FidoNet is not the only on-line messaging service, but it is the most popular 
of on-line messsaging services.
I have internet access myself, and there is something known as FreeNet.  This 
is free internet access to people in communities with a FreeNet.  It includes 
most of the major items of Internet, including newsgroups (NNTP), www (HTTP), 
file library (FTP), and e-mail (SMTP).
There is a newsgroup for Clipper enthusiasts (comp.lang.clipper) and several 
www pages on the subject.  If a user has access to the Internet and their ISP 
(internet service provider) does not have the comp.lang.clipper newsgroup, 
they can either request their ISP to pick-up the newsgroup OR they can go to 
a public NNTP server.  I can even provide a lists of different NNTP servers 
that carry the comp.lang.clipper conference.
Needless to say, Clipper is not entirely dead as it is still used by many 
different companies all over the world.  The only problem is finding 
companies who produce or sell Clipper tools now.  Personally, I am not giving 
up on Clipper as I have too much invested in it.
For those who are interested, I am working on a laser printer library (PCL) 
for Clipper.  I am going to try and include some bar code routines for those 
users who need this capability.
In a statement, I will die with Clipper in my hands...without questions!
--- Alexi/Mail 2.02b (#12)
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