The HOLIDATE Computer Dating Service 컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴 Shareware Release copyright 1994 by Kevin Spencer 2715 10th St Apt 12-102 Roanoke, VA 24012 (703) 563-1430 e-mail TAKempis@AOL.COM Introduction 컴컴컴컴컴컴 I'm so glad you decided to try out this program! I'm rather proud of it, and I believe that, although there are a number of Computer Dating Service doors around, this one is the BEST! I don't want to give away any secrets, but let me give you a brief summary of how the HOLIDATE Computer Dating Service works. Every User of the Service must fill out a 34 question questionnaire which is designed to provide a profile of their personality, their likes and dislikes. 22 of these questions are graded from 0 - 9, which provides a high level of "fine-tuning" ability to the program. In addition, these questions have been "weighted" to factor in the concept that some differences are more important than others. "Do you like Dogs?", for instance, as compared to "Do you like Children?" When using the Computer Matchmaker, the User's record is compared with every record of the opposite sex, and a list of the top 200 (if there are that many) is returned, sorted from top to bottom. The computer then names the top candidate, gives the compatibility percentage, and displays each one in order, reporting the compatibility percentage for each one, until told to quit by the User, or until the list is exhausted. In addition to Computer Matchmaker, a "Browse the Files" function is included, which allows the User to define search criteria, and returns the records of the individuals found as a result. This is useful if one wants to look up the record of an individual whose name is known, or if a User is looking for a particular quality, and doesn't want the computer to do the "guesswork." Online Help is accessible and convenient, with scrolling windows of context- sensitive information. From within one Help file, the User can call up a related Help file. I took a pre-release copy of this program to Knoxville with me when visiting family down there. I had entered a large number of fake people in the data file, and had each of my sisters and their husbands independently fill out applications. Lo and behold! The program matched each of my sisters with their husbands! Try it out on a few people YOU know. It might be fun, at least! System Requirements 컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴� This program is designed to be run on the IBM 8086 family of computers (any computer with "-86" at the end, such as "286", "386", 486" etc. In addition, you will need to obtain a FOSSIL driver to operate this. For those of you who don't know, a FOSSIL driver is a TSR which handles modem communications. If you are running certain BBS's, such as RENEGADE, you already have a FOSSIL driver, as it is necessary to have one to operate the BBS. I use the BNU FOSSIL driver. They are available from some BBS's as shareware, and on America Online as shareware, and easy to install and operate. You must have ANSI.SYS loaded to run this program. The installation utility which comes with this program will check to see whether you have ANSI.SYS loaded, and modify your CONFIG.SYS file (with your permission) if necessary. NOTE: If you are running OS2 or any other operating system other than MSDOS, you may have trouble with the scan for ANSI.SYS on the CONFIG.SYS file. If you know that you are running ANSI.SYS, answer "N" when prompted whether you want it added to your CONFIG.SYS file. This program uses no dropfiles. Future releases will be configured to get port information, etc. from popular dropfiles. However, this program will get the information it needs from the PORT.DAT file, and needs no drop file. For this reason, you may not be able to run HOLIDATE on multiple nodes. Watch for future releases (see Support Boards listed below). Files Included in This Program 컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴 There are only 4 files included in this package: HOLIDATE.EXE INSTALL.EXE README.TXT SAMPLE.ZIP In addition, the program will CREATE files which it needs to operate: PORT.DAT (Holds the Comport number) PASSWORD.DAT (Holds the Sysop access password) MEN.DAT (Holds the data files of Men) WOMEN.DAT (Holds the data files of Women) Once you run INSTALL, which creates (if needed) a directory called C:\NEWDBMS, all of these files will be placed in that directory automatically. Registration 컴컴컴컴컴컴 I'm not going to go into a lot of legalese here. I know what it's like to be poor, because I AM! Therefore, I know that some of you out there are just getting started, and can't afford to pay for this program. I'm not going to send the Computer Police after you if you don't register. HOWEVER, if you can AT ALL afford to register this program, I am requesting a mere 20 bucks for its' use after a reasonable (45 days) trial period. Check it out. It's my guess that many people on your BBS will be willing to pay YOU for access to the program, once there are a large number of poeple using it. Send your check or money order to: Kevin Spencer 2715 10th St, Apt 12-102 Roanoke, VA 24012 Installation Instructions 컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴� This program comes with its' own installation utility, INSTALL.EXE. From whatever directory you have unzipped the file to, simply type INSTALL. The utility will do the following, and can be aborted at any time: 1. Asks if you have a directory called C:\NEWDBMS. If you don't it will offer to make one for you. It is ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY for you to have a directory named C:\NEWDBMS to run this porgram. 2. Asks you for the Comport your modem is using (COM1, COM2, COM3, or COM4 only). It will then record this information in a file called PORT.DAT on your NEWDBMS directory. If, at any time in the future, you need to change the Comport your modem is using, simply re-run the install program using the parameter "-p". ("INSTALL -p") This will only get Comport infor- mation, and skip the rest of the installation routines. 3. Moves all the files from the current directory to C:\NEWDBMS. In fact, it unzips the files to that directory, and then deletes them in the current directory. So MAKE SURE THAT THE FILE "HDATE.EXE" IS IN THE DIRECTORY YOU ARE WORKING FROM!! 4. Scans your CONFIG.SYS file to see if ANSI.SYS is loaded. If it is not, the program will offer to add ANSI.SYS to your CONFIG.SYS file. All of these things can be accomplished by you on your own, but many people don't know how to modify their CONFIG.SYS file, and the program makes sure that ALL steps necessary to installation are carried out. Besides, the Com- port information is ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY to run the program. In other words, RUN THE INSTALLATION UTILITY BEFORE ATTEMPTING TO USE HOLIDATE! Testing HOLIDATE 컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴 For your convenience, a ZIP file called SAMPLE.ZIP has been included. This contains data files (MEN.DAT & WOMEN.DAT) with a whole bunch of imaginary people in them. If you unzip these files in your C:\NEWDBMS directory, you can take your HOLIDATE Computer Dating Service for a test drive. HOLIDATE is designed to send Output BOTH to the modem, and to the local monitor, and is designed to receive Input BOTH from the remote User, and/or from the local Keyboard. So, you don't have to be running your BBS to take it for a test drive. Just make sure you have your FOSSIL driver running. Fill out a New User Questionnaire, and use Computer Matchmaker to watch the program pick out the best imaginary candidates for your entry. Try the Browse the Files function. And you can use this opportunity to enter your Sysop password. The first time you try to enter the Sysop's Corner (Edit the Files on the Main Menu), the program will tell you that you haven't entered a pass- word yet, and will prompt you for one. Once you have entered your password for the first time, the program will always prompt anyone attempting to enter this section of the program for a password. If they don't get it in 3 tries, It boots them out of the program. Don't forget to check out the way cool Online Help! And DON'T FORGET TO DELETE THE MEN.DAT AND WOMEN.DAT FILES WITH THE FAKE INFORMATION ON THEM BEFORE RUNNING THE PROGRAM ON YOUR BBS! Maintenance (Edit the Files Section) 컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴 In the Sysop's Corner there are 4 Menu Items of interest: 1. Change Password. Obviously, this function allows you to change the sysop Password at any time. Of course, you have to enter the cur- rent password to access this function. If you ever forget the password: You can't read the password by using the "type" command on PASSWORD.DAT. It is encrypted. However, you CAN delete PASSWORD.DAT, in which case, the next time you try to enter the Sysop's Corner it will prompt you to enter a NEW password! NOTE: The PASSWORD.DAT file is created the FIRST time the Sysop's Corner is used. If there is no PASSWORD.DAT file, the user will be prompted to enter one. Be the first user to do this! If, by chance, someone else gets in there, because you forgot to make a new Password, delete the PASSWORD.DAT file, and make a new one by entering the Sysop's corner. 2. Delete Files. Self-Explanatory. Will pull up the file requested, display it, and prompt you twice before deleting. 3. Purge Files. If you delete a lot of files it will save hard-disk space if you use this function from time to time. Every time you delete a file it leaves a hole in the data file. When you Purge the Files, all files are moved to the front of the file, and holes are shoved to the end, where they will be overwritten with new data. 4. Edit files. A User cannot change his/her record once he/she has accepted the initial configuration. Only the Sysop is able to edit files. Occasionally, a User may contact you and request that their file be changed. After all, Users are only human. some people may not understand fully when they are using the program initailly, and do something stupid, leaving erroneous information in their record. Using this function You can come to the rescue! Suggestions For Making Money With HOLIDATE 컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴 HOLIDATE can be a very attractive item on a BBS. However, it will not attract as many Users if it doesn't have any people on it. So, you may want to make access to the program FREE to the first, say, 50 people of either sex who use the program, and charge money after that. Chances are, the data files won't change that much over a short period of time. A monthly fee would probably be best advised. That way, Users could pay for a month, stay off for a couple of months, pay for another month, etc. Support, Suggestions, and Hate Mail 컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴� For problems, bug reports, if you have any suggestions, and for the latest release of HOLIDATE and other software by Kevin Spencer, my Internet (AOL) address is: TAKempis@AOL.COM Support Boards: �袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴敲 � The ROanoke Christian networK (ROCK) - (703) 563-1430 � � Sysop: Kevin Spencer (Kev) � � Hours: 7:00 pm to 6:00 pm (23 hours) � � 2400 Baud � 훤袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴� �袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴� � The Blue Ridge Connection - 2 Nodes! - (703) 977-0045 & (703) 977-0057 � � Sysop: Mike Astin � � 24 Hours � � 14.4k Baud � � FIDO 1:2602/320 � 훤袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴暠 Hey, good luck! Other Software by Kevin Spencer 컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴� L.ocal A.rea M.inistry B.ase door Program for BBS. Features - Keyword Search enables users to find the ministry they (or someone they know) need by simply typing in a Keyword related to the need. Wildcard Search enables users to locate ministries based on partial information. Colorful ANSI interface, on- line help files, context-sensitive. Easy installation! Shareware. AUTOPASS version 2.0, Password Protection for your AUTOEXEC.BAT file. Keeps unauthorized users from getting into your computer. Operates at boot-up. Features: Encrypted Password data file, Colorful User Interface. Easy instal- lation! Shareware.