     Volume 6, Number  7                              13 February 1989
     +---------------------------------------------------------------+
     |                                                  _            |
     |                                                 /  \          |
     |                                                /|oo \         |
     |        - FidoNews -                           (_|  /_)        |
     |                                                _`@/_ \    _   |
     |        International                          |     | \   \\  |
     |     FidoNet Association                       | (*) |  \   )) |
     |         Newsletter               ______       |__U__| /  \//  |
     |                                 / FIDO \       _//|| _\   /   |
     |                                (________)     (_/(_|(____/    |
     |                                                     (jm)      |
     +---------------------------------------------------------------+
     Editor in Chief                                       Dale Lovell
     Editor Emeritus:                                   Thom Henderson
     Chief Procrastinator Emeritus:                       Tom Jennings
     Contributing Editors:                                   Al Arango
     
     FidoNews  is  published  weekly  by  the  International   FidoNet
     Association  as  its  official newsletter.  You are encouraged to
     submit articles for publication in FidoNews.  Article  submission
     standards  are contained in the file ARTSPEC.DOC,  available from
     node 1:1/1.  1:1/1 is available  for network  mail between  NMH-1
     hour to NMH+1 hour.  At all other times,  netmail is not accepted
     although submissions can be uploaded.
     
     Copyright 1989 by  the  International  FidoNet  Association.  All
     rights  reserved.  Duplication  and/or distribution permitted for
     noncommercial purposes only.  For  use  in  other  circumstances,
     please contact IFNA at (314) 576-4067. IFNA may also be contacted
     at PO Box 41143, St. Louis, MO 63141.
     
     Fido  and FidoNet  are registered  trademarks of  Tom Jennings of
     Fido Software,  164 Shipley Avenue,  San Francisco, CA  94107 and
     are used with permission.
     
     The  contents  of  the  articles  contained  here  are  not   our
     responsibility,   nor   do   we   necessarily  agree  with  them.
     Everything here is  subject  to  debate.  We  publish  EVERYTHING
     received.


                        Table of Contents
     1. ARTICLES  .................................................  1
        Product Announcement -- ARC 6.00  .........................  1
        New Echo Conference Available  ............................  3
        The Flamers Bible  ........................................  5
        SEA Letter: New Stuff!  ...................................  7
     2. LATEST VERSIONS  ..........................................  9
        Latest Software Versions  .................................  9
     3. NOTICES  .................................................. 10
        The Interrupt Stack  ...................................... 10
     FidoNews 6-07                Page 1                   13 Feb 1989


     =================================================================
                                 ARTICLES
     =================================================================

     System Enhancement Associates, Inc.
     1:107/9@FidoNet, 520/1015@AlterNet

                          New Product Announcement

                                  ARC 6.00


     System Enhancement Associates,  Inc.  is pleased to announce that
     we are now taking orders for version 6.00 of our popular ARC file
     archive utility.  The new manuals are at the printer now while we
     touch  up  the code,  and we expect to start shipping on February
     14th.

     This is a major enhancement to ARC itself and to the popular  ARC
     file  archive  format.   New  features  include  the  ability  to
     compress and extract  subdirectory  structures  and  support  for
     extended file information such as longer filenames.

     ARC version 6 is also FAST,  FAST, FAST!  It's over four times as
     fast as our previous version, WITHOUT sacrificing the reliability
     that ARC is famous for.


     This version of ARC also includes many enhancements and additions
     to the SEA utilities that come on the ARC  disk.  Almost  all  of
     the  utilities  have  been  rewritten and updated.  Major changes
     include:

      *  The  LF  menu  shell  for  MS-DOS is now much faster and more
         powerful.

      *  The ScanDisk disk diagnostic utility can now shift  data  off
         of  questionable clusters,  saving your data BEFORE your disk
         goes bad.

      *  A new utility, OHMYGAWD, was added.  If your lost data can be
         recovered at all, OHMYGAWD will find it!

      *  And many others, too numerous to mention.


     The  complete  ARC  package with disk and manual is available for
     $50 from System Enhancement Associates,  Inc.  We can be  reached
     by phone between 9 AM and 5 PM Eastern time at (201) 473-5153, or
     by mail at:

                    System Enhancement Associates, Inc.
                       21 New Street, Wayne NJ  07470


     As  always,  full  program sources are available at no additional
     FidoNews 6-07                Page 2                   13 Feb 1989


     cost.  Those of  you  who  have  maintenance  contracts  need  do
     nothing  --  you  will be receiving your new ARC disk in the mail
     soon!

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     FidoNews 6-07                Page 3                   13 Feb 1989


     With all the recent sludge going through FidoNews about AIDS,
     homosexuality, and the nutty ramblings from Fundamentalists, this
     advertisement for a new echo conference I started really fits.  I
     couldn't have picked a better time.

     The echo conference that follows is being distributed by me
     personally.  Yes, that means that *I* will poll *your* node
     nightly for no cost or real effort on your part.  You simply set
     up the conference on your system.  This is to get established--
     later it shall be made available to the backbone.  How can you
     refuse a deal like that?

          ``ICGAL'':  Issues Concerning Gays And Lesbians

     Right now, there are some people thinking this is going to be a
     "fluffy chat" conference.  Nope, that seems to be the role of
     GAYNET.  ICGAL is to be more focused on real-world issues gays and
     lesbians have to face, and through networking I think it can also
     serve as an electronic "support group."

     Some of you are probably thinking this will be a sexually
     explicit conference.  Not likely, unless you consider discussions
     involving adoption, inheritance, and real estate sexually
     explicit.  The focus is on the special problems homosexuals face
     dealing with laws, regulations, and social prejudice.  Through
     open and honest discussion, we'll try to find solutions.

     ICGAL is publically accessable on my system, and I would prefer
     that it be made public on systems that wish to participate.
     However being gay myself, I know the kinds of prejudice
     homosexuals face, and so I have no real problem if participants
     wish to make it private on their systems.  I see no need to make
     the conference limited to "adults" as there are gays in their
     teens who have problems they might like to discuss as well.  I
     myself would have given anything when I was 16 to find such a
     conference to help sort out my feelings.

     Although Pat Buchanan will disagree, estimates point to an
     average of 10% of the world's population being homosexual.  The
     average BBS (at least in Net 260) has about 400 users, which
     means that at least 40 of those users would find ICGAL
     interesting and possibly useful.  Consider it; if not for
     yourself as a SysOp then for your users.

     Wish to connect?  Simply leave me a netmail message, set up an
     echo conference named ``ICGAL'' on your system, and I'll go about
     connecting you.  Already have a similiar-sounding conference on
     your system?  Tell me about it, and we can talk about adding it
     to ICGAL, which would benefit everyone.

     Send netmail to John Passaniti on 1:260/218.  Thank you.





     FidoNews 6-07                Page 4                   13 Feb 1989


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     FidoNews 6-07                Page 5                   13 Feb 1989


                             The FLAMERS BIBLE

     Origin: Unknown  (actually, I  wrote the first  one a  few months
     ago, but I thought "origin: unknown" looks cool)

     Revision 1: Dec. 2, 1987 by Joe Talmadge


     In the time I have been  posting to net, I have encountered flame
     wars of epic proportions (Brahms Gang vs. Tim Maroney), and flame
     wars of a  more modest nature (MIT vs. CIT).  Flaming has evolved
     into a  highly-stylized art  form, complete with  unwritten rules
     and guidelines.

     Here, I have attempted to document  the Art of Flaming, in such a
     way as  it will be interesting  to old hands (flame  masters) and
     novices (virgins) alike. Without a further ado, then, I present:

      ***********The twelve commandments of flaming**************

     1. Make  things up  about your opponent:  It's important  to make
     your  lies  sound  true.  Preface your  argument  with  the  word
     "clearly." "Clearly,  Fred Flooney is  a liar, and a  dirtball to
     boot."

     2. Be  an armchair  psychologist: You're  a smart  person. You've
     heard of Freud. You took a psychology course in college. Clearly,
     you're   qualified  to   psychoanalyze   your  opponent.   "Polly
     Purebread, by using the word 'zucchini' in her posting, shows she
     has a bad case of penis envy."

     3. Cross-post  your flames: Everyone  on the net is  just waiting
     for the  next literary masterpiece  to leave your  terminal. From
     rec.arts.wobegon  to  alt.gourmand,  they're  all  holding  their
     breaths until your next flame. Therefore, post everywhere.

     4.  Conspiracies abound:  If everyone's  against you,  the reason
     can't *possibly* be  that you're a fuckhead.  There's obviously a
     conspiracy against  you, and you will  be doing the entire  net a
     favor by exposing it.

     5. Lawsuit threats: This is the  reverse of Rule #4 (sort of like
     the  Yin &  Yang of  flaming).  Threatening a  lawsuit is  always
     considered to be in good form. "By saying that I've posted to the
     wrong group, Bertha has libelled  me, slandered me, and sodomized
     me. See you in court, Bertha."

     6. Force  them to  document their claims:  Even if  Harry Hoinkus
     states  outright that  he likes  tomato sauce  on his  pasta, you
     should  demand  documentation.  If  Newsweek  hasn't  written  an
     article  on Harry's  pasta  preferences,  then Harry's  obviously
     lying.

     7. Use foreign  phrases: French is good, but Latin  is the lingua
     franca of flaming. You should use the words "ad hominem" at least
     three times  per article.  Other favorite  Latin phrases  are "ad
     FidoNews 6-07                Page 6                   13 Feb 1989


     nauseum", "vini, vidi, vici", "fetuccini alfredo".

     8. Tell 'em  how smart you are: Why use  intelligent arguments to
     convince them you're smart when all  you have to do is tell them?
     State that you're a member of  Mensa or Mega or Dorks of America.
     Tell  them the  scores  you  received on  every  exam since  high
     school. "I got an  800 on my SATs, LSATs, GREs,  MCATs, and I can
     also spell the word 'premeiotic' ".

     9. Accuse  your opponent of  censorship. It  is your right  as an
     American citizen  to post whatever the  hell you want to  the net
     (as guaranteed by the 37th  Amendment, I think). Anyone who tries
     to  limit your  cross-posting or  move a  flame war  to email  is
     either a communist, a fascist, or both.

     10.  Doubt  their  existence:  You've never  actually  seen  your
     opponent, have you? And since  you're the center of the universe,
     you should have seen them  by now, shouldn't you? Therefore, THEY
     DON'T EXIST! This is the beauty of flamers' logic.

     11. Lie, cheat, steal, leave the toilet seat up.

     12. When  in doubt,  insult: If  you forget  the other  11 rules,
     remember this one. At some  point during your wonderful career as
     a flamer you will undoubtedly end  up in a flame war with someone
     who is better  than you. This person will expose  your lies, tear
     apart your  arguments, make  you look generally  like a  bozo. At
     this point, there's  only one thing to do:  insult the dirtbag!!!
     "Oh yeah? Well, your mother does strange things with vegetables."

     The Golden Rule of Flaming:

     My flames will be  witty, insulting, interesting, funny, caustic,
     or sarcastic, but never, ever, will they be boring.


     Here endeth the scriptures.

      Joe Talmadge
      hplabs!hpda!hpsemc!jat



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     FidoNews 6-07                Page 7                   13 Feb 1989


                          What's Happening at SEA?


     We're told that the path to success lies  in  emulating  a  duck;
     Look  calm and unruffled on the surface,  while paddling like mad
     underneath!

     We haven't said much lately about what we've been doing, but that
     doesn't  mean  we  haven't  been  doing  anything.   Rather   the
     opposite.  We've  been  doing  everything  at  once!  Many of the
     pieces are interrelated to one extent or another,  and  we  don't
     like talking about vaporware, so we've held off talking about any
     of it until it was finished.

     But  it's  wrapped  up  now,  which leaves us with a new problem.
     (Was there ever a problem whose  solution  didn't  lead  to  more
     problems?)  Now  that we've finished working on everything all at
     once, how do we tell you about everything all at once?  We can't,
     so we'll deal with them a piece at a time.  This week we'll  lead
     off by mentioning something for the techies out there.

     No  doubt  you  saw our product announcement for SEAdog 4.50 last
     week,  and saw lots of interesting goodies in there.  How do they
     work?  How  does  a  chat  link  work,  and  what's this "domain"
     business?

     To answer those questions (and others) we've started publishing a
     series  of  Technical  Memoranda.   These  are   machine-readable
     documentation  files  describing various aspects of our software.
     Techies will appreciate these for the hard data they  provide  on
     how  our  stuff  works,  and  everyone  will  appreciate the many
     helpful tips and suggestions.


     Here is the current list of titles for  our  Technical  Memoranda
     thus far:

         Number    Title
         ======    =====
         TM0001    Technical Memoranda
         TM0101    Using SEAdog within FidoNet
         TM0102    Using SEAdog with TBBS
         TM0103    Using SEAdog with Fido
         TM0104    Using SEAdog with Opus
         TM0105    Using SEAdog with RBBS
         TM0201    SEAdog 4.50; Session Passwording
         TM0202    SEAdog 4.50; Domain Addressing
         TM0203    SEAdog 4.50; Event Scheduling
         TM0204    SEAdog 4.50; External Event Triggers
         TM0205    SEAdog 4.50; Chat Mode Functions
         TM0206    SEAdog 4.50; TTY Interface Functions
         TM0207    SEAdog 4.50; Chat Session Protocol
         TM0208    SEAdog 4.50; Shells and USNO
         TM0209    SEAdog 4.50; Undocumented Features of MAIL
         TM0301    Technical Aspects of Implementing Group Mail
         TM0302    GROUP 2.05; Undocumented Features
     FidoNews 6-07                Page 8                   13 Feb 1989


         TM0303    Coupling Group Mail to EchoMail
         TM0304    GROUP 2.05; High Volume GroupMail


     Any  of  these  may  be  downloaded  from  our  technical support
     bulletin board at (201) 473-1991,  or may be file requested  from
     node  520/1015@Alternet  or 1:107/1015@FidoNet.  The names of the
     files are  the  TM  number  with  an  extension  of  ".TXT".  For
     example,  TM0304  is  in a file named "TM0304.TXT".  The complete
     set of technical memoranda may be had by requesting "TM.ARC".


     Next week:  XlatList and route files

     -----------------------------------------------------------------
     FidoNews 6-07                Page 9                   13 Feb 1989


     =================================================================
                              LATEST VERSIONS
     =================================================================

                          Latest Software Versions

                           Bulletin Board Software
     Name        Version    Name        Version    Name       Version

     Fido            12K*   Opus          1.03b    TBBS           2.1
     QuickBBS       2.03    TPBoard         5.0    TComm/TCommNet 3.2
     Lynx           1.10    Phoenix         1.3    RBBS         1.71C


     Network                Node List              Other
     Mailers     Version    Utilities   Version    Utilities  Version

     Dutchie       2.90C*   EditNL         4.00    ARC           5.32
     SEAdog         4.50*   MakeNL         2.12    ARCmail        2.0*
     BinkleyTerm    2.00    Prune          1.40    ConfMail      4.00
     D'Bridge       1.10    XlatList       2.90*   TPB Editor    1.21
     FrontDoor       2.0    XlaxNode       2.31    TCOMMail       2.0
     PRENM          1.40    XlaxDiff       2.31    TMail         8901*
                            ParseList      1.30    UFGATE        1.02*
                                                   GROUP         2.04*
                                                   EMM           1.40
                                                   MSGED         1.96

     * Recently changed

     Utility authors:  Please help  keep  this  list  up  to  date  by
     reporting  new  versions  to 1:1/1.  It is not our intent to list
     all utilities here, only those which verge on necessity.

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     FidoNews 6-07                Page 10                  13 Feb 1989


     =================================================================
                                  NOTICES
     =================================================================

                          The Interrupt Stack


     19 May 1989
        Start of EuroCon III at Eindhoven, The Netherlands

     24 Aug 1989
        Voyager 2 passes Neptune.

     24 Aug 1989
          FidoCon '89 starts at the Holiday Inn in San Jose,
          California.  Trade show, seminars, etc. Contact 1/89
          for info.

      5 Oct 1989
        20th Anniversary of "Monty Python's Flying Circus"

     If you have something which you would like to see on this
     calendar, please send a message to FidoNet node 1:1/1.

     -----------------------------------------------------------------

     FidoNews 6-07                Page 11                  13 Feb 1989


            OFFICERS OF THE INTERNATIONAL FIDONET ASSOCIATION

     Hal DuPrie     1:101/106  Chairman of the Board
     Bob Rudolph    1:261/628  President
     Matt Whelan    3:3/1      Vice President
     Ray Gwinn      1:109/639  Vice President - Technical Coordinator
     David Garrett  1:103/501  Secretary
     Steve Bonine   1:115/777  Treasurer



                         IFNA BOARD OF DIRECTORS

         DIVISION                               AT-LARGE

     10  Courtney Harris   1:102/732?    Don Daniels     1:107/210
     11  Bill Allbritten   1:11/301      Hal DuPrie      1:101/106
     12  Bill Bolton       3:711/403     Mark Grennan    1:147/1
     13  Rick Siegel       1:107/27      Steve Bonine    1:115/777
     14  Ken Kaplan        1:100/22      Ted Polczyinski 1:154/5
     15  Larry Kayser      1:104/739?    Matt Whelan     3:3/1
     16  Ivan Schaffel     1:141/390     Robert Rudolph  1:261/628
     17  Rob Barker        1:138/34      Steve Jordan    1:102/2871
     18  Christopher Baker 1:135/14      Bob Swift       1:140/24
     19  David Drexler     1:19/1        Larry Wall      1:15/18
      2  Henk Wevers       2:500/1       David Melnik    1:107/233

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     FidoNews 6-07                Page 12                  13 Feb 1989


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            Membership for the International FidoNet Association

     Membership in IFNA is open to any individual or organization that
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     Thank you for your membership!  Your participation will help to
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     Please NOTE that IFNA is a general not-for-profit organization
     and Articles of Association and By-Laws were adopted by the
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