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ILink APPlication Generator v.2.1
Copyright (c) 1993, S. David Klein
============
INTRODUCTION
============
Welcome to Ilink(sm)! ILink is one of the premiere echomail networks in
the world of DOS bulletin boards, consisting of more than 250 member
systems located around the world. These systems exchange mail in more than
200 message areas on a regular basis, facilitating communication between
the users of these globally-scattered systems.
The purpose of the accompanying program (ILAPP.EXE) is to generate an ILink
admissions application. The application can serve two purposes: it can be
used by a sysop who wishes to become a member of ILink, and it can also be
used by an existing ILink sysop to update the board information in the main
admissions database.
The program will ask you a series of questions regarding both yourself and
your BBS. It will then generate the completed application in a form that you
can either upload to ILink Admissions at the Software Society South, or can
print out and mail in to us. APPLY.FRM will be generated for new applicants;
UPDATE.FRM will be generated for current system updates.
While we are very selective about the boards that are admitted to Ilink, and
have a number of admissions criteria, we are always interested in reviewing
new applications. If your think that your BBS and ILink would be a good
match, we encourage you to complete an application!
To begin the process, please read the following background information. Once
that is done, run ILAPP.EXE and answer all of the questions. It will generate
the appropriate file for you. You can then either upload the file as a comment
to Sysop at the Software Society South 908-777-7380, or you can print it out
and mail it to ILink Admissions at:
S. David Klein
ILink Admissions Administrator
104 Mineola Place
Edison, NJ 08817
===========
DISCLAIMER:
===========
Submission of an application for membership in ILink constitutes your
agreement that acceptance or rejection of your application is at the sole
discretion of ILink admissions.
Applications are currently being accepted from sysops running only registered
copies of PCBoard, Wildcat! or RemoteAccess, since only these three packages
have been tested and approved at this time. As a result, applications from
sysops running any other BBS software packages will not be accepted. However,
other software packages are always being examined, and we encourage you to
watch for announcements as other software packages are approved for use in
ILink.
======================
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
======================
There are many echomail network, and each one has its own unique flavor. What
makes ILink stand out? The best way to find out, of course, is to sample the
conferences that make up ILink, and see if you find the flavor to be to your
liking. In a nutshell, one of the things that gives ILink its own unique
character is a belief in the idea of moderated conferences.
Each of our over 200 conferences has its own name, topic, and conference
description. The topics range from something as broad as Chit-Chat, to the
narrow confines of a vendor support conference. Each conference has a
moderator, or host. The moderator, appointed by ILink to monitor a conference,
is there to make sure that the discussion in the conference flows freely. The
moderator will step in if needed to deal with unpleasantness in the conference,
such as the use of obscenity (prohibited under ILink rules), or a personal
attack by one member of the conference against another. The moderator might
also introduce new topics for discussion, and point off-topic conversations
toward a more appropriate forum. The presence of a moderator tends to decrease
the 'noise' in a conference, letting more of the 'signal' through, which is one
of the reasons that ILink's conferences are so well respected in the BBS
community.
This moderated conference approach has served ILink well for many years. How
many? ILink began in February of 1986 with a small group of sysops, an
innovative programmer, and a single conference. This original network was
called PCB-Echo. It later evolved into InterLink, and finally into ILink.
Along the way, the network has grown steadily by adding quality bulletin board
systems. We now connect hundreds of thousands of callers around the globe.
What was once a network limited to PCBoard has today expanded to include
Wildcat! and RemoteAccess systems. Other possibilities are being reviewed.
A frequently asked question about ILink is 'How is the network organized?'
ILink's structure is based on the .QWK mail standard developed by Mark Herring.
This standard defines a system of hubs and nodes, organized like a tree. The
trunk of the tree is the International Distribution Site (IDS), which acts as
the central clearinghouse for all messages on the network. The branches of the
tree are the National Distribution Sites (NDS), which collect mail from, and
distribute mail to, the individual member systems. The vast majority of systems
in ILink may be thought of as the leaves of the tree. They gather mail from an
NDS, and send mail left by their callers to the NDS for distribution to the
rest of the network. A message left in an ILink conference is sent throughout
the network, and appears on every ILink system that carries that conference.
In ILink, the administrative and mail transfer functions are separate from each
other. The National Systems Administrator (NSA) chairs the NetAdmin
conference, with various duties divided between several appointed
administrators. The conference is shared with the sysops of the NDSs, so that
major policies have input from throughout the network. Each NDS in turn has a
local administrative conference, when input from the member sysops can be
obtained.
All ILink network sysops have access to the ILink conference, where policy
changes may be discussed. This conference is also open to the conference
moderators, and is the main channel of communication between them and the
network sysops. It is in this conference, for example, that a moderator might
mention to a sysop a problem with a caller from that sysop's board.
The long and short of it is that ILink is managed by a group of volunteer
administrators, with input from both the NDS sysops and the individual network
sysops. This structure, separate from the transfer of mail, offers a
two-tiered approach to solving any network problems which may occur.
When a new system applies for membership in ILink, a review is made of that
system's policies, message traffic, stability, capabilities, and overall
quality. This review is carried out by current ILink network sysops. If the
application is successful, the new BBS is admitted as a trial member for an
initial 6-month period, and is assigned to an NDS for the mail transfers. As a
new ILink member sysop, you would first choose approved networking software to
handle the mail transactions, and then begin selecting the conferences that you
wish to carry. There are a very few conferences that each system in ILink is
required to carry:
ILink - this is a conferences that is restricted to you and any
moderators who call into your system. As explained above, it is a main
business conference of the network, and is one that you should scan on
a regular basis.
MOD-&-USER - this conference is used for discussions between users
and moderators with regard to conference moderation issues. It gives
users and moderators a chance to 'step into the hallway' to discuss
a moderation call in any of the other conferences.
ILinkNews - this is a low-volume read-only conference used by ILink
administration for net-wide announcements.
The rules that govern ILink are contained in a file called ILDOC. You are
encouraged to obtain and read this file, which can be found on most every ILink
member system. If you are accepted for membership in ILink, you will be
expected to adhere to those rules.
============
NUTS & BOLTS
============
ILink has a number of minimum standards that are applied to systems requesting
membership in the network. Applications from systems which fail to meet these
minimum standards will be declined. The following is a non-inclusive list of
those minimum standards:
1. The applicant BBS must have been on-line in its present location
at least 6 months.
2. It must be available to callers 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, with the
exception of time set aside for board maintenance.
3. The sysop should have a professional attitude toward the BBS and
the system should reflect this in its prompts, in its display screens,
in its bulletins, and in its rules of conduct.
4. The system should have a set of posted BBS rules which clearly state,
at a bare minimum, that the use of alias names is not permitted in any area
where it might impact on a board's relationship with ILink, and that
commercial or pirated software is not to be uploaded, nor should such
software be in evidence. An ILink network sysop evaluating the BBS should
not find commercial software, pirated software, or registered shareware in
a file list or download directory.
If your system meets these criteria, then please, consider applying for
membership in ILink. If it doesn't, and you still want to be a member of
ILink, consider the changes that you would have to make to meet these
standards, and please remember, these are the MINIMUM standards.
=============
REAPPLICATION
=============
If you have applied for membership in ILink, and your application has been
turned down, you must wait at least six months before reapplying. In addition,
if you have applied twice in one year, and have been turned down on both
occasions, you must wait a full year before submitting a new application.
ILink Admissions has undergone a major change recently, and as a result, it is
possible that some applications have gone for several months without any action
being taken. ILink deeply regrets it if this has happened to you. If you
applied more than six months ago and have heard nothing, please fill out an
application and reapply for membership. Your application will get our full
attention. If you applied less than six months ago and have heard nothing,
please be patient; we are digging our way out, and should get to your
application shortly.
S. David Klein
ILink Admissions Administrator
1 March 1993