FIDONEWS -- 22 Jul 85 00:00:48 Page 1 Volume 2, Number 23 22 July 1985 +----------------------------------------------------------+ | _ | | / \ | | - FidoNews - /|oo \ | | (_| /_) | | Fido and FidoNet _`@/_ \ _ | | Users Group | | \ \\ | | Newsletter | (*) | \ )) | | ______ |__U__| / \// | | / FIDO \ _//|| _\ / | | (________) (_/(_|(____/ | | (jm) | +----------------------------------------------------------+ Publisher: Fido 107/7 Chief Procrastinator: Thom Henderson Fidonews is published weekly by SEAboard, Fido 107/7. You are encouraged to submit articles for publication in Fidonews. Article submission standards are contained in the file FIDONEWS.DOC, available from Fido 107/7. Disclaimer or don't-blame-us: The contents of the articles contained here are not our responsibility, nor do we necessarily agree with them; everything here is subject to debate. We publish EVERYTHING received. User Unsupported Software Last week I wrote about the high cost of marketing a software package. This week I'll write about an alternative. You are all familiar with it -- it's called user supported software. It's more commonly referred to as "freeware", but that name has been trademarked (as has almost every other variant of {something}ware). But "user supported software" is a clumsy term, so I'll be lazy and call it freeware. The freeware concept is an ingenious idea. The author is able to sell his wares without the immense gamble of a normal commercial offering, and can thus offer quality products at a low cost. The user benefits from the low costs, and is in addition able to extensively "test drive" a program before purchasing it. Everyone benefits! Well, not quite. The user benefits from copious quantities of "free" software, and a small handful of authors make a decent buck. The sad truth is that most freeware vendors receive little if anything for their trouble. FIDONEWS -- 22 Jul 85 00:00:51 Page 2 Let's face it. If you have a freeware product that you are still using after a couple of weeks, you are out of the "test drive" category. If you haven't sent in a donation, then you are effectively a software pirate. The author may say it's okay (since he can't really do anything anyway), but you are still deriving benefits from his work without providing any compensation. I see freeware as an attempt to open a new marketing channel. When viewed that way, a freeware product is no different than a product sold at your local computer store. In either case it is wrong to use the product without paying for it. The penalties differ, however. For stealing a product offered through standard commercial channels you might find yourself being sued by large corporations, though this is unlikely if you are stealing on a small scale. But for stealing a freeware product the penalty is much more subtle, and much more severe. If people use freeware products without paying for them, then the entire freeware concept will cease to be valid. The good authors will have to go find something else to do (probably working for the large corporations), and low cost quality software will become a thing of the past. Also no more "test drives"; you'll have to shell out the bucks if you want to try something out. So how about it? You know what you're using that you haven't paid for yet. Send in the donations, and let's keep the freeware concept alive. FIDONEWS -- 22 Jul 85 00:00:52 Page 3 ============================================================ NEWS ============================================================ A FIDO BBS WITH A MISSION 11/499 USER : "I've been a computer user both at home and work for several years now. Recently my vision has begun to fail and reading the CRT is getting more and more difficult. Anyone have any suggestions ?" SYSOP: "Yes there are a few articles in the rehab file section that might be of interest to you. You can download these files or just use the T)ype command they are store in ASCII. If you don't find an answer here let me know. For about $18.00 we can sign-on through DIALOG or BRS and access the Abledata (National Rehab. Info. Center) where listings of over 8000+ commercial products for the disabled have been stored." USER : "I read your articles and found some good leads will let you know what happens." USER : "Wow I just ordered the PC-Talker program and a Vortrax synthesizer today. The total solution to my problem ... for under $700.00. The price was so reasonable that my employer picked up the tab." This dialog is an example of what a new BBS forming in South Bend Indiana is all about. The System is know as Care-Net. Care-Net (Computer Aided REhabilitation NETwork) is a member of FIDO Network #11 Node 499. The system is run by a husband and wife team, Marlin and Kathy Sheffield. They are not new to rehabilitation or computers. Kathy has been an employee of Council For The Retarded for the past eight years. Kathy works at the community sheltered workshop known as Logan Industries. Kathy has served as Work Adjustment Supervisor, Work Evaluator, and now as Rehabilitation Director. Kathy is a member of the National Association Of Disability Examiners and is CC-WAVE certified as a work evaluator. Marlin also worked at the sheltered workshop for about 4 years; currently he is the Manager of Information Services for a metal stamping and fabricating firm. He has been involved in programming micro-computers personally and as a consultant for some 8 years now. Perhaps, as much a motivation as any, is the fact that the couple is the rather proud foster parents of two developmentally disabled teenagers. The goals of the BBS are described by the systems editorial as : Care-NET is a non-profit effort to utilize a computerized FIDONEWS -- 22 Jul 85 00:00:55 Page 4 message exchange with the following goals : o A Forum Between Inconvenienced Citizens. o A Tool To Encourage Dialogue Between Consumers Of Rehabilitation Service And The Professionals Providing These Services. o A Medium For Health Care And Rehabilitation Professionals To Share Information, Resources Ideas and Develop Joint or Regional Projects. o A Free Alternative To TTY Services -Private as Well As Public Messaging Is Supported. o A Link To The Rest Of The Telecomputing World. We will maintain a library of public domain programs available for downloading or uploading by any computer enthusiasts. We will also post your ideas for needed software to aid rehabilitation efforts. Hopefully some of the computer wizards can help contribute to the cause. The sysops are willing and excited about sharing information with others who are willing or already are running similar bulletin boards. This networking of similar services was the primary reason for the selection of Fido software. For such an ambitious project to succeed regional input is needed. If you have articles to contribute or are in need of information please give Care-Net a call. The system is on-line from 10PM to 5PM on weekdays (19 hours) and from 10PM to 9AM on weekends. The Sheffields are running the BBS on their Leading Edge Computer and single phone line. They are looking forward to trying to add an additional phone line and machine so Care-Net can be a twenty-four hour a day seven day a week service. (This author is frankly a little puzzled about how they plan to do this since the system charges no access fees, does not require or even request subscriptions, and claims to be funded only by free will contributions. I hope their faith in the goodness of the computer community is not aimed too high.) The system is a closed but free system and is not limited only to rehabilitation and social service issues. You are required to log on the system and complete a brief questionnaire before full access to the system is granted. Your status is upgraded usually within 24 hours. Give the Sheffield's and their project of love 'CARE-NET' a call at 1-219-233-1261 (300/1200 baud). Or drop them a line or seek more information or express your support by writting : Care-Net % Marlin & Kathy Sheffield 820 Whitehall South Bend, Indiana 46615 FIDONEWS -- 22 Jul 85 00:00:58 Page 5 ------------------------------------------------------------ FIDONEWS -- 22 Jul 85 00:00:58 Page 6 Fido V10j Documentation correction. Lloyd Miller, Calgary_Fido, #17/418 If anyone has tried the "previously undocumented" feature decribed in the V10I.doc update they probably had trouble getting it to work if they followed the documentation. It states that you should a file called QNEWUSER.BBS! This is obviously wrong because that file is used for new users not for users who forgot their password. The correct file name is QNOPWD.BBS, which is logical and you could probably guessed it your self. I have set up the file to display the following message since I have an open board and got tired of calling users who couln't remember their password to tell them what they should have known anyway. "The penalty for forgetting your password is - you cannot log in for 30 days. See you then, Bye." Of course all I do is use the "O)ld" command from the sysop utility to delete users after 30 days so when they come back they will be able to log in and enter a new password. Lloyd Miller Calgary_Fido #17/418 ------------------------------------------------------------ FIDONEWS -- 22 Jul 85 00:00:59 Page 7 Running Fido with MultiLink Allen Miller, Fido 108/0 This brief document is an attempt to describe how to use MultiLink (by Software Link) to run 2 Fido's on one PC. The reader should be able to use this information to determine how to run Fido as a background task while being able to run other programs in the foreground. Software Link is located at 8601 Dunwoody Place, Atlanta, Georgia, 30338. Their policy, when I bought MultiLink, was to allow a 30 day trial period. MultiLink is copy protected. I said I would do this a long time ago, and I apologize for its tardiness. Accompanying this document should be 4 files: AUTOEXEC.BAT, AUTOEXE1.BAT, FUP1.BAT and FUP2.BAT. These are commented batch files that I use on my system. For those of you that are interested, Fido 108/0 at 513/579-2587 runs on an IBM AT with a 20 meg internal drive and a 35 meg external Tallgrass drive, 2 Hayes 2400 baud modems and is supported by phone service providing 'hunt' when an incoming call encounters a busy on line number 1. I am currently running DOS 3.0 and MultiLink 3.01. MultiLink has several parameters that may be set via the MLUTIL utility program. This will allow the operator to modify keyboard loop polling, allocation of cycles between partitions, relative priority between partitions, resource (COM port) allocation and others. I have experimented with this and found an arrangement that is good for me that you will see in the .BAT files. Please feel free to contact me if you find that this collection is not enough help to get you going or get out of trouble. I have been running Fido with MultiLink since December, 1984, and both have run flawlessly. ------------------------------------------------------------ :FILE AUTOEXEC.BAT :FOR RUNNING MULTILINK WITH FIDO BULLETIN BOARD SYSTEM :ALLEN MILLER, FIDO 108/0, 7/13/85 :SYSTEM - IBM AT, DOS 3.0, ML 3.01 PATH=C:\BAT;C:\DOS;C:\UT;C:\RB\F;C:\ML :REPLACE DOS C> PROMPT prompt 2 $p :ACTIVATE ML TIMESLICING MLSLICE :INVOKE ML PARTITIONING MLINK /9,280 :ENQUE ML RESOURCE (COM2:) TO THIS PARTITION MLUTIL ENQ -3 :NORTON UTILITY TO COLOR CODE PARTITION SA CYAN FIDONEWS -- 22 Jul 85 00:01:01 Page 8 :CALL SECOND FIDO PARTITION FUP2 ------------------------------------------------------------ :FILE AUTOEXE1.BAT :FOR RUNNING MULTILINK WITH FIDO BULLETIN BOARD SYSTEM :ALLEN MILLER, FIDO 108/0, 7/13/85 :SYSTEM - IBM AT, DOS 3.0, ML 3.01 PATH=c:\DOS;c:\UT;c:\BAT;c:\RB\f;c:\ML :REPLACE DOS C> PROMPT prompt 1 $p :ENQUE ML RESOURCE 4 (COM1:) TO THIS PARTITION MLUTIL ENQ -4 :NORTON UTILITY TO COLOR CODE PARTITION SA YELLOW :CALL FIRST FIDO PARTITION FUP1 ------------------------------------------------------------ :FILE FUP1.BAT :FOR RUNNING MULTILINK WITH FIDO BULLETIN BOARD SYSTEM :ALLEN MILLER, FIDO 108/0, 7/13/85 :SYSTEM - IBM AT, DOS 3.0, ML 3.01 :RUNS COM1, WITH NO OUTGOING MAIL :SET DIRECTORIES CD C:\rb\f CD D:\ CD E:\ :DISABLE ML KEYBOARD POLLING mlutil dis :SET/RESET ML PARTITION PRIORITY TO 2 mlutil pri 2 :CALL FIDO fido_ibm 11/j 8/w 30/l 15/F 60/D 350/K 3/S /x 128/V /u 1/g 1/i /y :SYSOP '0' BRANCH if errorlevel 8 goto DOS : : :CTRL-C BRANCH if errorlevel 1 goto end fup1 :DOS :TO MONITOR CARRIER WATCHDG1 ON :ML CYCLE ALLOCATION TO GIVE 2:1 PREFERRENCE mlutil time 2 CTTY COM1: COMMAND CTTY CON WATCHDG1 OFF :ML CYCLE ALLOCATION TO RETURN TO 1:1 mlutil time 1 : return to run Fido after DOS FIDONEWS -- 22 Jul 85 00:01:02 Page 9 FUP1 :end :ENABLE ML KEYBOARD POLLING mlutil nod ------------------------------------------------------------ :FILE FUP2.BAT :FOR RUNNING MULTILINK WITH FIDO BULLETIN BOARD SYSTEM :ALLEN MILLER, FIDO 108/0, 7/13/85 :SYSTEM - IBM AT, DOS 3.0, ML 3.01 :RUNS COM2, PROCESSES OUTGOING MAIL :SET DIRECTORIES CD C:\rb\f CD D:\ CD E:\ :DISABLE ML KEYBOARD POLLING mlutil dis :SET/RESET ML PARTITION PRIORITY TO 2 mlutil pri 2 :CALL FIDO fido_ibm 11/j 8/w 30/l 15/F 60/D 3/S 350/K 128/V /u 1/g 2/i /2 /y :SYSOP '0' BRANCH if errorlevel 8 goto DOS :EXTRACT RECENT CALLERS LIST if errorlevel 5 goto USERLIST :CTRL-C BRANCH if errorlevel 1 goto end fup2 :DOS :TO MONITOR CARRIER WATCHDG2 ON :ML CYCLE ALLOCATION TO GIVE 2:1 PREFERRENCE mlutil time 2 CTTY COM2: COMMAND CTTY CON WATCHDG2 OFF :ML CYCLE ALLOCATION TO RETURN TO 1:1 mlutil time 1 : return to run Fido after DOS FUP2 :USERLIST users 3 >\A\UPLOADED\USERS.LST FUP2 :end mlutil nod ------------------------------------------------------------ FIDONEWS -- 22 Jul 85 00:01:03 Page 10 News Flash! Memphis, Tennessee abandons tradition! Fido Nodes proliferate as Memphis makes bold move into network telecommunications! Seriously folks, we Memphians are proud to join your ranks. Historically, we've had one private board operating Fido software for over seven months. In the two weeks preceding the adoption of the net/node format, another board opened up augmenting that sysop's local service, non-Fido bulletin board system. Currently, the City on the Mississippi River, sports four different nodes, each with different personalities. Several more are being discussed. Already a local Fido Users' Group (FUG) is being formed to coordinate support for sysops in the acquistion of FIDONEWS, NODELISTS, FIDO software updates and general files. Our users base spans a wide range of occupations, ages and interests. Among our endevours thusfar is one which might be of some interest. Collaborative writing projects have too often become either very disjointed or overly restrictive creatively. Our "project" has been set up to maximize both creativity and cohesiveness and, thusfar, has been very successful in both regards. We are considering uploading it to the Fido Newsletter as an experiment in reader interaction, where readers would be able to help determine plot lines and character development by providing suggestions in feedback to project staff and contributors. We intend to get beyond a Writers Guide, Prologue and four Chapters before making a decision in this regard. A Readers Guide would also be published to provide procedures for the interactive feedback. In essence, we are, as with this article, attempting to introduce our new net in order to develop contacts for our users to establish Fido-mail correspondence with. One topic, which has produced a lot of message traffic locally, has been that of sysop and user rights and responsibilities. We would be very interested in hearing from any other node's sysop or user in this regard. Specifically, we are curious about the types of rules established, levels of compliance, ratio of "active" users to "lurkers" and any distinctions made between local usage and networking. Generally, we'd like to profit from your experience and guidance. Again, we'd like to express our joy in joining the ranks of networking Fido systems and look forward to establishing our community as vibrant, contributing members of the Fido Fraternity. Bob Allman FIDONEWS -- 22 Jul 85 00:01:05 Page 11 FUG Radio Free Fido Region 18/Node 13 (pending approval of new net assignment) [Sysop: Jim Key] 901-754-3850 5:00 PM CST to 8:00 AM CST weekdays; 24 hrs weekends 300/1200 baud (soon at 2400!) ------------------------------------------------------------ FIDONEWS -- 22 Jul 85 00:01:06 Page 12 Mike Ringer Fido 437/ in net 107 For about eight months in Bryan/College Station has had a computer service called Fun-net. What is Fun-net? Good question Fun-net is simillar to the C.B. option on compuserve. up to 16 people can be on at one time with lines coming in from Houston and Austin. The operator of this system Capt K operates a company out of Houston T.x. called FYI systems. Capt K said that "FYI means nothing as a company name but Normally it is an acronym for `For Your Information'". I asked Capt K where he got the idea for Fun-net he said that "Fun-net is a spin off of Roundtable... The first of interactive computer entertainment networks, Which was designed and developed by one Jim Penny.... Clear Lake City Texas." Capt K said that there is one basic version that has been in exsistence for about one year. When asked if fun-net was outside of Tx he said "Not yet... There are plans to put it in other cities and states... At the moment there are only five in exsistence...All in Texas. Fun-net works only on the TRS-80 Model 4 with an additional outboarded cpu... The first time I asked him how much it cost he said "I don't know how much Fun-net cost yet...So far it's just been my house and 3 cars" after a little prodding he said that "it cost 10k plus instalment. When asked if if was to be developed for other Computer he said "Its not planned for any other hardware and it takes a modem for each incoming line." I think with a little prodding (and money) you might be able to get Capt K. to give you the source. FYI systems P.O. Box 690111 Houston, Texas 77269 ------------------------------------------------------------ FIDONEWS -- 22 Jul 85 00:01:07 Page 13 A few Ideas about the rewrite of FIDO. by Paul Kelly and Jim Lynn 13/11 13/384 When in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for two or more FIDO Sysops to sit around and discuss the operations of a FIDO-BBS, the topic (BS) always turns to the impending re-write of FIDO as a Public Domain system. After all of the pros and cons have been beaten to a pulp, the simple fact emerges that no one is quite sure just what they want in FIDO. When last the Sysops of FIDO #13/384 (PITTBULL) and FIDO #13/11 (PITTSBURGH'S SANYO FIDO BOARD) got together (through the keyboards), two major points of discussion arose. The first was the subject of compatability with existing FIDO systems/mail- communications. The second topic was that of the ability to customize one's own board to allow expanded functions on that particular board. One of the current plus points of Fido at this time is due to the fact that there is in reality, only ONE correct version of Fido, that being the latest revision issued by Tom Jennings. This allows a person to log into almost any Fido board in existence and enter commands that have become familiar and expect consistent results. Rather than feel like a stranger when entering a `new' board, one can almost feel as at home as when dialing into the local home board; something like putting on an old pair of well broken-in shoes, everything seems to fit. At the same time, with Fido being a public domain program, written to play to a general audience that is growing at rate beyond anyone's dreams, many groups feel that while Fido is well designed to handle the original goals, there could be an acceptable means for customizing their own board to better suit the particular interests of their users. This could be anything from allowing a search through the FILES.BBS of an area to list only newly available files since their last log-in, to allowing a continuously running "forum" type conversation where the messages would simply be added into one file and accessed as a whole rather than tracking through messages and threaded replies. A case in point is occuring on the PITTBULL system which has become a standard meeting place for several local special interest groups. The board has added a separate area for each of these groups, and within each group are designated individuals who are `in charge' of that particular area of the board. They assume the task of testing uploaded files, editing the FILES.BBS display, monitoring messages and generally acting as an "assistant sysop" within that particular area. FIDONEWS -- 22 Jul 85 00:01:09 Page 14 Within these local areas, we feel there is the possibility of customizing the type of displays and type of functions to meet the needs of this group to allow quicker access to the type of operation that the group desires. This we envision as some type of a customizable overlay to allow, from within this area only, access to a variety of external routines which could for example: A) Provide a database type program which would allow better facilities for searching and retrieving files and messages relating to certain subjects than could possibly be provided within Fido. B) Allow conferences between users on multi-line Fido systems. C) Display mail waiting for a user when the user logs on. D) Show a list of files uploaded or newly available since the last time a user was in the files area. E) Allow the user with proper clearance to "run" programs from within FIDO such as adventure games or any program which is a "line-output" type. And yet, by far the majority of Fido boards across the country would not have a need of this type, hence the idea of an overlay to Fido, utilizing Fido's device drivers and privilege determination, and allowing a return to `standard' Fido operation for the user on exiting these specially `operator configured' areas. A rewrite is comparible to re-inventing the wheel, and the wheel we now are re-inventing would not require that much extra work to function in a way which may be more flexible for certain applications. We all know what Fido looks like from the outside, and once source is written to provide similar action to THE Fido we have come to know and love (or hate, or accept), there is such a great possibility that chaos will erupt. In witness to this, look at the thousands of versions of RBBS that exist, with none being compatible with any other. We feel that what should be recommended is that the "code committee" guard the material during the re-write in order to prevent a "leak" of the souce code for the new FIDO and only release compiled versions to guarantee the existence of only one current version of FIDO, in a fashion very similar to the current situation. The `hooks' for overlays and the format that they must conform to could be distributed. This would provide with fair certainty that there would be no pirated or customized FIDO's which would lead to a situation like the RBBS "net-work" where every board in existence is different. FIDONEWS -- 22 Jul 85 00:01:12 Page 15 In this manner, the work that goes into the `new' Fido source code is still available for later groups to work on and modify if the original re-write group becomes unable to handle the task, and yet the code is not available for casual perusal and modification at the whim of a curious passerby with the intent of creating a back door entrance or other obvious detrimental effect. Fido can remain the viable and compatible `operation' that it always has been, and with some changes, it may become the ONLY RBBS system to exist. People that feel `handicapped' due to not having source code to `operate on and patch' would need no longer yearn to get at the innards of our standard and compatible Wonder Dog. Change and patch your overlay to you hearts desire, make it as unique or complex or fancy as you wish, without begining the ruination of the friend that has caused us to come together as such a large group of enthusiasts. We encourage other operators to submit their views toward our suggestions. Maybe we can draft some optimum goals to obtain towards having a system that remains totally compatible and yet as flexible as it needs to be, without the fear of negating the efforts to remain an integrous network that have already been put forth so well. ------------------------------------------------------------ FIDONEWS -- 22 Jul 85 00:01:13 Page 16 SAUNTERING SYSOPS BATMAN... Picture a bus load of Fido Sysops with a printed text file as a guide scooting north on the Garden State Parkway. That's what we had on our hands when Dan North, Comm Sig Chair; Bob Klahn (Fido Coordinator); Jim Goldschneider; Joel Garrett; Gwen and Van Olmstead dog tracked to a Fido Sysop conference a couple weeks ago. You thought we only traveled at 300/1200/2400 baud? Not so. We also move at sub-warp speeds. We were answering the call of Thom Henderson (Node #107/7 on the national list) who fidoed an invitation to all Net 107 Sysops to join him on his boat for a day of sun, suds, surf and sysoping. Spouses and all. I, for one, relished the opportunity to bring Spouse Gwen along. She is a distant observer of most of this PC junk and she could burn her bronze body while the Sysops lamented the routing system bugs and generally yapped about kennel business. Dogbreath Klahn, (he started the name himself), our leader dog, called to inform me that the directions that were Netmailed to him were wrong. "Thom's message says these directions are to his boat. They are the same directions he sent last time--those were to his house!" Not to worry. We called Thom Henderson on the conference line and we were promised a correction. With the location all co-ordinated we could go on to coordinate other things. Irene, Thom's POSSLQ (Person of Opposite Sex Sharing Living Quarters), did not relish providing more than relish for the whole of Net 107 so there was food to co-ordinate. Do Fido's eat dogs? What do they woof down? Where should the pack congregate? What doggone time do we leave? I drove the van. It seemed fitting. It's Gwen's Van. She has several, counting me, my son and the Toyota. She let us use it. That was nice. Her van isn't like home...it's better. Graphic equalizer, ice maker and refrig at hand make two-hour drives almost pleasant, even if the directions don't lead you where you wanted to go. We made it anyhow. To Thom's barkentine. Actually, it wasn't a barkentine. Thom and Irene own a cabin catamaran. The nicest thing on two hulls! Big areas to sun and lots of cabin space. Computer nuts should have gadgets and the Hendersons did. Binoculars with the compass headings visible in the eyepiece make it much easier to spot the nudist colony at 193 degrees magnetic. He showed us all sorts of electronic navigational gadgets. Among the neatest was their friend Mike. We let Mike sail us across the bay. Mike is an electronic helmsman. He sailed just fine. The day was warm enough and we got a chance to toss the hook and go swimming in the bay. I stepped on a crab but I didn't tarry long enough for it to retaliate. FIDONEWS -- 22 Jul 85 00:01:16 Page 17 Besides, nobody was working hard that day. The most labor done had something to do with pop tabs on cans. After enough sailing and swimming was done to satisfy the interest of all, we headed for the marina and made fast. Then we got down to real business. Like all good computer related stuff, Fido would be lost without sufficient jargon to confuse the user and observer alike. We convened long enough to get some of the conventions adopted. Some definitions: 1. Dogyard, kennel, puppy palace all refer to the Fido environment. "Thanks for stopping by my dogyard." "Appreciate you sniffing around the kennel." 2. A bone is free credit on the users' behalf to be used for long distance communication by FidoNet. "Thanks for throwing me the bone." 3. Fido programs do not have bugs but rather fleas. 4. Barking dogs are those who use the Yelp command too frequently. 5. Routing codes mean your message goes through Africa to save phone charges. 6. Almost anything can be paid for by credit on one's board. 7. No right thinking Sysop will accept payment for anything by means of credit on a Fido. 8. Veterinarian--what Bob Klahn does if you give him Sysop privs. 9. Although dognames may be used to refer to sysops (e.g. Dogbreath, Edifido, K-9, Diversifido [should be my board]) there are no laws on the books with respect to the practice. In short, it's not Dogma! Van Olmstead, Fido 107/214 ------------------------------------------------------------ FIDONEWS -- 22 Jul 85 00:01:17 Page 18 Chris Rowley Sysop, Fido 359 LINDA (301) 340-1376 Sysop, non-net Fido WITHK Systems (301) 340-0246 The following text is from the Sex Story board RAUNCH that I have been running on my boards for the last 7 months. It originally ran on my Fido at college, Hell Central, where it got off to a slow, diversified start. Now on my board at home (which doesn't have the hardware to make my being in the net feasible) it continues to expand in characters and realism, although the number of contributors has lessend. Below are the first four entries; you will notice that they are more juvenile than subsequent entries will be, but I believe the quality is well above that of most story board, sex story boards to say the least. Hope you enjoy it, and if you want, give the board a call and contribute. Now many would call me a peeping Tom, but my name is Mark, and am only an admirer...really. Anyway, I couldn't believe it yesterday. I'm not bad looking, but hunting down females around here is quite a chore. For that reason I was really surprised when the Wheelers moved next door. There used to be a older couple, but they headed off to Florida or something... Anyway, I was my usual interested self and wan- dered next door to check out what was going on. There was a little obnoxious kid running around, just like my younger brother. This wasn't a good sign. But I looked in the door and politely knocked. Mrs. Wheeler appeared, holding some books I guess she was putting them away at the time. Being the neighborly sort I offered my aid in moving them in and she graciously accepted. I was getting curious as to the make-up of their fam- ily, only seeing the mother and the little kid named Scott. After about ten minutes a sleek new corvette came rolling into the driveway. Mr. Wheeler got out of the passenger seat. He wasn't THAT old, but was definitely middle-aged. But what got my eyes popping out of their sockets was the image exiting from the driver seat. Never, and I mean NEVER, had I seen such a vision...not in any of the many sexpot mags I had hidden away in my closet (shhhh....), or anything around here. I wish I had a chance to get a better look at that time, but she headed right inside blocked by the car. I knew I would have a better opportunity if I played my cards right. Mrs. Wheeler said that her number one daughter was named Rachel. "Number one?" I thought..."could there be more?" I inquired to this, and Mrs. Wheeler said that daughter number two was named Stacy. About an hour later we finished up. I was both hyper to see Rachel and use the restroom facilities. I had learned that Stacy was with her grandparents until they were all moved in. She is 16 like me, while Rachel is 18. I wandered towards the bathroom, and, upon seeing the door locked, knocked. It was then that I saw Rachel up-close for the first time...well, only her face, but it was enough to send me off into my wild dream land. Her face was perfectly FIDONEWS -- 22 Jul 85 00:01:20 Page 19 shaped, with long brown hair, soul-piercing eyes, and full, waiting lips. I can't even remember what she said, as I was too caught up in my imagination. I remember wandering off and Mrs. Wheeler inviting me to dinner once they were all set in, but the next thing I knew I was in my bed. I woke up to my mom's shakings...it was dinner time. Being a saturday, I knew I could stay up without the usual parental pestering, and spy on my new voluptuous dream. I rushed through dinner, and wandered around aimlessly until about 10. It was ripe time for spying...especially since the Wheelers were just moved in and would like to hit the sack after a long day. I circled their house until I saw Rachel in her room on the first floor. This was a stroke of luck, putting the "kids" upstairs, so I wouldn't have to do as much maneuvering. Rachel was on her bed, back turned to be. I was really getting pumped up just thinking about her. A half an hour passed in what appeared to be an eternity when she got up and walked to her dresser to get her nightgown. She then lifted her blouse high. "Damn," I whispered, since her stance blocked her reflection in the mirror. She turned, and undid her bra. "Gasp," could be my only utterance, as beautiful, round, full, HUGE tits swung into view. I had to catch my breath, and by the time I turned back she was slipping on her gown. I managed to get a quick glimpse at her smooth, long legs, and was once again on the ground. I quickly ran home. This was enough excitement for one night! After that sight, I couldn't wait to see the other daughter. Sure enough, after a couple of days, she arrived. This was a sight worth waiting for. Picture the ideal slut that every man has in his head. She was it. Long blond hair,red lips, too much eye makeup, and the biggest set of knockers I had ever seen on such a petite frame. They were stuffed into a sheer tank top that left no doubt about the absence of a bra. Below this was a pair of cutoffs that revealed the bottom third of a pair of perfect ass cheeks, and a few wisps of dark curly hair. No sooner had she climbed from the corvette than her father hustled her into the house. From the look on his face I could tell that he didn't approve of her appearance. That didn't matter I sure did. I knew that when the dinner invitation came I would be there. I also hoped to get her over for a swim in our pool. The next day Mrs. Wheeler invited me over. It was a good deal since my parents were going to a small party for a couple of hours and I'll take home cooking over TV dinners anyday. But the absence of my parents made the prospect of getting Stacy over for a swim even better, and would possi- bly allow me to get a BETTER view of the 16-year old dream. I certainly had spent much of this first week fanta- sizing about the Wheeler girls, so much that I was really being distracted in school. Not that it mattered since school is just there, but my friends were getting to wonder- ing what was going on and I didn't want them to learn of my FIDONEWS -- 22 Jul 85 00:01:22 Page 20 "find" as of yet. At 6:30 I walked over to Wheelers. The little brat was there with is big wheel and proceeded to roll over my toes before I practically leaped through the door. Stacy was there and introduced herself. My earlier observa- tions/wishes were re-invoked and she usually gave me that certain stare and squeezed her huge chest together with her arms and she blinked her eyes like an innocent. This girl was not! And she still had that tank top that was driving me crazy. It was near dinner so I sat down and Stacy sat next to me. Mr. Wheeler seemed to keep an eye on us all the time, and his presence combined with my nervousness made my speech very weird. We talked a bit about where they used to live and all the people around here, and about school (ugh!). The dinner was great, but I was hoping the desert would be better. I helped clear the table and then walked into the family room to sit by Stacy and struck up a conversation. *** TO BE CONTINUED *** FIDONEWS -- 22 Jul 85 00:01:23 Page 21 ============================================================ NOTICES ============================================================ The Interrupt Stack 27 Nov 1985 Halley's Comet passes closest to Earth before perihelion. 24 Jan 1986 Voyager 2 passes Uranus. 9 Feb 1986 Halley's Comet reaches perihelion. 11 Apr 1986 Halley's Comet reaches perigee. 24 Aug 1989 Voyager 2 passes Neptune. If you have something which you would like to see on this calendar, please send a message to Fido 107/7.