Shareware Supreme Volume 6 #1/swsii.zip/swsii/008/BBSINTRO.ZIP/18767HY/BBSINTRO.TXT

Text File | 1987-06-13 | 12KB | 260 lines

          Introduction to Using Bulletin Boards Systems
        (with special emphasis on the IBM PC and PCBoard)

  by Jerry Shifrin, SYSOP: East Coast Forth Board, 703-442-8695

Observing how people use the East Coast Forth Board has led me to
conclude that many of you spend a fair amount of time floundering
around before you get comfortable   with   its  use.   Therefore,
I'd   like   to offer  some suggestions  on how  to optimize your
time  and minimize your phone bill.


THE BBS COMMAND LANGUAGE

Learn the basic   command set.  Most BBS's  have similar commands
(R   for  Read,   B   for Bulletins,  etc.).  Usually you'll find
either on-line  help (for PCBoard systems,  type H and the letter
of the   command on which you need help -  "H R"  for help on the
Read command),  or a user's guide.   If you print  this the first
time   you use   an  unfamiliar  system,   and keep  it handy for
reference,   you'll   save yourself considerable time.  If you're
dialing    long-distance   (and   presumably   paying    for  the
connect time),   I'd suggest you  "capture"  the  help/user guide
(i.e.  don't try to read it on the fly - save it to a disk file),
then print it out and read it before dialing back in).


BBS's for the IBM PC

If you're using an IBM PC,   you should probably take the time to
get comfortable with the three   major BBS systems -  RBBS, FIDO,
and   PCBoard.  There are others,  but  these three  make  up the
majority of IBM PC based boards. You'll find them quite similar.

You  will  find it much  more economical to  familiarize yourself
with these different systems using local boards,  than  trying to
learn them while on  a long  distance connection.  You should not
have much difficulty finding these in most cities.


BBS Style

Develop   a  style  for  maneuvering  about  a  new  board.  Most
experienced callers will   do  the following when  dialing into a
new board:

  1. Note any  particular requirements in  the initial logon
     message -  this  is not usually  repeated.  Some boards
     require that you leave a comment to   the SYSOP (SYStem
     OPerator)  with   particular information.  Most PCBoard
     systems require that you answer a questionnaire.

  2. Review   the   bulletins  -  particularly  if  you  are
     having  problems.   There's usually a fair   amount  of
     information there that   your   SYSOP thinks  you ought
     to   know.   Usually he or she spent   a good  deal  of
     time  putting   these bulletins together.  (this is not
     always  true  -   many RBBS based systems come   with a
     canned  set of bulletins   that are the   same from one
     BBS  to the next -  you'll come to recognize and ignore
     these).   At the very least,   you'll impress the SYSOP
     with  your  interest in his/her creative outpourings.

  3. Read or scan the primary message file -  I'll generally
     read the first few and last   few messages  (if it's  a
     large message base),  and do a Quickscan  of the entire
     message base,  noting any message numbers of particular
     interest.  Doing  this  will  give you a  sense of  the
     board's "style"  and  users.  If  you're  on  a PCBoard
     system,   try the "Thread"   command if   you  find   a
     particularly interesting  topic -   this allows  you to
     go   through   an entire mini-conference,  staying on a
     single topic, hopefully.

  4. Capture   or  print the download  directories.  On your
     first visit,   you may  not be able to  download files,
     but   you will   usually be  allowed to  review  what's
     available.  Refer to this listing before   dialing back
     in,   noting any files of particular interest.  You may
     wish to download these first on your next visit,  using
     any remaining time to peruse the message base.

  5. If you decide that a board will  be  of use  to you and
     plan to dial   back  in,  make sure you've supplied all
     of the requested  information,   and leave a comment or
     message to the SYSOP noting your interest/appreciation.


SAVING TIME

To optimize your time (and minimize   your long-distance charges)
switch to expert mode  (type X on  PCBoard and RBBS  systems). If
you  get stuck later,   simply   type   X  again,  and  you'll be
switched back to novice mode.

Note that many systems (e.g. PCBoard, RBBS) permit you to "stack"
commands. For example, at logon, when you are asked to enter your
first name,  you can often enter your first name,  last name, and
password, all separated by semicolons:
    ENTER YOUR FIRST NAME: JOHN;DOE;NHOJ
Also, you can often stack requests for downloads, bulletins, etc.
Once you've gotten comfortable  with the systems  you use, you'll
discover a number of time-saving tricks.

If   you're using   a 300   bps (bits per second)  modem,  unless
you're only calling local boards,  a 1200   bps modem (about $150
these days)  will quickly pay for itself in reduced long distance
charges.  Also,  a  number  of  boards  no longer permit  300 bps
access.


LINE NOISE

If you're suffering through lots   of line noise -  garbled text,
numerous errors during uploads and downloads -  it'll probably be
better   to  hang  up,  and  dial  back in,  hoping for a cleaner
telephone   line.  Some of  the alternate long  distance services
(non-AT&T)   have  difficulty handling 2400  bps transmission. It
may be worthwhile to dial back in at 1200   bps. Also, check with
your   long  distance service -  some of them  (e.g. SBS Skyline)
have special dialing sequences to indicate data calls.


DOWNLOADING FILES

When you first logon to most systems you will be asked to specify
a  download "protocol"  (some systems will make  you specify this
each time you do a download).  Your choices are  generally one of
the following:

  1. ASCII -  files will be sent as normal text  files. Note
     that  this  will  not allow retransmission  in  case of
     errors,  or allow you  to  receive  any  "binary" files
     (executable modules or compressed files).

  2. XMODEM -  files are sent as blocks of 128 bytes, with a
     block sequence  number and  a checksum.  If there is an
     error in either the block number or checksum, the block
     will be retransmitted.

  3. CRC-XMODEM -  this is the same as XMODEM, except that a
     cyclic redundancy check (CRC) character is used instead
     of the checksum. This provides greater reliability.

  4. YMODEM -  this  is  like  CRC-XMODEM,  but  with longer
     blocks (up to  1024  bytes)  being transmitted.  If you
     have a  good  telephone  connection  this  will greatly
     speed up your file transfer.  On the other hand, if you
     have lots   of line  noise,  this  will  be slower than
     XMODEM.

  5. KERMIT  -  this  is  a  machine  independent  protocol,
     sometimes  used  for accessing mainframe  computers. It
     typically  allows  you to  "batch"  file  request (e.g.
     download all computer.* files).

  6. NONE -  this will  cause you  to  be  prompted  for the
     transmission protocol each time you request a download.

You  should  check  the  documentation  for  your  communications
package to see which of these are supported.

A large number of files are readily available at  BBS's  all over
the country.  You really  shouldn't waste  your  time downloading
these  from  long-distance  boards.  Library  programs  (ARC, LU,
etc.),  file squeezers and unsqueezers (SQPC,  NUSQ, etc.),  most
games,  communications  programs  (QMODEM,  PC-TALK), are readily
available on  most boards.  Try to find a needed  package locally
before  looking elsewhere.  Save  your  long-distance  budget for
accessing those unique boards, not available locally (such as the
East Coast Forth Board).

It's considered bad manners to do nothing but   download - try to
download   only   a  couple   of   files  at  a   time.  Use your
remaining   time  to  upload  something  in  return  or  else  to
participate in   the messages.  Remember,  you can always dial in
the   next  day  and  download  additional   files.  Many  SYSOPs
recommend that   you try to  maintain  a ratio  of  at  least one
upload for every ten downloads.


UPLOADING FILES

Avoid uploading files currently on the  board or  ones  that  are
not  of   interest   to a particular board.  The East Coast Forth
Board has little interest in printer pictures of Mr.  Spock (long
may he wave),   programs which play Strangers   in the Night in 4
part harmony, or the nth variation on Spacewars or Asteroids.  If
you've just installed a new printer, why not write up a review of
it.   If  you've  had good  or  bad dealings  with  a  particular
mail-order  house,  a  lot  of  people  are interested in reading
about it.

TALKING TO THE SYSOP

Most  BBSs  allow you to  page  the SYSOP (on PCBoard,  type  O -
Operator page).  If the SYSOP has authorized  page  alarms and is
around,  he or  she will  generally be  happy  to  help  you with
problems, answer questions, give advice, etc.

Occasionally,  the SYSOP may notice that you're having difficulty
and enter "chat" mode to offer help (the SYSOP's monitor displays
your session,  just like your own).

On chat mode -   in the first place, remember that there's a real
human behind the computer you've dialed in to. One time, I  noted
a  visitor leaving a somewhat  hostile comment,  and  broke  into
chat mode to discuss it with him.  He was immediately  apologetic
and  somewhat  flustered at dealing  with a person  instead    of
a  disembodied  keyboard/monitor.    Secondly,    spelling    and
grammar  don't   really   count  in   chat  mode   (unless a typo
changes the meaning of a sentence).   I think it's rather a waste
of time  to  backspace a few words   to  insert a  comma in   the
right   place  or fix up   a mispelling   (2  s's?).   I've never
understood why you can't simply pick up  the phone and  talk when
appropriate (well I can't -  I only have a modem connected on the
BBS phone line).

Messages   to  the  SYSOP  (even  private  ones)   are  generally
preferable to comments.   The SYSOP has to go through a number of
extra steps to read and reply to comments (and many won't).


ON CONFERENCING

Many SYSOP's have established separate  conferences as sub-boards
of their main board. These may be either public or private. These
conferences are intended to provide a special  area  for messages
and files of a particular nature. For example, you may run across
conferences dedicated to  a  particular  software  package (Turbo
Pascal,  Framework,  Lotus,  etc.),  or to  a topic  dear  to the
SYSOP's heart (religion,  running a BBS, AI, and so on). Usually,
the SYSOP will  allow you to  join  these  conferences  simply by
leaving a request.  Sometimes  a  SYSOP  will  set  up  a special
conference for his or her customers -  these may require that you
purchase their product in order to be included.

If you do join a special conference,  try to stay  on the primary
topic, and restrict your uploads there to relevant files.


SHOULD I PAY FOR USING A BBS?

Sometimes a SYSOP will request (or require)  you to  donate money
to help fund or expand a particular  board.  If you are a regular
user of  the BBS,  it may be worthwhile  for you to  help keep it
operational.  Most boards are  funded out of the  SYSOP's pocket,
and while the original equipment may already be  paid  for, there
are  a number  of ongoing expenses (telephone  service, supplies,
repairs,  etc.).  Additionally,  it  may be to your  advantage to
support a board's  expansion for higher  speed modems, additional
disk storage,  and the like.  SYSOPs will  often try a  number of
incentives to obtain funding (additional time  allotments, access
to special files,  etc.)  -  you'll need to evaluate its services
against your needs and pocketbook.

Well,  that's all I have to suggest.  If you have any other tips,
feel free to add them to this via a message or upload to the East
Coast Forth Board.  Good luck and happy BBSing.