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****** Meta-UseNet v3.2 ****** Copyright © 1993-95 Metal Software AKA MetalSoft **THE** USENET News reader/interface for CNet Amiga Written by Ray Akey AKA Heavy Metal Currently compatible with C-Net Amiga v3.0+ **************************************************************************** If you are updating from a previous version of Meta-UseNet: DELETE pfiles:Metausenet/Meta-UseNet.udata DELETE pfiles:Metausenet/Meta-UseNet.subs DELETE pfiles:Metausenet/Meta-UseNet.config DELETE pfiles:Metausenet/newsgroups/#? NOTE: BEFORE YOU RUN THIS VERSION OF META-USENET, TYPE THE FOLLOWING IN YOUR SHELL: META-TRIMNEWS FORCEWEED WEEDPURGE REPAIR This rebuilds the _MUNItems file(s) for your newsgroups. If you have "Scan on entry" configured, rather than using the _MUNItems data files, then you don't need to do this. ***************************************************************************** First, let me say that this is a major Meta-UseNet upgrade. While program operation is the same from a user stand-point, many changes have been made. I have simply updated these docs as the program progressed. Please read these docs in full to learn about Meta-UseNet's features, new and old. Why Meta-UseNet? ---------------- Simply because I wanted (and others also) something that works similar to C-Net itself. I have placed NO restrictions on current functions. Join as many Newsgroups and send netmail as much as you like. What is here is enough to keep many users busy for hours as they read NEWS and send/receive NetMail to their hearts' content. DOWN WITH CRIPPLEWARE! But please, if you like/use this software remember that it costs me time and money to write programs such as Meta-UseNet. Register it if you like it and wish to see more pfiles and utilities from Metal Software. v3.2 changes ------------ 1. Now includes an enhanced version of Matt Dillon's RNews that updates _MUNItems as new news is unbatched. If you have ScanOnEntry set, this new RNews is of little importance to you. However, if you don't have ScanOnEntry set in your Meta-UseNet configuration, this results in more efficient operation of Meta-UseNet as it is no longer necessary to have Meta-Trimnews update items. It you use the included RNews you may now use the following Meta-Trimnews command in your maintenance scripts: Meta-Trimnews TRIMONLY 2. Meta-Trimnews altered to detect whether ScanOnEntry is set or not before attempting to update _MUNItems. If ScanOnEntry is set, Meta-Trimnews does not create a _MUNItems file for newsgroup items. 3. Meta-Trimnews now deletes non-existent items from the _MUNItems files when the TRIMONLY argument is used and ScanOnEntry is not set. This assures that you will never see an item with a header and no body text. 4. Fixed "Common Commands" at the Browse prompt. Users can now use system commands such as WHO, FEEDBACK, CHAT, etc,. at the Meta-UseNet Main, Browse, and Read/Respond prompts. 5. INFO command added to the respond prompt when reading an item. Entering INFO will give you vital statistics about the current news file. The display is similar to that below: 6. REPAIR argument added to Meta-Trimnews. This causes the _MUNItems file to be deleted from each Newsgroup before updating. This operation is analagous to CNet Amiga's Repair & reorganize, by completely rebuilding the MUNItems file. =============== [Item 6/6] ? for Options: INFO Item Information Filename : UUNEWS:comp/sys/amiga/uucp/35 Msg Date : Tue, 21 Feb 1995 20:31:48 GMT Lines : 47 Msg-ID : <1995Feb21.203148.3554@combdyn.com> References : <3iamb9$4aj@bud.peinet.pe.ca> Subject : Re: UUCP feed options in Canada From : lawrence@combdyn.com (Lawrence *The Dreamer* Chen) Organization: Combustion Dynamics Ltd. [Item 6/6] ? for Options: =============== v3.0/3.1 changes ---------------- 1. "AVAIL" command added to which shows the "Free bytes" left on your UUNEWS: partition/device. 2. Meta-UseNet now creates the hierarchical format required for each AL'd directory/nesgroup. If you add "comp.sys.amiga.advocacy", the directory UUNEWS:comp/sys/amiga/advocacy is created for you, saving much work when reconfiguring or adding newsgroups for the first time. Who really wants to MAKEDIR all those directories anyways?!! :) 3. All 32 CNet access groups and flags (0-31) are supported. 4. The "VI" command to view invitees has been changed to "ME" to parallel CNet Amiga's MEmber command. 5. Now changes the user's CNet UUCP name when he/she edits his UseNet name in Meta-UseNet. Also, his mail directory is now properly renamed. 5. Meta-Trimnews overhauled to streamline it's operation. It is now 106% faster. 6. NOTRIM and TRIMONLY arguments added to Meta-Trimnews. ie. "Meta-Trimnews TRIMONLY" causes Meta-Trimnews to delete old news and not to update the Meta-UseNet data files. "Meta-Trimnews NOTRIM" causes Meta-Trimnews to only update Meta-UseNet data files and not delete old news Default operation of Meta-Trimnews is to delete old news AND update Meta-Usenet data file. 7. Meta-SetItems is now obsolete. Meta-Trimnews now serves the purpose that Meta-SetItems did using the "NOTRIM" argument. ie. "Meta-TrimNews NOTRIM" causes Meta-Trimnews to act as though it were Meta-SetItems 8. Many many more undocumented internal changes to cure previously reported bugs. 9. EMail support removed from Meta-UseNet. There is really no need for it to be supported internally as CNet handles UseNet mail internally. Users can use the CNet MS command to send mail in regular, Fido and Internet formats. 10. The command "NEW" has been added to allow to to "reserve" a Meta-UseNet account for any current user on your system. 11. Meta-UseNet accounts may be edited using the "EA" command. A number of ways exist for you to specify which use to load. Here are the current arguments allowed for the "EA" command: EA prompts you for an account to edit if entered without args EA \number loads the user who has a CNet serial ID of "number" EA =UUCPName loads the user who has a UUCP name of "UUCPName" EA account loads the user who has CNet account "account" EA Handle loads the user who's handle is "Handle" v2.33 changes ------------- 1. Ability to abort "KA" by using "/" or CTRL-C added. 2. Option for Verbose/None output from the KILL command ("K") added. v2.32 changes ------------- 1: Recompiled (finally!) for CNet/3.05+ v2.31 changes ------------- 1: "Extended" item list mode added to User accounts. Allows user to have the "FROM:" field shown when BROWSing & SCANning. This is altered using the "EU" command which all users have access to. V2.30 changes ------------- 1: Users can now use L# and A#, where # is the number of a newsgroup to begin listing from. 2: "EL" (EDIT newsgroup) implemented to allow newsgroup attribute editing. 3: "AL" is now more efficient. If you add MANY subs to the listing, they are added AFTER you have selected the chosen newsgroups to add. After you have chosen the newsgroups you wish to add as subs, you are prompted for the newsgroup attributes you wish them to posses, one at a time. Also, the subboard info (access, age, etc,..) last entered is buffered and can be applied to the next newsgroup you are adding by simply pressing the enter/return key. (More attributes will be added in a future release) 4: ALL bugs causing enforcer hits have been squashed! 5: MS-BatchClean is now a C-NET P-File and not a DOS command due to "hanging" problems with C-Net's AUX handler and users who like using their space bar to short circuit the process. 6: "IF" (ItemFix) command added which will repair/update a newsgroup's "MUNItems" file if you get "file not found" errors.. 7: C-Net-style Ranges have been added to Meta-UseNet.. You can now scan, read, browse, kill and select ranges. The following are valid ranges: s 'testing' (scan items that have the text "testing" in their title) S1-10,20,31-45 (SCAN) *11-30,2,45-47 (SELECT) R-6,21,50-57 (READ) B1-40 (BROWSE) K10-13 (KILL) <----- SYSOP MAINT USER ACCESSIBLE ONLY! NOTE: A range such as -14 assumes that you mean 1-14 and, similarly, a range such as 86- assumes that you mean 86 to the highest number of items available in the current newsgroup. V2.22 changes - (recompiled for C-Net v2.59) ------------- 1: All text that used to reside in SYSTEXT: has now been moved where it can be kept together in a directory called PFILES:METAUSENET/TEXT. See the TEXT directory as present in the original archive for the actual filenames of the new text files. 2: As the main reason for moving the text, Meta-UseNetTEXT is now external and editable. Go hog wild and configure the text to look as only YOU would want it to look! 2: Two bugs fixed that were causing memory to not be returned to the system memory pool, and also causing enforcer hits. 3: BA -> Browse all (global browse new) has been added. 4: RA -> Read all (global read new) has been added. 5: Commands were added to allow to users to [P]ass during a BA or RA, which essentially aborts the browsing in the current newsgroup and sets you in the next newsgroup to continue your browse/read. Also "Q" during a BA or RA will STOP the current browse/read and return you to the current newsgroup prompt. 6: a "Batchpaths" file has been added so that you may keep all users' compressed downloads in one directory if you are short on ram. This file should contain an existing path that will hold the temporary batches which will be deleted when the user has recieved (downloaded) them. The batches are deleted automtically by C-NET when the user downloads them. 7: VERSION information has been added, and can be seen by typing "version pfiles:meta-usenet" at any SHELL prompt. 8: All user newsgroup data is now kept in a subdirectory called PFILES:METAUSENET/NEWSGROUPS .. Copy all user "#?.newsgroup" files to this directory and be sure to remove the ".newsgroup" extension from each of them. (NOTE: A bug in a previous version caused some user newsgroup filenames to be longer than 8 characters minus the extension. Delete these files, the user can always re-join their groups) V2.2 changes ------------- 1: Perhaps the biggest change in this version is the sped up "scanning" routines. To accomplish this, you must either use my "improved" Meta-Trimnews program (see the note below) which is an alternative program which does the same processing as Matt Dillon's Trimnews. Meta-Trimnews is 100% compatibile with UUCP v1.16 and v1.17 BETA. 2: Many routines have been sped up, and more maintenance is now possible right in the Meta-UseNet shell. There is a somewhat CRUDE "KA" command available which let's the sysop (anyone with the SYSOP MAINTENANCE flag) kill ALL items visible in the subboard you are currently in. At this time you must re-enter the subboard number after a KA, to reset the current items (users entering that "newsgroup" sub after your "KA" will see only the items which are new and not killed). 3: Now uses C-Net user's UUCP signatures instead of creating a .signature file for each user. 4: Two new executables have been included in this version. A description of these follows: Meta-Trimnews - a replacement for TRIMNNEWS which performs the same operations as trimnews, but includes routines that automatically update the _MUNItems files that control the new "entry to newsgroup scanning" routines. For this method, you will no longer need to run Matt Dillon's trimnews. _MUNItems - Meta-SetItems and Meta-TrimNews create ONE _MUNItems file in EACH newsgroup which contains the data vital to take advantage of the faster subboard entry "scanning.." routines. If you wish to take advantage of the faster routines, be sure to set "Scan on subboard Entry" to NO when you are prompted for the configuration information when setting up Meta-UseNet. You can also use the SetConfig (SC) command in Meta-UseNet to change this at any time. If you prefer to "scan on subboard Entry", the raw news files will be scanned for Subject, Date, From, etc,. instead of using the _MUNItems file method. For this method, there is no need to use the Meta-SetItems program, nor the new Meta-Trimnews. But take my word for it, this method is slow and time consuming for the user. Future Versions: ---------------- Allow "KL" (kill listing) of newsgroup subboards and MANY, MANY other options.. (ideas and suggestions WILL be acted upon) REGISTRATION: ------------- I ask a simple fee of $25 US or 30.00 CAN. This is not an outrageous price and it is low enough to benefit all of us by providing you with affordable software and keeps my mouth full and stomache happy in the meantime. Send your registration fee to: Ray Akey 411 Bridge Ave. Windsor, Ontario CANADA N9B 2M3 Now for the good stuff!!! INSTALLATION: ------------- In keeping with my past efforts, installation is relatively simple and requires no "assigns" to hassle you. 1. Copy Meta-UseNet to your pfiles and copy all "sys." files to SYSTEXT: 2. Create a directory called "pfiles:MetaUseNet". (this is where all Meta-UseNet data is stored). 3. Copy MS-BatchFiles, Meta-Trimnews and MS-BatchClean to the pfiles:metausenet directory. 4. Add the following line to BBSTEXT at line 99 so that it reads simlar to: \#4pfiles:metausenet/MS-BatchClean %23\@logoff Complete! NOTE: it is VERY important that that %23 exists in the above string as this is the port number passed to MS-BatchClean. 5. The UUCP programs SENDMAIL and POSTNEWS must be either in your c: (command) directory OR "pathed" so that Meta-UseNet can find them. 6. Add the command "Meta-Trimnews" to your scheduler/cron as a DOS event that is to be ran once per day. You may have this done more than once per day if you process mail at various times. 7. Run the program. (Gee, wasn't that easy? :) NOTE: MS-BatchFiles is the program that batches news for users to read offline. MS-BatchClean is the program that CLEANS the batch kludges from your system. You may allow users to enter the program in a number of ways. My preference is a "menu" command. To do this, add the following line at the END of section 3 in BBSMENU (Main Prompt; after MV on an unmodified BBSMENU): NET, USENET |\#2Pfiles:Meta-UseNet\ ^^^ ^^^^^^ ^^^^^^^ | | | ----- Substitute your path here. | May be changed to YOUR command preference. Setting the Default Configuration: ---------------------------------- The first thing you will be FORCED to do upon the first run of Meta-UseNet, is set your system configuration. this is very simple and quick and you will be prompted for the following information: The name of your node/system as you use in your UUCP config file Access groups to use Meta-UseNet Access groups to use/edit a signature file Scan Items on Subboard entry NOTE: All of these aspects, except scan on subboard entry, are editable on each Meta-UseNet account (EA). These are just a "default" in case you don't feel like editing new users each time one enters the net. Also: At this time, ALL users who enter Meta-UseNet will have access to post and reply to news (this may change in the future depending on demand) and a very verbose log of net activity is also kept (LF at main or any Newsgroup prompt to read) Adding NewsGroup Listings (Subs) -------------------------------- "AL" is the command to add a NewsGroup to the sub listing, just like C-Net. You will be prompted for the following AFTER you have selected which Newsgroups you wish to add to the listing: Entry access groups - range of groups allowed to enter NewsGroup POST access groups - range of groups allowed to POST in this NewsGroup REPLY access groups - range of groups allowed to REPLY in this NewsGroup Youngest Age - Youngest age allowed in this group Oldest Age - oldest age allowed in this newsgroup Commands: --------- Due to the fact that I didn't want to spend two hours typing commands up, since this shell operates VERY SIMILAR to C-Net itself, and hence boring you to death, I have not included the commands available in this document. ALL Commands are listed in the Meta-UseNet Menus. Enter "?" at most prompts and you will get a run-down of the commands available at that prompt. The main Meta-UseNet menu prompt is where the majority of commands are documented. NOT A SINGLE command is undocumented, they are all in one menu or another. Item scanning ------------- All news is scanned upon entry to a newsgroup unless you wish to use the included META-TRIMNEWS program (see the version changes at the top of this document. You'll never see a "message so and so not found" in Meta-UseNet if you have configured it properly and read these docs FULLY. No other external files need be generated other than routine user signatures and config files (all kept seperate in a directory of their own). Upon entry to a newsgroup, all items are scanned for "Subject" and Date the message was **polled* (this will be changed to date message **WRITTEN** in a future release possibly) The scanning is fairly fast, as soon as the required data is found, the file is closed and the next is scanned. I have timed it and this method is even faster than that of DNEWS. This may bug you at first but try a few other UseNet shells and see how utterly annoying it is to not have the data immediately at your disposal after the first scan. A period (.) blinks while scanning to let users know that the shell has not locked up but is still scanning items. Anyways, don't get discouraged, try it, POWER systems won't notice much of a delay at all (020, 030, 040's..) Plans: ------ 1. IBM & Amiga style wildcarding. 4. Full CNet-Style THREADING of news and followup news items. So, I will leave off here, if I have left anything out, I'm sorry, it's LATE and I'm beat. try it, leave me your comments and criticisms on Future World and I will try to incorporate most, if not all suggestions, in a future release. BUG REPORTS: ------------ Bug reports will be taken in one of 5 ways. 1. Leave me E-Mail on Future World. 2. Call my BBS and leave feedback or EMail (519-256-0278 AND 519-255-7378) 3. Regular post. (Ray Akey, 411 Bridge Ave, Windsor, Ontario CANADA, N9B 2M3 4. My C-LINK address -> Heavy Metal @911:6510/0.0 5. My FIDONet address -> Heavy Metal @1:246/74.0 6. My UseNet address -> rakey@metshop.jammys.net Be sure to include a DETAILED description of the bug, where and what command. Thanks for using Meta-UseNet! --RAY