Articles

• Church&State Echo
• Departure of a Friend
• Fidonet belongs to all of us?
• The Z1EC Election (more candidate questionnaires)

Church&State Echo

--- Following message extracted from CHURCH&STATE @ 1:18/14 ---
By Christopher Baker on Wed Jan 07 22:11:55 1998

From: Charles Sumner
To: All
Date: 13 Nov 97 15:11:49
Subj: Re: Advertising Church&State echo

* Copy of message posted via NETMAIL
* Date: 10 Nov 97 16:02:16
* From: charles.sumner@juno.com @ 1:2613/404.99
* To: Christopher Baker @ 1:18/14
* Forwarded by: Christopher Baker @ 1:18/14
* Message text was not edited!

Pursuant to our earlier conversation, would you post this where it will do the most good? Feel free to modify it if you wish. Add your name as a co-moderator. Thanks. Oh, yes. My BBS closed down. I am using another finally.

The Fidonet echo called Church&State is on the Backbone and available to Fidonet nodes without extra charge.

This is a topic which has increasing importance because of the political activity of the Religious Right. The relationship between church and state may be one of the most significant issues of the decade. Some authorities claim that nearly half of the state Republican organizations are now controlled by the Christian Coalition.

There is much debate about whether the First Amendment needs to be revised. Are Christians actually being "persecuted" in the United States today? Or are Christians expecting too much when they want to post the Ten Commandments in government buildings and schools? Will our nation abandon the principle of "no tax for religion" and provide funding for religious schools? Would government control follow?

Should government welfare funds be distributed through sectarian institutions without restricting proselyting? What would a "parental rights" bill accomplish? Are people of some minority religions unfit to hold public office? Should schools allow students to decide on a majority basis whether prayers are said at graduation? What happens to the rights of the minority then - are they ostracized?

There are many more issues which come under the topic. They involve both religious liberty and establishments of religion.

Church&State is a moderated echo, and participants are requested to avoid lengthy theological discussions and stick to the relationships which should exist between religious groups and government.

Please help provide an opportunity for people to air discussion on such significant issues. Obtain church&State and mention it to users.

Thanks.

CHARLES SUMNER, Moderator; charles.sumner@juno.com

Departure of a Friend
Damian Walker, 2:2502/666

On Thursday 8th January, a region 25 sysop, Cliff Harrold, passed away suddenly. This unexpected news has been a great shock to quite a number of people. I didn't know Cliff that well, I've never met him fact to face, but I worked with him quite a lot via netmail and most certainly consider him as a friend. Let me tell you about Cliff now.

Cliff was our REC, a position which in many European regions is more akin the ZEC or OBO elsewhere. As REC he was hard-working and approachable, and he will be sorely missed by many people here.

Cliff became well known some years ago when he started running the Coracle Midnight Line, making use of a special scheme available in the UK for unmetered long-distance calls to allow cheap transport of echomail around the country. Cliff's system moved much of the country's echomail, and continues to do so for the time being, thanks to the kind efforts of his family, for whom messing about with computers is probably one of the last things they want to be doing right now.

Some time after establishing his midnight line, Cliff became elected as the region's REC when Dave Gorski stepped down. In that time, Cliff has worked extensively to maintain and re-organise the region 25 backbone. One thing which gave the region's backbone a particular boost was his willingness to take on new echoes quickly, without the need for a minimum amount of traffic or any existing distribution. While this occasionally resulted in a few stillborn echoes on the backbone, it did make Fidonet seem more open and friendly to sysops and users, new and old alike, and has allowed a large number of worthwhile echoes to be created which might otherwise have required too much effort for their creators.

We also have to thank him for taking an active and supportive role in such things as moderator elections and NEC appointments, and for helping resolve disputes in echomail and elsewhere (whether successful or not). On the political side of things, Cliff created a set of recommended moderator election rules which, while never forced on a returning officer, were extremely helpful and saved time for many a RO who would otherwise have had to devise his or her own rules. He also organised a team of people to try and create a regional echomail policy to replace the rather unsuitable Echopol 1, which is all we have at the moment; work on this is still in progress, and as a member of Cliff's team I fully intend to see it through, whether it gets accepted in the end or not.

In the tribute which our RC, Keith Wassell, thoughtfully wrote and posted, he asks that at least for now, "let us not argue about silly things, over moderator elections [...] etc." and with this I concur. In fact I would go even further.

You always hear about what good someone has done, whether it's anything to do with Fidonet or not, after they're gone. What a shame it is that Cliff isn't here to enjoy the recognition he is receiving now, and quite rightly deserves. But why did people wait until now? I'm as guilty as anyone else here.

Perhaps it's time to think about the people who are still working hard to ensure that everything in Fidonet is running smoothly. The people who arrange our feeds, the people who look after our echo lists and nodelist, the people who devise and maintain our technical standards and create the software we use to shift the mail. Maybe once in a while it would be nice if they were given some thanks for their trouble, something to brighten up their day and make their efforts seem worthwhile. It sure would make a change from the usual bitching.

Fidonet belongs to all of us?
By Bill Whitehouse (1:323/109)

Four years ago, on Jan. 1, 1994, a dozen Rhode Island sysops braved hangovers and sub-zero cold to mount a satellite dish on our roof.

They brought tools, components, enthusiasm, and a marked distaste for abusive authority.

Planet Connect made every subscriber a star. Within a month the Radio Free Echomail (RFE) dish was feeding 78 systems in 5 states, for free; anyone agreeing to pass along the Fido file and message feed for free to their downlinks and callers. We were happy to underwrite the daily mail and file dish feed. Others were always eager to help. Five sysops took turns managing the entire message bone. Our file echo thrived.

The only thing that made any of it possible was trust; trust that the network's coordinators would do as they promised, trust that they wouldn't pretend an election took place when no one voted, trust they wouldn't intentionally limit participation, trust they wouldn't hack sysop message traffic, trust that the Zone Coordinator would actually give a damn.

That trust is gone.

Abusive arrogance on this scale makes coordinators capable of any rotten thing. And no one wants to play this game anymore. The region's nodelist hemorrhage reflects that fact. Fido as a whole lost 32.8 percent these last two years. New England, over the same period, shrank 59.8 percent.

Our current PC subscription expires January 24, 1998.

We're taking it all down -- the dish, the feed, the node number.

We know, and regret, that this will prompt other sysops to dismantle their own systems.

Fidonet is a great idea, but only when it belongs to all of us. Thanks for the good times. There were some.

---
* Origin: We can give it all away and still have it all. (1:323/109)

The Z1EC Election (more candidate questionnaires)
by Lisa Gronke, 1:105/16
lisa@psg.com

Continuing last week's article, here are the completed questionnaires from Jeff Smith and Bob Kohl. As I write this, I don't have a questionnaire from Wayne Delisle Sr., but he's been out of touch because his uplink, 1:12/12, was knocked out by the icestorm in the northeast (USA & Canada). His questionnaire may come in before FidoNews goes to press; if not, look for it next week.

Gary Gilmore has withdrawn as a candidate.

In addition to those I mentioned last week, John Roberts [1:385/1000] & David Whitaker [1:282/1050] have submitted interesting lists of questions to the candidates and may be compiling the replies.

Message #2380 "Z1_ELECTION"
Date: 06-Jan-98 02:57
From: Jeff Smith
To: All
Subj: Questionnaire

Hello All!

1> What are your qualifications? What FTN positions have you held?

Well... I have been a echomail hub since I joined Fidonet and have been both NEC and now NC as well as a regional hub. I am interested in the future of Fidonet and want to help it change the tide that it has seen of late. I am not very politically minded which... I don't look at as a bad thing. The art of politicking has never impressed me much and I think Fidonet can do better with less in that regard.

2> If elected Z1EC, would you continue with other currently held FTN
2> positions?

If elected ZEC I would call for an election for the position of NC that I currently hold. I would also find a replacement for me as moderator of Z1_BACKBONE as I would not want there to be any possible conflict of interest.

3> Do you foresee any problems with the list of duties for the ZEC
3> position?

Not at this point.

3> Which of those functions do you consider most important?

One thing that I feel that need work is in the area of mediation between moderators and the different distribution systems. Times are a changing and I foresee work needing to be done in this area. Also mediation or maybe coordination is a better term between the other ZEC's.

4> How do you feel about Echomail Policy?

I think there needs to be some form of policy. But.. I at the same time think it is important not to go overboard in this regard. Some policy will be good. Too much policy could be worse than none at all.

5> Are there any functions not listed in the job description that you
5> think are important?

At the present time, no.

6> Do you anticipate any problems working with the Z1C, the RECs, the
6> EchoList Coordinator, or those who run the major and minor
6> distribution systems?

None that I think can't be worked out.

7> What do you think the major echomail problems in the next two
7> years will be?

The biggest change for Fidonet has been the impact that the internet has had. I think it is important the we learn to use what the internet has to offer us instead of trying to compete with it. We will need to make some changes in the way we do things to make life easier. Also I think that the work the FTSC is doing is a good thing as we need technical standards that take into account the technology we have today. In this regard we are behind the times and need to do some catching up.

8> With a two year term, Jan 1, 2000 comes on your watch. What role
8> do you see for the Z1EC at that time?

Ahh... If you are talking about the anticipated computer problem with the year 2000. I don't think it will have a large impact on Fidonet. The government, the IRS, and the SSA might be a different story. <g>

9> Any other comments?

Not right now.

Jeff

--- GEcho 1.20
* Origin: The OUIJA Board (612)537-6280 V34 (1:282/1031)

Message #3576 "Z1_ELECTION"
Date: 08-Jan-98 00:59
From: Bob Kohl
To: All
Subj: More Candidate Questions

> 1998 Z1EC ELECTION -- CANDIDATE QUESTIONNAIRE
> --------------------------------------------------
> 1. What are your qualifications? What FTN positions have you held?

I've been a sysop for over ten years. During this time I've been a moderator since roughly about 8-12 months or so after the first echo area was split into several.

I've been a hub.

I've been an NEC for 2-3 years.

An REC for 3 years.

An RC for over 2 years during which reg 10 was revived from a 2-3 year period of neglect.

My commitment to Fidonet over the years has been extensive.

> 2. If elected Z1EC, would you continue with other currently held
> FTN positions?

Yes for two reason.

First I honor my commitments and I've made a commitment to carry on as RC10. The last commitment I made to anyone was to myself about getting this election going.

More important then this, I see having access to the ZC and the RCC as crucial to the process of bringing an echopol to completion. I have an established relationship with the ZC that can be used constrictively for this purpose.

I am well aware of P4 on this issue, however the precedent of wearing more then one hat was established *long* ago and there are now many examples of this given the continued shrinking of resources within Zone 1. George Peace is also an example of this. Both RC and REC responsibilities have been well maintained during my watch.

> 3. Do you foresee any problems with the list of duties for the ZEC
> position?

I wrote it with the help of the RECC and all the sysops that cared to contribute, I see no problems with it. The key to the list of ZEC duties is echopol and this has always been on the duty list since the first draft. My thanks to Jim McLaughlin for the input on the first draft.

> Which of those functions do you consider most important?

Echopol and making sure we have a set of active REC's to represent their respective regions, to take information to and bring back the input from the sysops of their regions.

> 4. How do you feel about Echomail Policy?

About time isn't it? :)

> 5. Are there any functions not listed in the job description that
> you think are important?

For a ZEC to be truly functional I think experience as well as a good working knowledge of how things currently work is going to prove crucial for the next ZEC. He'll be able to take on the position without a lag, instead of trying to "catching up" on how things work. In simple terms: Hit the ground running.

We've had discussions here on P4 issues that have little to do with the ZEC. We have people discussing "appeals" for echomail problems that do not exist since the "vote with your feet" approach was put into effect in Z1. The appeals process for echomail posters has been discussed at length and *repeatedly* over the years by the moderators and *EC's. To date no better answer process has come to light and I support it.

It's rare that the *C's seriously review any PC based on echomail issues. The RECC does not review moderator complaints or at least hasn't in the three years I've been an REC.

If a candidate doesn't have the knowledge and/or experience, it's going to inhibit the constructive process which is problematical considering the amount of time it will take to sort out an echopol. More then that, an inexperienced ZEC will have to learn how to work with the RECC after what's gone on for the past few years.

Given this, as ZEC I would actively moderate the RECC echo so that events that have transpired do not occur again. This would help keep the RECC productive in the future as they have been recently regarding this election and I view this as a VERY important function.

As ZEC I would also appoint a "web" coordinator to help link all the Zone 1 sites together as well as help those that do not have sites. In reg 10, we've had some very positive results from our web sites. I see this as an important function for promoting Fidonet. I realize that some efforts have been made on this issue, but I'd like to see this brought to fruition in a coordinated effort.

> 6. Do you anticipate any problems working with the Z1C, the RECs,
> the EchoList Coordinator, or those who run the major and minor
> distribution systems?

Nope, I've worked with Bob Satti for over two years in a constructive manner and amongst other things have helped return some of the user flags to the nodelist. I think this relationship will prove to be crucial working towards the establishment of an echopol as well as a common set of flags for echomail "hubs" for the nodelist.

As far as working with the RECC, we have the election that wasn't going to happen going on right now don't we? ;)

> 7. What do you think the major echomail problems in the next two
> years will be?

Getting echopol into place.

> 8. With a two year term, Jan 1, 2000 comes on your watch. What role
> do you see for the Z1EC at that time?

Reminding the RECC that we had fewer grey hairs when we started. :)

BK

--- DB A3000sl/001347
* Origin: Conniption BBS * One fit at a time * (1:102/861)

* Forwarded from the Z1_ELECTION echo
From: Gary Gilmore
To: All
Msg #91, Jan-09-98 00:40:24
Subject: Stepping down as candidate

Hello all,

What with the new year, the work schedule for me has become more clear. Between what's booked into the Detroit Opera House (my main gig), as well as other stagehand work coming into town, I'll be rather busy.

Because of this, I will not only -not- have the time to properly campaign, but more importantly, not have the time to really devote myself to the job of Z1EC in the beginning of the term, which will be the most crucial time for the new Z1EC, IMHO. :-/ (Sure, I would have time as things settle down, but again, not in the beginning, and that wouldn't be fair to those in Fidonet that would have me serve as Z1EC.)

While I know I -can- do the job, I just wouldn't be doing it very well with the requirements on my time that work is going to take. Average opera load-ins last a week or more of 8am to midnight, and when I get home, I'm lucky to have enough energy to just skim for "hot" mail, let alone get really involved in any major situations. (And there's talk of a rock tour for me in the summer, but I'll have to see how that pans out.)

Because of all this, I'm feel I have no alternative but to remove myself from the list of candidates. Yes, maybe I will find I have more free time than I expect, but I don't want to take the chance. We're I elected and becoming an "absentee ZEC" due to work, I'd receive all sorts of hell for that. No thanks. (And I don't think Fidonet deserves that either.)

As of this message, I am no longer a candidate for Z1EC.

For those that were going to vote for me, I suggest an alternative. After reading much of what has been said here and in other echos, I personally feel Bob Kohl would make a good Z1EC. He knows echomail, knows Fidonet, and I feel would be able to "cut through the crap" of the polarization that's occurred in the recent past with echomail. (Not to mention the fact he is more experienced than the other candidates, nor is too involved in "othernets" like some candidates.) I don't feel that he'd be a "more of the same" Z1EC, and I hope those who supported me will now support him. (Though your choice is, of course, up to you.)

Thank you, and good luck to all the candidates in this election.

--gary

--- Maximus 3.01
* Origin: bloom county * dearborn,mi * 313-582-0888 (1:2410/400)