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FTSC                            FIDONET TECHNICAL STANDARDS COMMITTEE
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Publication:    FSP-1041.001
Revision:       1
Title:          The BEER nodelist flag
Author(s):      FTSC Members, Administrator and Honoured Guests
Issue Date:     01 April 2018
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Status:

This document is a Fidonet Standards Proposal (FSP) - it specifies
the best current practices for the Fidonet community, and requests
discussion and suggestions for improvements. It is released to the
public domain, and may be used, copied or modified for any purpose
whatever.


Contents:
0. Introduction.
1. The problem.
2. The solution.


0. Introduction.

The Fidonet consists of individual systems operated by different
people. To maintain proper connectivity, these systems should set
stationary trusted links between them to ensure smooth echomail
distribution.


1. The Problem

The problem is that sysops have to agree to set these stationary
links first, and this may require time-stretched discussion.


2. The solution.

The solution is the joint drinking beer during these discussions.
Many years of experience show us how greatly joint drinking beer
increases the mutual understanding, so this method definitely is
the common practice.

This is why the BEER nodelist flag is introduced. The most typical
syntax has no parameters, like ",CM,BEER,IBN,INA:...", which just
tells others that SysOp drinks beer. Some more complex applications
may require refinements and clarifications in the flag parameters,
like "BEER:dark_lager" or "BEER:mild_ale". Even the most preferred
snacks and other addons may be published, like "BEER:with_crisps".


References.

FTS-5000, "The distribution nodelist".
FTS-5001, "Nodelist flags and userflags".


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