Michiel van der Vlist (2:280/5555) wrote to Steven Horn at 14:58 on 03 Dec 2002:

 MvdV> I have stopped using coffee five years ago...

I am sorry.  I suspect I will stop about 10 minutes before my passing.:-)

 MvdV> The future of communication is in the InterNet but if that is
 MvdV> also the future of FidoNet, I am not so sure about. We may one
 MvdV> day dearly regret having put all our eggs in thy basket of the
 MvdV> InterNet. A medium that puts much more control in the hands of
 MvdV> others than was the case with POTS.

POTS technology is controlled by the telephone companies and not by you or
me.  Over here the telcos are also major players in the Internet but far
from the only ones.  In fact, the decentralization of control of the
Internet may be its salvation and what saves us from the rapaciousness of
the telcos. 

 MvdV> Are you aware that FidoNet technology (POTS) played a role in the
 MvdV> liberation of Eastern Europe at the end of the cold war? A medium
 MvdV> the spies could not intercept?

A sloppy or incompetent lot of spies.  The content of electronic
communications over telephone lines has been used in the United States to
convict several sysops, including Tony Davis who was prominent in Fidonet
some years ago.

 MvdV> I am not a politician. I will not change colour to collect votes.
 MvdV> I am not opposed to ION's. On the contrary, I may very well try
 MvdV> that avenue myself in the not too distant future. At present a
 MvdV> permanent connection to the InterNet is beyond my budget and
 MvdV> doing FidoNet IP over a dial up line is not really attractive
 MvdV> cost wise here. But adsl and cable providers are in heavy
 MvdV> competition right now, so it may not be too long before I too
 MvdV> have a permanent InterNet connection. If and when that happens I
 MvdV> may lose interest in FidoNet. Or not. The future will tell.

Or you may rekindle your interest in Fidonet because you will be able to
contact other systems with a minimum of effort.  And why is a dial up
connection not attractive in the Netherlands?  Is it because you are
charged for each local call or for time for the call?

 MvdV> But, whatever the fuyture brings, I believe giving up downward
 MvdV> compatibility will be the death of FidoNet. And presently there
 MvdV> is a movement to do away with it. I shall continue to oppose that
 MvdV> as long as a substantial part of Fidonet depends on old
 MvdV> technology. If that turns away the voters and I am not elected,
 MvdV> so be it.

Fidonet has turned its back on downward compability before, most notably
through introduction of the St. Louis nodelist.  And does your advocacy of
old technology include the advocacy of 300 baud or 1200 baud modems?
 
One does have to careful because even POTS technolgy has changed since I
was first listed as a node in 1991.

Take care,

Steven Horn (steven_a_horn{at}yahoo.ca)
Moderator, ALASKA_CHAT 
--- timEd/386 1.10.y2k+