Volume 4, Number 15 20 April 1987 +---------------------------------------------------------------+ | _ | | / \ | | /|oo \ | | - FidoNews - (_| /_) | | _`@/_ \ _ | | International | | \ \\ | | FidoNet Association | (*) | \ )) | | Newsletter ______ |__U__| / \// | | / FIDO \ _//|| _\ / | | (________) (_/(_|(____/ | | (jm) | +---------------------------------------------------------------+ Editor in Chief: Thom Henderson Chief Procrastinator Emeritus: Tom Jennings FidoNews is published weekly by the International FidoNet Association as its official newsletter. 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. Copyright (C) 1987, by the International FidoNet Association. All rights reserved. Duplication and/or distribution permitted for noncommercial purposes only. For use in other circumstances, please contact IFNA. Table of Contents 1. EDITORIAL International Mail 2. ARTICLES Financing Fido Patrick Troughton (the second Dr. Who) Dies Fidogram - Free Telegram Service Notes From MemphisNet Talking Assembler (Part 2) Tradewar Anyone? CAP and the Dayton HamVention Vietnam Veterans "Convoy to the Wall" 3. COLUMNS Column Without a Name 4. WANTED Any Harvard Summer School students? 5. FOR SALE BIG BLUE DISK #7 - Latest issue of magazine on disk! 6. NOTICES The Interrupt Stack IFNA Board of Directors Ballot Fidonews Page 2 20 Apr 1987 ================================================================= EDITORIAL ================================================================= International Mail Network mail has been moving internationally for over two years now, but it's never really worked well. Anybody can send international mail, provided: 1) You have International Direct Dialing (IDD), which is not available in many areas. 2) You can figure out how to cope with the extra delays involved in international dialing. 3) You don't mind paying for busy signals. (In most areas you are charged per attempt, NOT per connect!) 4) You can figure out when the person in the other country will be able to receive network mail. 5) You can figure out which overseas nodes use modems that are compatible with your own. A non-trivial problem that the overseas sysops themselves have trouble with! About the best that it's ever worked was when Dave Rene (101/27) had a clandestine link with a fellow employee in England. Every night he would pump echomail over to him using his company's network. This had the odd effect of making England part of the Massachusettes network. That MassNet<=>England link was taken by the FTSC (Fidonet Technical Standards Committee) as the model for how international mail ought to work. Briefly, the entire Earth was divided into zones. The present zones are: Zone 1 - North America Zone 2 - Europe Zone 3 - Australasia It is anticipated that other zones may be established as nodes crop up in other parts of the world, or on other worlds. Whether Lunar Nearside and Lunar Farside should be in one zone or two is an interesting topic, but not one that will be addressed here. Each zone will have a "zone gate" to every other zone. It is assumed that a zone gate has some free method of moving mail to the other zone (on the face of it a ridiculous assumption, but thankfully there seem to be such people). Tentative zone gates have already been selected for mail going from zone 1 to both of the other zones. Fidonews Page 3 20 Apr 1987 There remains the software needed to implement zones. This falls into three categories: 1) Nodelist translators; XlatList 2.70 can already handle a node list with zones. Others may need to be modified. 2) Message entry programs; SEAdog 4.0 can already create messages with interzone addresses. Others will need to be modified. 3) Zone gate interfaces; A program (appropriately called "ZoneGate") has already been written to handle this, but it has not yet been extensively tested. So as you can see, international mail is well in hand. With any luck at all we should have functional international mail channels working in a matter of months. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Fidonews Page 4 20 Apr 1987 ================================================================= ARTICLES ================================================================= Eric Ewanco SEAdog/Opus private node 130/3 Financing Fido The article in the April 5th issue of FidoNews really piqued my curosity on both a large net and alternative methods of sending mail. Fido has a great advertising capability, and there are many many multi-billion dollar companies out there that should be willing to give us grants, buy ads from us, or offer discounted services. For instance, perhaps we can hook AT&T into giving Fidonet nodes a large discount on phone rates. I would love to see the net evolve into one independent of the phone system, depending on grants of communications systems that would make a message cost nothing no matter where sent. Or maybe it would depend only on local calls. Maybe Tymnet or Telenet will give us free network time, or discounted. If we collected "taxes" of a minimal amount, $10 a year maybe, that could help offset the cost of the whole thing. Interfacing with short-wave radio is an excellent idea, too. We could set up advanced routing stations for this. Maybe by the time I get out of college in 5 years, I can work for IFNA, professionally managing such a site. Now that IFNA's a non-profit organization, doors are opened for grants and corporal organization. Who knows, maybe we can wrangle funds from the government. The ~arc (Association for Retarded Citizens, with a dove before it) is already making use of Fido, and other related non-prof organizations are too, and the government may find interest in it, plus the possiblities for war or getting information fast across the country. How about this on the 1040: "Would you like to contribute $5 to the International FidoNet Organization, a non-profit organization offering free communications across the world?" That's a coupla million dollars a year. Fidonet has great possiblities; let's explore them as much as possible. But before we can, we do need to work on forming something more tangible, which we are, through IFNA. But let's not get into politics, or secret organizations, or anything else; let's model ourselves on other non-profit organizations. Another thing: HOSTS, PLEASE DISTRIBUTE EVERY FIDONEWS TO YOUR NODES, and NODES, PLEASE READ THE FIDONEWSES AND DISTRIBUTE THEM TO YOUR USERS. USERS, PLEASE SPREAD INTERESTING ARTICLES AROUND TO NON-COMPUTER PEOPLE. In this way, we can increase FidoNews's circulation, and possible income from ads. Hey, why don't we get a newspaper company to publish it for us? That cost is very very minimal, and it will put FidoNews in everyone's hands. All nodes, please be mature; if you have problems with another node, or a subordinate, or a superior, don't SCREW UP THE Fidonews Page 5 20 Apr 1987 NETWORK by doing childish things like kicking them out because they like another piece of software and want to strengthen the net. United we stand, divided we fall. Don't let personal problems screw everything up. THERE IS NO ROOM FOR IMMATURE ACTIVITY IN FIDONET! Thanx... I make a motion we nominate Wynn Wagner for next year's Fleugalman (sp?) award, the creator of the "MILITANTLY PUBLIC DOMAIN" no-tm Opus software. He's going to do a lot for Fidonet! Eric Ewanco SEAdog/Opus 130/3 (private node) ----------------------------------------------------------------- Fidonews Page 6 20 Apr 1987 Jean Airey, 132/101!jean@hrcca.UUCP Patrick Troughton Dies (The following was sent to DW clubs belonging to the "APC Network". Any clubs or club members on this net, please feel free to copy) Date: March 31, 1987 It is with very great regret that I must inform you that Patrick Troughton died at 7:25 AM Saturday Morning, March 28 in Columbus Georgia. While the paramedics called to help did everything they could, he was officially pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital. The paramedics believed he had died instantly. He was appearing at Magnum Opus Con - 2. Pat was born March 25th, 1920 and was known and loved by DW fans as the actor who created the Second Doctor. He played the role from November 1966 - June 1969 and later returned to the program to do "The Three Doctors" with Jon Pertwee and Willian Hartnell; "The Five Doctors" with Richard Hurndall, Jon Pertwee and Peter Davison; and "The Two Doctors" with Colin Baker. One of the very best of British character actors, he was at first reluctant to take on the role of The Doctor,fearing that it might cause him to lose the anonymity that he valued highly. The Doctor he created remains in the hearts of many fans as the most vulnerable and humorous. After 1969 he continued his career with appearances in over 20 TV series including "The 6 Wives of Henry The VIII," "The Persuaders," "Jenny," "The Survivors," "Space 1999," "The Feathered Serpent," "The Sweeney," "Treasure Island," and "The Magic Box." Some of his major film appearances were in: "Scars of Dracula," "Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger," and "The Omen." Until 1983 he was noted for not giving interviews of "doing" conventions. However, in the spring of that year he was at the BBC Longleat Festival and gave an interview to the "Doctor Who Monthly" (#78). In November of 1983 he came over to America to the first of the Chicago "Monstercons," with some 20 other guests. In spite of that conventions' confusion, it would seem that he enjoyed the experience as he has returned several times since to do more Spirit Of Light conventions as well as several for the Doctor Who Fan Club Of America. He greatly seemed to enjoy the spirit of the fan conventions such as OMNICON. He was scheduled to do several "stops" with the BBC Festival Tour later this year. He always seemed to enjoy meeting fans and the word from some people at the convention is that although he had a very light "official" schedule on Friday, he spent most of his time walking around, talking to people, signing autographs and "having a good time." He will be very much missed by all of us. Fidonews Page 7 20 Apr 1987 The family has asked that no flowers be sent. Cards may be sent c/o the "Doctor Who" Production Office, BBC TV, Union House, 65/69 Shepherds Bush Green, London, England W12 7RJ. If anyone wishes to make a donation in Pat's memory to a cause he cared about, it should be to Cancer Research. -- Jean Airey: US Mail 1306 W. Illinois, Aurora, IL 60506 ihnp4!hrcca!jean -- Posted to the FidoNews by Kurt Reisler, SYSOP, The Bear's Den, Fido 109/74. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Fidonews Page 8 20 Apr 1987 FidoGrams Free Telegram Service Cape Cod Fido is still offering it's free telegram service. Yes, you saw it correctly - free. In addition, we now have a west coast outlet to send messages through in addition at node 114/15. Through the courtesy of the thousands of dedicated Amateur Radio Operators who make up the American Radio Relay league's National Traffic System, Fidonet now allows you to send FidoGrams to almost anyone, almost anywhere, regardless of whether or not that person is even remotely interested in computers, modems or terminal software. There are literally thousands of uses for this free FidoGram service. Examples include: 1. Sending greetings during holidays, birthdays, or just to renew old acquaintances. 2. Sending batches of messages to your club members who are scattered all over the country. 3. Making all your old cronies green around the edges by announcing your next month-long cruise to Timbuktu, or bragging about your recent engagement to Mr/Ms wonderful. 4. College students: telling Ma how much you miss her apple pie. 5. Requesting health and welfare information on friends or family located (or not yet located!) in a disaster area. As with anything neat like this, some cautions are in order. Since these FidoGrams are not sent over commercial circuits such as Western Union, or RCA, but rather via FCC-controlled Amateur Radio Circuits, there are some constraints. First, if you really want to make Fido curl up his lip, bare his teeth and growl, just try sending a free Fidogram that relates in any way to business, or the making of a profit by any party. Fido will make kitty litter out of anything that does not look like a personal, non- business message. Don't even attempt it. Ditto for profanity. Second, when utilizing the services of many volunteers, you must consider the length of your messages. The simplest way to do this is to pretend that you were paying the standard 67 cents per word! Keep your messages short and to the point. The radio operators may even then elect to break up your messages into more than one telegram. How lengthy is lengthy? Perhaps 20-30 words per message max. Just use discretion.