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1990-11-25
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- RATS 1.00 -
RemoteAccess TimeBank System
Version 1.00 - release
Copyright 1990
Motor City Software
All Rights Reserved
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
** I M P O R T A N T N O T I C E **
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
The RATS data file structure has been changed in this release. If you are
running a previous version of RATS, you will need to reconfigure RATS using
RATSCFG.EXE
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Introduction
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
The RemoteAccess TimeBank System (henceforth known as RATS) is a user time-
banking system for RemoteAccess and QuickBBS. It has many features for the
user and Sysop alike and allows users to bank online time and download
kilobytes for use at a later date.
RATS also supports programs which automatically deposit minutes in user
accounts using the THEBANK.EXT external support file (see External Game
Support).
At the time of this release, RATS works with RemoteAccess versions 0.01
through 0.04a and QuickBBS 2.64. RATS will automatically detect and
support the format of these two packages' EXITINFO.BBS files.
RATS has a separate maintenance program called RMU (RATS Maintenance Utility)
which takes care of the RATS data file RATS.DAT. It performs tasks ranging
from deleting zero-balance accounts and users who are no longer in the
USERS.BBS file to sorting accounts in last name order.
RATS provides hot-key support. If the user is familiar with the commands,
the current screen output can be interrupted when a command key is pressed.
This can really speed things along!
RATS has a graphic transaction screen and uses Sysop-definable colors for
most fields and prompts.
RATS recognizes the Sysop when he/she logs in and affords the <S>ysop Admin.
command which basically allows the Sysop to make balance changes or delete
certain user accounts. RATS assumes that the user is the Sysop if the
current user name is equal to that of the Sysop name as defined by your BBS.
RATS allows the Sysop to define values for maximum time deposit, maximum time
withdrawal, maximum kilobyte deposit, maximum kilobyte withdrawal, maximum
time transfer and maximum purchaseable kilobytes as well as default prompt
foreground, prompt background, and prompt highlight colors to be used.
RATS now supports Multi-Line Systems! You can have more than one user in
the bank at the same time. You MUST be running SHARE.EXE for multi-node
support.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Licensing Information
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
This program is not freeware. This is SHAREWARE which means it is user-
supported software. If you use this program for more than 30 days, you are
asked to register or remove it from your system. $10.00 is not a lot to ask.
The concept works only with your support. If you find that you can
use this program, then a registration fee of $10.00 U.S. funds will
help defray the development cost and encourage the authorship of other
programs that might be useful to you. A Registration Form for this
purpose is included with the RATS distribution archive and is called
RATSREG.DOC.
RATS is Copyrighted 1990 by Motor City Software, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
You may copy this program and documentation for backup purposes.
You also may copy and share UNMODIFIED copies of the program package,
providing that the copyright notice is reproduced and included on all copies.
You may not sell the product for a fee and/or distribute the product
along with other products without expressed written permission, nor may
you modify or remove the Copyright Notice from the program or the
documentation.
Motor City Software shall not be held responsible for any damage incurred by
the user to hardware, software or peripheral devices during the operation of
the RATS program. This program has been tested on a PC/XT clone using
both COM1 and COM2 configurations and also on an AT clone using a COM1
configuration. Support is included for COM3 and COM4 as well.
Comments, suggestions and bug reports are welcome. If you have any,
you may call one of the Motor City Software Support Systems listed below,
and leave a message to the Sysop. If you're reporting a bug, please give
as much detail as possible about the problem you are having.
Motor City Software Support Systems
BBS Name City Phone Net Address
-------- ---- ----- -----------
Motor City Software Oshawa, Ont. Can. (416) 579-6318 1:229/418
ComPro Systems Bowmanville Ont Can. (416) 623-5148 1:229/414
City Terminal BBS Hopkins, Minnesota (612) 938-4301 1:282/12
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Distribution Files
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
This program is distributed in archive (PKZip) format. The distribution
archive contains the files:
RATSCFG.EXE The RATS configuration program
RATS.DOC This documentation file
RATS100.EXE The program executable
RMU.EXE RATS maintenance utility
RATS.HLP The program help file
RATS.NEW Program revision history (read this!!)
RATSREG.DOC Registration form (please register!)
REGISTER.LST List of registered sites
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Getting Started -- Installation
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Unpack the distribution archive into the directory you'll run RATS in. RATS
can be run in any subdirectory as long as paths are setup properly in
RATSCFG.EXE. But for purposes of interfacing with some time door programs,
it is recommended that you run RATS in the RA system directory. Run the
RATSCFG.EXE program to create/edit the RATS configuration file.
MULTI-LINE users! You must create a seperate configuration file for each
node! Run RATSCFG 1 for node 1, RATSCFG 2 for node 2 etc. This will create
RATS1.CFG and RATS2.CFG
If you are running single node, then just run RATSCFG
Once in RATSCFG, you may press F1 on any given field for help information
for that field.
Once you are satisfied with the configuration, press ALT-X to exit and save
it.
If you are running RemoteAccess you can execute RATS from a type 7 menu
entry. If you are running QuickBBS, you will need to run RATS as a type
15 exit with errorlevel set. Batch file coding is beyond the scope of this
document and will not be covered here. For more information, please consult
your BBS software documentation.
That's all there is to it! RATS is easy to install and to use.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Getting Started -- Command Line Parameters
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
RATS accepts two command line parameters:
/E - This tells RATS not to read any upcoming system event
information. Some systems do not define any events within the
BBS and RATS doesn't like finding no events. If you don't
have any events defined within your BBS, pass this parameter
to RATS. I would recommend having at least one event defined
within your BBS as RATS thinks this is an ideal configuration
and loves the heck out of it! <grin>
IMPORTANT NOTES ABOUT EVENTS:
If you have ANY system events that require a user to be off at
a specific time, you MUST have these events defined in your
BBS event schedule or RATS will allow users to withdraw time
that would overlap the system event time.
So, if you are using a front end event scheduler and are pass-
ing the 'time to next event' to your BBS via a command-line
parameter, RATS has no way of knowing the 'time to next event'
information. To the author's knowledge, neither QuickBBS 2.64
or RemoteAccess 0.04a make this information accessible. This
is why all events MUST be duplicated in the BBS event sched-
ular.
If you just plain don't have any system events, then you
should use the /E command line parameter when executing RATS
(as above).
/I - Causes RATS to perform an 'Inquire'. This is used
by Bob Butler's BitSpin game. DORINFO1.DEF will be opened
and the current online user's name retrieved from it. Next,
RATS will search it's data file for this user and return the
user's name and current account balance in the format:
USER_NAME:BALANCE
Where USER_NAME is the user's full name (just as it is in
DORINFO1.DEF for that matter - no underscores) and BALANCE is
the user's current balance. If the user does not have an
account, a balance of 0 will be returned.
This information is then written to a file called RATS.TYM
which is a standard ASCII text file. RATS will overwrite any
existing RATS.TYM file. This file will be written in the same
directory that contains RATS.EXE.
This feature was added to support door programs which need to
read a user's current balance.
If you pass the /I parameter to RATS, the specified task will
be performed and then RATS will exit to DOS. RATS will NOT
come up for online use when this parameter is passed to it
since its sole purpose is to allow other door programs to
retrieve the current user's account balance.
/NOLIST Passing this on the command line will disable the users
from listing other users balances.
/N This is used to pass the Node Number in a multi-node system.
If you are running a single node system, ignore this. Otherwise
you pass /N1 for node 1, /N2 for node 2 etc... You will be required
to create a seperate configuration file for each node. See notes
on RATSCFG.EXE
For normal single line operation, RATS doesn't need any command line
parameters passed to it.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
External Files -- Minimum Usage File - RATSUSE.TXT
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
If you configure RATS to require a user to use the BBS for a given amount of
time before being able to make a deposit (of time or kilobytes) and a user
attempts to make a deposit before using the BBS for the minimum required
time, RATS will display a text file called RATSUSE.TXT, if it exits. If it
does not exist, a short message will be displayed.
This was added to support those Sysops who do not wish to have users logon
only to deposit all of their time and then logoff. If you set the minimum
usage time in RATSCFG to 5 minutes, for example, and a user logs on and
attempts to make a deposit before using the BBS for 5 minutes, the file
RATSUSE.TXT is displayed. Once the user has used the BBS for 5 minutes or
more, the user is then allowed to make a deposit.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
External Files -- Bummer List -- RATS.BUM and RATSBUM.TXT
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
RATS supports a 'bummer list' which is an ASCII text file list of user names
that you do not want to have access to RATS. This text file must have no
blank lines. Each line contains one full user name. The user name can be
in upper or lower case. RATS will convert the names to upper case when it
reads them. The name of the text file is RATS.BUM. If RATS finds this
file upon startup, it will process it.
If a user who is on the bummer list tries to fire up RATS, RATS will look for
a file called RATSBUM.TXT. If found, this file will be displayed. Otherwise,
a default, one-line message will be displayed.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
External Game Support
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
RATS is compatible with programs which utilize an external, automatic
time-banking file (THEBANK.EXT) in that RATS will read this file and apply
deposits and/or withdrawals automatically, to user accounts.
This means that RATS allows other door programs to automatically deposit
or withdraw time from user accounts. This can be quite handy, especially
for door programs that offer time gambling or other time manipulation
features.
So how does this work? In RATSCFG, you entered a path to the external time
bank support file THEBANK.EXT. Whenever RATS is started, it looks for this
file in the path you have set up. If found, RATS performs the following
tasks:
o - Reads a line from THEBANK.EXT and retrieves the user name for the
transaction and the amount of the transaction.
o - Searches the RATS data file for this user. If the user does not
have an account, one is created.
o - Applies the amount to be transacted. This amount may be a positive or
a negative number. If the number is negative, then the amount is
withdrawn from the user's account. If the number is positive, the
amount is deposited.
So, what's the format of this external support file? THEBANK.EXT is simply
an ASCII text file consisting of no blank lines. Each line must contain a
transaction. Here's a sample THEBANK.EXT file; we will be depositing 30
minutes in Jane Doe's account and withdrawing 30 minutes from John Doe's
account:
<top of file>
JANE DOE:30
JOHN DOE:-30
<end of file>
There is no limit to the number of transactions in THEBANK.EXT. However,
the more there are to process the longer it will take RATS to load since
RATS looks for and processes this file each time it is loaded.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
External Files -- RATSMIN.TXT
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
If a user fires up RATS and has a security level less than the Minimum
Security value defined in RATSCFG, the text file RATSMIN.TXT is displayed,
if it exists in the directory containing RATS.EXE. If this file does not
exist, a one-line message will be displayed. The user is then returned to
the BBS.
This is useful for Sysops who would like to tell users how to get access to
RATS if their security level is not high enough. The Sysop can then set the
security level on the menu entry that calls RATS to a lower level than what
is actually required to have access to it.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
RMU -- Rats Maintenance Utility
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
The RMU program accepts one command line parameter and that is the path to
USERS.BBS. RMU should be run in the same directory that contains RATS.DAT.
Just pass the path to your USERS.BBS file. For example:
RMU \RA\MsgBase\
RMU \QuickBBS\
That's all that RMU requires to execute. Ideally, RMU might be run on a
daily basis as part of routine BBS maintenance.
Once executed, RMU performs the following maintenance tasks on the RATS
data file:
o - Deletes users whose account balances are zero minutes and zero
kilobytes. To retain an account in RATS, a user must have at least
one minute of time or one kilobyte on account.
o - Cross referrences USERS.BBS and removes users who no longer exist in
the USERS.BBS file.
o - Sorts all accounts in last name order.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Notes From the Author
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
John Parlin, the author of RATS has joined Motor City Software as a partner,
and all support will be handled through the main Motor City Software Online
support BBS.
If you have any helpful comments, suggestions or bug reports, please feel
free to contact us.
Please address all concerns to Rod Hancock at 1:229/418
We also have available, a Motor City Software support echo, and if you are
interested, we can point you to the closest system to you which carries it.
Currently its not on the FidoNet backbone, but with enough interest in it,
who knows...
If you use RATS for 30 days, you are required to register it or remove it
from your system. Please support us, so we may support you....