1138 lines
55 KiB
Plaintext
1138 lines
55 KiB
Plaintext
Volume 6, Number 11 13 March 1989
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+---------------------------------------------------------------+
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| _ |
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| / \ |
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| /|oo \ |
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| - FidoNews - (_| /_) |
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| _`@/_ \ _ |
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| International | | \ \\ |
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| FidoNet Association | (*) | \ )) |
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| Newsletter ______ |__U__| / \// |
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| / FIDO \ _//|| _\ / |
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| (________) (_/(_|(____/ |
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| (jm) |
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+---------------------------------------------------------------+
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Editor in Chief: Vince Perriello
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Editors Emeritus: Dale Lovell
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Thom Henderson
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Chief Procrastinator Emeritus: Tom Jennings
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Contributing Editors: Al Arango
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FidoNews is published weekly by the International FidoNet
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Association as its official newsletter. You are encouraged to
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submit articles for publication in FidoNews. Article submission
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standards are contained in the file ARTSPEC.DOC, available from
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node 1:1/1. 1:1/1 is a Continuous Mail system, available for
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network mail 24 hours a day.
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Copyright 1989 by the International FidoNet Association. All
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rights reserved. Duplication and/or distribution permitted for
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noncommercial purposes only. For use in other circumstances,
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please contact IFNA at (314) 576-4067. IFNA may also be contacted
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at PO Box 41143, St. Louis, MO 63141.
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Fido and FidoNet are registered trademarks of Tom Jennings of
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Fido Software, 164 Shipley Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94107 and
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are used with permission.
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We don't necessarily agree with the contents of every article
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published here. Most of these materials are unsolicited. No
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article will be rejected which is properly attributed and legally
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acceptable. We will publish every responsible submission
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received.
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Table of Contents
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1. ARTICLES ................................................. 1
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National Major League Baseball Echo Proposed ............. 1
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FrontDoor - Mailer for the 90's .......................... 2
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SEA Letter: USNO ......................................... 6
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Will ZIP Replace ARC? .................................... 7
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2. COLUMNS .................................................. 10
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The Old Frog's Almanac - Update .......................... 10
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Trapped .................................................. 12
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Let's YACK about (How) FidoNet Gains Independence! ....... 14
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3. LATEST VERSIONS .......................................... 15
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And more!
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FidoNews 6-11 Page 1 13 Mar 1989
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=================================================================
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ARTICLES
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=================================================================
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National Major League Baseball Echo Proposed
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While looking through a list of available national echos recently,
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I was surprised to note there is not an echo dedicated to Major
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League Baseball. As an ardent fan of the game, I decided to take
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it upon myself and start one. In the process, I have enlisted the
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aid of Glen Jackson, sysop of the local IBM User's Group's BBS, as
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well as his own BBS here in St. Louis, Mo.
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I am involved in broadcast media, and am in the press contingent
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that covers the St. Louis Cardinals locally. This gives me
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occasional insight into the game from a different perspective from
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most fans. It is also our hope to be able to draw an occasional
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response or visit from various others in media and in the game
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itself on the echo. There are a lot of computer users in the game
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itself, and in the people on the fringe of the game.
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The scope of the discussion would be limited to Major League and
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AAA Minor League Baseball. It is our belief that it should also
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restrict itself to discussion of the game, and the merits of its
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participants both present and past, and to avoid "flaming,"
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advertising of any nature, and, in general, promote good
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conversation in a courteous environment. While there are some
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great rivalries in the game between various teams, the inheret
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nastiness they bring out would also be avoided by rules. We are
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more interested in promoting the discussion of the game itself than
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continuing friendly, and not-so-friendly discussions between fans
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of rival team.
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It is our best hope to have the echo started by the beginning of
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baseball season in April; if we can get enough boards on-line in
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time, perhaps we could start during spring training. Baseball has
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been setting attendance records across the country- last year was
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the best season ever. I think this makes it an excellent time to
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begin a national echo for our national sport!
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--- David Blair @ 100/617
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For those of you that would be interested: we will first be
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putting together a list of those nodes that wish to participate.
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This will NOT be a closed echo. If enough nodes request links
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immediatly, we will ask to have this run through the backbone. If
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not, 100/617 will Host it.
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Moderator will be David Blair. Conference Rules will be posted.
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For more information, you may send netmail to: David Blair 100/617
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--- Glen Jackson 100/617 (100/0)
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-----------------------------------------------------------------
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FidoNews 6-11 Page 2 13 Mar 1989
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F R O N T D O O R 2 . 0
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=========================
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The Mailer for the 90's!
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-by-
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Onanus Maximus
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(Michael Nelson, 143/20)
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How 'bout it, Bunky? Would you like a FREE 5 megabytes of hard
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disc space? Would you like to stop juggling 10 or 12 programs,
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just to get the ol' mail in and out?
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Would you like to do everything with function keys, instead of
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having to constantly exit from your mailer to modify countless
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batch, routing, event, and config files?
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Would you like an editor that is virtually a word processor?
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How 'bout a terminal program that is every bit as good as TELIX
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3.11, but integrated into your mailer program?
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If all this sounds good, you should take a look at "Front Door",
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Joaquim Homrighausen's superb integrated mailer. The "Last Test
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Release (1.13g)" of Front Door 2.00 came out last week, and several
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members of Net 143 have converted to it. Every one I have talked
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to who has tried it is delighted with FD. Why?
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The SETUP Program:
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Front Door is a truly INTEGRATED mailer package. To begin with,
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one of the first features of FD you encounter when setting it up is
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the SETUP.EXE program. This is a very nicely done, menu-driven
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program that lets you set up all parameters required for FD's
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operation. After you have run Setup.exe the first time and have FD
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running, you can modify all parameters, on the fly, by merely
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pressing your F6 key!
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The Setup program even gives you dropdown menu driven control
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over your event schedules and security (session passwording, file
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passwording, etc.). You can easily setup colors for the mailer and
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for the terminal program. Modem control is also accessible from
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Setup, as is complete control over file requests.
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If you are running a ConfMail-type message system, Setup
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includes up to 200 "Folders" for Echo, Local, and NetMail areas,
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all configurable from the menu.
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For those of you with Assistant Sysops (boy, that must be THE
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LIFE!), Setup includes multiple levels of password protected
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security for the Sysop and the Assistant sysop. You can allow your
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Assistant access to only certain functions and areas, if you like.
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And, Setup allows control of security for FD's powerful Server
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function. More about the Server later....
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The Mailer Program:
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FidoNews 6-11 Page 3 13 Mar 1989
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The Mailer program is the heart and soul of Front Door, and,
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when you compare it with BinkleyTerm 2.00, it is evident that you
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are dealing with state of the art mailer design. Every function
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you need is instantly accessible through multiple layers of
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Function keys, with context sensitive help available at most points
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just by pressing the F1 key.
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If you are tired of oMMM and its mysterious ways, you will love
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Front Door. FD includes its own integrated packer which packs
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bundles on the fly, only when they are to be sent during the
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current event. FD also includes a complete set of easy to use
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routing commands, and it supports route scheduling which is tied to
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your events.
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Recent history stats are automatically maintained, and you have
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control through Setup as to how much history FD should keep. There
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are separate Inbound and Outbound history screens with all the data
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you could possibly need, and these data screens are easily
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maintained, again through the use of Function Keys. You can sort
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data, tag it, dump it to a file, print it, etc., all from the
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Manager sub-menus.
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There are pre-programmed Function keys as well as 10 user
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definable ones, accessible as Alt-Fx series keys.
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Just got a new NodeDiff? No problem... FD includes an
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integrated NodeList compiler, and the resulting compiled NodeList
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files are so much smaller than the ones required for Bink that it
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is ridiculous! A savings of several hundred K of disc space is
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realized by these files alone! You can easily compile your
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NodeList with a simple press of a function key, or you can put the
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necessary code into your RUNFD.BAT batch file to handle it for you
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when the new NodeDiff arrives. (I should point out, however, that
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the FREE version of FD will not yet merge the NodeDiff with the
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existing NodeList... that feature is included in the commercial
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version, though). Because of the built-in compiler, you will not
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need ParseList, XlatList, or XlaxNode (but you WILL need XlaxDiff
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to do the merge).
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The Editor:
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The editor built into FD 2.0 is by far the best editor in any
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mailer package. This sucker is virtually a word processor, with
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such functions (again, all accessible through multiple layers of
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function keys) as importing a text file into a message, the ability
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to send multiple copies of the message out buy typing CC: and then
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||
either the name or the net/node number, file attach, file request,
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||
forwarding, replying, reply with quoting, ten user definable Origin
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lines that you select from a menu, accessing a specific message by
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number, and scanning for unread messages.
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There is a second level of function keys under the Utilities key
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which allows you to do such things as printing a single message,
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tagging several messages either manually or through a selection
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process, printing tagged messages, dumping messages to a file,
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FidoNews 6-11 Page 4 13 Mar 1989
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purging messages by user or system... it goes on and on! There
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are eight pages in the manual devoted to the many varied functions
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of the editor alone!
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The Terminal Program:
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Calling Front Door's terminal program a "Dumb Terminal" is like
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calling Albert Einstein "slow". This terminal program is easily
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the equal of Telix 3.11, and for a SYSOP, it is much better! It
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includes the ability to use the entire nodelist as a dialing
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directory, and to easily import a node's data into the 200 position
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dialing directory. You can either enter a net/node number or a
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Sysop's name, and this terminal will find the right number. If you
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enter a name search string, FD will find all the matches in the
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NodeList, and pop up a menu for you to select from. For instance,
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if you type in Todd Looney, it will show you 143/0, 143/27, and
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even 143/28 (Integrated Systems, Todd's business BBS). You then
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select the one you want with the moving bar menu, and it will dial
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out.
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||
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The terminal has the ability to store over 60 thousand sets of
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||
macro keys for logon codes, etc, and will store information about
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||
the macro key set you use with that particular BBS.
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||
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||
All of the great file transfer protocols are hard coded into the
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program, and it includes automatic Zmodem downloads, YModem-G
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(great for those of us who have HST's, PEP's, or MNP modems because
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YModem-G does not use any error correction and therefore is much
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||
faster with error correcting modems), and SeaLink Overdrive, in
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||
addition to the old standbys like Xmodem and Ymodem.
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The Server Program:
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Front Door's Server program allows you to call in with a pre-
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written script, sent in the form of a message, and the script will
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execute in a fashion similar to a DOS batch file. Basically,
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anything you can do with a batch file, you can do with Server!
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And, for security, Server sessions are password protected. This
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really gives you capabilities similar to (but not as powerful as)
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||
programs such as Carbon Copy Plus and PC Anywhere III.
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Point Support:
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Front Door's support of points is unsurpassed by any other
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mailer. Full point addressing is used (1:143/20.3, etc.), and is
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also supported by Joaquim's optional FDTosScan program for tossing
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||
and scanning mail.
|
||
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Zone Awareness:
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Since Joaquim is Swedish, and does lots of EchoMail with nodes
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in Europe, he and Peter Stewart have taken extra pains to make FD
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especially Zone-Aware. For those of you who are involved in
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||
multiple Nets such as EggNet and AlterNet, FD will make your
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interzone work painless. In fact, Zone Awareness was such an
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important part of FD's development that the company that Joaquim
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FidoNews 6-11 Page 5 13 Mar 1989
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and Peter started is called InterZone Software!
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Summary:
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||
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Hopefully I have not "gushed" too much about Front Door, but it
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is the most exciting development in mailers since BinkleyTerm was
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introduced, and you may have guessed that I am very enthusiastic
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||
about it. It has already made my life as a SYSOP easier, and has
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reduced my phone bills to boot, because FD performs mail transfer
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handshaking MUCH faster, thereby reducing your connect time. Put
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those benefits together with the enormous savings in disc space, (I
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picked up about 4 megabytes of free space by converting,
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considering I was able to blow away TELIX, Binkley, oMMM, Bonk,
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XlaxNode, Please, Amax, and go to fewer and smaller NodeList
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files), and it makes Front Door pretty hard to beat!
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If you have any doubts about all this, please feel free to send
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me NetMail at 1:143/20 or 1:143/400. Or, check with any of the
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nodes who have recently converted to this state of the art mailer.
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The list currently includes 143/23, 143/20, 143/29, 143/27,
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143/120, and 204/42. Several other nodes in 143 have freq'd the
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program from me and are in process of converting. You can freq FD
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from me either under the magic name "FD" or as FD113.PAK. It is a
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big archive though (about 523K), and takes about 40 minutes at 2400
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bps or about 8 minutes at 9600/ARQ (*HST*).
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-----------------------------------------------------------------
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FidoNews 6-11 Page 6 13 Mar 1989
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What's Happening at SEA?
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When it was first introduced, the USNO program by System
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Enhancement Associates, Inc. was widely hailed as by far the best
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such program anywhere. So what did we do? We made it better.
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USNO is a program that calls the U.S. Naval Observatory and sets
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your system clock. What could be simpler? However, that can get
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a bit expensive for those of us who don't happen to live in
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Maryland.
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It has always been possible to tell USNO to dial a different
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phone number, but that hasn't helped much as there is a severely
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limited supply of Naval Observatories in the United States.
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But with the advent of the SHELL statement in SEAdog 4.50, any
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SEAdog system can be a "Naval Observatory" for his friends and
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neighbors. All it takes is a copy of USNO version 1.05, and the
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following statement in your CONFIG.DOG file:
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shell 84 usno EST -r30
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Change the time zone to whatever yours happens to be, of course.
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Now anyone with USNO version 1.05 can tell it to use YOUR phone
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number.
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Files mentioned this week:
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USNO.ARC The USNO clock-setter.
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USNO.ARC may be downloaded from our technical support bulletin
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board at (201) 473-1991, or may be file-requested from either
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520/1015@AlterNet or 1:107/1015@FidoNet.
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-----------------------------------------------------------------
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FidoNews 6-11 Page 7 13 Mar 1989
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John Herro
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1:363/6
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Will ZIP Replace ARC?
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Bulletin boards store most files in a compressed form for two
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reasons. First, it reduces the time it takes to send files by
|
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modem, saving on telephone charges. Second, it saves disk space.
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At one time, most files were compressed with the program SQZ
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(Squeeze). Also, several related files were grouped into one
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"library" file with LU (Library Utility).
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System Enhancement Associates (SEA) improved file compression
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dramatically with a shareware program called ARC (Archive). ARC
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compresses files and groups them into one file, all in one pro-
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gram. Also, it compresses files harder (to a smaller size) than
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SQZ. Although .ARC files are not compatible with SQZ, ARC is a
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much better program. So almost overnight, ARC files replaced SQZ
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files on bulletin boards.
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Phil Katz of PKWARE then produced a shareware program PKARC,
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which was compatible with ARC, but ran much faster. A later ver-
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sion of PKARC was able to squeeze some files harder than SEA ARC
|
||
at the expense of compatibility. However, it had an option to
|
||
produce SEA ARC compatible files. Even with the greater compres-
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sion turned on, PKARC ran much faster than SEA ARC.
|
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Then SEA sued PKWARE for violating its copyright and for using
|
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the name "ARC" and the .ARC file format. Which side (if either)
|
||
was right is debatable, but the court ordered PKWARE to stop
|
||
selling ARC compatible programs and to stop using the name "ARC."
|
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|
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NoGate Consulting produced a shareware program PAK that can pro-
|
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duce ARC compatible files. It squeezes harder than PKARC, but
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runs considerably slower. It is still faster than SEA ARC.
|
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Just now PKWARE released the shareware program PKZIP. It pro-
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duces .ZIP files (called zipfiles) that are not compatible with
|
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ARC. However, it runs as fast as PKARC or even faster, and it
|
||
squeezes harder than PKARC. Also, with extra compression turned
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on (by typing the options -ea4 -eb4), it squeezes even harder
|
||
than NoGate PAK and runs about as fast compressing, and much
|
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faster expanding!
|
||
|
||
I benchmarked all these programs by compressing version 1.21 of
|
||
my ADA-TUTR (Ada Tutor) program, which contains 33 files totaling
|
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more than 700K. The files are of a variety of types. I didn't
|
||
benchmark PKPAK, because it is the same as PKARC except for the
|
||
file extension. The benchmarks were run on a Toshiba T1200 lap-
|
||
top. The results show that PKZIP is clearly the winner:
|
||
|
||
|
||
FidoNews 6-11 Page 8 13 Mar 1989
|
||
|
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|
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PROGRAM: COMPRESSED SIZE: COMPRESSION TIME: EXPANSION TIME:
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|
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Normal Compression:
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PKARC v. 3.5 319577 62 secs. 63 secs.
|
||
PKZIP v. 0.9 297045 61 secs. 66 secs.
|
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|
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Maximum Compression:
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NoGate PAK v. 1.0 287228 155 secs. 154 secs.
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PKZIP -ea4 -eb4 257399 160 secs. 57 secs.
|
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|
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It looks as though Phil Katz actually outdid himself with PKZIP.
|
||
In normal compression, it runs in about the same time as PKARC,
|
||
but compresses harder. In maximum compression, it squeezes hard-
|
||
er than NoGate PAK, compressing in about the same time and ex-
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panding 2.7 times faster!
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PKZIP has a few new features, such as the ability to include sub-
|
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directories. However, these are unimportant compared with the
|
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excellent compression the program achieves.
|
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I have no connection with PKWARE, except for being a registered
|
||
user of PKZIP. However,
|
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|
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------------------------------------------------------------
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| I think that ZIP will soon replace ARC as the standard |
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| for bulletin boards, just as ARC earlier replaced SQZ. |
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------------------------------------------------------------
|
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There are more reasons besides the superior performance of PKZIP.
|
||
First, if I correctly understood SEA's announcement in FidoNews
|
||
607, the latest version of SEA ARC is not shareware but a commer-
|
||
cial program! This is just what I had feared in the article "My
|
||
Two Cents Worth on PK vs. SEA" in FidoNews 540. Clearly we want
|
||
a shareware file compressor that can be freely spread around on
|
||
bulletin boards! Second, Phil Katz explicitly placed the name
|
||
ZIP and the ZIP file format in the Public Domain, to encourage
|
||
others to write ZIP compatible software. SEA has not done this
|
||
with ARC, which is why the court could stop PKWARE from selling
|
||
ARC compatible software. By placing the ZIP file format and name
|
||
in the Public Domain, Phil Katz is wisely preventing a repetition
|
||
of the unfortunate legal battle that recently took place.
|
||
|
||
Some sysops may hesitate to use PKZIP because their bulletin
|
||
board software (e.g., Opus) can list the contents of an ARChive
|
||
but not a ZIPfile. However, as ZIP becomes the new standard, the
|
||
software writers will make their software compatible with it.
|
||
Who will be the first person to write a ZIPmail program similar
|
||
to ARCmail?
|
||
|
||
PKZIP is distributed as the self extracting program PKZ090.EXE.
|
||
You can find it on many bulletin boards, including Society BBS,
|
||
1:363/6, 407-773-2831. Get a copy, spread it around, and evalu-
|
||
ate it. If you like it, register and use it. (Those who regis-
|
||
tered PKARC need not register PKZIP.) Let's make the BEST file
|
||
compression method the new BBS standard!
|
||
|
||
FidoNews 6-11 Page 9 13 Mar 1989
|
||
|
||
|
||
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
FidoNews 6-11 Page 10 13 Mar 1989
|
||
|
||
|
||
=================================================================
|
||
COLUMNS
|
||
=================================================================
|
||
|
||
|
||
"Too zoon oldt unt too late schmart..."
|
||
by Ken McVay, 1:153/20
|
||
|
||
There is an inexorable line of progression that seems to impose
|
||
itself upon those of us who become enamoured of FidoNet.
|
||
|
||
First, of course, is that surge of excitement when you receive
|
||
your new node number, and your first netmail message. As time
|
||
goes on, you find yourself becoming more and more interested in
|
||
some specific area, and, over a period of time, increasingly
|
||
proud of your clever accomplishments.
|
||
|
||
You become an expert at creating ever more efficient batch files.
|
||
You watch, you learn from your mistakes, and from your fellows,
|
||
and your knowledge continues to grow....until perhaps one day you
|
||
look at your system and smugly say to yourself "Ain't this
|
||
grand?"
|
||
|
||
You become quite convinced it just CAN'T be improved.
|
||
|
||
And then some gen-u-wine Old Phart who perhaps had "Node 12" when
|
||
all of this began pops in for a few hours, looks at your system,
|
||
shakes his head, and says "Have you considered doing that THIS
|
||
way instead?"
|
||
|
||
Invariably, having implemented his suggestions, you discover that
|
||
not only has your system become FAR more efficient, but that he
|
||
has simplified complexities to the point where your mind begins
|
||
(sigh...) to reel at the new possibilities.....and the circle
|
||
continues to turn...
|
||
|
||
Such was the case with me, when I began submitting columns about
|
||
my Almanac extraction system a few weeks ago. Having fought with
|
||
the task for nearly three years, I was quite certain that I had
|
||
finally arrived....hell, it was 99% automatic, right? And if my
|
||
SEAdog batch file had grown to nearly 100K, and its sheer bult
|
||
had began to impact on everything ELSE the system did, well, that
|
||
was a small price to pay for the terrific stuff it was doing.
|
||
Hell, if I had to spend another pile of money on a faster
|
||
computer, why not? Perhaps I had simply become so terrific at
|
||
what I do that I had outgrown this screamer in a short 5 months,
|
||
and it was time to get more toys, right?
|
||
|
||
Wrong. My old net host, Ken Yerex (now 153/1103), dropped in for
|
||
a weekend's social frolic...Ken is a certified Old Phart if there
|
||
ever was one, so I started showing off my toys, including my 98K
|
||
batch file...hey, you show most folks a 98K batch file, and they
|
||
fall all over themselves telling you how smart you are, right?
|
||
When I showed it to Ken, however, and told him it was too slow,
|
||
and I was going to buy a 20MHz machine to solve the problem, he
|
||
just smiled and said "What on earth for?"
|
||
FidoNews 6-11 Page 11 13 Mar 1989
|
||
|
||
|
||
He then proceeded to reduce the size of the batch file to 24K,
|
||
make the entire system lightening fast, and leave on Sunday with
|
||
a big grin on his face.....and here I sit, 5 years of experience
|
||
shattered in 4 hours, thinking about all the POWER he gave me to
|
||
play with...letssee now...I think I can REALLY do some neat stuff
|
||
NOW....so, you see, the circle turns once again.
|
||
|
||
What did he do? Well, for starters, he introduced me to the CALL
|
||
command (DOS 3.3 +) and we began creating smaller batch files
|
||
that wouldn't require searching 1600 lines to edit. He created a
|
||
RAMDisk of tiny proportions in extended ram, and moved everything
|
||
into it. Then the REAL education began. Next week I'll show you
|
||
how Yerex built a Silk Purse from a Sow's Ear :-)
|
||
|
||
Cheers!
|
||
|
||
|
||
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
FidoNews 6-11 Page 12 13 Mar 1989
|
||
|
||
|
||
Pam Murray
|
||
Fido 1:340/12
|
||
|
||
TRAPPED
|
||
|
||
|
||
The leopard paces slowly back and forth in his cage. As he
|
||
looks out through the iron bars, he can see the faces of children
|
||
and adults laughing at him. A piece of popcorn thrown by a
|
||
condescending spectator bounces off his nose, and he growls
|
||
menacingly, leaping against the bars and frightening the people
|
||
away.
|
||
|
||
The leopard looks longingly out at the open fields and sunny
|
||
meadows the peacocks and rabbits romp in. The leopard has been
|
||
living in his cage at the zoo for two years now, and every day the
|
||
metal grows colder, and the artificial cave he lives in becomes
|
||
drearier. He was born to be a wild animal, and roamed the open
|
||
African plains freely until he was captured and imprisoned in the
|
||
zoo.
|
||
|
||
The leopard slowly heads toward his cage and lies on the cold
|
||
metal floor. Sure, the attendants spread hay on the floor of his
|
||
cage so that the cage look more realistic, but the leopard knows
|
||
that he is lying on reinforced steel; not the warm brown soils of
|
||
his homeland.
|
||
|
||
The leopard closes his eyes and tries to imagine himself
|
||
racing after an antelope and dragging his prey back home to eat it,
|
||
but he is brought back to reality by the resounding echo of a
|
||
slamming metal door. There were no doors in his homeland, only
|
||
warm, rolling plains, and long grass that he could hide in. The
|
||
zookeeper brings the leopard his food. The leopard misses hunting
|
||
for his own food. Hunting was his livelihood - if not his main
|
||
reason for living. He thrived on the thrill of the chase and the
|
||
exhilaration of killing his prey. Now, in the zoo, his food is
|
||
brought to him. The leopard is becoming fat, and he knows that the
|
||
aches in his bones are caused by lack of exercise.
|
||
|
||
The leopard snarls at his keeper and climbs his concrete tree.
|
||
From here he can see his cage in all its grandeur - the flies
|
||
swarming about his food dish, the stale popcorn and the floor, the
|
||
artificial turf, the dry hay, and the flourescent lights in the
|
||
ceiling. The leopard descends from the 'tree' and enters his
|
||
'cave'. Here, knowing he will never return to Africa, he lies down
|
||
to sleep, and never wakes up.
|
||
|
||
Perhaps he is happier this way. No doubt, the leopard's
|
||
heaven is full of antelope, warm soils, and blue skies. There are
|
||
rolling plains and long green grass he can hide in there, and he is
|
||
the king of it all. His heaven knows no cages, bars, or artificial
|
||
anything. The leopard had died, but we must not mourn him, for he
|
||
is truly happy now. (P)
|
||
|
||
PAM!
|
||
----
|
||
FidoNews 6-11 Page 13 13 Mar 1989
|
||
|
||
|
||
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
FidoNews 6-11 Page 14 13 Mar 1989
|
||
|
||
|
||
YACK
|
||
Yet Another Complicated Komment
|
||
|
||
by Steven K. Hoskin
|
||
( STEVE HOSKIN at 1:128/31 )
|
||
|
||
Episode 23: FidoNet Gains Independence!
|
||
|
||
|
||
A long time ago (in a galaxy far, far away - oops, wrong scene)
|
||
there was a man with a vision. To see personal computers around
|
||
the world linked together in an electronic mail network. The
|
||
network was FidoNet, and the man was Ol' Grandad Fido himself,
|
||
Tom Jennings.
|
||
|
||
For a long while this vision grew and took form, and the history
|
||
of FidoNet tells the tale of this expansion, a dream coming to
|
||
life in the modern-day electronic wizardry of the 20th Century.
|
||
|
||
As the network grew in leaps and bounds, many of the Great Ones
|
||
in FidoNet repeatedly expressed a desire to form a fraternal
|
||
organization of FidoNet Sysops; an organization that could be a
|
||
source of strength when the chips were down; a source of
|
||
equipment when the hardware was down; a pool of money and legal
|
||
resources when the law came down in the inevitable user abuse
|
||
court cases. What they wanted was an organization OF FidoNet
|
||
Sysops FOR FidoNet Sysops.
|
||
|
||
It was natural to fear that an organization which was collecting
|
||
and pooling money for this central source of aid would have to
|
||
pay taxes; and knowing that the money would not come easy, we
|
||
wanted to lose absolutely nothing we didn't have to. A natural
|
||
sounding solution was to become a tax-sheltered organization, for
|
||
example, a non-profit organization. After all, this organization
|
||
WOULDN'T be making any profit, it would merely be a pool of
|
||
resources for FidoNet Sysops.
|
||
|
||
The International FidoNet Association (IFNA) was formed as a
|
||
result of this second dream. Once it was formed as a corporate
|
||
entity, it fought for and finally received 501(c) status - that
|
||
of a general not-for-profit organization. Success! Right?
|
||
|
||
Well...
|
||
|
||
Due to the legalisms of BEING a 501(c) company, IFNA must now
|
||
take all hands off of FidoNet and work FOR THE PUBLIC. Educating
|
||
the public about telecommunication by disseminating information
|
||
about FidoNet technology. Not running or helping FidoNet.
|
||
|
||
You're on your own again, FidoNet. Good Luck!
|
||
|
||
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
FidoNews 6-11 Page 15 13 Mar 1989
|
||
|
||
|
||
=================================================================
|
||
LATEST VERSIONS
|
||
=================================================================
|
||
|
||
Latest Software Versions
|
||
|
||
Bulletin Board Software
|
||
Name Version Name Version Name Version
|
||
|
||
Fido 12k* Opus 1.03b TBBS 2.1
|
||
QuickBBS 2.03 TPBoard 5.0 TComm/TCommNet 3.2
|
||
Lynx 1.22 Phoenix 1.3 RBBS 1.71D
|
||
|
||
|
||
Network Node List Other
|
||
Mailers Version Utilities Version Utilities Version
|
||
|
||
Dutchie 2.90C* EditNL 4.00 ARC 6.01*
|
||
SEAdog 4.50* MakeNL 2.12 ARCmail 2.0*
|
||
BinkleyTerm 2.00 Prune 1.40 ConfMail 4.00
|
||
D'Bridge 1.10 XlatList 2.90* TPB Editor 1.21
|
||
FrontDoor 2.0 XlaxNode 2.32* TCOMMail 2.0
|
||
PRENM 1.40 XlaxDiff 2.32* TMail 8901*
|
||
ParseList 1.30 UFGATE 1.02*
|
||
GROUP 2.04*
|
||
EMM 1.40
|
||
MSGED 1.99*
|
||
|
||
* 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 6-11 Page 16 13 Mar 1989
|
||
|
||
|
||
=================================================================
|
||
NOTICES
|
||
=================================================================
|
||
|
||
The Interrupt Stack
|
||
|
||
|
||
8 May 1989
|
||
Digital Equipment Corporations User Society (DECUS) will be
|
||
holding its semi-annual symposium in Atlanta, GA. Runs
|
||
through May 12. As usual sysop's will get together and chat.
|
||
|
||
19 May 1989
|
||
Start of EuroCon III at Eindhoven, The Netherlands
|
||
|
||
24 Aug 1989
|
||
Voyager 2 passes Neptune.
|
||
|
||
24 Aug 1989
|
||
FidoCon '89 starts at the Holiday Inn in San Jose,
|
||
California. Trade show, seminars, etc. Contact 1/89
|
||
for info.
|
||
|
||
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.
|
||
|
||
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
|
||
FidoNews 6-11 Page 17 13 Mar 1989
|
||
|
||
|
||
=================================================================
|
||
REPORTS
|
||
=================================================================
|
||
|
||
Don Daniels, Chairman
|
||
Bylaws and Rules Committee
|
||
1:107/210
|
||
|
||
Report on New IFNA Bylaws
|
||
|
||
The purpose of this report to provide a listing of those bylaws
|
||
amendments that were passed in the recent election and to discuss
|
||
some of the ramifications of such passage, in certain instances.
|
||
|
||
Those proposed Bylaw amendments that passed are as follows:
|
||
|
||
DEF.02 DEF.03 DEF.04 DEF.05 DEF.06 01.01
|
||
01.02 02/03 04 05 06 07
|
||
09 10 11 12 14 16
|
||
17 18 19 22
|
||
24.01 24.02 24.03 24.04 24.05 24.08
|
||
28 29 30 35.01 35.02 39
|
||
40.01 40.02 42 43 44 45
|
||
|
||
|
||
In discussing the impact of these bylaws changes, my intention is
|
||
to skip over those which strike me as relatively insignificant.
|
||
These include those which clarified "ANNUAL BUSINESS MEETING" and
|
||
"ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING" as opposed to just "ANNUAL MEETING",
|
||
removed certain responsibilities from the Secretary or extended
|
||
them to his/her designate, and other similar matters of
|
||
housekeeping. If, perchance, I've overlooked something you
|
||
consider significant, then please feel free to respond to the
|
||
address above or to submit a letter to the editor.
|
||
|
||
|
||
Bylaws Amendments Enacted in the Recent Election
|
||
================================================
|
||
|
||
DEF.02 - This amendment changed all references from "IFNA
|
||
Network/Nodelist" to "FidoNet Network/Nodelist". It is unclear
|
||
what the effect of this will be considering the Board's action to
|
||
move further away from FidoNet in response to what was felt as
|
||
the desire of the membership as expressed in other areas and the
|
||
purposes of the organization as spelled out in the Articles of
|
||
Association.
|
||
|
||
|
||
DEF.04 - By adding this definition for International Coordinator,
|
||
IFNA now has formal recognition of the position. However,
|
||
nowhere else in the bylaws is this position mentioned and the
|
||
claim that the IC is "elected by the various Zones and Regional
|
||
Coordinators to arbitrate and rule on Inter-Zonal disputes" is
|
||
not in accordance with historical fact. This bylaw seems to
|
||
really be worthless in terms of the current position of IFNA.
|
||
|
||
FidoNews 6-11 Page 18 13 Mar 1989
|
||
|
||
|
||
01.01 - Life members are now entitled to the full rights of such
|
||
additional membership categories for which they eligible.
|
||
|
||
|
||
01.02 - This amendment is going to create quite a few problems
|
||
because it was not well crafted. Its intention was to provide
|
||
some direct representation for FidoNet sysops who were unwilling
|
||
to join IFNA. The compromise it suggests may be reasonable in
|
||
intent, but the administrative problems it creates are
|
||
significant. The board of Directors, recognizing this, has
|
||
established a processing fee equal to the actual cost per ballot
|
||
of the past election to cover at least some of this potential
|
||
administrative burden. However, it is still unclear as to just
|
||
how to best interpret some of the clauses of this amendment and
|
||
to apply them to our real-life situation. In addition, current
|
||
changes of direction as expressed by the board may do much to
|
||
remove the original problem this amendment attempted to solve.
|
||
|
||
It would appear that the most likely way in which this could
|
||
actually work is as follows:
|
||
|
||
o Anyone who was listed in the FidoNet nodelist for 180 days
|
||
prior to the last annual membership meeting may apply to
|
||
become an at-large member of IFNA. No annual dues are
|
||
presently associated with this application. [The burden of
|
||
proof for meeting the requirement has not as yet been
|
||
allocated; it may be left to the applicant to provide the
|
||
proof as part of the application.]
|
||
|
||
o Anyone who becomes a member under this clause will therefore
|
||
become an at-large member for one year and will be entitled
|
||
to vote as indicated. Ballots will be sent to all such
|
||
members of record as of the cut-off date established in the
|
||
rules for the election. How the processing fee will be
|
||
collected is unclear; probably it will be required to be
|
||
returned with the ballot, if not required at the time of
|
||
application.
|
||
|
||
|
||
09 - This amendment should provide for better reporting of the
|
||
activities of the corporation by reducing the lead time for the
|
||
reports and by extending the number of reports required.
|
||
|
||
|
||
10 - The previous lead-time requirements for parts of the
|
||
election process were much too long in practice. Many people
|
||
discovered that they were too late to respond to the requirments
|
||
last year. Therefore, these dates have been shortened to more
|
||
meaningful time frames. However, there are problems with
|
||
overseas responses; it is expected that procedures currently
|
||
being implemented will address these problems so that the
|
||
shortened time spans will not burn one segment of the membership
|
||
at the benefit of another.
|
||
|
||
|
||
18 - Under the old bylaws, a Director could not be recalled in
|
||
FidoNews 6-11 Page 19 13 Mar 1989
|
||
|
||
|
||
the last six months of a term; this has now been reduced to
|
||
three months.
|
||
|
||
|
||
24.02 - This amendment, well intentioned though it may be, is
|
||
going to present so much of a problem that it is probable that
|
||
the BoD will have to intercede and change it prior to the next
|
||
election. The worst thing about it is that it INCREASES the
|
||
Board of Directors from the current 22 to 24. The Board is
|
||
convinced that it cannot operate effectively with such a number.
|
||
Discussions in St. Louis seemed to point to ten as being a more
|
||
realistic number in order to assure effective participation.
|
||
However, getting down to so low a number will require additional
|
||
bylaws changes to account for shortened terms - an unhappy
|
||
prospect.
|
||
|
||
Meanwhile, please consider the distribution this amendment has
|
||
created in terms of approximate nodes per voting division:
|
||
|
||
DIV NODES DIV NODES DIV NODES DIV NODES DIV NODES
|
||
|
||
2 1180 3 257 10 457 11 750 12 190
|
||
13 560 14 147 15 263 16 291 17 457
|
||
18 563 19 610
|
||
|
||
Based on 22 directors, there should be approximately 530 nodes in
|
||
each division. As can be seen from the above, splitting voting
|
||
division 12 into 12 and 3 was totally unnecessary as their
|
||
combined level of 447 already resulted in greater representation
|
||
per node than average. The division which should have been split
|
||
into two was unquestionably division 2 (1180/2=590). It can also
|
||
be seen that divisions 14, 15, and 16 should probably be combined
|
||
or redistributed (147+263+291=701).
|
||
|
||
In any event, the Board has already indicated that it wishes to
|
||
reduce its membership and that it desires to maintain roughly
|
||
equal representation. There should soon be an amendment to this
|
||
bylaw presented to the Board which will effect this for the
|
||
upcoming election. The Board also considered the problem of
|
||
international representation. None of the three overseas
|
||
directors was able to make the recent meeting, and two of them
|
||
turned out to be completely unrepresented. Obviously, whatever
|
||
solution that is reached in terms of distribution, must take into
|
||
account the difficulties of real international representation.
|
||
|
||
|
||
24.08 - This amendment allows the Board of Directors to change
|
||
the voting Divisions. It is expected that being able to do this
|
||
will result in fairer representation. As indicated above, some
|
||
of the Divisions do not provide reasonably fair per capita
|
||
representation, and it is expected that this will be corrected
|
||
shortly.
|
||
|
||
|
||
29 - This amendment has removed responsibility for a nodelist
|
||
from the Vice President - Technical Coordinator, which is more in
|
||
FidoNews 6-11 Page 20 13 Mar 1989
|
||
|
||
|
||
line with current reality. In addition, it also removes the line
|
||
declaring responsibility for the "smooth operation of the FidoNet
|
||
Network." Based on this direction from the membership, the board
|
||
has moved further away from any direct involvement with FidoNet.
|
||
|
||
|
||
35.01 - See 40.01 below.
|
||
|
||
|
||
35.02 - See 40.01 below.
|
||
|
||
|
||
39 - The policy for FidoNews has been explicitly stated to be "to
|
||
publish all submitted articles of interest to the FidoNet
|
||
community, within the bounds of legality and good taste." The
|
||
only difficulty with this is in determining what is "legal and in
|
||
good taste" within the FidoNet community, considering it is so
|
||
large and encompasses so many local variations. The Board has
|
||
affirmed the power of the Editor to act as the executor of this
|
||
policy, with the exception that either the Publications Committee
|
||
or the Executive Committee may override the Editor and cause an
|
||
article to be published which the Editor had chosen to withhold.
|
||
|
||
|
||
40.01 - With the changes to Bylaw 35, the responsibilities of the
|
||
Bylaws Committee in the Bylaws amendment process is now made much
|
||
more clear and the rights of minority groups to demand changes
|
||
are firmly established.
|
||
|
||
|
||
40.02 - This amendment is a compromise between those that feel
|
||
that the bylaws should be changed by the BoD and those that feel
|
||
that they should be changed by the membership. The BoD may
|
||
hereafter change Bylaws, but all such changes are automatically
|
||
to be subjected to the review of the membership during the next
|
||
election. The BoD has since exercised this right, as indicated
|
||
below.
|
||
|
||
|
||
42 - This new bylaw simply clarifies the order of precedence of
|
||
new conditions at a BoD meeting.
|
||
|
||
|
||
43 - This new bylaw is intended to dictate the basis upon which
|
||
IFNA is to relate to various networks. Should various network
|
||
entities enter into such agreement, it will clarify much of the
|
||
confusion and reduce the resulatant bad will such has existed in
|
||
the case of IFNA and FidoNet.
|
||
|
||
|
||
44 - An adjunct to the previous amendment, the establishment of a
|
||
grievance mechanism to resolve problems within the scope of
|
||
formal agreements only should also reduce ill will.
|
||
|
||
|
||
45 - The intent of this bylaw is to encourage innovative means of
|
||
FidoNews 6-11 Page 21 13 Mar 1989
|
||
|
||
|
||
operating IFNA. To date, we have been severely hog-tied due to
|
||
the fact that there was no basis whereby we were assured we could
|
||
legally transact business in electronic sessions. This should
|
||
help to alleviate that problem by giving us the mandate to do so.
|
||
The only thing that would trip us up on this now is if controling
|
||
jurisdictions pass laws specifically forbidding the transaction
|
||
of business through such means.
|
||
|
||
|
||
Bylaws Amendments Enacted by the Board of Directors
|
||
===================================================
|
||
|
||
46 - "Official communications of the Board of Directors or
|
||
Executive Commitee may be presented, in lieu of written form as
|
||
called for within these bylaws, through electronic means,
|
||
providing such means are secure and their authenticity
|
||
verifiable."
|
||
|
||
This bylaw will make it much easier for IFNA officials to do
|
||
their jobs in a timely manner.
|
||
|
||
|
||
Unfortunately, the complete list of these amendments is not
|
||
available. In addition to the one above, there was one that
|
||
established how certain IFNA officials could be removed from
|
||
office. There may have been one more, but I'm not sure as to
|
||
what it was at present. Hopefully, the transcriptions of the
|
||
meeting will soon be completed from the audio tapes and will
|
||
provide this information. Once available, I will prepare a
|
||
follow-up report.
|
||
|
||
The complete set of the current Articles and Bylaws may be
|
||
obtained from 1:107/210 as BYLAWS.ARC. It contains ARTICLES.TXT,
|
||
BYLAWS.TXT, and yymmdd.DOC which specifies the date the file was
|
||
last revised.
|
||
|
||
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
FidoNews 6-11 Page 22 13 Mar 1989
|
||
|
||
|
||
OFFICERS OF THE INTERNATIONAL FIDONET ASSOCIATION
|
||
|
||
Mort Sternheim 1:321/109 Chairman of the Board
|
||
Bob Rudolph 1:261/628 President
|
||
Matt Whelan 3:3/1 Vice President
|
||
Bill Bolton 3:54/61 Vice President-Technical Coordinator
|
||
Linda Grennan 1:147/1 Secretary
|
||
Kris Veitch 1:147/30 Treasurer
|
||
|
||
|
||
IFNA COMMITTEE AND BOARD CHAIRS
|
||
|
||
Administration and Finance Mark Grennan 1:147/1
|
||
Board of Directors Mort Sternheim 1:321/109
|
||
Bylaws Don Daniels 1:107/210
|
||
Ethics Ivan Schaffel 1:141/390
|
||
Executive Committee Bob Rudolph 1:261/628
|
||
International Affairs Rob Gonsalves 2:500/1
|
||
Membership Services David Drexler 1:147/1
|
||
Nominations & Elections David Melnick 1:107/233
|
||
Public Affairs David Drexler 1:147/1
|
||
Publications Rick Siegel 1:107/27
|
||
Security & Individual Rights Jim Cannell 1:143/21
|
||
Technical Standards Rick Moore 1:115/333
|
||
|
||
|
||
IFNA BOARD OF DIRECTORS
|
||
|
||
DIVISION AT-LARGE
|
||
|
||
10 Courtney Harris 1:130/732 Don Daniels 1:107/210
|
||
11 Bill Allbritten 1:11/301 Mort Sternheim 1:321/109
|
||
12 Bill Bolton 3:54/61 Mark Grennan 1:147/1
|
||
13 Irene Henderson 1:107/9 (vacant)
|
||
14 Ken Kaplan 1:100/22 Ted Polczyinski 1:154/5
|
||
15 Scott Miller 1:128/12 Matt Whelan 3:54/99
|
||
16 Ivan Schaffel 1:141/390 Robert Rudolph 1:261/628
|
||
17 Neal Curtin 1:343/1 Steve Jordan 1:206/2871
|
||
18 Andrew Adler 1:135/47 Kris Veitch 1:147/30
|
||
19 David Drexler 1:147/1 (vacant)
|
||
2 Henk Wevers 2:500/1 David Melnik 1:107/233
|
||
|
||
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
FidoNews 6-11 Page 23 13 Mar 1989
|
||
|
||
|
||
__
|
||
The World's First / \
|
||
BBS Network /|oo \
|
||
* FidoNet * (_| /_)
|
||
_`@/_ \ _
|
||
| | \ \\
|
||
| (*) | \ ))
|
||
______ |__U__| / \//
|
||
/ Fido \ _//|| _\ /
|
||
(________) (_/(_|(____/ (tm)
|
||
|
||
Membership for the International FidoNet Association
|
||
|
||
Membership in IFNA is open to any individual or organization that
|
||
pays a specified annual membership fee. IFNA serves the
|
||
international FidoNet-compatible electronic mail community to
|
||
increase worldwide communications.
|
||
|
||
Member Name _______________________________ Date _______________
|
||
Address _________________________________________________________
|
||
City ____________________________________________________________
|
||
State ________________________________ Zip _____________________
|
||
Country _________________________________________________________
|
||
Home Phone (Voice) ______________________________________________
|
||
Work Phone (Voice) ______________________________________________
|
||
|
||
Zone:Net/Node Number ____________________________________________
|
||
BBS Name ________________________________________________________
|
||
BBS Phone Number ________________________________________________
|
||
Baud Rates Supported ____________________________________________
|
||
Board Restrictions ______________________________________________
|
||
|
||
Your Special Interests __________________________________________
|
||
_________________________________________________________________
|
||
_________________________________________________________________
|
||
In what areas would you be willing to help in FidoNet? __________
|
||
_________________________________________________________________
|
||
_________________________________________________________________
|
||
Send this membership form and a check or money order for $25 in
|
||
US Funds to:
|
||
International FidoNet Association
|
||
PO Box 41143
|
||
St Louis, Missouri 63141
|
||
USA
|
||
|
||
Thank you for your membership! Your participation will help to
|
||
insure the future of FidoNet.
|
||
|
||
Please NOTE that IFNA is a general not-for-profit organization
|
||
and Articles of Association and By-Laws were adopted by the
|
||
membership in January 1987. The second elected Board of Directors
|
||
was filled in August 1988. The IFNA Echomail Conference has been
|
||
established on FidoNet to assist the Board. We welcome your
|
||
input to this Conference.
|
||
|
||
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
|