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.TOPIC: Contents VIRTUAL HYPERTEXT DOCUMENTATION - VDOC1.TXT Use mouse to click on topic or use ALT/ARROW/ENTER keys Ctrl-F4 to Exit - Table of Contents - VBBS Registration Order Form License Agreement VBBS OS/2 VBBS Installation Menu's Vconfig Security New In This Version Maintenance Customizing VBBS Help Using Virtual Hypertext OFFICIAL File Distribution Sites Contents VDOC2 & VDOC3 Computer Etiquette Multi-Mail Etiquette Questions With Answers Optimize VBBS To MAXIMIZE Screen Click on the UP arrow in the Upper Right Corner For A list of Additional Topic Areas, Click on Contents VDOC2 & VDOC3 .TOPIC: Contents VDOC2 & VDOC3 VDOC2 WARNING! You can NOT Click on the Topic Areas Below! To View These Topic Areas Click on the VDOC2 Button in the top Right Corner of the Windowed Application CONTENTS - Networks, Modems, VSP, Scripts - VDOC2 <Help Using Hypertext Help <VirtualNET Help <Networks Help <Hypertext Help Registration <Modem Help <Updating Hypertext Documentation <V-Script Help <Credits and Acknowledgements <VSP Support List <Multitasking Help VDOC3 WARNING! You must be a REGISTERED VBBS Sysop to access VDOC3! VDOC3 Topics are only available to REGISTERED VBBS Sysops. If you have registered your VBBS, then you may download VDOC3.ZIP from the VBBS site where you have access to Registered programs. CONTENTS - Registered Sysops Technical Topics - VDOC3 <Multi-NET Technical Support <Dynamic Trouble Shooting Guide <Vscript Technical Support <Doors & Utilities Tech Support <RIP Technical Support <CD-Rom Technical Support <Virtual Tools <Networks List Guidelines/Rules <Collected Quotes From Roland <[VSB] VBBS Support Boards * * * You must be a REGISTERED VBBS Sysop to access VDOC3! * * * .TOPIC: OFFICIAL File Distribution Sites OFFICIAL FILE DISTRIBUTION SITES All sites below have auto-sysop validation, special guest accounts, or free automatic downloads on the first call. An asterisk (*) denotes that the site is PC Pursuitable. VBBS files and utilities are FREQable either through VirtualNET or Fidonet from sites below. Vnet Fidonet Phone Name Modem -------- ---------- ------------ ------------------------- ------ @1 616-399-4818 Virtual Technologies HST/DS @1 616-399-8791 Virtual Technologies V32bis @440 2:440/211 44-689824666 TransAtlantic BBS V32bis @2103 1:397/5275 210-787-8974 The Business Board V32bis @2103 1:397/5275 210-787-0088 The Business Board V32bis @1610000 1:2607/700 215-759-1376 Bits & Bytes V32bis @2180 218-773-8330 The Love Galaxy V32 * @1510007 510-831-3634 Public Image Limited V32bis* @6160 616-772-0347 The Dutch Ghetto HST/DS @6190 512-292-1301 Magic's Kingdom V32 @9990 1:3641/202 919-489-6110 Brian's Board Z16.8 * @1203000 203-877-5856 The Rubber Room V32bis @1205500 205-758-2683 Intoxicated State U. V32bis @1205602 205-270-8489 The Forbidden Realm V32bis @1210003 210-318-3883 Hezekiah's Tunnel II V32bis @1214000 1:124/2215 214-230-5045 The Combat Zone V32bis* @1508000 508-852-4641 The Gamemaster's Sanctum V32bis @1508000 508-852-4179 The Gamemaster's Sanctum 2400 @1512300 512-729-6777 South Texas Software V32bis @1513000 1:110/645 513-235-2605 Cottage By The Stream V32bis @1604000 1:351/1117 604-338-2316 The Anarchist's Vortex V32bis @1614017 1:129/201 614-282-3409 The GWE BBS [ASV] HST/DS @1614017 1:129/233 614-282-1917 The GWE BBS [ASV] HST/DS @1614017 1:129/234 614-282-5900 The GWE BBS [ASV] HST/DS @1614032 614-678-8492 Tessum Business Services V32bis @1617000 617-891-4298 Vanishing Point V32bis* @1618002 618-277-6398 The Peanut Gallery V32bis @1704000 1:379/6.2 704-523-0162 System 1 Information V32bis @1708012 708-808-1065 MULTIMEDIA E.O.E.S. BBS V32bis @1806000 1:3816/139 806-372-4212 Baloo's Den 2400 @1619001 619-670-9825 Superbyte! V32bis @1904069 1:3653/1997 904-563-6083 illusions HST/DS @1919999 1:3641/207 919-683-1661 Shark's Bar & Grill V32bis* Click on BACK to Return or CONTENTS .TOPIC: New In This Version New in This Version Welcome to VBBS 6.11 beta! VBBS 6.11 beta revision history: All of the following improvements apply to both VBBS-DOS and VBBS-OS2 unless otherwise specified. 1. Changed message reader so that "Origin:" line is not displayed if "Unknown System" (Finally got rid of that annoying "Unknown System" message. :-) 2. Speeded Up VBBS-DOS message text display. (Thanks to advancements made in the development of VBBS-OS2.) 3. Corrected Incoming QWK message To: field for Fido and UUCP type networks. (ie... networks that don't use user numbers.) 4. Adjusted String Memory allocations for better performance in cramped memory spaces. (ie...Desqview and Windows) 5. Corrected VXY-OS2 Zmodem for low speed connections. 6. Corrected a minor bug in the New Upload Scanner. 7. Fixed VCONFIG bugs with regards to deleting text sections and voting questions. 8. VCONFIG now does automatic diagnostics upon start-up, and lets the sysop edit System Paths Configuration if needed. (If you've ever moved your VBBS installation from drive C: to drive D: (for example), you may understand the need for this new feature. :) 9. Fixed VCONFIG for OS/2 so that it doesn't load the system while waiting for sysop input. 10. Increased limitation in VNET software: AutoRequest Subs max 300 per board per network AutoSecured Subs & Secured Subs max 32000 per board per network 11. Added Quick-Validation/Edit feature to user editor. Change users SL, Time Limit, Access Flags using 2 keystrokes. Up to 9 configurable profiles, configurable via VCONFIG. 12. Added to Teleconference, Change Name Command, the ability for the sysop to restrict names by setting up a text file BADNAMES.TXT in the text directory. 13. Initial RIP implentation. Basically, this is in the form of extending the ASC/ANS/MNU sequence to include checking for a .RIP file if the user's default setup indicates RIP. This will allow you to set-up RIP menus for your message areas, file areas, email, etc etc. Simply create them with RIPpaint (or equivalent) and place them in your text directory. The second phase of RIP will come with the advent of externalized strings, to be implemented soon. (ie, A RIP file will be able to be substituted for a plain text prompt string, if desired. Thus, "hooks" to RIPscrip files will be able to put anywhere you want without having to write scripts or modify source code. What I have planned is really quite interesting, and very flexible and powerful.) 14. Added new message read sub-command (Z) that allows a user to read messages non-stop. 15. Speeded up startup initialization for both VBBS-DOS and VBBS-OS2. (Startup of Main BBS program, and startup of VNET software.) --> Note: In order for this to work properly, you *must* run --> the newest VCONFIG and Recompile Your Network Info before bringing --> this new version online. 16. Added new feature to DIRECTmail: With this new release of VNET and VME, comes the ability for DIRECTmail to be used as an automatic file request (FREQ) mechanism. TO FREQ a file (both ends of connection must be running the latest VME and VNET software): Send your DIRECTmail email normally like you have in the past; when prompted for the Title:, enter in FREQ, a space, then a list of filenames requested, separated by spaces. Examples: FREQ a-1.zip a-2.zip a-3.zip FREQ qinfo42.zip Note that for a file area to be accesible via DIREECTmail FREQ, the database configuration FREQ field must be enabled. 17. Further enhancements to DIRECTmail a. Directmail functions are now handled by its own executable, VDM.EXE. VDM.EXE automatically called as needed by VBBS/VME. VDM.EXE command line syntax: VDM <ch> /DIRECTIN Handle Incoming Call in Progress VDM <ch> /DIRECTOUT:x Call System x=Mail Slot # b. Up to 99 Mail slots are now available. Slots are automatically assigned as needed. Works like this: Assume there is no pending DIRECTmail on your system. At the WFC screen, you send directmail to 16163994818. It is tossed to DIRECTmail slot 1. (DIRECT.1, FREQ.1, DIRFILE.1 in Data Directory.) You then send directmail to 16163999769. It is tossed to DIRECTmail slot 2. (DIRECT.2, FREQ.2, DIRFILE.2 in Data Directory.) You then send directmail to 16163994818. It is tossed to DIRECTmail slot 1, since slot 1 already has mail pending for 16163994818. 18. Corrected Database Topic/Database Capacitites Capacities now: Up to 222 Database Topics (ascii codes 33-255) Up to 100 Databases per Topic For a total up to 22200 databases. 19. Released as VBBS-DOS and VBBS-OS2 ver 6.11 beta .TOPIC: Help Using Virtual Hypertext Selecting a Help link: ---------------------- With a mouse - click on phrases outlined by two triangles. With the keyboard - Press TAB or Shift-TAB to select a link. Press ENTER to jump to that topic. Scrolling the Help window: -------------------------- With a mouse - click on the horizontal or vertical scroll bars. With the keyboard - press the cursor navigation keys. Closing the Help window: ------------------------ With a mouse - double click on the window's control box icon. With the keyboard - press Ctrl-F4. Command Buttons: ---------------- Applications may use one or more of the following command buttons. Use a mouse to click a button or press the letter mentioned below. Contents - displays a table of contents for the application's Help. ALT-C Search - opens a dialog box that lists all available Help topics. Select a topic from the list box and press ENTER. ALT-S Back - jumps to the last Help topic viewed. ALT-B History - lists the last 20 Help topics viewed. Jump to a topic by selecting from the list box and pressing ENTER. ALT-T Copy - Copies the contents of the current Help topic into an edit area. Select the text you want copied to the Clipboard and choose Copy. Choosing Copy without selecting any text in the edit area copies the entire Help topic to the Clipboard. ALT-P ----------------- Print - Click on the Print Bar to print the topic area text on your printer. If you do not have a mouse, hold the ALT key then I on your keyboard -- Remember ALT-I for I want a hard copy. Print ALL - (ALT-A) prints ALL the VBBS Hypertext Documentation in it's RAW form, including topic codes. To get only the text, use the Print Bar (ALT-I) command and print each topic area. ------------------ EXIT - (ALT-F4) Closes all files and forms and ends program. Same as clicking in the upper left corner and closing window. .TOPIC: The WFC Menu The WFC, Waiting For Call Screen VBBS uses a highly-informational WFC.COM screen. This screen not only provides system statistics, the time, available drive space, system status and the BBS name; it is also custom- izable using any ANSI drawing program (such as TheDraw) that saves screens in the .COM format. Note that if your drive space on a given drive drops be- low a certain percentage of its capacity, that line will change color to let you know that you need to free up some space on that drive. Options available from the WFC screen include: [F] Fast Login Local Fast login from the console (make sure you establish the sysop ac- count first!). [L] Login Local Logs a user into the system from the console (use this to estab- lish the sysop account!). [S] Shell to DOS Shells to DOS environment within VBBS; type EXIT to return to the BBS. [U] User Editor Allows editing of user information. [V] VConfig Brings up the VCONFIG utility. [I] System Info Displays information about your bbs. [C] Today's Callers Lists callers since midnight. [W] Who's Online Shows status of each COM port. [/] Dial NET to Client Allows a forced NET callout to a system listed in your remote con- figuration (if any). [N] Dial NET to Server Forces a network connect to your server as defined in VCONFIG. [E] E-Mail Allows you to write E-mail to both local and network addresses from the WFC screen. [M] Feedback Allows you to check the sysop mailbox from WFC. [Scr Lock] Sysop Avail. Toggles sysop page on/off; may also be set in VCONFIG to be the [A] key. [Esc] Exit BBS Quit VBBS and return to DOS. [F1] through [F10] Calls up the functions you have defined for function keys in VCONFIG; if you haven't set them up, don't worry about it yet ╔═╗ The WFC screen is set up so that most of the sysop's rou- ╚═╝ tine chores may be handled without ever loggin on to the BBS. This, coupled with efficient configuration of the <F1> through <F10> keys, can be a real time-saver. It's worth the time spent in initial setup to have access to everything you need from WFC. .TOPIC: VBBS Registration VBBS REGISTRATION This is a DEMO version of the Virtual Bulletin Board System, copyright (c) 1993 Roland De Graaf and distributed by Virtual Technologies. VBBS is not Public Domain software, Freeware, nor Shareware. You may use an unregistered VBBS for evaluation purposes only for no more than sixty (60) days. After this period you must register VBBS or discontinue usage. On registering, you enter into a License Agreement with Virtual Technologies for continued usage of the program. Before ordering, please read the License Agreement. By registering VBBS the following additional features are enabled: Defineable # of QWK Messages (Preset to 50 in demo) Ability to Post on Secured Subs (Not activated in demo) No Nag Message or Delay (Active in demo) DIRECTmail and FREQing (Disabled in demo) Multi-Network Utility Support (Limited to 60 days in demo) CREDIT CARDS: Visa and MasterCard accepted VOICE ORDERS: Contact Virtual Technologies (210) 787-2443 The Voice Order Line is open Mon.-Fri 9:00 AM to 6:30 PM CST. This telephone number is for CREDIT CARD ORDERS ONLY. Credit Card Orders Offer The FASTEST Registration Available. FAX ORDERS: (210)787-2443 (210)787-8974 Purchase Orders accepted ONLINE CREDIT CARD REGISTRATION: Please call The Business Board at (210)787-8974 14.4 v32bis MAIL ORDER: To order by Check, Money Order, Credit Card, or Purchase Order, please remit order form and payment to: VIRTUAL TECHNOLOGIES See Order Form P.O. BOX 1423 ALAMO - TX 78516 Please make all checks payable to Virtual Technologies. VBBS LICENSING SCHEDULE: QB4.5 Dos Version PDS7.1 OS/2 Beta Version* VBBS 4-Channel $ 99.00 $ 99.00 VBBS 8-Channel $129.00 $129.00 VBBS 16-Channel $199.00 $199.00 VBBS 32-Channel $275.00 $275.00 VBBS 64-Channel $399.00 $399.00 Other Versions *********Please Call********* Virtual Developers ToolKit for DOS $ 49.00 N/A * Sysops previously registered for the QB4.5 DOS version of VBBS may upgrade to the PDS7.1 OS/2 beta version with the same number of channels for only $49 !!! Please hurry, because this special offer is only valid during beta testing! NOTE: . Registration of either version of VBBS above is for lifetime and entitles you to access upgrades of the specific version registered. . Registration of the QB4.5 DOS version entitles you to access source code to compile the VBBS.EXE, VBBS-AUX.EXE, and VQWK.EXE modules of this version only. . We reserve the right to charge a nominal fee to cover shipping and handling for upgrades at our discretion. . Source code to the PDS OS/2 version is not distributed, nor included with registration. . Source code to network utility software is not distributed for any version. Network membership is not implicit with purchase. . Special trade-in allowances are made when upgrading at our discretion. Please contact us at (210)787-2443 for specific information on upgrading. . Dealer and block order inquiries are invited. OTHER INFORMATION: . Voice Order Line open Mon.-Fri 9:00 AM to 6:30 PM CST only. . Prices, terms, availability and specifications subject to change without notice. . NO Surcharge for credit card purchases. Sorry, we currently accept only VISA and MasterCard credit cards. . Any product refunds are in the form of store credit only. . Returns require prior authorization. No return on used or mis-ordered products. . Naturally, we do not charge your credit card account until the product is ready to ship. . Due to copyright laws, opened software is non-returnable. . Sorry, we cannot guarantee hardware or software compatibility. . For your protection, we check for stolen credit cards. . Other Charges: Add 6% for orders outside of North America. There are no additional or hidden charges. No CODs accepted. .TOPIC: Order Form Form VIRTUAL TECHNOLOGIES Fax: 1093 P.O. BOX 1423 210-787-2443 ALAMO - TX 78516 210-787-8974 Name ____________________________ Purchase Order ___________ Company ____________________________ Voice Phone (___)___-____ Title ____________________________ Data Phone (___)___-____ Address ____________________________ Fax Number (___)___-____ City ____________________________ State/Province ___________ Country ____________________________ Zip/Postal Code___________ Shipping Address(if different) ________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ E-Mail Address _____________________ BBS Name _________________ SOFTWARE ORDER* QB4.5 DOS PDS7.1 Beta Quantity Version Quantity OS/2 Version ---- --------- ---- ------------ VBBS 4-Channel ____ $ 99.00 ____ $ 99.00 VBBS 8-Channel ____ $129.00 ____ $129.00 VBBS 16-Channel ____ $199.00 ____ $199.00 VBBS 32-Channel ____ $275.00 ____ $275.00 VBBS 64-Channel ____ $399.00 ____ $399.00 Virtual ToolKit ____ $ 49.00 Texas Residents: Subtotal $________ - add 7.25% State Sales Tax Sales Tax $________ North America Shipping: Free First Class Mail Shipping $________ UPS- add $5.50 Priority Mail- $2.90 Overseas Shipping- add 6% TOTAL $________ Please check your METHOD OF PAYMENT: Money Order____ Check**____ MasterCard____ VISA____ P.O.____ Please include complete charge card NUMBER and EXPIRATION DATE. __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ Exp.Date _______ Signature___________________________________ Date:_____________ * Please call for upgrade pricing and special versions not listed. All prices subject to change without notice. ** Please make checks payable to Virtual Technologies and allow up to two weeks for bank clearing. .TOPIC: VBBS Installation Initial installation of VBBS is quite straightforward. It is perhaps the easiest BBS software in the world to install! Before You Install VBBS ═══════════════════════ Before you install VBBS, you need to make sure you have copies of the following programs and that they are in a directory specified in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file's PATH statement: ∙ PKZIP and PKUNZIP archive programs --> IMPORTANT NOTE: VNet only uses version 1.10 of PKZip at this time. Make sure you have this version if you wish to participate in the VNet and other networks under VBBS. ∙ ZModem transfer protocol (usually named DSZxxxx.xxx) Other programs that would be useful in the day to day operations of your BBS might include: ∙ TheDraw 4.50 or later (for creating your own menus) ∙ ARJ 2.11 or later (an alternative archive program) ∙ DCOM 3.44 or later (DOS shell to speed file moving/copying) --> IMPORTANT NOTE: These programs are NOT supplied with the original VBBS archive; you have to get them on your own. Fortunately, many BBSes have them available for download. See New Installations or See Upgrading Existing Installations .TOPIC: New Installations To install VBBS as a NEW installation, follow these in- structions: See FIRST-TIME STARTUP 1) Create a temporary directory on your hard drive and make it your current directory. 2) Using PKUNZIP, extract the contents of VBBS62-1.ZIP and VBBS62-2.ZIP into the temporary directory. 3) Run INSTALL.EXE; when asked if this is a NEW installation, answer "yes". 4) As the VCONFIG.EXE program is presented, verify the configu- ration, particularly in the MAIN configuration and -- MOST importantly -- in the CHANNEL configuration. All single- node VBBS installations use the same command line: BBS 1 This names channel 1 as the primary channel. After this, you only need to correctly identify your modem port number and baud rate in the channel 1 configuration. See also New User Signup See also Vconfig .TOPIC: Upgrading Existing Installations --> IMPORTANT NOTE: VBBS 6.20 upgrades VBBS version 6.10 ONLY! Sysops of previous versions will need to either upgrade to version 6.00 prior to moving to version 6.20, or install 6.20 as NEW. To upgrade to version 6.20 from version 6.10, follow these instructions: 1) MAKE BACKUP COPIES of the following: a) files in your database directory (\VBBS\DB) b) files in your data directory (\VBBS\DATA) c) your .CFG files 2) Delete ALL occurrences of the file CONTROL.DAT from your sys- tem. 3) Move VBBS62-1.ZIP & VBBS62-2.ZIP into a separate directory and unZIP them there. 4) Run the INSTALL.EXE program; when it asks if this is a NEW installation, respond "no", then name the correct path to your actual VBBS directory. Your .CFG files will NOT be overwritten. 5) Verify the settings in VCONFIG and change channel 1 in the CHANNEL configuration to reflect your modem port. Base and IRQ addresses are set automatically. --> IMPORTANT NOTE: The INSTALL.EXE program for version 6.20, when used to upgrade existing installa- tions, copies ONLY the new .EXE file to your VBBS directory. It does NOT over- write menus, script files, text files, or function blocks. 6) Once INSTALL.EXE has finished, you may need to copy or manu- ally edit some files. Files to consider replacing or editing are noted in the 610_READ.ME! file. Some are: *.ANS *.ASC *.TXT *.PDM *.FB 7) After the upgrade to 6.20, you should go into VCONFIG to SORT your database configuration and COMPILE network info. .TOPIC: Vconfig Using the VCONFIG.EXE configuration utility, you can con- figure the inner workings of VBBS just the way you want them. It DOES take some time to do this, but the end result is well worth the time spent. One nice feature of VBBS is that once you're finished with the configuration, it provides diagnostics to help you make sure all files and paths are correct. --> IMPORTANT NOTE: MOST of the essential configurations are properly set at default settings, meaning they are set up for you already. The fol- lowing is the ONLY configuration actually REQUIRED in most installations in order to effect a first-time startup: In MAIN configuration: BBS name, sysop name/handle, system password. In CHANNEL configuration: set channel 1 to proper modem port and baud rate. It's easy to use VCONFIG at any time to do additional setup and further configuration -- adding new message bases or file areas, changing the limits on existing message bases, etc. VCONFIG has 17 main functions available at its main menu: Click on Details for details of each option .TOPIC: Details ┌─────────┤VCONFIG 6.20├─────────────┐ Click Below On Function to View │ │ 1. Main Configuration │ 1. Main Configuration │ 2. Channel Configuration │ 2. Channel Configuration │ 3. Database Configuration │ 3. Database Configuration │ 4. Paths Configuration │ 4. Paths Configuration │ 5. Download Protocols │ 5. Download Protocols │ 6. Upload Protocols │ 6. Upload Protocols │ 7. Network Configuration │ 7. Network Configuration │ 8. Events Configuration │ 8. Events Configuration │ 9. Control Panel Configuration │ 9. Control Panel Configuration │ A. Doors Configuration │ A. Doors Configuration │ B. Voting Booth │ B. Voting Booth │ C. Random Messages │ C. Random Messages │ D. Archive View Configuration │ D. Archive View Configuration │ E. Text Sections Configuration │ E. Text Sections Confuration │ F. Multi-Feedback Configuration │ F. Multi-Feedback Configuration │ G. Print Registration Form │ G. Print Registration Form │ H. VBBS Diagnostics │ H. VBBS Diagnostics │ │ │ └[ ][ ]─[Enter]=[Select]──[Esc]=Quit─┘ .TOPIC: Command Line Options Command Line Options When running VBBS, a RAM-resident VBBS.EXE controls the program. It should be used as the ONLY means of starting VBBS, as it transfers needed information into the program. The basic syntax for bringing VBBS online is BBS <channel number> where <channel number> is a number from 0 to 4 (for the share- ware version). For larger multi-line installations (after the software is registered), it could be a number from 0 to as high as 64. Note that ALL single-node installations use the command line BBS 1 The BBS 0 specifies LOCAL MODE operation only, using the console keyboard and bypassing WFC initialization. Command line options include: /AC Use this option when running VBBS as a door, or from a matrix logon. It has VBBS maintain sepa- rate user data (etc.) and maintains the doored VBBS as an independent system. /H Used with the /AC option, forces VBBS to hang up when the user logs off. /Bxxxxx Used with the /AC option, passes the baud rate of the modem connection to VBBS. /CHAIN Command for logging user to VBBS being run as a door from inside another VBBS system, or any BBS software using the CHAIN.TXT format (such as WWIV). This option will use VBBS' user re- cord and will NOT prompt the already-online user to log on to the doored VBBS separately. BBS softwares that do not produce CHAIN.TXT can still use this option by using a door converter to obtain the CHAIN.TXT format. See also WFC screen .TOPIC: FIRST-TIME STARTUP Before You Log In the First Time ════════════════════════════════ Before you do your first login to VBBS, there are a few final checks you need to make: 1) Make sure the following files are available to VBBS via a PATH= statement in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file: DSZ.COM (or DSZ.EXE) VLIST.EXE (not needed immediately if you're using the DOS command TYPE as described in another section.) PKZIP.EXE PKUNZIP.EXE For example, you might have these files in a directory on your hard drive called BBSUTIL; the PATH= statement might read PATH=C:\;C:\DOS;C:\BBSUTIL For more information on the PATH= statement, please refer to your DOS documentation. 2) Make sure the device driver ANSI.SYS is loaded with the ap- propriate statement in your CONFIG.SYS file: DEVICE=ANSI.SYS This enables your computer to handle the ANSI displays VBBS uses and generates. For more information on the DEVICE= statement, please refer to your DOS documentation. There are many alternative drivers available - particularly ZANSI.SYS and NNANSI.SYS -- that handle ANSI graphics MUCH faster than DOS' default ANSI.SYS. These programs are available on BBSes all over the country. Logging In the First Time ═════════════════════════ By executing the statement BBS 1 on a single-node installation, you will bring up VBBS in the WFC [Waiting For Call] mode. This is the online control panel for VBBS, and when you see this screen, the BBS is said to be in a "waiting for call" state. Congratulations; you're now the proud "parent" of a bouncing baby BBS! :-) --> IMPORTANT NOTE: From the WFC screen, you will see that the [F] key does something called "Fast Local Login"; DO NOT use this until you have created the sysop account (see below)! The reason you don't do a fast login is that your VBBS is new, and your user information file (USERFILE.DAT) is empty; there is no account there that a [F]ast local login can find as belon- ging to the sysop. Creating the Sysop Account ══════════════════════════ From the WFC screen, type [L] to do a local login. You will see the LOGIN.MNU screen from the Virtual Technologies BBS (the author's BBS); you will, of course, need to change this be- fore bringing your own BBS online. Immediately following the LOGIN.MNU screen will be the login prompt. Type NEW (capitalization for clarity only; it's not case-sensitive) to create the first entry in your user data file. You will then see the file NEWUSER.TXT, followed by prompts to fill in your user information. Once you have finished entering this information, press the F2 key; this will bring up the user editor. Once there, type the following: G 255 [Enter] M 1440 [Enter] This gives you a SL of 255 (sysop access) and a maximum time per day of 1440 minutes (24 hours); while you likely won't ever need to stay on the BBS the entire 24 hours, it's nice to have the luxury. While you're in the user editor, you may also edit any information there by pressing the letter of the appropriate field and entering the correct information. Some sysops use this opportunity to set all their access flags and such (so they cannot be accidentally "locked out" of any section of the BBS); see "The User Editor" for more information. --> IMPORTANT NOTE: If you encounter any program errors at this point, it is likely that you have mistyped a path in the Paths Configuration, moved a file to the wrong directory, for forgotten to compile any scripts you may be using. Use the DIAGNOSTICS option in VCONFIG to try to isolate any problems. See also New User Signup See also Vconfig .TOPIC: New User Signup When a user logs on as NEW on your system, he or she is first presented with the NEWUSER.TXT file (which you definitely should create before opening your BBS to the public) stored in the \TXT directory defined in your PATHS Configuration. The NEWUSER.TXT file should provide enough information to get new users started; it may also include anything else you wish. If you configured a "New User Password" in VCONFIG, the new user will be asked to provide the password before the system allows him or her to continue (for most "public-access" BBSs, this is generally not done). At the end of the NEWUSER.TXT screen, the new user is prompted to provide some basic information about himself or her- self. Depending on whether or not your system allows "aliases" or "handles", the user will be prompted to provide a "handle" or real name to use on the board. VBBS checks what the user types in against other entries in the USERFILE.DAT to make sure that duplicate names are not used. ╔═╗ If there are handles or names that you would prefer not ╚═╝ to allow on your system, you may include them in a text file called TRASHCAN.TXT in your \TXT directory. This file is created using an ASCII text editor and has one handle/name/word per line. Most sysops use this to pre- vent users from having profanities as handles. As the signup continues, the user is prompted for his ad- dress, voice and data phone numbers, birthdate, password, and other information pertaining to default settings used on the BBS. The information provided goes into the USERFILE.DAT file. If you have chosen to allow auto-validation of visiting sysops, VBBS will ask the user if he or she is a sysop. If the user answers "yes", he or she will be prompted for informa- tion concerning his or her BBS and will then be given the SL and time you have defined for visiting sysops in VCONFIG. ╔═╗ Again, there have been instances in which a user has ╚═╝ given false information in order to gain sysop access to a BBS; use caution when allowing auto-validation. If you have configured "yes" for automatic call-back verification, VBBS will prompt the user (according to the area code and prefix criteria you have established) to prepare to receive an incoming call from your board, at which point VBBS hangs up, calls the data phone number left by the user, and confirms its authenticity by prompting the user answering the callback to provide the password for the new account (see "The Call-back Verifier" for more information). See Call-back Verifier New users are assigned the SL and time allowed on the system according to what you have set up in VCONFIG. New User Feedback and Validation ════════════════════════════════ Generally, you do not want to give a new user too high an access level to your system until you are sure the informa- tion provided you is accurate. It is often desirable to have a new user leave a short introduction of himself or herself in addition to the information given in the basic signup process. To have the system prompt for such "new-user feedback", set the appropriate option in VCONFIG "on" and edit the file LEAVEFB.TXT in your \TXT directory to ask for the sorts of in- formation you'd like to have (of course, you don't want to get TOO personal here, because that tends to catch new users off- guard). ╔═╗ It should be noted that a new user may choose to abort ╚═╝ the feedback letter and go straight into the system without leaving any message to the sysop. There are several ways of combatting this rudeness: 1) Using an ASCII text editor, create a file in your \TXT directory called NEWUMAIL.TXT. It should in- clude some basic information about your system and its standard operating procedures (but should not be too long). It will appear as a message from the sysop in the new user's mailbox. If the new user reads the NEWUMAIL.TXT file, the system will send you "oneliner" indicating that the message was read; sometimes, this is the only way a sysop knows a new user has logged on, short of doing a complete user listing. If the user chooses to not read this E-mail, no "oneliner" is delivered. 2) Should you happen to notice that a new user has signed up but has not left you any message announ- cing his presence, send him an E-mail, asking if there was any particular reason the feedback was aborted. Many users are somewhat embarrassed to draw this kind of "negative attention" to themselves and will promptly reply the next time they log on. They may not leave the information you requested in LEAVEFB.TXT, but that's another story ... 3) Simply ignore the new account until you receive feedback from the user. If new users have only limited access to your system, the offending user will either tire of logging on and not being able to do anything (and then send feedback), or will simply not call any more. This is, of course, combatting rudeness with rudeness, and is one way your BBS can earn a bad reputation among users. Word-of-mouth is still a powerful positive or nega- tive advertising tool, even among BBS users). 4) Install one of the various script modifications avail- able that will truly FORCE the new user to leave feed- back or have the account deleted. These may, of course, be edited (with an ASCII editor) to convey exactly the tone you wish, and while it may seem a "brute-force" method of getting the information you ask for, it IS effective. If the new user DOES leave feedback (or even a regular E-mail), the sysop need only hit [V] from the E-mail submenu and then enter the user's account in the user editor. Once there, the sysop can assign the user an appropriate security level and time allowed on the system, set any access flags/ratio exemp- tions/other variables as needed. There are MANY options as to how you present your BBS to new users, even without the use of scripts and/or source-code modifications. Your login screen(s), LEAVEFB.TXT, NEWUMAIL.TXT, and other informational screens make that all-important first impression. First-time callers, and ESPECIALLY new BBSers, ap- preciate friendliness and courtesy from the sysop, and USUALLY respond in kind. NEW USER DEFAULTS ═════════════════ One of the most important things a new user (including a new sysop) should do is set his or her defaults. Pressing [D] at the Main Menu brings up a list of settings, which are described below. New users are shown their default after registration also. 1) Video Mode The user may choose ASCII, ANSI, or En- hanced ANSI (which enables pull-down menus) as the default. If a user wishes to use Enhanced ANSI, he or she MUST select it here; otherwise, ANSI auto-de- tection determines default. The RIP (Remote Image Processing) option is also chosen here. 2) Expert Toggle Expert mode disables the menu-at-every- prompt mode. 3) Page Breaks Number of lines per page. A setting of 0 produces continuous screen scrolling; 24 is default. 4) Password Change password, if desired. 5) Autoposts Toggles Autopost display at login. 6) Ctrl-A User Macro User may create up to 2 macros, each con- 7) Ctrl-B User Macro taining up to 79 characters (including ANSI control characters). 8) ANSI Color Setup User may customize screen colors to suit to suit personal tastes. 9) Full Screen Editor Toggles between the full-screen editor (FSE) and a line editor; ASCII users get the line editor. A) Mailbox Forward E-mail to another user or network system, if desired. B) Security Displays a list of things the user has a high enough SL to do. C) Long Distance Cost Allows user to keep track of LD usage and billing by defining cost per minute and knowing the billing cycle. D) Sort File Lists Toggles between alphabetically- and nu- merically-sorted file listings. E) User Time Bank User may deposit unused time for later withdrawal. Maximum time is set in VCONFIG (q.v.). F) File List Display Toggles between single- and double-line file listing. Q) Quit Saves changes and quits to Main Menu. The sysop should encourage new users to take time to set their defaults early on; ANSI users should be encouraged to use the full-screen editor for its superior cursor control and edi- ting features. THE USER EDITOR ═══════════════ The user editor allows the sysop to view and edit users' information, validate and/or delete users. The user information is divided into several fields, each of which is described below. User Number User's account number. a) User Handle User's handle (if used/allowed). b) User Real Name User's real name. c) Address Street or P.O. box address d) City e) State f) Zip g) Security Level User's SL; acceptable values are 1-255 (255 is sysop access); new-user SLs are set in VCONFIG. h) Access Flags Flags used for specific database access, given as a letter A-Z. Certain data- bases (such as sysops-only databases) may be given an access flag; only those users with the corresponding flag in this field may access those databases. The sysop should toggle all of these flags ON for his or her account by pressing [H] and typing the alphabet; this ensures that he or she cannot accidentally be locked out of any database. i) Flags General flags used outside of databases, given as a letter A-Z. VBBS currently uses four flags "out of the package": A -- Login autoposts on/off F -- If set, user uses full-screen editor N -- User has received new-user message X -- Menus in expert mode Flags may be set or reset manually in the user editor, or via scripts. j) Password User's password. k) Phone 1 User's voice phone number. l) Phone 2 User's data phone number m) MaxTime Maximum time allowed on per day. n) Credits User's credit total (gold) o) Verify Birthday User's birthday. If toggled, will ask user to re-enter birthday at login. p) Ratio Exempt? Allows you to exempt the user from up- load/download ratio (if any). q) U/L Files/kilobytes uploaded. r) D/L Files/kilobytes downloaded. Ex1 - Ex8 User's $extra variables 1 through 8 Page User's default page length. Vid User's default video mode. Calls Number of calls to your BBS the user has made to date. Time Total time the user has spent on your BBS to date. Last The date the user last called your BBS. Posts Number of public posts the user has left to date. Email Number of E-mails the user has sent to date. You may edit the information in fields a) through r) and Ex1 through Ex8; the rest is pretty much "read-only" user-selec- ted defaults or record-keeping information. There are several commands to help the sysop get around in the user editor: [/] Prompts for a user number, handle, or real name and searches on the information given. In case of duplicate information (e.g., two users with the first name "Mike"), it will ask if the user shown is the correct one. [Enter] Move to next record. [-] Move to previous record. [!] Delete user's account. Sets SL to 0 and opens the account number for reassignment. If you open several slots, a new user will be given the lowest-numbered slot available; the user list is NOT "packed" (renumbered) after dele- tions. [Esc] Quit to sysop menu or WFC, whichever the editor was invoked from. The user editor is a powerful tool for managing your user base -- spotting bogus accounts, changing users' access to various areas of the BBS, verifying information, and so on. There are several utilities available that make use of the in- formation stored in USERFILE.DAT; see "Virtual Tools" for more information. ONLINE FUNCTION KEYS ════════════════════ When a user is online, the [F1] through [F10] keys func- tion differently from the way they do at the WFC screen. The list of functions available when a user is online is given be- low: [F1] Enter/exit Chat mode. [Shift-F1] Enter split-screen Chat mode; [Esc] exits. [F2] Call up user editor; user sees a <Wait> prompt on his or her screen. By exiting the [F2] user editor as another user, the sysop can "change into" that user. [F3] Add 1 minute to the user's session. [Shift-F3] Subtract 1 minute from the user's session. [F4] Increase user's SL by 5. [Shift-F4] Decrease user's SL by 5. It should be noted that the [F4] and [Shift-F4] changes appear to be permanent; if you wish to give a user a higher SL temporarily, your best bet would be to go into the user editor using the [F2] key. [F5] Drop to DOS (VBBS stays in memory). [Shift-F5] Drop to DOS (VBBS shrinks out as per a door pro- gram). [F6] Pseudo-DOS multitasker; allows sysop to run small DOS commands from the console while the user is online and using the BBS. One of the most un- derrated features of VBBS. [F8] Sysop alert; sets the computer to beep when the current user online logs off. [F9] Invoke the "Download Any File" convenience fea- ture. [F10] Boot user off the system, "cold". [Ctrl-F10] Display STORM.TXT (found in the \TXT directory), warning of inclement weather conditions, THEN boot the user off the system. [Shift-F10] Spurt some simulated "line noise" at the user, and boot him or her off the system. Makes the user think a bad connection terminated the ses- sion. .TOPIC: Call-back Verifier Use Call-Back Verifier ══════════════════════ If set to YES, VBBS will look for the ALLOW.CBV and RESTRICT.CBV files you will have created in your \DATA directory (see the "Callback Verifier" section for de- tails). The installed callback verifier will prompt a new user to put his modem into a waiting-for-call state so VBBS can place a call to his terminal. VBBS will request password confirmation from the answering system, thereby confirming the accuracy of the phone number left for that account. --> IMPORTANT NOTE: Due to the dial-out nature of this feature, VBBS sysops assume individual responsibility concerning its use when activated. Call Back Ver. Security Level Call Back Ver. Time Limit ═════════════════════════════ These settings tell VBBS the SL and time limit to assign to the new user's account once the callback verifier has done its work. .TOPIC: Menu's The WFC Menu Customizing Menus Vconfig The Default Main Menu .TOPIC: The Default Main Menu VBBS could easily be distributed with a blank menu -- in- stead, a default menu and function-block set, reflecting the con- figuration of the software on the author's BBS, is included in the original archive. You are, of course, free to modify the menus and function blocks to your BBS' personality and your in- dividual tastes; see "Customizing VBBS" for more information on that subject. The default Main Menu contains five basic sections, the commands for which are listed below: MESSAGING FUNCTIONS E-MAIL FUNCTIONS ─────────────────── ──────────────── L) List Bases M) Mailbox Scan P) Post Message Y) Read Mail You've Sent N) New Message Scan E) Write E-mail R) Read Sequential F) Feedback to the Sysop S) Scan Brief Q) Multimail J) Join/Ignore Bases >) Next Base <) Previous Base #) Change to Base # $) Change Topic Area BBS SUB-SYSTEMS OTHER FUNCTIONS ─────────────── ─────────────── T) File Transfers K) Today's Callers B) Bulletins/Textfiles U) User Listing S) System Info I) System Info V) Voting Booth C) Page Sysop D) Defaults W) Who's Online O) On-Line Programs Z) Multiuser Teleconference A) Autoposts X) Network Info !) QWK Functions *) Sysop Menu (255 SL only) G) Logoff SYSOP MENU ────────── M) Read All Mail E) Edit File U) User Editor S) Security C) Force Cleanup V) Validate Posts Q) Quit The individual functions are explained in the appropriate annex for this chapter. Please follow the guidelines explicitly when first setting up VBBS. This will demonstrate the basics first hand which will provide you with all the background you need to completely customize you BBS. .TOPIC: Customizing VBBS The configurability of VBBS can not be overstated. See also Taglines See also Menu's Also, use SEARCH to find <Function Blocks> Because of the way VBBS is structured, it's possible to configure the program to look and feel like some other BBS soft- ware; you can borrow features from several different BBS soft- wares to create your own design. You might just take a vacation from reality one night and decide to make VBBS look just like GEnie or some other CIS. Aside from the obvious limitations on actual storage space, you could accomplish the "look-alike" to the point where a user could not tell the difference! By using scripts (and the source code, if you've registered for it), you can do many things that simply aren't possible with other BBS softwares. Unlike source code, which normally contains strict rules on code segment distribution (VBBS included), VSCRIPT-based ap- lications, function blocks, and menus may be distributed freely in full, or even in entire configuration sets. See also VDOC2 <Vscripts> See also VDOC3 <Vscripts Technical Support> Customization and modification of VBBS comes in several forms: changing the menus to suit your personal tastes and set- up, rearranging function-block commands, installing scripts for special applications, and even modifying the source code (if you've registered at the source level). Menus and function blocks are closely interrelated, so if you find yourself flipping back and forth between the sec- tions on the two, don't worry; it's normal. For the remainder of this manual, the term "script" will apply exclusively to programs utilizing the VSCRIPT script lan- guage; the term "mod" will refer exclusively to modifications made at the source-code level. It should be pointed out here that you do not need to register VBBS to write scripts or ex- change scripts with other sysops via VirtualNET; registration is required to obtain the VBBS source code for the QB4.5 version. There are other good reasons to register VBBS; we'll get to those presently. "Heart-Code ANSI" ═════════════════ If you've read this far, you've run across the term "heart-code ANSI" a time or two. Since customization often in- volves changing colors and menus and adding system taglines, this is probably a good place to explain what "heart-code ANSI" is. If you've ever used the DOS "type" command to look at a file you've created using TheDraw or some other ANSI drawing program, you know it consists mainly of "garbage" resembling Chinese characters. This is the ANSI (American National Standards Institute) code for introducing color changes into text files so that the colors will show up onscreen; in order to display these color changes, you need to have the statement DEVICE=ANSI.SYS somewhere in your CONFIG.SYS file (remember, though, about the ANSI bomb -- see "First-Time Startup" for details on alternate ANSI drivers). A while back, a number of BBS programs began using a method of color changing called "heart-code ANSI", in which color changes were represented by a heart character followed by an alphanumeric character. The heart-code system has the benefit of taking only two bytes to accomplish what takes 4-6 bytes in "raw" ANSI, thereby reducing the size of network transfers, especially where large numbers of color changes are involved. The heart-code colorization system has become the standard for many BBS softwares. When you're starting out with heart-code ANSI, it's a good idea to go into the VBBS FSE and press [Ctrl-P][?], and look at the color combinations that appear at the bottom of the screen. The same set of color combinations can be seen when you go into your [D]efaults setup and start changing your screen display colors; you might consider printing out that screen using [Shift-Print Screen]. ╔═╗ Using heart-code ANSI takes some getting used to, but ╚═╝ with practice, it's not terribly more difficult than the "raw" ANSI produced by TheDraw or other ANSI draw programs. Heart-code ANSI is best for menus, taglines, and other features that have patterned or infrequent color changes. The easiest way to produce a heart-code menu or tagline is to first use an ANSI drawing program to make the menu/tag- line, then save it as a straight ASCII text file. Then, pull it into the VBBS FSE and use [Ctrl-P] codes to change the co- lors. Specific utility programs are also available, such as VDraw, which are easy to use and highly flexible. To introduce a heart-code color change into an ASCII text file, turn Num Lock ON; while holding down the [Alt] key, type in either "3" or "259" (whichever works) FROM THE NUMERIC KEYPAD. A heart character should appear on your screen. The second keystroke should be a number from 0-9 or a letter from A-Z, depending on what color you want to produce. See Customizing Menus .TOPIC: Function Blocks Function Blocks At the heart of VBBS' command structure is the FUNCTION BLOCK, which is in turn represented by a menu. A function block is an easy-to-modify ASCII file which allows the sysop to define every single function of any menu -- what each key does, whether it is calling an internal function, an external VSCRIPT, external .EXE file (shrinking or not shrinking VBBS out of memory as de- sired), or calling another function block. Creating and editing function blocks may be done with any ASCII text editor; the resulting files should be placed in the VBBS \V or \VSCRIPT directory you have set up in VCONFIG. For example, for your FILES.FB, the first line of the function block might now read FILE1. This would instruct VBBS to display a menu file called FILE1.MNU, FILE1.ANS, FILE1.ASC, or FILE1.PDM (depending on which menuing scheme you're using and the user's default display setting). Similarly, your START.FB might call up the MAIN.xxx menu file, while your SYSOP.FB might call up the SYSOP1.xxx menu file. The second line holds the letter designators of any topic areas that "go with" the function block. For example, if you have message topic areas A, B, C, and D, the second line of your START.FB should read ABCD Otherwise, your users would only see ONE topic area; the "A" topic that came preconfigured as a default. Many new sysops for- get to add these other topic designators in; it's not difficult to overlook this, even though it IS crucial. Each subsequent line of a function block enables a "hot- key" to perform a particular command or function. Lines in the "body" of a function block MUST follow this particular format and appear in strict columns: k xxx y cccccccccccc An explanation is given below. Part Column(s) Explanation ───── ───────── ──────────────────────────────────────────── k 1 The letter or symbol serving as the hot-key xxx 3-5 The minimum SL needed to access the function (must be three digits, like "050" or "007") y 7 The command type (a digit 0-5; more on that below) cccccc 9+ The name of the routine/script/.EXE command line, etc.; this section is of variable length, depending on what you're trying to do. The "y" in the command line represents a digit from 0 through 5 that tells VBBS how to execute the command, according to the following list: Digit Command-type Description ───── ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────── 0 Null (no operation) 1 Internal command (like SENDEMAIL) 2 Script 3 DOS function (don't shrink VBBS out of memory) 4 DOS function (shrink VBBS out of memory) 5 Transfer control to a different function block A sample function block to handle E-mail might look some- thing like this (without the parts inside angle-brackets): EMAIL <name of menu file> <no database attached; E-mail's automatic> e 001 1 sendemail m 001 1 reademailto f 001 1 feedback s 001 1 reademailsent q 000 5 start <on quitting, return to START.FB> The Default START.FB ──────────────────── VBBS could easily have been distributed with a blank menu; instead, a default START.FB is included which reflects the con- figuration of the software on the author's BBS, "Virtual Techno- logies". Note the columnation at the beginning of each line and the topic-area designator on the second line. Other points of interest include: 1) the 255 SL required to transfer control to the SYSOP.FB function block; 2) the VBBS-AUX commands that shrink the BBS out of memory to execute the associated program; and 3) the nonalphabetic characters used as hot-keys. MAIN A $ 001 1 choosetopic > 001 1 nextbase < 001 1 prevbase c 001 1 selectbase j 001 1 setquickscan s 001 1 scanmsg n 001 1 readnewmsg r 001 1 readseqmsg p 001 1 post e 001 1 sendemail y 001 1 reademailfrom m 001 1 reademailto q 001 1 quickmail f 001 1 feedback o 001 1 door z 001 4 vbbs-aux %1 telecon d 001 1 account l 001 1 pagesysop t 001 5 files b 001 4 vbbs-aux %1 textfiles k 001 1 listcallers u 001 4 vbbs-aux %1 listusers a 001 1 autopost v 001 4 vbbs-aux %1 vote i 001 1 sysinfo w 001 1 who x 001 4 vbbs-aux %1 listnet * 255 5 sysop g 000 1 logoffyn Making changes is as simple as pulling the START.FB file into a text editor (even the VBBS FSE, from WITHIN the board!) and adding in the desired function(s). For example, you might add in the following line to invoke a script that shows a user his/her credit total: # 001 2 crcheck Notice that all this is presented in lower-case; function blocks are NOT case-sensitive, so the number of commands you may have is limited to 26 letters + 10 digits + however many punctuation and nonalphabetic characters you can come up with (of course, if any FB ever gets that big, you'll probably want to split it into smaller chunks anyway). ╔═╗ If you start breaking your function blocks into smaller ╚═╝ pieces, it's important to choose letter commands -- "hot keys" -- in such a way that commands will be consistent across menus. For example, if you have the [M] key set to jump to the Message Menu in one function block, try to make it do the same thing in ALL function blocks. This may not be easy, but your users will appreciate not having to learn a different set of hotkeys at each menu. The Default FILES.FB and SYSOP.FB There are two other default function blocks: FILES.FB, which governs the file transfer section(s), and SYSOP.FB, which contains the commands for the sysop function block. These func- tion blocks are shown below: FILE1 SYSOP1 F g 000 1 logoffyn m 255 1 readallemail m 001 1 dlmasterlist e 255 1 editfile u 001 1 remoteupload u 255 1 useredit d 001 1 downloadfile s 255 4 vbbs-aux %1 security r 001 1 reviewfile v 255 1 validate c 001 1 selectbase c 255 1 cleanup j 001 1 setnewfilesscan q 000 5 start l 001 1 listfiles n 001 1 newfiles s 001 1 searchall b 001 1 batchdl f 001 1 findfiles > 001 1 nextbase < 001 1 prevbase p 001 1 topdownloads y 001 1 ratio z 255 1 sysopupload x 255 1 reviewuploads q 000 5 start One change to FILES.FB you might want to try right off the bat -- if you have more than one files area and want to fiddle with the function blocks (and if Roland hasn't added it in as a de- fault command yet) -- is to add in this line: $ 001 1 choosetopic No compilation is necessary ... just save it, and the the [$] command to move between files topic areas is enabled, just like in the message bases! Make sure, though, that you add the com- mand in your menus so your users can take advantage of it. Rearranging the commands in function blocks isn't that difficult -- it's just a matter of making sure you don't leave out any commands. For example, I have separate function blocks for the Main Menu (12 whole commands!), E-mail, transfers, and subsystems, coupled with the ability to jump between FBs with one keystroke. Of course, my menu structure is quite different from the default setup -- but that's the beauty of VBBS. It didn't blink an eye when I installed the changes! One caveat, however: your main function block MUST be called START.FB. It is the function block that takes over when the START.V script finishes running. Scripts and Mods ════════════════ As stated earlier, the term "scripts" refers to programs written using VSCRIPT and compiled using the program VCOM.EXE; "mods" refers to source-code modifications (just a reminder). The VSCRIPT language is one of the most powerful features of VBBS (if not THE most powerful). It's a small programming language, somewhat similar to the REXX script language, that incorporates many of VBBS' functions into single command state- ments (with or without command-line arguments). All it takes is your favorite ASCII text editor or word processor and some familiarity with the VSCRIPT language (that's a separate part of the documentation), and you can be customizing your BBS via scripts in no time. There are literally dozens, if not hundreds, of VSCRIPT- based applications available through VirtualNET (more about that later). Some enterprising programmers have created casino games, alternate mail and voting routines, scripts to welcome new users and take them on a tour of the BBS, show user information ... it's difficult to describe the variety of scripts that have been written by sysops and users alike! The QB4.5 DOS version of VBBS may also be modified through direct changes to the source code, a process known as "source modding" or simply "modding". This DOES require that you have a copy of Microsoft's QuickBASIC compiler (version 4.5 or later). The "QBASIC" that comes with MS-DOS is NOT sufficient for this purpose. VBBS employs a mixed programming environment using assem- bly-language routines for fast COM port and program I/O, while using QuickBASIC as an affordable and easy-to-modify environment. This is in sharp contrast to many other BBS softwares, which re- quire a knowledge of Pascal or C and their associated compilers. It should be noted here, however, that in order to keep the source-code files from being too large, there are very few com- ments in the default program. For the OS/2 version of VBBS, the executeables are precompiled under Microsoft's PDS (Professional Development System) compiler which produces a even faster-executing .EXE (3-10%) and will provide a greater degree of power in the program, such as increased string space. Source code is not available for this version. ╔═╗ Some helpful hints to make your source modding easier: ╚═╝ 1) Make backup copies of the existing source code. It might save you truckloads of grief later. 2) Print out the source code (make a pot of coffee or something while you do ... it takes a while) and read through it BEFORE you start modding. The files are simply too complex to try to keep up with on a screen- by-screen basis. Highlighting's much easier, too; my source-code printout has so much red ink on it that it looks like a bad high-school English paper. 3) Make sure you're thoroughly familiar with the functions and commands of VBBS; this will make it easier to spot their associated source routines. --> IMPORTANT NOTE: Access to the VBBS source code is obtained under specific licensing agreement. You may not possess any portion of the source without having obtained a license to do so from the VBBS author, and in no case shall more than 100 lines of VBBS code be con- tained within a published modification at any time. See also VDOC2 <Vscripts> See also VDOC3 <Vscript Technical Support> Scripts and Mods on VirtualNET ────────────────────────────── Once your BBS is a VirtualNET node, there are several message subs dedicated to VBBS scripts and mods. Two are: VBBS Script Technical Support VBBS Source Technical Support .TOPIC: Customizing Menus Customizing Menus ═════════════════ The VBBS archive includes a default set of function blocks (see below) and their accompanying menus. After running the de- faults for a while, however, most sysops want to customize their menus to more accurately reflect their personal tastes and give their BBS a distinctive look. Default VBBS has four different types of menu files: .MNU files (the default) .ANS and .ASC files .PDM files .RIP files On startup, VBBS looks for menu files with the .MNU ex- tension. The .MNU files included with VBBS are done in heart- code ANSI, and serve "double duty". If the user's video display will support ANSI graphics, the color changes will be included, but if it won't (user's defaults set to ASCII), VBBS will strip out the color changes for display to that user. The main bene- fit of this system is that by using the heart-code .MNU files, only one set of menu files is needed for both ANSI and ASCII users. Another point in favor of the .MNU files is that they seem to display a little bit faster -- this is probably due to the fact that it takes only two bytes to make a color change. The second set of menu formats -- .ANS and .ASC files -- is what VBBS will look for if it doesn't find .MNU files. The .ANS format is "raw" ANSI, such as that produced by TheDraw; an .ASC extension represents an ASCII (text) menu. The advan- tages to having these files in lieu of .MNU files is that they 1) are a little bit quicker to produce, i.e., you draw a menu directly in ANSI, save it twice (in .ANS format and in .ASC format), and you're done. 2) are easier to make, especially if you have very com- plex menus and color changes; the heart-code system can be a little daunting if your menus are ornate. The downside of this method is that you must have two copies of each menu, one for ANSI users and one for ASCII users; if a user with ASCII defaults gets an .ANS menu, he/she will receive gar- bage characters and probably won't call back. The final set of files are VBBS' "pull-down" menus, which have a .PDM extension. These are for users who have selected "Enhanced ANSI" as their screen display default. These are ac- tually ASCII text files that VBBS colorizes as part of the de- fault color selection. A user may opt to use .PDMs at any sys- tem prompt by pressing the [Esc] key -- and you should try it to see how they work. The default FILES.PDM file is shown below: Directory C Change Directory [C] L List Files [L] S Search All Dirs [S] N New Files List [N] F Find Description [F] Transfer D Download Files [D] U Upload Files [U] B Batch Functions [B] R Review Files [R] Y Your Stats [Y] Other J New File Scandate [J] P Popular Downloads [P] M Download Master List [M] Q Quit to Main Menu [Q] G Log Off [G] These files are preconfigured, but easily changed using any text editor. They don't need to be changed, though, unless you re- group or add commands within the function blocks. But -- --> IMPORTANT NOTE: Any changes you make in your .MNU or .ANS/.ASC menus should also be made in your .PDM files. Creating your own .MNU menus is simple enough: after making backups of the original menu files (just in case), use your favorite drawing program (or even a text editor capable of handling "extended ASCII" characters, although this is a LOT more work) to make an ASCII menu file. To add the color changes you want, pull the file into the VBBS FSE and use heart codes to add color (as described earlier). ╔═╗ Menus are a great means of customizing your BBS. They're ╚═╝ also the primary method by which a user interacts with your BBS, so you want to design menus that are as func- tional as possible. Please note that complete script/ function block/menu/pdm packages emulating the look and feel of several other bbs softwares have been developed. The most notable of these is MVMEN by David Bell with emulations of WWIV, Remote Access, WildCat, Renegade, and others, in addition to multi-language VBBS modules. .TOPIC: Taglines System Taglines ═══════════════ Many sysops whose BBSs are part of VirtualNET like to "personalize" posts originating from their system by adding a system tagline to the posts. System taglines are optional; if they are used, however, they must follow several guidelines: 1) They must include the name of the BBS, its geo- graphic location, VirtualNET node number, and version of VBBS being used; 2) They must be 3 lines or less AND 300 bytes or less (i.e., a 3-line, 350-byte tagline is NOT acceptable); 3) They must be colorized using ONLY heart-code ANSI (no "raw" ANSI allowed). Creating a system tagline is similar to creating a new menu; you make and save an ASCII version of the tagline, then bring it into the VBBS FSE to colorize it with heart codes. Since any experimental color changes are also saved with the tagline, it's usually a good idea to use your ASCII text edi- tor to delete any unnecessary color changes after you've got your tagline looking the way you want it. Taglines reside in your \TXT directory under the name(s) TAGLINE.xxx, where "xxx" is a number from 1 to 999. It should be noted that single- or double-digit extensions to these files should be just that, i.e., TAGLINE.1 or TAGLINE.22, and not TAGLINE.001 or TAGLINE.022. ╔═╗ A word or two on system taglines: they should be as dis- ╚═╝ tinctive as possible without being gaudy or distracting from the body of the message. "Eyesore" taglines are sometimes the butt of jokes on networks. In addition, some sysops try to cram every bit of information they can about their systems into their taglines; this is frequently viewed as being distracting, and in general, a "less-is-more" approach is best advised. .TOPIC: Optimize VBBS Running a BBS -- and VBBS is no exception here -- is a major source of hard-drive wear and tear. This is not to put down any BBS software; it's just the nature of the beast. There are several steps you can take to optimize VBBS so as to minimize hard-drive abuse. "Defragging" Your Hard Drive ════════════════════════════ One piece of maintenance you should run periodically is a program designed to de-fragment files on your hard drive. Daily maintenance erases the oldest messages on your hard drive, lea- ving "gaps" where those messages used to be. After several days of this, a map of your hard drive utilization can look like some- one took a shotgun to it -- empty sectors/clusters scattered all through your data. "Defragging" your hard drive puts your data into contigu- ous (adjacent) sectors/clusters, thereby reducing the amount of time it takes the read/write heads to access a particular piece of information. Utilities such as Norton's SPEEDISK accomplish this quite well; be prepared, though, to spend several minutes watching the process when you run it the first time. --> IMPORTANT NOTE: Just to be on the safe side, you SHOULD NOT run a disk defragmentation program from within VBBS or from WFC; always EXIT the BBS prior to running the program. Using a RAMdrive ════════════════ Another means of optimization is to place the most fre- quently accessed files -- menus and such -- into a RAMdrive (virtual disk). By loading the most frequently accessed files into RAM, many systems will realize system speedup ranging from modest to substantial. VBBS textfiles and menus within the \TXT directory pro- bably benefit most from being placed in a RAMdrive; these would be the .MNU, .ANS/.ASC, and .TXT files. Because they are acces- sed often, having them in RAM can substantially decrease hard- drive access. Another group of files suitable for placing in a RAMdrive are your script files -- the .V, .COD and .LIT files. This speeds the process of loading the scripts, since no disk access is performed. To install a RAMdrive, include the following in your CONFIG.SYS file: DEVICE=RAMDRIVE.SYS 80 /E This command line creates an 80-kilobyte RAMdrive; the "/E" switch tells DOS to place the RAMdrive in EXTENDED memory. In addition, the default limit on the number of files that can be placed in a RAMdrive (as would be the case in the above ex- ample) is 64; if you want to place more files than that in the RAMdrive, you need a command line similar to this: DEVICE=RAMDRIVE.SYS 128 128 /E The above command line would create a 128K RAMdrive with a maxi- mum of 128 files in extended memory. For more information, please consult your DOS manual or reference book. To make the best use of a RAMdrive, you need to be run- ning a 286 or 386 computer with at least 1 Mb of RAM and the DOS device HIMEM.SYS (an extended memory manager) loaded. If you're running a 386, you might consider QEMM386 as your exten- ded memory manager. --> IMPORTANT NOTE: It is recommended that you do NOT assign your VBBS \TEMP directory to a RAMdrive. .TOPIC: Security ╔════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗ ║ SECURITY ║ ╚════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ VBBS provides a high level of security. One of the most significant security features of VBBS is that it will not allow a remote user to drop to DOS through internal functions. If you would like to enable a remote drop-to-DOS capability, you will need to install DOORWAY or DoorMaster (both shareware programs) as a door from VBBS. This is generally a much safer method, and in the case of using DOORWAY, provedes a much more powerful re- mote interface than a built-in remote DOS access routine could. By using a program such as this, you may also run VBBS utilities such as VCONFIG remotely. In VCONFIG, you have the option of allowing remote sysops. Allowing a remote sysop will let a user with a SL of 255 who knows the system password to access the sysop functions of VBBS. Pressing [S] from the sysop menu will show all users on the sys- tem who have security level access. Although a user may view an archive, there is no function that will allow him or her to extract an archive. As with all BBS software, it is recommended that you register DSZ (ZModem) for maximum security. VBBS uses a \SYSOP directory which stores all files up- loaded to the system and files sent that were attached to E-mail. Here, the sysop has the ability to view, scan and move the files and file listings to the appropriate directory after review. Be sure to leave the maximum settings for this database at 0 (zero) and make sure that DSZ.COM is in your path (a common mistake when setting up for the first time). VBBS features a special exclusion file, EXCLUDE.TXT, in which you define whole filenames, partial filenames, or DOS extensions that you wish VBBS to NOT allow upload of (such as .GIF). It is highly recommended that you do NOT delete any of the lines in the default EXCLUDE.TXT provided. VBBS allows you to automatically check for archive integrity and viruses. See Atuomatic New Upload Verification in the VCONFIG portion of this document for details. .TOPIC: Maintenance Much of your system's maintenance is performed automatic- ally by VBBS each day. Database "packing" occurs as the primary event where your system's databases are compacted and old mes- sages are removed according to the limits you set in VCONFIG. System logs are then compacted as well and the daily log cycles into another log file that shows a log of the last five days of system activity. Many sysops run other maintenance as well. Backing up certain important system files each day is common. There are several VBBS-specific utilities as well as several general-use utilities that can be valuable for the VBBS sysop. Some of these utilities, such as those by Neil J. Mar- shall and other VBBS freeware utility programmers, perform such tasks as searching out duplicate posts and files, removing users who have not called for a specific time, printing reports, etc. There are several shareware utilities available that will allow you to automate periodic batchfile events so that they run on a daily or weekly (or other interval) basis. .TOPIC: 1. Main Configuration See also:Screen Two and Screen Three Screen One 1) BBS Name ════════ This is where you enter your BBS' name, so that VBBS can display it as needed. 2) Sysop Name ══════════ This field contains your name or handle, or the name or handle of the primary system operator. 3) Timeout ═══════ This numeric value determines how long a user may remain inactive (not typing anything) before being automatically logged off the BBS. The value is expressed in seconds, and the user will receive a "beep" warning at the midpoint of the interval. For example, a setting of 360 would allow for 6 minutes of inactivity; the user would receive a warning after 3 min- utes, and would be logged off after 3 more minutes of in- activity. 4) Start-Up Script ═══════════════ This is the first script that is run after a user logs on. For the default VBBS setup, this is START, which reflects the small START.V script included in the VBBS archive. 5) PAUSE string ════════════ This allows you to customize your "press any key to con- tinue" prompt. 6) Idle Modem ══════════ This setting defines what, if anything, to do with the modem when the BBS is busy doing certain offline func- tions, such as unpacking network mail, running external events, doing daily maintenance, etc. The choices are "Modem Off-Hook" and "Do Nothing". If you select "Modem Off-Hook", then VBBS will "busy out" your phone line as needed for offline functions. When the offline function is completed, VBBS will re-initialize the modem and resume servicing callers. Note that setting the MODEM off-hook does NOT set an attached PHONE off-hook; if a call comes in while the modem is off-hook, the phone will still ring (and this can be QUITE annoying). 7) Registration # ══════════════ This is where you enter your VBBS registration number, when you get one. The only way to get a valid registra- tion number is to register VBBS with the author (see "Re- gistration" and the section on VCONFIG's "Print Regis- tration Form" option for more details). 8) New User Password ═════════════════ In this field, you may specify your system's new-user passowrd. Leaving this field blank disables the new- user password entirely. The presence of a password in this field will require that a first-time remote caller actually know what the password is. 9) Blank WFC Screen ════════════════ This setting configures the VBBS automatic WFC (Waiting For Call) screen blanker. Like the "Timeout" option, this value is expressed in seconds; a value of 300 in this field would blank out the WFC screen after 5 min- utes. A value of 0 in this field disables screen blan- king entirely. A) Reserve Space ═════════════ This setting, expressed in kilobytes (KB), instructs VBBS to reserve some of your hard-drive space so that suffi- cient space to operate the BBS is always available on your hard drive. When the free space on your upload drive drops below this value, uploads will not be allowed onto the board; this is for your protection. A value of 0 in this field disables this feature. B) Using WATCH.COM ═══════════════ WATCH.COM is a small shareware utility that senses unan- swered telephone rings to your system and will reboot the computer after so many rings, or arbitrarily every few hours. This is a YES or NO setting; if YES, VBBS will issue com- mands to WATCH.COM as needed. If NO, the feature is dis- abled. C) Allow Handles ═════════════ This setting determines whether a user's primary means of identification on your system is a "handle" or his real name. Note that some networks and networked message bases do not allow the use of handles. D) Daily Clean-Up ══════════════ This setting specifies the time VBBS will run automatic database cleanup. The time must be entered in HH:MM for- mat using military time. A setting of 00:00 disables this feature, but this is not recommended unless you make some provision for some kind of cleanup utility as an ex- ternal event. ╔═╗ Not setting a cleanup time is a common mistake among new ╚═╝ sysops; if you notice the messages piling up and your hard-drive space diminishing rapidly, this is a good place to start looking for the source of the problem. E) Allow 255 Remote ════════════════ This feature may be used as an extra security measure to prevent someone from ever gaining sysop access via remote. If you need to access the sysop functions of your BBS re- motely, or wish to give a co-sysop or other individual that privilege, then choose YES for this setting. F) System Password ═══════════════ This field contains your system password and is an op- tional level of security. All users with a security level (SL) of 255, or sysop security, will be prompted for the system password when logging in. G) Registration Code ═════════════════ When you register VBBS you will be sent a letter with your registration code. Enter that code in this field EXACTLY as it is shown on the card. Put the letter in a safe place where you'll KNOW where it is. The combined entry of a valid registration number and your registration code "unlocks" your copy of VBBS and enables full operation (see "Registration" for details). H) Use FOSSIL Driver ═════════════════ This setting lets you tell VBBS to use a FOSSIL driver. FOSSIL drivers are especially useful in certain multi-user applications of VBBS, although they are not required. If this is set to NO, VBBS will use its own internal COM rou- tines. This is the preferred setting. See the MODEMS portion of this document for help setting up a fossil driver. I) Sysop Page Control ══════════════════ This option allows you to select between two different methods of detecting sysop availability. The most popular choice is to let the lighted [Scroll Lock] key toggle sys- op availability. Sysops with non-standard keyboards may set this to toggle by hitting the [A] key at the WFC screen. Note that the [Scroll Lock] key may be toggled at any time anywhere in the system. J) WFC Drive List ══════════════ This is the list of hard drives you want displayed on the WFC screen. The drive letter, size, free space, and per- centage of space free will be displayed; if free space drops below a particular percentage, that display line will change color. K) # Active Channels ═════════════════ This setting lets you optimize VBBS for the number of si- multaneous online users (active ports) that you are set up for on your multi-user VBBS installation. If you have two lines running into your multi-user VBBS, set this to 2; if you have four lines, set it to 4, and so on. Single-line VBBS installations should set this value to 1. L) Log Detail Level ════════════════ This defines the level of detail that VBBS maintains in its BBS.LOG file. There are two settings: NORMAL, which shows the typical actions of a user (logon time, door calls, etc.); and EXTENDED, which also shows the indivi- dual keystrokes the user makes at the various menus within the system. ╔═╗ The EXTENDED level is useful for tracking users' progress ╚═╝ within the BBS; it can be particularly helpful in identi- fying users who head straight for the game or transfer sections. Z) SCREEN TWO ══════════ Takes you to the second screen of MAIN configuration. .TOPIC: Screen Two See also: Screen Three or Click on BACK to return to Screen One Screen Two 1) Net Low Time 2) Net High Time ═════════════ These two settings let you specify a period of time for network transfers. During net time, users calling the BBS will receive the text message you've configured in NETONLY.TXT (Text Directory) and be logged off. (Note: SysOp may log in.) This is a way to open up a busy BBS for network calls, typically late at night. Use of this feature may be required in some networks. The "net low time" is the beginning of the net period; the "net high time" is the end of the net period. The times must be entered in HH:MM format using military time; if both are set to 00:00, the feature is disabled. 3) Net Redial Attempts ═══════════════════ This specifies the number of network redial attempts VBBS should make. ╔═╗ If you are a "leaf node" (i.e., no one connects to your ╚═╝ system for their network packets) and your server's BBS isn't particularly busy, chances are you won't have to set this very high (5 attempts usually connects me with my server). If your net connect is a very busy BBS, you may need to set this as high as 50 or more. Keep in mind that while your system is calling out, users can't call in. 4) Network Poll Delay at WFC ═════════════════════════ This setting configures how often VBBS checks to see if it needs to perform some type of automatic network dial- out. It is expressed in seconds (i.e., a value of 600 would represent 10 minutes). 5) Dialing String ══════════════ This setting specifies the proper dialing string for your modem. This will, in most cases, be either ATDT (for tone dialing) or ATDP (for pulse dialing). 6) New User Security 7) New User Time ═════════════════ These settings define the security level (SL) and time limit given to a new user on your BBS. ╔═╗ Make sure that you give new users a high enough SL and ╚═╝ enough time to at least explore your BBS for a bit. If they can't do ANYTHING on their first call, their first call might be their LAST. 8) Min. Sec. Lvl. Autopost 9) MSL Email Others A) MSL Email Sysop Attached File B) MSL Email Others Attached File C) MSL MultiMail D) MSL Email Carbon-Copy ══════════════════════════════ These settings define the minimum security level (MSL) a user needs to access certain functions of the BBS. A typical BBS might allow a new user to E-mail others, but restrict the other functions to validated users; some boards restrict multi-mail and carbon-copy mail to the sysop and co-sysop only. ╔═╗ A mistake beginning sysops sometimes make is setting these ╚═╝ too high for anyone to access; make sure the MSLs are low enough for users to access at least SOME of them. E) Upload/Download Ratio ═════════════════════ This setting specifies the optional system upload/down- load ratio; if enabled, it requires that users upload files in order to be able to download them. To calculate the value to enter in this field, use the following for- mula: decimal ratio = (required uploads) / (allowed downloads) For example, to require that a user upload 1K for every 5K downloaded (a ratio of 1:5), you would convert the fraction 1/5 into a decimal and enter the value .2 in the ratio field. Other values are possible; some of the more common ones are .1 (1:10 ratio) .05 (1:20 ratio) .25 (1: 4 ratio) .5 (1: 2 ratio) Ratios like 1:3, 1:6, 1:7 and so on are probably better dealt with through a credits system (see Screen Three for details); as with some of the other settings, a value of 0 in this field disables ratios entirely. F) Allow Auto-Sysop Validation G) Auto-Sysop Security Level H) Auto-Sysop Time Limit ═══════════════════════════ This feature is useful to those whose callers include a good number of other sysops. With it, you can allow them to boost their own SL and time limit a little. This feature can either be ON or OFF. If setting (F) is set to NO, sysop auto-validation is disabled completely. ╔═╗ It should be noted that there have been instances where ╚═╝ non-sysop users have given false information and gained visiting-sysop status on some systems. There are, how- ever, several source-code modifications (if you have registered at the source level) and scripts to combat this problem. I) QWK Message Limit ═════════════════ This setting defines the maximum number of QWK messages to put into one QWK packet. Unregistered copies of VBBS are limited to 50 messages per packet; entering the re- gistration number and registration code on Screen One enables full QWK-limit configurability. ╔═╗ Suggesting a good number to enter in this field is dif- ╚═╝ ficult to do; if you have a large number of active net- worked message bases, you will probably want to set this high (say, 500 or so). This is a trial-and-error set- ting, but easily changed. J) Enter System Password for WFC Sysop Commands ════════════════════════════════════════════ If this is set to YES, then the system password is re- quired to access certain functions from WFC. It's use- ful if your BBS needs to be secure locally -- if you have a lot of your users dropping by, or if you have small children lurking about the computer, for example. It can, however, be somewhat annoying if you make fre- quent use of the WFC commands when tinkering with the BBS (in which case you may want to at least temporarily disable it). K) Mail Hold Time (Days) ═════════════════════ This specifies the time, in days, that E-mail should be kept active on the system. When an E-mail reaches the age limit, it is automatically purged from the BBS. A value of 0 disables this feature, although this is not recommended (see below). ╔═╗ Encourage your users to clean up after themselves by ╚═╝ deleting (or extracting, THEN deleting) E-mail after they've read it. Old, read E-mail DOES tend to pile up on the system and may create problems if hard-drive space is at a premium. 21 days is probably a good length of time to hold E-mail, although this may certainly be ad- justed. L) Max Time Bank ═════════════ This specifies the maximum number of minutes that a user may deposit into her time bank. Setting this to 0 will disable the built-in time bank. In addition to the internal time bank, as with other func- tions, there are several time-bank VSCRIPTS available. Z) SCREEN THREE ════════════ Takes you to Screen Three of MAIN configuration. .TOPIC: Screen Three Click On BACK to return to Vconfig Menu Details Screen Three 1) QWK Packet Name ═══════════════ This is the name you wish to give to QWK packets being sent from your system. It is recommended that you give this field a unique six-character name. --> IMPORTANT NOTE: DO NOT use a PERIOD or a ZERO within this field. Softwares tend to "choke" when you do. 2) Force Filename Entry Before Upload ══════════════════════════════════ If set to NO, the user is given the choice as to whether to enter filenames and descriptions prior to upload or after it. If set to YES, the user is forced to enter filenames and descriptions before the upload. When file- names and descriptions are entered before the upload, the file bases are checked for duplication. ╔═╗ You should tell your users that once they're through en- ╚═╝ tering filenames and descriptions, pressing [Enter] at the prompt will get them into the actual upload process. 3) Inverse Bar on Input Fields ═══════════════════════════ If set to YES, an inverse-color bar will be drawn on cer- tain input fields, to show the user how much space she has to enter the information. If set to NO, the bar is not displayed. 4) Display Network in Subs Listings ════════════════════════════════ If set to NO, minimal network information is displayed when the user does an online database listing. If set to YES, then full network information is displayed. ╔═╗ It should be noted that minimal info displays somewhat ╚═╝ faster than full network information. 5) Run LOGOFF.BAT At User Logoff ═════════════════════════════ The possible settings for this option are NO, CHANNEL 1 ONLY, and ALL CHANNELS. This option allows you to con- figure utilities (virus scans, information updates, etc.) to be run when a user logs off. Parameters passed to the batch file(s) are: %1 -- channel number %2 -- COM port number 6) Number of Rings to Answer On ════════════════════════════ This setting defines how many times the phone will be allowed to ring before VBBS answers. For most installa- tions, a setting of 1 is proper. ╔═╗ If you have Caller ID on your system, you might want to ╚═╝ set this to 2 to give your equipment time to display the originating phone number. --> IMPORTANT NOTE: If you're running WATCH.COM or some other auto-reboot program, don't forget to keep this setting BELOW the threshold for re- booting, else your system will spend all its time rebooting instead of taking calls. 7) Use Call-Back Verifier ══════════════════════ If set to YES, VBBS will look for the ALLOW.CBV and RESTRICT.CBV files you will have created in your \DATA directory (see the "Callback Verifier" section for de- tails). The installed callback verifier will prompt a new user to put his modem into a waiting-for-call state so VBBS can place a call to his terminal. VBBS will request password confirmation from the answering system, thereby confirming the accuracy of the phone number left for that account. --> IMPORTANT NOTE: Due to the dial-out nature of this feature, VBBS sysops assume individual responsibility concerning its use when activated. 8) Call Back Ver. Security Level 9) Call Back Ver. Time Limit ═════════════════════════════ These settings tell VBBS the SL and time limit to assign to the new user's account once the callback verifier has done its work. A) Force New User to Leave Feedback ════════════════════════════════ If set to YES, the file LEAVEFB.TXT (which you create in your \TXT directory) is displayed to the new user, and she is prompted to leave feedback to the sysop. --> IMPORTANT NOTE: A new user may choose to abort the feed- back, bypassing a "required" feedback. There are several VSCRIPTS available that will indeed FORCE a new user to leave the feedback letter. B) Automatic New Upload Scanner ═══════════════════════════════ If set to Scan & Warn, VBBS will automatically scan uploaded files for viruses, alert you, and keep the file for your inspection. If set to Scan & Delete , a suspect upload will be automatically deleted. If set to Disabled, VBBS will not check uploaded files at all. The integral scanner program automatically identifies the archive format (ZIP, ARJ, LZH, and ARC) and also tests uploaded archives for integrity. In addition, it automatically adds your archive comment (ZIPCOMNT.TXT) and reads file descriptions provided in FILE_ID.DIZ format. Scanning may also be called from a script or function block. (Refer to the UPLOADSCAN function in the VSCRIPT.DOC.) Note that you should place a copy of your virus scan program in a directory in your DOS path and name it scan.exe. Since the virus scan program runs offline after an upload, many different virus detection programs may be used. An UPLOAD. LOG in your VBBS directory is available for you to review the upload scan history. --> IMPORTANT NOTE: You should make a habit of reviewing the UPLOAD.LOG daily and delete it when it becomes too large. Also make sure that you have placed copies of all of the archivers above in a directory which is in your DOS path. C) Modem Test Mode ═══════════════ If you need to run diagnostics on your modem, this switch may help. It will let you "see" what the modem is doing internally. D) Auto-Check for New Voting Polls ═══════════════════════════════ If set to ON, VBBS checks to see if there are voting questions the user hasn't answered yet; if new questions are found, the user is prompted as to whether she wishes to vote. E) Allow DIRECTmail ════════════════ If set to ON, DIRECTmail is enabled (see "DIRECTmail" for more information). --> IMPORTANT NOTE: For DIRECTmail to pass between two VBBS systems, this feature must be enabled at BOTH ends of the connection. ╔═╗ If you have a system tagline (see "System Taglines" for ╚═╝ details), it's usually a good idea to include the word "DIRECTmail" in it, to let other sysops know you have this feature enabled. F) Credits Awarded per Post G) Credits Awarded per Upload K H) Credit Cost per Download K This allows you to implement a system in which users "pay" to use certain features of the BBS. For example, you may wish to require that users earn credits by posting mes- sages or uploading files in order to access online pro- grams or download files (see "Doors Configuration" for more information). I) MultiTasker Awareness ══════════════════ If set to Desqview, VBBS and its auxiliary programs will make best use of CPU time in DESQview environments. If set to Windows or OS/2, time slices will be optimized for those environments. --> IMPORTANT NOTE: Under the Windows or OS/2 setting, you may need to alter the Advanced PIF setting in your Windows PIF files for VBBS to find optimal Background and Foreground priorities. J) All Uploads to Sysop Directory ══════════════════════════════ If set to ON, all new uploads are pathed to the \SYSOP directory, where they sit until the sysop manually moves them to their proper directories. If set to OFF, uploads go directly into the directory in which they're uploaded. ╔═╗ This feature was added to expedite getting new uploads in- ╚═╝ to their proper directories. If you use it, please make sure you have some kind of automatic virus-checking pro- gram installed. K) Built-in FIDOnet Detection ══════════════════════════ If set to ON, VBBS' internal FIDOnet detection is enabled (see MULTINET for more information on FIDOnet). L) VCONFIG Menu Color M) VCONFIG Background ══════════════════ Allows you to set the screen colors in VCONFIG. Settings are saved until changed again. .TOPIC: 2. Channel Configuration In this section of VCONFIG, you can configure the multi- user communications aspects of VBBS and define the correct modem port for single-line installations. ╔═╗ If you have only one line, you won't spend much time in ╚═╝ this section of VCONFIG. You only need to tell VBBS which COM port to use for Channel 1. When you bring up the CHANNEL configuration screen, you will see a long list of channel numbers and their current charac- teristics. To edit a particular line, use the arrow keys to move the highlight bar to the channel you want to edit, then press [Enter]. This will bring up a second screen with the following information: 1) Serial Port ═══════════ This setting can range from COM1 to COM8 for communica- tions ports. Whichever COM port you specify is what this channel will use. If set to LOCAL, then no COM port at all is used for this channel. By using the LOCAL setting, VBBS could be used as the interoffice mail system on a LAN. 2) Base Address (Hex) 3) IRQ (Hex) ══════════════════ For unique addressing, you may configure the port base ad- dress and IRQ directly. Both entries should be entered in hexadecimal format. 4) Baud Rate ═════════ This field sets the baud rate of the COM port. 5) Init String ═══════════ The modem commands needed to properly initialize your mo- dem for VBBS go here. For initialization strings for sev- eral of the more popular modems, see MODEM. ╔═╗ There are several message bases on VirtualNET from which ╚═╝ you can get help in "tweaking" your init string to fit your exact setup. These include the "VBBS Sysop Support Sub", "Modem Mania", and "High-Speed Modem Discussion". See SUBSLIST.NET for the latest listings. 6) Locked Baud Rate ════════════════ If you are using a standard 2400-baud modem without error correction, this should be set to NO; if you are using a high-speed modem, or a modem with error correction, this should be set to YES. 7) Hardware (RTS/CTS) Handshake ════════════════════════════ If you are using a standard 2400-baud modem without error correction, this should be set to NO; if you are using a high-speed modem, or a modem with error correction, this should be set to YES. Select either a Normal handshake or Slow. 8) Minimum Baud Rate Allowed ═════════════════════════ This feature can be used to "lock out" users using slower modems, should you desire to do so. This can be config- ured independently for each active channel. For example, a sysop running a single-channel installation might wish to lock out 300-baud callers; she would enter a value of 1200 in this field. A value of 0 in this field disables the minimum-baud-rate feature. A text file called TOOSLOW.TXT (found in your \TXT direc- tory) is displayed to the user immediately upon connect if his modem is at a disallowed speed. This ASCII text file may, of course, be customized to suit your needs. ╔═╗ If you're running more than one channel, one of which ╚═╝ uses a high-speed modem, you may wish to use the minimum- baud-rate feature to reserve the high-speed channel for the exclusive use of high-speed callers. .TOPIC: 3. Database Configuration At the heart of VBBS are the DATABASES. They are used for such functions as message bases, file directories, and various other creative functions that might be, for example, part of a custom script-based application. Databases may be set up or al- tered in VCONFIG at any time, and the only limit to the number of databases you can have is the amount of storage space on your hard drive. ╔═╗ Most sysops spend the greater portion of their time spent ╚═╝ in VCONFIG adjusting existing databases and adding or de- leting databases, so this section of the documentation is of particular importance. For this reason, we'll take a little extra time going over the principles behind data- bases, topic areas, and their use. There are three basic types of databases: message data- bases, file databases, and other databases. All databases may be set up and grouped into TOPIC AREAS. Each topic area needs its own DBGROUP identifier, which may be any letter from A to Z. ╔═╗ I'm holding off on discussing topic areas in detail until ╚═╝ after we get through learning about databases and how to configure them and we know what a "function block" is; the whole picture fits together MUCH better when you know more about the individual parts. When you enter the DATABASE configuration screen, you are presented a scrolling menu of choices: ∙ Message Databases ∙ File Databases ∙ Custom Databases ∙ Sort Database Configuration ∙ Compile Network Info We'll take a moment to describe each option in detail. Message Databases ═════════════════ Message bases, also known as "message subs" or simply "subs", are databases in which messages are stored. Subs may be about a specific topic, or they may simply be "chat"-type subs in which people can write messages, or "post", about whatever is on their minds. In VBBS, message subs are automatically pathed to the \VBBS\DB directory when you run INSTALL.EXE. If you want to put them somewhere else (I have mine on the larger of my two hard drives), you need to specify a separate path using the PATHS configuration (this is discussed in the next manual section). File Databases ═══════════════ The file databases work in much the same way as the mes- sage bases, except that they store actual files instead of mes- sages. The major difference between the way file and message databases are set up is that while message bases are automatic- ally pathed to the \DB directory during the installation process, each file database requires a unique, specific DOS path, which you, the sysop, have to supply. Like message databases, file databases may be grouped in- to topic areas by giving each topic a unique letter DBGROUP identifier. Other Databases ═══════════════ Custom databases may be created which are neither message or file databases. These may contain special information called from VScripts. Configuring and Editing Databases in VCONFIG ════════════════════════════════════════════ K) DB Group: ════════ This is a letter from A-Z, number 0-9, or extended ASCII character from 128-255 which designates which database topic group this database belong to. See "Setting up Topic Areas" for details. 1) File Name ═════════ This is the eight-character-or-less name of the database file, entered in ALL CAPS. It is also a good practice to avoid "odd" characters such as "#", "!", "%", and the like in these filenames, as they might confuse the soft- ware. --> IMPORTANT NOTE: Even though message databases don't have an actual DOS directory, they have to have unique filenames; this is for VBBS' data- base configuration files. ╔═╗ The importance of giving databases UNIQUE filenames can't ╚═╝ be overemphasized. Database entries that have the same DB name and DB path specify the SAME database! Don't use a particular filename more than ONCE across all databases -- message, file, and custom. ╔═╗ New sysops sometimes forget and use a filename more than ╚═╝ once in their configuration; while this doesn't do any damage per se, it IS kind of embarrassing to have your file descriptions show up as posts on networked message bases. 2) Files Path ══════════ Enter a path in this field only if you are creating a file database or a custom database that uses messages or files. If you're setting up a message database, leave this field blank; VBBS automatically paths message bases to the \DB directory. Again, avoid "odd" characters and and lower-case letters. 3) Long Name ═════════ This is the longer, more descriptive database name that is displayed to the user, like "Virtual BBS/NET Support". 4) Private? (Y/N) ══════════════ This switch is for special uses only; you should set this to NO when creating public-access message and file databases. 5) Max Entries ═══════════ Defines the desired size of the database (in messages or files, not bytes). A value of 0 in this field allows un- limited message/file storage; a number in this field sets a limit on the number of messages/files. When VBBS runs daily maintenance, it will "pack" the database down to size by removing enough of the oldest messages to bring the database back to the specified limit. Beginning sysops sometimes wonder why they have 84 messages in a database they've configured for 50 messages; daily maintenance would, in this case, remove the 34 oldest messages, bringing the total back to 50. ╔═╗ For file databases, you should set the limit to 0 unless ╚═╝ hard-drive space is at a premium; if you put enough new files in a limited database to take it over the limit, VBBS will pack that file database just like any other. Fortunately, however, the files will NOT be erased; they will simply become unavailable for download. ╔═╗ Gauging the proper limit for a message database is largely ╚═╝ a matter of trial and error. For "slow" message bases, you'll want to keep the limit fairly low to keep messages turning over. For active subs -- like the sysop subs and the VirtualNET "star" subs -- you may want to set it as high as 200 or 250. It's NOT a good idea to enter a 0 in this field for a message base; for example, on the Vir- tualNET Sysops' Sub, it would take less than a month to accumulate over 3000 messages! 6) Read SL ═══════ This is the minimum security level needed to access (read) the database. If the user's SL is less than this value, the database will not show up in his listing. 7) Write SL ════════ This is the minimum security level needed to write (post) in the database. If the user's SL is less than this value, the database will not allow input (or uploads) from her. 8) Access Flag ═══════════ This setting defines what access flag (if any) must be set in the user's account to access the database. This value may be NONE or a letter from A to Z. If set to a letter, the user must have a matching access flag in his account information in order to access the database. Ac- cess flags are set in the user editor (see "The User Edi- tor" for details). ╔═╗ Access flags are useful for restricting access to certain ╚═╝ databases to certain users. For example, if you wanted to have a sysops-only sub, you could enter an 'S' in this field and give visiting sysops an 'S' access flag; they would be the only users who could access the data- base (unless, of course, there were other users who also had the same flag). 9) Age Limit ═════════ The minimum age a user must be in order to access the database. For example, a value of 18 in this field would require that a user be at least 18 years old to have ac- cess to the database. --> IMPORTANT NOTE: A quick word about database access control and adult-oriented material ... while VBBS *does* offer a high level of security, NO software that restricts access to materials on the basis of age can protect a sysop from underage users who lie about their age in order to get adult-oriented materials. As sysop of your BBS, it is your responsi- bility to be aware of federal, state, and local laws regarding the distribution of and access to adult-oriented material. In no case will the author of VBBS or the au- thors of the documentation be held respon- sponsible for underage users gaining access to adult-oriented materials on your BBS. A) Tagline ═══════ This instructs VBBS which tagline (if any) to append to messages posted in the database. If set to zero or left blank, no tagline is added (see "System Taglines" for more information). B) Random Titles ═════════════ This setting specifies which random title file to use in messages, and is disabled if set to zero. The range for this value is 1 to 999; specifying a value here instructs VBBS to look for the file RNDTITLE.xxx (where "xxx" is the entered value, without leading zeroes <for example, RNDTITLE.1, not RNDTITLE.001>) in your \TXT directory. Entries in RNDTITLE.xxx may be made using an ASCII text editor and should be made one per line in this file. ╔═╗ It should be noted that the current line of thinking on ╚═╝ networks is that message titles should be descriptive of the contents of the message, not simply not assigned at random. Many users -- and especially other sysops -- will simply skip oddly-titled messages when doing a new-message title scan. C) Name Used ═════════ This setting defines the name used in the database. The possible settings are HANDLE, REAL NAME, or ANONYMOUS. Note that message bases marked "Anonymous" do not allow quoting of previous messages, and that the posting user's real name or handle will show up locally. Remote users will see "-- ANONYMOUS --" or "-- Guess Who? --" on their screen. In addition, there is some question as to whe- ther "Anonymous" posts remain anonymous on networked mes- sage bases. D) QWK Conference ══════════════ This setting defines the database's QWK conference num- ber as used by QWK-format offline mail readers. The standard range for this value is from *2* to 255, and each QWK conference assignment MUST be unique to the particular database. QWKable message bases are marked with a "!" in the subs listing. When you have configured a database to this point, VCONFIG will shift to the display of message bases in whichever topic area the database is included. It will prompt you to tell it where to insert the new database, even though there are still options which may need to be configured. Don't panic. This is an added level of organization that helps prevent the networks from being flooded with messages from subs that have accidentally been mis- configured. It's not infallible, but it DOES help. The addi- tional configuration options are described below. E) Database Co-Sysop ═════════════════ Some sysops allow trusted users to moderate discussions on local message bases; this setting defines the co-sysop, sub sysop, or moderator for the database. Leaving this field blank disables this feature; any nonzero value spe- cifies the user number of the moderator. The moderator information is displayed in the message sub listing. ╔═╗ Having a user serve as message-sub sysop can be a good ╚═╝ way of breathing a little life to a sub that's been "down in the dumps", especially if the user has strong opinions on the topic at hand. Just make sure the user knows about any policies you might have regarding message content, etc. F) Req Net Validation ══════════════════ If you wish to review posts before they are transmitted out to any networks, turn this option ON. Post valida- tion is handled via the [V] option from the Sysop Menu within VBBS. --> IMPORTANT NOTE: This switch needs to be set to YES for the VirtualNET non-moderated subs. Net validation may also be required for some VirtualNET "secured" subs; contact the sub's host sysop via E-mail for specifics. G) Networks Configuration ══════════════════════ Selecting this option allows you to edit the network con- figuration for the database. If you wish the database to be LOCAL ONLY, set this to NONE. If you wish the database to be networked, you must con- figure the network and network sub/conference identifier. VCONFIG will prompt you for the network, then for the identifier. The format of the identifier will vary from network to network. For Type 1 (VNET.EXE-based) and Type 2 (VWW4.EXE-based) networks, the identifier is a number; for Type 3 (VUUCP.EXE-based) and Type 4 (VFIDO.EXE-based) networks, the identifier is a string. Type 5 (VNET2.EXE-based) net- works are still in the experimental stage as of this wri- ting, and more network utilities are in development such as VRIME and VQWKNET. You can configure a database to be on one network or on several networks. Configuring a database to be on mul- tiple networks (there is theoretically no limit) creates a "gateway" between two or more networks (the common term is "gating"). --> IMPORTANT NOTE: Prior to establishing a gateway connection, you should obtain permission from any con- ference or message base host/moderator sys- ops involved. The networking utilities VWW4.EXE, VUUCP.EXE, and VFIDO.EXE are freely available to sysops and are fully operational during the trial period. They are automatically inactivated if VBBS remains unregistered after 60 days. Database Considerations ═══════════════════════ There are some things to keep in mind when setting up or reconfiguring databases: ╔═╗ Setting up more databases is easy -- simply add them into ╚═╝ topic area(s) where they belong. Remember that when you add message databases, you need to SORT and COMPILE your configurations using the appropriate commands from the initial DATABASE Configuration screen. ╔═╗ Plan out your file databases ahead of time; too many file ╚═╝ databases can become unwieldy and hard to navigate (trust me on this one). ╔═╗ It's a good idea to periodically go through your message ╚═╝ subs and cull out the ones that aren't getting much traf- fic (and there WILL be some eventually). Whether you re- place them with new subs or just make do with fewer subs is up to you; just remember to keep your users in mind when choosing which subs to carry. .TOPIC: 4. Paths Configuration This is the section of VCONFIG in which you can configure and optimize VBBS' use of your hard-drive space. 1) Main VBBS Directory (\VBBS) ═══════════════════ The system executables (*.EXE) belong in this directory, along with WFC.COM and your configuration (*.CFG) files. This should be your current directory when you are exe- cuting the program. A typical path might be C:\VBBS 2) Scripts Directory (\V) ═════════════════ This is where VBBS expects to find any script and func- tion-block files: *.V *.COD *.LIT *.FB 3) Data Directory (\DATA) ══════════════ Where VBBS expects to find system data files: USERFILE.DAT CONNECT .DAT NET.1 ... NET.999 USERFILE.IDX AREACODE.NET STATVBBS.DAT NET .0 4) System Text Files (\TXT) ═════════════════ Where VBBS expects to find system text files: *.TXT *.ANS *.ASC *.MNU *.PDM Note that many online-game programs generate score files that may be placed in this directory and viewed using the [B]ulletins option from the Main Menu. 5) CONTROL.DAT Directory ═════════════════════ Specifies in which directory VBBS will maintain the tem- porary system file containing the current user's informa- tion. Multi-user installations NEED to set up a RAMdrive for this file; the same is also *recommended* for single- line installations (see "Optimizing VBBS" for details on setting up a RAMdrive). 6) Temporary Directory (\TEMP) ═══════════════════ This is the directory VBBS will use for temporary storage of incoming network packets and files. The directory you specify here should not be used for any other purpose, and it is NOT recommended that you use a RAMdrive for this directory (if the power goes, you could lose an entire net packet). 7) Database Directory (\DB) ══════════════════ This is the directory where VBBS will store ALL database information, such as messages and file descriptions. 8) Upload/E-Mail Directory (\SYSOP) ═══════════════════════ Specifies path for storage of E-mail with attached files and uploads from users (if you have all uploads going to the \SYSOP directory). --> IMPORTANT NOTE: You may specify whatever paths you wish for these directories (and will need to for di- rectories you wish to place in a RAMdrive), but it is much less confusing to use the default paths set up by the INSTALL.EXE program. It is recommended that you run the system diagnostics anytime you alter any of the settings in this section of VCONFIG, to en- sure that VBBS can find the files it needs in order to operate properly. .TOPIC: 5. Download Protocols PROTOCOLS are the means by which files are transferred to and from your system. The original protocol was XModem, devel- oped by Ward Christensen; there are many more to choose from now. VBBS comes "out of the package" preconfigured to handle XModem, YModem, ZModem, ZModem-Batch, and HS-Link protocols and it own proprietary VXY protocol. Other protocols may added at your discretion. Each protocol is configurable by: 1) Which letter the user will press to select that protocol 2) The name and description of the protocol 3) DOS command line to run protocol. Parameters passed are %1 COM port %2 baud rate %3 filename %4 handshake %5 UART rate %6 port base %7 port IRQ %8 channel number %9 upload directory 4) Batch compatible? (Y/N) For most installations, the preconfigured protocols will be more than sufficient; should you wish to add other protocols, consult the protocol documentation for information on construc- ting the proper command line. --> IMPORTANT NOTE: It is HIGHLY recommended that you use the FULL path when you specify the filename of your transfer protocols; these programs are notorious for their pickiness in this re- gard. For example, with ZModem, you might use the following command line to set it up to receive files (upload protocol): C:\VBBS\DSZ port %1 ha %4 restrict rz .TOPIC: 6. Upload Protocols See 5. Download Protocols .TOPIC: 7. Network Configuration Selecting this option brings you to a list of networks, which is derived from NETWORKS.LST, a master multi-net listing. NETWORKS.LST is updated periodically as needed and should be placed in your /NET subdirectory. What happens after you get to the first screen of the NETWORK Configuration depends on what type of network you're configu- ring. Type 1 Networks (VirtualNET-Type) ═════════════════════════════════ When you select this type of network, you will be prompted for the following information: 1) Node Number Your system's unique assigned network ad- dress, expressed as a number (e.g., 2056). 2) Net Directory The network directory to be used by this VNET-based network; each network you set up must have its own UNIQUE directory. 3) Protocols Allowed Options are Zmodem, Ymodem, HSlink, and VXY protocols 4) Protocol Prefer. Protocol that will be used when your system initiates network transfers. 5) Server Your server's node number. 6) Server Phone # Your server's phone number. 7) Server Call Whether call to server is LOCAL or LONG DISTANCE. 8) Server Threshold Number of kilobytes that must be pending before automatic callouts to a server are allowed. Between the Server Call and Server Threshold settings, VBBS deter- mines if and when to call out to your server for a network transfer. If your server is LOCAL, the system will call whenever the threshold is met or excee- ded; if LONG DISTANCE, the system will call, once per day, between the hours of 11:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. if the threshold is met or exceeded. 9) Server Macro "Macro" file needed to log onto the ser- ver's BBS, if any. Most of the time this is not needed, and can be left at <none>. A) Server Password Network server's password (if used). B) ZIP Trigger Level Default 50k for prezipping packets before initiating network callout. C) Add/Edit/List Used only if your system functions as the Clients server for other systems. More on this in a moment -- I can only indent so far. E. Edit Extended Permits you to designate up to four Connections different VirtualNET servers to connect to. You must create an EXTEND.0 file in your main VBBS directory listing the server node number and your own. U) Uninstall This Allows you to drop participation in a net- Network work. VBBS will prompt for confirmation. If your system functions as server for one or more other systems, you need to configure each client separately using the C) option above. When you select this option, you get a screen prompting for the following information: 1) Client Node Number 6) Client Password 2) Client Phone Number 7) Client Protocol 3) Client Call 8) Client Compression 4) Client Threshold 5) Client Macro D) Delete This Client These data fields function exactly as do the "server" fields de- scribed above. If your system will connect to more than one VirtualNET server, selecting option E) Edit Extended Connections will bring up the following menu: 1. Node Number: 2. Phone #: 3. Call: 4. Threshold: 5. Macro: 6. Password: D. Delete this Extended Connect Type 2 Networks (WWIVnet-type) ══════════════════════════════ When you select this type of network, you will be promp- ted for the following information: 1) Node Number Your WWIVnet node number. 2) Data Directory The FULL path to your WWIV \DATA direc- tory. 3) Mode This is either NET (for WWIVnet-style networks) or LINK (for WWIVLink-style networks). 4) EXE Directory The directory containing the WWIV and VWW4 executable files. 5) Dialout Init Your modem's init string for calling String WWIV systems. Type 3 Networks (UUCP-type) ═══════════════════════════ When you select this type of network, you'll be prompted for the following information: 1) System Name Your UUCP system address. 2) News Directory Full path to your NEWS directory (for newsgroup usage). 3) User Directory Full path to your USER directory (for E-mail usage). Type 4 Networks (FIDO-type) ═══════════════════════════ When you choose this type of network, you'll be prompted for the following information: 1) Fido Address Your FIDOnet address in standard format. 2) NetMail Directory Full path to the directory into which incoming FIDOnet packets will be placed. 3) OutBound Direc- Full path to the directory in which out- tory going net packets are stored. 4) Archiver FIDO archiver to use (e.g., PKZIP -U). 5) UnArchiver FIDO unarchiver to use (PKUNZIP, etc.). 6) FIDO Front-End This can be FRONTDOOR, BINKLEY, or STAND- ALONE (the default). 7) Nodelist: Name of the NODELIST 8) Zones: Options are 1-8 D) Dial List Allows editing of your dialing list. R) Routing Specifies mail routing. A) AKA's Allows for other Fido-type networks In each case, you may select [U] to uninstall the network; you will be prompted for confirmation. For more information on the various networks available, see MULTINET.DOC and NETGUIDE.DOC, as well as the documentation for the various network interface softwares (see below). --> IMPORTANT NOTE: In order to install networks of Types 2, 3, or 4, you will need the proper network interface software (VWW4.EXE, VUUCP.EXE, or VFIDO.EXE, respectively). These programs are freely available to sysops, and may be downloaded from any VBBS support board. They are fully functional during the shareware trial period, but are automatically disabled if VBBS is not registered after this period. .TOPIC: 8. Events Configuration VBBS allows up to 20 timed events per day. Possibilities for these events include your daily external maintenance routine (usually done through a batch file or three), network dialouts, online game maintenance, etc. 1) Time ════ The time the event is to run, entered in HH:MM format using military time. A time of 00:00 disables the event. 2) Command Line ════════════ The DOS command line or batch file to execute. For exam- ple, you might enter C:\VBBS\EXTERNAL.BAT for an external daily-cleanup routine. Complete pathnames are not required if the routines are located in your main VBBS directory, but it's better to make sure. There are a number of external utilities specifically designed for use with VBBS; they are listed in UTIL.DOC. For online-game maintenance, please consult the game documentation. .TOPIC: 9. Control Panel Configuration In addition to the commands already configured in the WFC menu, VBBS allows you to assign the F1 through F10 keys for what- ever functions you desire. ╔═╗ If you find yourself continually dropping to DOS to run ╚═╝ the same program over and over, it's probably a good idea to assign a function key to handle it. The default VBBS setup suggests some possibilities for using the F-keys. F1 through F4 come preconfigured, but that's easy to change if you so desire. F1 Looks for a batch file called TERMINAL.BAT, which you cre- ate using an ASCII text editor. This batch file should contain the command line that will start up your communi- cations program (Telix, etc.). Here is an example: C:\VBBS\TELIX.BAT and put TELIX.BAT in the main VBBS directory, and all is right with the world. F2 Calls up the system log, where information about the day's callers and what they did is located. Viewing the log requires the DOS command line TYPE C:\VBBS\DATA\BBS.LOG | MORE (your actual path may vary, depending on what you've set up in the PATHS configuration) or an external text-brow- sing utility, such as LIST.COM. Note that the DOS com- mand line above does not allow you to back up through the text, use arrow keys, or PgUp/PgDown; I thoroughly recommend getting LIST.COM. F3 Same as F2, but brings up the network log (the filename is NETWORK.LOG and should be in your \DATA directory). F4 Same as F2, but brings up the cumulative system statistics (the filename is DAYSTATS.LOG and should be in your \DATA directory). This one is particularly useful for tracking usage cycles and upload/download trends. Other potential uses for the F-keys include invoking a shell program (such as DCOM or StereoShell), a text editor (the DOS 5.0 editor or similar), or other programs you frequently run outside of VBBS. Be aware that several add-on utilities have been specifically developed for VBBS to call up sub-menus from F-keys so that unlimited flexibility is available to you. .TOPIC: A. Doors Configuration VBBS will run almost all modern doors and online games created for use on BBSes, either straight from the command line or through the use of an external door converter, such as DOORWAY or DoorMaster. Doors can be called from function blocks or from scripts, as well as this internal doors configuration. VBBS shrinks out of memory for all external programs, re- serving only a small amount of RAM for its "hooks" that allow the user to return to the BBS. VBBS creates the CHAIN.TXT, DOOR.SYS, and DORINFOx.DEF "drop files" which contain user infor- mation for use by the door program; most doors will accept at least one of these formats. When you choose item [A] from the VCONFIG Main Menu, you will see a scrolling-window screen listing the door programs you have installed, along with the SL needed to access them. Moving the highlight bar and pressing [Enter] selects that program's configuration entry. When configuring a door program in VCONFIG, you will be prompted for the following information: 1) Program Name ════════════ The name of the door program, as it will be presented to the user. Try to keep it short; long names will be trun- cated (not good if you like to include version numbers). 2) Command Line ════════════ The name of the batch file or command line to execute the door program, along with any command-line parameters that need to be passed to the door. Again, full pathnames are recommended. 3) Security Lvl ════════════ The MSL (remember *that* abbreviation?) needed to access the program. 4) Access Flag ═══════════ If set, allows only those users with matching access flags to access the program. Access flags are set in the user editor; for more information, see "The User Editor". ╔═╗ Access flags can be useful in "beta-testing" door programs ╚═╝ to see if you've installed them correctly. Before announ- cing you've got a new online game, give a couple of your trusted users access to the game using access flags and get them to try to crash the game, tweaking your game set- up as necessary. Once all the glitches are fixed, THEN drop the access flag requirement and announce your new on- liner. 5) Single User ═══════════ Indicates whether the game is playable on single nodes or multi-nodally. Single-line installations should leave this set to YES. 6) Credit Cost ═══════════ Allows sysops running a credit system to charge credits for door program access. This is configurable for each individual game. ╔═╗ Setting up a credit cost for games can either be a great ╚═╝ boost for your message-base traffic, or it can be a night- mare. If you use this feature, make sure you don't set your credit costs so high that it takes an inordinate number of posts or uploads to earn enough credits to play the games. D) Delete This Entry ═════════════════ Self-explanatory. ╔═╗ Getting door programs to run correctly, especially upon ╚═╝ exiting and re-entering the BBS, is probably the most difficult task a sysop faces. Door games are rapidly becoming more complex, and as they do so, their indivi- dual requirements and quirks are doing likewise. In installing door programs, patience IS a virtue; many times, installation involves a good deal of trial and er- ror. The importance of reading the door program's docu- mentation, especially with regard to installation, can not be overstressed. In addition, one of the auxiliary documentation files, VDOOR, contains sample batch files and command lines for some of the more popular online games. .TOPIC: B. Voting Booth VBBS' Voting Booth allows you to present your users with a perpetual survey in which they can "vote" on particular issues you define. Frequently-asked questions deal with political can- didates, which online games should be registered/discontinued, reasons for calling the BBS, how users first heard of your BBS, how they like changes you've made, etc. When you select this option from the VCONFIG Main Menu, you will see a scrolling window containing the questions them- selves. To select a question for editing, move the highlight bar to the correct entry and press [Enter]. The question and its responses will then be available for editing. To add a new voting question, press [F1] at the scrolling- window screen. You may then type in a question and supply up to eight responses from which your users may choose. The poll results are displayed as the number of users choosing a particular answer, along with the percentage of the total number of votes each choice received. In the default START.V, if new questions exist, when a user logs on, she is given the opportunity to vote. If the user is up to date with the survey, the voting questions are ignored. You may use option [D] from Screen Three of the MAIN configura- tion to disable this automatic checking if you wish (see p. 15 for details). There are several VSCRIPT-based voting programs avail- able, any of which may be used in lieu of the default voting procedures. .TOPIC: C. Random Messages VBBS features an optional "random messages" function that can display one-, two-, or three-line messages right before the user initially sees the Main Menu. Random messages are commonly used for quips and quotes or friendly advertisements for other BBSes in the area; you may, of course, use them for whatever pur- pose you wish (or not use them at all, if you so desire). To add a random message, press [F1] at the scrolling- window initial screen and type in your message. DO NOT press [Enter], as that will delete the currently-highlighted random message. Random messages are displayed by including the RANDOM com- mand from anywhere within a VSCRIPT or function block. .TOPIC: D. Archive View Configuration VBBS allows you to view the contents of a compressed file within the file transfer directories. The default VBBS comes configured for .ZIP, .ARC, .ARJ, .ZOO, and .LZH archives; you may add others if you wish by pressing [F1] at the initial scrol- ling window and adding the information when prompted. Note that in order to view the contents of an archive for- mat, you must have the appropriate archive program where the sys- tem can find it; including the full path to the program in the command line is usually the best way to do this. .TOPIC: E. Text Sections Configuration Text files from within various directories on your system may be configured here for display. Types of text files commonly configured here include (but are not limited to): ∙ game scoreboards ∙ general information about your BBS ∙ standard operating procedures / rules for your BBS ∙ information about viruses ∙ rules of "netiquette" and so on. To add a new entry to the text section configuration, press [F1] at the scrolling-window screen. You will be prompted for the following information: 1) Name ════ The name of the text section, as it will appear to the user. 2) Path ════ The full pathname to the directory in which the text file(s) is located. 3) Security Level ══════════════ The MSL needed to access this particular text section. 4) Access Flag ═══════════ The access flag needed to access this particular section (please see "The User Editor" for more on access flags). To edit an entry, move the highlight bar to the desired entry and press [Enter]. You will have a chance to edit the above information. In VCONFIG, you can define any directory on your system as containing text for a defined subject area. Text directories may be networked by using a script maintaining a database for text files. .TOPIC: F. Multi-Feedback Configuration Here you can configure the feedback capabilities of your VBBS installation. This will allow users to E-mail you (or any co-sysops) quickly and easily. To add an entry into the multi-feedback list, press [F1] at the scrolling-window screen. You will then be prompted for the following information: 1) Description ═══════════ The name/title you want your users to see, like "The Great and Powerful Wizard of Oz", "Sysop", or whatever. 2) Handle ══════ The addressee's user handle. If your system does not al- low handles, put the addressee's real name here. 3) User # ══════ The addressee's user number. For most sysops, this will be '1'. 4) Net Address ═══════════ The addressee's node number, regardless of network. For example, my net address would read '2056', without a user number or an '@' symbol in front. Since most feed- back is to a local sysop/co-sysop, most sysops will only need to enter their OWN node number here. 5) Network # ═════════ The network on which the addressee will be receiving his feedback. The network number corresponds to the list in the NETWORKS configuration screen; for example, '2' would be on WWIVnet, '3' would be on WWIVLink, etc. You may delete an entry by selecting it and pressing [D]. You will NOT be prompted for confirmation. .TOPIC: G. Print Registration Form Pressing [G] at the VCONFIG main menu sends the registration form to your printer. If you're setting up a new installation, please take the time to print out a copy of the form. It contains the latest pricing information, as well as frequent "bonus deals" on registering, pricing information on the Virtual Developer's Toolkit, etc. .TOPIC: H. VBBS Diagnostics This useful feature helps you look for problems in your setup; with any luck, if you've followed the instructions this far, you won't have any problems. If you DO receive an error message upon running VBBS, chances are this program will point out where the problem is. ╔═╗ It's also a good idea to run the diagnostics if you've ╚═╝ made any changes in the PATHS configuration, just to make sure VBBS can find everything it needs to run properly. If you get a "Path Missing" error, especially when the diagnostics are checking the file transfer areas, the most probable explanation is that the database has been set up in VCONFIG, but the DOS directory for that data- base does not exist yet. If this is the case, you need to create that database's directory in DOS. .TOPIC: Computer Etiquette ╔════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗ ║ APPENDIX I COMPUTER ETIQUETTE ║ ╚════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ See Multi-Mail Etiquette The following are a few points of general BBS etiquette. If you wish to maintain your welcome on whatever system you happen to call, it would be to your advantage to observe these few rules. 1. Don't habitually hang up on a system. Every Sysop is aware that accidental disconnections happen once in a while but we do tend to get annoyed with people who hang up every single time they call because they are either too lazy to terminate properly or they labor under the mistaken assumption that the 10 seconds they save online is going to significantly alter their phone bill. "Call Waiting" is not an acceptable excuse for long. If you have it and intend to use the line to call BBS systems, you should either have it disconnected or find some other way to circumvent it. 2. Don't do dumb things like leave yourself a message that says "Just testing to see if this thing works". Where do you think all those other messages came from if it didn't work? Also, don't leave whiney messages that say "Please leave me a mess- age". If ever there was a person to ignore, it's the one who begs someone to leave him a message. If you want to get messages, start by reading the ones that are already online and getting involved in the conversations that exist. 3. Don't use the local equivalent of a chat command unless you really have some clear cut notion of what you want to say and why. Almost any Sysop is more than happy to answer questions or offer help concerning his system. Unfortunately, because about 85% of the people who call want to chat and about 99% of those people have absolutely nothing to say besides "How old are you?" or something equally irrelevent, fewer Sysops even bother answering their pagers every day. 4. When you are offered a place to leave comments when exiting a system, don't try to use this area to ask the Sysop questions. It is very rude to the other callers to expect the Sysop to carry on a half visible conversation with someone. If you have a question or statement to make and expect the Sysop to respond to it, it should always be made in the section where all the other messages are kept. This allows the Sysop to help many people with the same problem with the least amount of effort on his part. 5. Before you log on with your favorite psuedonym, make sure that handles are allowed. Most Sysops don't want people using handles on the system. There is not enough room for them, they get silly games of one-upmanship started, it is much nicer to deal with a person on a personal basis, and last but not least, everyone should be willing to take full responsibility for his actions or comments instead of slinging mud from behind a phoney name. VBBS 6.20 Documentation -- I-2 Also when signing on, why not sign on just like you would introduce yourself in your own society? How many of you usually introduce yourselves as Joe W Smutz the 3rd or 4th? 6. Take the time to log on properly. There is no such place as RIV, HB, ANA or any of a thousand other abbreviations people use instead of their proper city. You may think that everyone knows what RIV is supposed to mean, but every BBS has people calling from all around the country and I assure you that someone from Podunk, Iowa has no idea what you're talking about. 7. Don't go out of your way to make rude observations like "Gee, this system is slow". Every BBS is a tradeoff of features. You can generally assume that if someone is running a particular brand of software, that he is either happy with it or he'll decide to find another system he likes better. It does nobody any good when you make comments about something that you perceive to be a flaw when it is running the way the Sysop wants it to. Constructive criticism is somewhat more welcome. If you have an alternative method that seems to make good sense then run it up the flagpole. 8. When leaving messages, stop and ask yourself whether it is necessary to make it private. Unless there is some particular reason that everyone shouldn't know what you're saying, don't make it private. We don't call them PUBLIC bulletin boards for nothing, folks. It's very irritating to other callers when there are huge blank spots in the messages that they can't read and it stifles interaction between callers. 9. If your favorite BBS has a time limit, observe it. If it doesn't, set a limit for yourself and abide by it instead. Don't tie up a systems time, money, and patience as a new user and run right to the other numbers list. There is probably very little that's more annoying to any Sysop than to have his board completely passed over by you on your way to another board. 10. Have the common courtesy to pay attention to what passes in front of your face. When a BBS displays your name and asks "Is this you?", don't say yes when you can see perfectly well that it is mispelled. Also, don't start asking questions about simple operation of a system until you have thouroghly read all of the instructions that are available to you. I assure you that it isn't any fun to answer a question for the thousandth time when the answer is prominently displayed in the system bulletins or instructions. Use some common sense when you ask your questions. The person who said "There's no such thing as a stupid question" obviously never operated a BBS. VBBS 6.20 Documentation -- I-3 11. Don't be personally abusive. It doesn't matter whether you like a Sysop or think he's a jerk. The fact remains that he has a large investment in making his computer available, usually out of the goodness of his heart. If you don't like a Sysop or his system, just remember that you can change the channel any time you want. Besides, whether you are aware of it or not, if you make yourself enough of an annoyance to any Sysop, he can take the time to trace you down and make your life, or that of your parents, miserable. 12. Keep firmly in mind that you are a guest on any BBS you happen to call. Don't think of logging on as one of your basic human rights. Every person that has ever put a computer system online for the use of other people has spent a lot of time and money to do so. While he doesn't expect nonstop pats on the back, it seems reasonable that he should at least be able to expect fair treatment from his callers. This includes following any of the rules for system use he has laid out without grumping about it. Every Sysop has his own idea of how he wants his system to be run. It is really none of your business why he wants to run it the way he does. Your business is to either abide by what he says, or call some other BBS where you feel that you can obey the rules. ALWAYS REMEMBER... YOU ARE A GUEST ! Computer Etiquette, By Mel North .TOPIC: Multi-Mail Etiquette Multi-Mail and Mass Etiquette Multi-Mail and Multi-Mail with attached files, should be limited to a MAXIMUM of 30 Nodes. Using Multi-Mail to advertise your Network or BBS or Message Base, will only make other sysops angry, because they have to pay for the connect time to transfer this mail. While your message may be small, let's say 25k, if 1000 sysops do the same thing every sysop will be transfering 25,000k of Multi-Mail. Please use the proper subs to advertise. Please leave Multi-Mail to it's intended purpose, to contact CURRENT SUBSCRIBERS to a sub, or CURRENT subscribers to your network. Most Networks have a provision restricting the use of Multi- Mail. One should not use Multi-Mail when it is expressly against network policy. In many cases, doing so will result in your dismissal from the network. .TOPIC: Questions With Answers ╔════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗ ║ APPENDIX A QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS ║ ╚════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ New SysOp's frequently have many questions about VBBS and getting it set up properly; these are usually handled in the var- ious support subs. There are, however, questions that keep crop- ping up again and again as new SysOp's come online and into Vir- tualNET. The following is a continuing compilation of the most- asked questions about VBBS, taken from the file MOSTASKD.DOC on the author's "Virtual Technologies" BBS; other material has been added as needed. ═══════════════ Q: VBBS seems to be reinitializing the modem every 5 minutes. A: VBBS checks to see if it needs to dial out for network trans- fers every so often. The interval is defined under the MAIN Configuration screen of VCONFIG. The default is 300, which is 5 minutes. You may wish to adjust this option to better suit your needs. ═══════════════ Q: I've added new networked subs, but they don't seem to be get- ting out, or anything coming in. A: Make sure you run "Compile Network Info" from the DATABASE Configuration screen in VCONFIG every time you make changes to the way your subs are networked. ═══════════════ Q: I have trouble getting VBBS to answer the phone; The modem picks up for 2 seconds, and then hangs back up before a con- nection can be made. A: Make sure S0=0 and E0 are part of your VBBS modem init string. Q: I have trouble getting VBBS to answer the phone; The modem picks up, but when the connection is made, and the modem passes the result back to VBBS, VBBS hangs up. A: This problem tends to be more frequent with some of the newer, low-cost V32/V32bis modems, but it can be easily fixed through proper configuration of the modem. Some of the newer, low-cost V.32/V.32bis modems have different ways of returning result codes. The key is telling the modem to report the correct format which is compatible with VBBS. VBBS 6.20 Documentation -- A-2 For example, one of the modems I have here can be told to re- port the connect results 3 different ways: 1) CONNECT <DTE Rate> In this format, VBBS connects OK, but the modem reports the wrong baud rate back to the computer. The DTE rate is the rate at which the computer talks to the modem, and in most cases, this never varies. 2) Super Extended Result Codes This format isn't compatible with anything. In this for- mat, 3 or 4 separate lines are displayed, in a format like: CARRIER <DCE Rate> CONNECT <DTE Rate> PROTOCOL <Error control> 3) CONNECT <DCE Rate> This is the one we want. The DCE rate is the speed of the modem-to-modem connection, which is what we want. When this format is used, VBBS will work just fine. To configure my modem to use the correct format (#3), I send it ATW2. The proper command for your modem may vary. Check the modem manual. ═══════════════ Q: I've added new topic areas, but they don't show up when I try to list them from the BBS. A: Line 2 of every FB file (Function Block) controls what topics (database groups) are enabled at the current FB prompt. For example, line 2 of the default START.FB that comes with VBBS looks like: A It enables topic A only. If you added message-base topics B, C, and D, your line 2 should look like: ABCD Line 2 of the default FILES.FB that comes with VBBS looks like: F VBBS 6.20 Documentation -- A-3 It enables topic F only. If you added more file-base topics, for example G, H, and I, your line 2 should look like: FGHI ═══════════════ Q: When I try to display a network listing, it doesn't print anything. A: Each network interface utility (VNET, VWW4, VUUCP, VFIDO) is responsible for generating network listings for its type of network. Normally, generation of these lists is automatic, whenever a new BBSLIST or NODELIST is received. However, new installations may need to "jump-start" their network listings as follows: VNET: Use the command VNET /A NETWORKID=# VWW4: Delete file BBSDATA.IDX in your WWIVnet DATA directory and use the command VWW4 B NETWORKID=# VUUCP: Not applicable. VFIDO: Use the command VFIDO /A NETWORKID=# (normally 4) "#" in the above examples refers to the networks ID #, as given in the NETWORKS.LST network masterlist file. ═══════════════ Q: The call-back verifier refuses to verify. A: The file that MUST be set up in order for the callback veri- fier to work is called ALLOWED.CBV, and it should be located in the VBBS \DATA directory. The format for the file is ASCII, one entry per line, as fol- lows: XXX-YYY Z where XXX is the area code, YYY is the prefix, Z is a "speci- fier" that tells the CBV how to dial this area code-prefix com- bination. VBBS 6.20 Documentation -- A-4 Specifier Type of Call How Dialed ───────── ──────────── ────────── + Local YYY-???? - LD within Area Code 1-YYY-???? $ LD outside Area Code 1-XXX-YYY-???? / Local outside Area Code XXX-YYY-???? RESTRICT.CBV specifies the list of RESTRICTED phone numbers that may not be dialed; it is not essential that this file be set up, but if you're going to use the CBV, you NEED to set it up. The individual SysOp's who use the CBV are responsible for any char- ges incurred by its use. ═══════════════ Q: I want to make a neat tagline for my BBS. How do I do it? A: First of all, keep in mind the limits on system taglines in VirtualNET: 1) Maximum of 3 lines 2) Maximum of 300 bytes 3) Heart-code ANSI colors ONLY Go into an ANSI drawing program (like TheDraw) and draw the tagline you want; block-save it in ASCII format. Then, en- ter VBBS and use the [E]dit Any File option from the SysOp Menu to bring the tagline file into the FSE. There, you can use the [Ctrl-P] color-change feature to add color to the tagline. Once you're satisfied with it, save the file. Because the FSE saves the heart-codes for ANY color changes you make inside it -- even experimental color changes -- you should bring the tagline back into the DOS 5.0 editor or some other text editor, where the heart-codes will become visible. Delete any unnecessary color-change codes. Save the file again. To check to see if the tagline meets the byte limit, use the trusty DIR command: dir <tagfilename> If the size of the file is greater than 300 bytes, you need to edit it down some. =============== Q: When I run daily cleanup, my bbs crashes with a 'Hit any Key' message. What do I do? A: This indicates that one or more of your databases has been corrupted by a hard drive error. Note the database name just prior to when the crash occured. Then, go into the DB subdirectory and delete the respective .bin, .dat, and .qsc files for that database. Cleanup will then funciton normally. .TOPIC: License Agreement LICENSE AGREEMENT TERM This license is effective until terminated. You may terminate it at any time by destroying all copies of the Software covered by this Agreement. It will also terminate upon conditions set forth elsewhere in this Agreement or if you fail to comply with any term or condition of this Agreement. You agree upon such termination to destroy this Software, including all copies, functionally-equivalent derivatives, and all portions and modifications thereof in any form. LIMITED WARRANTY This Software is provided 'as is' without warranty of any kind, either expressed or implied, including, but not limited to, the implied warranties of merchantability, and fitness for a particular purpose. The entire risk as to the quality and performance of this Software is with you, should the Software prove defective, you (not Virtual Technologies) assume the entire cost of all necessary servicing, repair, or correction. Virtual Technologies does not warrant that the functions contained in the Software will meet your requirements or that the operation of the Software will be uninterrupted or error free. However, Virtual Technologies does warrant the diskette on which the Software is furnished to be free from defects in materials and workmanship under normal use for a period of ninety (90) days from the date of purchase. Virtual Technologies entire liability and your exclusive remedy shall the replacement of any diskette not meeting Virtual Technlogies "Limited Warranty" and which is returned to Virtual Technologies. In no event will Virtual Technologies be liable to you for any damages, including any lost profits, lost savings or other incidental or consequential damages arising out of the use or inability to use the Software even if Virtual Technologies or its authorized representative has been advised of the possibility of such damages, or for any claim by any other party. Some states do not allow the limitation or exclusion of liability for incidental or consequential damages, so the above limitation or exclusion may not apply to you. This warranty gives you specific rights and you may also have other rights which vary from state to state or within foreign countries. GENERAL You may not sublicense, assign, or otherwise transfer this License or Software except as expressly provided in this Agreement. Any attempt to otherwise sublicense, assign, or transfer any of the rights, duties or obligations hereunder is expressly prohibited and will terminate this Agreement. All Agreements covering this Software (including but not limited to any and all updates, upgrades, and enhancements to this Software or any portion thereof, bearing the same registration number) shall be deemed to be counterparts of one and the same License Agreement instrument. By installing or using this software, you acknowledge that you have read this agreement, understand it, and agree to be bound by its terms and conditions. You further agree that it is the complete exclusive statement of this Agreement between us, which supercedes any proposal or prior agreement, oral or written, and any other communications betrween us relating to the subject matter of this Agreement. This Agreement shall be governed by the laws of the state of Michigan. .TOPIC: VBBS OS/2 VBBS-OS/2 OVERVIEW Scope _____ This document provides information specific to VBBS-OS2. Overall, VBBS DOS documentation applies to the OS/2 version with respect to features and functions. Where VBBS-OS/2 and the DOS documentation conflict, information provided below supercedes that given in other sections. Why VBBS-OS/2? ______________ OS/2 is a powerful operating system, allowing multithreaded multitasking at the operating system level without kludgey OS shells. OS/2 virtualizes ram; unlike DOS which swaps memory in and out of the "base" 640 ram that DOS addresses directly. OS/2 has superior (and faster) I/O control in multiuser applications. Now, with OS/2 2.0 adding functional DOS and WINDOWS support, REXX and more, OS/2 is a viable OS for many people with high end PC's. In every way, OS/2 has been designed to be a superior multitasking environment to DOS. The one drawback to OS/2's performance has been the inefficient way it handles DOS and WINDOWS communications programs. Because these programs require a great deal of CPU attention, they degrade OS/2 system performance significantly, compared to equivalent OS/2 programs. VBBS has been designed from the start to be a multiline communications program. Written in assembly and Quick Basic, it is a very efficient program. Since an OS/2 compiler is readily available for programs written in Quick Basic and most of the code could be a direct port, the marriage of VBBS and OS/2 became the next logical step in the evolution of VBBS. No other move could produced such dramatic performance results for single machine, multinode VBBS so easily at this point in time. From the users standpoint, VBBS-OS/2 is identical to VBBS-DOS. Every function is identical. OS/2 System Considerations __________________________ HPFS vs. FAT Although HPFS is generally regarded as faster (higher performance) than FAT file systems, it is only advantageous under certain circumstances. For a reason unknown at this time, VBBS disk intensive operations are at least twice as fast with FAT as they are with HPFS. It is strongly recommended that HPFS NOT be used to run VBBS at this time. Booting with HPFS is fine, as long as VBBS is run from a FAT partition or a NETWORK drive. Virtual Technologies is working with IBM to resolve the HPFS performance issue. Up to date information on this progress will be posted in the VirtualNet sub "VBBS OS/2 Support", AUTOSUBSCRIBE sub type 472629. We recommend the following hard drive partitioning scheme if HPFS is to be used: BOOT MANAGER (1) 60 MB PRIMARY HPFS partition (Enough for OS/2, SWAPFILE, ETC.) (1) 1 MB PRIMARY FAT partition (Just enough to boot DOS) (1) Extended FAT partition (To run applications such as VBBS from) NOTE: Using this arrangement will result in EITHER primary partition (whichever is selected as active) being mapped as the C drive and the extended DOS partition will always be the D drive. OS/2 1.3 Though not tested, VBBS-OS/2 should run fine in multinode situations on a single 80286 based machine, running OS/2 1.3 with a minimum of four megabites of RAM and a 60 megabyte hard drive. Many OS/2 old timers that do not use DOS applications still prefer OS/2 1.3 because of it's leaner system requirements. OS/2 2.x OS/2 2.x requires at least a 386sx to run. To run VBBS-OS/2 effectively, at least 8 megabites of RAM and a 125 megabyte hard drive should be used. Though OS/2 2.x will run on lesser systems, performance and storage space will quickly become issues on systems configured in such a manner. Although VBBS-OS/2 should run fine on OS/2 1.3, it has been tested extensively only on OS/2 2.x. As a result, there are some system settings that we can pass on as a result of our experience that may help you. CONFIG.SYS Settings: TIMESLICE=32 (Minimum timeslice OS/2 will use) MAXWAIT=1 (Number of wait units system will wait before checking other tasks) SWAPPATH=C:\OS2\SYSTEM 4096 8192 (This controls the size of the swapfile. If you have room on you HD, increasing the start size to 4 MB and the max size to 8 MB seems to help when running with 8 MB DRAM) DEVICE=C:\OS2\VDISK.SYS 16 128 16 (This will create a Virtual disk to use for the CONTROL.DAT directory. Place this at the end of your CONFIG.SYS file.) VBBS-OS/2 has been tested with OS/2 version 2.0 through each beta version of 2.1 and now the 2.1 GA release. OS/2 2.1 is recommended because most users report superior stability. Digiboard OS/2 drivers are available for Digiboards from the manufacturer for both 1.3 and 2.0. Communications Ports OS/2 will not allow programs to share interrupts (except on properly configured Microchannel machines). The easiest way to run two nodes would be to use a bus mouse, making comport 1 and comport 2 available for modem use. VBBS-OS/2 VCONFIG Installing and running VBBS-OS/2 is nearly identical to the procedure used for VBBS-DOS. The main difference is that the VBBS-OS/2 Control Panel has been stripped down. Most WFC functions are not needed, since WFC functions can be handled as separate tasks. Channel configuration is handled identically to the DOS version, HOWEVER the OS/2 2.x GA release does NOT support locked com port speeds of over 19,200 baud with supplied COM.SYS drivers. Since VBBS-OS/2 is untested under OS/2 1.3 as of this writing, locking the com port at speeds over 19,200 baud is not recommended without experimentation. OS/2 1.3 and 2.0 have 16550 UART support. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED: Communications performance can be greatly enhanced by locking the com port at 38400 instead of 19200. Since the stock com drivers supplied with OS/2 do not allow this, replacement drivers must be used. We recommend Ray Gwinn's SIO drivers. These are shareware, and curently registration is only $15.00 for four ports. Additional ports are supported at an additional cost. They really are outstanding drivers, and well worth the money for all OS/2 communications, not just VBBS. SIO is available at: The Rubber Room, 203-877-5856 and 203-876-0695 Virtual Technologies, 616-399-8791 and 616-399-4818 1. Obtain a copy of Ray Gwinn's SIO102.ZIP. 2. Unzip it into a directory something like this: C:\SIO 3. Modify your config.sys file, removing the COM.SYS and VCOM.SYS drivers, and replacing them with SIO.SYS and VSIO.SYS. EX: REM DEVICE=C:\OS2\COM.SYS REM DEVICE=C:\OS2\MDOS\VCOM.SYS DEVICE=C:\SIO\SIO.SYS DEVICE=C:\SIO\VSIO.SYS 4. No special paramters are necessary for normal operation of com ports 1 and 2. However, com port can be configured however needed by specifying the port, base address and IRQ. EX: DEVICE=C:\SIO\SIO.SYS (1,3F8,4) (2,2F8,3) DEVICE=C:\SIO\VSIO.SYS RUNNING VBBS-OS/2 VBBS-OS/2 is started similarly to VBBS-DOS. Different channels are started by passing the channel number to VBBS.EXE as a parameter just as in the DOS version. A CMD file is included to get started. The shareware version supports two active nodes and one local node. EX: BBS 0 Starts Local Channel; BBS 1 Starts Channel 1; BBS 2 Starts Channel 2; : : BBS 8 Starts Channel 8. VBBS runs only in full screen mode for optimum efficiency. Multiple VBBS nodes can be started under OS/2 in the startup sequence by including the following in the STARTUP.CMD file: --- Begin STARTUP.CMD --- start bbs 0 start bbs 1 start vsysmon --- End STARTUP.CMD --- VBBS-OS/2 MULTINET NETWORKING VBBS-OS/2 fully supports FIDO type and the new Vnet type networks using the VXY protocol. Care must be taken to make sure that if VBBS-DOS and VBBS-OS/2 will share databases, that network configurations do NOT allow HSLINK, as this protocol is not currently available for VBBS/OS2. A setting in VCONFIG allowing DSZ for Virtualnet type networks will enable VXY's ZMODEM. OS/2 AND LANS VBBS-OS/2 can be connected to other VBBS workstations (OS/2 or DOS based) via Novell Netware, or IBM's LAN Server products. VBBS-OS/2 has been tested using OS/2 2.x and Novell 3.11 very successfully. The requestor for OS/2 2.x is available from Novell for about $40.00, and the requestor for 1.3 comes with Novell Netware. VBBS-OS/2 WORKING WITH VBBS-DOS VBBS-OS/2 has been fully tested and is VBBS-DOS compliant. VBBS-OS/2 can be installed directly over VBBS-DOS, taking the place of the DOS base program or it can be installed parallel to the DOS program, working with it using the same databases and control.v file. VBBS has been tested with the following path configuration: VBBS-DOS Executables: \VBBS\DOS VBBS-OS/2 Executables: \VBBS\OS2 All other paths shared by VBBS-DOS and VBBS-OS/2. Special considerations for VBBS-OS/2: * If upgrading from VBBS-DOS, remember to remove DSZ and HSLINK protocol options in VCONFIG, as well as any other DOS protocols. * Remove DOS Doors from the door configuration in VCONFIG. (NOTE: Although it is possible to run DOS BBS doors from VBBS-OS/2 with OS/2 2.x, it is not recommended. DOS DOORS slow overall system performance terribly, since almost none were written with OS/2 awareness in mind. * Remove references to DOS programs called in scripts (SCAN, etc.) unless you have OS/2 equivelents. * Remove ARJ, LHA and other miscellaneous archive utility configurations from VCONFIG. A bound version (meaning it will run natively both in OS/2 and DOS) of PKZIP 1.10 is available at the Rubber Room BBS, 1@1203000 and at Virtual Technologies, 1@1 as PKZ102-2.EXE. SCRIPTS VBBS-OS/2 should now be able to share scripts with VBBS-DOS. No special provisions must be made for VBBS-OS/2 for properly written scripts. VBBS-OS/2 does come with it's own OS/2 script compiler. DOORS It is known that the SIO.SYS and VSIO.SYS drivers replacing COM.SYS and VCOM.SYS, (written by Ray Gyinn) with OS/2 2.1 will make DOS doors run under OS/2 2.x. To make this possible, modify the SIO command line, adding port speed and a - to the command line as follows: DEVICE=C:\SIO\SIO.SYS (1:38400,3F8,4, -) (2:38400,2F8,3, -) Even so, this is not recommended, as opening a DOS communications session will significantly impair system performance, virtually defeating the purpose of running OS/2 in the first place. Additionally, a certain degree of reliability is traded off. Using only OS/2 Door programs is recommended. REGISTRATION Please note that VBBS-OS/2 requires a separate registration to become fully functional. Registration numbers and codes for the DOS version will not work. Please refer to VBBS Registration for order information.