michael kleerbaum (2:2432/203) wrote to Alle at 22:35 on 24 Aug 2006:

 mk> A quick glance in the administrative echo nodes.024 has shown me
 mk> that the only thing still being discussed there is the exact time
 mk> of death of FidoNet in R24. And they don't even realize it!

 mk> Nothing has been done on the topic I personally find important,
 mk> namely how to prevent exporting of Fido messages into the Internet
 mk> to ensure they aren't found by Google and the like. Always the same
 mk> drivel, bull, junk and ego massaging together with childish threats
 mk> from both sides.

Why do you think Fidonet material should be kept secret or at least be made
unavailable to Google? 

 mk> FidoNet has meanwhile become so empty in Germany in!

 mk> Inside of a few months, even the moderately active echos have
 mk> become quiet and empty.

 mk> The German echo wissen.ger is the best example of this. Never
 mk> before have I polled so often without receiving any messages at all
 mk> as in the past few weeks.

 mk> FidoNet just isn't any fun anymore. Nothing positive is in sight.
 mk> This 2006 will be the year FidoNet R24 finally went down the tube
 mk> and only one echo - nodes.024 - will remain for the remaining few
 mk> to fight and debate. 

 mk> And before someone else turns out the lights in front of my nose,
 mk> I'll do the job myself. I've already drawn my conclusions months
 mk> ago, cancelled 58 of my previously active 65 echos, and resigned
 mk> all my Fido offices after I found that messages from me were
 mk> appearing on the homepages of others.

As I asked earlier, why is that a problem to you? 

 mk> Now I'm finishing the job and will also cancel all the echos I
 mk> think the most of. Just like this one.

 mk> I've just read a few of the messages written from 1997 onwards.
 mk> Those were the good times. But that's a long time ago.

 mk> It was a good time here, and I was always happy to make my own
 mk> contributions.

 mk> Best wishes to Steven Horn, with whom I exchanges messages for
 mk> quite a while. Steven, our dream of a tremendous vacation in Canada
 mk> and the Northern Territories is not forgotten! Just wait, one day
 mk> we'll be standing in front of your door, wanting to be invited in
 mk> for a cup of coffee with you!

You had better make it soon as I may be out of here within three years. 
But the challenge of the North will still be here. 

 mk> Since my internal echos are still running fairly well (sometimes
 mk> more traffic in a single day than in a week in FidoNet R24), I'll
 mk> stay a node for the time being, although probably no longer with a
 mk> CM flag. That means I can still be reached by netmail.

Maintaining the links has never been easier.  Stick around for a while.
 
Take care,

Steven Horn (steven.horn{at}gmail.com)
Moderator, ALASKA_CHAT 
--- timEd/386 1.10.y2k+