Ol' WDB's Column

Ol'WDB's Column
wdbonner@pacbell.net

Dear friends, neighbors, and across the ponders, it is with sad regret that I found Frank has resigned, but extremely happy that he gave us Björn Felten as our new editor! Some of the pressure on the editor is not tolerable, and not his responsibility. I am speaking from my own experience.

When one has a good friend in the echoes, and that friend decides to write an article... and that article is completely unacceptable, yet it has always been the trademark of Fidonews to accept anything that runs through the Makenews flawlessly, it should fly... No! Not any more.

Not if the game is to do things and say things that are harmful to Fidonet itself. The years of playing together as simple users, enjoying each others inputs and happily offering our own are now, the last few weeks, in jeopardy.

The fighting and division of Zone 1 are the cause of our last editor to give up. The selfishness of the ones in Z1R12 is the cause of the differences that divide us. They do not believe that P4.07 will ever be changed to suit them, thus they want to throw it away, completely discord it.

They also want to defy the elected Z1C because she will not accept the person they elected as R12C. They did not ask that person if she would perform the job as prescribed by P4.07 and when she did not, and was replaced by somebody who would, they were frantic.

They even started their own "Other-list" to negate the chosen (runner up) assigned RC. The amount of damage they have done to Fidonet in Zone One is unthinkable. All because they don't like P4.07 and don't want to await the changes that are being worked on to become part of the amended policy.

The IC, Ward Dossche, should take a few moments to back up his ZCC with instructions to immediately take precautions that only instruments from the ZC's will be in the weekly nodelist. That will stop the folks who are making other lists and merging them with ours.

If those folks in Z1R12 are allowed to continue their adding new members, and telling them that they are now Fidonet nodes, and if they are not stopped from taking our Zone one node list and making it their own, It may be a very long time before Fidonet gets well and healthy again.

Concerned about this I took the liberty and contacted the Z1C Janis Kracht, as she is the one who has held Zone reins for the past two years and knows the scam better than I do. I got this reply back.

My good friend Warren expresses his opinions on the current issues above, but first off, I have to tell you that I am not so concerned about this nodelist that these people are passing around amongst them selves.

It won't be the first time that an alternate nodelist has been passed around, and I doubt it will be the last. I expect it will be used to convince new nodes in Net 1:229 that they are members of our network.. This will work I suppose, until, like Frank Linhares found out in the Z1C echo this week, that they are not members of our network at all until they are listed in the nodelist that is compiled and distributed by the Z1C. Regarding the R12C: I won't make any excuses for my decision to replace Lesley-Dee Dylan as R12C, and I won't make any excuses about the fact I agreed with Tony Summerfelt that he should continue as R12C until his term is up next year.

I don't have to and NOT because I am Z1C, but because it is quite clear to me that when the RCs of Zone 1 took a survey of the sentiments in Zone 1, I found that most people agree with these actions. This says to me that perhaps in elections at this time for RC, the outgoing RC or bean-counter will canvass those who would run, and ask them the simple question: Have you read and agreed to Policy 4?

Lesley-Dee Dylan loves to post that she was only doing the "bidding of her constituency" in her actions during the week that she was R12C. I say, fine - if what your region is asking you to do is within the bounds of policy 4. She states blatantly that she disbelieves in P4.

It seems to me though, what she was really saying is that she was either unwilling or unable to take responsibility for the job. We all know Policy 4 needs updating. As you read this issue of Fidonews, Dale Shipp, a resident of Region 13, has presented to Ward Dossche the beginnings of this process... and this is exactly how it should be done..

If you have a problem with something, you must work to change it. You cannot simply ignore the problem because, in this instance, there are a great number of SysOps in FidoNet who do follow policy 4 and expect the same of others in the network.

Best of luck to our IC, Ward Dossche and the RCs of Fidonet as they embark upon this task.

Janis Kracht

With that my good friends, I leave you this thought: Today is the very first day you may really be aware of the Fidonet problems, so think it out well before you draw your conclusions, do right for all and you will be happy with all.

Warmest Regards, Ol'wdb