*** Quoting Russell Tiedt from a message to Steven Horn ***

RT> point them to it, one standard document. With no FTSC at present, we n
RT> somehow inform the "ignorant" of their non-compliance.

RT> We get enough folks using it, we solve a lot of problems. :-)


Agreed.  I didnt write the FAQ to take over or anything, but to help NC's
in ¨R13 who were struggling.  So far, I have not had any arguements with
anything ¨in the primary 'how to list ION's' FAQ and only some notes on how
some dated ¨material or my use of 'hub' was confusing on the second one.

Is it workable for you? I'll repost the primary here since some may not be
able ¨to find it among the flotsam in the other echo.

10 February 2001
Revised 27 March 2001


FAQ on IP Connectivity Nodelistings
Reference:  FTS-5001.001 and FTS-5000.001

Written with assistance from David Hallford,
FTSC Nodelist working group member

Let me first smile and say I'm not re-writing the Fidonet
Technical Standards, but merely trying to assist with
questions I've seen on implementation of them.  Sometimes,
they just aren't as understandable as the Fidonet Technical
Standards Committee intended.

Lets start with the basics.  The nodelist has a specific
format.  You can't vary off that in some aspects or it will
fail to process.  That can cause a node, hub segment, net
segment, region, or even a whole Zone to fail to process
depending on where it fails.  YIKES!! Lets not go there ok?

The first field of interest for a sysop with IP
connectivity, is the 3rd one where the BBSname is
traditionally entered. For an IP node, this is the 'system
address' space.  You list it but once here in the preferred
mode if at all possible.  You can also list the IP address
or an email address if that's preferred.

The problem for most NC's is that it's never really 'clear'
how the samples and flags work in conjunction.  Thats
probably because there are many variations.

Below is a sample for BINKP/TELNET/FTP type entries.

Sample:

,100,ftp.cshenk.com,Virgina_Beach_VA,Carol_Shenkenberger,
(etc).

In that case, ftp.cshenk.com is a 'DNS lookup' address
for the IP number.

If the site has a POTS line as well, list it as normal.  If
they do not, use -Unpublished- for the phone field, mark
them PVT, and enter 300 for the baud rate.  Among the flags,
enter those which are applicable, omitting those that do not
apply.

Sample:

(ION)
,300,CM,IBN,ITN,IFT
(With POTS and IP)
,28800,CM,XA,V32B,V42B,VFC,IBN,ITN,IFT

While I dont see anyone using it, I could also just plug in
the IP address there if it was STATIC.

Sample:

,100,24.0.0.1,Virginia_Beach_VA,Carol_Shenkenberger, (etc)

Although controversial at this time, a static IP address can
also be put in the phone number field by replacing the "."
with a "-" and prefacing it with 000.

Sample:

,100,Shenk's_Express,Virginia_Beach_VA,
Carol_Shenkenberger,000-127-0-0-1,300,

The other flags would be the same.  Note, do NOT use this if
the IP address isnt static!  Even the 'gee seldom changes'
folks should use the DNS version.

If I used just email attachments, I'd enter my email
address instead.

Sample:

,100,cshenk2{at}home.com,Virginia_Beach_VA,Carol_Shenkenberger,
(etc).

Then add the email version IP flags which fit my setup.

Sample:

(ION)
,300,CM,ITX,IUC,IMI
(With POTS and IP)
,28800,CM,XA,V32B,V42B,VFC,ITX,IUC,IMI

Now lets say you do both methods.  FTP or variation, and
email attachment type and want to list both. It can be done.
Be careful on field length as each flag must be 32
characters max including the flag!  The total line must be
157 characters or less.

Sample:

,100,ftp.cshenk.com,Virginia_Beach_VA,Carol_Shenkenberger,
1-757-486-3064,28800,CM,XA,V32B,V42B,IFT,ITX:cshenk2{at}home.com

Note that on the IFT portion I did not need to relist the
address.  If 'ftp.cshenk.com' resolved to an IP address
also capable of BINKP, I would add IBN.  If it also
connected to TELNET, I'd add ITN.  Only ITX (email
attachment TransX) required additional information be
listed.

I hope this helps pull things together for people!
                           xxcarol
------
FAQ 2

----
29 March 2001
Draft1

                     How NOT to list an ION
                             Otherwise
                             known as:

               How to SERIOUSLY MESS UP A SEGMENT

This is the first in a training series for the prospective RC13 who
will as of this writing, be known in 2 days or after a runoff. One
thing every good RC does, is assist NC's.  Sometimes that means
assisting them with nodelisting skills.

It's especially common to need some help when it's an ION who needs
listing, if it's the NC's first. Suprisingly (evil grin) ION's dont
have a better idea about how to list themselves than the NC does,
commonly enough.  That means the NC cant just 'take their word for it'
but needs to check some things.

Check 1:  If they gave you data for the phone field-

          a.  Was it -UnPublished- ?  Good if they have no static IP
              (Special note:  Cant be /0 or HUB keyworded)

          b.  If an 'IP' was it starting with 000- ?
              (NOT 1-000- but 000- !!!!)

          c.  Did it have an email address in the phone field?  Take
              that out if so.  It wont process.

Check 2:  If they use email for passing echomail traffic-

          a.  Did they list it in the 'bbsnamefield' where it belongs
              or attached to one of the flags for email-attachment
              methods?

          b.  If they listed it in the 'sysopnamefield' are they aware
              no software looks for it there and that a prospective
              contact person looking for 'Joe Smith' from a post will
              never figure out from a front end mailer (FrontDoor,
              ARGUS, etc) the address for 'Joe Smith' if the sysop
              name field has 'pookie{at}fun.com' as it's entry?

Check 3:  If they use FTP/TELNET/BINKP etc for passing traffic-

          a.  Did they put the DNS lookup name for their site in the
              bbsname area or attached to one of the flags pertinent
              for that?

          b.  If they use both email-attachment methods and an FTP/etc
              type of method, did they list at least one of them in
              the 'bbsnamefield' (or if static IP involved, in phone
              and bbsnamefield for email address)?

Check 4:  Did they remember to remove the flags for modem types-

          a.  ION's in Z1 are 300 baud

          b.  ION's have no modem flags such as V32,VFC etc. They do
              apply to this situation as no one is dialing you POTS,
              _even if you are dialing your ISP via a POTS line_.

Check 5:  Does it fit the specs-

          a.  I'm calling this a draft as I do not know all the specs.
              one I know is several fields and all 'user flags' are
              limited to 32 characters max including the keyword and
              possible :

          b.  Is the total less than or equal to, what makenl can
              handle?  This is uncertain to me but seems to be 154 or
              so total.  Ward Dossche is the only one I know of who
              ran into an otherwise compliant listing, that hit this
              marker.


Special Note:  There is no 'standard' for what we do, in Z1, when
faced with the ION NC or HUB.

          a.  In R13, internal net routing is used for the HUB
              situation (allowing them to do the same thing but no HUB
              keyword is applied nor will a mailer default route to
              them).

          b.  ION NC's are a serious problem under P4 due to
              requirement to route inbound netmail traffic and
              software that will default to the NC if the node under
              them is 'PVT' and that a new/returning node with POTS
              only cant reach them.


                              xxcarol

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