honorary
Member status to any entity. Honorary Members have all of
the rights of a Regular Member except the right to vote.
e) Life Member. Any member may become a Life Member by paying
the required dues. Any Life Member also satisfying the
requirements of a Regular Member, Associate Member, or
Commercial Member, shall be entitled to the full rights of
such category.
Comments (B):
------------
Remove ambiguity.
Proposed Wording (C):
--------------------
The following membership categories are established:
a) Regular Member. To be eligible, an applicant: must be the
system operator in good standing of a PUBLIC ACCESS node;
must have paid any dues required; is entitled to one vote.
b) Associate Member. Any person who is not eligible to be a
Regular Member, but who is interested in electronic
communications, is eligible to be an Associate Member by
paying required dues. Associate Members have all of the
rights of a Regular Member except the right to vote.
c) Commercial Member. Any entity using the IFNA NETWORK for
the conduct of any business is eligible to be a Commercial
Member by paying required dues. Any Commercial Member also
satisfying the requirements to be a Regular Member shall be
entitled to vote.
d) Honorary Member. The Board of Directors may award Honorary
Member status to any entity. Honorary Members have all of
the rights of a Regular Member except the right to vote.
e) Life Member. Any member may become a Life Member by paying
the required dues.
f) Freeloader member: Any person who applies for membership and
is eligible to be a regular member but pays no membership
dues; is nevertheless entitled to one vote. No
correspondence shall be mailed to freeloader members at
IFNA's expense, but only where a self-addressed envelope
with sufficient postage or International Reply Coupons is
FidoNews 5-31 Page 27 1 Aug 1988
provided by the freeloader member. This applies to ballot
papers sent by mail under articles 11 and 18 as well as to
acknowledgment of membership, renewal notices and any other
correspondence. NetMail from IFNA officers, BoD members and
staff responding to NetMail from freeloader members may be
held for pickup at the freeloader's expense.
Note that this amendment requires the following minor changes to
By-Laws 3 and 4, shown here for simplicity.
Add to By-Law 3:
Freeloader members shall be notified of renewal only by
annual publication of their names and expiry dates in
FidoNews. Such publication shall occur unless the freeloader
member specifically requests otherwise by notice in writing
posted to the Secretary.
Add to article 4:
Dues set for freeloader members shall always be zero and
there shall be no additional charge for international
freeloader members.
Comments (C):
------------
The purpose of these amendments is to allow ALL public access
SysOps to have a vote in electing the body that administers
FidoNet, whether they wish to support IFNA financially or not,
and to separate that issue from other issues that have been
unnecessarily linked to it in alternative sets of proposed
amendments.
Proposed Wording (D):
--------------------
The following membership categories are established:
a) Regular Member. To be eligible, an applicant: must be the
system operator in good standing of a PUBLIC ACCESS node;
must have paid any dues required; is entitled to one vote.
b) Associate Member. Any person who is not eligible to be a
Regular Member, but who is interested in electronic
communications, is eligible to be an Associate Member by
paying required dues. Associate Members have all of the
rights of a Regular Member. The membership committee will
establish a set of criteria to recognize significant
contributions to IFNA. Any person meeting these criteria is
exempt from the dues requirement for the period established
by the Membership Committee.
c) Commercial Member. Any entity using the IFNA NETWORK for
the conduct of any business is eligible to be a Commercial
FidoNews 5-31 Page 28 1 Aug 1988
Member by paying required dues. Any Commercial Member also
satisfying the requirements to be a Regular Member shall be
entitled to vote.
d) Honorary Member. The Board of Directors may award Honorary
Member status to any entity. Honorary Members have all of
the rights of a Regular Member except the right to vote.
e) Life Member. Any member may become a Life Member by paying
the required dues.
Comments (D):
------------
This amendment modifies the criteria for an individual to become
a member of IFNA. The germane points here are that anyone
wishing to support IFNA may become a member. It is not necessary
to be an operator of a system to be a full voting member of IFNA.
Dues are waived for those contributing significantly to IFNA.
Proposed Wording (E):
--------------------
The following membership categories are established:
a) Regular Member. To be eligible, an applicant: must be the
system operator in good standing of a PUBLIC ACCESS node;
must have paid any dues required; is entitled to one vote.
b) At-Large Member. To be eligible, an applicant: must be the
system operator in good standing of a PUBLIC ACCESS node;
must have been listed in the IFNA NODELIST for 180 days
prior to the ANNUAL MEETING of the membership; is entitled
to one vote for the election of the At-Large Members of the
Board of Directors only.
c) Associate Member. Any person who is not eligible to be a
Regular Member, but who is interested in electronic
communications, is eligible to be an Associate Member by
paying required dues. Associate Members have all of the
rights of a Regular Member except the right to vote.
d) Commercial Member. Any entity using the IFNA NETWORK for
the conduct of any business is eligible to be a Commercial
Member by paying required dues. Any Commercial Member also
satisfying the requirements to be a Regular Member shall be
entitled to vote.
e) Honorary Member. The Board of Directors may award Honorary
Member status to any entity. Honorary Members have all of
the rights of a Regular Member except the right to vote.
f) Life Member. Any member may become a Life Member by paying
the required dues.
FidoNews 5-31 Page 29 1 Aug 1988
Comments (E):
------------
This amendment allows for greater input from the system operators
in the election of At-Large Members of the Board of Directors.
--------------------
Docket Number BLA-88-0003 (Application and Notification)
Present Wording:
---------------
2. Applications for membership shall be submitted to the
Secretary. In the case of any applicant whose character,
reputation or conduct might make him an undesirable member,
the Secretary shall refer the application to the Executive
Committee for review; in all other cases, the Secretary shall
have the authority to grant membership.
3. The Secretary shall notify members of the expiration of their
membership not less than thirty days prior to expiration. In
determining membership status, memberships renewed within
thirty days of expiration shall be regarded as continuous.
Proposed Wording (A):
--------------------
2. Applications for membership shall be submitted to the
Membership Committee. In the case of any applicant whose
character, reputation or conduct might make him an undesirable
member, the Membership Committee shall refer the application
to the Executive Committee for review; in all other cases, the
Membership Committee shall have the authority to grant
membership.
3. The Membership Committee shall notify members of the
expiration of their membership not less than thirty days prior
to expiration. In determining membership status, memberships
renewed within thirty days of expiration shall be regarded as
continuous.
Comments (A):
------------
The secretary does not now, nor has he ever been, involved in
membership. The application goes to the Treasurer, who notifies
the Membership Services Committee, who sends out the membership
card.
Proposed Changes (B):
--------------------
FidoNews 5-31 Page 30 1 Aug 1988
2. Applications for membership shall be submitted to the
Secretary or the Secretary's designate. In the case of any
applicant whose character, reputation or conduct might make
him an undesirable member, the Secretary or the Secretary's
designate shall refer the application to the Executive
Committee for review; in all other cases, the Secretary or the
Secretary's designate shall have the authority to grant
membership.
3. The Secretary or the Secretary's designate shall notify
members of the expiration of their membership not less than
thirty days prior to expiration. In determining membership
status, memberships renewed within thirty days of expiration
shall be regarded as continuous.
Comments (B):
------------
These tasks are distributed because there is too much for the
Secretary to handle alone.
--------------------
Docket Number BLA-88-0004 (Annual Fees)
Present Wording:
---------------
4. Dues shall be set by the Board of Directors, and be payable in
advance. For members outside the United States, the Executive
Committee shall assess such additional costs as may be
required for destinations outside the United States.
Proposed Wording:
----------------
4. Annual Fees
a) Annual membership fees shall be payable prior to enrollment
as a member of the Association.
b) The annual membership fees shall be assessed as follows:
i) Regular Member $ 25.00
ii) Associate Member $ 20.00
iii) Commercial Member $ 100.00
iv) Honorary Member - No Fee
All fees are shown in United States currency.
c) The one-time membership fee for a Life Member shall be
assessed at $200.00 in United States currency.
FidoNews 5-31 Page 31 1 Aug 1988
d) All annual fees shall be payable on or before January 1st of
each year. Any member who has not paid his annual fee on or
before March 31st of that year shall be considered in
default and the Secretary shall strike their name from the
membership roll.
e) Any member who is in arrears in payment of their annual fees
shall not be allowed to vote in any election or poll of the
Association until such arrears have been eliminated.
f) The Board of Directors may, for cause, remit the whole or a
portion of any annual fee.
Comments:
--------
The purpose of this revision is to clarify the fee schedule for
membership and to allow the membership to provide input when
setting the fees and fee structure.
--------------------
Docket Number BLA-88-0005 (Directors' Successors)
Present Wording:
---------------
5. Every member of the Board of Directors shall: serve and
continue in office until their successor shall have been
elected; serve on at least one standing committee.
Proposed Wording:
----------------
5. Every member of the Board of Directors shall: serve and
continue in office until their successor shall have been
elected or appointed; serve on at least one standing
committee.
--------------------
Docket Number BLA-88-0006 (Compensation)
Present Wording:
---------------
6. All officers and directors shall serve without compensation in
any form.
Proposed Wording:
FidoNews 5-31 Page 32 1 Aug 1988
----------------
6. All officers and directors shall serve without compensation in
any form, except that they shall be entitled to receive
reimbursement for justified expenses incurred on behalf of the
corporation as provided for by the Articles of Association.
Such reimbursement must be approved through the controls
imposed by the Administration and Finance Committee.
Comments:
--------
Make consistent with Articles and intent.
--------------------
Docket Number BLA-88-0007 (Qualification)
Present Wording:
---------------
7. No person shall be an officer or director unless they qualify
under all applicable statutes.
Proposed Wording:
----------------
7. No person shall be an officer or director unless they qualify
under all applicable statutes of all applicable jurisdictions
including the State of Missouri and also meet all provisions
provided for herein and in additional actions of the Board of
Directors.
--------------------
Docket Number BLA-88-0008 (Representation)
Present Wording:
---------------
9. The directors shall keep themselves informed as to conditions
and activities of their constituents and as to the needs and
desires of the members therein in order that they may faithfully
and intelligently represent the true interests of such members.
All directors shall attend all meetings of the Board. At least
sixty days prior to each annual meeting of the Board of Directors
each Divisional Director shall file with the Secretary a written
report on the status of the affairs of IFNA in that division,
together with a statement of their recommendations as to any
actions required for the effective administration of the
objectives and affairs of IFNA.
FidoNews 5-31 Page 33 1 Aug 1988
Proposed Wording:
----------------
9. The directors shall keep themselves informed as to conditions
and activities of their constituents and as to the needs and
desires of the members therein in order that they may
faithfully and intelligently represent the true interests of
such members. All directors shall attend all meetings of the
Board. Within 30 days prior to each ANNUAL BUSINESS MEETING
of the Board of Directors and each ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING,
each Divisional Director shall file with the Secretary a
written report on the status of the affairs of IFNA in that
division, together with a statement of their recommendations
as to any actions required for the effective administration of
the objectives and affairs of IFNA.
Likewise, each Officer of the corporation and each standing
Committee Chairman shall be required to provide a report
covering their particular areas of responsibility.
Comments:
--------
The sixty days lead time does not make sense in practice. It's
implied that officers also do this elsewhere.
--------------------
Docket Number BLA-88-0009 (Nomination Deadline)
Present Wording:
---------------
10. On any date not later than noon of the 120th day prior to the
ANNUAL MEETING, nomination petitions ENDORSED by ten or more
voting members and naming a member as a candidate for
director, may be filed with the Secretary. The Nominations
and Elections Committee shall solicit such petitions at least
180 days prior to the ANNUAL MEETING in FidoNews in each
election year by a notice that will show the name of the
incumbents.
Proposed Wording:
----------------
10. On any date not later than noon of the 60th day prior to the
ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING, nomination petitions ENDORSED by
ten or more voting members and naming a member as a candidate
for director, may be filed with the Secretary. The
Nominations and Elections Committee shall solicit such
petitions at least 90 days prior to the ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP
MEETING in FidoNews in each election year by a notice that
will show the name of the incumbents and will describe the
FidoNews 5-31 Page 34 1 Aug 1988
rules and procedures for the upcoming election process.
Comments:
--------
Current lead times are too great in practice.
--------------------
Docket Number BLA-88-0010 (Nominations)
Present Wording:
---------------
11. The Nominations and Elections Committee shall delete the name
of any nominee who may be ineligible for election and the
name of any who may withdraw by written communication. The
remaining names shall be listed on a ballot, in alphabetical
order. If there be but one eligible nominee, the Nominations
and Elections Committee shall declare him elected without
balloting by the membership. If there be more than one
eligible nominee, then at least 45 days prior to the ANNUAL
MEETING the Secretary shall send by mail to every voting
member, and publish in FidoNews, a ballot listing the
candidates for director. The ballot shall contain a copy of
the current voting rules.
Proposed Wording:
----------------
11. The Nominations and Elections Committee shall delete the name
of any nominee who may be ineligible for election and the
name of any nominee who may withdraw by verified
communication. The remaining names shall be listed on a
ballot, in alphabetical order by position. If there be but
one eligible nominee for a particular Divisional position the
Nominations and Elections Committee shall declare that
individual elected without balloting by the membership. This
will not apply to the positions of At-large Director. The
rules for a particular election may provide that write-in
votes be acceptable for any position, except any position
previously announced as uncontested. However, in no instance
shall an individual be elected who does not qualify under all
applicable statutes and provisions.
At least 40 days prior to the ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING the
Secretary or the Secretary's designate shall send to every
voting member, and publish in FidoNews, a ballot listing the
candidates for director. The ballot shall contain a copy of
the current voting rules.
Comments:
--------
FidoNews 5-31 Page 35 1 Aug 1988
Tie up several loose ends of procedure.
--------------------
Docket Number BLA-88-0011 (Ballots)
Present Wording:
---------------
12. Mail BALLOTS, to be counted, shall reach the Secretary not
later than the start of the ANNUAL MEETING.
Proposed Wording:
----------------
12. BALLOTS returned from members by mail, to be counted, shall
reach the Secretary or such receiver designated in the
published rules not later than the start of the ANNUAL
MEMBERSHIP MEETING or such earlier time as may be specified
in the published rules for that election. Said time must be
at least 40 days from the date the ballots were sent to the
membership.
Comments:
--------
Forty days is reasonable for International Mail. It is quite
possible that due to various reasons such as extra convention
days prior to the meeting itself, that mail ballots might reach
the required address a few days after the Secretary has left for
the meeting. Specification of an earlier date is in order in
such instances.
--------------------
Docket Number BLA-88-0012 (Vacant Position)
Present Wording:
---------------
14. A director position shall be declared vacant by the Board of
Directors if:
a) there be no eligible nominee for that director position;
b) a director is no longer able or willing to fulfill the
responsibilities of that position and has not appointed
an ALTERNATE.
Proposed Wording:
----------------
FidoNews 5-31 Page 36 1 Aug 1988
14. A director position shall be declared vacant by the Board of
Directors if:
a) there be no eligible nominee for that director position;
or
b) a director is no longer eligible, able or willing to
fulfill the responsibilities of that position, as
provided for herein and in such additional directives as
may be established by the BoD, and there is no qualified
ALTERNATE currently assigned.
Comments:
--------
Clarification of certain ambiguous points.
--------------------
Docket Number BLA-88-0013 (Alternates)
Present Wording:
---------------
16. Each director shall designate in writing within 30 days after
the election an eligible ALTERNATE. Failure to comply shall
cause the ALTERNATE position to be declared vacant by the
Board of Directors.
Proposed Wording:
----------------
16. Each director shall designate an eligible ALTERNATE in
writing within 30 days after being validated for the
position. Failure to comply shall cause the ALTERNATE
position to be declared vacant by the Board of Directors.
Comments:
--------
Provide for omitted circumstances.
--------------------
Docket Number BLA-88-0014 (Elections)
Present Wording:
---------------
17. A director shall be elected in each even-numbered year for
each even-numbered division and an equal number of At-large
FidoNews 5-31 Page 37 1 Aug 1988
directors and in each odd-numbered year for the remaining
director positions. The term of each director shall be for
two years. The terms of all directors shall begin as soon as
the results of the election are declared official by the
Secretary.
Proposed Wording:
----------------
17. Directors from even-numbered divisions shall be elected in
each even-numbered year and Directors from odd-numbered
divisions shall be elected in odd-numbered years. In each
year, a number of At-large Directors shall be elected such
that the total number of Directors being elected in each year
is equal to half the total number of Directors. The term of
each director shall be for two years, except that those
replacing a Director during an existing term shall serve only
to the completion of the original term. This two year term
may be a few days more or less, depending upon the actual
dates of the annual elections. The terms of all directors
shall begin as soon as the results of the election or the
appointment is declared official by the Secretary.
Comments:
--------
Clarification of ambiguous and contradictory points.
--------------------
Docket Number BLA-88-0015 (Recall Petition)
Present Wording:
---------------
18. A recall petition shall be presented to the Secretary not
later than 180 days prior to the end of the Director's term.
A valid petition shall contain the signatures of not less
than 10 percent of the number of voting members represented
by that director. Upon certification by the Executive
Committee that the petition is valid, the Secretary shall
prepare a ballot asking the single question, "Shall the
Director be recalled, yes or no". These ballots shall be
mailed to all voting members represented by that director
accompanied by the current voting rules. If a majority of
the votes cast are for recall, then the office of director
shall be declared vacant. No director shall be subject to
more than one recall during a single term of office.
Proposed Wording:
----------------
18. A recall petition shall be presented to the Secretary not
FidoNews 5-31 Page 38 1 Aug 1988
later than 90 days prior to the end of the Director's term.
A valid petition shall contain the signatures of not less
than 10 percent of the number of voting members represented
by that director. Upon certification by the Executive
Committee that the petition is valid, the Secretary shall
prepare a ballot asking the single question, "Shall the
Director be recalled, yes or no". These ballots shall be
mailed to all voting members represented by that director,
accompanied by the current voting rules. If a majority of
the votes cast are for recall, then the office of director
shall be declared vacant. No director shall be subject to
more than one recall during a single term of office.
Comments:
--------
180 days is far too long in practice.
--------------------
Docket Number BLA-88-0016 (Annual Business Meeting)
Present Wording:
---------------
19. The annual meeting of the Board of Directors shall be held at
a location near the place of business designated in the
Articles of Association on the third Friday of February of
each year. The places of additional meetings shall be
designated by the Chair of the Board and notified by the
Secretary. The times and places of the meetings may be
changed provided that specific provision is made by:
a) majority vote of the directors at the preceding meeting
or
b) majority vote of the directors by mail initiated by the
Executive Committee or on petition of at least five
directors, such mail vote to be taken at least 45 days
prior to the date proposed for the meeting.
Proposed Wording:
----------------
19. The ANNUAL BUSINESS MEETING of the Board of Directors shall
be held at a location near the place of business designated
in the Articles of Association on the third Friday and/or
weekend of February of each year. The places of additional
meetings shall be designated by the Chair of the Board and
notified by the Secretary. The times and places of the
meetings may be changed provided that specific provision is
made by:
FidoNews 5-31 Page 39 1 Aug 1988
a) majority vote of the directors at the preceding meeting
or
b) majority vote of the directors by verifiable ballot
initiated by the Executive Committee or on petition of at
least five directors, such vote to be taken at least 30
days prior to the dates proposed for the meeting.
Comments:
--------
Provide a more flexible means of establishing date of ANNUAL
BUSINESS MEETING.
--------------------
Docket Number BLA-88-0017 (Agenda)
Present Wording:
---------------
22. Prior to any meeting of the Board of Directors, the
Secretary, upon consideration of the reports of the officers
and directors, shall establish an agenda for the meeting.
Proposals for amendment of the agenda or for the deletion or
addition of items shall be the first order of business.
Proposed Wording:
----------------
22. Prior to any meeting of the Board of Directors, the Secretary
or the Secretary's designate, upon consideration of the
reports of the officers and directors, shall establish an
agenda for the meeting. Proposals for amendment of the
agenda or for the deletion or addition of items or for
establishment of special rules or procedures for the meeting
shall be the first order of business.
Comments:
--------
Clarification of ambiguous points.
--------------------
Docket Number BLA-88-0018 (Voting Divisions)
Present Wording:
---------------
24. The following voting divisions are established:
FidoNews 5-31 Page 40 1 Aug 1988
Division 2 Europe, Africa
Division 10 USA: CA NV
Division 11 USA: IL IN KY MI OH WI
Canada: ON PQ PEI NS NB
Division 12 USA: HI
Asia, Australia, Antarctica
Division 13 USA: DE DC MD NJ NY PA VA
Division 14 USA: IA KS MN MO NB ND SD
Division 15 USA: AZ CO NM UT WY
Division 16 USA: CT ME MA NH RI VT
Division 17 USA: AK ID MT OR WA
Canada: BC ALB SSK
Division 18 USA: AL FL GA MS NC SC TN
Division 19 USA: AR LA OK TX
South America, Mexico, Central America
Proposed Wording (A):
--------------------
24. The following voting divisions are established:
Division 2 Europe, Africa, Middle East
Division 3 Australia, New Zealand, Antarctica
Division 10 USA: CA NV
Division 11 USA: IL IN KY MI OH WI
Canada: NFLD ON PQ PEI NS NB
Division 12 USA: HI
Asia, India
Division 13 USA: DE DC MD NJ NY PA VA
Division 14 USA: IA KS MN MO NB ND SD
Division 15 USA: AZ CO NM UT WY
Division 16 USA: CT ME MA NH RI VT
Division 17 USA: AK ID MT OR WA
Canada: BC ALB SSK MAN YK NWT
Division 18 USA: AL FL GA MS NC SC TN
Division 19 USA: AR LA OK TX
South America, Mexico, Central America
Proposed Wording (B):
--------------------
24. The following voting divisions are established:
Division 2 Europe, Africa
Division 3 Australia, Southern Pacific
Division 4 Alternet
Division 5 GoodEggNet
Division 6 Canada
Division 7 Central and South America
Division 8 IL IN KY MI OH WI
Division 9 DE DC MD NJ NY PA VA
Division 10 IA KS MN MO NB ND SD
Division 11 AZ CO NM UT WY
Division 12 CT ME MA NH RI VT
FidoNews 5-31 Page 41 1 Aug 1988
Division 13 AL HI ID MT OR WA
Division 14 AL FL GA MS NC SC TN
Division 15 AR LA OK TX
These divisions may be changed by a two thirds vote of the
Board of Directors, and should include new zones and new
Nodelists of over 100 systems.
Comments (B)
-----------
The current system does not give enough representation on the
board to overseas areas and tends to be inflexible.
--------------------
Docket Number BLA-88-0019 (Secretary Responsibilities)
Present Wording:
---------------
27. The Secretary shall:
a) record the proceedings of all meetings of the Board and of
the Executive Committee;
b) promptly furnish copies of the minutes of these meetings to
all officers and members of the Board;
c) publish such minutes in FidoNews;
d) be responsible for the maintenance of the corporate status
of IFNA and the filing of all reports and certificates which
may be required of IFNA under the corporation laws of the
State of Missouri;
e) be the archivist of IFNA;
f) maintain the corporate membership and voting records of
IFNA;
g) perform other duties as described in applicable By-Laws.
h) To the extent that may from time to time be required by law,
the Secretary shall act as agent for the service of process
but only while present in the State of Missouri and is not
authorized to accept service of process elsewhere.
Proposed Wording:
----------------
28. The Secretary shall:
FidoNews 5-31 Page 42 1 Aug 1988
a) record the proceedings of all meetings of the Board and of
the Executive Committee;
b) promptly furnish copies of the minutes of these meetings to
all officers and members of the Board;
c) publish such minutes in FidoNews;
d) be responsible for the maintenance of the corporate status
of IFNA and the filing of all reports and certificates which
may be required of IFNA under the corporation laws of the
State of Missouri;
e) be the archivist of IFNA;
f) maintain voting records of IFNA;
g) performs other duties as described in applicable Bylaws. To
the extent that may from time to time be required by law, he
shall act as agent for the service of process but only while
present in the State of Missouri and he is not authorized to
accept service of process elsewhere.
Comments:
--------
Eliminates the requirement that the secretary maintain the
membership roster.
--------------------
Docket Number BLA-88-0020 (VP-TC Responsibilities)
Present Wording:
---------------
29. The Vice President - Technical Coordinator shall:
a) be responsible for maintenance and distribution of the
master NODELIST;
b) creation and distribution of the weekly update file for the
master NODELIST;
c) ensuring the smooth operation of the IFNA NETWORK as
prescribed by the Board of Directors;
d) serve as a member of the Technical Standards Committee.
Proposed Wording (A):
--------------------
29. The Vice President - Technical Coordinator shall:
FidoNews 5-31 Page 43 1 Aug 1988
a) serve as a member of the Technical Standards Committee,
b) and be responsible for the development and publication of
standards for system software so as to ensure compatibility
between the various nodes.
The VP-TC will assist the various Coordinators in technical
matters.
Comments (A):
------------
This change to eliminate the implied or perceived implication of
that IFNA desires or wants to control the nodelist. The reference
to the IC is dropped and would no longer be a IFNA position.
Proposed Wording (B):
--------------------
29. The Vice President - Technical Coordinator shall be
responsible for assuring the:
a) Maintenance and distribution of the master NODELIST;
b) Creation and distribution of the weekly update file for the
master NODELIST;
c) Smooth operation of the FIDONET NETWORK as prescribed by the
membership through due process.
In the performance of such duties, the day-to-day operation
of which is delegated
d) serve as a member of the Technical Standards Committee.
--------------------
Docket Number BLA-88-0021 (Standing Committees)
Present Wording:
---------------
30. Standing committees:
a) The following standing committees are established:
- Administration and Finance
- Executive Committee
- Nominations and Elections
- By-Laws and Rules
- Technical Standards
- Publications
- International Affairs
FidoNews 5-31 Page 44 1 Aug 1988
- Membership Services
b) Each standing committee shall include among its members at
least one director. Additionally, the Treasurer shall serve
as a member of the Administration and Finance Committee.
Appointments of all standing committee members shall be made
by the President at the Annual Meeting and shall be for a
term of one year. The Chair of the Board shall designate
the chair of each committee. Standing committees shall make
written reports at least 30 days prior to each regular
meeting of the Board of Directors. Standing committees may
originate studies in their fields and may generate
recommendations to the Board on their own initiative.
Proposed Wording:
----------------
30. Standing committees:
a) The following standing committees are established:
- Administration and Finance
- Executive Committee
- Nominations and Elections
- By-Laws and Rules
- Technical Standards
- Publications
- International Affairs
- Membership Services
b) Each standing committee shall include among its members at
least one director. Additionally, the Treasurer shall serve
as a member of the Administration and Finance Committee.
Initial appointments of all standing committee members shall
be made by the President at the ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING.
Additional appointments may be made periodically by the
President or the President's designate. The Chairman of the
Board shall designate the chairman of each committee. The
terms of office for all Committee Members shall extend only
until the next ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING. Standing
committees shall make written reports within 30 days prior
to each regular meeting of the Board of Directors. Standing
committees may originate studies in their fields and may
generate recommendations to the Board on their own
initiative.
--------------------
Docket Number BLA-88-0022 (Administration and Finance Committee)
Present Wording:
---------------
FidoNews 5-31 Page 45 1 Aug 1988
31. The Administration and Finance Committee:
a) Reviews IFNA management performance and effectiveness,
including IFNA finances, on a continuing basis.
b) On an annual basis, reviews the operating budget prepared by
the Treasurer for the coming year and, after approval,
forwards to the Board of Directors for ratification at least
30 days prior to the beginning of the fiscal year.
c) Reviews intermediate and long term budgetary projections as
prepared by the Treasurer and makes appropriate
recommendations to the Board of Directors.
d) Makes recommendations to the Board in connection with audit
and tax matters, and acts as a Board audit committee.
e) Is responsible to the presentation of an annual financial
report which shall be presented to the Board and the
Membership.
f) Makes recommendations to the Board and the President in
areas of staff management, procedures and remuneration.
g) Acts as adviser to and supervisor of the Treasurer in regard
to the investment of IFNA's funds.
Proposed Wording:
----------------
31. The Administration and Finance Committee:
a) Reviews IFNA management performance and effectiveness,
including IFNA finances, on a continuing basis.
b) On an annual basis, reviews the operating budget prepared by
the Treasurer for the coming year and, after approval,
forwards to the Board of Directors for ratification at least
30 days prior to the beginning of the fiscal year.
c) Reviews intermediate and long term budgetary projections as
prepared by the Treasurer and makes appropriate
recommendations to the Board of Directors.
d) Makes recommendations to the Board in connection with audit
and tax matters, and acts as a Board audit committee.
e) Is responsible to the presentation of an annual financial
report which shall be presented to the Board and the
Membership.
f) Makes recommendations to the Board and the President in
areas of staff management, procedures and remuneration.
g) Acts as adviser to and supervisor of the Treasurer in regard
FidoNews 5-31 Page 46 1 Aug 1988
to the investment of IFNA's funds.
--------------------
Docket Number BLA-88-0023 (By-Laws and Rules Committee)
Present Wording:
---------------
35. The By-Laws and Rules Committee shall be responsible for
review and any suggestion of changes to these by-laws.
Proposed Wording:
----------------
35. The By-Laws and Rules Committee shall be responsible for
review and processing of suggestions of change to these by-
laws. The committee will review suggested changes submitted
by appropriate parties and shall have the right to revise,
combine, or omit such suggestions or portions thereof in the
preparation of the final ballot.
However, in the event that a suggested change is received for
which the endorsement of at least five per cent of the
membership has been received by the Secretary, said suggested
change must appear on the ballot as is, in its entirety.
--------------------
Docket Number BLA-88-0024 (Fidonews)
Present Wording:
---------------
39. There shall be an official publication maintained by IFNA, in
the form of a weekly journal, the name of which shall be
FidoNews. A copy of this journal shall be available each
week to every member of IFNA in good standing. The general
management of this journal shall be in the hands of the
President. The policy of the journal shall be determined by
the Board of Directors.
Proposed Wording:
----------------
40. There shall be an official publication maintained by IFNA, in
the form of a weekly journal, the name of which shall be
FidoNews. A copy of this journal shall be available each week
to all listed nodes. The general management of this journal
shall be in the hands of the President. The policy of the
FidoNews 5-31 Page 47 1 Aug 1988
journal shall be to publish all submitted articles of
interest to the FidoNet community, within the bounds of
legality and good taste.
Comments:
--------
This change is to eliminate the reference that the journal is
only for IFNA members, and to give some firm direction to the
editorial staff.
--------------------
Docket Number BLA-88-0025 (By-Law Amendments)
Present Wording:
---------------
40. These By-Laws may be amended or changed by majority vote of
the membership during any election. To get the amendment or
change included on the ballot, text of the proposal must be
received by the Secretary at least 60 days prior to the
scheduled date of the election.
Proposed Wording (A):
--------------------
40. Amendments to the By-Laws
a) Proposed amendments to the By-Laws may be submitted by the
Board of Directors or by any ten members over their
signature and, subject to subsection b), shall, when so
submitted, be placed before the next Annual or Special
Meeting of the Members of IFNA. Amendments to the By-Laws
may be effected at any such meeting by majority vote of the
membership casting Ballots as defined in subsection e).
b) All proposed amendments must be received by the Secretary at
least 60 days prior to the scheduled vote date in order to
be included on the Ballot. They will then be forwarded to
the By-Laws committee for preparation for inclusion on the
Ballot.
c) The By-Laws Committee is responsible for any proposed
amendments to the By-Laws. To this end, all proposals must
be forwarded by the Secretary to the By-Laws Committee for
inclusion on the Ballot. The Committee reserves the right
to edit, combine, or expand the submissions provided that
any changes made do not substantially change the original
intent of the proposal. In the event of conflicting
suggestions, the proposed amendments may be presented on the
Ballot in the form of a "multiple choice" where only one of
the suggestions may be selected.
FidoNews 5-31 Page 48 1 Aug 1988
d) All proposed amendments will be of the form "old wording" /
"new wording" including By-Law reference numbers where
applicable. This is intended to clarify the changes
proposed.
e) Ballots will be accepted from members in good standing
through regular postal service addressed to the Secretary
and must be received no later than the Annual or Special
Meeting. Alternately, Ballots will be accepted from members
in good standing provided they are hand delivered to the
Secretary or his designate at the Annual or Special Meeting,
no later than the announced time for the closing of the
polls.
f) A certified public accountant (or equivalent) will receive
and collate all mail Ballots received prior to the Annual or
Special Meeting, and will be responsible for the receipt,
tabulation and verification of all Ballots cast before the
close of voting. The certified public accountant will
present and certify the results of the balloting.
g) In the event of a tie, the current (outgoing) President
shall cast the deciding vote.
Comments (A):
------------
The purpose of this revision is to clarify the procedure to be
followed in order to effect changes to the By-Laws. The proposed
amendments allow for debate on any revisions prior to voting at
the Annual Meeting of the Membership.
Proposed Wording (B):
--------------------
40. These By-Laws may be amended or changed by majority vote of
the membership during any election or by vote of two-thirds
of the Board of Directors. Such changes implemented by the
Board of Directors must appear on the next ballot for
confirmation by the membership, but shall be in effect during
the interim period. The nature of all changes must be within
the the guidelines established by the Articles of
Association.
Any member may submit suggested changes for consideration.
To provide an amendment or change for such consideration,
text of the proposal must be received by the Secretary or the
Secretary's designate at least 60 days prior to the scheduled
date of the election.
--------------------
Docket Number BLA-88-0026 (Non-Compliance)
FidoNews 5-31 Page 49 1 Aug 1988
Present Wording:
---------------
N/A
Proposed Wording:
----------------
##. No election shall be declared invalid by reason of non-
compliance with the provisions of the ARTICLES OF ASSOCIATION
or these By-Laws or by reason of any mistake or irregularity,
if it appears to the Board that the election was conducted in
accordance with the principles or intent as expressed
specifically or clearly intended in these By-Laws, and that
such non-compliance, mistake or irregularity did not affect
the result of the election.
--------------------
Docket Number BLA-88-0027 (Financial Audit)
Present Wording:
---------------
N/A
Proposed Wording:
----------------
##. In order to provide accurate and timely financial information
to the membership:
a) The Board shall appoint a certified public accountant to be
the auditor of the Association.
b) The auditor shall annually, or as required by the Board,
audit the books and accounts of IFNA, and shall, annually
after the completion of the fiscal year, furnish a statement
of IFNA's financial affairs, which shall be presented at the
Annual Meeting of Members of IFNA.
c) The fiscal year of IFNA shall end on December 31 of each
year.
--------------------
Docket Number BLA-88-0028 (Trademarks)
Present Wording:
---------------
FidoNews 5-31 Page 50 1 Aug 1988
N/A
Proposed Wording:
----------------
*Fido and FidoNet are trademarks of Fido Software.
[move to bottom of first page]
Comments:
--------
To meet requirements of license agreements with Tom Jennings.
--------------------
Docket Number BLA-88-0029 (Conduct of Business)
Present Wording:
---------------
N/A
Proposed Wording:
----------------
##. The Board of Directors, all Committees, and such other
corporate bodies as may apply, are encouraged to utilize
established and innovative methods of telecommunications for
the conduct of the affairs of the corporation. However, such
use must be subject to other specific provisions herein
contained and to the establishment of reasonable procedures
and controls to guarantee that the integrity of the processes
are maintained and that the interests of the membership are
served.
Comments:
--------
Addition of important clause to our operations.
--------------------
Docket Number BLA-88-0030 (Meeting Precedence)
Present Wording:
---------------
N/A
FidoNews 5-31 Page 51 1 Aug 1988
Proposed Wording:
----------------
##. At any meeting of the Board of Directors the following
precedence shall be in effect:
a) The results of any elections of Director shall be validated
and take effect.
b) Results of any voting for changes to the By-laws shall then
be validated and take effect.
c) All remaining business may then proceed under the new
conditions.
Comments:
--------
Clarification of an ambiguous point.
--------------------
Docket Number BLA-88-0031 (Zones)
Present Wording:
---------------
N/A
Proposed Wording:
----------------
##. IFNA recognizes the need to expand the method by which
Networks may join IFNA. IFNA also recognizes that
telecommunications is rapidly advancing, and different
networks with different organizations, policies, and
telecommunications mechanisms will arise.
DEFINITIONS:
ZONE: An autonomous network which has joined IFNA.
NODELIST: The set of documents which define a Network at the
ZONE level.
Each Zone must file an agreement which defines the set of
interactions it will allow IFNA to have with the Zone, this
set of interactions must be acceptable to IFNA and defines
the jurisdiction IFNA has over the Zone.
Zones 1, 2, and 3 will operate under the current set of
rules, regulations and policies of IFNA for a period not to
exceed six (6) months from the adoption of this amendment, or
FidoNews 5-31 Page 52 1 Aug 1988
until an agreement between IFNA and the Zone is reached which
is agreeable to both, whichever comes sooner. If the Zone
and IFNA do not reach agreement within the allotted time, the
Zone will be removed from the IFNA nodelist, but all IFNA
members in the Zone will retain membership voting rights.
A Zone applying for IFNA membership must meet the following
criteria:
i) Be an operational Network with over fifty (50) nodes.
ii) Be a Network which is not operated for profit, and which
allows public access as defined by IFNA.
iii) Establish a grievance procedure within the Network for
IFNA members to follow for resolving any grievances
involving IFNA.
iv) Present to IFNA a set of individuals from within the
Network to fill the required IFNA organizational
positions. The method of selecting these individuals is
determined by the Network.
v) Have an existing Nodelist, Network Map or other set of
documents which define the Network. Deliver this
document to the Vice-President of Technical Operations,
and deliver updates periodically as agreed to by IFNA.
This document will be referred to as the Nodelist.
This Nodelist need not conform to the current nodelist
format(s) in use by IFNA at the time of application (IFNA
realizes that not all networks use the current format)
but it must contain enough information to allow
telecommunications between the Network and other Zones.
The Vice-President Technical Operations will determine if
the Nodelist is sufficient.
vi) Establish an operational gateway for telecommunications
between the Network and other IFNA Zones.
vii) Agree to abide by the policies, procedures, rules and
regulations of IFNA for all matters pertaining to IFNA.
That is, actually be a Zone in IFNA while retaining all
rights not in the agreement with IFNA.
The Board of Directors will establish a "ZONE COMMITTEE" for
including all changes to current operating procedures, and
modifications to the current set of BY-LAWS, such as BY-LAW
24 which defines the voting divisions, to accommodate this
expansion of IFNA.
The Vice-President Technical Operations, the chairman of the
FidoNet Technical Standards committee, the current ZoneGate
operator for Zones 1, 2 and 3, and four (4) additional
members appointed by the Board of Directors will be the
initial members of the ZONE COMMITTEE. The ZONE COMMITTEE
FidoNews 5-31 Page 53 1 Aug 1988
will have no more then three (3) months to prepare these
changes. Upon completion of the changes the Election
committee will prepare ballots to be mailed to all IFNA
members for voting on the changes. The ballot will contain
the full text of the changes and a single choice -- "accept
or reject".
If the vote of the IFNA membership is reject, then:
i) Each Zone in the IFNA nodelist will revert to operation
under "FidoNet policy 3" published by Tom Jennings, and
IFNA will stop all operations involving the zones,
regions, networks and nodes except for preparation and
distribution of FidoNews, the Nodelist, and the Nodediff.
ii) The duties of the Region Coordinators will be restricted
to distribution of the Nodelist, Nodediff, and FidoNews
and processing of updates to the nodelist. ALL updates
from the individual networks will be accepted and
processed.
iii) The Network Coordinators will operate their Networks as
they choose within the constraints of Policy 3.
iv) Individual nodes will operate their nodes as they choose
within the constraints of Policy 3.
Comments:
--------
This amendment represents the agreement between Zones and IFNA.
It limits the power of IFNA to the administration of the
interactions of Zones (networks), while at the same time
returning IFNA to a central position of acting as a distributor
publisher of a set of Nodelists which are available to ALL Zones
in IFNA. It will likely result in a large amount of flames, but
essentially it "pulls IFNA back" to the administrative role,
leaving the operation and policies of the Network(s) to the
Network(s). It also allows for a large political structure which
can supply a lot of service without getting into the Network
itself. This should surely please a large amount of people.
--------------------
Docket Number BLA-88-0032 (Grievance Committee)
Present Wording:
---------------
N/A
Proposed Wording:
----------------
FidoNews 5-31 Page 54 1 Aug 1988
##. A Grievance Committee is hereby established. Membership
consists of one member (1) from each Zone in IFNA, and one
member from the Board of Directors. Each Zone member will
serve for a term defined by that Zone, but not to exceed five
(5) years. The member from the Board of directors will have
a term of 1 year, and will be elected by the Board of
Directors.
The Grievance Committee will hear and resolve all grievances
involving IFNA and IFNA members within a Zone which have not
been resolved within thirty (30) days to the satisfaction of
the IFNA member.
The Grievance Committee will resolve the grievance within 30
days. The resolution will be binding on the person filing
the grievance and on the Zone. Resolution will be based upon
the then current articles of association of IFNA and the
agreement between IFNA and the Zone.
Comments:
--------
This amendment assumes that the methods of grievance resolution
within a ZONE have been tried and has not been resolved in a
manner satisfactory to the IFNA member.
The rights of an IFNA member in this context are limited to
matters involving IFNA.
When the Zone joined IFNA it agreed to a set of rules and
procedures. Only those rules and procedures agreed to between
the Zone and IFNA may be the basis of a grievance to IFNA.
--------------------
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FidoNews 5-31 Page 55 1 Aug 1988
OFFICERS OF THE INTERNATIONAL FIDONET ASSOCIATION
Ken Kaplan 100/22 Chairman of the Board
Don Daniels 107/210 President
Mark Grennan 147/1 Vice President
Dave Dodell 114/15 Vice President - Technical Coordinator
David Garrett 103/501 Secretary
Leonard Mednick 345/1 Treasurer
IFNA BOARD OF DIRECTORS
DIVISION AT-LARGE
10 Steve Jordan 102/2871 Don Daniels 107/210
11 Bill Allbritten 11/301 Hal DuPrie 101/106
12 Leonard Mednick 345/1 Mark Grennan 147/1
13 Rick Siegel 107/27 Brad Hicks 100/523
14 Ken Kaplan 100/22 Ted Polczyinski 154/5
15 Jim Cannell 128/13 Kurt Reisler 109/74
16 Vince Perriello 141/491 Robert Rudolph 261/628
17 Rob Barker 138/34 Greg Small 148/122
18 Christopher Baker 135/14 Bob Swift 140/24
19 Vernon Six 19/0 Larry Wall 15/18
2 Henk Wevers 2:500/1 Gee Wong 107/312
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FidoNews 5-31 Page 56 1 Aug 1988
__
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 the annual membership fee. IFNA serves the international
FidoNet-compatible electronic mail community to increase
worldwide communications.
Name __________________________________ Date ___________________
Address _________________________________________________________
City ____________________________________________________________
State ________________________________ Zip _____________________
Country _________________________________________________________
Home Phone (Voice) ______________________________________________
Work Phone (Voice) ______________________________________________
Is this a new application? _________ a renewal? ________________
Are you a Sysop? _________ If so, for how long? ________________
Your BBS Info: (Non-Sysops enter info for your most-called BBS)
Zone:Net/Node Number ____________________________________________
BBS Name ________________________________________________________
BBS Phone Number ________________________________________________
Your Special Interests __________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
In what areas would you be willing to help in FidoNet? __________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
Are there any special resources that you could provide? _________
_________________________________________________________________
Regular Membership $25
Lifetime Membership $250
Send this form and a check or money order in US Funds to:
International FidoNet Association
c/o Leonard Mednick, CPA
700 Bishop Street, #1014
Honolulu, HI 96813 USA
IFNA is a general not-for-profit organization. Articles of
Association and By-Laws were adopted by the membership in January
1987. The IFNA Echomail Conference has been established on
FidoNet to assist the Board of Directors. We welcome your input
on this Conference.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
FidoNews 5-31 Page 57 1 Aug 1988
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___________________________
-----------------------------------------------------------------
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