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Ärende: FidoNews 33:34 [04/09]: Guest Editorial
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little or no cost via the Internet using such things as FTP, BinkP and
more. We have the technology and we use it. Sadly, we use it too often
as an excuse to fight amongst ourselves.

 Many people don't want to be "providers". Many want to be Users. They
don't want the hassle of having to run a computer 24/7, configure
programs, fix problems and such. They want access! The ISPs offer that
access! Fidonet offered that access at one time. The Internet started
much the same as Fidonet. There were computer systems run totally
independent of each other much like the BBS systems. They had Sysops
that kept them going just like the BBS. A way was created to allow
these systems to connect together to exchange files and mail much the
same as Fidonet. They grew much the same as Fidonet. They keep growing
because they attract Users!... /NOT/ because they attract providers!
If you get the Users, that will cause the demand for Providers and
they will come!

 The Internet saw the trees full of Fidonet Users and started barking
at them to "Come play with us" and the Users came. More ISPs came into
being to service this exploding mass of Users. Fidonet saw the Users
leaving for the Internet trees and, instead of barking at the User to
come back or moving to attract new Users, looked at each other saying;

"We need more Nodes."
"It's /your/ fault that we don't have more Nodes!"
"The Internet is taking our Users... it's your fault that we don't
have more Nodes!"
"I'm not running a BBS anymore because there are no Users... It's your
fault that we don't have more Nodes!"
"It doesn't matter that there are no Bulletin Boards in Fidonet for
Users to call... It's your fault that we don't have more Nodes!"

 This fighting and arguing isn't why Fidonet is dying. This is just an
end result. Maybe of desperation.

 Geography abuse, policy abuse, Sysop and *C abuse and all the other
reasons given and argued isn't the problem. They are just excuses...
sometimes used to justify the desperation.

 The real problem is that Fidonet is trying to save itself by adding
more Nodes to service Users that it doesn't have because there are
fewer and fewer BBSs to service Users.

 My friends, Fidonet was built to service the BBS. The BBS was built
to service the Users. If a BBS wasn't built to service the Users, it
wouldn't allow access by Users. Once upon a time, Fidonet serviced the
BBS and the BBS serviced the Users. Now, Fidonet services Fidonet and
fights constantly because there are fewer and fewer Nodes in it. Once
upon a time, Fidonet Sysops competed over who had, or could have, the
most Users on their BBS. They competed /for/ the Users.

Where did those Sysops go?

 Many went to the Internet. Some still run a BBS on the Internet. Some
still run dial-up. They still have Users as well. Why? Because they
attract them. They don't sit around complaining because they were
assigned IP address 192.168.0.10 when what they really wanted was
192.168.0.1. They see the Internet trees full of Users and bark at
those Users to "Come and play with us". The say "Here I am, I'll show
you how to play and what I like to play. You show me how and what you
like to play. Let's play. :)"

 Do we really need more Nodes in Fidonet??? Maybe what we really need
are more Bulletin Boards in Fidonet. Instead of barking and snapping
at each other because Fidonet is shrinking in Nodes, we should be
running a BBS and trying to attract enough Users to our BBS, and
Fidonet, to justify its existence.

 Maybe instead of barking at each other about the empty trees, we
should be barking at the Internet trees that are full of Users that
just might like to "come and play" on a BBS with us if shown how.

 My fellow Sysops.  I think Fidonet is "barking up the wrong tree". We
are trying to attract more Nodes to Fidonet to make it grow. What we
really need to do is attract more Users to Fidonet. To do this, we
need Bulletin Board Systems that try to attract Users. This would give
a reason for existence and, when the Nodes that run Bulletin Boards
have more than they can handle, others would start Bulletin Boards to
take the load. Then we can attract more Nodes. Nodes that want to run
a BBS to attract more Users that attract more Nodes that..... Well,
it's supply and demand and a darn good upward movement. :-)

 My friends, we don't have the demand for the Fidonet we have now. The
Users that could cause the demand for Bulletin Boards that would then
attract more Nodes isn't there. We need to work on that first. Then
get more Nodes and THEN start to grow again.
 We are, in many ways, "barking up the wrong trees". We need to run
Bulletin Boards. We need to show people how to access Bulletin Boards,
both dial-up and telnet. We need to write programs that make it easy
for a User to access a BBS. We need to do this and... We need to bark
up those Internet trees and show the Users that we are there, how to
play with us and ask them to "Come and play".

 Instead, Fidonet tells people on the Internet "Come join us. Install
this program, configure that program, learn batch file language, get
this device, that utility, and when you've finished learning all this
technical stuff, you can become a Node in Fidonet.. We don't want you
as a User. We only want you as a Node!

 The people are say "Good grief! You want me to do all that just to
come play with you in Fidonet?!? You /are/ insane!! I can get access
to my ISP in minutes and not have to learn hardly anything!! GO AWAY!"

 My God people! What the heck /are/ we doing to Fidonet?!?!?

 We need to provide the access to Fidonet that the people want first.
Get the Users to the BBS. Provide the BBS for the Users to get to and
show them how to get there. Then worry about attracting Nodes. We just
might find that we don't have to do much attracting of Nodes at all.
If you build it, they will come. :-)

 When or if Fidonet dies, there will still be Bulletin Boards out
there. They will still have "cantankerous" Sysops that run them for
their own reasons. They will still have Users that access them because
they had been asked, shown how, tried it and liked it... and Fidonet
will be a memory. :'((  We need those Bulletin Boards and those Users
far more than they need us or we need more Nodes.

 The Fidonet trees were once full of Users while the Internet trees
were almost bare. Now the opposite is true... and yet, on the rare
occasions when we bark up a tree, it's still that old, almost empty,
Fidonet tree. Then we turn to each other and fight because there are
fewer Nodes in Fidonet. :(

 At one time, Sysops in Fidonet competed for the Users that were
available. Now, Fidonet Sysops blame and fight each other over why the
Nodelist is shrinking while not caring that there are fewer Bulletin
Boards and fewer Users for the Bulletin Boards that do exist. Not
knowing or caring that Fidonet was, or is supposed to be, made up of
Bulletin Boards and that Bulletin Boards are made up of Users.

We need to get back to what's really needed in Fidonet.

My Friends. What trees are you barking up?

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