F I D O N E W S Volume 18, Number 20 14 May 2001 +--------------------------+-----------------------------------------+ | The newsletter of the |Fido, Fidonet and dog-with-diskette are | | FidoNet community | Registered Trademarks of Tom Jennings | | Copyright through | San Francisco, California, USA | | 2007 | | | _ | Crash Netmail Attach Articles To: | | / \ | Editor@1:1/23 (1-972-562-8064) | | /|oo \ | flv@texoma.net | | (_| /_) | or | | _`@/_ \ _ | Frank Vest@1:124/6308 | | | | \ \\ | | | | (*) | \ )) | Editor: Frank Vest | | |__U__| / \// | | | _//|| _\ / | | | (_/(_|(____/ | | | (jm) | Newspapers should have no friends. | | | -- JOSEPH PULITZER | +--------------------------+-----------------------------------------+ Copyright 2001 by Frank L. Vest, Editor for Fidonews Globally. Table of Contents 1. FOOD FOR THOUGHT ......................................... 1 2. HEADLINE NEWS ............................................ 2 !! Happy Mothers Day !! .................................. 2 3. EDITORIAL ................................................ 3 International "Fidonet" Trademark/Copyright .............. 3 4. GUEST EDITORIAL .......................................... 5 Setting a Good Example ................................... 5 5. QUESTION OF THE WEEK ..................................... 8 Is an International Coordinator needed in Fidonet? ....... 8 6. ANSWERS OF THE WEEK ...................................... 9 Answer to: Copyright or Trademark? From Lawrence Garvin .. 9 Followup to "Why not carry" .............................. 9 7. INTERVIEWS ............................................... 11 Interview with Bryan Turner of Vagabond Software ......... 11 8. OL'WDB'S COLUMN .......................................... 13 Ol' WDB's Column ......................................... 13 9. EDITOR'S CORNER .......................................... 14 Backup Editor and Co-Moderator ........................... 14 10. GETTING TECHNICAL ....................................... 16 Windows - Hyper Terminal ................................. 16 11. HUMOR IN A FIDO VEIN .................................... 17 Policy of Non-Rights :) .................................. 17 12. COMIX IN ASCII .......................................... 19 Owls ..................................................... 19 13. CLEAN HUMOR & JOKES ..................................... 20 Just do it and don't cheat! :) ........................... 20 14. FIDONET BY INTERNET ..................................... 21 Fidonet-related sites .................................... 21 15. FIDONEWS INFORMATION .................................... 25 How to Submit an Article ................................. 25 Credits, Legal Infomation, Availability .................. 26 FIDONEWS 18-20 Page 1 14 May 2001 ================================================================= FOOD FOR THOUGHT ================================================================= God grant me the serenity to accept the things I can't change, Courage to change the things I can, and Wisdom to know the difference. ----------------------------------------------------------------- FIDONEWS 18-20 Page 2 14 May 2001 ================================================================= HEADLINE NEWS ================================================================= !! Happy Mothers Day !! On Sunday May - 13, in the USA, we took time to honor mothers. You know, that person that gave you birth, nursed you, made sure you washed behind your ears and taught you how to behave in public, amoung other things. I don't know if other countries or nations have such a day for honoring mothers, but if you do or if you don't, I'll still say on behalf of myself and the Fidonews to all the mothers in the world; !!! HAPPY MOTHERS DAY !!! I hope it was a wonderful day for all of you, even if it isn't celebrated in your country. ----------------------------------------------------------------- FIDONEWS 18-20 Page 3 14 May 2001 ================================================================= EDITORIAL ================================================================= International "Fidonet" Trademark/Copyright I've seen the discussion in the Fidonews echo over the copyright and trademark of Fidonet as regards Zones other than Zone 1. Thoughts and beliefs all around seem to feel that either, the copyright and/or trademark are for the U.S.A. only and don't mean anything outside of the U.S.A., or that, due to some legal convention of some sort, the copyright and/or trademark is international. I'm not going to get into the legal aspects of this. I am going to present it in this light: Fidonet is an International community. As such, it spans the bounderies of nations and requires some thought in regards to laws in other countries and just plain old consideration for our neighbors. True, the trademark and copyright might not mean anything in countries other than the U.S.A. Does that mean that it should not be there? True, the Nodelist and other documents are the work of the individual authors or people that wrote them. Does that mean that some recognizition of the founder of Fidonet should not be in these documents? In another discussion in the Fidonews echo, there was concern over copyright of articles submitted to the Fidonews Publication. Part of an explaination of the concern mentioned that a person, not in the USA, had written a program that he failed to copyright and that program was "stolen" from him when he loaned it to a company he worked for. This brought up the question, in my mind, of "What if the program had been copyright in the persons own country and not in the USA and the company that 'stole' the program had been a USA company?". This might not seem to matter in this editorial, but hang in there. Fidonet is a "global" cummunity. As such, we must interact in order to survive in one piece. True, we could split off into different parts... maybe we already are in regards to Zones... but we still have to interact in order to be Fidonet in the global sense. So, just because it isn't copyright in one part of Fidonet, does that mean that it shouldn't be kept in other parts of Fidonet? What I'm referring to, in case you haven't figured it out, is the statements in the Nodelist that vary from Zone 1 to Zone 2 and maybe other Zones. Some in Zone 2 state that the copyright for Fidonet is only in Zone 1 and doesn't mean anything in other Zones. Some in Zone 1 claim that the copyright does mean something in other Zones. FIDONEWS 18-20 Page 4 14 May 2001 Who's right? I really don't care. All I'm asking is, "Does it really matter?!?". Let's pull all this together: As mentioned earlier, a person wrote a program. Let's forget that the program could have made the person some money. Let's assume that the program was freely given for use and was copyright in that person's country only. Would it be legal for the USA company to not give copyright credit to the author? Of course it would be legal. Would it be proper? Now, let's look at Fidonet. Fidonet was brought into being by a person in the USA. The copyright and/or trademark are copyright in the USA. Would it be legal for other countries to not include the copyright in their Fidonet related documents that would require such in the USA? Of course it would be legal. Would it be proper? What I'm really saying here is simple. Legally, there might not be anything that can be done about what a country does in regards to a copyright or trademark from another country. On the other hand, in regards to relations between the countries, there are things to be considered. Maybe, instead of asking ourselves "Is it legal?" or arguing the "My Zone against your Zone". Maybe, just maybe, what we should ask is: "What does it hurt to give and respect this copyright or trademark from another country?" and "What would I want if the 'shoe was on the other foot'"? Regards, Frank ----------------------------------------------------------------- FIDONEWS 18-20 Page 5 14 May 2001 ================================================================= GUEST EDITORIAL ================================================================= Setting a good example By Frank Robbins All Fido SysOps should strive to set a GOOD example for everyone to be proud of and work fairly within the Fido policy, to do things that are right to other fellow SysOps, no matter what country you are from, whether you are male or female, whether you can speak a little of the language to communicate with other fellow SysOps. Those SysOps who rise on occasion to elected positions are expected to do GOOD for Fido, foster goodwill and promote a healthy environment for this to occur. In fact, every SysOp should attempt to practice this! The person who registered the Fido Trademarks, namely Tom Jennings, caused global communications in 1984 to be afforded to mostly anyone with a computer, a few files, a few rules, a little investment and freedom to spand the continents "in search of" new friends at home and internationally, learning about people and countries without barriers or boundaries! Have we learned anything in those 17 years of Fido existence? It has been a long-time tradition to place the Fido trademark info in the nodelist, the fidonews and other related fido items, to properly credit Tom Jennings. Just because Tom Jennings is not here actively now, does NOT diminsh the importance of running Fido with good common sense and integrity. Tom paid his dues in the Fido root movement and moved onto to other things in life to occupy his time. This is life. He left behind a hobby that has been able to run itself after he contributed his time and expertise to promoting Fido. As many of you know, Tom Jennings is just an email away. I however would not recommend contacting him for trival matters. You might get surprised. I have been lucky to have some correspondence with Tom. Not everyone gets a reply! I have been searching and collecting Fido related info for over 5 years and have visited several hundred Fido websites, some do give credit to Tom Jennings and many do not. Many Fido websites have been abandoned and left in place on the internet. What a shame! Fido SysOps come and go for what ever reason, some political, some get burned-out, some of them die. Many just hang-in there because they like the hobby. I agree with Tom Jennings when he saids his trademarks are verificable and are valid, and there is no room to argue about them. Maybe the people who argue about them should check their facts out more closely FIDONEWS 18-20 Page 6 14 May 2001 and set a fine example as a Fido SysOp no matter what position you maintain in Fido. Maybe they might not want to set the record straight. No one should go unchallenged when they attempt to bring discredit upon Fido for any reason. If you are a Fido SysOp, you should set a good example for others to follow, not just today, but for always. No matter who registered the trademark first or which country did it, it would be reasonable for everyone to respect a legal trademark no matter where you live, as provided by law. Some of the same people who have enjoyed the benefits of this BBS hobby are the ones who have decided to tear down what Fido stands for. This cannot go unchallenged. These kinds of SysOps are NOT loyal to the common cause of the SysOp or to Fido. Steps should be taken to make sure that these kinds of SysOps after their real colors "show through", be removed by normal accepted Fido policy at the most appropriate time possible. If you are one of the people who may have voted for this person, do not feel bad. But when you find out that this has occurred, you should attempt to be one of the first to correct the problem using acceptable Fido policy! When we look the other way for something we might have caused, directly or indirectly to occur which is not acceptable, we tend to be part of that problem instead of being part of the solution. Stand-up, take responsiblity, fix it and move on. We all make mistakes, but some will never admit it. Fido needs loyal SysOps to the Fido cause, NOT SysOps loyal to hidden agendas or hungry for power and let no man stand in their way! Setting the example by the "ones voted in" and all others, also includes not using derogatory slurs to describe people from other countries. No country is better than the next. Every country is different. Everyone has an opinion. This exchange of information can be healthy for all who engage in it. But when the discussion becomes abusive, it should stop. We are NOT here to be targets of abuse. As SysOps in Fido, we are here to enjoy this hobby that was brought about by Tom Jennings and we should not have to continually put up with those SysOps who are NOT loyal to the common Fido cause, let no man take your hobby away from you! If a SysOp cannot live with being loyal to the common Fido cause and cannot foster goodwill to other SysOps worldwide, then that SysOp needs to find another hobby, they are NOT welcomed in Fido! It is evident in Fido history that we repeat much of the same history in the good and the bad that occurs, sometimes the level of distaste rises to such a point that reasonable people STAND-UP to challenge the disservice to Fido. Those people who stand-up for Fido sometimes get blasted by those who are doing the disservice and from others who FIDONEWS 18-20 Page 7 14 May 2001 really may not understand the full issue and only got one side of the story and it sounded good to them. Everyone was created with a brain, how you use it is up to you, mileage may vary! When we see a SysOp "raising a leg" to Fido to bring discredit, we should exercise our right to challenge that SysOp. This unacceptable behavior must be stopped. When the time comes, will you STAND-UP for what is right? Frank Robbins The FidoNet Showcase Project at: http://winramturbo.com/fnsp/ ----------------------------------------------------------------- FIDONEWS 18-20 Page 8 14 May 2001 ================================================================= QUESTION OF THE WEEK ================================================================= Is an International Coordinator needed in Fidonet? Sometimes one post in an echo can raise a question that sticks in one's mind. In a recent post in the Fidonews echo, a comment was made to the effect: `We don't even need an IC'. Question of the Week; From a technical point without consideration of what former or present IC's have done or not done, Does Fidonet need an International Coordinator? Why or why not? ----------------------------------------------------------------- FIDONEWS 18-20 Page 9 14 May 2001 ================================================================= ANSWERS OF THE WEEK ================================================================= Answer to "Copyright or Trademark" From Lawrence Garvin In response to last week's "Question of the Week", I offer this simple reply. As is correctly posted in the nodelist, Fidonews, and other sources from time to time: ;A Fido, FidoNet and the dog-with-diskette are registered trademarks ;A of Tom Jennings, San Francisco California, USA. The "dog with diskette" is registered under serial number 73665098 and registration number 1503643 and was registered on 9/13/1988. The registration document may be viewed at: http://tess.uspto.gov/bin/gate.exe?f=doc&state=qt7asi.3.3 The name "Fido" is registered under serial number 73665097 and registration number 1498374 and was registered on 8/2/1988. The registration document may be viewed at: http://tess.uspto.gov/bin/gate.exe?f=doc&state=qt7asi.3.4 The name "Fidonet" is registered under serial number 73591035 and registration number 1452977 and was registered on 8/18/1987. The registration document may be viewed at: http://tess.uspto.gov/bin/gate.exe?f=doc&state=qt7asi.3.5 All trademark registrations have a registration period of 20 years and are renewable indefinitely. The words "Fido" and "Fidonet" are not copyrighted, as it's generally held in U.S. copyright law that words cannot be copyrighted. The image of the dog-with-diskette should be presumed to be copyrighted, as copyright does generally extend to works of art. Lawrence Garvin 1:106/6018 ----------------------------------------------------------------- Followup to "Why not carry" From Lawrence Garvin Bob Seaborn expressed in this column last week some valid reasons for not distributing Zone 2 echos, carte blanch, within the auspicies of the North American Backbone. He offered an excellent suggestion to resolve this potential conflict. FIDONEWS 18-20 Page 10 14 May 2001 I would like to describe at least one situation in which this suggestion has contributed successfully in the placement of a non-Zone-1 echo on the Zone 1 distribution systems, and encourage other Zone 1 sysops to contribute, each according to their interests. The Echolist entry for IP_CONNECT reads as follows: IP_CONNECT [ * * * ] Moderators: Ward Dossche, 2:292/854 Lawrence Garvin (Z1 Custodian), 1:106/6018, Last changed: 10-Apr-2001 by Lawrence Garvin, 1:106/6018 And, as anybody who frequents that echo can attest, I'm only infrequently a participant, much less anything resembling a moderator. In fact, I'm generally at odds with Ward's policies concerning Fidonet, though we have had civil exchanges of interest on non-Fido topics in other echos. However, I did see a beneficial interest to the sysops of Zone 1 to Echolist this echo and ensure it continues to be distributed in Zone 1 according to the Zone 1 policies and rules. So, I volunteered to get it listed and distributed. It's not my intent to 'toot my own horn' here... but to encourage others to get involved. The concept does work and it's an excellent way to get an out-of-zone echo transported on the Zone 1 systems without asking those systems to compromise their legitimate policies. ----------------------------------------------------------------- FIDONEWS 18-20 Page 11 14 May 2001 ================================================================= INTERVIEWS ================================================================= Interview with Bryan Turner of Vagabond Software By Frank Vest Q: Tell us a little about Bryan Turner. Just who are you? :) Well in the real world I am a Support Rep at that company that made Duke 3D (3D Realms) so when I am not on my computer at home I am on it at work playing games. When I am at home I am the owner of Vagabond Software (Used to be SMYC) and my "Baby" Pegasus Flight BBS. Q: What got you first interested in BBS? I got a 300bps modem from a friend in a bet. Then when I was tring to figure out what to do with it I called a BBS in Dallas called Might and Magic. All I would do is download games. Not BBS games. Games like Kroz, Duke 1, and a lot that I can not even remember. The SysOp over there said that since I spend all night on the BBS anyway I should try his on-line games. I fell in love and then decided that I wanted to run a BBS so that I did not have to worry about my time on line. If I am not mistaken that was in 85. I joined Fido (Again if I am not mistaken)in 87 with the help of a GREAT guy James Ray. Although there were more people involved I do not think I would have joined with out him. Q: How long have you been programming? I started in 92 for my self. Actually turning batch files into EXE using Basic. Then in 93 a programmer made an EXE for a Subnet called Linearnet. I needed to update it and he told me to get a compiler and he would help. That was Visual Basic (1.0 Dos) and I still use it for smaller things that I do. Q: What prompted you to begin writing Doors and other utilities? Actually the news of my wife being pregnant. My first Door was called Baby Bowl were users would guess the weight and date of a baby. I started playing with that and once Brianna was born, I put it away. Then when Glen O'Gorman (Yet another Dallas SysOp) was about to have another child, He reminded me of Baby Bowl. So I cleaned it up and released it. That is when Ruth Argust (DDS DOORS File Echo) and I became Friends. She pushed me to write utilities that people needed. So I did. Q: What do you see as the strong points of your programs? Give us a quick review. About 2 years ago I would have answered with 2 points. One they are Cheep. 2 that any bugs are fixed on about 2 days. Although now I have to answer that 1 they are Free. And there is not another. :) Honestly I have had no time over the last year to really get back into the Programming part of my life. Between Working and trying to get a business up and running (Another personal project) FIDONEWS 18-20 Page 12 14 May 2001 Q: Where do you see door games going in the future? In the future I see more authors knowing that this is not a money making market anymore. And not trying to release software that is going to make them money. So many times I grab a new door and read the register.txt and want to write to the door author and tell him what will happen. 10 Years ago you could retire on what you could make. But not any more. Yet people still try. Also I I see a lot more new author's with old software. (OOII, BRE, and LORD for Example) I really think that the old authors will give there code to someone and and we will see a lot more of this in the future. (I would like to see this with Arrowbridge) Q: Where do you see BBS systems going in the future? Well The Internet. Although I have not moved there, that is where it is heading. IMHO Telenet BBS's are not that fun. When you are on a Dial up Connection it always looks as thought you are logged in at 2400 BPS. I still call up BBS's and do stuff. And I think as long as there is a modem that will answer my calls then I will still make them. (Face it I am still just a user at heart) Q: Anything else you want to add or tell the readers? There is a bunch of stuff that I would like to say but it has all been said before. So I guess I would like to just tell the Future door authors that if you do it for the love of the hobby and not the love of money you will like it a hell of a lot more. Oh and I get asked this now and again. When I released my first few doors that were not freeware, the reg form always stated that I wanted to get money just enough to get my daughter a Swing. Yes I did that. And although it took 3 years, that is the one reason that I went to postcardware. And now that she has a little over 2000 Postcards we are going to Freeware. :) All the next releases of my software will be 100% Free. Best regards, Vagabond mailto:vagabond@darktech.org ----------------------------------------------------------------- FIDONEWS 18-20 Page 13 14 May 2001 ================================================================= OL'WDB'S COLUMN ================================================================= Ol' WDB's Column wdbonner@pacbell.net Dear friends, First, thank you all so very much for your understanding and your sympathies in communications regarding my visual complications. It is a great comfort and satisfaction to know so many really care. The caring makes the bonds of friendship ever stronger and more heart felt in a time of bewilderment and despair. Thank goodness for Frank Vest and his devotion to Fidonet/news/echo. He had helped me a lot with his column every week, plus rewriting Makenews program controls to make it work properly. His first edition proves the wisdom in making him first choice as editor. Secondly, I wish to thank Janis Kracht, Brenda Donovan, Joe Jared, Carol Shenkenburger, Bob Seaborn, Gary Gilmore, Ross Cassell, in fact all of the RCC and many others like Jim Barchuck, also Z2's Ward, Michiel van der VList, Z3's Miles and Z4's David; all of whom have contributed their time and effort in support of the Snooze. (Please excuse any misspelled names, my time is still limited on computer and don't have time to look them all up). Lastly, my eyesight is improving slowly, still read with only one eye and hate those eyedrops every six hours. Good news is they don't make my head hurt for an hour any more. Just a few minutes. Time on computer still limited to 30 minutes morning and again evening mail runs. Again my thanks to all you beautiful people, my friends in FidoLand. Ol' wdb ----------------------------------------------------------------- FIDONEWS 18-20 Page 14 14 May 2001 ================================================================= EDITOR'S CORNER ================================================================= Backup Editor and Co-Moderator One thing I have learned in life is to try to learn and know my strengths and weaknesses. I knew when I accepted the position as Fidonews Editor that one of the problems I would have is being the Moderator of the Fidonews Echo. Another thing that I have learned is to try to plan for the future. In learning from the past, I do not want to repeat the problems that came when the Editorship was vacated with no clear replacement in place. In these lights, I'm doing the following: 1. Backup Editor: Lawrence Garvin is now the backup Editor for me. In the event that I should have to be absent for a time or that I should die or leave unexpectedly, he will take over production of the Fidonews. Lawrence has stated that at this time he does not want the Editorship of the Fidonews. In the event that I should not be able to return as Editor and have not picked a replacement. Lawrence will choose my replacement. If I have chosen a replacement, Lawrence will, of course, honor that choice. Of course, if at that time I have not chosen a replacement and Lawrence decides that he wants to continue as Editor, he may do so. 2, Co-Moderator: Lawrence Garvin has agreed to be the Co-Moderator of the Fidonews Echo. He will take over the "day to day" operation of the Echo. I ask that you respect him as Moderator of the Fidonews Echo. Reasoning: The Editor of the Fidonews is in the position of Moderating an Echo, Producing the Fidonews and trying to keep a balance between the two so that people will feel free to submit articles and yet there will be some "control" over the Echo. If that sounds like a "Three Ring Circus" to you, it is. :) I see the Fidonews Publication and the Fidonews Echo as two separate things. To me, the Fidonews Publication is the top priority. The Echo didn't exist when Fidonet was founded and if it was not here today, the Fidonews Publication would still continue. On the other hand, If FIDONEWS 18-20 Page 15 14 May 2001 the Publication stopped, there would be little need for the Echo. Honestly, I can't see myself juggling all these things alone. Something will suffer and I don't want it to be the Fidonews Publication. Kind regards, Frank Vest - Fidonews Editor ----------------------------------------------------------------- FIDONEWS 18-20 Page 16 14 May 2001 ================================================================= GETTING TECHNICAL ================================================================= Windows 95 - Hyper Terminal This may also work in Windows 3.1 or above. You must first have installed the Hyper Terminal program when you installed Win95 and setup your modem in Win95. To setup your modem in Windows, go to the "My Computer-> Control Panel-> Modems". Go to "Start->Programs->Accessories->Hyper Terminal" "Click" on the Hyper Terminal Folder. You will see a window open that has several files. "Double click" on the "Hypertrm.exe" icon (the one with the computer and phone). Hyper Terminal will load and ask you for a name of the new connection. Type a name for the connection (generally the name of the BBs you are calling) and an Icon. Next, you will see a window Showing your country code, area code and "connect using". There will be a blank for the phone number to the BBs you want to call. Be sure that the "connect using" is to your modem. Type in the phone number to the BBs and click on the "Ok". A new window will appear. It should have the phone number, Your location (default) and Calling Card None. Click on the "Dial" and you're on your way. You can "maximize" the window for better viewing and change the fonts for better viewing as needed. I like the Terminal or Fixed System fonts. They seem to show the Ansi better. NOTE: Do Not use the "Terminal Window" option. If you are asked or find a place in Hyper Terminal to bring up the Terminal Window after connecting, answer No. For the latest version of Hyper Terminal, point your browser at: http://www.hilgraeve.com/ ----------------------------------------------------------------- FIDONEWS 18-20 Page 17 14 May 2001 ================================================================= HUMOR IN A FIDO VEIN ================================================================= Policy of Non-Rights :) The base text for the following was written by State Representative Mitchell Kaye from Cobb County, GA. in reference to the United States "Bill of Rights". The theme and wording has been adapted and completely torn apart for Fidonet and submitted thus; We, the sensible people of Fidonet, in an attempt to help everyone get along, restore some semblance of reason, avoid flames, keep our hobby functional, promote positive behavior and secure the blessings of our hobby for ourselves and our great-great-great grandchildren, hereby try one more time to ordain and establish some common sense guidelines for the terminally whiny, guilt-ridden, delusional and other complaining bedwetters. We hold these truths to be self-evident: that a whole lot of people are confused by Fidonet Policy and are so dim that they require a Policy of Non-Rights. I: You do not have the right to access a BBS, have a Node number or any other access to Fidonet. More power to you if you can acquire them within Fidonet Policy and/or the policy of the BBS you call, but no one is guaranteeing anything. II: You do not have the right to never be offended. Fidonet is based on communication and opinions, and that means communication and opinions from everyone - not just you! You may leave, change echos, express a different opinion, create your own echo, etc., but the world is full of idiots, and probably always will be. III: You do not have the right to post whatever you wish in any echo you choose. If you post off topic, learn the rules of the echo before posting again. Do not expect the Moderator, your Sysop or your mail feed to just accept that you are a jerk and ignore you. IV: You do not have the right to have your software set up for you. Fidonet Sysops are the most friendly people to be found and will gladly help anyone in need, but we do grow weary of the new generation of professional couch potatoes that expect everything to be "Plug & Play, don't or can't read the Docs and who achieve nothing more than the creation of another generation of professional couch potatoes who expect the same thing. V: You do not have the right to free software keys. That would be nice, but if you spent the time and effort required to write the programs, you might understand. VI: You do not have the right to abuse other people in Fidonet. If you FIDONEWS 18-20 Page 18 14 May 2001 do intentionally abuse someone don't be surprised if the rest of us want to see your Node number, access or status removed from Fidonet, or worse. VII: You do not have the right to "hack" other people's computers. If you hack, illegally access or coerce access to other's systems, don't be surprised if the rest of us get together and lock you out of all the systems that we can. VIII: You don't have the right to demand that Policy be followed "to the letter" in order to soothe your aching conscience or enact revenge for some perceived wrong done to you. We hate oppressiveness and won't stop you from following Policy to the letter if you like. However, we do not enjoy parenting all of you whiners that want it all your way and battling each and every little tyrant or would be tyrant with a title. IX: You don't have the right to vote on every position or all aspects of Fidonet. It might be nice if you did, but it just isn't that way. If you want such rights, take advantage of the language in Fidonet Policy, learn how to change it and do something about it. Otherwise, shut up! X: You do not have the right to happiness in Fidonet. Being in Fidonet, you can pursue happiness - which by the way, is a lot easier if you are unencumbered by an overabundance of idiotic thoughts and beliefs about rights and precedence created by those of you who were confused by Fidonet Policy. Another dream that failed. There's nothing sadder.-Kirk, Star Trek ----------------------------------------------------------------- FIDONEWS 18-20 Page 19 14 May 2001 ================================================================= COMIX IN ASCII ================================================================= Owls ___ v v v ___ ___ <*,*> <*,*> <*,*> <`,'> <*,*> [`-'] [`-'] [`-'] [`-'] =^`-'^= -"-"- -"-"- -"-"- -"-"- " " owl punk owl owl with antlers chinese owl flying owl ----------------------------------------------------------------- FIDONEWS 18-20 Page 20 14 May 2001 ================================================================= CLEAN HUMOR & JOKES ================================================================= << Just do it - don't cheat !!!!!!!!!!!!>> Submitted By Warren Bonner Try this its actually quite good. But don't cheat ! ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Count the number of `F's in the following text: FINISHED FILES ARE THE RE- SULT OF YEARS OF SCIENTIF- IC STUDY COMBINED WITH THE EXPERIENCE OF YEARS Managed it? ... Scroll down only after you have counted them! OK? How many? Three? Wrong, there are six - no joke! Read again! ^^^^^^^^^^ FINISHED FILES ARE THE RE- SULT OF YEARS OF SCIENTIF- IC STUDY COMBINED WITH THE EXPERIENCE OF YEARS The reasoning is further down... The brain cannot process the word "OF". Incredible or what? Anyone who counts all six 'F' on the first go is a genius, Three is normal ----------------------------------------------------------------- FIDONEWS 18-20 Page 21 14 May 2001 ================================================================= FIDONET BY INTERNET ================================================================= . -- -- -- -- --- -- -- -- -- . | FIDONET-RELATED SITES | ` -- -- -- -- --- -- -- -- -- ' Last update: March 3, 2001 FidoNet Homepage: http://www.fidonet.org FidoNews: http://www.fidonews.org [HTML] ftp://ftp.nwstar.com/fidonet/fidonews/ Echolist: http://www.tlchost.net/echolist/ Echomail links: http://www.osirusoft.com/fidonet/fidoip.html SDS Files: http://fidobbs.dk/download (Web Access to SDS) FTSC page: http://www.ftsc.org/ General: http://www.writebynight.com/fidonet.html Zone 1: http://www.z1.fidonet.org Region 10: http://www.r10.org Net 102 http://home.earthlink.net/~kayshapero/net102.htm Net 103: http://www.webworldinc.com/club103/ Net 203: http://www.geocities.com/Area51/8687/net203index.html Region 11: http://oeonline.com/~garyg/region11/ Net 2410: http://www.vector.11.com/net2410/ Region 12: http://sparkys.dyndns.org Region 13: http://www.net264.org/r13.htm Net 264: http://www.net264.org/ Net 275: http://www.homershut.net/~mahoover/net275/ Region 14: http://www.ouijabrd.com/region14 Net 282: http://www.rxn.com/~net282/ Region 15: Region 16: Region 17: http://www.region17.net Net 140: http://www.nwstar.com/~net140 Region 18: http://techshop.pdn.net/fido/ Region 19: http://bise.tzo.com/r19 Net 124: http://www.dallasinet.com/net124 http://texoma.net/~flv Net 130: http://www.startext.net/homes/net130 Net 393: http://www.chatter.com/~wb/ Zone 2: http://www.z2.fidonet.org 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) http://www.was-ist-fido.de/ Fido-IP: http://home.nrh.de/fido/ (English/German) Region 25: http://www.literary.freeserve.co.uk/net2502/ Region 26: http://www.nemesis.ie REC 26: http://www.nrgsys.com/orb Region 27: http://telematique.org/ft/r27.htm Region 29: http://www.rtfm.be/fidonet/ (French) FIDONEWS 18-20 Page 22 14 May 2001 http://Welcome.to/skynetbbs/ 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://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/4552/ 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 ! Net422: http://www.fido.sk (Slovak/English) 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 5028: HTTP://5028.nordnet.ru/ Net 5030: http://kenga.ru/fido/ (Russian & English) Net 5049: http://www.n5049.z2.fidonet.org (English/Russian) Net 5074: http://www.z2.n5074.fidonet.net ?? Net 5085: http://www.fidonet.uz/ (Russian) Zone 3: http://www.z3.fidonet.org Zone 4: Region 80: http://fidobrasil.8m.com (Portuguese) Region 90: Net 904: http://members.tripod.com/~net904 (Spanish) Zone 5: http://www.eastcape.co.za/fidonet/ Zone 6: http://www.z6.fidonet.org Region 65: http://www.cfido.com/fidonet/cfidochina.html (Chinese) Fidonet Via Internet Hubs See also: http://www.osirusoft.com/fidoip.html a @ preceding an individual's name implies a virtual email address. The email is translated as follows firstlast@osirusoft.com will automatically route to the appropriate individual's email. Anyone in this list will also receive routed notice of this feature. In my case, it would still be joejared@osirusoft.com, but you get the idea. Also, as information is provided to me, I will be adding a latency field to each node, which is defined as the maximum time between when the message is received, and when it is sent on to other nodes, or available to be sent onward, defined in minutes. A latency of ! implies that there is an immediate response, and an attempt to deliver immediately after processing, or a "MinuteMail System", as it were. v-email flag firstnamelastname@osirusoft.com | email address or Node# | Operator | Facilities (*) | Speed,| Basic Rate | | |latency| FIDONEWS 18-20 Page 23 14 May 2001 -----------+-------------------+----------------+-------+------------ Zone 1 | | | | 10/3 | Brenda Donovan | FTP,UUE,BinkP | 384K,30| n/c 10/345 @ Todd Cochrane | FTP,BinkP,VMOT | T1,! | n/c 13/25 @ Jim Balcom | FTP | 56k | $20mo. 18/500 @ Ross Cassell | FTP, BinkP |128K+,!| n/c 103/5 @ Mark Luetger | BinkP | 384k,!| n/c 103/153 @ Michael Box | BinkP | aDSL,!| n/c 103/301 @ Joe Jared | BinkP,FTP,NFS | 384k,!| n/c 103/401 @ Warren Bonner | BinkP | aDSL,!| n/c 105/8 | Russ Johnson | FTP,BinkP,VMoT | 384k | n/c 105/72 @ Larry James | FTP, BinkP | aDSL | $50/yr 106/1 @ Steve Loupe | BinkP, FTP | 128k | ??? 106/6018 | Lawrence Garvin | FTP, VMoT | aDSL,60| n/c 107/453 @ Jeffrey Estevez| FTP,BinkP,VMoT,UUE| 56k,60| $10 mo. 140/1 @ Bob Seaborn | FTP,BinkP | T3,30 | $5/$16 167/133 | Stephen Monteith | BinkP | 128k+ | n/c 211/417 @ Korombos | BinkP,UUE,FTP | T1 | n/c 220/10 | groberts@nexusbbs.net |BinkP,FTP,UUE|1.5M+ | n/c 218/109 @ Matt Munson | BinkP,UUE | 33.6k | n/c 246/160 @ Mason Vye | FTP, UUE | 56K | n/c 249/116 | Carl Austin Bennett | FTP, UUE |ADSL,60 | n/c 280/169 | Brian Greenstreet | FTP | 33.6 | $2mo. 342/3 @ Richard Dodsworth | BinkP,FTP | 128K+ | n/c 395/670 | Arthur Stark | BinkD,FTP | CABLE | n/c 379/1 @ Dale Ross | FTP, BinkP,UUE | 256K+,! n/c 396/45 | Marc Lewis | UUE | 33.6 | $26/yr 396/48 | Ben Ritchey | UUE:BFDS | 33.6k | n/c 2604/104 @ Jim Mclaughlin | FTP,VMoT,UUE | 33.6 | $1mo 2613/404 @ David Moufarrege | BinkP,FTP,VMoT | 128k+,!| n/c 2624/306 | David Calafrancesco | VMoT | 33.6 | n/c 3407/4 @ jyates@bsdi.ldl.net | UUE,FTP | 28.8 | n/c 3632/84 | Robert Todd |FTP,VMoT,UUE,BinkP | 57.6k | n/c 3651/9 @ Jerry Gause | FTP,VMoT | 33.6 | $3/$6 -------------------------------------------------------------- Zone 2 | 20/11 | Henrik Lindhe | BinkP | ??? | n/c 31/1 | Gabriel Plutzar | BinkP | T1+ | n/c 203/600 | Mikael Karlsson | UUE | 64k | n/c 221/360 @ Tommi Koivula | BinkP,UUE | ??? | n/c 236/205 @ Michael Kaaber | BinkP | ??? | n/c 246/2098 | Volker Imre | BinkP | ??? | n/c 280/1601 @ Jeroen VanDeLeur | FTP,UUE | 64k | n/c 292/620 | Eddy Missoul | VMoT, UUE,BinkP| 64k |N/C 292/624 | Steven Leeman | UUE | 64k | N/C 292/907 | Bart Verhaeghe | BinkP,VMoT,UUE | 64K | n/c 292/2003 | Eric Vaneberck | BinkP | 768k | n/c 301/1 | Peter Witschi | BinkP | 768k | n/c 332/807 | Roberto Mascolo | BinkP | ??? | n/c 335/535 @ Mario Mure | BinkP,VMot,UUE | 64k | n/c 335/610 | Gino Lucrezi | UUE | 33.6 | n/c 344/201 | Julio Garcia | BinkP | ??? | n/c 346/3 @ Carlos Navarro | UUE | ??? | n/c 382/100 | Sinisa Burina | BinkP,ifcico | ??? | n/c 406/555 | Ofir Michaeli & | BinkP | ??? | n/c 406/555 | Marius Kaizerman | BinkP | ??? | n/c FIDONEWS 18-20 Page 24 14 May 2001 423/81 | Milos Bajer | BinkP | ??? | n/c 465/204 | Va Milushnikov | BinkP | 33.6k | n/c 469/84 | Max Masyutin | VMoT | 256k | n/c 480/112 | Adam Sarapata| FTP, VMoT, UUE,BinkP| 128k | n/c 550/4077 | Serguei Trouchelle| UUE | ----- | n/c 2411/413 @ Dennis Dittrich | UUE,BinkP | 64k | n/c 2446/301 @ Lothar Behet | BinkP,VMoT,UUE,FTP | 64K | n/c 2474/275 | Christian Emig | UUE | 64k | unkn 5030/115 | Andrey Podkolzin | BinkP | ??? | n/c 5100/8 | Egons Bush | BinkP | ??? | n/c 5020/1159 | Gennady Kudryashoff | UUE | 33.6 | n/c -------------------------------------------------------------- Zone 3 633/260 @ Malcolm Miles | FTP,BinkP | 64K | n/c 640/954 | Rick Van Ruth | FTP,VMot,UUE,BinkP| 56K| n/c 774/605 @ Barry Blackford|BinkP,VMoT:10023,ifcico,FTP |33.6| n/c -------------------------------------------------------------- Zone 4 801/161 @ Renato Zambon | UUE | 33.6 |n/c 905/100 | Fabian Gervan | VMoT,UUE,BinkP | 128k | n/c 902/18 | Javier Tejedor | UUE | 33,6 | n/c -- * FTP = Internet File Transfer Protocol * VMoT = Virtual Mailer over Telnet (various) * UUE = uuencode<->email type transfers * BinkP = front end mailer for TCPIP networks * NFS = Linux Networking ---------------------------------------------- Fidonet oriented news servers news.osirusoft.com news.tardis.net Fidonet oriented chat rooms. room #fidonet 5PM (PDT 11AM GMT) Sundays irc.osirusoft.com (Peers wanted) ---------------------------------------------- Please send updates, corrections and suggestions to Joe Jared, 1:103/301, joejared@osirusoft.com. All email addresses here for purpose of corresponding with fidonet members about obtaining a feed. Improper use of the virtual email addresses, and most especially, email addressed to blockme@relays.osirusoft.com will be considered a request to be blocked by my open relay spam stopper at http://relays.osirusoft.com ----------------------------------------------------------------- FIDONEWS 18-20 Page 25 14 May 2001 ================================================================= FIDONEWS INFORMATION ================================================================= How to Submit an Article If you wish to submit an article for inclusion in the Fidonews, here are the guidelines: No more than 70 characters per line. This includes spaces. No right or left margins. Plain ASCII text _only_. Good rule is: If you can't type it on a plain typewriter, don't use it. Put a title to the article and your name. 1. Put the title in two time. The first time should be with an * before it and the second time without the *. This will help in the format since the title with the * is removed and used in the index and the other one will remain and show what the article is about. Articles that contain vulgar language will not be accepted. Deadline for article submission is 12:00 midnight (24:00 hours) according to _my_ clock. I'm in the Central Time Zone in the U.S.A. That's GMT-6. Articles received after the deadline will appear in the next Fidonews. Help the Editor by following the above guides. Below are some subjects and the file extension for the article as set in the configuration file for the making of the Fidonews. The file name can be anything up to 8 characters. Please help by putting the file extension of the correct subject on the file name.. Ideas for Subject areas: Subject File | Subject File --------------------------------|--------------------------------- Software Reviews (Fido) *.rev | Getting Technical *.ftc Web Page Reviews *.web | General Articles *.art Fidonet Current Events *.cur | Clean Jokes & Humor *.jok Ascii Comix *.cmx | From the *Cs *.css Rebuttals *.reb | Guest Editorial *.gue Advertise *.ads | Recipes *.rec Details: Software Reviews (Fido): Reviews of software for Fidonet and BBS. Getting Technical: Tech articles about Fidonet. How-to and such. Web Page Reviews: Reviews of Fidonet (maybe other) Related Web Pages. General Articles: These don't seem to fit in other places. FIDONEWS 18-20 Page 26 14 May 2001 Fidonet Current Events: Elections relating to Fidonet, new Nodes coming in and other such articles. Clean Jokes & Humor: Funny stories and jokes that are not vulgar. Ascii Comix: Those wonderful Ascii Comics that we used to have in the Fidonews. From the *Cs: Letters from the *Cs about what is going on in Fidonet. Rebuttals: Didn't like an article, want to say something in reply to an article? Say it here Guest Editorial: Don't let the Editor get all the glory. Write your own editorial and submit it. Advertise: Advertise your free Fidonet service, Fidonet event or whatever to do with Fidonet that you offer. If you are a Fidonet Service provider such as a "Fido<>Internet", Star Hub or some other such service provider, we can arrange to run your ad on a rotating basis. Ask the Editor. Recipes: Recipes from Sysops, readers or interested parties. If you follow these simple guidelines, there should be little problem in getting your article published. If your submission is too far out of specs for the Fidonews, it will be returned to you and/or a message sent informing you of the problem. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Credits, Legal Infomation, Availability + -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- FIDONEWS STAFF - -- -- -- -- -- -- + | | | Editor: Frank L. Vest, 1:1/23, editor@fidonews.org | | Crash mail attached: Editor@1:1/23 | | E-Mail Attach flv@texoma.net | | Webmaster: Jim Barchuk, jb@fidonews.org | | Columnist: Joe Jared, 1:103/0, joejared@osirusoft.com | | (Fido Via Internet Hubs column) | | Columnist: Frank Vest - Frank's Column | | Columnist: Warren Bonner - Ol'WDB's Corner | | Columnist: Jack Yates when in the Gawga mood | + -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- + + -- -- -- -- -- -- -- - EDITORS EMERITI - -- -- -- -- -- -- + | | | Tom Jennings, Thom Henderson, Dale Lovell, Vince | | Perriello, Tim Pozar, Sylvia Maxwell, Donald Tees, | | Christopher Baker, Zorch Frezberg, Henk Wolsink, | | Doug Meyers, Warren D. Bonner | | | + -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- + FIDONEWS 18-20 Page 27 14 May 2001 "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. Fidonews is published weekly by and for the members of Fidonet. Fidonews is Copyright (C) 2001 by Frank L. Vest, though authors retain rights to their contributed articles. Opinions expressed by the authors is strictly their own. Noncommercial duplication and distribution within Fidonet is encouraged. Authors are encouraged to send their articles in ASCII text to: Frank Vest at one of his addresses above. The weekly edition of Fidonews is distributed through the file area FIDONEWS, and is published as echomail in the echo FIDONEWS. These sources are normally available through your Network Coordinator. The current and past issues are also available from the following sources: + -- -- -- -- -- -- - FIDONEWS AVAILABILITY - -- -- -- -- -- -- + | | | Freq FIDONEWS @ 1:140/1 | | ftp://ftp.nwstar.com/fidonet/fidonews/ | | http://www.fidonews.org | | email subscription: majordomo@fidonews.org | | (subject: help body: list) | | ftp mail: ftpmail@fidonews.org (subject: help) | | | + -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- + -----------------------------------------------------------------