• It seems there are various different ideas floating around:

    From John Dovey@2:460/256 to All on Thu May 27 00:49:08 2021
    Glad to see you, All!

    It seems there are various different ideas floating around:
    1. Are the nodes you are delivering mail to up or not?
    2. What is the traffic load for Echomail between systems
    3. What are the routes that Echomail and Netmail are taking between node?
    4. What is the relative traffic between those nodes.
    5. Are the systems in the Nodelist up and responding to the services they advertise (Bink??? etc)
    6. Is the Nodelist a "List of BBS Systems"? If so, what services do they offer? eg Telnet (port?), SSH (Port?, Rlogin (Port?), USENET News, etc

    It makes sense that some of those things you can monitor by watching the traffic on your own site. As suggested, those sites which don't accept mail are most likely down, obviously, and the volume of traffic on the echomail groups can be measured as it moves through your own system.

    What this doesn't tell you is whether you should even try to deliver mail to (or more importantly via) a particular system. It also makes it a wild assed guess about what traffic load is passing between other nodes, although the seenby and path kludges can give you a little info to inform your guess.

    Relying on your outbound directory as a "monitor" means you are only monitoring the sites you send mail to. I'm guessing that the PING/TRACE flags in the nodelist are sysops giving explict permission to send netmail to them to find out exactly this info.. as well as the path taken. The spec suggests that each system along the route is supposed to report back safe arrival of the mail. I haven't tested this yet so I'm not terribly sure how it works.

    As far as I'm aware, pinging any address on the network is entirely acceptable. Using some sort of ping for the host being reachable shouldn't be at all controversial. Pinging specific ports on the other hand can often be interpreted as potentially hostile if done too aggressively, but no-one who has any computer attached to the internet should be surprised when this happens. Running through the nodelist with echo-ping or the like to indicate that the system is alive would give at least the basic info that the host is up and reachable.

    The further points about what services the host provides. Synchronet already has something built in which figures that out and reports back to Vert with that info. If you look at his Systems list, it is reconfigured every night and goes so far as to do an automatic screen capture of the login screen. Take a squizz at https://synchro.net/sbbslist.html for that output.

    There are many ways to skin a cat. One other wild idea would be for sysops to run a utility on their side which reports their system info on a regular basis (so turn the scanning idea on it's head) sending out possibly UDP packets every 10 minutes to a server which collates them and presents the results. In theory, that could auto generate the nodelist automatically.. then the responsibility and initiative rests on the Sysop so there are no issues of security etc as what is exposed is entirely under the control of the Sysop.

    Monitoring traffic could also be done somehow like this, with the utility on the sysop's machine gathering the statistics and reporting them on a regular basis.

    Of course none of this need be live, but could be as a data packet sent to an echo which is machine readable to be picked up by whoever runs the software that can read these messages.

    I think it's just how we approach it which makes it doable or not. Deciding what the real need is, figuring out what the concerns are etc and addressing those.

    *** [Netmail-to-Telegram address: 474405162@2:460/256]

    ... Tag, you are IT!
    --- tg BBS v0.6.4
    * Origin: Fido by Telegram BBS from Stas Mishchenkov (2:460/256)
  • From John Dovey@4:920/69 to All on Wed May 26 18:14:39 2021
    Re: It seems there are various different ideas floating around:
    By: John Dovey to All on Thu May 27 2021 00:49:08

    Here's another aspect to the "monitoring" where the user agent idea would help. I'm posting this message from a node that is completely unreachable from the net. It sits on my local network and I'm fighting with my ISP to allow me to create a DMZ where incoming traffic is allowed. Be that as it may, it is in the Nodelist with a "HOLD" tag, which in practice means that this node has to call out (poll) for mail and only users inside my network can connect to it. As it happens, I have a couple who sit here and connect to my wifi that I'm teaching to use this stuff.. Monitoring by ping or icmp etc isn't ever going to reach this node, but there is no trouble with me initiating outgoing connections as much as I wish.

    JD

    John
    ===
    * El Gato de Fuego * 4:92/69 (FidoNet) * Pedasi, Panama


    John

    ... I intend to live forever. So far, so good.
    --- SBBSecho 3.14-Win32
    * Origin: El Gato de Fuego - Pedasi, Panama (4:920/69)
  • From August Abolins@2:221/1.58 to John Dovey on Wed May 26 21:44:00 2021
    Hello John Dovey!

    ** On Wednesday 26.05.21 - 18:14, John Dovey wrote to All:

    ...As it happens, I have a couple who sit here and connect
    to my wifi that I'm teaching to use this stuff..

    That's is very cool! Keep us posted on their reactions to their
    discoveries.

    Sometimes I might have a bbs screen visible at my shop, and it
    almost always draws attention and QUESTIONS from people.

    --
    ../|ug

    --- OpenXP 5.0.50
    * Origin: FUTURE4FIDO = https://t.me/joinchat/SV_BQ0XcbSRoP4bt (2:221/1.58)
  • From John Dovey@4:920/1 to August Abolins on Thu May 27 03:12:04 2021
    Re: Monitoring FidoNet
    By: August Abolins to John Dovey on Wed May 26 2021 21:44:00

    ...As it happens, I have a couple who sit here and connect
    to my wifi that I'm teaching to use this stuff..
    That's is very cool! Keep us posted on their reactions to their discoveries.

    Yeah. I'm working to get more people involved. That's kinda what I'm trying to do with the LITRPG Echo. Also, the best solution to a phone client turns out to be a Newsreader (NNTP). It's not ideal, but it works.

    John Dovey
    ===
    BoonDock
    El Gato de Fuego - elgato.synchronetbbs.org 4:92/1 - Pedasi/Panama



    ... My hard disk is full! Maybe I'll try this message section thing.
    --- SBBSecho 3.12-Linux
    * Origin: El Gato de Fuego - elgato.synchronetbbs.org (4:920/1)
  • From Wilfred van Velzen@2:280/464 to John Dovey on Thu May 27 11:34:06 2021
    Hi John,

    On 2021-05-26 18:14:39, you wrote to All:

    I'm posting this message from a node that is completely
    unreachable from the net. It sits on my local network and I'm fighting with my ISP to allow me to create a DMZ where incoming traffic is
    allowed. Be that as it may, it is in the Nodelist with a "HOLD" tag,
    which in practice means that this node has to call out (poll) for mail
    and only users inside my network can connect to it.

    Hold is for temporary situations, that last for a couple of weeks at most, afaik. This node should be marked Pvt in the nodelist.

    Bye, Wilfred.

    --- FMail-lnx64 2.1.0.18-B20170815
    * Origin: FMail development HQ (2:280/464)
  • From Wilfred van Velzen@2:280/464 to John Dovey on Thu May 27 11:48:35 2021
    Hi John,

    On 2021-05-27 00:49:08, you wrote to All:

    6. Is the Nodelist a "List of BBS Systems"?

    No. It's a list of FTN capable nodes.

    If so, what services do they offer? eg Telnet (port?), SSH (Port?,
    Rlogin (Port?), USENET News, etc

    That information doesn't belong in the nodelist.

    Relying on your outbound directory as a "monitor" means you are only monitoring the sites you send mail to. I'm guessing that the
    PING/TRACE flags in the nodelist are sysops giving explict permission
    to send netmail to them to find out exactly this info.. as well as the path taken. The spec suggests that each system along the route is
    supposed to report back safe arrival of the mail.

    Not "each system along the route". Just the ones that have the TRACE flag.

    As far as I'm aware, pinging any address on the network is entirely acceptable. Using some sort of ping for the host being reachable
    shouldn't be at all controversial. Pinging specific ports on the other hand can often be interpreted as potentially hostile if done too aggressively, but no-one who has any computer attached to the internet should be surprised when this happens. Running through the nodelist
    with echo-ping or the like to indicate that the system is alive would
    give at least the basic info that the host is up and reachable.

    If you advertise in the nodelist you for instance accept (CM) incoming binkp connections on the given port. It's acceptable that someone tries to make such a connection to that port on the system. As long as this isn't excessive (like once a week), nobody could object to this.

    The further points about what services the host provides. Synchronet already has something built in which figures that out and reports back to Vert with that info. If you look at his Systems list, it is reconfigured every night and goes so far as to do an automatic screen capture of the login screen. Take a squizz at https://synchro.net/sbbslist.html for that output.

    Apparently Synchronet sysops don't object to this information being published? Or is it optional?

    I think it's just how we approach it which makes it doable or not. Deciding what the real need is, figuring out what the concerns are etc
    and addressing those.

    It's all nice to think about and discuss, but if there isn't anyone to implement it, it's all futile...


    Bye, Wilfred.

    --- FMail-lnx64 2.1.0.18-B20170815
    * Origin: FMail development HQ (2:280/464)
  • From John Dovey@2:460/256 to Wilfred van Velzen on Thu May 27 16:14:49 2021
    Glad to see you, Wilfred!

    Hi John,

    On 2021-05-26 18:14:39, you wrote to All:

    I'm posting this message from a node that is completely
    unreachable from the net. It sits on my local network and I'm fighting
    with my ISP to allow me to create a DMZ where incoming traffic is
    allowed. Be that as it may, it is in the Nodelist with a "HOLD" tag,
    which in practice means that this node has to call out (poll) for mail
    and only users inside my network can connect to it.

    Hold is for temporary situations, that last for a couple of weeks at most, afaik. This node should be marked Pvt in the nodelist.

    Bye, Wilfred.

    No, it?s supposed to be available, it should be available, I was made promises about it?s availability. Told it would be manana. Which is why it?s hold and not private.

    *** [Netmail-to-Telegram address: 474405162@2:460/256]

    ... Tag, you are IT!
    --- tg BBS v0.6.4
    * Origin: Fido by Telegram BBS from Stas Mishchenkov (2:460/256)
  • From August Abolins@1:396/45.29 to John Dovey on Thu May 27 09:22:00 2021
    Hello John Dovey!

    ** On Wednesday 26.05.21 - 18:14, John Dovey wrote to All:

    ..and I'm fighting with my ISP to allow me to create a DMZ
    where incoming traffic is allowed.

    I thought that's how most ISP worked these days. Then your own
    router provides the firewall/isolation required.

    I take a lot of internet access for granted these days.. so I'm
    not versed in the plethora of options that other people apply.

    --
    ../|ug

    --- OpenXP 5.0.50
    * Origin: (1:396/45.29)
  • From John Dovey@4:920/1 to Wilfred van Velzen on Thu May 27 13:42:00 2021
    Re: Re: It seems there are various different ideas floating around:
    By: Wilfred van Velzen to John Dovey on Thu May 27 2021 11:48:35

    6. Is the Nodelist a "List of BBS Systems"?
    No. It's a list of FTN capable nodes.
    True, but the discussion implies that it's being used for more than that, or at least as the basis, so asking the question and taking that attitude into consideration, is merited.

    If so, what services do they offer? eg Telnet (port?), SSH (Port?,
    Rlogin (Port?), USENET News, etc

    That information doesn't belong in the nodelist.
    I never said it did. What I have suggested is that the nodelist itself could be revisited in it's entireity, and this is one reason why.

    as well as the path taken. The spec suggests that each system along
    the route is supposed to report back safe arrival of the mail.
    Not "each system along the route". Just the ones that have the TRACE flag.

    I must have a reading comprehesion problem then, because that's how I read it from the announcement of the change from
    PING and TRACE" to seperation of PING and TRACE. No worries, I'll go and read it again to make sure.
    The further points about what services the host provides. Synchronet
    already has something built in which figures that out and reports
    Apparently Synchronet sysops don't object to this information being published? Or is it optional?
    Both. Which is exactly my point.

    I think it's just how we approach it which makes it doable or not.
    Deciding what the real need is, figuring out what the concerns are
    etc and addressing those.
    It's all nice to think about and discuss, but if there isn't anyone to implement it, it's all futile...

    That's an interesting perspective to hear from someone who is using a plethora of tools envisged, developed and made available by a bunch of dreamers working on their own in their own time. Specifically including almost all the software which runs FidoNet. Not even to mention what my boss way back in the mid 80s had to say to me when I asked "Why are we paying for Unix when we could just install Slackware Linux".. which was pretty much the same patronising, dismissive attitude.

    Ciao
    John

    John Dovey
    ===
    BoonDock
    El Gato de Fuego - elgato.synchronetbbs.org 4:92/1 - Pedasi/Panama



    ... But soft, what light through yonder tagline breaks?
    --- SBBSecho 3.12-Linux
    * Origin: El Gato de Fuego - elgato.synchronetbbs.org (4:920/1)
  • From John Dovey@4:920/1 to August Abolins on Thu May 27 13:43:00 2021
    Re: Monitoring FidoNet
    By: August Abolins to John Dovey on Thu May 27 2021 09:22:00

    ..and I'm fighting with my ISP to allow me to create a DMZ
    where incoming traffic is allowed.
    I thought that's how most ISP worked these days. Then your own
    router provides the firewall/isolation required.

    Or they provide the Router and refuse to provide the password to change the configuration.

    John Dovey
    ===
    BoonDock
    El Gato de Fuego - elgato.synchronetbbs.org 4:92/1 - Pedasi/Panama



    ... Almost everything in life is easier to get into than out of.
    --- SBBSecho 3.12-Linux
    * Origin: El Gato de Fuego - elgato.synchronetbbs.org (4:920/1)
  • From August Abolins@2:221/1.58 to John Dovey on Thu May 27 09:51:00 2021
    Hello John Dovey!

    ** On Thursday 27.05.21 - 13:43, John Dovey wrote to August Abolins:

    I thought that's how most ISP worked these days. Then
    your own router provides the firewall/isolation required.

    Or they provide the Router and refuse to provide the
    password to change the configuration.

    Outch. Yep..I've heard that's what some customers encounter.
    But what's stopping you from installing your own router - as
    long as you know the un/pw login creds for initial connection?
    Or.. is that blocked from you too?
    --
    ../|ug

    --- OpenXP 5.0.50
    * Origin: FUTURE4FIDO = https://t.me/joinchat/SV_BQ0XcbSRoP4bt (2:221/1.58)
  • From Wilfred van Velzen@2:280/464 to John Dovey on Thu May 27 17:38:48 2021
    Hi John,

    On 2021-05-27 16:14:49, you wrote to me:

    I'm posting this message from a node that is completely
    unreachable from the net. It sits on my local network and I'm
    fighting with my ISP to allow me to create a DMZ where incoming
    traffic is allowed. Be that as it may, it is in the Nodelist with a
    "HOLD" tag, which in practice means that this node has to call out
    (poll) for mail and only users inside my network can connect to it.

    Hold is for temporary situations, that last for a couple of weeks at
    most, afaik. This node should be marked Pvt in the nodelist.

    No, it?s supposed to be available, it should be available, I was made promises about it?s availability. Told it would be manana. Which is why it?s hold and not private.

    Well it didn't sounded like your ISP would fix the situation very soon... ;)

    Bye, Wilfred.

    --- FMail-lnx64 2.1.0.18-B20170815
    * Origin: FMail development HQ (2:280/464)
  • From Wilfred van Velzen@2:280/464 to John Dovey on Thu May 27 17:46:25 2021
    Hi John,

    On 2021-05-27 13:42:00, you wrote to me:

    If so, what services do they offer? eg Telnet (port?), SSH (Port?,
    Rlogin (Port?), USENET News, etc

    That information doesn't belong in the nodelist.

    I never said it did. What I have suggested is that the nodelist itself could be revisited in it's entireity, and this is one reason why.

    Ain't gona happen... ;)

    as well as the path taken. The spec suggests that each system along
    the route is supposed to report back safe arrival of the mail.
    Not "each system along the route". Just the ones that have the TRACE
    flag.

    I must have a reading comprehesion problem then, because that's how I read it from the announcement of the change from PING and TRACE" to seperation of PING and TRACE. No worries, I'll go and read it again to make sure.

    Only the systems that fly any of those flags, are expected to respond to PING netmails. Most systems don't fly those flags. They aren't obligated to do anything with those mails, only forward them on their route.

    I think it's just how we approach it which makes it doable or not.
    Deciding what the real need is, figuring out what the concerns are
    etc and addressing those.

    It's all nice to think about and discuss, but if there isn't anyone
    to implement it, it's all futile...

    That's an interesting perspective to hear from someone who is using a plethora of tools envisged, developed and made available by a bunch of dreamers working on their own in their own time. Specifically including almost all the software which runs FidoNet. Not even to mention what my boss way back in the mid 80s had to say to me when I asked "Why are we paying for Unix when we could just install Slackware Linux".. which was pretty much the same patronising, dismissive attitude.

    Just saying, we can have long discussions about nice to have websites with all kinds of interesting information about fidonet on them, but if no one is interested in implementing it...

    Bye, Wilfred.

    --- FMail-lnx64 2.1.0.18-B20170815
    * Origin: FMail development HQ (2:280/464)
  • From John Dovey@2:460/256 to Wilfred van Velzen on Thu May 27 19:08:50 2021
    Glad to see you, Wilfred!

    Hi John,

    On 2021-05-27 16:14:49, you wrote to me:

    I'm posting this message from a node that is completely
    unreachable from the net. It sits on my local network and I'm
    fighting with my ISP to allow me to create a DMZ where incoming
    traffic is allowed. Be that as it may, it is in the Nodelist with a
    "HOLD" tag, which in practice means that this node has to call out
    (poll) for mail and only users inside my network can connect to it.

    Hold is for temporary situations, that last for a couple of weeks at
    most, afaik. This node should be marked Pvt in the nodelist.

    No, it?s supposed to be available, it should be available, I was made
    promises about it?s availability. Told it would be manana. Which is why
    it?s hold and not private.

    Well it didn't sounded like your ISP would fix the situation very soon... ;)

    Bye, Wilfred.

    Yeah.. that's just my struggling to deal with the "Manana" attitude here..

    *** [Netmail-to-Telegram address: 474405162@2:460/256]

    ... Tag, you are IT!
    --- tg BBS v0.6.4
    * Origin: Fido by Telegram BBS from Stas Mishchenkov (2:460/256)
  • From Flavio Bessa@2:460/256 to John Dovey on Thu May 27 19:14:56 2021
    Yeah.. that's just my struggling to deal with the "Manana" attitude here..

    Living in Latin America, you should have been used to that already ;)
    --- tg BBS v0.6.4
    * Origin: Fido by Telegram BBS from Stas Mishchenkov (2:460/256)
  • From John Dovey@2:460/256 to Flavio Bessa on Thu May 27 19:17:28 2021
    Glad to see you, Flavio!

    Living in Latin America, you should have been used to that already ;)

    Used to it yes, not get frustrated? That's a definite no! I'm pretty patient, but when things are promised for a specific date and time, and I make special arrangements for that date and time, the date and time comes and goes with no arrival... then I get frustrated. Then to add insult to injury, when query "Why weren't you here on tuesday at 9 am as promised?" I get the response "Oh, you meant THIS Tuesday.. "

    *** [Netmail-to-Telegram address: 474405162@2:460/256]

    ... Tag, you are IT!
    --- tg BBS v0.6.4
    * Origin: Fido by Telegram BBS from Stas Mishchenkov (2:460/256)
  • From Flavio Bessa@2:460/256 to John Dovey on Thu May 27 19:17:56 2021
    Used to it yes, not get frustrated? That's a definite no! I'm pretty patient, but when things are promised for a specific date and time, and I make special arrangements for that date and time, the date and time comes and goes with no arrival... then I get frustrated. Then to add insult to injury, when query "Why weren't you here on tuesday at 9 am as promised?" I get the response "Oh, you meant THIS Tuesday.. "

    I feel your pain. Sometimes I think I was born in Brazil by mistake
    --- tg BBS v0.6.4
    * Origin: Fido by Telegram BBS from Stas Mishchenkov (2:460/256)
  • From Nick Andre@1:229/426 to John Dovey on Thu May 27 15:20:37 2021
    On 27 May 21 13:42:00, John Dovey said the following to Wilfred Van Velzen:

    That information doesn't belong in the nodelist.
    I never said it did. What I have suggested is that the nodelist itself coul be revisited in it's entireity, and this is one reason why.

    The nodelist is specifically designed for mailers to talk to other mailers.

    There is absolutely no logical reason to use the nodelist for anything but.

    Nick
    --- Renegade vY2Ka2
    * Origin: Joey, do you like movies about gladiators? (1:229/426)
  • From Kurt Weiske@1:218/700 to August Abolins on Thu May 27 07:02:00 2021
    August Abolins wrote to John Dovey <=-

    ..and I'm fighting with my ISP to allow me to create a DMZ
    where incoming traffic is allowed.

    I thought that's how most ISP worked these days. Then your own
    router provides the firewall/isolation required.

    In a typical setup, you have one publicly accessible IP address on your router. Your router uses a private address space for the systems on the
    inside and the router uses Network Address Translation (NAT) to share that
    one public IP address among many systems. The router manages connections and keeps the traffic going to the right system on the inside.

    The router can use port forwarding to pass on inbound traffic on specific ports to a specific system, for example, sending telnet traffic to your BBS.

    Some ISPs use "carrier NAT", which means you get a private address from the carrier, and they do their own NAT upstream from you. It's pretty
    transparent to a web browsing user checking their mail, but it means that
    you can't port-forward, since people on the outside can't get to your
    system.




    ... There are secrets within lies, answers within riddles.
    --- MultiMail/DOS v0.52
    * Origin: http://realitycheckbbs.org | tomorrow's retro tech (1:218/700)
  • From John Dovey@4:920/1 to Nick Andre on Thu May 27 19:53:22 2021
    Re: Re: It seems there are various different
    By: Nick Andre to John Dovey on Thu May 27 2021 15:20:37

    The nodelist is specifically designed for mailers to talk to other mailers.

    To be more specific, the Nodelist was desinged to essentially provide mailers with the phone numbers of nodes and the capabilities of their modems. I'm perfectly aware of that.

    Seeing as this is "Future4Fido" though, one of the fundamental concepts about conceptulising the future is to evaluate the present and considering what we are doing and why, and think about how or why we should do that in the future.

    I am simply suggesting that every aspect needs to be looked at and considered in the light of new directions, new technology an long term future prospects.

    The Nodelist has done sterling serviece thus far, but if I am remembering my hiistory correctly, it was initially a kludge to get around the inherent limitations (about 250 nodes I think) in the first implementation of the FidoNet.

    Rethinking it now makes sense. If the requirement is best served by retaining the nodelist, the so be it.

    Let me suggest however, that most new sysops don't need to ever look at the nodelist, and their boards can run quite well without doing so. They simply need to know what their upstream hub's address is and route everything through that hub not so?

    One of the features of the FTN network is that in spite of everything else, it was designed by an anarchist to work in an anarhic way. Practically, this means if someone sitting in their basement goes and writes a piece of software that does all the things it needs to do, and makes that software available, then those who choose to use it can do so freely. There is no hard and fast reason that messages have to be stored in a particular format or that there is any reason to not to build a new mailer.

    That aside, let's say for the sake of argument that I wanted to revitalise the nodelist. How about setting up a hatch on a regular basis of a small file which contains the basics required for the nodelist (current or redesigned) and sends it up the line. Each system which receives that TIC file uses it to update/insert into their local "nodelist". Downward links are also possible. In that way, you have a distributed database that is self maintaining and no pinging required.. just a small datapacket along with the mail when you poll.

    Please undersstand this is completely off the cuff and is in no way a suggestion as such, just an attempt to think through what is possible and what is useful.

    All the best
    John

    John Dovey
    ===
    BoonDock
    El Gato de Fuego - elgato.synchronetbbs.org 4:92/1 - Pedasi/Panama



    ... A celebrity is a person who is known for his well-knownness.
    --- SBBSecho 3.12-Linux
    * Origin: El Gato de Fuego - elgato.synchronetbbs.org (4:920/1)
  • From Ward Dossche@2:292/854 to John Dovey on Thu May 27 23:39:11 2021
    John,

    A personal observation ...

    Seeing as this is "Future4Fido" though, one of the fundamental concepts about conceptulising the future is to evaluate the present and
    considering what we are doing and why, and think about how or why we
    should do that in the future.

    You use the 'we'-word often ... the fact is 'design by committee' does not work. The only thing that ever brought some change to Fidonet is someone having an idea and developing it him/herself and then some people liking where-after it takes flight.

    You sound a little bit like a consultant ... that's not necessarily meant in a bad way but consultants are in the business of selling wind.

    I can't remember how old this echo is, but for the 15 or more years it has existed there was a lot of wind and zero result. Eventually you'll learn "the why" ... nobody gives a shite.

    \%/@rd

    --- DB4
    * Origin: Hou het veilig, hou vol. Het komt allemaal weer goed (2:292/854)
  • From John Dovey@2:460/256 to Ward Dossche on Fri May 28 00:58:30 2021
    Glad to see you, Ward!

    John,

    A personal observation ...

    Seeing as this is "Future4Fido" though, one of the fundamental concepts
    about conceptulising the future is to evaluate the present and considering what we are doing and why, and think about how or why we should do that in the future.

    You use the 'we'-word often ... the fact is 'design by committee' does not work. The only thing that ever brought some change to Fidonet is someone having an idea and developing it him/herself and then some people liking where-after it takes flight.

    You sound a little bit like a consultant ... that's not necessarily meant in a bad way but consultants are in the business of selling wind.

    I can't remember how old this echo is, but for the 15 or more years it has existed there was a lot of wind and zero result. Eventually you'll learn "the why" ... nobody gives a shite.

    \%/@rd

    Cool. I thought that here we were just tossing around ideas. That's the "we" I'm referring to.. the we is those of us in this echo as a group.
    I completely understand that innovation and change will *actually* come from someone who goes out and makes it happen. Writes the software in this instance, We'll see how that pans out, I like coding. I'll play around with some things, see what works for me. If I come up with something useful, I'll put it out there. If it gets picked up, fantastic. If not, no worries.

    I have some reasons to be involved in all this. They're personal to my situation and goals. I'll do what I need to to achieve my goals. I haven't determined yet exactly what that will eventually involve. Whether using the standard FTN utils or writing new ones will best serve. If not, and I have to write some new tools, then I'll do so. It might mean creating an "othernet" but either way I'll share my experiences and anything I do with the people who are interested in it, and if that's of some value then that's a bonus.

    Speaking of that, one of the core issues I have is one I would expect to be critical to almost everyone involved; that is to grow the user base. The more eyeballs the better generally. That might not be universally the case however, I am learning, with some seemingly wanting to only recreate a nostalgic experience from two or three decades back and resisting any talk of rethinking the paradigm. That's absolutely fine. Change Management *IS* something I got paid a lot of money to consult on. (Together with Knowledge Management; especially making inherent knowledge tacit). In a lot of ways I much preferred my other (parallel) career. When you shoot people they stop talking ?

    *** [Netmail-to-Telegram address: 474405162@2:460/256]

    ... Tag, you are IT!
    --- tg BBS v0.6.4
    * Origin: Fido by Telegram BBS from Stas Mishchenkov (2:460/256)
  • From August Abolins@1:396/45.29 to Kurt Weiske on Thu May 27 18:59:00 2021
    Hello Kurt!

    ** On Thursday 27.05.21 - 07:02, you wrote to me:

    Some ISPs use "carrier NAT", which means you get a private
    address from the carrier, and they do their own NAT
    upstream from you. It's pretty transparent to a web
    browsing user checking their mail, but it means that you
    can't port-forward, since people on the outside can't get
    to your system.

    I think that another term for that is "bridge mode"?

    I know that one. An account with a local ISP was set up that
    way at first and *broke* the ability to access the business pcs
    from home. That was very upsetting.

    --
    ../|ug

    --- OpenXP 5.0.50
    * Origin: (1:396/45.29)
  • From John Dovey@2:460/256 to August Abolins on Fri May 28 02:34:53 2021
    Glad to see you, August!

    Hello Kurt!

    ** On Thursday 27.05.21 - 07:02, you wrote to me:

    Some ISPs use "carrier NAT", which means you get a private
    address from the carrier, and they do their own NAT
    upstream from you. It's pretty transparent to a web
    browsing user checking their mail, but it means that you
    can't port-forward, since people on the outside can't get
    to your system.

    I think that another term for that is "bridge mode"?

    I know that one. An account with a local ISP was set up that
    way at first and broke the ability to access the business pcs
    from home. That was very upsetting.

    --
    ../|ug

    I've finally gotten to talk to the *right* people and have now applied for a static IP. I'm told once I have that I won't have any issues, We'll see.

    *** [Netmail-to-Telegram address: 474405162@2:460/256]

    ... Tag, you are IT!
    --- tg BBS v0.6.4
    * Origin: Fido by Telegram BBS from Stas Mishchenkov (2:460/256)
  • From August Abolins@2:460/256 to John Dovey on Fri May 28 02:37:26 2021
    Hi John,
    ...Greets from my Telegram app!

    I've finally gotten to talk to the *right* people and have now applied for a static IP. I'm told once I have that I won't have any issues, We'll see.

    That was the solution for me/us at the time. The alternative ISP provided a static-ip no questions asked and not additional charge.

    Ciao!
    /|ug (https://t.me/aabolins)

    ... Searchable Help for OXP https://openxp.kolico.ca
    --- Want fido for iOS/MacOS/Android/Win/Linux? Info=https://shrtco.de/tpJ9yV
    * Origin: Fido by Telegram BBS from Stas Mishchenkov (2:460/256)
  • From August Abolins@1:396/45.29 to John Dovey on Fri May 28 18:44:00 2021
    Hello John Dovey!

    ** On Thursday 27.05.21 - 19:17, John Dovey wrote to Flavio Bessa:

    ...Then to add insult to injury, when query "Why weren't
    you here on tuesday at 9 am as promised?" I get the
    response "Oh, you meant THIS Tuesday.. "

    I'll have to remember that one when I agree to a bill payment
    by a certain day in the week to my creditors.
    --
    ../|ug

    --- OpenXP 5.0.50
    * Origin: (1:396/45.29)
  • From John Dovey@4:920/69 to August Abolins on Fri May 28 19:32:35 2021
    Re: Used to it yes, not get frustrated? That's a definite no! I'm pretty
    By: August Abolins to John Dovey on Fri May 28 2021 18:44:00

    response "Oh, you meant THIS Tuesday.. "

    I'll have to remember that one when I agree to a bill payment
    by a certain day in the week to my creditors.

    LOL. I've always been peeved that the rules that apply to us (consumuers/customers) don't apply to the businesses.

    JD

    John
    ===
    * El Gato de Fuego * 4:92/69 (FidoNet) * Pedasi, Panama


    John

    ... The earth is a hollow shell and we live on the inside.
    --- SBBSecho 3.14-Win32
    * Origin: El Gato de Fuego - Pedasi, Panama (4:920/69)
  • From Kurt Weiske@1:218/700 to August Abolins on Fri May 28 06:46:00 2021
    August Abolins wrote to Kurt Weiske <=-

    I think that another term for that is "bridge mode"?

    Bridge mode is when your ISP's provided equipment doesn't do anything except hand over an IP address to you. You plug their equipment into your router, plug your equipment into it and do your own routing/NAT/DMZ.

    The alternative is when the ISP's equipment is set up as a router, and connects a private network on the inside for your equipment, and ISP
    provided IP address(es) on the outside. You plug all of your equipment into the ISP-provided equipment.

    I know that one. An account with a local ISP was set up that
    way at first and *broke* the ability to access the business pcs
    from home. That was very upsetting.

    Yeah, those internet hotspots are usually set up with carrier NAT. I use
    them in my job for remote access to field equipment and we had to pay extra for an accessible IP address.



    ... Repetition is a form of change
    --- MultiMail/DOS v0.52
    * Origin: http://realitycheckbbs.org | tomorrow's retro tech (1:218/700)
  • From Rob Swindell@1:103/705 to Wilfred van Velzen on Fri Jun 4 22:05:26 2021
    Re: Re: It seems there are various different ideas floating around:
    By: Wilfred van Velzen to John Dovey on Thu May 27 2021 11:48 am

    https://synchro.net/sbbslist.html for that output.

    Apparently Synchronet sysops don't object to this information being published? Or is it optional?

    It's optional (and opt-in).

    -Rob
    --
    digital man

    Rush quote #61:
    He's a rebel and a runner, he's a signal turning green .. New World Man
    Norco, CA WX: 60.6øF, 84.0% humidity, 4 mph ESE wind, 0.00 inches rain/24hrs --- SBBSecho 3.14-Linux
    * Origin: Vertrauen - [vert/cvs/bbs].synchro.net (1:103/705)
  • From John Dovey@2:460/256 to Rob Swindell on Sat Jun 5 15:53:07 2021
    Glad to see you, Rob!

    Re: Re: It seems there are various different ideas floating around:
    By: Wilfred van Velzen to John Dovey on Thu May 27 2021 11:48 am

    https://synchro.net/sbbslist.html for that output.

    Apparently Synchronet sysops don't object to this information being published? Or is it optional?

    It's optional (and opt-in).

    -Rob
    --
    digital man

    Rush quote #61:
    He's a rebel and a runner, he's a signal turning green .. New World Man Norco, CA WX: 60.6øF, 84.0% humidity, 4 mph ESE wind, 0.00 inches rain/24hrs

    As is everything. As a SBBS Sysop, each of us get to choose to run it or not, you select which services should or should not be available or even turned on.
    The point of this whole discussion is to shake the tree a little. Let?s see if any of the nuts which fall take root.

    I?ve mentioned it regularly and often in my various interactions on this stuff Rob, but I have only the hugest respect for what you?ve done and the incredibly large impact you?ve made on the whole concept of BBSing. Her with my personal and public (and heartfelt) gratitude.
    JD

    *** [Netmail-to-Telegram address: 474405162@2:460/256]

    ... Tag, you are IT!
    --- tg BBS v0.6.4
    * Origin: Fido by Telegram BBS from Stas Mishchenkov (2:460/256)