395 lines
18 KiB
Plaintext
395 lines
18 KiB
Plaintext
F I D O N E W S -- Vol.13 No.11 (11-Mar-1996)
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+----------------------------+-----------------------------------------+
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| A newsletter of the | ISSN 1198-4589 Published by: |
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| FidoNet BBS community | "FidoNews" BBS |
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| _ | +1-519-570-4176 |
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| / \ | |
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| /|oo \ | |
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| (_| /_) | |
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| _`@/_ \ _ | |
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| | | \ \\ | Editors: |
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| | (*) | \ )) | Donald Tees 1:221/192 |
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| |__U__| / \// | |
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| _//|| _\ / | |
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| (_/(_|(____/ | |
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| (jm) | Newspapers should have no friends. |
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| | -- JOSEPH PULITZER |
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+----------------------------+-----------------------------------------+
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| Submission address: editors 1:1/23 |
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+----------------------------------------------------------------------+
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| MORE addresses: |
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| |
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| submissions=> editor@exlibris.tdkcs.waterloo.on.ca |
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| Don -- don@exlibris.tdkcs.waterloo.on.ca |
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+----------------------------------------------------------------------+
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| For information, copyrights, article submissions, |
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| obtaining copies of fidonews or the internet gateway faq |
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| please refer to the end of this file. |
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+----------------------------------------------------------------------+
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========================================================================
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Table of Contents
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========================================================================
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1. Editorial..................................................... 1
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2. Articles...................................................... 2
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Free Listings in the Encyclopedia of Associations........... 2
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Use It or Lose It........................................... 3
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Prime Directive............................................. 4
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The Death Of Fidonet, Revisited............................. 5
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3. Fidonews Information.......................................... 7
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========================================================================
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Editorial
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========================================================================
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FidoNews 13-11 Page: 2 11 Mar 1996
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Two weeks ago, I wrote an editorial that concluded with:
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It would be real nice to have a migration
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pattern. I want to hook in and get mail at
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dtees@fidonet.org. I want my users to get
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mail at joe_smith@exlibris.fidonet.org.
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There have been several articles since, but the gist of the
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articles has been "you are right, we have to change". My
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response is less than enthusiastic. "Yes, I know, it is
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obvious. *How* do we change". A much more difficult question
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altogether.
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Internet, of course, is a net of nets. We are a net. One
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of the largest in the world, in fact. So why are we not members
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of internet? Because our mail is incompatible. How can we
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get it compatible? There are only two methods: create it as
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comaptible, or convert it.
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Creating it compatible is the cleanest, and probably the
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easiest. Take a PC, plug in LINUX. Everybody converts. We
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hook up using the same routing. We tear out our hair for a few
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months, maybe run both ways on different days of the week for a
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while. I can hear the screams of anguish already.
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But you know, we are sysops. We have already organized a
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world wide communications network, and a world wide net newspaper.
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No other non-governmental organization has ever accomplished
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what we have. If we cannot figure out a way to use that
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creation to organize a conversion, then we are a bunch of damned
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fools.
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Given 32,000 helpers, I do not even envision a big problem.
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We have the buying power to set up a load and go conversion CD
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if we can decide what we want as a starting point. I *know*
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that there are people in this net are capable of setting
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something like that up.
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There are other methods as well. But like it or not, we are
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going to have to change. There is no new software being
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written. The hardware is running out. It is time to bite the bullet
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and face reality.
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========================================================================
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Articles
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========================================================================
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Free Listings in the Encyclopedia of Associations
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by Nigel Allen (1:250/438) ndallen@io.org
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Free Listings in the Encyclopedia of Associations
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People who start new new non-profit associations (including
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othernets, lobbying groups and associations having nothing to do
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with BBSes) should get their group listed, free of charge, in
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FidoNews 13-11 Page: 3 11 Mar 1996
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the Encyclopedia of Associations, so that prospective members,
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journalists and researchers can get in touch with them.
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Groups based in the U.S. should write to the following address
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and ask to be listed:
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Editor
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Encyclopedia of Associations
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Gale Research Inc.
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835 Penobscot Building
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Detroit, MI 48226-4094
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Telephone (313) 961-2242
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Fax (313) 961-6815
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Groups based outside the United States should instead get listed
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in International Organizations, a directory published by the same
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company. Its address is:
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Editor
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International Organizations
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Gale Research Inc.
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835 Penobscot Building
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Detroit, MI 48226-4094
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U.S.A.
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Telephone +1 313 961-2242
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Fax +1 313 961-6815
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As well, groups based outside the United States may also want to
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get listed in single-country association directories published
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in their own country, such as the Directory of Associations in
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Canada. Any librarian should be able to tell you how to get in
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touch with your country's national association directory, if
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one exists.
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Most large libraries have a copy of the Encyclopedia of
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Associations in hard copy or CD-ROM, but it is probably too
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expensive for someone to buy for home use.
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See also my Web page, http://www.io.org/~ndallen/
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----------------------------------------------------------------------
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Use It or Lose It
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From: Eric Gray (1:300/507)
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Use It or Lose It.
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The next six months will determine the fate of Fidonet. Two years
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ago I saw the handwriting on the wall and started actively seeking
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other networks and starting some echos of my own. Last year Circuit
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Net broke w/years of the status quo and changed their software to
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allow non Spitfire systems to join their net. Last year the
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internet grew at the rate of 2 million users per month. The only
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reason Fidonet is still alive today is the dedication of the
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individual sysops who have taken the steps needed to keep their
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boards as fresh and exciting as possible.
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FidoNews 13-11 Page: 4 11 Mar 1996
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But Fido has sat stagnant for almost 4 years now. In the next six
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months we will either bury it, or Fido will explode again as it did
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8 years ago.
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The changes that will make this happen are:
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Voting by member sysops for all positions w/in Fido.
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Changing technology slightly to have HOURLY turn-around on msgs
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sending.
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Supplementing the system to allow the movement of files w/in 24
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hours from the request of any user on any Fido Sysop's board.
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A User and A Sysop "Bill of Fido Rights" to be "hashed out" by the
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member sysops and users and voted upon by each sysop, w/any
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"right" gaining over 2/3rd affirmative vote being put into the
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"Bill of Fido Rights."
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Sure those running Fidonet now could say "It's worked for years
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this way, there's no need to change it." But then, that's what they
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said about the typewriter, the LP, and the light bulb. Make no
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mistake, Fidonet is at the root of the Internet and computer
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communications explosion, but if Fido doesn't keep up w/the people,
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it'll die.
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eric
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1:300/507,
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or egray@daystar.org
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----------------------------------------------------------------------
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Prime Directive
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by Bill Whitehouse
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After 8 years, the fido policy I continue to find most appealing is
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its 'promote the growth of network' prime directive, a requirement that
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assumes like any other living organism or human enterprise, unless fido
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grows, fido dies...
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Snooze editor Donald Tees is right, my fellow fidonuts. The numbers
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confirm it. Fidonet is dying.
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Blaming our appointed coordinators is all too easy. They've long
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since ceased to promote the growth of this network, unless they can
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self-promote every last dime out of it. Witness the fact that with 4
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primary North American fido vendors, the oaficial area lists now reflect
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reality for only one of them.
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No, our coordinators are only a symptom. We've seen the enemy and
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the real enemy is us. Remember those quaint days of yesteryear when many
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feared the phone company megaliths would finally contrive to shut down
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bbsing forever?
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We've forgotten why we're here, what makes fido unique. We belong
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FidoNews 13-11 Page: 5 11 Mar 1996
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to a network that belongs to all of us, and anyone else who cares to add
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their resources to the collective whole.
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The internet, by contrast, is a cold, barren place, populated by
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anonymous geeks with no sense of community, stumbling around computers
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they do not own, resources in whose management they have no say. No
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one's responsible. Everyone's vulnerable. And they're squandering a
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fortune.
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This - fidonet - is personal. As in 'personal computer'? We each
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control our own small part of it. We built it. It's ours. Fidonet has
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earned and deserves a place in the future of the networked world.
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Speaking as one bbs obsessive to another, I urge you to promote it
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with the zeal of a Jehovah's Witness. Please don't give up.
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Bill
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(1:323/3@fidonet) - Radio Free Echomail
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----------------------------------------------------------------------
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The Death Of Fidonet, Revisited...
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Kurt Weiske
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realitycheckBBS (Fidonet 1:161/418)
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The continual death knell for Fidonet, well, it continues. here's yet
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another 2 cents added to the discussion...
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Fidonet for all intents and purposes is not DYING, but there is
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competition from usenet, the internet in general, othernets using
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Fido-Technology networking, and public-access online services like
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Compuserve and America online. Fidonet is no longer The Net; the
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internet, and the scores of Fido-technology "Othernets" are attractive
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alternatives to callers and sysops alike.
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Competition isn't bad, it merely prompts changes. The BBS Salad days
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may have passed, but there's no need to pack up and go home...yet.
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Competition isn't bad, it merely inspires change. So, what can we do?
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Support your local network:
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Build a local online community if you don't already have a series
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of local echoes. Build in some local flavor, give the users and
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sysops a local focus - that's one thing the internet CANNOT offer.
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Support your local network and look into making your local routing
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to make Fidonet more cost-effective to the net. Some local nets
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are getting sprawled out to the point where polling your "local"
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net is a toll call - this can be reduced by local hops, and ties
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into my next point...
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Make Fidonet more attractive to potential Sysops and Users:
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Call around to your local non-netted BBSes, invite them into
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Fidonet. I usually mention the local echoes available for no cost
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FidoNews 13-11 Page: 6 11 Mar 1996
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and the BBS support echoes - most of my technical problems were
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solved by asking around - someone's run into your problem before,
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and someone's usually willing to help. If there's a local call and
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a low CRP figure in your local net, you may be able to pick up a
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few Sysops that were waiting to be sold.
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We all take for granted that we're connected to a worldwide
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network. To a newbie, seeing messages tossed into your message
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base from Nebraska, Europe, and the BBS next door is a rush.
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Remember that feeling? Try to sell that to prospective sysops.
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Does your net have an internet gateway? Use that as a selling
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point to get new users. I offer internet email through my gateway,
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and people who are new to the 'net, but want to have mail access
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only find it much more attractive than paying for an online
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service that offers more than they need.
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ADVERTISE!
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Get the word out on your BBS. Advertise in the local computer
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magazines (If your area is lucky enough to have 'em). Call other
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BBSes and add your phone number to their BBS list. Does your BBS
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support BBS lists? If not, add a list program. Put your number in
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your .sig file, advertise in alt.bbs.ads, advertise wherever you
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can think of. Post a BBS ad to your local message area, and ask
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callers to post it on BBSes they call regularly. If you offer text
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file downloads, consider adding your BBS name and number to the
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files (It's amazing how far those get distributed - most of my
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European callers got the number from text files.) Get The Word
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Out.
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Fidonet has a lot to offer in comparison to the internet. The usenet
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crowd has been overtaken by @aol.com kids on free ten-hour disks, the
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glut of .edu kids, and cross-posts from hell. Fidonet echomail offers
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mostly on-topic moderated echoes, a decent selection of message
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topics, and a well-rounded mix of people- Fido seems to reach the
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people who aren't in reach of cheap flat-rate internet providers, and
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people with different experiences to offer than their internet
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counterparts. I see the internet and Fidonet as complements, not
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competition.
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Make a change, and think about what you can do to make Fidonet work.
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There's a lot of people involved in Fidonet. What would happen if one
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out of ten of us did something?
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[end]
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FidoNews 13-11 Page: 7 11 Mar 1996
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========================================================================
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Fidonews Information
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========================================================================
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------- FIDONEWS MASTHEAD AND CONTACT INFORMATION ----------------
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Editor: Donald Tees
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Editors Emeritii: Thom Henderson, Dale Lovell,
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Vince Perriello, Tim Pozar
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Tom Jennings, Sylvia Maxwell
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"FidoNews" BBS
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FidoNet 1:1/23
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BBS +1-519-570-4176, 300/1200/2400/14400/V.32bis/HST(DS)
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more addresses:
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Don -- 1:221/192, don@exlibris.tdkcs.waterloo.on.ca
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(Postal Service mailing address)
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FidoNews
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154 Victoria St. S.
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Kitchener, Ontario
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Canada
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N2H 2b5
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voice: (519) 570-4899
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Fidonews is published weekly by and for the members of the FIDONET
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INTERNATIONAL AMATEUR ELECTRONIC MAIL system. It is a compilation
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of individual articles contributed by their authors or their
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authorized agents. The contribution of articles to this compilation
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does not diminish the rights of the authors. Opinions expressed in
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these articles are those of the authors and not necessarily those of
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FidoNews.
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Authors retain copyright on individual works; otherwise FidoNews is
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Copyright 1996 Donald Tees. All rights reserved. Duplication
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and/or distribution permitted for noncommercial purposes only. For use
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in other circumstances, please contact the original authors, or the eds.
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OBTAINING COPIES: The most recent issue of FidoNews in electronic
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form may be obtained from the FidoNews BBS via manual download or
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Wazoo FileRequest, or from various sites in the FidoNet and Internet.
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PRINTED COPIES may be obtained by sending SASE to the above paper-mail
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address.
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INTERNET USERS: FidoNews is available via FTP from ftp.fidonet.org,
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in directory ~ftp/pub/fidonet/fidonews.
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Anyone interested in getting a copy of the INTERNET GATEWAY FAQ may
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freq GISFAQ.ZIP from 1:133/411.0, or send an internet message to
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fidofaq@gisatl.fidonet.org. No message or text or subject is
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necessary. The address is a keyword that will trigger the automated
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response. People wishing to send inquiries directly to David Deitch
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should now mail to fidonet@gisatl.fidonet.org rather than the
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FidoNews 13-11 Page: 8 11 Mar 1996
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previously listed address.
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SUBMISSIONS: You are encouraged to submit articles for publication in
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FidoNews. Article submission requirements are contained in the file
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ARTSPEC.DOC, available from the FidoNews BBS, or Wazoo filerequestable
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from 1:1/23 as file "ARTSPEC.DOC". Please read it.
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"Fido", "FidoNet" and the dog-with-diskette are U.S. registered
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trademarks of Tom Jennings, and are used with permission.
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' ' disgreement is actually necessary,
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or we'd all have to get in fights
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or semethin to amuse ourselves,,
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and create the requisite chaos."
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-Tom Jennings
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-- END
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-------------------------------------------------------------------
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