Micronet Information Network Policy Document
Last updated 10 June 2026
Written by Sean Dennis, Micronet Zone Coordinator
618:618/1@Micronet -or- zc@minftn.net
=============================================================================
Micronet is meant to be a laid-back, friendly and comfortable mail
network where everyone can feel comfortable.  Unfortunately, over the
years, there have been incidents that require us to define a broad
network-wide policy concerning various topics, including what is
expected and not allowed in the network.

*****************************************************************************
By carrying Micronet on your system, you agree to abide by the
following, so make sure you read and understand this before you submit
your application!
*****************************************************************************

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Micronet's Golden Rules:

  1. Treat others as you want to be treated.

  2. A kind word goes much farther than one said in haste or in anger.

  3. Do not be annoying or excessively annoying.

  4. Remember that this is a hobby and everyone has a life to live outside
     of this hobby.

  5. Do not taunt nor tempt the Iron Fist or Iron Fist Junior.
=============================================================================

SECTION I: General Policies

  1. Your membership in The Micronet Information Network ("Micronet") is
     a privilege, not a right.  Your membership may be revoked at any
     time, with or without reason or notice.  Normally, sufficient time
     and warning is provided to hopefully rectify any situation but if
     after three warnings, your system may be removed from the network
     immediately (please see Section II, Paragraph 6 of this document).

 1A. If you decide you no longer wish to participate in Micronet, please
     contact your hub immediately and ask them to remove you from the
     network.  If you are a member of IBBS League 618, please contact
     Andrew Leary at 618:100/1 so he can remove you from his setup.

  2. Andrew Leary, Assistant Zone Coordinator, has full authority over the
     network in the ZC's absence and in normal daily network operations.

     Andrew can be contacted at 618:618/2, 618:100/1, or asstzc@minftn.net.

     If Andrew is unable or unwilling to serve as ZC if the ZC cannot serve,
     the main network hubs shall, as a coordinated group, administrate the
     network until a new ZC is agreed upon by the network.

  3. You are solely responsible for all traffic coming from your BBS and
     it is both expected and required of a Micronet node to prevent any
     problems that could disrupt Micronet in any way.

  4. Micronet is not a "free speech" network meaning that all echoes are
     moderated by the Micronet administration.  We expect everyone to be
     well-mannered in Micronet.  Disagreements happen but we expect that any
     disasgreements will be taken elsewhere, such as netmail.

  5. Absolutely no illegal content is allowed in Micronet in any form.
     This can include pornography, software cracks for actively
     developed software, "warez" (illegally obtained computer software),
     personal information about someone that was not provided by that
     person ("doxxing"), or anything else the Micronet administration
     deems as illegal content.  This is not an inclusive list and
     Micronet administration reserves the right to determine the
     legality or the appropriateness of a message.

  6. You can use aliases in all echoes except for MIN_ADMIN and L618_SYS.

  7. Network nodediffs, nodelists, and infopacks are released on a weekly
     basis, normally at 0415 Friday Eastern time (UTC -4/-5 DST).  They
     are hatched out via the MIN_DIFF, MIN_LIST and MIN_INFO filebones,
     published to outpostbbs.net and minftn.net, and are available via
     anonymous FTP, and BinkP FREQ.

     The BinkD-formatted nodelist is published by Andrew Leary at
     618:618/2 immediately after the FTN nodelist is hatched.  It is
     hatched out in MIN_BINKD.

     Please note that all filenames are in uppercase to avoid case
     issues across platforms.

     You can also get the latest infopack, FTN nodelist, BinkD-format 
     nodelist, and nodediff via the following:

          FTP: Anonymous FTP to bbs.outpostbbs.net in
	       /pub/network/micronet/min_diff, min_info, min_bink, or min_list

          Web: http(s)://minftn.net/MINDIFF.ZIP, MININFO.ZIP, MICRONET.ZIP
	       http(s)://outpostbbs.net//MINDIFF.ZIP, MININFO.ZIP, MICRONET.ZIP
	       (URLs are case-sensitive)

         FREQ: FREQ MINDIFF, MININFO, MINLIST, MINBINK at 618:618/1 or
               1:18/200@Fidonet via BinkP.

	  BBS: Log into bbs.outpostbbs.net and press 1 at the main menu to
               download the latest infopack.  All of the files are
               available in their respective file areas.

  8. If you find an error in your nodelist entry, please notify your hub
     as soon as possible.  The correction will be published in the next
     weekly nodelist update.  Please note the ZC and AZC have nothing to
     do with nodelist changes unless it is at a zone level.  If you
     contact them about your local issues, you will be referred back to
     your hub.

  9. If there are issues with the weekly nodelist, they will be
     corrected and the new corrected nodelist will be published in the
     next weekly update unless a new nodelist is needed to ensure the
     network's integrity.

 10. You may use ROT-13 encryption in Micronet but any other type of
     encryption, including GPG, is strictly forbidden in all Micronet
     areas.  Micronet not use nor recognize the "ENC" nodelist flag.

 11. UUencoded traffic is allowed in Micronet.  Examples of this would
     be encoding a small executable and putting the UUencoded file into
     a message and posting it in an echo.  Please be mindful of the size
     of UUencoded programs/information in Micronet.

     The ZC offers UUencoding and UUdecoding utilities for DOS, OS/2, and
     Win32 in UUUTILS.RAR via:

     FREQ: FREQ UUUTILS.RAR from 618:618/1

     FTP: Anonymous FTP to bbs.outpostbbs.net in /pub/local/cheep

     Web: http(s)://outpostbbs.net/cheepware.html

     BBS: Log into bbs.outpostbbs.net.
     
 12. Sysops are allowed to have multiple node numbers for multiple BBS
     systems they control directly within reason.  If you are a member
     of Micronet and need another node number, please contact your hub.

 13. Any legal questions are bound to follow the laws of the state of
     Tennessee and the federal laws of the United States of America.

 14. If you are a BBS-related software author, we would be happy to
     provide you with your own Micronet echo for support!  Please
     contact the ZC for more information.

 
SECTION II: General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Compliance

    The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) (EU) 2016/679 is a
    regulation in EU law on data protection and privacy for all
    individuals within the European Union and the European Economic
    Area.  The GDPR aims primarily to give control to citizens and
    residents over their personal data.

    It became enforceable on 25 May 2018.  Because the GDPR is a
    regulation, not a directive, it does not require national
    governments to pass any enabling legislation and is directly binding
    and applicable.

    After May 25, 2018, companies and organizations can only communicate
    with people who have given their explicit consent.

    Every sysop in the past has requested to be listed in the nodelist
    otherwise they would not be a Micronet sysop so the permission of
    each individual sysop in regions within the European Union as well
    as the EEA has already been obtained. Should any of these sysops
    feel that their privacy is compromised by being listed in the
    nodelist, please get in touch with the appropriate hub and either
    have the entry removed or updated. 

    As The Micronet Information Network is non-commercial and does not
    compile, store, nor process sensitive information, the bulk of the
    GDPR regulation does not apply to us as a group.

    The Micronet nets affected by GDPR are Net 500 and 520.        

          
SECTION III: Mail/Connection Policies

  1. You can connect to Micronet via a single network feed type.  If you
     are wanting to switch from FTN to QWK, please contact Mike Powell
     at 618:250/1 directly.

  2. Not all network hubs support all mail transfer protocols.  The most
     common protocol for FTN connections is BinkP (BinkD).  Other
     transfer methods may be supported by some systems.

  3. If you cannot connect your system properly within two weeks of your
     Micronet node application being approved and your uplink has not
     been notified by you about problems you may be having with your
     system, your BBS will be removed from the network.

  4. If you have mail problems, contact your hub first!  If your hub
     does not reply within 48 hours, please contact the ZC or assistant
     ZC.

  5. If your system will be down for longer than a day, please let your
     hub know immediately.  If your system is unable to toss mail for a
     week and there is no action from you, your system will be marked
     "down" in the nodelist.  After another week (two weeks total time)
     with no notice from you, your BBS will be removed from Micronet for
     no activity.  It is imperative that you keep in contact with your
     hub.

  6. Every Micronet hub has the authority to take any action they deem
     necessary to protect their system's and/or Micronet's safety and
     integrity, with or without notice.  This can include immediate feed
     cuts.

  7. We will try to help you get Micronet set up as much as we can but
     you need to know how to use your BBS software before you join
     Micronet. Support like this is given on a "best effort" basis by
     individual Micronet systems and is not guaranteed to be provided at
     all.

  8. Unless you are a designated hub for any type of network feed, you,
     as a node, CANNOT be a mail feed.  The sole exception to this is
     feeding an approved point system.

  9. All echomail has to be host routed through 618:618/1.  Peering of
     any kind is not allowed.  If I discover that a hub or a node is
     peering, I will issue one warning.  If this continues, they will be
     immediately removed from the network with prejudice.  This is not
     Fidonet.

 10. Do not strip seen-bys because this relates to peering.
 
 11. The ZC has the ability to read any and all messages, including
     netmail, that are sent through his BBS.  This is not normally done
     but if there are suspected issues, the ZC reserves the right to
     read all messages to preserve the safety and functioning of his BBS
     and Micronet in general.

 12. FTN hubs must have a current nodelist, in use on their BBS,
     compiled for their BBS to ensure proper routing of netmail.  It is
     recommeneded that all FTN nodes keep their nodelist in their system
     up to date to ensure the smooth flow of netmail in the network.
     Current nodelists are always available from the ZC; see Section 1,
     paragraph 8 of this document.

 13. AI-generated messages that are written as replies to other messages
     or as new messages (meaning as if you were typing them), are not
     allowed in Micronet. Allowing this on your system can mean your
     immediate removal from Micronet.

SECTION IV: Micronet IBBS League 618

  1. The Micronet IBBS League 618 is for FTN-based systems only and is an
     optional part of Micronet.

  2. Andrew Leary (618:100/1) is the network's league coordinator (LC)
     and has full control over the league's operation.  All questions
     and comments about the League should be directed to Andrew directly
     in L618_SYS.

     Please note thast Andrew has volunteered to run this IBBS league on
     his own for Micronet as a favor to us.  Please do not abuse this or
     pester Andrew.  It is expoected that you are competent and know how
     to work with your BBS software to particiopate in the League.

  3. A seperate policy document, available in L618.ZIP, is available for
     those wishing to join IBBS League 618.  You can obtain L618.ZIP
     via:

	Filebone: in MIN_L618

	    FREQ: FREQ MINL618 from 618:618/1

	     WWW: http(s)://minftn.net/L618.ZIP (case-sensitive)

	     FTP: Anonymous FTP to bbs.outpostbbs.net and look in
		  /pub/network/micronet/min_l618

             BBS: Log into bbs.outpostbbs.net and look in
                  the "Micronet League 618" filearea.


SECTION VI: Miscellaneous 

Violations of the above policy can result in disciplinary action which
will depend on the severity of the policy violation, up to and including
immediate feed cuts and removal from Micronet in extreme cases.

The ZC and AZC reserve the right to take any action necessary, with or
without notice or reason, to preserve the safety and functionality of
Micronet, at any time.

If you have any questions about any of the above policies, please
contact me via in MIN_ADMIN, netmail, email, or leave a private message
for me on my BBS. You may also contact Andrew for any questions.

Thank you for your participation in Micronet!

-- Sean Dennis
   Micronet Zone Coordinator

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