Editorial

Ship of Dreams, Ship of Fools

In the news, a few items...

The FidoNews Web Site (http://www.fidonews.org) was down earlier this week, per an E-Mail from Jim Barchuk, who maintains it for all of Fido. Any mail sent through the site, as well as files or subscriptions, were held at his provider until the system could be re-built. As of our last discussions, the site is back on-line and running.

Richard Peer is the new Z5C, as Henk Wolsink has stepped down, much to the joy of the Z2C, no doubt. I've had the privilege to have been in contact with Henk for some time, and have come to respect his ideas. While not leaving Fido, his presence will be remembered for some time to come.

Adrian Walker has stepped down as the Zone 1 EchoList Coordinator, with the June 1998 ECHOLIST being his final publication. While Adrian is admired for his work, it is odd that he would hand over his source code, long stated as both his own and not to be disclosed, to John Souvestre...the same person who has also removed echomail conferences that he did not personally approve of from distribution.

Then again, who is the EchoList Back-up Password Keeper these days?

Moreover, given his past distaste for an official FidoNet posting, why would John be given the source code without the proviso that it is to be passed along to the next duly appointed EchoList Coordinator without question?

Just as oddly, John has decided to post a message from an echo into the FidoNews. In the sense of fairness and balance, the response to it is also posted. The message, while apparently intended for _last_ week's issue, was delayed to this one as John does not believe in following the article submission specifications in the ARTSPEC.DOC policy...the Editor does not routinely search other echoes than those indicated for the purposes of accepting submissions.

And, unlike John's messages, the responses in FIDONEWS are not censored to bring across points while avoiding others of greater import.

In a lighter note, Bruce Bodger has decided to take Bob Moravsik to task over repeated "attempts" to "hijack" various echoes.

What's so humorous about this is that Moravsik is merely taking advantage of the very system that Bodger and Souvestre *imposed* on FidoNet, the one imposed after the BackBone Operations Policy was revoked by...Bodger and Souvestre.

In another odd development, the RECC, in the guise of Ben Hamilton, has cast a 'no confidence' vote against Bob Kohl, the Zone 1 EchoMail Coordinator. See the text submitted below.

Odd, since Bob is the first person elected in a Zone-wide, SYSOP-LEVEL election, and thus represents the Zone; that, and the RECC holding secret meetings and refusing to discuss matters with the ZEC, and other similarly puerile activities, make it odd that Ben and the RECC would not include their 'list of grievances' that they claim would prove their position...in a public setting.

After all, the RECC posted the vote in public; why not the reasons?

In light of the actions of Adrian Walker to hand over control of the ELIST to the NAB entirely, rather than maintaining it as an entity independent of a commercial organization, it would behoove the RECC to act to protect EchoMail distribution, rather than attempt to destroy or castrate that protection.

Likewise, as was pointed out elsewhere, the term of office of the OBO, or Overseer of BackBone Operations, Butch Walker, is expired on 12 June 1998. He had previously indicated that he would not seek re-election.

Butch effectively disappeared as the OBO after his unilateral declaration that all nodes which distribute EchoMail are under the direct authority of the OBO and the NAB.

Strange that the RECC was so deathly silent on that issue, acting as individuals instead of a group...and now, when there is a ZEC who is not the hand-picked appointee of the NAB, they act to silence or remove him en masse and as a bloc.

Who, then, will be the liaison between the RECC and the NAB?

Or is the RECC destroying its best chance of maintaining the independence of EchoMail by becoming the willing tools of the NAB, by eliminating a ZEC who will not submit to the will of the NAB in all matters EchoMail?

It is hoped that the Z1C sees past the rhetoric and lack of reasoning involved, and directs the RECC to accept mediation...otherwise, there can be no confidence in future elections at the sysop level, if manipulation and personal problems can be used to negate those votes.

And, while all of this goes on, the Year 2000 Bug moves closer to taking FidoNet apart completely.

In the last week, two more losses to the FidoNet Technical Standards Committee have occurred, with Richard Bash and Craig Box announcing that they will be leaving. So far, not much else has been allowed to reach my system. That means (for you keeping score) that Rune Johansen, Peter Karlsson and Tom Schlangen have left the 'new' FTSC, and not one 'official' announcement has yet to be made...

And, for a later discussion, please keep in mind the Magic Numbers... 34, 38 and 74.

Wouldn't it be nice to have a genuinely non-political hobby once again, where the only rhetoric was over the political issues of the day, rather than where your next EchoMail packet was coming from?

In response to last week's question to the readership, the idea of the inclusion of advertising in FidoNews has been...well...'mixed' is a word to consider...

I would lean to the inclusion in a separate file, but more to keeping the information intact...but read the responses for yourself...

Sail on, sail on...but never stop asking, "Why?"

-zf-

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