Night Owl 6/Night Owl's Shareware - PDSI-006 - Night Owl Corp (1990).iso/033a/cel138a.zip/SETUP.DOC

Text File | 1991-11-19 | 67KB | 1,473 lines

                       C e l e r i t y  v1.38

                         BBS Setup Utility



  This documentation file covers the basic set up and configuration of
the Celerity BBS package.  The first section covers the configuration
program itself, SETUP.EXE, and describes some of the options that can
be enabled for Celerity.  The second section covers other items of
consideration when setting up a BBS, including multinode operation and
networking.


Section I: The Setup Program
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Celerity Setup Utility is the tool used to provide information
about your BBS, set up conferences, establish restrictions on access,
customize many of Celerity's options, and much more.

When SETUP is run, you will be presented with a desktop containing a
menu bar with two menus and a window containing about twenty five
buttons.

The first menu on the menu bar contains an About display, and an
option to print a Celerity registration form.  The second menu allows
you to bring up the Celerity Setup Topics (that 25-button window),
restore everything to their default values, and to edit and save
editor color combinations.


Using Setup
~~~~~~~~~~~
The dialogs in SETUP.EXE mimic those found in most graphical user
interfaces (GUI) in that they use pulldown menus, windows, buttons,
radio buttons, and more.  If you have a mouse, the setup will be much
easier and quicker to use, but you may still use the keyboard.  If you
use the keyboard, use arrow keys or tab/shift-tab to move from field
to field, and return to select a field.

Check boxes are boxes which appear as "[ ]".  If you wish to enable
that option, select the box with the mouse or keyboard, and click (or
press space) on it.  The selected box will now appear as "[X]",
meaning that option has been selected.

Radio buttons are a series of buttons which appear as "( )".  With
radio buttons, only one option out of the cluster can be selected, and
selecting a new button will disable the others.  The button with your
current configuration choice will appear as "(·)".

Data Fields are boxes with an inverse background that allow you to
enter text.  Sometimes text may be longer than what is displayed on
the screen, indicated by a small arrow pointing to the left or right
at the end of the field.  Home, End, Insert, Delete, and arrow keys
all function within text data fields.

OK and Cancel buttons also appear at the bottom of each dialog.  Click
on the OK button when you finish making changes in the dialog, or on
the CANCEL button if you with to throw away any changes you've made.


Color Setup
~~~~~~~~~~~
Under the second menu, there is an option to change the colors used
within the setup program.  See the description of color boxes in
"Color Setup" below.

Celerity Setup Topics
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Celerity Setup Topics screen contains twenty three buttons that
bring up additional information/data entry windows, a Save button, and
an Exit button.  You may use arrow keys to select buttons, or
(preferably) use a mouse to point and shoot.  The functions of each
button will be explained below.



System Info
~~~~~~~~~~~
This data screen has fields requesting general information about your
BBS.

Sysop Name:  This should be the name or handle of the sysop this copy
of Celerity is registered to.  If you wish to view the demo, the sysop
name MUST be "Abdul Clamwacker".

Full BBS Name:  This is the complete name of your BBS (ie: The Lexicon
of the Cabal).  Consider a limit of thirty characters or so.

Short BBS Name:  Enter the name of your BBS again, in a shorter
version if the real name is excessively long (ie: The Lexicon).  If
the name is short and simple, it is fine to enter the same name in
both fields.  The functional limit should be about fifteen chars.

Acronym:  This is a three character field that should be used to
identify your BBS in assorted downloadable files (such as a BBS policy
file, master lists, off-line reader data packets, and the like).
Examples include LEX, TPG, LSD for Lexicon, The Proving Grounds, and
Lost Soul's Domain II, respectively.

BBS City:  The city where the BBS is located.  This information is
only to satisfy user interest, and does not affect the operation of
the BBS in any way.

BBS State:  Like the city above, this information is inert.  The
state, province, or country where the BBS is located should go here.

BBS Phone Number:  Enter the number in the format: 714-627-0601 or
[phone]. This information will be used to determine the locality
of potential users for the Local User Lockout (see "New User Options"
below) and for generating statistics.

System Two Name:  If you wish to use a second "system" accessible when
a caller first connects, you can enter the name shown on the menu
here.  For more information about additional systems, see the section
on "Login Commands" below.

System Three Name:  See "System 2 Name" above.


System Options
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The System Options menu contains vital information regarding certain
functions, type of BBS you run, type of machine it is running on,
multinode information, and more.

System Toggles:  This section contains a set of check boxes relating
to various features and functions.  Placing an X in the box will
enable that option, placing a space in it will disable it.  These
options are as follows:

  Allow Doors:  Will your system allow the use of external programs
(doors) such as on-line games?  See the section on "Doors" below.

  Remote Door maintenance:  Should sysops/cosysops be able to add
doors remotely? This can allow unscrupulous cosysops to create doors
that can be potentially dangerous to both security and the well being
of your system.

  Allow FAT Move:  This toggle will allow Celerity to move files
around on your hard drive by directly reading and writing to the
disk's directory structure.  This results in a much quicker move of
the file when compared with the non-FAT move, which involves copying.
Consider reading/editing/writing about 512 bytes as opposed to
reading/writing over a million bytes (for a 1 meg file).  If you have
a very delicate file system (ie: not standard MS-DOS), use various
device drivers, or networking, you may need to disable this function.

  Sysop Auto Login:  With this option set, the sysop's account will
automatically be logged onto the board when F10 is pressed from the
local end.  Otherwise, the sysop will be required to navigate the
login shell and enter his/her user name and password just like
everyone else.

  Voice Chat:  Turning this option on will allow Celerity to use a
digitized voice/sound to call the sysop to chat.  A .VOC sound file
from the sound directory will be chosen randomly and played unless a
file with a specific name (USER1.VOC for user #1, USER120.VOC for user
#120, etc.) exists, in which case it will be played.  If the sysop has
a SoundBlaster or compatible card installed, (see SoundBlaster option
below), the program CHAT.EXE will be called.  Otherwise, the file
"NOBLAST.BAT" will execute, which should contain a batch file to play
the sound via the PC speaker or some alternative card.  Note that
REPLAY.EXE is one .VOC-compatible player for a standard PC speaker.

  SoundBlaster:  Turn on this switch if your system contains a
SoundBlaster audio card.  See "Voice Chat" above.

Supported bps rates:  This is another check box data area that
contains boxes next to most available bps rates, from 38400bps down to
300. The sysop may place check marks next to those speeds he wishes to
permit access to his system. Note that if a "Speed Lockout" password
is defined (see "System Passwords" below), a user at an unsupported
rate will be given the opportunity to enter this password and log on
despite the restriction.

System Type:  This box contains a set of radio buttons to indicate
which type of on-line system you are running.  You may select only one
of the four types, and it must be an option your registration utility
supports.  The various options are as follows:

  Celerity BBS:  The standard full-fledged Celerity BBS
  CAE         :  A no-user-record transfer system
  CAE/TAC     :  A transfer-only system with accounts
  Alacrity BBS   :  Another BBS for future development

CPU Type:  More radio buttons.  Indicate the type of system that you
have.  If you have a system based on (or emulating) an Intel (or
other) 8088, 8086, or NEC V-20 processor, select 8088. If you have a
286 machine, indicate 80286. If you use a 386sx, 386sl, 386dx or
compatible, indicate 80386.  If you have an i486sx, i486dx or
compatible, select i486.  If the i586 ever comes into production, it
should operate under the i486 setting.  Note that the system WILL
function under the incorrect processor setting, but Celerity will not
be able to take advantage of more powerful processors.

BBS Node:  If you run a multinode system (see the section on
"Multi-Node BBS"), enter the specific node # here.  If you run only a
single node, be sure to enter a 0.

Timeout:  You can determine how many minutes Celerity will allow a
user to sit at a prompt without doing anything.  Once this time is
passed, Celerity will hang up on the user to allow someone else to
call.


Look and Feel
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Look and Feel menu allows you to enable or disable various options
and features.

Look & Feel:  This box contains an array of check boxes: Plaque
Header:  Plaque headers are inverse boxes with shadows.  The non-
plaque version is a line with a block border.  Experiment to see which
you prefer.  The headers appear when users enter various sections or
options. Note that you can design a custom header (see "Customizing
Displays").

  Oneliners:  This check box allows the oneliner section to be enabled
or disabled.  Oneliners are single-line ads, sayings, comments, or
graffiti displayed randomly at the main menu.

  Key Flash:  The Key Flash Monitor will cycle the NumLock,
ScrollLock, and CapsLock keys when the system is in the WFC (Wait for
Call) mode.  This can be used as an indicator that the system is
active when a user is not on-line (and thus the modem lights are
dark). Do not use this if you are under a multitasking system or
sharing a keyboard with multiple computers.

  Use Top 5:  This will enable or disable the viewing of the top 5
lists - top 5 posters, top 5 uploaders, top 5 downloaders - for both
monthly and "all time" compilations.  Note that Top 5 statistics will
be generated whether they are displayed or not. See the "Access
Levels" section below for information on how to remove a user from
eligibility for Top 5 status.

  Show Usage:  Enabling this option will ask users as they log on
whether they would like to view the system usage chart (see "Celerity
Add Ons" below).

  Hidden Input:  This is a single ASCII character which will be
displayed when user input is "hidden", such as when passwords are
being entered.  It can be 8-bit ASCII, entered via Alt-xxx key
combinations.

  Welcome Files :  Celerity will choose a random WELCOME.* file to be
shown when a user logs onto the system.  The welcome files (see
"Customizing Displays") should be named WELCOME.1, WELCOME.2,
WELCOME.3..WELCOME.999.  The highest number should be placed in this
field.


Wait Text:  When Celerity requires the user to wait for an extended
period, it will display this text.

Prompt Format:  The format of the prompts in Celerity can be defined
for an extra degree of originality in a system.  The format will
include regular text, prompt codes, and color codes (see the appendix
on "Color Codes" below). Prompt codes include:
        $:  Displays the time the user has left
        @:  Displays the prompt information
        !:  Displays "?/Help"
example: |b- |W@ |b-|Y $ min |b- Would display:  - Main Menu - 5 min -
with Main Menu in bright white, 5 min in Yellow, and the dashes in low
intensity blue.

Anonymous:  The user name to appear in messages which are left
anonymously. (eg: "Who Knows?", "Ghost Writer", "Anonymous")


Serial Port Setup
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It is imperative that this section is set correctly, or Celerity will
not function (or not function completely) with your modem.  It should
be noted that the COM2 handling on some machines is not fully
standard, and thus some people have problems using COM2 with Celerity.

COM Port:  This box contains five radio buttons.  The first two
correspond to the IBM standard IRQ, Address, and interrupt values for
COM1 and COM2.  The second two correspond to the industry standard
values (note that true blue machines do NOT use these values) for COM3
and COM4.  The fifth button will allow you to use the Custom COM Port
settings (see below) so that you can set Celerity up to a specific
format.

Custom COM Port:  Allows you to specify the IRQ, interrupt, base
address, and COM port to use for Celerity.  Use this if you have a
non-standard setup.

Port Delay:  Celerity is extremely quick in processing outgoing text,
and on many machines will go too fast for serial hardware to keep up.
Rather than limit those with fast hardware by imposing a delay for
everyone, we made this user selectable.  If your users complain on
ANSI or Avatar "garbage", increase the port delay.  Most hardware
should have a setting of about 15 or 20.  Note that having a 16550
UART does not affect this speed limitation.

16550 UART:  If you have a high speed serial UART, let Celerity know
you have it!  A 16550AFN UART provides a buffer so that data can be
moved quicker, and is very helpful when running on a system with a lot
of overhead (excessive use of interrupts by some programs, such as
NCACHE, or multitasking).

Input Buffer:  Allows you to specify the size of Celerity's internal
input buffer.  Generally 256 or 512 bytes is sufficient.

Output Buffer:  Allows you to specify the size of the output buffer.
This would normally be about 1024 bytes, but can be adjusted up or
down as circumstances warrant.


Modem Setup
~~~~~~~~~~~
This section allows you to specify information about your modem setup.
There are also two extra buttons on the right, which allow you to
apply modem settings (take the Celerity recommendations for a modem
listed in the list box) or edit the settings.

Modem Type:  This is a list box containing a database of modem types
which have been tested with Celerity.  To load the settings for a
particular modem, you must select it in this box then hit the Apply
Modem Settings button.

Offhook Local:  This is a check box which will make Celerity take the
phone off the hook when someone logs onto the system locally.  The
value of this is that users will get a busy signal instead of a ring
when they call while a user is on the system locally.

Answer on Ring:  This tells Celerity how many rings to wait for before
it answers the line.  If you specify 0, Celerity will read your serial
port directly waiting for a ring, and is the recommended setting.  If
you specify a value other than 1, Celerity will add "ATS0=n", where n
is your specified value.  In this case, Celerity will wait until the
serial port reports the existence of a carrier, requiring the modem to
initiate the answer process.

Hangup String:  This is the AT command which should hang up your modem
if the preferred method of dropping the DTR line does not succeed.
Note that a pipe (|) character indicates a carriage return and a tilde
(~) indicates a 1-second delay.

Dial Prefix:  The command needed to force the modem to dial should be
entered here.  Generally, it would be "ATDT".  Some phone systems
require adding additional digits.

Dial Suffix:  The suffix of the dial command is usually just a
carriage return (|), but some phone systems may require other digits
for full functionality.

Apply Settings:  See the "Modem Type" above.

Edit Settings:  Pressing this button will bring up another window.
This window will allow you to alter the standard settings for your
selected modem type.

  DTE Rate:  Radio buttons specify at what speed data should be sent
to the modem.  Most high speed modems allow a DTE rate of 19200 or
38400 bps.  A fixed speed modem (normal 2400, 1200, 300) should use
its maximum speed.

  Lock DTE:  High speed modems can lock their operating speed at a
higher DTE rate than the connect rate is.  If this check box is NOT
checked, Celerity will begin communicating at the established speed
upon connection (ie: Celerity will talk to the modem at 2400bps if a
2400bps call is detected).  If your modem will support a locked DTE
rate, it will give better performance than a modem which does not.

  Connect Delay:  After the command to answer is given, Celerity will
wait this length of time (in 1/10th seconds) until it attempts to
determine the connection information.  If the modem responds to a
carrier very quickly, this can be short.  If the modem takes a long
time to determine the connection results, such as many v32 modems,
this should be longer.  If you get calls coming in which Celerity
cannot identify, this value should be increased.

  Modem String:  This is the actual command string sent to the modem
to prepare for a call.  Under most circumstances, you should use the
recommended string, or some modification of it.  If you have an
unsupported modem, you can custom tailor it here.


Video Options
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Video Options dialog contains four check boxes for various aspects
affecting the actual video display.

Monochrome:  If you are running on a greyscale VGA or monochrome
system, checking this option will emphasize all low intensity
characters on the local end, making text easier to read.

43/50 Lines:  If you have an EGA or VGA display, Celerity can operate
in a high resolution text mode.  EGA will provide an 80x43 display,
and VGA will give you 80x50.

CelerityANSI:  This enables the internal ANSI interpreter, which is
about 65% faster than the fastest dos-based driver we could find.  In
addition, use of the CelerityANSI filter will convert all ANSI codes
to Avatar codes for users who select Avatar terminal emulation,
resulting in a considerable on-line speed increase as well.

Screen Saver:  This toggle will allow Celerity to blank the screen
while it is waiting for a call.  It is recommended that you turn off
the monitor, however.


Conference Setup
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
If you decide to use conferences with your BBS, you can set them up
here.

Use Conferences:  This check box tells Celerity if you wish to use
conferences or not.  If you do not check it, Celerity will function as
a system with only a single conference.

Message Conferences:  There are five boxes provided to name up to five
message conferences.  If you do not wish to support a certain
conference, simply leave the name blank.

Xfer Conferences:  Names for up to five transfer conferences.  These
can be independent from message conference names.


Transfer Options
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
These options alter the way your transfer section looks and behaves.
Note that for the Use File Point System, Upload Factor, Point Value,
and Commission options, the transfer policy is explained to users
whenever they enter the transfer section.

File Descriptions:  Celerity allows for much more complete information
to be stored regarding an upload than most bulletin board programs in
its class. Users can select which information they wish to view, as
only so much can be displayed on an 80-character screen.  The four
check boxes in this dialog can be used to disable some of these data
fields from use in your BBS, whether users want them or not.  For a
very simple file area, sysops can disable all these toggled fields.
For a detailed and informative file section, all can be enabled.  The
specific functions of each box are as follows:

  Picky Descriptions:  Picky descriptions attempt to force an uploader
to actually describe what he or she uploaded in the description field.
Many lazy users will simply repeat the program name, which is
redundant.  Use this check box only if you use both Program Name and
Description fields.

  Program Name:  This enables a 20-character field for the name of a
program. If your system has a preponderance of multiple-disk
downloads, this field is very helpful in forming a unified entry for
all disks.

  Disk Numbers:  When this box is marked, users will be prompted for
the total number of disks for the program they upload, as well as the
number for the individual disk.  This is useless if you have very few
multiple-disk uploads.

  Description:  A 44-character description field for the upload is
enabled and disabled by this box.  It is a statistical fact that
uploads which are well described are more popular than those which are
poorly described.

Xfer Toggles:  This dialog contains many options relating to the
functionality of the transfer section.  They include the following:

  User Defined Point Values:  User-defined point values allow the
uploading user, in a file point system, to determine to an extent how
valuable a certain file is, and thus how much it costs.  The user can
specify if the file should be free, one point, quarter, half, normal,
or double the standard cost for a file of its size.  Note that for
this option to have any meaning, the "Auto-Validate" and "Use FPS"
toggles must be checked as well.

  Use File Point System:  This toggles the use of a file point system
for your transfer section.  If you use a file point system, users must
"pay" for their downloads with transfer credits.  Transfer credits may
be earned by uploading files, having their uploads downloaded by other
users (see "Commission" below), or granted by the sysop.

  Auto-Validate Uploads:  If this option is checked, new uploads will
immediately be posted for general download.  If this box is not
checked, the sysop or cosysop must manually validate each file and
determine its point cost (if a file point system is used).

  Auto-Comment Uploads:  This box dictates whether Celerity should
execute a batch file called COMMENT.BAT from your BBS directory.  This
COMMENT.BAT file can be used to delete asinine BBS ads from uploaded
archives, place a zip file header on the archive, or even uncompress
an archive and test it for viruses. Celerity will place the file's
pathname in the %1 batch variable and the file's extension in the %2.
Thus, your batch file can determine if the file is .ZIP, .LZH, .ARJ,
or whatever and process it accordingly.

  Use Backup Directories:  This option is not currently in use.

  Allow User Requests:  When a user attempts to download a file entry
which is not found on your hard drive, they will be told "that file
isn't here".  If you turn this switch on, the user will be asked if he
or she wishes to leave feedback to the sysop requesting the file.

  Allow File Passwords:  If you enable this option, users will be
allowed to attach passwords to their uploads.  Other users must then
enter this password before they can download the file.

Upload Factor:  If your system uses a file point system, and you wish
to give users download credit for their uploads, you may enter a
multiplier in this box.  The user will be granted (value_of_upload *
Upload_Factor) points.  For example, a user uploads a file which the
BBS determines is worth four points. With an upload factor of 3, the
user is granted twelve points.  An upload factor of 1 provides four
points, and 0 provides nothing.  The value of the upload is determined
by the sysop if the system does not automatically validate uploads, or
by the "Point Value" below if uploads are immediately posted.  Note
that if you enable the "User Defined Point Value" (see above), the
upload restitution is granted before the user chooses the new value.

Point Value:  This variable determines the standard number of
kilobytes that 1 point can download in a system using the FPS, rounded
down.  For example, a 118k file would be worth 2 points if the point
value was 50 (118 / 50 rounds down to 2).  The same file would be
worth 1 point if the point value was 1, or 11 points if the point
value was 10.  This value is used to determine the cost if the file is
auto-validated (see above), or used as the default suggestion when a
sysop manually validates the file.

Maximum File Point Loan:  Celerity allows users of a certain level
(see the section on "Access Levels" below) to take out a file point
loan, allowing them to download something they do not have enough
points for, in faith that they will repay the loan in the future.
Alas, some users would abuse this feature if there was no limit to the
credit extended, thus the necessity for this option exists.  The
recommended loan limit is 500 divided by the point value (ie: enough
to download about 500k), but any value (including 0 to disable all
file point loans) is acceptable.

Commission:  One of the revolutionary concepts introduced by Celerity
is the system of file point commissions.  This system rewards users
who upload quality data and describe their uploads well, and provides
unequal treatment for those who upload junk.  The the commission
system works as follows:  User #A uploads a file and establishes its
value as 22 points.  When user #B downloads the file, user #A is
credited with a commission.  If a dozen users download a popular
program, user #A gets rich in return for his or her effort. If nobody
downloads the program, user #A is not rewarded as much. The commission
value determines what percentage of the file's cost is given to user
#A.  With a 0% commission, user #A gets nothing when his files are
downloaded (and thus must rely on the points granted by the upload
factor above).  With a 50% commission, user #A gets half of the points
successive users spend downloading (with our example, user #A would
get 11 points when #B downloads the file, and 11 points when #C
downloads, etc.).  With a 100% commission, the uploader gets all of
the points spent by users downloading. This high percentage works
particularly well when the upload factor is 0, so the user gets points
only when his uploads are downloaded, and thus people are encouraged
to upload only useful data which other people will want, and users
waste their time when they upload junk.

Upload Time:  When a user spends time uploading, some amount of that
time can be given back to the user so he has more time on your system
that day. The upload time box contains a percentage value for this
awarded time.  With an upload time factor of 200%, a user who spends 5
minutes uploading will receive 10 more minutes of on-line time.  A
100% upload time factor would return 5 minutes, and a 50% factor would
return about 2 and a half minutes.

Download Rates:  Sysops do not like slower users spending an
inordinate amount of time downloading from their transfer sections,
but may recognize their value in the message bases.  Celerity allows a
sysop to determine which bps rates may download from the BBS and which
may not.


Color Setup
~~~~~~~~~~~
The color setup dialog is a bit different from other menus.  It
contains two scroll boxes, two color boxes, a window with an example,
and the normal OK and CANCEL buttons.  To operate the color selector,
select the general color set in the left box.  The color sets include
"BBS Colors", "Sysop Tools", and "Status Line".  Moving over to the
middle box, you can select which specific color within the set you
wish to edit.  The two boxes to the far right specify the foreground
and background choices for that particular color.

BBS Colors:  These are the eight colors for the BBS that new users
will be set up with when they apply.  These colors can be changed to
suit the user's particular tastes.  Note that when you define color
#8, it must have a non-black background.

Sysop Tools:  This color is used to determine the color format of the
on-line Sysop Tool kit.

Status Line:  This defines the color of the status bar at the bottom
of the sysop's screen.


Pathnames
~~~~~~~~~
The pathnames dialog contains information regarding the location of
various data files for Celerity's use.  The default directories are
recommended, but they can be custom tailored, of course.

BBS Directory:  This is the main directory where assorted data files
are kept, including user lists, comment batch files, and the majority
of other files. Note that in a multinode system, this directory should
be the same for all nodes.

Temporary Directory:  This is a directory for temporary file creation.
It should have no subdirectories, nor should it contain anything you
wish to keep.  This directory should be independent for each node.

Node Directory:  The directory where node-specific files are stored.
The main.bat, celerity.*, and setup.* files should be here, and other
files may be created and stored here by Celerity.  On a single node
BBS, this may be the same as the BBS directory.  On a multinode
system, this must be separate for each node.

Shared Data Directory:  If you have a multinode BBS, this directory
will be used for multinode chat and line status information.  It is
recommended that this be located in a RAMdisk if you use one.

Message Base Directory:  When Celerity creates message storage files,
they will be kept here.  Note that these files can become quite large.

Data Directory:  Information regarding your sub-board and transfer
section configuration will be stored here, as well as index files for
the message section.  Directory files (*.DIR) containing the file
records for your transfer section are also stored in this directory.
Moving this to a large RAMdisk can increase the speed of the system
substantially, but be sure to update the files on the hard drive after
each call (see "Running Celerity with a RAMdisk" below).

Menu Directory:  The external menu files for Celerity are located in
this directory, as well as other sysop-defined display files (see
"Customizing Displays" below) and information script files.  Note that
there are four extensions for menus: .ANS for ANSI menus, .AVT for
Avatar, .ASC for ASCII (no color / animation), and . (no extension)
for generic 7-bit ASCII.

Network Directory:  If you use CelerityNet, HermesNet, or FidoNet,
this directory will be used for various networking files.

Door Directory:  Door data files may be stored here.  See the section
on "Doors" below.

Sound Directory:  If you use the digitized chat call, place all of
your .VOC files in this directory.

New User Upload Directory:  If you use the validation upload (see "New
User Options" below), this directory will be used to store the zip
listing of the user's upload, and also the uploaded file (if you wish
to save the uploads).

Text Editor Pathname:  If you wish to use an external text editor,
accessible from the Online Tools or to enter messages in the subs,
enter the full pathname here.  DOS 5.0's EDIT.COM, QEDIT.EXE, VE.EXE,
ED.EXE, and other editors are all appropriate.  Note that if you wish
to use the external editor to write a message for email or subs, then
the path and filename of "<bbs_Directory>\receive" will be passed to
the editor.  You must save your message with this pathname for it to
be found and processed.

ANSI Editor Pathname:  If you have a special program to edit ANSI
files, such as menus, you can enter its path here and call it from the
Online Tools. THEDRAWR.EXE and ANSIEDIT.EXE are both common examples.


Network Options
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
If you wish to use CelerityNet, you must set the general network
information up here.  The network subs must be set up within the BBS
itself.  If you use HermesNet (not currently available) or FidoNet,
those must be set up elsewhere.

Net Toggles:  This cluster of check boxes enables CelerityNet, and
determines its mode of operation.

  Use CelerityNet:  Turns CelerityNet on or off.

  CelerityNet Host:  If you wish your system to be the center of its
own network, turn this option on.  Note that the network must be set
up via the independent NODEMAN.EXE program.  See the file NODEMAN.DOC
for more information on setting up an independent net.

  CelerityNet Hub:  This function is not currently in use.

Net Features:  This cluster contains information regarding the
CelerityNet features you wish to use on your system.

  Messages:  This enables the networked message bases, by far the most
often-used network function.  Note that sub-boards must be set up from
within the program itself (see "Creating/Editing Sub Boards" in
CELERITY.DOC).

  Network News:  From time to time, a news bulletin will be issued
across the network.  If this switch is on, the news will be downloaded
and posted for users to view.

  The Stork:  If The Stork is enabled, the network will automatically
download the latest version of Celerity ON THE DAY IT IS RELEASED. The
update will be contained within the UPDATE.ZIP file in your network
directory.

  All other options are not currently used.

Network Node:  When you join a network, you will be assigned a network
node number.  In the international CelerityNet, this number will match
your serial number.  In a local network, this can be any number the
network host wishes.

Network Password:  When a net account is created for your system, a
password will be assigned.  Enter it here.

Hub #:  This is not currently used.

Network Begin:  This is the time (24-hour format) that your system
will begin dialing your CelerityNet host.  Remember that rates are
cheapest from 11pm-8am.

Network End:  This is the time the system will stop attempting to
connect. Note that Celerity will redial once every minute during this
period until it connects or the ending time is reached.

Hub/Host Phone Number:  This is the phone number to dial to connect to
the net host.  Note that this should include area code but NOT an
extender.  For the international CelerityNet, this would be
"818-282-3784".

Extender:  If you need any special dialing codes, such as a "1" to
dial out of your local area code, a "9" to get an outside line, or a
long-distance service, you can enter the required digits here.

Network Origin Line:  At the bottom of every post made on your system
and sent across the network, an origin line will be displayed.  You
may decide what you wish to be displayed here.


Chat Options
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Various text messages will be displayed regarding the availability of
the sysop to chat and upon initiation and ending of a chatting
session.

Sysop Available:  When the user logs on, if the sysop is available to
chat, this message will be displayed.

Sysop Not Available:  If the sysop is not available (see "Online
Commands" in CELERITY.DOC), this message will be displayed.

Chat Welcome:  When the sysops enters chat (see "Online Commands" in
CELERITY.DOC), this line is displayed.

Chat Goodbye:  When the sysop exits chat, this is displayed.

Obnoxious Chat:  This check box will make the chat call loud and
obnoxious, ensuring that the sysop hears it.


Passwords
~~~~~~~~~
Various access aspects of Celerity are password protected.  If you
wish passwords to be required, define them here.

Security Password:  When a user with sysop access logs on, he or she
will be required to enter the security password to access sysop
options.

System 1 Password:  If you use a login shell, you can define passwords
a user will be required to enter before accessing the system.  System
1 password is for the main BBS.

System 2 Password:  See System 1 Password above.  For external system
#2. Also see "Second and Third Systems" below.

System 3 Password:  See System 1 Password above.  For external system
#3. Also see "Second and Third Systems" below.

Emergency Chat:  Users who know the emergency chat password can force
the system to make a cacophony of obnoxious sound, guaranteed to get
your attention if you are within a square mile of the BBS computer.
This command is accessed by typing "/page" at any BBS prompt.

New User Password:  If a password is defined in this field, new users
will be required to enter it before applying for access.

Low Speed Password:  If you define a password here, a user calling at
an unsupported bps rate can enter it to bypass the low speed
restriction.


Timed Events
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Celerity can be configured to perform certain functions at specific
times of the day.  With the exception of the network time (see
"Network Options" above), these times are established here.  To
disable an event, clear out the start and end times.

Restricted Hours:  A system may be set up to allow only users of a
certain level on during a period of time.  The "begin" and "end"
fields here allow you to specify the period.  See "Access Levels"
below to determine the access level required to access the system
during this time.

Sysop Available:  If you set the sysop availability flag (see "Online
Commands" in CELERITY.DOC) to "By Time", the sysop chat availability
will be determined by the time specified here.

Batch Event:  Celerity can have one external batch file executed at a
certain time.  Define that time and batch file name here.  This file
can be used to run door maintenance files and the like.

Time to Backup:  At this time, a file called "BACKUP.BAT" will be
executed. This file should be used to make a daily backup of important
information such as user lists, file directories, and possibly message
bases.  Note that this file can copy files to a floppy, to another
hard drive, or even execute a tape backup program.


Access Levels
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A user's access level can determine which BBS functions he or she may
or may not perform.  These functions are determined below.

Access BBS:  Users at and above this level will be permitted to log
onto the system.  Uses below this level will get a "You are not yet
validated" message.

Sysop Level:  Users of this level and above may access sysop menus.

Post Anonymously:  If a sub-board supports anonymous posting, a user
of this level may make a post anonymously.

Post Bulletin:  Users below this level cannot post on the sub-boards.

Leave Auto-Message:  This level is required for a user to leave an
automessage for future callers to read.

Login During Restricted Hours:  This is the access level required for
the restricted hours.  See "Timed Events" above for more details.

Show Anonymous:  Users of this level and above may see who really
posted a message anonymously.

List Users:  A user with this level can see the userlist from the main
menu. (See "Main Menu Commands" in CELERITY.DOC).

List Recent Callers:  A user with this level can show a list of recent
callers.  (See "Main Menu Commands" in CELERITY.DOC).

List Xfer Activity:  Users with this level may list recent upload and
download activity.  (See "Main Menu Commands" in CELERITY.DOC).

Show System Status:  To see the storage statistics, a user must have
this level.  (See "Main Menu Commands" in CELERITY.DOC).

Show System History:  Users who have this level may view the system
history record.  (See "Main Menu Commands" in CELERITY.DOC).

Top Ten Exemption:  Users with this level and above will not be
counted in the calculation of the top ten posters, leeches, and
uploaders.

File Point Loan:  Users must have this level to take out a loan.

User Time Per Day:  This array of fields defines the amount of
time/day users will get on your system, delimited by user level.


Login Shell Options
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When a caller first connects to Celerity, the system can display a
connection header, detect terminal emulation, and then the user may be
presented with a logon shell or command menu, if you choose to use
one.  Many boards use logon shells today.  Usage of a logon shell
allows you to isolate the new user process from the main board itself,
and to protect the system from unwanted callers. A user who enters the
shell will be presented with a menu of choices, which have static
operations but can have their command keywords customized (see "Login
Shell Commands" below).

Connect Header:  When the user first connects, they will be presented
with a connection status message (eg: CONNECT 14400/ARQ/HST) unless
there is a message in this field, in which case that message will be
displayed.

Terminal Detection:  If you mark this check box, Celerity will attempt
to determine the user's terminal emulation.  It can differentiate
between TTY, VT-100, ANSI, and Avatar.  Note that Celerity cannot
detect Avatar emulation from the Telix program.

Login Shell Type:  Celerity supports five separate shell types:

  No Shell:  The user will be dropped directly into the BBS (username
prompt).

  Menu Shell:  The menu shell gives the configurable command line.
Hitting a '?' provides the user with a list of supported commands. If
you wish to have a custom shell menu, you can make a file called
SHELL.1 in your menu directory that will be displayed when the '?' is
hit.  Be sure that it has all the commands the user may select.  (See
the "Login Commands" section below).

  DOS Shell:  The DOS simulator shell will place the caller into a DOS
simulator, where they will run separate "programs" corresponding to
the shell commands.  The shell commands (see "Login Commands" below
for definition) will be converted to DOS filenames in the form of
.EXE, .COM, or .BAT files (ie: if you choose "Login" as the command to
enter the main BBS, the DOS name will be "LOGIN.EXE").  If the user
types DIR, they will be presented with a "directory" listing of the
commands, or else the optional SHELL.2 file from the menu directory.
This shell is tacky, but some sysops like it.

  UNIX Shell:  This shell is not currently in use.

  Lightbar:  A list of the available options is presented on a
lightbar menu. Users may select which option they wish by typing the
corresponding number, or by selecting the option with the bar and
pressing enter.  The user must have ANSI, VT100, or Avatar emulation
to use this.  If the caller does not have one of these terminal
emulations, he will get the menu shell.

  External Shell:  If you are a programmer and wish to write your own
shell routines called EXTERN.EXE, select this option and Celerity will
call it.

As the shell is fully configurable, you can make Celerity look like
some other type of system.  Have it mimic a mainframe or mini if you
want to conceal the fact that it is a private bulletin board system.
Using the connect string, the SHELL.1 help screen, and the definable
shell commands, you can make the shell look like anything you like.


Login Commands
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
To make each system's login shell a little more unique, Celerity
allows sysops to define the commands used to perform various shell
functions.  Users will be required to enter these command words in the
Menu, DOS, and UNIX shells.  An option menu will be displayed on the
menu when users type '?', 'dir', or 'ls' for the Menu, DOS, and UNIX
shells respectively unless the SHELL.1, SHELL.2, or SHELL.3 files
exist in the menu directory, in which case they will be displayed
instead.  Note that the lightbar shell does not require users to enter
keywords.  To disable an option, simply clear its respective command
field, and that option will not be offered to the user

Login Shell Commands:  There are three login shell commands, one for
each virtual system.  The first is for your main BBS, while #2 and #3
are for external BBS programs (see "Second and Third Systems" below).

Apply For Access:  This command is what a new user must enter to apply
for access to the main system.  A user must give a new user pass if it
is required (see "System Passwords" above), and fill out any
information forms the sysop has defined.  See "The New User Process"
in CELERITY.DOC for more.

Check:  This command allows a new user to check on the status of his
or her application in the main system.  If the user has been
validated, he or she will be given the password to system 1, and be
allowed to enter.  If the new user voting system is enabled, the user
will be informed as to the up-to-the-minute results of the voting.

Feedback:  This option allows users to leave feedback to the sysop
from the shell.

Chat:  If a user enters this keyword, the sysop will be paged for a
chat.

Log Off:  This command will log the user off the system, hanging up
the modem and returning to the Wait for Call screen or DOS.

Command Prompt:  The prompt line for the logon shell (for the Menu
shell only) may be defined to add an additional flair of originality
to the BBS. Common prompt lines include "[Command/?]" and "Login:".


Information Scripts
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Also called Scripts, Info-Forms, and Questionnaires, Information
scripts are forms a sysop can design to have users provide information
about themselves. This setup dialog contains information regarding
five separate information scripts, and asks for the following
information from each:

Information Script Name: The title or brief description of the form's
use.

Force:  If this check box is marked, users will be required to fill
out this script.  If it is not checked, then users may decide for
themselves whether they wish to fill out the script.

Minimum Level:  Users below this access level will not be permitted to
fill out the information script.  Note that new users usually have an
initial level of 0.

Maximum Level:  Similar to the minimum level, users over this level
may not access the information script.


Two disk files in your menu directory are associated with each script,
where 'x' is a number from 1 to 5 referring to the corresponding
script:

INFOTEXT.x:  A text message explaining how to fill out the script
INFOFORM.x:  The text of the script itself

Infomation Script #5 is unique.  New users can have their script #5
viewed by other users if you use a new user voting system, so don't
ask classified data here.  Make sure that you indicate to users
filling out information script #5, through the infotext.5 file or on
the form itself, that information here can be viewed by other users.

To make an information script, create a text file.  Place all of your
questions in the file, and an asterisk (*) wherever you want to user
to respond with data.  If you wish to use an ANSI full screen
infoform, use your ANSI editor, such as TheDraw, to draw the form and
everything you want on it, but do NOT put any asterisks on yet.  When
you have the form looking exactly how you would like it, go into
animation mode and place asterisks where you would like data to
appear.

Infomation scripts can be used to capture a wide range of information
about a user, but they don't have to be mandatory.  You may have some
special service on your BBS which users may apply for, but are not
forced to.  Making a non-mandatory form can be quite helpful in cases
such as this one.

Suggestions for infoforms include:  Sysop Information (personal
information about the user), New User Application (form #5 for the new
user voting panel to examine), Private Access (have users answer this
before gaining access to a private section), Group Application (if
your board is affiliated with a group or organization, users may
request to join), Visiting Sysop (if the user runs a board).


New User Options
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The following options all relate to how new users are handled by your
system.  New users will also normally be asked to fill out information
scripts  (see above), and on some systems will be subjected to the New
User Voting section (see "New User Voting" below).  Other functions
related to the new user process include the new user password (see
"Passwords" above), Local User Lockout (see "Local Users" below), and
Quick Validate (see "Quick Validate" below).

New User Toggles:  This cluster contains check boxes to enable or
disable various features of the new user section.

  Refuse New Users:  If this box is marked, someone who applies as a
new user will have the PRIVATE.BBS file (from the menu directory)
displayed, and will not be permitted to apply.

  Hang Up:  Checking this box will make Celerity hang up on new users
after they finish their application.

  Require Validation Upload:  Checking this box will enable a unique
Celerity feature: the validation upload.  New users who call will be
asked to upload a new file for examination by the sysop and new user
voting panel.  The text the user is presented with may be tailored to
your system by creating a file called VALIDUD.BBS in your menu
directory.  Note that the upload must be in the ZIP format.

  Save Validation Upload:  If the sysop wishes to keep the uploaded
file, he must check this box.  If this box is not checked, only a
record of the upload (a zip listing) will be saved.  These files will
be stored in the new user upload directory (see "Pathnames" above).

  Require Feedback:  If this box is checked, new users will be asked
to leave a letter requesting access to the system staff.

  Use Address:  Checking this box will ask new users for their
address.

New User Note:  Every user has a special user note which can tell the
name of his or her bbs, an organization he or she belongs to, or a
comment about the user's access level.  For new users, you can
determine the default note that they will be given here.

New User Access Level:  New users will be granted this access level.
Note that if this level is under the level required to access the BBS
(see "Access Levels" above), the user will not be permitted to access
the system until validated.

New User Xfer Level:  This is the initial level given to new users.

New User Xfer Points:  If you use a file point system, this field can
be used to give new users a few points to get started with.


New User Voting
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The purpose of the New User Voting (abbreviated NUV) system is to
allow the users of a system have a say in who gets access and who
doesn't to the system. There are five data options in the setup
relating to the New User Voting.

Enable New User Voting:  This turns the section on and off.  If it is
off, no other NUV options will be used.

Automatically Validate and Delete:  If this check box is marked, a new
user will be validated or deleted when they gain the required number
of votes for either category.  If this is turned off, a user with NUV
sysop access must manually process those pending validation or denial.

Yes Votes:  This is the number of yea votes a new user will be
required to get before being validated.

No Votes:  This is the number of nay votes a user can garner before
being denied access to the system.

Level to Access NUV:  Users must have this level to enter the new user
voting section from the main menu.

Level to Force NUV:  If a user has this level, he or she will
automatically be dropped into the NUV system when they log onto the
system if there are new users to vote on.  This is a handy way of
making your elite users do something with their access.

The process works like this.  When a new user logs on, they will enter
all their normal information, plus Information Script #5 (see
"Information Scripts" above), which is reserved for the New User
Voting section.  They will be given 0 Yes and 0 No votes, and be
logged off. When other users call, they may enter the New User Voting
section and view the existing new users awaiting a decision.  They may
scan for users they have not voted on, and be given the option to view
the fifth infoform, and make a judgement (yes, no, or abstain) on the
new user.  Users may change their vote at any time before the Yea or
Nay threshold has been reached.  Voting users may enter a 50-character
comment regarding the user.

When the new user attempts to log on again, he or she will be given an
up-to-date status report on how the voting is going.  If enough YES
votes are cast, the new user will be auto-validated (as per the quick
validate parameters set by the sysop).  If enough NO votes are cast
(also definable), the user will be given an access level of -5, which
will give the user a message saying "Your application has been denied
by the user voting panel", and deleted when he/she logs on again.  The
text file "DENIED.BBS" will be displayed to users who have been turned
down.  If the automated NUV option is turned off, the sysop must
manually decide on each of the users before any action is taken.

Some new users will never call back, and in this case, the sysop can
simply scan for users with -5 access who have not called in a week or
so and delete them.


Local Users
~~~~~~~~~~~
To many sysops, local users can be valued members of their system.  To
others, however, they can be the bane of quality.  The assumption that
"good users will call long distance to find good boards" is often
found to be true.  Thus, Celerity offers the Local User Lockout
(abbreviated as LUL) system to limit the number of locals permitted on
the system.  A local user is considered by Celerity to be one calling
from the same area code as that of the BBS.

Use Local User Lockout:  This simply enables the LUL system.

Local User Percentage:  This is the percentage of local users allowed
on the system.  Thus, as the system gets larger, the ratio of locals
to non-locals remains consistent.  Some boards set this value as low
as 5 or 10%.  Note that if additional local users are added manually
by the sysop, or if non-local users are deleted from the system, or if
this number is lowered, the actual percentage of local users may be
higher than this value.  Until the percentage falls below this defined
value, no additional local users will be accepted.

Lockout Message:  This is a single-line message which will be
displayed to a user who has been locked out by the LUL.


User Ratios
~~~~~~~~~~~
User ratios are an effective means of measuring performance by users,
and can be used with the same degree of fairness for both new users
and veterans of your system.  Celerity has three different ratios
which can be used to restrict a user from downloading.  These are
outlined below.  In each case, there are two values to be set in
SETUP.  The first is the ratio you wish to require, and the second is
an access level a user may have to be exempt from that ratio.  Also
note that the user exemption flags (see "User Access" in CELERITY.DOC)
which can exempt a user from ratios as well, despite his or her access
level.

Post/Call Ratio:  Also known as a PCR, this is a number which
considers the number of posts a user has made against the number of
calls made.  If a user has made 75 posts and 100 calls, his ratio
would be (75 / 100) .75, or 75%.  Although quality users find it easy
to maintain ratios of 200 or 300%, many users will find the ratio
excessively binding if it is over 50% (one post per two calls).

Upload/Download Ratio:  Known as a UDR, this ratio calculates the
number of uploaded files divided by the number of downloads (a
separate kbytes uploaded vs kbytes downloaded ratio is also
maintained).  If the user downloads excessively, this ratio can be
used to cajole him or her into uploading occasionally to maintain his
or her ratio.

General Ratio:  This ratio is a composite of the PCR and UDR.  If you
choose to make this the main restriction, users can specialize in
either subs or transfers and not be penalized for it.  Users who have
an extremely good UDR but don't post often won't find themselves
restricted , and vice versa.  This can be a happy medium for sysops
who wish their users to contribute to the subs, but don't want to
exclude couriers who call only to upload new releases.


Conference Access
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This dialog contains information pertaining to conference access for
new users and for users who are Quick Validated.  It also has other
quick-validate information similar to that in the New User Options
section (see "New User Options" above).  Users may be quick validated
through the NUV system (see "New User Voting" above), or via the
quick-validate key from the system's sysop options (see "Sysop Menu
Commands" in CELERITY.DOC).

Conference access is divided into four check box clusters: one each of
message conference access and xfer conference access for users who are
Quick Validated and those who are not.  Placing check marks in the
boxes will enable access to that conference.

Quick Validate User Note:  Users who are quick-validated will be given
this user note.

Quick Validate Access Level:  When a user is quick-validated, he will
be given this access level.

Quick Validate Xfer Level:  This is the transfer level a
quick-validated user will be given.

Quick Validate Transfer Points:  If you wish to give quick-validated
users a few transfer points to start with, define the amount in this
field.


Section II:  Other Configuration
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Color Codes
~~~~~~~~~~~
Certain text strings, such as oneliners, prompt format, etc. can use
color codes to add a splash of color.  The codes are always preceded
by a pipe character (|) and are a single digit.  The codes are as
follows:

|1 - User color #1
|2 - User color #2
.
.
|8 - User color #8
|9 - Carriage return (for multiple-line prompts, etc.)
|b - Low intensity blue
|g - Low intensity green
|c - Low intensity cyan
|r - Low intensity red
|m - Low intensity magenta
|y - Low intensity yellow (brown)
|w - Low intensity white
|d - High intensity black (dark gray)
|B - High intensity blue
|G - High intensity green
|C - High intensity cyan
|R - High intensity red
|M - High intensity magenta
|Y - High intensity yellow (yellow)
|W - High intensity white


Customizing Displays
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
One of the specialties of Celerity is its ability to allow sysops to
change the way it looks.  A number of display screens and display
features may be altered or radically changed to suit the sysop's
desires.

Some of the factors affecting a user's display are changed above, but
I will outline them here for your reference.

Look and Feel section:  This section of Setup is particularly
effective in changing the look of your system.  Note the "Plaque
headers" and "Prompt Format" options in particular.

Color Setup:  This section also has an impact on the appearance of
your system, particularly the default user colors.  Although users can
and do change their colors, many people get a first impression from
the look of the default color set.

Configurable Status Screens
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Celerity also allows a sysop to design his or her own status screens
to replace those available in Celerity by default.  The four screens
which can be changed include the login status, the user's status
display, the transfer status, and the sysop's user status screen.  The
filenames associated with these displays are as follows:

LOGNSTAT. : Replaces the Login status.
YOURSTAT. : Replaces the main "Your Status" screen.
XFERSTAT. : Replaces the Xfer status screen and xfer policy box.
USERSTAT. : Replaces the status screen in the sysop's user edit section.

To use a status screen, you must make a file with one of the names
listed above.  Make sure the files do not have a suffix.  If you wish
to make different files for different emulations, do so, but you MUST
have one file with no suffix. You can add .ANS and .ASC files if you
desire.

To design a screen, you should have access to TheDraw, ANSIEdit, or
another ANSI paint/draw screen unless you wish to design text-only
screens with no color.  When you have the screen drawn (minus the
data), enter the animation mode (in TheDraw, cursor positioning
commands in other programs) and place the display commands at the
location you wish the data to appear.  There are two sets of display
commands, one preceded by an "@" character, and one preceded by a "`"
character.  The display commands are as follows.

@A - Sysop Available / Sysop not available
@H - User's handle
@R - User's Real name
@P - User's phone number
@N - User note
@p - Password
@T - Total time spent online
@t - Time left today
@# - Total number of calls
@1..@5 - displays the conference name IF the user has access to the conf.
@L - Date of last call
@l - Time of last call
@h - Hack attempts
@S - Sysop availability
@c - Last caller
@B - User's BBS level
@X - User's Xfer level

`X - Number of uploads
`x - number of downloads
`K - K uploaded (includes a 'k' at the end of the value)
`k - K downloaded (also includes a 'k' at the end)
`R - Upload/Download ratio (includes a '%' at the end)
`r - Upload K/Download K ratio (includes '%')
`F - File points
`C - Commission points earned  (since last call)
`V - Validation points earned   (since last call)
`U - New uploads
`P - New posts
`M - Mail waiting
`c - Average CPS rate user gets downloading
`p - Number of posts made
`% - Post/Call ratio

Some sysops have designed alternate screens which are available on the
Celerity support BBS.  If you design some and wish to share them, feel
free to upload them.

Sysop-definable Display Files
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Any file in the MENU directory can be modified without severe impact
on the system.  Sysops are encouraged to tailor the screens to meet
the needs and motif of their systems.  Some of the files which may be
altered are listed below:

DONATION.    : No extension.  This file is displayed when the user
types the "$" command from the main menu.  Usually contains the BBS'
donation policy.

GOODBYE .    : No extension.  This is displayed to all users upon
logging off the system.  Often contains a list of other BBS' supported
by your system.

NEWUSER .    : When new users log on, this file will be displayed.  It
usually will tell a bit about the system and access requirements.

NICETRY .    : A message displayed to users who fail to enter their
password an excessive number of times.  It usually contains a message
to the effect of "If you were a new user, you aren't wanted here.  If
you're a hacker, fuck off".  Not that a nasty message will stop a
hacker.

RAISEREQ.    : No extension.  If a user requests an access raise via
the "!" command at the main menu, this file is displayed.  It has a
special format which must be followed.  At the beginning of the file,
any number of lines of text can be displayed, and will be shown to all
users.  Following the initial block of text are additional notes
depending on the user's current level.  To add additional notes, enter
a period on a blank line, and on the next line enter the level range
(ie: 0-9, 10-50, etc.).  The third and following lines contain the
notes for that level.

SUMMON  .    : No extension.  This text is displayed to the sysop when
the chat call is activated.  Something short is sufficient.

TIMESUP .    : No extension.  This text is displayed to a user if they
run out of time and are kicked off the system.


The following files all have .BBS as an extension.  You may include
*.ASC versions without color, and .TXT files for users without IBM
ASCII.

VALIDUD .BBS : Text displayed with the validation upload.

PRESHELL.BBS : A file which is displayed before the shell is entered.

CAEINTRO.BBS : Text to be displayed when a caller connects to a CAE.

OTHERSYS.BBS : A message which is displayed when the user is kicked
off the normal system (see "Negative Access Levels" in CELERITY.DOC)
and given the password to system 2 or 3.

DENIED  .BBS : A message displayed to a user who has been denied
access in the new user voting section.

FEEDBACK.BBS : Message a new user gets indicating them to leave
feedback to the sysop after applying for access.

PRELOGON.BBS : A "system identification" message displayed before a
caller enters his or her user name and password.  This is displayed
after the first system is entered from the shell if a shell is used,
or immediately if a shell is not used.

CHANGES .BBS : Quick "news brief" displayed AFTER PRELOGON.BBS, and
before the user enters his/her handle/password etc.  This should not
be more than one line, and may be omitted altogether if there is no
special news (appropriate news would be "Please fill out the first
infoform.  Skip the rest.".  Inappropriate news would be "Hard disk
crash.  Userlist lost.  Log on new." Because of Celerity's Auto-backup
feature (see "Auto-Backup" above), there is NEVER any excuse for
loosing a userlist.)

AD      .BBS : Displayed when a user hits "&" from the main menu.  It
can be an ad for the software, or changed to something more
appropriate for your system.

BLACKLST.BBS : Displayed to a user who attempts to apply and has his
name in the blacklist file.  See "BLACKLST." below.

PROT_?  .BBS : An ANSI menu of available protocols.  The ? wildcard
may be S for non-batch downloads, R for non-batch uploads, D for batch
downloads, and U for batch upload protocols.

XFERNEWS.*   : This is some transfer news which will be displayed to a
user who enters the transfer section.  The * wildcard represents the
conference number.

Blacklst.    : This file has no extension.  It contains a list of
handles which you do not want admitted to your system.  If a user is
listed here, they will be displayed the Blacklst.BBS (see above) file
when they log on new.

Welcome.*    : ANSI welcome screens have a suffix of a numerical value
from one to 9 (you may have 9 ANSI logon screens, displayed at random
when a user has entered his/her password).  You may have one
WELCOME.ASC file and one WELCOME.TXT file for non-ANSI users.  Enter
the number of ANSI screens you have in the setup section to ensure
proper randomization.

Custom Menus
~~~~~~~~~~~~
In your menu directory, you will find about thirty different menu
files, with up to four extensions each.  The different extensions
represent menus for different terminal emulations, as follows:  ANS
extensions are for ANSI menus, including color, animation, and
high-bit ASCII.  ASC extensions are for those who can see IBM ASCII,
but not color or animation.  AVT extensions represent menus for those
with Avatar.  Note that these may be the same as ANS menus, and will
be converted on-the-fly when users view them.  No extension are for
straight 7-bit ASCII text menus.



Note that the documentation will be further refined and expanded with
the next version of Celerity.