gnu@hoptoad.uucp (John Gilmore) (12/22/87)
I was surprised to read in the latest FidoNews that the Fido network
(of IBM PC's exchanging electronic mail and news) is splitting. Some
of the key people are forming an alternative network because they
are tired of the bureacracy and flamage on the main net (sound familiar?).
The founding document of the new network makes interesting reading;
it's patterned after a medieval feudal society. The sysadmins are
Knights and they run it "to provide free electronic mail to Commoners".
It's an amusing reminder that the whole thing started out as a way to
have fun...
Tim Pozar gateways FidoNews to the Usenet; you can see some of the
discussion, and the founding document, by reading comp.org.fidonet,
volume 4 #47. If you are in vnews or readnews, the "p" command will
show it to you.
I think a lot of their trouble was:
* The whole network runs on IBM PC's, and much of it is public-access;
it's hard to keep a net working when the system administrators
don't know how it works -- let alone the users.
* They set up a nonprofit organization which ended up creating
a mound of paperwork and hassle for itself without accomplishing
anything that the existing volunteers weren't already doing.
There are some striking parallels to the Usenet experience, in my opinion.
They seem to be evolving faster than us, so perhaps they can guide us
by lighting the path as they tread it (or fall off it).
--
{pyramid,ptsfa,amdahl,sun,ihnp4}!hoptoad!gnu gnu@toad.com
"Watch me change my world..." -- Liquid Theatrecc743810@sjuvax.UUCP (Chuck Conway) (12/24/87)
In article <3716@hoptoad.uucp> gnu@hoptoad.uucp (John Gilmore) writes:
[about Fidonet, the nation IBM PC BBS network]
+ They seem to be evolving faster than us, so perhaps they can guide us
+ by lighting the path as they tread it (or fall off it).
I myself was really disappointed by Fidonet, because of it's rapid
invasion of the Philadelphia are IBM BBS scene. Everybody who had
a Fido board or a Collie/Colossus board started to accept all the
same sigs and 'local' only messages started to die off. Then
sysops started complaining that 'nobody reads messages, everybody
downloads and never uploads'. I found myself bored because I had
to read the same messages over and over again to actually read
something that was different than the other Fido boards. I finally
stopped calling when I got this account - Usenet is a class above
Fidonet which seems to be chaotic compared to usenet's controlled
anarchy....
Chuck
--
Chuck Conway, Mopar Pilot ...!allegra\
cc743810@sjuvax.UUCP -or- ...!rutgers!cbmvax!bpa!sjuvax!cc743810
...!princeton/
"If it won't do 150 mph, take it back." -Corvette Engineering Groupswarbric@tramp.Colorado.EDU (SWARBRICK FRANCIS JOHN) (12/25/87)
I don't agree. I've been using FidoNet for about two years, and USENET for only about a month. FidoNet is slower getting messages from place to place, but it is still very nice. As for reading the same messages twice, just pick a board where you want to read a certain ECHO area, and don't read that are on other boards. Come on, how could someone not figure that out? I the Denver area there are over 200 boards, with about 40 or so of them in the FidoNet, so there are *plenty* local messages to be found. ------------------------------------------------------------------ Frank Swarbrick | "Ignorance and prejudice -- swarbric@tramp.Colorado.EDU | And fear walk and in hand." ..!hao!boulder!tramp!swarbric | --RUSH
raanan@bc-cis.UUCP (Raanan Herrmann) (12/28/87)
In article <3716@hoptoad.uucp> gnu@hoptoad.uucp (John Gilmore) writes: > [about Fidonet, the nation IBM PC BBS network] > They seem to be evolving faster than us, so perhaps they can guide us > by lighting the path as they tread it (or fall off it). I don't know Fidonet but I understand that you can use this network to send mail across the country and out of the country. Is there a gateway between Fidonet and uucp? How can I use Fidonet to send mail to friends accros the country? -- ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Raanan Herrmann (bc-cis!raanan, raanan@bc-cis.UUCP raanan@bklyncis.BITNET)
slocum@hi-csc.UUCP (Brett Slocum) (12/30/87)
I agree with the opinion that Fidonet is worthwhile. I've been using the local board for two years, and the local contribution to the main echo conference I read, (Magick), is very high. And the chances of losing a message are about the same as on Usenet (meaning fairly high). In fact, I generally have more trouble replying to people on Usenet than Fidonet. Just sign me.... A satisfied user, -- --Brett Slocum "Never bet with a Sicilian where Death is involved." UUCP: ...uunet!hi-csc!slocum Arpa: hi-csc!slocum@umn-cs.arpa UUCP: ...ihnp4!umn-cs!hi-csc!slocum (descending order of speed, I think)
pozar@hoptoad.uucp (Tim Pozar) (12/30/87)
raanan@bc-cis.UUCP (Raanan Herrmann) wrote: > In article <3716@hoptoad.uucp> gnu@hoptoad.uucp (John Gilmore) writes: > > [about Fidonet, the nation IBM PC BBS network] > > They seem to be evolving faster than us, so perhaps they can guide us > > by lighting the path as they tread it (or fall off it). > > I don't know Fidonet but I understand that you can use this network > to send mail across the country and out of the country. Is there a gateway > between Fidonet and uucp? How can I use Fidonet to send mail to friends > accros the country? > > -- > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > Raanan Herrmann (bc-cis!raanan, raanan@bc-cis.UUCP raanan@bklyncis.BITNET) Yes there are unofficial gateways at this time. We are working on a domain for internet and there will be an official gateway then. ======================================================================= | ...sun!hoptoad!\ Tim Pozar | | >fidogate!pozar Fido: 1:125/406 | | ...lll-winken!/ PaBell: (415) 788-3904 | | USNail: KKSF 77 Maiden Lane San Francisco CA 94108 | ======================================================================= -- ======================================================================= | ...sun!hoptoad!\ Tim Pozar | | >fidogate!pozar Fido: 1:125/406 | | ...lll-winken!/ PaBell: (415) 788-3904 | | USNail: KKSF 77 Maiden Lane San Francisco CA 94108 | =======================================================================
swarbric@tramp.Colorado.EDU (SWARBRICK FRANCIS JOHN) (12/30/87)
There are some FidoNet boards that import UUCP newsgroups, but all the ones I
have seen are 'read only.' The board does not send any messages back to UUCP.
You can also send mail across the country, or even the world. But, then, you
can do that with UUCP can't you? In FidoNet it usually costs 25 cents to send
a message long distance within North America, and a few dollars for Europe and
Australia.
------------------------------------------------------------------
Frank Swarbrick | "Ignorance and prejudice --
swarbric@tramp.UUCP | And fear walk and in hand."
swarbric@tramp.Colorado.EDU | --RUSH
...!{hao|nbires}!boulder!tramp!swarbricrandy@oresoft.UUCP (Randy Bush) (01/01/88)
swarbric@tramp.Colorado.EDU (SWARBRICK FRANCIS JOHN) writes: >There are some FidoNet boards that import UUCP newsgroups, but all the ones I >have seen are 'read only.' From a recent posting from ConfMail on usenet, it is evident that some have two-way links. ConfMail is the popular FidoNet 'newsgroup' software. >In FidoNet it usually costs 25 cents to send a message long distance within >North America, and a few dollars for Europe and Australia. FidoNet has free inter-zone mail. One only pays the cost of sending to the appropriate zone gate, and the zone gate system picks up the international tab. Intra-zone mail in North America is usually free to 25 cents a message, depending on the policies of the local admin. So, like usenet, international mail can be 'free'. [claimer: I am prejudiced. I run the North American zonegates for FidoNet.] -- randy%oresoft.uucp@tektronix.tek.com FidoNet:1:105/6.6 randy%oresoft.uucp%tektronix.tek.com@relay.cs.net +1 (503) 245-2202
raanan@bc-cis.UUCP (Raanan Herrmann) (01/04/88)
In article <3645@sigi.Colorado.EDU> swarbric@tramp.Colorado.EDU (SWARBRICK FRANCIS JOHN) writes: >There are some FidoNet boards that import UUCP newsgroups, but all the ones I >have seen are 'read only.' The board does not send any messages back to UUCP. >You can also send mail across the country, or even the world. But, then, you >can do that with UUCP can't you? >Frank Swarbrick Could anybody e-mail me the telephone numbers of Fidonet BBSs in the NYC area. I would like to use this network. Especially I would like to use it to send mail to friends in the "Kesher" Fidonet network in Israel (Does anybody knows "Kesher"). Thanks, -- ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Raanan Herrmann (bc-cis!raanan, raanan@bc-cis.UUCP raanan@bklyncis.BITNET)