Guest Editorial

Barking up the (wrong) Tree
By Frank Vest
1:124/6308.1

Dear Readers:

Tom Jennings created Fidonet. He designed the Fidonet system around the Bulletin Board Systems that were already in existence. You remember, those Bulletin Board Systems that were/are run by those "cantankerous" Sysops. :-) Tom gave this new thing he created a name. He called it Fidonet. Why he choose that name, I don't know. Maybe there is a reason. The reason for the name, however, isn't the point of this article and I'll "let sleeping dogs lie" on that. :)

Fidonet... What's in a name? Well, the trademark that Tom registered is a drawing of a dog with a diskette in it's mouth. I guess you could say that Fidonet is a dog. To be more descriptive, a female dog. I say female because she can be a real... well... er.. you know. :-)

Since Fido is female, I suppose that Sysops could be considered her puppies. After all, Fido started out as a couple of dogs barking back and forth and grew from there to be thousands of dogs barking back and forth. One thing /is/ certain. Dogs bark and puppies learn to bark. Of course, puppies have to learn what to bark at. How? Maybe the mother teaches them? Maybe other influences are involved? At any rate, these puppies grow into dogs and have more puppies and so on. Some die off and others leave while new ones join. Each generation learns to bark and what to bark at from the previous group of dogs or some other influence.

Many times, dogs bark up trees. They sit, or stand, at the base of trees and bark while looking up into the trees. Maybe they see something that they want or something is up there that they are trying to get down. Maybe there was something there, but it is now gone and they just bark because others are barking. Sometimes they bark at each other. Maybe they are trying to figure out what they are barking at and are asking each other;

"What the heck is up there?"
"Nothing."
"Then why the heck are we all barking up this tree?"
"I wasn't. You were. I was barking up this other tree that has something in it."
"Oh yeah?? That tree is empty too!"
"Are you saying that I'm stupid or something?!? I'll show you!!"

And the fight is on.

Now when the fight is started, the other dogs stop barking and join in the fight. They growl, snap and bite at each other. Each takes it's place on the "proper" sides and while the dog fight rages, whatever was, or might have been, in the trees goes somewhere else and is lost.

So, what was up in those trees that was once so interesting to us dogs? What did we have then that we don't have now? Could it be Nodes? Well, yes. We are low on Nodes. Once Fidonet had tens of thousands of nodes. I'm not sure that is it... at least not totally. Maybe it's technology? Well, we had that then and we have it now. It may not be totally up to the current standards, but we use a lot of fairly high tech stuff. The old technology has and is still being replaced in Fidonet. Sure, we're not the Internet, but we're a hobby, not a business. I'm not sure that is it either... at least not totally.

Again, what was up in those trees?? Could it be "Users"? You remember them, don't you? The people that used to call your BBS to talk to friends, DL a file or two, play a game, ask a question or just chat.

Oh... You don't run a BBS? You've never run a BBS? :(

Then please, read on.

Fidonet started out as a few friends sharing messages between each other. With the advent of echomail, Fidonet grew to tens of thousands of Nodes with ten times that many Users and more. Why did Fidonet have so many Users? I'd venture that for every Node, there was a minimum of ten Users. Why?? Well, those "cantankerous" Sysops ran their Bulletin Boards for their own reasons. Mostly for, and to attract, the Users. Without the Users, why run a BBS? Sysops barked up the trees to get the Users to come down and play.

Dogs like to play. :)

Now, you might believe that the Internet took all the BBS Users. Did it really?? Maybe the Sysops in Fidonet let them leave. When the Internet started coming into the computer scene, it started barking up trees to attract Users and it worked. Users started leaving Fidonet to become a part of this new Internet dog. Some BBSs left because of the Internet and probably because they saw their Users leaving. Why run a BBS if the Users are leaving and new Users are not coming in?

So, why did the Users leave and why didn't/don't they come back? Why didn't they use both the Internet and Fidonet? I'll give one theory that I have.

Until the Internet really started becoming popular, Fidonet was "the only show in town". As such, there was really little need for Sysops or BBSs to "attract" Users. People were getting new computers. Users were telling friends about this "Fidonet" dog that was so great and showing their friends how to use that new computer to connect to this dog. Basically, The Dog barked once and the Users took it from there. In time, the dog stopped barking, certain in the belief that the Users would "keep the ball rolling".

As time went on, This Internet "dog" came along. It started barking up a few trees and, like Fidonet, the Users took it from there. As Users started leaving Fidonet, Nodes started leaving. Now, Fidonet BBS Sysops didn't worry about this too much at first. It didn't matter if a User left your BBS, there were hundreds to replace that one User... But now, suddenly, these Users were leaving and no new ones were coming in to replace them. Of course, this had to be blamed on the Internet. There's no way that the Fidonet BBS Sysops could be at fault.

"Hey you! Who are you and why are you barking up our tree?!?"
"I'm the Internet. "I just wanna bark a few times." "It looks like fun!"
"Ok, It won't matter anyway." Them stupid Users won't come to you because we're better!" "Besides, I too lazy to bark anyway."

<time passes>

"Hey!!" "Where are my Users?!?"
"They went to us."
"Who are you??"
"We're the Internet!"
"Why did they go to you???"
"Because you let them go. You were too lazy and smug to bark for them to stay with or come back to you."

<turns to other Fidonet dogs>

"Hey guys!" This Internet dog says that we let our Users go!"
"Did not!"
"Did to!"
"It was your fault!"
"Was not!"
"Was too!!"
"So what!?!" "What do we do now?!?"
"We need to get more Nodes!"
"Yeah!" "That's it!!" "How???"
"We do it this way!"
"No!" "We do that way!!"
"NO!!" "MY WAY!!"

And the fights start because of this, or other excuses. Of course, all those Fidonet dogs stopped barking up the trees to get the Users down to play. In fact, those Fidonet dogs stopped barking at almost everything. Instead, those Fidonet dogs fought amongst themselves about the loss of Nodes saying; "Who's to blame?" "How do we get new Nodes?" "It's your fault!" and other things, until more Users and Nodes left and went to the Internet.

Now, what about this Internet? How does it keep Users and what does it do?

The Internet and Fidonet aren't that much different in many ways. Both started out as individual systems. The Internet was government and education systems while Fidonet was single computers ran by Sysops. A way to network all these systems together via phone lines came along and things took off from there.

I'm not saying that Fidonet can compete with the Internet. I'm saying that Fidonet has stopped trying to attract Users and is, instead, fighting amongst themselves while ignoring the real reason for their existence. The Internet is always trying to attract new Users.

Tom Jennings said:

"But FidoNet's most basic element is a bulletin board. What FidoNet is, is a set of protocols that lets the bulletin boards communicate. FidoNet started as a bunch of bulletin boards, running my Fido software. FidoNet was added later, to allow point - to - point email between Fido boards."

Take all the *Cs, Policy, geography and whatever away and "FidoNet's most basic element is a bulletin board."

I'd add that the Bulletin Board's most basic element is the User.

It's been argued that with Internet connectivity, telnet and other technology, Fidonet doesn't need geography and forcing geography is costing Fidonet it's Nodes.

Maybe it really doesn't matter if geography is forced or not. What difference does it make if you are forced into a certain Zone, Region or Net? Does that affect your communication? Not really. The Internet connectivity removes that problem. What does it matter if you are in this or that Net or group? The only reason that it matters is for the perceived power it might bring or the political motivation.

At the risk of being rude, You people on all sides of the geography, abuse, power, P4 and other arguments need to get a life!! You fight and fight while the Users that could make Fidonet something all stay in the Internet trees because they can get fights, argument (and spam as a bonus) there already. Nothing new or interesting in connecting to a dial-up or telnet BBS. We lost those Users to the Internet because we didn't move as fast with technology as the Internet. We now have some of that technological ability back, yet we sit and fight over attracting new Nodes instead of barking up the Internet trees and telling the Users that we are here. Many don't even know that we exist because they grew up with the Internet.

I ask you; Does Fidonet need more Nodes?

It's argued that Fidonet needs more Nodes to grow. That shouldn't be real hard. With the ability to connect world wide, Fidonet could make a package that would automatically install at the click of a mouse, fetch a nodelist, parse it and determine a Node number based on what is not currently in use. It then sends an update to the person that handles the Node segment for that Net and a new Node (puppy) is born.

That same program, if un-installed, could send an update to a program that would automatically remove the Node number to allow someone else to receive it later. No *Cs involved, No geography. No Zones, Regions or Nets to worry about. All automatic and able to add Nodes by the dozens. Of course, there would be no Users on these Nodes... Just Nodes that can fight amongst themselves until tired and then leave. No benefit there. :(

Maybe what Fidonet /needs/ is more Users for it to grow.

Bulletin Boards were around /before/ Fidonet. Bulletin Boards were, and are, run by "cantankerous" sysops. Fidonet had to, and does, fit into this BBS thing. So, why did those Sysops run a BBS? Maybe it /was/ because that was the requirement then. Maybe it was so that they could fight amongst themselves back then.... But, maybe... just maybe it was to have and attract Users. To provide a service to Users. To enjoy having a BBS with Users. To see the message bases on their systems being read and written to by Users.

Why did those Sysops join Fidonet? Maybe it was to fight over geography. Maybe it was to complain about *Cs abusing power. Maybe... Just maybe... it was to give a broader message base populated with messages for their Users?

How many Bulletin Boards are in Fidonet today? I don't mean Nodes... I mean Bulletin Boards!! You remember those? The systems that are open to Users via dial-up, telnet or both? Bulletin Boards that offer message areas via Fidonet for Users to read and reply in? We've only mentioned them a few places in this editorial. :)

In years past, the vast majority, maybe up to 99%, of the Nodes in Fidonet had a BBS for Users to connect to. How many are there today? I'd venture the number to be far less. Most are now just Nodes in a "phone book" called the Nodelist. They cry that they have no messages in the echos, Fidonet is dying, it's /your/ fault because of P4, geographical restrictions, *Cs abusing their power, Sysops abusing *Cs and dozens of other excuses.

And they fight... Why??

Maybe, in reality, it's because Sysops in Fidonet don't have anything better to do but fight. Maybe they have forgotten, or never learned, that Fidonet was/is for Bulletin Board Systems to exchange messages written by Users. Maybe it's because they see those bad old Internet trees that have all the users in them and figure "We can't compete with that, let's fight!" Maybe they see the Fidonet trees all but empty and say "What's the use, there's nobody there, /and/ it's your fault, let's fight!" Maybe it's because they don't have a BBS for Users to access and they figure "A BBS isn't needed, we need more Nodes and it's /your/ fault that we aren't getting them. Let's fight!"

Whatever the reason and whatever the justification, there are trees full of Internet Users. Why? Maybe it's because the Internet shows their Users how to access them. Maybe it's because ISPs aren't just Sysops that have a IP address and are trying to get more people to become ISPs Maybe it's because they don't sit around blaming other ISPs for killing the Internet or not trying to attract more people to become ISPs.

If the Internet operated as Fidonet now seems to, the Internet would be dying because they would be so busy fighting and blaming each other for not attracting more people to become ISPs that they would forget about the Users that make the Internet viable in the first place. Fidonet is dying because Nodes, who are the ISPs (FSPs) of Fidonet, are too busy fighting and blaming each other for not attracting more Nodes instead of doing what they should do.... attract new Users... offering those Users "how to" help in connecting to a BBS... and, of course, running a BBS for those Users to connect to!!

Ladies and gentlemen, Fidonet is a "Service Provider". It provides that service via Bulletin Board Systems and Fidonet Points to the Users. You may say that Fidonet can't be compared to the Internet... it's "apples and oranges", but is it really that different??

A "Dynamic IP address" in Fidonet = <user name> @ <some BBS> A "Static IP address" in Fidonet = Zone:Net/Node.Point <Note the Point>

"Static Address pools" for Fidonet Service Providers are the Point addresses. There are 9999 of them for each FSP (Node) in Fidonet. So each FSP can have 9999 Users with added "features" somewhat like the static IP Users have. Plus, each BBS has an unlimited amount of "dynamic" addresses. There's not that much difference.

People! There are telnet Bulletin Board Systems on the Internet. Many are not in Fidonet and they have many Users. There are still some dial-up Bulletin Board Systems and they have Users. Why? Could it be because they are barking at the Internet trees and getting people to come down to play? I think this is one good guess.

With today's technology, a telnet BBS can reach many people. Even dial-up systems can reach many people. Fidonet can send mail for little or no cost via the Internet using such things as FTP, BinkP and more. We have the technology and we use it. Sadly, we use it too often as an excuse to fight amongst ourselves.

Many people don't want to be "providers". Many want to be Users. They don't want the hassle of having to run a computer 24/7, configure programs, fix problems and such. They want access! The ISPs offer that access! Fidonet offered that access at one time. The Internet started much the same as Fidonet. There were computer systems run totally independent of each other much like the BBS systems. They had Sysops that kept them going just like the BBS. A way was created to allow these systems to connect together to exchange files and mail much the same as Fidonet. They grew much the same as Fidonet. They keep growing because they attract Users!... /NOT/ because they attract providers! If you get the Users, that will cause the demand for Providers and they will come!

The Internet saw the trees full of Fidonet Users and started barking at them to "Come play with us" and the Users came. More ISPs came into being to service this exploding mass of Users. Fidonet saw the Users leaving for the Internet trees and, instead of barking at the User to come back or moving to attract new Users, looked at each other saying;

"We need more Nodes."
"It's /your/ fault that we don't have more Nodes!"
"The Internet is taking our Users... it's your fault that we don't have more Nodes!"
"I'm not running a BBS anymore because there are no Users... It's your fault that we don't have more Nodes!"
"It doesn't matter that there are no Bulletin Boards in Fidonet for Users to call... It's your fault that we don't have more Nodes!"

This fighting and arguing isn't why Fidonet is dying. This is just an end result. Maybe of desperation.

Geography abuse, policy abuse, Sysop and *C abuse and all the other reasons given and argued isn't the problem. They are just excuses... sometimes used to justify the desperation.

The real problem is that Fidonet is trying to save itself by adding more Nodes to service Users that it doesn't have because there are fewer and fewer BBSs to service Users.

My friends, Fidonet was built to service the BBS. The BBS was built to service the Users. If a BBS wasn't built to service the Users, it wouldn't allow access by Users. Once upon a time, Fidonet serviced the BBS and the BBS serviced the Users. Now, Fidonet services Fidonet and fights constantly because there are fewer and fewer Nodes in it. Once upon a time, Fidonet Sysops competed over who had, or could have, the most Users on their BBS. They competed /for/ the Users.

Where did those Sysops go?

Many went to the Internet. Some still run a BBS on the Internet. Some still run dial-up. They still have Users as well. Why? Because they attract them. They don't sit around complaining because they were assigned IP address 192.168.0.10 when what they really wanted was 192.168.0.1. They see the Internet trees full of Users and bark at those Users to "Come and play with us". The say "Here I am, I'll show you how to play and what I like to play. You show me how and what you like to play. Let's play. :)"

Do we really need more Nodes in Fidonet??? Maybe what we really need are more Bulletin Boards in Fidonet. Instead of barking and snapping at each other because Fidonet is shrinking in Nodes, we should be running a BBS and trying to attract enough Users to our BBS, and Fidonet, to justify its existence.

Maybe instead of barking at each other about the empty trees, we should be barking at the Internet trees that are full of Users that just might like to "come and play" on a BBS with us if shown how.

My fellow Sysops. I think Fidonet is "barking up the wrong tree". We are trying to attract more Nodes to Fidonet to make it grow. What we really need to do is attract more Users to Fidonet. To do this, we need Bulletin Board Systems that try to attract Users. This would give a reason for existence and, when the Nodes that run Bulletin Boards have more than they can handle, others would start Bulletin Boards to take the load. Then we can attract more Nodes. Nodes that want to run a BBS to attract more Users that attract more Nodes that..... Well, it's supply and demand and a darn good upward movement. :-)

My friends, we don't have the demand for the Fidonet we have now. The Users that could cause the demand for Bulletin Boards that would then attract more Nodes isn't there. We need to work on that first. Then get more Nodes and THEN start to grow again.

We are, in many ways, "barking up the wrong trees". We need to run Bulletin Boards. We need to show people how to access Bulletin Boards, both dial-up and telnet. We need to write programs that make it easy for a User to access a BBS. We need to do this and... We need to bark up those Internet trees and show the Users that we are there, how to play with us and ask them to "Come and play".

Instead, Fidonet tells people on the Internet "Come join us. Install this program, configure that program, learn batch file language, get this device, that utility, and when you've finished learning all this technical stuff, you can become a Node in Fidonet.. We don't want you as a User. We only want you as a Node!

The people are say "Good grief! You want me to do all that just to come play with you in Fidonet?!? You /are/ insane!! I can get access to my ISP in minutes and not have to learn hardly anything!! GO AWAY!"

My God people! What the heck /are/ we doing to Fidonet?!?!?

We need to provide the access to Fidonet that the people want first. Get the Users to the BBS. Provide the BBS for the Users to get to and show them how to get there. Then worry about attracting Nodes. We just might find that we don't have to do much attracting of Nodes at all. If you build it, they will come. :-)

When or if Fidonet dies, there will still be Bulletin Boards out there. They will still have "cantankerous" Sysops that run them for their own reasons. They will still have Users that access them because they had been asked, shown how, tried it and liked it... and Fidonet will be a memory. :'(( We need those Bulletin Boards and those Users far more than they need us or we need more Nodes.

The Fidonet trees were once full of Users while the Internet trees were almost bare. Now the opposite is true... and yet, on the rare occasions when we bark up a tree, it's still that old, almost empty, Fidonet tree. Then we turn to each other and fight because there are fewer Nodes in Fidonet. :(

At one time, Sysops in Fidonet competed for the Users that were available. Now, Fidonet Sysops blame and fight each other over why the Nodelist is shrinking while not caring that there are fewer Bulletin Boards and fewer Users for the Bulletin Boards that do exist. Not knowing or caring that Fidonet was, or is supposed to be, made up of Bulletin Boards and that Bulletin Boards are made up of Users.

We need to get back to what's really needed in Fidonet.

My Friends. What trees are you barking up?