F I D O N E W S Volume 15, Number 47 23 November 1998 +----------------------------+---------------------------------------+ | The newsletter of the | ISSN 1198-4589 Published by: | | FidoNet community | "FidoNews" | | _ | +27-41-515-913 [5:5/23] | | / \ | | | /|oo \ | | | (_| /_) | | | _`@/_ \ _ | | | | | \ \\ | Editor: | | | (*) | \ )) | Henk Wolsink 5:7104/2 | | |__U__| / \// | | | _//|| _\ / | | | (_/(_|(____/ | | | (jm) | Newspapers should have no friends. | | | -- JOSEPH PULITZER | +----------------------------+---------------------------------------+ | Submission address: FidoNews Editor 5:5/23 | +--------------------------------------------------------------------+ | MORE addresses: | | | | submissions=> editor@fidonews.org | | hwolsink@catpe.alt.za | +--------------------------------------------------------------------+ | For information, copyrights, article submissions, | | obtaining copies of FidoNews or the internet gateway FAQ | | please refer to the end of this file. | +--------------------------------------------------------------------+ Table of Contents 1. EDITORIAL ................................................ 1 2. GUEST EDITORIAL .......................................... 3 Interaction - Douglas Myers .............................. 3 3. ARTICLES ................................................. 4 Small things make up a lot ............................... 4 ECHOLADE - refreshing echomail. Hans Mangold explains ... 5 FTSC Elections ........................................... 6 Result of RC election in region 2:20 (Sweden) ............ 11 Santronics Software Announcement ......................... 12 4. COLUMNS .................................................. 14 What's Not Happening - Zorch Frezberg, Trustee ........... 14 5. NOTICES .................................................. 16 6. FIDONET BY INTERNET ...................................... 17 7. FIDONEWS INFORMATION ..................................... 20 FIDONEWS 15-47 Page 1 23 Nov 1998 ================================================================= EDITORIAL ================================================================= Greetings, What a week it was. Travelled to much, thank you! On the subject of being disgusted, remember? :-) Take this scenario: The moderator of 'X' echo, has the password to amend and/or change it's entry and whatever it needs to do, in order to keep said echo on the backbone. Great, nothing difficult about that. A new moderator is appointed and takes over the duties of said echo. He/she does not have the password in order to sent the update, but the update is politely done by the ex-moderator. Great, still not difficult. The new moderator wants to update the details (or whatever) him/her- self but without the said password, is unable to do so. Now what? So how does the newly appointed moderator obtain the current password? One of two ways, as I see it. Great, nothing difficult about that. The new moderator contacts the ex-moderator and request said password with no results. However, the list keeper ofcourse, knows the said password by means of looking it up in the database, or such similar setup and could pass it on to the newly appointed moderator OR, do the changes for said moderator. Whats the moral of the story? Let me explain as I see it: The list keeper has NO right to - a. supply the new moderator the current password or b. change the password or c. change details of the echo with permission of the password holder. ie. Ex-moderator in the above scenario. BUT, the details have been changed, now what? What it means, is that the list keeping system is no longer 'secure' and can be changed at will by any one and sundry. This is a sad state affairs for FidoNet, since echomail is one item, which keeps FidoNet allive and well! Secrecy has been violated! Get rid of the echolist keeping system. It's useless with what has happened recently! Great, so what is so difficult keeping a password secret? I know, there will be readers who will e-mail/netmail me about the bove, but remember, if the shoe fits, wear it. FIDONEWS 15-47 Page 2 23 Nov 1998 Should commercial advertising be allowed in FidoNews? YES and NO. Let me explain YES and NO. YES - if it is related to BBS's and/or FidoNet or both, I will allow it. NO - if it has nothing to do with either of the above, simple. If you have a new version or new product which does something for BBS's or FidoNet, it can be advertised in FidoNews. If you have a web site which promotes FidoNet, it may advertised in FidoNews. If said web site promotes porno, stay away, it will not be allowed in FidoNews. I'm sure you get my meaning. ;-) Happy reading, ----------------------------------------------------------------- FIDONEWS 15-47 Page 3 23 Nov 1998 ================================================================= GUEST EDITORIAL ================================================================= Interaction - Douglas Myers INTERACTION Doug Myers I'd like to welcome Bob Satti back to the Z1C echo. Bob, you're actually giving better than you're getting right now - keep up the interaction. What's important about your interaction is the debunking effect it has. Folks really want to know what's going on with Fido, and the imagination will readily supply any details necessary to fill in the picture. When you are remote, the echoes fill with stories of vast conspiracies, awesome power struggles, and plots to keep the proletariat sysops firmly ground beneath the heel. On the other hand, it was kinda good for this individual - who isn't otherwise "in the know" - to hear that Bob Kohl's denials just weren't that important to you, that every message that crosses your system isn't made public because it's just too damned much trouble, and that "noted" isn't really a ritual damnation. As for our own behavior... well, I can't control it any more than you control all things in Fidonet. Clay Tannacore will continue to believe you when you say Kohl resigned, then have doubts when Kohl denies it. Perhaps you could dig up the archives to satisfy him, but you'll continue to be in the position of having the authority to do what you want so long as you justify it to him and don't set any precedents. Lynn Gypson will continue to want more input than you have to give. She's not a troublemaker, but she does think you have more time and resources than any one guy could muster in a lifetime. Darrell Slater will continue to ask you to resign. There's nothing you can do about it - you're at the top of a structure he doesn't believe in and empowered by a policy he doesn't think is legitimate. You would need to fire the RCC and void Policy 4 to satisfy him, and I doubt that this is within your power. And folks will continue to demand leadership while insisting that you're no more than a nodelist clerk. It's the nature of the family. -- | Fidonet: Douglas Myers 1:270/720@fidonet.org | Internet: doug@mdtnbbs.com | Standard disclaimer: The views of this user are strictly his own. | From Mdtn_BBS @mdtnbbs.com [ In the Heart of Three Mile Island ] ----------------------------------------------------------------- FIDONEWS 15-47 Page 4 23 Nov 1998 ================================================================= ARTICLES ================================================================= Small things make up a lot by Adriano Garcia*, from Uberaba/MG, Brazil (1:396/45.19) Since my last article on FidoNews (in fact it was a guest editorial) I've been getting a lot of feedback of Fido folks discussing the issues of promoting the net and the BBSing hobby in general. So I decided to repeat the great effort - and pleasure - of writing an article discussing the trends that go with this hobby of ours. There is a lot of discouraged people out there. And there's plenty of reasons for that and one have just to read the sysop conferences to find them out. Every single good cause that is brought up is carefully taken down by old fashioned rivalry. Now that I've given up on talking about the ever renewing fights between sysops, now I'm taking a broader view to encompass promoting BBSes in general. Not long ago, I've subscribed to the PROMOTE_BBS echo. When I did it, I thought that BBSing really needs to be promoted if we want to keep it alive for ourselves in the future. I won't dare to say that we have to keep it to ours sons and grandsons because I'm still 24 and also because, in this ever changing world of online connection, it just may be to 'dreamy' now. Now back to the real world. When I got my first packet of PROMOTE_BBS (in fact a rescanned one), all I could see was a bunch of new ideas brought down by people discussing - guess? - elections for a so-called entity designed to help promoting BBSes. Now what? Do we need to setup a political chain just to say what we have to do to promote the system we know so well? How would it work on a local situation? Will that lonely sysop from Troy, PA, have to wait for a decision from a Board of Directors to start a local campaign according to the objectives of the council? Why do we have to centralize and build up a chain of command? Why don't people just get together on local chapters to promote the system on the local level and start a forum to discuss and share their experiences? Somebody told me once that humans are political by nature. Maybe he told me that because politics replaced physical violence with the violence of words. I cannot understand what is the difference between killing somebody with words or with a gun. They both simbolize the same kind of action. As happens with pennies and relationships, small pieces make up a lot sometimes, mainly because they are so small that they aren't accounted for until they become big things. But, many times, big things are also very hard to face and when they get bigger they are harder to ignore and destroy. FIDONEWS 15-47 Page 5 23 Nov 1998 With this kind of actions between people that were supposed to be allies, we are just creating those small things that will keep many away from BBSing and from FidoNet. --------------------------------------------------------------------- * Adriano Garcia is a Brazilian journalist, living in Uberaba, Brazil and has been a sysop (former 4:801/53) from 1992 to 1994. ----------------------------------------------------------------- ECHOLADE - refreshing echomail. Hans Mangold explains the Exodus . -- -- -- -- -- ECHOLADE - -- -- -- -- . | A refreshing extract from Fido's echoes | | Purloined without permission by D Myers | ` -- -- -- -- -- -- - -- -- -- -- -- -- ' In this response to Bob Short, Hans Mangold counters the theory that the style of posting in FN_SYSOP is responsible for the exodus of Fidonet Sysops. -- -- -- BS> If the majority of departing fido sysops feel as I do about the BS> sort of BS that goes on in this echo (and a few others, to be BS> fair), I'd wager this was a contributing factor in their BS> decision to leave the net. Bob, please -- whatever happens in this echo, Z1C, or elsewhere, makes little difference. Open your eyes and look at the traffic in the once popular echoes, like Genealogy, once 550 and more messages per day, now 2.3 (yes, two-point-three). And that was/is a well moderated echo! My BBS was once upon a time the busiest in our entire Region; heck, I'm sure there were times (days, weeks) when more echomail from BBS callers originated here than anywhere else in Zone 1. Today, Nov. 17, 1998, my system is the only BBS left in our city. With all of the promotions I've done here, including feature articles in the Daily Newspaper, Fido was/is very well known around here -- but the thousands of people who once enjoyed Fido locally prefer the internet today. As Yogi Berra would have said: if people don't want to call my BBS, there's nothing I can do to stop them. Even having an "exclusive" in our fair city now, I'm down to two or three BBS callers per day, four on a rainy day. That is the reason many SysOps pull the plug -- not seeing any purpose anymore to all of the work that goes into running a system. So, please, don't bother blaming FN_SYSOP for the decline in Fidonet -- BBS callers don't have access and SysOps suit themselves -- some participate, others just lurk, and the majority doesn't waste HD space for the traffic. The most recent FN_SYSOP moderator election produced 57 votes. 57 -- for an _international_ sysop echo. Think about it. The annual election was a chance for change -- 10 votes FIDONEWS 15-47 Page 6 23 Nov 1998 were cast for the former moderator, and 47 for other candidates -- only 47 wanted change! =If= your philosophy had any merit, e.g. blaming FN_SYSOP for disappearing nodes, I'm sure more than 47 out of (almost) 20,000 nodes would have sent a clear signal. Instead, the signal was one of "who cares about FN_SYSOP"..... :-( No use crying over spilled milk and lingering in the past. Surely Fidonet will sort itself out as time progresses; some of us have Fido in our blood and we'll stick around for a long time to come -- for our own pleasure more so than for the pleasure of (non-existent) BBS callers. Others see it as a waste of time and will drop out -- I mean, Fido once upon a time was a great resource for technical information. Now, look at it -- once popular echoes like HS_MODEMS (with Rick Collins as excellent moderator) don't have one single message for =weeks=. Not a pretty picture all around, and no easy solutions. Sysops have always come and gone in the past; only difference today is that it is no longer the ambition of every kid with a PC in town to become a sysop when ICQ has so much more to offer to the "instant society". The state of FN_SYSOP has little influence on existing nodes; guess Randy Bush was right after all. -- | Fidonet: Douglas Myers 1:270/720@fidonet.org | Internet: doug@mdtnbbs.com | Standard disclaimer: The views of this user are strictly his own. | From Mdtn_BBS @mdtnbbs.com [ In the Heart of Three Mile Island ] ----------------------------------------------------------------- FTSC Elections by Goran Eriksson, 2:201/505, get@get.pp.se Odinn Sorensen has informed us that he wants step down as FTSC Administrator as soon as another person is ready to take over that office. Furthermore, a number of FTSC Standing Members have resigned. To fill these vacancies, there will be two separate elections: 1. An election for new Standing Members. Number of positions to be filled: Not a definite number. According to FTA-1001 the FTSC shall have no less than 7 and no more than 30 members. Therefore a minimum of 0 and a maximum of 11 new Standing Members may be appointed. Eligibility for appointment: See FTA-1001. Nominations: Special nominating committees are not planned at this time. Anyone wishing to be nominated or wishing to nominate someone should therefore contact a FidoNet RC or REC of their own FIDONEWS 15-47 Page 7 23 Nov 1998 choice, soliciting support for the nomination. The nomination period starts immediately and ends on 1998-12-10 at 24:00 UTC. RC's and REC's wishing to nominate someone should do so to the election administrator. RC's and REC's are encouraged to send their nominations by crash mail. If they choose to use routed netmail they do so on their own risk. RC's and REC's may nominate multiple candidates. As well from inside their respective regions as from outside. The election administrator shall no later than 1998-12-11 at 24:00 UTC publish a list of the received valid nominations in the FTSC_PUBLIC echomail conference. The election administrator shall also send a copy of this list to each nodelisted RC and REC. Votes: Only votes from nodelisted RC's and REC's will be accepted provided that they are received by the election administrator no earlier than 1998-12-11 at 00:00 UTC and no later than 1998-12-31 at 24:00 UTC. RC's and REC's are encouraged to send their votes by crash mail. If they choose to use routed netmail they do so on their own risk. Votes for Standing Members should indicate what candidates each voter is supporting. Only those candidates obtaining support from more than 50 % of the total number of RC's and REC's casting valid votes will be considered successfull. Successfull candidates will be appointed according to the total number of supportive votes they have received. The one with the highest number of supportive votes will be appointed first etc. If more than one successfull candidate compete for the last Standing Member position to be filled (making the total number of FTSC members equal to 30) with the same number of supportive votes, the ZCC will be requested to appoint theat Standing Member from among theses competing successfull candidates. If the ZCC has not communicated it's decision in the FTSC_PUBLIC echomail conference before 1999-01-31 at 24:00 UTC, that last position will remain unfilled. Results: The election administrator shall publish the election result in the FTSC_PUBLIC echomail conference no later than on 1999-01-07 at 24:00 UTC. In case of a tie about the last position to be filled this result may be supplemented by the ZCC decision as above no later than 1999-01-31 at 24:00 UTC. Term of office: Elected candidates will be appointed for a period that ends 2000-09-30. 2. An election for a new FTSC Administrator. Number of positions to be filled: 1 Responsibilities: See FTA-1001. Elegibility for appointment: See FTA-1001. Nominations: Anyone wishing to be nominated or wishing to nominate someone should therefore contact a current FTSC Standing Member (who FIDONEWS 15-47 Page 8 23 Nov 1998 has not resigned) of their own choice, soliciting support for the nomination. The nomination period starts immediately and ends on 1998-12-10 at 24:00 UTC. FTSC Standing Members wishing to nominate someone should do so to the election administrator. FTSC Standing Members area encouraged to send their nominations by crash mail. If they choose to use routed netmail they do so on their own risk. FTSC Standing Members may nominate multiple candidates. The election administrator shall no later than 1998-12-11 at 24:00 UTC publish a list of the received valid nominations in the FTSC_PUBLIC echomail conference. The election administrator shall also send a copy of this list to each current Standing Member of the FTSC. Votes: Only votes from FTSC Standing Members as per current version of FTA-1003 who have not resigned from their position will be accepted provided that they are received by the election administrator no earlier than 1998-12-11 at 00:00 UTC and no later than 1998-12-31 at 24:00 UTC. FTSC Standing Members are encouraged to send their votes by crash mail. If they choose to use routed netmail they do so on their own risk. Results: The election administrator shall publish the election result in the FTSC_PUBLIC echomail conference no later than 1999-01-07 at 24:00 UTC. Term of office: The elected candidate will be appointed for a period that ends 2002-12-31. As election administrator for both elections, Mario Mure' has been appointed. FidoNet address: Mario Mure', 2:335/533 Internet address: mure@sistemia.it "Nodelisted RC" is interpreted as anyone in the FidoNet nodelist (current on 1998-12-11) shown as the operator of a system with the Region keyword as per FTS-5. "Nodelisted REC" is interpreted as the first person in the FidoNet nodelist (current on 1998-12-11) identified as the REC of her/his region. Identification by a REC user flag in the nodelist is the preferred way for identification. If any single person occupies both the RC and the REC position for her/his region, she/he is entitled to two votes. FTA documents can be file requested from 2:236/77 or downloaded from http://www.goldware.dk/ftsc. They can also be found on a number of FidoNet systems as well as on a number of ftp and web servers worldwide. The more important sections from FTA-1001 and FTA-1003 are reproduced below. From FTA-1001: FIDONEWS 15-47 Page 9 23 Nov 1998 3.1 FTSC Administrator ---------------------- The FTSC administrator is appointed for a four year renewable term. To be eligible for appointment, an individual must be a Fidonet node, be actively involved in Fidonet, though not necessarily in a programming context, and should have proven organizational skills. A candidate need not be a member of the FTSC. It is recommended that a successful candidate not carry any *C or *EC responsibilities during the term of office. A candidate for FTSC Administrator may be nominated by any Standing Member. The FTSC Administrator is appointed on the basis of a vote by all Standing Members who are defined by the then-current edition of FTA-1003 (FTSC Membership List). A successful candidate must receive approval by at least a plurality of votes. Publication of the nominations and the voting procedure shall take place openly in the FTSC_PUBLIC echo, and voting shall close three weeks after publication of the vote. Votes shall be by netmail ballot to an independent enumerator. Responsibilities: 1. Ensuring FTSC Mandate is adhered to. 2. Facilitating communications links between members. 3. Maintaining document distribution links. 4. Coordinating all membership nominations and voting. 5. Developing Working Groups as required. 6. Ensuring that the FTSC seeks, accepts and responds to public input. 7. Assigning FSP numbers to new Standards Proposals. 3.2 FTSC Standing Members ------------------------- FTSC members are appointed for a two year renewable term. [50 % of appointments on initial formation of the FTSC shall be for a 3 year renewable term, to ensure continuity of the Committee on expiry of the terms.] To be selected as a FTSC member, an individual must be a Fidonet node, and should be actively involved in Fidonet. Examples include having put out a Fidonet-related product or having updated a product in the preceding two years, or having experience as a Coordinator, Echomail Coordinator or mail or file Hub. Standing members may be nominated Fidonet-wide by all of the following methods: 1. Any RC or REC. 2. A nominating committee established for the purpose by the FTSC. FIDONEWS 15-47 Page 10 23 Nov 1998 3. A nominating committee established for the purpose by the ZCC. A nominating committee may not consist of any current member or officer of the FTSC. Standing members are appointed on the basis of a vote by all RCs and RECs who are nodelisted as holding those positions at the time the nominations are published. A successful candidate must receive approval by a majority of votes. Publication of the nomination and the voting procedure, and posting of RC and REC votes, shall take place openly in the FTSC_PUBLIC echo, and voting shall close three weeks after publication of the vote. From FTA-1003 (indications as to what members have resigned have been added): 1. FTSC Administrator --------------------- Odinn Sorensen, 2:236/77, appointed until 01 Dec 2001. 2. FTSC Standing Members ------------------------ Name Node What Appointed until --------------------------------------------------------- Richard Bash 1:231/45 01 Oct 1999 Resigned Ron Bemis 1:124/1113 01 Oct 1999 Mike Bilow 1:323/107 FP-OS/2 01 Oct 2000 Craig Box 3:774/950 01 Oct 2000 Resigned Tobias Burchhardt 2:2448/400 FastEcho 01 Oct 2000 Goran Eriksson 2:201/505 01 Oct 1999 Bjorn Felten 2:203/208 01 Oct 1999 Zorch Frezberg 1:205/0 01 Oct 1999 Joaquim Homrighausen 2:201/330 Frodo 01 Oct 2000 Rune Johansen 2:210/20 01 Oct 2000 Resigned Peter Karlsson 2:206/221 Announcer 01 Oct 1999 Andreas Klein 2:2480/47 Imail 01 Oct 2000 Michael McCabe 1:297/11 FNS 01 Oct 1999 Gary Price 1:3607/26 TriBBS 01 Oct 1999 Carlos Fernandez Sanz 2:341/70 CFRoute 01 Oct 2000 Tom Schlangen 2:2450/10 BT-XE 01 Oct 2000 Resigned Benjamin Schollnick 1:2613/477 QuickBBS 01 Oct 2000 Odinn Sorensen 2:236/77 GoldED 01 Oct 2000 Jason Steck 1:285/424 Jmail 01 Oct 1999 Robert Szarka 1:320/42 WaterGate 01 Oct 2000 Francois Thunus 2:270/25 01 Oct 1999 Resigned Colin Turner 2:443/13 01 Oct 1999 Thomas Waldmann 2:2474/400 BT-XE 01 Oct 2000 Mats Wallin 2:201/329 FDAPX 01 Oct 2000 Any assistance in bringing this message to the attention of all FIDONEWS 15-47 Page 11 23 Nov 1998 concerned/interested parties would be appreciated. Cross-posting in any relevant echomail conference is encouraged. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Result of RC election in region 2:20 by Peter Karlsson, 2:206/221.0, pk@abc.se We've had an election for the RC position, following the procedure set forth in the document "FidoNet Zone 2 document NC_ELECT.Z2 V1.0". It seems, however, that no-one remember to notify FidoNews, so here it is, the official election statement from the election presider (translated into English by me): Forwarded (from: R20_KANDIDAT) (translated) Originally from Hakan Andersson (2:201/600). Well, then the RC election is over for this time. The election superviser, Henrik O A Barkman (2:205/0), has gone through all the data for the whole election, and has acknowledged the election results. Thomas Tydal (2:206/224), has with his total of 16 votes (33.33%) won this election, and thus been appointed the new regional coordinator (RC) for region 20. Congratulations to Thomas Tydal! I thank the superviser, Henrik O A Barkman, for his contribution to this election. //Hakan Andersson - Election presidier ___ - Origin: AreaRobot (2:201/600) And here is the result summary (translated): === Summary of: RC98 === RC98 (Pvt) 1998.10.12 -> 1998.10.25 [(null)] Here is the result of the election of region coordinator (RC) in FidoNet region 20, zone 2, 1998: Candidate Votes --------- ----- 1. Thomas Tydal .......... Total: 16 2. Bjorn Poppe ........... Total: 11 3. Per Lundberg .......... Total: 10 4. Rasmus Kjellman ....... Total: 8 5. Johan Segernas ........ Total: 3 FIDONEWS 15-47 Page 12 23 Nov 1998 ----------------------------------------------------------------- FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Santronics Software Announces the purchase of Mustang Software's, Wildcat! BBS Product Line Homestead, Florida, November 19, 1998 - Santronics Software, Inc., a leading developer of automated mail distribution software today announces the purchase of the Wildcat! Interactive Net Server (WINServer) for Windows 95/NT/98 "Intranet" products, including all add-on modules, Wildcat! DOS and add-on modules, and Offline Xpress from Mustang Software, Inc. These popular and powerful 32 bit Windows and DOS based online service software products have been in the market for over 12 years with a solid reputation for excellent engineering and reliable design. To date Mustang's products have accumulated over 50,000 licensed customers worldwide. "Wildcat! was an outstanding foundation for the creation of a great company," said Jim Harrer, president and chief executive officer of Mustang Software. "Based on the rapid growth of the Internet Message Center as the leading e-mail management solution, the time has come to transition Wildcat! Santronics will provide the support and development necessary to continue the strong Wildcat! tradition for present and future customers worldwide." Santronics Software is renowned for the quality and support of its flagship product, Platinum Xpress (PX). PX is an popular add-on module to the WINServer system. Santronics is a qualified and knowledgeable developer of WINServer software and the current Wildcat! customer base is more than familiar with Santronics' excellent reputation. "We believe in Wildcat! We believe we can take it to the next level and continue to make it a top Internet product. As an organization, we will focus on Wildcat!'s development and provide the support and total commitment the product needs to reach this goal," said Hector Santos, president and R&D Director of Santronics Software. Effective immediately, Santronics plans a complete review of the WINServer product line and to provide the customer base a renewed commitment to Wildcat! by developing new features into the system and by focusing on customer input for the direction of the product line. "The Internet is rapidly changing. Everyone has a basic idea of what they want to do but the solutions come in many pieces. Santronics wants to tell the world that WINServer is an ideal solution for the Internet with features unique to the market," said Mr. Santos. Santronics plans to integrate the company's current Silver Xpress Offline Mail System with the Offline Xpress for Windows version (OLX/Win). The end result will be a powerful new "all purpose" offline Mail Reader for Windows. Silver Xpress will remain available as a DOS based offline mail reader. FIDONEWS 15-47 Page 13 23 Nov 1998 Effective immediately, all sales questions or inquiries about this purchase or Wildcat!, WINServer, etc. should be directed to Andrea Santos, Marketing Director at Santronics, at 305-248-3204 or asantos@santronics.com. About Santronics Software, Inc. Santronics Software, Inc. provides powerful, interactive, and automated solutions in the communications and Internet world. Santronics Software's corporate headquarters is located at 15600 SW 288 St., Suite 306, Homestead, Florida, 33033. Inquiries can be addressed via voice, 305-248-3204; fax, 305-248-3638; and e-mail, sales@santronics.com; or by visiting Santronics Software on the web at http://www.santronics.com. About Mustang Software, Inc. Mustang Software, Inc. delivers creative e-mail management solutions through a combination of the company's unique Web Essentials tools, its unparalleled e-mail management experience and expertise and world- class alliance partnerships. Mustang's Web Essentials line of tools includes the award-winning Internet Message Center, ListCaster and FileCenter. Mustang Software's corporate headquarters is located at 6200 Lake Ming Road, Bakersfield, Calif., 93306. Inquiries can be addressed via voice, 805-873-2500; fax, 805-873-2599; and e-mail, info@mustang.com, or by visiting Mustang Software on the web at http://www.mustang.com. Mustang Software, Inc. is a public company, traded on NASDAQ under the symbol MSTGC. ANDREA SANTOS asantos@santronics.com http://www.santronics.com ----------------------------------------------------------------- FIDONEWS 15-47 Page 14 23 Nov 1998 ================================================================= COLUMNS ================================================================= What's Not Happening - Zorch Frezberg, Trustee .-- -- -- -- -- -- WHAT'S NOT HAPPENING -- -- -- -- -- --. | There isn't always something happening on Fidonet, but | | there's always something which isn't happening. This | | column is dedicated to the lost causes which make Fido | | what it isn't today. Published semi-occasionally... | `-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --' Douglas Myers 1:270/720 doug@mdtnbbs.com IN ZORCH WE TRUST... While most Fidonet echoes are considered the property of their listed moderator for administrative purposes, most moderators consider themselves stewards of their echo for the participants. FN_SYSOP takes this concept one step further, explicitly naming the Fidonet Sysops as owners of the echo, and mandating an annual election of the moderator. The sysops of FN_SYSOP recently elected Rob Ferrara as the new moderator, replacing Zorch Frezberg as the previous moderator. That's what happened... now for what didn't happen. One of the major responsibilities of a moderator is to maintain an accurate listing with the Echolist Robot. Rob was never given the password to accomplish this himself... instead, Zorch Frezberg updated the listing, but retained the password unto himself. Realizing that he was locked out of the future capability of discharging his obligation without the password, Rob Ferrara corresponded with Thom LaCosta (the Echolist Robot Keeper) explaining the situation and requesting that the password be changed to one of his choosing. Thom, considering the recent election as sufficient proof that Rob is the legitimate moderator, made that change. Thom immediately came under fire for this gross application of common sense. Zorch Frezberg revealed a secret "trusteeship," - previously unknown to all but himself, Bob Moravsik, and Bob Kohl - which mandated that Zorch should retain the password in trust for Rob. Complicating this claim is the fact that such an arrangement is not written into the echo rules and that no such trusteeship was known to the sysops of the echo either before or during the vote. Nonetheless, Thom LaCosta is characterized as dishonest by Zorch, Bob, and Bob for changing the password and thwarting the (as yet unrevealed) purpose of the "trusteeship." Is there any substance to the claim that the password should be held in trust? Apparently, such an arrangement existed in the past. FN_SYSOP was on the backbone for years before it became common to elist echoes. In the initial years when FN_SYSOP was listed, the moderator then didn't wish to maintain the listing, so it was FIDONEWS 15-47 Page 15 23 Nov 1998 handled by another individual. It's further apparent that Bob Morasvik held the password through the terms of several moderators without revealing it to them, but then losing it after he revealed it to another individual. Ironically, no other individual held the password while Zorch Frezberg was moderator. But did these arrangements constitute a trust? There's no record of the matter ever being discussed among the sysops, presumably the group who would grant such a trust. There's certainly nothing written in the echo rules or any other public record. Furthermore, the sysops in the echo seem to overwhelmingly reject the idea that the password should be withheld from the elected moderator. And Rob Ferrara is adamant that he only share the password with an individual of his choosing. A cursory look at those who are advocating the "trusteeship" would seem to lend credibility to his attitude: Zorch Frezberg - Zorch is the moderator who was just voted out of office, which might hint at a lack of trust by the sysops in the echo. Zorch is accused of several irregularities in the past two years, including the filing of a frivolous policy complaint and voting multiple times in the last ZEC election (admittedly, this latter is unproven - or at least unpersued, but widely believed). Is this the kind of person the sysops would want as a "trustee?" Bob Morasvik - Bob is widely known for his "legal" assumption of echoes. His past practice is to target echoes which are about to expire from the elist, and then flood the robot with elist entries in the hope that the current moderator will fail to update in time. Among his "successes" are the administrative echoes in his region, now unused as the regional officers were forced to list alternate echoes for regional conversation. Is this "trustee" material? Bob Kohl - This Bob resigned under pressure as Regional Coordinator. He is most remembered for revealing in-transit netmail and driving one of the nets in his region to relocate to another region. He was removed as Zone Echomail Coordinator by the Zone Coordinator at the request of the Regional Echomail Coordinators. Is this "trustee" material? The above three individuals are still demanding that Thom LaCosta re-establish the old password and endorse the "trusteeship," but so far this is still What's Not Happening. -- | Fidonet: Douglas Myers 1:270/720@fidonet.org | Internet: doug@mdtnbbs.com | Standard disclaimer: The views of this user are strictly his own. | From Mdtn_BBS @mdtnbbs.com [ In the Heart of Three Mile Island ] ----------------------------------------------------------------- FIDONEWS 15-47 Page 16 23 Nov 1998 ================================================================= NOTICES ================================================================= Future History 23 Nov 1998 35th Anniversary of Doctor Who. 1 Dec 1998 Fifteenth Anniversary of release of Fido version 1 by Tom Jennings. 16 Feb 1999 13th Anniversary of the introduction of EchoMail by Jeff Rush. 12 May 1999 12th Anniversary of Fido Operations in Zone 4; 10th Anniversary of the creation of FidoNet Zone 4. 24 Jul 1999 XIII Pan American Games [through 8 Aug 99]. 9 Jun 1999 Tenth Anniversary of the adoption of FidoNet Policy 4.07. 10 Sep 1999 10th anniversary of Zone 5 operations. 26 Oct 1999 Thirty years from release Abbey Road album by the Beatles. 31 Dec 1999 Hogmanay, Scotland. The New Year that can't be missed. 1 Jan 2000 The 20th Century, C.E., is still taking place thru 31 Dec. 1 Jun 2000 EXPO 2000 World Exposition in Hannover (Germany) opens. 15 Sep 2000 Sydney (Australia) Summer Olympiad opens. 21 Sep 2000 10 years of FidoNet in +7 (xUSSR) 1 Jan 2001 This is the actual start of the new millennium, C.E. -- If YOU have something which you would like to see in this Future History, please send a note to the FidoNews Editor. ----------------------------------------------------------------- FIDONEWS 15-47 Page 17 23 Nov 1998 ================================================================= FIDONET BY INTERNET ================================================================= This is a list of all FidoNet-related sites reported to the FidoNews Editor as of this issue; see the notice at the end. FidoNet: Homepage http://www.fidonet.org FidoNews http://www.fidonews.org [HTML] http://209.77.228.66/fidonews.html [ASCII] WWW sources http://travel.to/fidonet/ FTSC page http://www.goldware.dk/ftsc Echomail [pending] WebRing http://ddi.digital.net/~cbaker84/fnetring.html [TFN] General http://owls.com/~jerrys/fidonet.html http://www.trak-one.co.uk/foti List servers: http://www.onelist.com/subscribe.cgi/fidonet-discussion ============ Zone 1: http://www.z1.fidonet.org Region 10: http://www.psnw.com/~net205/region10.html Region 11: http://oeonline.com/~garyg/region11/ Region 17: http://www.nwstar.com/~region17/ Region 18: http://techshop.pdn.net/fido/ Region 19: http://www.compconn.net/r19 Zone 1 Elist http://www.baltimoremd.com/elist/ ============ Zone 2: http://www.z2.fidonet.org ZEC2: Zone 2 Elist: http://www.fbone.ch/echolist/ Region 20: http://www.fidonet.pp.se (in Swedish) Region 23: http://www.fido.dk (in Danish) Region 24: http://www.swb.de/personal/flop/gatebau.html (German) Fido-IP: http://home.nrh.de/~lbehet/fido (English/German) Region 25: http://www.bsnet.co.uk/net2502/net/ Region 26: http://www.nemesis.ie REC 26: http://www.nrgsys.com/orb FIDONEWS 15-47 Page 18 23 Nov 1998 Region 27: http://telematique.org/ft/r27.htm Region 29: http://www.rtfm.be/fidonet/ (French) Region 30: http://www.fidonet.ch (German) Region 33: http://www.fidoitalia.net (Italian) Region 34: http://www.pobox.com/cnb/r34.htm (Spanish) REC34: http://pobox.com/~chr Region 36: http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/7207/ Region 38: http://public.st.carnet.hr/~blagi/bbs/adriam.html Region 41: http://www.fidonet.gr (Greek/English) Region 42: http://www.fido.cz Region 48: http://www.fidonet.org.pl Region 50: http://www.fido7.com/ (Russian) Net 5010: http://fido.tu-chel.ac.ru/ (Russian) Net 5015: http://www.fido.nnov.ru/ (Russian) Net 5030: http://kenga.ru/fido/ (Russian & English) Net 5073: http://people.weekend.ru/soa/ (Russian) ============ Zone 3: http://www.z3.fidonet.org ============ Zone 4: http://www.altern.org/zone4 Region 90: http://visitweb.com/fidonet Net 903: http://www.playagrande.com/refugio Net 904: http://members.tripod.com/~net904 (Spanish) ============ Zone 5: http://www.eastcape.co.za/fidonet/index.htm ============ Zone 6: http://www.z6.fidonet.org Region 65: http://www.cfido.com/fidonet/cfidochina.html (Chinese) ============ Pages listed above are as submitted to the FidoNews Editor, and generally reflect Zone and Regional Web Page sites. If no Regional site is submitted, the first Network page from that Region is used in its place. Generally, Regional pages should list access points to all Networks within the Region. FIDONEWS 15-47 Page 19 23 Nov 1998 TCP/IP accessible node access information should be submitted to the FidoNews Editor for inclusion in their Region or Zone. -----------oOo------------- Fidonet Via Internet Hubs Node# | Operator | Facilities (*) | Speed | Basic Rate -----------+-------------------+----------------+-------+----------- 1:12/12 | Ken Wilson | FTP | T1 | $24mo. 1:13/25 | Jim Balcom | FTP | 56k | $20mo. 1:124/7008 | Ben Hamilton |FTP,VMoT,F2I,UUE| 64k | $10/$20mo. 1:140/12 | Bob Seaborn | FTP | T1 | $5/$20 1:270/101 | George Peace | FTP | T1 | $30mo. 1:271/140 | Tom Barstow | F2I | ??? | $2mo. 1:275/1 | Joshua Ecklund | UUE,F2I | 28.8 | $10/yr. 1:280/169 | Brian Greenstreet | FTP | 33.6 | $2mo. 1:2401/305 | Peter Rocca | FTP,UUE | T1 | unkn 1:2424/10 | Alec Grynspan | FTP,VMoT | T1 | $1mo. 1:2424/3121| Earl Clark | UUE | 33.6 | n/c 1:2604/104 | Jim Mclaughlin | FTP,VMoT,UUE | 33.6 | $1mo. 1:2624/306 | D. Calafrancesco | VFOS | 33.6 | $15yr. 1:345/0 | Todd Cochrane | FTP | T1 | n/c 1:346/250 | Aran Spence | FTP,UUE | T1 | $10mo. 1:342/1022 | Steve Steffler | UUE,F2I | 33.6 | n/c 1:3651/9 | Jerry Gause | FTP,VMoT | 33.6 | $3/$6 1:396/1 | John Souvestre | FTP,VMoT | T1 | $15mo. 2:2411/413 | Dennis Dittrich | UUE | 64k | n/c 2:33/505 | Mario Mure | VMoT,UUE | 64k | n/c 2:335/610 | Gino Lucrezi | UUE | 33.6 | n/c 2:469/84 | Max Masyutin | VMoT | 256k | n/c 2:2474/275 | Christian Emig | UUE | 64k | unkn 2:2490/5170| Lenny Murphy | F2I | ??? | n/c 5:7104/2 | Henk Wolsink | FTP | 28.8 | n/c -- + VMoT = Virtual Mailer over Telnet (various) + F2I = Fido2Int (W95) + UUE = uuencode<->email packet transfers compiled by C. Ingersoll, 1:2623/71, (609)814-1978, fbn@dandy.net Posted on the 1st of every month in FN_SYSOP, R13SYSOP and Fidonews. - ___ ! Origin: * Fly By Night * (609)814-1978 *(1:2623/71) ----------------------------------------------------------------- FIDONEWS 15-47 Page 20 23 Nov 1998 ================================================================= FIDONEWS INFORMATION ================================================================= ------- FIDONEWS MASTHEAD AND CONTACT INFORMATION ------- Editor: Henk Wolsink Editors Emeritii: Tom Jennings, Thom Henderson, Dale Lovell, Vince Perriello, Tim Pozar, Sylvia Maxwell, Donald Tees, Christopher Baker, Zorch Frezberg "FidoNews Editor" FidoNet 5:5/23 BBS +27-41-515-913, 2400/9600/V.34/V.90 more addresses: Henk Wolsink -- 5:7104/2, hwolsink@catpe.alt.za (Postal Service mailing address) FidoNews Editor P.O. Box 12325 Port Elizabeth, 6006 South Africa ------------------------------------------------------ FidoNews is published weekly by and for the members of the FIDONET INTERNATIONAL AMATEUR ELECTRONIC MAIL system. It is a compilation of individual articles contributed by their authors or their authorized agents. The contribution of articles to this compilation does not diminish the rights of the authors. OPINIONS EXPRESSED in these articles ARE THOSE OF THE AUTHORS and not necessarily those of FidoNews and/or the Editor. Authors retain copyright on individual works; otherwise FidoNews is Copyright 1998 Henk Wolsink. All rights reserved. Duplication and/or distribution permitted for noncommercial purposes only. For use in other circumstances, please contact the original authors, or the Editor. =*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*= OBTAINING COPIES: The most recent issue of FidoNews in electronic form may be obtained from the FidoNews Editor via manual download or file-request, or from various sites in the FidoNet and Internet. PRINTED COPIES may be obtained by sending SASE to the above postal address. File-request FIDONEWS for the current Issue. File-request FNEWS for the current month in one archive. Or file-request specific back Issue filenames in distribution format [FNEWSFnn.ZIP] for a particular Issue. Monthly Volumes are available as FNWSmmmy.ZIP where mmm = three letter month [JAN - DEC] and y = last digit of the current year [8], i.e., FNWSJAN8.ZIP for all the Issues from Jan 98. FIDONEWS 15-47 Page 21 23 Nov 1998 Annual volumes are available as FNEWSn.ZIP where n = the Volume number 1 - 15 for 1984 - 1998, respectively. Annual Volume archives range in size from 48K to 1.4M. INTERNET USERS: FidoNews is available via: http://www.fidonews.org http://www.fidonet.org/fidonews.htm ftp://ftp.fidonet.org/pub/fidonet/fidonews/ ftp://ftp.irvbbs.com/fidonews/ ftp://ftp.nwstar.com/Fidonet/Fidonews And in non-English formats via: http://www.hvc.ee/pats/fidonews (Estonian) http://www.fidonet.pp.se/sfnews (Swedish) *=*=* You may obtain an email subscription to FidoNews by sending email to: jbarchuk@worldnet.att.net with a Subject line of: subscribe fnews-edist and no message in the message body. To remove your name from the email distribution use a Subject line of: unsubscribe fnews-edist with no message to the same address above. * You may retrieve current and previous Issues of FidoNews via FTPMail by sending email to: ftpmail@fidonews.org with a Subject line of: help and FTPMail will immediately send a reply containing details and instructions. When you actually make a file request, FTPMail will respond in three stages. You find a link for this process on www.fidonews.org. *=*=* You can read the current FidoNews Issue in HTML format at: http://www.fidonews.org STAR SOURCE for ALL Past Issues via FTP and file-request - Available for FReq from 1:396/1 or by anonymous FTP from: ftp://ftp.sstar.com/fidonet/fnews/ Each yearly archive also contains a listing of the Table-of-Contents FIDONEWS 15-47 Page 22 23 Nov 1998 for that year's issues. The total set is currently about 13 Megs. =*=*=*= The current week's FidoNews and the FidoNews public-key are now also available almost immediately after publication on the FidoNews Editor homepage on the World Wide Web at: http://209.77.228.66/fidonews.html There are also links there to jim barchuk's HTML FidoNews source and to John Souvestre's FTP site for the archives. There is also an email link for sending in an article as message text. Drop on over. =*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*= SUBMISSIONS: You are encouraged to submit articles for publication in FidoNews. Article submission requirements are contained in the file ARTSPEC.DOC, available from the FidoNews Editor, or file-requestable from 5:5/23 [5:7104/2] as file "ARTSPEC.DOC". ALL Zone Coordinators also have copies of ARTSPEC.DOC. Please read it. "Fido", "FidoNet" and the dog-with-diskette are U.S. registered trademarks of Tom Jennings, P.O. Box 410923, San Francisco, CA 94141, and are used with permission. "Disagreement is actually necessary, or we'd all have to get in fights or something to amuse ourselves and create the requisite chaos." -Tom Jennings -----------------------------------------------------------------