      F I D O N E W S         Volume 18, Number 21             21 May 2001 
     +--------------------------+-----------------------------------------+
     | |The newsletter of the | | Fido, Fidonet and dog-with-diskette are |
     | |  FidoNet community.  | | US Registered Trademarks of Tom Jennings|
     | |Copyright through 2007| |     San Francisco, California, USA      |
     | |          ____________| |                                         |
     | |         /  __          |    Crash Netmail Attach Articles To:    |
     | |Fidonet /  /  \         |     Editor@1:1/23 (1-972-562-8064)      |
     | | Lives!(  /|oo \        |          Frank Vest@1:124/6308          |
     |  \_______\(_|  /_)       |                   or                    |
     |            _`@/_ \    _  |             flv@texoma.net              |
     |           |     | \   \\ |                                         |
     |           | (*) |  \   ))|           Editor: Frank Vest            |
     |           |__U__| /  \// |                                         |
     |  ______    _//|| _\   /  |                                         |
     | /Editor\  (_/(_|(____/   |   Newspapers should have no friends.    |
     |(________)        (jm)    |                    -- JOSEPH PULITZER   |
     +--------------------------+-----------------------------------------+
         Copyright 2001 by Frank L. Vest, Editor for Fidonews Globally.


                        Table of Contents
     1. FOOD FOR THOUGHT  .........................................  1
     2. HEADLINE NEWS  ............................................  2
        Zone6 on the come back trail!  ............................  2
        Zone 2, Region 53 is Alive!  ..............................  3
     3. TOP STORIES  ..............................................  4
        Zone6-managing finally  ...................................  4
     4. GENERAL ARTICLES  .........................................  6
        FidoNet and Peer to Peer (P2P) - State-of-the-art  ........  6
     5. EDITORIAL  ................................................  8
        Time is a circle  .........................................  8
     6. QUESTION OF THE WEEK  .....................................  9
        What is Fidonet to you?  ..................................  9
     7. INTERVIEWS  ............................................... 10
        Interview with Charles Cruden of Internet Rex  ............ 10
     8. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR  .................................... 12
        Dear Editor!  ............................................. 12
     9. EDITOR'S CORNER  .......................................... 13
        Just a few thanks  ........................................ 13
     10. FIDONET NOTICES  ......................................... 15
        Please Check  ............................................. 15
     11. HUMOR IN A FIDO VEIN  .................................... 16
        Irreverent look at Fidonet Coordinators  .................. 16
     12. COMIX IN ASCII  .......................................... 18
        Key into Fidonet  ......................................... 18
     13. CLEAN HUMOR & JOKES  ..................................... 19
        How it really happened! :-)  .............................. 19
     14. FIDONET BY INTERNET  ..................................... 20
        Fidonet-related sites  .................................... 20
        Fidonet Via Internet Hubs  ................................ 21
     15. FIDONEWS INFORMATION  .................................... 25
        How to Submit an Article  ................................. 25
        Credits, Legal Infomation, Availability  .................. 26
     FIDONEWS 18-21               Page 1                   21 May 2001


     =================================================================
                             FOOD FOR THOUGHT
     =================================================================

     If you find yourself in a hole the first thing to do is stop diggin'.
                               - Texas Bix Bender

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

     FIDONEWS 18-21               Page 2                   21 May 2001


     =================================================================
                               HEADLINE NEWS
     =================================================================


                         Zone6 on the come back trail!

               By Barry Blackford with permission of the new Z6C.

     Congratulations Bin Li on becoming the newest ZC in Fidonet!


     For anyone who is interested, Zone6 has been struggling to survive
     against all the odds, brought about mainly because of a hopeless Z6C
     who just faded away making occasional promises of fixing routing
     and zonewide echomail etc etc etc, all the while doing absolutely
     nothing - including no nodediff for more than a year and a half so
     you see the problem?

     It has taken a huge effort to get the various countries involved in
     Zone6 talking and working towards a mutual goal a new Z6C.
     This was not aided by the fact that so many languages were involved,
     that English became the most common to all parties!! yet English was
     not the first language of any of the counties in Zone6!

     No actual election was held as all possible candidates except Bin Li
     were unavailable to perform the duties in full for various reasons,
     Bin Li resides in Shanghi China, he will be assisted by a management
     team of Anatoli Tung (Kazakstan and Vietnam - alternates between two
     locations), Lawrence Fan (Shanghi) and myself (don't ask!).

     The next task is to re-organise the regions (many RC's are missing)
     so this is all going to take time and we do not expect to find
     anything like the regions as exist in the nodelist at this point in
     time. That example is a good reason for the management group who can
     step in should the ZC go AWOL again, not that we expect it to happen.

     Anyway, it's good to see some results after months of consultation!

     Other persons directly and indirectly involved, and to whom we owe
     our gratitude are Carol Shenkenberger (soon to be ex Zone1 moving to
     Japan) & Terry Roati (an Australian living in Manila), both Carol
     and Terry have played an important part in the reforming process and
     both offer their services (when they are available), to the
     Management group and the Z6C.

     Also Janis Kracht (Z1C) and Malcolm Miles (Z3C) for their support and
     understanding with nodes in their respective zones who have another
     foot in Zone6, it was also gratifying to have the support of the ZCC
     when it was needed most.


     Thank you to everyone involved, Long Live Zone6! (Asia)

     Best Rgds, Bazz
     barry@glonet.co.nz
     FIDONEWS 18-21               Page 3                   21 May 2001


     (See related article: "Zone6-managing finally")

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

                         Zone 2, Region 53 is Alive!

      Region 53 in Zone 2 has a new RC. Vlad Hrusca informs that Region 53
     is very much alive and is working with others, both in and out of
     Zone 2 - Region 53, to get Region 53 moving.

      Congratulations to Vlad Hrusca!

     (Related articles: "Dear Editor", "Editor's Corner", "Question of the
     Week")

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

     FIDONEWS 18-21               Page 4                   21 May 2001


     =================================================================
                                TOP STORIES
     =================================================================

                             Zone6-managing finally

     =======================================
     * Forwarded by Anatoli Tung (6:770/1)
     * Area : ZONE6SYSOP (ZONE6SYSOP)
     =======================================
                  From : Anatoli Tung
               Subject : About Zone6-managing finally
             Date/Time : Mon 14 May 2001  2:32a

     From Bin Li,

      BL>>> I already said i agree wrote me to zone-gate and zone-line if
      BL>>> all sysop agree. about carol and barry, i think we must hold
      BL>>> these node!
      BL>>>  this mail cc to all sysop!

      From Terry Roati, to a conversation in progress on new Z6C status.

      TR> Totally agree, let's move on. Let's do it and move on. I can
      TR> setup a mailing list to handle this if required.

     From Anatoli,

     About Z6C. I propose not wait more, all voices is clear, and although
     we not yet have clear plan for progress and evolution of Z6, or
     opinion new Z6C about this (he have our questions, but he need time
     for decisions).

     About mailing list. I (do) not fully understand, about what this
     mailing list will be?

     We are using netmail and echoarea ZONE6SYSOP to talk and inform. But
     if some other networks, are now not linked to this echoarea, will they
     be informed by the maillist (similar echoarea R50.SYSOP.CRISIS in R50
     of Zone 2 ;-)) - this is good idea. For instance, I exchange e-mail
     with some sysops of nodes from Japan, Singapore, Thailand, Taiwan,
     HongKong, some of them are interested to do work for Zone 6, but their
     fidonet-nodes is temporary work without links or in down, so if you
     are able to support one or more mailing-lists, I can propose to you
     their e-mails 'for inform they' (so he can link them) and allow them
     to participate in our talks. What is your opinion?

     Now information about our voices (opinions, not votes).

     === Cut ===

     This is from my old message to Lawrence, Barry and Carol:

     This is results of our discussion for listing one as Z6C:

     1. Terry Roati, 6:751/321, the experience coordinator, now executes
     FIDONEWS 18-21               Page 5                   21 May 2001


     duties R64C, to be disagree Z6C, since is very much engaged and is
     seldom at home (his Node always on the auto pilot). Considers, that
     Z6C should be only asian. Agree for Bin Li.

     2. Lawrence Fan, 6:654/1501, the most experience coordinator in R65,
     is now engaged, and there is no technical opportunity. Supports a
     nominee Bin Li

     3. Carol Shenkenberger, 6:730/275, experience coordinator, ex-RC from
     a zone1. She speaks: "My 4 month expected outage is not a joke". I
     believe Bin Li is ready and Anatoli is happy to produce the nodelist
     for him."

     4. Anatoli Tung, 6:770/1, similar situation. Often unavailable on
     trips, technical opportunities are planned to 2001. Support Bin Li and
     appeal to all other candidates to help he.

     5. Maoron Chen, 6:653/1008 - is engaged, will leave Fidonet.

     6. Barry, 3:774/605. Agree for Bin Li, support he by netmail routing,
     echomail-links and other.

     Others sysop's - in discussion did not participate, have problems with
     support Fidonet even in their own networks... BTW, two regions (60 and
     61) not have anyone *RC, this will be solved in future. But even now I
     surmise candidates: Ivan Shim or I for R60, and Fatman Wong 6:700/360
     for R61 (he is one activest there). Old RC62 and RC63 are available,
     but down, we can ask their opinion for next RC's...

     One additional question new accepted by more in ZONE6SYSOP: Make a Z6
     Manage Group included nodes 6:6/1000 - 6:6/100x in nodelist, what will
     be included some persons (Anatoli, Barry, Lawrence, Ivan Shim etc)
     that very active work for zone 6 or help Z6C. Number 6:6/1000 is
     reserved for postmaster (keeper) of domain z6.fidonet.org (now Ivan
     Shim, 6:600/60) and will be added when he agree. Addind of other new
     nodes there will be by decision of Z6C with agreement of their sysops.
     === Cut ===

     Chao,

        Anatoli.

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

     FIDONEWS 18-21               Page 6                   21 May 2001


     =================================================================
                             GENERAL ARTICLES
     =================================================================


               FidoNet and Peer to Peer (P2P) - State-of-the-art

               by Anton "Tony" Koker, Jr. (TonyKoker@bigfoot.com)

        In my meanderings through the information technology landscape,
     trying to keep abreast of information pertinent to the honing of my
     skills and art, I found an article which relates directly to FidoNet.
     Expecially so since FidoNet is cited as a fine example of technology
     that has withstood and continues to withstand the test of time. The
     following is an excerpt from that article (used with permission from
     the author):

     "Early attempts

        P2P computing isn't all that new.  The term P2P is, of course, a
     new invention, but basic P2P technology has been around at least as
     long as USENET and FidoNet -- two very successful, completely
     decentralized networks of peers.  P2P computing may be even older (I
     hereby issue a challenge to my readers to find the earliest P2P
     application -- extra points will be awarded if it's still in use), but
     these two examples suffice to demonstrate its age.  The bottom line is
     that many of the people using P2P applications today weren't even
     using computers when the first P2P applications appeared.

        USENET, born back in 1979, is the distributed application that
     provides most of the world with its newsgroups (my favorites are
     rec.arts.int-fiction and rec.games.int-fiction).  Its earliest
     incarnation was the work of two graduate students named Tom Truscott
     and Jim Ellis.  At the time, nothing like the "on-demand" Internet we
     know today existed.  Files were exchanged in batch over phone lines,
     often at night when long distance rates were lowest.  Consequently,
     there was no effective way to centralize the function of the USENET.
     The natural result was an extremely decentralized, distributed
     application -- a structure it retains to this day.

        The other outstanding early P2P success is FidoNet.  FidoNet, like
     USENET, is a decentralized, distributed application for exchanging
     messages.  FidoNet was created in 1984 by Tom Jennings as a way to
     exchange messages between users of different BBS systems.  Because it
     filled a need, it quickly grew and, like USENET, it remains in use
     today.

        Both USENET and FidoNet are interesting because both of them, years
     ago, ran into and overcame many of the problems that modern P2P
     applications are running into today, with scalability being the most
     obvious, but security and a host of other problems being addressed as
     well.  For P2P computing to succeed, its proponents must be willing to
     learn from history."


     from http://www-106.ibm.com/developerworks/java/library/j-p2p/:
     FIDONEWS 18-21               Page 7                   21 May 2001


     The practice of peer-to-peer computing: Introduction and history

     A new-fangled name, but an old and useful approach to computing

     Todd Sundsted (todd-p2p@etcee.com)
     Chief Architect, PointFire, Inc.
     March 2001

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

     FIDONEWS 18-21               Page 8                   21 May 2001


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

                                Time is a circle
                                 By Frank Vest

      It's been said that time goes in a circle and what has been will be
     again.

      In the past weeks, there has been controversy over the IC, person and
     position. There's been mention of an article in FIDO548.NWS that was
     deleted by a ZHub due to the content and the controversy surrounding
     that. Some other echos are talking about other things and so on.

      Mentioning the Fidonews issue that had the removed article in it got
     me to go look at the unaltered version. I then started looking at some
     of the other back issues. It was interesting what I found.

      In one issue, there was a complaint about the IC and something that
     had or hadn't been done by him. In another, was a comment about
     leaving Fidonet because it was becoming not fun anymore. Still other
     issues held articles about routing problems and this and that
     happenings on the good and bad side.

      As I scanned through some of the issues, I thought `I've seen this
     before in the Fidonews or in some echo in Fidonet'. I know that I
     couldn't have read those particular articles because I wasn't in
     Fidonet at that time. :)

      I guess that time really is a circle and history does repeat itself.

      If this is the case, I can't wait until Fidonet grows back into the
     30,000 Nodes it once was. :-)

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

     FIDONEWS 18-21               Page 9                   21 May 2001


     =================================================================
                           QUESTION OF THE WEEK
     =================================================================

                      What is Fidonet to you?

     I was asked this question in E-Mail and it is a good question.

                    Just what is Fidonet to you?

     (see related: "Letters to the Editor")

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

     FIDONEWS 18-21               Page 10                  21 May 2001


     =================================================================
                                INTERVIEWS
     =================================================================

                 Interview with Charles Cruden of Internet Rex.
                                 By Frank Vest


      With your permission, I'd like an E-Mail address and Web page, if
      available, to publish in the Fidonews.

     http://plaza.v-wave.com/InternetRex, of course.  :)
     Email I'd prefer not to publish, just to keep the spambots at bay.

      Q: Tell us a little about Charles Cruden. Just who are you? :)

     Charles Cruden is in fact a fiendishly sneaky alien plot to take over
     the world.  The first step in this plan is infiltration of Fidonet,
     which appears to have gone well, but the details of the jump to the
     second step (total domination of world governments) seems to have been
     less well planned, and will shortly be coming under review.  Those
     involved will no doubt be feeling the wrath of large halibuts shortly.

      Q: What got you first interested in BBS?

     Apart from the obvious need for the first step in world domination,
     the main thing that got me involved was the purchase of a modem to
     connect to the university.  When I found other places to connect to,
     the whole process sort of snowballed, and I soon found myself buying
     another modem and computer to put together my own BBS.  Mostly the
     door games drew me in, but at the time, it was also one of the best
     ways of going about exchanging shareware games.  (Mmmm... DOOM.)

      Q: How long have you been programming?

     Pretty much since the first computer I got in '84.  (Go go Timex
     Sinclair!)  At that point it was just experimenting.  In university I
     went into computing science, and that's when the real programming
     started.

      Q: What prompted you to begin writing Irex?

     InterBBS gaming mostly.  (How better to practise world domination?)
     I'd started exchanging files with other boards over the net in '94,
     mostly by Telix scripts.  It worked really well, but although a lot of
     folks were interested, the complexities behind setting it up were a
     big impediment.  TransX and Fido2Int came along to simplify things a
     bit, but at the time they just didn't do enough, so I set about
     writing something of my own to fill the gap....

      Q: What do you see as the strong points of Irex or any programs
         you've written for Fidonet? Give us a quick review.

     I'd say Rex's best feature is its flexibility: whatever you want to do
     to transfer your files over the net, Rex can do it.  Native versions
     for most OSes and support for most of the mailers out there don't hurt
     FIDONEWS 18-21               Page 11                  21 May 2001


     it either.

      Q: Where do you see Irex going in the future?

     My goal is to make Rex the first "universal" mailer: that is,
     regardless of the method you want to use to exchange your mail or the
     setup you have, Rex can do it for you.  With any luck, I can make it
     reasonably simple to configure at the same time.... :)

      Q: Where do you see BBS systems going in the future?

     That depends a lot on what you consider to be a "BBS".  The current
     incarnation (dialup line with text based echos / doors / etc.) does
     have certain advantages, but I just can't see it sticking around for
     long.  Things are going to move towards access over the net (witness
     the number of telnet boards springing up all over the place), and if
     they stuck with a text interface for long, I'd be surprised.  Already,
     you could consider some internet websites BBSs of a kind: they have
     their own message areas, some have games, files abound....  Start
     networking them, and you have a whole other kind of BBS network.  If
     BBSing can throw off the shackles of a nearly 20 year old stereotype
     and catch up with the net, I think great things could happen.

      Q: Anything else you want to add or tell the readers?

     FIDONET IS JUST THE FIRST STEP!  SOON ALL YOUR PUNY NATIONS WILL FALL
     UND... @(#&^R

     Umm...  Nope, nothing comes to mind.  :)

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

     FIDONEWS 18-21               Page 12                  21 May 2001


     =================================================================
                           LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
     =================================================================

     Printed with permission from Vlad Hrusca

                                  Dear Editor!


     I want to ask you: why you see only bad things in FidoNet?

      Ok, region 2:35 dead... it's sad... But at April, 1st, region 2:53
     tells - "We are alife!". 2 years region was dead, and now - "We will
     be alife!". One node (ex. 2:530/207, now 2:531/207) 2 years was alife
     with points but without any connection with others. I think it's not
     bad.

      Ok, it's my first experience as FidoNet regional coordinator
     (I had experience in MirageNet, Sysops TechNet, and others
     xUSSR-specific nets), but I trying to do all for my region.

      Ok, now we have some troubles ws internet and outbound
     connections,but I want to say _THANK YOU_ for: Barry Blackford
     (3:774/605), Ward Dossche (2:292/854), Anton Kuznetsov (2:465/50),
     Alex Bagmanov (2:5014/4), Oleg Vasenyoff (2:469/73.256), and for many
     others who helps me to make R53 be alife.

      See, one example - I think region 2:50 (Russia) is a largest region
     in FidoNet right now, no? Why? What is Fidonet for russians?

      For xUSSR FidoNet is not only a way to communicate, it's a way to
     live, religion... FidoNet members - are another kind of people,
     computer fanatics. It's not bad. Maybe it's not bad idea for other
     regions and zones? Maybe I'm not so experienced as you, I'm only 10
     years in FidoNet, but ask anybody from Z1 what is FidoNet for him
     (her)? For me FidoNet - is my life.

      About "new ways in FidoNet". FidoNet is a community, and all
     communities have their laws. To thrive. New flags, new methods,
     new ideas. Example: In R46 was project - Fido via SMS. Fido tryes to
     do something, why you don't understand this? Cell phones as phone
     line, why not? We need to use all new technologies to survive as
     community. It's so simple. Let's do something - we are all friends,
     isn't it?

     Best Regards,
     Vlad Hrusca,
     Region 53 Coordinator
     2:531/1@FidoNet

     P.S. Sorry for my english.
     P.P.S. About internet hubs, why you don't use WWB Sysops list?
            I know some big internet hubs in xUSSR, such as 2:5020/52,
            2:5014/4, 2:469/128, 2:400/558, etc.

     -----------------------------------------------------------------
     FIDONEWS 18-21               Page 13                  21 May 2001


     =================================================================
                              EDITOR'S CORNER
     =================================================================

                               Just a few thanks.

      I've got to tell all of you. It's been great so far being the
     Editor. I'm very happy with the response from all of you and other
     aspects of being the Editor of the Fidonews publication.

      So far, there have been articles submitted by several people in
     Fidonet and some from other than Zone 1. This makes me feel good to
     think that you feel trusting enough in me to submit articles.

      So far, the response in the Fidonews Echo has been good. The talk
     has been relatively civil and beneficial. Oh, there have been some
     things that have headed in the wrong direction, but you, for the most
     part, have pulled them back and from your intelligence, have prevented
     problems. Oh sure, I've made some Moderator messages, but for the most
     part, things have been going well.

      My hat's off to you all.

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

      You might have noticed a change in the last posting of the Fidonews
     Publication. It was suggested to me via a Netmail message that the
     topics should be changed when a thread changes. This started me to
     thinking about the posting of the Fidonews Publication and the
     subjects in each message posted. I looked at the Newsprep program and
     found that it posted each article with the subject of the section that
     each article came from. This seemed to be better to me. I contacted
     Carl Bennett and sent him the Newsprep program. He tried it and used
     it to post the last Fidonews Publication. I thank Carl for being
     willing to try this and for making it work for the Fidonews. Thanks,
     Carl.

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

      Also, you might have noticed the file_id in the Fidonews zip file.
     Wilfred van Velzen had asked me about this when Warren Bonner was
     editor. At that time, I was working on a batch file to help in the
     production of the Fidonews and Wilfred's question was in regards to
     the file_id not being complete with the list of articles in the
     edition.

      I didn't know how to make this happen at that time and was more
     concerned with getting the production part working. At any rate, when
     I became the editor, Wilfred asked again about the file_id. I looked
     deeper into it and finally found the solution. The file_id now shows
     the list of articles in the issue. Thank you Wilfred for staying on me
     about that. :-)

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

      I was asked the below question in E-Mail and my answer follows.
     FIDONEWS 18-21               Page 14                  21 May 2001


     Vlad Hrusca writes: "I want to ask you: why you see only bad things in
     FidoNet?"

     My Answer:

      I do not see only bad things in Fidonet. I publish what is sent to me
     by others. In the short time that I have been the editor, I have added
     the ascii comics back into the Fidonews, started interviews with
     Fidonet software authors, offered a place for those that offer
     services to Fidonet such as Echomail feeds to advertise and other
     positive things. I have a section of the Fidonews open for "Fidonet
     Web Page Reviews" and "Fidonet Software Reviews". I do not see only
     bad things in Fidonet.

      Please understand that I do not write all of the Fidonews. As editor,
     I receive submissions from others and publish those submissions. What
     I receive from these "reporters" can and does make the Fidonews appear
     positive or negative.


     In Addition to the above:  I want everyone to know and understand that
     the Fidonews relies on submissions of articles. If the articles are
     negative, the Fidonews is negative. If the articles are positive, the
     Fidonews is positive. It is up to you as the members of Fidonet to
     "color" the Fidonews. If you want positive, send me positive.  The
     Fidonews reflects the people in Fidonet.


     Regards,

      Frank Vest, Editor

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

     FIDONEWS 18-21               Page 15                  21 May 2001


     =================================================================
                              FIDONET NOTICES
     =================================================================

                                  Please Check

      Please check the "Fidonet by Internet" (Web Page listing) section. I
     have tried each site in the list and made notes of my findings. If
     there are corrections or additions, please let me know.

     Regards,

      Frank

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

     FIDONEWS 18-21               Page 16                  21 May 2001


     =================================================================
                           HUMOR IN A FIDO VEIN
     =================================================================

                    Irreverent look at Fidonet Coordinators


       This was printed some time back and I'm sure exists in many forms.
       Still, it's more true than some would like and less true than some
                                would want. :-))


                             FidoNet Co-ordinators

     IC:

      leaps tall buildings in a single bound
      is more powerful than a locomotive
      is faster than a speeding bullet
      walks on water
      is GOD

     ZC:

      leaps short buildings in a single bound
      is more powerful than a shunting engine
      is faster than a speeding bullet
      walks on water if the sea is calm
      gives policy to God

     RC:

      leaps short buildings with a running start and favourable winds
      is almost as powerful as a shunting engine
      is just as fast as a speeding bullet
      walks on water in an indoor swimming pool
      talks with God

     NC:

      barely clears a fabricated hut
      loses a tug of war with locomotive
      can fire a speeding bullet
      swims well
      talks with God if special request is approved

     HUB:

      makes high marks on the wall when trying to clear tall buildings
      is run over by locomotives
      can sometimes handle a gun without hurting themselves
      dog paddles
      talks to animals

     NODE:

     FIDONEWS 18-21               Page 17                  21 May 2001


      runs into buildings
      recognises locomotives 2 times out of 3
      is not issued with ammunition
      can stay afloat with a lifejacket
      talks to walls

     POINT:

      falls over doorstep when trying to enter buildings
      says "look at the choo choo"
      wets themselves with water pistol
      plays in mudpuddles
      mumbles to themselves

     USER:

      lifts buildings and walks under them
      kicks locomotives off the tracks
      catches speeding bullets in teeth and ears
      walks on water if it is frozen
      who the heck is GOD?

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

     FIDONEWS 18-21               Page 18                  21 May 2001


     =================================================================
                              COMIX IN ASCII
     =================================================================

                                Key into Fidonet

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              | [][] [_][_][_] [_][_][_][_] [_][_] [_][_][_] |
              |             FIDONET  SYSOP                   |
              | [][] [][][][][][][][][][][][][][_] [][][][]  |
              | [][] [_][][][][][][][][][][][][][] [][][][]  |
              | [][] [__][][][][][][][][][][][][_] [][][][]  |
              | [][] [___][][][][][][][][][][][__] [__][][]  |
              |          [_][______________][_]              |
              |______________________________________________|


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

     FIDONEWS 18-21               Page 19                  21 May 2001


     =================================================================
                            CLEAN HUMOR & JOKES
     =================================================================

                          How it really happened! :-)


     An old, bearded shepherd with a crooked staff walked up to a stone
     pulpit and said, "And lo, it came to pass that the trader by the name
     of Abraham Com did take unto himself a young wife by the name of Dot.

     And Dot Com was a comely woman, broad of shoulder and long of leg.
     Indeed, she had been called Amazon Dot Com. And she said unto Abraham,
     her husband, "Why doth thou travel far, from town to town, with thy
     goods when thou can trade without ever leaving thy tent?"

     And Abraham did look at her as though she were several saddle bags
     short of a camel load, but simply  said, "How, Dear?" And Dot replied,
     "I will place drums in all the towns and drums in between to send
     messages saying what you have for sale and they will reply telling you
     which hath the best price. And the sale can be made on the drums and
     delivery made by Uriah's Pony Stable (UPS)."

     Abraham thought long and decided he would let Dot have her way with
     the drums. And the drums rang out and were an immediate success.
     Abraham sold all the goods he had, at the top price, without ever
     moving from his tent. But this success did arouse envy.

     A man named Maccabia did secret himself inside Abraham's drum and was
     accused of insider trading. And the young man did take to Dot Com's
     trading as doth the greedy horsefly take to camel dung. They were
     called Nomadic Ecclesiastical Rich Dominican Siderites, or NERDS for
     short.

     And lo, the land was so feverish with joy at the new riches and the
     deafening sound of drums, that no one noticed that the real riches
     were going to the drum maker, one Brother William of Gates, who bought
     up every drum company in the land. And indeed did insist on making
     drums that would work only if you bought Brother Gates' drumsticks.

     And Dot did say, "Oh, Abraham, what we have started is being taken
     over by others." And as Abraham looked out over the Bay of Ezekiel, or
     as it came to be known "eBay," he said, "we need a name that reflects
     what we are," and Dot replied, "Young Ambitious Hebrew Owner
     Operators."

     "Whoopee!", said Abraham.

     "No, YAHOO!" said Dot Com.. .and that is how it all began.

     It wasn't Al Gore after all.

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

     FIDONEWS 18-21               Page 20                  21 May 2001


     =================================================================
                            FIDONET BY INTERNET
     =================================================================

                       . -- -- -- -- --- -- -- -- -- .
                       |    FIDONET-RELATED SITES    |
                       ` -- -- -- -- --- -- -- -- -- '
                          Last update:  May 21, 2001

     ? = Could not connect
     ! = Does not appear to be Fidonet related
     o = Does not appear to be updated (dead?)

     FidoNet
     Homepage:     http://fidonet.fidonet.org/
          Alt:     http://www.fidonet.ca
     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://fidonet.fidonet.org/zone1idx.htm
        Alt:       http://www.fidonet.ca/zone1.html
       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.ispaceonline.org/region13/
     ?   Net 264:  http://www.net264.org/
         Net 275:  http://www.ispaceonline.org/net275/
       Region 14:  http://www.ouijabrd.com/region14/
         Net 282:  http://www.rxn.com/~net282/
       Region 15:  <vacant>
       Region 16:  <vacant>
       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 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)
     FIDONEWS 18-21               Page 21                  21 May 2001


     ! 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)
                   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
     o    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
     FIDONEWS 18-21               Page 22                  21 May 2001


     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|
     -----------+-------------------+----------------+-------+------------
     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
     FIDONEWS 18-21               Page 23                  21 May 2001


      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
      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 18-21               Page 24                  21 May 2001


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

     FIDONEWS 18-21               Page 25                  21 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 18-21               Page 26                  21 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:  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                         |
     |                                                             |
     + -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- +

     "Fido", "FidoNet" and the dog-with-diskette are U.S. registered
     FIDONEWS 18-21               Page 27                  21 May 2001


     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)         |
     |                                                                |
     + -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- +

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

