Welcome to the world of Message-O-Matic, the *Ultimate* automatic message and statistics utility for RemoteAccess and SuperBBS systems
You must step through each part of the setup program and configure Mom to suit your system. Full context sensitive help is available at any time by pressing ~F1~ which will display a screen of help on the current topic.
To get the best possible use from Mom it is important that you read the docs thoroughly and step through each part of this setup program in a logical order. m
Pressing ~Shift-F1~ will bring up an index from which you can select a topic that you would like to browse.
View DRAG mode...
The current window is being moved or resized. Press ENTER to keep the current position, or ESC to restore the former position and/or size.
This help context is reserved.
Prior
Positive Buttons
Ok
Yes
Clicking on these buttons (or pressing ENTER) says "Yes, keep the changes I've made".
Prior
Negative Buttons
Cancel
No
Clicking on these buttons (or pressing ESC) says "No, go back to what I was doing -- don't change or do anything!".
Help on FILE
File management commands (open, save, etc) =
From this menu you can select any of the following options: (
~Open... F3~ ~Save F2~ ~Save as...~ 1
~Change dir...~ ~DOS shell ~ ~Exit Alt-X ~ r
Details of each of the above commands is available by pressing ~F1~ when the cursor is over the relevant option.
Help on OPEN
Select and open configuration file to edit :
The default is to search the current directory for *.CNF
Help on SAVE
Save active configuration B
Pressing ~F2~ at any time will save your current configuration.
Help on SAVE AS
Save configuration under a different name, or to a different directory or drive.
Help on CHANGE DIR
Choose a new default directory from which to load your configuration file.
Help on DOS SHELL
Temporarily exit to DOS but leave MomSetup active. Type Exit at the Dos prompt to return to MomSetup.
Help on EXIT
Exit to the real world .
!! DON'T FORGET TO SAVE ANY CHANGES FIRST !!
Help on ABOUT
About this program
Message-O-Matic is the *Ultimate* automatic message and statistics utility for RemoteAccess/SuperBBS/ProBoard sytems using FrontDoor or D'Bridge as a front-end mailer.
It will fully automate all those tedious messages a busy sysop needs to send to his/her users and also generate many ans/asc screens showing your systems activity.
All the messages and screens generated by Mom can be fully configured to suit the individual system it is running on, which makes Mom the most flexible utility of its type currently on the market. As well as generating screens which you can display online and sending messages, Mom can also alter/set user flags/security levels etc, so upgrading users for uploading, or downgrading users that abuse your system can all be fully automated and LOTS more besides. In fact about the ONLY limitation of Mom are the limits of your own imagination!
Whilst it will take a little time to get the best from Mom, your efforts will be amply rewarded in time saved running your BBS. Your users will be amazed by the friendly messages Mom posts to them.... ~How on earth do you have time to send all those messages?~ they will ask!
Help on SETUP
To setup Message-O-Matic. You will need to step through each part of MomSetup program and configure Mom for your system. Context sensitive help is available at any time by pressing ~F1~. An example Setup file (Mom.Cnf) is included in the archive which you can edit to suit your own system.
N.B. You will need to enable any messages or screens you want Mom to use, as they are all turned off (disabled) in this example configuration. Simply go to the message or screen you wish to use and place an ~X~ in the ~Active~ option to enable that particular message or screen...
To move between the various fields on a particular screen, use the 'Tab' key, the cursor keys will move from item to item in a field. You can also use the mouse should you prefer it.
All of the messages used by Mom are simple Ascii text files that you can edit to personalise them to your taste... They all contain certain metastrings which Mom will automatically translate to show certain information. These metastrings are listed in detail in the MOM.DOC file. The example text files supplied will work perfectly well for most systems with only minor modification.
Help on GENERAL
General setup 7
It is here that you define your basic system details.
You can use the mouse to move around the screen, or use the 'Tab' key to move to the required field and then use the cursor keys to move between items in that field.
Full help is available on each item by pressing ~F1~ when the cursor is over the topic you need help with. You need to supply Mom with the following data.. '
~Sysop name~ ~System name~ ~BBS type~
RemoteAccess 1.0x
RemoteAccess 1.1x
RemoteAccess 2.0g
Super BBS 1.15
Super BBS 1.16
Super BBS 1.17
ProBoard 1.30
~Mailer type~ (
Front Door 2.00+
D'Bridge 1.35+
~Logging level~ )
None
Terse
Verbose
Debug
~Message base locking~
Lock Message base
~LstCaller to mailer's~ +
Last caller screen
Inbound history
~Default message settings~ #
board
Who from
Subject
Help on LOG FILES
Define ~log files~ to be scanned by Mom, this must include the full path and filename. One logfile per line upto a maximum of ten logfiles may be entered.
Help on MESSAGES
Setup different messages. It is from this menu that you setup the various ~simple~ messages that can be sent by Mom, you can enable any of the following: 6
~DailyReport~ Daily report on your systems activity '
~WeeklyReport~ Weekly activity report
~Welcome~ Welcome new users
~ThankYou~ Thank uploaders &
~WatchDog~ Password watchdog message -
~Birthday~ Happy birthday on users birthday @
~CarrierDrop~ Naughty! naughty! you didn't log off correctly.. o
Full help on each part of the setup for these messages is available by pressing ~F1~ over the relevant field.
Help on DAILY REPORT
Setup ~daily report~ message. This will generate a message of your systems activity over the last 24 hours.
Help on WEEKLY REPORT
Setup ~weekly report~ message. This will generate a message of your systems activity over the last 7 days.
Help on WELCOME
Setup ~Welcome~ message to welcome new users to your system
Help on THANKYOU
Setup ~Thank you~ message to thank uploaders
Help on WATCHDOG
Setup ~Watch dog~ messages. Sent to users that exceed their maximum number of attempts to enter a correct password at log on. This message can also show the passwords that were tried by using metastrings within the text of the message to be posted... An example text file is supplied in the archive.
Help on BIRTHDAY
Setup ~Birthday~ messages, sent to users on their birthday.
Help on CARRIER DROP
Setup ~Carrier drop~ messages. Sent to users that drop carrier instead of logging off your system correctly. Be careful with this option, as certain door type programs will allow a user to log off without returning to the BBS, this can cause Mom to incorrectly send a Carrier drop message because both RA and Sbbs will insert a log entry saying 'lost carrier'.
Help on N MESSAGES
Multiple definition messages
It is from this menu that you can setup the more complex Multiple Definition messages that can be sent by Mom. You will need to take more time setting up these messages, and it is necessary to study them carefully to get the best from them. With a little patience they can save you (as sysop) a great deal of time in the daily running of your BBS so it is well worth the effort to make sure that you fully understand them. G
~KeyWord~ Search your log files for a specified keyword and act on it =
~NthCaller~ Send a message to the Nth caller to your system G
~EveryNthCall~ Send a message after EVERY N times the user has called C
~TimesOn~ Post a message ONCE to a user that has called N times .
~Expires~ Send a subscription expiry message X
~Sysop away~ Send a message on behalf of the Sysop if he/she is away (on vacation etc)
Help on KEYWORD
Define ~Keyword~ messages to be sent by Mom.
KeyWord messages - A VERY powerful feature which will tell MOM to search your logfiles for a keyword (or phrase) you have defined and send the appropriate message (fully configurable)
Examples
Help on KEYWORD
Keyword
Scans the log files for a KeyWord (or words) defined by you and if found sends the appropriate message. You may define up to 10 different KeyWords that Mom will scan for.
Examples
Help on NTH CALLER
Define ~Nth caller~ messages. Sent to the Nth caller to your system.
Examples
Help on NTH CALLER
Nth caller
You may define up to 10 Nth Caller type messages on your system. With this message, Mom will send a message to the 'Nth' caller to log onto your BBS.
Examples
Help on EVERY NTH CALL
Define ~Every Nth call~ messages, sends a message after every 'nth' call that a user makes to your system.
Examples
Help on EVERY NTH CALL
Every Nth call p
With this type of message, Mom will post a message after EVERY 'Nth' calls a user makes to your system system.
Examples
Help on TIMES ON
Define ~Times on~ messages. Sends a message to a user after 'x' number of calls.
Examples
Help on TIMES ON
Times on e
With this type of message, you can tell Mom to post a message to a user that has called 'Xx' times.
Examples
Help on EXPIRES
Define ~Expires~ messages. Sends a message to users 'x' days before their subscription expires.
Examples
Help on EXPIRES
Expires
This message is used for automatically maintaining your subscribers accounts. Once setup, Mom will post a message to users telling them how many days they have left before their subscription expires. m
You can enable up to 10 different values for the number of days before expiry for Mom to post this message.
Examples
Help on REGULAR POST
Regular post P
With this message type you can get Mom to post a message on a ~regular~ basis.
For example, you could use this option to post an advert about your system once a month in a BBS-NEWS type echo, or if you are a moderator you could automate the regular posting of rules for a particular area....
Examples
Help on REGULAR POST
Regular post N
Here you can instruct Mom to post a particular message on a 'Regular' basis.
This could be used to post an advert for your BBS into a news type echo, or to automate the posting of 'Rules' for an echo area. m
As with most of the other types of message, you may enter up to 10 different 'Regular Post' type messages.
Examples
Help on SYSOP AWAY
Sysop away K
Mom can automatically send a reply to a message whilst the Sysop is away. #
This can be a very useful function if you are going on vacation for a short time. Any netmail messages that are addressed to you will automatically be replied to by Mom.... The content of the message is up to you. These messages can be set as crash, hold or any other attribute you choose.
Mom can also send replies to messages in Local or Echo areas if you wish, It will look for any message addressed to you and reply to it automatically.
The message board number entered in the Sysop away messages works differently from the other types of message in that the board number you specify is not only used by Mom to post the message into, but it is ALSO used as the message board to scan. H
For example. Entering a board number of 10 would mean Mom would ONLY scan that particular message area for messages to the Sysop, and reply in that area if it was enabled. Other areas NOT included in a Sysop away message would be ignored totally and NO replies would be posted in areas which are not setup as Sysop away areas. {
You can specify up to 10 different message boards for Mom to scan, and send a different message in each area if you wish.
The 'Who from' field also works slightly differently in this type of message. The name you specify here is NOT ONLY the name that Mom will place as the sender of the message, but it is ALSO the name that Mom will scan for before sending a reply.
Sysop away
Mom can be configured (using this message type) to automatically reply to any messages addressed to you. These can be 'Local', 'Echo' or 'Netmail' messages.
If this message is enabled, Mom will look for messages addressed to you (in the message board you define ONLY) and post a reply telling users/friends that you will be away for a while.
The message board number entered in the Sysop away messages works differently from the other types of message in that the board number you specify is not only used by Mom to post the message into, but it is ALSO used as the message board to scan. H
For example. Entering a board number of 10 would mean Mom would ONLY scan that particular message area for messages to the Sysop, and reply in that area if it was enabled. Other areas NOT included in a Sysop away message would be ignored totally and NO replies would be posted in areas which are not setup as Sysop away areas.
The 'Who from' field also works slightly differently in this type of message. The name you specify here is NOT ONLY the name that Mom will place as the sender of the message, but it is ALSO the name that Mom will scan for before sending a reply. `
As with the other 'Multiple' messages, you can configure upto 10 different Sysop way messages.
Help on SCREENS
This part of the configuration tells Mom which system stats screens you wish it to create
N.B. The filename can be any valid Dos name you wish, but should NOT include an extension. Mom will automatically add the .ANS/.ASC extension to any screens it generates and place them in your text file directory as configured in your BBS config.
i.e. CALLERS
The screens you create can be enabled/disabled by toggling the 'Active' box. Pressing [space] over the active field will toggle the setting, an 'X' indicates the option is active. 4
Mom can generate the following statistics screens:
These are all explained in more detail in the setup for the particular screen and in the documents.
Help on MOST ACTIVE CALLERS
Displays a list of the 10 most active callers to your System.
Help on BEST DOWNLOADERS Kb
Creates a list of the most active down loaders (troffers?) by Kb downloaded.
Help on BEST DOWNLOADERS TIMES
Makes a list of the most active down loaders by number of files downloaded.
Help on BEST UPLOADERS Kb
creates a list of the most active up loaders to your system by Kb's uploaded.
Help on BEST UPLOADERS TIMES
Makes a list of the most active up loaders by number of files uploaded.
Help on BEST MESSAGE WRITERS
Creates a list of the most active message posters on your system.
Help on MOST ACTIVE MESSAGE AREAS
Creates a list of the busiest mail areas on your system by number of messages in each area.
Help on LAST CALLERS
Creates a list of BBS callers today.
Help on FILES ACTIVITY REPORT
Makes a general report on file area activity. Downloads/Uploads etc. u
The File Activity Report is hardcoded in Mom, that is anything you enter on the various text lines when setting up the screen will be ignored, but you MUST set the various color options to suit your system. Failure to set the colors will result in a screen being produced which has black text on a black background! Hardly the best color combination for users to see! :-) 7
i.e. text line is ignored, but screen colors are used
Help on SYSTEM ACTIVITY REPORT
Creates a report of your systems activity. w
The System Activity Report is hardcoded in Mom, that is anything you enter on the various text lines when setting up the screen will be ignored, but you MUST set the various color options to suit your system. Failure to set the colors will result in a screen being produced which has black text on a black background! Hardly the best color combination for users to see! :-) 7
i.e. text line is ignored, but screen colors are used
Help on HAPPY BIRTHDAY SCREEN
Creates a screen of users on your system with a birthday in the next Xx days. 1
The number of days to generate the report for. e
i.e. entering 30 would generate a list of users on your system with a birthday in the next 30 days.
Help on INBOUND ECHOMAIL HISTORY
Creates a report of inbound mail calls to your system.
Help on OUTBOUND ECHOMAIL HISTORY
Creates a report of outbound mail calls made by your system.
Help on UTILS
Utils
Help on CONVERT
Upgrade your configuration from a previous version of MOM.
N.B. Because of the many changes and additions to Mom in this release, it will be necessary to carefully step through the setup program after conversion to manually add any information that was not in earlier versions.
Help on EXPORT
Export configuration to a plain ascii file. This file can then be printed so you can keep a permanent hard copy of your settings.
Help on OPTIONS
Set MOMsetup options
Help on PALLETE
Choose Color, Black & White or LED screen colors A
A small utility program is included within the Mom archive (EditPal.Exe) that will allow you to generate your own customised palletes (*.PAL files) NO documentation is included for this program but it is fairly simple to use, so please feel free to experiment and create different palletes to use in the setup program.
Help on COLOR
(/Switch) Select for Color monitor
Help on BLACKWHITE
(/Switch) Select for Black & White/LCD (portable/notebook)
Help on MONOCHROME
(/Switch) Select for Hercules/Monochrome
Help on LOAD PALLETE
Load pallete from file
Help on VIDEO MODE
Change to 43/50 line mode (EGA/VGA only)
Help on MOUSE
Set mouse preferences
Help on USER SCREEN
View DOS screen
Help on WELCOME TO THE
Welcome to the world of Message-O-Matic
Help on ACTIVE
Enable/disable message or screen. Press [space] to toggle the option on or off. An 'X' indicates that the option is enabled (active)
Help on FILE NAME
Enter file name of message text or screen l
filename and extension of the text file to be posted by Mom when sending a KeyWord message on your system.
i.e. keyword.txt <
If this field is blank then Mom will NOT post this message
N.B. If the filename is for a screen, DO NOT add and extension to the filename. Mom will automatically take the name you have entered and add an .Asc or.Ans extension to it. The screens created by Mom will be placed in your BBS text file directory.
Help on BOARD
Enter message board
You may define a different message area for this message to be posted into. If it's set to 0, then the message board you have defined as the 'Default' message board will be used. Specifying any other board number will override the default setting.
When setting the default message board it is best to set it to use a 'Local' message area. Messages other than the default can be anything you wish, either local, echo or netmail areas depending on the message Mom is posting. "
N.B. SYSOP AWAY type messages!
The message board number entered in the Sysop away messages works differently from the other types of message in that the board number you specify is not only used by Mom to post the message into, but it is ALSO used as the message board to scan. H
For example. Entering a board number of 10 would mean Mom would ONLY scan that particular message area for messages to the Sysop, and reply in that area if it was enabled. Other areas NOT included in a Sysop away message would be ignored totally and NO replies would be posted in areas which are not setup as Sysop away areas.
Help on WHO FROM
Here you can tell Mom who to enter as the sender of a message !
N.B. SYSOP AWAY type messages. 1
The 'Who from' field works slightly differently in this type of message. The name you specify here is NOT ONLY the name that Mom will place as the sender of the message, but it is ALSO the name that Mom will scan for before sending a reply. This is ONLY true for Sysop away messages, NOT for any others!
Help on SUBJECT
Subject of message
Text to be entered on the subject line of the message which is posted. You may use metastrings in this field to personalize your messages. -
i.e. Weekly activity report for %BoardName% @
See the documents for more info on metastrings and their usage
Help on ATTR1
Set private message attribute B
Indicates that the message should only be read by the addressee.
Help on ATTR12
Set hold message attribute A
The hold status will force your front-end mailer to ignore the message unless the destination system calls your system to pick up its mail. If the message is destined for a point system and the boss of the point system calls your system, the message will be given to the boss unless the message also has Direct status.
Help on ATTR13
Set crash message attribute
High-priority mail. Messages with crash status can never be routed or held by a route file. Crash messages do, however, NOT override any cost restrictions for an event; they also require that the destination system has been qualified before your front-end mailer will call it.
Help on ATTR14
Set kill/sent message attribute
Removes the message after it has been sent or picked up. If the Kill/Sent status is not set on a message, it will be marked as sent after it has been sent or picked up.
Help on ATTR15
Set sent message attribute
Indicates that the message has been sent or picked up by the addressee. Once a message has been flagged as sent, they cannot be sent or picked up by the addressee.
Help on ATTR16
Set received message attribute ?
Marks the mail as received (read). This mail will NOT be sent
Help on ATTR17
Set archive/sent message attribute
The ARCHIVE/SENT flag causes a message to be written to the specified OUTBOUND MAIL ARCHIVE specified on the PACKET/MAIL CONTROL screen. After the message text has been stored in this file, the message is erased from the system.
Help on ATTR18
Set direct message attribute
Similar to the Crash status, with the difference that they can be held. Messages with the Direct and Hold status combined require that the destination system (including points) call in to pickup their mail.
Help on ATTR19
Set zonegate routing message attribute `
If you wish an inter-zone message to be routed through the official "zonegate", use this flag.
Help on ATTR1A
Set hub routing message attribute E
If you want a message to be HOST- or HUB-ROUTED, specify this flag.
Help on ATTR1B
Set files attached message attribute >
Indicates that the message has one or more files attached to it. The files are listed in the subject (Re:) line. File attach messages can be routed and held unless another status bit (Crash, Immediate, Hold, etc.) prevents it. The default treatment of a file attach message is to send it directly to its destination.
Help on ATTR1C
Set file request message attribute
Indicates that the message is a File Request. The requested files are listed in the subject line and may contain wild-cards characters. File request messages can be held, but are never routed.
Help on ATTR1D
Set immediate message attribute F
Similar to the Crash status, but messages with immediate status will be sent at the first opportunity, ignoring all restrictions and qualifications. If there is one or more messages with immediate status to a system, all other messages (except those with hold status) to that system will be added to the mail packet.
USE THIS OPTION WITH CAUTION!
Help on ATTR1E
Set xmail message attribute
In D'Bridge terms, XMAIL simply means compressed mail. Compression is achieved through the use of common compression/archival programs that store a series of files inside a single archive. By default, ARC by System Enhancement Associates is used to store and compress the mail so that telephone costs may be cut. ZIP, LHA, ARJ, PAK and ZOO are also supported as standard compression methods.
Help on ATTR1F
Set kill file sent message attribute x
Removes the attached files after they have been sent or picked up. This option is only valid for file attach messages.
Help on ATTR1G
Set truncate file sent message attribute
Truncates the attached files to zero length after they have been sent or picked up. This option is only valid for file attach messages. `
Note that it is nearly impossible to recover a truncated file so use this option with caution.
Help on ATTR2
Set lock message attribute
Locks a message from further access. This is done by setting the DOS attribute to read-only and adding a special flag to the message text. Most front-end mailers will ignore message files (.MSG) with read-only attribute.
Help on ATTR22
Set return receipt request message attribute
When the mailer/packer at the message's final destination unpacks the message, it's asked to generate a receipt to the author of the message that indicates that the message arrived at its final destination.
Help on ATTR23
Set confirmation message attribute q
When message is read by its addressee, a Confirmation Receipt should be generated to the author of the message.
Help on ATTR24
Set audit request message attribute
Help on ATTR25
Set hi-resolution message attribute
FAX: Hi-Resolution image.
Help on ATTR26
Set cover page message attribute "
CoverLetter FAX: Cover sheet.
Help on ATTR27
Set signature message attribute
Signature FAX: Signature.
Help on ATTR28
Set letter message attribute !
LetterHead FAX: LetterHead.
Help on SYSOPNAME
Sysop's name
Help on SYSTEMNAME
BBS name
Help on BBSTYPE
Set bbs type to Remote Access 1.0x
Help on BBSTYPE2
Set bbs type to Remote Access 1.1x
Help on BBSTYPE3
Set bbs type to Remote Access 2.0x
N.B. Please note that this version of Mom has NO support for the new JAM message base since the data structures were not available at the time of release.
Help on BBSTYPE4
Set bbs type to Super BBS 1.15
Help on BBSTYPE5
Set bbs type to Super BBS 1.16
Help on BBSTYPE6
Set bbs type to Super BBS 1.17
Help on BBSTYPE7
Set bbs type to ProBoard 1.30
Help on MAILERTYPE
Set mailer type to FrontDoor
Help on MAILERTYPE2
Set mailer type to DBridge
Help on LOGLEVEL
Set logging level
This controls the level of detail being written to the system log file. Mom allows three levels of activity logging; it is highly recommended you select VERBOSE until you are familiar with the complete operation of Message-O-Matic. n
NONE Creates NO log whatsoever. Using this option, problems will be difficult to resolve, once detected. U
TERSE Writes only the important data such as messages sent and screens generated. =
VERBOSE Writes ALL information displayed in the log window.
DEBUG Similar to VERBOSE, except the opening and closing of all files are shown in the log. This option would only normally be rquired if you were experiencing problems and were asked for a Debug log by the author. B
Mom keeps a log of its activity so you may view its performance.
Help on LOCKING
Use file locking (SHARE.EXE must be loaded) this is only necessary for multi- node or multi-tasking systems to prevent corruption of the message base. ]
To enable an option press [space]. An 'X' will appear on screen to show that it is enabled.
Help on LC2MAILER
Last bbs caller to mailer's last caller
~Last caller screen~ show the last BBS caller on your front-end mailer screen. Mom will add a specially formatted 'node number' which gives more details of the caller.
Examples
'node
numbers'
Help on LC2MAILER2
Last bbs caller to mailer's inbound history ]
~Inbound history~ Add BBS callers details into your front-end mailers inbound history file. ]
To enable an option press [space]. An 'X' will appear on screen to show that it is enabled.
Examples
'node
numbers'
Help on LOG
Log file to be scanned. You MUST enter the full path and filename of the log to be scanned by Mom.
i.e. C:\fd\fd.log
Help on CONDITION
Examples
'Condition'
usage
Condition to check when sending message or preparing screen
By using 'Conditions' parameters you can allow Mom to post messages ONLY to users that meet the conditions you define. When generating screens the conditions can be used to prevent certain users or groups of users from being displayed. &
The 'Condition' and 'Action' fields are perhaps the most difficult part of Mom's operation to grasp. But it is these two options that give Mom its superb flexibility and it is worth taking time to fully understand their use. The easiest way to get to know these features is to try them.......
You may specify that messages are ONLY sent to users that meet certain conditions. i.e. a user MUST meet any conditions you specify for a particular message, otherwise the message will NOT be sent to him/her. I
Conditions MUST be separated by a comma as shown in the examples below.
Conditions are checked BEFORE sending a message, and actions are peformed ONLY when a message was successfuly sent. The format of the condition field is ('|' means or):
condition ::== <cond> | <cond>','<cond> - conditions are separated by ','
cond can be any of the following ::== <flagsetting> | <securitysetting> | &
<groupsetting> | <languagesetting>
flagsetting ::== <flagpresence><flagname><number>
flagpresence ::== '-' | - flag is clear (
'+' - flag is set
flagname ::== 'A' | 'B' | 'C' | 'D'
securitysetting ::== <relation_or_s><number>
relation_or_s ::== <relation> | 'S' - security is equivalent to
relation ::== '=' | - security is equivalent to _
'<' | - security is less than
'>' - security is greater than
groupsetting ::== 'G'<number>
languagesetting ::== 'L'<number>
Help on ACTION
Examples
'Action'
usage
Action to be performed on user's record
By using 'Actions' and 'Conditions' you can allow Mom to change users access according to their behaviour. You can reward uploaders or downgrade abusers of your system... plus LOTS more! &
The 'Condition' and 'Action' fields are perhaps the most difficult part of Mom's operation to grasp. But it is these two options that give Mom its superb flexibility and it is worth taking time to fully understand their use. The easiest way to get to know these features is to try them.......
The symbols '<' and '>' may also be used as actions to be done when sending messages. '<' sets the upper limit for increasing the security level. '>' sets the lower limit for decreasing sec level.
format: <num -- (default value <65535) '
>num -- (default value >0)
The format of the action field is: (| means 'or')
action ::== <act> | <act>','<act> - actions are separated by ',' (without the quotes!)
whattodo ::== '-' | - clear flag, decrease security d
'+' | - set flag, increase security
'!' - toggle flag, set security
flagname ::== 'A' | 'B' | 'C' | 'D'
securityset ::== <whattodo>'S'<number>
securitycondition ::== <relation><number>
relation ::== '<' | - change security if less than 6
'>' - change security if greater than
Help on TITLE
Screen title .
Examples
metastring
usage
This is the title line shown on the stats screen created by Mom
PLEASE refer to the documents for a more detailed description of metastring usage and text formatting commands. An example Mom.Cnf (configuration) file is provided to get you started and it will generate ALL of the various stats screens available in Mom. Once you have FULLY understood the layout of these commands you can then edit the various fields to create stats screens which are unique to your system. ,
The general format of metastring usage is: G
'%'metastringname['#'<arguments>'#'][':'[<justification>]<length>]'%' l
items in '' are typed as is WITHOUT the quotes, items in [] are optional, and items in <> are substituted.
<metastringname> is one of ANY of the metastrings listed in the documents <arguments> are metastring arguments if any (e.g. drive letters in drivesize kbdrivesize free etc.). <justification> is 'l'eft, 'c'enter or 'r'ight (default left). <length> is justification length (default 79). v
if the line in message text begins with a '|' it is treated as a justification parameter. In general line format is:
['|'[<justification>]<length>'|']text text text... <justification> and <length> have the same meaning as in the metastrings formatting but with the addition of the line of text.
You can specify title, subtitle, text and bottom line contents. metastrings are valid. In text lines the user name can be obtained by %toname% and other %to...% metastrings.
Help on SUBTITLE
Screen subtitle F
Examples
metastring
usage
PLEASE refer to the documents for a more detailed description of metastring usage and text formatting commands. An example Mom.Cnf (configuration) file is provided to get you started and it will generate ALL of the various stats screens available in Mom. Once you have FULLY understood the layout of these commands you can then edit the various fields to create stats screens which are unique to your system. ,
The general format of metastring usage is: G
'%'metastringname['#'<arguments>'#'][':'[<justification>]<length>]'%' l
items in '' are typed as is WITHOUT the quotes, items in [] are optional, and items in <> are substituted.
<metastringname> is one of ANY of the metastrings listed in the documents <arguments> are metastring arguments if any (e.g. drive letters in drivesize kbdrivesize free etc.). <justification> is 'l'eft, 'c'enter or 'r'ight (default left). <length> is justification length (default 79). v
if the line in message text begins with a '|' it is treated as a justification parameter. In general line format is:
['|'[<justification>]<length>'|']text text text... <justification> and <length> have the same meaning as in the metastrings formatting but with the addition of the line of text.
You can specify title, subtitle, text and bottom line contents. metastrings are valid. In text lines the user name can be obtained by %toname% and other %to...% metastrings.
Help on TEXT
Screen lines 1
Examples
metastring
usage
PLEASE refer to the documents for a more detailed description of metastring usage and text formatting commands. An example Mom.Cnf (configuration) file is provided to get you started and it will generate ALL of the various stats screens available in Mom. Once you have FULLY understood the layout of these commands you can then edit the various fields to create stats screens which are unique to your system. ,
The general format of metastring usage is: G
'%'metastringname['#'<arguments>'#'][':'[<justification>]<length>]'%' l
items in '' are typed as is WITHOUT the quotes, items in [] are optional, and items in <> are substituted.
<metastringname> is one of ANY of the metastrings listed in the documents <arguments> are metastring arguments if any (e.g. drive letters in drivesize kbdrivesize free etc.). <justification> is 'l'eft, 'c'enter or 'r'ight (default left). <length> is justification length (default 79). v
if the line in message text begins with a '|' it is treated as a justification parameter. In general line format is:
['|'[<justification>]<length>'|']text text text... <justification> and <length> have the same meaning as in the metastrings formatting but with the addition of the line of text.
You can specify title, subtitle, text and bottom line contents. metastrings are valid. In text lines the user name can be obtained by %toname% and other %to...% metastrings.
Help on BOTTOM
Screen bottom line 0
Examples
metastring
usage
PLEASE refer to the documents for a more detailed description of metastring usage and text formatting commands. An example Mom.Cnf (configuration) file is provided to get you started and it will generate ALL of the various stats screens available in Mom. Once you have FULLY understood the layout of these commands you can then edit the various fields to create stats screens which are unique to your system. ,
The general format of metastring usage is: G
'%'metastringname['#'<arguments>'#'][':'[<justification>]<length>]'%' l
items in '' are typed as is WITHOUT the quotes, items in [] are optional, and items in <> are substituted.
<metastringname> is one of ANY of the metastrings listed in the documents <arguments> are metastring arguments if any (e.g. drive letters in drivesize kbdrivesize free etc.). <justification> is 'l'eft, 'c'enter or 'r'ight (default left). <length> is justification length (default 79). v
if the line in message text begins with a '|' it is treated as a justification parameter. In general line format is:
['|'[<justification>]<length>'|']text text text... <justification> and <length> have the same meaning as in the metastrings formatting but with the addition of the line of text.
You can specify title, subtitle, text and bottom line contents. metastrings are valid. In text lines the user name can be obtained by %toname% and other %to...% metastrings.
Help on TITLE COLOR
Screen title color R
Set the text and background colors to be used on the 'Title' line of the screen.
Help on SUBTITLE COLOR
Screen subtitle color U
Set the text and background colors to be used on the 'Subtitle' line of the screen.
Help on TEXT COLOR
Screen lines color O
Set the text and background colors to be used on the main body of the screen.
Help on BOTTOM COLOR
Screen bottom line color Q
Set the text and background colors to be used on the bottom line of the screen.
Help on STRING
Enter the word or phrase that you wish to scan for in your log files. W
If the string you define is found by Mom, it will post the message you have enabled. \
N.B. Case IS IMPORTANT! The word or phrase MUST be EXACTLY as it appears in your log file. 2
i.e. upload - Upload - UPLOAD are ALL different!
Help on DAY
Send message on Sunday
Help on DAY2
Send message on Monday
Help on DAY3
Send message on Tuesday
Help on DAY4
Send message on Wednesday
Help on DAY5
Send message on Thirsday
Help on DAY6
Send message on Friday
Help on DAY7
Send message on Saturday
Help on WORDMSG
Parameter of message. Here you enter the number of calls a user must make BEFORE this message will be sent or the number of times a user must call BETWEEN postings of this message.
for example:
When entering '10' (without the quotes!) in this field, the NthCaller message would ONLY be sent to the 10th caller to your system, whilst the same value entered for the EveryNthCall message would cause Mom to send this message after EVERY 10 calls made by a particular user. If you are uncertain about this, experiment with a few different values and message types.... It will soon become clear!
Help on WORDSCR
Parameter of screen. Here you must enter the number of days to include on this particular screen.
for example:
On the birthday screen, entering '30' (without the quotes!) would cause Mom to generate a screen showing the users on your system that had a birthday within the next 30 days.
Help on WHO TO
Who the message should be sent to (addressee)
This option is only available for certain types of message. In general Mom will automatically get the addressee's name from your log file, but certain message types (regular post for example) need to have a name to send to... this can be 'All' or a specific user name.
Examples of Keyword usage
In the setup screen for this particular message, you will see a field marked 'String' here you must specify the Keyword or phrase that Mom should scan your log files for. If Mom finds this word or phrase, it will post the message you have defined to the user that was online. Please note however, that these keywords or phrases are CASE SENSITIVE! That is UPLOAD, Upload and upload are ALL DIFFERENT!
Examples of Nth Caller usage
If you enter a 'Value' of 1000 in the value field, Mom will post a message defined by you, ONLY to the user that makes the 1000th call to your system. i
A 'Value of 2500 would send the message to the user that makes the 2500th call to your system etc etc..
Examples of Every Nth Call usage
Entering a 'Value' of 20 would casue Mom to send the message defined by you after EVERY 20 calls made by a particular user... that is on his/her 20th, 40th, 60th call etc. As with ALL messages sent by Mom, you can use the 'Condition' field to prevent certain users from receiving this message if you wish.
Examples of Times On usage
Entering a 'Value' of 50 would cause Mom to post the message you have defined to a user when he/she has made 50 calls to your system. This message is similar to the Every Nth Call type message EXCEPT that the message will be sent ONCE only! and NOT Every multiple of 50 calls. In this example for instance, the user would be sent a message after making his/her 50th call, but would NOT receive one on the 100th call etc..
Examples of subscription Expires usage
Entering a 'Value' of 30 would cause Mom to send a subscription message (configurable by you) 30 days before the users subs expired. You can set up more than one message using different 'Values' so that Mom will keep reminding users of their impending doom!
Setting up three messages of this type with values of say... 30,7 and 0 would cause Mom to send a reminder 30 days before expiry, 7 days before and on the day that their subs ran out..... The last message (0 days) could also have some 'Actions' set so that Mom would automatically downgrade the user concerned. U
See 'Actions' for more info on this feature (i.e. press F1 over the 'Actions field)
Examples of Regular Post usage
Entering a 'Value' of 30 would cause Mom to post the message EVERY 30 days. DON'T FORGET to set the message board number to the correct one for the particular message Mom is posting... i.e. the board number for the BBS-NEWS echo etc..
Examples of 'Node numbers' generated by Mom
If Mom placed the following 'node number' on your front-end mailer screen after a BBS caller had been online, you can translate it as follows:
1:9600/34
In this example, the caller was on line 1 at 9600 baud and it was his/her 34th call to your system.
2:2400/3 d
In this example, the caller was on line 2 at 2400 baud and it was his/her 3rd call to your system.
To distinguish between 'Mail' calls and 'Human' calls, Mom will place a small triangle '
' so you can see at a glance both on the front-end mailers screen and in the inbound history wether the call was 'Human' or 'Mailer'
Examples of 'Condition' usage
-a1,+b2,<5 - In this example, the message would ONLY be sent to users that had flag A1 clear, B2 set, Sec < 5
+d8,s10,g6 - In this example, the message would ONLY be sent to users that had flag D8 set, Sec = 10, Group = 6
Examples of 'Action' usage
example: -a1,+b2,-s5,<50 - In this example, Mom would clear A1, set B2, reduce the security level from Sec to Sec-5 but ONLY if Sec<50
example: !s50,>5,<40 - In this example, Mom would set the users sec level to 50, but ONLY if their original sec level was between 5 and 40
Examples of metastring usage
Here is my setup for MostActCallers screen.
title ='|c|Most Active Callers on %boardname% up to %day%.%month%.%year%'
subtitle =' User name Calls'
text =' %toname:l35% %nocalls%'
bottom ='|r60|press enter to continue'
There are several picture masks you could use for the date format:
Picture Result
'mm/dd/yy' '01/02/93'
'MM/dd/yy' ' 1/02/93'
'mm-dd-yy' '01-02-93'
'dd/mm/yy' '02/01/93'
'DD/mm/yy' ' 2/01/93'
'dd.mm.yy' '02.01.93'
The following special characters are meaningful in picture masks:
Char Marks location of or is replaced by
'm', 'M' month (date fields only)
'd', 'D' day (date)
'y' year (date)
'/' '/' or SlashChar (date; semi-literal)
In most cases, the difference between the uppercase and lowercase formatting characters is that the lowercase ones cause numbers to be padded with '0', while the uppercase ones cause them to be padded with spaces.
'/' and ':', are considered "semi-literal": when MOM sees one of these two characters in a picture mask, it automatically replaces them with the current value of SlashChar (for '/') or ColonChar (for ':').
See also: Time
pictures
Here are some possible picture masks for the time format:
Picture Result
'hh:mm:ss' '13:02:00'
'hh:mm' '13:02'
'hh:mm te' '01:02 pm'
'hh:mmt' '01:02p'
Note that string representations of time are always assumed to be in military format unless a 't' appears in the picture mask. An 'e' (em) in the mask should always be accompanied by a corresponding 't' (time). C
The following special characters are meaningful in picture masks: ]
Char Marks location of or is replaced by
'h', 'H' hours (time fields only)
'm', 'M' minutes (time)
's', 'S' seconds (time)
':' ':' or ColonChar (date; semi-literal)
't' 'p', 'P', 'a', 'A' (time; case depends on UpCaseTime)
(.txt)