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README.1
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1986-01-12
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6KB
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127 lines
Dear BETA TESTERS:
(Also those of you who arent offical Beta testers, but who have been in on
this for a long time - You know who you are!)
As you know by now, I am in the process of arranging for distribution to
be done by the Arizona Packet Radio Association. Wes Morris, K7PYK, and
his organization have offered to take over the chores of the time consuming
R&D (Replying and Distributing) so I can get back to the programming R&D.
They have also offered to distribute the W0RLI code and the WB2MNF Sysop
manual. I think this will be an advantage to all concerned. I suspect that
there will be a lot better communication and coordination between Sysops if
a central location can handle everything.
There will be no charge for the software, anyone may have a copy by sending
a diskette with return mailer and sufficient postage. However, I am going to
recommend that they encourage the alternate method of sending a small fee
($4-6) to cover costs of diskettes and mailing. I've found its much easier
to duplicate a stack of diskettes at once, pack them into similar mailers and
send them off, than to have an oddball stack of diskettes and mailers to try
to keep track of. Also, I will suggest that any Sysops actively using the
software be encouraged to make a voluntary contribution of their own choosing
to help with continued support and development. Those contributing could be
on a list for automatic updates. We may want to develop a Sysop newsletter or
something else along those lines.
It will also be permissible for anyone to pass out copies as long as they do
so for NO fee and release the entire system (with all the appropriate notices
contained on the diskette.) Sysops obtaining the software on a 'hand-me-down'
basis will be encouraged to register their system and at least be added to the
mailing list, contribution or none.
Any of you wishing to volunteer to be a local resource for those needing help,
please make it known. If there are excess funds, perhaps a portion could be
used to reimburse any of the volunteers for any out-of-pocket expenses to
cover phone calls, mailing expenses, etc.
I hope to continue to work in cooperation with other groups (TAPR, etc.) in the
development of the proposed PC plug-in card, and other related projects.
Speaking of registrations, here's a starter for you Beta folks:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Please furnish either myself or Wes with the following information:
Name & Call
Address
Phone Number(s)
Computer/TNC/Radio types being used
Location and call sign of BBS
Frequency being used
Gateway?
Are you willing to help other Sysops get started?
If so, hours available for phone calls..
Please indicate any of the above that you do NOT wish included
on future release disks.
Any other info on yourself that may be of interest: employment,
programming experience, license class, etc. (Not for general release -
just so we will have a better idea who can help in what areas)
If I do not receive a response, you will be dropped from the BETA test
group. (No one will be removed if you dont want to help or dont want any
of the above published - I just want to hear from you. I only have phone
numbers for a few of you, and would like the info for my records if nothing
else.)
I'll be mailing this direct to some of you, and asking Wes to mail to some
of the others. Let me know if you dont get it - HI!
Please, your suggestions and feedback are appreciated. If you have anything
you want considered before we get into 'real' distribtuion, be sure to let us
know. I want everyone to be happy about things. If there are any concerns
lets resolve them now.
73 - Jeff
PS - Until I decide just how to implement the file area, I have made a few
changes for those of you who wish to use subdirectories. The 'W' command
will now display subdirectories to Users. I suggest you put a help file
on the system to explain it to users if you decide to try it. For those
of you who dont quite know how to set it up, I dont either, but I'll
try to make some suggestions. For example, if you keep issues of GATEWAY
on line, you may wish to create a subdirectory in the files area called
GATEWAY. You could then keep the individual issues in the GATEWAY sub-
directory, so the setup would look something like:
\BBS
the BBS system files
\BBS\FILES
BBS.DOC
etc
\BBS\FILES\GATEWAY
GT122085.TXT
GT010386.TXT
etc
If a user types W they would see BBS.DOC 2K etc GATEWAY <DIR>
If a user enters W GATEWAY they would see GT122085.TXT 11K GT010386.TXT ...
To download, they would type D GATEWAY\GT122085.TXT (or D GATEWAY/GT122085.TXT)
I convert a / to the necessary \ for user convenience. If you dont get too
carried away (like putting additional subdirectories within GATEWAY) it should
be fairly easy to organize things this way. A plain WN command will only show
what is new within the files area and not within any subdirectories (unless
WN GATEWAY is used for instance) but it may be something those of you with
hard disks may find useful until a final approach is decided upon.
------
Nothing has been added to the Configuration file, and I havent updated
NOTES.DOC yet (other than starting to change the version number and the
first page or two.)
I hope to clean up the documentation as my next project. Jon Pearce has
offered his Sysop manual as a starting point. If all goes well, perhaps it
will be included on the next release.