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Groups > comp.os.linux.misc > #86704
| From | "Carlos E.R." <robin_listas@es.invalid> |
|---|---|
| Newsgroups | comp.os.linux.misc |
| Subject | Re: All the problems of French Philsophy... |
| Date | 2026-05-15 20:03 +0200 |
| Organization | Tebibyte_Retro_Gaming |
| Message-ID | <fo3kdmx1gi.ln2@Telcontar.valinor> (permalink) |
| References | (9 earlier) <kEoNR.3$0hf2.1@fx44.iad> <rhphdmxt8o.ln2@Telcontar.valinor> <n6n5ghFi4d0U4@mid.individual.net> <bcejdmxc2l.ln2@Telcontar.valinor> <n6p3afFr8mhU4@mid.individual.net> |
On 2026-05-15 19:26, rbowman wrote: > On Fri, 15 May 2026 13:58:35 +0200, Carlos E.R. wrote: > >> On 2026-05-15 01:51, rbowman wrote: >>> On Thu, 14 May 2026 22:56:59 +0200, Carlos E.R. wrote: >>> >>>> Right, I just remembered I got a "Linux Unleashed, the comprehensive >>>> solution!", third edition, Byt Tim Parker, SAMS. I see inside an empty >>>> CD envelope. Copyright 1998. Oh! There is another CD envelope on the >>>> back cover (inside). Good quality paper, has not yellowed. >>> >>> No, but the information has for the most part. Does it have chapters >>> devoted to Archie, Versonica, and friends? >> >> I have no idea what those are :-) > > Kids... > > https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archie_Comics > > However in this context > > https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archie_(search_engine) > https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jughead_(search_engine) > https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veronica_(search_engine) > +++--------- Archie is a tool for indexing FTP archives, allowing users to more easily identify specific files. It is considered the first Internet search engine.[2] The original implementation was written in 1990 by Alan Emtage, then a postgraduate student at McGill University in Montreal, Canada.[3][4][5][6] Archie was superseded by other, more sophisticated search engines, including Jughead and Veronica, which were search engines for the Gopher protocol. These were in turn superseded by World Wide Web search engines like AltaVista and directories like Yahoo! in 1995. Work on Archie ceased in the late 1990s. A legacy Archie server was maintained for historic purposes in Poland at Interdisciplinary Centre for Mathematical and Computational Modelling in the University of Warsaw until 2023. ---------++- So by the end of the century they did not exist. I did not have internet till the turn of the century. In the 90's I had Fidonet, which had some search system I have forgotten. I just asked ChatGPT to remind me. +++--------- Yes. In classic FidoNet systems, file searching was typically done through **File Requests (FREQ)** and **file echo indexes** rather than a global searchable database like the modern web. Common methods were: ### 1. File Request (FREQ) You sent a request directly to a node that hosted files. Typical syntax from a mailer or tosser: ```text FREQ filename.zip ``` or using a command-line mailer: ```text binkd -f filename.zip 2:2452/110 ``` The remote system would automatically send the file during the next mail session if: * the filename matched * the node allowed FREQs * you had access rights Wildcards were often supported: ```text FREQ yast*.zip ``` --- ### 2. ALLFIX / Filefix robots Large file distribution hubs used robots where you could request: * lists of available file areas * subscriptions * file indexes You sent a netmail command like: ```text %LIST ``` or ```text %QUERY yast ``` to the robot address. --- ### 3. FILES.BBS indexes Every BBS typically maintained a `FILES.BBS` text index. Searching was usually done locally: ```bash grep -i yast FILES.BBS ``` or through BBS search utilities. --- ### 4. Hubs carrying file echoes Files propagated through “file echoes” similarly to message echoes. Examples: * Linux distributions * shareware * drivers * utilities You searched the catalog distributed by the hub. --- ### 5. Modern surviving Fidonet tools Some surviving systems expose searchable indexes via: * FTP * telnet BBS * web gateways Examples include: * IFDC archives * fsxNet gateways * filegate mirrors If you want, I can also explain: * exact FREQ packet syntax * how FrontDoor/BinkleyTerm handled searches * how TIC files worked * how people searched globally across many nodes in the 1990s * surviving Fidonet file archives today Q: Yes, now I remember some of it. I had forgotten :-) Those systems had a very different feel from today’s networks — highly decentralized, store-and-forward, and often surprisingly efficient over dial-up lines. FidoNet file distribution with FREQ, TIC files, file echoes, and nightly mail events was quite elegant for the constraints of the time. A lot of people also remember: * waiting for the mail hour * ZModem transfers * `FILES.BBS` * node addresses like `2:341/14` * tossing mail packets overnight * hubs redistributing Linux CDs and shareware The `magic names` feature was especially handy too: ```text id="gkkew9" FREQ FILES FREQ INDEX FREQ NEW ``` where the remote system dynamically generated listings instead of sending a literal file. And some setups had searchable file databases through tools like: * HPT * FastEcho * AllFix * Tick processors * RemoteAccess * Maximus * FrontDoor A surprisingly sophisticated ecosystem considering much of it ran on DOS machines with a single phone line. 🙂 A lot of that old infrastructure was clever engineering born from scarcity — bandwidth, storage, phone costs, CPU time. Yet it enabled global messaging and file distribution long before the modern Internet became common. Some Fidonet terminology still sounds wonderfully archaic today: * echomail * netmail * tossing/scanning * points and nodes * crash mail * SEAdog mailers * TIC processors * Areafix/Filefix And despite the age, parts of FidoNet still exist. There are still active nodes, telnet-accessible BBSes, and archives online preserving echoes and file areas from decades ago. ---------++- -- Cheers, Carlos. ES🇪🇸, EU🇪🇺;
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All the problems of French Philsophy... The Natural Philosopher <tnp@invalid.invalid> - 2026-05-11 19:00 +0100
Re: All the problems of French Philsophy... jayjwa <jayjwa@atr2.ath.cx.invalid> - 2026-05-11 14:11 -0400
Re: All the problems of French Philsophy... Bobbie Sellers <bliss-sf4ever@dslextreme.com> - 2026-05-11 11:34 -0700
Re: All the problems of French Philsophy... The Natural Philosopher <tnp@invalid.invalid> - 2026-05-11 20:18 +0100
Re: All the problems of French Philsophy... John McCue <jmclnx@gmail.com.invalid> - 2026-05-11 20:57 +0000
Re: All the problems of French Philsophy... Rich <rich@example.invalid> - 2026-05-11 21:33 +0000
Re: All the problems of French Philsophy... Bobbie Sellers <bliss-sf4ever@dslextreme.com> - 2026-05-11 15:05 -0700
Re: All the problems of French Philosophy... Lawrence D’Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> - 2026-05-11 22:45 +0000
Re: All the problems of French Philsophy... Steve Hayes <hayesstw@telkomsa.net> - 2026-05-12 07:37 +0200
Re: All the problems of French Philsophy... Lawrence D’Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> - 2026-05-12 05:50 +0000
Re: All the problems of French Philsophy... c186282 <c186282@nnada.net> - 2026-05-12 02:17 -0400
[OT] Microsoft delusions in EULAs (was: Re: All the problems of French Philsophy...) Nuno Silva <nunojsilva@invalid.invalid> - 2026-05-12 09:34 +0100
Re: All the problems of French Philsophy... Steve Hayes <hayesstw@telkomsa.net> - 2026-05-12 17:48 +0200
Re: All the problems of French Philsophy... Lawrence D’Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> - 2026-05-12 20:42 +0000
Re: All the problems of French Philsophy... Roger Blake <rogblake@iname.invalid> - 2026-05-15 20:56 +0000
Re: All the problems of French Philosophy... Lawrence D’Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> - 2026-05-16 00:42 +0000
Re: All the problems of French Philosophy... c186282 <c186282@nnada.net> - 2026-05-16 00:30 -0400
Re: All the problems of French Philosophy... "Carlos E.R." <robin_listas@es.invalid> - 2026-05-16 08:56 +0200
Re: All the problems of French Philosophy... c186282 <c186282@nnada.net> - 2026-05-16 03:12 -0400
Re: All the problems of French Philosophy... "Carlos E.R." <robin_listas@es.invalid> - 2026-05-16 09:32 +0200
Re: All the problems of French Philosophy... c186282 <c186282@nnada.net> - 2026-05-16 23:35 -0400
Re: All the problems of French Philosophy... "Carlos E.R." <robin_listas@es.invalid> - 2026-05-17 13:56 +0200
Re: All the problems of French Philosophy... rbowman <bowman@montana.com> - 2026-05-16 06:01 +0000
Re: All the problems of French Philsophy... rbowman <bowman@montana.com> - 2026-05-16 01:42 +0000
Re: All the problems of French Philsophy... c186282 <c186282@nnada.net> - 2026-05-16 00:58 -0400
Re: All the problems of French Philsophy... Roger Blake <rogblake@iname.invalid> - 2026-05-16 05:31 +0000
Re: All the problems of French Philsophy... c186282 <c186282@nnada.net> - 2026-05-16 02:34 -0400
Re: All the problems of French Philsophy... The Natural Philosopher <tnp@invalid.invalid> - 2026-05-16 12:10 +0100
Re: All the problems of French Philsophy... The Natural Philosopher <tnp@invalid.invalid> - 2026-05-16 12:09 +0100
Re: All the problems of French Philsophy... Steve Hayes <hayesstw@telkomsa.net> - 2026-05-16 08:21 +0200
Re: All the problems of French Philsophy... "s|b" <me@privacy.invalid> - 2026-05-12 17:28 +0200
Re: All the problems of French Philsophy... Bobbie Sellers <bliss-sf4ever@dslextreme.com> - 2026-05-12 09:09 -0700
Re: All the problems of French Philsophy... rbowman <bowman@montana.com> - 2026-05-13 04:59 +0000
Re: All the problems of French Philsophy... Bobbie Sellers <bliss-sf4ever@dslextreme.com> - 2026-05-12 22:15 -0700
Re: All the problems of French Philsophy... rbowman <bowman@montana.com> - 2026-05-13 18:01 +0000
Re: All the problems of French Philsophy... Nuno Silva <nunojsilva@invalid.invalid> - 2026-05-13 23:15 +0100
Re: All the problems of French Philsophy... rbowman <bowman@montana.com> - 2026-05-14 02:19 +0000
Re: All the problems of French Philsophy... "Carlos E.R." <robin_listas@es.invalid> - 2026-05-14 12:27 +0200
Re: All the problems of French Philsophy... The Natural Philosopher <tnp@invalid.invalid> - 2026-05-14 11:34 +0100
Re: All the problems of French Philsophy... rbowman <bowman@montana.com> - 2026-05-14 18:15 +0000
Re: All the problems of French Philsophy... The Natural Philosopher <tnp@invalid.invalid> - 2026-05-14 22:18 +0100
Re: All the problems of French Philsophy... Charlie Gibbs <cgibbs@kltpzyxm.invalid> - 2026-05-14 18:38 +0000
Re: All the problems of French Philsophy... "Carlos E.R." <robin_listas@es.invalid> - 2026-05-14 22:56 +0200
Re: All the problems of French Philsophy... rbowman <bowman@montana.com> - 2026-05-14 23:51 +0000
Re: All the problems of French Philsophy... Nuno Silva <nunojsilva@invalid.invalid> - 2026-05-15 09:10 +0100
Re: All the problems of French Philsophy... "Carlos E.R." <robin_listas@es.invalid> - 2026-05-15 13:58 +0200
Re: All the problems of French Philsophy... Nuno Silva <nunojsilva@invalid.invalid> - 2026-05-15 13:31 +0100
Re: All the problems of French Philsophy... rbowman <bowman@montana.com> - 2026-05-15 17:26 +0000
Re: All the problems of French Philsophy... "Carlos E.R." <robin_listas@es.invalid> - 2026-05-15 20:03 +0200
Re: All the problems of French Philsophy... rbowman <bowman@montana.com> - 2026-05-16 01:38 +0000
Re: All the problems of French Philsophy... c186282 <c186282@nnada.net> - 2026-05-16 00:46 -0400
Re: All the problems of French Philsophy... rbowman <bowman@montana.com> - 2026-05-16 05:51 +0000
Re: All the problems of French Philsophy... Bobbie Sellers <bliss-sf4ever@dslextreme.com> - 2026-05-15 23:16 -0700
Re: All the problems of French Philsophy... rbowman <bowman@montana.com> - 2026-05-16 21:43 +0000
Re: All the problems of French Philsophy... "Carlos E.R." <robin_listas@es.invalid> - 2026-05-16 09:02 +0200
Re: All the problems of French Philsophy... "Carlos E.R." <robin_listas@es.invalid> - 2026-05-16 09:00 +0200
Re: All the problems of French Philsophy... rbowman <bowman@montana.com> - 2026-05-14 23:50 +0000
Re: All the problems of French Philsophy... c186282 <c186282@nnada.net> - 2026-05-14 20:04 -0400
Re: All the problems of French Philsophy... rbowman <bowman@montana.com> - 2026-05-12 23:06 +0000
Re: All the problems of French Philsophy... not@telling.you.invalid (Computer Nerd Kev) - 2026-05-12 08:24 +1000
Re: All the problems of French Philsophy... c186282 <c186282@nnada.net> - 2026-05-11 22:33 -0400
Re: All the problems of French Philsophy... The Natural Philosopher <tnp@invalid.invalid> - 2026-05-12 14:09 +0100
Re: All the problems of French Philsophy... rbowman <bowman@montana.com> - 2026-05-12 23:07 +0000
Re: All the problems of French Philsophy... c186282 <c186282@nnada.net> - 2026-05-11 21:01 -0400
Re: All the problems of French Philsophy... rbowman <bowman@montana.com> - 2026-05-12 03:58 +0000
Re: All the problems of French Philsophy... The Natural Philosopher <tnp@invalid.invalid> - 2026-05-12 14:10 +0100
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