Hello Everybody,

A question has been asked pertaining to the FIDONEWS echo.
While it may seem confusing to some, given recent actions by
a handful of people, the issue is not confusing at all.

There is only one FIDONEWS echo, as there is only one FIDONEWS
newsletter.  The Fidonews newsletter is published by the entire
Fidonews community, not any one single BBS.  By tradition, the
editor of the FIDONEWS newsletter is also the moderator of the
FIDONEWS echo.  This has been true ever since the creation/inception
of the FIDONEWS.  The first editor/moderator of the FIDONEWS was
Tom Jennings.  The present editor/moderator of the FIDONEWS is Bj”rn
Felten.  How did Bj”rn Felten get to be editor/moderator of the
FIDONEWS?  With the full support of the entire Fidonet community,
the previous editor/moderator (Frank Vest) of the FIDONEWS appointed
Bj”rn Felten to serve as editor/moderator of the FIDONEWS.

A few months ago, some rebels calling themselves the NAB created
a local rag by the name of "fidonews" emanating from a BBS in NY.
The sysop of a BBS in NY declared herself "editor" of that local
rag, and tried to pass it off as being the real thing.  However,
that did not sit very well with the Fidonet community.  Nor did
it sit very well with the real editor/moderator of the FIDONEWS.

A sysop can create any local echo/conference he/she wants, and
call it whatever he/she wants.  One sysop in Texas, who happens
to be a previous editor/moderator of the FIDONEWS, created such
a local echo/conference that became more popular than most echoes
in Fidonet, calling it "The Jungle".  There were participants not
only from Texas, and not only from the USA, but from all over
the world.  However, that individual has since retired from the
world of BBSing.

It's too bad the sysop from NY did not think of doing that.
Create a local rag, calling it "The Lake" or "The Swamp" or some
other name, inviting participants from around the world.  But hey.
There's still time.  :)

--Lee

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