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   Hello Greg,   
      
    LL>> It is an excellent history or video documentary. But like all   
    LL>> histories (or documentaries) it is an interpretation.   
      
    GD> So you finally watched it OR perhaps you did not watch the documentary at   
    GD> all, due to you calling it an interpretation, that could be said for some   
    GD> documentaries but this, is not one of those times.   
      
   History is a combination of facts and interpretation. Not just any   
   history, but all history. Regardless of subject or subject matter.   
      
   History is about interpreting the past, but is also a "spin" on   
   historical facts (whatever those facts may be). It is also tentative,   
   subject to changes, as time goes on, as new information becomes known   
   and/or available.   
      
   All history is revisionist history, same as no snowflake is the same.   
      
    GD> Simply due to the actual people that were interviewed, these were the very   
    GD> individuals that they were making and living within this historical past.   
      
   There were actual people who fought battles in the US Civil War.   
   On both sides. But what is taught in schools are interpretations   
   or tales from different viewpoints.   
      
   Most histories of the US Civil War that are taught in schools are told   
   from a Northern point of view, with only a small minority being taught   
   from a Southern point of view.   
      
   The reason why is simple - the North won the war and the South lost.   
      
   Imagine the world today if Nazis had won WWII, with people from   
   around the world praising Adolf Hitler as being a visionary figure   
   rather than an evil madman.   
      
    GD> People like Tom Jennings and Ben Baker, and Ward Christensen as well as   
    GD> others.   
      
   Fidonet began with a small number of sysops, and expanded to a much   
   larger number worldwide. Some, like Tom Jennings, only participated for   
   a few years. Others stayed on for decades.   
      
    GD> Jason Scott did NOT narrate this documentary nearly to any degree.   
      
   He was instrumental in putting it on the web, and took full credit   
   for it.   
      
    GD> The people who were interviewed did the majority of talking as they spoke   
    GD> about the factual historical past of Fidonet.   
      
   Some people were interviewed, but certainly not all, or all who   
   should have been. And the conclusions derived or alluded to were   
   those of the producer, Jason Scott.   
      
   There are two kinds of histories - simultaneous and consecutive.   
   Scott presented his own interpretation - which he is free to update   
   any time he wants. But it is not a definitive history. Nor is it an   
   official history.   
      
    GD> You would know this to be true, if you watched the documentary.   
      
   History is a combination of facts and interpretation. Jason Scott   
   has his own combination of facts, and presents his own interpretation.   
   He has presented his video documentary online for all to watch.   
      
    LL>> truth as told by The Union what really happened during the US Civil   
    LL>> War? Was the truth as told by The Confederacy what really happened   
    LL>> during the US Civil War? Depends on who was telling the tale, and   
    LL>> who was listening.   
      
    GD> Your civil war thing is nothing more than your an attempt of a   
   distraction.   
      
   The idea of zones in Fidonet is, and always has been, a distraction.   
      
    GD> I follow the Civil War too, it was far from civil, but that will be a   
    GD> discussion for another day.   
      
   There have been several recent books written about the possibility   
   of a new civil war coming about. Will present some topics along those   
   lines in this echo, as well as in the POLITICS echo.   
      
    GD> But I will say the Brains were in the North and apparently this is remains   
    GD> true even today.   
      
   Had the South won the war we all know who would have written the   
   histories taught in our schools.   
      
   All histories are revisionist. Nothing is set in stone. Held   
   interpretations of history are tentative, subject to changes as   
   new information is uncovered.   
      
    LL>> The same is true in regards to the history of Fidonet.   
      
    GD> Nice try trying to rope me into whatever that was.   
    GD> No Fidonet is not like that at all, by the way.   
      
   Trying to fence in sysops is like herding cats. But some things   
   are too obvious to ignore. Even for sysops.   
      
    LL>> I have no idea as to who is right and who is wrong. It could be   
    LL>> both are wrong, and far from the mark.   
      
    GD> I counted at least 1500, I used last weeks nodelist that came out last   
    GD> Friday 01/13/2023 I can break them down by zone also, but that will   
   require   
    GD> more time.   
      
   Depends on who is doing the counting, and what is being counted.   
   Vince says one thing, Ward says another, and Greg says something else.   
   Maybe all are right, each in their own way.   
      
    GD> Just take a look at the latest Nodelist that comes out this Friday. As it   
   is   
    GD> is available each Friday.   
      
   But is it the same, for each zone? That is the question.   
   Or one of the questions. As there are several zones, none   
   of which truly are needed.   
      
    LL>> As can plainly be seen, there is no rhyme or reason as to why there   
    LL>> should be any zones in Fidonet. There never has been a need, even in   
    LL>> Fidonet's heyday of 34,000+ sysops worldwide.   
      
    GD> The BBS Documentary speaks to the peak also. I think it is greater then   
    GD> 34,000   
      
   Whatever the peak number, it was far higher than what it is today.   
      
    LL>> So why did Tom Jennings insist on Fidonet include 6 zones in P4?   
    LL>> And why did sysops later decide to drop two zones, with the excuse   
    LL>> there were not enough sysops in those parts to justify them?   
      
    GD> You need to understand a few key points here...   
    GD> (points that I have been trying to make, for at least a few messages now)   
      
   There were no zones when Fidonet was created.   
   The introduction of zones did not come about until   
   Fidonet P4 was written (although signed by no one).   
   Why were zones included in P4? Because Tom Jennings   
   said so, without citing any reason.   
      
    GD> In the beginning it was fido-bbs software not fidonet, fido had a 250 node   
    GD> limit.   
      
   I find this to be a very silly and absurd excuse. In California,   
   which has a current population of over 38 million people. With a   
   world population of some 8 billion souls.   
      
    GD> Fidonet allowed a better structure for growth and it has lasted to the   
   21st   
    GD> century.   
      
   Sysops did not wait until the 21st century to cross that 250 node   
   limit ...   
      
    GD> As it continues to roll on ever forward.   
    GD> Zone 1 Consists of North America - U.S. and Canada.   
      
   There were no zones until P4 was written - in 1989.   
   There were a lot more than 250 sysops prior to 1989.   
   So why were zones needed again?   
   The first excuse doesn't seem to add up.   
      
    LL>> How many sysops does it take to justify the need for a separate zone?   
      
    GD> To my earlier point your not even zone 1.   
      
   I'm an independent. :)   
      
   For Life,   
   Lee   
      
   --    
   NO MASKS REQUIRED. THIS IS A NO-FEAR ZONE.   
      
   --- MesNews/1.08.05.00-gb   
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