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[About The Guide]
MAIL NETWORKING
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What is a mail network? Basically it is a set of bulletin
board systems that are capable of exchanging messages and
files with each other without the need for human
intervention. All the discussion which follows relates to
FidoNet, the world's largest amateur mail network. FidoNet
consists of approximately 5,000 bulletin board systems, each
of which is assigned a unique "address". A file called a
nodelist stores all these addresses along with other
information about each system. Think of it like an
international "telephone book".
Being part of a network has two basic attractions; NetMail
and EchoMail. NetMail allows you to send a private message
to any user of any one of the bulletins boards in the
network at little or no cost to you. EchoMail is a method of
creating a huge message area that many hundreds of systems
can potentially participate in. Usually all EchoMail areas
will contain only public messages, and are organised into
either general discussion areas, or areas that deal with
specific issues and or topics.
The net is organised into several levels, which are usually
based on geographical proximity. At the highest level there
are five "zones"; zone 1 is the USA, zone 2 is Europe, zone
3 is the Pacific Rim, zone 4 is South America, zone 5 is
Africa and zone 6 is Asia. Within each zone are a number of
"regions" that span large geographical areas. Typically
there will be between 5 and 18 regions per zone. Each region
is further divided into "nets". Each net has a unique
net number, and the distribution of these nets is also
based on geographical and technical considerations.
Finally, within the net are a number of nodes. A node
refers to a single bulletin board system.
To find out about obtaining a node number, or an "address",
contact the nearest FidoNet bulletin board. The sysop will
usually be more than happy to help you out.
Before going any further, let's talk about the extra
software you will need to set up as a node. Firstly you will
need an echomail processor. This is the program which
unpacks the mail you will receive, and imports it into your
RemoteAccess message-base, as well as packing up outbound
mail that needs to be sent out. RemoteAccess does NOT
include such a beast. There are several other processors
around that will do the job:
Echogen and QEcho, both by Adam Hudson,
ZMailQ, by Claude N. Warren,
TosScan, by Joaquim Homrighausen.
IMAIL, by Fabiano Fabris
The last two are commercial products, and require the
payment of a small fee to purchase them. Echogen and QEcho
are shareware, and as such require no initial payment, but
they both have KNOWN bugs, although both are still fully
functional.
The other piece of software you'll need is a mailer.
RemoteAccess will not directly communicate with other
network bulletin boards, so a separate program fills the
gap. The two most widely used different types of mailers
are:
FrontDoor, by Joaquim Homrighausen,
BinkleyTerm, by Bit Bucket Software.
All of these products are available on a shareware basis,
and like the echomail processors, will usually be
available on most FidoNet bulletin boards if you ask the
sysop nicely enough.
The node number you are assigned will be of the format
Zone:Net/Node.Point. This initial node number should be put
into your configuration file using the ADDRESS option of
RACONFIG. Don't worry about the AKA addresses at this stage.
will usually be given a list of areas that are available to
you. Each area is identified by an uppercase alphanumeric
name. As far as RemoteAccess is concerned, all you need is a
description of each area you plan to "plug into". Fire up
RACONFIG, and go to the MESSAGE AREAS window. Select an
unused message area, and enter the area's name in the NAME
field. Next, set the TYPE OF MAIL field to ECHOMAIL, and
MESSAGE STATUS to PUBLIC. Most EchoMail areas don't allow
the use of aliases, so set this to "No". The AKA ADDRESS
line shows your assigned node number. If it doesn't, hit
RETURN on this option and select the correct address.
Each EchoMail message that is posted on your system could
potentially be read by hundred of other sysops and users, so
you can put a "one-liner" at the end of each message. In the
ORIGIN LINE field enter a short message. This should contain
at least the name of your system, and possibly where it is
or the phone-number, so that other users know where to call.
Your node number is also appended to the end of the message,
so a typical origin line might read:
* Origin : RemoteAccess HQ (3:690/625.0)
Don't put the "* Origin" part in - this is added by the
software). If you don't specify an origin line for a
particular area, RemoteAccess will use the DEFAULT ORIGIN
LINE.
If running a multi-node system, the line number that the
message was posted on may be inserted in the origin line by
using the '@' macro character in any origin line definition.
The next step is to set up your EchoMail message areas. You
will usually be given a list of areas that are available to
you. Each area is identified by an uppercase alphanumeric
name. As far as RemoteAccess is concerned, all you need is a
description of each area you plan to "plug into". Fire up
RACONFIG, and go to the MESSAGE AREAS window. Select an
unused message area, and enter the area's name in the NAME
field. Next, set the TYPE OF MAIL field to ECHOMAIL, and
MESSAGE STATUS to PUBLIC. Most EchoMail areas don't allow
the use of aliases, so set the area to "real names only".
The AKA ADDRESS line shows your assigned node number. If
it doesn't, hit RETURN on this option and select the
correct address.
That's it! RemoteAccess is now fully configured for network
mail. Assuming that you have a suitable mailer and echomail
processor, all that is required is to set them up correctly
and you're in business. An explanation of setting these up
is beyond the scope of this document, full instructions are
available with each respective package.
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Written by Dave Pearson