Text 19989, 186 rader
Skriven 2005-12-26 04:57:54 av FidoNews Robot (2:2/2.0)
Ärende: FidoNews 22:52 [04/09]: General Articles
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GENERAL ARTICLES
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Welcome Back Can Be An Insult
By Frank Vest
I was recently insulted in the Fidonews echo. I was welcomed back.
Since the insult was not intentional, I will overlook it. :) I was
also informed that the readers want to know what I have been doing
since I left the echo some time (years?) ago. I really am flattered. I
didn't know I had so many fans. Perhaps that is the cold breeze I keep
feeling in my undies. :D
Since the readers demand it, I suppose I should write an article. I'm
sure that, according to the accusations and counter accusations, my
article will or will not be published. Ah well..
I don't really remember how long ago I left the Fidonews echo or
stopped writing articles for the Fidonet newsletter, AKA: Fidonews.
The echo and the newsletter are not the same thing, by the way. At any
rate, I shall simply pick a place and start.
The one critical thing that I have been doing is recovering from
cancer. It has been about one year since I was informed that I was in
remission from esophagus cancer. This type of cancer is not an easy
one to fix. Medicine has come a long way, but cancer is still a big
killer. Needless to say, when I was diagnosed, my world kinda
collapsed.
For the curious, I had chemotherapy and radiation treatments. I was
lucky and didn't lose my hair... although it did thin out some. I am
told that not losing one's hair with chemotherapy is a good sign. I
must agree. What do I know anyway? :) I ended up in the hospital a few
times due to reactions from the treatments, but the hospital was the
easy part. I'll tell you straight out, The treatment is about as bad
as the disease. At some points, I would have chosen death and loved
it! Trust me, Hell hath no fury like chemotherapy and radiation!
For the other things I have been doing:
I've been operating my BBS. Even through the cancer treatments, I
kept it going. Sometimes I let things go and left the system down for
a day because I didn't feel like rebooting or fixing a problem, but
it stayed in operation for the most part. I have the greatest Users in
the world. They have stuck with me through it all. I still enjoy
operating the BBS. Few, if any, Users post in the echos, but the games
get played and the regular Users are here every day.. unless they are
on vacation or something. I actually notice when the regulars are not
calling regularly. :)
The BBS now has a web address for message areas. I'll not post it yet
because the BBS computer is not very powerful (a P200 MMX) and the
load from the web server is hard on it. Of course, it's not that hard
to find. :)
I've dropped the dial-up access to my system due to financial
concerns. My wife is planning to retire in a year or less and the
retirement income will not be as much as the full time income. The
dial-up access had to go. It hurt. Feels like the end of an era for
me. I suppose it is. I started with dial-up only and have now left
dial-up for Internet access only.
Prior to my cancer, my wife and I were part of the ground crew for a
locally based hot air balloon. Of course, the cancer stopped that for
a while, but I am now back with the crew and enjoying the experience.
The pilot is a good friend and helped me get to my treatments at
times. For that, I am thankful.
My stepdaughter got married and has moved out of the house. As soon
as my stepson graduates from tech school and moves out, we will
experience the "empty nest" thing. The wife and I are ready for the
quiet and privacy.
FWIW, I have two children of my own from a previous marriage and
between them, I have 5 grandkids. I suppose that makes me an old fart,
but oh well. :)
Oh yeah, before anyone asks, even Björn; No, I don't want to be the
Fidonews Editor again. :))
You all have a great day and keep the articles coming! ;D
Regards,
Frank - The former Fidonews Editor and chief bottle washer.
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Here Echo, Echo, Echo. Nice Echo. :)
By Frank Vest
I wrote this a long time back, prior to my cancer, and never sent it
in. Who knows, it might give something different to fight over in the
Fidonews echo. <Gasp!> Surly not! :D FWIW, I have no real interest in
this topic now, but who knows what it might stir. :)
It seems that the Echolist, Echo Distribution Systems, Echos,
Moderation and other things related to this thing we call Echomail, is
one topic of discussion in the Fidonews echo.... So, let's talk about
this... or not. :)
Q1: Is the Echolist a part of Fidonet??
A1-1. Has the Echolist ever been in the hands of anyone in any FTN
other than Fidonet??
A1-2. Is the Echolist mentioned in Fidonet Policy 4?
A1-3. Is the Echolist used by all of Fidonet?
Q2: Is Echomail governed by Fidonet??
A2-1. Are the echos carried by Fidonet? Exclusively?
A2-2. What does Fidonet Policy have to say about Echomail?
I really don't know. Draw your own conclusions. For my part:
Q1: Is the Echolist a part of Fidonet??
A1-1. Has the Echolist ever been in the hands of anyone in any FTN
other than Fidonet??
Not that I know of.
A1-2. Is the Echolist mentioned in Fidonet Policy 4?
No.
A1-3. Is the Echolist used by all of Fidonet?
No
Q2: Is Echomail governed by Fidonet??
A2-1. Are the echos carried by Fidonet? Exclusively?
Yes and no. In that order.
A2-2. What does Fidonet Policy have to say about Echomail?
A little bit and vague at that. Interpretations abound and little is
agreed to by any individual or group.
To voice my opinion, I believe that the original idea of Echomail was
that it be part of Fidonet, or the FTN that the echo originated/is
carried in. I say this because a FTN address was needed in order to
distribute the echomail in the beginning and Echomail is in essence
just Netmail with an "echotag".
The Elist was/is, IMHO, a method for participants and the management
of the FTN to determine who the Moderator was/is. I say this because I
believe it to be true and due to my belief stated above.
I'm sure that there will opposition to this, but It seems to me that
when Echomail was more under the control of the *Cs, things worked
better. Netmail would make it to the destination with little doubt.
Echomail was handled efficiently and problems were fixed or the
person(s) where the problem originated was dealt with,
Yes, there was a time of CRPs and other things that worked and didn't
work for various reasons. All in all, things worked well and the level
of fighting in echos was less. Spillage of a battle from one echo to
another wasn't as often and other things.
I guess I'm looking for the "good old days". :-)
Ok. There my opinions are. Someone with some balls, write an article
opposing this one. The area to use, for those that can't comprehend,
is Rebuttals. The file extension is .reb and you can send your
rebuttal to the Fidonews Editor.... that is, if you're intelligent
enough to figure out where the Fidonews Editor is and how to contact
him. It's not that hard.
You all let a good day have you.
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