F I D O  N E W S --         |        Vol. 8 No. 36 (9 September 1991)
  The newsletter of the     |
  FidoNet BBS community     |        Published by:
          _                 |
         /  \               |       "FidoNews" BBS
        /|oo \              |          (415)-863-2739
       (_|  /_)             |          FidoNet 1:1/1
        _`@/_ \    _        |          Internet: 
       |     | \   \\       |           fidonews@fidonews.fidonet.org
       | (*) |  \   ))      |
       |__U__| /  \//       |        Editors:
        _//|| _\   /        |          Tom Jennings
       (_/(_|(____/         |          Tim Pozar
             (jm)           |
----------------------------+---------------------------------------
Published weekly by and for the Members of the FidoNet international 
amateur network. Copyright 1991, Fido Software. All rights reserved. 
Duplication and/or distribution permitted for noncommercial purposes 
only. For use in other circumstances, please contact FidoNews.

Paper price:   . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $5.00US
Electronic Price:  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  free!

For more information about FidoNews refer to the end of this file.
--------------------------------------------------------------------


                          Table of Contents
1. EDITORIAL  .....................................................  1
   Editorial: OK, I was wrong  ....................................  1
2. FIDONET NEWS  ..................................................  3
   (No FidoNetNews this week)  ....................................  3
3. ARTICLES  ......................................................  4
   FidoCon91, Commercialization, and The ONE BBSCON  ..............  4
   Anyone know how to talk to Russing FidoNet's?  .................  9
   Treasury Enforcement Communications System  .................... 10
   No Advertisements, Please?  .................................... 11
   Matchem Program Release Notice  ................................ 11
   Electronic Gay Magazine Expands  ............................... 13
   CAPNet -- The Civil Air Patrol Network  ........................ 14
   ASP Echo Available On BackBone!  ............................... 15
   Another Fort Worth Update - SIZES!  ............................ 16
   Death Throws With Much Twitching  .............................. 17
4. RANTS AND FLAMES  .............................................. 21
5. CLASSIFIEDS  ................................................... 22
6. NOTICES  ....................................................... 23
   The Interrupt Stack  ........................................... 23
   SOB Conference (Sick Of Bush)  ................................. 23
7. LATEST VERSIONS  ............................................... 25
FidoNews 8-36                  Page 1                       9 Sep 1991


======================================================================
                              EDITORIAL
======================================================================

Editorial: OK, I was wrong

First, I was wrong on FidoCon '91 articles. I guess everyone was busy;
it simply took three weeks for articles to appear, which really isn't
much of a delay. Merely my impatience.


OK, and I admit it, I was wrong about another thing. A step in our grand
experiment failed. Elvis pictures were the last straw.

I am proposing to change the article submission policy to FidoNews, to
require that articles be related to BBSing, FidoNet or tele-comm-
unications in some way. (Non-communications-related articles may be
included at the editors discretion.) I'll work on specific wording in
the next week or two, but unless someone can come up with a Damn Good
Reason why we should continue the current policy, consider it done.

I will also take this opportunity to remind complainers that FidoNews is
not "USA TODAY" happy-news, but an experiment. Mistakes are allowed. If
controversies make you sneeze go somewhere else. And keep your I-told-
you-so's to yourself. (Some of our more observant readers may detect a
slightly annoyed and defensive tone here; use your obviously-adequate
facilities to imagine the complaints I get about the service in this
joint. If they only knew how bad the tips were...)


For your reference, here is the original paragraph in ARTSPEC.DOC that I
propose changing:

        --------------
        SUBJECT MATTER:

        Articles on any subject of interest to FidoNet members
        and users are welcome and encouraged, not necessarily
        of a technical nature, though priority may be, but
        not necessarily, given to articles of importance to the
        FidoNet, its technology and its uses; other networks such
        as uucp and the Internet; social aspects of communications;
        ethical issues; other related matters.


I propose to change this paragraph to something like this:

        --------------
        SUBJECT MATTER:

        Articles must be in some way related to the FidoNet,
FidoNews 8-36                  Page 2                       9 Sep 1991


        its technology and its uses; other networks such as uucp
        and the Internet; social, ethical or legal aspects of
        the above; and any other related matters. You are welcome
        to submit articles on other subjects, but their inclusion
        is at the whim of the editor(s).

If you have ideas on specific text, either the whole thing or a single
word or phrase, please send 'em my way.


CLASSIFIED ADS:

Somewhere in here is an article proposing that I remove the CLASSIFIED AD
section of FidoNews. The reason given was simply that the interests of
sellers are better served on BBSs or in Echo conferences. I agree, and
unless someone can come up with an elegant argument in favor of keeping
it, I'll drop it also.

I might as well go so far as to propose that we drop the .NOT "Notices"
section. It's poorly understood anyways, and could simply be replaced
with a very small article. Such things exist today; I could argue either
way whether Echo Conference announcements are notices or articles.

This would mean that submissions to FidoNews would be anything with a
filename extension of ".ART". (Keep your wisecracks to yourself.)
Simple, no?

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

FidoNews 8-36                  Page 3                       9 Sep 1991


======================================================================
                             FIDONET NEWS
======================================================================

################################################################

FidoNetNews -- a weekly section devoted to technical and factual
issues within the FidoNet -- FidoNet Technical Standards Committee
reports, *C reports, information on FidoNet standards documents
and the like.

################################################################


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


There were no FidoNetNews submissions this week. Tune again in
next week!

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

FidoNews 8-36                  Page 4                       9 Sep 1991


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


by Jack Rickard, Editor Boardwatch Magazine
1:104/555

FidoCon91, Commercialization, and The ONE BBSCON

Thought I would submit a few words to Fido News regarding FidoCon91 and
address a couple of very legitimate concerns regarding
"commercialization".

Phil Becker, author of TBBS and president of eSoft, Inc., and myself
(Jack Rickard - Boardwatch Magazine) were approached last spring by a
member of this year's FidoCon91 committee who wanted a show with a wider
attendance than they'd seen at FidoCons in the past couple of years.
I've heard the figure 90 and also 76 attendees for the FidoCon in New
Jersey in 1990 and similar turnouts for the San Jose event.  We agreed
to "help" as long as we could make it a wider, more diverse group
attractive to a wider range of people.

The results were good and bad - depending on how you look at it.  As I
understand it, there were 408 attendees and I don't think anyone
disputes the fact that it was the largest event ever.  I also think the
vendor area with PCBoard, MajorBBS, Wildcat, Searchlight, CompuCom,
Exactus, U.S. Robotics, Boardwatch, QModem, SEAMail, and so on was
actually a bit of fun.  Prodigy hosted a hospitality suite.
Representatives from BIX, CompuServe, and ZiffNet were there.  So it was
definitely more commercial than past FidoCons.  I'll take the heat for
that, I contacted most of those companies myself and lobbied pretty hard
for it to happen.  There were some complaints about that and I'm going
to guess I agree they had some merit.  It WAS different.  And it was
more commercial.

It seemed natural I suppose because Boardwatch Magazine is more or less
commercial.  It may be a smallish, pee-yellow monthly rag with a bit of
an unconventional viewpoint, but it's how I feed the kids and I get to
do something I really like as well - write about bulletin boards, online
services, and so forth.

The conflict is that as much as anyone else, I buy into the amateur
nature, the lack of central authoritarian organization, and the
anarchist, grass-roots Tom Jennings vision of what FidoNet is and ought
to be, pretty much lock, stock, and barrel.  I don't want a corporation
running it, and don't think it needs all the marvelous "payoffs" dangled
under the banner of commercialization.  It's kind of a marvel that
11,000 BBS can "network" without having to have smarmy meetings with
Roberts Rules of Order and a bunch of suits continually looking
concerned and asking the lawyers what they can do and can't do.  I'm
going to guess I would resent that changing.

FidoNews 8-36                  Page 5                       9 Sep 1991


At the same time, I had a ball at this years event and it sure looked
like a lot of others did as well.  I like the idea of 400 operators
gathered face-to-face and I like the idea of 1000 of them even better.

There were some things that happened schedule-wise that begged for
improvement, and while Phil and I promoted the thing shamelessly, we
didn't really have much control of that end of it.  But despite some
obvious problems, I just had a really good time and it seemed to me that
most of the people there did as well.

So basically, I WANT a BIG BBS show with LOTS of operators and vendors.
And I don't want FidoNet to change at all - much less by my own hand.
Finally, I'm just not too hot on "committees" - even good ones.

So - to the bottom line.  Phil Becker and I did help the FidoCon91
committee this year and we have effectively ended that relationship and
"broken" with the FidoCon91 committee of Terry Travis, Marshall Barry,
and Michelle for 1992.  We are planning a grass-roots general BBS show
in Denver next August - tentatively August 13-16, 1992. We have no
further official connection with FidoCon or the FidoCon91 committee of
Travis et al.  I understand they are planning something for next year
and wish them well with it.

We've formed a third company titled ONE, Inc. (Online Networking
Expositions) and we're calling the show The Online Networking Expostion
and BBS Conference - The ONE BBSCON.  I'm pretty well committed to
getting 1000-1300 BBS operators and 50 vendors there and significantly
improve some of the scheduling and execution problems encountered this
year.

For one thing, there won't be ANYTHING scheduled after Sunday noon and
Sunday morning is going to be real "lite".  There won't be any back-to-
back sessions in the same room without a break.  Some of my hot buttons
on Internet, NREN, and so forth are going to get more time and
resources.  We hope to pull in some more significant shareware
participation. There will probably be more tracks and they'll probably
be more thematic.  And if anything, more diverse with some greater
numbers of Unix people, PCBoard people, and international participation.
Finally, while we will undoubtedly do some sessions ourselves, I'd like
to get more good speakers here like Mitch Kapor and John Barlow and
avoid the "Jack and Phil Show" aspect that our "fill in the holes"
efforts caused this year.

We are working on bringing in representatives of Ilink, PCRelay, and a
number of other "networks" simply because a lot of BBS operators are
interested in networking.  And I'm going to guess that we would like
some representation from FidoNet.  One thing that struck me about this
year's event was that four different people approached me on Sunday as
the show was winding down to express bewilderment that they had come all
this way, attended lots of sessions, and still didn't exactly know how
to join FidoNet.  So I hope we can at least get one of the local FidoNet
operators or our NC to come host a session on how to join the thing.

FidoNews 8-36                  Page 6                       9 Sep 1991


And simply because of our personal history with FidoNet, if the net, or
portions of the net wants a larger participation in The ONE BBSCON, it's
going to be hard to cough up a "no" to any specific requests for
facilities, session tracks, etc.

But my personal feeling is that it would probably be healthy if there
was a "FidoCon" somewhere else next year.  I am uncomfortable with the
allegation that Phil Becker and I have designs on "commercializing"
FidoCon. Our actions in 1991 were intended to make it more successful.
I apologize if they were inappropriate.  And our plans for 1992 are
specifically and by design not related to FidoCon period.

We are going to do a general BBS industry and networking trade show and
we're going to make it a relatively big one.  And I have already
enlisted the aid of Jim Warren, the man who started the West Coast
Computer Fair that Tom Jennings referred to in the last FidoNews, as our
personal coach and mentor/advisor for matters regarding The ONE BBSCON.
I can't think of anyone better myself, I admire him immmensely (he also
founded Dr. Dobbs Journal and InfoWorld and hosted the Computers,
Freedom, and Privacy conference last March) and while he has no direct
involvement or material obligation to The ONE BBSCON, he has
enthusiastically agreed to advise and mentor as the official "kibitzer".

By funding a full-time organization to handle this annual show, getting
the best advice we can, and promoting it full speed for a full year, I'm
going to guess we'll put together our 1000 attendees and then some.  It
should work out to be the most fun you can have standing up.

Jack Rickard
Editor/Publisher, Boardwatch Magazine
President, ONE, Inc.
1:104/555

/* Thanks for responding. I'll reiterate (for anyone who missed last
week's) that I'm not opposed to "commercial" interests taking part in
the FidoNet, I only worry about the possibility of them being considered
 "more legitimate" or some such rot. I thought FidoCon '91 was great!

But I also look forward attending to the ONE BBSCON ... The world we're
creating is growing fast, and we need to broaden our interconnections...
and if Jim Warren likes it, it will be a Good Thing. */

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

Original Message Date: 31 Aug 91 15:36:00
From: Chris Anderson on 1:104/114
To: Tom Jennings on 1:1/1
Subj: Problems With Attaches to Your System

I have been unable to attach a file (an article for FNEWS) to your system
via either Wazoo or Sealink sessions using two different mailers - got
tired of the LD charges after about half a dozen various attempts.  Wish I
could do it "your way", but ....  Kept getting a whopping 128 bytes across
then died in terminal lack of ACKs.   In fact, I haven't even been able to
get THIS across to you as a simple message.  I think packet 00010001.PKT
is getting tired.  Anyway, in an effort to find SOMEONE who has a mailer
FidoNews 8-36                  Page 7                       9 Sep 1991


compatible with yours, I am routing it via 125/0.  I hope your NC has
better luck than I did.  It may explain why you haven't had as many
articles recently as you might have liked.

Please accept this article in the only form I seem to be able to deliver
it to you.  It *was* to have been called FIDO91.ART, but now I guess it'll
be called something mundane like 9.MSG <grin>.

* FidoCon '91 Aftermath

by Chris Anderson 1:104/114
FidoCon '91 Aftermath

It took me the better part of the rest of the next week to recover
fully.  FidoCon '91 was, by best estimates, a success, with a total
of over 400 folks attending in various capacities.

I was pleased to *finally* have the opportunity to meet some of the
true "authors" of this hobby - those that were there from the
beginnings of Fido, EchoMail, and all of the many other things we
have taken for granted in such a very, very short time.

It was interesting to note that your Editor's hair was *not* green
as had been projected by some; he did, however, arrive in the LP
powered Rambler as promised.  For one who might very well question
the results of his "baby", Tom Jennings has managed to distance
himself from this phenomenon just sufficiently to retain his
perspective on what has really happened -- Mitch Kapor (founder of
Lotus) had similar feelings as an outsider to our hobby.  A 12,000
member amateur network in just a few short years in this medium is
nothing short of amazing.  It was revealing to hear the originator
and a relative newcomer reminding us of the impact that FidoNet has
had on communication.  I enjoyed listening to the comments of both
of these (and others) in that it helped me regain some perspective.

The conference had not one but several keynotes.  As most of you
are probably aware, the legal issues surrounding this "hobby" of
ours are just being formed into opinion - and there's not much of
it established as yet.  The ECPA (Electronic Communications Privacy
Act) that was really a palative for the cellular phone industry has
had some interesting side effects on the BBS business, and it was
good to hear legal and personal opinion on our status as sysops in
this forum.  Many of us aren't sure where our legal responsibilities
lie with regard to "private" communication, nor what sort of
illegal communication we may or may not be liable for when posted
on our systems.  Lance Rose noted that he is updating his book on
Sysop law and that the revised version is to be (as I remember it)
available sometime towards the end of the year.

Steve Jackson was present to tell his tales of woe with the Secret
Service and the ill-conceived Sun Devil bust of his system last year.
Lance noted that although a person might not be arrested, one's
system could effectively be "arrested"... an odd state of affairs
unless the law behind it is understood.  Steve had just received a
reply from the Feds that said, in effect, "We didn't do it, but if
we did, it was OK."  The EFF (Electronic Frontier Foundation) was
FidoNews 8-36                  Page 8                       9 Sep 1991


on hand en masse, and they will be pressing the suit on Jackson's
behalf.  For the record, Steve Jackson Games didn't even publish
software - it published role playing game books.  What was
confiscated from his business were the computers essential to that
publishing effort.  He is still waiting to have some of the
equipment returned.

We had all of the personalities of most of the more popular
mailer and BBS software present to demonstrate their latest wares
and views on the state(s) of the art.  We had an interesting mix
of other "personalities" as well, and I suppose I shouldn't have
been surprised to find a few "bad apples" in the bunch.  If you
have a chance to view the tape of the Software Developers'
RoundTable, drop me a NetMail sometime and I'll tell you who the
abusive off-camera voice belongs to.  Some folks just seem to be
genuinely *unhappy* individuals bent on spreading it around a bit.

A service has been located that can not only duplicate the videos
we shot during the conference, but will be able to do a lot with
the audio clean-up of them as well.  A future note here will give
details on ordering tapes as soon as we're sure which ones are of
sufficient quality to reproduce (most of them were).

Of the various modem manufacturers, U.S. Robotics and CompuCom were
the only ones represented by their own companies, although The
Index System of Georgia did handle the "trade show" end of things
for Hayes.  I was rather disappointed that Randy from Hayes didn't
put in an appearance, especially at the Modem Manufacturers'
panel.  We received a bit of an education on development and
testing procedures there.  Of special note is CompuCom's plan to
introduce a line of V.32bis modems to that include not only FAX and
voice mail switching facilities, but Caller ID as well - for sysop
prices you ** simply wouldn't believe** even if I printed them
here.  The hot models are due to be available in limited quantities
by about the time you read this article.  Modems that would use
yet another proprietary-only protocol have put off a lot of sysops
that don't have but a few lines, but with everything else up to and
including V.32bis available, there's little risk in putting one up
on any line and hoping that our users take advantage of the dirt
cheap "simplex" high speed CSP protocol modems that retail (as I
remember it) for around $169 list.  For that, our users get a decent
2400 baud MNP modem with the CSP protocol if they can find sysops
that are willing to give these new modems a try.  An uphill battle
once faced by CompuCom may be eased greatly by adding true standard
protocols to their products - and that's what they're promising.

The non-commercial version of FrontDoor 2.01 was available from
On-Line and appears (we have quite a number of installations in
Denver already as a result) to be working pretty much as advertised,
with full FTS-007/008 support.  I tried out the user interface on
a copy and was pleasantly surprised at the features.

FidoNews 8-36                  Page 9                       9 Sep 1991


Also copped a copy of SEAmail while there (show special of $95), and
brought it home to try it out.  Evidently the documentation was
handled by an outside firm this time, and was unavailable by the time
of FidoCon '91.  Full docs are promised to start shipping about
September 1, and for those of you who got the package and have tried
to install from the disk docs, you'll be glad to hear it.  Tom has
added (!) WaZoo and FAX session support, full domain and zone support,
and a host of other features.  Many of the aggravations of SEAdog
have been addressed, but a few new items still have several of us
puzzled about SEAmail.  Hopefully, the printed docs will elaborate
a bit.  The package really lends itself better to GroupMail than it
does to EchoMail, but then... that's politics in Net 107 I guess.

Haven't had a chance to try out the newcomer - InterMail - but from
what I hear, it's one of the few packages to be relatively bug free
(I haven't heard a peep to the contrary) right out of the chute.  If
so, hearty congratulations are due Peter and Michelle for deciding
to get it right *before* releasing.  A LOT of test time goes into
that kind of effort.  What else do the Swedes have to do during those
long cold winters, anyway ;).

Well, ARTSPEC advises against long articles - and this could go on
for a great many pages.  I hope someone else takes time to write
about the NAPLPS demo (amazing graphics speed over modems), and the
eats supplied by Net 128, and the other vendors, and Tom Henderson's
toy collection, and the parties (Bit Bucket buys the best beer) and
and and ...


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

Anyone know how to talk to Russing FidoNet's?

To: Fidonews on 1:125/111
Subj: help
^AINTL 1:125/111 1:125/555
From  kumr!lll-winken.llnl.gov!tab.ieee.org!daemon
From: 72760.1762@CompuServe.COM (Jean-Marc)
To:   <fidonews@fidosw.fidonet.org>
Date: 02 Sep 91 12:52:50 EDT

I am having a problem contacting some Fido BBS in the Soviet Union. I
hope you can help me. I am posting my letters on Compuserve.
Unfortunately the only way one can contact a Fido BBS through
Compuserve is via Internet. The format is >INTERNET:
ALL@f2.n5020.z11.fidonet.org where 2:5020/11 is the Fido address of
the BBs in question. I don't know if my messages are getting through
to the BBS using Compuserve and most importantly, if it is possible
for them to reply. I think there are a lot of people in North America
who would be most interested in exchanging E-mail with people in the
Soviet Union. Could you tell me if there is an alternate way for me to
address my messages and what info I should include inside of them to
make sure I get a reply. Also I would appreciate general information
on Fido. What it is? How it interacts with the other Networks. Can one
get a directory of Fido BBS in Europe?
I do hope you can help me and thank you in advance for your
FidoNews 8-36                  Page 10                      9 Sep 1991


assistance.

Jean-Marc Lacombe

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


Original Message Date: 28 Aug 91 00:06:16
From: Uucp on 1:125/777
To: Tom Jennings on 1:125/111
Subj: Treasury Enforcement Communications System
^AINTL 1:125/111 1:125/777
From: toad.com!gnu
Date: Tue, 27 Aug 91 23:40:40 -0700

------- Forwarded Message

Date:      Sun, 25 Aug 1991 11:47:29 EDT
From: "James Salsman" <jps@bovik.pgh.pa.us>
Organization: Bovik Research
To: eff@eff.org
Subject:   TECS II
Dear Members of the Electronic Frontier Foundation,

I have been spending a good portion of my summer searching government
documents from a state GPO repository library and I have uncovered an
aspect of the federal government that needs to be brought to your
attention.

The Department of the Treasury has designed a system, a revison of
the Treasury Enforcement Communications System, called TECS II.
Among other things, this system will be used to track all people
coming into and leaving the nation.  The system is to be accessable
to many government employees in diverse geographic areas and any
number of unauthorized users.  The potential for abuse of this
information is considerable, far exceeding anything we've ever seen
from credit bureaus.  Some of the Customs employees that will have
access to this system are located in small aristrips and ports and
are under very little supervision.

The TECS II database is to join Customs records, Bank Secrecy Act
records, the NCIC, and IRS corporate and personal files.

The undersecretary who is responsible for the development and
coordination of this system is Donald E. Kirkendall, Inspector
General of the Treasury.

TECS II and Treasury interagency cooperation being used to develop it
is descripbed in report numbers OIG-90-004 (10/25/89), OIG-90-024
(1/10/90), OIG-90-030 (2/28/90), and IRS-09255 (1/17/90).  To obtain
these reports, one must send a request in writing to "FOIA Requests,"
Room 1054, Department of the Treasury, 1500 Penn Avenue NW,
Washington, DC 20220.  There is also information about the system
contained in public Treasury documents since 1988.

FidoNews 8-36                  Page 11                      9 Sep 1991


Sincerely,
:James P. Salsman

------- End of Forwarded Message

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


by Jerry Schwartz (1:142/928)

No Advertisements, Please?

Everyone seems to be crabbing about the sizes of files these days,
and I seem to recall someone specifically complaining about the size
of FidoNews.  (Personally, I'm a little puzzled by some of this: the
average system has loads of .GIFs, some of which rival the nodelist in
size and most of which are less useful.)  In any case, I suggest that
the section for classified ads be eliminated.

At first, I thought it might be a good way to find out about neat new
stuff, and perhaps it could be; but I question the value of sending an
ad for some specific item around the world and back.  I don't intend
any offense towards those who placed these ads; I just question whether
or not this is the right place.  There are plenty of national and local
echos for the purpose.

Perhaps this category could be replaced by one explicitly called "New
Items of Interest."


/* I tend to agree. Please see the editorial in this issue for a
related discussion. */

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


Fredric L. Rice.
FidoNet 1:102/901.0


Have you ever FileRequested several files from a system working
from a list of files you've written down or printed out and,
after you acquired them, forgotten what they were? (I've
received over one hundred files from 102/770 and about twice
that many files from 102/943). You can go through the file
description listing of each system again, perhaps asking your
editor of choice to look for them, or you can use Matchem. This
becomes a big task as you may acquire many files over a long
period of time and have file listings from several systems. Not
only that but other people who might use your network address
to FileRequest files may never talk to you (happens in a lot of
companies these last couple of years).

FidoNews 8-36                  Page 12                      9 Sep 1991


The Matchem program will take as its arguments the file name of
your log file (where FileRequests are logged as 'Rcvd' entries)
and then the file names of what I call Description Files. The
Description Files are just file listings that most systems
offer you when you FileRequest the magic name FILES.

An example would be something like:

C:\FD\FILES> matchem fd.log pxchange.lst ccbfiles.lst tnet.doc

In this sample, 'fd.log' is FrontDoors' log where FileRequests
are marked with a 'Rcvd' entry (the source code is provided in
the event your mailer doesn't produce a 'Rcvd' entry. If you
need to have the project scan for something like 'Received' or
whatever, and don't have the ability to create a new version,
just give me a sample of your log file and I'll FileAttach the
update direct to your system -- no charge. I could even put
what to look for into a configuration file).

The files 'pxchange.lst', 'ccbfiles.lst', and 'tnet.doc' are
files that have been received from three other systems where a
file name followed by a description occurs. Usually, you would
download or FileRequest a systems FILES and you would get a
list of the files the system has.

For this example, Matchem would open up and read-in the entries
in 'pxchange.lst' that described each file. Matchem would then
scan through the 'fd.log' file for Rcvd files and see if there
are any matches. If there are, the program displays the
description it found in 'pxchange.lst.' (It's DOS redirected to
an output file, usually). After that had been done, Matchem
will open up the next file, file 'ccbfiles.lst', and scan that
file for descriptions. The next Description File is scanned and
so on until all have been processed. There is no limit to the
number of Rcvd entries or Description Files other than time.

Of course it works another way where you perform a directory
of your disk and redirect it to a file, then edit that file to
have a 'Rcvd' at the beginning of each file name. Then you
can run your newly created directory listing through the
Matchem program, compared against all your other-system
Description Files, and get a description created for all (or
most) of the files in all of your directories.

Finally, after the output is redirected to a file, perhaps, the
output file can be sorted to remove any duplicates or a better
description of the file can be selected from any that are
described more than once.

As usual, the C source code is provided and has been pretty
well documented. The file to request is called MATCHEM.LZH and
is available at 1:102/901.0 24 hours a day. About the only
problem you might experience will be in the log files entry for
received files but I'll help with that.

FidoNews 8-36                  Page 13                      9 Sep 1991


Fredric.


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

Electronic Gay Magazine Expands

The (Electronic) Gay Community Magazine is now available for file
requests  at 9600 baud via PC Pursuit.  In addition, the magazine is
also available  in ZIP format in addition to the traditional ARC format.

For those unfamiliar with the publication, the (Electronic) Gay
Community  Magazine is a set of text files specifically set up for
display on  computer bulletin board systems who wish to provide news
services for  their users.  News articles on issues important to gay men
and lesbian  women are updated constantly.  There is no charge for use
of the magazine.

Here is an example of some of the magazine sections:

 +-------------------------------------------------+
 |                                                 |+
 |       The (Electronic) Gay Community Magazine   ||
 |                                                 ||
 |       [-]=BACK        Previous Menu             ||
 |       [B]=BRIEFS      News Shorts               ||
 |       [L]=LIFESTYLE   The Gay 90's              ||
 |       [F]=JUDICIAL    Our Legal System          ||
 |       [P]=POLITICS    The Legislature           ||
 |       [E]=EDITORIALS  Informed Opinion          ||
 |       [C]=CAMPAIGNS   Camp & Satire             ||
 |       [R]=REVIEWS     Books & Movies            ||
 |       [A]=AIDS/ARC    On the Frontline          ||
 |       [H]=HEALTH      Staying Healthy           ||
 |       [U]=UNIVERSITY  Campus Update             ||
 |       [I]=INFORMATION About (E)GCM              ||
 |                                                 ||
 +-------------------------------------------------+|
  +-------------------------------------------------+

For the past year the (Electronic) Gay Community Magazine has been
available for polling from the Land of Awes computer in Wichita, Kansas
(Fido node 1:291/9 at 316-269-3172) by requesting the GCM.ARC file.  Now
an additional pickup point has been arranged for those wishing to poll
for  the file at 9600 baud.

The Rocky Mountain Gay Connection in Denver, Colorado (Fido node
1:104/328  at 303-777-7696) will have the latest magazine files
available for polling  every week day.  This system is available from
the CODEN outdial of the PC  Pursuit packet switching network, therefore
some may wish to poll from  this system even at speeds less than 9600
baud.

FidoNews 8-36                  Page 14                      9 Sep 1991


In addition to the GCM.ARC file, a ZIP version named GCM.ZIP is now
available.  Also, some door programs and sample menu control files for
the  more popular BBS software are available for downloading.

Those with questions about the (Electronic) Gay Community Magazine are
urged to contact:  Rex Rivers; E-GCM; Post Office Box 16782; Wichita, KS
67216-0782; Voice 316-269-0913; Fax/BBS 316-269-4208; Mailer
316-269-3172.

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


by David Boehm, CAPNet News Editor
1:103/234@fidonet.org
55:840/0@capnet, California Wing NC

I would like to take this oppurtunity to announce the Civil Air Patrol
network, or CAPNet as we call it.

CAPNet was started about 6 months ago to bring together the people of
Civil Air Patrol who used the computer as a means of communication.
We have found that many people in CAP have hobbies with computers and
modems.

Currently, CAPNet is trying to recruit enough nodes to complete a
national hub network.  If any of you know how CAP is organized,
CAPNet is trying to organize its RC and NC structure the same way.

Here's a diagram of the planned organization for CAPNet:

=========================================================================
 N_East Mddl_East Grt_Lakes S_East N_Central  S_West  Rcky_Mtn  Pacific
 Region   Region   Region   Region  Region    Region   Region   Region
  5001     5002     5003     5004    5005      5006     5007     5008
=========================================================================
   100      200      300      400     500       600      700      800
   110      210      310      410     510       610      710      810
   120      220      320      420     520       620      720      820
   130      230      330      430     530       630      730      830
   140      240      340      440     540       640      740      840
   150      250      350      450     550       650               850
   160      260                       560
   170
   180

CAP itself is divided into 8 regions and into 50 "wings".  So, we
divided CAPNet into 8 regions and 50 nets.  (8 RC's and 50 NC's)  One
RC for each region of CAP, and one NC for each wing.  On the chart
above, each number below the region represents one wing or net.
CAPNet is a FidoNet Technology Network (FTN) using Zone 55.

FidoNews 8-36                  Page 15                      9 Sep 1991


Currently, CAPNet is running about 5 active echos including the
popular CAP_NAT echo on the FidoNet backbone.  We are even forming
our own file echos for aviation related files and our own newsletter!

We are looking for some nodes that can fill some badly needed RC and
NC positions.  Civil Air Patrol is sometimes regarded as America's
best kept secret.  Let's hope that CAPNet doesn't turn out the same!

Files to freq:

    CAPINFO.ZIP -- Current CAPNet Policy, application, and general
                   info.
    CAPLIST.A?? -- Current CAPNet nodelist.
    CAPNEWS.??? -- Current CAPNet newsletter. <Not Yet Available>

CAPNet Administrative nodes:

   Matt Valleau, Zone 55 Coordinator
      FidoNet 1:141/101
      CAPNet 55:55/0
   Orland Carter, Zone 55 Echo Coordinator
      FidoNet 1:135/72
      CAPNet 55:55/2
   David Boehm, CAPNet News Editor
      FidoNet 1:103/234
      CAPNet 55:840/0

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


by Richard Holler 1:231/290
ASP Echo Now Available Via BackBone!

Last week, we announced the creation of an echo area called ASP, which
is devoted to the Association of Shareware Professionals. We stated
that distribution was being handled by 1:231/290.

Well, thanks to the help of some hard-working sysops, things moved
pretty fast during that one-week span. The ASP echo is now available
via the BackBone distribution system!

We would encourage any and all ASP members to participate in this new
echo area, although you don't *HAVE* to be an ASP member to join us.
Also, we'd like to say that the ASP is not just for shareware authors.
There are ASP memberships available for BBS systems, and Disk Vendors.

If you are a sysop, please turn this echo on for your users, so they
can find out about the ASP. If you are a BBS user, ask your sysop to
bring this echo in for you.

Thanks to all that helped us get this echo off the ground!

FidoNews 8-36                  Page 16                      9 Sep 1991


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

Aaron Goldblatt
1:130/32.1   FidoNet
20:491/110   MailNet
50:5817/9999 EchoNet pending

                       Fort Worth Nodelist Sizes

This week I do not have a new release of the specs for the Fort Worth
format nodelist.  Those will be released NEXT week.  I do have some
numbers which might interest you, however.

A number of you suggested that I provide statistics on how much space my
format saves over the St. Louis nodelist and I responded that I was
unable to provide them because of a lack of a conversion program, and
the fact that I am not a programmer good enough to write one.  I invited
you to write one instead.

Will Schichtman of 1:350/59 answered the call and wrote a conversion
program for the Fort Worth nodelist.  At 10k, it's not a big one, but it
does the job.  It was created based on the specs presented last week,
with these notes:

      o the CSP flag, not included in last week's specs because the
          article was written before the flag was announced, was
          shortened to C
      o redundant modem flags, like "9600,HST,V32,V32B,V42,V42B,MNP,..."
          were not changed outside of shortening each flag individually.
      o phone number translations may not work outside of Zone 1, a
          problem which will be corrected later
      o Pvt nodes were left in, with the flag shortened to P
      o Down nodes were left in, with the flag shortened to D
      o An error in the program converted Hold nodes to NC listings
      o Fields were left in the same order as in the St. Louis nodelist,
          so as to make the programmer's job easier
      o Except for comments, lines end with an LF instead of a CR/LF
          pair.  This will be corrected.

Before I present size savings, I need to indicate how I arrived at the
numbers I got.

These numbers are based on NODELIST.249.  It was converted into
NODELIST.FW.  These two files were then archived into SEA ARC v6.00,
PKWare PKZip v1.10, and ARJ v2.20 archives using default compression
techniques (no command line switches).

On the table three numbers are given:
      Size
      Bytes Saved
      Saved Over Raw

FidoNews 8-36                  Page 17                      9 Sep 1991


Size is the actual size of the file, in bytes.

Bytes saved was figured as follows:
      For NODELIST.249 in archived format, the size of the archive was
          subtracted from the size of the raw nodelist:
             raw_nodelist - archive = bytes saved
      For NODELIST.FW in arvhived format, the size of the archive was
          subtracted from the size of NODELIST.?49:
             nodearc1 - nodearc2 = bytes saved

Saved Over Raw was figured as follows:
      For NODELIST.249 in archived format, the size of the archive was
          subtracted from the size of the raw nodelist:
             nodelist - archive = saved over raw
      For NODELIST.FW in archived format, the size of the archive was
          subtracted from the size of the raw nodelist:
             nodelist - FWarchive = saved over raw

Here are the sizes:

Filename     Format   Size    Bytes Saved    Saved Over Raw
-----------------------------------------------------------
NODELIST.249  raw    1039916      -                -
NODELIST.FW   raw     693351    346565           346565
NODELIST.A49  ARC     542748    497168           497168
NODELIST.AFW  ARC     419553    123195           620363
NODELIST.Z49  ZIP     404049    635867           635867
NODELIST.ZFW  ZIP     332400     71649           707516
NODELIST.J49  ARJ     382454    651462           651462
NODELIST.FW   ARJ     313347     69107           726569

These numbers show a signifigant size savings over the St. Louis format
nodelist.  These savings should grow larger as the format changes and
things get squashed even more.

Feedback is welcome.  If you sent me netmail after the second release of
the article (way back in July) and didn't get a response it's because I
went on vacation for six weeks, and the mail may have gotten deleted at
my bossnode's system.

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


                        Fredric L. Rice
                          1:102/901.0

This notice is for the Mayhem sites, really, as non-Mayhem
system will find no useful information here.

Well, I got a call from Eric Carr (FidoNet 1:365/47) and was
reminded that we had an agreement several years ago for him to
take over the Universal Mayhem project when I got tired of it.
Of course I forget things that happen yesterday let alone
things that happened four _years_ ago yet Eric, being ever
mindful of my memory, brought out several messages I'd sent
him and reminded me that I had sent him the source code to
FidoNews 8-36                  Page 18                      9 Sep 1991


Mayhem several years ago and showed them to me.

Eric had been involved in the project at the start, along with
Kevin Higgins, and had helped to get the project multi-
national in scope (as did so many others, of course). He has
also helped me with a couple of other non-FidoNet-related
projects (believe it or not, FidoNet isn't the whole world).

Eric will be 'project manager' for the Mayhem project. He is
prepared for a couple of hundred SysOps and Users to get set-
up through his system to carry the MAYHEM conference and get
the export/import facilities set-up again. Eric will also be
finishing the RA/QBBS message-base support and will be looking
into the 'extended' landing parties and boarding parties. Of
course he'll be testing and fixing problems as a primary goal.

I doubt, however, that Eric will poll as many sites -- indeed,
as many countries -- as I did to carry the conference. If
Eric needs the Australian connection, it will be through my
system to Jackson Hardings site in Australia called Lemons &
Oranges, if he agrees. (Link problems might have me going to
The Fourth Dimension, Scott Neville, in Australia).

I also doubt that Eric will provide his voice phone number to
discuss software bugs. <Grin> That might be a bit too much.

Any way, the source code to the project is being assembled from
a co-workers back-up tapes and so no code will have been lost
due to my hasty dumping of the project. Eric will acquire this
software and will provide the support that I'm no longer able
to provide; hopefully I'm not making firm enemies to the guys
who had asked for the source code and were told I had destroyed
it all: Tape back-ups over the years _were_ made and even
though I had asked the holders to destroy them, they, knowing
my moods, told me they were in fact destroyed. <Grin> I'll
have to find me some more trustworthy friends, I suspect.

Regardless, since I'll be providing the Australia-Eric link
to the MAYHEM conference, I'll be keeping an eye open for any
thing that Eric might not be able to handle. This is doubtful
as Eric is a long-time C programmer with more experience years
than I've got.

Eric will get this thing done and knows what is required of
him. We who enjoy Mayhem will take care, I think, to make sure
that he's not discouraged as easily as I was. He's much more
mature than I apparently am.

It's interesting that he should call me _now_ as just
yesterday, I was staying at a hotel about sixty miles from his
systems site and could have transferred the project over in
person. As it is, if my company gives me a couple of days off,
I'll drop in on Eric and we'll hold a meeting about the thing.

FidoNews 8-36                  Page 19                      9 Sep 1991


We now need to get all of the sites that didn't throw the
project away in anger to get in touch with Eric's system and
let him know that you're still in.

Eric? Do you have any comments?

[Stepping up the microphone]

When I heard that Fredric was doing away with the project, I
remembered our agreement (which in itself was amazing that I
remembered something from so long ago) and crashed a message
off to his system.  The two of us then had a long conversation
discussing the future of the Mayhem Project.  After adding a
several more dollars to Ma Bell's bank account the Mayhem
Project was revived.

As Fredric has said I am new 'keeper of the code' and I will do
my best to make sure Universal Mayhem stays alive and well. I
have been a player of Mayhem for many years now and have
enjoyed the game thoroughly.  Although Mayhem is changing
authors, the basic ideas behind it won't be changing.  The game
will continue to remain free of charge (as in the Opus license)
and it will continue to be improved upon.

Within the next couple of months a new version of Mayhem will
be released that will fix problems with the RA/QBBS message
bases. The other announced additions will be worked on as well.
After that you will just have to wait and see what will be
added.

I am always open to suggestions and comments on any program
that I create, whether it is Mayhem or EN (my other major
release in the FidoNet world.. a newsletter generator that
improved on MakeNews).

My system runs 24 hours a day and is available as 1:365/47
or 50:5020/47.  I am not going to be able to offer the same
level of international support that Fredric did, but the
Australia link will remain operational via Fredric's system.

Two Universal Mayhem echos have been created to support this
great game.  The first conference (MAYHEM_TECH) is a SysOp only
conference dealing with the setup and operation of the game.
This is where the "serious" talk about the game will be done.
The second conference is a revival of the MAYHEM echo.  It is
for the messages generated by UM and by the players of the
game.  I am the moderator for both echos and for the moment the
sole site of distribution.  If you are currently running Mayhem
(or just want to join in to see what the game is about), please
contact me at 1:365/47.

FidoNews 8-36                  Page 20                      9 Sep 1991


Eric
Sysop - Smokey's Place BBS
1:365/47   50:5020/47

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

FidoNews 8-36                  Page 21                      9 Sep 1991


======================================================================
                           RANTS AND FLAMES
======================================================================

            _(*#$_(*@#(*     (*^$+)#(%&+|      #$)%(&*#_$   @_#(  @$
       ^@#+)(#&%$*+)$%&*+$*%&#@(@#_|)*%|)#%&)#*%&+(@#&*_+(@#*^&@###
   *&#_($*&#$_(*#&$_(#*$&$ _(#$*#$+)#($&*+#)$            &#+$*&#
  ()*&#$_(&^#$_(#*$_#($^&#_$(^&#_$(&^#$_(&#^  damn right   _(#^&$_(#^&
 $*&#$_+(*             #)$&(%($%+)($%*+$)%($*   it's ugly   _#&%^#  &
#($_*#$_   FidoNet        (*$&%_@#_(*&@#_(@*#&_           @#_(*&@#_(*
)*&#$           Flames        *^$+)#(%  (not for the timid) @_#(
(*#$_(*^@#+)             and     #_|)*%         &+(@#&*_+(@#*^&@###
(#$*&#_($*&#$_(*#&$_(#*                   Rants    *&+#$*&#+$*&#
   )*&#$_(a regular feature)^&#_$(&^#$_              $^&#$_(#^
        (*^#$_*#^&$)*#&$^%)#*$&^_#($*^&#_($   Section   #&%^_
       _(*#&$_(#*   #($*&   #$*   _(*&@#_(@*#           *&@#_(*&
                                        )&*+_)*&+)*&+))&*(*&
                                               (*&_(*&_(*&



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

FidoNews 8-36                  Page 22                      9 Sep 1991


======================================================================
                             CLASSIFIEDS
======================================================================

ADVERTISEMENT POLICY: Submissions must be 20 lines or less each,
maximum two ads per advertiser, 70 characters per line maximum. No
control codes except CR and LF. (Refer to contact info at the end of
this newsletter for details.)

Please notify us if you have any trouble with an advertiser. FidoNews
does not endorse any products or services advertised here.


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

FidoNews 8-36                  Page 23                      9 Sep 1991


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

The Interrupt Stack

 7 Oct 1991
Area code 415 fragments. Alameda and Contra Costa Counties will begin
using area code 510. This includes Oakland, Concord, Berkeley and
Hayward. San Francisco, San Mateo, Marin, parts of Santa Clara County,
and the San Francisco Bay Islands will retain area code 415.

 1 Nov 1991
Area code 301 will split. Area code 410 will consist of the
northeastern part of Maryland, as well as the eastern shore. This will
include Baltimore and the surrounding area. Area 301 will include
southern and western parts of the state, including the areas around
Washington DC. Area 410 phones will answer to calls to area 301 until
November, 1992.

 1 Feb 1992
Area code 213 fragments. Western, coastal, southern and eastern
portions of Los Angeles County will begin using area code 310. This
includes Los Angeles International Airport, West Los Angeles, San
Pedro and Whittier. Downtown Los Angeles and surrounding communities
(such as Hollywood and Montebello) will retain area code 213.

 3 May 1992
The areacode for northern and central Georgia will change from 404 to
 1 Dec 1993
Tenth anniversary of Fido Version 1 release.

 5 Jun 1997
David Dodell's 40th Birthday


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

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


Fredric L. Rice FidoNet 1:102/901.0

Just a quick note to  see if there are sites that would like to
participate in the  Sick Of  George Bush  Echo  Conference (Tag
Name SOB). Since our boy George has fucked over the educational
budget to the extreme these past years,  I suspect that systems
that are dedicated to education might wish to keep up with what
he's been up to.

FidoNews 8-36                  Page 24                      9 Sep 1991


   "The preservation of the means of knowledge among the lowest
ranks is of more importance to the public than all the property
of all the rich men in the country."

                      - John Adams, second president of America


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

FidoNews 8-36                  Page 25                      9 Sep 1991


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

Latest Greatest Software Versions
Last Update: 09/05/91

                        MS-DOS Systems
                        --------------

BBS Software            Network Mailers         Other Utilities
Name         Version    Name         Version    Name         Version
--------------------    --------------------    --------------------
DMG             2.93    BinkleyTerm     2.40    2DAPoint        1.10*
Fido/FidoNet   12.21+   D'Bridge        1.30    ARCAsim         2.30
Genesis Deluxe   3.1*   Dutchie        2.90c    ARCmail         2.07
GSBBS           3.02    FrontDoor       2.01*   ConfMail        4.00
Kitten          2.16    InterMail       2.01    Crossnet         1.5
Lynx            1.30    PRENM           1.47    DOMAIN          1.42
Maximus         1.02    SEAdog          4.60*   EEngine         0.30*
Opus            1.71*   TIMS       1.0(Mod8)    EMM             2.02
PCBoard        14.5a                            4Dog/4DMatrix   1.18
Phoenix          1.3                            FNPGate         2.70
QuickBBS        2.66                            GateWorks      3.06c*@
RBBS           17.3b    NodeList Utilities      Gmail           2.05
RBBSmail       17.3b    Name         Version    GMD             2.00
RemoteAccess    1.01    --------------------    GROUP           2.16
SimplexBBS   1.04.02*+  EditNL          4.00    GUS             1.30
SLBBS          2.15b*   FDND            1.10*@  HeadEdit        1.18
Socrates        1.10    MakeNL          2.31    IMAIL           1.10
SuperBBS        1.10    Parselst        1.30    InterPCB        1.31
TAG             2.5g    Prune           1.40    MSG              4.1
TBBS             2.1    SysNL           3.14    MSGED           2.06
TComm/TCommNet   3.4    XlatList        2.90    MsgMstr         1.21*
Telegard         2.5    XlaxNode/Diff   2.52*   MSGTOSS          1.3
TPBoard          6.1                            Oliver          1.0a
TriTel          1.11*@                          PolyXarc        2.1a*
Wildcat!        2.55                            QM               1.0
WWIV            4.12    Compression             QSort           4.04
XBBS            1.17    Utilities               ScanToss        1.28
                        Name         Version    Sirius          1.0x
                        --------------------    SLMAIL          1.36
                        ARC             7.00    StarLink        1.01
                        ARJ             2.20*   TagMail         2.41
                        HYPER           2.50    TCOMMail         2.2
                        LHA             2.13*   Telemail        1.27
                        PAK             2.51    TMail           1.21
                        PKPak           3.61    TPBNetEd         3.2
                        PKZip           1.10    Tosscan         1.00
                                                UFGATE          1.03
                                                XRS             4.50
FidoNews 8-36                  Page 26                      9 Sep 1991


                                                XST             2.3e
                                                ZmailH         1.16a*

                        OS/2 Systems
                        ------------

BBS Software            Network Mailers         Other Utilities
Name         Version    Name         Version    Name         Version
--------------------    --------------------    --------------------
Maximus-CBCS    1.02    BinkleyTerm     2.40    ARC2            6.00
SimplexBBS   1.04.02*+  BinkleyTerm/2-MT        ConfMail        4.00
                                     1.40.02*@  EchoStat         6.0
                                                LH2             0.50
                                                MsgEd           2.06
                                                MsgLink         1.0c
                                                MsgNum          4.14
                                                oMMM            1.52
                                                Omail            3.1
                                                Parselst        1.32
                                                PKZip           1.02
                                                PolyXarc        2.1a*
                                                QSort            2.1
                                                Raid             1.0
                                                Remapper         1.2
                                                Tick             2.0
                                                VPurge          2.07


                        Xenix/Unix 386
                        --------------

BBS Software            Network Mailers         Other Utilities
Name         Version    Name         Version    Name         Version
--------------------    --------------------    --------------------
                        BinkleyTerm    2.32b    ARC             5.21
                                                C-LHARC         1.00
                                                MsgEd           2.06
 |Contact:  Jon Hogan-uran 3:711/909,|          MSGLNK          1.01
 |Willy Paine 1:343/12or Eddy van Loo|          oMMM            1.42
 |2:285/406                          |          Omail           1.00
                                                Parselst        1.32
                                                Unzip           3.10
                                                Vpurge          4.08
                                                Zoo             2.01


                        Apple II
                        --------

BBS Software            Network Mailers         Other Utilities
Name         Version    Name         Version    Name         Version
--------------------    --------------------    --------------------
DDBBS +          7.4*   Fruity Dog       2.0*   deARC2e          2.1
GBBS Pro         2.1                            ProSel          8.69*
FidoNews 8-36                  Page 27                      9 Sep 1991


                                                ShrinkIt        3.23
                                                ShrinkIt GS     1.04


                        Apple CP/M
                        ----------

BBS Software            Network Mailers         Other Utilities
Name         Version    Name         Version    Name         Version
--------------------    --------------------    --------------------
Daisy             2j    Daisy Mailer    0.38    Filer            2-D
                                                MsgUtil          2.5
                                                Nodecomp        0.37
                                                PackUser           4
                                                UNARC.COM       1.20


                        Macintosh
                        ---------

BBS Software            Network Mailers         Other Software
Name         Version    Name         Version    Name         Version
--------------------    --------------------    --------------------
FBBS            0.91    Copernicus       1.0    ArcMac           1.3
Hermes         1.6.1*   Tabby            2.2    AreaFix          1.6
Mansion         7.15                            Compact Pro     1.30
Precision Sys. 0.95b*                           Eventmeister     1.0
Red Ryder Host   2.1                            Export          3.21
TeleFinder                                      Import           3.2
  Host       2.12T10                            LHARC           0.41
                                                MacArc          0.04
                                                Mantissa        3.21
Point System                                    Mehitable        2.0
Software                                        OriginatorII     2.0
Name         Version                            PreStamp         3.2
--------------------                            StuffIt Classic  1.6
Copernicus       1.0                            SunDial          3.2
CounterPoint    1.09                            TExport         1.92
                                                Timestamp        1.6
                                                TImport         1.92
                                                Tset             1.3
                                                TSort            1.0
                                                UNZIP          1.02c
                                                Zenith           1.5
                                                Zip Extract     0.10


                        Amiga
                        -----

BBS Software            Network Mailers         Other Software
Name         Version    Name         Version    Name         Version
--------------------    --------------------    --------------------
Falcon CBBS     0.45    BinkleyTerm     1.00    AmigArc         0.23
Paragon        2.082+   TrapDoor        1.50    AReceipt         1.5
TransAmiga      1.07    WelMat          0.44    booz            1.01
FidoNews 8-36                  Page 28                      9 Sep 1991


                                                ChameleonEdit   0.10
                                                ConfMail        1.12
                                                ElectricHerald  1.66
                                                LHARC           1.30
                                                Login           0.18
                                                MessageFilter   1.52
                                                oMMM           1.49b
                                                ParseLst        1.64
                                                PkAX            1.00
                                                PolyxAmy        2.02
                                                RMB             1.30
                                                Roof           44.03
                                                RoboWriter      1.02
                                                Rsh             4.06
                                                Skyparse        2.30
                                                Tick            0.75
                                                TrapList        1.12
                                                UNZIP           1.31
                                                Yuck!           1.61
                                                Zippy (Unzip)   1.25
                                                Zoo             2.01


                        Atari ST/TT
                        -----------

BBS Software            Network Mailers         Other Utilities
Name         Version    Name         Version    Name         Version
--------------------    --------------------    --------------------
FIDOdoor/ST    2.4.0*   BinkleyTerm    2.40l    BINK2TB         1.00
GS Point        0.61    The BOX         1.20    ComScan         1.02
LED ST          1.00                            ConfMail        4.03
MSGED          1.96s                            EchoFix         1.20
                                                FastPack        1.20
                                                FDrenum        2.4.0*
Compression                                     FiFo            2.1n*
Utilities                                       Import          1.14
Name         Version                            oMMM            1.40
--------------------                            Pack            1.00
ARC             6.02                            Parselst        1.30
LHARC           1.32*                           sTICK/Hatch     5.50
PKZip           1.10                            TB2BINK         1.00
STZIP           0.80*                           Trenum          0.10
                                                Xlist           1.12


                        Archimedes
                        ----------

BBS Software            Network Mailers         Other Utilities
Name         Version    Name         Version    Name         Version
--------------------    --------------------    --------------------
ARCbbs          1.44    BinkleyTerm     2.03    ARC             1.03
FidoNews 8-36                  Page 29                      9 Sep 1991


                                                BatchPacker     1.00
                                                Parselst        1.30
                                                !Spark         2.00d
                                                Unzip          2.1TH

--  --  --  --  --  --  --  --  --  --  --  --  --  --  --  --  --
Key:  + - Netmail Capable (Doesn't Require Additional Mailer Software)
      * - Recently Updated Version
      @ - New Addition
      # - Commercial SoftWare(Not In Use Yet)
--  --  --  --  --  --  --  --  --  --  --  --  --  --  --  --  --

Utility Authors:  Please help keep this list up to date by reporting
                  all new versions to 1:103/950.

Note:  It is not our intent to list all utilities here, only those
       which verge on necessity.  If you want it updated in the next
       FidoNews, get it to me by Thursday evening.

--David French, 1:103/950

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

FidoNews 8-36                  Page 30                      9 Sep 1991


------- FIDONEWS MASTHEAD AND CONTACT INFORMATION ----------------

Editors: Tom Jennings, Tim Pozar
Editors Emeritii: Thom Henderson, Dale Lovell, Vince Periello
Special thanks to Ken Kaplan, 1:100/22, aka Fido #22

"FidoNews" BBS
    FidoNet  1:1/1
    Internet  fidonews@fidonews.fidonet.org
    BBS  (415)-863-2739  (9600 HST/V32)

(Postal Service mailing address)
    FidoNews
    Box 77731
    San Francisco
    CA 94107 USA

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.




FidoNews is copyright 1991 Fido Software. All rights reserved.
Duplication and/or distribution permitted for noncommercial purposes
only. For use in other circumstances, please contact FidoNews (we're
easy).



OBTAINING COPIES: FidoNews in electronic form may be obtained from
the FidoNews BBS via manual download or Wazoo FileRequest, or from
various sites in the FidoNet and via uucp. PRINTED COPIES mailed
may be obtained from Fido Software for $5.00US each PostPaid First
Class within North America, or $7.00US elsewhere, mailed Air Mail.
(US funds drawn upon a US bank only.)

Periodic subscriptions are not available at this time; if enough
people request it I will implement it.


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 BBS, or Wazoo filerequestable
from 1:1/1 as file "ARTSPEC.DOC".


FidoNews 8-36                  Page 31                      9 Sep 1991


"Fido", "FidoNet" and the dog-with-diskette are U.S. registered
trademarks of Tom Jennings of Fido Software, Box 77731, San Francisco
CA 94107, USA and are used with permission.

-- END

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

