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Skriven 2007-08-20 02:30:30 av FidoNews Robot (2:2/2.0)
Ärende: FidoNews 24:34 [02/05]: General Articles
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                        GENERAL ARTICLES
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                      When we were pioneers
                    Richard Webb,  1:116/901

I started putting hands to keyboard composing this article some months
ago and then laid it aside.  Business and other projects demanded my
attention and it became one of those things I'd eventually finish and
submit to fidonews.

As I note the dearth of original content in the snooze other than the
nodelist stats and fidonet software listings most weeks I thought it
was time I put my efforts into polishing it and getting it ready for
submission. The issue I just finished reading was the catalyst for me,
as well as some recent echomail I've seen.

First to fidonews 2433 which I just finished reading. The article on
nodelist discrepancies was quite enlightening as I'd never really
thought about it before. But, before I read that article I read Jeff
Smith's piece on death and his comments about those who complained his
echomail in the fidonews article on the bridge collapse and feeling of
loss was off topic for that echo.

Then I got to contemplating the echomail I'd seen. A moderator
complains to the keeper of the echolist that "you hijacked my echo" to
which the echolist keeper responds that said moderator did not submit
his update in a timely fashion. Not just has this schoolyard bickering
occupied the echo in question but has spilled over into at least two
other echoes. It might be worth saying at this point that the policy
and guidelines for keeping ones echo listed are published and widely
available. If said moderator didn't follow them, then, "you snooze,
you lose."

It would seem to me that the matter of nodelist discrepancies however
is something we should be discussing, and solving. Logistical issues
regarding building and maintaining  our network are far more important
and worth our effort.

For many reasons I recently decided to put a fidonet node up again.
Eventually I plan to make it available via telnet, and not just over a
plain old telephone line via modem as it is now. That tells you
brieflly about me, and now I can get to the point of this article.

Often as I look through the fidonet traffic through my system from the
overnight hours I note the dearth of activity in most of the echoes.
The email link I have through fidonet is much more reliable than my
dial-up internet connection however, and there's always one or two
internet emails contained in it. I'll read over the White House press
releases; stats; and new file announcements in the relevant echoes and
hearken back to the day when my BBS was the connection to the internet
for many in southeastern Iowa circa 1995 to 1997.

I think back to those days when we were often the only connection our
local users had with the internet thanks to uucp, when local users
kept our phone lines busy and there was a lot of traffic. We were the
first introduction to email and online resources for many of these
users, and when they moved on to a local internet service provider
many never called their friendly local fidonet board again. Often when
they did call back a few months later they found the canned voice of
the phone company automation telling them that this number is no
longer in service, or no BBS there to interact with. If they bothered
to call back at all they found when they got no answer that they were
missing something that was as valuable as what they got from their
internet connection.

If you take a moment or two to consider that last statement you'll see
what they're missing. I don't have to tell you, the fidonet sysop who
still is active, what they miss, but for the casual reader of the
snooze and the sysop who's thinking about pulling the plug maybe a
reminder is in order.

They missed that interaction with a human who provided their link.
When you call your internet service provider to discuss a technical
problem chances are good that your call is answered by a person who
may as well have no name or no face so far as you're concerned. ThIs
person may be on the other side of the world, and has to hurry through
your call because others are waiting, and if they take too much time
to answer your questions and help you solve a problem they're not
considered productive enough and will find themselves once again
searching for employment. Often such folk aren't able to provide
assistance beyond the canned script they've been provided.

Contrast that with the user who interacts with his friendly local
sysop who might just be able to suggest a shareware utility to solve a
problem, or the friendly text of another echo participant who can help
you find that needed tool or suggest a technique. Yes I know, there
are friendly people on web boards and in usenet newsgroups too, and
I've interacted with many. Yet web boards are often slow to load with
too much advertising, popups and fraught with dangers from malicious
spyware and other nasties. Contrast that with your friendly fido
system on the web or dialed into on your telephone line running Remote
Access or Maximus etc. Your friendly fido sysop vets his files
available for download and weeds out anything malicious, makes sure
that things run smoothly and the mail moves. eMail from my fidonet
connection is much more reliable than my regular internet service
provider, and this is one of the big players in the game here in the
U.S.

Many of us blazed the trail, and still offer that same spirit of
friendliness and an interest in the avocation of running our systems.
Though our echoes aren't as busy as they were in days gone by and our
phone lines no longer hum with so much traffic that users had to fight
to get in between busy signals we still offer something often missing
from those internet java based chat rooms and usenet newsgroups
plagued with endless flamewars and spam. We offer a sense of
community, some friendly text to help solve a problem, and the ability
to log on, get to what interests you and log off without worrying
about trojans and other malicious software. In fact, on certain boards
I'm sure that the juvenille users can even find some interaction with
others safely, as our sysops make sure that the younger users can't
access anything they shouldn't.

As with many articles, this one is going to ask you to do something.
Don't jump ahead just yet, but consider for a moment what I'm asking
you to do. Next time somebody in your presence complains about that
slow to load web site with the discussion areas all based around the
java and popups remind them that back in the day when the internet was
only available to folks at military research centers and large
universities, tinkers such as Tom Jennings were developing fidonet as
we know it, and their friendly fidonet BBS is still accessible and
available, whether through telnet, their web browser or on a dial-up
connection.

Yes you can put ads up at the local computer shop and get listings in
places such as google, but the users only show up when they know
they're getting something that isn't available somewhere else. So,
talk up your favorite fido board, even if it's your own, at work, at
school, while watching your child's soccer game. Explain the
advantages of offline readers to those without cable modems and dsl.
Talk about the extra measure of safety they can feel when downloading
files from their friendly fidonet board where chances are pretty good
they've been checked for nasties before being offered to the public
for download.


Regards, Richard


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