Guest Editorial

The Death of the Dog, Maybe
by Preferred Anonymous

Now, this is just my opinion, so take the shots you desire at it.

We have a dog here named Fido. It's getting old and is, in many ways, not able to keep up with the new dogs in town. Some, many, have abandoned the dog thinking "I don't want to be around for the death.", "The new dogs can do so much more, why mess with this old dog?" and other reasons. Some want to "teach the old dog new tricks". Some just ignore the dog and just let it lay there. Others, thought sad at the sight of this old dog that, while willing, just can't keep up, wonder what they can do. Some just stand around and watch the old dog grow weaker and wait.

Let's look at this a little.

Those that have abandoned the old dog? Well, there's hope that they might discover that they miss this old dog and will come back around.

Teach the old dog new tricks? It's being done. Many, myself included, are discovering that this old dog can still do new tricks. Think about it.

Ignore the dog? Stand around and watch it grow weaker? Wonder what you can do? NOW YOU'VE HIT THE SPOT!

I've seen thoughts that the dog needs to be replaced with a new dog. I've read that if we don't change, we'll die. It's been suggested that the dog learn HTML. Some think that the dog should have a new set of rules. Others want other things. While these ideas are not bad, in my humble opinion, they are not the major problem with this old dog.

!! Do Something !!

Yes! DO SOMETHING!!

This dog is ignored! Pet it!! When you walk by your BBS machine on your way to the new dog, stop and check on the old dog. Pet it for a minute. Read some messages. Play a few of the door games. This old dog needs love just as much now as it did when it was young.

Don't stand around and watch this old dog grow weaker. Feed it! The dog is hungry!! Write a message. Fix that configuration problem. Add a new game.

Take care of this dog. It's got some problems. They can be doctored. Give it some medicine. Put in that program to help this old dog get active with the new dogs.

If you're going to leave this old dog in the basement, all alone, starving for love and food and let it die, maybe, along with being very ashamed of yourself, you should give this old dog to someone that will love it and take care of it. With a little care, food and some medicine, this old dog might just fool you and show you some things.

!! Stop and think !!

Remember when this old dog sat in your living room and gave you back more love than you could ever give it? You'd put the keyboard on your lap and this old dog would show you things that amazed you. Tell you things that you wondered about. Answer questions that you asked. Play games with you. Do tricks for you. It still can... It's up to you.

?? So, What are you saying ??

Just this. Get off your behind and do something! This dog will die if you don't!

A BBS that is ignored is worse than one that leaves. I'd rather see a Node leave Fidonet than see a BBS that is left in the basement, ignored, with half the games messed up and most of the echos outdated because some sorry Sysop is too damn lazy, bored, infatuated with the Internet or whatever, to take a few minutes to fix things. You can argue all you want about what the problems are with BBS and Fidonet, but the BIGGEST problem is the Sysop. Rules, policy, software, who did what, the Internet, *Cs and anything else is pure BS and nothing but an excuse!

We need to get new Nodes in operation? That's true, but, that's easy. Start with Point systems. Make them Nodes. You'll see the Nodelist increase a lot. What will that do for Fidonet? Not much. It'll look good, but it won't get more messages flowing.

We need more BBS in operation. True, but if they are going to be put online and then ignored, why?!? Will that get more people participating in the message areas? No! It'll drive people to the Internet and away from this old dog.

We need new rules, policies or software? Bull! We need Sysops that will take the time to maintain their BBS, run their BBS, be more than just a "Mail Only" system. Interact with people that do call. Talk to people that they meet about their BBS. Mention Fidonet during a conversation with someone about the Internet. Do something!

Think about this. If the Internet was ignored by it's operators like many BBS system are ignored by their operators, what would happen?? Would you use an ISP that was up half the time, never responded to you, didn't want to fix problems or other such?? Hell no! You'd drop them in a minute. Yet you expect a User to call your BBS when half the games don't work, the message areas are messed up and they can't get a response from the Sysop. Good grief!

Final Shot

This old dog will die if Sysops don't do something about it. True, this old dog won't keep up with the new dogs, but it can still give a lot to you. It will love you more than you love it. It will do tricks if you teach it how. It will teach you if you're willing to learn. It will play with you and the new dogs and even teach them some tricks. It will do these things and more if it is cared for, loved, given food and some doctoring. Otherwise, It WILL die. I'm sure this old dog will die in time. All things do, but it will die faster if the Sysops starve it, ignore it and don't take care of it... and you, the Sysops, will have killed it as sure as if you had put a gun to it's head and squeezed the trigger.

I don't really know how this hobby got the name Fidonet and came to be known as Fido, but I have to wonder if it was by accident