!! FIDONET !! Your gateway to the World! This bulletin is intended as a VERY brief introduction to the FidoNet Bulletin Board system, of which we are a part. There is no one complete document to help the new user, and even a BBS SYSOP is constantly learning about the system we participate in. Briefly - FidoNet is an international network of BBS's around the world. It started back around 1984, when a few programmers with stand-alone PCs wanted to have their BBS's automatically exchange messages, in the early hours of the morning, totally unattended. It has now grown to the point where (in Nov 1993) we have over 25 000 "nodes" in the nodelist. This consists of a large number of proper BBS's, as well as "nodes" - or sub-systems hanging off the main system. The world is broken into areas known as Zones as follows : Zones : 1 = USA, 2 = Europe (includes parts of USSR), 3 = Australia, 4 = South America, 5 = Africa, 6 = Asia Within each zone, we have regions, within them, we have nets. For each area, we have coordinators to control the entire operation. Basically the breakdown can be viewed as follows: Zones : Continents Regions : Countries or States Nets : Provinces or Counties Nodes : Individual Systems within a Net For Zone 5, Region 71, Net 01 (Actually Net 7101), Node 1 the address would appear as follows: 5:7101/1 For Africa the structure is broken down as follows: Zone 5 (Our Zone) : FidoNet Coordinator (Z5C or ZC) = Henk Wolsink Echomail Coordinator (Z5EC or ZEC) = Richard K Peer Region 71 (Our Region In Zone 5) : Region Coordinator (R71C or RC) = Niel Uys Region Echomail Coordinator (R71EC or REC) = Santie VandenPlas Nets : 7101 = Southern Tvl - Clive Jones, Alberton nobody Net7101 Echo Coordinator (*) 7102 = Western Cape - Sean White, Cape Town Joe Rinck Net7102 Echo Coordinator 7103 = Natal, Durban - Richard Pillay, Durban nobody Net7103 Echo Coordinator (*) 7104 = Eastern Cape - Bryan Haefele, Port Elizabeth Henk Wolsink Net7104 Echo Coordinator 7105 = Free State - Pierre du Preez, Welkom nobody Net7105 Echo Coordinator (*) 7106 = Northern Tvl - Richard Peer, Pretoria Pat Verner Net7106 Echo Coordinator 7107 = Western Tvl - Allan Marillier, Roodepoort Malcolm Kleu Net7107 Echo Coordinator (*) Indicates a changed network and the new co-ordinator is not known. What this means, is that we are part of an international network, and capable of communicating with anyone else within the network, anywhere in the world. This is done by using message areas, of which there are many. Most BBS's only have a small subset of what actually is available - but you can ask your sysop for a list, and request something not normally available. Requests will always be considered, and will be implemented if it is feasible to do so, and if there is enough demand for it. It is obviously not practical, for example, to bring in the international Microsoft Windows echo, with around 800 new messages daily if only one user is interested. Many bulletin boards allow a system of communication known as "points". This is becoming less popular, but the term will crop up, hence it's inclusion here. More and more systems are using programs called Off Line Message Readers, where you the user will configure which message areas interest you. These will then be compressed at connect time, and you can download them, to read later when you are off-line. This results in lower phone bills, as connect time is dramatically reduced. Some available Off line mail readers are : QWK compatible - using the offline readers SLMR - Silly Little Mail Reader EZMAIL XRS - Xpress Response System Blue Wave Silver Xpress MegaMail Many bulletin boards charge a subscription. The reason for this, is that even though they are usually run as a hobby, it obviously costs a lot of money - in the initial hardware setup - a PC and a modem, but also the ongoing costs of paying a monthly phone account. Remember - there is no cost to you the user at any time, other than the cost of the call, and possibly a subscription charge. (Refer to your board for more details). Sending messages anywhere in the country, costs the bulletin board sysops, and NOT you. Sending private NetMail to other countries is usually chargable, as that becomes expensive. Feel free to discuss this with any sysop for more details. There are a few more points that need to be made, with regard to the use of the message areas, also known as "echoes" - as they are echoed around the country, or world. 1) Never type a message all in upper case. Use mixed case, as you see here. In the BBS world, upper case is taken as shouting, and will likely cause a reprimand at some time. 2) There are a number of echoes, each related to a specific topic. In charge of each of these, we have a moderator, whose job it is to ensure that users stay within the topic of discussion, and to ensure that unacceptable behaviour does not carry on. They may at times reprimand you, or ask nicely (or otherwise) that you move a discussion to another echo. This sort of request MUST be obeyed. As an example - one of the echoes, Technical, more correctly known as LTECH is for serious discussions about literally any technical activity - be it repairing your car, radio, computer or what-have-you. Don't start a discussion there about programming in BASIC - you will quickly, and sometimes rather abruptly, be asked to move it to the correct area. 3) Many BBS systems can't recover too well from people simply hanging up the phone when they complete a call. This sort of activity, sometimes unavoidable, is generally considered to be extremely bad manners, and will usually result in your receiving a message from the SYSOP concerned, asking that you don't do this. Exit properly, using the Goodbye, Log out, or whatever option, and WAIT for the BBS/comms software to tell you "NO CARRIER", or "CARRIER LOST". If it takes an unreasonable period of time - say 1 or 2 minutes - you can safely assume there is a problem and hang up manually, by powering the modem off then on again, or by typing Alt H, Alt X etc. depending on your comms software. 4) When reading, and replying to messages, bear one very important thing in mind. A spoken word has tone - you can hear if the speaker is serious, or joking, angry, or friendly. Always assume the best - assume anything said is meant in a friendly way. Likewise, when replying - read your message before you finally commit yourself to uploading/entering it. Think over what you've said, and what the original message said. If you enter a message that would upset/annoy you if YOU received it - then don't send it. If you really feel the need to "flame" or abuse someone, it must be done through private NetMail - Available on any FidoNet active BBS. Remember the rules bulletin as well - please read that, but most importantly - remember that piracy, swearing, and any discussions about any illegal activity are NOT allowed. 5) Ask questions ... and keep asking until you know what goes on - and most of all - don't be shy, don't be discouraged. 6) a. Thou shalt not excessively annoy others. b. Thou shalt not be too easily annoyed. (These are the basis of all FidoNet Rules) Please, don't be discouraged by any of the guidelines shown above - we welcome new users. We all made mistakes when we were new, and most of us still do. Also don't feel embarrassed to ask questions, or even to reply to other messages. The old saying is VERY true - the only stupid question, is the one that isn't asked. Revision History ---------------- Created by Allan Marillier Edited by Blake Turner (16/05/92) Revision by Graeme Slogrove (27/07/93) for new nets. Revision by Graeme Slogrove (25/11/93) updated echo structure (Mimi Milstein) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This file may be freely distributed to all BBS's and users of BBS's. If any change is done to it, it must be noted in the revision section of the file. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------