FidoNet Zone 5 Frequently Asked Questions Release 3 September 8, 1993 Compiled by Simon Driver 5:7102/120.1 Section 0 - Introduction ======================== 0.1 Why this FAQ? 0.2 Who should read this and what parts should I read? 0.3 How can I tell if a question is new to this release? Section 1 - General =================== 1.1 What is FidoNet? Section 2 - Users ================= 2.1 What kind of language and what language should I use? 2.2 How do I indicate humour, sarcasm etc. using electronic mail? 2.3 What is a tagline and why is it prohibited? 2.4 What is "high"-ascii and why is it prohibited? 2.5 * How do I use the UUCP (or InterNet) <==> FidoNet gateway? Section 3 - OffLine Mail Readers ================================ 3.1 How do I send Netmail when using readers other than BlueWave? Section 4 - Points ================== 4.1 What is the difference between 2D and 4D point addressing? 4.2 Who is responsible for the mail that I send? 4.3 What rights do I have as a point within FidoNet? Section 5 - Nodes ================= Section 6 - Comms ================= 6.1 - What is 16550 UART and where can I get hold of one? Section 7 - Addendum ==================== 7.1 Acknowledgements 7.2 Contributors 7.3 How do I submit questions/answers/corrections? ========================================================================== Section 0 - Introduction ========================================================================== 0.1 Why this FAQ? As a point and user of FidoNet for over 4 year now, I have come to realise that the same questions are asked over and over again. And, in the true tradition of FAQ lists, I have decided to compile them into a list such that the expense of electronic communications can be limited. A list of contributors may be found near the end of this document in section 7.2. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- 0.2 Who should read this and what parts should I read? There is something in this FAQ for just about every user and member of FidoNet no matter how long you've been a part of the network. If you are new to FidoNet, you should read the entire document stopping only when you get above your proposed station. For example, if you are a user, there is no need to go further than the "users" section and so on. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- 0.3 How can I tell if a question is new to this release? In the index at the top of this document, the following symbols may appear next to the question numbers. ! = Change/Correction in this release. * = New to this release. - = New to the previous release. ========================================================================== Section 1 - General ========================================================================== 1.1 What is FidoNet? FidoNet is an amateur electronic mail network that spans the globe. By amateur, the implication is that no part of the network is operated for profit, although some of the bulletin boards that carry the network may be subscription orientated. In some cases, systems of cost sharing have been implemented to offset the costs of especially long distance phone charges. ========================================================================== Section 2 - Users ========================================================================== 2.1 What kind of language and what language should I use? The official languages of the message areas that are echoed within South Africa only, are English and Afrikaans. As for the international echos, English is the only language that may be spoken. All "dirty" langauge is frowned upon, but if you feel that you must use such language, place '**&^@$#' in the appropriate place. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2.2 How do I indicate humour, sarcasm etc. using electronic mail? There are two commonly used methods of doing this. The first is to use a small graphic, for example ':-)' to indicate a smile or a ';-)' to indicate a wink. There are hundreds of variations and there are compiled lists of them floating around. The other method is indicating your intention within '<...>'s. For example '', or '' mean the same as the two signs above. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2.3 What is a tagline and why is it prohibited? A 'tagline' is a one line witty comment or profound message on the last line of your message. It is prohibited because of it's cost. If there was one on every message (as there have been in the past) this can amount to many thousands of bytes that have to be carried around the country at somebody else's expense. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2.4 What is "high"-ascii and why is it prohibited? So called "high" ascii are all those characters above #127 in the IBM PC character set. They are prohibited because they are non- standard. Many people using FidoNet use other machines, and hence graphics that are drawn by you have no meaning to them. Also note that characters under #32 in the IBM PC character set are also prohibited because some of them are used as control characters. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2.5 How do I use the UUCP (or InterNet) <==> FidoNet gateway? To send mail FROM a Fido-Net <==> UUCP Gateway TO someone on a UUCP (or Internet) site. (ie: From a FidoNet NODE to a UUCP/ Internet site), You must know : 1) The site name of the UUCP (or InterNet) node the user is on. 2) The login name or mail alias (the mailbox name) that the user you want to send to uses there. As an example, let's say you want to send mail to Joe Soap. He has an account on percival and his login there is jsoap. With these bits of information do the following steps : 1) Go to your NetMail area. 2) Enter a message to node 5:7104/2. 3) Address the message to UUCP. 4) As the very FIRST line of your message you must enter a special line that will tell the gateway software how to send the message. This is the To: line and for the example above it would look like this: "To: jsoap@percival.reed" (without the quotes). The actual path is "reed!percival!jsoap" and "To: " is a keyword that MUST be there as shown or the Gateway won't process the message. You could also use the path "jsoap@percival" (without the reed) if you are on a system that handles smart paths. 5:7104/2 is such a system. 5) Enter the rest of your message as you normally would. When you're finished, save it and it will be sent to your friend automatically. An example mail sending session, based on the previous examples, follows: To: uucp of 5:7104/2 Subject: sample message 1: To: jsoap@percival.reed 2: 3: Hi Joe, this is just a sample message to be used 4: as an example. 5: Save your message ... ========================================================================== Section 3 - OffLine Mail Readers ========================================================================== 3.1 How do I send Netmail when using readers other than BlueWave? Firstly the user must make sure that the Sysop has a Netmail conference open for Netmail. Then the user must address his message as follows : The To, From and Subject as per normal. The conference must obviously be the Netmail conference. Then on the first line of the message the following must appear : #>5:7103/1.1@fidonet If a hash sign (#) appears anywhere in the above address, it should be an "at" sign (@). The QMail door has a habit of changing "@"'s to "#"'s. ========================================================================== Section 4 - Points ========================================================================== 4.1 What is the difference between 2D and 4D point addressing? FidoNet nodes are addressed using the following system. [Zone:]Net/Node[.Point] with the addresses within square brackets being optional. Early mail processors could handle only the Net and Node parts of the address, and points off them had to have a fakenet or privatenet address. The node receiving the point's mail would re-map it to another 2D address. 4D addressing does away with this re-mapping and points can be addressed directly. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.2 Who is responsible for the mail that I send? Your "BOSS" Node is reponsible for all the mail traffic that passes through his system. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.3 What rights do I have as a point within FidoNet? As a point, your status within FidoNet is that of user. As such, you are not a member and you have no rights within FidoNet's policy documents. However, as a point, you do have access to certain echos restricted to points and above and your voice is heard more by the nodes. ========================================================================== Section 5 - Nodes ========================================================================== ========================================================================== Section 6 - Comms ========================================================================== 6.1 What is 16550 UART and where can I get hold of one? A 16550 is a FIFOed version of the 8250 family of UART chips and is essential for high speed serial data transfer in a multi-tasking environment. They are available from the following places MHO Electronics (011) 452-4181 ========================================================================== Section 7 - Addendum ========================================================================== 7.1 Acknowledgements "Fido" and "FidoNet" are U.S. registered trademarks of Tom Jennings, Box 77731, San Francisco CA 94107, USA. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7.2 Contributors 3.1 Rob Fisher 5:7103/1.1 6.1 Richard Ellerbrock 5:7101/22.15 Henk Wolsink 5:7104/2 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7.3 How do I submit questions/answers/corrections? If you feel that an FAQ is incorrect or if you wish to add your FAQ to this list, please send them to me for inclusion. Use the following format. ---------- Question Answer/Changes ---------- If the number field is included, I will assume that it is a correction. If you make more than a significant contribution to a question, your name will be listed in the contributers section (7.2) along with the question number that you contributed to and your fidonet address. Note that I reserve the right to modify your question/answer.