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- .TOPIC:
- Main Configuration - Screen Two
-
- VBBS 6.12 Documentation -- 2-B-1
-
-
- ╔════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗
- ║ CHAPTER TWO ANNEX B 1. MAIN CONFIGURATION -- Screen Two ║
- ╚════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝
-
- 1) Net Low Time
- 2) Net High Time
- ═════════════
- These two settings let you specify a period of time for
- network transfers. During net time, users calling the BBS
- will receive the text message you've configured in NETONLY.TXT
- (Text Directory) and be logged off. (Note: SysOp may log in.)
- This is a way to open up a busy BBS for network calls,
- typically late at night. Use of this feature may be required in
- some networks.
-
- The "net low time" is the beginning of the net period; the
- "net high time" is the end of the net period. The times
- must be entered in HH:MM format using military time; if
- both are set to 00:00, the feature is disabled.
-
- 3) Net Redial Attempts
- ═══════════════════
- This specifies the number of network redial attempts VBBS
- should make.
-
- ╔═╗ If you are a "leaf node" (i.e., no one connects to your
- ╚═╝ system for their network packets) and your server's BBS
- isn't particularly busy, chances are you won't have to
- set this very high (5 attempts usually connects me with
- my server). If your net connect is a very busy BBS, you
- may need to set this as high as 50 or more. Keep in mind
- that while your system is calling out, users can't call
- in.
-
- 4) Network Poll Delay at WFC
- ═════════════════════════
- This setting configures how often VBBS checks to see if
- it needs to perform some type of automatic network dial-
- out. It is expressed in seconds (i.e., a value of 600
- would represent 10 minutes).
-
- 5) Dialing String
- ══════════════
- This setting specifies the proper dialing string for your
- modem. This will, in most cases, be either ATDT (for tone
- dialing) or ATDP (for pulse dialing).
-
- 6) New User Security
- 7) New User Time
- ═════════════════
- These settings define the security level (SL) and time
- limit given to a new user on your BBS.
-
- VBBS 6.12 Documentation -- 2-B-2
-
-
- ╔═╗ Make sure that you give new users a high enough SL and
- ╚═╝ enough time to at least explore your BBS for a bit.
-
- 8) Min. Sec. Lvl. Autopost
- 9) MSL Email Others
- A) MSL Email Sysop Attached File
- B) MSL Email Others Attached File
- C) MSL MultiMail
- D) MSL Email Carbon-Copy
- ══════════════════════════════
- These settings define the minimum security level (MSL) a
- user needs to access certain functions of the BBS. A
- typical BBS might allow a new user to E-mail others, but
- restrict the other functions to validated users; some
- boards restrict multi-mail and carbon-copy mail to the
- sysop and co-sysop only.
-
- ╔═╗ A mistake beginning sysops sometimes make is setting these
- ╚═╝ too high for anyone to access; make sure the MSLs are low
- enough for users to access at least SOME of them.
-
- E) Upload/Download Ratio
- ═════════════════════
- This setting specifies the optional system upload/down-
- load ratio; if enabled, it requires that users upload
- files in order to be able to download them. To calculate
- the value to enter in this field, use the following for-
- mula:
-
- decimal ratio = (required uploads) / (allowed downloads)
-
- For example, to require that a user upload 1K for every
- 5K downloaded (a ratio of 1:5), you would convert the
- fraction 1/5 into a decimal and enter the value .2 in
- the ratio field. Other values are possible; some of the
- more common ones are
-
- .1 (1:10 ratio) .05 (1:20 ratio)
- .25 (1: 4 ratio) .5 (1: 2 ratio)
-
- Ratios like 1:3, 1:6, 1:7 and so on are probably better
- dealt with through a credits system (see Screen Three
- for details); as with some of the other settings, a
- value of 0 in this field disables ratios entirely.
-
- F) Allow Auto-Sysop Validation
- G) Auto-Sysop Security Level
- H) Auto-Sysop Time Limit
- ═══════════════════════════
- This feature is useful to those whose callers include a
- good number of other sysops. With it, you can allow them
- to boost their own SL and time limit a little.
-
- VBBS 6.12 Documentation -- 2-B-3
-
-
- This feature can either be ON or OFF. If setting (F) is
- set to NO, sysop auto-validation is disabled completely.
-
- ╔═╗ It should be noted that there have been instances where
- ╚═╝ non-sysop users have given false information and gained
- visiting-sysop status on some systems. There are, how-
- ever, several source-code modifications (if you have
- registered at the source level) and scripts to combat
- this problem.
-
- I) QWK Message Limit
- ═════════════════
- This setting defines the maximum number of QWK messages
- to put into one QWK packet. Unregistered copies of VBBS
- are limited to 50 messages per packet; entering the re-
- gistration number and registration code on Screen One
- enables full QWK-limit configurability.
-
- ╔═╗ Suggesting a good number to enter in this field is dif-
- ╚═╝ ficult to do; if you have a large number of active net-
- worked message bases, you will probably want to set this
- high (say, 500 or so). This is a trial-and-error set-
- ting, but easily changed.
-
- J) Enter System Password for WFC Sysop Commands
- ════════════════════════════════════════════
- If this is set to YES, then the system password is re-
- quired to access certain functions from WFC. It's use-
- ful if your BBS needs to be secure locally -- if you
- have a lot of your users dropping by, or if you have
- small children lurking about the computer, for example.
- It can, however, be somewhat annoying if you make fre-
- quent use of the WFC commands when tinkering with the
- BBS (in which case you may want to at least temporarily
- disable it).
-
- K) Mail Hold Time (Days)
- ═════════════════════
- This specifies the time, in days, that E-mail should be
- kept active on the system. When an E-mail reaches the
- age limit, it is automatically purged from the BBS. A
- value of 0 disables this feature, although this is not
- recommended (see below).
-
- ╔═╗ Encourage your users to clean up after themselves by
- ╚═╝ deleting (or extracting, THEN deleting) E-mail after
- they've read it. Old, read E-mail DOES tend to pile up
- on the system and may create problems if hard-drive space
- is at a premium. 21 days is probably a good length of
- time to hold E-mail, although this may certainly be ad-
- justed.
-
- L) Max Time Bank
- ═════════════
- This specifies the maximum number of minutes that a user
-
- VBBS 6.12 Documentation -- 2-B-4
-
-
- may deposit into her time bank. Setting this to 0 will
- disable the built-in time bank.
-
- In addition to the internal time bank, as with other func-
- tions, there are several time-bank VSCRIPTS available.
-
- Z) SCREEN THREE
- ════════════
- Takes you to Screen Three of MAIN configuration.
-
-