Steven wrote to Bob at 19:43 15 Sep:

 SH> Sorry.  It's not for sale.:-)

SH>  SH> "... volunteers.  From its early beginning in 1984 as a
network of a
SH>  SH> few friends in the United States swapping messages back and 
SH>  SH> forth, it has developed into a global network."

 BS> How's this:

 BS> ... volunteers.  Beginning with a few friends exchanging messages
 BS> in 1984, FidoNet has grown into a global network consisting of
 BS> thousands of nodes. 

 SH> That loses the American origin of the network and continues to use
 SH> a figure which may become inaccurate.  But I could live with this:

 SH> "Beginning with a few friends in the United States exchanging
 SH> messages in 1984, FidoNet has grown into a global network."


Grammatical change... and voice change...

"Fidonet began in 1984 with a few friends in the United States
exchanging messages and has grown into a global network."

All of the former suggestions were written in passive voice. I much prefer
the active voice.

Also, the adjective phrase "in 1984" belongs adjacent to the
word(s) it is modifying.

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