FidoNet is a non-profit network of enthusiasts. Nodes, stations, people and their addresses. This mysterious Fidonet

John Madil). The transmission was carried out at night, when the cost of telephone calls was lower. One hour was allocated for exchanging mail with another network node (during which access to third-party users on the BBS was closed), which was later called the “national postal hour”. The requirement to organize a dedicated hour for the exchange of messages remains to this day (with the exception of nodes connected to the network not through POTS), although control over its compliance has been significantly weakened.

Soon the number of network nodes began to increase and reached 200 at the beginning of 1985. List of nodes (nodelist, English. nodelist) was distributed as a separate file and was initially updated by Jennings himself and later by members of the St. Louis DEC user group Ken Kaplan. Ken Kaplan) and Ben Baker (eng. Ben Baker). They also began to publish the first “news sheet” of the Fidonet network.

Initially, each node communicated directly with each other node. With the growth in the number of network users, the number of telephone calls, including long-distance ones, has increased significantly. As a result, it was decided to change the network structure from linear to tree-like, grouping users into segments based on geography. As a result, addressing became two-tier: instead of a simple node number, the notation began to be used network/node.

At the end of 1986, a similar problem arose at the continental level. In addition, the idea arose to organize for BBS users the opportunity to receive mail using Fidonet data formats and protocols. At the Fidonet Technical Standards Committee meeting in October 1986, a four-level node list hierarchy was introduced. Top level there was a zone (continent), then there was a network, a node and a point (point, English. point) networks. Addressing scheme zone:network/nodepoint continues to be used today.

Dynamics of the number of nodes in Fidonet

The dynamics of the number of nodes in the network can be represented by the following table, indicated total number nodes in the network at the beginning of the year, including technical addresses:

Year	1984	1985	1986	1987	1988	1989	1990	1991	1992	1993
Number of nodes	12	351	1208	2465	2966	5862	6916	10770	14702	21162

Year	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003
Number of nodes	28606	36368	39676	33582	27131	21663	18676	15638	13705	11925

Year	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012
Number of nodes	10654	9475	8346	7369	6710	6065	5117	4394	3676

The Fidonet network reached its maximum prevalence at the end of 1995, when it numbered about 40 thousand nodes. Since then, the popularity of the network has been gradually declining, and the number of its nodes has decreased several times.

1986 also saw the first permanent "gates" between Fidonet and UUCP (that is, between Fidonet and the Internet) begin to function.

Origin of the name and symbol

The number of network nodes grew rapidly in the early 1990s, since connecting to the network did not require significant material costs, and data transfer within the same telephone code was virtually free. However, already in the late 1990s it became obvious that Fidonet could not compete with other computer networks and, above all, with the Internet. In January 1997, one of the oldest fidoshniks, Dmitry Zavalishin, in an interview with the Racurs radio station, described the prospects for the development of the network as follows:

I believe that Fido has a few more years of active life, after which he will probably no longer be visible on the horizon. And the reasons for this are purely technological, and not at all political. Fido was developed for a very long time, developed unprofessionally and unsuccessfully, everyone who deals with him seriously knows this well, and this limits his life, his development.

These trends fully manifested themselves in the 2000s, when the outflow of users from Fidonet to blogs and social networks on the Internet acquired significant proportions.

Reforming Fidonet

With the decline in the popularity of the network, ideas for reforming Fidonet began to appear. These include the concept of “hypertext vector Fidonet”, proposed by Sergei Sokolov, system operator of node 2:5063/88 (also known as Mithgol the Webmaster). She became famous in connection with the question asked by Dmitry Medvedev (who then served as Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation) on behalf of Sergei Sokolov during an online conference on March 5, 2007, regarding the Fidonet network. Medvedev answered the question, but nothing was said about support for this area of development. Despite Sokolov’s repeated statements about the imminent release of the corresponding software, as of the beginning of 2011, only since December 2009 has partial support for the FGHI addressing scheme been implemented in two message editors and one WebBBS. Other stated features such as full support for the FGHI URL addressing scheme, color, font and graphic design There are no messages in the above software.

As a result, the “Hypertext Vector Fidonet” meme has become a common noun in Fido for obviously impossible large-scale projects.

Fidonews

...This publication has nothing in common with the traditional (English) Fidonews. This applies not only to the form and content, but also to the frequency of publication. Fidonius is released in Russian as soon as it is ready. And this depends on various circumstances, but most of all on the availability of material.

So, if anyone wants Fidonius to appear more often, send me materials in any way convenient for you. Topic: everything related to Fidonet (including your thoughts about this Fido of ours). Writing articles on fidish topics is encouraged. Again, the specific topic is at the request of the author. You can also write poems/prose about Fido (I have already given an example:). Well, if you don’t send any materials..;) well, Fidonews will still be published, just less often.

Administrative structure

According to their rights and responsibilities, all Fidonet participants are divided into three large groups:

List of nodes

The Fidonet Charter requires that each network node maintain an up-to-date list of all network nodes ( nodelist, English nodelist). The node list format is described by the Fidonet FTS-5000 standard. The list of nodes is updated weekly (usually using file echo conferences).

Information about the node indicated in the list includes the status of the node (to indicate temporarily downed nodes), its number and name, geographic location, first and last name of the node operator, telephone number (for nodes accessible via Internet protocols - domain name, - or E-mail address) and flags indicating the capabilities of the node’s software and hardware.

Coordination

The main means of maintaining order in Fido is its hierarchical structure, described in paragraphs 1.2.3-1.2.8 of the Fidonet Charter. The lower level organizational association is net; networks merge into regions; regions - in zones. Each association is headed coordinator.

Main responsibilities of coordinators:

Compiling a local list of nodes ( nodsegment), sending the nodesegment to a higher-level coordinator.
Organization of a local netmail, echo and echo distribution structure.
Analysis of conflicts between sysops of local nodes.

Network and Regional Coordinators (NC and RC - English) Network Coordinator, Regional Coordinator ) are appointed by a higher-level coordinator (although in practice there is usually a preliminary vote in which the system operators of the nodes choose a candidate acceptable to them). Zone Coordinators (ZC) Zone Coordinator) are elected as regional coordinators. Zone coordinators are members Council of Zone Coordinators, resolving issues concerning the network as a whole. The Chairman of the Council is international coordinator(IC, English) International Coordinator). The international coordinator is the guarantor of the legality of holding elections and referendums on the network, announces the decisions of the Council, and also performs the functions of compiling a global list of nodes.

Coordinators can delegate some of their authority to other nodes. Typically, authority is delegated to organize the delivery of echo conferences (to a network or regional echo coordinator - NEC or REC) and file traffic (to a network or regional file echo coordinator - NFEC or RFEC).

Net

There is no single approach to network numbering that is generally accepted throughout Fidonet. In zone 2 (Europe), the network number often includes the region number (for example, the network number 5020 (Moscow) includes the region number 50 - Russia). In small regions, one significant digit is used for the network number, in larger regions - two. IN Lately due to the lack of numbers for networks, this scheme is violated: for example, in region 50 there are several networks whose numbers begin with 60: for example, network 6035 (Zheleznogorsk).

In zone 1, a different approach is used: the starting point for numbering networks in the region is region number × 20, and in larger regions region number × 200.

Region

A region may also include independent nodes that are not included in any network due to the absence of other nodes in the area or a conflict with members of an existing network.

Zone

International coordinator

The International Coordinator is selected by the Council of Zone Coordinators. The election procedure has always caused great controversy, as a result of which the post was often vacant. In 2000, Z2C (Zone 2 Coordinator) Ward Dossche (Dutch) was elected international coordinator. In 2004, the Council of Zone Coordinators announced his removal from his post and the election of Malcolm Miles as the Z3C International Coordinator. Malcolm Miles). Dosche disagreed with this decision, pointing out that votes in elections should not be distributed according to the “one coordinator - one vote” scheme, but depending on the number of nodes in the relevant zone. With this scheme, he, as the coordinator of the largest, second zone, should have owned 89 votes, and all other coordinators in total - 11 votes. The consequence of this was the parallel existence of two international coordinators: Malcolm Miles, elected by the council of coordinators, and Ward Dossche, who refused to resign.

Other FTN networks

Based on Fidonet software, other networks also appeared, collectively called FTN. Fidonet technology network). For such networks, the terms "zone" and "network" may have different meanings. The network number can be any invented number (supported by the software), the same applies to the zone number. Zone numbers 1-6 are not used in most networks, as this may make it difficult to use the same installed software package for Fidonet at the same time. Popularly, such networks are also called “left-nets”.

In the 90s, some banks used FTN mailers to communicate with branches and create Client-Bank systems. Some enterprises to this day use FTN networks as a transport for exchanging information if organizing another transport channel is impossible or impractical for one reason or another.

Technical network organization

Addressing

The standard addressing scheme in the Fidonet network is described in the FTSC document FSP-1028. The standard provides a complete form of address recording (the so-called 5D addressing - English. 5D-addressing using 5 fields network address) and various forms of abbreviated notation, of which the most commonly used are 3D and 4D addressing.

5D addresses are written in the following form: Zone:Net/Node.Point@Domain where:

Zone - zone number (from 1 to 32767).
Net - network number (from 1 to 32767).
Node - node number (from −1 to 32767).
Point - point number (from 1 to 32767).
Domain - symbolic name of the FTN network (up to 8 characters). In Fido's case, "fidonet".

Of these fields, only Net and Node are required. Thus, the following abbreviated forms of address recording are possible:

Zone:Net/Node.Point - 4D addressing, default network name fidonet.
Zone:Net/Node - 3D addressing, the Point field is omitted, which has a value of 0 for all network nodes.
Net/Node - 2D addressing, the Zone field is omitted, for which the default value is 1.

The host number value "-1" is used to send a request to obtain a network address. The symbolic network name is used quite rarely due to the unlikelihood of addressing conflicts between zone-node pairs among participants in FTN networks, as well as the presence of popular software that does not take the domain into account when comparing addresses.

Routing

According to the concept of Fidonet and Policy, you can send a letter in two ways: either by direct (that is, directly to the recipient), or to the recipient’s network coordinator (the so-called “host-routing”). The network coordinator is required to organize further delivery mail he receives to members of his network (usually either directly or, in large networks, through hubs).

This scheme is inconvenient on a network with a large number nodes and for information transfer often requires long-distance and international telephone calls. In view of this, it has become common practice to enter into informal agreements between system operators for one or more network nodes to take over the functions of routing network messages. In addition, at the zone level, nodes were allocated that took on the function of transmitting mail to other zones (interzone gates - English). zone gate). Often the system operators of these nodes were also coordinators or large hubs, but this was not a mandatory requirement.

Performing the functions of such nodes often required significant material costs, so in such cases, cost sharing could be introduced between all network nodes. costsharing). Other possibilities were also used: for example, since November 1991, the transmission of messages between Europe and North America, and since 1992, between other regions (Taiwan, South Africa, Chile, etc.) began to be carried out using -channels. In Russia, similar functions were often performed by nodes whose system operators used their official position to make long-distance calls without payment, including through departmental networks (Iskra-2, railway network). Such nodes are called “longlinks” (from the English. long link).

In fact, the routing scheme was hierarchical, and the number of horizontal connections was small. This made it possible to do without special technical means, allowing you to organize message routing. However, with the increase in the number of nodes, as well as with the spread, the number of longlinks has greatly increased, which made the traditional routing scheme ineffective (at least in the Russian segment of the network). In addition, to increase the reliability of the network, it was necessary to decentralize routing with the formation of a so-called “backbone”. backbone) networks. To optimize the routing scheme for nodes with a large number of connections with other nodes, two solutions were proposed:

These solutions are intended for use by large nodes with a large number of interconnections. Most nodes continue to use the traditional routing scheme.

Technical standards

Almost all major protocols and formats used in Fidonet are standardized and recorded in FTS (English. FidoNet Technical Standards- Fidonet technical standards). They are collected and standardized by the FTSC. FidoNet Technical Standards Committee - Fidonet Technical Standards Committee).

Historically, the main technical standard of Fidonet was FTS-0001, which established the basic requirements that all systems had to meet. The standard describes the requirements for the implementation of all layers of exchange protocols in accordance with the OSI network model, with the exception of the physical layer. At the data link layer, the XMODEM protocol was used for data transfer. The following main standards and documents have also been adopted by the FTSC:

Documents that have not received official FTS status constitute Reference library Fidoneta - English Fidonet Reference Library. Commonly used protocols described in FRL:

Fidonet software

For the functioning of network nodes, a complex of specific software is used. The software set is practically the same for end users and for large distribution nodes. On the one hand, this creates a certain barrier for new members: to join Fidonet, you need to have a certain technical literacy in order to install and configure Fidonet software. On the other hand, the absence of the need for specific equipment, platforms, complex and expensive software to organize a distribution node makes the Fido network flexible and stable: in the event of a hub (large distribution node) failure, it technical functions may well be taken over by any other node that agrees to this.

Currently, there are many self-configuring software packages designed to make it easier for new users to install and configure a set of programs.

Operating mode

Fido's usual software operating mode is batch. Having received the mail, software ( tosser) enters ("toss") received messages into the mail database of the node's system operator, generates outgoing packets for the node's uplink (usually a hub that distributes mail across several nodes) and for downlinks (points and nodes that receive ("pull") mail from of this node) subscribed to the corresponding echo conferences. New messages are generated in the form of packages (“bundles” - archives containing sets of messages).

Packets prepared offline (preparation can take up to several hours at large stations) are transmitted mailer at the time of the next communication session ("session"). The interval between communication sessions can range from one and a half minutes to several days.

Mailer

Tosser

Echo processor or Tosser(English) Tosser) - a program that processes echomail (so-called “packets” or “bundles”). To transmit mail (both netmail and echomail) between nodes, messages are collected into packets of a certain format, which are usually archived for more efficient use of communication channels.

The tosser is an intermediary between the local Fidonet message storage (netmail is most often stored in special format msg (each message in separate file), echomail - in one of the Hudson formats ( common base for all messages), Jam or Squish (a separate database for messages in each echo conference) and a mailer that transmits information to other systems.

The tosser's job is to unpack packages and distribute messages into echo conference databases, as well as into directories for sending to other network nodes that are subscribed to receive echo conferences from this node. The tosser also carries out “scanning” of databases, which consists of packaging created messages for sending to other network nodes. The tosser can also serve as a tracker (see below).

The most popular tossers are Squish, HPT from the package, ParToss, JustTosser, Regina Tosser (for OS/2), FastEcho, GEcho, FMail and so on.

Tracker

Often a newsgroup client is used instead of an editor.

Robots

Robots- optional additional programs, serving mainly for automatic mail distribution, both netmail and echomail. The most frequently used robots are FAQ servers and Stat bots, which issue different statistical information. Robots are also often used by moderators to automatically place messages in an echo conference, most often the rules.

Many robots are customized in a special way.

Self-adjusting kits

Self-adjusting kit- simplifies the setup process. During installation, you are required to enter minimal data, such as address, name and password, after which the user receives a already configured set of tosser, mailer and editor.

Examples of kits: those created by domestic developers, and its fork Kubik; foreign CrossPoint ( German) and its derivatives for various platforms, as well as FIPS and WinPoint (GUI) for Microsoft Windows.

Some modern kits support automatic sending of a request to obtain a point address on the network.

Access Fido from the Internet

WWW-gates / fidoforums / WebBBS

In Fido's terminology, WebBBS(Web-based BBS) is a WWW site that provides access to Fidonet echo conferences. Since the functionality of such a site is sometimes not much different from an Internet forum, some prefer to translate the WebBBS abbreviation into Russian with the word fidoforum. However, Fido WebBBS have certain differences from web forums, due to the customs of communication accepted in Fido, as well as the features of FTN technology.

From a technical point of view, WebBBS is a gateway between the WWW network and Fidonet. In this case, letters received via the FTN network (usually via the binkp protocol) are converted into a form accessible via the HTTP protocol, and vice versa. However, there are no technical or formal differences between sites that gate echoes in the form of Usenet newsgroups (usually under the fido7.* hierarchy) and purely fido WebBBS. A typical feeder may sometimes choose to use NNTP as an intermediate transport for their WebBBS.

WebBBS List

Some WebBBSs only allow you to read echoes, while others are two-way gates, allowing you to write to Fido as a BBS user. More advanced systems provide the participant with a full fidosh point address and allow sending and receiving private messages(netmail).

The presence of a particular echo conference on WebBBS does not always mean that it is regularly updated. Some sysops, having disconnected from the echo, simply save an archive of letters in this form as a keepsake.

Website (URL)	Fido gate address	Read tion	Write- sanitization	Issue point- addresses	Notes
http://groups.google.ru/	2:5020/400	Yes	Yes	No	The Google Groups interface can be used to access Usenet, and therefore also gated echomail.
http://fido.pnz.ru/	?	Yes	Yes	No
http://vds.lushnikov.net/wfido/	2:5020/1519	Yes	Yes	Yes	wfido interface. When registering, it gives you a point address (without registration you can’t even read Fidonet).
http://fido.net.ua/	2:463/68.10	Yes	No	No	Simulates GoldEd. Limited text width and letter header length.
http://xftn.org/areas	?	Yes	No	No
http://fghi.pp.ru/	2:5019/40	Yes	No	No	FGHI URL gate.
http://f5.n6090.z2.fidonet.net/forums/	2:6090/5	Yes	Yes	No	phpBB interface. Small number of echo conferences.
http://5049.ru/cgi-bin/ikonboard.cgi	2:5049/6	Yes	Yes	No	Iconboard interface. Only Kazan echoes.
http://csport.ugtu.net/f/	2:5097/45	Yes	Yes	No	phpBB interface.
http://www.shodtech.net/fidonet/readfidoecho	2:5022/63	Yes	No	No
http://fido.mic6090.pp.ru	2:6090/0	Yes	No	No
http://fidonode.in/forum	2:5020/848	Yes	Yes	No	vBulletin interface, SQL database
http://vp.propush.ru/index.php?q=node/6	2:5020/2140	Yes	No	No
http://fidonet-online.org/	2:466/466	Yes	Yes	Yes	wfido interface.

Fido7

To send a message to an echo conference, a person must “subscribe” to it, after which he automatically begins to receive all messages received there.

Transferring files

File conferencing is similar to echo conferencing, but instead of text messages files are distributed there. In this case, each file is accompanied by an accompanying file with the extension tic, in which service information is written (name of the file echo conference, file name, size, check sum, list of nodes through which the file passed, etc.).

Faylekhs also have their own unique names, but due to the fact that fekh is much smaller than eh, their names usually consist of one word.

Fahes are most often narrowly oriented; In addition, in order to avoid spam, as a rule, not every subscriber can send files to fahi. And that’s why there are three more ways to transfer files on Fidonet by pre-order: yuyuk, attach and direct.

Attach (English) attach- attach) - transfer of a file with a letter. This creates a letter, which is a “letter of support”, and a file is attached to it. The method is more convenient and faster than with yuyuk (the file is not encoded), but due to the inability to control the size of the attachment (attached file), many nodes do not pass attachments through themselves. It is for this reason that the attachment has found less distribution in Fidonet. In addition, unlike yuyuk, the attachment cannot be transmitted by echomail; it is transmitted exclusively by netmail.

Direct (English) direct- direct, directly) - receiving files directly from the node, this method is somewhat akin to direct transmission in ICQ or peer-to-peer networks. This method requires a preliminary agreement between the person wishing to take the file and the person giving the file. You can take files not only from your own node, but from any node and even point. After an agreement, the node (or point) giving the file, as they say, “puts it on hold”, and after you have called (or they called you - as agreed), the files begin to go to you. Another person cannot take your files. This method is, without a doubt, more convenient than others in terms of transfer, since it does not impose any restrictions on the transferred files, but requires prior approval.

There is another way to obtain information on Fidonet - communicating with FAQ servers and File servers.

Fak-server is a custom thematic server that creates a netmail response with text (topic) corresponding to the netmail request. To maintain a fak server you need separate program, most commonly used is Messmate. Communication with fak servers occurs only by netmail, the name (names) of the topic (topics) is written in the body or subject of the letter, and instead of the name of the owner of the node or point - the name of the fak server. After receiving the netmail, the program analyzes the netmail, and if it finds a request to the server, it generates responses to the addressee, also, of course, in netmail.

File server - a node or point from which you can download files. Strictly speaking, you can download files from any node or running point by creating a file netmail request, or by creating a request using a mailer, but not all nodes display their files. Therefore, the first thing you need to try to download from the node is the filelist, often it is called files.bbs, or it has a short “alias” (or, as they say, alias) files, according to which the same files.bbs will come to you. If there is no filelist, then the node does not service file requests, and if a file has arrived, then you can familiarize yourself with the list of proposed files and, if you need something, create a request again, this time with the name (or alias) of the file of interest, then call and get the file. Since a file request (File Request, FReq) is created to receive a file, they say that people frack files, and the nodes from which files can be taken are called “freckles”.

Fidoshnik's dictionary

Below are words often used by subscribers of certain echo conferences.

Aka (English) Also Known As) - an alternative address of the fidoshnik (for example, “point aka”) or his pseudonym (for example, “Yuri Nesterenko aka YuN”).
Alias (English) Alias) is a shorter file name for easier querying.
Unpublished (English) Unpublished) - an address, usually a telephone number, not described in the current pointlist, nodelist, etc. Option: unpublished.
Uplink (English) Uplink) - the network station that is higher in the hierarchy.
Arkmail (English) ArcMail) - mail pre-compressed by an archiver.
Attach (English) Attach) - a special letter sent along with the file.
Outbound (English) Outbound) - directory with outgoing mail of the station.
Bizya (English) Busy) - busy signal telephone line. Option - beads.
Bink (English) Bink) - shortened name for BinkleyTerm type mailers.
Board or board - the same as BBS.
Boss (English) Boss) - node whose point is this station.
Bad (English) Bad) - mail that arrived with errors, or the informal name of the area where this mail ends up (Badmail)
Gate (English) Gate) - a gateway for transmitting mail from zone to zone or from one global network to another.
Naked Grandfather is the "Russian" pronunciation of the title of the editor of GoldED.
Downlink (English) DownLink) is a subordinate network station in the structure of nodes.
Grandfather - "Russian" shortened pronunciation of the name of the editor of GoldED.
Direct (English) Direct) - sending something directly, that is, not through the standard routing system.
Domain Domain) - address field, name of the global network.
Dup (English) Dupe) - mail that the tosser defined as “already arriving”, or an informal name for the area where such mail ends up (Dupemail)
Carbonka is an informal name for a special area where personal letters from echo conferences are copied; The name comes from the fact that often by default this area is called CARBON.COPIES or something like that, from the English. Carbon Copy- carbon copy.
Quoting (English) Quoting) - citation.
Kludge (English) Kludge) - official information in a letter. Option: kludge.
Complain (English) Complain) is a formal complaint.
Coordinator Coordinator) is the person in charge of the network.
Kitten is the informal name of the KittenMail mailer.
Crash floor Crash Poll) - continuous and frequent dialing to the node, ignoring the node's operating time flag. Options: Crash pool, crash floor, etc.
Ksyusha is the informal name of the Xenia mailer.
Link (English) Link) - the same as downlink.
Fox is the informal name of the SantaFox mailer.
Log (English) Log) - a service report file created by fidosh programs.
Mailer (English) Mailer) - a program that sends and receives mail.
Moderator Moderator) - a person checking compliance with the rules of this echo conference.
Netmail (English) NetMail) - network mail. Options: soap, netmail.
Noda (English) Node) - network node. Options: node.
Nodediff (English) Nodediff) - file of network structure changes.
Nodlist (English) Nodelist) - list of network nodes. Option: nodelist, nodelist.
Overquoting Overquoting) - excessive quoting, highly discouraged on the Internet.
Origin or origin (English) Origin) - the last line of the letter in the echomail.
Oftopic (English) OffTopic) - message is not on the topic of the conference.
Passrushnaya (eha, fekha) (from English. Pass through) - transit (file) echo conferences, that is, those that, after distributing points and links, are deleted from the node.
Point (English) Point) - network subscriber.
Pointlist (English) Pointlist) - list of network points.
Paul (English) Poll) - the command began dialing to the node.
Polisi (English) Policy) - charter of the Fidonet network.
Post (English) Post) - send letters to the echo.
PPKS - I Sign Under Every Word
Routing (English) Routing) - mail routing.
Rules (English) Rules) - conference rules.
Sabzh (English) Subj, Subject) - letter subject. Options: subj, subj.
Xinbai (English) Seen by) - a kludge in a letter, showing to which nodes this mail has already been transferred.
Sysop (English) SysOp, System Operator) - system operator.
Tagline (English) Tagline) - an optional line at the end of the letter.
Template (English) Template) - a template (“blank”) of a letter.
Teerline (English) TearLine) - a special line of the letter - the end of the text.
Tosser (English) Tosser) - echo processor.
Traffic (English) Traffic) - the volume of letters in kilobytes passing through a station (or conference) over a certain period of time.
Fasta is the “Russian” pronunciation of the name of the FastEcho tosser.
Flame (English) Flame) - an emotional argument in an echo, usually turning into personal attacks and insults, swearing.
Flamer is a participant in a flame, or a person prone to inciting or maintaining a flame.
Frek (English) Freq, File Request) - file request.
Fronda (from English. FrontDoor) - mailer; aka Frondur, aka “Front Door”.
Fekha (from English. File Echo) - file conference (file echo conference).
Hub (English) Hub) - a loaded network station for mail distribution.
Hatch (English) Hatch) - send files to a file echo conference.
Hidden (English) Hidden) - optional custom service line.
Host (English) Host) - the main station of the network.
TsM, TsMny (English) C.M.) - round the clock; occurs because the CM flag (from Continuous Mail) is placed in the nodelist line for stations operating around the clock.
Excommunication (English) Excommunication) - exclusion of the system from the network.
Echo (English) Echo) - (echo) network conference.
Ehotag (English) Echotag) - the name of the conference (usually without a prefix), used as a placeholder and pointer to the name. Example: The phrase “This is not echoey” regarding the SU.HUMOR echo means that the information is not funny.
XAB (abbreviation for English. eXcessively Annoying Behavior) - Excessively incorrect (irritating) behavior.

Fidonet subculture in Russia

Over the years of Fidonet's existence in Russia, a certain subculture has developed within the network. This shows up:

in the informal relationship of network participants to each other (on the network, it is an unspoken rule to address each other as “you”, regardless of age and position in society);
in the existence of fidosh folklore (various “fidosh tales”, songs, humor and anecdotes);
in regular informal meetings between network participants (so-called “point meetings”, “sysopok”, “local meetings”).

Funny transcripts

Often the name of the network is written not as Fidonet, but as FIDO (namely in capital letters, in English spelling there is FIDOnet, FIDO). Fidoshniks have come up with several “decoding of the abbreviation” FIDO, the most popular is “Federation of Exclusively Friendly Communication,” which emphasizes the nature of the relationship between sysops. Recently, in connection with the statement “Fido is dead” periodically exaggerated by former members of the network, a transcript of “You’ll Destroy This Organization” has appeared.

Offline meetings

Meetings of fidoshniks are called “sysopkas”, “pointing meetings”, “local meetings” or “fido drinking sessions”. The names “pointing” and “local” often mean a meeting of points of the same node. There are also meetings of subscribers of the same echo conference, then the name is most often formed by gluing together the name of the echo (or echo tag) and the ending -ovka, for example, if the echo is called spb.cars, then the meeting will be called “karzovka”, if spb.school - “skulevka” if ru.punk.rock - “rprovka” if su.kaschenko.local - “kaschenukha”, etc. General meetings of fidoshniks of any region or several regions are also held.

"is associated by many with a relatively closed online community, dark silhouettes and keyboard clicks in the night. Who are they? As a matter of fact, ordinary people, no different from most of us. They go to work during the day, and at night they are immersed in the world of communication of the FidoNet network, causing misunderstanding among friends and neighbors.

The amateur computer network FidoNet (http://www.fidonet.org) was created in June 1984 by two Americans - Tom Jennings from San Francisco and John Madill from Baltimore. It was then that the first successful attempt was made to transmit computer message through a regular telephone line using a computer and modem. For this purpose, special software was created, which later served as the basis for the creation and development of the entire network. Benefit from this method the transmission of information was obvious: the message transmitted through the computer reached the addressee much faster than could have been done by contacting him in the usual way. Don't forget that back in 1984, the Internet was still a network for specialists. Relatively cheap remedy intercity and international communication, which Fido became, provoked its rapid growth (Fig. 1). Unfortunately, only the actual number of its members could be counted (“point” is not a member of the network, but more on that below). Each node can provide network access to ordinary users (“points”). Therefore, the actual number of Fido users is approximately 10-15 times greater than shown in the graph.

Given that FidoNet relies solely on the enthusiasm of its members, it prohibits the transfer of any commercial information or charging for access to its resources. As a result, Fido did not gain popularity in business circles. However, this did not stop her from entwining her web in almost all countries of the world. Perhaps, except for Antarctica, there is no continent where FidoNet stations are not present.

Convenience of communication - can this be considered one of the components of the attractiveness of FidoNet? Fidish enthusiasts believe that it is necessary to add a special friendly atmosphere here, interesting people, carefully “season” all this with common interests, add an interesting topic to suit your taste - and the cocktail of the best “fidosh” company is ready.

Nowadays, the opportunity to communicate frequently with friends has become a real luxury. Some are busy at work, others don’t have the time to meet… FidoNet doesn’t require everyone to gather at the same time. You can reply to a message when there is free time, and conferences (echo conferences, or simply “echoes”) make it possible to communicate within a close circle of friends.

How Fido works

The FidoNet network hierarchy has a tree structure, as shown in Fig. 2. For effective management or at least some organization of the network, Tom Jenningson created a hierarchy of “officials”: at the head of all network structure stands IC (International Coordinator) - international coordinator. A zonal coordinator (ZC - Zone Coordinator) is responsible for each zone. The work of the region is controlled by RC (Regional Coordinator), and the network-city is controlled by NC (Network Coordinator). Accordingly, each region has its own RC, and each city has its own NC. Each coordinator, naturally, is under the supervision of a higher “official”. Well, above IC there are only stars. At one time, the “group of comrades” adopted the main legislative document of the entire network - Policy. At the same time, the creator of Fido, an inveterate anarchist, did not like this turn of events, and he left FidoNet, “moving” to the Internet.

According to Policy, the point users at the bottom of the hierarchy are not full members of the network. In particular, they do not participate in the NC and RC elections and do not make decisions that are vital for the network. But at the same time, they are not bound by certain obligations that must be fulfilled in order to be a network node, or “node” (distorted English Node - node). On the other hand, the only time when the opinion of a “node” is taken into account is the election of a network city coordinator.

FidoNet has two main methods of communication: through NetMail (which existed originally) and through echo conferences (which appeared somewhat later than NetMail). Sending a NetMail letter is somewhat akin to traditional email communication - only the recipient can read it. But due to the fact that FidoNet has a complete ban on sending commercial information, the letter can be viewed by system operators of intermediate nodes in order to suppress activities of this kind. Echo conferences (“echoes”) are somewhat similar to bulletin boards where anyone can post their letter or reply to another person’s letter. Each letter written is sent to all nodes subscribed to this conference. Each echo conference has a person (“moderator”-intermediary) who monitors the correspondence so that its topics do not contradict those stated in the conference when it was created. Correspondence is sent from the “point” to the “node” and from the “node” to the “hub”. Hub is a special node that does not collect points, but distributes mail only to “nodes”. Hubs also forward mail among themselves.

Addressing in FidoNet is based on a geographical principle - the address of a node directly depends on its location.

Let's look at the structure of a typical Fido "mail" address - 2:5020/1234.56. The number 2 reflects one of the six existing zones. In this case, he points to Europe plus post-Soviet countries and Southeast Asia (1 – North America; 3 – Australia and Oceania; 4 – Latin and South America; 5 – Africa; 6 – Asian countries, except Southeast Asia). The number 5020 is a region-network-city. In this case it is Moscow. Russia is assigned a numbering from 5000 to 5080. 1234 is the number of the node, and 56 is the point.

If you have a desire to take a look at this unknown FidoNet at least out of the corner of your eye, then it is quite possible to connect to network conferences without receiving an address there. Almost all “echoes” are “gated” (connected) to the Internet and are available on the server http://news.fido7.ru. Well, if you are puzzled by the question of how to get an address in FidoNet, then you should look for the forum http://fido7.n5020.point. Next, follow the instructions provided in the letter. If you live outside the glorious hero city of Moscow, then visit the page http://www.ag.ru/skins/dedowsk/links.htm or the website of the Russian-speaking Fido (http://www.fido7.com), where you can find additional information and links to Web sites of food specialists in various regions. As an alternative, I recommend visiting the “fidosh” irc channel (#fidorus, server http://irc.portal.ru or http://irc.stealth.net) and ask for a “point” address.

When you join the ranks of fidoshniks and receive an address, you automatically receive your e-mail address, which will look like:<Ваше имя>@p<поинт>.f<нода>.n<сеть>.z<зона>.fidonet.org. The hypothetical address 2:5020/12.3 of fidoshnik Vasily Pupkin on the Internet will be presented as [email protected]. Accordingly, every fidoshnik has the opportunity to freely send a letter from FidoNet to the Internet and back. You just need to write a letter to the address of a special “gate” (in Moscow it is 2:5020/128), indicating at the beginning of the letter a line like this: To: , Where and there is an address to which this letter will then be sent to the Internet. True, on the other side of FidoNet, letters should be sent to an address compiled according to the scheme described above.

The origins of bias. New hopes

Of course, not everything is calm in this small and cozy computer “world,” but this is sometimes not a common indicator for all fidoshniks. As in any society, there are individuals in FidoNet who use its resources to deceive ordinary people, profiting from their sluggishness. If such people are not excluded from FidoNet, then law enforcement agencies will certainly find out about them. There were cases when, having learned about the involvement of a criminal in a certain computer gang “Fido,” publications appeared where FidoNet was branded as a computer gang of hackers. For some this caused a malicious smile, for others - bitterness and regret. After all, many ignorant people sincerely believed in this.

From the “dark spots” of the history of FidoNet, one can recall the echo conference Ru.Drugs, which was created with the theme “About drugs, etc.,” but later turned into a place where the use of drugs was not discussed for medical purposes. The conference ceased to exist for reasons of non-compliance with Russian legislation as it contributed to the spread of narcotic drugs. There was another scandalous “echo” - Ru.Suicide, which was conceived with the aim of helping people who were on the verge of suicide. In fact, having rendered a “disservice” to its creators, it simply became an accomplice in the spread of the most painless methods of committing suicide. Closed after the death of two young people who committed suicide at the suggestion of subscribers to the same conference.

“Echos,” which cast a shadow over the entire FidoNet, have become almost its calling card in the mass consciousness. Of course, in the whirlwind of scandals, few people will remember such positive conferences as OVES.GROWING and OVES.ZVON. These two “echos” can be called a “fidosh” literary club. And not only for experienced authors, but also for everyone who wants to show themselves in this field. Fortunately, there are really a lot of worthwhile creations out there. In addition, the club’s users are not confined to the virtual space: “Oats Concerts” have already taken place, where the best works published in these two “echoes” were read and performed. The events attracted a full house of spectators.

Few people remember that in FidoNet conferences you can get an answer to almost any question, and the answer is sincere. You can learn about the shortcomings of a new product that are “not customary” to write about. In particular, FidoNet maintains a special rating compiled based on reviews of fido people who applied for services from Moscow computer companies. Few people know that some companies offer discounts to food buyers. As a rule, these companies employ their colleagues, who negotiate with their superiors about such innovations.

The Internet is considered one of the big nails in FidoNet's coffin. There is even talk that the global Network will eventually lure all the fidish people to join it. Projects such as FidoNet over IP, etc. appear. Enthusiasts hope that in the future Fido will only change the way it transmits information. She herself can completely “move” to the Internet, become its shadow, using the great opportunities for transmitting information, but she will never merge into it completely. Fido, in my opinion, is a different world, where a specific language of communication creates a completely special atmosphere and its own unique way of life. FidoNet is a network of friends. I hope it will remain this way into the next century.

ComputerPress 11"1999

This article does not pretend to be a guide to action, but only tells the story of how an individual Internet user connected to the Fidonet network in (it’s scary to imagine) 2010.

For those who have already reached with the mouse to the “Write a comment” window in order to leave for posterity something like: “Fedo - R.I.P.”, I recommend taking three deep breaths and exhaling and reading this text to the end.

The story of my interest in the Fidonet network (you can safely skip it)

I first heard about Fido in 2002 from one of my friends. At that time, I was the proud owner of a “I-made-you-from-what-was-and-what-wasn’t-and-bought-it” computer with modem Internet access. Everything that a young growing organism needed—chat rooms, pornography, jokes—by that time was available on these Internets of yours, and there was no desire to deal with connecting to the free, but such obscure Fidonet.

In 2003, in the best traditions of the SU.TORMOZ echo conference, 4 years after its publication, I read Alex Exler’s book “Notes of a Programmer’s Bride” about the geek-fidoshnik Seryoga and his lady love Irina. The creation was replete with healthy fidish humor, and Fidonet itself was presented precisely as a Network of Friends with all that it entails. :) I decided to inquire about the possibility of connection, but at that time there were no nodes in the glorious city of Troitsk, Moscow region. Perhaps I didn't search well.

Around the same time, the magazine “Hacker” published a not-so-rosy article by mindw0rk, “20 kilobytes about Fidonet,” similar to the famous article by Nick Filimonov. Its general meaning boiled down to the following: “How good it was before and how rotten everything is now.” The article had the expected demotivating effect and I forgot about the Network of Friends for 6 long years.

How did this happen...

During this time, I managed to graduate from university and even start working in my specialty. This time, the catalyst for interest was the well-known resource Lurkmore, where, among other crap, Fidonet memes were published. After scouring the internet for sites that would help me connect to Fido, I came across a neat little site for node 2:5020/2140 . Unlike other resources, the connection process was described in sufficient detail and the only thing that was required from the end user was to change a few lines in configuration file FidoIP package, which was offered as basic product to work with Fido.

This mysterious Fidonet

I contacted my boss Sergei and chose the point number I liked from the unoccupied ones. After sending test messages to a local echo conference (this is an analogue of Usenet conferences) and netmail (an analogue of e-mail), I could consider myself a full-fledged fidoshnik.

Then I was stupid for a week and a half. In my opinion, this is where the first pitfall for most beginners lies. You need to find the strength not to send everything to hell (after all, everything is so simple on the Internet!), but to spend some time getting to know Fido.

I was faced with three problems:

The inconvenience (for me personally) of the FidoIP package (specifically, the GoldEd editor was not happy with it).
Great amount technical information and various kinds of rules (sometimes archaic).
Search for live echo conferences.

Problem #1
I understand that nostalgia is great, and if you master GoldEd at the proper level, you won’t want to use anything else, but I was categorically not satisfied with this editor. Firstly, until you remember all the hotkeys, the work comes down to constant communication with the FAQ. Secondly: the terminal window that constantly hangs on top of documents (I work as a lawyer) is not very similar to a standard office application, and I also didn’t want to run into a question from my boss about what I constantly do in the terminal.

GoldED-NSF

After some googling, I decided on the HellEd editor. Despite some clumsiness of the interface, after removing the “bows and frills” it becomes quite usable.

HellEd

Problem #3
Now finding living echoes has become a problem. If previously it was enough to subscribe to 3-4 popular echo conferences to completely occupy your free time, now you must first find popular echoes.

Here I will indicate the resources that I used:

Statistics available on the Internet:
http://www.shodtech.net/fidonet/readfidoecho
http://www.fido-online.com/x/_-0?El?5&0

Statistics in echo conferences (Fido):
2356.ROBOTS and TITANIC.OFFICIAL

Search for living echoes for the nostalgic:
We enter in the terminal: telnet bbs.rndfido.net and study the fullness, oh, brushing away a stingy man’s tear:

“Was a normal fidoshnik, became a simple bbs nickname”

I would like to note that boss Sergei Poziturin is trying to make the life of simple points easier and more convenient. Recently, he opened access to echo conferences via nntp.

Claws-mail (Nokia N810)

This is what it looks like desktop computer with Windows XP:

Mozilla Thunderbird 3

Outlook Express 6 with Fidolook Add-in

Instead of a conclusion

I've been with Fido for a couple of months, but I want to say this:

there are a lot of smart and interesting people here;
the so-called “shkolota” is completely absent;
rumors of the coming of the Great and Hypertext are seriously exaggerated; at least within the network itself, “greatness and hypertext” is regarded rather as a joke;
Fidonet will live its own special life for many more years. I saw Enthusiasts with a Capital “E” live and have no doubt about it.

Therefore, allow me to take my leave.
Sincerely yours 2:5020/2140.12

P.S.: wrote a wonderful article in which he pointed out the differences between fidonet and usenet conferences and modern forums and blogs, and also proposed his own version of the further development of communication on networks.

P.S.S.: Sergey Poziturin 2:5020/2140 asked everyone who contacted him to receive a point address to find themselves in this list: vp.propush.ru/index.php?q=node/46 Applications from those who contacted him before 10 morning 04/22/2010. He will definitely answer everyone. Please wait.

“He who treads softly will go far on his path.”

(Chinese proverb)

HISTORY AND BRIEF RULES OF THE NETWORK.

The Internet and FIDonet were born at about the same time. Back then both networks were very similar to each other. Until 1989, when a set of protocols for transmitting graphic information via (WWW), the main difference between the networks was that one network is commercial and the other is not.

The FIDO network was created in 1984 by two Americans (Tom Jennings and John Madill). Initially, the FIDO network was intended for the exchange of personal email between nodes. They say that these two programmers lived on different coasts of the USA and wrote one program together and wrote it for personal use support program, capable of exchanging text files.

There is also a legend that Tom had a dog named Fido, who gave the name to the network. However, some sources claim that Tom did not have a dog at all. Nevertheless, a dog with a floppy disk in its mouth became the FIDonet logo.

FIDO appeared in the USSR in mid-1990. And as of March 1995, in the Russian FIDO region alone there were more than 1,500 nodes, united in 50 regional networks.

Currently, there are no FIDO stations only in Antarctica.

Since the network is non-profit, all rights and obligations of participants are stipulated in the Charter (Policy) of FIDonet.

It makes no sense to list all the points of the Charter - on the same Internet you can find full text like the original on English language, and translated - in the native Russian language. I can send meticulous readers to the Internet site http://www.fido.odessa.ua/, where you can download this Charter.

And for everyone else, I will focus on the main points that are important at the first stage.

1. The FIDO Charter prohibits charging any fees for connecting to the network. As a matter of fact, the only hard currency of FIDO is... ... even though it is liquid :). That is, you may be required to drink beer for connecting to FIDO. However, during the three years of his stay in FIDO, the author changed boss nodes (that is, an analogue of an Internet provider) three times as a point. And in all three times he was never asked to connect the notorious beer.

2. The FIDO Charter prohibits commercial activities on the Internet. This point requires some explanation.

This ban is very conditional. That is, in FIDO there is no legal entities(that is, firms and companies). But no one prohibits selling anything to an individual through FIDO. Another thing is that you need to know the place where this can be done. In other words, there are a lot of echo conferences (analogues of Internet forums), where these actions are not a violation. Moreover, there is whole network conferences where they sell and change anything.

In any case, before writing anything to any echo conference, I would recommend first familiarizing yourself with the rules, which appear there quite often.

3. FIDO has adopted significant restrictions on pseudonyms. In other words, your FIDO address must include your first and last name. in FIDO - bad form.

4. Point (that is, the end user of the network - the one you and I want to become first) is not formally a member of the network. That is, they do not participate in voting, but can safely use email address and all network resources.

5. Network members - nodes: nodes and hubs. In this case, we are interested in node nodes - they are the ones who take points to themselves. They take and bear a certain responsibility for them.

Network of friends - 2.

"My address is not a house or a street, My address is the Soviet Union"

(Words of a hit from the 70s of the last century)

Now the time has come to talk about the nodes and addresses of the FIDO network. There is no way I can do without terms and jargons here. Their explanations are placed at the end of the article.

NODES, STATIONS, PEOPLE AND THEIR ADDRESSES

Let's first talk about FIDonet nodes and stations. I understand that for a beginner this question may turn out to be Chinese literacy (as one reader aptly put it). Therefore, I deliberately simplify my explanations: the information presented should be enough to understand general principle. And the details are unimportant at the first stage of getting to know the network.

And so - the basic unit of the network is the node (from English, node - nodal point). It is to the node that a certain number of points, that is, end users, are connected. Formally, the point is not a member of the network, does not participate in voting on important network issues, and is not responsible for anything: the node to which it is connected bears all responsibility for the bad actions of the point (this node is called a boss node or simply boss). However, the “freedom” of the point is only apparent. After all, FIDO is a network of friends. And they connect to this network without a monthly fee, “hourly billing” and other “delights” inherent in the service of Internet providers.

In this network, according to the apt statement of one fidoshnik, no one owes anything to anyone. All FIDO is based on voluntariness, freedom and goodwill. But if a point behaves incorrectly, creating problems for the boss, then should he be offended if the boss disables this point? And if you consider that the bad deeds of such a point become known in the sector quite quickly, then needless to say that after such a situation there is unlikely to be another node that would want to take such a person as its point.

However, I must note that the situation described above is fantastic: I do not remember such a case. Although this does not mean at all that it did not exist, or that it cannot exist.

Much more often, something else happens: nodes temporarily stop working (go down), and sometimes they simply “die” for one reason or another. As a rule, other nodes take points from such a node. I dare to refer to my almost four years of experience of living on the Internet. During this time, my boss stations went down twice. But after a few days, other nodes gave me a point address without any problems.

I foresee the reader’s question: what are “bad actions”?

I’ll digress somewhat from the main topic and briefly list them, taking as a basis the rules of one of the echo conferences:

1. The use of rude and obscene expressions is not allowed. At all. And to no one. Any inappropriate behavior towards other echo conference subscribers is also unacceptable.

2. It is not allowed to quote or paraphrase the contents of personal letters in echo mail, except with the consent of the author of the letter. Also quoting technical FTS information.

3. You cannot quote meaninglessly (overquote). Stupid overquoting is FIDO's first enemy! Quote only those things without which your letter loses its original meaning.

4. You should not start personal correspondence in an echo conference - this is of no interest to anyone. Netmail was created specifically for personal letters.

5. Real Name is also required. It is best if it is in the “From” field of your letter, or, as a last resort, in its body. Nicknames are an Internet disease that has no place in Fido.

6. Discussion of the Moderator’s actions in an echo conference is not allowed. If you really want to, go to Netmail. Also there with letters addressed to the Moderator.

However, these are generally accepted rules. Each echo conference has its own rules (rules), which list “bad deeds.”

However, I have digressed somewhat from the main topic.

And so, there are node stations to which points are connected. In relation to node stations, there are also higher-level stations - hubs. In other words, mail goes from a point to a node, and from there to hubs. From here it is easy to see that FIDO is a network with a hierarchical tree structure.

True, technically this connection is implemented in software somewhat different ways. Without going into details, I will only say that the “hub - node station” connection is carried out in automatic mode, while the point, in order to contact the node station, needs to manually launch the corresponding software. Thus, we can say that the “node station - point” communication is carried out in a semi-automatic mode.

FIDONET ADDRESS STRUCTURE

A FIDO address is somewhat similar to a telephone number. My current fidosh address, for example, is 2:467/70.51

I agree that at first glance it is unusual and contains less information than, say, the Internet one. [email protected]. But this is only at first glance. Let's try to figure it out.

The first digit before the colon (in our case 2) indicates that the station is located in Europe.

The fact is that in FIDO the whole world is divided into zones:

1 - USA and Canada
2 - Europe and the territory of the former USSR
3 - Australia, New Zealand, Oceania.
4 - Latin America
5 - Africa
6 - Asia (except for the Asian part of the former USSR)

And the first digit of the fidosh address thus determines the zone.

The next number between the colon and the slash (in our case 467) determines the country and city; in this case, the first two digits are the country, and the subsequent ones are the city. In our example, 46 is Ukraine, 7 is Odessa. If the country is large enough, then the number defining the city can be two-digit (as in Russia).

For reference and clarity, I will give the codes of some countries and cities from the CIS:

45 - BELARUS
450 - Minsk
451 - Grodno
455 - Mogilev

46 - UKRAINE
460 - Crimea
462 - Lviv
463 - Kyiv
467 - Odessa

50 - RUSSIA, KAZAKHSTAN, CENTRAL ASIA
5000 - Novosibirsk
5004 - Omsk
5008 - Ulan-Ude
5020 - Moscow
5030 - St. Petersburg
5031 - Murmansk
5032 - Novgorod
5090 - Krasnoyarsk

Now we have reached the last group of numbers (in our case 70.51). The number before the dot is the station number. The number after the dot is the point number of this station. At the same time, sometimes a 0 is placed after the dot. This means that the address is a node address. 999 after the dot is the so-called test address. If you ask for points to any node and you don’t have an address yet, then indicate a test address as your address (such an address in general view will be X:ХХХ/ХХ.999).

In addition, the fidosh address contains both the last name and first name in English transcription.

Thus, we can safely say that the fidosh address carries maximum information about its owner. In any case, you can learn much more about the owner from it than from the usual mentioned address like [email protected].

NODLIST

The addresses of all feed stations are included in the so-called nodelist. And if the address in FIDO resembles a telephone number, then the nodelist is a telephone directory.

It lists, in addition to the address, the name of the station, telephone number and dialing time, and the protocols supported by the modem. True, many of the listed parameters are described using so-called flags. But deciphering them is no more difficult than the above example with a fidosh address. However, this will become relevant when we directly talk about connecting to FIDO.

The European nodelist can be found at the Internet address - ftp://ftp.z2.fidonet.org/pub/fidonet/nodelist.z2/. However, many FIDO sites post a nodelist. Let's say, http://www.fido.odessa.ua/ is a website of Odessa fidoshniks. The "weight" of the archive is not that big - about 300 - 400 kb. You will need a nodelist if you decide to become a point.

PRACTICAL APPLICATION OF THE INFORMATION OBTAINED

"What's the use of all this information?" - an impatient reader may ask.

Even if you are not planning to become a point, this information may be useful to you for, say, sending mail (electronic, of course) from the Internet directly to FIDonet.

IT IS IMPORTANT.

I warn you right away: SPAM does not work in FIDO. That is, it does not reach the point for the reason that recently 99% of FIDO stations configure their software in such a way that it is removed (“nailed”) at the entrance to the station. So, gentlemen, spammers, please don’t worry.

I inform everyone else that in order to send a letter from the Internet to FIDonet, you need to write a fidosh address, separating the first and last name with a dot and adding @, in the form pd.fc.nb.za.fidonet.org, where a, b, c , d - numbers that make up the fido-address of the form a:b/c.d.

I understand that this sounds cool, but it’s not clear, so I’ll explain what was said with an example.

There is an abstract address of the abstract fidoshnik Vasya Pupkin (2:463/13.999 Vasya Pupkin). We send our letter to him at the address -

Vasya.Pupkin@ p999.f13.n463.z2.fidonet.org

In other words, the fidosh address is written from left to right in the general formula provided above.

A FEW FINAL WORDS

That's all I wanted to tell you today.

If you have any questions, please write me an email - [email protected]. I will definitely answer.

GLOSSARY

Boss (boss node)- (English Boss) The node whose point is this station.

Quoting- (English Quoting) Quotation.

Moderator- (English Moderator) A person who checks compliance with the rules of this echo conference.

Noda- (English Node) Network node.

Point- (English Point) Network subscriber.

Rules- (English Rules) Conference rules.

Hub- (English Hub) A loaded network station for distributing mail to other nodes.

Echoconferences (echoes)- similar to Internet forums. By subscribing to an echo conference, the point gets the opportunity to read all messages from all its subscribers. If someone decides to join the conversation and writes something himself, then this message also becomes available for reading to all echo conference subscribers.

On the " " page you can FREE download some materials from the "Bonus" section immediately.

nodelist) was distributed as a separate file and was initially updated by Jennings himself and later by members of the St. Louis DEC user group Ken Kaplan. Ken Kaplan) and Ben Baker (eng. Ben Baker). They also began to publish the first “news sheet” of the Fidonet network.

The dynamics of the number of nodes in the network can be represented by the following table:

The Fidonet network reached its maximum prevalence in 1995, when it numbered about 40 thousand nodes. Since then, the popularity of the network has been gradually declining, and the number of its nodes has decreased several times.

1986 also saw the first permanent "gates" between Fidonet and UUCP (that is, between Fidonet and the Internet) begin to function.

Origin of the name and symbol

__ / \ /|oo \ (_| /_) _`@/_ \ _ | | \ \\ | (*) | \)) ______ |__U__| /\///FIDO\_//|| _\ / (________) (_/(_|(____/

Old Fidonet logo

According to legend, “Fido” is the name of the dog of the network’s founder, Tom Jennings. In fact, he didn't have any dog; but “Fido” is really a dog name, as common in America as, for example, “Sharik”, “Bobik” or “Tuzik” is in the territory of the former USSR.

Tom Jennings took the name of the network from the first word that caught his eye, which was written on a sticker glued to his monitor.

Fidonet in Russia

The first Fidonet network node in Russia appeared in the summer of 1990 in Novosibirsk, its system operators were Evgeny Chupriyanov and Vladimir Lebedev. Initially the node had the address 2:42/100, later - 2:5000/10. Connection to the network was carried out through nodes located in Czechoslovakia. In October - December 1990, nodes also appeared in Chelyabinsk, Moscow and Leningrad, and the 50th region of the network was formed.

I believe that Fido has a few more years of active life, after which he will probably no longer be visible on the horizon. And the reasons for this are purely technological, and not at all political. Fido was developed for a very long time, developed unprofessionally and unsuccessfully, everyone who deals with him seriously knows this well, and this limits his life, his development.

These trends fully manifested themselves in the 2000s, when the outflow of users from Fidonet to blogs and social networks on the Internet acquired significant proportions.

With the decline in the popularity of the network, ideas for reforming Fidonet began to appear. These include the concept of “hypertext vector Fidonet”, proposed by Sergei Sokolov, system operator of node 2:5063/88 (also known as Mithgol the Webmaster). She gained fame in connection with the question asked by Dmitry Medvedev (who then served as Deputy Prime Minister) on behalf of Sergei Sokolov during an online conference on March 5, 2007, regarding the Fidonet network. Medvedev answered the question, but nothing was said about support for this area of development. Despite Sokolov’s repeated statements about the imminent release of the corresponding software, as of February 2009, software that implements the main provisions of the hypertext Fidonet, such as the ability to place hyperlinks to addresses and messages, color, font and graphic design of messages, has not been presented.

Fidonews

Since 1984, the electronic weekly Fidonews has been published. It corresponds to the FIDONEWS echo conference. The weekly is distributed in a format intended for printing. Initially the text was only in

Technical network organization

Initially, data transmission on the Fidonet network used a direct modem connection over an offline network, that is, messages and files are distributed over the network while the user can be disconnected from the network.

Initially, the main protocol of the Fidonet network was the “netmail” transmission protocol (netmail, English). Netmail): individual electronic text messages containing the name of the sender and recipient, as well as the Fidonet addresses of each of them. The network provides message routing, so that the sender and recipient of the message do not have to establish a direct connection between themselves. direct) connection. However, the possibility of such communication, in which mail bypasses the default route and the administrative hierarchy, remains and is rarely used, since in this case it ensures guaranteed delivery of mail to the recipient and maintains the secrecy of correspondence (since usually the system operators of Fidonet transit nodes reserved the right to view personal correspondence passing through them for content that violates the Fidonet Charter).

Netmail allowed you to “attach” to each transmitted message one file. This made it possible to create a series of protocols running on top of netmail, transferring information from one node to another in attached files.

The most commonly used of these protocols is echomail. echomail), which are public conferences ("echoconferences"), similar to BBS groups and transmitting them in compressed form (to save time; ARC formats were usually used - hence "arkmail" (English. arcmail) or fileecho), however, at present these protocols are used quite little (due to the spread of fast and cheap Internet channels and P2P networks).

Addressing

The standard addressing scheme in the Fidonet network is described in the document. The standard provides a complete form of address recording (the so-called 5D addressing - English. 5D-addressing, using 5 network address fields) and various forms of abbreviated notation, of which the most commonly used are 3D and 4D addressing.

5D addresses are written in the following form: Zone:Net/Node.Point@Domain where:

Zone - zone number (from 1 to 32767).
Net - network number (from 1 to 32767).
Node - node number (from −1 to 32767).
Point - node point number (from 1 to 32767).
Domain - symbolic name of the network (up to 8 characters).

Of these fields, only Net and Node are required. Thus, the following abbreviated forms of address recording are possible:

Zone:Net/Node.Point - 4D addressing, default network name fidonet.
Zone:Net/Node - 3D addressing, the Point field is omitted, which has a value of 0 for all network nodes.
Net/Node - 2D addressing, the Zone field is omitted, for which the default value is 1.

The host number value "-1" is used to send a request to obtain a network address. The symbolic name of the network is used quite rarely due to the unlikelihood of addressing conflicts between zone-node pairs of participants - protocols - domain name, or E-mail address), geographical location, first and last name of the node operator, telephone number and flags indicating the capabilities of software and hardware provision of the node.

The list of nodes is updated weekly. Coordinators of each network keep it up to date local lists nodes These lists are regularly sent to higher-level coordinators, who compile a network-wide list of nodes. Changes in the list are sent (usually through file echo conferences) to all network nodes.

Routing

According to the concept of Fidonet and Policy, you can send a letter in two ways: either by direct (that is, directly to the recipient), or by the recipient’s network coordinator, who is obliged to organize further delivery of the mail he received to members of his network (usually either directly or, in large networks, through hubs ). This scheme is inconvenient in a network with a large number of nodes and often requires long-distance and international telephone calls to transfer information.

In view of this, it has become common practice to enter into informal agreements between system operators for one or more network nodes to take over the functions of routing network messages. In addition, at the zone level, nodes were allocated that took on the function of transmitting mail to other zones (interzone gates - English). zone gate) . Often the system operators of these nodes were also coordinators of their level or large hubs, but this was not a mandatory requirement.

Performing the functions of such nodes often required significant material costs, so in such cases, cost sharing could be introduced between all network nodes. costsharing). Other possibilities were also used: for example, since November 1991, the transmission of messages between Europe and North America, and since 1992, between other regions (Taiwan, South Africa, Chile, etc.) began to be carried out using. In Russia, similar functions were often performed by nodes whose system operators used their official position to make long-distance calls without payment, including through departmental networks (Iskra-2, railway network). Such nodes are called “longlinks” (from the English. long link).

In fact, the routing scheme was hierarchical, and the number of horizontal connections was small. This made it possible to do without special technical means to organize message routing. However, with the increase in the number of nodes, as well as with the spread of English. backbone) networks. To optimize the routing scheme for nodes with a large number of connections with other nodes, two solutions were proposed:

These solutions are intended for use by large nodes with a large number of interconnections. Most nodes continue to use the traditional routing scheme.

Fidonet Technical Standards

Almost all the main protocols and formats used in Fidonet are standardized and recorded in FTS (FidoNet Technical Standards), they are collected and standardized by , which sets the basic requirements that all systems must meet. The standard describes the requirements for the implementation of all layers of exchange protocols in accordance with the OSI network model, with the exception of the physical layer. At the data link layer, the XMODEM protocol was used for data transfer. - describes the principles of constructing an echo conference system

FTS-1024: Raw ifcico mail transfer protocol - describes the ifcico protocol designed to transfer data via reliable connections(such as TCP/IP channels).

FTS-1026: Binkp/1.0 Protocol specification - contains a description of the TCP/IP protocol.

FTS-5000: The distribution nodelist - defines the format of the list of network nodes

FSC-0056: EMSI/IEMSI Protocol Definitions - describes the EMSI handshake protocol.

FSC-0072: The HYDRA file transfer protocol - includes the Hydra data transfer protocol specifications.

Administrative structure

Fidonet has a hierarchical structure, described in paragraphs 1.2.3-1.2.8 of the Fidonet Charter. The lower level organizational entity is a network; networks are united into regions, and regions into zones. Each level has its own coordinator. Network and Regional Coordinators (NC and RC - English) Network Coordinator, Regional Coordinator ) are appointed by a higher-level coordinator, zone coordinators (ZC, English. Zone Coordinator) are elected as regional coordinators. Zone Coordinators are members of the Zone Coordinators Council, which decides issues affecting the network as a whole. The Chairman of the Council is the International Coordinator (IC). International Coordinator). The international coordinator is the guarantor of the legality of holding elections and referendums on the network, announces the decisions of the Council, and also performs the functions of compiling a global list of nodes.

The International Coordinator is selected by the Council of Zone Coordinators. The election procedure has always caused great controversy, as a result of which this post was often vacant. In 2000, Z2C (Zone 2 Coordinator) Ward Dossche (Dutch) was elected international coordinator. In 2004, the Council of Zone Coordinators announced his removal from his post and the election of Malcolm Miles as the Z3C International Coordinator. Malcolm Miles) . Dosche disagreed with this decision, pointing out that votes in elections should not be distributed according to the “one coordinator - one vote” scheme, but depending on the number of nodes in the relevant zone. With this scheme, he, as the coordinator of the largest, second zone, should have owned 89 votes, and all other coordinators in total - 11 votes. The consequence of this was the parallel existence of two international coordinators: Malcolm Miles, elected by the council of coordinators, and Ward Dossche, who refused to resign.

Net

There is no single approach to network numbering that is generally accepted throughout Fidonet. In zone 2 (Europe), the network number often includes the region number (for example, the network number 5020 (Moscow) includes the region number 50 - Russia). In small regions, one significant digit is used for the network number, in larger regions - two. Recently, due to a shortage of numbers for networks, this scheme has been violated: for example, in region 50 there are several networks whose numbers begin with 60: for example, network 6035 (Zheleznogorsk).

In zone 1, a different approach is used: the starting point for numbering networks in the region is region number × 20, and in larger regions region number × 200.

Region

A region may also include independent nodes that are not included in any network due to the absence of other nodes in the area or a conflict with members of an existing network.

Zone

Network members

Fidonet participants can be divided into three groups:

Nodes or nodes(English) nodes), which are full members of the network and are included in the list of nodes. The Fidonet Charter provides for the obligation of a node to comply with the procedures provided for mail exchange (in particular, to accept messages addressed to the node within the zonal postal hour). Nodes are responsible for the content of all traffic entering the network from their address, regardless of which specific user posted it. Nodes have the right to carry out any activity within the network that does not contradict the Fidonet Charter and does not irritate other network members.
Points(English) points) that use Fidonet software, but are not included in the list of nodes and are not required to comply with mail exchange procedures. To receive and send network mail and echomail, they use the services of a node (boss node, English. boss-node), which takes responsibility for all actions of the points. In some zones (in particular, in zone 2), the number of points many times exceeded and exceeds the number of nodes, reaching 120,000. currently in zone 2 about 50,000 points are saved [ specify] .
Users(English) users) services not directly related to Fidonet provided by one of the nodes. Users can be granted access to individual Fidonet transports by broadcasting (gating) messages from the external network to Fidonet and back. The node that provided access is responsible for all manifestations of user activity on Fidonet. Initially, the provisions concerning users applied to persons who used terminal access to the Internet ↔ Fidonet gates (see.

Fidonet software

For the functioning of network nodes, a complex of specific software is used. The software set is practically the same for end users and for large distribution nodes. On the one hand, this creates a certain barrier for new members: to join Fidonet, you need to have a certain technical literacy in order to install and configure Fidonet software. On the other hand, the absence of the need for specific equipment, platforms, complex and expensive software to organize a distribution node makes the Fido network flexible and stable: if a hub (a large distribution node) falls, its technical functions may well be taken over by any other node that agrees to This.

Currently, there are many self-configuring software packages designed to make it easier for new users to install and configure a set of programs.

Mailer

Tosser

Tosser is an intermediary between the local message storage of Fidonet (netmail is most often stored in a special msg format (each message in a separate file), echomail - in one of the Hudson formats (a common database for all messages), Jam or Squish (a separate database for messages in each echo conference) and a mailer that transfers information to other systems.

The most popular tossers are Squish, HPT from the package, ParToss, JustTosser, Regina Tosser (for OS/2), FastEcho, GEcho and so on.

Tracker

Filehoprocessor

Filehoprocessor- provides processing of files passing through file echo conferences (which are also briefly called “fakes”). Required only by those nodes and (or) points that use file echo conferences or distribute them.

Popular file echo processors: HTick from the Husky kit, Hi-files, AllFix, DMTic, NEF/pk, QuickTic (QTic), KingFix.

Message editor

Message editor- allows you to view incoming messages and create new ones.

The most popular cross-platform console editor is GoldED+.

Often a newsreader is used instead of an editor.

Robots

Robots- optional additional programs that serve mainly for automatic mail distribution, both netmail and echomail. The most frequently used robots are FAQ servers and Stat bots, which provide various statistical information. Robots are also often used by moderators to automatically place messages in an echo conference, most often the rules.

Many robots are customized in a special way.

Self-adjusting kits

Examples of packages: CrossPoint (German) and its derivatives for various platforms, WinPoint (GUI) for Microsoft Windows.

Some modern kits support automatic sending of a request to obtain a point address on the network.

Communication on the Fidonet network

Fidonet network users communicate in two ways:

via personal correspondence or netmail;
in echo conferences or echoes.

The difference between netmail and echo is that via netmail a message is delivered only to the person to whom it is addressed, while a letter sent to echo is received by all subscribers of that echo.

An analogue of netmail on the Internet is Email. The main differences between netmail and it are as follows:

Echoconferences

Echo conference is a type of teleconference that uses Fidonet technology for distribution. The closest analogue to an echo conference is newsgroups (for example, the network

Transferring files

File conferencing is similar to echo conferencing, but instead of text messages, files are shared. In this case, an accompanying file with the tic extension is transferred to each file, in which service information is written (name of the file echo conference, file name, size, checksum, list of nodes through which the file passed, etc.).

Faylekhs also have their own unique names, but due to the fact that fekh is much smaller than eh, their names usually consist of one word.

Yuyuk is encoded in MIME, and the file is considered attached and is called an attachment). Yuyuk is the most common method of transferring files, but the encoded file is one third larger in size than the original, and many (outdated or specially configured) tossers and some trackers do not allow echomail (and netmail) larger than a certain size to pass through. In this case, a multi-section file is created, which also creates inconvenience: most editors (for example, older versions of GoldED+) do not know how to work with multi-section files, so such files have to be encoded and decoded in a separate special program.

Attach (English) attach- attach) - transfer of a file with a letter. This creates a letter, which is a “letter of support”, and a file is attached to it. The method is more convenient and faster than with yuyuk (the file is not encoded), but due to the inability to control the size of the attachment (attached file), many nodes do not pass attachments through themselves. It is for this reason that the attachment has found less distribution in Fidonet. In addition, unlike yuyuk, the attachment cannot be transmitted by echomail; it is transmitted exclusively by netmail.

Direct (English) direct- direct, directly) - receiving files directly from the node, this method is somewhat akin to direct transmission in ICQ or peer-to-peer networks. This method requires a preliminary agreement between the person wishing to take the file and the person giving the file. You can take files not only from your own node, but from any node and even point. After an agreement, the node (or point) giving the file, as they say, “puts it on hold”, and after you have called (or they called you - as agreed), the files begin to go to you. Another person cannot take your files. This method is, without a doubt, more convenient than others in terms of transfer, since it does not impose any restrictions on the transferred files, but requires prior approval.

There is another way to obtain information on Fidonet - communicating with FAQ servers and File servers.

Fak-server is a custom thematic server that creates a netmail response with text (topic) corresponding to the netmail request. To maintain a fak server you need a separate program, most often Messmate is used. Communication with fak servers occurs only by netmail, the name (names) of the topic (topics) is written in the body or subject of the letter, and instead of the name of the owner of the node or point - the name of the fak server. After receiving the netmail, the program analyzes the netmail, and if it finds a request to the server, it generates responses to the addressee, also, of course, in netmail.

Fidoshnik's dictionary

Below are words often used by subscribers of certain echo conferences.

Aka (English) Also Known As) - an alternative address of the fidoshnik (for example, “point aka”) or his pseudonym (for example, “Yuri Nesterenko aka YuN”).
Alias (English) Alias) is a shorter file name for easier querying.
Unpublished (English) Unpublished) - an address, usually a telephone number, not described in the current pointlist, nodelist, etc. Option: unpublished.
Uplink (English) Uplink) - the network station that is higher in the hierarchy.
Arkmail (English) ArcMail) - mail pre-compressed by an archiver.
Attach (English) Attach) - a special letter sent along with the file.
Outbound (English) Outbound) - directory with outgoing mail of the station.
Bizya (English) Busy) - busy telephone line signal. Option - beads.
Bink (English) Bink) - shortened name for BinkleyTerm type mailers.
Borda or borda - the same as English. Boss) - node whose point is this station.
Bad (English) Bad) - mail that arrived with errors, or the informal name of the area where this mail ends up (Badmail)
Gate (English) Gate) - a gateway for transmitting mail from zone to zone or from one global network to another.
Downlink (English) DownLink) is a subordinate network station in the structure of nodes.
Grandfather - “Russian” shortened pronunciation of the name of the editor in English. Direct) - sending something directly, that is, not through the standard routing system.
Domain Domain) - address field, name of the global network.
Dup (English) Dupe) - mail that the tosser defined as “already arriving”, or an informal name for the area where such mail ends up (Dupemail)
Carbonka is an informal name for a special area where personal letters from echo conferences are copied; The name comes from the fact that often by default this area is called CARBON.COPIES or something like that, from the English. Carbon Copy- carbon copy.
Quoting (English) Quoting) - citation.
Kludge (English) Kludge) - official information in a letter. Option: kludge.
Complain (English) Complain) is a formal complaint.
Coordinator Coordinator) is the person in charge of the network.
Kitten is the informal name of the KittenMail mailer.
Crash floor Crash Poll) - continuous and frequent dialing to the node, ignoring the node's operating time flag. Options: Crash pool, crash floor, etc.
Link (English) Link) - the same as downlink.
Log (English) Log) - a service report file created by fidosh programs.
Mailer (English) Mailer) - a program that sends and receives mail.
Moderator Moderator) - a person checking compliance with the rules of this echo conference.
Netmail (English) NetMail) - network mail. Options: soap, netmail.
Noda (English) Node) - network node. Options: node.
Nodediff (English) Nodediff) - file of network structure changes.
Nodlist (English) Nodelist) - list of network nodes. Option: nodelist, nodelist.
Overquoting Overquoting) - excessive quoting, highly discouraged on the Internet.
Origin or origin (English) Origin) - the last line of the letter in the echomail.
Oftopic (English) OffTopic) - message is not on the topic of the conference.
Passrushnaya (eha, fekha) (from English. Pass through) - transit (file) echo conferences, that is, those that, after distributing points and links, are deleted from the node.
Point (English) Point) - network subscriber.
Pointlist (English) Pointlist) - list of network points.
Paul (English) Poll) - the command began dialing to the node.
Polisi (English) Policy) - charter of the Fidonet network.
Post (English) Post) - send letters to the echo.
Routing (English) Routing) - mail routing.
Rules (English) Rules) - conference rules.
Sabzh (English) Subj, Subject) - letter subject. Options: subj, subj.
Xinbai (English) Seen by) - a kludge in a letter, showing to which nodes this mail has already been transferred.
Sysop (English) SysOp, System Operator) - system operator.
Tagline (English) Tagline) - an optional line at the end of the letter.
Template (English) Template) - a template (“blank”) of a letter.
Teerline (English) TearLine) - a special line of the letter - the end of the text.
Tosser (English) Tosser) - echo processor.
Traffic (English) Traffic) - the volume of letters in kilobytes passing through a station (or conference) per certain period time.
Fasta is the “Russian” pronunciation of the name of the FastEcho tosser.
Flame (English) Flame) - an emotional argument in an echo, usually turning into personal attacks and insults, swearing.
Flamer is a participant in a flame, or a person prone to inciting or maintaining a flame.
Frek (English) Freq, File Request) - file request.
Fronda (from English. FrontDoor) - mailer; aka Frondur, aka “Front Door”.
Fekha (from English. File Echo) - file conference (file echo conference).
Hub (English) Hub) - a loaded network station for mail distribution.
Hatch (English) Hatch) - send files to a file echo conference.
Hidden (English) Hidden) - optional custom service line.
Host (English) Host) - the main station of the network.
TsM, TsMny (English) C.M.) - round the clock; occurs because the CM flag (from Continuous Mail) is placed in the nodelist line for stations operating around the clock.
Excommunication (English) Excommunication) - exclusion of the system from the network.
Echo (English) Echo) - (echo) network conference.
Ehotag (English) Echotag) - the name of the conference (usually without a prefix), used as a placeholder and pointer to the name. Example: The phrase “This is not echoey” regarding the SU.HUMOR echo means that the information is not funny.
XAB (abbreviation for English. eXcessively Annoying Behavior) - Excessively incorrect (irritating) behavior.

Other FTN networks

Main article: FTN (Fidonet technology network). For such networks, the terms "zone" and "network" may have different meanings. The network number can be any invented number (supported by the software), the same applies to the zone number, but numbers 1-6 are not used in most networks, as this may make it difficult to use the same installed software package simultaneously for Fidonet. Popularly, such networks are also called “left-nets”.

Some banks still use FTN mailers and Client-Bank systems based on them.

Computer game - FIDO simulator

Fidonet subculture in Russia

Over the years of Fidonet's existence in Russia, a certain subculture has developed within the network. This shows up:

in the informal relationship of network participants to each other (on the network, it is an unspoken rule to address each other as “you”, regardless of age and position in society);
in the existence of fidosh folklore (various “fidosh tales”, songs and jokes); see also the joke about the chicken;
in regular informal meetings between network participants.

Offline meetings

Meetings of fidoshniks are called “sysopka” and “pointovka”. The name “pointing” more often means the meeting of points of the same node. There are also meetings of subscribers of the same echo conference, then the name is most often formed by gluing together the name of the echo (or echotag) and the ending -ovka, for example, if the echo is called spb.cars, then the meeting will be called “karzovka”, if spb.school - "skulevka" if (transcript)

Echoconference

FidoNet is a non-profit network of enthusiasts. Nodes, stations, people and their addresses. This mysterious Fidonet

Origin of the name and symbol

Reforming Fidonet

Fidonews

Administrative structure

List of nodes

Coordination

Net

Region

Zone

International coordinator

Other FTN networks

Technical network organization

Addressing

Routing

Technical standards

Fidonet software

Operating mode

Mailer

Tosser

Tracker

Robots

Self-adjusting kits

Access Fido from the Internet

WWW-gates / fidoforums / WebBBS

WebBBS List

Fido7

Transferring files

Fidoshnik's dictionary

Fidonet subculture in Russia

Funny transcripts

Offline meetings

How Fido works

The origins of bias. New hopes

The story of my interest in the Fidonet network (you can safely skip it)

How did this happen...

This mysterious Fidonet

“Was a normal fidoshnik, became a simple bbs nickname”

Instead of a conclusion

HISTORY AND BRIEF RULES OF THE NETWORK.

Network of friends - 2.

NODES, STATIONS, PEOPLE AND THEIR ADDRESSES

FIDONET ADDRESS STRUCTURE

NODLIST

PRACTICAL APPLICATION OF THE INFORMATION OBTAINED

IT IS IMPORTANT.

A FEW FINAL WORDS

GLOSSARY

Origin of the name and symbol

Fidonet in Russia

Fidonews

Technical network organization

Addressing

Routing

Fidonet Technical Standards

Administrative structure

Net

Region

Zone

Network members

Fidonet software

Mailer

Tosser

Tracker

Filehoprocessor

Message editor

Robots

Self-adjusting kits

Communication on the Fidonet network

Echoconferences

Transferring files

Fidoshnik's dictionary

Other FTN networks

Computer game - FIDO simulator

Fidonet subculture in Russia

Offline meetings

Links

Official website and documents

Access to Fidonet conferences

Sites about Fidonet