fidonews.man -- 17 Dec 84 23:27:16 Page 1 Volume 1, Number 3 17 Dec 84 +----------------------------------------------------------+ | _ | | / \ | | - FidoNews - /|oo \ | | (_| /_) | | Fido and FidoNet _`@/_ \ _ | | Users Group | | \ \\ | | Newsletter | (*) | \ )) | | ______ |__U__| / \// | | / FIDO \ _//|| _\ / | | (________) (_/(_|(____/ | | (jm) | +----------------------------------------------------------+ Editor: Tom Jennings Publisher: Fido #1 HOT NEWS Oh boy ... the hot news this week is that Fido #1 dropped dead. The hard disk is in the junk pile. Any articles that were submitted for this weeks newsletter are lost forever. Please send them again, I'll see if I cant hold on to them. Fido is running on two floppies, no room for anything. Until further notice, Fido cannot be downloaded from #1. I have a solution though; I'm getting an ancient old multibuss machine,three 8 inch floppies, at least 660K each, for a total of 1.98 megs. If I can get double sided drives, that might go up to almost 3 megs. It will take a week or two, though. More good news: the Sanyo 555 version of Fido is ready. The bad news is, you can't have it! I have no space to store it ... There will also be a "generic" version of Fido, so that you can write your own IO drivers. It will use INT 14, which you can trap and do things with. Bumper stickers are going to be made tomorrow; they should be done who knows when, because of Christmas. Possibly before. I'm going to sell them at cost, merely to recover my own money. They will cost about $165 for 500; about 34 cents each. I'll mail them in onesies for a buck each (postage .20, envelope .25, etc) or if you buy 25, $10.00. I'll let you know when they are done. I will also mail you a copy of the master if you ask, so you can make them too. fidonews.man -- 17 Dec 84 23:27:23 Page 2 NEWS ARTICLE SUBMISSION The format of this thing is totally ad hoc; please make recomendations as to formats, sections needed, liked, or hated, columns you'd like to see, or see removed, anything at all. If you want to submit something regularly, we can start a column for you. You are ENCOURAGED to send things in for the newsletter. ANYTHING is fit for the newsletter, such as a description of your board, problems found, questions, jokes, fixes, horror stories about wrong FidoNet numbers, things for sale, etc etc etc. SUBMITTING AN ARTICLE An article should have your name, node number (if applicable), followed by the text. Text can be any ASCII derivative; WordStar, soft paragraphs, 8th bit set, etc are all OK. Articles can be uploaded at either Fido #1 or #51, into the NEWS File Area, or by sending it by FidoNet. There is a convention for naming the files, so that the newsletter can be published automatically. ARTICLE FILENAMES file.ART For article type things file.SAL Things for sale file.NOT Notices file.MSC Miscelaneous things file.EDT an Editorial file.NEW News items file.WNT Wanted items Make sure the name is unique, especially if you send it by FidoNet, so you dont overwrite another article. HOW THIS IS PUBLISHED This is a totally electronic newsletter; articles are written of course by users and sysops, but all other parts and proceedures are machine generated. For each newsletter, the Editor (thats me folks) does the date and volume of the title page (tough job), and whatever editorial there may be. Articles are checked out for being readable (ie. more or less English language), and bum copies (bad uploads, etc) are deleted. The lists generated by FidoNet Admin (St. Louis) fidonews.man -- 17 Dec 84 23:27:29 Page 3 such as the node list, Fido list, and the route list, come in via FidoNet during the week. On the day the newsletter is to be published, Fido #1 runs the text formatter (as a schedule) to produce the newsletter, using all the articles, the node and Fido lists. The completed newsletter is then copied into the NEWS file area. All of the article submissions are saved as last week's news, and deleted to make room for next weeks. Some canned messages are copied into Fido 1's mail area, which file attaches the newsletter to the distribution points. This completes the FidoNews Newsletter publication. TOM TCIMPDIS' LA BUST The LA BBS bust is far from over. There hasn't been any news lately, apparently because they are going through the usual legal maneuvering, of hearings, pre-hearings, etc etc. However it turns out, this is an important case, and whether you believe it or not, it will affect you directly, even if you are not in LA and even if you are not a sysop. Tom's guilt or innocence is only a small part of the importance of this, and since most of us were not regular callers to his board, it is hard to comment on it. The underlying issue here is one of control: who is liable for the contents of a BBS? It was related to me (by someone who had lawyers persue it) that the status of BBS's is quite up in the air; are they common carriers (ie. the phone co.) or are they publishers (ie. newspapers). Phone companies have limited liability because they provide a medium, and not the contents, and are generally not liable. (If you arrange a sale for a stolen bicycle by phone, Pacific Bell is not resonsible). Publishers control their contents, and I think are liable for even the contents of their classified ads, though that is obviously impossible to ensure. You really should voice your opinion on this issue. It will not mark you as a political radical, and the FBI will not harrass your neighbors. It is your right, and our right to free communications. Losing this case will be a large step towards regulating BBSs. Regulation will mean the death of BBSs as we know it. We are unregulated, and are quite responsible and take care of our own problems. The trouble makers are far and few between. Take the time to think about all of the systems you have ever called and patronized, and consider how they were run, how they were handled and how problems were solved. I think you will find that they take quite good care of themselves on the whole, and problems are resolved between fidonews.man -- 17 Dec 84 23:27:36 Page 4 the users and the sysops. If you want to help keep it this way, where you have a very large say in what BBSs do, what they are used for, and how they are run, please write! The sample letter below can be used if you want. Please send a copy to both people listed below; Lindner is defending Tom Tcimpidis, and is a BBS user himself. TAKE THIS OUT, FILL IT IN, AND MAIL IT! (your address and the date goes into this space 3 lines ) Ira Reiner -- LA City Attorney Charles E. Lindner, Atty Suite 1800 City Hall East The Bradbury Building 20 N. Main St. Los Angeles CA 304 S. Broadway, Suite 420 90012 Los Angeles CA 90013 Dear Sir, I would like to take this oppurtunity to speak in behalf of computer bulletin board sytems (BBSes). Bulletin Boards are excellent ways to meet other computer users and hold intelligent conversations with them. Bulletin boards are a very convenient way to get any help you might need for your computer, from advice on a game to programming techniques and technical information. The idea that all of these bulletin boards are used solely for pirating of software and illegal telephone usage is one that is ill-conceived, stemming from the occasional "bad seed" of BBSes. In reality, these illegal BBSes are few and far between, and are frowned upon by the general BBS-using public. I urge you to consider all the good of which BBSes are capable, and not the bad side shown by several rare and unacceptable examples. Thank you in advance for your consideration in this matter. Sincerely, (print and sign your name here) NOTICES fidonews.man -- 17 Dec 84 23:27:42 Page 5 FOR SALE WANTED fidonews.man -- 17 Dec 84 23:27:42 Page 6 FIDOLIST --- HUMAN READABLE NODE LIST List of Fido Based Bulletin Board Systems Updated 23 Nov 84 by Fido 51 Please send updates,corrections or other information to: Fido #51. All are 24 hrs 300/1200 baud except as noted Times listed are in the BBS's local time zone RE == restricted, or private or by request,etc. WE == plus Weekends SU == plus Sunday, etc RT == route all mail to node as specified 1 Fido's-Board San Francisco, CA Tom Jennings(415)-864-1418 2. CLP-FIDO Pikesville, MD John Madill (301)-484-2831 3. FidoSouth Atlanta, GA Lane Fowler (404)-979-5105 4. Bulldog St. Louis, MO Tony Clark (314)-441-9297 5. Batie's Backyard Corvallis, OR Alan Batie -DOWN- 6. CastleNet Corvallis, OR Lee Damon (503)-754-5244 9p - 9a SU 7. Bob_Overlock Waimea, HI Bob Overlock (808)-338-1277 8. Demon New York, NY Danny Feinsmith -DOWN- 9. GDC_Connection Middlebury, CT Jim Ryan (203)-758-8081 10. MDC/RCC St. Louis, MO Ben Baker (314)-234-1462 5p - 8a 11. PRO-TECH Cypress, CA Sanford Zelkovitz (714)-898-8634 13. Vern's_Fido San Jose, CA Vern Crawford (408)-923-5565 14. WayStar Marlboro, MA Kevin Porter (617)-481-7147 16. Mikes_Board St. Louis, MO Mike Mellinger (314)-726-3448 17. DCA_BBS St. Louis, MO Jon Wichman (314)-962-0395 18. Steve_Hedlund Van Nuys, CA Steve Hedlund -DOWN- 21. Phoenix_Sfwr Norwood, MA Bob Vandette (617)-769-0850 RE 22. PCLUG St. Louis, MO Ken Kaplan (314)-576-2743 25. Take-A-Byte Anaheim, CA Robert Collins (714)-995-2428 26. MicroFonePC Fresno, CA Bob Robesky (209)-227-2083 5p - 9a WE 27. Daves_Fido Gardner, MA David Rene (617)-632-1861 28. World Control Baltimore, MD Rob White (301)-653-2074 31. HamRadioWest Riverside, CA John Warren (714)-681-0974 32. Artesia_BBS Artesia, CA George Gilbert (213)-402-6217 33. Rod_Smallwood England Rod Smallwood 01144-635-4680 34. CrossFire Philadelphia, PA Todd Savar -DOWN- 35. ConsultNet Saratoga, CA Jim Turley (408)-867-5078 11p - 3a 36. Rainbow_Data Los Angeles, CA Don Brauns (213)-204-2996 38. Bill1000Jr Madison, WI Bill Thousand,Jr. -DOWN- 39. KarlRegier Reedley, CA Karl Reiger -DOWN- 40. RonCrain Birmingham, MI Ron Crain (313)-646-5159 11p - 6a 42. MetChem New Haven, CT John Bauer (203)-281-7287 8p - 8a 43. Seequa_Computer Odenton, MD Bob Depelteau (301)-672-3627 44. NECS Arlington, MA Dave Mitton (617)-646-3610 45. Midnight_DEC Boston, MA David Strickler (617)-353-7528 12a - 5p 46. Joes_Rainbow St. Mary, FL Joe Clayton (305)-321-2369 47. The_WorkShop Orange, CA Brian Majewski -REMOVED- 48. El_Dorado Houston, TX Paul Wells (713)-488-8771 49. NW-RBBS Portland, OR Doug Foreman (503)-233-6583 or (503)-666-8265 50. Crystal_Cavern Austin, TX Scott Ashcraft (512)-263-5805 930p - 10a 51. DECUS_CENTRAL St. Louis, MO Sysops16,17,&22(314)-432-4129 52. TOPCC Thousand Oaks, CA Gary Vedvik (805)-499-8378 4p - 8a WE 53. SE_C-Board Woodstock, GA Ken Shackelton (404)-928-1876 54. CEL_Comm_1 Seattle, WA C.E. Langenberg (206)-725-9413 56. Denver_Fido Denver, CO Oscar Barlow (303)-973-9338 57. MCCPowers Northbrook, IL Russ French (312)-480-8730 58. PiCoSystems El Toro, CA Jim Baumgartner (714)-855-3282 6p - 8a WE 59. Washco_FidoNet Beaverton, OR Vic Bachulis (503)-629-5581 60. Artichoke Houston, TX Justin Marquez (713)-870-8803 6p - 8a WE 61. RAMS Rochester, MN John Pritchard (507)-289-8452 62. Data_Jockey Bellevue, WA Darrin Smith (206)-643-0909 7p - 8a SU 63. WCE Waterford, MI Bob Leffler (313)-623-1089 64. Graf_Spee Houston, TX Jay Maynard (713)-530-2334 Irregular 65. TWACS St. Louis, MO Tony Clark(See also #4)(314)-895-6471 RE 66. Info*Net Costa Mesa, CA Richard Hart (714)-642-4408 67. DEC_Domain Lubbock, TX Alan Minchew (806)-795-0102 *69. Sailboard Highland, MI Jim Kovalski (313)-887-7429 71. Rosenburg_Express Rosenburg, TX Ken Collins(713)-342-9349 72. Harry_Chesley San Francisco, CA H. Chesley (415)-563-2491 73. Eagle-1 Ashland, MA Dave Hornbaker (617)-881-6495 74. The_Bears_Den Falls Church, VA Kurt Reisler(703)-671-0598 7a - 11p 75. ThumbTech Plano, TX Matt Legare (214)-985-7926 77. GMCC Boulder, CO Kent Leonard (303)-497-6968 78. Living_Sober San Carlos, CA Rick G. (415)-593-5583 79. DEC-WARE New York, NY Matt Kanter (212)-535-8924 80. Eldon_Ziegler Columbia, MD Eldon Ziegler (301)-992-3835 RE 81. PC-WORLD Philadelphia, PA Sal Marandola (215)-465-2278 4p - ?? 82. DEC-House Cherry Hill, NJ Brian Sietz (609)-429-6630 12a - 530p 83. Harmer's_Hut Philadelphia,PA Brian Harmer (215)-565-7639 No Inc FNet 84. SCI-Fido Oakland, CA Mike Farren (415)-834-3319 85. Allens_Board Cincinnati, OH Allen Miller (513)-579-2587 86. Grummons_Fido Bethpage, NY Don Daniels (516)-575-5838 87. Deus_Ex_Machina San Diego, CA Bruce Webster(619)-286-7838 88. Wizards_Tower Teterboro, NJ Karl Schinke (201)-288-9076 5p - 8a WE 89. Boondocks Rock Island, IL Jonathan Smith (309)-794-0289 5p - 8a WE 90. MidNet Middleton, WI Mike Mansfield (608)-233-8449 91. The_DEAD_END Round Rock, TX Steve Sparks (512)-255-1282 RE 92. PCUTILboard Detroit, MI Jon Tara (313)-393-0527 99. The_REAL_Fido San Francisco,CA Tom Jennings -UNPUBLISHED- RE,RT 1 104. Baby_BYTE/Net Peterborough, NH George Bond (603)-924-9820 *108.Samson Rolling Meadows,IL Larry Miglore (312)-991-8304 5p - 8a WE 115. Arquimedes Washington,DC Sam Hegardine (202)-332-9512 124. TimeLifeBks Alexandria, VA Eldon Ziegler (703)-833-7355 RE 125.Radar's_Node Fairfax, VA Joel O'Rourke (703)-978-0351 Irregular #130.Paul_Munson Costa_Mesa, CA Paul Munson (714)-650-6422 200.Grinnell_Fido Grinnell, IA Michael Strait (515)-236-2578 8p - 8a 201. Ham_Radio_Net Newington, CT Ed Raso (203)-665-1114 202. DEC-Line Boston, MA Bill McNeill (617)-721-1688 203. Dark_Planet Branford, CT Peter Sashka (203)-488-3440 204. Noble_House NYC, NY Jonathan Youngwood (212)-534-8557 10p - 4p 205. Alex's_DragonDom NYC, NY Alexander Morris (212)-496-7946 *206.BlueStar Edmonds, WA Craig Derouen (206)-745-5368 After 12/1 207. Northern_Reaches New Haven, CT Geoff Hickey(203)-865-1794 208. Bruce's_Fido W. Hartford, CT Bruce Lomaski (203)-236-3761 300. WeyCoFidoByter Federal Way, WA Steve Butler(206)-924-2955 5p - 8a WE 301. Beyond_War Los Angeles, CA Andrew Kanter (213)-477-5706 302. Don Quixote Rochester, MN Pat George (507)-288-8901 8p - 8a WE 303. Strictly_Sfwr Honolulu, HI Mike Oya (808)-944-0562 7p - 10a *304. Westlake_BBS Austin, TX Albert Nurick (512)-327-7926 6p - 7a SU 305. The_Pacesetter Potomac, MD Brian Driscoll (301)-299-3228 306. Left_Cartridge Cincinnati, OH Paul Martin (513)-797-7040 RE 307. DalTex_FIDOnet Dallas, TX Chris Bradley (214)-991-7934 308. Software_PLUS Cincinnati, OH Dave Schleper (513)-621-9273 7p - 9a 309. Marc's_FIDO Portland, OR Marc Frajola -UNPUBLISHED- RE,RT 59 310. Daves_Annex Westminister, MA Dave Rene (617)-874-4325 4p - 7a WE 311. The_Lair Altamonte Springs, FL Robert Hupf (305)-830-8494 430p-8a WE 312. Cinci_Comm_Net Fairfield, OH Jeff Perrigo (513)-874-0226 9p - 7a 313. Mikes_Rainbow Garden Grove,CA Mike Hamilton(714)-537-7355 314. One_Paticular_Harbour Ft Worth,TX Cpt Utley(817)-294-7383 315. DD_Network Boston, MA Dana Long (617)-536-4670 12a - 5p On Weekends 12a - 10a 316. Miami_1st_Fido Miami, FL Al de la Torre (305)-554-4602 317. DEC-WARE_II Iselen, NJ David Horowitz (201)-750-3748 *318.PC_WeeK Needham, MA Garry Ray (617)-449-4727 319. Tribury_Fido Waterbury, CT Phil Mongelluzzo(203)-574-2449 7p - 11p On Weekends 10a - 10p plus FNet Nat'l Mail #320.The_Suprise_Pak Orange, CT David Hecht (203)-795-0339 #321.CANADA_1 Willowdale, ONT Vic Kass (416)-226-9260 * INDICATES CHANGED ON THIS UPDATE # INDICATES ADDITIONS ON THIS UPDATE Please send updates, corrections, additions to Fido #51.