2,000 Greater & Lesser Mysteries

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------------------- POLICE NET A network serving the Law Enforcement community world-wide ------------------- By Joseph Gaspard With additions by Brian Roberts Copyright 1991 by POLICE NET TABLE OF CONTENTS File List.........................................2 I. Introduction......................................2 II. What is a Network.................................4 General Membership Requirements...........4 III. Software Requirements.............................5 Archiving.................................5 Mailers...................................5 Node lists and compilers..................6 Tossing Utilities.........................7 Disk Maintenance..........................8 IV. General Setup.....................................9 Modem.....................................9 DOS......................................10 Nodelist Compilers.......................11 Fossil Drivers...........................13 Batch File...............................14 Front Door...............................17 Mail Tossers.............................23 V. Getting Help.....................................24 VI. Applying For a Node Number.......................25 VII. Rules and Regulations............................26 Standards................................26 Echo Mail................................26 Security.................................27 Violations/Appeals.......................28 Epilogue.........................................29 - 1 - FILES INCLUDED POLICE.DOC Software setup, Policies and operations guide. AREAS.COP Echoes currently available on POLICE NET. NODELIST.XXX The current Nodelist. README.1ST Any changes since this was written. ------------------------------------------------------------- To print a copy of this documentation, enter COPY POLICE.DOC PRN at the DOS prompt. This file may be distributed freely to anyone interested in joining the network, but may not be altered in any way. For the most current version of the documentation and support files, please call ROBOCOP BBS, San Diego, CA. (619) 299-0351 ( Node 1:202/1, POLICE NET ). INTRODUCTION Welcome to POLICE NET! Brian and I have put this package together in order to give you some answers to the most common questions, and to give you a better understanding of what will be required for you, the Law Enforcement BBS Sysop, to join this exciting new service. Once a member,you will be a part of a growing system of BBSs dedicated to Police and emergency personnel, all linked by a series of conferences "echoed" throughout the Network. Your users will be able to share ideas and information with other officers from across the Country, and eventually, around the World. Membership in POLICE NET is free. You will incur some expense when registering some of the required software and, depending on your location, when tossing mail packets by telephone. Please review the RULES section for additional details. POLICE NET Started as a mail-toss project between ROBOCOP BBS, the founder , and L-E BBS ONLINE (Obviously the co-founder!). We discovered each other quite by accident. I had been actively seeking other Law Enforcement BBSs to get ideas from, but very few of them advertised. When I first started to Log onto L-E BBS as a user, I told Brian of my idea to network Police BBSs in the same way that Fido Net does with civilian boards. We became partners in the project almost immediately, and began the task of learning everything we could about forming a network, and setting up the software. On April 15, 1991, POLICE NET became a reality, linking the two primary Law Enforcement BBSs in San Diego County together for the first time. - 2 - It has been a learning experience, believe me! We suffered many set backs in trying to get the software to do the impossible, before we saw any progress. To top it all off, we both use completely different types of BBS software. ROBOCOP is a Quickbbs system, while Brian's L-E BBS uses Wildcat. It was difficult to teach each other anything useful that could apply to both systems, but we managed, and here we are! Now it's your turn. This documentation is meant to provide a simple overview of the software that will be required to handle mail tossing automatically, a basic guideline for setup, and the rules governing membership in POLICE NET. In my travels with a modem, I have discovered an unlimited amount of BBS software, so I won't address too many specifics there, but I will point out some important things to look for in your own documentation. Most of the recommended software listed in chapter IV comes with documentation of varying simplicity, and with a few tricks, you should be able to get those programs going fairly quickly. We'll try to address the problem areas the best we can. In order that we keep this manual current, we would like to ask you to note any problems not addressed here in an ASCII text file, and forward it to us. We will try to keep up with as many major software releases and problems associated with them, so that new members can benefit from all of our collective hair-pulling! Most, if not all of the software mentioned here is available on both founding boards, however long distance callers may want to search their area first, as many of the files are quite large, and would cost a bit to download. Good luck getting started! -Joseph Gaspard - 3 - WHAT IS A NETWORK? A network is a group of independent systems that share a message base or group of message bases in addition to their existing "local" ones. Thus, a member of one system can dial his local board, and read or write messages to other people in other systems, regardless of their location, without having to make multiple or long distance phone calls. The user enters the message in the network section of your bbs, and logs off. At a specific time (Zone Mail Hour, or ZMH), your system automatically packs all the new messages in the network areas using a file compression archive such as PKZIP, dials a hub system, sends the packet and picks up any waiting mail. If everything is setup properly, your computer will automatically unpack the new messages, and place them in the proper message base. Once all the software is in place, the Sysop need do nothing to make all of this happen. The message bases that are "tossed" in this manner are called "ECHOES". They are basically subject-specific conferences that are monitored by a moderator, in order to keep them on-track and on the subject. Any participating system can create an echo, but must also be responsible for the moderator as well (see the Rules section for details!). By nature, echo mail is "public" mail. That is, you cannot enter a private note to someone in the network. The reason is simple: Why should us poor Sysops pay to toss private mail (grin)? There are two basic groups of echoes available in POLICE NET. Group S echoes are restricted to Law Enforcement personnel, while group G echoes can be open to civilians as well. Members can choose not to carry an echo or a group of echoes, and are only required to carry the echo "Sysop NET". POLICE NET has a few requirements of systems wanting to become part of the network: 1. You must be a Law Enforcement or EMT BBS, or offer secure message areas for Law Enforcement. You may allow civilians on your system, but MUST abide by the security arrangements provided for the network. 2. You must be able to toss mail at baud rates at or above 2400 baud. The network standard is currently true 9600 V.32/V.42, but we will also support 9600 HST by the end of May, 1991. 3. You must apply for a node number following the procedures outlined in chapter VII. - 4 - SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS We assume that you already have your BBS in place on a IBM based system, and running from a batch file. Hopefully you have some knowledge of errorlevel calls and other batch conventions, and are using MS DOS version 3.3 or higher. There are several programs you will need in order to send and receive mail packets, pack and unpack mail and maintain your message bases. We will try to break down all of these programs in some sort of logical order, but read through the setup chapter before you log on to your local guru board and perform file rape! ARCHIVE PROGRAMS: We urge you in the STRONGEST possible terms to collect every compression program that exists! Most front end mailers will detect a type of compression program, and attempt to unpack your mail using that software. If you don't have that program, you'll get a nasty surprise the next morning! Dump all of the archivers into one directory, and make sure the path statement in your AUTOEXEC.BAT lists that directory. The following is a list of the most common programs, by their extension names: .ZIP .ZOO .LHA .LZH .ARC POLICE NET uses the convention PKZIP by default. You should use this to make outbound packets. You may request that all packets sent to you be done in another format when you apply for a node number, but all outbound mail must be "Zipped". THE FRONT END MAILER: The front end mailer manages your entire system. It controls all internal and external events, detects inbound and outbound mail, dials and sends packets and files, detects "human" callers and passes them off to your BBS program, and is always "up". It is completely automated and so the most complicated program in your system. More than one Sysop has commented to me that it was easier to set up their BBS than a mailer! In spite of the claims you'll find in the documentation of the majority of the available mailers, most are notoriously buggy. Many, such as Binkley Term, use outdated control files with documentation that leave a lot of the set up to your imagination. That is why we recommend only one type of front end mail program: FRONT DOOR 1.99c. - 5 - Front Door uses a setup program with pull down menus to walk you through the process. It has a full featured editor, a simple communications terminal, and I have not found any significant bugs in the software. The documentation gets a bit confusing in some places, but we will try to cover many of those in the Setup chapter. Front Door is offered free of charge by the program's author. NODELIST MAINTENANCE: A nodelist is a simple file that contains information about each member system in the network. In it's raw form it is merely an ASCII text file. In order for the mailer to use the information in the file it must be processed into a data base format. Front Door uses the processed nodelist to determine who to send mail to, what phone number to dial, and who the Sysop of that system is. Thus, it is important to keep your nodelist up to date. Front Door will not even run without a processed nodelist on file! We have included the most recent nodelist in this package, but remember to use the new list available AFTER you have been accepted into the net, as it will have your system listed. There are two programs we use to process the nodelist. They must be run in order: PARSELST Run this one first. FDNC Run this one after Parselst. When you get a new nodelist, you can run a simple batch file from your nodelist directory (see Front Door in the Setup chapter) to process it into usable form: ECHO OFF CLS cd \FD\NODELIST del *.fd* *.idx *.dat *.bak PARSELST FDNC /f copy nodelist.bbs f:\quickbbs del nodelist.bbs Both programs have to be configured using a simple control file. More on that in the Setup chapter. - 6 - MAIL TOSSING: A front end mailer doesn't actually touch your message base. It relies on support programs called "tossers" to pack/unpack mail, delete duplicate messages, reorganize the last read pointers, and place the new messages in the right place. When set up correctly, all this will happen automatically, and all you will have to do from now on is read the mail! Unfortunately for some of you, our experience is limited to Quickbbs message base systems. Brian's Wildcat uses a support program to convert selected folders in the Wildcat message base to Quickbbs format to be tossed by the programs listed below. I, of course run a Quickbbs system. If you don't run either types of BBS software, our best advice is to find a local Fido Net system that operates the same type of software as you do, and pick their brains. We'll help you figure it all out and include it in this manual in the next release. There are two programs that we have found to toss to/from a Quickbbs message base system: TOSSCAN The fastest and easiest. QNET_265 A little more complex to set up, but also good. Both programs come with various utilities for cleaning and packing your message base, deleting old messages, etc. I highly recommend using these utilities after ZMH, and before any disk maintenance. ------------------------------------------------------------ -WARNING- It is highly recommended that you make back up copies of your current message base and put them in a safe place BEFORE you start experimenting with any "kill" switches found in these utilities, or you may end up with an empty message base! ------------------------------------------------------------ The program that Brian uses to convert Wildcat messages to Quickbbs data base files is called: Q2W_W2Q FOSSIL DRIVERS: Most BBS programs require some sort of fossil driver to keep track of the carrier signal. We suggest the following: BNU or X00124 - 7 - DISK MAINTENANCE: While this subject doesn't deal directly with operating a network system, it is an important part of your daily maintenance routine. Disk fragmentation becomes a critical cause of system failers, or crashes, as you place more demands on your storage area. Since you will be reading and writing to disk more often, deleting and adding messages in different locations on the disk, and accessing various files more often, it becomes very important that you "plug up the holes", so to speak, by running a disk defragmentation program. If you haven't been doing so, you will probably notice a significant decrease in access time to the disk, and an increase in available disk space the first time you run the program. There are a couple of dozen such programs on the commercial market. We recommend two of those commercial programs, as being the fastest and most trouble free. I have yet to find a Shareware program that compares to the following software: NORTON SPEED DISK Available in the Norton Integrator. PCTOOLS COMPRESS Available in Pctools. Both are excellent investments, and are found in almost every software store. We advise running either program from your nightly maintenance batch file, using the "auto" switches. This should be the LAST ITEM OF MAINTENANCE PERFORMED. ------------------------------------------------------------ -WARNING- There has been an increasing amount of reports from Sysops around the country of Norton Speed Disk version 5.0 corrupting some files and destroying others. So far Peter Norton has not come out publicly with any acknowledgement of this problem, even though it has occurred among a wide variety of systems and software. We advise using an older version of Norton's otherwise excellent Speed Disk program until this problem is corrected. ------------------------------------------------------------ - 8 - GENERAL SETUP The following chapter deals with setting up the individual programs mentioned in the previous chapter. This is not meant to replace the documents that come with those programs, but as an overview of setting up your system as a whole. We have structured this document in the basic order that you should use when starting the task of making all these separate programs work as one system. We have also identified a few problem and/or unclear areas in some programs, and hopefully put them into the proper perspective. We suggest keeping a printed copy of this guide handy, and using this chapter in order. It will greatly decrease the amount of time it takes you to set up your system. GETTING STARTED: 1. If you haven't already done so, make a printed copy of your BBS software documentation. You will be referring to it often, so keep it handy. 2. Print a copy of the Front Door documentation. I suggest getting a 3" three ring binder and putting both documents in there. 3. Print a copy of your fossil driver documentation. Unless you multi-task, you will need to set aside a time to take down your BBS in order to start setting up your mailer. If your BBS does not take the phone off the hook, call up a comm program such as TELIX, and in the terminal screen type: ATM0H1 This will silence the modem's speaker (M0), and take the phone off the hook (H1). If you wish the modem back on the hook, just type: ATH0 Once you've got the phone line set the way you want, go back to DOS and change directories to the root directory on the boot drive. Now you're ready to reconfigure your system for POLICE NET! - 9 - SETTING UP DOS: We assume you have MS DOS version 3.3 or higher. If a suggested command does not work on your system, refer to your DO manual. The first thing you should do is modify your AUTOEXEC.BAT and CONFIG.SYS files, using a simple ASCII text editor. The following are the only changes you will need to make in these files: 1. Add FD to your path statement in your AUTOEXEC file. Example: PATH=C:\dos;C:\comm;C:\FD 2. Add the directory where you keep all your archive programs to the path as well. 3. If you are not now using a fossil driver, you will need one to run Front Door. You may need to add a statement in either AUTOEXEC or CONFIG, depending on which driver you use. 4. Add the statement: SET FD=<your path>to AUTOEXEC.BAT The following examples were taken directly from ROBOCOP BBS: AUTOEXEC.BAT: ------------ ECHO OFF c:\qemm\loadhi /r:4 c:\qemm\files=40+ c:\qemm\lastdrive=G: PATH C:\;c:\dos;c:\4dos;c:\Norton;c:\pctools;c:\zip;f:\fd; cd\ chjoy3 cd \mouse c:\qemm\loadhi /r:3 mouse set DOORPCH=pcb set QBBS=F:\QUICKBBS set LIB=F:\QUICKBBS\LIB set FD=F:\FD set DSZLOG=F:\QUICKBBS\DSZ.LOG set DSZ.COM=F:\QUICKBBS cls cd\ desk CONFIG.SYS: ---------- device=C:\QEMM\qemm386.sys ext=960 RAM ROM EXCLUDE=C800-C9FF files=8 BUFFERS=1 stacks=0,0 install=c:\qemm\loadhi.com /tsr /r:1 c:\dos\share.exe - 10 - device=c:\qemm\loadhi.sys /r:2 c:\dos\ansi.sys device=c:\qemm\loadhi.sys /r:2 C:smartdrv.sys 320 /a device=c:\qemm\loadhi.sys /r:3 C:\hc2\atdoshc2.sys device=c:\qemm\loadhi.sys /r:1 C:\ramdrive.sys 640 /e device=f:\quickbbs\X00.sys e b,0,19200 R=2048 T=2048 shell=c:\4dos.com /s:x /u /p /h Do not go with the FILES and BUFFER statements listed above. These are specific to a multi-tasking environment under QEMM and Desqview. Make sure you have at least the following for non-multi-tasking systems: FILES=40 BUFFERS=40 (unless you use a disk cache program) The next thing you should do is to make a few directories. The easiest way is to use the DOS "MD" command, as in: MD FD The following is a list of the directories and subdirectories you will need to have before you unpack your software: |--DUPES |--NODELIST C:\ FD ---------|--MAIL |--PACKETS |--FILE UNPACKING YOUR SOFTWARE: Move the nodelist, and unzip PARSELST and FDNC into the directory FD\NODELIST. Unpack Front Door into the directory FD. Don't unpack the mail tossing utilities yet. Now you are ready to begin to set up your system. PARSELST AND FDNC: As we stated earlier, this manual is not intended to cover every aspect of the setup of each program, but to help you get started and ease you over some of the rough spots. As such, we won't get into all the things you can do in either of these programs, as that would take a small book in itself! Brian and I are still learning all the things that you can force Front Door to do with these little gems! Both Parselst and FDNC are similar, in that they use simple ASCII control files to get their instructions. These are named PARSELST.CFG and FDNODE.CTL respectively. Use your favorite text editor to open up the files and follow - 11 - the instructions listed as "remarks". Here are a few examples highlighting some of the confusing parts to each file: PARSELST.CFG: Node 1:202/1 ; My network address Country 1 ; My country code MaxBaud 9600 ; My highest baud rate ;MyList ROBOCOP.LST ; My private nodelist Complete ; Give entire nodelist UseZone ; Don't change Zone to Region NoComments ; Don't output comment lines NoRoute ; Don't generate Nodelist.Fon file ;NoNodeList ; Don't generate Nodelist.Bbs file Version6 NoFidoList ; Don't generate human readable files NoUserList ; Don't generate FidoUser.Lst file Dial 1-619- End Cost 85 500 1-619- 0 1-714- 25 End --------------------------- The above list is the easiest of the two to set up. Remember that everything preceded with a ";" will be ignored by the program, so you can make comments to yourself for future reference. ROBOCOP BBS is located in area code 619, so you'll want to change that to YOUR area code. For set up purposes, you are allowed to use the node number 1:<your region>/999. Check the chapter on applying for a node number for further details. FDNODE.CTL: (Read the Front Door Documentation!) This is a long file, and largely self explanatory. The part that was confusing to me the first time was all the phone numbers! Here are some highlights: COST 25 150 ; Default ; Default ; ; Local (to me) numbers ; 1-619-299- 0 -12- Change the Local (to me) number(s) and prefix locations to your area numbers. ; Domestic (to me) but not local numbers ; 1-204- 50 ; Manitoba Canada 1-306- 50 ; Saskatchewan 1-403- 50 ; Northwest Territories 1-416- 50 ; Ontario 1-418- 50 ; Quebec 1-506- 50 ; New Brunswick 1-514- 50 ; Quebec Obviously, these will have to be modified to suit your area. For now, you need do nothing but place your number anywhere that you see "local". That will be enough to get you going. Once your system is up and tossing mail, you can go back and fine-tune these files. If you haven't placed the compilers and the nodelist in the nodelist directory, do so now. Run your batch file or type the command lines for the compilers. Your node list is now ready for Front Door and POLICE NET! FOSSIL DRIVERS: If you already are using a high speed modem, then you should be familiar with fossil drivers. These communication programs have only one purpose in life: To supervise the comm port(s). Front Door requires one to run. Both Brian And I use different drivers, and oddly enough, we use them in the two ways they can be used: As a device driver, and as a executable program. I use X00124 as a device driver called at boot up by my config.sys. There are a number of reasons for this, but the main one is I load it in high memory with my memory manager, and it uses less "headroom" that way. Brian doesn't have that capability, and so prefers to call BNU as a program from his BBS' batch file to save on device driver space. Both ways work fine. BNU is pretty straight forward, but X00 does have a few switches to deal with. The following is my command string in CONFIG.SYS for X00. Keep in mind that I'm using a locked comm port at a very high rate of speed: Device=f:\quickbbs\X00.sys e b,0,19200 R=2048 T=2048 For a 2400 BPS modem, use: X00.sys e - 13 - THE BATCH FILE: Now we get to the fun stuff! The first thing you are going to have to do is to start writing a new batch file. It would be a good idea to make a printout of your existing batch file to use as a reference. Currently, you are allowing your BBS to determine the baud rate of the caller, and manage the progress of the call. That is one of the first things you will have to change. Front Door will manage the call progress, and pass off "human" callers to the BBS using different errorlevels for each baud rate. This is an example of the beginning section of a typical batch file: @echo off :START F: cd \fd FD if errorlevel 255 goto START if errorlevel 231 goto DISK_MAINT if errorlevel 230 goto MAINT if errorlevel 155 goto 19200 if errorlevel 150 goto 9600 if errorlevel 140 goto 4800 if errorlevel 130 goto 2400 if errorlevel 120 goto 1200 if errorlevel 115 goto 300 if errorlevel 57 goto UNPACK_MAIL if errorlevel 56 goto PACK_MAIL if errorlevel 33 goto RESTART if errorlevel 10 goto QUIT if errorlevel 1 goto MAJOR_ERROR :19200 cls cd \quickbbs quickbbs -b19200 -e0 -s goto AFTER_BBS :9600 cls cd \quickbbs quickbbs -b9600 -e0 -s goto AFTER_BBS :4800 cls cd \quickbbs quickbbs -b4800 -e0 -s goto AFTER_BBS - 14 - :2400 cls cd \quickbbs quickbbs -b2400 -e0 -s goto AFTER_BBS :1200 cls cd \quickbbs quickbbs -b1200 -e0 -s goto AFTER_BBS :300 cls cd \quickbbs quickbbs -b300 -e0 -s goto AFTER_BBS Note the errorlevels 10, 33, 56 and 57. These should be exactly as you see them here. Front Door always exits on an errorlevel of 10, so you must have this free. When Front Door determines that a call is coming in at 2400, it exits at the errorlevel you place in the setup program. If you have written the batch correctly, that errorlevel will take the call to the ":2400" label, and execute the commands found there. Note the statement " -b2400" after Quickbbs in the :2400 label. This is the command line that starts Quickbbs at 2400 baud. Almost all the BBS software I've seen has some sort of command line switches that you can use to specify the baud rate with, so yours may be similar. Lets continue looking at the batch file: :AFTER_BBS if errorlevel 230 goto MAINT if errorlevel 100 goto QUIT if errorlevel 33 goto RESTART if errorlevel 17 goto POKER if errorlevel 14 goto BAGM if errorlevel 13 goto BANK if errorlevel 12 goto BACK if errorlevel 9 goto QDOG if errorlevel 5 goto NET&ECHO if errorlevel 4 goto ECHO_ONLY if errorlevel 3 goto NET_ONLY if errorlevel 1 goto MAJOR_ERROR goto LAST_CALLER - 15 - :RESTART cls cd \quickbbs quickbbs -r -e0 -s goto AFTER_BBS :UNPACK_MAIL cd \quickbbs modem 1 OFF Tosscan toss goto START :PACK_MAIL cd \quickbbs modem 1 OFF Tosscan scan goto START :ECHO_ONLY cd \quickbbs modem 1 OFF Tosscan scan goto START :NET_ONLY cd \quickbbs Tsutil export goto START :NET&ECHO cd \quickbbs Tosscan scan Tsutil export goto START :QUIT cd \quickbbs modem 1 OFF cls nocurs be rowcol 10,20 "Exiting Front Door and ROBOCOP BBS" normal cls cd\ exit We're not going to go into every detail of a batch file with you here, but this should give you an example to refer to if you get stuck along the way. Most Sysops are more than willing to give you a copy of their Batch file, and it would be a good idea to look at more than one. - 16 - FRONT DOOR: To access the setup program, go to your Front Door directory (FD, if you followed our advice), and type: SETUP From here on it's just a matter of going into each "field", and customizing it for your system. The following is a list of a few of them, and our recommended settings: Under Global/Address: -------------------- System F:\FD\ Netmail F:\FD\MAIL\ Files F:\QUICKBBS\FILES\UP\ Packets F:\FD\PACKETS\ Log file F:\FD\FD.LOG Banner F:\QUICKBBS\TEXT\BANNER.TXT (You make this file) Nodelist F:\FD\NODELIST\ In-event F:\QUICKBBS\TEXT\IN-EVENT.TXT (You make this file) QuickBBS F:\QUICKBBS\ Swapping G:\ Under Mailer/Miscellaneous: -------------------------- Mail from unlisted systems No Mail from "unprotected" systems Yes Mail from unlisted points No Kill empty received messages Yes Terminal-only (no mail) No Mail-only (no BBS) No Match remote's zone No Present all AKAs to remote system No Trigger exit upon receipt of netmail Yes (Very Important!) +- Upon receipt of ANY file No Print received messages No Busy retries 30 (Just in case.) Resend retries 30 Retry delay 15 Delay before first call No Days to keep mail history 7 BBS software name ROBOCOP !! Seconds before passing to BBS 11 Minimum undialable cost 1 - 17 - Under Mailer/File Requests: -------------------------- Mode Systems in nodelist can request List F:\QUICKBBS\TEXT\FILES.TXT (See below) Alias Message Max match 0 Max time 0 Max size 0 Min speed 2400 Limited No Start 01:00 End 01:50 Days -------A The file listed above is a simple ASCII text file that looks like this: F:\QUICKBBS\FILES\UTIL\ F:\QUICKBBS\FILES\GAMES\ F:\QUICKBBS\FILES\BBS\ F:\QUICKBBS\FILES\OTHER\ F:\QUICKBBS\FILES\COPS\ Front Door uses this file to determine where a file might be located when a file request is received. Under mailer/errorlevels: ------------------------ 300 115 1200 120 1275 0 2400 130 4800 140 9600 150 19200 155 38400 0 Received mail 57 Create BAT.file No Note that the above errorlevel calls match the example batch file! Make sure yours do the same. Anything with an "0" will pass to the next command in the batch. Under Editor/Origin lines: ------------------------- (Please use the conventions outlined in the Rules chapter) - 18 - Under Manager/Events: -------------------- Ok, now comes the tricky part. The following is an example of the first screen: # T Days M Start Length Min/Lev Max Address ---------------------------------------------------------- 0 @ -------A + 00:00 00:01 0 -1 1:202/1 1 X -------A + 01:30 00:01 230 -1 1:202/1 2 Z -------A * 02:00 01:00 0 -1 1:202/1 3 C -------A + 03:00 21:00 0 -1 1:202/1 4 X -------A + 03:00 00:01 231 -1 1:202/1 Event #0 is mandatory! Put it in first. The "T" at the top is the event TAG. An "X" tag signifies an external event, and must have an errorlevel listed. You can have as many of these events as you want. I run a maintenance event just before ZMH, and run one that packs my message bases and de- fragments my disk afterwards. The "Z" tag stands for Zone Mail Hour. Here is the two screens you'll modify: Tag Z Days -------A Modifier Ignore eventbase (*) Start time 02:00 Length 01:00 Min.cost 0 Max.cost -1 Behavior Use alias 1:202/1 Retry delay 0 And under behavior: Allow users during event No Exit when mail is received Yes High priority (crash) mail only No Allow file requests Yes Pickup file requests No Hold (don't send) file requests No Attempt to pickup waiting mail Yes Allow nodes to pickup waiting mail Yes Send-only No Receive-only No End event when no more mail to send No Send to CM systems only No Send to non-CM systems only No Only execute event once No Inactive No - 19 - The "C" tag is for Continuous Mail, and is used to send and receive mail during normal hours. This is important if you wish to "poll" another system for waiting mail, and want your system to unpack the mail automatically. Here is the two set up screens for this event: Tag C Days -------A Modifier Add eventbase (+) Start time 03:00 Length 21:00 Min.cost 0 Max.cost -1 Behavior Use alias 1:202/1 Retry delay 0 And under Behavior: Allow users during event Yes Exit when mail is received Yes High priority (crash) mail only No Allow file requests Yes Pickup file requests Yes Hold (don't send) file requests No Attempt to pickup waiting mail Yes Allow nodes to pickup waiting mail Yes Send-only No Receive-only No End event when no more mail to send No Send to CM systems only No Send to non-CM systems only No Only execute event once No Inactive No The tricky part is that each event "tag", other than "X", must match a tag found in a file you must now create, called ROUTE.FD. The documentation makes creating this file very confusing, so I have included two examples of a Route.fd file using the tags found above. The first example is for a system hub. A hub would dial out to get mail from each system, and download any packets that the receiving system does not have. The second example is typical of most systems in POLICE NET, in that it waits for the mail call instead of dialing out: - 20 - Route.Fd example #1: ------------------- No-Route All SCHEDULE C MYNET/ALL No-Route 202/ALL No-Route 1:ALL Send-To 202/2 SCHEDULE Z MYNET/ALL No-Route 202/ALL No-Route ALL Send-to ALL Poll 202/2 Poll 202/3 Poll 202/4 Poll 202/5 Route.Fd example #2: ------------------- No-Route All SCHEDULE C MYNET/ALL No-Route 202/ALL No-Route 1:ALL Send-To 202/2 SCHEDULE Z MYNET/ALL No-Route 202/ALL No-Route ALL Send-to ALL As you can see, there is not much to this file. Place it in the Front Door directory, and go back to SETUP. Under Manager/Folders: --------------------- This is where you tell Front Door where the mail is, and what it is (Local, Echo, Netmail, Etc.). Here is an example of the screens, and what they should look like: # Status Users Password Title -------------------------------------------------- 1 EXI--Q-- * No POLICE ECHO 2 EXI--Q-- * No Firearms Echo - 21 - The edit screen for folder #1, POLICE ECHO, looks like this: Status Origin ROBOCOP BBS San Diego, CA (619)299-0351 Title POLICE ECHO Board 8 Users 1 Password No Use AKA 1:202/1 The "Board" number is for a Quickbbs system. Under "Status", you'll see another screen: Restricted Echo info * Export Ok * Echomail * Local Translate QuickBBS * Private Read-only If you change to a non-Quickbbs board, the previous screen will change as well: Status Origin ROBOCOP BBS San Diego, CA (619)299-0351 Title POLICE ECHO Path Users 1 Password No Use AKA 1:202/1 Now go back and double check each field, and make sure you haven't left anything out. A brief explanation will appear at the bottom of the screen for many of the fields. Once you are sure you have everything in place, you can test the system by calling up your fossil driver and typing "FD" from the proper directory. You will get an error message if you have done anything wrong. To exit, type ALT Q. To use the on-line features, type ALT P, and a pop up menu will appear. You can reconfigure the set up program from there. - 22 - MAIL TOSSERS If you are not operating from a Quickbbs message base, then this section is not going to be a lot of help to you. No doubt there are mail toss utilities for a wide variety of BBS systems, and a quick check with your local Fido Net Sysop that is operating your software will probably point you in the right direction very quickly. If you have a Quickbbs system, unpack your tosser into the BBS directory now. For a quick BBS system, the act of tossing mail into and out of your message base is ridiculously simple: TOSSCAN: To toss new mail INTO your message base use the command line: TOSSCAN TOSS. To scan your message base for, and pack new OUTGOING mail, use the command line: TOSSCAN SCAN QECHO (from the file Qnet): See the documentation for the available command line switches to customize the program for your system. Both of these programs should be operated from your batch file to exit and pack/unpack mail automatically. For examples, see the BBS batch file example on pages 14 and 15. Make sure your errorlevel calls match those configured in Front Door, and your BBS software. I am keenly interested in any and all mail toss utilities available for other BBS software. If you discover any, please let me know, and forward me a copy. - 23 - GETTING HELP If you are having trouble getting the programs listed in this documentation to work properly on your system, try rereading the individual program's documentation. (When all ELSE fails, read the docs!) Double check all your settings, and document what is going on. If all that fails to set the light bulb off, follow these steps to get outside assistance: 1. Get out the old modem, and start calling your local boards. Many Law Enforcement Sysops forget that the civilian BBS market is quite a bit larger and more experienced than us! Most Sysops are more than willing to go out of their way to help out. POLICE NET uses Fido Net conventions, so almost any Fido Sysop with the same software as you can be a great resource! 2. Failing that, and willing to spring for the phone call, you can call us at the numbers below. These are the BBS numbers, and require initial registration, so be patient. Both boards accept direct ASCII uploads into the message bases, so for you long distance callers it would be advisable to write your message before you log on. This will also help you organize your thoughts, so that you give us a clear idea of the problem, and what you have done so far to try to solve it. In most cases, if you leave a voice number, we will try to return your call and "Talk you down." 3. You can also mail us the message through another POLICE NET node. Address it to the appropriate node listed below. For the number of the nearest PN network system, check the enclosed Nodelist. Joseph Gaspard, Founder, Managing Director ROBOCOP BBS San Diego, CA (619)299-0351 (1:202/1) Quickbbs system running under Desqview. Brian Roberts, Co-founder, Regional manager L-E BBS ONLINE! San Diego, CA (619)596-0870 (1:202/2) Wildcat system on an IBM AT, Quickbbs echo message base. - 24 - APPLYING FOR A NODE NUMBER In order to become a member of POLICE NET you must have a valid node number issued by the Managing Director. There are a few simple steps you must take to be granted access to the network: 1. You must have your system ready to send and receive mail during the designated ZMH at the time of application. All software must be running and free of glitches BEFORE you submit your application. 2. You must have read and agree to comply with the rules and regulations currently in effect. By applying to the director for a node number, it is assumed that you agree to all policies of the net. 3. The application shall be in the form of a message sent over the net into the SYSOP NET echo message base. It shall be addressed to the Managing director of the network (Currently Joseph Gaspard 1:202/1 ) and specifically request access to the net. The message must detail your system, it's Law Enforcement/ EMT affiliation, and a mailing address to send you your node number. It is important that you send enough information about your system that we can make the correct determination as to your suitability for membership. 4. Please include the Echoes you wish to pick up in the application. 5. Applicants are to use the Node 1:<your area>/999, until their permanent number is issued. Areas are defined by Fido Net convention. 6. There is no fee for membership in POLICE NET. For information on charging your system users, see RULES. 7. Please make sure that your TEAR LINE conforms to the standards set forth in the RULES chapter. Both Brian and I are more than willing to help you get to this point, so don't hesitate to call us with any problem that has or hasn't been addressed in this manual. If you've come this far, WELCOME ABOARD!! - 25 - POLICE NET RULES AND REGULATIONS As of April 15, 1991 1. STANDARDS 1.1 All hardware and software standards shall be set by the founding systems. Deviation from those standards may be made by the individual participating systems, as long as the Managing Director is informed and the proposed changes do not adversely affect the network as a whole. 1.2 All mailers must be Fido Net compatible. Zone Mail Hour must be automated. 1.3 Zone Mail Hour is set at 0200-0300 hours Pacific Standard Time Daily. No human callers are to be allowed on during this time. All systems MUST be available for mail only during this time. 1.4 Point systems, or other non-members are not allowed to post POLICE NET echoes. No member system may send packets containing all or part of the POLICE NET echo base to any non-member system without permission from the Managing Director. Exceptions may be made on a case by case basis. 1.5 POLICE NET is a private, non-profit organization. Member systems operators may not charge their users for this service, other than to recover any ACTUAL costs of providing this service to their system's users as a whole. 1.6 POLICE NET does not discriminate on the basis of race, creed, sex, or Country of origin, nor does it tolerate such discrimination among it's member systems. 2. ECHOES 2.1 Any member system may request to create an echo subject to all of the following rules. 2.2 Any new echo must be approved by the Managing Director, via the Sysop Net conference. 2.3 Any proposal should have all necessary details posted, such as the subject matter, and security group. The start date(s) will be set by the Directors. 2.4 The system proposing the echo shall be in charge of moderating the conference. He/she may ask someone else to take this responsibility voluntarily. 2.5 The Directors have authority over all echoes, their content and the monitoring thereof. The Managing director may remove an echo or it's moderator at anytime for reasonable cause, subject to all the enclosed rules herein, and subject to the enclosed appeals process. -26- 2.6 All moderators of any conference must be a member system operator, co-operater, or other approved person. All moderators must be approved by the Directors. 2.7 The individual system operator is fully responsible for the actions of any user with access to the network message bases through that system. This includes any point system channeled through that system. 3. TEAR LINES 3.1 All tear lines throughout the network shall be consistent with the following example: <System Title>_<City>,_<2 Letter State code>._(XXX)XXX-XXXX 3.2 No deviation from the tear line in rule 3.1 will be allowed. All information shall be mandatory. 3.3 No member system shall use another systems tear line, node number, or any part thereof. 3.4 Aliases shall not be allowed in the network. 4. SECURITY 4.1 All significant breaches of network security shall be reported to the Managing Director promptly. Any general warnings shall be issued by the Managing Director, and NOT the reporting system. 4.2 All member and prospective member systems shall endeavor to prevent the unauthorized entry of non-law enforcement personnel into any "S" group message base, or other message base designed for Law Enforcement only. 4.3 For the purposes of this network, the term "Law Enforcement Personnel" describes the following persons: A. Any Peace Officer, Deputy, Constable, Marshall or other sworn Law Enforcement official, active or retired. B. Any member of the above's immediate family. C. Any member of a recognized investigating agency, DA, FBI, NIJ et al. D. Any member of Transit Police, or Metropolitan Transit Security agency. E. Any Emergency Medical Technician. 4.4 No privileged or confidential information is to be exchanged within the network. No unethical or illegal acts, materials or files shall be allowed within the network. The exchange of copyrighted software is strictly forbidden among members of POLICE NET. This DOES NOT apply to freeware, shareware or public domain software. 4.5 Civilian users are allowed to participate in any "G" group message base. - 27 - 4.6 The SYSOP NET echo shall be restricted to the systems operators and co-operators of member and prospective member systems only. "Read only" access to Law Enforcement users may be granted at the individual system operator's discretion. 5. VIOLATIONS/APPEAL 5.1 Any willful or continuing violations of any of the operating rules or standards of the network may result in the offending system being removed from the network without notice. 5.2 The systems operator of a system removed in rule 5.1 may file a written statement appealing the removal. The statement shall be addressed to the Managing Director via a neutral system, and routed through the SYSOP NET echo. It should address all points of appeal clearly. 5.3 The Managing Director of POLICE NET shall be the sole judge of the merits involved in any appeal to a membership rejection. He may, at his discretion, put the matter to a vote of the general membership. The judgment of the Managing Director shall be final. 5.4 The statement of appeal must be dated and sent no later that 30 days after the date of being removed from the network. This appeal is NOT a right of membership. 5.5 The Managing Director shall make a reasonable effort to resolve the conflict without resorting to removal of the offending system. 6. DISCLAIMERS 6.1 The contents of this document are subject to change without prior written notice. The current rules can be found on Nodes 1:202/1 and 202/2. 6.2 Should any of the rules be found contrary to law, the other rules shall remain in effect. - 28 - POLICE NET is a private, non-profit telecommunications service dedicated to the men and women of the Law Enforcement communities world-wide. It is the goal of the Directors of this network to foster increased communication between Police officers of a wide variety of departments, counties, states and countries in order that we may all learn the tools to better serve ourselves and our communities in a safe and effective manner. It is also the goal of this network to provide a place that Law Enforcement professionals can feel safe and comfortable not only for entertainment, but to broaden their personal view of the world around them. - 29 -