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).
--
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"Watch me change my world..." -- Liquid Theatre