FidoNet:

There are at least four different kinds of communication between FidoNet BBSs. The most well-known is "echomail." Echomail is a system of public messages bases which are shared (or "echoed") between whichever BBSs wish to carry them. There are hundreds of echoes available, on every conceivable topic. Appendix B lists those which are Christian or generally religion-related which were known at the time of publication. However, there are new echoes starting up every day. Check with your BBS sysop to see what echoes are already on your BBS, and which ones can be obtained easily.

The second form of communication is known as "netmail." Netmail is private mail, which should only be seen by the sender and the receiver. (However, it is possible for sysops to read mail on their systems which is not addressed to them, so private mail is really only as private as permitted by your sysop and the sysop on your correspondent's BBS.) Usually, sysops have a small charge for sending netmail messages. The charge is usually less than the cost of a one-minute phone call, because often the sysop has to make a call to exchange echomail anyway, so the cost of piggy-backing a message onto that call is minimal.

The third method of communication is file attachments and file requests. It is possible to attach a file to any netmail message, and to configure a netmail message so that the receiving BBS will send the requested file to the asking BBS. Because file attachments and file requests can involve very large files, it is only possible to send them directly to the receiving BBS, rather than routing them through other BBSs. (The acronym FREQ, for File REQuest, has entered the BBS users vocabulary as a verb, usually pronounced "freak." Somebody might post a message on an echo asking for a particular kind of file, and someone else might tell them, "You can FREQ that file from my BBS here.")

The last method of communication is file distribution. File distribution is like echomail, in that the files are passed on automatically. One BBS is set up as the "host" for a whole network, and the sysop at that BBS gathers all the relevant files, tests them for viruses, and sends them out, a few at a time, to be spread throughout the network, or at least, to those BBSs which sign up to receive a given type of file. The Shareware Distribution Network (SDN) is one such file distribution network.

FidoNet is divided into six "Zones", one per continent. (Zone 1 is North America, Zone 2 is Europe, Zone 3 is Oceania, Zone 4 is South America, Zone 5 is Africa, and Zone 6 is Asia.) Each Zone is further subdivided into networks. (For example, FidoNet network 1:153 is the lower mainland of British Columbia.) Within each network, there are individual nodes, or BBSs. (For example, 1:153/313 is Agape BBS in Langley.) It is possible, although not necessary, for each BBS sysop to distribute "point" addresses, so that callers can have incoming mail set aside for them to pick up. (Thus, 1:153/313.132 might be my private mailbox on Agape.) Therefore, a FidoNet address consists of five parts: the user's name, the Zone, the network, the node, and (possibly) the point.

It is possible to send private mail between FidoNet and other networks through the use of mail "gateways." A gateway is a computer which is present in two or more networks, and has special software to permit mail sent from one network to be readdressed and properly delivered to another.

To send mail from Internet to FidoNet, it is necessary to "parse" the FidoNet address, and rework it into an Internet-readable address for the gateway to read. Let's say my address is at:

1:153/313.132

That is: Zone 1, Net 153, Node 313, Point 132. My Internet address would be:

greg.slade@p132.f313.n153.z1.FidoNet.org

The name comes first, all in lower case, and with a period instead of a space between the first and last names, then comes the "at"-sign (@), then a "p" followed by the point number (if there is one, otherwise you can leave out the "p") then an "f", followed by the node number, then an "n" followed by the network number, then a "z", followed by the zone number, and finally "fidonet.org".

To send mail from a FidoNet BBS to an Internet address, send the message to UUCP at your nearest gateway. (There are many of these, each serving a certain section of the Internet. The simplest way to find out the address of your nearest gateway machine is to have somebody send mail to you from the Internet, and make note of the FidoNet address the mail is sent through.) In the first line of the message, put TO: and the Internet address. Then, leave a blank line, and begin your message on the third line. There should be nothing in the first line of the message except your TO: command. For example, if you were sending a message to my Internet address, you might address it to UUCP at 1:105/42. In the first line of the message, you would put:

TO: greg.slade@mydomain.com

Dear Greg:....

There is a gateway between FidoNet and FamilyNet. Netmail from FidoNet BBSs to FamilyNet BBSs should be sent to 1:115/887. Netmail from FamilyNet BBSs to FidoNet BBSs should be sent to 8:8/0.

There are some religious echoes on the FidoNet backbone (required to be carried in all FidoNet networks), and more which are carried only between the interested BBSs.

FidoNet Technology Networks:

ACFN:

ACNet:

AFN:

Anglinet:

Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) Network:

ChristNet:

CyberChurch:

FamilyNet International:

The host node of FamilyNet (8:8/0) is the Chicago Area Computer Center, which is also node 1:115/887 in FidoNet, and netmail addressed to a FamilyNet BBS from a FidoNet BBS should be routed through 1:115/887. Netmail addressed to a FidoNet BBS from a FamilyNet BBS should be routed through 8:8/0. Information on how to join FamilyNet is contained in the file FMLYNET.ZIP, which can be downloaded or FREQed from CACC at 1-708-739-0033, or any FamilyNet BBS.

There are several special interest nets within FamilyNet. One is the Christian Distribution Network (CDN), which is a files distribution network for sharing Christian-based resources (software) and echomail areas. CDN uses the same file distribution technology as SDN in FidoNet, and CDN file areas and echoes are available from the FidoNet backbone, as well as in FamilyNet. At the time of writing, there were 300 nodes in CDN. The Host Node for CDN is The Preacher Online (1:394/1 in FidoNet, 8:200/0 in FamilyNet.) The phone number for the Preacher Online is 1-504-878-3023. The information file (CDN) can be downloaded or FREQed from there.

IMEX:

LifeNet:

LifeNet consists of zone 77. The host BBS, ALBI-Box (77:77/0) is also 2:246/1307 in FidoNet and 8:7630/1 in FamilyNet, so netmail from those networks can be routed to ICCN nodes through those addresses. LifeNet also has a domain in internet (life.org). To send mail from Internet to LifeNet, a LifeNet address in the form:

Albi Rebman at 77:7700/1

That is: Zone 77, Net 7700, Node 1, should be translated to:

albi.rebman@f1.n7700.z77.life.org

(See the section on FidoNet for more information on translating FidoNet technology addresses to Internet-addressable addresses.)

One_Net:

PhileoNet Christian Network:

SIGnet:

SON-net:

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