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1990-08-11
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[ This document describes the new Grand Central Message System, which is
a powerful conferencing and mail door for the RBBS bulletin board systems.
What follows is a condensed version of the first chapter of the Grand Central
("GC" for short) documentation. You are encouraged to distribute this
document as widely as possible. - SB ]
INTRODUCING THE GRAND CENTRAL MESSAGE SYSTEM!
By Scott Barnes
Copyright 1989, 1990 BarneSoft
---------------------------------------------
Have you ever wondered what the future holds for BBS programs? Some
people believe the future lies in linking BBSes into large interconnected
networks. Others believe that the future means upgrading the fundamentals of
each BBS, or, in other words, improving the end-user interface. I tend to
gravitate toward the latter vision, although I am by no means anti-network.
Wide-area networks are becoming increasingly useful in the global village in
which we live. However, the mightiest network becomes little more than a toy
if it is not useful and meaningful to ordinary people. The point is that
every BBS, whether network-connected or not, needs to have a user interface
that is coherent and consistent, and one which reduces the amount of visual
clutter transmitted to the user.
The Grand Central Message System is my bid to advance the state-of-the-
art in computer bulletin boards, by recrafting the traditional BBS user
interface. Grand Central is currently implemented as a conference/mail door
to the RBBS program which replaces RBBS' native conference and mail functions.
GC's major features are as follows:
1) FULL-SCREEN DISPLAY FORMAT - GC assumes an 80-by-24 character
screen on the remote end and uses the ANSI/VT100 terminal standard to
create an orderly full-screen environment. This environment includes
such amenities as emphasized text for important items, and
bidirectional scrolling. A minimal level of support is provided for
terminals or computer software packages which are incompatible with the
ANSI standard.
2) FULL-FEATURED CONFERENCING SYSTEM - GC offers the Sysop a great
deal of flexibility in setting up conferences. The extensive security
system allows one to set up conferences that are totally public,
totally private, or some combination of the two. The Sysop can specify
moderators for each conference, who are given Sysop-like privileges in
their conferences but nowhere else.
3) TOPIC-BASED MESSAGE SYSTEM - GC organizes each conference's
message base by topic rather than chronologically. Hence it is much
easier to look at all messages pertinent to a topic, since there are no
complex "threading" commands. An unread message feature is also provided
to allow the user to see the messages they have not yet read.
4) SEPARATE MAIL SYSTEM - GC has a mail system similar to that of
larger computers, where each user is given his or her own mailbox. The
mailbox concept eliminates confusion between mail and messages and
also does away with time-consuming mail searches. Other features
include distributed (multiple recipient) mail, as well as a mail trace
which allows letter writers to determine if their letters have been
read by the recipient.
5) HIGH-PERFORMANCE, FRIENDLY EDITOR - The GC editor is patterned
after the RBBS editor, but at the same time contains powerful new
features that make editing easier for everyone. On top of the basic
line-editor concept, the GC editor offers automatic paragraph
reformatting, multiple-line editing, multiple-line deleting, tab
support, and more!
6) FULL SUPPORT FOR SESSION LIMITS, SLEEP TIMEOUTS, CARRIER
MONITORING, AND CHATTING - The Sysop can tell GC to "adopt" each user's
RBBS session limit. In addition, the user's remaining time is
frequently updated in the upper-right corner of the screen. GC handles
sleep timeouts, including hanging up the telephone line. Carrier
monitoring is performed continuously. Finally, GC allows chatting,
with the text from each side of the conversation printed in a different
text style.
7) FULL SUPPORT FOR REMOTE OPERATIONS - GC, as well as its
companion configuration program G-CONFIG, fully supports remote
Sysop sessions. The Sysop thus has the freedom to reconfigure and
maintain the GC system from wherever he or she happens to be located!
Moderators, too, are given extensive remote capabilities. Within their
conferences, moderators can delete topics and messages, and change user
security levels, without bothering the Sysop.
8) MISERLY ON SYSTEM RESOURCES - GC is designed to use as little
disk space as possible. Space taken by deleted messages and letters is
recycled as much as possible. In addition, an automatic optimization
program streamlines all message base and mail system files once per
week, unattended.
So, as you can see, Grand Central really does advance the state of the
art in the BBS world. Read on to find out how easy it is to set up a GC
system you can try!
REQUIREMENTS TO RUN GC
----------------------
The requirements to run GC are much the same as those needed to run RBBS.
The main exceptions are that GC does not yet support multiple simultaneous
nodes on the same machine nor does it support networks. Aside from that, I
believe to the best of my knowledge that almost any computer that will run
RBBS will run GC. Here are the specific minimum requirements:
1) IBM PC or clone which runs PC-DOS or MS-DOS versions 2.0 or
higher
2) Hard disk recommended
3) Monochrome Graphics Adapter
4) One asynchronous communications port which is driven by an
Intel 8250 chip, or compatible - communications port can be connected
to a modem, digital PBX, or any other communication device which obeys
similar primitives (host system echoes what caller types, DTR signal
controls call status, DCD signal indicates call status)
5) 300K *available* memory (i.e., after loading DOS and TSR's)
6) RBBS Version 15.1C or greater - must be installed prior to
installing GC
7) Some sort of full-screen file editor (many word processors can
pinch-hit in this area)
WHAT ALL THIS MEANS TO YOU
--------------------------
As an RBBS Sysop, you owe it to yourself and your users to try Grand
Central and experience first-hand the quantum leap in BBS technology it
represents. But you may wonder how much time and money this new technology
will cost. The answer on both counts is: inexpensive!
Setting up a GC test system takes less than 10 minutes, and does not
require you to use a modem or run RBBS. The test system is not a demo, but
rather is a system which allows you to navigate GC just as an everyday user
would. Sample screens are included to give you an idea of the creative touch
that can be applied to GC.
If you decide to set up a full-fledged GC system, that process does not
take up a lot of time either. The GC documentation is 55 pages long, and
takes you step-by-step through the entire setup process, including specifics
on the RBBS configuration changes you will need to make. Also, generic screen
sets are provided to speed the creative aspects of setup.
Best of all, GC doesn't cost a lot of money. $35 is all it takes to
register a copy of GC. Once your copy of GC is registered, you can gain
access to support via direct phone and E-mail links to the author. On-line GC
support will be available in Fall 1990 through a national support BBS. There
are several other perks that come with registration; these are detailed in the
GC manual.
Any way you look at it, Grand Central is a great deal. GC version 1.01
is available for downloading as the files GC101-1, GC101-2, and GC101-3,
although they may be in ZIP, ARC, ZOO, or LZH formats. A FOSSIL communication
driver (such as X00, BNU, or FOSSCOMM) is required.
The latest version of GC is always available from the following sources:
GEnie BBS Forum
CompuServe IBMBBS Forum
Ken Goosens' Your Place RBBS (703) 978-6360 [3 lines]
(other sites will be added in Fall '90)
Get your copy of GC today!
Scott Barnes
BarneSoft
Box 275003
Rochester, NY 14627-5003
Voice: (215) 593-2392
National support BBS coming soon!