      F I D O N E W S         Volume 17, Number 25             19 Jun 2000 
     +----------------------------+---------------------------------------+
     |  The newsletter of the     |   ISSN 1198-4589 Published by:        |
     |    FidoNet community       |   "FidoNews"                          |
     |          _                 |   1-717-732-6820     1:270/720        |
     |         /  \               |                                       |
     |        /|oo \              |                                       |
     |       (_|  /_)             |                                       |
     |        _`@/_ \    _        |                                       |
     |       |     | \   \\       |   Editor: Douglas Myers, 1:270/720    |
     |       | (*) |  \   ))      |           DougM@paonline.com          |
     |       |__U__| /  \//       |                                       |
     |        _//|| _\   /        |                                       |
     |       (_/(_|(____/         |                                       |
     |             (jm)           |   Newspapers should have no friends.  |
     |                            |                    -- JOSEPH PULITZER |
     +----------------------------+---------------------------------------+
     


                        Table of Contents
     1. EDITORIAL  ................................................  1
        International Coordinator Election Proposed  ..............  1
        Interview with Ward Dossche  ..............................  1
        What Does P4 Say About the IC  ............................  2
        IC Election - Opinion  ....................................  4
     2. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR  ....................................  7
        What's the Big Deal?  .....................................  7
     3. COLUMNS  ..................................................  8
        Ol'WDB:  Kids Say the Funniest Things  ....................  8
        This week's Web Page  .....................................  8
     4. NET HUMOR  ................................................ 10
        Van Gogh Family Tree  ..................................... 10
     5. COMIX IN ASCII  ........................................... 11
        Cowtapult  ................................................ 11
     6. INTERNET INFO  ............................................ 12
        Fidonet-related sites  .................................... 12
     7. FIDONEWS INFO  ............................................ 16
        Masthead  ................................................. 16
     FIDONEWS 17-25               Page 1                   19 Jun 2000


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


                 International Coordinator Election Proposed
                                  Doug Myers

     In the echo ZCC, Zone 4 Coordinator Luis Manterola and Zone 2
     Coordinator Ward Dossche have proposed the Zone Coordinators hold an
     election for International Coordinator - noting that such an
     election should be held every two years.  To date, only Ward Dossche
     has been nominated for candidacy.  Bob Satti, the current
     International Coordinator, has not commented on the election
     proposal, nor indicated whether he will seek to continue in office.
     At this point, neither Luis nor Ward support Bob as an active
     candidate because he is not a current Zone Coordinator.  Other Zone
     Coordinators have not indicated support of the election yet, though
     David Moufarrege (Z1C) is discussing the matter with his regions,
     and Malcolm Miles (Z6C) has asked Ward for positive reasons why he
     should replace Bob Satti as IC.  Richard Pee (Z5C) and Chris Leung
     (Z6C) have not responded to the election proposal at this point.

     Though the echo ZCC is unavailable unless one happens to be a Zone
     Coordinator, messages from this echo are posted to the echo
     ZCC_PUBLIC which is available from most major mail hubs.


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


                         Interview with Ward Dossche
                                  Doug Myers

     I've taken license (perhaps undue license) in presenting the
     following dialog as an interview.  Truth is, no actual interview was
     conducted.  What did happen is that Ward granted me the courtesy of
     a phone call in response to a questionnaire I'd sent to him, Carol
     Shankenberger, Bob Satti, and David Moufarrege concerning the IC
     election.  I was watching an old movie about the Lewis and Clark
     Expeditions at the time, so my only preparation was to shut off the
     television and pay attention.  I didn't take notes, nor discuss with
     Ward that I would convert the friendly discussion into the following
     interview format.  I did tell him that I wanted to present the
     information on the IC election proposal in Fidonews, so I don't
     believe that I'm violating his trust here - I just want the readers
     to know that the dialog reported is just my subjective impression of
     what was said.  I've attempted to keep my own opinions out of this
     report, concentrating instead on the essence of the conversation.


     DM:  Is there an election taking place for International
     Coordinator?

     WD:  To be precise, we've proposed an election and no one has
     opposed it yet.  Not all of the Zone Coordinators have given input
     FIDONEWS 17-25               Page 2                   19 Jun 2000


     yet, though.  In particular, we're not even sure if the Zone 5 and
     Zone 6 Coordinators know of the proposal yet.

     DM:  Are you planning to oppose Bob Satti in this election?

     WD:  I ran against Bob Satti in the last election, and have taken
     issue with him in the past.  But Satti's past performance isn't
     really an issue currently - we just feel that a new election should
     be held each two years.

     DM:  Are you a candidate?  And are there any others?

     WD:  I've been nominated as the only candidate so far.  I'd hoped to
     sit this election out and persuade Luis (Z4C) to run instead, but he
     feels that his candidacy wouldn't be appropriate due to the small
     number of nodes in Zone 4.  I'd considered not running for another
     term as Zone 2 Coordinator (it takes me about three hours a day),
     but agreed to run again when asked.  A few of us had questioned
     whether an International Coordinator was even needed - we ran for a
     few years without one between George Peace and Bob Satti - but we
     still think the Policy 4 revision is possible if an IC is in place
     to lead the effort.  Fidonet really needs a revised Policy - it
     doesn't suit Zone 1 any more, and it never served the multi-cultural
     climate of Zone 2.

     DM:  Is the Zone 2 Coordinator election still in progress?

     WD:  Yes.  It's going more slowly than I would have liked, but it's
     being handled properly - and I shouldn't get involved with
     administering the election anyway since I'm a candidate.  At the
     moment, there are two of us running - there was a third candidate,
     but he dropped out for personal reasons.



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


                        What Does P4 Say About the IC
                                  Doug Myers

     Fidonet Policy 4.07 basically stipulates that the International
     Coordinator is selected by the six Zone Coordinators.  Despite the
     seeming simplicity of that concept, though, numerous questions have
     been raised, such as:

     What, exactly, is expected of an International Coordinator?
     Can a sitting IC be replaced if he doesn't step down?
     Must the International Coordinator be a Zone Coordinator?
     How, exactly, do the Zone Coordinators select an IC if all Zone
       Coordinators don't give input?

     Before these and other questions are addressed in this series, the
     following relevant sections of Policy 4.07 are presented here:

     ---------------
     FIDONEWS 17-25               Page 3                   19 Jun 2000


     1.2.6  Zone Coordinator Council

     In certain cases, the Zone Coordinators work as a council to provide
     advice to the International Coordinator.  The arrangement is similar
     to that between a president and advisors.  In particular, this
     council considers inter-zonal issues.  This includes, but is not
     limited to: working out the details of nodelist production,
     mediating inter-zonal disputes, and such issues not addressed at a
     lower level of FidoNet.


     1.2.7  International Coordinator

     The International Coordinator is the "first among equals" Zone
     Coordinator, and coordinates the joint production of the master
     nodelist by the Zone Coordinators.

     The International Coordinator acts as the chair of the Zone
     Coordinator Council and as the overseer of elections -- arranging
     the announcement of referenda, the collection and counting of the
     ballots, and announcing the results for those issues that affect
     FidoNet as a whole.

     The International Coordinator is selected by the Zone Coordinators.


     1.2.8  Top-down Organization.  Checks and Balances.

     These levels act to distribute the administration and control of
     FidoNet to the lowest possible level, while still allowing for
     coordinated action over the entire mail system.  Administration is
     made possible by operating in a top-down manner.  That is, a person
     at any given level is responsible to the level above, and
     responsible for the level below.

     For example, a Regional Coordinator is responsible to the Zone
     Coordinator for anything that happens in the region.  From the point
     of view of the Zone Coordinator, the Regional Coordinator is
     completely responsible for the smooth operation of the region.
     Likewise, from the point of view of the Regional Coordinator, the
     Network Coordinator is completely responsible for the smooth
     operation of the network.

     If a person at any level above sysop is unable to properly perform
     their duties, the person at the next level may replace them.  For
     example, if a Regional Coordinator fails to perform, the Zone
     Coordinator can replace him.

     To provide for checks and balances at the highest level of FidoNet,
     there are two exceptions to this top-down organization.  Zone
     Coordinators and the International Coordinator are selected by a
     majority vote of the coordinators at the level below.  Similarly,
     decisions made by the International Coordinator can be reversed by
     the Zone Coordinator Council, and decisions made by a Zone
     Coordinator can be reversed by the Regional Coordinators.  See
     sections 6 and 7 for details.  Decisions made by other coordinators
     FIDONEWS 17-25               Page 4                   19 Jun 2000


     are not subject to reversal by a vote of the lower level, but
     instead are subject to the appeal process described in section 9.5.


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


                            IC Election - Opinion
                                  Doug Myers

     In the preceding three sections of this editorial series, I've
     attempted to act more as a reporter than to present editorial
     opinion.  This part is a little different, though, in that it
     addresses some of the issues surrounding this and past elections.

     1.  What, exactly, is expected of an International Coordinator?

     Policy 4 specifically lists two duties:  nodelist production and
     mediating interzonal disputes.  A third item on the list, though not
     specific, could be construed as a catch all:  "... and such issues
     not addressed at a lower level of Fidonet."

     If only the specific duties above were being considered, Bob Satti
     would probably be remembered as the perfect IC.  Certainly his
     handling of nodelist production has been virtually flawless.  And,
     though I'm not in a position to judge how he's handled interzonal
     disputes, the lack of controversy over them leads me to the
     conclusion that he's either handled them well or that such disputes
     are so infrequent as to render judgement academic.

     It's the catch all, however, which could prove Bob's undoing.  He's
     been criticized in the past for the shrinking nodelist, though it's
     uncertain to this editor's mind whether ANYONE could have influenced
     that (it seems more of a function of the growing popularity of the
     internet than anyone's personal failure to me).  It seems that no
     one else is named in P4 for maintaining Fido's numbers, so the
     expectation, fairly or unfairly, falls to the IC.

     More specific to this election is the growing expectation that the
     IC should initiate policy reform.  Though, again, this is not
     specifically enumerated in policy - it seems like a reasonable
     expectation to me.  This is not to say that I consider P4 revision
     to be easy, nor even necessarily likely... but if it is to be
     changed, it's hard to see how it's even possible without leadership
     from the chief executive of Fido.

     Will Ward Dossche provide that leadership if he's selected as the
     next IC?  This question may be pivotal to the Zone Coordinators in
     their deliberation.  Ward has the advantage of, at least, making
     noises in this direction.  Bob, on the other hand, has been silent.


     2.  Can a sitting IC be replaced if he doesn't step down?

     Those who argue that he can't point out that P4 does not
     specifically mention either regular elections nor grant the Zone
     FIDONEWS 17-25               Page 5                   19 Jun 2000


     Coordinators the specific right to dismiss him.  However P4 does
     specifically say that "The International Coordinator is selected by
     the Zone Coordinators."  In this editor's opinion, the selection of
     a new IC automatically implies the dismissal of the old.  Further,
     the section on checks and balances states that decisions made by the
     International Coordinator can be reversed by the Zone Coordinator
     Council - and this principle would presumably apply to a decision to
     remain in office.

     Perhaps the Zone Coordinators will figure that it isn't polite to
     replace a sitting IC... particularly when it can't be demonstrated
     that he's actually done anything wrong.  But this would be a matter
     of not being able to muster a majority.  It seems to me
     inconceivable that a sitting IC would retain the office in the face
     of a majority ZC selection of someone else.


     3.  Must the International Coordinator be a Zone Coordinator?

     The current situation argues that he need not be.  Bob Satti
     relinquished his title of Z1C to David Moufarrege after the last
     election in Zone 1, but remains as IC to this day.  Editorial
     opinion is that he would remain IC so long as the ZCC does not
     achieve a majority vote to replace him.

     Perhaps the more proper question is whether the IC must be a ZC at
     the time of his selection.  Those who argue that he must cite the
     part of P4 where the IC is the "first among equals" Zone
     Coordinator.  Editorial opinion is that this wording will probably
     convince ZCs in the future to select from among their rank, it is
     doubtful that the wording could override the specific majority vote
     if they were to elect Bob Satti for another term.

     Admittedly, this scenario doesn't seem likely.  Should the Zone
     Coordinators wish to retain Bob Satti in the IC position, they would
     more likely vote to not hold the election.


     4.  How, exactly, do the Zone Coordinators select an IC if all the
         Zone Coordinators don't give input?

     This is a situation which may actually come up in this election, if
     present trends continue.  Most notably, the Z5C and Z6C don't seem
     to be aware that IC selection is being proposed.  The question is
     moot if the four zone coordinators who are presently speaking on the
     subject vote unanimously FOR a new IC, as four votes constitutes a
     majority under any circumstance.  However, if such unanimity isn't
     achieved, and one or both absent ZCs remain absent, would less than
     four votes put a new IC in place?  Editorial opinion is that three
     votes would be a credible majority if a legitimate effort to inform
     and get response from one or more of the absent ZCs is demonstrated,
     but the present two votes would be insufficient.


     -   How should the Zone Coordinators vote?

     FIDONEWS 17-25               Page 6                   19 Jun 2000


     Durn.  I was going to leave this question open and leave it to the
     Zone Coordinators to decide (which they'll do in practice anyway).
     But my wishy washy mindset evaporated while writing this, and the
     following opinion is appearing on my screen almost of it's own
     volition.

     I, personally, feel that Bob Satti has done a good job, both as Z1C
     and as IC.  Despite personal difficulties and his lack of
     communicativeness throughout his terms, Fidonet is still together
     and working even in the face of declining membership.  If he hasn't
     achieved popularity or distinction, he's at least done a
     craftsmanlike job.

     Nonetheless, Fido doesn't have a discernible plan for the future,
     and it's time we consider one.  The shrinking nodelist is no longer
     a problem... it's a reality we must deal with.  My own net, for
     example, once was a hubbub of activity and probably would have been
     viable even if not connected to the rest of Fidonet.  Now it's down
     to two active members which I know of, one part-time NC, and one
     person polling me sporadically.  How many nets, regions, or even
     zones are presently but a fraction of what they once were?

     Policy changes which reflect the reality of Fidonet today would be a
     good starting point.  If Bob Satti is leaning in this direction,
     he's kept it a remarkable secret.

     Ward Dossche's vision of the future may not be complete, and there's
     no guarantee that he can deliver any more than Bob Satti could - but
     at least he's talking about the future.  This editor, given a
     choice, would rather go down swinging than just let things happen.
     I urge the ZCC to consider selecting Ward Dossche as the next
     International Coordinator.


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

     FIDONEWS 17-25               Page 7                   19 Jun 2000


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


                             What's the Big Deal?
                         Netmail from Roy J. Tellason
                                  1:270/615

     > The Souvestre Syndrome - This algorithm controls the distribution
     > of echoes which characterize Fidonet 2525.  In the beginning, echo
     > distribution was influenced mightily by a different algorithm, the
     > Peace Plan, which, unfortunately, only allowed for the creation of
     > echoes and not their obliteration.  The Souvestre Syndrome decreed
     > the expunging of empty echoes to compensate for the uncontrollable
     > growth possible under the Peace Plan.

     My question on this is why is it such a big deal?  With new drives
     these days *not* being available in sizes less than 8-10 _gigs_,
     what difference does it make whether an echo exists in some list in
     some disk file?  With CPU speeds approaching 1 GHz,  what difference
     could it make in terms of processing speed?

     I've asked this question before and have yet to see any sort of an
     answer to it.

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

     Editor:  Gimma a break, Roy - that editorial was tongue in cheek,
     and I don't usually have answers with my tongue so positioned.  For
     what it's worth, though, I think you're setting up a straw man here.
     I don't recall anyone claiming that their hard drives were full nor
     that their computers couldn't process the echolist.  Perhaps you got
     no response at the time because folks realized the straw man nature
     of your argument.

     At the time, I believe the "empty echo" proponents wanted to make
     life easier for echoes which saw only occasional traffic, and the
     opponents wanted to maintain an echolist which was predominantly
     active echoes so as not to disappoint people adding echoes.  There
     was some merit on both sides of the argument.



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

     FIDONEWS 17-25               Page 8                   19 Jun 2000


     =================================================================
                                  COLUMNS
     =================================================================


                               OL'WDB's Column
                        Kid's say the funniest things
                             wdbonner@pacbell.net

        A little girl was observed by her pastor standing outside the
        pre-school Sunday School classroom between Sunday School and
        worship, waiting for her parents to come and pick her up for "big
        church." The pastor noticed that she clutched a big storybook
        under her arms with the obvious title, "Jonah and the Whale."

        Feeling a little pernicious, he knelt down beside the little girl
        and began a conversation. "What's that you have in your hand?",
        he asked.

        "This is my storybook about Jonah and the Whale," she answered.

        "Tell me something, little girl," he continued, "do you believe
        that story about Jonah and that whale to be the truth?"

        The little girl implored, "Why of course I believe this story to
        be the truth!"

        He inquired further, "You really believe that a man can be
        swallowed up by a big whale, stay inside him all that time, and
        come out of there still alive and OK? You really believe all that
        can be true?"

        She declared, "Absolutely, this story is in the Bible and we
        studied about it in Sunday School today!"

        Then the pastor asked, "Well, little girl, can you prove to me
        that this story is the truth?"

        She thought for a moment and then said, "Well, when I get to
        Heaven, I'll ask Jonah."

        The pastor then asked, "Well, what if Jonah's not in Heaven?"

        She then put her hands on her little hips and sternly declared,
        "Then YOU can ask him!"
         ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^


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


                             This weeks Web Page
                                By Frank Vest


                   This weeks page is the Data Stream page.
     FIDONEWS 17-25               Page 9                   19 Jun 2000


     Where? http://www.dsbbs.net/

                                What's it got?

     The "index" page is really a "forward" page. In other words, just a
     page that shows a logo and then forwards you to the "main" page. Of
     course, if you have a slow machine like mine, you get a good look at
     the logo which is pretty cool. :)

     This is the "Data Stream" page. When you get to the main page, you
     will see a "menu" at the top with options to take you to other pages
     on the site as well as "telnet" to the BBS that is the other side of
     this site. There are several games on the BBs side and most, if not
     all, are registered. If this is what you look for in a BBS, go for
     it. Of course, that's not all there is. Data Stream BBS has message
     areas as well. They are members of UseNet, FidoNet and LinearNet.
     There is also, according to the 'blurb" on the main page, "a
     moderate File Database."

     Two things that I noticed... There is a game called "Prima" that is
     downloadable here. I'm going to check into this as I'm always
     interested in a game for my BBS. :)  The other thing is the link
     "What is a BBS?" doesn't seem to be working. Maybe it's a temporary
     thing, but I like to see these kinds of links working for all of us
     in the BBS world.

     While you're out "surfing the 'net", drop by and look the site over.
     Sign the guest book and see what's there.

     Regards till next week,

     Frank - flv@texoma.net


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

     FIDONEWS 17-25               Page 10                  19 Jun 2000


     =================================================================
                                 NET HUMOR
     =================================================================


                             Van Gogh Family Tree
                              Thanks to Roy Reed

     His obnoxious brother.............Please Gogh
     His dizzy aunt........................Verti Gogh
     The brother who ate prunes...........Gotta Gogh
     The brother who worked at a convenience store......Stop'n Gogh
     The grandfather from Yugoslavia..........U Gogh
     The brother who bleached his clothes white......Hue Gogh
     The cousin from Illinois.............Chica Gogh
     His magician uncle.....................Wherediddy Gogh
     His Mexican friend....................Amee Gogh
     The Mexican friend's American half brother........Grin Gogh
     The nephew who drove a stagecoach.........Wellsfar Gogh
     The constipated uncle...............Can't Gogh
     The ballroom dancing aunt.............Tan Gogh
     The bird lover uncle................Flamin Gogh
     His nephew psychoanalyst...........E Gogh
     The fruit loving cousin................Man Gogh
     An aunt who taught positive thinking......Wayto Gogh
     The little bouncy nephew..............Poe Gogh
     A sister who loved disco...............Go Gogh
     His niece who travels the country in a van....Winnie Bay Gogh


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

     FIDONEWS 17-25               Page 11                  19 Jun 2000


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


                                     (__)
                                     (oo)
                                      \/
                               /     / \\
                                    /   /\\
                                   /\\ /
                        /         /   \\
                                 /
                           /    *
                     |\
               /     |  \         /
                     \\   \
               /       \\   \
          /              \\___\
                /          \\
                   /         \\
     /    /           /        \\
                /                \\
            /         /            \\
                  /                  \\
                       /               \\
                                         \\
           ===============================O===========
           ===========================================
            O)                                      O)
                              cowtapult


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

     FIDONEWS 17-25               Page 12                  19 Jun 2000


     =================================================================
                               INTERNET INFO
     =================================================================


     ! = New entries this week
     ? = not responding
     ?? = unknown content, doesn't look like fidonet

                       . -- -- -- -- --- -- -- -- -- .
                       |    FIDONET-RELATED SITES    |
                       ` -- -- -- -- --- -- -- -- -- '
                          Last update:  June 10, 2000

     FidoNet
     Homepage:     http://www.fidonet.org
     FidoNews:     http://www.fidonews.org   [HTML]
                   ftp://ftp.nwstar.com/fidonet/fidonews/
                   ftp://ftp.sstar.com/fidonet/fnews/
     Echolist:     http://www.baltimoremd.com/echolist/
     Echomail links: http://www.osirusoft.com/fidonet/fidoip.html
     SDS Files:    http://fidobbs.dk/download (Web Access to SDS)
     FTSC page:    http://www.ftsc.org/
     General:      http://www.writebynight.com/fidonet.html

     Zone 1:       http://www.z1.fidonet.org
       Region 10:  http://www.psnw.com/~net205/region10.html
                   http://www.tnl-online.com/andy/rgn10.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://oeonline.com/~garyg/net2410/
       Region 12:  http://sparkys.dyndns.org
       Region 13:  http://www.net264.org/r13.htm
         Net 264:  http://www.net264.org/
         Net 275:  http://www.homershut.net/~mahoover/net275/
       Region 14:  http://www.ouijabrd.com/region14
         Net 282:  http://www.rxn.com/~net282/
       Region 15:  <vacant>
       Region 16:  <vacant>
       Region 17:  http://www.nwstar.com/~region17/
         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.startext.net/np/net124
                   http://texoma.net/~flv
         Net 130:  http://www.startext.net/homes/net130
         Net 393:  http://www.chatter.com/~wb/

     Zone 2:       http://www.z2.fidonet.org
                   ftp://ftp.sstar.com/fidonet/zone2 (Z2 nodelists etc.)
       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)
     FIDONEWS 17-25               Page 13                  19 Jun 2000


                   http://www.was-ist-fido.de/
         Fido-IP:  http://home.nrh.de/fido/ (English/German)
       Region 25:  http://www.literary.freeserve.co.uk/net2502/
       Region 26:  http://www.nemesis.ie
          REC 26:  http://www.nrgsys.com/orb
       Region 27:  http://telematique.org/ft/r27.htm
       Region 29:  http://www.rtfm.be/fidonet/  (French)
                   http://Welcome.to/skynetbbs/
       Region 30:  http://www.fidonet.ch  (German)
     ? Region 33:  http://www.fidoitalia.net  (Italian)
       Region 34:  http://www.pobox.com/cnb/r34.htm  (Spanish)
           REC34:  http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/4552/
       Region 36:  http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/7207/
       Region 38:  http://public.st.carnet.hr/~blagi/bbs/adriam.html
       Region 41:  http://www.fidonet.gr (Greek/English)
       Region 42:  http://www.fido.cz
     !    Net422:  http://www.fido.sk (Slovak/English)
       Region 50:  http://www.fido7.com/  (Russian)
        Net 5010:  http://fido.tu-chel.ac.ru/  (Russian)
        Net 5015:  http://www.fido.nnov.ru/  (Russian)
        Net 5028:  http://5028.yaroslavl.ru/
        Net 5030:  http://kenga.ru/fido/  (Russian & English)
        Net 5049:  http://www.n5049.z2.fidonet.org  (English/Russian)
     ??  Net 5085:  http://www.fidonet.uz/ (Russian)

     Zone 3:       http://www.z3.fidonet.org

     Zone 4:
       Region 80:  http://fidobrasil.8m.com  (Portuguese)
       Region 90:
         Net 904:  http://members.tripod.com/~net904 (Spanish)

     Zone 5:       http://www.eastcape.co.za/fidonet/

     Zone 6:       http://www.z6.fidonet.org
       Region 65:  http://www.cfido.com/fidonet/cfidochina.html
                   (Chinese)


                          Fidonet Via Internet Hubs

     See also: http://www.osirusoft.com/fidoip.html

     a @ preceding an individual's name implies a virtual email
     address. The email is translated as follows
     firstlast@osirusoft.com will automatically route to the
     appropriate individual's email.  Anyone in this list will
     also receive routed notice of this feature.  In my case, it
     would still be joejared@osirusoft.com, but you get the idea.

     Also, as information is provided to me, I will be adding a
     latency field to each node, which is defined as the maximum
     time between when the message is received, and when it is
     sent on to other nodes, or available to be sent onward,
     defined in minutes. A latency of ! implies that there is an
     immediate response, and an attempt to deliver immediately
     FIDONEWS 17-25               Page 14                  19 Jun 2000


     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
       12/12    @ Ken Wilson        | FTP            | T1    | $24mo.
       13/25    @ Jim Balcom        | FTP            | 56k   | $20mo.
      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     @ Matt Bedynek      | BinkP, FTP     | 128k  | n/c
      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
      218/109   @ Matt Munson       | BinkP,UUE      | 33.6k | n/c
      244/2     | Kari Suomela   | FTP,VMoT,BinkP,UUE| T1,!  | $25.00/mo
      246/160   @ Mason Vye         | FTP, UUE       | 56K   | n/c
      271/140   @ Tom Barstow       | UUE,FTP        | T1    | 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      | 128k  | n/c
      396/1     @ John Souvestre    | FTP,VMoT       | T1,10 | $5/mo
      396/45    | Marc Lewis        | UUE            | 33.6  | $26/yr
     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
     3613/2     @ jyates@bsdi.ldl.net | UUE            | 28.8  | n/c
     3632/84    | Robert Todd    |FTP,VMoT,UUE,BinkP | 57.6k | n/c
     3639/93    @ Ross Cassell      | FTP, BinkP     |128K+,!| 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
      284/800   @ Jeroen VanDeLeur  | FTP,UUE        | 64k   | n/c
      292/620   | Eddy Missoul      | VMoT, UUE      | 64k   |N/C
      292/624   | Steven Leeman     | UUE          | 64k   | N/C
      292/2003  | Eric Vaneberck    | BinkP          | 768k  | n/c
      301/1     | Peter Witschi     | BinkP          | 768k  | n/c
      332/807   | Roberto Mascolo   | BinkP          | ???   | n/c
      335/535   @ Mario Mure        | BinkP,VMot,UUE | 64k   | n/c
      335/610   | Gino Lucrezi      | UUE            | 33.6  | n/c
     FIDONEWS 17-25               Page 15                  19 Jun 2000


      344/201   | Julio Garcia      | BinkP          | ???   | n/c
      346/3     @ Carlos Navarro    | UUE            | ???   | n/c
      382/100   | Sinisa Burina     | BinkP          | ???   | n/c
      406/555   | Ofir Michaeli &   | BinkP          | ???   | n/c
      406/555   | Marius Kaizerman  | BinkP          | ???   | n/c
      423/81    | Milos Bajer       | BinkP          | ???   | n/c
      464/4077  | Serguei Trouchelle| UUE            | 19.2  | 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
     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
      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 17-25               Page 16                  19 Jun 2000


     =================================================================
                               FIDONEWS INFO
     =================================================================

                                   Masthead

     + -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --  FIDONEWS STAFF - -- -- -- -- -- -- -- +
     |                                                                |
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     | Webmaster:  Jim Barchuk, jb@fidonews.org                       |
     | Columnist:  Joe Jared, 1:103/0, jarhead@osirusoft.com          |
     |             (Fido Via Internet Hubs column)                    |
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     |             (Warren uses the pen name "Ol'WDB")                |
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     + -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -  EDITORS EMERITI - -- -- -- -- -- -- -- +
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     The weekly edition of Fidonews is distributed through the file area
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     FIDONEWS 17-25               Page 17                  19 Jun 2000


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