Colleagues,

The wires of Fidonet have brought different kinds of messages over the years, some technical, some social. People have gotten married, kids have been born, relatives passed and more often these days ... sysops pass.

It is with a heavy heart that I bring bad tidings. Our fellow sysop Roger Nelson of 1:3828/7 NCS BBS from Houma LA passed away this morning from unknown causes.

Roger was not well for quite some time but his absence from the wires was noticeable. Asking around yielded a grim picture and then this morning ...

In Roger we're losing a valued sysop who has been in Fidonet for all the right reasons. His presence has been recorded since November 15th 1991 ... nearly 28 years. But Nick Andre and I above all lose a friend, a remarkable person proving that you can be friends and never meet in person.

Special attention will be devoted to this remarkable and special person in coming issues of Fidonews and the Fidogazette...

Roger will be remembered.

\%/@rd

--- D'Bridge 3.99
* Origin: Do not meddle in the affairs of wizards (2:292/854)

Hello Ward,

Colleagues,

The wires of Fidonet have brought different kinds of messages over the years, some technical, some social. People have gotten married, kids have been born, relatives passed and more often these days ... sysops pass.

It is with a heavy heart that I bring bad tidings. Our fellow sysop Roger Nelson of 1:3828/7 NCS BBS from Houma LA passed away this morning from unknown causes.

On Death
by John Keats

I

Can death be sleep, when life is but a dream,
And scenes of bliss pass as a phantom by?
The transient pleasures as a vision seem,
And yet we think the greatest pain's to die.

II

How strange it is that man on earth should roam,
And lead a life of woe, but not forsake
His rugged path; nor dare he view alone
His future doom which is but to awake.

Roger was not well for quite some time but his absence from the wires was noticeable. Asking around yielded a grim picture and then this morning ...

In Roger we're losing a valued sysop who has been in Fidonet for all the right reasons. His presence has been recorded since November 15th 1991 .. nearly 28 years. But Nick Andre and I above all lose a friend, a

remarkable

person proving that you can be friends and never meet in person.

Special attention will be devoted to this remarkable and special person in coming issues of Fidonews and the Fidogazette...

Roger will be remembered.

John Keats had it right.

He is in a better place. And remembered by all who have known him,
including those who have never met him in person. He welcomed all to
join him in the echoes he sponsored, regardless of who they were or
where they were from.

The flying elephant has taken Roger Nelson away, but he will always
be with us in our memories. May he rest in peace.

--Lee

--
We Make Your Wet Dreams Come True

--- MesNews/1.08.05.00-gb
* Origin: news://eljaco.se (2:203/2)

Hello Ward,

It is with a heavy heart that I bring bad tidings. Our fellow sysop Roger Nelson of 1:3828/7 NCS BBS from Houma LA passed away this morning from

unknown

causes.

I am saddened to hear of Roger's passing. Sadly, many hold the issues that they
are dealing with to the very end. I can only hope that he passed peacefully and
pain free.

Jeff

--- BBBS/Li6 v4.10 Toy-4
* Origin: Fidonet: The Ouija Board - Anoka, MN - bbs.ouijabrd.net (1:282/1031)

On 10 Sep 2019 at 06:42p, Ward Dossche pondered and said...

It is with a heavy heart that I bring bad tidings. Our fellow sysop Roger Nelson of 1:3828/7 NCS BBS from Houma LA passed away this morning from unknown causes.

Dear Ward

I'm very sorry to learn of Rogers death. I enjoyed chatting with him across assorted echomail areas and am sad to know that those opportunities have come to and end.

... nearly 28 years. But Nick Andre and I above all lose a friend, a remarkable person proving that you can be friends and never meet in person.

Condolences to you both, that's rough... and also to anyone else who's
equally feeling sad about Rodgers passing. I agree one of the nice things
about this hobby is that you can strike up good friendships and rapport with folks who in most cases you will never meet but yet in someways know very
well for all the written exchanges enjoyed over the years. That's certainly something I really like about echomail and this hobby in general.

Roger will be remembered.

Take care of yourself too Ward.

Best, Paul

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A43 2019/03/03 (Windows/32)
* Origin: Agency BBS | Dunedin, New Zealand | agency.bbs.nz (3:770/100)

Hello Paul,

I'm very sorry to learn of Rogers death. I enjoyed chatting with him

across

assorted echomail areas and am sad to know that those opportunities have come to and end.

We can all be thankful for having known him, even though most
(if not all) of us have never met him in person. Many who have
left Fidonet remember him, and the fun times we all shared in
the echoes he was present in.

On a journey, ill:
my dream goes wandering
over withered fields
~ Basho

Basho told his students that all the poems he wrote are his
"death poems". But the Japanese concept of death is not quite
the same as what most people understand.

Haiku (a form of Japanese poetry) contemplates the passing
of the natural world. Following Basho's same reasoning, all
haiku really are jisei (death poems).

To Japanese, a life story (death poem) is not the culmination
of a life, but rather the opposite - the emptying of a life of
a body, of a self.

In that sense, all haiku are jisei.

IOW, death is another part of this dream-world we call life.

Death poems
are mere delusion -
death is death.
~ Toko, d. 1795

... nearly 28 years. But Nick Andre and I above all lose a friend, WD>a

remarkable person proving that you can be friends and never meet WD>in person.

Condolences to you both, that's rough... and also to anyone else who's equally feeling sad about Rodgers passing.

We should all be thankful, rather than sad.

Empty-handed I entered the world
Barefoot I leave it.
My coming, my going
Two simple happenings
That got entangled.
~ Zen master Kozan Ichikyo, 1360

Kozan told his students that upon his death, they should bury
his body, perform no ceremony, and hold no services in his memory.
Then he wrote the poem (noted above). After he finished, he put
down his brush, and died. He was still sitting upright.

I agree one of the nice things about this hobby is that you can strike up good friendships and rapport with folks who in most cases you will never meet but yet in someways know very well for all the written exchanges enjoyed over the years. That's certainly something I really like about echomail and this hobby in general.

Trolls just want to have fun. And so should we all. Life just
would never be the same without them.

Roger will be remembered.

Take care of yourself too Ward.

My old body:
a drop of dew grown
heavy at the leaf tip
~ death haiku by the Japanese poet Kiba, who lived to age 90

--Lee

--
Nobody Beats Our Meat

--- MesNews/1.08.05.00-gb
* Origin: news://eljaco.se (2:203/2)

Hello Ward,

It is with a heavy heart that I bring bad tidings. Our fellow sysop Roger Nelson of 1:3828/7 NCS BBS from Houma LA passed away this morning from unknown causes.

That same morning the internet crashed in Houma. Not sure exactly
what time everything went out, or but it was out long enough that an
online edition of a local newspaper was unable to publish that day.

It could be Roger's computer crashed and he never bothered fixing it.

Or -

It could be Roger really is dead.

But if he was really dead, there would be an obituary in the local
newspaper.

Which means he might not really be dead.

Unless nobody bothered contacting a newspaper to publish an obituary.

I hope this is a morbid joke Roger Nelson is playing on us all.

Since I was born
I have to die,
and so ...

Roger will be remembered.

The joke is on us.

--Lee

--
Everybody Loves Our Buns

--- MesNews/1.08.05.00-gb
* Origin: news://eljaco.se (2:203/2)

I hope this is a morbid joke Roger Nelson is playing on us all.

If you really gave a hoot about Roger, you had years and years available to you
to deepen that friendship.

Since you haven't it's a bit odd caring about him now.

\%/@rd

--- D'Bridge 3.99
* Origin: Do not meddle in the affairs of wizards (2:292/854)

Hello Lee,

It could be Roger really is dead.
But if he was really dead, there would be an obituary in the local
newspaper.

Which means he might not really be dead.
Unless nobody bothered contacting a newspaper to publish an obituary.

I hope this is a morbid joke Roger Nelson is playing on us all.
Since I was born I have to die,

and so ... Roger will be remembered.
The joke is on us.

Hopefully I just don't understand your particular sense of humor.

Regardless, I don't see the passing of someone be them either friend or foe a joking matter. I didn't particularly know Roger that well beyond our occasional
textual interactions. But, I will miss Roger non the less.


Jeff

--- BBBS/Li6 v4.10 Toy-4
* Origin: Fidonet: The Ouija Board - Anoka, MN - bbs.ouijabrd.net (1:282/1031)

Ward Dossche wrote to Lee Lofaso <=-

I hope this is a morbid joke Roger Nelson is playing on us all.

If you really gave a hoot about Roger, you had years and years
available to you to deepen that friendship.

Since you haven't it's a bit odd caring about him now.

He doesn't give a hoot about him. It's just the resident
douche-bag spewing his garbage like he always does.



... She sells unix shells by the sea shore
=== MultiMail/Linux v0.52
--- SBBSecho 3.20-Linux
* Origin: Palantir * palantirbbs.ddns.net * Pensacola, FL * (1:135/115)

Hello Ward,

I hope this is a morbid joke Roger Nelson is playing on us all.

If you really gave a hoot about Roger, you had years and years available

to

you to deepen that friendship.

"Rule 1: The Doctor lies."

You should have joined us, years ago, in the Coffee Klatsch
echo. Too late now.

Since you haven't it's a bit odd caring about him now.

"Never be certain of anything. It's a sign of weakness."
~ The 4th Doctor (Tom Baker)

After you posted your message about Roger, I wrote a message to
you in response, which anybody can read, expressing my sincerest
condolences.

Perhaps unknown to you (and others) one of my favorite echoes
was Coffee Klatsch, as me and several others had participated
in several years ago, with Roger Nelson acting as moderator.

At the time, it was a very active echo, the number of daily
messages (original messages written by participants) was among
the highest (if not the highest) in Fidonet.

The only reason we left the echo was because the sysop of the
board we were using decided to retire and move on to other things.

I still keep in touch with some of the participants. All of
them liked Roger, including me. But like the sysop who chose
to close his board, we all have other things to do.

Such as playing scrabble.

Now, do you think you can find an obituary notice?

Houma has two newspapers. I looked, but could find no obituary
in either newspaper. Same with newspapers in New Orleans and Baton
Rouge. Now, it could be no obituary was submitted for publication.
Or, it could be Roger's computer crashed. Or any of a number of
other reasons.

Without verification, how can anybody really know?

All we have is what you claimed.

So please. Fill us all in on how you found out about Roger's demise.

"We're all stories, in the end. Just make it a good one, eh?"
~ Doctor Who

--Lee

--
Often Licked, Never Beaten

--- MesNews/1.08.05.00-gb
* Origin: news://eljaco.se (2:203/2)

On 13 Sep 19 00:17:26, Lee Lofaso said the following to Ward Dossche:

So please. Fill us all in on how you found out about Roger's demise.

Maybe we confirmed it personally with friends and family, you absolute fucking idiot nonsequitor troll.

Nick

--- Renegade vY2Ka2
* Origin: Joey, do you like movies about gladiators? (1:229/426)

Hello Jeff,

and so ... Roger will be remembered.
The joke is on us.

Hopefully I just don't understand your particular sense of humor.

I took Ward's message about Roger at face value, the same as most
folks. If you and others would bother to notice, I wrote a message
to Ward noting my sincerest condolences. This was in public, for
all to read. I have yet to find an obituary notice in any newspaper,
so it is only natural that questions remain.

When making a claim, it is just that. A claim. I have since
asked Ward to inform us how he found out about Roger. I am not
calling Ward, or anybody else, a liar. But if his claim cannot
be independently verified, he could be mistaken.

Regardless, I don't see the passing of someone be them either friend or

foe

a joking matter.

"No. A sense of humour goes with a sense of perspective, which
the PC police lack. Seriously, what do PCPs find funny?"
~ John Cleese tweet

"I'm with George Carlin, you can make a joke about anything. If
we reduce everything to cater to everyone we may as well give up."
~ The Goateed Geek tweet, replying to John Cleese tweet

"A tragedy is a comedy, misunderstood."
~ William Shakespeare

Why do we laugh? Tragedy is the foundation of all comedy.

A man slipping on a banana peel is funny. Why? Because
it's not happening to us.

Every recipient of the Darwin Awards truly deserved it.

"Humor is tragedy plus time." ~Mark Twain

Mark Twain found it hilarious when told by a reporter an
American newspaper had published his obituary -

"The report of my death was an exaggeration." ~ Mark Twain

And so on and so on.

I tend to agree with this quote -

"Every joke is based on an uncomfortability for the individual/society
in which it is a joke. Humor is created as a manifestation of our
ability to survive what is essentially a threat." ~Jaqaliah, 9/6/2006 [www.sciencechatforum.com]

We have our desires to go on rollercoasters or into haunted houses.
We experience fear, but since we survive the ordeal, we find ourselves
relieved and amused.

Each day is like a new beginning. We survived the ordeal, and
now it is time to go on another ride or visit a different house ...

I didn't particularly know Roger that well beyond our occasional textual interactions. But, I will miss Roger non the less.

How many people in Fidonet know who they are writing to (and/or
receive messages) from? The same for those who are active in
social media outside of Fidonet.

I never met Roger in person. I enjoyed his banter, as did
many others. We are all saddened he is no longer amongst us.
But at the same time, glad he is no longer suffering.

Those whom we engage with in cyberspace are as real as those
who live in our own neighborhoods. Even if we have never met
any of those people in cyberspace. In both worlds, the people
are very real to those who engage.

As for death itself, people with other cultures view it in
different ways. I noted how Japanese view death, which is quite
different from our own. In New Orleans, where Roger was from,
it is even more different.

To the outside, it may seem strange to celebrate death.
But in New Orleans, that is the norm. A brass band plays
songs of mourning as the casket is brought to the graveyard.
And then after the deceased has been laid to rest, the brass
bands leaves while playing songs of joy, with everyone else
dancing and celebrating.

When I die, I want a party. Have all my friends, including
the homeless, over for food and drink, with a band playing all
hours of the day (and well into the night) until everybody drops.
All this with an open casket, myself dressed in tux and tails,
filled champagne glass in hand, toasting all a final farewell.

Once the party is over, clean-up crew will know what to do.
Throw my body to the buzzards, and that will be the end of that.

--Lee

--
Laying Pipe Since '88

--- MesNews/1.08.05.00-gb
* Origin: news://eljaco.se (2:203/2)

Hello Dan,

I hope this is a morbid joke Roger Nelson is playing on us all.

If you really gave a hoot about Roger, you had years and years
available to you to deepen that friendship.

Since you haven't it's a bit odd caring about him now.

He doesn't give a hoot about him. It's just the resident
douche-bag spewing his garbage like he always does.

"Letting it get to you. You know what that's called? Being
alive. Best thing there is. Being alive right now is all that
counts."
~ The Doctor

--Lee

--
Often Licked, Never Beaten

--- MesNews/1.08.05.00-gb
* Origin: news://eljaco.se (2:203/2)

Hello Nick,

So please. Fill us all in on how you found out about LL>Roger's demise.

Maybe we confirmed it personally with friends and family,

That's not enough. You must *prove* it.

you absolute fucking idiot nonsequitor troll.

Wherever possible there must be independent confirmation of facts.

Resorting to name-calling shows you are out of arguments.

--Lee

--
Sleep With Someone New

--- MesNews/1.08.05.00-gb
* Origin: news://eljaco.se (2:203/2)

Bjorn,

Maybe we confirmed it personally with friends and family,

That's not enough. You must *prove* it.

Perhaps it is time to encourage the person who poses as Lee Lofaso to apply for
a nodenumber.

Freedom of speech is not without limits ...

\%/@rd

--- D'Bridge 3.99
* Origin: Do not meddle in the affairs of wizards (2:292/854)

Hello Ward,

Maybe we confirmed it personally with friends and family,

That's not enough. You must *prove* it.

Perhaps it is time to encourage the person who poses as Lee Lofaso to

apply

for a nodenumber.

Perhaps it is time for all sysops to encourage every participant
who does not yet own a nodenumber apply. They can start by inviting
everybody to play in their "sysops only" echoes - having the same
read/write rules to go by.

Freedom of speech is not without limits ...

What an antidemocratic and un-American thing for a sysop to write!

Words are very powerful. They can be violent. There are two
things no troll ever jokes about. Although they are free to do so.

Cops joke a lot about everything. Especially given their line of
work. However, there are two things they never joke about - child
molestors and cop killers. Now, we all know there are a few sysops
who are cops or retired cops in Fidonet.

We also know some of the jokes former sysop Ross Cassell liked
to tell. And how some sysops responded to those jokes.

Here is another joke Ross Cassell tried to pull - with a bit
of help from Bob Klahn, concerning our dearly departed friend
Roger Nelson -

Teller of Tall Tales

From Lee Lofaso@2:203/2 to All on Thu Oct 22 16:19:14 2015

Hello Everybody,

A conversation was overheard between two clowns
in an obscure echo concerning another obscure echo -

Subject: BBBS ECHO
Date: Thu Oct 22 2015 02:22 am
From: BOB KLAHN
To: MARK LEWIS

There is a long story about Lee Lofaso and Bob Klahn
pulling a stunt in the coffee_klatsch echo many years ago.
It may date back to that. It may go back further than that.
I don't know. But it ended with Lee being disappointed and
unhappy.

He really knows nothing about it. The coffee-klatsch echo used
to be a very friendly discussion echo, focused mainly on having
fun and discussing anything that could be made fun of.

After a while participation dropped off, and eventually the echo
died and went unlisted. A couple years later Roger Nelson
revived the echo by using it, but didn't bother to relist it. I
suggested he should relist it several times, but he insisted
that was not necessary.

After a while Lee Lofaso tried to list the echo, but got
rejected because Nelson had relisted it just before he tried.

Some of the flamers on this echo have repeated the claim that
Lee had tried to hijack the echo, but it was not listed and the
new echolist was not out showing that Roger had listed it.

I had nothing to do with Lee listing the echo other than
recommending to Roger that he list the echo. Our fear was
flamers would get into the echo and take it over. Which some did
get in but Roger had listed it and let them know that he was the
moderator and it was a no flame echo. They left. Not one
remained.

However, the hostility the flamers stirred up, and their
repeated accusations, poisoned the prevously friendly
discussions in the echo, and a number of us left, including his
co-moderator, whose name I can't recall right now.

-=end quote=-

"After a while Lee Lofaso tried to list the echo, but got
rejected because Nelson had relisted it just before he tried."

The echo was not listed. I relisted the echo. Joe Bruchis
posted the entry publicly, for all to see, in the echo itself.
A week or so later I emailed the password to Roger Nelson so
that he could list the echo for himself. Roger then posted
that entry publicly, for all to see, in the echo itself.

Ross Cassell, in his capacity as fidonet administrator,
and chief censor, deleted my previous listing of the echo.

Bob Klahn and Ross Cassell are working as a team. Their
latest endeavor is to steal this echo. Basically by using
the same means of deceit.

Only I'm not playing.

What was a joke in the coffee klasch echo was accepted as
being a joke, and everybody moved on and had a great time
afterwards.

But some people do not know when to stop, or how to
differentiate between what is important and what is not
important.

"Some of the flamers on this echo have repeated the claim that
Lee had tried to hijack the echo, but it was not listed and the
new echolist was not out showing that Roger had listed it."

Had that been the case, then Joe Bruchis would not have
been able to have posted the entry in the coffee klatsch
echo.

Those with archives can check out these facts for themselves.
Those without archives will just have to take my word for it.
After all, Ross Cassell has deleted the post that Joe Bruchis
made showing my listing of the coffee klastsch echo as having
been successful.

"I had nothing to do with Lee listing the echo other than
recommending to Roger that he list the echo. Our fear was
flamers would get into the echo and take it over. Which
some did get in but Roger had listed it and let them know
that he was the moderator and it was a no flame echo. They
left. Not one remained."

I listed the echo in order to save it, else Roger would
have lost it forever to the forces of evil. Had Bob kept
his mouth shut, or at least used netmail/email rather
than go about making public comments, there would have
been no need for me to have listed the echo. But that's
okay. I saved it. For Roger, and for everyone.

"However, the hostility the flamers stirred up, and their
repeated accusations, poisoned the prevously friendly
discussions in the echo, and a number of us left, including
his co-moderator, whose name I can't recall right now."

Frank Vest shut down his bbs and most never bothered to
return to fidonet. There never was a co-moderator, but
there is one individual who remained once everybody had
left - Roy Witt.

--Lee

What gives Americans the right to unlimited free speech?
Article VI, Clause 2 of the Constitution. Not only does
the First Amendment favor unlimited free speech, it is also
part of the Constitution, which is clearly the ultimate
legal authority of the United States.

So there!

We all know what Ross Cassell wrote about Europeans.
Now you know the reason why!

However -

I will not say it... I will not say it... I will not say it...

--Lee

--
I Take A Sheet In The Pool

--- MesNews/1.08.05.00-gb
* Origin: news://eljaco.se (2:203/2)

On 15/09/2019 00:30, Lee Lofaso -> Ward Dossche wrote:

Freedom of speech is not without limits ...

What an antidemocratic and un-American thing for a sysop to write!

ROFL - why is being "un-American" an issue for non-Americans? You're as daft as
Mr Trump when he says that China "does not have US interests at heart".

The whole world is not US-American however much the Yanks think it is.

As for antidemocratic sysops, our nodes are owned and operated by us individually - democracy has no place. We are all dictators of our own little worlds.

--

Regards
David

--- Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 6.1; rv:31.0) Gecko/20100101 Thunderbird/31.8.0
* Origin: Pittsworth, Queensland, Australia (3:640/305)

Hello David,

Freedom of speech is not without limits ...

What an antidemocratic and un-American thing for a sysop to write!

ROFL - why is being "un-American" an issue for non-Americans?

Because only non-Americans drink the uncola rather than the
real thing.

You're as daft as Mr Trump when he says that China "does not have US interests at heart".

China already built a wall. And has many US tourists flocking
to see it. Which is why Mr Trump also wants to build a wall.
Just imagine all those Mexican tourists who would come ...

The whole world is not US-American however much the Yanks think it is.

Southerners have a saying, "Yankee go home!" And yet, look how
welcome they have become in Florida, which has so many beautiful
houses (and beaches).

As for antidemocratic sysops, our nodes are owned and operated by us individually - democracy has no place. We are all dictators of our own little worlds.

Of course. Every individual is his/her own dictator. That is
what the Framers of the Constitution intended. Their meaning of
"we the people" was in reference to themselves, as they wrote
it.

Now, what did the Framers of Fidonet write as their "constitution"?
As far as I know, no such document exists. And no such document has
ever been ratified by any zone.

Which means, unlimited free speech for all.

--Lee

--
Every Bottom Needs A Top

--- MesNews/1.08.05.00-gb
* Origin: news://eljaco.se (2:203/2)