TPUG - Toronto PET Users Group/TPUG Users Group CD/TPUG Users Group CD.iso/CRS/crs40.d81/vtnt46-3.sfx/docs4-6.asc

Text File | 1992-12-22 | 38KB | 1,023 lines

VORTEXNET v4.6 (c) 1991,92  by Stephen Kunc
-------------------------------------------




::Note:: For registered owners of VortexNet 4.5, two update
programs are contained on the VortexNet 4.6 disk that must be run
when upgrading from 4.5 to 4.6 if a complete new SETUP is not
desired. Otherwise, SETUP can be run, and all the files from 4.5
except for DXX may be copied over. Also, on any upgrade from 4.5 to
4.6, a new 'Forced Questionnaire' should be immediately created
with VortexNet 4.6 to keep with an updated file format.


-------------


The VortexNet BBS program requires a number of data files to be
created before it can be run. The userlog and the nodelist (REL
files), a binary saved data file, and a number of SEQuential files.
The SETUP program provided on the disk must be used to create
these. If the disk provided is not one that can be run from your
default drive, copy SETUP <prg> and DXX <prg> onto your drive 8.

Type: run"setup"

The setup program creates the data disk and necessary files, you
should only need to run it once. The program displays what its
requirements are, in terms of blank disks and which drive numbers
must be used. It's important to create VortexNet onto a blank disk,
not onto the SETUP/DXX disk.

At the time of this documentation writing, the only hardware
configuration that the VortexNet setup supports is two message
drives (any combination of 1571 & 1581), and one other drive of any
type. The two message drives must be device 9 and 10, and contain
blank disks. The third drive must be the default drive 8, and a
formatted disk must be ready for when the setup program requests
it.

After the SETUP procedure is completed, the CONFIG program should
be run, although it can be done later. To run CONFIG from basic
before loading the BBS, type run"config". When prompted to "Load
data?" answer "y" and at the "drive#" prompt, select the drive
number of the disk which contains the recently setup program.



CONFIG -

The CONFIG program, used to modify the BBS, can be run from the
BBS, or by typing run"config".


PAGE 1


1: Zone Number
2: Net Number
3: Node Number

Options 1-3 are initially set to 0 by the setup program. They refer
to a fidonet address. They should be changed after a fidonet node
number is secured. What they must be set to in order to first
obtain the node number varies from location to location. Find out
from your local hub.


4: 1200 baud pause delay
5: 300 baud pause delay

Options 4-5 default to 19 and 71, respectively. They refer to the
number of steps as a time delay, the BBS program performs between
sending a character at that baud rate. There is no time delay for
2400 baud.


6: Quote chance 1 in...

The default is 6. It can be set to anything from 1 to 255. It
refers to the chance, in that number, of a quote appearing at the
main menu. If it is set to 1, a quote will appear each time a user
returns to any main menu. If it is set to 100, there will be a 1%
chance of a quote appearing.


7: The year

The last two digits of the current year. Current setup initializes
to 91.


8: Zonemail hour effective

Set this to 1 if Zone Mail hour is being used. A 0 ignores Zone
Mail hour and allows human callers to log on during the times set.


9: Show sysop in last ten callers

If this is set to no, user #1 won't ever appear on the recent
callers list.


A - B: Zonemail Start and End time
These times define the start and end of Zone Mail hours. They must
start and end on the hour, and cannot be on the half hour. The
times set do not matter if Zonemail hour is disabled through option
'8' above.


C - D: Msg stacks

VortexNet 4.6 makes use of the message stacks unavailable in v4.5.
Message stack C refers to drive 1 (device 9) and message stack D
refers to drive 2 (device 10). The range is 0 to 699, and
corresponds to how many messages should be stored on each drive.
With an average echomail size volume, a 1581 can handle all 699
messages, and a 1571 between 300 and 400. Depending on the average
message size (which depends on which echomail areas you receive)
these stacks may need to be adjusted. Running the RESET program
will provide advice on message stack numbering.


Message queue location: Shows the message number of the next
message to be written.

Echomail scan location: Shows the location of the echomail scan.


N)ext page: Moves to Page 2 of the CONFIG program.


Q)uit without saving - Exits program. If CONFIG was run from the
BBS, this returns to the BBS, otherwise exits.


S)ave modifications - Updates the data file and then returns to
either the BBS or exits the program. The BBS disk which contains
the correct DXX file must be in drive 8 when this is used.


PAGE 2 -


A: Maximum number of messages/call at security level 4

Security level 4 is the minimum level required to enter public
messages (excluding feedback). A maximum number of messages per
call for a security level 4 user can be set. The initial setting is
0, which has to be changed if security level 4 users are allowed to
enter messages. The range is 0 to 255. Setting the value to 255
effectively makes a security level 4 user equivalent to any higher
level in this area.


B: Security level required to bypass last 10 callers

This option defines the security level needed to be able to log
onto the BBS even if the user is one of the last 10 callers. If
it's set to 5, then any security level 4 or below user will not be
able to log on if she/he is on the last 10 callers list. A 0 nulls
this option.


C: New user questionnaire & feedback base

This sets the message base number that the new user questionnaire
responses and feedback gets posted in. If it's set to 0 it will be
sent private to user number 1. Any other number will post in that
base. Caution must be taken not to set this to a base that doesn't
exist, or the feedback/questionnaire will not get seen. Also, when
deleting a message base that ranks chronologically between base
number 1 and the feedback base, the number will have to be changed
to reflect the deletion of a base, since the intended feedback base
will move down one.


D: Forced questionnaire base

This defines the message base number that forced questionnaire
answers get posted in. The same cautions apply as to option 'C'
above. If a 0 is put here, the message is private to user number 1.


E: New user security level

This is the level of validation a new user calling the BBS
automatically receives after completing the questionnaire. Setup
default is level 1.


F: Access level to Forward/Move messages

The access level required to F)orward or M)ove messages from public
bases.


G: Access level to kill messages

The access level required to Kill public messages.


H: Access to build message base

The access level required for users to create message bases.


I,J,K: Access to Transfer Drives

These define the access levels required to Catalog each of the
three File Transfer drives.

M: Access required for Citadel

The access level required to play Citadel. 0 = Citadel is not
active.


O: Citadel optimizer execution

Sets the Citadel optimizer to either manual or automatic mode. In
automatic mode, the optimizer runs every midnight, provided no user
is online.


R: Access required for outside module

The access level required to access the outside module (o).



PAGE 3 - Drive Definitions/Screen

All of these drives may be set to the same device (ie:8) if
desired.


1: Main: Userlog/Nodelist/DXX/BDS/Outbound Mail drive

This drive device is the one designated as the "main" drive, it
stores the LOG and NODES files (REL files), the BDS file (message
base file), all the outbound mail, and the DXX file (the memory).
This drive should be the most secure, that these files will not be
lost under many circumstances.


2: Main: SEQ files/PR2-4

This drive stores all the SEQuential files (except BDS) used by
VortexNet (ie:Voting and Trivia files) as well as the actual
VortexNet program. (BBS, PR2, PR3, PR4).


3: Main: File Transfers

This is the drive assigned to File Transfers, and stores the drive
catalogs (dir X).


4: Main: Inbound Mail

This is the drive assigned to receive all inbound net and echomail.
All netmail and echomail is processed and saved on the message
drives after receipt and if there were no errors, the mail bundle
is deleted.

5: Citadel drive

This is the drive assigned to the online game Citadel, and all
Citadel related files.


6: Editors/Outside/Nodemod

This drive is assigned to all the editor programs (ie:CONFIG) if
they are kept online, as well as any outside modules (VortexChess)
and NODEMOD. Also, all "progX" files will be loaded from this
drive.


7: This selects the background screen colour for VortexNet (1-16)

8: This selects the character colour in VortexNet (1-16)



P)revious Page returns to PAGE 2 of CONFIG



Loading the BBS
---------------


To run the BBS, reset the computer, ensuring that the modem is
online. On an Aprotek C24, the ready and the 2400 baud lights
should be on.

Make sure the message disks are in the correct drives (at the time
of this writing: 9 and 10) and the data/program disk is in the main
drive. Type : run"bbs" (with Unit extension if other than drive 8).



After loading, the program will prompt with the following:


Load Data ?    device#?
Time?
Bulletin?
Autosave?
Month?
Date?
Fidonet?


The data must be loaded (answer y) if the computer was rebooted, or
another program was loaded before the BBS. The only events where
the data would not be loaded (answer n) would be if the computer
was warm reset, and then the data modified through memory editing,
and then the program rerun. When the data is loaded, the program
prompts for the drive device number on which the data is stored.
This corresponds to the Main Drive number in CONFIG. Usually 8.

Enter the time without spaces or punctuation. 11:56 would be
entered as 115600 for 11th hour, 56th minute, 00 seconds. It must
always be 6 digits long. After entering the time the screen will
clear and change to the preselected VortexNet colours.

The Bulletin prompt refers to whether or not the program will
display the file "f.bu" upon log on by a user. The f.bu file would
be displayed just before the main menu prompt, but only once per
call. 0 sets it off, 1 sets it on.

The Autosave prompt tells the program if the data file should be
saved after every logoff. If it is off, the data file never gets
updated on the disk, so it must be saved manually with the BSAVE
command specified later. If it is on, the BBS automatically updates
the data file after every logoff, after every dial-out and after
every receipt of netmail or echomail. 0 sets it off, 1 sets it on.
Under normal circumstances and BBS operation, the Autosave option
is always set to 1 (on).

The month and date prompts request the current numerical month and
date. October 15th would be 10 for Month, 15 for Date.

The Fidonet prompt refers to whether or not the fidonet mailer and
tosser are active. If a node number has not already been granted,
it should be off. If for some reason the sending out of mail
bundles and echo area scanning needs to be halted, turn this option
off. It will not impede incoming mail packets, so in that respect,
Fidonet is always on, but only prevents outgoing mail from being
sent currently at that time. 0 turns it off, 1 turns it on.



The BBS
-------

After the BBS has been loaded, the waiting for caller screen will
appear. This consists of a status line at the top of the screen
indicating the last caller, and their 'last words.' The time will
be on the screen, as well as 2 columns of numbers, in 10 rows. The
first time the BBS is loaded, these will all be set to 0. As well
as a partial directory which includes the outbound net/echomail
packets still not sent, the bundles received which were for some
reason marked as bad and file-attaches received which were not
recognized as echomail. There is also a one line menu reminding how
to log on locally, access the CONFIG, EDITOR and NODEMOD programs.

The first column of numbers are the user numbers of the last 10
callers, going from top to bottom, oldest to most recent. The
number to the right of each user number corresponds to the number
of messages that user entered during that call. In addition, a
"<yell>" will appear to the right of the second column if that user
yelled for the sysop while online.

There are 6 options that can be performed locally from the waiting
for caller screen. <ENTER> logs on locally, and <P> can be used to
force the BBS to perform a fidonet poll on another node. <1> runs
the CONFIG program. <2> runs the EDITOR program. <3> runs the
NODEMOD program. <0> forces the BBS to attempt to dial out all the
nodes it has mail for (all the packets listed on the partial
directory).

There is also another option which appears on that menu if the
online game CITADEL is active. That option is <4> to run the
Citadel Optimizer. Details further down.

Numbers 5 to 9 also respond from the waiting for caller screen.
Pressing 5 will attempt to run"prog5" from the outside
modules/editors drive. Likewise, pressing 9 will run"prog9". Sysops
may use these to run VortexNet compatible software.

After setting up the BBS and running the program, the first thing
the new sysop should do is log on locally as a new user. At the
identity prompt, type in the name by which the sysop should be
recognized by the BBS. A quick search will reveal that the userlog
is empty, and the program will ask if the person is new there. Type
'y' and follow the prompts.

At the main menu, the new sysop will have to increase his/her
access level. First: break into chat with yourself... (press the F7
function key)

A small menu appears. Normally the sysop has to know what he/she is
going to do after invoking the F7 menu, because the user online is
suspended from doing anything. If nothing is desired, hit the F7
key again.

The F3 key logs the user off, without updating the userlog. The F5
key sends a message requesting a chat with the user after he/she is
finished (this is done while the user is in the message areas).
Although the sysop can swoop into chat with users while they're in
the message areas, it is sometimes preferable to send them a
message requesting a page when they're finished.

The F1 key swoops into chat with the user online. Use that option
to chat with yourself and raise your access level.

Once in chat, the function keys have new meanings:

The ESC key ejects the user from chat. The F3 key allows the sysop
to change the user name of the user online. The F1 key allows the
sysop to change the access level of the user online.

If you are a new sysop, press the F1 key. It will ask for "Sec?".
Enter "10" for the highest security level. Another prompt will
appear, type "0". This is used to either increase (typing a
positive number) or decrease (negative number) the amount of user
credits the user online has. It is not (at the time of this
writing) supported on the BBS, but the online game Citadel uses
these credits, and outside modules can be written to make use of
them. A new sysop, who has just increased his/her security level to
10, should then eject themselves from chat and log off, using the
"g" option from the menu. This is to ensure that the changes to the
account are saved immediately.

The sysop may then re-log on to verify that his/her user account
has been updated and proceed.



The Main Menu  (using the default names)
-------------

The main menu can be edited to look how the sysop desires by using
the (2) EDITOR program.


B)asement - switches modules... trivia, voting etc...

D)isplay Status - redisplays the log on information.

E)-mail - Private electronic mail.

F)eedback - Allows for message entry by unvalidated users. The
feedback gets addressed and the subject written automatically
according to what is in the data files (1 & 2). It gets posted in
the message base specified by the SETUP program. A user who has a
security level higher than 3 invariably gets his feedback messages
sent private to the sysop. The SETUP feedback base is only used for
unvalidated users.

G)oodbye - logs off

L)ook for mail - Reads private mail. If there is private mail
waiting, the BBS will notify the user upon logon.

M)essage Bases - enters message area.

R)ecent callers - displays list of the last 10 callers.

T)oggle linefeeds - turns linefeeds on/off.

W)ake the sysop - yells for the sysop. (to answer a chat request
press return while the BBS is yelling)


Message Base Menu
-----------------

A)gain - rescan's current message base for new messages and prompts
with the read option

E)nter - enter message into current base

F)orward read - read messages in a forward direction from any point

J)ump - jump to another base

M)ain menu

T)itles - scan new messages by headers and query a read for each

N)next - move to next base

P)prev - move to previous base


Note: The default at this prompt is to move to the next base.



The Basement Menu
-----------------

B)uild a base -

This option allows for the creation of new message bases by users
or by the sysop. Although message bases can be created by the sysop
from the EDITOR program, this option (access needed specified in
CONFIG) lets users with that access to create their own message
bases.

C)atalog transfer drives - listing of files for download
D)isplay status
E)ditor Menu - go to BBS general editor menu
F)ile transfer - uploading and downloading files
G)oodbye
K)ill your friends - gallows option
L)ist ascii file - view a file on the download list on the screen
P)assword change
Q)uest for truth
S)creen width change - toggle 40/80 columns
T)rivia
U)serlog
V)oting
W)ake the sysop
X) cross back to main -- return to main module
?) displays menu



BBS Editor Menu
---------------
F)orce Questionnaire - create new forced questionnaire

I)nitialize Gallows - select new user to be entered in gallows

L)ist Levels - displays list of titles, in order

M)ain menu - return to main basement menu

N)ew trivia - create new trivia questions

Q)uestmaker - create new quest for truth

R)esend InitS - Resends the defined modem initialization string.
Should only be done locally.

S)ystem Stats - view system stats and system log

T)ime/Date - Change BBS time or date. Returns at prompts leave
unchanged.

V)oting maker - create new online voting




Editing Files
-------------

All the data files as well as the download directories are edited
with the EDITOR (accessed by typing either run"editor" from basic,
or pressing <2> at the BBS waiting prompt). The files that are not
listed on the EDITOR menu are edited directly online in the BBS
Basement menu.


FILE DESCRIPTIONS:
------------------

"LOG" & "NODES"
---------------

LOG and NODES are relative files. They can be edited with a sector
editor if necessary, but it should never be needed. The LOG file is
the userlog information, which can be modified from the BBS
basement, and the NODES file is the nodelist, which can be changed
through the nodelist editor program NODEMOD.



"BBS","PR2","PR3" & "PR4"
-------------------------

All of these are program files. The PR* files are modules, and BBS
is the executable.

"DXX","SETUP","RESET","NODEMOD","EDITOR" & "CONFIG"
---------------------------------------------------

DXX is the data file which stores message links and various other
information (voting results, message pointers, etc). It is the data
file which is modified with the CONFIG program.

The DXX file can be saved from immediate mode if necessary, with
the following BASIC line:

bsave"dxx",u8,b1,p4000 to p16000


The CONFIG program is accessed from basic by typing run"config" or
directly from the BBS waiting screen by pressing <1>.

RESET is accessed by typing run"reset" from basic. It will load the
most recent version of DXX. RESET optimizes the message disk if any
messages have been memory deleted because of a problem on the disk.
RESET will clear up sectors that have been marked as being used,
when in reality they're not. It need never be used if you have not
manually gone into memory and erased messages or there haven't been
any message problems.

RESET should also be used if a disk error is encountered while
reading a message. If for whatever reason a message gets saved
improperly and reading it yields a file data error, running RESET
on that drive will correct the problem.

NODEMOD is the nodelist modification program included with the BBS.
It is accessed by typing run"nodemod" from basic, or by pressing
<3> from the BBS waiting screen. At the present time, VortexNet
does not process the IBM nodelist or nodediff and nodes must be
changed manually with this program.

SETUP (run"setup" from basic) is the program which must be run
initially to create the files needed by the BBS.



DATA1 & DATA2
-------------

These are the data files containing BBS strings which are
modifiable by the sysop. They are modified using the EDITOR program
and the breakdown is as follows:


Data File 1:

1) message sent to user when sysop request a chat
2) opening line indicating to press ESCape to bypass mailer
3) string sent indicating that fidonet mailer was bypassed
4) First line of welcome line to BBS
5) Second line of welcome line to BBS
6) Message sent when user fails to get correct password after four
attempts
7) Message sent when sysop kicks user off
8) line preceding prompt at main menu
9) -unused- must be present though
10) Message when W)ake is pressed more than once and sysop hasn't
answered
11) First line of yell
12) Second line of yell
13) Message indicating yell wasn't answered
14) Message when sysop answers yell
15) Message when sysop breaks into chat while user not yelling



Data File 2:

1) Message when sysop disengages from chat
2) String sent when user presses 'g' and then changes mind
3) Default last caller message when return is pressed at prompt
4) Automatic name F)eedback is addressed to
5) Automatic subject of F)eedback
6) Message when unvalidated user presses inaccessible option
7) String at beginning of ORIGIN line in echomail (usually the name
of the BBS) - (caution must be taken not to make this string too
long... see ECHOMAIL configuration section of this document)
8) Message sent to new user requesting F)eedback be left or
deletion will occur on logoff (if new user access is 1)
9) 'Last Caller' name when BBS is rebooted
10) 'Last Caller' message when BBS is rebooted
11) Header before statistics are displayed
12) Name of first file directory
13) Name of second file directory
14) Name of third file directory
15) modem init string  (default: ath1v0e0m0s0=1)



"MU","F.MBME","F.BMU","QUOT","SEC","KEST"
"F.OP","F.FI","F.BU"
--------------------------------------------

All of these files are essentially data files used by the BBS. They
are all modifiable through the EDITOR program.



"DIR 1","DIR 2" & "DIR 3"
-------------------------

These are the 3 file directories. They are stored as sequential
files, at the time of this writing. There are four pieces of
information for each 'program' listed in the directory: The name,
The Uploader, a number, and a file description. The number, which
is the only piece of data that should not be preceded by a
quotation mark, corresponds to the number of xmodem blocks the file
length is. If the number is 4, then the display will read that the
file is 512 bytes long. To figure out what number to put there on
a program that isn't uploaded (when a program is uploaded, then
this is all done by the BBS), multiply the number of disk blocks
that the program uses by 2.

There is also a 'junk character' at the beginning of each DIR file.
It should be left alone, and has to be there if the directory is
empty.

These download directories are all modifiable through the EDITOR
program.



"BDS","QUE","TRUTH","VOT","GAL" & "TRI"
---------------------------------------

The above, except for BDS, are files used by the BBS relevant to
the various options available from the basement menu (voting,
trivia etc...) They need not be edited by any means other than from
the BBS editor menu, found off the basement menu.

QUE is the current set of questions for the forced questionnaire.
TRUTH is the quest for truth questions and options. VOT is the
voting questions. GAL is the saved user comments relevant to the
gallows. TRI is the trivia questions and answers. BDS is the file
used to store message base name/level and code information, and is
modifiable through the EDITOR by selecting the MESSAGE BASE EDITOR
option.

All of the above files and options with the exception of QUE also
employ some part of memory (ultimately stored in DXX) for results.
They are all self-supporting and need only be modified directly
online or in the EDITOR.

-----


The use of CONFIG, EDITOR, NODEMOD, SETUP and RESET are all
hopefully self-explanatory and menu driven.


Short-notes which may cause potential problems:


CONFIG: described in detail above


EDITOR: scroll highlight bar down to file desired to be edited.
Highlight "- Exit Editor -" to finish. If you used run"editor" to
access this program, you will be returned to basic. If you ran it
from the BBS, the BBS will automatically be reloaded skipping over
the prompts.

This program also includes the MESSAGE BASE EDITOR, USERLOG EDITOR
and the method for editing the download directories. Care must be
taken to update the DXX file when message bases are modified,
especially if the editor is not being run directly from the BBS but
in immediate mode instead.

Editing files: F1 - aborts file edit F3 - saves edited file F5 -
insert blank line on cursor F7 - delete line on cursor

Editing download directories:

Selecting any of the d/dirX files to edit displays a list of the
files in that download directory. Highlight an entry to edit. As
above, F1 aborts this modification, F3 saves the update. F5 in this
instance allows you to add a file to the download directory, and
queries with prompts. F7 allows you to delete a file from the
directory. (note F7 doesn't delete the file from the disk, just
removes the entry from the download directory)

Hint: Take a note of how each file is set up initially, in case a
mistake is made. In particular, note the format of the main menu
file, the first line of which is a prompt, the second is the header
and the following lines are the menu. The other menu files are not
set up this way.

In the MESSAGE BASE EDITOR option 3 allows for the customizing of
some message base attributes which may be confusing, all other
options should be self-explanatory. Use option 3 to specify the
type of the message base (ie: echomail, local, netmail). It also
allows for the turning on of anonymous mode, which means for that
message base, users entering or replying to messages are permitted
to enter an optional other name. Also, reply can be disabled for
individual message bases. The option to keep the SEEN-BY lines
applies to echomail bases. Normally, SEEN-BY lines would not be
wanted, but they can be set to be kept for testing purposes. Also,
there is the option to turn on the QuoteRemover program, which
applies to incoming echomail only. The QuoteRemover recognizes some
forms of other BBS quoting, and removes those lines from incoming
echomail and reports back how many lines of quotes were removed, if
any. The QuoteRemover can be turned on for echomail conferences
where people use excessive message quoting which may use up a lot
of VortexNet disk space.

As well, option 3 is used to turn on the ability for users to quote
messages in that base, and also to turn on the option to keep
Kludge Lines (preceeded by a control A) on incoming echomail.
Normally, Kludge lines would not be wanted (as SEEN-BY lines) but
they are sometimes useful for testing purposes. They should be
turned off since they use up disk space unnecessarily.
Note: Kludge lines may be sent from the BBS by preceeding the test
on that line by the string "^a:". The mail tosser recognizes this
as the command to turn that line into a Kludge line. A lower case
a denotes a Kludge line entered locally from the BBS, an upper case
A denotes a Kludge line which was received. Kludge lines are mailer
and tosser commands, and unless the sysop knows what he/she is
doing with them they should be avoided. In a number of areas,
inserting unnecessary Kludge lines may be considered "excessively
annoying".

Note: Caution must be taken in echomail message bases to ensure
that the origin line of an echo, plus the name entry (Default:
VortexNet) from the DATA FILE 2, plus the string " * Origin: ",
plus the "(Z:###/###)" does not exceed 69 characters. Since the "
* Origin " and node address are constant lengths, the shorter the
name in the data file, the longer the origin line can be for an
echo, so long as the total number of characters that appear on that
line does not equal 70 or greater.

The USERLOG editor allows for the individual editing of each user's
account. There are two "Extra fields" at the bottom of the user
record, these correspond to the first 22 characters (or less) of
the strings entered in the first two questions of the new user
application. For this reason, there should always be at least 2
new-user questions on the application. If question number one, for
example, is: "What is your real name?" whatever the user answers to
that question will be stored in Extra Field 1, and likewise,
question 2 for Extra Field 2. These fields are only for records and
are not used by VortexNet, although their contents appear on the
status line.



NODEMOD:

As the editor and config programs, when NODEMOD is exited, it
either returns to the BBS or to basic, depending from where it was
run. Quit exits without updating the DXX file, but individual node
entries made during the session are saved. Quit shouldn't be used
unless no changes were made at all.

Save & Exit updates the DXX file and then quits.

Initially, NODEMOD is empty of node entries. A list is displayed on
screen with numbers 1 to 96 listed, initially followed by 0's. 1 to
96 corresponds to the record entry # for that node. To edit entry
#1, type 1 and hit return. There can be (in this present version of
VortexNet) a maximum of 96 nodes in the nodelist.

After entering a number, the record is displayed. The record number
should not be confused with the node number for that node.

The options to Abort the edit, Delete the entry, or Edit the entry
are displayed.
Abort returns the entry to its original status. Delete resets it to
an empty entry. Edit prompts with all the information for that
node. Hitting return will leave the data for that field unchanged,
unless the record was previously empty.

VortexNet supports netmail message routing, which is accomplished
through NODEMOD by entering the phone number of the system that
should be routed through in the phone number field. The format for
phone numbers for LOCAL nodes is "-AAAXXXXXXX". The "-" must be the
first character of the string or VortexNet will attempt to dial
long distance. The format for the phone number for direct dialing
of a long distance node is "1AAAXXXXXXX". In both cases, AAA is the
area code, and XXXXXXX is the phone number. If the first character
is "-", VortexNet will only dial the last 7 digits.

The rules within individual nets should be checked before any
routed mail is sent.


SETUP: mentioned above, is the program (run"setup") which creates
all the necessary data files. It contains its own instructions.


RESET: use run"reset", it loads the DXX file and then questions the
sysop for some cursory information. It then scans either of two
message drives for file data errors and mis-allocated blocks.
Information and general statistics of each message processed are
displayed on the screen. More information on RESET is detailed
above.

When RESET is finished it allows for aborting, or updating the DXX
file & exiting, or to run it again on the other message drive.

--------------



*** Any questions may be directed to Stephen Kunc at Fidonet
address (1:163/227).

VortexNet and its affiliated programs are all copyright (c) 1991,92
by Stephen Kunc. They are considered ShareWare and unregistered
versions may be distributed provided no fee is charged.

VortexNet may be evaluated for a trial basis, but the obtaining of
a Fidonet or other national network node number with the software
requires that the $25 registration fee be mailed and a registered
version of the software be obtained. Netmail 1:163/227 for
information on obtaining a registered copy of VortexNet.



General Information on obtaining a node number:
-----------------------------------------------
To receive a node number, obtain a copy of your local nodelist from
a networking BBS and transcribe the entries into the NODEMOD
database. Find out which local node must receive node applications.

VortexNet is CRASHMAILable, both for regular mail and file-
attaches. However, it requires that ALL netmail and echomail must
be sent UNCOMPRESSED. This is indicated in the nodelist by having
the MN flag marked for your node, which must be specified to
whoever receives node applications in your net.

VortexNet is FTS-0001 compatible (minimum requirements according to
Policy4) and is uses Lotek Xmodem transfers. It has been
successfully tested with high volumes of echomail with the Binkley
mailer (any version) and also with the Opus built-in mailer as a
relay. It has been successfully tested with FrontDoor (any version)
for low echomail volumes (under 60k per transfer), which are sent
as file-attaches. Because of FTS-0001 incompatibilities on the part
of FrontDoor, some batch file programming is required by the
FrontDoor relay to make FrontDoor send echomail uncompressed. It is
suggested that VortexNet nodes attempt to acquire either Binkley or
Opus relays.

Some IBM tosser programs do not accommodate non-compressed sending
properly. VortexNet has achieved the best success with QMail,
SquishMail or the built-in Opus tosser.

VortexNet has been tested successfully for sending and receiving
capability with Frontdoor 1.99c to 2.02, Binkley 2.0 to 2.5 and
Opus, as well as a number of other less used mailer programs. It
will work with any truly FTS-0001 compliant mailer.

** Any problems with relaying to a VortexNet node, questions about
required IBM program set-ups and configs can be netmailed to
Stephen Kunc at 1:163/227.





CITADEL
-------

Citadel is accessed from the main menu of the BBS by pressing 'C'.
It is turned online from the CONFIG program, where a security level
must be set which allows for its access, or 0 for not online. Note:
If you are running Citadel, don't forget to add the option listing
to the main menu so that users will know it's there. Citadel
instructions are found online in the game.

To set-up Citadel, copy the program MSEQ from the citadel disk onto
the BBS main disk. Run the INSTALL program included on the Citadel
disk, and then insert the BBS disk at the prompt. More instructions
follow on screen during the install process. After Citadel is
installed and the rest of the files from the Citadel disk copied to
the BBS disk, it's advisable to run the optimizer program. This is
done by first activating Citadel from the CONFIG and then pressing
'4' from the Waiting For Caller screen of the BBS. After the
optimizer program is run for the first time, anyone may start
playing.

Note: With infrequent and few players, it's probably best to run
the optimizer manually by pressing '4' whenever a sufficient amount
of time has passed. With a number of regular players, the optimizer
can be set to run automatically at midnight each day. This option
is set in the CONFIG program. Note though: there is a small bug, if
someone is online at midnight, the optimizer will neglect to run
itself after they log off.

Any suggestions as to Citadel game improvement or other feedback
are welcome.


Note: Citadel v3.2 or higher must be used with VortexNet v4.6. Do
      not attempt to use Citadel v3.1 or lower with VortexNet 4.6.
      Use Citadel v3.0 with VortexNet v4.4 or lower.




OUTSIDE MODULES
---------------

The outside module is accessed by pressing 'O' from the main menu.
At the time of this writing, only one outside module is allowed
connected at a time. The access level required is set in the CONFIG
program (0 for none active).

VortexChess is an example of an outside module, but sysops can
write their own for use on their BBS or distribution.

The requirements for a home-written program for VortexNet are few,
but important. The program must be called OUT on the main BBS disk,
and the  memory from 4000 dec. to 16000 dec. in Bank 1 must be
protected. To re-run VortexNet from an outside module, put a value
250 into memory location 4008 of bank 1 and then RUN"BBS". (ie:
bank1: poke4008,250: run"bbs")

There's more information available which could be useful for anyone
writing an additional module, such as parameters that can be passed
from the BBS, but this documentation isn't the place for it. Please
netmail 1:163/227 for additional information. I would be interested
to hear about anyone's efforts to write or adapt existing outside
programs to work with VortexNet.