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1996-02-22
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The Internet Connection 4.0
"Closing the Gap between Internet and Fidonet mail systems"
Copyright (c) 1994-1995
Mark Williamson
1. CREDITS...........................................................3
2. WARRANTY AND REGISTRATION.........................................3
3. LICENSE INFORMATION...............................................3
4. SHAREWARE REGISTRATION............................................5
5. INTRODUCTION......................................................5
6. NEW FEATURES......................................................6
7. TERMINOLOGY.......................................................7
8. INSTALLATION......................................................9
9. REPLYING TO INTERNET MESSAGES....................................13
10. CONFIGURING THE INTERNET CONNECTION.............................14
11. USING REPLYCHK TO REPLY TO INTERNET MESSAGES....................15
12. USING THE INTERNET CONNECTION...................................17
12.1. ADDRESS BOOK MENU ...........................................17
13. LOCATION OF FILES...............................................19
14. FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS......................................19
15. WHERE TO GO IF YOU NEED HELP....................................22
16. CONTACTING THE AUTHOR...........................................22
1. Credits
I owe a great deal of thanks to James Goldbloom of Access Denied
Message System. James has helped immensely with his coding of the
ReplyCheck utility used by Inet to process incoming internet messages.
His efforts have taken a load off of me, allowing me to concentrate on
Inet. If you've ever wanted to see a very successful message-only
system, call his board today!
James Goldbloom is an official support site for the Internet
Connection. He can be reached via Fidonet netmail at 1:109/611.
Registrations are handled by the author, Mark Williamson. I can be
reached at Fidonet 1:202/750. Use the online registration feature in
Inetutil.exe to fill out the registration form. There is no
registration form file, so use the program to do it for you!
To provide you with the very best possible customer support, I have
established a customer support echo, OMEGA_SOFT, which is now on the
Fidonet zone one backbone. Please request this echo from your mail
hub so we can keep in touch, and you can stay abreast of new release
information.
2. Warranty and Registration
Inet is not FREE. In order to use it beyond the 30 day evaluation
period, you must register it. The registration form is produced by
the INETUTIL program.
There are a number of ways to register Inet. The most convenient for
you is to use the Easy-Reg system in the InetUtil program. Just
answer Yes to the question _Fill out the registration form_ and the
program will collect your information, and give you the option of
netmailing it to me, or printing it out and sending it via postal
mail.
You may also register Inet with your credit card online! Call the
Omega Software BBS, login as Guest, and select Online Registration
from the menu. It's easy, fast, and secure!
3. License Information
This is a license agreement between you, the end user, and Mark
Williamson, hereafter "the author". The Internet Connection software
and information attached hereto, hereafter "INET", is the property
of the author. Read the terms and conditions of this license agreement
carefully before using the software. If you for any reason,
whatsoever, cannot accept the conditions in this agreement, you are
not permitted to use INET.
3
You acknowledge and agree that INET is a proprietary product of the
author, protected by applicable copyright laws and international
treaty provisions. You further acknowledge and agree that all rights,
title, and interest in and to INET are and shall remain with the
author.
INET may be used for a period of thirty (30) days on a trial basis to
allow you to determine its suitability for your particular
application. After this period you MUST register each copy of INET
that you use simultaneously. If you have a multinode system, you are
only required to register ONE copy of INET for use on a SINGLE BBS
system. If you run more than ONE BBS system, you are required to
register ONE copy PER system, not node.
Registration entitles you to a non-transferable license to use INET
and any future versions of INET for as long as you wish, subject to
any special licensing conditions and/or applicable upgrade fees
attached to future versions.
In the event that you are in violation of this license agreement, you
agree and accept that the author may cancel your registration and any
rights to use INET that you may have. In the case of a dispute over
the license agreement, you further agree and accept to fully
reimburse the author for legal and other expenses resulting from the
dispute, should the dispute be decided in favor of the author.
INET is provided "as is", without warranty of any kind or fitness for
a particular purpose, either expressed or implied, all of which are
hereby explicitly disclaimed. The author only guarantees that INET
will occupy disk space.
The author's liability resulting from your use or inability to use
INET is limited to the amount that the affected party has paid for
it, or in the event that INET was registered with a third party for
payment to the author, liability is limited to the amount that was
received by the author from that third party.
Neither the author nor any of his employees, agents, or other
representatives are in any way obligated to provide future versions
of, or support for, INET.
You may freely distribute and copy INET provided that no fee is
charged and the INET distribution archive contains unmodified copies
of the original files as produced by the author. Pay Bulletin Board
Systems may, however, charge their normal fee provided that no
additional charge for INET is levied. No part of INET may be
modified, altered, reverse engineered, sold, or distributed in any
form whatsoever which would involve some sort of trade without prior
written permission from the author.
4. Shareware registration
4
The Internet Connection is being distributed as a Shareware program.
Shareware is a unique concept in program distribution in which the
customer has the opportunity to try the program before actually
purchasing it. This concept will only work if all those who use
Shareware programs uphold the principals of try-before-you-buy. This
means that if you like a program, you must purchase it. If you use a
program beyond a reasonable evaluation period, you are in essence
violating the principles of the Shareware concept.
The Internet Connection version 4.0 costs $25.00 to register. Owners
of older versions of Inet are not required to pay an upgrade fee at
this time. However, this could change in the future as demands for
more features and more development goes into the program. A great
deal of development, research, and long distance phone calls have been
expended in bringing Inet to you. I fully support my software and your
comments are taken to heart. Compromising on price compromises my
ability to further develop the product. I hope you support the
Shareware concept and further encourage you to register the Internet
Connection. Upon registration, you will begin a long-lasting
relationship with the author, who not only appreciates your
thoughtfulness in registering, but also never forgets a customer, and
never second-guesses a customer's needs. Thank you for using the
Internet Connection!
I also offer a discount if you can get several sysops in your area to
register Inet at the same time, so inquire within!
5. Introduction
The Internet, also known as the Information Superhighway, has always
been somewhat out of reach by most Fidonet users and Sysops. Unless
you had a full Internet account, sending and receiving messages
between the two networks was a chore. Until now!
The Internet Connection provides the necessary link between a Fidonet
style message and a message acceptable to the Internet host gateway
software. In order to send a message from a Fidonet system to an
Internet gate, also known as a UUCP gate, special formatting
restrictions must be followed, or the message will be returned to the
sending system.
These formatting rules, although easy enough to conform to, were
somewhat confusing to the BBS caller, who really had no idea what
Fidonet or Internet messages are, or what the formatting rules were.
The Internet Connection alleviates this responsibility and does the
necessary formatting in real time. All the user must do is provide a
valid Internet address, a subject line, and then they type in their
message using your favorite external message editing program. It's
really that simple! The Internet Connection provides many more tools
than this simplicity to make it an attractive addition to any BBS
software.
5
Recent changes in the Fidonet organization have eliminated the default
gateway, which used to be 1:1/31. What this means is that in order
for you to receive Internet email, your net must have a gateway
registered with the fidonet.org domain if you wish to use the
`fxxx.nxxx.zx.fidonet.org' addressing method. You can check this by
looking in your nodelist for GUUCP, and sending the sysop of that
system a message inquiring the status of his gateway. Otherwise, mail
sent to an address such as `me@f750.n202.z1.fidonet.org' would get
returned to the sender. The address `f750.n202.z1.fidonet.org' gets
translated into your gateway's internet address by the software
running on the fidonet.org server. If your local gateway doesn't have
a entry in the database at fidonet.org, then you will not be able to
receive mail using the addressing method described above. However,
your gateway may have a different default address for you to use, so
you must check first with the operator of the gateway.
6. New Features
This version of the Internet Connection is the most potent and
feature-rich to date. If you are new to the Internet Connection, you
will find its simple user interface a blessing, and its functionally
will (hopefully) impress you enough you won't hesitate to register!
Below is a short list of features and enhancements this version
contains:
Full standalone capability. This is the single most important
feature for many BBS sysops. Inet can now be used to read a
Fidonet standard *.MSG directory. Features such as read, reply,
write new, delete, and more make the Internet Connection the only
solution for offering complete Internet email to your users!
Internal ANSI and ASCII message editors. The internal editors
can be used instead of your current editor if you desire.
However, the built in editor lacks some features you will surely
find in many of the full-featured editors available for almost
any BBS system.
Added support for the RFC-822 _Reply-To:_ field. This field
specifies the reply address of the sender. This could be used
when you have an Internet account for your BBS. The information
placed in this field is obtained from the Your Domain entry in
InetUtil.
Intelligent handling of Internet message replies.
The Inet configuration utility, INETUTIL, is the single program
required to manage your Internet Connection system configuration.
In addition to setting up options for Inet and Replychk, INETUTIL
also manages the address books and user database.
Address limits file, BADADDR.CTL, can be used to limit a user's
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access to internet addresses according to their security level.
For example, if you want to restrict access to LISTSERV addresses
to your paying callers, you may add LISTSERV to the BADADDR.CTL
file, along with the desired security level, and Inet will not
allow messages to be sent to any address which contain the word
LISTSERV unless the user has sufficient security access.
Replychk 4.0, by James Goldbloom. Advanced message handling
features allows easy integration into your BBS. Replychk is
required when Inet is not run in standalone mode. See the
included documentation for Replychk, and the online help in
INETUTIL.
7. Terminology
MSGINF This refers to the Message Information File created by your
BBS system when replying to a message, or when creating a
new message. This file is not normally read back into the
BBS, however is created as a convenience to the external
editor to display pertinent information concerning the
message being written. This file name will vary depending
on the BBS system you are using.
The format of this file is described below:
Line # Contents
1 Sender's Name
2 Recipient's Name
3 Subject Line
4 Message Number
5 Conference Name
6 YES = Private Message, NO = Public
If you are using a BBS system which does not create or use a
temporary message file similar to the one described above,
you may not be able to utilize the /REPLY feature. You
should consider using Inet's /READ mode to handle reading
and replying to internet messages. Since you can specify
the actual order of the lines described above, you may be
able to specially configure Inet to work with your system.
If your BBS system does not support an external editor, or
does not support MSGINF/MSGTMP files, then we recommend
using Inet as a standalone reading door for your internet
email, and leaving this line at its default format. More on
this later!
MSGTMP This refers to the Temporary Message Text file. This file
is created by your BBS when replying to an existing message.
During a reply, the BBS will write the contents of the
original message to this file. The editor may then be able
to quote this text, usually via the Control-Q key. This
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will vary depending on the editor you are using. This file
name will vary depending on the BBS system you are using.
UUCP This is the term used to refer to the computer software
which translates Internet messages to a Fidonet format, and
vice versa. To save yourself some phone bill money, you may
wish to route messages to this system through your hub.
Consult your mailer documentation on how to do this.
NOTE: Throughout this document we will be referring to some two-
character commands, referred to as Optional Data Commands, or macros.
These are used by BBS systems like RemoteAccess, Proboard, QuickBBS,
and many others. Since every BBS system is different, and no two
commands may mean the same thing across platforms, we will describe
here what these commands are intended to mean so you can determine the
equivalent command or option for your BBS software. These commands
are described below:
*P Represents the communications port Inet is operating on.
This information is obtained from the BBS Door Information
File (DOOR.SYS, DORINFO1.DEF, etc.). Inet will recognize
this command when placed on the Editor Command Line field in
INETUTIL.EXE and substitute the actual port in place of *P.
*B Represents the actual baud rate the communications port is
operating at. This information is also obtained from the
Door Information File. Inet will recognize this command
when placed on the Editor Command Line field in INETUTIL.EXE
and substitute the actual baud rate value in place of *B.
*# or *N Represents the node number which Inet is operating under.
This information is sometimes retrieved from the Door
Information File, but this is not totally reliable. To be
sure, you should always specify /NODE*N on the INET.EXE
command line in your RemoteAccess or QuickBBS optional data
field. For Proboard users, this option is *# on your Type 7
Optional Data Field command line. Inet recognizes both *N
and *# when placed in the Editor Command Line field in
INETUTIL.EXE and will substitute the actual node number in
place of *N or *#.
The only * commands that Inet understands are *P, *B, *#,
and *N. Inet does not make use of *X or *M. Remember, the
only useful place for these commands WITHIN Inet is the
Editor Command Line. When configuring Inet within the BBS,
you need only specify the node number (/NODE*N or *#) and
enable memory swapping (*M or *X). Please keep this in
mind!
*X or *M This is not an Inet command, however, is used by
RemoteAccess to inform RemoteAccess that it must perform a
swap to disk or EMS when executing Inet. For Proboard
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Sysops, this command is *X. For QuickBBS sysops, you must
enable the Swapping option in QCONFIG when setting up Inet
to handle replies. For the /POST mode, QuickBBS sysops will
use *M on the Optional Data Field.
8. Installation
Inet's functionality is controlled in two ways: By the configuration
file INET.CFG and by command line parameters. Complete details on
each configuration option can be found in the INETUTIL.EXE online help
system by pressing F1 at any time. Each command line parameter is
described below:
Parameter Sample usage Description
/READ= /READ=C:\NETMAIL Tells Inet to load in READing
mode and loads the first message
in the directory.
/REPLY /REPLY Tells Inet to load in REPLY mode
and that it should read the
MSGTMP/MSGINF files for message
data.
/POST /POST Inet loads in post new mail mode
and the user can then write a new
internet message. Inet prompts
for the To: and Subj: prompts.
/PERSONAL /PERSONAL Used only with /READ mode, Inet
will now only look at messages
destined for the current user.
/NEW /NEW Used only with /READ mode, Inet
will now only look for new
messages found in the specified
directory. Inet will check the
message attribute to determine if
the message has already been read
by the recipient. If it has, then
it will be skipped in a /NEW mail
scan.
/FROM= _/FROM=JOHN DO_ Forces the From: line to that of
the text immediately following the
/FROM=. Note! You MUST enclose
entire line inside quotes. It is
an error to put only the text in
the quotes, it must also encompass
the /FROM= portion as well.
/TO= _/TO=JOHN DOW_ Forces the contents of the _T0_
field to that of the text
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following the /TO: field.
/SUBJ= _/SUBJ=TEST" Same as above except dealing with
the subject line.
/NODE /NODE4 Forces the node number to Inet.
/L or /LOCAL INET.EXE /L Enables Inet to run from the
command line.
Whenever INET is run without parameters (or with only the /L
parameter), it will first check for a MSGINF/MSGTMP file which is
created by the BBS (and INET) when replying to a message. If these
files are found, Inet will look for the @INETADDR marker in MSGTMP to
determine if the message is an internet reply, and will handle the
reply appropriately.
The most important thing to remember is regardless of your BBS system
software, you can now use Inet to BOTH post and reply to internet
mail. The only minimum system requirement is that you are using a
Fidonet compatible network mailer. This is the `front end' of your
BBS where your Fidonet mail packets come in. Beyond this, there is no
limitation to using Inet as your email program!
The first step to installing the Internet Connection (Inet) is to
obtain the netmail address of a UUCP gateway host near you. Keep in
mind that you can route mail to the gateway if you do not want to call
long distance, or the gateway nearest you has a slow response time.
See the documentation on your mailer, or the Frequently Asked
Questions at the end of this documentation.
Perhaps the easiest way to do this is use a nodelist viewing program
and look for GUUCP in your region. The closer you can get to your
local calling area the better. Jot down the address, as you will need
to enter it into INETUTIL.EXE. Please see the file called
UUCPHELP.TXT in your Inet archive for detailed information on locating
a UUCP host near you.
There are three distinct modes that Inet can operate in, each of which
is controlled by a command line parameter. Note: Only one mode is
available at a time. The command line switch for each mode is
described below:
/POST Used for writing a new message. This mode is most
often used as a menu option from your BBS system's
message menu, for example: _(W)rite an Internet
message_ which would execute INET.EXE /POST
/REPLY Enables reply mode. Inet checks for a valid email
address (provided by the @INETADDR line added by
Replychk). If the @INETADDR line is present, Inet
goes into internet reply mode, otherwise, the
10
message is treated like a normal message. This
mode is recommended when installing Inet into your
BBS as an external editor in place of your
existing one. Using Inet in this method ensures a
seamless transition when a user selects <R>eply
when reading messages. This option is only
available to sysops whose BBS software supports
the MSGIN/MSGTMP format and an external editor.
/READ Enables the reading mode. This parameter must be
followed by the directory where the .MSG files to
be read are stored. Inet will load the first
message found in the directory and display it to
the user. The actual command line for this
parameter is: /READ=<PATH>, where <PATH> is the
directory to read from.
You should design a menu option within your BBS System, perhaps naming
this new option '<I>nternet Email'. In this example we will use 'I'
as the hot-key. The most logical place for this new option is on the
Message Menu, but its location does not matter. Below we will provide
two examples for the command lines, one for just posting a new
internet message, and the other for using Inet in standalone /READ
mode.
You will use a Shell to DOS menu function to call Inet. The Optional
Data Line, or Command Line, will contain the following:
(Load Inet to post a new message)
C:\INET\INET.EXE /POST
(Load Inet in standalone, reading mode)
C:\INET\INET.EXE /READ=C:\EMAIL
NOTE: It is very important to force your BBS software to swap out of
memory when running Inet. Usually this is done by using a command
line option like *M or *X (RA/QBBS/Proboard). Refer to your BBS
documentation to determine how to force the BBS to swap out of memory
when running Inet. This is very important, due to the memory
requirements of Inet and your external editor (if applicable). Of
special note is the need to have your BBS software generate a door
information file (drop file) that Inet can use. To be on the safe
side, try using DOOR.SYS (standard PCBoard 52 line format). This has
been tested on many systems and seems to work just great. If you can
force your BBS to generate this file, all the better. Remember, the
BBS platform Inet is running on is irrelevant when using the
standalone option, as long as a door information file is available.
For QuickBBS sysops, you will need to enable the memory swapping
function in QCONFIG instead of using *M on the optional data line.
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Of course you may need to adjust the path for your installation.
/POST tells Inet it is to startup in POST mode, prompting the user for
the address.
This is all that is required to install Inet into your system! Your
users will now be able to send Internet messages from your system,
without worrying about frustrating formatting rules! Additionally,
since Inet allows up to 70 characters for the actual To: address, even
the long Internet addresses may be used, instead of the previous
limitation of 35 characters for most BBS systems. But there is much
more to Inet than this!
The following command lines should be used to run Inet from the BBS:
RemoteAccess:
/REPLY MODE: C:\INET\INET.EXE /NODE*N *M
/POST MODE: C:\INET\INET.EXE /POST /NODE*N *M
/READ MODE: C:\INET\INET.EXE /READ=C:\EMAIL /NODE*N *M
Proboard:
/REPLY MODE: C:\INET\INET.EXE /NODE*# *X *D
/POST MODE: C:\INET\INET.EXE /POST /NODE*# *X *D
/READ MODE: C:\INET\INET.EXE /READ=C:\EMAIL /NODE*# *X *D
QuickBBS:
/REPLY MODE: C:\INET\INET.EXE /NODE*N (For REPLY mode: be sure to
enable swapping in QCONFIG!)
/POST MODE: C:\INET\INET.EXE /NODE*N *M
/READ MODE: C:\INET\INET.EXE /READ=C:\EMAIL /NODE*N *M
If you are not using one of the above mentioned systems, please send
me information on your BBS system and how you have Inet setup. I
would like to include as much information about using Inet on various
platforms to make the Sysop's life a little easier!
9. Replying to Internet Messages
NOTE: Included in this version is a program called REPLYCHK.EXE.
Please read the documentation for this program. It has been developed
by James Goldbloom, and all support questions should be directed to
him. For all practical purposes, this program is REQUIRED by Inet in
order to properly identify the email address of the message sender.
There are exceptions to this rule, please see the Frequently Asked
Questions at the end of this documentation. You may get desirable
results if you do not use REPLYCHK. Use INETUTIL to set the REPLYCHK
options (defaults are almost always preferable). Instructions on
installing the program are in the REPLYCHK.DOC file.
When the user reads a message, they will most likely want to respond
to it. They would usually press R for Reply, and the BBS will load
12
the editor and the user will type their reply and save it. Since your
most BBS systems do not know the difference between a regular message
and an Internet message, the reply the user has just written will most
likely end up going nowhere, just written to the BBS message base.
This is where Inet becomes uniquely useful! Remember, not all BBS
systems support using an external message editor, or the MSGINF/MSGTMP
files. For now, we will assume you are using one that is compatible.
The following command line will enable the reply handling feature of
Inet:
C:\INET\INET.EXE
Place the above command line in your External Message Editor field of
your BBS software's setup. Inet will look at the temporary message
files created by the BBS (MSGINF/MSGTMP) during the reply process, and
attempt to determine if the message is a normal message needing no
processing by Inet, or an Internet message, requiring necessary
reformatting. This is done transparent to the user. If the message
is not an Internet message, Inet simply loads the message editor and
returns to the BBS when the message is saved.
If you are not using BBS software which supports these features, you
can use Inet in standalone mode, and it will take care of display the
messages to the user, handling replies, and posting new messages as
well. However, using Inet in /READ mode does not necessarily remove
the requirement to use Replychk.
10. Configuring The Internet Connection
Inet comes with a configuration program to make life a easier for you!
The configuration program, INETUTIL.EXE, is the proper method for
configuration the Internet Connection. You will find detailed online
help for each of the configuration options. Therefore, the
configuration information has been removed from this document.
Please refer to the online help system for information on specific
configuration items.
11. Using REPLYCHK to Reply to Internet Messages
REPLYCHK is designed to scan incoming netmail messages before they are
imported into your message base by your echomail tosser. The program
looks for strings of text in the message body which indicate the
originator's Internet address. To keep messages in a common format,
readable by anyone or any computer on the Internet, standards exist
which dictate the format of each and every Internet message. When
these Internet messages are transferred into a Fidonet system, the
control and routing information is usually left intact. REPLYCHK
takes advantage of this information to automatically determine the
13
address of the person sending the message. When you reply to a message
that has been processed by REPLYCHK, Inet will automatically know the
reply address and fill in the To: line for you. The REPLYCHK.CFG file
contains rules which determine what to look for when determining the
reply address. We will examine a couple of actual Internet messages
below:
Pvt From : f.greatorex
To : Mark.williamson
Subj : got your messages.
@MSGID: relay2.geis.com 5cbd3690
@REPLY: f.greatorex
@REPLYADDR f.greatorex@genie.geis.com
Originally_From: f.greatorex@genie.geis.com
There are two important lines to note in the message above. The
first is the @REPLYADDR line. This is called a kludge line, and
is usually hidden from the caller. Kludge lines begin with a
Control-A (ASCII 01) character (this gets translated to the >@=
you see above upon export). When the BBS exports the message to
the MSGTMP file, it may or may not write the kludge line
information. If it were a given that ALL BBS systems quoted the
kludge lines, then finding the reply address would be simple.
However, this is not the case.
The second line is important because it serves the same purpose
as the @REPLYADDR line, but is not a kludge line, so it will
always be quoted, because it is part of the message text.
Here is another common message format:
From: ur-valhalla!lawrence.edu!Dennis.Ribbens
Subject: eco-propaganda
Message-ID: <01HNUO27116U0009NI@LUCIA.LIB.LAWRENCE.EDU>
Date: Tue, 07 Mar 1995 09:54:57 -0600 (CST)
This one is particularly interesting, because at first glance,
the From: line seems a bit odd. Do not be alarmed, this is a
perfectly legal address. This is called a >bang= path. It is an
older style of addressing Internet messages and its use is
discouraged. Using REPLYCHK, Inet would easily be able to reply
to this message.
From: "Paul De Groot, Edmonton"
<ur-valhalla!freenet.edmonton.ab.ca!pdegroot>
Subject: eco-propaganda!
Message-ID:
<Pine.A32.3.91.950307135332.40184A-100000@freenet.edmonton.ab.ca>
Date: Tue, 7 Mar 1995 14:00:24 -0700 (MST)
14
On Mon, 6 Mar 1995 DHEGEMAN@gateway.wbc.edu wrote:
The message above is more challenging, but still easily handled
by REPLYCHK. Using the From: line, REPLYCHK would see the
brackets <> as the beginning and end of the address text, and
retrieve the information between them. (The From: line above is
word-wrapped to fit the width of the screen and printed page, but
would normally be on one line, ending with the > character.)
So, there you have it! Numerous samples of Internet messages
that REPLYCHK will automatically detect the reply address, and
give Inet a field it can read directly, and insert into the To:
line of your replies!
The format of the REPLYCHK.CFG file is simple, and is detailed
within the file itself. Please print out the file and examine
its contents. You should not normally need to change the
settings, as they have been optimized to work with the most
common message formats.
All that is required to use REPLYCHK is to place the following line in
the batch file that processes your netmail:
C:\INET\REPLYCHK.EXE
Of course the path may be different on your system. The ideal place
to insert this line is just before your tosser imports the netmail
into the message base. This will ensure any inbound internet mail is
reformatted for use by Inet before going to the message base.
After Inet reads the MSGTMP as it was written by the BBS, or the
reformatted .MSG file (in /READ mode), it will attempt to determine if
the message is an Internet message using the @INETADDR line. If it
cannot find an @INETADDR line, Inet will proceed as if it were a
regular message.
12. Using the Internet Connection
Using Inet is very easy. When the program loads in /POST mode, the
user will be prompted to enter a destination address. They can enter
up to 70 characters for this address. They may also type ? to receive
help, or / to load the Address Book Menu. These must be the first
character on the input line. If you have enabled the address book, a
menu will appear with several options.
After the user has typed in a To: line and a Subj: line for their
message, Inet will load your editor. The user will then type their
message as usual, and Inet will take control again when they save the
message. Inet will write the message as a netmail message to your
UUCP host and then prompt the user if they wish to store the address
in their address book (if enabled).
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This is the simplest way to use Inet. Now, we will describe the
address book features.
12.1. Address Book Menu
In addition to storing the user's favorite addresses, Inet will
also allow your users to store a comment attached to each
address.
From the Address Book Menu, the following options are available:
Help with Address Book
Displays the ADDRHELP.A?? screen, pausing at each end of page.
Locate an Address
Performs either a partial or exact match with the user specified
search text. If the user selects Partial match, Inet will also
check the comment field for a matching string. This is handy in
bringing up a list of coworkers, or members of a club, etc.
Select an Address
Displays a list of the user's addresses, prompting for a
selection at the end of each page.
Edit an Address
Prompts the user to select an address to edit, then brings up
input fields to allow editing of the address and comment.
New! Since Internet e-mail can be used for more than just
sending a message to an individual, some times you will need to
place certain words or commands in the subject of your Internet
message. Now you can have Inet do this for you automatically!
When you save an address in the address book, you will be asked
for a comment. If you begin the comment with the word >SUBJECT:=
(include the colon >:=, Inet will retrieve the text that follows
and insert it into the Subj: field of the message. Now, whenever
you retrieve an address from the address book, the subject line
for that address will be filled in as well.
Delete an Address
Prompts a user to select an address to delete. Upon
confirmation, the address record is deleted from the database.
No retrieval is possible after the record is deleted.
Add a new address
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The user is prompted to enter an address and comment to add.
Quit to BBS
Immediately exits Inet, and returns to the BBS.
Hangup (Logoff)
Immediately disconnects the caller, and returns to the BBS.
Redraw screen
Performs a screen redraw. Very useful in the event line noise
garbles the user's screen.
Public/Private Address Book
This option toggles between using the Public Address Book, and
the user's own Private Address Book. Unlike the Private book,
addresses in the Public book are visible to all users.
Public Address Book entries may only be Added, Edited or Deleted
by a user with Sysop Security Level. Inet will create the public
address book file in the same directory as INET.EXE. The file is
not actually created until the first public address is stored.
Exit Address Book
Returns to the To: input line.
Note: In ANSI (graphics) mode, Inet uses a scrolling lightbar
menu to select addresses. In this menu, the address is on the
left of the menu, and the comment is on the right, surrounded by
(). In non-graphics mode, the selection is made from a hot-keyed
list. The user presses a single key to make a selection. The
menus are also hot-keyed. Pressing the highlighted letter will
perform a selection as if the ENTER key had been pressed on the
highlighted item.
13. Location of Files
With the exception of the log files, Inet expects to find all help
screens, address books, and configuration files in the same directory
as INET.EXE. This cannot be changed.
When loading, if Inet finds a configuration file with a file extension
matching the current node number, that configuration file will be
loaded. For example, assuming you have three nodes, and in the
INET.EXE directory, you have INET.CFG and INETCFG.2. Inet on nodes 1
and 3 will use INET.CFG while Inet on node 2 will use INETCFG.2 as the
configuration file. When using INETUTIL.EXE, you will be prompted to
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enter the filename of the configuration file to edit or save.
14. Frequently Asked Questions
Q: I am using a BBS which is not listed in this documentation.
Can I use Inet?
A: Most likely the answer is yes. You have to study how your
BBS interacts with external programs to determine if Inet can be
used. Here's a table to help with this analysis:
Question Answer Use Inet
Are you a member of Fidonet Yes Yes
or a Fidonet style network? No No
Does your BBS create one of the Yes Yes
following door information files: No No
DOOR.SYS, DORINFO1.DEF, EXITINFO.BBS,
CHAIN.TXT, SFDOORS.DAT, or CALLINFO.BBS
Does your BBS create MSGINF/MSGTMP? Yes Yes
No Standalone
Does your BBS support Hudson, Jam, Yes Yes
Squish, *.MSG, or Goldbase message No Standalone
base?
Q: I am a bit confused with the reply process. How do I setup
REPLYCHK for my BBS?
A: Normally, you do not need to configure any additional
settings for REPLYCHK than those already provided. All that is
required is to have REPLYCHK run *PRIOR* to your echomail tosser.
The reason for this is that REPLYCHK must scan the inbound
netmail directory before the tosser imports the messages into the
message base. When a user replies to a message, the two
temporary files MSGINF/MSGTMP are written to disk. Inet reads
the MSGTMP file (which contains the message body) and looks for
the special keyword @INETADDR. Immediately following this line
is the actual internet address of the originator. Inet uses this
information to send the new message to the correct address.
Without this special line, Inet treats the message as a normal
local message and simply allows you to edit the message text and
save it back to the MSGTMP file which is in turn read back in by
the BBS.
Q: I have 15 addresses on file, but INET and INETUTIL both tell
me I have only four. Why?
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A: With the previous version of Inet, a program error (BUG)
resulted in improper tracking of addresses. Run INETUTIL and
select PACK USER FILE from the User File Manager menu to correct
this.
Q: I don't want my users subscribing to internet lists, how can
I control this?
A: Use the BADADDR.CTL file which contains addresses which are
not allowed.
Q: How can I quote the original message in the ASCII editor?
A: The quote feature is not available in the ASCII editor.
Q: This is by far the most fantastic program I have for my BBS!
How can I register this work of art?
A: Use the INETUTIL program and fill out the registration form,
use your credit card, and send it directly to my Fidonet address
(DO NOT ROUTE THE MESSAGE). Or, use the Online Registration door
on my BBS, or, lastly, use good `ole snail mail and send a check
or money order.
Q: I am not using a BBS that is directly supported by Inet, but
I think I can use Inet in standalone mode. If I used Inet to
read messages from my inbound netmail directory, do I need
REPLYCHK?
A: The short answer is no. The long answer is maybe not.
Replychk provides a great ability to move internet messages to a
special directory, which you can keep separate from your netmail
directory. If you do not have much volume, or you do not wish to
utilize this feature, then no, you do not need to run REPLYCHK.
Inet will determine the internet address from the messages
according to the same settings you have for REPLYCHK. As Inet's
feature list grows, the dependency on REPLYCHK may increase, but
we will attempt to keep it as simple as possible.
Q: Why would I want to set a security level on the post mode?
A: Perhaps to attract donations to your BBS. A user can browse
around Inet, but when they attempt to post a message, a warning
can be displayed telling them they have insufficient security
level, blah blah, please donate.
Q: I can't seem to locate a gateway for my outbound email. What
do I do?
A: There are numerous gateways in Fidonet. Look in your
nodelist for GUUCP or UUCP. If your gateway is long distance,
you can route your mail through your hub.
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Q: Ok, How do I route my mail?
A: If you are using Frontdoor, then you need to edit the file
ROUTE.FD and place an entry such as this near the top:
Route-to 1:202/707 1:202/707
The first address is your hub's address. The second address is
the gateway address. Additionally, you mail want to change the
flags in INETUTIL to reflect HLD (hold), LOC (local), and PVT
(private). This will make sure that the outbound internet mail
gets sent during an event instead of everytime a user sends a
message (it's your call).
Q: What about support for: listserv, gigo, direct mail
transfers, newsgroups, netmail, nodelist lookup, autorouting of
personal email, file attachments, etc.?
A: Stay tuned :)
15. Where to go if you need help
The author frequents many Fidonet Sysop conferences, such as
RemoteAccess Utilities, QuickBBS Support, Proboard Support, PCBoard
Sysops, Spitfire, and others that deal with BBS systems.
Additionally, you can send Fidonet netmail to one of the addresses
listed at the end of this documentation. The best place of all to
reach me is in my Fidonet conference, OMEGA_SOFT. There you will find
topics of discussion on all of my software.
There are many possibilities for Inet's future expansion. Several
users have expressed ideas that would expand Inet's current
capabilities. The author gladly accepts all your comments. Although
it is impossible to reply to all of the messages about Inet, I sure
try! Your messages are always read by the individual who does the
actual programming, so ideas are always welcomed.
16. Contacting the Author
You may contact the author at the support BBS listed below:
Support/Registrations: Alternate Support:
Mark Williamson James Goldbloom
Internet: omega@connectnet.com AD Message System
BBS: (619) 575-4245 Fidonet 1:109/611
PO Box 131 Internet: denied1@blkcat.com
Imperial Beach, CA 91932 BBS: (703)241-1826
(BBS Guest Account: (BBS Guest account:
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login as GUEST to download Login as INET TESTER
or try out our software! Password: INET)
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