Guest Editorial

My Thoughts on Fidonet
Darrell Salter 1:12/0

This is the second edition of "My Thoughts on Fidonet", the original being written a couple of years ago when I was the NC (Network Coordinator) of Net 229. Things have played out pretty much as I predicted then, and it is interesting to look back and see just what has transpired since. I almost left Fidonet back then, but after some prompting from a few of the good folks in Region 12, I decided to return to see if I could help.

What has happened since the first incarnation of "My Thoughts"? Not much. Fidonet continues to shrink, P4 is still in place, Zone 1 has a new Zone Coordinator, and the old Zone Coordinator has become the International Coordinator. Yeesh!

Fidonet in Zone #1 continues to die as nodes disappear. The node list is still populated with downed nodes that are, for the most part, unreachable. Why? Same deal. "The Internet has decimated Fidonet, and that will continue to be the trend until we have just the diehards left. Anyone else is kidding themselves."

It is still my opinion that the people we hoped would lead us into the 21st century have failed us miserably. At the top of the list is the IC (International Coordinator), Bob Satti. He has taken his "plays the fiddle while Rome burns" philosophy to the IC slot, and is just as useless there as he was in the Z1C seat. Sorry Bob, I still call them as I see them.

Next would be, naturally, the ZCs. They too, do little to promote this great hobby of ours, and I consider the Z1C a friend of mine, so it pains me to to say this. Still, the ills of Fidonet are not being addressed with sufficient energy from the top, and if the head dies, the body follows.

What's to be done? I said this last time, and it's still true today -- "P4 and it's power-mongering structure created an unhealthy environment for sysops. People don't want to be ruled over when it comes to their free time and hobbies. If we look at making a choice between the Internet, and it's free and open, unaccountable environment, and Fidonet, with it's Elflords and power-trippers, the choice for hobbiests becomes clear, and the Internet wins hands down. The *C structure needed to dethrone themselves and throw the doors wide open years ago if we were to progress and keep interest. That didn't happen, and it has resulted in what we have today. It's a crying shame."

Tom Jennings predicted this, and lo and behold, he was right. The *Cs are nodelist clerks, not administrative seats of power.

"I don't blame sysops for their lack of support for the people with vision. Why should they care? As long as they get their favorite echos, they are free to go surfing on the Internet to have fun. If they had to make a choice between Fidonet and the Internet, Fidonet would die immediately. If the mail-movers ever pulled up stakes, Fidonet would die immediately. Many have done exactly that. This thing is in a coma and on life support, and people like us are keeping it alive, hoping for a recovery. The prognosis is not good."

Since I first said that, we have lost gryn.org, a Fidonet gateway that served many, many systems.

"Here's why. Look at it this way, if you have a computer and a modem and enough time to enjoy a hobby, what are you going to choose? The Internet with all it has to offer; email, web sites, chat rooms, search engines, FTP, video streaming, real-time features, and millions of people to interact with the world over? Or Fidonet, with it's power-trippers, policy documents and rules, difficult configurations, dead or dying echos, and dead end phone numbers? Who in their right mind would choose Fidonet? People have voted with their feet, and the Internet is the big winner, Fidonet the big loser."

And Fidonet continues to lose. I see it every day in the Z1C and FN_SYSOP echos. Bull-headed, egotistical power-trippers that continue to be condescending to the average sysop, while doing little to actually change this thing for the better.

"The only chance Fidonet has in my opinion, is to pull down it's hierarchy, embrace the Internet, and flood it with what we have left of the telnettable systems and web sites, and get up to speed with html/cgi message bases and BBSes, and start implementing the Internet technologies. The nodelist needs to be redesigned to accomodate Internet sites immediately. There are some people that have the right idea, such as the Fidonet Web Ring, which links Fidonet systems and BBSes around the world on the Internet. But make no mistake, even if we embrace the Internet, as soon as we try to impose the ludicrous standards and power tripping mentality our present administration has imposed on us, to the people of the Internet, we'll lose them too, and it'll finally be over."

To his credit, the present Z1C, David Moufarrege, has seen the light, and is actively promoting the Internet as a viable means of transport for our product. He has initiated a transformation of the nodelist to include Internet systems. He is also attempting to re-write P4 into P-somethingelse. He is to be applauded for his efforts. I don't agree with him 100%, but at least he's trying.

"Again, the only chance is to pull down Satti and the Elflords, embrace the Internet as our last chance for survival, and encourage people like David Hallford and Dave Hamilton to address the issues of bringing the nodelist to the Internet and into the 20th century. We need to encourage people like Shawn (Tiny) Highfield, to continue to develop Internet tools for BBS systems. We need to encourage the gateways systems like the Northern and Southern Stars, to continue to develop Internet strategies for distribution of our product. We need to seek out people with vision and put them into the positions to make it all happen. Our failure to seek out the right people will be our epitath. Until I see that happen, we'll continue to slide deeper into our coma, and eventually even life support will fail."

Since I wrote that, David Hallford and Dave Hamilton are no longer in Fidonet. Shawn Highfield barely keeps a Fidonet system current and involved. George Peace, a senior Fidonet statesman has pulled down his Fidonet Gateway, and instead of continuing to develop Internet strategies, most of the "Stars" have indulged themselves in bitterness, bickering, and backbiting as they fight over what sysops are left. Other major hubs and distribution points have become complacent or overbearing (there is no shortage of egomaniacs in Fidonet). The end is closer than ever, perilously close, and now we are at the year 2000. That's bound to kill off some more Fidonet nodes as old softwares croak on the date changes.

Doesn't look good, does it?