__ / \ New-Sysop /|oo \ Orientation * FidoNet * (_| /_) Information 266 _`@/_ \ _ | | \ \\ | (*) | \ )) ______ |__U__| / \// / Fido \ _//|| _\ / (________) (_/(_|(____/ (tm) The purpose of this little treatise is to provide introductory information for persons who are interested in connecting an existing system with FidoNet. Introduction to FidoNet ------------ -- ------- The network is a loose coalition of many different bulletin board systems. "FidoNet" and "Fido" are registered trademarks of Tom Jennings. The network is by no means limited to the Fido software; there are several "FidoNet compatible" systems which interface with the network. By joining, you as a sysop can take advantage of the expertise of thousands of other users. A short history lesson will help in understanding FidoNet. Tom Jennings was in San Francisco, and John Madill was in Baltimore, both working on the Fido BBS software. In the spirit of finding out if it could be done, they decided to add code to the system to support a dialup connection with no human intervention during the wee hours when the sysops were sleeping and the systems were free. This quickly became a useful function, since both systems and both sysops were busy and it was a convenient method of exchanging information. From this chance beginning in May 1984, growth was phenomenal. By August 1984, there were 30 nodes; by September there were 50. By February 1985, there were 160 systems, and a group of sysops in St. Louis had taken over the administration of the list of systems. In June 1985 the network converted to the currently-used two-part addressing scheme to support the growth. As this is written in late 1987, the size of the network has passed 2000 nodes and change continues with a zone-based nodelist to facilitate communication with systems overseas. But we get ahead of the story . . . Network Organization ------- ------------ Today's network is organized into geographical divisions of zones, regions, networks, individual systems, and points. A zone is a very large division; zone 1 is North America, zone 2 is Europe, and zone 3 is Australia, New Zealand, etc. Of more interest are regions, networks, and points. North America is divided into regions. For example, the central region, region 11, includes Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin. Regions are assigned 2-digit numbers to differentiate them from networks. Regions are further broken down into networks. A network usually covers a rather small geographic area, such as a metropolitan area. Seattle is network 343. Individual systems are assigned a node number within the appropriate network or directly within the region if no network covers that specific location. A point is a usually a one-person BBS. There is an analogy with telephone numbers. Think of the zone as the country code, the network as the area code, the node number as the telephone number, and the point as an extension for the individual. This is written as zone:network/node.point. For example, Seattle is covered by network 343, and is in zone 1. The specific BBS which has been assigned node 100 in the Chicago network would be 1:343/100. If there were point systems served by this BBS, they would be 1:343/100.1, 1:343/100.2, and so on. The purposes of this organization are twofold. First, decentralization means that no one person has the task of administering the entire network. Since it is a volunteer and amateur operation and such an assignment would be a big job, it became obvious early in the life of FidoNet that decentralization was necessary to support growth of the network. The second reason for such a hierarchy is to improve the flow of mail. One system in each network takes on the responsibility of Network Coordinator, and that BBS becomes node zero in the network. One of the tasks of the Network Coordinator is to forward incoming mail. Thus, if I have ten messages for different systems in the Seattle network, I need to make not ten telephone calls but only one -- to system 343/0, which is the NC for Seattle. The mailer software automatically routes messages for nodes in network 343 to 115/0, saving me money and making the network work better. The Nodelist and FidoNews --- -------- --- -------- All of this is held together by two documents, each published weekly. One of these is a list of every system in the network, with network/node address, telephone number, and other useful information; this is called the NODELIST. The other document is a newsletter, FidoNews. Both the nodelist changes and FidoNews are distributed using the network; once your system is up and running you will have a source for the most current information. What's in it for Me? ------ -- -- --- -- This is all well and good, but other than the thrill of being a part of all this exciting technology, what good is FidoNet to the average sysop? Through the magic of echomail, your system can have thousands of callers a day, posting messages, asking questions, and receiving answers. This use of the network has eclipsed the original sysop-to-sysop communication, although this is still a strong motivation, especially when used to exchange data and/or programs. More about echomail later. What Must I Do? ---- ---- - -- There are really only two rules to follow to be a part of the network. The first is that your BBS system must be "FidoNet compatible" and able to receive network messages during one hour each day (1:00am to 2:00am PST). The second is that you must not unduly annoy other members of the network, or yourself be unduly annoyed. Like a large family, the members of the network must all learn to live together, if not in perfect harmony, at least working together. A formal policy document exists which states in more detail the expectations of systems as members of the network. Look for POLICY4.ARC located on the Seattle Software Exchange 343/8 file area 13. The Nodelist --- -------- Perhaps the single most-important file on your system is the nodelist. From it, your system obtains the information necessary to communicate with other systems, be they across the street or in another country. The most basic format of nodelist is described by the FidoNet Technical Standards Committee (FTSC) and is generally called the "St. Louis format" nodelist. If you find a file named NODELIST.nnn, where nnn is a number, that is an FTSC nodelist. The number is the date associated with the nodelist; for example, NODELIST.275 was issued on day 275. Nodelists are often ARC'ed; NODELIST.A75 is the ARC'ed version of NODELIST.275. (No, Virginia, all ARC files don't end with .ARC.) FTSC nodelists along with a file called NODEDIFF.nnn (which no longer come from St. Louis) are issued each Friday. The FTSC nodelist contains information on every BBS in the network. Luckily, it is rare that you will need to transmit or receive an entire nodelist. CHANGES are distributed each week in a file named NODEDIFF.nnn. For example, let's say that you are running with NODELIST.267. When the next nodelist is ready, you will obtain a file named NODEDIFF.275. When you run the XLAXNODE program (see below) it will automatically apply the changes in the nodediff file, and as if by magic you will have NODELIST.275 on your system. Virtually all systems process this file into other forms before it is actually used by the BBS software. For further information on how this is applied please consult your software documentation. Routing of Echomail ------- -- -------- It is not unusual for a moderately-sized echomail hub to handle dozens of conferences and thousands of messages a day. This volume would quickly swamp the structure which was set up to handle person-to-person communication in which mail flows into a network through the network coordinator. For this reason, separate structures have been established to expedite the movement of echomail conferences. Echomail coordinators have the responsibility to administer this activity. There are entire systems dedicated to the movement of echomail. These "echomail backbones" serve as repositories for large numbers of conferences and links to the next level down on the hierarchy. The actual topology of echomail is unimportant. The point is simple -- do not route echomail through normal channels! Send a few hundred echomail messages to some network coordinator and find out the real meaning of "annoying behavior". To get started in echomail, first get a working BBS. Get into the network, and get settled. Then talk with your network coordinator, or perhaps by then you will have found out who the echomail coordinator is. You should start by receiving a small number of conferences from the HUB that you will be assigned too. you will also route your traffic (that is, messages your users enter) back to that node. As your knowledge and confidence grows, you can ask for more conferences. Echomail Etiquette -------- --------- There are a few simple things you can do to make echomail more pleasant for everyone. These are common-sense issues but they may not be immediately obvious when you are just getting started with echomail. Do not send person-to-person messages using echomail. If you have a message for Joe Klutz, and no one else is interested in it, then use standard netmail. Even if you mark the message private, every sysop in the conference will pay to receive it! A message between two sysops across town in New York, received on a BBS in California, isn't likely to win any friends. Every conference has a subject; don't get too far off of it. Most conferences have a moderator who will step in and shout if the topic strays too much. Unless you have been involved in a conference and have a good grasp of its scope, be cautious about starting a new topic. When you reply to a message in echomail, mention enough of the previous message so that readers can tell what you are replying to. It is maddening to see someone discussing the merits of a previous message when you can't figure out what the previous message is about. Remember, reply chains in echomail are imperfect at best and some echomail processors don't even attempt to reconstruct reply chains. Also, remember the delay inherent in echomail. If you post a question, don't expect a response tomorrow. If you reply to a question, realize that many others may be replying at the same time, a flood which will pour in over the next several days. Who Pays For All This --------------------- Who pays for all this. I do, you do and other members in the net help defray the phone and hardware costs to bring this all to you and me. Please contact the local echo coordinator for the latest information on this cost. Flames ------ The term "flame" is used within FidoNet to describe a "hot" message which disagrees violently with some issue. Unfortunately, flames often are attacks on persons, not ideas. This can be very annoying, using the term in its "technical" context from FidoNet policy. There is no excuse within FidoNet for personal attacks by one individual upon another individual, yet it happens all the time. When you compose message, remember that the electronic media does not convey facial expressions or voice tones. This can make it very difficult to convey the real meaning of what you are trying to say. Flames are contagious. If you see an attack on something you believe in, or on someone you like, it is human nature to want to answer the challenge. Instead, think about whether you really should reply. If you violently disagree with what you just read, a reply may not be the best idea. . . at least not until you have had time to calm down. It is bad form (although altogether too common) to spend more time in the reply discussing personalities than the real issues. Calm reasoning will win over more support than calling your opponent names. Remember, it's not the COMPUTER you are jousting with; there is a real human being out there, with feelings. Sure, the modem does a great job of insulating you, but don't say anything in an electronic message which you would not say face-to-face. On the other hand, if someone attacks YOUR ideas, don't take it personally. Humor is often the best response to a flame. Remember, everyone has a right to their opinion, and the lack of verbal queues in echomail makes disagreement sound like attack. It is not necessary to respond to each and every message which states an opinion different from your own. There are times when ignoring a message is the right thing to do, even though it is much more difficult than replying to it.