                  THE GONZO GUIDE TO ECHO AND NET MAIL
                                    from the publishers of the Gonzo Times (C).
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

ECHO MAIL (or Echo Conference)
Echo mail is an execution of the idea of shared message bases between
multiple BBS systems.  If you enter messages into an Echo area it is
forwarded to another system for further forwarding.... until theoretically
it is on every system that subscribes to that Echo conference.  In practice
it takes a couple of days and the messages can get dropped out of a branch if
a system feeding that branch has problems.

The important thing about an Echo area is your SysOp or someone in that Net
is carrying the cost of the message sending.  Messages you enter into an
Echo conference are FREE to you.  For this reason SysOps require that all
messages entered into an Echo conference be  1) Public, and 2) Relevant to
the area that it was entered in.

Basically it works like this .... you enter a message into an Echo conference
on, let's say board X.  At some point in time board X, who is also Node 77 in
the local Net, calls the system that distributes this Echo locally (Let's say
that's Node 2).  It then transfers all the new messages, including yours, to
that system.  That system (Node 2 again) then distributes these new messages
to the other Nodes in the local Net that carry that conference.  Every Node in
the local Net does something along these lines so that at some point in time
we ALL have the SAME messages in the conferences that we carry in common.
That's the local part of it.

Now for the long distance part of this puzzel.  Once or twice a day, usually
during the night when phone rates are down, one of the systems in the local
Net (Node 2 in our example) calls a large system (Star) located outside of the
local Net and picks up the new messages for this Echo.  During the same call
the local system also sends any new messages that were entered by you or anyone
else on ANY system in the local Net.  The remote Star system then holds these
new messages, along with others coming in from other Nets for the next system
that calls to pick up the new messages for that particular Echo.  Star systems
are regional (currently 3 or 4 across the USA) and there may be links between
a local Net and a Star system.  At some point the Star systems call the next
Star system down the chain and they pass megabytes of messages both directions.

Well by morning, assuming that everybody got linked up to everybody else, the
message that you entered is probably well around your area of the country and,
depending on timing, may already be well across North America.  By the next day
your message is on it's way to Philadelphia, Sydney, Fargo, London, San Jose
and wherever!

From my point of view this is a more or less typical set up. It can get a lot
more complicated in terms of who links to who, how you scan the message bases,
etc., etc.  Oh yeah, the whole network that this works on is called Fidonet(TM)
and can be used by several types of BBS software including Opus, Fido, TBBS,
QuickBBS and others.  Now on to Net mail.....



NET MAIL
Net mail uses the same network, the same software and is similar to Echo mail
except that it's considered to be PRIVATE mail.  Net mail is also most often
sent directly to the destination BBS.  Echo messages should be free.  Net mail
usually costs you (not much, but it still costs).

Let's say you notice, from reading the Echo mail, that Joe Bleu of Fraznak,
AZ uses "Old Dogs BBS" all the time and has said several times "If you want
the details on how to make an old dog learn new tricks send a Net mail message
to me".  From the "Origin:" line at the bottom of his messages you know that
"Old Dogs BBS" is Net 487/node 23 or 487/23.  To send him a private message
requesting the info you will need to know that he is at 487/23.

At this point BBS software may vary, I will describe how it works on an Opus
system because that is the one that I am most familiar with.  It should be
similar for others.  For our example let's say you are sending the Net mail
message from a BBS who's FidoNet address is 236/29.

All FidoNet systems have an area called "Net Mail" or something along that line.
If you don't have access to it, ask your SysOp if he allows access and if so,
what are the requirements to have access to that area.  Once you have access to
the Net mail area you can enter messages like you enter a message in any other
area EXCEPT that the BBS will ask you for a Net or Matrix address.  This is how
you tell the BBS where to send the message (ie. 487/23).

At this point some cost factors come to bear.  A look-up will be done to see
what it costs to send a message to the address you've entered.  On my system
the result of that look up would be $0.20 (for Arizona systems).  The BBS
software may check to see if you have $0.20 "on account".  If not, the BBS
should give you a message saying that you don't have enough credit.  BUT, if
you've decided this is a function that you need and have sent the sysop, say
a dollar, the software realizes "Oh, this person has credit, let'em send the
message".  The BBS will subtract $.20 from your account and let you enter the
message to your old buddy Joe Bleu in Fraznak.  At some time in the wee hours
the BBS will decide it has a Net mail message to 487/23 in Fraznak and call
that board directly or call his Net Host to send your message.  By morning
487/23 has a private message waiting for Joe.  Joe calls "Old Dogs BBS" the
next day, sees his message from you at 236/29 and thinks you're pretty slick.
He then enters the information that you requested into a Net mail message of
his own, gets real slick and does a "File Attach" and sends you net mail WITH
a file called TRICK.ARC to 236/29.  You call the BBS (236/29) the next morning,
see your message and download the file that Joe sent to you.

Yes folks, all this amazing technology for just 20 centavos.

Message costs actually vary a great deal depending on what the local SysOp has
decided he needs to cover his Long Distance costs.  These costs can vary based
on arrangements made with certain other Nets, Long Distance companies, Modem
speeds and more.

---
Here's some SAMPLE costs from my system as of the date this was written.

    Net mail to anyone in the local Net        - $0.00 per message
    Net mail to Nets that I contact regularly  - $0.10 per message
    Net mail to Nets I contact semi-regularly  - $0.15 per message
    Net mail to any net/node in Continental US - $0.20 per message
    Net mail to Canada, Hawaii or Alaska       - $0.50 per message
    Net mail to Mexico                         - $0.90 per message
    Net mail overseas (Europe, Indonesia, etc.)- $3.00 per message

I realize that I've left out a thousand details and that I'm oversimplifying
this procedure but I hope this give you some idea of what Echo and Net mail
is about and a very general idea of how to use it.  Your local FidoNet SysOp
or the local Net Host should be able to field any questions you have about
Echo or Net mail.

Check out this impressive little service that your local FidoNet(TM) SysOp is
providing for you and have fun.

                                                 Skip Guenter
                                                 FidoNet 236/1
_______________________________________________________________________________
--- Tearline (tear here for publication or BBS use)

NOTICE: This is a previously published work that is copyrighted with all rights
        being retained by the original author, S.R.'Skip' Guenter.  You may
        re-print or publish this article in any non-profit organizations news-
        letter so long as full credit is given to the author and a copy of the
        publication is mailed to the author.  You may also use this as a bul-
        letin on free, public-access bulletin board systems (BBS, CBCS, etc) as
        long as credit is given to the author.  For BBS use the sample cost
        section may be deleted and replaced as long as it is clearly labled as
        a replacement done by the local System Operator.

