F I D O N E W S -- Volume 13, Number 51 16 December 1996 +----------------------------+-----------------------------------------+ | The newsletter of the | ISSN 1198-4589 Published by: | | FidoNet community | "FidoNews" | | _ | 1-904-409-7040 [1:1/23] | | / \ | | | /|oo \ | | | (_| /_) | | | _`@/_ \ _ | | | | | \ \\ | Editor: | | | (*) | \ )) | Christopher Baker 1:18/14 | | |__U__| / \// | | | _//|| _\ / | | | (_/(_|(____/ | | | (jm) | Newspapers should have no friends. | | | -- JOSEPH PULITZER | +----------------------------+-----------------------------------------+ | Submission address: FidoNews Editor 1:1/23 | +----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | MORE addresses: | | | | submissions=> cbaker84@digital.net | +----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | For information, copyrights, article submissions, | | obtaining copies of FidoNews or the internet gateway FAQ | | please refer to the end of this file. | +----------------------------------------------------------------------+ NO .BIO FILES RECEIVED AGAIN THIS WEEK. NO FILM AT 2300! Table of Contents 1. EDITORIAL ................................................ 1 "Quando Omni Flunkus Moritatus!"?? ....................... 1 2. ARTICLES ................................................. 2 Program To Assist New Nodes Available For Beta Testing ... 2 3. COLUMNS .................................................. 3 FIDONET IN EUROPE ........................................ 3 4. GETTING TECHNICAL ........................................ 4 FidoNet Standard FTS-0009, MSGID/REPLY identifiers ....... 4 5. COORDINATORS CORNER ...................................... 6 Nodelist-statistics as seen from Zone-2 for day 348 ...... 6 6. NET HUMOR ................................................ 7 The Modern Days of Christmas? ............................ 7 The Ghost of Christmas Future? ........................... 9 7. COMIX IN ASCII ........................................... 13 Something Seasonal in ASCII .............................. 13 8. NOTICES .................................................. 15 Future History ........................................... 15 9. FIDONET SOFTWARE LISTING ................................. 16 Latest Greatest Software Versions ........................ 16 10. FIDONEWS PUBLIC-KEY ..................................... 23 This Space intentionally left blank? ..................... 23 11. FIDONEWS INFORMATION .................................... 24 FIDONEWS 13-51 Page 1 16 Dec 1996 ================================================================= EDITORIAL ================================================================= "Quando Omni Flunkus Moritatus!" Is this the new motto for FidoNet, FidoNews, Coordinators? If your local public television [or commercial in Canada and who who knows where overseas] station runs a program called "The New Red Green Show", you may have already heard of the Possum Oath. Red Green is is a cantankerous geezer always looking for shortcuts to getting things done without going through any normal channels like buying stuff he needs or using equipment as it was designed. Red believes fun and materiel are where you 'find' them [usually after dark]. In one episode, Red made a hovercraft out of a boat hull, a lawn chair, a six foot wide roll of duct tape, and a CO2 fire extinguisher. It hovered [briefly] then blasted backward into destruction. Reminds me of some mailer software I've used. [grin] Is there any analogy here? You decide. The new year is coming and things are pretty much the same as ever in FidoNet. That's not necessarily good. Is it time to make some concerted efforts at various levels to get FidoNet moving forward again? Something not cobbled together from bits and pieces of outdated methodology or philosophy, perhaps? Something with less geezer-factor and whining? Or should we just let it slide and adopt the Possum Oath as our own? "Quando Omni Flunkus Moritatus!" "When all else fails play dead!" You tell me. C.B. ----------------------------------------------------------------- FIDONEWS 13-51 Page 2 16 Dec 1996 ================================================================= ARTICLES ================================================================= Program To Assist New Nodes Available For Beta Testing by Richard Bash (1:231/0) As the NC of Net 231 in Indianapolis, Indiana, I am writing a software package that is designed to enable a new applicant to FidoNet to create a message to be sent to the NC (or RC, in those rare cases where the node is under the RC) which contains his application to FidoNet and his preliminary nodelist entry. That message would then be used by the NC to get the data into the nodelist. This software should make a FidoNet NC or RC's job easier as well as make life easier for a new node. The original idea for this program came from a now unsupported program written by Justin Marquez (jmarquez@cynara.com; FidoNet 1:106/100) entitled NODEREQ.EXE. I have notified Justin I have written a new program that was inspired by his program. The advantage of my program, NODEDATA.EXE, is that it goes well beyond NODEREQ.EXE and is also up-to-date with the current FidoNet requirements. I would like to put this program out on a wide beta test and seek the input of other FidoNet nodes. If you are interested in participating in the testing (remove any extraneous bugs I've overlooked in the testing to date, offer suggestions to improve the program, etc.), please feel free to file request NODEDATA.ZIP from me cat 1:231/0. If you provide return comments and criticisms on the program after examining it, your name will be included in the forthcoming documentation file thanking those who assisted in this project. When the project is completed and a release version is ready, you will be notified and can file request the release version for use in your operations. There is no charge for the beta or release versions of the software. Again, if you are interested in participating in this beta test program, you are welcome to file request NODEDATA.ZIP and send me your comments. Thank you for your time. Sincerely, Richard Bash 1152 N. White River Parkway West Dr. - Apt. 1101 Indianapolis, IN 46222-3197 Voice: 1-317-226-9614 FAX:: 1-317-226-9616 E-mail: rmbash@cord.iupui.edu Fido: 1:231/0 or 1:231/812 ----------------------------------------------------------------- FIDONEWS 13-51 Page 3 16 Dec 1996 ================================================================= COLUMNS ================================================================= Fidonet In Europe ----------------- by Dave Meikle ( NOTE NEW NET ADDRESS : 2:259/24.105) Sorry about last week , I was getting my new net address do you forgive me ? :-) Nothing happened anyway :-( Newz just in: THE (UN)OFFICAL DALKEITH THISTLE F.C. Web PAGE. http://members.aol.com/rebeljambo/thistle Thats all folks. Dave ----------------------------------------------------------------- FIDONEWS 13-51 Page 4 16 Dec 1996 ================================================================= GETTING TECHNICAL ================================================================= [This is the final installment of the FidoNet Standards in a series of Standards and Proposals being made in numerical order. This is also part of our FidoNet History series. It has been reformatted where necessary to meet the 70 column restriction.] Ed. Document: FTS-0009 Version: 001 Date: 17-Dec-91 MSGID / REPLY A standard for unique message identifiers and reply chain linkage 17 December, 1991 jim nutt 1:114/30@fidonet Status of this document: This FTS (FidoNet(r) Technical Standard) specifies an optional standard for the FidoNet community. Implementation of the protocols defined in this document is not mandatory, but all implementations of these protocols are expected to adhere to this standard. Distribution of this document is unlimited. Fido and FidoNet are registered marks of Tom Jennings and Fido Software. MSGID A MSGID line consists of the string "^AMSGID:" (where ^A is a control-A (hex 01) and the double-quotes are not part of the string), followed by a space, the address of the originating system, and a serial number unique to that message on the originating system, i.e.: ^AMSGID: origaddr serialno The originating address should be specified in a form that constitutes a valid return address for the originating network. If the originating address is enclosed in double-quotes, the entire string between the beginning and ending double-quotes is considered to be the orginating address. A double-quote character within a quoted address is represented by by two consecutive double-quote characters. The serial number may be any eight character hexadecimal number, as long as it is unique FIDONEWS 13-51 Page 5 16 Dec 1996 - no two messages from a given system may have the same serial number within a three years. The manner in which this serial number is generated is left to the implementor. REPLY A REPLY line consists of the string "^AREPLY:" (where ^A is a control-A (hex 01) and the double-quotes are not part of the string), followed by a space, and the origaddr and serialno fields of the MSGID line of the message to which this message is a reply, i.e.: ^AREPLY: origaddr serialno The origaddr and serialno fields must be identical to the corresponding fields in the MSGID of the message to which this message is a reply. A REPLY line is never generated in a message that is a reply to a message that does not contain a MSGID line. GENERAL MSGID and REPLY lines should be placed before the text body of the message in which they appear. Finally, a MSGID is generated only at the time of message creation. An existing MSGID and/or REPLY should never be stripped from a message passing through an intermediate system. No system should ever add an MSGID and/or REPLY to, or modify an existing MSGID / REPLY contained in, a message not originating on that system. -30- ----------------------------------------------------------------- FIDONEWS 13-51 Page 6 16 Dec 1996 ================================================================= COORDINATORS CORNER ================================================================= Nodelist-statistics as seen from Zone-2 for day 348 By Ward Dossche, 2:292/854 ZC/2 +----+------+------------+------------+------------+------------+--+ |Zone|Nl-320|Nodelist-327|Nodelist-334|Nodelist-341|Nodelist-348|%%| +----+------+------------+------------+------------+------------+--+ | 1 | 11127|11127 0 |10931 -196 |10931 0 |10737 -194 |36| | 2 | 16300|16291 -9 |16240 -51 |16185 -55 |16150 -35 |55| | 3 | 929| 905 -24 | 886 -19 | 882 -4 | 882 0 | 3| | 4 | 620| 589 -31 | 584 -5 | 578 -6 | 572 -6 | 2| | 5 | 95| 94 -1 | 94 0 | 94 0 | 94 0 | 0| | 6 | 999| 1008 9 | 1008 0 | 1006 -2 | 1003 -3 | 3| +----+------+------------+------------+------------+------------+--+ | 30070|30014 -56 |29743 -271 |29676 -67 |29438 -238 | +------+------------+------------+------------+------------+ ----------------------------------------------------------------- FIDONEWS 13-51 Page 7 16 Dec 1996 ================================================================= NET HUMOR ================================================================= From: "Mike Riddle" To: "Baker, Christopher" Subject: FWD THE MODERN DAYS OF CHRISTMAS ==================BEGIN FORWARDED MESSAGE================== >To: rjtavel@iquest.net, juansoberanes@ca.slr.com, > mriddle@monarch.papillion.ne.us, stewarts@staff.abanet.org, > T313r3@aol.com, cmi014@giga.com, daviddivad@aol.com, > davidmcl@mexconnect.com, ucc2@aol.com, khth22a@prodigy.com >CC: jjrose@redoak.heartland.net >Subject: FWD THE MODERN DAYS OF CHRISTMAS SEASON'S GREETINGS! The recent announcement that Donner and Blitzen have elected to take the early reindeer retirement package has triggered a good deal of concern about whether they will be replaced and about other restructuring decisions at the North Pole. Streamlining was appropriate in view of the reality that the North Pole no longer dominates the season's gift distribution business. Home shopping channels and mail order catalogues have diminished Santa's market share, and he could not sit idly by and permit further erosion of the profit picture. The reindeer downsizing was made possible through the purchase of a late model Japanese sled for the CEO's annual trip. Improved productivity from Dasher and Dancer, who summered at the Harvard Business School, is anti