At least, that's what we tell people when they inquire why anyone would spend thousands of dollars on computer equipment and then have it tied up all the time by someone else using it. The real reason anyone is in this hobby is because it's fun :-) (This is an electronic smiley face, looked at sideways. It means the previous was said with a smile, grin, or in a joking manner.)
One of the earliest and best known of the BBS software packages is called Fido. Written by Tom (TJ) Jennings, Fido was up to version six (v6) when, in April, 1984, he conceived of FidoNet. This would be an amateur (as opposed to commercial services such as Compuserve or MCI Mail) electronic mail network. TJ electronically published a technical document describing the features of FidoNet and the capabilities BBS software should have to talk to each other over the phone lines. The motivation for this was to create a more efficient means of sending messages between BBS's without having to call each BBS manually, go through the logon process, and enter the message while online. The longer one is online, at long distance connect rates, the less enamoured one's significant other becomes of this hobby :-)
Based on the feedback he received from users on his BBS and other Fido SysOps, TJ started modifying the Fido software. A test version was installed on one other BBS, and these two systems became FidoNet's first nodes, Fido #1 and #2. In June, 1984, Fido v7, with the capability to automatically exchange electronic mail, was released to the public. By September there were 50 nodes, over 160 in February, 1985, and by July, 1985, there were almost 300 nodes in North America, with a few in London, England and Stockholm, Sweden. The method of assigning node numbers to each individual who asked for one got to be too much for TJ to handle, so local networks were formed to handle the assignment of node numbers based on geographic location, and to handle their portion of the NodeList. At this time, the addressing scheme was changed from one dimensional, node number only, i.e. Fido #1, to a two dimensional network address consisting of net/node, i.e. 115/1.
The NodeList, or member directory, is what ties FidoNet together. It is the means of knowing who is a member of FidoNet and how they can be reached. Each NodeList entry contains the network address, BBS and SysOp name, phone number, hours of operation, and certain capability attributes. This allows the mailer portion of the BBS to take a message that has been entered, look up the address of the recipient in the NodeList, dial the phone, and deliver the message. To keep wrong number connects to a minimum, the NodeList is updated weekly with the updates sent up the chain by each level to finally reach the keeper of the NodeList, the International Coordinator (IC).
The administrative hierarchy which developed by the expansion of FidoNet is the coordinator structure. By January, 1988 there were over 2,000 nodes, and zones were being used to designate major geographical areas. Addressing went three dimensional with a zone:net/node scheme, i.e. 1:115/1. Zone1 is North America, Zone2 is Europe, and Zone3 is Australia and Indonesia. South America became Zone4 in the summer of 1989 and Africa was added as Zone5 in the Spring of 1990. Each zone has a Zone Coordinator (ZC), and the IC is a "first among equals" of the ZC's. Each zone is split into regions with a Regional Coordinator (RC), and the regions further split into nets, each with a Net Coordinator (NC). For example, Region17 is made up of WA, ID, MT, OR, AK, and Western Canada. Spokane is Net346, and currently consists of thirteen nodes, so a typical network address for a Spokane BBS would be 1:346/2.
During this time, the message capabilities also grew and mutated. The original concept of NetMail, or direct BBS to BBS messaging, was rapidly increasing in popularity. Many of the mail messages were involved with conversations on a particular topic, called threads, and were of interest to other SysOps and their users. The need was seen for a way to send just those messages on a particular thread to other BBS's that were interested in that topic. Jeff Rush was a FidoNet SysOp and computer programmer who came up with a solution called EchoMail in July, 1986. He developed a mail processor that would allow certain messages to be "echoed" to any BBS in FidoNet that wanted them. The concept of topic specific conferences, or Echos, became reality by adding an item of information to the beginning of each message along with the To:, From:, and Subject: lines, and this was the Area:, the name of the echo. Thus Area:REGCON (one of the first echos) is for the RC's to discuss items of importance amongst themselves.
By taking messages with the same Area: line and putting them into their own areas, users could call a BBS, check a list of the Echos available, and then join in a conversation with other people around the world on that topic. A user can ask questions, give answers, or spout their opinion to the whole world on the meaning of the whole damn thing, (or, at least to those who bother reading those types of messages.) Some representative echos and their daily traffic are: C_Echo, on the "C" computer programming language, 150 messages; Feminism, concerning feminist issues, 75 messages; Genealogy, for people tracing their family tree, 200 messages; Cooking, consisting mainly of recipes and hints, 120 messages; Writing and SF (Science Fiction), for authors and fans to discuss techniques and tips on getting published, 100 messages each; UFO, discussing sightings and probabilities, 10 messages; Humor, mainly off-color jokes of interest to fourteen year old males, 50 messages; and Tech, an Echo to try to resolve computer problems, 100 messages.
As of July, 1990 there are almost 500 different Echos, with over 7,000 nodes participating. In Spokane, the thirteen nodes carry over 100 different Echos, which contain approximately 3,500 messages each day. This is picked up every night by one system from a main regional mail connection, and the messages are delivered to the nodes according to which Echos they subscribe to, usually determined by the SysOp and users interests, or the theme of the BBS. Some BBS's are technically oriented, with Echos on various computer topics and Echos like Physics or Space, which originates at NASA in Houston, TX; some lean more to the human and ecological side, and carry Echos like World_Hunger and UNITEX from the United Nations in New York, NY, and BioNews and Green, an Echo which originates at the Greenpeace Foundations World Headquarters in Denmark. Quite a few BBS's are also just for fun, games and recreation, carrying Echos like Scuba, Skydiving, Fishing, Boating, Gaming and general chatter Echos like Kids, Teen, and Chatter.
This diversity insures a bright future for FidoNet. More BBS's are added daily, and if an Echo doesn't exist on a topic someone is interested in, they can start one. FidoNet is helping to make the world smaller and better informed, by fostering intercultural communications and a general spirit of friendly cooperation. Now, if the world leaders would just join in....
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Questions or comments about these Web pages? Send e-mail to
dave@reststop.net