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ST-Keep Bulletin Board System All Versions Program & Documentation Copyright (C) 1990-1993 by Pandamonium Software All Rights Reserved Programming & Design by Andrew P. Studer Documentation by Andrew P. Studer No part of this manual, disk, program, and/or software may be reprinted, or reproduced or utilizied in any form or by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage retrieval system, without the written permission from the author. This does not include shareware or public domain library distribution which has blanket authorization for distribution and only including charges necessary to distribute this software. Pandamonium Software BBS: (916)729-2968 V.32bis/V.42bis 7432 Convair Way FidoNet: 1:203/1632.0 Citrus Heights, CA 95621 AtariNet: 51:3/15.0 Registration Agreement In paying the registration fee for this package, you are not given any rights relating to the software. The programmer will attempt to fix any reported bugs, continue updating the program, and otherwise afford service to the program, but in no way is Pandamonium Software responsible for any unwritten guarantees. The registration fee is $40, with upgrade fees following initial registration by approximately 6 months depending on update activity. Updates usually occurr weekly and monthly, but they are free until the author decides enough modifications have gone by to justify an upgrade fee. Disclaimer Pandamonium Software makes no warranties, either expressed or implied, with respect to this manual or with respect to the software described in this manual, its quality, performance, merchantability, or fitness for any particular purpose. ST-Keep is licensed as is. The entire risk as to its quality and performance is with the buyer. Should the program prove defective following its purchase, the buyer assumes the entire cost and responsibility of all necessary servicing, repair, or correction and any incidental or consequantial damages. In no event will Pandamonium Software be liable for direct, indirect, or consequential damages resulting from any defects in the software. Message from the author ST-Keep Bulletin Board System (BBS) is a very complex and versatile telecommunications application. Its degree of complexity is not overshadowed by its simplicity to use. Whether you are a novice, intermediate, or professional in the telecommunications field, you will have no problem becoming accustomed to the functions and commands in this Bulletin Board System. Bulletin Board Systems are truely an adventure into another world. Not only will you be able to share messages and programs with others, but you will also be able to meet new friends, enhance your education, and generally enlighten your life by the contact you will make with the rest of the world via this media. All of this and more is available with the simple tools such as your computer and your modem. I hope your use of this program will be as fun and exciting as it has been developing and running it myself. - Andrew P. Studer Technical Support If you have any questions, suggestions, or other comments, call the ST-Keep Support BBS at (916)729-2968, modem speeds from 300bps-14400bps (V.32bis / V.42bis). Once you create your account you will be able to leave a message to the System Operator (SysOp) & author, Andrew Studer. Replies to your messages should not take longer than 48 hours, and usually no more than 24 hours. If your problem is critical, please leave your voice phone number and a time to call and technical assistance will be prioritized based on your problem. Technical support is not guaranteed. Program Requirements Atari ST, STe, Mega STe, STacy, or TT computer. Modem & RS232 cable Hard drive (strongly suggested) Telephone access line Conventions Throughout these documents and the BBS program itself, you will see brackets surrounding single or multiple letters. This means that in order to obtain a particular action, press the key(s) inside the brackets. If you see "[T] Terminate Connection," it means to press the "T" key on your keyboard (upper or lowercase) to logoff from the BBS. If you see "[.][E][R] Create Room," press "." "E" and "R" one after another, and the system will respond with ".Enter Room: " and allow you to type in the room name you wish to create. These keys will normally be seen in menus and are allowed at most prompts, whether the prompt ends with a ">" (greater than sign), "]" (right bracket) or a ":" (colon). Introduction ST-Keep is a room based BBS. That is to say, various topics have their own rooms (aka Special Interest Groups, bases, areas, etc...). Rooms usually consist of specific topics such as Paint Programs, Music, or Arcade Games. In addition to rooms, floors add another facet of organization. A floor is a more general topic than a room, with the rooms on each floor being somewhat related. Floor configuration is not required, but highly suggested for the same reason one would use folders in a file cabinet. You may have floors such as Games, Word Processing, and Programming with rooms on the Games floor such as Arcade, Simulations, Shoot-em-up's, rooms on the Word Processing floor such as Text Files, Word Processors, and editors, and rooms on the Programming floor such as BASIC, C, Assembly, etc.... Rooms consist of messages written by the users of the BBS. The messages will normally be related to the topic of the room, but sometimes topics go astray. It is the responsibility of the SysOp and the Aides to keep things somewhat organized by moving unrelated messages to their appropriate rooms. Each room may also have a directory attached to it, depending on its topic. You may not have a directory for a Chit-chat room on the General floor, but you will most likely have a directory for the Arcade room on the Games floor. These directories may contain files and programs available for downloading by the users of the BBS. They may also upload files to share with other users as long as the room has a directory allocated. The BBS may also contain doors. These are entryways into alternate applications, most notably, on-line games. If a user has the proper access, they may play games or enter other applications if the SysOp has configured them. In addition to games, there are stock market quoters, networking systems (FidoNet, etc...), and even other bulletin board systems, just to name a few. As you can see, this small introduction to ST-Keep opens quite a few avenues of interest, without closing the doors to your own interests. Configuring Your Bulletin Board System After you uncompress the main STKEEP.LZH file, run the program BBS_CNFG.PRG (BBS Configuration Editor). NOTE: Any reference to pathnames below require a trailing backslash unless otherwise stated (i.e. "D:\STKEEP\BLB\"). A menu will appear with the following options ([A] Edit paths, [B] Edit Options 1, [C] Edit Options 2, [D] Increase Message Base, [E] Allocate New Rooms, [F] Configure New User Settings, [I] Install BBS, and [X] Exit). Since you have never run this program before, you will need to select "Install BBS." If you run this program again, NEVER choose "Install BBS." Always select the the other options item, otherwise you will destroy your system files. Select [A] to edit your path and file locations if you are not installing your BBS for the first time, otherwise you will be brought here automatically. [A] Enter the pathname of the folder you created and copied your system files into. [B] Enter the pathname where your blurb (*.BLB) and menu (*.MNU, *.V52, *.ANS, *.V52, *.IGS, *.BIG) files are located. They should be inside a folder named BLB inside your system folder although you can move them to a more appropriate location. Just remember to keep the path on this line pointing to their actual location on disk. [C] Enter the pathname where your help (*.HLP) files are located. Save as above except they will be in a folder named HLP. [D] Enter the pathname where your bulletin (*.BU?) files are located. You may not have any yet, so just enter the pathname where you plan on putting them. [E] Enter the pathname where your vote (*.VOT) files are located. Same as above. [F] Enter the pathname where you wish the temporary files to be created. If you have a RAMdisk that would be a great location, if not, anywhere is fine. Small temporary files are required for a few of the BBS options and this allows you to speed up these functions if you have a RAMdisk. Example: "D:\STKEEP\TEMP\". [G] Enter the pathname and filename where the XYZ.TTP program is located. Include XYZ.TTP in the pathname and do NOT end it with a trailing backslash (i.e. "D:\STKEEP\XYZ.TTP"). This is required for file transfers. [H] Enter the pathname and filename where the STZIP.PRG program is located. Same as above. This is used to display the file contents of a ZIP archive in a directory room. [I] Enter the pathname and filename where the LHARC.TTP program is located. Same as above. [X] Return to the main menu. Select [B] to set the first group of options if you are not installing the BBS for the first time, otherwise you will be brought here automatically. [A] Select your maximum baud rate allowed by your modem. If you are using a high speed modem, you may wish to select 192 in order to lock the port at 19,200 bps. This ensures optimum speed with the special protocols on these modems. [B] Enter your system password. This will be required to access high level functions within the main program. KEEP IT SECRET! Even your Co-SysOps should not have this password. [C] Enter the name of your BBS. This will be used by ST-Keep to notify users what system they are calling. [D] Enter your modem initialization string. Most modems have default options that will suit the purpose of this BBS, but you should ensure the following commands are configured to be certain: Auto-answer on the first ring, disable remote command access, place modem on-hook, verbose result codes, carrier detect tracking (not forced), and monitor DTR. For example: AT S0=1 S2=255 H0 V1 &C1 &D1 If you are using a high speed modem, the W2 command is also required to obtain the modem-to-modem speed and ignore the protocol types. [E] Enter the disabled BBS bypass password. ST-Keep can be disabled by the SysOp. If so, when a call comes in, the DISABLED.BLB file is sent to the user instead of the normal LOGON.BLB file. The BBS will wait 3 minutes before hanging up or hang-up at the first detection of modem input, unless... ...the user presses CONTROL-B, for bypass. If this key is pressed, a "Pw:" prompt will be displayed. Any user typing the correct bypass password will be allowed on the system. Keep this password secret as you would with your system password. [F] Enter your REAL first name. This will not be the name used when creating your BBS account [G] Enter your REAL last name. See as [F] above. [H] If you wish to have the ability to delete special messages saved in the SysOp room (recording various important system information), select YES here. Generally, you will want this set to NO. Why? If, under the rare circumstances, someone gets ahold of your system password and hacks your account and BBS, they won't be able to delete any of the messages in the SysOp room that record the actions of this person. On the other hand, there may be times when YOU perform certain actions that you don't wish viewed by other high access users. [I] Enter the minimum baud rate you wish to allow for incoming calls. This can be from 300-14400. [J] Enter the minimum baud rate you wish to allow for file transfers. See above. [K] Enter Yes if you wish the BBS to bring up a file selector while you are performing maintenance on the console, No and it will never bring one up. A remote call disallows the use of the file selector at all times. Select [X] to exit when you verify that all of this information is correct. Select [C] to select the second group of options. [A] Enter the number of the door you wish to be executed after a user successfully logs on. Enter "0" if you wish no door to execute. Once you configure your door applictions, you may find it necessary to have one of them run every time a user logs-in. Example: Fidonet allows for world-wide networking of messages and files, you may wish to have Fidodoor check for new messages for all your users as soon as they logon, rather than forcing them to enter the door manually. [B] Enter the number of the door you wish to be executed after a user logs off. You may have a specialized program that needs to be run at this time and you can select it with this option. Enter "0" if you wish no door to execute. [C] Enter the pathname and filename of your SysOp chat program. ST-Keep is supplied with the program BBS_CHAT.PRG, but you may wish to use a third party or your own program when chatting with users. Example: "D:\STKEEP\BBS_CHAT.PRG" [D] Enter the door number that you wish to run automatically when a user uses the [*] function from a room prompt. This will avoid the necessity of forcing the user to select the most popular door all the time. Enter "0" if you always want the door menu to appear. [E] Enter the room number where you want system activity reports to be saved. Generally, they are saved in the Aide room (#3) but you can create your own special room for this purpose and enter the door number. Enter "0" to use the default room (#3). Typical messages saved in this room would be download reports and other user activity. [F] Enter the number of minutes that you wish to allow new users to have when they first call. [G] Enter a number signifying the ratio of the number of downloads to the number of uploads new users are allowed when they first call. [H] Enter the maximum number of minutes that any user is allowed on-line each day. [I] Enter the number of minutes of inactivity allowed by a user before their session is terminated automatically by the BBS. [J] Enter the complete path and program name of your desired terminal program. This is executed if you use [C] from a room prompt and no user is on-line. A terminal program is supplied, but isn't required to be used. [X] Exit these menus. If you are installing your BBS for the first time, you will be asked for more information in the next paragraph, otherwise you will be taken back to the main menu where you can select [X] Exit and reply [Y] or [N] to save or not save the changes you have made. If you are installing your BBS for the first time, you will have the following menu items to enter: [A] Maximum user accounts. You should enter a rather small number here because the main BBS has the ability to increase the userlog size if it fills up. Starting with 100 or 200 user records should be sufficient. [B] Enter the maximum number of rooms. This number can not be changed so you must think very carefully on the total. Most BBSs limit you to 16 or 32 bases for message discussion, ST-Keep allows up to 32000 rooms for this same purpose (and subsequently, directory areas for files as well). A normal BBS will keep around 50 rooms active at all times, but that number may fluctuate up to 75 or even 100 if you have a wide variety of interests. Based on your maximum expectations of the use on your BBS, enter a number reflecting this decision. Always think high, as it's better to have too much than too little in this case. 100-150 is a good place to start. Don't worry about thinking up names for these rooms right now, this simply allocates space on the hard drive for them but only activates the first four automatically. You can increase this number at a later date with the "Allocate New Rooms" function from the main menu of this program. [C] Enter the size of your message base file. This one needs some forethough as well, although it can be enlarged if needed. All messages are stored in one 'circular' file that is referenced by pointers for each message in the rooms. This file is usually created at 400-500K. I have seen very active boards with only a 500K message file and messages stick around long enough for regular callers. If your system is configured to allow 50 messages per room, with 100 rooms, and a 500K message base, you would expect around 500 to 2000 messages active on your system at any time. When you enter the size of your message base, enter it in total bytes. That is, if you want a 400K message base, just type in 409600 (400*1024). You can increase the size of your message base in the future by using the main menu option in this program. NOTE: Messages are deleted based on 4 criteria: first is when the message base file fills up, the pointers start back at the beginning of the file and start deleting the oldest messages in the system; second is when a user enters the maximum message number allowed in the room, the oldest message in that room is deleted; third is when the aide command is used to delete a message; and fourth is when users delete their own messages. [D] Enter the maximum number of messages allowed per room. Again, use your own judgement. Most uses aren't going to want to read more than a few messages per room each time they logon, so you probably don't want this number much more than 100-150. With a number in that range and a 500K message base, you would keep old messages around long enough for the regular users to read, but not so long that new users would have to read messages that are a number of months old. Depending on the message activity in each room, the older messages may have quite recent dates on them due to the way they are deleted as stated in the above paragraph. [E] Enter your SysOp username, first and last or pseudonym (i.e. "Andrew Studer" or "Andy Panda". [F] Enter your SysOp password, this will be required to use your SysOp account. [S] Press this key if you are happy with your selections. The program will create a number of *.SYS system files and save your configuration information in them. When it is finished you will be returned to the desktop. Remember, never use the Install BBS option from the main menu unless you wish to start from scratch. If you already installed your BBS and just changed some options on this run, you can use [X] to exit and then [Y] to save the changes or [N] to ignore the changes. Before you run the main BBS, you should edit a couple textfiles to suit your own preference. In your blurb folder are 3 files called LOGON1.BLB, LOGON2.BLB, and LOGON3.BLB. All of them can be edited or re-written to display the information specific to your BBS. One of the three is chosen randomly to display to the callers after connection. You should include information such as your BBS name, phone number, modem speeds, etc. You may wish to edit any of the other BLB or MNU files as well, depending on your preference. Be sure not to leave out any function key information on the MNU files, otherwise the users won't know which keys to use for which functions! You must include XYZ.TTP (which is supplied) in the folder you create for the file transfer shell option. Alan Hamilton has the best protocol features and these are what ST-Keep uses for file transfers. Please send him a shareware donation if your system uses file transfers. Your First Logon Run BBS.PRG and wait for the wait-call screen to appear. You will notice a few informational items in addition to a menu on the screen. Select [L] to logon to the BBS. From this point on you will see what a caller would when they connect via modem. At most any time while text or messages are being displayed while on ST-Keep, just type [CONTROL-S] or [P] to pause the display, then type any key to resume. If you would like to abort or stop the display, press [CONTROL-C] or [S]. Obviously, [P] and [S] are easier to use than the CONTROL options. There are certain prompts that can not be stopped due to the necessity of viewing this information. After the LOGON#.BLB file is displayed you will be prompted for your "Username:". Enter the SysOp username you used when initializing your system. You will then be prompted for your password. Enter the password you selected for the SysOp account. After being welcomed to the system, the BBS attempts to display any bulletins that are readable by this user. If you created any bulletins in the specified folder, the extensions will be analyzed along with the timestamp on the file to determine if the current user should see them or not. Refer to the bulletin section for more information. After bulletin checking, the user will automatically be shown the new messages in room #1 on your system (usually called Lobby). Again, pressing [S] will stop reading the messages and pressing [P] will pause. When all the new messages (if any) are displayed, a list of rooms with new messages for the user is displayed along with the Lobby> prompt. If you do not like the name of this room, you are welcome to change it using the appropriate Aide command detailed below. Just remember the name change when Lobby> is referenced later in this manual. As you can see, the roomname precedes the ">" greater than sign. This is simply a prompt that signifies that the BBS is waiting for a response. Press [F10] to bring up the session status line. There is copious amounts of information for the SysOp while a user is on-line. This window will come upt automatically when callers logon if the SysOp has it configured as such, otherwise [F10] will toggle it on and off. Press the [?] key. If you used the correct pathname in the Configuration program, you will be displayed the main BBS menu. If not, you should use [T] to logoff, then [X] to exit the BBS program, then re-run BBS_CNFG.PRG and select the Change paths option in order to enter the proper folder where your BLB files are located. Then check the partition and ensure that they ARE in the designated folder. Start this step over again. When you are ready to create your own rooms, type [.][E][R] for .Enter Room and follow the prompts. Once you get the menu you can use any of the various commands depending on your interest. Commands available from any room prompt are detailed below... Main Menu Commands - [?] [A] Aide Commands See the "Aide Commands" section below. [B] Backto Room This will move backwards in room numbers until it finds a room that had new messages when you first logged on. Useful if you accidentally leaave a room before reading all the new messages. [C] Call SysOp Commonly referred to as Chat Request. This allows the modem user to call for the SysOp and chat. If the SysOp is around, he has the option of pressing [F2] to enter chat mode wich allows both users to type to each other at the same time. Pressing [F2] actually executes the designated chat exec from the Configuration program. [D] Download File This command is only valid in directory rooms. Directory rooms end with a right bracket "]". If there are no files on hold for this user, they will be prompted to enter a filename or multiple filenames if a batch protocol is used. Users with access levels of 200 or higher may use wildcards. If files are on hold, they will all be sent via batch protocol based on the users configuration. Co-SysOp Commands - [.][C][?] The Co-SysOp commands are used to manage ST-Keep's functions and features by the SysOp and any designate Co-SysOps. These commands may be accessed on-line (either via local log-on or distant, through the modem) by pressing a sequence of three keys: the period, the letter "C", and one of the following (depending on the desired function): [A] Access User Allows editing of the current user via the local keyboard. The system password is requested before editing can begin. [B] Backup Option Press [RETURN] to disable the backup option. Otherwise enter a valid drive and pathname (i.e. "C:\FOLDER\") where ST-Keep will backup all the *.SYS files when the first caller after midnight logs off. You must insure that you have enough space on the backup partition, so just calculate it by adding the size of all the *.SYS files in your system directory. Note, this won't work on a floppy unless all your system files are less than 720K. If you have the compression backup enabled, the files will be compressed into a single file named for the current date (i.e. "10_25_91.LZH"). [C] Chat Mode Toggle Toggle to disable or enable chat mode ringer. If chat mode is disabled, NOCHAT.BLB will be shown to the user. [D] Disable BBS Toggle If there is a situation where you wish to disable the BBS from accepting any callers but you don't wish to shut your system off, just use this command and all calls will be shown DISABLE.BLB and won't be allowed to logon unless they know the system password. After this file is show, you can press [CTRL-B] and a "Pw:" prompt will display. Enter your system password and you can get on the BBS as normal. [E] Execute File Use the file selector to run any program under ST-Keep; keep in mind that you must insure there is enough RAM available for both programs. If this command is used from remote, the user must type in the drive/path/filename and you must insure they they don't run any programs that don't support modem I/O or the system will effectively lock-up. [F] Floor Editor Edit floor name and floor group access. New floors can be created by using a text editor (like STeno from STrata Software) to add them to the STK_FLRS.SYS file in the system folder. Note that you may have a maximum of 255 floors [G] Group Editor Edit group names. The names themselves are meaningless to ST-Keep, but they will help you remember who belongs in which group. [K] Kill User Delete a user account. Effectively changes their ACCESS level to 0, freeing up this userlog spot for a new user. When a new user logs on and registers, their information will overwrite the information of the first accesse level 0 account found, so even if you have 50 empty slots in your user account base at the end, if user number 7 has access level 0, his/her information will vanish when the next new user registers. [M] Mass Userlog Editor This command executes BBS_ME.PRG in your system folder. You can edit all accounts by selected fields with this program, rather than one user at a time. Be careful not to change your own access level below 255 with the masss editor, or you may not be able to access all functions! [P] Change System Password Change the system password. This password allows access to any user account and other secure features of the BBS, so protect it with your life! [S] Secure System Toggle Make your system secure or open. If it's secure, all user accounts are installed with access level 1, which means they can not leave messages or make file transfers until the SysOp upgrades their level. If your system is open, new users are given access level 2 and the default on-line time and download ratio that you entered with the initialization program. [U] Userlog Editor You will be prompted for a username to edit. Most of the user's data can be modified with this command. You can even print out the user information from here. This command only works on an account in the disk file, not the current user on-line. [Z] Change Modem Init String You can set your modem initialization string with this command. The initialization string is sent out during the waitcall menu. The start up string MUST contain "AT S0=1 S2=255 M0" at the very least. These commands place your modem in auto-answer mode, refuse remote modem command access, and turn your modem speaker off respectively. ST-Keep handles DTR and CARRIER DETECT, so do not force them on your modem. If you have special high speed modems or modems with other features, you can attempt to include more options here if necessary so long as they don't interfere with CD or DTR. Aide Commands ------------- What is an Aide? He/She is a designated high-level (and trustworthy!) user whom you ave chosen to manage some of ST-Keeps' functions (hopefully to take some of the system maintenance burden from you). Aide commands are accessed in a similar manner to the Co-SysOp commands, by pressing the period, the letter "A", and one of the letters indicated below. Many Aide commands have sub-commands, which require a fourth keypress to identify. [E] Edit Room Status [A] Roomname Change the name of the current room. [B] Number Change the current room slot number, currently disabled. [C] Generation Changes the generation number so that all users lose access to this room (unless they are high level users). This is equivalent to uninviting all users. You should increment this number by one up to 254, then re-start again at 2. [D] Floor Change the floor number that the current room is located on. [E] Status Toggle to make the current room public, hidden, or invitation only. Public rooms can be entered by all users. Hidden rooms can only be entered by users if they [.][G]"ROOMNAME" using the EXACT room name. Invitation only rooms can only be entered by users who have been [I]nvited, even if they know the exact roomname. [F] Anonymous All messages in this room will show ****** hiding the date, time, and author field. If a user logs on with the system password, the headers will show the actual author. [G] Archived Save all the messages in this room to a specified filename for archival purposes. [H] Directory Add or remove directory status for this room. The format is "C:\FOLDER\". The trailing backslash is required. [I] Uploads Toggle to allow or disallow file uploads in the current room. You amy choose to allow uploads into only one room on your BBS, so that you can check files before posting them for download. This will require more work on your part, but will protect you and your users from some types of vandalism to a greater extent than direct uploads will. If you have a lot of "ruggies" in your area, this may be a good choice. [J] Downloads Toggle to allow or disallow file downloads in the current room. [K] Dice Enabled Toggle to allow or disallow die rolls in the current room. [L] Header Add or delete a header message for the current room. The header is displayed upon entering the room unless the user has the system skip these headers for their account. [X] Exit Ends the room-editing session and returns you to the room prompt. [I] Invite User You may invite a user to the current room if it has invitation only status. [K] Kill Room Delete this room from the system. All messages will be erased and the slot for this room will be open for a future room creation. [L] List Aides Display a list of the high access users for the BBS, including Aide, Co-SysOp, and SysOp status. [M] Modify Misc Comment Field Change the miscellaneous comment field in the message header. This function overrides any personal comment field that a user may have configured. To erase any MCF, just type [RETURN] at the prompt. The MCF is saved with the STK_INFA.SYS file, so if you re-boot your computer or re-run the BBS, the MCF will still be active. [S] Set Date & Time Set your date or time. Press [RETURN] if there is no change. [U] Uninvite User You may un-invite a user from the current room if it has invitation only status. Voting Option ------------- ST-Keep allows the sysop to configure an unlimited number of voter polls for use on the system. Votes can be made for all users, or specifically for users in specific groups. If you wish to have votes on your system, you MUST place your poll files in the folder you designated when you ran BBS_CNFG.PRG. Two files are required to be created with a text editor by the SysOp before each vote will be enabled. VOTENAME.VOT contains the vote question and the choices, the first 8 characters of the filename can be your choice, but the extension must be "VOT" or "V##" for group only votes. VOTEANSW.ANS contains the number of answers to each choice, the first 8 characters must match the corresponding vote filename, and the extension must be "ANS". You can create votes that can only be taken by users in a specified group by using the group number as the last 2 characters in the VOT extension. The first line in each *.VOT file contains the number of the room you wish the vote results to be posted in. Please be certain that this room number exists as an active room on your BBS. If you do not have a "Vote" room, you should set this room number equal to either the Aide or SysOp room (3 or 4) or "0" and no message will be written to record each users vote. Ideally, you should have a "Vote" room in order to discuss the topic and therefore the first line in your file should be equal to that room's number (i.e. if youre "Vote" room is #23, the first line in your quesion file will be 23. To find a room number, either use [R]ead [I]nformation, [J]umpto [RETURN], or [L]ist Rooms [RETURN] from any room prompt within the BBS. After the room number, you should enter a number for the amount of choices in this particular vote. Following that line, enter the actual vote question next. This can only be one line of data, but its length can be up to 255 characters, therefore you can not have any special width formatting in the actual message, ST-Keep will format this line to the users screen width setting. The last lines are the choices in the vote. I strongly suggest always including an "Other" and "No Opinion" answer for obvious reasons (you can only have up to 26 choices in your vote including these two). Here is a sample vote question file (VOTETEST.VOT): 23 7 What telecommunications program do you use on your ST? Flash Interlink Uniterm STalker Other Freeze Dried Terminal No Opinion The answer file (VOTETEST.ANS) should contain a "0" on separate lines for each of your choices. Since our vote has 6 choices, this is what the file would look like: 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 As you can see, this vote will be recorded in room number 23. When you wish to delete an old vote, just remove the VOT extension or delete the file after you record the final results somewhere on your BBS. Doors ----- Doors allow an external program (game, utility, etc...) to be run from within ST-Keep while in a logon session from either a remote user or the sysop. If a remote user is running the program, the external program must redirect IO to the modem itself, as ST-Keep doesn't do this. Most all on-line games do this, so you shouldn't have to worry about it. Otherwise, any GEM programs or programs that don't re-direct the IO should only be executed from a local logon. Also, your FREE RAM must be high enough to support both ST-Keep and this external program. An error message in ST-Keep will occur if you do not have enough free RAM to run a door. Keep in mind that if you want group access for different doors, that those won't appear on the menu for a normal user unless they are a member of that group. You can install or delete your own doors with any text editor or the door editor program included in this archive. Each door has 5 fields, all on separate lines, although the file begins with one line stating the total number of doors you have installed. This is how the file (STK_DOOR.SYS) would look with 3 doors installed: 3 1 Axolotl Football League c:\afl\afl.tos [blank line] c:\afl\player.dat 15 Flash c:\flash\flash.prg [blank line] [blank line] 2 Safari BBS c:\bbs.prg -BBS -pf:\bbs2\ [blank line] The first line tells ST-Keep how many doors you have installed, be sure to change this number if you delete or add doors without using the door editor. The second line contains the group number of the AFL door, remember, if users are not members of group 1 they can not get in this door, so in this instance group 1 is our On-Line Games group. Line 2 holds the door name, line 3 the path/filename where this program to run can be found. The 4th line is a blank line (CR) for AFL. The 5th line is only used if you need to pass the players name to a specific filename, otherwise it should be a blank line (CR) if it isn't necessary. As you can see, those 5 fields are repeated for my Flash door. If the doors don't work correctly, you're probably just setting the path/filenames incorrectly or you don't have enough RAM. ST-Keep can call another program that requires the baud rate (i.e. another BBS program including ST-Keep, FIDODOOR, etc...) as a door. This way you can allow users to enter a totally different system or run the various networking programs available. Line 4 of the door data is used for this feature. Simply place "-B" on this line and the program to be executed will be passed the baud rate of the on-line user ("LOCAL" if local) via the command line parameters. ST-Keep will also create a DORINFO1.DEF file in the directory of the new BBS program for use by FIDODOOR or any other programs that may need the baud rate or door information file. Door Parameters --------------- -B Used to tell ST-Keep to treat the door program as a BBS. ST-Keep will send out "LOCAL" on the command line if there is no carrier, and "-Bxxxx" (xxxx=baud rate) if there is a carrier so that the door program can use this information. -DR Creates DORINFO1.DEF before executing the specified door program. -DH This file will be created in the same folder as the door program that you wish to run. FIDODOOR.TTP requires this file. -DR passes the users real name, while -DH passes the users handle from ST-Keep. If -DRG -DRG or -DHG is used, the Group level, rather than the access level, -DHG will be saved in the DORINFO1.DEF file. This is useful for FIDOdoor or the Door Interface Program (DIP). -P Changes the directory AFTER executing your door program and writing DORINFO1.DEF if sent to another ST-Keep BBS. This is helpfull for the bbs so that you only need one BBS.PRG on your drive but multiple BBSs can run off of it. You need to append the pathname after this switch to designate the change (i.e. "-Pc:\folder\"). ST-Keep will use the system files located in this folder rather than where BBS.PRG was executed from. -T Will pass 'text' along the command line. This switch allows you to pass a constant string every time this door is executed. You must pass the text directly after this switch (i.e. "-Tcommand line"). -U Passes only the username along the command line (for on-line games, etc...) You may not pass the -B, -T, or -U switches together as they conflict with each other. The other switches can be used together or with one of these three. Function Keys ------------- [F1] Press this key to get a menu of the function keys available. [F2] Go into chat mode with the current user; if you use this key while you are on-line locally, it will go into terminal mode. [F3] Disable chat call toggle. If a user [C]hats for the SysOp this will send a note to the user from NOCHAT.BLB which should basically state that "...the SysOp is not around so leave mail or try again later..." Chat Mode: On/Off will be seen in the status line. [F4] This will send a bunch of line noise over the modem, useful to terrorize your friends or just before using [F5]. [F5] Will drop DTR, hang up on the modem instantly. [F6] Userboot # - enter a number from 0 through 9 after pressing this function key, the user will be sent the textfile called USERBOOT.# in your MSG directory. # = the userboot number you chose. You can create such textfiles as "Your time has expired!" or "Sorry, the sysop needs the system, please call back later." After each userboot file is printed to the callers screen, the modem will drop carrier on them so you can have the system. [F7] Allows access to the aide commands no matter who is online, be careful not to show the user anything you don't want them to see. [F8] Allows access to the Co-SysOp commands, otherwise same as [F7]. [F9] Access to file commands while a user is on-line. [F10] Status line toggle, if it's on, this will turn it off and give access to the full screen for the session. If it is on, it holds 5 lines of information on the users account. It is automatically turned on when a user calls if your system options are configured for it, but is not turned on when a user logs on from the console. Function Key Macros ------------------- Each line in the STK_FUNC.SYS file can contain any text you wish. Use ALT-F# to send F1-F10 and ALT-SHIFT-F# to send F11-F20. These macros could contain such phrases as "Hello, how can I help you?" so that you can send them when entering chat mode or even enable you to logon faster if you made one of them your username and the other your password, although this poses a security risk. Backups ------- ST-Keep will automatically backup (with the supplied BBS_BACK.PRG) your system files after midnight when the first caller logs off if you have this function enabled ([.][c][b]). Just make sure the correct pathname is on your hard drive, and the files will be copied over there. You should put the backup files on a partition other than the same one you're using for the BBS, so that if the BBS partition fails you have the old files elsewhere. If you need to restore from a backup, you MUST copy ALL of the backup files to your BBS directory, you can not pick and choose from various files. If you lose just one or a few of your SYS files, you will still need to copy all of the backup files over. Almost all the system files are related, especially the room.sys, userlog.sys, and msg.sys files and they can't operate correctly if they aren't from the same backup. The backup feature doesn't check for enough free space on your backup partition, so you should periodically check your backup drive to make sure it has enough free space when you first start. Once one backup is complete, ST-Keep will just overwrite those same files so the amount of backup space required shouldn't change. Auto-Messages ------------- NEWUSER.MSG - If this file is in your MSG directory, ST-Keep will save the contents in the file as a message from user account #1 to all new users after they finish their application. HANGUP.MSG - If this file is in your MSG directory, ST-Keep will save the contents in the file as a message from user account #1 to all users who drop or lose carrier without terminating properly. Moving & Deleting Messages -------------------------- When you use the aide command to move a message, ST-Keep remembers the last room you moved any previous messages into. This comes in handy when you are moving a number of messages into the same room, you can just hit [RETURN] for the room and the default will be the last room. Initially this room is set to the Aide room. Any user may delete a message they saved previously simply by pausing the message with [P] and then pressing [D] to resume. After the message is displayed, they will be asked to confirm the deletion. If the users have their message prompts turned on, they can just press [D] at the prompt to delete the message if they were the author. Terminal Mode ------------- BBS_TERM.PRG is a menu driven terminal program supplied with ST-Keep. You should be able to operate it nicely from the menu and therefore it won't be detailed in this document. Downloading Files ----------------- Users may batch download from any room prompt that has directory status. Batch downloads are only valid with Ymodem and Zmodem. You may notice XFERLIST.DAT and XFER_REC.DAT appear in your bbs folder. They are used to record download/upload filenames and are not needed to the BBS after a user logs off. You can simply ignore this file. AUTODESK.PRG ------------ This program is supplied with ST-Keep to allow access to desk accessories while keeping ST-Keep loaded. Press the [CLR/HOME] key at any time and ST-Keep will run AUTODESK.PRG. You can then use your DA's and use Quit to return to the BBS. Dice Roller ----------- [%] from any room except #1 will send the user to a dice menu. This feature is handy for on-line RPG's or other games. BBS Colors ---------- Use the PolyChrome DA (COLOUR.ACC) to create STK_INFC.SYS. This contains the color information for your personal choices when running BBS.PRG. If this file is not present in your bbs directory, ST-Keep will use your system colors so you could alternately use your control panel and set your preferences. Bulletins --------- Permanent - *.BUP - Always shown to users when they logon New - *.BUL - Shown only once to each user unless it is updated Group - *.B## - Shown only once to each user if they are a member of this group number. Must be 01 to 15. Color Graphics Emulation ------------------------ You can insert color codes in your *.MNU files to enhance each users VT-52, Instant Graphics & Sound, Blue Instant Graphics, or ANSI screen configurations. When ST-Keep shows any menu, it first looks for the extension of V52 (for VT-52), IG (Instant Graphics & Sound), BIG (Blue Instant Graphics) or ANS (for ANSII) and if it can't find any of these it will use MNU. Simply use a text editor or a special VT-52 or ANSII editor to create menues for each type of emulation. To create IGS menues you will need to obtain the latest version of IGS found on most BBSs. To create BIG menues, you can obtain the Blue Instant Graphics documentation from an IBM BBS and modify your IGS scripts to work with B.I.G. (be sure to save them with the new extension of BIG; IGS and BIG are not 100% compatible). Command line parameters usable with ST-Keep (BBS.PRG): ----------------------------------------------------- -Bxxxxx Baud rate used when running the BBS as a door so that the callers speed can be used within ST-Keep for the caller log and file transfer calculations. The RS232 port will NOT be re-set as normal with this speed as the host program should have taken care of initializing the port. "-B0" would signify a local logon without a modem. -Ppathname Requests ST-Keep to change the current working directory to that of "pathname" (i.e. "-Pd:\stkeep2\") in order to load system files from a location other than the directory where BBS.PRG is located. This is useful if you wish to run more than one ST-Keep allowing others to be spawned from a host while requiring you to have only one copy of BBS.PRG. Floors ------ The STK_FLRS.SYS data file contains your system floor information. The first line in this file is always the total number of floors that you have configured. You must change it whenever adding or deleting floors. After this line follows 2 lines for each floor, starting with floor 1. The first line is the group number required for access to this floor. The second number is the floor name. Events ------ Events allow you to trigger special functions at specified times while ST-Keep is waiting for a call or while a user is on-line. Three types of events are supported: PREEMPTIVE , TIMEOUT, and NETWORK (on the way). You must create a file called STK_EVNT.SYS and place it in your system folder. The format for the file is as follows: Line 1: The number of events in this file. Line 2: Type of event (PREEMPTIVE, TIMEOUT, NETWORK). Line 3: Days to run (Mon, Tue, etc...) Line 4: Time to run Line 5: Duration in minutes Line 6: Disallow door entry time Line 7: Event name Line 8: Argument 1 Line 9: Argument 2 Line 10: Last date event was run Lines 2-9 are duplicated for each event in this file. You can have up to 32000 events. EVENT TYPES PREEMPTIVE events will send a message to the user telling them that system maintenance is starting and how long it will run, then it will log the user off-line and save their account information before proceeding. These are basically important tasks that can't wait until the user logs off (midnight game clean-up, for example). Otherwise, the event will run from the waitcall screen. TIMEOUT events will not run until after the user has logged off, or at the waitcall screen. Backing up your *.SYS files with the BBS_BACK.PRG fits nicely into this area. NETWORK events are pending completion. EVENT DAYS: You can enter a single day (MON) or a list of days separated by commas (MON,TUE,FRI), in addition to (ALL) which will run this event every day at the specified time. DURATION: Enter a number approximating the total amount of minutes this event will take until again allowing incoming calls. DISALLOW DOOR ENTRIES: This option is unavailable at this time. Enter a number of minutes here. If a user attempts to enter a door or execute a file transfer and the user has less than this number of minutes remaining of on-line time before a specified event is to occur, ST-Keep will notify the user that they do not have enough time before the event to initiate their request. This will ensure that time critical events get processed on time (networking!). NAME: At this time, event names are: EXEC (run a specified program and allows any number of execs) NETWORK (pending) ARGUMENT1: Used to pass the filename for EXEC to run ("c:\gfa\bbs.prg"). ARGUMENT2: Used to pass a command line to the EXEC program. LAST RUN DATE: The last date this event processed. Example: 3 preemptive all 00:00 2 exec n:\today\today.prg n/a 03/14/1992 timeout all 00:05 2 exec h:\bbs\wizfile.prg n/a 03/14/1992 timeout mon,wed,fri 02:45 10 exec c:\bbs\bbs_back.prg n/a 03/14/1992 As you can see, I have three events. The last event, backing up the system files, only runs on the specified days at 02:45am. The first event runs every night at midnight (logging any users off) and executes the today.prg (creates a famous dates in history file). The second event runs a program called WIZFILE every night after the today.prg. Be very careful when you're adding or deleting events from this file, you must have 8 lines per event and they must be in this format. Events should be configured chronologically in this file. That is, if you have 2 events and one runs at 1am and the other runs at midnight, make sure the midnight even is first in this file.