FidoNet is an amateur electronic mail network with about 30,000 mail nodes world wide. Since most mail nodes are publicly accessible Bulletin Board Systems (BBS), some of which have hundreds of members, FidoNet probably ranks up there alongside some of the better known commercial on-line services in terms of the number of people who use it.
FidoNet nodes are often personal computers in somebody's basement; the system operator (sysop) may be a young child or a retired grandfather. Some nodes are networks consisting of dozens of PCs or larger systems, and some are run by governments, fire departments, or large corporations to support the needs of their constituents or customers. A few are actually money making ventures.
FidoNet is designed around point to point transfers: each system can call any other system (literally, using phone lines and modems, or metaphorically through some other mechanism). In order to do this, it depends upon a telephone directory called the
Nodelist
. The Nodelist allows you to look up a system by its node number and retrieve a telephone number (and some other helpful information). A FidoNet address consists of four components:
So, a complete FidoNet address would look like 1:142/928.0
Each level (Zone, Region, and Net) has a Coordinator whose primary duty is to assemble the corresponding portion of the Nodelist.
Not by having every node call every other one, of course; although that is still done if the sysop really wants to make sure that his Netmail is delivered. Each type of traffic travels slightly differently, and generally it moves along paths which are mutually agreed upon by the sysops involved. This type of transfer is called store and forward.
Netmail can move directly, from the originating Node to the destination; but it can also move via Low Priority Mail (LPM). LPM relies upon the fact that most systems will automatically accept any incoming Netmail and move it on its way in the general direction of its destination. That might mean sending it to an intermediate system in an adjacent town, or it might mean sending it to a hub in a central location, or it might mean sending it up to someone in the FidoNet hierarchy. The Coordinators move things up and down anyway, so a message might go up three levels and down three levels to cross the globe.
Echomail moves every which way. Because of the sheer volume of Echomail, most systems do not handle every conference. Each system which handles a conference makes copies of each message for any adjacent systems which haven't already seen it and sends the copies on their way. Arranging for Echomail to be shipped around used to be a major problem, so much so that special Echomail Coordinators exist at each level in the administrative hierarchy. Their primary duty is to make sure that Echomail doesn't start running in circles.
New technology has greatly simplified the transportation of Echomail. For example, in North America almost every echo is broadcast from a satellite to special receivers on the ground; the equipment and use of this service is much cheaper than the long distance telephone calls needed to accomplish the same thing. (The return traffic, which is relatively small from any individual system, still goes by telephone most of the time.) As an alternative, there are systems on the Internet which have bundles of Echomail available for FTP; since many sysops have Internet access, this is a convenient alternative for some.
Although FidoNet is a volunteer organization with no paid staff and no membership fees, some of these Echomail providers do charge for their service. This has occasioned some debate, but since their customers usually save a lot of money over the "old way" there is no orchestrated move at this time to do anything about it one way or the other. Any sysop is free to get his Echomail wherever he likes, so long as he doesn't cause technical problems for others (by inadvertently creating circular paths, for example); so if you don't like the way one source is doing things, you can go elsewhere at the drop of a hat.
File Distributions
work the same as Echomail in most regards.
The nodes which make up FidoNet are owned by individual hobbyists, schools, businesses, newspapers, governments, and clubs. Since most of them are Bulletin Board Systems first, and FidoNet nodes second, they are an independent lot; they always have the option of leaving FidoNet, adding or even starting other networks (both FTNs and others), or just going it alone.
Curiously (or perhaps inevitably) for such a loosely defined group, FidoNet is not a democracy. It is formally an autocracy consisting of:
The IC is elected by the Zone Coordinators from among themselves; the Zone Coordinators are elected by the Regional Coordinators in their Zone; and all of the other Coordinators are appointed by the level above them, and serve at pleasure. (Note that the Zone Coordinator appoints the very Regional Coordinators who in turn elect him.) The primary duty of each Coordinator is to edit a portion of the Nodelist; that portion is sent up the chain for consolidation and then a master update is passed back down. Their other duty is to settle disputes; their only power to enforce their decisions is embodied in their control of a Nodelist segment, and that means that the only effective punishment which can be meted out is excommunication (loss of a Nodelist entry). The Network Coordinators have the additional duty of fielding new node applications (see How to Join ).
None of the Coordinators is paid, nor are they under any contractual constraints: FidoNet has no corporate existence in any formal legal sense, and no dues, meetings, or any of the usual trappings of an association or club. In fact, FidoNet has very few rules, chiefly
Clearly there is some room for interpretation, and so the diplomatic skills of a Coordinator can make the difference between a happy Net and a Net in open rebellion.
The tension between a rigid autocracy on the one hand and a "go shove it" attitude on the part of the individual sysops is what keeps FidoNet flexible (and keeps certain echoes boiling). In many places, Coordinators are effectively elected despite the rules: the winner of the election is appointed by the Coordinator above.
All of this is spelled out in the document referred to as "
Policy4
" (P4); despite its shortcomings, every attempt to replace or amend P4 has failed.
FidoNet has inspired other networks using similar software; these are often referred to as Fido Technology Networks (FTN). Many FidoNet sysops belong to a dozen or so FTNs. Some of these FTNs arose out of political fights within FidoNet, some deal with local issues, and some are just for people with special interests (not necessarily sexual). Many of these other networks have gateways which link Netmail and Echomail back and forth with FidoNet.
The Internet is another animal altogether. Every FidoNet node has an Internet address which is based upon its FidoNet address. An example would be
p1.f928.n142.z1.fidonet.org
There are systems throughout the world which function as mail gateways between the two networks. There is no default gateway, however, so a particular FidoNet node may or may not be able to receive mail from the Internet.
By virtue of having an Internet address, and the ability to address systems on the Internet, a FidoNet message can be sent to or received from other networks such as AmericaOnline ( aol.com ), Prodigy ( prodigy.com ), and CompuServe ( compuserve.com ).
The requirements for joining FidoNet are extremely few:
Once you are in, you can then make arrangements with other sysops to get your mail.
In practice, it can be a little more complicated, of course. Policy4 is pretty clear, but it won't help you set up your software. Some software is well documented, some is not; some is a beast to configure, some is not; some is free, some is not. Assembling all of the bits and pieces takes time and technical savvy. (The analogy to ham radio is not accidental.)
Your best bet is to ask questions of the other sysops in your area via their BBSs. Most are quite eager to help, and will have all of the software and utilities you need available for you to download.
Written by Jerry Schwartz, 1:142/928. © Copyright Jerry Schwartz 1995, 1996, 1997
Fido®, FidoNet®, and the dog with diskette are registered marks of Tom Jennings and Fido Software. The version of the dog with diskette used in this document was found on Wangi's FidoNet Links and is used without permission.