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1991-11-15
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PCB-REWARD
Documentation
Version 1.6
11-16-91
Copyright 1991
Tom Gregory
All Rights Reserved
PCB-REWARD --- What is it?
PCB-REWARD is a PCBoard version 14.5 utility to allow the SYSOP to
reward the top uploaders with extra time and/or download bytes.
PCB-REWARD runs in your nightly event. It scans your users file
and selects the top uploaders for the reward. It then changes
their security level to one that you have selected for them. It
also writes a bulletin and/or news file which announces who these
top people are and prods others to compete for the slots.
With this latest release, PCB-REWARD is NOW FULLY FUNCTIONAL and is
not crippled in any way. If you elect to have the bulletin and/or
news file generated, a line will be appended to the end of them
which states that it is an evaluation copy. Once registered, this
line will not appear.
You may now select the number of rewards to issue, up to a maximum
of 99.
***************** WARNING TO PREVIOUS VERSION USERS *************
This version uses a totally different routine to scan and reward
the users. It is IMPERATIVE that you run your old version using
the /NEW switch prior to running this version! If you do not, it
will corrupt your users file!!!!
Run as: REWARDxx REWARD.CFG /NEW
x = version number prior to 1.5
Be sure to use your normal .CFG file name
*******************************************************************
HOW TO USE
NOTE: ALL NODES SHOULD BE DOWN BEFORE RUNNING THIS UTILITY.
------------------------------------------------------------
PCB-REWARD is simple to use. In your EVENT.SYS file, place a line
that says:
REWARDxx REWARD.CFG (xx = version number)
This will update your top uploader(s) every night. If a user falls
out of one of the slots, their security level is returned what they
had before the reward.
The REWARD.CFG is a fairly standard configuration file. I have
included a file called SAMPLE.CFG and a file called REWARD.CFG.
SAMPLE.CFG is the same as REWARD.CFG, except it is commented.
Simply make the changes to REWARD.CFG that conform to your BBS
structure and your option selections. A word of caution. The data
in the .CFG file MUST be in the exact order as presented. You may
rename the .CFG file, but be sure that you change the command line
in your EVENT.SYS to call the correct .CFG file at execution time.
You may also run this program from the DOS prompt by simply typing
in the command line as it appears in the EVENT.SYS file.
CONFIGURATION FILE
Here is the .CFG file format:
Software Heaven BBS ;Name of your BBS or Registered name
00000 ;Registration Num (00000 if unregistered
c:\pcb\main\users ;Complete path to users file
90 ;Maximum Security to include in scan.
5 ;Number of rewards to issue. Max number is 99
75 ;Security level to give Top Uploader
65 ;Security level to give remaining Uploaders
c:\pcb\gen\blt5 ;Complete path for Bulletin
c:\pcb\gen\news ;Complete path for News file
y ;Vanity Flag - Set to Y or N
3 ;Bulletin/News creation flag
y ;Future use - must include
5 ;Future use - must include
See SAMPLE.CFG for a complete description of each of these lines.
SETUP
Once you have set up the .CFG file, copy the following files to a
subdirectory or into your main PCB subdirectory. If you place them
in their own subdirectory, be sure to path to it in your EVENT.SYS
file.
Files to copy are:
REWARD##.EXE
REWARD.USR
REWARD.CFG
REWBULT.TXT
If you wish to use the user specific menus to tell the rewarded
users that they have been rewarded, copy the BRDMxx files to the
same directory as the rest of your BRDM files.
Next, you must make entries in your PWRD file to reflect the
rewarded security levels. In our example, we used 75 for the top
uploader and 65 for the other users. If we wanted to give our top
uploader 120 minutes per day and unlimited downloads, we would
enter these figures into the PWRD file. PCB-REWARD will then change
the top user's security level to 75. Do the same for the other
users. The amount on privilege that you award is strictly up to
you.
That's all there is to it.
SWITCHES
There is only one(1) switch available in PCB-REWARD. That is the
/NEW switch. Case is unimportant. This switch causes the program
to set the USERS file back to a non-rewarded status. All rewarded
users are set back to their original security levels and no new
users are rewarded. You may want to use this switch to start over
from scratch.
NOTE: I recommend that you use this switch when upgrading from one
version to another, and then re-run PCB-REWARD as normal.
The syntax is as follows:
REWARDxx REWARD.CFG /NEW
MENUS
You may want to create special security specific menus for the
users. I have included main menus for the 2 levels that are shown
in the .CFG file. You may either change them from BRDMxx to
whatever level you are awarding, create your own, or not use them
at all.
BULLETINS
The included file, REWBULT.TXT, is a sysop definable bulletin file.
This name is hard-coded into the software. It is the actual file
that the program calls up to make the bulletin. You may change it
to whatever 'look' that you want. It may be written using any
drawing utility or editor and uses the " @X## " codes that PCB 14.5
supports.
*** NOTE TO PREVIOUS VERSION USERS ***
This version has changed the character used to identify where the
user's names should be placed. Previous versions used a # sign.
We now use the tilde mark ~. Be sure to change your Rewbult.txt
file to reflect this change. This change was made to allow you to
use the # sign with your descriptor titles. Also, Be sure to put a
BACKARDS APOSTROPHE ` in as the last character in the REWBULT.TXT file.
This is a MUST ! See explaination later in this section.
*******************************
The following format is used to imbed the users names in.
~1 = Top Uploader ~2 - ~99 are the other uploaders.
Just place the tilde and number in the spot that you want that
user's name to appear. Note that there can be NO space between the
tilde and the number. PCB-REWARD will call this file and
substitute the selected names in place of the tilde/number
combination when it writes the bulletin. Note that if the Vanity
flag in the .CFG file is set to yes (y), a copyright line will be
added to the bottom of the bulletin.
I would suggest that you experiment with the format of the
REWBULT.TXT file. It this point, if users numbers are placed in 2
or more columns, the results may be less than satisfactory. Look
at the example below:
~2 ~3
~4 ~5
This will result in the placement of the following example names
as:
Joe Modem Jim Sysop
Susie Computer Sam Byte
I would also suggest either putting each ~x on a separate line or
using a comma and SINGLE space between each name on a line.
~2
~3
~4
OR
~2, ~3, ~4
~5, ~6, ~7
The above formats make for a better visual appearance.
I am currently working on code to improve this appearance and to
place the names exactly the same distance apart, but have not
finished it yet.
You also MUST have a BACKWARDS APOSTROPHE as the last character in
the REWBULT.TXT file. This mark tells the program where the end is and
where the News file will start. Also, see the discussion on this mark
in the NEWS section below.
NEWS FILE GENERATION
You now have the ability to place the REWBULT.TXT message at the
top of your NEWS file as part of the nightly event. To enable this
feature, the flag at line 11 of the .CFG file must be set to 2 or
3. You must also use a text editor to modify your existing NEWS
file before you use this feature the first time. (Note: you only
have to modify it once). Simply insert a ` mark as the very first
character of your existing news file. Note that this mark is the
BACKWARDS APOSTROPHE and NOT the regular apostrophe. It is usually
located on the same key as the tilde. If you have separate files
for color and non-graphics modes, be sure to include it in both. This
one-time chore is in addition to the ` which you have placed in the
REWBULT.TXT file. The only other time you have to add this mark is
when you edit the actual news file.. See below.
Once this is done, PCB-REWARD will scan your News file and
disregard everything until it finds the backward apostrophe. It
will then start saving the info (your original news file) into a
temp file. It then writes the REWBULT.TXT file to the news file,
inserting the proper users names, and then appends the old news
info back to the new News File.
This way, the Reward info gets updated nightly without affecting
your existing news.
The only problem that this may cause you, is that you will need to
manually delete the reward portion of the news file before you add
new news. Be sure to leave the ` mark in the new, modified news
file so that the reward bulletin will be added back on top the next
time PCB-REWARD runs.
If you add news in front of the reward news section, the new
portion will be deleted when the nightly event re-writes it. This
was not done deliberately, but is simply an effect of the way it
handles the news file merge.
I am also working on a feature to allow you to embed the bulletin
any place in the news file, which will correct this problem.
REGISTRATION
Registration may be accomplished by printing and filling out the
included form, REGISTER.DOC, and mailing it to the address
indicated. Please enclose a fee of $10.00. Make checks payable
to TOM GREGORY.
Once I receive these items, I will send you a registration number
which you will need to place in the .CFG file. This will eliminate
the evaluation message in the bulletins and news files.
BE SURE TO PRINT THE REGISTRATION NAME EXACTLY AS YOU WANT IT TO
APPEAR INT THE .CFG FILE.
Registration also entitles you to receive telephone support, as
well as all future updates. On the registration form, be sure to
include a password for pre-registration on Software Heaven BBS.
This will allow you to have Visiting Sysop privileges.
Registration will also let you sleep better at night !
If you have questions or problems, you may contact me via the below
method.
Tom Gregory
5278 Tracy Ct.
Stone Mountain, Ga. 30083
or
Software Heaven BBS
404-413-6579
Leave a message for me.
ORIGINAL DISTRIBUTION
The original distrib contains the following files. If you pass a
copy of this program to another BBS or another user, please be sure
to include the entire set.
REWARD##.EXE --- The main program
REWARD.CFG --- Configuration file
REWARD.USR --- File that stores current top uploaders
REWARD.DOC --- This manual
SAMPLE.CFG --- Commented config file
REWBULT.TXT -- Text file containing the user-definable
bulletin
BLT5 --- Sample Bulletin created by program
BRDMxxx --- Sample main board security specific menus
REGISTER.FRM - Registration Form
README.NEW --- Latest features
HISTORY.TXT -- Revision history
If the package that you received does not contain these files,
please advise the SYSOP of the BBS you received it from that the
package is incomplete.
I hate the legal mumbo-jumbo stuff, but it's gotta be there, so
here goes..
COPYRIGHT NOTICE AND DISCLAIMER
This software is released as Shareware. It may be copied and
given to other users as long as all of the files contained in the
original distribution are intact.
The user is expected to register this software after a reasonableamount of use, when said use determines that this software has
value to the user, or the user will continue to use this software.
It is generally accepted that a "reasonable amount of use" should
not exceed 30 days. At the end of this period, the user shall
either register this software with the author by submitting the
required fee, or the user shall totally discontinue all use of the
software. The user also agrees that they shall make no attempt to
disassemble, modify, tamper with or alter the software in any way.
The user further agrees that registration shall authorize them for
the use of this software on one (1) computer system only, at any
one time. Each additional computer system which also contains this
software must have its own registered copy.
The author of this software is providing it on an as-is basis.
The author has made every effort to assure that this software will
perform as stated. However, no guarantees are made or implied as to
its usability or functionality. The author is in no way liable for
any damage caused by the use of this software, either directly or
indirectly. The user agrees to hold the author harmless for any
problems which may be caused by the use of this software on their
computer system. However, the author will make every effort to
assist users with problems should they arise.