Welcome to FOTIs FidoNet Timeline Page. The Timeline is a amalgam of resources, notes, personal notes, and trivia arranged in a timeline. ????.??.??: Advert for Fido BBS, in GIF format. ????.??.??: Advert for Fido BBS, in JPG format. ????.??.??: The Fidonet Doggy at the Keyboard, in GIF format. ????.??.??: The Fidonet Doggy at the Keyboard, in JPG format. 1977.08.??: Ward Christensen wrote MODEM.ASM. 1978.01.06: Ward Christensen, member of a Chicago computer club, pieced together a software program that allowed a Northstar Horizon CP/M personal computer built by his friend, Randy Suess, to answer the telephone using a 110-bps modem. 1978.02.16: The first major microcomputer bulletin board system (BBS), run by Ward Christensen and Randy Seuss, goes online. 1978.??.??: A software program for modulator-demodulator (MODEM) made its first appearance. 1979.06.??: TheLitterBox's Birthday. 1979.??.??: Hayes markets its first modem which becomes the industry standard for modems. 1981.??.??: Hayes releases the Smartmodem 1200 with transfer rates of 1,200 bits per sec. 1982.03.??: Carol Anne Dodd (What is a FidoNet? Discussion of the Growth and Development of an Amateur Computer Network Carleton University 1983.12.01: Fido Software v1.0 is released by Tom Jennings. 1983.12.01: Fido Software v1.0 is released by Tom Jennings. 1983.12.01: Fido Software v1.0 is released by Tom Jennings. 1983.??.??: FidoNet is founded by Tom Jennings. Tom Jennings invents the FidoNet protocols originally exclusively on IBM PCs or compatibles running MS-DOS. Some people involved in the development of FidoNet wanted to use UUCP, but it was thought (erroneously) at the time that the UUCP protocol was proprietary to AT&T, so new protocols were invented. The first Fido transmission protocol was Xmodem with a few simple extensions. The current Fido transfer protocol, ZedZap, is Zmodem with a few simple extensions. 1983.??.??: Opus started life, originally called Chameleon. 1984.01.00: Birth of Fido 1984.05.??: 1st interstate FidoNet message sent by Tom Jennings from San Francisco, CA USA (Fido #1) to John Madrill in Baltimore, MD USA (Fido #2). Tom Jennings wanted to see if it could be done. 1984.05.??: 1st interstate FidoNet message sent by Tom Jennings from San Francisco, CA USA (Fido #1) to John Madrill in Baltimore, MD USA (Fido #2). Tom Jennings wanted to see if it could be done. 1984.05.??: Active Nodes = 00002. (Tom Jennings Fido #1 and John Madrill Fido #2). The nodelist was born. 1984.06.00: Version 7 of Fido. 1984.06.??: The June 1984 Nodelist 1984.06.??: Active Nodes = 00029 1984.06.??: Fido Software v7.00 update released by Tom Jennings. 1984.06.??: Fido Software v7.00 update released by Tom Jennings. 1984.06.??: First nodelist typed on paper by Tom Jennings. 1984.06.??: Non-North American BBS (Fido #33 Rod Smallwood - United Kingdom) listed. 1984.08.00: 30 nodes 1984.08.??: Routing began. 1984.09.??: Active Nodes = 00050 1984.09.??: Ken Kaplan accepted responsibility for administration of FidoNet. 1984.11.09: Active Nodes = 00100 1984.11.23: Active Nodes = 00107 1984.12.04: 1st published Routing List in FidoNews. 1984.12.04: Fidonews 0101 1984.12.04: FidoNews - 1st weekly FidoNet Newsletter published by Tom Jennings. 1984.12.07: Active Nodes = 00123 1984.12.10: Fido v10a 1/2 bugfix released by Tom Jennings. 1984.12.24: 1st intercontinental FidoNet message sent by Jim Filgo from Jakarta, Indonesia (Fido #117) to DECUS Central (Mike Mellinger, Jon Wichman, Ken Kaplan) in St Louis, Missouri USA (Fido #51) 1984.12.24: Fido v10a 1/2 bugfix released by Tom Jennings. 1984.12.28: Active Nodes = 00132 1984.12.??: Nodelist.exe is developed and released by John Warren. 1985.01.04: Active Nodes = 00137 1985.01.04: Non-North American BBS (Fido #348 Conny Jonsson - Sweden) listed. 1985.01.16: Fido bumper stickers ready for sale by Tom Jennings. 1985.01.16: The Fidonet Bumper Sticker GIF, JPG 1985.02.08: Toms Fidonet History #1 1985.02.08: FidoNet History Part 1 released by Tom Jennings. 1985.03.09: Network Changes And Fido Version 10i released by Tom Jennings. 1985.03.??: Fido Software v10i update released by Tom Jennings. NODELIST.EXE released handling up to 700 nodes. 1985.04.00: 1985.04.??: "Because we have already reached our present limit, we have declared amoratorium on new node assignments. You will NOT receive any newNODELIST.NNN until v10h is ready for distribution. At that time, a newNODELIST will be published and distributed. 1985.04.??: Ezra Shapiro & Thom Henderson spoke at the McDonnell Douglas Recreational Computer Club (MDC/RCC) in St. Louis, Missouri. Informal "FidoNet meeting" held with St. Louis SysOps (Ken Kaplan, Ben Baker, Tony Clark, Jon Wichman, Terry Mueller, Jack H.*), Ezra Shapiro & Thom Henderson in Ken Kaplan's living room for 11 hours. 1985.04.??: Moratorium on new node assignments due to nodelist.exe only being able to handle 500 nodes. 1985.04.??: Plans were announced for the decentralizing of control of the net into regions and networks. Ken Kaplin and Ben Baker organized the net into regions. 1985.05.00: 1985.05.09: Fido Software v10j update released by Tom Jennings. 1985.05.09: Fido Software v10j update released by Tom Jennings. 1985.05.09: Network Changes And Fido Version 10i released by Tom Jennings. 1985.05.??: Fido Software v10i update released by Tom Jennings. NODELIST.EXE released handling up to 700 nodes. 1985.05.??: Fido Software v10i update released by Tom Jennings. 1985.05.??: NODELIST.EXE re-released, now handling up to 700 nodes. 1985.06.03: Ben Baker and Ken Kaplin published an article defining the duties of Network and Regional Coordinators 1985.06.03: Nodelist carved up into regions by Ken Kaplan and Ben Baker. 1985.06.12: Fidonet adopted the use of Regions and officialy switches from the old style node numbers to the numbering scheme we use today. 1985.06.12: Start of Multinet Fido. 1985.06.12: Start of Multinet Fido. Fidonet adopted the use of Regional recorders and officialy switches fromthe old style node numbers to the numbering scheme we use today. 1985.07.00: Wynn Wager's History of Echomail 1985.07.??: History of Echomail released by Wynn Wagner. 1985.08.20: Toms Fidonet History #2 1985.08.20: FidoNet History Part 2 released by Tom Jennings. 1985.08.20: FidoNet History Part 2 released by Tom Jennings. 1985.08.??: Birth of SeaDog 1985.08.??: Every Fido had swapped over to the area code, or net/node architecture. 1985.08.??: Every Fido had swapped over to the area code, or net/node architecture. 1985.08.??: SEAdog Advert GIF, JPG 1985.09.00: 1985.09.20: FidoNet History Part 2 released by Tom Jennings. 1985.09.23: Zeta Joins FidoNet - The first non-IBM system to do so, and the 23rd FidoNet node in Australia. 1985.09.30: Bob Hartman announced that the UN*X gateway can send messages into Fidonet as well as to Fidonet from Usenet. The gate's address was 132/100. 1985.10.00: 500 nodes 1985.10.14: Thom Henderson discussed the rational for ARC. The nodelist was being compressed with ARC at this time, but FidoNews was not. 1985.10.21: Thom Henderson suggests adding distribution of FidoNews to duties of RCs. 1985.10.??: Fidonet Policy #1 1985.11.23: Hobbycomputerclub (HCC) holds International SysOp Conference in Utrecht, The Netherlands. HCC paid travel expenses for Tom Jennings to fly from the USA to attend their European club show and to officially open the HCC club-run FidoNet in The Netherlands, consisting of some 15 or 16 Fidos. 1985.?? ??: Opus v0.0 was released. 1985.??.??: Echomail was conceived in Dallas at a Pizza party. 1985.??.??: Tom Henderson became the editor of FidoNews, stating with issue 208. 1986.01.06: FidoNet Policy and Procedures Guide (Policy 1) issued with FidoNews 301. 1986.01.06: First commercial ad in Fidonews. (for Wally!) 1986.01.27: Tom Jennings explains the IFNA proposal. 1986.02.16: Echomail introduced by Jeff Rush. 1986.06.26: Fidonet Policy #2 1986.06.26: FidoNet Policy and Procedures Guide update (Policy 2) issued with FidoNews 325. 1986.08.15: IFNA Formed. IFNA Incorporation Documents #1, #2, #3, IFNA Articles, IFNA Bylaws 1986.08.??: Randy Bush organizes the the FidoNet Technical Standards Committee (FTSC). 1986.09.??: A meeting is held in Chicago to organize an echomail backbone. John Sable became the first ZEC unofficially. David Drexler R19 Coordinator starts an R19 echo conference. 1986.10.00: Four level Heirarchy introduced in FSTC. 1986.10.03: Active Nodes = 00938 1986.10.24: Fidonet Policy #3 1986.10.??: FidoNet Policy and Procedures Guide update (Policy 3) released. 1986.11.04: Ben Baker explains the nature of the net and routing. 1986.12.07: Net 155 Region 12 splits into 4 new nets 620, 626, 630 and 690 in Region 50. 1986.??.??: IFNA is setup as a non-profit coorporation. 1986.??.??: Randy Bush organizes the the FidoNet Technical Standards Committee (FTSC). 1986.??.??: Some European Nodes (Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark, Germany, Great Britain, Holland, Switzerland and Italy). 1986.??.??: St. Louis version of nodelist began. Zone numbers not introduced yet. 1987.01.13: First official Echomail Conference List (Echolist), Issue 1, Number 1, released by Thomas Kenny. 1987.01.17: Deadline for voting on the IFNA proposal. 1987.03.??: First issue of BOARDWATCH MAGAZINE debuts. Boardwatch was a monthly print publication covering the online information services and electronic bulletin board (BBS) industry. 1987.05.12: Zone 4 joins FidoNet. 1987.08.07: First Nodediff, nodediff.219 was created by author of MakeNl, Ben Baker. 1987.08.11: Initial Release of MakeNl v1.00 by Ben Baker. 1987.08.20: 4th International Fidonet con Alexandria Va. 1987.08.24: Committee formed for IFNA BoD elections Bob Morris appointed chairman. 1987.08.??: Ben Baker resigns as Z1 Coordinator, director of IFNA & VP Technical committee. 1987.08.??: Policy 4 proposal. 1987.08.??: ZModem file transfer protocol released by. 1987.10.16: Active Nodes = 01935 1987.10.16: Finister and Sabol's resignation, and TJ's comment. 1987.10.??: David Dodell takes Ben Baker's place as Z1C. 1987.11.14: The first New England SysOp conference University of Mass Amherst. 1987.11.??: Echomail coordinators came into being. Butch Walker becomes first offiical ZEC. 1987.11.??: Mark Grennan resigns as R19C 1987.12.??: Dale Lovell becomes FidoNews editor. 1987.12.??: Thom Henderson resigns as FidoNews editor. Leaves FidoNet to help organize Alternet. 1987.??.??: Nodelist Zone listing first began with 3 new zones added. North America (z1), Europe (z2), Oceania (z3) 1987.??.??: WWIVnet, another PC network, begain. 1988.01.01: Genesis of the International SysOp alliance publication of the first Alternet Nodelist. 1988.01.08: Active Nodes = 02307 1988.01.25: FidoNet Policy and Procedures Guide (Policy 4 proposal) placed in FidoNews 504. 1988.03.??: Fabian Gordon became NC 107. 1988.03.??: Net 322 is formed in MA from nodes in Nets 321 and 101. 1988.04.01: The Good EggNet goes online. 1988.04.??: Steve Jordon resigns as R10C. 1988.06.25: Fidocon II Holland. 1988.06.??: Larry Lewis is appointed Z3C. 1988.08.??: Fidocon 88 Cincinatti Ohio. 1988.08.??: Ken Shackelforz becomes REC18. 1988.09.13: Tom Jennings' Copyright registration Page #1, Page #2 1988.09.??: FidoNet and Alternet agree to jointly establish an official communications gateway. Steve Bonine, IFNA treasurer, assumes responsiblity for all financial transactions. 1988.10.29: 2nd annual New England SysOps Conference Amherst, MA. 1988.10.??: Harry Lee calls for David Dodell's resignation as IC. 1988.11.11: Dan Buda becomes REC 14 after Glen Jackson resigns. 1988.11.??: Butch Walker resigns as Z1EC. 1988.11.??: Rick McWilliams becomes the next ZEC. 1988.12.??: Chris Baker's net bought him a computer system because he was ill. 1988.12.??: Introduction of Groupmail. 1988.??.??: Austria and South Africa are added to nodelist. Afica not made into separate zone yet. 1988.??.??: FidoNet with E-mail and news features was connected to the Internet. 1988.??.??: Internet Relay Chat (IRC) was developed by Jarkko Oikarinen. 1988.??.??: Internet Relay Chat (IRC) was developed by Jarkko Oikarinen. 1988.??.??: The first echomail policy was worked on in 1988. 1989.01.??: Tim Pozar releases Ufgate. 1989.02.01: Fidonet Echo Policy 1 1989.03.24: Fidonet Policy 4.03 1989.03.??: Vince Periello becomes editor of FidoNews. 1989.05.05: Fidonet Policy 4.06 1989.05.19: Eurocon III Eidnhoven The Netherlands. 1989.06.09: Fidonet Policy 4.07 Current! 1989.06.16: Active Nodes = 04722 1989.06.??: Jim Grubs is excommunicated amid great controvery. 1989.07.09: Zone 4 adopts 08000 GMT as ZMH replacing the North American 09000 GMT Schedule. 1989.07.15: 2nd anual Poor Man's Fidocon and Lake party, an R19 thing. 1989.07.??: David Dodell resigns as IC 1989.07.??: Official Public Computer Network Nodelist goes into production. 1989.08.29: Fidocon 89 San Jose CA. 1989.08.??: Matt Whelan becomes IC 1989.09.??: Ed Meloan takes up a collection for Mike Rutledge who lost everything to Hurricane Hugo. 1989.09.??: Zone 5, Africa, joins Fidonet. 1989.10.??: Tony Davis is elected RC19 in the first RC election. 1989.11.15: Fido Software v12r is released by Tom Jennings. 1989.12.??: Tim Pearson writes the International Gateway Policy. 1989.??.??: Fidonet Policy 4 1989.??.??: Zone 4, Latin America. 1990.02.06: Copyright agreement between Tom J and K Kaplan 1990.05.??: George Peace is elected as Z1C. 1990.05.??: John Souvestre becomes the Southern Star. 1990.05.??: Steve Bonine steps down as Z1C. 1990.06.09: First Asian BBS SysOps conference in Taipei. 1990.06.??: Cadnet is up and running. 1990.07.13: Eurocon/Techcon FidoNet conference in Antwerp, Belgium. (2 days) 1990.07.27: REGION 17 Convention (R17Con) at Menucha Resort in Columbia Gorge, Oregon. 1990.07.30: Tom J demands IFNA stop using trademark page #1, and #2 1990.07.??: Eric Van Riper announces Programmers Distribution Network. 1990.07.??: Mark Lynch elected RC11. 1990.07.??: Pablo Kleinman releases WorldPol draft. 1990.08.17: First Searchlight Con in Chicago IL. 1990.08.??: FidoCon '90 FidoNet conference (5 days). 1990.08.??: Saudinet organized. 1990.09.21: '+7' (xUSSR) joins FidoNet in Zone 2. 1990.10.??: George Peace proposes echopol be adopted as a Zone 1 general Echomail Policy. 1990.10.??: Pern Net and Ansi Club are up and running. 1990.10.??: Zone 4 renovates its *C structure. 1990.11.??: The RECs issue a call to replace the Z1EC. 1991.02.01: Active Nodes = 09138 1991.02.??: Creaton of the first Backbone file echo. 1991.04.??: Tony Davis elected Z1EC. 1991.05.??: Net 231 holds its first election chosing Brian Murry as NC. 1991.06.08: 2nd Asian BBS sysops Con Taipei. 1991.07.26: Worldcon 91 including Eurocon V Croydon England (3 days). 1991.08.16: Fidocon 91 Lakewood Co (3 days). 1991.10.01: Zone 1 Backbone Operating Procedures, 1.03 1991.??.??: Nodelist Zone listing added Asia (z6). 1992.01.03: Active Nodes = 12771 1992.01.??: Globelnet online. 1992.01.??: Utilnet established. 1992.03.16: Tom Jennings receives the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) Pioneer Award, held in Washington, D.C., for substantial contributions to the field of computer based communications (5 recepients). 1992.08.13: ONE BBSCON (1st) in Denver, Colorado at the Stouffer Concourse Hotel (4 days). 1992.09.04: Fidocon Dallas (3 days). 1992.09.26: Randy Bush's How Fidonet Tunnels the Internet. 1992.09.??: Carol Anne Dodd's What is Fidonet. 1992.10.??: Net 283 hosts the 3rd R14 convention. 1992.11.??: George Peace resigns as Z1C. 1992.11.??: Michael Schuyler's The Big Dummy's Guide to Fidonet 1992.??.??: Fidonet International Policy 3, aka, WorldPol 1993.01.01: Active Nodes = 18588 1993.01.??: Glen Johnson submits pol4.1c. 1993.02.??: Sylvia Maxwell and Donald Tees become editors of FidoNews. 1993.03.01: Tom says goodbye 1993.03.10: Ward Christensen receives the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) Pioneer Award, held in Burlingame, California, for substantial contributions to the field of computer based communications (5 recepients). 1993.03.12: Proposed Fidonet Policy, Policy 5 Draft 008 1993.03.17: Bob Satti wins round 2 of the ZC election to become Z1C. 1993.04.??: Net 106 assists a member who lost everything to a fire. 1993.05.20: John Johnson 283/657 is elected REC in Region 14. 1993.05.21: The nodelist passes the two million byte mark. 1993.06.18: Net 2800 the Mid_Kansas net is organized. 1993.06.??: Tom Jennings becomes FidoNews editor. 1993.07.02: LuxCon/EuroCon '93 FidoNet conference in Remich, Luxembourg at the Hotel Saint Nicolas (3 days). 1993.08.25: ONE BBSCON (2nd annual) in Colorado Springs, Colorado at the Broadmoor Hotel. (5 days) 1993.08.??: Zone 1 Echopol put up for discussion. 1993.10.08: Zone 1 Backbone Echomail Policy, 3.1 1993.12.??: FRONTDOOR history. A JoHo bash! 1993.??.??: Scott Perrys The Modem Dictionairy 1994.01.07: Active Nodes = 25159 1994.04.??: Jim Ayson's When Fidonet Meets The Internet 1994.05.14: Zone 1 Backbone Operating Procedures, 1.05 Draft 1994.06.06: Zone 1 Backbone Policy. Draft. 1994.08.17: ONE BBSCON (3rd annual) in Atlanta, Georgia. (5 days) 1994.08.??: Dan Buda resigns as Z1EC and calls for an election. 1994.09.01: George Peace replaces Matt Whelan as the new FidoNet International Coordinator. 1994.09.??: Bob Satti Z1C appoints Adrian Walker as interim ZEC pending the outcome of election. 1994.10.28: Bob Satti Z1C appoints Bruce Bodger as Z1EC after election resulted in a tie vote. 1994.??.??: Proposed Fidonet Policy, Policy 4.5 Rev 1 1995.01.06: Active Nodes = 31890 1995.02.??: Two BBSCon held in Dusseldorf, Germany at the hotel Swissotel in Neuss. 1995.06.19: Active Nodes = 35787. Fido reaches its high peak of recorded Nodes. 1995.08.16: ONE BBSCON (4th annual & last) held in Tampa, Florida's Convention Center. (5 days) Last convention held for the BBS community. 1995.09.??: Policy complaint against Steve Winter 1995.12.29: Active Nodes = 34176 1995.??.??: Fido achieves its high point with approximately 34000 Nodes. The Nodelist was over 3 MB. 1996.01.05: Active Nodes = 34038 1997.01.03: Active Nodes = 29027 1998.01.02: Active Nodes = 22929 1998.03.31: Proposed Zone2 Echomail Policy, Zone 2 Proposed Echo Policy 1998.04.04: Proposed R13 Echomail Policy, Region 13 Proposed Echo Policy 1999.01.01: Active Nodes = 18088 1999.10.26: Zone 1 Fidonet Echo Policy 2 Draft. 2000.01.07: Active Nodes = 15408 2001.02.16: Active Nodes = 12366 2001.03.02: Active Nodes = 12352 2001.04.20: Active Nodes = 11089 2001.12.12: TheLitterBox® Dies. 2002.04.20: FOTI outsources to new host