>>> All true.. In the way-back-past  I didn't like to use
>>> REPLACE with the pdn files in case someone needs an earlier
>>> version of code but these days.. 

>> no doubt... i feel about this much the same way i feel about
>> the main mail movers supporting automated uplinking, area
>> renaming, and area removal /across the board/... if you have
>> areas that you don't want removed or altered then move them
>> to another grouping that doesn't fall under the "global"
>> maintenence umbrella...

 JK> It gets a little tricky with FDN coordinators and
 JK> individuality...  In other words, if someone is taking the
 JK> time to collect and collate files of a particular type, and
 JK> taking the time to release them, I really think it's up to the
 JK> FDN Coordinator to decide how his FDN is organized.

agreed... and at some point, most of them will remove old, outdated or
duplicate files... one of the annoyances that i've felt with one of the
games distribution areas is that the filenames are seemingly random in
nature... and there's many that are simply newer versions...

G1BCH522.ZIP  4355321 29-Aug-2003
CHAMPIONSHIP CRIBBAGE PRO FOR WINDOWS
5.22 - ShareWare Discover world-class

G1ECH522.ZIP  4345280 05-Sep-2003
CHAMPIONSHIP CRIBBAGE PRO 5.22 -
ShareWare Discover world-class card

so, are they the same or no? at this time, i only have two of these...
numerous others that are "duplicated" out the same way but they
are hard to detect other than by their descriptions... mind you, i'm not
complaining or ranting... just discussing...

i finally resorted to setting allfix to maintain most of my files areas and
letting it delete files that are over X days old... that got me in a bind
in a few instances as i let it handle some areas that it completely wiped
out that i really didn't want it handling in the first place... too late by
the time i noticed it and then it took me forever and a day to recover the
files i had lost if i was able to locate them again...

that's like the old RA FDN that ronnie toth maintained... i never really
got fully tied in to it and have been unable to find any site that carries
it that (still) has the complete library... i would love to locate it/them
and get them on my site for historical purposes, if nothing else... its
possible that i might even be able to restart that FDN... i was asked way
back after ronnie passed but was not really able to at that time...

 JK> If on the other hand, the tags are just taking up space
 JK> I do agree with you.  There's a bit of housecleaning that
 JK> can be done 

yup... but then i also have to stop and look at how some systems may be
configured on the BBS side... i've recently (in the last 5 years) set my
bbs (remoteaccess) up so that all the fido areas are in one group and they
are in alphabetical order by ECHOTAG... this results in them being listed
in sequential numbering order from the users POV... if i add a new area,
all areas after it get new numbers... this really screws up the offline
doors and readers do i have had to disable them... its definitely not as
"pretty" or easy as it should be and could be... adding and
removing areas can be almost total hell unless i just say "to heck
with it" and simply let everything fall where it may with no sense to
the order or grouping...

 JK> If people don't like a particular area, they can easily
 JK> un-link it.  We do try to _not_  duplicate services in each
 JK> of the FDNs on the Filegate.  Once in a while you'll see
 JK> file come through like the conv2028.zip, in BFDS that was
 JK> indeed a dupe of a file released in Utilnet, but there's
 JK> not much duping of files going on, at least.

yeah, i never really had a problem with that... each being a seperate FDN
and all that... i keep them broken out that way on my system except that
all fidonet distributed areas are in one group rather than each FDN being
in its own group... heck of a lot easier to maintain in allfix and the
bbs...

[trim]

>>> I'll be sending out a new one Sat. night/Sunday.

>> maybe i'll wait till you get a new one online and then i'll
>> mess with getting everything in order... i run my system
>> pretty much as automated as i can... when the new filegate.na
>> and .no (or whatever they are called) files are hatched and
>> arrive on my system, my system is already reading them once
>> they are put in place in the fileecho...

 JK> Filebone.na, and Filebone.no were replaced with one file:
 JK> filegate.zxx... just one file.

ahh...

 JK> I'll be doing some trimming .. a shame to see gamesnet and
 JK> fs gone :(  They were really popular..

i didn't realise it but that two examples i gave above? they were from
Gamesnet: CARDS... is FS the flight simulator area? if so, i've not
received any files in there in a long time... long enough for allfix to
have purged it completely ;-(

 JK> I'm still hoping some game-minded individual who knows where
 JK> these file live, will approach me 

maybe MB can pass the torch on to another and let them know where he gets
the files from?

>>>> does filegate also carry the original SDN stuff? where can
>>>> i get an info packet via the internet?

>>> Ah.. SDN.. Ray Kaliss gave up on the SDN long ago.  The child
>>> of that distribution is WIN_FDN where shareware authors (ASP
>>> people) still send me material for that FDN.  Or.. did you
>>> mean SDS :)

>> the info packet i was speaking of is for filegate...

 JK> There's an info packet at http
 JK> ://www.filegate.net/info/fdninfo.zip for those thinking of
 JK> starting an fdn.. and there an FAQ that I wrote, FILEGATE.FAQ
 JK> that answers a lot of questions about distribution, and then,
 JK> there's our policy, FGPOL006.TXT. :)  I believe I include all
 JK> of those files in fginfo.zip.

i'll drop by and get hold of it...

 JK> I've been asked if there is a tutorial for file distribution..
 JK> the closest I've come to that is at
 JK> http://www.filegate.net/zone1/filehelp.htm ... it's by no
 JK> means complete.. but it's a start :(

i hear that... maybe i'll take a look at it, too and see what i can offer...

>> maybe it is/was SDS that i'm thinking of... that's where the
>> RemoteAccess, FrontDoor, and FTSC stuff is carried, IIRC... i
>> still have some of those areas on my system named in that
>> manner...

 JK> Yes, ftsc, fd, and others were in the original (and now
 JK> defunct) SDS FDN.  I still have it listed, and I still have
 JK> all the files (I always hope ).  The ftsc _does_ use that
 JK> file echo to release new files, as you know, but that's the
 JK> only area that is active.  What it needs now are people who
 JK> will commit to releasing new versions of software in that FDN,
 JK> such as perhaps the new Linux Maximus port, etc. etc. :)

right, i knew that the FTSC area is active... i am/was the main link
between Z1 and Z2 for all the FTSC areas but it seems that things have
changed a bit... my system is still attempting to connect with joho's and
mat's system(s) but they are both listed as DOWN in the nodelist ;-( they
were the other end of the link...

)\/(ark