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Volume 7, Number 30 23 July 1990
+---------------------------------------------------------------+
| _ |
| / \ |
| /|oo \ |
| - FidoNews - (_| /_) |
| _`@/_ \ _ |
| FidoNet (r) | | \ \\ |
| International BBS Network | (*) | \ )) |
| Newsletter ______ |__U__| / \// |
| / FIDO \ _//|| _\ / |
| (________) (_/(_|(____/ |
| (jm) |
+---------------------------------------------------------------+
Editor in Chief: Vince Perriello
Editors Emeritii: Thom Henderson, Dale Lovell
Chief Procrastinator Emeritus: Tom Jennings
Copyright 1990, Fido Software. All rights reserved. Duplication
and/or distribution permitted for noncommercial purposes only.
For use in other circumstances, please contact Fido Software.
FidoNews is published weekly by the System Operators of the
FidoNet (r) International BBS Network. It is a compilation of
individual articles contributed by their authors or authorized
agents of the authors. The contribution of articles to this
compilation does not diminish the rights of the authors.
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. 1:1/1 is a Continuous
Mail system, available for network mail 24 hours a day.
Fido and FidoNet are registered trademarks of Tom Jennings of
Fido Software, Box 77731, San Francisco CA 94107, USA and are
used with permission.
Opinions expressed in FidoNews articles are those of the authors
and are not necessarily those of the Editor or of Fido Software.
Most articles are unsolicited. Our policy is to publish every
responsible submission received.
Table of Contents
1. EDITORIAL ................................................ 1
Back from EuroCon ........................................ 1
2. ARTICLES ................................................. 3
EuroCon IV was GREAT ! Up to EuroCon V ! ................. 3
Region 1:17 FidoNet Conference Program ................... 6
Vega$Games -- A New Echomail Conference .................. 10
Conclave '90 Registration form ........................... 23
3. COLUMNS .................................................. 26
Talk Me Through It, Honey ................................ 26
4. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR .................................... 29
Zone 3 Echomail WORKS! ................................... 29
And more!
FidoNews 7-30 Page 1 23 Jul 1990
=================================================================
EDITORIAL
=================================================================
This past week, Bob Hartman and I had the pleasure of attending
the fourth European FidoNet Conference, held in Antwerp, Belgium.
As the only two Americans present, we had perhaps a more unique
perspective on the event than most attendees. As the FidoNews
editor, allow me to present a few of them.
First let's discuss the relative size of EuroCon versus
"FidoCon." I have attended three FidoCons and two EuroCons.
Based on that, it doesn't appear that the North American
conference enjoys any real advantage in terms of attendance or
location. Antwerp is as nice a place as you could ever hope to
be at night. There are more pubs there than... well, you know.
Then we can consider the relevance of technical content. There
were at least as many bona fide FidoNet software developers on
the technical track at EuroCon as I have seen at any such
conference. The discussions were frank, and constructive
proposals made. In my opinion the TechCon track was a big
success, and Jan Ceuleers should be proud of what he was able to
organize there.
Finally, there's the political part. For those of you who just
don't think you've had a good day until you've been into a battle
with some dweeb who doesn't know what he's talking about, EuroCon
came with two straight days of political hullabaloo. I
fortunately managed to miss nearly all of it. Others will be
along at some point soon with those details, including the latest
on the European FidoNet Assocation.
On the lighter side, for a few moments I was leading in the Hard
Disk throwing contest. Everyone seemed to think that was really
funny, since the prize was D'Bridge keys for my entire net. I
pointed out that since I was attending as 1:1/1, all of Zone 1
should get keys. Fortunately for Chris Irwin's market in North
America, a couple of powerful Italians were able to eclipse my
puny toss.
Next year, EuroCon is to be held in Italy. I was around for that
part of the political discussions. Most interesting. In Europe,
the organizing committee for a given year is made responsible for
examining proposals for the following year's conference. The
sole proposal received by the deadline was from Italy. After a
few procedural issues were resolved, Italy was approved by a vote
of 49 to 0, with 12 abstentions (most of them Italians). I think
that this particular way of doing things is one that should be
explored for FidoCon site selection.
FidoNews 7-30 Page 2 23 Jul 1990
Please don't get the idea that I'm trying to belittle the
conferences that have been held in North America. But those held
in Europe have proven to be of the same calibre, and deserve a
bit more attention than FidoNet at large seems to have given
them. Perhaps now that IFNA is about to succumb to the truth of
its nonexistence, we could consider having a "FidoCon" somewhere
outside of this continent.
If we do, I'll certainly do my best to be there.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
FidoNews 7-30 Page 3 23 Jul 1990
=================================================================
ARTICLES
=================================================================
Ward Dossche
2:2/999
ITALY, the land of sunshine, good wine, the Mundiale, pizza's,
spaghetti, ice-cream, beautiful women and ...
... EUROCON-V !!
This year, on April 21st to be exact, the EUROCON-IV Committee
placed the following (abbreviated) article in FidoNews to call
for candidates as host-country for EUROCON-V.
<QUOTE>
________ Call for candidates !
As in the past, the site of the next EUROCON will be appointed
by the last organising committee. Knowing how precious time
can be from our own experience (ever tried to get funding from
a national or local government or the European Community ?) the
EUROCONIV committee has decided to call for candidates for the
next EUROCON to be held in 1991 as of TODAY.
Provided there are candidates (!) we thus will be able to
appoint the EUROCONV site on july 15th, the last day of this
years convention.
The selection will be done by a popular vote between the
participants of EUROCONIV, out of a pre selected batch of
serious candidates meeting minimum standards as will be judged
necessary at that time.
________ How to post your candidacy ?
Simple : Send us by NetMail to 2:2/999 following information :
...
_________ And the deadline ?
Well, let's say July 1st, which gives us a fortnight to examine
your offer, and will keep your nerves not too long on the edge.
<UNQUOTE>
FidoNews 7-30 Page 4 23 Jul 1990
The same article was shortly after published in EMBBS as well,
and as a reminder was also broadcast via the Zone-2 echoes
ENET.SYSOP and EURO4.
So everybody operating a BBS anywhere in Europe at that time
was aware of the call for candidates to organize a EUROCON in
1991.
Now you can say many things about Italians, but do never accuse
them of not reading the FidoNet publications nor the
sysop-echoes, because they do.
Anyway, they complied with all the requirements put forward by
the EUROCON-IV Committee.
Moreover, it seemed to us that they had very good ideas about
things to do in 1991, so we proposed them as our candidate to
the plenum assembly of EUROCON-IV to vote.
Let us also stress that after the termination of that
subscription period up to the actual moment in the EUROCON-IV
programme where we were dealing with next years' location, no
other candidacy nor intention thereof reached the EUROCON-IV
Committee.
So, because :
- We had a valid candidate
- No objections, amendments nor modifications about or on the
selection- procedure were voiced - Because the Zone-2
coordinator had previously already approved the procedure
... a vote was taken among the sysops present at EUROCON-IV and the
procedure as outlined was followed completely, correctly and
democratically.
It is with great joy and pride that we therefor are able to
announce that EUROCON-V, the annual gathering of Zone-2
FidoNet-sysops during 1991, will be held in Italy after an
overwhelming majority of present Zone-2 sysops voted in its
favor.
In due time the Italian sysops will release all relevant
information as to the dates, site and preliminary programme via
the normal FidoNet channels.
The Italian Organizing Committee is at the moment composed as
follows :
Alberto Morosi 2:331/101
Domenico Cristofaro 2:334/800
FidoNews 7-30 Page 5 23 Jul 1990
Franco Carcillo 2:334/1
and Paolo Giulio Gialli 2:334/9
The EUROCON-IV Committee wishes them all the best of luck in
this venture and will support them whenever and wherever this
may be necessary.
See y'all next year at EUROCON-V in Italy.
On behalf of the EUROCON-IV Committee
Ward Dossche
Coordinator
-----------------------------------------------------------------
FidoNews 7-30 Page 6 23 Jul 1990
Region-1:17 FidoCon
Planned (ha ha) Program
27-29 July 1990
Friday 27 July - Evening
-------------------------
Check in / Registration packets
5:00pm Ken Zwaschka, Room 5, Wright Hall
Dinner
7:00pm Wright Hall Dining Room
R17 Echomail: Philosophy, Procedures, and Funding
8:00pm Wright Hall
As echomail is always a prominent topic, and we have had a
recent scare or two, it is worth discussing the philosophy,
procedures, and economics of how we move echomail within the
region.
General Socializing
Saturday 28 July - Day
--------------------------
Breakfast
8:00am Wright Hall Dining Room
Product Presentations
9:00am Wright Hall
(each will be time limited, this is not a commercial meeting)
o Hardware
At least one modem manufacturer will be announcing a new
product with interesting pricing and features
o FidoNetware
Fido's, Bink's, and Opus's hackers will be here
o Users may talk about those goodies whose authors/vendors
are not present
Libraries Online - Janet Murray
11:30am Wright Hall
Videotape "High Tech Tools: Info to Go" depicts Portland
Public high school students exploring technological access
to information. Online access to Library catalogs and
databases.
Lunch
12 Noon Wright Hall Dining Room
FidoNews 7-30 Page 7 23 Jul 1990
How we do it in Our Net
1:00pm Wright Hall
An R17Con tradition where some of the local nets describe
some of the unique aspects of technology, procedures,
financing, sex, ... in their local nets.
Using a FidoNet BBS in your Business
3:00pm Shade tree north of Wright Hall
Ken Zwaschka and friends describe successful uses of BBSing
for profitable public relations by small businesses.
Tricks of the Trade
4:00pm Wright Hall
Technical questions and answers. A select panel of techies
will answer questions (with help and jeering from the floor)
about netware, modems, and hiding the expenses from the SO.
Dinner
6:00pm Wright Hall Dining Room
General Socializing and the Curmudgeon Toss
Sunday 29 July - Morning
--------------------------
Breakfast
8:00am Wright Hall Dining Room
Plans for Next Year's Meeting
9:00am Wright Hall
Which net will be the victim?
When should it be held?
Cost and other constraints
General Gab and Wind-down and Other Things we've Forgotten
Diskette Toss if the wind is fairly still
Loosely Scheduled
--------------------------
Diskette Throwing Contest
This traditional hotly contested event will have to be
scheduled on an ad hoc basis, as the Columbia Gorge, though
beautiful, has frequent winds. Please remember that diskettes
must be unaltered 5.25" disks, and accuracy is more important
than distance.
Dweeb Throwing Contest
This new continuous event is open to both team and individual
FidoNews 7-30 Page 8 23 Jul 1990
players, but no points are awarded unless you can provoke the
dweeb into posting at least one embarrassingly inept echomail
flame first.
CURMUDGEON TOSS RULES at the
REGION 17 FIDONET(r) CONVENTION
(Thanks to Ken Zwaschka, 1:105/54)
1. "Curmudgeon Tossing" is a team sport. Teams may consist of
two or more individuals.
2. Since there is only one Curmudgeon, and there will certainly
be a large number of contestants, teams must provide their
own Curmudgeon Clone who meets the following criteria:
A. Must be a current *C in the FidoNet organization. Handicap
points will be awarded based on the *C's ranking: e.g. one
point for an N*C, 2 points for an R*C, etc.
B. Additional handicap points will be awarded for Curmudgeon
Clones attired in Levis, a flannel shirt, and Birkenstock
sandals (one point for each item.)
C. The Curmudgeon Clone must be a _WILLING_ participant,
prior to the beginning of the TOSS, and may withdraw to a
hot shower at any time.
3. Objective: TOSS the Curmudgeon Clone into the exact center of
the 30x75' pool from the "long" end. The Curmudgeon Clone can
help (by diving toward the center) - or hinder (depending on
HOW willingly s/he offered to participate.) Although not
against the rules, it is considered unCurmudgeonlike to
indicate - until the last minute - the degree of cooperation
the team can expect from the Curmudgeon Clone.
4. Each team will get three tries, with their best score counting.
5. Although points will be carefully logged, final standing will
be based on the totally subjective anarchical/dictatorial
decision of the Judgeon.
6. The JUDGEON will, of course, be the CURMUDGEON himself. No
decisions will be final, and can be disputed, debated, and
flamed endlessly without any resolution.
R17Con Committee:
Registration: Ken Zwaschka
Program: Randy Bush
Finance and Transportation: Lisa Gronke
Publicity: Janet Murray
FidoNews 7-30 Page 9 23 Jul 1990
-----------------------------------------------------------------
FidoNews 7-30 Page 10 23 Jul 1990
Dave Gardner
Fido 209/720
Vega$Games -- A New Echomail Conference
Have you ever come to Las Vegas -- or would you like to --
for a little rest and relaxation, or for the world-famous
Comdex trade show? How about your BBS callers? And while here,
do you like to get in a little gambling, or perhaps attend a
headliner show or two? Do you like to dine in some of the
town's finer restaurants or buffets? Or take in the local
sites like Lake Mead, the Valley of Fire, and Hoover Dam?
If so, then a new echomail conference, called Vega$Games, is
just right for your BBS.
Some of the sysops in Vega$Net (Net 209) have been busy lately,
creating and nurturing a new conference that originally dealt
only with gambling, but has now expanded to include anything to
do with our little corner of the U.S.A. It has already proven
popular with quite a few of the locals, and we have a pretty
active message base.
What will you and your callers find in Vega$Games? Information,
foremost. What are the odds on rolling an 11 in craps? How
about getting that Ace at the Blackjack table? Or what is the
best way to play -- and beat -- a slot machine? Knowledgeable
locals "in the know" will tell you how! And you can easily
discuss and debate the merits of a particular system as well.
What about entertainment values? Who's playing at the Mirage
this week, and how much does it cost, and is it worth going to?
What's the best production show around these days? And how about
that new band playing in the lounge at the Golden Nugget? You'll
find out fast in Vega$Games.
Want to know where to get the best steak in town after midnight?
Or how about lobster or prime rib, all at a price that's easy on
the wallet? Or something as simple as a good hot dog, to the
some of the finest and most expensive cuisine to be found in
town? It's all here in Vega$Games.
But Las Vegas isn't just about gambling. It's also the gateway
to some of the finest natural wonders of the Southwest. How far
is it to Hoover Dam? Can you fly to the Grand Canyon? Where's
the best fishing in the area? Can you go sailing too? These
questions and more all have answers in Vega$Games.
Get the lowdown on Las Vegas before you come -- subscribe to
Vega$Games today! Good for you, good for your callers, and
sure to be a hit. Send netmail to Dave Gardner, 209/720 for
a feed to this interesting and informative conference.
FidoNews 7-30 Page 11 23 Jul 1990
-----------------------------------------------------------------
FidoNews 7-30 Page 12 23 Jul 1990
Pablo Kleinman (4:900/101)
Latin American FidoNet Coordinator
July 20, 1990
"The Worldwide FidoNet Policy"
POLICY4 is already more than a year old, although it seems
that all the controversy that accompanied its voting happened
a long time ago.
During all this time, many things occurred in the network:
it grew intensively outside of North America, and democratic
elections for Coordinators were held successfully, all over the
world.
POLICY4 was conceived as a strict and very -extremely-
general policy to cover all the zones within FidoNet. But the
results were not what it's promoters expected: it became an
obstacle in many cases, especially outside of Zone ONE, and it's
anti-democratic concept of administration was discredited by
simple reality.
For the ones like me, that opposed it from the beginning,
the process of developing an alternative begun at the very
moment of its approval. Jason Steck in Zone ONE wrote a POLICY5
draft, Ron Dwight in Zone TWO also produced another draft, and
myself in Zone FOUR, wrote the first version of WorldPol back in
October of last year.
WorldPol introduced the idea of an "umbrella" international
policy document establishing the basic rules for FidoNet,
empowering each Zone to establish its own policy document,
according to its needs and customs.
A few minutes ago, the sixth revision of WorldPol was
published, and as the current policy document states, I already
began asking all the Region Coordinators to concede a new
referendum to decide whether POLICY4 should be replaced by
WorldPol.
Here follows the text of the proposed World Policy Document
for FidoNet (version 1f), published on July 20, 1990. Please
note that it's about one fifth the size of POLICY4.
Thanks for your time reading it.
FidoNet Worldwide Policy Document Version 1f
July 20, 1990
This Worldwide Policy document has been released for vote by
the Coordinator structure and is not yet in force.
FidoNews 7-30 Page 13 23 Jul 1990
1 FidoNet
This document establishes an international (inter-zonal) policy
for sysops who are members of the FidoNet organization of
bulletin board systems worldwide. FidoNet is defined by a list
of nodes (NodeList) issued on a weekly basis by each of the Zone
Coordinators, on behalf of the International Coordinator.
Each FidoNet Zone is authorized to issue its own policy
document, according to its own needs and customs. This
International Policy, sets general rules which must be specified
-and may not be contradicted- by the Zone Policies.
Regions and local Networks may also issue their own policies,
provided such policies do not contradict this International
Policy or the respective Zone's policy.
1.1 Overview
FidoNet is an amateur electronic mail system.
As such, all of its participants and operators are unpaid
volunteers. From its nearly beginning in 1984, as a few friends
swapping messages back and forth mainly in North America, it
consists now of an International community of more than seven
thousand systems in six continents.
FidoNet is not a common carrier or a value-added service
network and is a public network only as much as the independent,
constituent nodes may individually provide public access to the
network on their system.
FidoNet exists to provide electronic mail services to its
member sysops.
To efficiently provide such services, various structure and
control mechanisms are necessary. The structure is organized into
multiple nets, with decentralized administration.
This document describes all of the procedures at the
international level of FidoNet, as well as some general rules for
the lower levels (intra-zonal), developed to manage the network.
Authorities in the international level not defined by this
document, shall be defined by the Zone Coordinators Council and
the International Coordinator.
2 Language
Each zone has the right to determine its own official language.
At the international (inter-zonal) level, for practical
purposes, FidoNet adopts English as its official language. All
the FidoNet documents issued at the international level must
exist in English. Translation into other languages is encouraged.
FidoNews 7-30 Page 14 23 Jul 1990
3 Organization
The organizational structure of FidoNet, has been developed to
distribute the administration and control of FidoNet, to the
lowest possible level, while still allowing for coordinated
action over the entire system.
Effective administration is made possible by operating in a
top-down manner.
This means, that a person at any given level is responsible to
the level above, and responsible for administrating the level
below.
If a person at any level above sysop is unable to properly
perform their duties, the person at the next level may replace
them. For example, if a Region Coordinator fails to perform, the
Zone Coordinator may cause the Coordinator to be replaced.
Coordinators may also be removed by a majority vote of the level
below. For example, if network Coordinators in a region lose
faith in the ability of a Region Coordinator to effectively
perform, they may vote to have a new Coordinator appointed.
3.1 International Coordinator
The International Coordinator (IC) is the Executive Officer of
FidoNet.
This is the highest authority of the network's top-down
organization and coordinates the joint production of the master
nodelist by the Zone Coordinators. The International Coordinator
is responsible of creating new zones in FidoNet, but can only do
so with the approval of the Zone Coordinator Council.
The International Coordinator is selected by unanimous vote of
the Zone Coordinators, and removed by a majority vote of the Zone
Coordinators.
3.2 Zone Coordinator Council
The Zone Coordinator Council (ZCC) consists of the Zone
Coordinators -each having a single vote- and the International
Coordinator; in the event of a ZCC vote tie, the International
Coordinator may cast an additional vote to untie the election.
The Zone Coordinator Council is the legislative body of
FidoNet, it represents each of the zones in FidoNet. It is the
highest authority of the network's Top-Down organization.
3.3 Zones and Zone Coordinators
FidoNews 7-30 Page 15 23 Jul 1990
A zone is a geographic area containing one or many regions,
covering one or more countries.
The Zone Coordinator is the Executive Officer of the Zone, and
the zone's representative to the other zones.
The Zone Coordinator compiles the nodelists from all of the
regions in the zone, creates a master nodelist and a difference
file, which is then distributed over FidoNet within the zone. A
Zone Coordinator does not perform message-forwarding services for
any nodes in the zone, although the Zone Coordinator is
responsible for the formation and/or administration of one or
more zone-gates to provide interzone mail facilities.
The method used for selection of Zone coordinators is left to
the discretion of the relevant Zone Policy. In the absence of a
Zone Policy selection method, Zone Coordinators are elected and
removed by a majority vote of the Region Coordinators in the
Zone.
3.4 Regions and Region Coordinators
A Region is a well-defined geographic area containing nodes
which may or may not be combined into networks. A typical Region
will contain many nodes in networks, and a few independent nodes
which are not part of the network.
The Region Coordinator maintains the list of independent nodes
in the region, and accepts nodelists from the Network
Coordinators in the Region.
These are compiled to create a regional nodelist, which is sent
to the Zone Coordinator. A Region Coordinator may perform
message-forwarding services for any nodes in the region, but is
not forced to.
The method used for selection of Regional coordinators is left
to the discretion of the relevant Zone or Region Policy. In the
absence of such a policy selection method, Region Coordinators
are elected and removed by a majority vote of the NCs in the
Region.
3.5 Networks and Network Coordinators
A network is a group of nodes, normally in a local geographic
area. Networks coordinate their mail activity to decrease cost.
The Network Coordinator is responsible for maintaining the list
of nodes for the network, and for forwarding netmail sent to
members of the network from other FidoNet nodes. The Network
Coordinator may make arrangements to handle outgoing netmail, but
is not required to do so.
FidoNews 7-30 Page 16 23 Jul 1990
The method used for selection of Network coordinators is left
to the discretion of the relevant Zone/Region/Net Policy. In the
absence of such a policy selection method, Network Coordinators
are elected and removed by a majority vote of the Nodes in the
Network.
3.5.1 Network Routing Hubs
Network Routing Hubs exist only in some networks. They may be
appointed by the Network Coordinator, in order to assist the
management (especially routing tasks) of the network.
3.6 Individual systems (Nodes)
The smallest subdivision of FidoNet is the individual system,
corresponding to a single entry in the nodelist. The system
operator (SysOp) formulates a policy for running the board and
dealing with the users. The sysop must mesh with the rest of the
FidoNet system to receive and send mail, and the local policy
must be consistent with other levels of FidoNet.
3.6.1 Users of an individual system
The sysop is responsible for the actions of any user when they
affect the rest of FidoNet (i.e. if the user is annoying, the
sysop is annoying). The users have no rights under this policy
document.
3.6.2 Points
A point is a system that is not in the nodelist, but
communicates with FidoNet through a node defined to as bossnode.
A point is generally regarded in the same manner as a user and,
for example, the bossnode is responsible for mail from the point.
Points are addressed using the bossnode's nodelist address; for
example, a point system with a bossnode of 125/111 might be known
as 125/111.6. Mail sent to the point will be sent to the
bossnode, which then routes it to the point.
Point operators are not FidoNet members, they are only users of
a FidoNet node, as any other regular user; they have no rights
under this policy document.
4 General Procedures for All Coordinators
4.1 Making Available Difference Files and Nodelist
FidoNews 7-30 Page 17 23 Jul 1990
Each Coordinator is responsible for obtaining and making
available for file request and download by users, on a weekly
basis, nodelist difference files and complete nodelists.
4.2 Processing Nodelist Changes and Passing Them Upstream
Each Coordinator is responsible for obtaining nodelist
information from the level below, processing it, and passing the
results to the level above.
The timing of this process is determined by the requirements
imposed by the level above.
4.3 Ensure the Latest Policy is Available
A Coordinator is responsible to make the current version of the
International Policy available to the level below, and to
encourage familiarity with it.
4.4 Minimize the Number of Hats Worn
Coordinators are encouraged to limit the number of
FidoNet-related Coordinator functions they perform. A Coordinator
who holds two different positions, compromises the appeal
process. For example, is the Network Coordinator is also the
Region Coordinator, sysops in that network are denied one level
of appeal.
Multiple hats are also discouraged due to the difficulty of
replacing services when a coordinator leaves the net.
4.5 Be a Member of the Area Administered
A Coordinator must be a member of the area administered. This
is, a Network Coordinator must be a member of that network by
virtue of geography.
A Region Coordinator must be either a member of a network in the
region, or an independent in a region.
4.6 Encourage New Sysops to Enter FidoNet
A Coordinator is encouraged to operate a public bulletin board
system which is freely available for the purpose of distributing
Policy and Nodelists to potential new sysops. Dissemination of
this information to persons who are potential FidoNet sysops is
important to the growth of FidoNet, and Coordinators should
encourage development of new systems.
FidoNews 7-30 Page 18 23 Jul 1990
4.7 Tradition and Precedent
A Coordinator is not bound by the practices of predecessor.
However, it must be clear that Coordinators are bound by all
requirements of this document, both as FidoNet sysops and as
Coordinators. The holding of a Coordinator title does not grant
license to annoy others or to flaunt policy.
4.8 Technical Management
The primary responsibility of any Coordinator is technical
management of network operations. Decisions SHOULD be made only
on technical grounds. A Coordinator has the responsibility to act
as objectively as possible; objectivity must be considered an
essential factor when making a decision.
4.9 Exclusivity of Zone Mail Hour
Zone Mail Hour is the heart of FidoNet, as this is when network
mail is passed between systems. Any system which wishes to be a
part of FidoNet must be able to receive mail during this time
using the protocol defined in the current FidoNet Technical
Standards Committee publication (FTS-0001 at this writing). It
is permissible to have greater capability (for example, to
support additional protocols or extended mail hours), but the
minimum requirement is FTS-0001 capability during this one hour
of the day.
This time is exclusively reserved for netmail. Many phone
systems charge on a per-call basis, regardless of whether a
connect, no connect, or busy signal is encountered. For this
reason, any activity other than normal network mail processing
that ties up a system during ZMH is considered annoying behavior.
User (BBS) access to a system is prohibited during ZMH.
Zone Mail Hour will be defined by each Zone Policy. In the
absence of a Zone Policy, it will be defined by the Zone
Coordinator.
5. Election and Referendum Procedures
Any election or referendum at any level of FidoNet, must be
democratic.
Each zone will issue its own election procedures, which must be
approved by the Zone Coordinator Council before implementation.
If a worldwide election, with the participation of all zones,
is to be held, the Zone Coordinator Council will determine the
election procedures.
FidoNews 7-30 Page 19 23 Jul 1990
6 Policy Referenda
6.1 International Policy
A referendum on International Policy modification is invoked by
the International Coordinator upon request from a majority of the
Zone Coordinators, or a majority of the Region Coordinators of
all zones, or a majority of the Network Coordinators of all
zones.
All the members of FidoNet are entitled to vote on an
International Policy referendum, which is to be held according to
the procedures described by the Zone Coordinator Council before
the election is called.
6.2 Zone Policy
A referendum on Zone Policy modification is invoked by the Zone
Coordinator, by a majority vote of the Region Coordinators in the
zone, or by a majority vote of the Network Coordinators in the
zone.
All the members of the zone are entitled to vote on a Zone
Policy referendum, which is to be held according to the
procedures described on the Zone Policy. If such document does
not exist, the procedures will be determined by the Zone
Coordinator with the approval of the Zone Coordinator Council.
The formulation of Region and Network Policy documents is
encouraged, and must be regulated by the Zone Policy documents in
each zone.
7 Resolution of Disputes
The FidoNet judicial philosophy can be summed up in two rules:
1) Thou shalt not excessively annoy others.
2) Thou shalt not become excessively annoyed.
The parties involved in a dispute are encouraged to solve their
problems directly, without the intervention of a Coordinator.
7.1 Mediation Requests
Any of the parties involved may request the intervention of the
respective Coordinator: Network Coordinator if a dispute between
members of the same network, Region Coordinator if a dispute
between members of different networks on the same region; Zone
Coordinator if a dispute between members of different regions on
the same zone; International Coordinator if a dispute between
members of different zones.
FidoNews 7-30 Page 20 23 Jul 1990
The Coordinator requested as "mediator", will ask each party to
provide all the information before two weeks from the request and
will make a decision within forty-five days after he received all
the information from the involved parties.
A Coordinator, unable to resolve a dispute, may name a third
party to act as "mediator", provided the parties involved in the
dispute agree.
7.2 Appealing to a Mediator's Decision
A mediator's decision may be appealed to the immediately
superior level if considered unfair: Region Coordinators handle
appeals from decisions made by Network Coordinators; Zone
Coordinators handle appeals from decision made by Region
Coordinators; The International Coordinator handles appeals from
decisions made by the Zone Coordinators; and the Zone Coordinator
Council will handle appeals from decisions made by the
International Coordinator, being the Zone Coordinator Council's
resolutions, unappealable.
For appealing to a decision made by a third person named by a
Coordinator to act as mediator, it will be as if the Coordinator
made the resolution and the previously enumerated sequence of
appealing will be appropriate.
For appealing to a decision made by a mediator, the same terms
and procedures as for any Mediation Request apply.
7.3 Statute of Limitations
A mediation request may not be filed more than 60 days after
the date of discovery of the source of the infraction, either by
admission or technical discovery of the source of an infraction,
either by admission or technical evidence. Mediation requests may
not be filed more than 120 days after the incident, unless they
involve suspected unlawful behavior.
7.4 Echomail
Each FidoNet Zone is encouraged to establish it's Zone Policy
concerning the manner of handling Echomail and the resolution of
disputes arising from such distribution.
8 "CCCC": Comments, Changes, Credits and Copyright!
This section will be automatically removed upon approval of this
document.
FidoNews 7-30 Page 21 23 Jul 1990
8.1 Comments on Implementation
This document is not final; FidoNet sysops are encouraged to
make suggestions for changes, as well as comments, which can be
addressed to FidoNet node 4:4/50 (The Policy5 Project).
This World Policy will be adopted according to the mechanisms
provided on the present policy document.
8.2 Changes from Version 1 to Version 1b
* Better definition of the role of the International
Coordinator; more power given to the IC.
* The IC can now vote on the ZCC and votes twice to untie an
election if necessary.
* Bug fixed on point definitions.
* Changed the term "vote of trust" to "vote of confidence".
* Definition and acceptance of resolution of disputes not
based on technical grounds.
* Region Coordinators and Network Coordinators may now request
a referendum on International Policy too; modification on
ZCC referendum request.
* Modification on IC election.
* Modification on policy referendums; definition of Region and
Network Policy referendums added.
8.3 Changes from Version 1b to Version 1c
* Several syntactic corrections made.
* Drastic reduction on the rules affecting administration
internal to each zone.
* Elimination of the "FidoNet Vote Casting Policy" idea.
* More independence granted to zones for regulation.
8.4 Changes from Version 1c to Version 1d
* More flexible policy regarding elections of coordinators.
* Region Coordinators are now "officially allowed" to forward
net-mail.
* Elimination of the paragraph referring to "Politics in
FidoNet" as well as some related references.
* Inclusion of Zone Mail hour and FTS-0001 definitions.
* "Polishing" of some parts of the text.
8.5 Changes from Version 1d to Version 1e
* Tomas Gradin had a "special way" to let himself be heard. He
FidoNews 7-30 Page 22 23 Jul 1990
was listened to, and he made it to the document (thanks in
part to Ron Dwight).
* IC's participation in a ZCC vote was altered.
8.6 Changes from Version 1e to Version 1f
* Jan Stozek discovered a "bug" in the definition of Region
Coordinators, now fixed.
8.7 Credits
Here I list the names of some individuals that had some direct
or indirect influence in the shaping of this text (in
alphabetical order):
- Raul Artaza (4:900/106)
- Bill Bolton (3:711/403)
- Steve Bonine (1:115/777)
- Randy Bush (1:105/6)
- Billy Coen (4:900/110)
- Daniel Docekal (2:42/0)
- Tomas Gradin (2:200/108)
- Alejandro Hopkins (4:900/211)
- Tom Jennings (1:125/111)
- Rick Moore (1:115/333)
- George Peace (1:270/101)
- Jan Stozek (2:480/2)
- Matt Whelan (3:712/627)
- Gustavo Zacarias (4:900/202)
Special thanks go to Ron Dwight (2:515/1), for his enthusiastic
cooperation.
8.7 Temporary Copyright
This document is Copyright (C) 1990 by Pablo Kleinman.
Todos los Derechos Reservados / All Rights Reserved.
This document is protected under international copyright laws.
Unauthorized use is subject to criminal prosecution.
Disclaimer: This document was written by a Spanish-speaking
individual, that uses English as a second language. If you find
any semantic, morphologic or syntactic errors, please forgive.
TOTAL: 3105 WORDS!
-----------------------------------------------------------------
FidoNews 7-30 Page 23 23 Jul 1990
The Secret Sysop Society presents __
*** Conclave '90 *** / \
The SYSOPS Convention /|oo \
Home of FidoCon 1990 (_| /_)
Lyndhurst, New Jersey _`@/_ \ _
August 1-5, 1990 | | \ \\
| (*) | \ ))
______ |__U__| / \//
/ Fido \ _//|| _\ /
(________) (_/(_|(____/ (tm)
Rate Plan Schedule: (Hotel rooms cannot be guaranteed if you
register after July 1st!)
A. Single Occupancy...................$545.00
B. Double Occupancy...................$400.00
C. Conference w/ meals................$250.00
D. Conference w/ Banquet..............$105.00
E. Conference only.....................$75.00
F. Banquet only........................$30.00
G. Registrant & Spouse................$670.00
Plans A B & G include all conference and hotel fees and meals.
You must pay by Check, Money Order, or Credit Card. Please send
no cash. All monies must be in U.S. Funds. Checks should be
made out to: "Conclave '90"
The following registration form must be completed and mailed to:
PO Box 12
Lyndhurst, NJ 07071
You may register by Netmailing this completed form to 1:1/90 for
processing. Rename it to ZNNNXXXX.REG where Z is your Zone
number, N is your Net number, and X is your Node number. US Mail
confirmation is required within 72 hours of electronic filing.
If you are paying by credit card, please include the required
information. For your own security, do not route any message
with your credit card number on it. Crash it directly to 1:1/90.
The official Conclave '90 airline is American Airlines.
American offers a 5% discount the lowest applicable round-trip
fare, including 1st class travel, subject to availability of
inventory. All fare rules and restrictions apply. In addition,
American offers 40% off their round trip unrestricted day coach
fare. International travelers qualify for special benefits,
including complimentary admittance to the Admiral's Club Lounge
at any American Airlines terminal. Newark is an American Air-
lines city with direct flights to most major cities. When making
reservations, you must call American's Toll-free reservation
number at 800-433-1790, and reference Star number 13704F.
FidoNews 7-30 Page 24 23 Jul 1990
F I D O - C O N '90 R E G I S T R A T I O N F O R M
Name: __________________________________________________________
Address: _____________________________ Apt. or Suite: _________
City: _________________________ State or Province: ____________
Postal Code: __________________ Country: ______________________
Voice Phone: ______________________ Data: _____________________
Zone:Net/Node.Point@Domain: ____________________________________
Special requirements: __________________________________________
+---------------+---------------------+-----+----------+-------+
| Option | Full | | | Line |
|(Choose 1: A-G)| Name | Qty | Pricing | Total |
+---------------+---------------------+-----+----------+-------+
| PLAN A** | | | $545.00 | |
+---------------+---------------------+-----+----------+-------+
| PLAN B** | | | $400.00 | |
+---------------+---------------------+-----+----------+-------+
| PLAN C | | | $250.00 | |
+---------------+---------------------+-----+----------+-------+
| PLAN D | | | $105.00 | |
+---------------+---------------------+-----+----------+-------+
| PLAN E | | | $ 75.00 | |
+---------------+---------------------+-----+----------+-------+
| PLAN F | | | $ 30.00 | |
+---------------+---------------------+-----+----------+-------+
| PLAN G** | | | $620.00 | |
+===============+=====================+=====+==========+=======+
|*NJ Beach Trip | | | $ 24.50 | |
+---------------+---------------------+-----+----------+-------+
|*Eve. NYC Tour | | | $ 37.50 | |
+---------------+---------------------+-----+----------+-------+
|*NYC Shop Tour | | | $ 36.50 | |
+---------------+---------------------+-----+----------+-------+
|*Medieval Times| | | $ 50.00 | |
+---------------+---------------------+-----+----------+-------+
** includes registration, Hotel, and meals | Total $ | |
* Requires Pre-registration (before 7/1) +==========+=======+
MC _____ Visa _____ Card Number: _____________________________
Expiration: ___________ Signature _____________________________
( Credit card registrations require valid signature )
-----------------------------------------------------------------
FidoNews 7-30 Page 25 23 Jul 1990
-----------------------------------------------------------------
FidoNews 7-30 Page 26 23 Jul 1990
=================================================================
COLUMNS
=================================================================
Henry Clark
124/6120
The Sunday Comics --
This is one of those little GEMS that comes around once in a
great while. Thanks Aaron.
06 Jul 90 18:22:00
From: aaron schmiedel
To: All
Subj: Echomail Policy v 1.00
After much thinking:
(####)
(#######)
(#########)
(#########)
(#########)
(#########)
(#########)
(#########)
(########)
_____ (#########)>
/ \ (#########) |\/\/\/|
\/\/ | (#########) | |
| (o)(o) (o)(o)(##) | |
C .---_) ,_C (##) | (o)(o)
| |.___| /____, (##) C _)
| \__/ \ (#) | ,___|
/_____\ | | | /
/_____/ \ OOOOOO /____\
/ \ / \ / \
/\ /\ /\ /\
| V \/ \---. .----/ \----.
\_ / \ /
(o)(o) <__. .--\ (o)(o) /__.
_C / \ () /
/____, ) \ > (C_) <
\ /----' /___\____/___\
ooooo /| |\
/ \ / \
For all of you poor souls who aren't subject to the FOX NETWORK
television irradiation, these characters are the Simpsons. Cool
your jets, Dude !
FidoNews 7-30 Page 27 23 Jul 1990
Deadbeat Club --
Aaaahhhhh. Vacation started Friday at 8pm, and I'm not going
anywhere.
Honey, on the other hand, is taking the kid to DaneLand, so
that gives me three whole weeks to do exactly what I want.
Bliss.
Well, except there is so much to do. I see a new BinkleyTerm
is out, got to get that modified and installed. I had some
changes to the previous version; call timers and RINGING
counters. I may even get around to stuffing in OPUS 1.10.
Then there are the various 'second jobs' I need to get finished
up on. Should have plenty of time for those, except that the
boys at the office know I'm home, and will probably call
anyway.
I need to get out to Santa Barbara to visit my sister. They
had that huge fire, and it look like a bunch of PCs got burned
up. My brother-in-law runs a computer sales business, and he
needs some help.
Add to that the big list of Honey-Dews ( Honey do this, and do
that ) around the house. I am living on Channel Z.
"Space junk, ozone holes, laser bombs, better put my umbrella."
Holy Chipset, Batman --
I like to pull out a little chart for my semi-knowledgable
co-workers, it looks a little like this :
1983 86 4 Mh
1985 286 8 Mh
1987 386 16 Mh
1989 386 33 Mh
1991 486 ??
If we get a jump like '85 to '87, the ?? would be 60 Mh. If
the jump is like '87 to '89, it may only be 33 Mh. You say
"Hey wait, this is 1990", you are right, but what I didn't list
was the base price of US $5000. Interesting isn't it.
Honey Trap --
All you 'drenger' in Daneland, here's the scoop. Call up
42-454247 and ask for Helle. Then say something nice, like
"Velkommen hjem from 'ACE'".
FidoNews 7-30 Page 28 23 Jul 1990
-----------------------------------------------------------------
FidoNews 7-30 Page 29 23 Jul 1990
=================================================================
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
=================================================================
From: Simon Foster of 3:712/265.0
To: Vince Perriello of 1/1.0
Subj: Letter to the Editor.
Volume 7, Number 27 2 July 1990
Is our Echo Mail Broken?
And How long has it been this way?
I live in Region 18. I am very fortunate because I have two
...
participants. Are we sewing the mouth shut on our guest
speakers?
by Kenneth "Kevin" Snively
1:116/24 EET BBS
1:116/29 the Dawg Byte
1:116/28 The Nashville HUB System
The above (truncated :-)) article appeared in FIDONews 7-27 about
the unreliability of EchoMail in 1:18 and I think this is an
appropriate time to bring up the condition of EchoMail and
NetMail routing within Zone 3.
I would like to take this oppurtunity to thank all involved with
routing netmail and providing echomail within Zone 3. It has
always been impecable and never gets censored (eh, Jenny :-)).
There has never been any difficulties whatsoever in the
distribution of echomail and all and sundry have been helpful and
courteous from my experience.
Since I have only been nodelisted since the beginning of this
year I do not know who set up Zone 3 and gave it such a good
ground work of RC, NC and HUBs to allow such smooth Echo and
NetMail but wish to give a hearty thanx to all who did for
allowing Zone 3 to be free of the problems that 'Kevin' Snively
and his fellow Region 18'ers have experienced.
Regs,
Simon
PS A reply as to whether this mail reached you or not would be
greatly appreciated as I don't trust Zone 1 mail routing :-(
[Editor's note: The Zone 1 routing seems to have worked. My
sincerest thanks to all those in Zone 1 who made it possible.]
FidoNews 7-30 Page 30 23 Jul 1990
-----------------------------------------------------------------
FidoNews 7-30 Page 31 23 Jul 1990
=================================================================
LATEST VERSIONS
=================================================================
Latest Software Versions
MS-DOS Systems
--------------
Bulletin Board Software
Name Version Name Version Name Version
DMG 2.93* Phoenix 1.3 TAG 2.5e*
Fido 12s+ QuickBBS 2.64* TBBS 2.1
Lynx 1.30 RBBS 17.3A* TComm/TCommNet 3.4
Kitten 2.16 RBBSmail 17.3A* Telegard 2.5*
Maximus 1.00 RemoteAccess .03* TPBoard 6.1*
Opus 1.12+* SLBBS 1.76* Wildcat! 2.15*
PCBoard 14.2* Socrates 1.00 XBBS 1.13
Network Node List Other
Mailers Version Utilities Version Utilities Version
BinkleyTerm 2.40* EditNL 4.00 ARC 6.02
D'Bridge 1.30 MakeNL 2.20 ARCAsim 2.30*
Dutchie 2.90C ParseList 1.30 ARCmail 2.07
FrontDoor 1.99c* Prune 1.40 ConfMail 4.00
PRENM 1.47 SysNL 3.11 Crossnet v1.5*
SEAdog 4.51b XlatList 2.90 EMM 2.02
TIMS 1.0(Mod8)* XlaxDiff 2.35* Gmail 2.05
XlaxNode 2.35* GROUP 2.16
GUS 1.30
INTERPCB 1.20*
LHARC 1.13
MSG 4.1*
MSGED 1.99
PK[UN]ZIP 1.10*
QM 1.0
QSORT 4.03
Sirius 1.0w*
SLMAIL 1.35*
StarLink 1.01
TagMail 2.20
TCOMMail 2.2
Telemail 1.20*
TMail 1.15
TPBNetEd 3.2
TosScan 1.00*
UFGATE 1.03
XRS 3.40*
ZmailQ 1.10
FidoNews 7-30 Page 32 23 Jul 1990
Macintosh
---------
Bulletin Board Software Network Mailers Other Utilities
Name Version Name Version Name Version
Red Ryder Host v2.1b10 Tabby 2.2 MacArc 0.04
Mansion 7.15 Copernicus 1.0d* ArcMac 1.3
WWIV (Mac) 3.0 StuffIt 1.51
FBBS 0.91* TImport 1.331
Hermes 0.88* TExport 1.32
Timestamp 1.6
Tset 1.3
Import 3.2
Export 3.21
Sundial 3.2
PreStamp 3.2
OriginatorII 2.0
AreaFix 1.6
Mantissa 3.21
Zenith 1.5
UNZIP 1.02b
Amiga
-----
Bulletin Board Software Network Mailers Other Utilities
Name Version Name Version Name Version
Paragon 2.06+ BinkleyTerm 1.00 AmigArc 0.23
TrapDoor 1.50* AReceipt 1.5*
WelMat 0.35 booz 1.01
ConfMail 1.10
ChameleonEdit 0.10
ElectricHerald1.66*
Lharc 1.10
MessageFilter 1.52*
oMMM 1.49b
ParseLst 1.30
PkAX 1.00
PK[UN]ZIP 1.01
PolyxAmy 2.02*
RMB 1.30
TrapList 1.12*
UNzip 0.86
Yuck! 1.61*
Zoo 2.00
Atari ST
FidoNews 7-30 Page 33 23 Jul 1990
--------
Bulletin Board Software Network Mailer Other Utilities
Name Version Name Version Name Version
FIDOdoor/ST 1.5c* BinkleyTerm 1.03g3 ConfMail 1.00
Pandora BBS 2.41c The BOX 1.20 ParseList 1.30
QuickBBS/ST 0.40 ARC 6.02*
GS Point 0.61 LHARC 0.51
LED ST 0.10*
BYE 0.25*
PKUNZIP 1.10
MSGED 1.96S
SRENUM 6.2
Trenum 0.10
OMMM 1.40
Archimedes
----------
BBS Software Mailers Utilities
Name Version Name Version Name Version
ARCbbs 1.44* BinkleyTerm 2.03* Unzip 2.1TH
ARC 1.03
!Spark 2.00d*
ParseLst 1.30
BatchPacker 1.00*
+ Netmail capable (does not require additional mailer software)
* 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 7-30 Page 34 23 Jul 1990
=================================================================
NOTICES
=================================================================
The Interrupt Stack
27 Jul 1990
The beginning of the REGION 17 Convention at Menucha Resort in
the Columbia Gorge, Oregon. For details contact Ken Zwaschka,
1:105/54.
1 Aug 1990
Start of FidoCon '90. Contact Bill Vanglahn at 1:1/90 for
details.
2 Aug 1990
Felix Kasza's girlfriend Telia returns from a lengthy trip to
Brazil. Don't count on hearing much from him for about a week.
17 Aug 1990
Start of first ever Searchlight SysOps convention in Chicago, IL.
Contact Marge Robbins at 1:283/120 for details.
5 Oct 1990
21st Anniversary of "Monty Python's Flying Circus"
6 Nov 1990
First anniversary of Van Diepen Automatiseert, 2:500/28
14 Nov 1990
Marco Maccaferri's 21rd Birthday. Send greetings to him at
2:332/16.0
1 Jan 1991
Implementation of 7% Goods and Services Tax in Canada. Contact
Joe Lindstrom at 1:134/55 for a more colorful description.
16 Feb 1991
Fifth anniversary of the introduction of Echomail, by Jeff Rush.
7 Oct 1991
Area code 415 fragments. Alameda and Contra Costa Counties
will begin using area code 510. This includes Oakland,
Concord, Berkeley and Hayward. San Francisco, San Mateo,
Marin, parts of Santa Clara County, and the San Francisco Bay
Islands will retain area code 415.
1 Feb 1992
Area code 213 fragments. Western, coastal, southern and
eastern portions of Los Angeles County will begin using area
FidoNews 7-30 Page 35 23 Jul 1990
code 310. This includes Los Angeles International Airport,
West Los Angeles, San Pedro and Whittier. Downtown Los
Angeles and surrounding communities (such as Hollywood and
Montebello) will retain area code 213.
5 Jun 1997
David Dodell's 40th Birthday
If you have something which you would like to see on this
calendar, please send a message to FidoNet node 1:1/1.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
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