Articles

• Small things make up a lot
• ECHOLADE - refreshing echomail. Hans Mangold explains
• FTSC Elections
• Result of RC election in region 2:20 (Sweden)
• Santronics Software Announcement

Small things make up a lot
by Adriano Garcia*
from Uberaba/MG, Brazil (1:396/45.19)

Since my last article on FidoNews (in fact it was a guest editorial) I've been getting a lot of feedback of Fido folks discussing the issues of promoting the net and the BBSing hobby in general. So I decided to repeat the great effort - and pleasure - of writing an article discussing the trends that go with this hobby of ours.

There is a lot of discouraged people out there. And there's plenty of reasons for that and one have just to read the sysop conferences to find them out. Every single good cause that is brought up is carefully taken down by old fashioned rivalry. Now that I've given up on talking about the ever renewing fights between sysops, now I'm taking a broader view to encompass promoting BBSes in general.

Not long ago, I've subscribed to the PROMOTE_BBS echo. When I did it, I thought that BBSing really needs to be promoted if we want to keep it alive for ourselves in the future. I won't dare to say that we have to keep it to ours sons and grandsons because I'm still 24 <g> and also because, in this ever changing world of online connection, it just may be to 'dreamy' now.

Now back to the real world. When I got my first packet of PROMOTE_BBS (in fact a rescanned one), all I could see was a bunch of new ideas brought down by people discussing - guess? - elections for a so-called entity designed to help promoting BBSes. Now what? Do we need to setup a political chain just to say what we have to do to promote the system we know so well? How would it work on a local situation? Will that lonely sysop from Troy, PA, have to wait for a decision from a Board of Directors to start a local campaign according to the objectives of the council?

Why do we have to centralize and build up a chain of command? Why don't people just get together on local chapters to promote the system on the local level and start a forum to discuss and share their experiences?

Somebody told me once that humans are political by nature. Maybe he told me that because politics replaced physical violence with the violence of words. I cannot understand what is the difference between killing somebody with words or with a gun. They both simbolize the same kind of action.

As happens with pennies and relationships, small pieces make up a lot sometimes, mainly because they are so small that they aren't accounted for until they become big things. But, many times, big things are also very hard to face and when they get bigger they are harder to ignore and destroy.

With this kind of actions between people that were supposed to be allies, we are just creating those small things that will keep many away from BBSing and from FidoNet.

* Adriano Garcia is a Brazilian journalist, living in Uberaba, Brazil and has been a sysop (former 4:801/53) from 1992 to 1994.

ECHOLADE - refreshing echomail.
Hans Mangold explains the Exodus

ECHOLADE
A refreshing extract from Fido's echoes
Purloined without permission by D Myers

In this response to Bob Short, Hans Mangold counters the theory that the style of posting in FN_SYSOP is responsible for the exodus of Fidonet Sysops.

BS> If the majority of departing fido sysops feel as I do about the
BS> sort of BS that goes on in this echo (and a few others, to be
BS> fair), I'd wager this was a contributing factor in their
BS> decision to leave the net.

Bob, please -- whatever happens in this echo, Z1C, or elsewhere, makes little difference. Open your eyes and look at the traffic in the once popular echoes, like Genealogy, once 550 and more messages per day, now 2.3 (yes, two-point-three). And that was/is a well moderated echo!

My BBS was once upon a time the busiest in our entire Region; heck, I'm sure there were times (days, weeks) when more echomail from BBS callers originated here than anywhere else in Zone 1. Today, Nov. 17, 1998, my system is the only BBS left in our city. With all of the promotions I've done here, including feature articles in the Daily Newspaper, Fido was/is very well known around here -- but the thousands of people who once enjoyed Fido locally prefer the internet today. As Yogi Berra would have said: if people don't want to call my BBS, there's nothing I can do to stop them.

Even having an "exclusive" in our fair city now, I'm down to two or three BBS callers per day, four on a rainy day. That is the reason many SysOps pull the plug -- not seeing any purpose anymore to all of the work that goes into running a system.

So, please, don't bother blaming FN_SYSOP for the decline in Fidonet -- BBS callers don't have access and SysOps suit themselves -- some participate, others just lurk, and the majority doesn't waste HD space for the traffic. The most recent FN_SYSOP moderator election produced 57 votes. 57 -- for an _international_ sysop echo. Think about it. The annual election was a chance for change -- 10 votes were cast for the former moderator, and 47 for other candidates -- only 47 wanted change! =If= your philosophy had any merit, e.g. blaming FN_SYSOP for disappearing nodes, I'm sure more than 47 out of (almost) 20,000 nodes would have sent a clear signal. Instead, the signal was one of "who cares about FN_SYSOP"..... :-(

No use crying over spilled milk and lingering in the past. Surely Fidonet will sort itself out as time progresses; some of us have Fido in our blood and we'll stick around for a long time to come -- for our own pleasure more so than for the pleasure of (non-existent) BBS callers. Others see it as a waste of time and will drop out -- I mean, Fido once upon a time was a great resource for technical information. Now, look at it -- once popular echoes like HS_MODEMS (with Rick Collins as excellent moderator) don't have one single message for =weeks=. Not a pretty picture all around, and no easy solutions.

Sysops have always come and gone in the past; only difference today is that it is no longer the ambition of every kid with a PC in town to become a sysop when ICQ has so much more to offer to the "instant society". The state of FN_SYSOP has little influence on existing nodes; guess Randy Bush was right after all.

--
| Fidonet: Douglas Myers 1:270/720@fidonet.org
| Internet: doug@mdtnbbs.com
| Standard disclaimer: The views of this user are strictly his own.
| From Mdtn_BBS @mdtnbbs.com [ In the Heart of Three Mile Island ]

FTSC Elections
by Goran Eriksson
2:201/505, get@get.pp.se

Odinn Sorensen has informed us that he wants step down as FTSC Administrator as soon as another person is ready to take over that office.

Furthermore, a number of FTSC Standing Members have resigned.

To fill these vacancies, there will be two separate elections:

1. An election for new Standing Members.

Number of positions to be filled:

Not a definite number. According to FTA-1001 the FTSC shall have no less than 7 and no more than 30 members. Therefore a minimum of 0 and a maximum of 11 new Standing Members may be appointed.

Eligibility for appointment:

See FTA-1001.

Nominations:

Special nominating committees are not planned at this time. Anyone wishing to be nominated or wishing to nominate someone should therefore contact a FidoNet RC or REC of their own choice, soliciting support for the nomination. The nomination period starts immediately and ends on 1998-12-10 at 24:00 UTC. RC's and REC's wishing to nominate someone should do so to the election administrator. RC's and REC's are encouraged to send their nominations by crash mail. If they choose to use routed netmail they do so on their own risk. RC's and REC's may nominate multiple candidates. As well from inside their respective regions as from outside. The election administrator shall no later than 1998-12-11 at 24:00 UTC publish a list of the received valid nominations in the FTSC_PUBLIC echomail conference. The election administrator shall also send a copy of this list to each nodelisted RC and REC.

Votes:

Only votes from nodelisted RC's and REC's will be accepted provided that they are received by the election administrator no earlier than 1998-12-11 at 00:00 UTC and no later than 1998-12-31 at 24:00 UTC. RC's and REC's are encouraged to send their votes by crash mail. If they choose to use routed netmail they do so on their own risk. Votes for Standing Members should indicate what candidates each voter is supporting. Only those candidates obtaining support from more than 50 % of the total number of RC's and REC's casting valid votes will be considered successfull. Successfull candidates will be appointed according to the total number of supportive votes they have received. The one with the highest number of supportive votes will be appointed first etc. If more than one successfull candidate compete for the last Standing Member position to be filled (making the total number of FTSC members equal to 30) with the same number of supportive votes, the ZCC will be requested to appoint theat Standing Member from among theses competing successfull candidates. If the ZCC has not communicated it's decision in the FTSC_PUBLIC echomail conference before 1999-01-31 at 24:00 UTC, that last position will remain unfilled.

Results:

The election administrator shall publish the election result in the FTSC_PUBLIC echomail conference no later than on 1999-01-07 at 24:00 UTC. In case of a tie about the last position to be filled this result may be supplemented by the ZCC decision as above no later than 1999-01-31 at 24:00 UTC.

Term of office:

Elected candidates will be appointed for a period that ends 2000-09-30.

2. An election for a new FTSC Administrator.

Number of positions to be filled:

1

Responsibilities:

See FTA-1001.

Elegibility for appointment:

See FTA-1001.

Nominations:

Anyone wishing to be nominated or wishing to nominate someone should therefore contact a current FTSC Standing Member (who has not resigned) of their own choice, soliciting support for the nomination. The nomination period starts immediately and ends on 1998-12-10 at 24:00 UTC. FTSC Standing Members wishing to nominate someone should do so to the election administrator. FTSC Standing Members area encouraged to send their nominations by crash mail. If they choose to use routed netmail they do so on their own risk. FTSC Standing Members may nominate multiple candidates. The election administrator shall no later than 1998-12-11 at 24:00 UTC publish a list of the received valid nominations in the FTSC_PUBLIC echomail conference. The election administrator shall also send a copy of this list to each current Standing Member of the FTSC.

Votes:

Only votes from FTSC Standing Members as per current version of FTA-1003 who have not resigned from their position will be accepted provided that they are received by the election administrator no earlier than 1998-12-11 at 00:00 UTC and no later than 1998-12-31 at 24:00 UTC. FTSC Standing Members are encouraged to send their votes by crash mail. If they choose to use routed netmail they do so on their own risk.

Results:

The election administrator shall publish the election result in the FTSC_PUBLIC echomail conference no later than 1999-01-07 at 24:00 UTC.

Term of office:

The elected candidate will be appointed for a period that ends 2002-12-31.

As election administrator for both elections, Mario Mure' has been appointed.

FidoNet address: Mario Mure', 2:335/533
Internet address: mure@sistemia.it

"Nodelisted RC" is interpreted as anyone in the FidoNet nodelist (current on 1998-12-11) shown as the operator of a system with the Region keyword as per FTS-5.

"Nodelisted REC" is interpreted as the first person in the FidoNet nodelist (current on 1998-12-11) identified as the REC of her/his region. Identification by a REC user flag in the nodelist is the preferred way for identification.

If any single person occupies both the RC and the REC position for her/his region, she/he is entitled to two votes.

FTA documents can be file requested from 2:236/77 or downloaded from http://www.goldware.dk/ftsc/. [faulty URL [jb 4/25/01]] They can also be found on a number of FidoNet systems as well as on a number of ftp and web servers worldwide.

The more important sections from FTA-1001 and FTA-1003 are reproduced below.

From FTA-1001:

3.1 FTSC Administrator

The FTSC administrator is appointed for a four year renewable term.

To be eligible for appointment, an individual must be a Fidonet node, be actively involved in Fidonet, though not necessarily in a programming context, and should have proven organizational skills. A candidate need not be a member of the FTSC. It is recommended that a successful candidate not carry any *C or *EC responsibilities during the term of office.

A candidate for FTSC Administrator may be nominated by any Standing Member.

The FTSC Administrator is appointed on the basis of a vote by all Standing Members who are defined by the then-current edition of FTA-1003 (FTSC Membership List). A successful candidate must receive approval by at least a plurality of votes.

Publication of the nominations and the voting procedure shall take place openly in the FTSC_PUBLIC echo, and voting shall close three weeks after publication of the vote. Votes shall be by netmail ballot to an independent enumerator.

Responsibilities:

1. Ensuring FTSC Mandate is adhered to.
2. Facilitating communications links between members.
3. Maintaining document distribution links.
4. Coordinating all membership nominations and voting.
5. Developing Working Groups as required.
6. Ensuring that the FTSC seeks, accepts and responds to public input.
7. Assigning FSP numbers to new Standards Proposals.

3.2 FTSC Standing Members

FTSC members are appointed for a two year renewable term. [50 % of appointments on initial formation of the FTSC shall be for a 3 year renewable term, to ensure continuity of the Committee on expiry of the terms.]

To be selected as a FTSC member, an individual must be a Fidonet node, and should be actively involved in Fidonet. Examples include having put out a Fidonet-related product or having updated a product in the preceding two years, or having experience as a Coordinator, Echomail Coordinator or mail or file Hub.

Standing members may be nominated Fidonet-wide by all of the following methods:

1. Any RC or REC.
2. A nominating committee established for the purpose by the FTSC.
3. A nominating committee established for the purpose by the ZCC.

A nominating committee may not consist of any current member or officer of the FTSC.

Standing members are appointed on the basis of a vote by all RCs and RECs who are nodelisted as holding those positions at the time the nominations are published. A successful candidate must receive approval by a majority of votes.

Publication of the nomination and the voting procedure, and posting of RC and REC votes, shall take place openly in the FTSC_PUBLIC echo, and voting shall close three weeks after publication of the vote.

From FTA-1003 (indications as to what members have resigned have been added):

1. FTSC Administrator

Odinn Sorensen, 2:236/77, appointed until 01 Dec 2001.

2. FTSC Standing Members

Name                  Node        What     Appointed until
---------------------------------------------------------
Richard Bash          1:231/45              01 Oct 1999 Resigned
Ron Bemis             1:124/1113            01 Oct 1999
Mike Bilow            1:323/107   FP-OS/2   01 Oct 2000
Craig Box             3:774/950             01 Oct 2000 Resigned
Tobias Burchhardt     2:2448/400  FastEcho  01 Oct 2000
Goran Eriksson        2:201/505             01 Oct 1999
Bjorn Felten          2:203/208             01 Oct 1999
Zorch Frezberg        1:205/0               01 Oct 1999
Joaquim Homrighausen  2:201/330   Frodo     01 Oct 2000
Rune Johansen         2:210/20              01 Oct 2000 Resigned
Peter Karlsson        2:206/221   Announcer 01 Oct 1999
Andreas Klein         2:2480/47   Imail     01 Oct 2000
Michael McCabe        1:297/11    FNS       01 Oct 1999
Gary Price            1:3607/26   TriBBS    01 Oct 1999
Carlos Fernandez Sanz 2:341/70    CFRoute   01 Oct 2000
Tom Schlangen         2:2450/10   BT-XE     01 Oct 2000 Resigned
Benjamin Schollnick   1:2613/477  QuickBBS  01 Oct 2000
Odinn Sorensen        2:236/77    GoldED    01 Oct 2000
Jason Steck           1:285/424   Jmail     01 Oct 1999
Robert Szarka         1:320/42    WaterGate 01 Oct 2000
Francois Thunus       2:270/25              01 Oct 1999 Resigned
Colin Turner          2:443/13              01 Oct 1999
Thomas Waldmann       2:2474/400  BT-XE     01 Oct 2000
Mats Wallin           2:201/329   FDAPX     01 Oct 2000

Any assistance in bringing this message to the attention of all concerned/interested parties would be appreciated. Cross-posting in any relevant echomail conference is encouraged.

Result of RC election in region 2:20
by Peter Karlsson, 2:206/221.0, pk@abc.se

We've had an election for the RC position, following the procedure set forth in the document "FidoNet Zone 2 document NC_ELECT.Z2 V1.0". It seems, however, that no-one remember to notify FidoNews, so here it is, the official election statement from the election presider (translated into English by me):

Forwarded (from: R20_KANDIDAT) (translated)
Originally from Hakan Andersson (2:201/600).

Well, then the RC election is over for this time.

The election superviser, Henrik O A Barkman (2:205/0), has gone through all the data for the whole election, and has acknowledged the election results.

Thomas Tydal (2:206/224), has with his total of 16 votes (33.33%) won this election, and thus been appointed the new regional coordinator (RC) for region 20.

Congratulations to Thomas Tydal!

I thank the superviser, Henrik O A Barkman, for his contribution to this election.

//Hakan Andersson - Election presidier

___
- Origin: AreaRobot (2:201/600)

And here is the result summary (translated):

=== Summary of: RC98

=== RC98 (Pvt) 1998.10.12 -> 1998.10.25 [(null)]

Here is the result of the election of region coordinator (RC) in FidoNet region 20, zone 2, 1998:

   Candidate               Votes
   ---------               -----
1. Thomas Tydal .......... Total: 16
2. Bjorn Poppe ........... Total: 11
3. Per Lundberg .......... Total: 10
4. Rasmus Kjellman ....... Total:  8
5. Johan Segernas ........ Total:  3

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Santronics Software Announces the purchase of Mustang Software's, Wildcat! BBS Product Line

Homestead, Florida, November 19, 1998 - Santronics Software, Inc., a leading developer of automated mail distribution software today announces the purchase of the Wildcat! Interactive Net Server (WINServer) for Windows 95/NT/98 "Intranet" products, including all add-on modules, Wildcat! DOS and add-on modules, and Offline Xpress from Mustang Software, Inc.

These popular and powerful 32 bit Windows and DOS based online service software products have been in the market for over 12 years with a solid reputation for excellent engineering and reliable design. To date Mustang's products have accumulated over 50,000 licensed customers worldwide.

"Wildcat! was an outstanding foundation for the creation of a great company," said Jim Harrer, president and chief executive officer of Mustang Software. "Based on the rapid growth of the Internet Message Center as the leading e-mail management solution, the time has come to transition Wildcat! Santronics will provide the support and development necessary to continue the strong Wildcat! tradition for present and future customers worldwide."

Santronics Software is renowned for the quality and support of its flagship product, Platinum Xpress (PX). PX is an popular add-on module to the WINServer system. Santronics is a qualified and knowledgeable developer of WINServer software and the current Wildcat! customer base is more than familiar with Santronics' excellent reputation.

"We believe in Wildcat! We believe we can take it to the next level and continue to make it a top Internet product. As an organization, we will focus on Wildcat!'s development and provide the support and total commitment the product needs to reach this goal," said Hector Santos, president and R&D Director of Santronics Software.

Effective immediately, Santronics plans a complete review of the WINServer product line and to provide the customer base a renewed commitment to Wildcat! by developing new features into the system and by focusing on customer input for the direction of the product line.

"The Internet is rapidly changing. Everyone has a basic idea of what they want to do but the solutions come in many pieces. Santronics wants to tell the world that WINServer is an ideal solution for the Internet with features unique to the market," said Mr. Santos.

Santronics plans to integrate the company's current Silver Xpress Offline Mail System with the Offline Xpress for Windows version (OLX/Win). The end result will be a powerful new "all purpose" offline Mail Reader for Windows. Silver Xpress will remain available as a DOS based offline mail reader.

Effective immediately, all sales questions or inquiries about this purchase or Wildcat!, WINServer, etc. should be directed to Andrea Santos, Marketing Director at Santronics, at 305-248-3204 or asantos@santronics.com.

About Santronics Software, Inc.

Santronics Software, Inc. provides powerful, interactive, and automated solutions in the communications and Internet world.

Santronics Software's corporate headquarters is located at 15600 SW 288 St., Suite 306, Homestead, Florida, 33033. Inquiries can be addressed via voice, 305-248-3204; fax, 305-248-3638; and e-mail, sales@santronics.com; or by visiting Santronics Software on the web at http://www.santronics.com. About Mustang Software, Inc.

Mustang Software, Inc. delivers creative e-mail management solutions through a combination of the company's unique Web Essentials tools, its unparalleled e-mail management experience and expertise and world- class alliance partnerships. Mustang's Web Essentials line of tools includes the award-winning Internet Message Center, ListCaster and FileCenter.

Mustang Software's corporate headquarters is located at 6200 Lake Ming Road, Bakersfield, Calif., 93306. Inquiries can be addressed via voice, 805-873-2500; fax, 805-873-2599; and e-mail, info@mustang.com, or by visiting Mustang Software on the web at http://www.mustang.com.

Mustang Software, Inc. is a public company, traded on NASDAQ under the symbol MSTGC.

ANDREA SANTOS
asantos@santronics.com
http://www.santronics.com