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OS/2 Help File
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1994-12-13
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47KB
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1,304 lines
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 1. The FOSS/2 Bulletin Board System ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
-=-
The Frog Online Services System for OS/2
FOSS/2
-=-
This documentation is for v1.0
-=-
All included material is copyright 1991-94 by:
Terje FlaarЫnning
Boks 455 Sentrum
N-7001 Trondheim
Norway
Voice: +47-94655772
BBS: +47-DOWNNOW
-=-
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 1.1. Introduction to FOSS/2 ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
Welcome to the wonderful world of FOSS/2, the next generation of BBS's that
runs under OS/2. This system has been written with some specific traits in
mind, and the author hopes he has succeded in making a simple, yet powerful
BBS-system for OS/2. The system is made with growth in mind, and as such has
the ability to grow with you as a SysOp. To understand the philosophy behind
FOSS/2 it would be of some interest to learn how the author first came into
contact with BBS's and the systems they run on!
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 1.2. The history behind FOSS/2 ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
The author of FOSS/2, Terje FlaarЫnning writes:
"My first meeting with modem-communications was in the summer of 1989 when I
realised there were telephone connectors in the back of my PC (a old ITT XTRA
from 1984). I managed to connect to a local BBS and became a frequent user
there. But unfortunately my local BBS had to close down and I had to start
calling long distance which was not cheap. After a short while I got the idea
of starting my own BBS. My first BBS was started using the MBBS (c Mike
Robertson) BBS-system and I was online from early 1990. I connected to
national networks and since I got more and more conferences the MBBS system
became to limited, only supporting 75 conferences. Therefore I started making
my own BBS-system which is known as "The Bits & Bytes Bulletin Board System"
or B&BSYS for short."
Have to add something here. Late in 1993 I heard about the OS/2 patches for
Borland Pascal, and this was the start of FOSS/2. B&BSYS will no longer be
developed in a DOS-version, and the name has been changed because B&BSYS/2 is
difficult to type a lot......
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 1.3. FOSS/2 vs. other BBS-systems ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
FOSS/2 is in many way like other BBS-systems. The main difference lies in that
there is virtually no limit to how large your system may become. FOSS/2
consist of a database-structure so advanced that many of the larger and systems
can only dream about matching it. This system is not just another program but
it does follow all major software development rules.
Simplicity is stressed throughout the system, but this does not mean that you
have to sacrifice power. One of the main problems in starting a BBS is setting
up the system. From there on in it is only a matter of esthetics, but the
initial setup often causes problems for inexperienced SysOp's.
With FOSS/2 your system is up and running in 5 minutes after you have read the
SETUP information. While it is preferred that you read this file as well before
entering the BBS for the first time, you can begin exploring after only a few
minutes of reading! This is one of the things that makes FOSS/2 so radically
different from many other compareable BBS-systems.
FOSS/2 has a user friendly interface and it is almost impossible to "break" the
system by using bad commands or the like. Entering a command that the system
does not recognize will only give you an error message to that effect. If a
script or any other part of the system has a fault in it that does force the
BBS to recycle it will do just that! While some BBS-systems hang in souch a
way that you will have to reboot your computer (or at least restart the
program) FOSS/2 simply starts over again, delivering the user back to the
login prompt. The user is not forced to call again, but is given a chance to
reenter the BBS! This is a feature most BBS users will appreciate, as it saves
them the bother of calling again and trying to get back in if the system is
busy.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 1.4. The people behind FOSS/2 ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
The main system FOSS/2 is entirely written by Terje FlaarЫnning during late
evenings the last two-three years.
Thomas Stenhaug has written QWK-support and should be available where you got
hold of FOSS/2.
Greetings go to:
Raymond L. Gwinn:
Developer of the SIO drivers for OS/2 who has supported me with info about
SIO and the OS/2-API concerning async-communication.
Jan-Morten Havstein:
Running the main Beta board for FOSS/2 who has to live with all the bugs in
the prebeta versions of FOSS/2.
Thomas Stenhaug:
Who wrote the QWK support routines for FOSS/2, and helps me whenever I am
stuck.
Эyvind L. Eggen:
Developer of the XBoard offline reader who made support for the FOSS/2 grab
format in XBoard. The grab format has changed today, but I hope that coming
versions of XBoard will support the new format.
Stian Seeberg:
Who wrote this and all the other DOC's available for FOSS/2 and is also
running a сeta-test board (Spaceman Spiff's).
Ove Christensen:
Who helped Stian out with parts of the documentation and made this
INF-version.
My mother:
Who has paid quite a few large phonebills the last couple of years.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2. Configuration of FOSS/2 ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
When you enter your BBS (either locally or remote) you end up in the main menu
shown when pressing ? + enter at the prompt.
ΓöîΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÉ
Γöé v1.0 >>> MAIN MENU <<< v1.0 Γöé
ΓööΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÿ
ΓöîΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÉ
Γöé L ist users Ti me left/used X pert mode(on/off) Γöé
ΓööΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÿ
ΓöîΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÉ
Γöé B ulletin command R ead (messages) comm. T ransfer scratchpad Γöé
Γöé C hat/Node command S elect a new area No de message (send) Γöé
Γöé F ile transfer command U tility command Com ment to SysOp Γöé
Γöé H elp O pen a external door G oodbye (logoff) Γöé
ΓööΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÇΓöÿ
The lower part of this menu consists of the systemwide commands. These can be
invoked from anywhere in the BBS. The top half is a local menu. Both
systemwide and local commands is covered in the user documentation.
To configure FOSS/2 you will first have to enter the SysOp menu. It is from
here all systemwide changes are made. This menu is entered by typing $ (for
$ysOp), and p